Interpretating the Gospel of Thomas

For those who are looking for pearls of wisdom, there are many to be found in the Gnostic Gospels, a collection of early Christian Gnostic writings that were discovered by two farmers in Egypt in 1945. Some believe these texts to be the true words of Christ. They certainly seem to ring true in terms of spiritual growth, far more than the New Testament, which was written many years after the death of Jesus.

I have given my interpretation of several of the quotes from one the Gnostic Gospels, known as The Gospel of Thomas, below:

Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

My interpretation: Those who are looking for the truth and a connection to God and their higher self (or soul), should keep looking until they discover God/their higher self. When they see the truth and their real selves it will shock them and they will be disturbed by their past actions and by the truth they discover. Once they have dealt with the transition to their new higher self their souls will reign over everything and everyone. Then when their work is done on earth their souls will be sent to God to rest.

Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you.
When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."

My interpretation: If you listen to what your religious leaders tell you about where to find God the fish and the birds will possess more wisdom and insight than you. Rather God/the Divine is everywhere, within you (in the form of your soul/higher self) and everywhere around you. God is everything.

When you truly know your true soul/higher self, trust your intuition always and live as God/your higher self/ your intuition, tells you, you will understand that God/the Divine is within you (you are part of God). If you do not know your true soul/higher self and do not always trust and live by your intuition, then you live in poverty because you are disconnected from God and your higher self and you are poverty because you will never know the happiness of being with God.

Jesus said, "The person old in days won't hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live.
For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one."

My interpretation: Your age in terms of days on earth or amount of times on earth is irrelevant to your wisdom. Wisdom comes from having a connection to your intuition or the Divine within. A newborn baby knows about God and where life (and souls) comes from and someone who truly understands this will have an eternal soul.

For many of the first souls to be created by God will outlive all the others and will become one with the source of God.

Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised.]"

My interpretation: Understand the truth and what you do not know will become apparent when you need to know it.

For there is nothing hidden from you that will not be revealed to you at some point. There are consequences for all your actions so nothing you have done is buried because you will be taken to account for all you have done.

His disciples asked him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give to charity? What diet should we observe?"
Jesus said, "Don't lie, and don't do what you hate, because all things are disclosed before heaven. After all, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing covered up that will remain undisclosed."

My interpretation: You have to do things because you know that they are the right thing to do and your intuition guides you to do so, not because you have been told to do it by anyone or because you think you should it. In other words do things for the right reason. God knows you completely and you will be held to account for everything you do. Nothing you have done will remain a secret.

The Law of Attraction

What is The Law of Attraction? The Law of Attraction is based on the very simplistic premise that "like attracts like," so you will manifest in your life whatever you think about, whether it be positive or negative. If you think you're going to die, you will die. If you think you're going to be a multi-millionaire, you will be a multi-millionaire. You must train yourself to fully expect to be given what you have asked for, i.e. you have to really want it, apparently, because the only possible reason for it not working is your failure to believe that you will achieve your desires.

Does The Law of Attraction work? Not really. It presumes that humans are masters of their own reality, that whatever we think about we can manifest, but this is simply not true. Of course there is something to be said for positive thinking. Some individuals have cured themselves of life threatening illnesses by using visualisation and intention. However, the key to spiritual growth and happiness is not in expecting the universe to fulfill all your physical and emotional desires, but in being grateful for what you're given, trusting in your intuition and learning to want what you need. The universe has a phenomenal level of control over us and can snap away the earth in a second from humanity. We should let go to the will of the universe, rather than trying to bend the universe to our will. Doing the latter may result in fleeting moments of exuberance and pseudo-happiness, but it will never result in genuine happiness and fulfilment.

The Law of Attraction often focuses on abundance in the form of material wealth, but this should not be the ultimate goal. Spiritual growth and increased awareness should be the goal. Making money is not, never was and never will be a spiritual pursuit. It is a physical process that ensures we are able to maintain a certain standard of living. It is necessary whilst we are on earth because we are too far gone for anything else to usurp capitalism, but it is nothing more than that. If you live your life by your intuition, follow your path and make a fair bit of money along the way, good for you. I don't have a problem with that, but making money should be a byproduct, not the ultimate goal.

