Jim Palmer's Blog, page 22

Stop looking into the sky

The salvation of this world is not going to drop down out of the sky; it’s going to be lifted up out of our hearts. You have to wake up!

There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

“Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high

There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow, Skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true

Someday I’ll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops, that’s where you’ll find me”

- Judy Garland, Somewhere Over The Rainbow

That land is within us…. and it is more real that the most real thing we know. No one ever told us this. Neither did they tell us that we could lift that land and dream out of us and into our world.

Jesus needs new PR

Jesus needs a new PR Director because the Christian religion has too often given him a bad name. One way they have done this is by making Jesus’ truth and teachings exclusive. According to this mindset, one has to “become a Christian” and “accept only Jesus” in order to have the truth. So either you belong to the Christian club, or you’re out of luck, doomed, and destined for Hell. Seriously??? The truth Jesus bore witness to and demonstrated has universal significance and it doesn’t require one to become a Christian. Jesus never intended for him or his teaching to become a religion to compete with all the others. Instead, Jesus confronted the problem with the religious mindset altogether, and lifted up truth that any person can embrace if they are willing to look inside themselves.

Expect controversy for Christmas

So, my upcoming book, Inner Anarchy, is likely to be distressing to some folks. The first group who may get concerned are those who don’t really understand anarchy, and think I am calling for people to go out into the streets, displace the current ruling powers, and take over. I’m guessing there are a whole lot of people associated with the Christian religion who are not going to be happy with this book. This book is definitely a katy-bar-the-door I’m not mincing words in letting my Christian brethren know how we’ve screwed things up. On the other hand, this book will also likely stir up those who have swung the other way and basically feel Jesus is irrelevant and a big waste of time. But despite all that, I think if people will read this book with an open heart that we will be able to clear the way for birthing some pretty awesome new possibilities in our world.

Here are where things stands now. The 21-chapter book is finished and has been sent off for copyedit work. After that stage, the book will move on for cover design and interior formatting for publication in print and digital form. Darla Winn is doing an original photo for the cover, and Yana Cortlund is doing the cover design and formatting. The hope is that we can get all this finished and made available by Christmas because we all need some controversy going into the holidays

This is an independent publishing effort, which is a nice way of saying that I am responsible for all the costs associated with the publication of this book. We are now moving into the phases where financial resources are necessary. If my books or what I share through social media has been meaningful for you and you’re capable of supporting the cause, you can make a contribution to the Friends of Jim Palmer GoFundMe Campaign. Here’s the link.

Thanks! :) 

Lifting up what is real

Have you ever noticed how religion can often alienate, divide and turn people off? On the other hand, when we dip down into our deep feelings and lift out of ourselves what is real, people are drawn to it, want to be around it, and want more if it. Jesus once said that if he was lifted up, he would draw all people to himself. Unfortunately, the Christian religion turned this into some nonsense about people getting saved, becoming Christians, and worshiping Jesus. There is nothing more real and natural than that deep-feeling dimension or Spirit within you, which was the same Spirit within Jesus. What Jesus meant by those words is that if we lift out from within us what is real in our deep feelings, that we find that a true togetherness happens because people know a good thing when we feel it.

(Photo by Darla Winn)

Anarchy – the inner kind

Hello friends! I’m checking to say that I’ve had my nose buried in the computer the last few weeks, finishing up my next book, Inner Anarchy. I’m hoping to get it finished and through the publishing process to make it available by Christmas. Yikes! It’s gonna be close. This is an independent self-publishing effort, and if you are interested in supporting the cause, you can visit my Friends of Jim Palmer GoFundMe page. Thanks :)

I’ve been asking lots of questions in social media. Here are a few of them:

I’m curious about something as it relates to those who have “shed religion” or deconstructed many/most of your traditional Christian beliefs. Have your thoughts changed in terms of what/how you think about all the “end times” teachings, doctrines, etc? Or maybe a better question would be, does it have any relevance or significance for you now?

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So, we live in a world that is governed by the laws of nature, science and physics. What are your thoughts about there being a “supernatural” realm or dimension that is not subject to the laws of the natural world?

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Over the course of my journey, including my MDiv and years as a Christian pastor, I eventually came to the realization that the Christian religion as I experienced it did not accurately represent and even obscured and falsified the teachings of Jesus and the truth he bore witness to. How open would you be to revisiting Jesus life and teachings on different terms?

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Is it possible that the Christian religion has confused and misrepresents the life and teachings of Jesus, and that there’s truths Jesus lived and taught that are worth knowing?

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If you were an all-powerful and all-loving God, would you have waited this long to rescue this world from its pain and suffering? If Jesus was going to return to make things right, what is the reason for his delay? These are the questions people are asking.

