Pure Consciousness: The Last Frontier

- Dr. H. Ronald Hulnick - President, University of Santa Monica, and co-author of Loyalty To Your Soul: The Heart of Spiritual Psychology.

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"I am a big fan of Eckhart Tolle who has written many books on spirituality including A New Earth. I was raised in the Christian tradition and attend church with my wife. I asked Eckhart to recommend a book that would relate the teachings of Jesus to Eckhart's writings about consciousness. This is the book he recommended. It is exactly what I was looking for. For anyone looking for a book that interprets what Jesus was saying and teaching from the point of view of present awareness, this is the book." 
                         
                        - "Bond" — Amazon.com Reader Reviews 
                          
"Want to activate higher intelligence? Then read this book. Read it with an open heart, read it with your intuition roused, read it as though all our lives depended upon it. Let the clear crystal clarity of the words wipe away all the dead and heavy mind-stuff that has been propagated by the self out of misunderstanding and fear. Read about the true message of the living Christ within ... yes, read this book." 

                        - "Marko" --- Amazon.com Reader Reviews 

"Loved, loved, loved this book for its fresh look at the old, stifling religious views we were raised with. It is a much needed breath of fresh air and a book I would love all those who are stuck in the religious rut to read. Mind opening!!! J.C. Tefft is truly enlightened and this book has shed light on all that I have believed in the past." 

                        - L. Brubacher — Ontario, Canada 

"I was raised a Christian and still attend a Christian church occasionally, but have felt for some time that religion is not "the way" for me. Throughout my change of heart, however, I have never rejected the bible totally and always felt truth in the words of Jesus, as well as a strong message in many of the Old Testament stories. This "feeling" has taken on a new energy while reading The Christ is Not a Person. The tremendous presence it took to see past the biblical changes due to translation, changes due to replication and changes due to egoic influence that produced this insightful interpretation is nothing short of enlightenment. Thank you JC for allowing presence to work through you in writing this book and for helping awaken the Christ in us all." 

                        - F. A. Jacobs — Canada 

"This book, The Christ is Not a Person, is one of the best spiritual books I've ever read. I'm actively involved in the Catholic Church at the Parish level, but I am also interested in a broad spectrum of spiritual writings from Eckhart Tolle to Ken Wilber and the Integral Movement. I found JC's insights on the deeper meaning of ancient scripture, particularly with respect to the Bible, most helpful in coming to a better understanding of their true nature and significance. I highly recommend this work. Hopefully, this book is garnering the attention it deserves and the world needs." 

                        - Tony Bardon — Ireland 

"While looking over Eckhart Tolle's recommended reads, I noticed this book, The Christ is NOT a Person, and was immediately drawn to the title. I went to J.C. Tefft's website, read excerpts and ordered the book right away. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It was one epiphany after another. Something inside me was telling me that what I was reading was truth. This book is the most meaningful book I have ever read on the subject. Throughout the entire read I felt a higher intelligence at work as I read the words. God bless you Mr. Tefft, for sharing your insights with the world. This is a much needed work at this time. My wish is that everyone would read this book." 

                        - Lisandro Cisnaros --- Florida, USA 

"This book is a must read for anyone interested in New Thought interpretation of the Bible. I have taken quite a few classes on the Bible over the years and I found this book to be well written, informative and in line with the New Thought movement. Not written like a textbook, it is very reader friendly. It can be as easily read by a novice as by someone with more advanced studies. J.C. does an excellent job of not only explaining Biblical scripture, but also showing how closely aligned it is with other scriptures from other belief systems around the world. The Christ is NOT a Person will not disappoint." 

                        - Cherie Fisher — Unity Church Spiritual Leader 

"Truly an extraordinary work, it has opened my mind and heart to a deeper, more profound meaning of ancient scripture than anything I've previously read. Layer upon layer of ancient legend and myth is peeled away until the pure, unadulterated truth shines through." 

                        - D.C.H. — Fellow Spiritual Seeker 

"This brilliant author, J.C. Tefft, has enlightened me to just one fact. That is, in his book the word Christ is defined as Spirit ... the spirit of giving and receiving, the spirit of forgiveness and togetherness, and the spirit of oneness. Why should Jesus' message be anything else? Anything less than this reduces you and I to all the negative attributes that man has discovered in himself — producing intense intellectual possession with its re-action of intense separation, leading to wars, etc., etc. It's no wonder this planet is in a state of chaos! Now, every time I see the word Christ I substitute the full meaning of Spirit, the spirit of adventure into the unknown. God or no God. Thank you J.C. Tefft for your profound journey throughout the book. I recommend it to every person and school receptive to Truth." 