Besides, if The Law of Attraction worked virtually everyone would be millionaires and in case anyone hadn't noticed, two-thirds of the world live in poverty and I am pretty sure that they strongly desire a different life for themselves. As talk-show host Larry King pointed out, "If the universe manifests abundance at a mere thought, why is there so much poverty, starvation and death?"

Of course, you can ask the universe for things if you want, but if you're not meant to have them, you won't get them. If you keep trying to achieve a specific goal and it always remains out of your reach, you need to ask yourself if you are pooling your resources in the right direction, because if you put all your eggs in one basket and keep chasing something that isn't right for you, you may miss out on something better and more worthwhile.

Alternatively, the universe may deliver your request but you will have to suffer the consequences. If you asked for fame and you got fame, don't then moan when the paparazzi won't leave you alone and you can't determine your friends from your enemies. Whatever choices we make in life we have to be prepared to accept the consequences, because if you ask the universe for something you were not really meant to have and your request is granted, the universe may well take something else away from you to compensate.

The key to happiness is letting go to the will of the universe and going with the flow of your intuition, not desperately clinging onto false dreams and goals that won't really bring you long-term spiritual contentment.

10 ways to change your life

1. Learn to stop thinking so much. Intelligence comes from taking the time to trust your intuition and making the decisions that are right for you. Trusting your higher self will enable you to make the best choices. To help yourself do this take up some form of activity which quietens the mind, such as; Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Reiki, meditation.

2. Stop trying so hard to please other people. You will never make yourself happy if you spend all your time pandering to others. Make your own mistakes and learn from them. If you spend your whole life trying to live up to the expectations of others you will end up blaming them for the direction your life has taken.

3. Stop punishing yourself. If you are truly sorry for your mistakes then let go of the guilt. If you make a bad decision, accept that it was the wrong thing to do, learn from it and move on. All that is asked from us by the Universe is that we learn from our mistakes and take a step in the right direction towards making a positive difference in our own lives and others.

4. Touch other peoples' lives. In modern society it is so easy for people to become wrapped up in their own lifestyles and forget the many people around you that need help in one way or another. Be prepared to listen to other people as in many instances all someone will need is a good listener to make them feel that they aren’t all alone in the universe.

5. Don’t go by what people say, see beyond their words to who they really are. We often meet someone and feel repelled by that person, yet when they begin to talk to us and charm us, we blame ourselves for making a snap judgement. Trust your intuition. If you have a feeling that there is something not quite right about this person, be very wary. Try to avoid being around people that feel very negative to you.

6. Look at the bigger picture. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this here is your life and you are damned going to live it because as many say ‘Life is short’. This life may be short but the next one certainly won’t be. The actions and decisions we take in this life affects where we go in the next. We all have a place in the universe and at some point we all have to face up to our actions.

7. Follow your own path. We all have our own path in this life and we all are expected to follow it at some point. If you feel that something is missing from your life but you are not quite sure what, then now is the time to follow your path. Intuitively we all know this but as we get older we can stray away. Reiki re-connects you to the Universe and allows you to really be yourself, try learning Reiki or if you can find another way to follow your path then do it as quickly as possible.

8. Take the right sort of risks. We are all afraid of taking risks, sometimes for a very good reason but if the risk involves you giving up something that will make your life much better and make you feel more happy and fulfilled, then it’s a risk worth taking.

9. Look after your body. It really is the only one you have in this life and if you damage it you will soon wish you had listened to your body. Eat foods that are healthy and nourish your organs. You won’t thank yourself later if you have a chronic illness because of the poisons you have subjected yourself to.

10. Be prepared to put a lot of effort into life. The easy options are rarely the ones that are the best for us. Take responsibility for yourself and your own actions and look after yourself. Life is not meant to be easy and this is for a reason, because we learn so much more from the difficult decisions we take and the hard work we put in. There isn’t a miracle drug to make everything better we all hold the miracles within ourselves to change our lives.

Excerpt from my self-help book

Below is an extract from my latest book, You Can Only Achieve What Is Possible, which I wrote after seeing a life coach on a television programme proclaim to a poor unsuspecting individual that they could achieve anything they wanted. The chapter below explores the subject of what we can and can't achieve.

You Cannot Have, Be, Or Do, Anything You Desire

'Usually I am not one to quote music artists. It is a tad tacky, but the Rolling Stones put it so terribly well, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.” In fact, if what you want is totally out of line with what the Universe thinks you should be getting, you will be lucky to get anything you want at all. If you constantly obsess over your desires and beg the Universe to realise them, the Universe might say, “Well ok then, you can have what you asked for, but there will be a price to pay later on.” Of course, you may not hear the Universe saying this, but everything has a price in life. We should be careful what we wish for.

