"Christ Consciousness" by Branden Sablan
from September 6th, 2026
We welcome you to watch/listen to the video, read the transcript below, and/or share your thoughts in the comments!
About the Lecturer
Branden Sablan grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, and has worked on Navy ships since 2001. His lifelong curiosity about both science and spirituality led him to explore many different religions before discovering metaphysics. Branden found the Chapel in October 2024, became an active member two weeks later, and was baptized by Rev. Bill Whitley that November. Since then, he has felt a strong calling to serve. You can often find him supporting Sunday Services and the Psychic Fair in person, as well as opening the Chapel on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays for our Spiritual & Psychic Development class, helping others join both in person and online. Branden serves on the board of directors as the vice president and is a Chapel Spiritual Healer.
Introduction
Good morning, everyone! How are y'all doing this morning? Awesome, we're here!
Today I want to talk about something we hear quite often in metaphysical spirituality. I want to talk about Christ Consciousness. We hear people say, "awaken the Christ within." We hear people speak about "living from Christ's consciousness." But what exactly does that mean? What is the Christ? When did people begin using the words Christ Consciousness? How many people throughout history have actually been called the Christ? And perhaps most importantly, why would developing Christ Consciousness be a good thing for humanity?
Jesus and Christ: Two Different Words
To understand that, we first have to separate two words that have become so closely connected that many people assume they mean exactly the same thing: Jesus and Christ.
Christ was not Jesus' last name. As many of us know, Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning "anointed" or "anointed one." It corresponds to the Hebrew concept of Messiah. So when Scripture speaks of Jesus Christ, spiritually, we can hear "Jesus, the Anointed One."
This becomes particularly important in Matthew 16. Jesus asks his disciples, "But whom do you say that I am?" Peter responds, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
Traditionally, Christianity therefore makes a very specific claim: Jesus is the Christ. But Metaphysical Christianity asks another question: What was it about Jesus? His consciousness, his relationship with God, his love, his compassion, and his awareness of the divine unity that allowed him to demonstrate the Christ so completely?
That question brings us to Christ Consciousness. In New Thought and metaphysical traditions, Christ Consciousness generally refers to an awakened awareness of our relationship with the divine — a consciousness in which separation begins to give way to unity, fear gives way to love, and the smaller, ego-centered self becomes increasingly aligned with the divine nature.
This does not necessarily diminish Jesus. From a metaphysical perspective, it can do exactly the opposite. Jesus becomes the demonstration of what divine consciousness looks like when lived through a human life. He becomes the way-shower.
Consider some of his teachings: Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Forgive. Judge not. Love thy neighbor as thyself. The kingdom of God is within you.
Whether we interpret every passage literally or metaphysically, there is a pattern running through them. Jesus continually moves consciousness from fear toward love, from judgment toward understanding, from revenge toward forgiveness, from separation toward unity, and from spiritual sleep toward awakening. That movement is at the heart of what metaphysical traditions call Christ Consciousness.
Where the Idea Comes From
The metaphysical idea behind Christ Consciousness is much older than the phrase itself. For centuries, Christian mystics spoke about union with God, transformation in Christ, divine indwelling, and becoming Christ-like. The exact English expression "Christ Consciousness" became visible in spiritual literature around the turn of the 20th century. It appears in Christian Science writing by 1900 and in early Unity and New Thought literature in the first decade of the 1900s.
So it is safest to say that no single person can be confidently credited with inventing Christ Consciousness. The spiritual idea is ancient, while the modern phrase became prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within metaphysical, mystical, and Christian Science traditions.
How Many Have Been Called "The Christ"?
If we are speaking strictly from Christian theology, the answer is very simple: one — Jesus. Jesus is identified by Christians as the Christ, the Messiah. However, if we go back to the meaning of the underlying word, "anointed one," the picture becomes larger.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, anointing language was associated with kings, priests, and other people set apart for divine purposes. Even Cyrus the Great of Persia is called God's anointed in Isaiah chapter 45, verse 1, although he was not of Israel. So historically, there were many people described as anointed. But that does not mean Christianity recognizes all of them as Christ in the same sense that it recognizes Jesus.