                        - D. Baines — United Kingdom 

"It makes me cry often because your words are beautiful and I can hear daddy's voice in it and it clarifies what I have always known. While I've sensed the truth of it, I've never been good at wordifying it like you. I just innately know within me and it has guided me through life. Thank you for writing this book. It is beautiful and meaningful and speaks right to the spirit within." 

                        - C.L.T. — the author's sister 

"My upbringing was not conditioned by any religious beliefs. My family was close and we did many things together, but one thing we did not do is go to church, so I had little knowledge of the Bible growing up. As an adult, I thought it high time that I read the Bible to find out what it's all about. I decided to read it from cover to cover, but it wasn't long before I had to put it down. I found it confusing, even appalling in parts, as I didn't understand how a fear of God and all the wars, violence, and hatred that I was reading about had anything to do with love and compassion that I thought the Bible was about. Thankfully, Mr. Tefft's book, The Christ Is Not A Person, has opened my eyes to new meanings of Biblical scripture that I previously misunderstood. I now have new perspective on what the Bible is really about. The Christ Is Not A Person is the most profound book I've ever read and it has completely changed my understanding of who we are as human beings, and why we're here. I highly recommend this book to everyone, regardless of religious beliefs or prior cultural conditioning. As Mr. Tefft points out, in the last analysis "it's not the Bible that needs interpretation, but man that needs enlightenment." I think reading this book might go a long way toward achieving that end." 

                        - C.J.O — Fellow Spiritual Seeker 

"Truly Wonderful Reading: We've been most pleased with this book, as it is easily understood with respect to the complexity of some biblical terminology and theories. J.C. Tefft is an excellent writer with an ability to connect with ease. Highly recommend it if you are open minded and share a liberal philosophy of personal spirituality." 

                        - L.A. Light — San Diego, CA

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Reviewed By: Nick Fyffe for Amazon Reader Reviews - March 6, 2010

This reviwew is from: The Christ is Not a Person: The Evolution of Consciousness and the Destiny of Man  (Softcover) 

Rated: ***** Five Star (out of five) 

In this magnificent book, The Christ is Not a Person, J.C. Tefft sets forth the essential truths of ancient teachings in a manner that reestablishes the power and beauty of the original words. While setting aside misguided and outdated mythological and religious interpretations, J.C. invites the reader to awaken to the same Pure Awareness that awakened in Jesus, Paul, and others in ancient times. He recalls us to the Source of all profound spiritual teachings, whether ancient or new. He challenges us to realize within ourselves the cosmic reality that we are THAT, too. 

As I turned the pages of this book, in one transcendent moment, I suddenly realized the deeper truths of ancient teachings. I was no longer bridled by the false conditioning of organized religion and its multiplicity of self-designed interpretation, as the Truth of ancient scripture awakened in me like never before. For the first time I could smell the fragrance of the perfumed flower that blossoms in the human Soul. 

Walking in the steps of J. Krishnamurti and Eckhart Tolle, J.C.'s work helped to awaken the space in me wherein I am gloriously reborn. Until now, I had been blinded by my Christian conditioning, but now I am liberated from past conditioning and walk freely amidst the pure awareness of what truly is. I have been led to the divine realization that the "Prince of Peace" is not outside oneself, but resides within our Being, as it boldly confesses, "I AM ... that which I erroneously thought I was missing." 

Christian or non-Christian, believer or non-believer, this book offers the key to liberation from the self, if only we "put forth our hand, and take also of the Tree of Life and eat, and live forever." (Gen. 3: 22) I can't recommend this book enough. 

*****

Reviewed By: The Dubious Disciple "Lee Harmon" -  July 1, 2012

This review is from: The Christ is Not a Person: The Evolution Of Consciousness And The Destiny Of Man  (Paperback) 

Rated: ***** Five Star (out of five) 

As a colleague often proclaims, "Christianity is the belief that history is heading somewhere." Tefft would agree. It's heading toward an eternal consciousness. Tefft embraces the wonder of evolution instead of grudgingly accepting its possibility and then dismissing it into a corner. But more than mere biological evolution, Tefft sees the development of life as a gradual transition into conscious awareness. We see this on a macro scale, as we compare minerals to plants to animals to man to God. 

Here, "God" is the all-pervading Intelligence or Spirit that motivates Creation, guiding us slowly toward ultimate Consciousness. You'll want to read this definition twice: "What is called the Christ in New Testament Biblical lore is not a person born two thousand years ago, but can be likened to a new unseen faculty or capability that exists within the field of omnipresent Energy at the 'entrance' to the Kingdom of Heaven." 

