Dark Heritage-Hopeful Future

Taking responsibility for the past while letting go of guilt.

by Andres Aguila

Murder. The inquisitions. Stealing of indigenous lands. Oppression and killing of indigenous peoples.
Hanging of thousands accused of being witches. Wars. Genocide. Powerful men leading millions to follow
them, while squandering their followers' money on personal luxuries. Millions of children literally starving to
death, while millions of others literally throw food into garbage cans every day. The list seems endless.
So, what do we do? Shall we just ignore these atrocities and act like we are immune? Shall we pretend that we
would never do such things? Shall we judge and condemn those who have committed such heinous crimes?
When I see films and read books about the evils that man has carried out, sometimes I cry. The treatment of
fellow humans, as portrayed by the Nazis in World War II, the pillaging of Native Americans by the European
pioneers, the brutal stealing of humans from Africa and their subsequent oppression into slavery, among
thousands of other sins committed by my own brothers and sisters, at one time made me embarrassed to be a
"white" person. Then I looked a little deeper and realized that people of all colors have seemed to participate in
the same types of insanity and selfish deeds. I heard about the genocidal murders in Rawanda and other similar
tribal fighting all over the world and in all races.
Then I felt embarrassed to be human.
The fact that these types of unthinkable acts were actually done, and are not just horrible stories created by a
few demented minds, really freaked me out. How could I go on as a part of the race of such disgusting beings?
I allowed my judgments to brew for a while, as I believe it is easier for most people to do.
My judgments got me nowhere that I wanted to be.
I decided that I needed to go deeper, rather than just becoming yet another mindless spectator and accuser of my
brothers and sisters. Though I am certainly still on the journey of forgiveness and non-judgment, I have found a
few keys. The first thing I needed to do was to admit that I am no better than any of those whom I had been
judging. I needed to realize, and admit that I was, and am, indeed one of them. They are all my brothers and
sisters, regardless of color, race, political, geographical, or religious divisions.
So, then I began questioning morewhat about the hope of spiritual salvation? There are thousands of
religions around the worldsurely someone has found the answer. I had personally chosen many years ago to
"follow Jesus." I had resonated with hope in the Messiah. Yet, when I looked around, and even went into the
inner chambers of the religion supposedly formed around the teachings of the savior, I encountered so much
judgment, self-seeking, and hypocrisy within the realm of Christianity that I nearly lost faith all together.
With just a glimpse into many of the hideous deeds previously mentioned here, I found that enormous numbers
of these dark accomplishments were indeed carried out in the name of "Christianity, Jesus, and righteousness."
The easy thing to do would be to throw my hands in the air and say, "well, it must all just be a bunch of B.S.
Just a big fat scam to control people." I have met countless people who have, in fact, done just such a thing
and who can blame them? I have heard many stories of people searching for love and acceptance who stumbled

in through the promising doors of temples, cathedrals, and church buildings hoping to find answers, only to
encounter blame, judgment, and rejection"and be sure to leave your financial gift in the fried chicken
bucket!"
Let me cut to the point.
Me blaming or condemning anyone - even the religious hypocrites - does not excuse me, and it does not heal
the human race. I have come to a few conclusions.
1. I believe that I must take responsibility for the sins of my own ancestors and acknowledge that the same
tendencies lie within me. I must recognize that I am part of the whole, and the darkness that I have allowed in
me is no better than the darkness that has murdered millions.
2. I believe that I must repent - that is, turn away from those sins, and ask forgiveness. This repentance is both
for the shortcomings of my fathers and mothers, and for my own judgments of them. My own judgments of
others has done nothing more than put me in the seat of the accuser, and has created a wedge of division and
strife, which ultimately is the same energy that has led to the very sins I have condemned.
3. I now accept forgiveness from God.
4. I forgive myself.
5. I move forward as an ambassador of light and love to a lost and hurting worldrelying not on my own
strength, wisdom, and talents, but rather submitting to the Source and Creator of all.
Now, if it is that simple, why have we, as humans, not yet figured this peace and love thing out?
What about the question of the religious hypocrites? Does that mean that the whole Jesus thing is a sham, or is
there perhaps a truth hidden by an elaborate religious cover-up?
I will answer these questions from a very personal viewpoint. I have, in fact participated in the very same
condemnation and arrogant exclusiveness that I now call out as "sin." I have sat in the seat of the accuser. I
have judged others based on appearance, race, and past mistakes. I have believed that I was better than others
and I even did it under the guise of being a "Christian!"
I absolutely misrepresented the Messiah.
Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) taught unconditional love. He demonstrated such love with his life. He
actually spent a great amount of his teaching time exposing the religious hypocrisy and challenging the people
to move past such divisions. His heart and mission was not only to teach forgiveness, and to open the personal
path to God, but it was also to unify us. In order for the true Christ Consciousness to arise, we must choose to
surrender. We must come down from our lofty ego thrones, which separate us from one another and from the
Most High.
I choose to forgive those who misled me into a shallow and perverted version of the true love of Christ.
I choose to move forward with the good news of God's unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness.
Who are you? What is your purpose? What are you going to do about it?
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Andres and his wife, Zahrah facilitate internships, empowerment counseling, and natural healing on a
beautiful organic farm in Costa Rica. For more information about Awakening Soul; the vision of living
in community; and for free downloads of Awakening Soul music, books, and other articles, visit:
www.Awakening-Soul.org
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or email - 1AwakeningSoul@gmail.com_