The religious and historical Jesus, for example, largely remains on a cultural and personal surface within a history combined with ancient pagan symbol and religious belief, now made into holidays and such.

But Jesus said the kingdom is within. Here, “within” means at greater depth of being, and while the outer may symbolize and has a place within a cultural framework, the inner is to realize directly, individually, not as belief, but as gnosis, a higher consciousness of being. Around the world, past and present, this is known as enlightenment.

Unfortunately, within the religious context, not much cultural attention is given to Jesus (or enlightenment in general) regarding this inner transformation, or shift in consciousness. This is understandable from several points of view, one of which is how historically Biblical writings have been politically designed to create religion and belief systems corresponding to the times, past and present.

However, the true realization and nature of the Biblical “kingdom” (enlightenment), as the message of Jesus, is obscured and lost within the corresponding dogma of belief, however well meaning.

In more modern terms, for example, the Biblical Jesus in three years of ministry, outwardly dogmatized and fragmented in religious terms, can describe an inner process leading to enlightenment. This process is about the realization of a higher state of being, toward spiritual realization now. Baptism (cleansing of outer disturbances based upon a self-system that obscures inner (and outer) realities, inaugurates one into deeper inner fires that further purify (Holy Ghost – kundalini) giving birth to a new being (level of consciousness).

Today, some may recognize enlightenment as what Jesus was really attempting to communicate, or that which he symbolizes as such today. A new level of consciousness brings forth, inherently, the “things of the kingdom” and the realization of spirit, now.

This is the true death and rebirth or resurrection, which is then knowing the kingdom (enlightenment) directly. It is available to most anyone willing to do the methods (they are simple but not easy) of which Jesus attempted to communicate, methods, however, which have been replaced by making them into moral prescriptions instead.

A simple statement such as “turn the other cheek” (one of many methods) has a different quality when seen in the context of a method to become more aware rather than as a moral injunction. “The pure in heart shall see God” (or the kingdom), but who can be pure in heart with such egos strutting about seeking power as individual or nation? No, the attempt to be “pure in heart” the consciousness of that in daily life, is a method to dissolve the oppressive ego-life orientation to become more aware, moving toward the deeper realization of the kingdom, now, within.

If religious belief does not lead beyond something free from bigotry, violence and political manipulation (which it historically has not) then I suggest there is something seriously wrong with religious “belief.”

Jesus did not purpose a new belief system or a religion, but a new consciousness hidden within, waiting to emerge. Both message and method remain largely hidden within religion.

Maurice Taylor lives in Clearlake.

This year, on April 4, Christians of both the eastern and western church celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, the principle and most ancient feast on the Christian calendar.

The English word Easter and the German equivalent, “Ostern,” come from a common origin, which to the Norsemen meant the season of the growing sun, the season of new birth.

The word was used by our ancestors to designate the celebration of the spring sun, which had its birth in the East and brought new life upon earth. This observation of the natural order was easily transferred to the spiritual meaning of Easter, the new life of the Risen Christ as the eternal and uncreated Light.

But in most other nations the feast is called Pasch, or some derivation of that, which comes from the Hebrew word pesach, meaning Passover, commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

There is a significant link between the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter because Jesus was crucified at the time of Passover. And so from the beginning of the Christian tradition, Christ’s death and resurrection was regarded as the Christian Passover, bringing liberation from the bondage of evil and the awakening to new and eternal life.

Today in America we are likely to debate the “true” meaning of Easter, whether it is a nature celebration subsequently co-opted by religion, or a spiritual reality imaged in the natural order. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Speaking of chickens and eggs, and bunnies and spring lambs, and other fertility symbols, we often see these combined with a purple cross in our cultural imagery of the season. As American society becomes more religiously diverse, the nation’s population has had to grapple with how to define its holidays and celebrations.

A recent study by the Barna Group explored Americans’ definition of the Easter holiday, asking a nationwide, representative sample of American adults how they would describe what Easter means to them.

The results indicated that most Americans consider Easter to be a religious holiday, but fewer identify the resurrection of Jesus as the underlying meaning.

Two out of every three Americans mention some type of theistic religious element. Common responses included describing it as a Christian holiday, a celebration of God or Jesus, a celebration of Passover, a holy day, or a special time for church or worship attendance.

In all, 42 percent of Americans said that the meaning of Easter was the resurrection of Jesus or that it signifies Christ death and return to life.