So Tefft is clearly not a Christian in the conservative or exclusive sense of the word. He notes that Pure Consciousness came to light hundreds of years before Jesus, through at least two people that we know of--the Buddha and Lao Tse--though there were probably others. This acceptance of other traditions is important; religious authorities have tended to dwell on the differences that separate their way of thinking from others, rather than the similarities, and this closed-minded approach will never fully approach truth. However, the focus of Tefft's book is on the Bible. 

Tefft reads the Bible with both scholarly and spiritual insight. He leans toward a non-conservative dating of the Bible's books. For example, the Gospels were written between the years 64CE and 100CE by authors who had never known Jesus personally; the books of Moses are compilations of multiple authors with multiple agendas; and so on. We cannot, therefore, expect perfection among these writings, as if the Bible can in its entirety be read in a spiritual manner. There is much in the Bible that belongs to antiquity, and while such material may be of historical interest to some (read: Lee Harmon), it is of little value in the realization of enlightenment (read: J.C. Tefft). Sigh. Now I have to read all of the Bible. 

And in this book, I nearly did read all of the Bible, or at least it feels like it. This is no beach read. Tefft has amassed and explained a huge number of scriptural passages, such that his book becomes almost a Bible in itself. You'll relearn the story of creation, the flood, Jacob's ladder, the Ten Commandments, and more, arriving at Jesus in the second half of the book. Tackle this one if you're really ready for a spiritual transformation, not merely looking for some surface-skimming entertainment. I struggled a little; I think I would have preferred for Tefft to give me Jesus first, or least his coverage of the Lord's Prayer, so I could see where we were heading. Then I could more easily appreciate the Old Testament stories. 

Tefft's interpretation appeals to me as another window to truth, recognizing that religious truth is many-faceted. I think his view is mystical, meaningful, uplifting, and that it promotes human kindness. In other words, all the things that make for a good religion or humanitarian philosophy. I highly recommend this work. And yet ... for myself, I find that I'm too mired in the historical-critical method of reading scripture to be able to seriously approach the Bible in this fashion. Jesus, yes; the rest of the Bible; no. Tefft's method of reading the Bible is fascinating and spiritually uplifting, but I can't imagine that this is the way the writers of the Bible intended their words to be read. 

The fact is, I had the book pegged for a 4-star review all the way until the last fifteen pages, when Tefft came through with an epilogue summary that was concise and uplifting. Of the events leading up to Jesus, Tefft writes, "After Moses, enlightened souls the likes of Saul, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah arose over the years within Israelite society--the later ones proclaiming a new Kingdom yet to come, a Kingdom unlike any they had known before ... It turned out to be a Kingdom that is within Man ... as one awakens to the living Christ within, one is shown how to approach Life with Love in one's heart." 

Amen. 

*****

Reviewed By: Cherie Fisher for www.readerreviews.com (Austin, TX) – October 17, 2009 

Rated: ***** Five Star (out of five) 

This review is from: The Christ is Not a Person: The Evolution Of Consciousness And The Destiny Of Man  (Hardcover) 

An enlightening New Thought interpretation of the Bible 

This book is a must read for anyone interested in New Thought interpretation of the Bible. I am preparing to become a Spiritual Leader for a Unity Church and have taken quite a few classes on the Bible over the past couple of years. I found this book to be well-written, informative and in line with the New Thought movement. This is not written as a textbook, and is very reader friendly. It can easily be read by a novice or someone with more advanced studies. 

As he was growing up, J.C. Tefft witnessed his father's transformation through enlightenment and learned a lot from him. Toward the end of his life, when his Dad began to focus on scriptural readings and their interpretations, Tefft took notes on his father's lessons and the formation of this book began. But it was several decades before the time was ripe to produce it. The wait was well worth it. He does an excellent job of not only explaining biblical scriptures, but also showing how closely aligned they are with other scriptures from other belief systems. 

Here is an example from the book. I chose this because it is the scripture that I used in a recent church service when I did a talk on Eckhart Tolle's "Power of Now." 

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you.. Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed?...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Mat 6:30-33) 

Tefft's interpretation: Jesus was speaking to an order of priority here. Inherently built into the workings of the universe is all the sustenance necessary to sustain the body. It is unnecessary, therefore, to focus undue amounts of Energy toward acquiring sustenance. In fact, when focused in the extreme in this way, it hinders God's work. Sustenance for the Soul is in greater need than sustenance for the body....." (page 121) He also points out, as he does throughout the book, how similar this teaching is to the Prasna Upanishad, First Question. 

I found Tefft's approach very enlightening. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in the Bible and New Thought interpretation. "The Christ is NOT a Person" by J.C. Tefft will not disappoint.

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- Eckhart Tolle - Author of The Power of NOW ​and A New Earth, and one of the leading spiritual teachers of our time.