THE LIGHTS ARE ON, BUT THERE IS NO ONE AT HOME: A BeginneraEUR(tm)s Guide To Christian-Based Enlightenment

By Rev. Joe Rowe

Rev. H. W. “Joe” Rowe is delighted to present to you The Lights Are On, but There Is No One at Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Christian-Based Enlightenment, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ from a metaphysical perspective.

As you read his words, open your mind and your heart and “let your light shine” as the light of God “enlightens” you—making you “fully present”—and—“fully aware” of where you are in any given moment.

And, if doing so, you will be “letting your light shine” and “having life and having it abundantly” fulfilling the words of Jesus for his reason for coming into the world. So do so, and “shine on,” my friend. “Shine on!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891304062

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THE LIGHTS ARE ON, BUT THERE IS NO ONE AT HOME

A BeginneraEUR(tm)s Guide To Christian-Based Enlightenment

Rev. Joe Rowe

ISBN 979-8-89130-405-5 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89130-406-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Rev. Joe Rowe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1

Is The Light On In Your House?

2

Having Life And Having It Abundantly

3

States Of Mind

4

Waking Up—Becoming Conscious

5

Having A Clear Mind

6

Making The Decision To Be The Perfect You

7

Locusts And Mystical Experiences

8

Your Hope Of Glory

9

Letting Your Light Shine

10

The Adversary In Life

11

Overcoming The Human Condition

12

The Second Coming—What's Next?

About the Author

Preface

While we look not at the things which are seen,

but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal

but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:18)

This publication, The Lights Are On, But There Is No One at Home: A Beginner's Guide to Christian-Based Enlightenment—is designed to lead the reader into an understanding of—enlightenment—or—awakening—and how to experience this dynamic state of existence in this realm of time, space, and matter on an ongoing basis, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ from—a metaphysical point of view—and my own personal journey to experience this state of consciousness.

You will also notice that this Guide contains—hyphenations—in an effort to slow down your reading so that you can retain what you read—while also emphasizing important subjects and names of people who have quotations or referrals.

As the author of this publication, I also have an ulterior motive for these—hyphenations—which will be further explained in Chapter 4.

Also, each Chapter has—subheadings—for your reference and has many repeats. Know this is not an oversight. Rather, it is done with a calculated purpose in order to emphasize particular points or steps to—enlightenment—and then, in rereading them again, this gives you an opportunity to review them and perhaps comprehend them from an even higher perspective.

Also, the character and incidents mentioned in this Guide concerning the grieving man who loses his wife and involved in an automobile accident is fictitious; a character and events of the author's imagination have no identification with an actual person, living or dead, or to any actual event.

Also, the Louisiana man referenced is the author of this Guide.

MY JOURNEY

My journey in experiencing—enlightenment—commenced as a result of being employed in Washington, D.C., for a transportation corporation for many years, and after undergoing a job transfer promotion to the state of Florida and ultimately going through an unwanted divorce, I found myself having great difficulty adjusting to my new life.

In fact, I felt great mental and emotional pain as a result of feeling separated from all of my old friends and the life I knew, and in spite of having a wonderful job, a new car, living in an oceanfront condo, and financially able to live nicely in my new surroundings, I was unable to adapt and cope with my dilemma; and as a result, I became so painfully unhappy that I became distraught as I was no longer in control of my mind as it was controlling me—and I was in need of awakening from this mental process.

Consequently, with my thoughts and feelings running rampant, I found myself unable to sleep soundly at night; and due to having a chronic upset stomach, I often found myself vomiting and in losing my appetite and, in a relatively short time, I lost thirty-eight pounds. I realized that I had become acutely mentally and emotionally ill, and I knew that for my mind and emotions to be healed, I needed to thrust myself upon the mercy of God to heal me.

As a result, I immersed myself in my relationship with God and church activities, undergoing counseling with my minister and after much prayer, soul searching, making new friends, and adjusting to my new surroundings; it took me two years to eventually get my mind and emotions under control, and in so doing, I eventually felt divinely led to take an early retirement from my job and devote my life to helping others who were undergoing such a depressive, out-of-control, mental, and emotional state such as the one I had experienced.

Why?

Because until I experienced my out-of-control dilemma, I truly had no idea that people experienced such severe mental and emotional pain and discord when undergoing such issues as divorce, moving to a new area, and other dilemmas; consequently, I wanted to help others move from where they were mentally and emotionally to where they wanted to be.