Do we need to have an either/or approach to the significance to this season? I like to opt for the both/and way of understanding this feast of new life each spring.

As a human being whose feet are firmly planted on this now greening earth, I cannot help but celebrate the miracle of rebirth and renewal that is taking place right before my eyes at this time of the year in Lake County. That which seemed cold and dead is surging with warmth and life! That which was dark and gray is now bursting with light and color!

But as a spiritually aware being, I celebrate the deeper reality that this season awakens in me. In the seemingly lifeless bulbs in my garden that now awaken to flower, I see the promise of life that is ongoing.

Just as my Jewish sisters and brothers recall the story of their Passover from bondage in Egypt as a way to experience their deliverance in the present, retelling the story of Jesus’ rising to a new experience of life 2,000 years ago enables me to be aware of the potential I have to live into this new life.

At Christmas I wrote about the mystery of “God becoming human in order to bring humanity to the realization of its divinity.” Easter points to the other dimension of that mystery that our ultimate union with God will not be at the expense of our own person. Just as his disciples witnessed the experience of divine life in the risen Christ, they also recognized the human Jesus who they knew and loved.

Our celebrating the resurrection of Jesus is not just the remembering of an event that happened 2,000 years ago, but the affirmation of what is happening to us in the present. Thus, at the conclusion of the Apostles’ Creed that we at St. John’s will solemnly affirm in the renewal of our Baptismal Vows on Easter Sunday, we profess our belief in “the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

Thus, as an Easter people, we renew our commitment to Jesus Christ and vow in the words of our Baptismal Covenant to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our self ... and strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being ...”

However you celebrate this season, may you experience the promise of rebirth and the renewal of life and love!

Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F. is the parish priest of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lakeport, Calif., telephone 707-349-6563.

Follow St. John’s on Twitter at http://twitter.com/stjohnslakeport and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lakeport-CA/St-Johns-Episcopal-Church-Lakeport-CA/223536852800 .

Holidays usually begin when someone clearly articulates their desire to honor a person or event (which sort of makes me wonder about “Groundhog Day” but there you are) and convinces others of the event’s importance.

This week, around the world, there are a series of holy days that millions will observe, which ultimately gave birth to the tradition of spring break (a holiday in mind of any student!). I would like to offer a brief refresher on the origin of the holy days and invite you to celebrate the holiday with United Christian Parish.

Palm Sunday (March 28)

For students this day often heralds the beginning of spring break, for Christians it heralds the beginning of Holy Week.

All four gospels, accepted as authoritative for telling about the life and ministry of Jesus, give significant space to the events of the first Palm Sunday.

The Bible tells us that the city of Jerusalem welcomed his entry with a crowd worthy of any rock star. The masses lined the streets and waved branches and coats in the way that Americans wave American flags on the Fourth of July. They chanted out “Hosanna” as Jesus passed them. Hosanna means “save now.” The crowd believed that Jesus would save them. The crowds that will gather to worship on this Palm Sunday believe the same.

The authorities were not happy about all this flag waving and asked Jesus to quiet his disciples down. Jesus responded that if they were silenced even the very rocks would cry out.

Celebrants today are invited to “make some noise” and join the crowd waving palms. UCP will offer two Palm Sunday events this week, March 28. You are invited to join us Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. (contemporary music, yes even some “rock music”) or 11 a.m. to a little past noon (traditional music). Palms will be provided.

Good Friday (April 2)

While the crowds welcomed Jesus with cheers on Palm Sunday their shouts soon changed to jeers.

By Friday, Jesus had been arrested, tried and convicted. He was sentenced to capital punishment; death by crucifixion.

He died, and yet we call the day “good.” Why? It is because even now we believe that the crowds’ first cries of “Hosanna” can be answered in faith. We believe Jesus can “save now.”

What is it that Jesus saves us from? In her book “Unbinding the Gospel” Martha Grace Reese talks about the diversity of Christian understanding about what it is that Jesus saves us from.

She writes: “What is the biggest problem of human existence? From what does Jesus save us? Sin? Yes. Jesus saves us from sin. Some parts of the church focus strongly on sin as the main problem. Other churches see death as the biggest human problem. Jesus saves us from death, too. Some parts of the church look at the biggest human problem as distorted human community that draws us away from God and truth. They know that Jesus can heal community, miraculously transform isolated individuals and sick societies. Sin, death, demonic social conditions – they’re all pivotal human questions. They are all questions rooted deeply in scripture … Jesus can save us from each of them.”