Some highly-praised self-help literature presents the argument that we are here on this earth to fulfil our desires, that our intentions and thoughts create our own reality. We choose our reality and that reality depends on what thoughts we are manifesting. Like attracts like, right? Some people merrily instruct the Universe to give them exactly what they want. Apparently, the Law of Attraction produces whatever our minds conjure. If you have positive thoughts, you will attract positive energy your way and if you have negative thoughts, you will attract negative energy to you.

There is an element of truth in this. I do believe that our thoughts are really energy. If we constantly have negative thoughts about ourselves and other people, we almost evoke a negative energy that could potentially be detrimental. Many of us have heard somewhere along the line about the power of creative visualisation. Some people with life threatening illnesses have used positive thoughts to improve their health. If you tell yourself, “That is it, I am going to die, I give up,” you are telling your body to do precisely that. So, I applaud generating positive thoughts. You can make your life better by being a more positive person.

The thing is, and you might see this as a dampener, but just because you desire something really badly, it does not guarantee that you will get what you want. Telling God to provide you with a Mercedes or informing the Universe that you would like a swish new pad in the Maldives, is not going to guarantee you the outcome you desire. You can mull over it all day long and say, “I am going to be a CEO and get my comfy, opulent house, I am, I am, I am. I can already see it in my head. I am a CEO of a big corporation. I am manifesting my desire. I am breaking through all obstacles. Nothing will stand in my way.”

If it is within your path on earth, you may be given what you have asked for, but if it is not, all your visualisation and intention will mean jack. So, in all honesty, we cannot have, be and do as we please, we can only have, be and do what the Universe allows us to do. Moreover, what makes us think we are entitled to these things? We need to accept what the Universe gives us rather than asking for stuff we are not entitled to. Just because we want something, it does not mean that firstly, we should get it and secondly, that it will make us happy. In fact, there are many people who get what they ask for and it makes them utterly miserable.

We do have choices, to a degree, but not an infinite amount of choices. I believe it is highly arrogant to think that we can entirely construct our own reality. We can create it to a degree, but the Universe can snap it up faster than you can yell “Yee-haa.” What the Universe gives, the Universe can just as easily take away. What you want on the grand scale of things means relatively little, unless what you want happens to be what you need.

The best way to lead a fulfilling and truly happy life is to learn to want what you need, rather than chasing desires that will never be yours. And before you all start saying, “But what about all the people who have achieved their dreams, who read all the self-help books and went for their goals and realised them...” etc etc. That is their path. It does not mean that it is yours. I am not claiming that you can never achieve any of your goals, but what I am saying is that you can only achieve the goals that are within the remit of your path on earth.

If you can come to want what you need in life, you can achieve all of your goals, because your new goals will automatically be in line with the will of the Universe. If you can dare to surrender some of your more physical desires and follow your intuition, you may in good time, be given some of them back. You will also be a lot happier because we can only ever be truly happy when we fulfil our true purposes for being here.

If you blithely storm through life in pursuit of your physical and emotional desires without taking heed of what you really need, you will never understand the meaning of completeness or being at peace. Peace comes from letting go, to something far greater than we are. Whether you call that something God, the Universe, destiny, Spirit, the Source, is irrelevant. It is what it is, regardless of how we construe it and when we succumb to it, we become much better and happier individuals. We come to Life.

Without banging on about myself too much, because I do not want to bore you to death, I am going to cite what happened to me as an example of how bowing to the will of the Universe can change your life for the better.

When I was younger I had many dreams. For a while, I wanted to a fashion designer, then a pop star (well I was only three), then a graphic designer, then a journalist, then an author and so on. My real passion was for anything creative. Like so many other people, I went to school and got some qualifications. Then I went to university and did a degree in politics. I wished afterwards that I had studied graphic design instead. I got temporary employment in an administration role and found it distinctly lacklustre. I could not figure out how some people could go through life plodding the same old routine, doing their nine to five, living for the weekend and accepting their lot. I really wanted to work in advertising, so I applied for some jobs but I never got anywhere.