MY SPIRITUAL EDUCATION

Then, feeling called by God to minister to others undergoing such a dilemma as I had experienced resulted in me receiving an early retirement from my twenty-seven-year career in transportation, I attended and graduated from the Unity School of Christianity, now known as the Unity Worldwide Ministries in Unity Village, Missouri.

After graduation and being ordained, I was the minister of Unity Churches in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and Valley Stream, New York, serving two terms on the Association of Unity Churches' Board of Directors, also as an instructor at Unity's World Wide Conference, and also having graduated from the Interim Ministerial Service training, retiring after fifteen years of service, I then did a one-year interim ministerial term at a Unity Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

A METAPHYSICAL EXPERIENCE OF CHRISTIANITY

Consequently, this publication's contents are a result of my journey in having my mind and emotions healed in and through the mercy and power of God, which, in turn, catapulted me into understanding and experiencing enlightenment based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ from—a metaphysical perspective.

On my journey, I learned that the word—enlightenment—finds its origin in the Latin prefix—en—meaning in, into,—and the word—lux—meaning—light; so, in combining these meanings—"in the light"—or—"into the light," it—describes what it is that characterizes an enlightened person; that is, a person grounded in an awareness and experience of God. And, as a result, being—fully present—(which will be later defined)—but includes being alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic, so to speak, in living one's life from day to day; thus, having a sense of clarity and understanding of oneself, others, and life in general.

Therefore, I want to share with you and others that from the perspective of this Guide that enlightenment, particularly—Christian enlightenment—which points to one being—in the light—or—in an awareness and experience of God—from a Jesus Christ, biblical, metaphysical point of view. And as a result, one is in tune with this Presence in knowing the truth from the false in one's life.

In so doing, one can be in tune with this Presence and receive divine insights into how to form and shape the life that one wants to live and in the process, learn how to overcome any obstacles in having such a life, and then, at the end of one's life on Earth, one inherits the ongoing state of eternal life.

I discovered for myself that in aligning oneself with and putting into action the teachings of Jesus Christ, one works with this Guide's tools in reaching this goal, and in turn, one fulfills the mission and purpose of Jesus coming into this world, according to his declaration:

Verily, verily, I say unto you …

I am come that … you … might have life, and that … you … have it more abundantly.

(John 10:7–10)

JESUS CHRIST—THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD

Therefore, be clear that in knowing and putting Jesus' teachings into action, one is working with the presence and power of God in bringing about the results in life that one wants to experience—as the Bible tells us that he—is the only begotten Son of God (John 10:17–18)—and a belief in him and exercising his teachings assures us of having life and having it abundantly—and life eternal.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the only person to be born of a mortal mother, Mary, and an immortal Father—God—while we, as mortal men and women, are told in Psalm 82:6, "All of you are children of the Most High."

However, also be clear in addressing this Guide's—metaphysical point of view—just know or be reminded that—metaphysics—is that branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of God; how the nothingness of the Universe came into somethingness, through the divine formation of visible things throughout the cosmos, particularly on the planet Earth, and how it all relates to the ongoing lives of human beings.

METAPHYSICS—AND—ITS ORIGIN

In fact, the prefix—meta—is a Greek derivation of the word—beyond—while the adjunct—physics—is derived from—physika—and alludes to—"the physical or literally the state of natural things."

Consequently—metaphysics—simply deals with seeing the Universe and life on Earth from a perspective and language that endeavors to explain how one can fulfill the above words in the heading of this preface by the—Apostle Paul (5 BC–AD 64/65)—in which he points to the necessity of seeing—beyond the physical—in order to—see the unseen which is eternal.

However, be assured that the goal of this Guide is—not—designed to personally convince you that the metaphysical perspective is the one and only way for you to structure your life or interpret the life, teachings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ as this perspective is but one way, one belief system that some people choose, and it is up to you to make such a decision for yourself concerning what way; that is, what church, denomination, sect, group, religion, belief system, etc., that you choose to be the guideline for your spiritual life.

Concerning a—metaphysical perspective—based upon the teachings of Jesus—know or be reminded that metaphysics originally surfaced through the teachings of the early Greek philosopher—Parmenides (born 15 BCE)—known as—the Father of Metaphysics—who founded one of the leading pre-Socratic schools of Greek thought.

In so doing, Parmenides influenced the great trio of thinkers or metaphysicians—Socrates (470–399 BCE)—Plato (427–347 BCE)—and—Aristotle (384–322 BCE)—who laid the philosophical foundation of Western culture that included the definition of—metaphysics—as being—"the truth of things beyond their appearance."