The events of Good Friday address each of these issues, sin, death and distorted community. Services on Good Friday read the story of how these things conspired to compel one great act of sacrifice and love on the part of Jesus. They are usually somber services because they end in the death of Jesus – however, we are reminded – it may be Friday, but Sunday is coming!

You are invited to join with the broader Christian Community of Kelseyville and Lakeport for the 20th annual ecumenical Good Friday Service. This year it will be hosted by St. John’s Episcopal Church (Lakeport) at noon. Many local churches will be participating and all are invited. United Christian Parish will also offer a Good Friday service Friday night at 5:30 p.m.

Easter Sunday (April 4)

The ancient Israelis did not practice mummification in the way that the Egyptians did but they did prepare the body for burial in a similar manner with strips of linen and with spices.

The bleakness of Friday was transformed with the dawning of sunrise on Sunday morning when the women close to Jesus went to the tomb to finish the ritual care for Jesus body which had not been completed because of the Sabbath observances.

They came to the tomb but found that it was empty. At first they were afraid his body had been stolen or moved. Soon they heard the astonishing news that he was not dead, he was risen.

In the dark of pre-dawn we gather like the women before us seeking news of his death and resurrection. You are invited to join us at 6:30 a.m. Easter morning at the gazebo in Lakeport’s Library Park.

Following a joyful celebration (with music led by the praise band Wing and a Prayer) you will be invited back to the church for a free breakfast.

At 10 a.m. another celebration will be held, this time in the comfort of the church, with banners and flowers and all the pageantry fitting to this highest of holy days. There will be an old rugged cross (covered with wire) so we can transform it the way the events of Easter transforms us. You are invited to bring a flower from your garden to decorate the cross.

Holy days ~ holidays

No one turns down the offer of spring vacation. Students do not picket the schools begging them to reopen for this week. Teachers do not lament the five days of freedom and the rest of us – well we frequently look back on the days of spring break with longing.

This year, I would like to invite you to take a break from your normal routines and observe the reason behind the breaks and vacations; the holy days that led to the holidays.

United Christian Parish is located at 745 N. Brush St. in Lakeport. Come be a part of the celebration, there is a place waiting for you.

Rev. Shannon Kimbell-Auth leads the congregation at United Christian Parish.

Since staff make up over 85 percent of their budgets, the majority of the cuts involved reducing staffing. Across the county 39 teaching positions, 42 classified support staff positions and eight administrator or counseling positions were projected to be cut for the 2010 school year.

The staff reductions will not be finalized until May.

In some years, some of the reductions were rescinded later in the summer when other funds or reductions were used to bridge the loss of state funding.

This year district superintendents and school board members are very pessimistic about being able to create a “summer miracle” that in the past has allowed school districts to return some of the staff cut, back to work in the fall.

I am also pessimistic. Our schools have had to endure three straight years of reduced funding and they have exhausted all their other options.

The fact is that California’s budget is still in terrible shape and in spite of opinion polls that show that the public clearly wants public education protected; the governor and the Legislature have avoided fixing the systemic problems with budget.

Instead they have chosen to mortgage the future and look to cut education as a way to balance the budget. The Legislature is currently working on the 2010-2011 budget. I am not hopeful that they will rollback the governor’s call to again make devastating cuts to education budgets.

In Lake County the cuts to education proposed by the governor are compounded by the ongoing decline in school enrollments.

In the last three years our public schools have lost 677 students. Private schools have fared no better, losing 113 students in the same time frame.

Double digit unemployment, which has now reached over 19 percent, is one of the prime reasons for the decline in enrollment. Families are unable to stay in our county when stable jobs are not available. Since schools are funded by how many students attend school, declining enrollment created a $3.5 million funding loss for our school budgets over the past three years.

In addition, the governor recently signed legislation that continues the state’s practice of deferring the revenue payments to schools in order to help the state avoid having to borrow money to pay its obligations.

This means school districts will, in many cases, be the ones forced to borrow money to cover payroll and other obligations. This is like having your employer say I am short on cash this month and I will pay you later in the year – thus forcing you to use your own credit card to buy food and pay your bills.

When you add to these challenges, the governor‘s devastating cuts of over $432 per student, the result is a crisis for our schools.