There is therefore no meaningful historical number, such as "seven Christs" or "twelve Christs." If we mean how many Christianity traditionally recognizes as the Christ, the answer is Jesus alone. If we mean how many people in Scripture were described as anointed, well, there were many. And if we ask how many people, according to metaphysical spirituality, have expressed Christ-like consciousness, there could be countless.
Some modern metaphysical teachers see parallels between highly awakened teachers from different traditions. But we should respect those traditions rather than simply renaming figures such as Buddha or Krishna as Christ. That is a later metaphysical interpretation, not necessarily the language those traditions use themselves.
Jesus the Man, Christ the Consciousness
Imagine for a moment that Jesus represents the individual person who walked through Galilee approximately 2,000 years ago. Christ represents the divine presence fully awakened through that man. Metaphysically, we might say: Jesus is the man, Christ is the consciousness. Jesus is the historical teacher, Christ is the divine nature expressed through Him. Jesus lived the example; Christ is the eternal spiritual reality to which the example points.
This gives a beautiful new dimension to Jesus' invitation, "Follow me." We can hear that not merely as a call to be worshipped, but as, "Walk the path that I am demonstrating. Love as I taught. Forgive as I taught forgiveness. See beyond appearances. Feed the hungry. Comfort the suffering. Heal division. Recognize and defend. And live from spirit rather than fear." In other words, become Christ-like.
Paul repeatedly speaks about being "in Christ." In Galatians 2:20, he speaks of Christ living in him. Metaphysically, that gives us a powerful concept: What if Christ is not merely something we go back toward? What if Christ is also something we awaken within? That does not require us to say, "I am Jesus." It means something entirely different. It means the same divine source that Jesus knew is available to me and you — the capacity for compassion, the ability to recognize the spirit within all of us. We can live beyond hatred, and the possibility of becoming a clearer expression of divine love is within all of us. That is the awakening of Christ Consciousness.
Ego Consciousness vs. Christ Consciousness
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to understand Christ Consciousness is by comparing it with ego consciousness.
"What can I get? / What can I give? / Who is better? / How are we connected?"
"They hurt me, so I will hurt them. / I would not allow their pain to become my identity."
"There is not enough. / Divine abundance cannot be exhausted."
"I must protect my image. / I must express my truth."
And this does not mean becoming passive. Jesus was not passive. He challenged hypocrisy. He overturned tables. He confronted injustice. He spoke truth when truth was uncomfortable. Christ Consciousness is not weakness. It is strength without hatred. It is courage without cruelty. It is truth without the need to destroy another person.
Because much of humanity's suffering begins with the illusion of separation: my race against your race, my nation against your nation, my religion against your religion, political parties against one another, families against one another, my God against your God. My pain is more important; your pain is irrelevant.
Christ Consciousness begins breaking down those walls. It says there is one divine life expressing through many lives. And once I truly begin seeing another person as part of the same sacred life that lives through me, something changes. It becomes more difficult to hate them, more difficult to exploit them, more difficult to dehumanize them, and more difficult to celebrate their suffering.
That is why Christ Consciousness matters — not because it gives us a spiritual title, but because it changes how we treat one another.
Growth Is a Process
Awakening to Christ Consciousness does not mean that suddenly we never become irritated or angry. It does not mean that every thought becomes holy overnight. Spiritually, awakening is often a process.
You may recognize your anger before reacting to it. That is growth. You may catch yourself judging someone and reconsider. That is growth. You may choose forgiveness when part of you still wants revenge. That is growth. You may discover that somebody you disliked is carrying pain you knew nothing about, and compassion begins replacing resentment. That is growth.
Every time the higher nature becomes stronger than the lower reaction, something is being born within us. Metaphysically, we could call that the birth of Christ.
The Christmas Story, Reimagined
This gives the Christmas story a beautiful metaphysical dimension. Bethlehem is no longer only a city we remember — Bethlehem becomes a state of consciousness. The manger becomes a humble place within us where something divine is born. The star becomes spiritual illumination. The wise men represent wisdom recognizing divine potential, and the Christ child represents a new consciousness beginning to awaken.