To cut a long and very dull story short, I developed a bad back condition and after a range of conventional and unconventional treatments had made no difference, I went to see a Reiki practitioner. Someone at work had happened to mention Reiki, so I thought I would give it a go. It helped a bit, so I thought, “Why not go on a Reiki course,” and so that is exactly what I did. So, without any real expectations I went to the Reiki course and it changed my entire life in one day. I had to self-heal every day with Reiki, which I did for hours because I enjoyed it so much. There was personal effort involved, but there always is in anything worthwhile.

Over three years I discovered my true purpose for being on earth, I found a partner, I gained self-esteem from being my true higher self. I gained immense knowledge of the Universe, my place in the Universe and so much more. I gave up some pastimes I had previously enjoyed including: running, which was damaging my back, drinking alcohol, eating meat and chocolates and sweets and going to pubs and clubs. I self-healed with Reiki everyday. I also gave up on my former dream of being in advertising and put my creativity aside to focus on treating people with Reiki and teaching Reiki courses.

None of this felt at all like a sacrifice. I felt so much happier and lighter and I still do. I did not try to control the Universe, I became guided by the Universe and did what the Universe and my intuition guided me to do. I accepted that everything in my life was a blessing, whether painful or pleasant. I learned to want what I needed.

When I had done all of this, some dreams I had put to the back of my mind started popping to the fore. I quickly became a journalist, then shortly after, I became a features editor of a women’s lifestyle magazine. I wrote a book. I wanted to design my business website, so I taught myself how to do it. I then ended up designing a couple of other websites. I wrote another book. Then I became an eco-stylist, styling people with ethical fashion items. Although I had to put the hard work, effort and hours in, it did not feel like a chore because I thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing. Effort only seems like an effort when you are discontent with what you are doing.

I love the way my life has changed. I love being me and the journey I am on. I am so grateful for everything and I become more grateful with each new day. So in all of my warbling, the point I am trying to make is that, I let go. I let go of what I had wanted in life. I made a pact with the Universe that I would follow my path, that I would follow its will and not my own. When I finally let go, I was given some of my lifelong dreams and they meant so much more to me, because this time, I felt I really deserved them and they were not just about me, but about helping others find their path.

So, if you follow your path, if you trust and follow your intuition, if you let go and allow the Universe to be your ultimate guide, you may be given what you want, but only when you have earned it.

Not everyone can be an Olympic athlete, a company director, a CEO, a movie star, a pop star, a catwalk model, a life coach, a personal trainer, a celebrity stylist, a footballer, or whatever the occupation may be. Many people now are looking for fame for fame’s sake, for adulation and glory. People are very often desperate for recognition from others, but this kind of recognition is temporal. We should not need recognition from any one person on this earth, but from our intuition and from the Universe, or if you prefer, God. If you have a personal dream, you have to ask yourself why you are so keen to achieve it. Why do you want that dream job? Is there something else that would be more suitable for your path and for you? What would really make you happy? Forget for a second about the money, status and power that that dream brings. Real power comes from being connected with your intuition, from trusting in your higher path, from being your true self. This is what really empowers us, being true to ourselves.

Living life is not about the stories you are going to tell your grandchildren, it is not about what you leave behind. Life is about what you learned, how you developed yourself spiritually, how you evolved as a soul. When you die, you cannot take your worldly dreams with you. You cannot take your possessions with you, or your job title, or the adulation and recognition of the people around you. Even if you do not believe in life after death, if you believe that this life here is all we have. When your body is decomposing in its coffin, what will any of the physical goals you once achieved mean? Nothing...

You do not have to believe in God or religion, just to have faith in your intuition.
We all know the truth, if we would be brave enough to accept it. If you believe that life is just about making it what we want it to be, then go for your goals and see where it takes you, but always be prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. If you attain your goals and still do not feel happy and complete, then ask yourself, why? Sometimes, we achieve something we think will make us happy but when we make it past the finish line, it no longer seems like such a triumph. We shift the goal posts and broaden our goals, but the reality is often quite different from the dream, unless the dream happens to be, the Way of the Universe.