Our school districts have worked hard to try and make cuts as far from the classroom as possible. district school boards have voted to make reductions in bus routes, after school support programs, elimination of some vocational programs, elimination of K-8 summer school, elimination of academic enrichment programs like GATE and AVID, reduced athletics at the middles school level, reduced library hours, reduced elementary school music programs, reduced school counseling programs and reduced administrative staff and support staff.

But school districts have also been forced to make the tough decisions to reduce teaching staff. These reductions will increase class sizes.

In the primary grades, class sizes will climb from 20 up to 24 and in some cases higher. Upper elementary grades and high school classes will grow in size, topping 35 students in some schools. This will clearly impact the quality of the educational experience for our students.

When asked what the community can do, as superintendents we have one voice – please join us in letting your state legislator know how important education is to our future.

As someone once said “You can’t light a match twice.”

These are lost opportunities to provide the high quality education our children deserve and our future demands. Our teachers and support staff are working as hard as they can but we can’t expect them to be successful if we don’t provide them the resources they need.

Every year the needs of our students become more diverse and challenging and every year we are asked to strip away more and more of the resources needed in our schools.

Please join the educators in our county in demanding that our state legislators put a halt to their assault on education – the education our children need and deserve.

Dave Geck is Lake County's superintendent of schools.

Congressman Mike Thompson says the new health reform legislation will offer many benefits. Courtesy photo.

It’s been a long and complicated process, but Americans are finally going to see some results from the protracted battle over health care reform.

On March 21, the House passed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

With all of the partisan sniping and fear mongering, many have lost sight of the main goal of health care reform: to improve ordinary American’s access to quality, affordable health care. And this legislation is an historic, important step forward for our country that will have an immediate impact for all Americans.

When the president signed this bill into law on March 23, insurance companies were immediately stopped from dropping your coverage when you get sick.

The new law also immediately bans insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Adults who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition will be able to buy affordable coverage.

New private insurance plans are required to cover preventive services and immunizations with no co-payments. Young people will be able to stay on their parents’ insurance until their 26th birthday. And small businesses that provide coverage to their employees are eligible for a tax credit of up to 35 percent of premiums.

Seniors will also see immediate benefits from this bill.

Some Medicare beneficiaries currently fall into the “donut hole,” the gap in coverage which forces seniors to pay out of pocket for their medications. These folks will get a rebate of up to $250, which is just a start – once the bill is fully implemented, the “donut hole” will be closed, and seniors won’t have to go broke paying for their medicine.

The legislation also requires coverage of prevention and wellness benefits, an annual wellness visit and immunizations under Medicare with no out-of-pocket cost.

Under this bill, more primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals will be educated. The bill also includes increased funding for community health centers – allowing them to almost double the amount of patients they treat over the next five years.

Once the entire bill goes into effect in 2014, it will make an even bigger impact.

It will expand access to insurance to more than 95 percent of our country, giving more than 32 million people who are currently uninsured access to affordable coverage.

It will end the hidden tax all insured individuals currently pay to cover the cost of uninsured people’s emergency room visits. Insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage or setting rates based on preexisting conditions, medical conditions, genetic information or evidence of domestic violence.

All plans must provide a benefits package that meets a minimum standard, with limits on how much you will have to pay for co-pays and deductibles.

To help people afford care, there will be tax credits available for low- and middle-income families.

The bill is paid for and will reduce our budget deficit over the first 10 years by $143 billion and by $1.2 trillion in the next decade. These aren’t my numbers, but the savings calculated by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Seniors will get greater relief once the entire bill is implemented. Middle income seniors will get a 50-percent discount on brand name drugs. Remember, the “donut hole” will be closed entirely by 2019. And the Medicare program, which provides so many important services to seniors, will have its solvency extended by nine years.

To reduce the cost of health care, the bill will set up tested programs to bend the cost curve and improve quality of care. For example, value-based purchasing, which means paying doctors for the quality of care rather than the quantity of services they provide will be implemented to bring down costs.

And we’ll set up pilot programs to test ideas like accountable care organizations, where a team of doctors work together to provide high quality care, and are rewarded as a team if they are effective at bringing down costs.

If this and other pilot projects are effective, Medicare is authorized to implement these reforms quickly on a broad scale.

This new law isn’t perfect. Reforming health care is an ongoing process and won’t be completed with the passage of one bill.

