Jesus chose 12 disciples who Unity believes were metaphysically symbolic of each one of the 12 powers (attributes) which Jesus taught. Charles Fillmore, Unity’s co-founder, designed what he called, “The Twelve Powers of Man,” to teach us metaphysically the spiritual attributes that Jesus supported as our teacher and wayshower.

For each of the 12 powers, Fillmore related the name of a disciple, and a ganglionic body center; later the months of each year and corresponding colors were added.

The treasurer of the disciples, Judas Escariot, represents the faculty of Life, which is identified in the body as the generative region. After Judas betrayed the Messiah by revealing His identity to the Sanhedrin for 30 pieces of silver, Judas was considered as dishonest, irresponsible, and wasteful in the use of the sacred Life principle. As with any wasteful and dishonest activity, betrayal always destroys reputation and blocks spiritual growth.

Many people in considering the 12 disciples and the powers they represent would like to forget about Judas Escariot. But the man who betrayed Jesus had a necessary role in the Messiah story, and the Life quality he represents plays an important part in our development of the perfect-person idea.

Even though Judas committed suicide after he betrayed Jesus, he was not out of the picture completely. After the resurrection, the 11 other disciples chose another disciple, Mathias, to bring their number back to 12. This means that the faculty of Life, operating on a higher plane, continues to work with the powers for the lifting up of the whole being. Therefore, in developing the attribute of Life, we cannot ignore Judas. We should remember him and recognize his weaknesses and limitations and cope with them by lifting the Life idea to a higher plane of consciousness.

All people are expressing the Life concept to a greater or lesser degree, but only those who are keeping this faculty under the direction of the Christ can enjoy the fullness of life that is complete with positive energy, vitality, and vigor. We are to express life as an idea that not only enriches the soul, but also lifts the physical body into a perfect expression that God implanted in it from the beginning.

It takes much to cleanse and refine the life attribute in soul and body. The selfishness of Judas must be purified. We must learn to draw our own sustenance from the universe freely and easily without the greediness, dishonesty and hostility that closes it in and limits us. Simply said, we have to be careful not to tear down our body and our good name with our mind. Life works best when it is able to flow throughout the whole being as radiant energy governed by the wisdom and order of the Christ.

Let us keep our thoughts and our works in the realm of spirit and pray and meditate often to awaken the Life faculty at its center. As a result, something will then begin to take place within our minds and bodies as we praise the spirit that gives us life and give thanks for its divine activity within us.

In Charles Roth’s, book, A Twelve-Power Meditation Exercise, he makes an interesting and priceless point about our cells as the foundation of living things. He also defines how our cells affect soul and body. Roth says: “Our cells are the smallest unit of life and the human body operates on much the same principles that governs the power of electricity. The cells are like little batteries and science has measured the charges of energy they emit. Negative emotions disrupt the power line of the cell and they short-circuit the life energy, which burns out cells, tissues, and organs. This process is called sickness of mind and/or body.” And, when we do not express well, mentally, or physically, we are likely to ask, “…why is this happening to me…?” The answer may be, “It is indicative of the results of the behavior of Judas wherein he misused cellular energy due to a consistent, negative emotional state of mind.” When we dissipate the life energy in emotional storms, we weaken the healing rejuvenation that flows from Infinite Intelligence.

As with us, Judas’ dishonest practices drained him of spiritual energy, prohibiting him from operating at his best. Based on that fact, we must remember that spiritual power cannot pass through negativity, and malice and wrongdoing dissipate life energy and automatically weakens the healing rejuvenation that flows from Universal Intelligence.