The key to spiritual growth and happiness

Everyone, if they are honest, is looking for happiness. We have a tendency to race through life at breakneck speed without stopping to consider what it is we really want and what would make us happy, and by that I don't mean a holiday home in the Maldives, or a brand new Audi. This is about a connection with our souls, which if we lack, we may try to fill with a holiday home in the Maldives, or a brand new Audi! Have you ever said to yourself, "I thought this would make me happy, but I still feel like there is something missing," and you try to fill that 'something' with your career, relationships, social life, money, possessions. But, no matter how hard you try, that void is still there and nothing seems to be able to fill it. Just what is it that is missing?

I feel blessed because I found out what that missing piece of the puzzle was and finding it is not only a revelation but for some people an absolute miracle, because it seems so unlikely that they would ever come to fill that lonely gap. It is, I posit, a connection with our souls. If you'll allow me to clarify.

I believe that when we are born we each have three 'bodies' so to speak: a physical body, an emotional body and a spiritual body. When we are born these bodies are as one, as depicted in the diagram on the left. We are connected with our intuition in a state of bliss or oneness with ourselves and with the universe. As life takes its toll on us and we experience a myriad of emotional traumas, pressure from society, our family and peers to fit a certain mould, and often numerous changes in environment, our physical and emotional bodies start to deviate from our spiritual bodies and that once united trinity of wholeness starts to break apart.

Our physical bodies without guidance from our spiritual bodies or emotional bodies long for the fulfilment of desire, whether that manifests as craving possessions, money, sex, power, fame, food, or whatever. They are not interested in spiritual growth, they just want short-term satisfaction and the more they get it, the more they want it, because the last cheap thrill never quite hit the spot.

Our emotional bodies want to be loved unconditionally, but because they have drifted from our spiritual bodies they cannot feel that love and so they search for unconditional love, but generally in all the wrong places and what they find instead of that pure love they long for is conditional love i.e. love with strings attached. Conditional love says, "I'll love you if you do this for me." Sometimes our physical and emotional bodies conspire and we become emotionally attached to physical objects and desires, becoming angry or frightened if we don't get what we want.

Our spiritual bodies i.e. our souls or the voices of our intuition, desperately try to point us in the right direction, towards spiritual growth, increased spiritual awareness, which naturally results in peace and a real sense of happiness, but without the connection to our other bodies the guidance of our intuition falls on deaf ears, or ears that listen for a few seconds, but just as quickly forget the intuitive advice.

The further apart our three bodies are, the more miserable we become and this can manifest as negative emotions expressed outwardly or inwardly, or a mixture of both. We may hurt ourselves and/or hurt other people, physically or emotionally, because our physical bodies are so far away from our emotional and spiritual bodies that we begin to lose touch with what's important in life and in extreme cases, we almost forget the difference between right and wrong, constantly chasing our physical desires and looking for the next high.

This vicious cycle can only be broken when we reconnect to our spiritual nature and as we start to push those three disparate circles back together, the universe makes sense again, our lives make sense and the conflicting voices in our heads merge into one single voice, the voice of our intuition. When we listen to that intuition, when we follow its guidance, life flows as it should, we have all the answers we need, we understand why the universe is here and why we are here, we find our true purpose in life and we fill that void, a void that can only ever truly be filled by a connection with our souls. The void is like an unquenchable thirst that just will not abate because you can't just shove any old piece of the jigsaw puzzle in there and expect yourself to be happy and fulfilled. There is only one piece that fits that gap and when you finally put it into place your life will never be the same again. You will understand what it means to have a powerful, immovable faith in yourself and the universe and you will understand what it means to happy.

People often perceive spiritual knowledge as somewhat of a secret, something that is reserved for those who are in on the secret, but everyone can choose to follow their spiritual path in life, not by asking for what they want, or expecting the universe to satisfy all their worldly desires, but by succumbing to the will of the universe, establishing a connection with their souls and listening intently to the guidance of their intuition, following it at every turn. By trusting in your intuition you will become the real unencumbered you and you will learn to want what you need. This is truly empowering.

Don't feel frustrated if you have asked the universe for things and you have not received what you desired. Instead let go of those desires and ask yourself not what you want, but what you need on a spiritual level, because with my hand on my heart I can honestly say that nothing in life will enrich you more than discovering the beautiful soul within you. Spiritual growth is not about what you ask for, what you talk about or what you wear. It is about what you do, how you live your life. Think about your actions and their consequences, think about how you make other people feel, think about how you live your life. Then, when you are ready, when you are really prepared to take that step, ask the universe to show you your spiritual path and help you to walk it. This is one question we should all be asking.