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the above questions and topics. Thanks!

Climbing over Christianity to get to Jesus

One of the most tragic results of the Christian religion is the way it has prejudiced people against Jesus and his teachings, even among those who have left Christianity behind. It’s difficult for him to get a fair shake, given what Christianity has done. Many people wrongly assume that Christianity accurately represents the truth that Jesus bore witness to and demonstrated.

Leaving religion behind… one book at a time.

Divine Nobodies is the book I wrote during that part of my journey when I was discovering the insanity of many of my Christian beliefs and ways. My follow-up book, Wide Open Spaces, tells the story of what it looked like for me as I charted a new spiritual path beyond the mindsets and mentalities of religion. Though I had deconstructed and left behind many of my former Christian beliefs, I was confronted with the question of how and why Jesus was significant. I devoted a year of my life to answer this question for myself, and tell this story in my third book, Being Jesus in Nashville. Over the course of those three book so much in me had changed. As a former Christian minister, I often held out the hope of heaven in the afterlife. But something about this didn’t seem quite right. Jesus promised freedom and an abundant life in the here and now. My fifth book, Notes from (Over) the Edge, is a direct and no-nonsense guide to bringing an end to your inner suffering. The book identifies several ways that religion and false Christian teachings have gotten in the way. 

Writing my next book: Inner Anarchy

I have started the process of writing my 5th book. In fact, I’ve written nine chapters and hope to have it available by Christmas. Did I just say that? Yikes! After publishing my first books with a major publishing house, I’ve decided to self-publish with the support of my reading audience and social media friends. This feels much more organic to me, and I find the process much more enjoyable, creative, constructive, and worthwhile.

One of the themes of the book is what I call “inner anarchy” – dethroning all those false worldly and religious ideas, beliefs, mindsets, and ideologies that rule us from inside. My primary goal is to open the way for people to turn toward what is real inside them, and see that we are to birth the “messiah” out of that higher spiritual presence within us and into the world.

In the process I am addressing several Christian teachings that are blocking the way for many people to take these steps. The biggest blunder of religion was convincing people to mistrust what is inside them, and to become dependent on the religious mindset and system to work out their relationship with God. Unless people have the confidence to turn within themselves to access the life-giving Spirit and source of all, then we’re going to be wandering around in circles forever, and getting nowhere. This was what Jesus’ life and teachings were fundamentally about, but Christianity applied the same religious mindset to Jesus, and little progress has been made. It’s going to be a rather hard-hitting book, and I don’t mince words as it relates to the ways the Christian establishment (myself included) has led people astray.

This book is aimed at empowering people to connect with what is real deep inside them, which happens to be the way the Spirit most naturally works. The goal of the book is simple – getting people to leave the heady/mental mindset of religion, and to experience, live and speak in their own words what they know in their deepest feelings to be real and true. If this happens, people’s lives will be transformed and we will birth a new reality in this world that has never been seen before. It is this vision that Jesus lived for and died for, and I believe we are on the precipice of seeing it realized as never before.

As mentioned, this is an independent publishing effort. If my books and writing have been meaningful for you and your journey and you’re so inclined, you can support the effort to publish this book through the Friends of Jim Palmer GoFundMe page. Thanks! :)

I’ll keep you posted on the details as things unfold.

What Jesus didn’t say

15 things Jesus Didn’t Say:

“For God was so disgusted with the world and you that he gave his one and only Son.”

“I have come to bring you a new religion.”

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have correct theology.”

“If anyone would come after me, let him disparage all other religions and their followers.”

“If you love me, you will regularly attend a church of your choice… within reason.”

“Blessed are the tithers for they shall be called the children of God.”

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in Heaven after the earth goes up in flames and is destroyed.”

“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor,’ which means the people with whom you attend church and relate to in your Christian sub-culture.”

“In my Father’s house there are a limited number of rooms. But no worries, there is plenty of room in Hell.”

“The kingdom of God has come!… Well, not exactly. I mean, not completely. Let’s face it, the really-real kingdom comes after we die. Hang in there. It won’t be long.”

“And you will know the truth and the truth will make you superior to all the other simpletons who never learned Greek or Hebrew.”

“You are the light of the world… well… in a sinful-filthy-scum kind of way.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you a checklist of things to do and not do in order to remain in God’s favor.”

“For God so loved the world… you know like theoretically… as in, God loves the big ‘W’-world. But when it come to you specifically, there are quite a few things that would need to change for God to actually and specifically love… or even like… YOU.”

“He appeared to his disciples over a period of 40 days and spoke about how to incorporate his life and teaching as a 501(c)3, and go into all the earth to build mega-churches in his name.”

- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge 

(Photo by Darla Winn)