At first, that consciousness may seem small, fragile, and new. But if we nurture it, it grows, until one day the child becomes the teacher, and the teacher begins guiding the entire life.
Traditionally, Christianity anticipates the return of Jesus Christ. That belief should be respected on its own terms, but Metaphysical Christianity often adds another layer. What if the coming of Christ is also the awakening of Christ Consciousness within humanity? What if Christ returns every time love becomes stronger than hatred, every time forgiveness interrupts generations of revenge, every time someone says, "The cycle stops with me," every time humanity chooses cooperation instead of destruction, and every time we recognize God not simply above us, but within and among us?
Then perhaps we do not merely wait for Christ. Perhaps we help prepare a world capable of expressing Christ. We do not develop it merely by learning spiritual vocabulary — we develop it through practice.
Practicing Christ Consciousness
Begin with awareness. Notice your thoughts. Ask, "Is this thought coming from fear or love?"
Practice forgiveness — not because harmful behavior is acceptable, but because carrying hatred keeps us spiritually attached to the very thing we want to escape.
Practice compassion. Before judging someone's actions, remember that you may know nothing about the road that brought them there.
Practice service. Ask every day, "How can the divine be expressed through me today?"
Practice silence. Prayer is speaking to God. Meditation can become listening to God.
And practice love — not merely romantic love, not sentimental love, but divine love. The love that looks at another human being and says,
"The same sacred breath that gives me life gives you life."
Imagine politics operating through Christ Consciousness — we could disagree without hatred. Imagine corporations operating through Christ Consciousness — profit could exist without exploitation. Imagine religion operating through Christ Consciousness — different traditions could seek truth without needing to destroy one another. Imagine families operating through Christ Consciousness — people could set boundaries without vengeance. And imagine our own inner dialogue operating through Christ Consciousness — we might stop speaking to ourselves as though we were our own enemy.
What would happen if millions of people woke up tomorrow and asked, "What would love do through me today?" The world would not become perfect overnight, but it would become different, and the transformation always begins somewhere. Why not within all of us?
Christ Consciousness does not ask you to become Jesus of Nazareth. There has already been a Jesus. You are here to become the highest expression of the divine through you — your personality, your gifts, your experiences, your lessons, your compassion, your wisdom, and your service.
Closing Thoughts
Jesus demonstrated what an extraordinary human life aligned with the divine could look like. The metaphysical invitation is not to become him — it is to awaken what he demonstrated. Let the Christ principle take expression through the unique soul that you already are.
So what is Christ Consciousness? It is the movement from separation toward unity, fear toward love, ego toward spirit, judgment toward compassion, and unconsciousness toward conscious creation. It is moving from merely believing in divine love toward becoming an expression of divine love.
Traditional Christianity recognizes Jesus uniquely as the Christ. Scriptural history, however, contains many people described as anointed, which is the root meaning behind the title. Metaphysical spirituality asks us to go a step further: not how many Christs have there been, but how much Christ can be expressed through us. Maybe the question is not whether Christ Consciousness exists somewhere high above us. Maybe the question is whether we are willing to allow it to live through us.
When we forgive, Christ lives. When we heal, Christ lives. When we serve, Christ lives. And when we show compassion — when we recognize the divine within someone whom our ego wanted to reject — Christ lives.
And when enough individuals begin doing that, Christ Consciousness stops being merely a spiritual philosophy. It becomes a way of life. Perhaps that is what the world has been waiting for — not simply for humanity to speak more about Christ, but for humanity to be more like Christ.
So I invite y'all to be more Christ-like. Show love. Show compassion. Release your fears. And I thank y'all for listening to me today. I want to leave you with this short prayer:
"Divine Presence, Source of all life and light, we give thanks for the Christ Consciousness that lives within each of us. Sacred presence of love, compassion, wisdom, and peace. Thank you for the blessings, seen and unseen, for the gift of this day, for one another, and for every opportunity to grow closer to the divine. May the Christ within guide our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Bless our families, our community, and all those in need of healing, comfort, strength, and hope. May we carry your light into the world and recognize the same sacred light in every soul we meet. With grateful hearts, we receive your blessings and give thanks for your love, eternal love. And so it is. Amen."
Thank you.
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