As explained by French paleontologist, geologist, and philosopher—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1855–1955)—metaphysics is a way to see God, and he once wrote with a mystic's vision:

God is as outstretched and tangible as the atmosphere in which we are bathed.

What stands as the greatest obstacle to experiencing Him

is our inability to see Him.

Since our greatest obstacle to experiencing God is our inability to see this divine Presence; consequently, we human beings have a need to know how to see him, so to speak, i.e., through experiencing him and an expeditious way in achieving this goal is in knowing and putting into action the teachings of Jesus based on the language of metaphysics that points to ways in which those of us who seek such an understanding and experience can more readily do so.

Certainly, then, it is because of this need that—Teilhard—further stated that his mission and purpose in life was to teach others—how to see God everywhere, to see in all that is most hidden, most solid and most ultimate in the world—which is one of the goals of this publication.

With this stated, let me add that the writers of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and most religious institutions of today that further the meanings that stand behind the life, death, resurrection, and the teachings of Jesus Christ, address God as Adonai, Elohim, El, El Shaddai, Jah, Tzva't—(I Am), Jehovah, Lord God, Father, etc., primarily define this Presence as a male deity that created the Universe, our world, and sustains life and the evolutionary process on Earth and throughout the cosmos.

However, the Bible is clear that God is Spirit—(see John 4:24)—and, as such, is not gendered; rather, this Presence relates to us as male and female; for example, Isaiah 66:13 states that—"God comforts His (sic) people like a mother comforts her child—and Isaiah 49:15 states that—like a woman would never forget her nursing child, God will not forget His children."

Too, while God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are consistently referred to in the Bible with male pronouns, this Presence not only relates to us with the above female—(mother-like)—metaphors, there are other biblical feminine images of the divine, including—Chokmah—or—Hokhmah—(meaning divine feminine Sophia or Wisdom); and interestingly, the Jewish personal name for God—Yahweh—the first part of God's name—Yah—is feminine—and—weh—is masculine.

It is important to note that the early Christian writers and most religious Christian institutions of today do not present the Bible and the teachings of Jesus aligned with the metaphysical language of Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the evolved point of view that defines God as the invisible Universal Consciousness, which is beyond description, and its ceaseless flow stands behind the past, present, and future creation of all forms and living things on planet Earth and throughout the Universe.

A METAPHYSICAL POINT OF VIEW

Get the picture that from—a metaphysical perspective—as a creation and offspring of Universal Consciousness, you and I as a male or female human being, the Bible states that we are created in the image and likeness of our Creator:

God created man in his own image … male and female created he them.

(Genesis 1:27)

And in this form, metaphysically, individually, we have a consciousness that is the invisible life activity of who and what we are; in fact, we are that consciousness which provides us with the awareness and the ability to think, know, perceive, feel, act, and be cognizant of our inner and outer world experience as we live from day to day.

So get the metaphysical picture that this Guide emphasizes that every person and all living things are linked to Universal Consciousness, which is God infinite in nature, everywhere, equally present throughout the Universe, and this Presence effuses all life activity.

Consequently, when being what is defined as being—fully present—in the moment—one is enlightened—or—awakened—(hereafter referred to as—enlightened—or—enlightenment)—then, aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ, based on a metaphysical perspective and putting them into action in our day-to-day experience, we can—have life and have it abundantly—that is divinely designed for us.

Therefore, read on into the following detailed Introduction of this publication, keeping in mind that this Presence is our only source of enlightenment and the—truth of things beyond appearances—in our human experience, which aligns with the words of the—Apostle Paul—that—the things seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Rev. Joe Rowe

Introduction

On that day, the deaf will hear words of the book,

and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

(Isaiah 29:18)

What attracted you to this publication?

Are you a beginner in learning what—enlightenment is—and how to achieve it, and as a result, you chose to take a look at it?

Or was it the result of you being a person who has sought and experienced some degree of spiritual enlightenment in your past, and the title—The Lights Are On, But There Is No One at Home—caught your attention, causing you to think that perhaps it might contain information that you are seeking in becoming a more alive, aware, awakened, or enlightened person?

If so, then perhaps it is because you have also experienced past insights into the possibilities that enlightenment offers you, and you can relate to the above words of the—prophet Isaiah—that point to the fact that on one's journey to know God, there comes a day or a time when one realizes