But, by passing this bill into law, millions of Americans will be able to afford to go to the doctor, and they will be able to get the treatments they need without bankrupting themselves or our country. And that’s what matters.

Congressman Mike Thompson represents California's First Congressional District, which includes Lake County, in the US House of Representatives.

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

I’m having trouble comfortably sleeping at night knowing there are individuals who sleep easily while their beloved pets starve, with infections running through their bodies.

Some might say this statement is overkill, wanting to downplay the recent incident hitting our headlines here in our county, but it is not.

Standing in mud, encased in a small stall, with feces piled high was a 4-year-old pinto stallion with a severe penile lesion infected for weeks. The owner, one of our animal control officers, was out of state and did not have the money to properly care for the horses she had taken responsibility for, a total of six.

She had turned the horses' care over, while she was gone out of state, to an individual who did not have the ability to care properly for horses. She had been warned before by her mother-in-law, the director of Animal Care and Control, several months previous, about the condition of the horses, all underweight. She did not have the money to feed them properly or tend to their basic needs such as grooming and hoofs and, I suspect, proper inoculations. One of the horses in her care was owned by the director.

The director was aware of the condition, that of inadequate food supply. This one horse with the severe infection had been without food for days and was not fed properly for months. As per the animal control officer that found him, he wasn’t even interested in food at this point. I wonder what his temperature was? That would be standard procedure if a human was found in that condition with an infection running ramped throughout their body.

I attended the Animal Care and Control Advisory Board meeting on Monday. As it appears this body can do little to effect change. This alone was disconcerting to me. The animal control officer in question has been cleared of any wrongdoing via what appears to me to be a prime example of the “good ol' boy network” in action.

This, in my opinion, was a set up from the start via Lake County Animal Care and Control Deputy Director Bill Davidson who called his past supervisor, Mendocino County Senior Animal Control Officer George Hodgson, in to do an assessment concluding “the horses were fine and there was no violation”! You see, Bill Davidson also feels everything is fine and dandy and at the advisory board meeting, Bill seemed to have problems with the animal control officer who initiated this complaint and who shared honestly the deplorable conditions that prevailed. It was even made clear to everyone in the room that no reprisal could ensue!

And so where do we stand to effect change? County Code, Chapter 4, Article 1, Section 4-16 addresses the definition of Inhumane Treatment is as follows:

(a) Maliciously and intentionally maim, mutilate, torture, or wound a living animal or maliciously and intentionally kill, torture or torment a living animal or inflict unnecessary cruelty upon an animal;

(b) Deprive a living animal of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter or protection from the weather;

(c) Subject any animal to needless suffering;

(d) Drive, ride, or otherwise use an animal when unfit for labor;

(e) Keep an animal confined in an enclosed area without an adequate exercise area;

(f) Keep an animal on a leash, rope, or chain less than six (6) feet in length when the owner is not immediately present;

(g) Keep an animal on a leash, rope or chain affixed in such a manner that the animal will become entangled, injured, or prevent the animal from accessing adequate shelter, food and water;

(h) Keep an animal without proper care;

(i) Fail to provide veterinary care for a sick or injured animal.

Seems pretty clear to me. Now I wonder why this is not clear to the powers that have the ability to effect positive change to make sure this never happens again – our county counsel, our district attorney and our Board of Supervisors?

Right now you have an individual who once again is entrusted to care for horses that has proven themselves not capable of doing so. You have an individual at work making subjective and objective findings, drawing up assessments and plans, who is not capable of adhering to the policy themselves.

The most common type of animal cruelty is neglect or abandonment – that is, people not providing adequate care for animals in their charge. These types of cases often involve situations where an animal is left without food, water or shelter, or when proper veterinary care was not obtained. In many of these cases, the underlying reason can sometimes be explained by the caretaker's ignorance. This is why many animal control officers and humane law enforcement officers will first attempt to educate the neglectful caretaker, rather than immediately citing them or arresting them. This is not and should not be the case here!

If the Animal Care and Control Advisory Board and the chair of that board, a licensed veterinarian, concludes clearly there is a problem and yet nothing is done, who then is held accountable for the suffering, injury and possible death of a horse under the care of this individual?

Additionally, how can this individual's subjective finding ever hold up in a courtroom setting if that ever comes to fruition in this county?

Lenny Matthews lives in Lucerne.