The Jewish people have always had a longing for Messiah. In Part I of this series we learned that the Hebrew prophets spoke of two archetype Messiahs – the Suffering Servant, one who would save them from the war against human sin within, and the Triumphant King, one who would save them from the political war without. In much of Jewish literature outside the bible, including the Talmud and the Targums (sermons delivered in the common language of the people) the rabbis speculated about how these two contrasting depictions of the Messiah would manifest. Of the various scenarios they envisioned, the Gospel was not one of them – that the Messiah would appear at the beginning of a new age as Suffering Servant, one who would die for atonement of sin, and then the same figure would return at the end of the age as Triumphant King ushering in a Golden Age.
Proof by Contradiction
This Gospel scenario came as a surprise to many Jewish people in the first century, so much so that some had trouble accepting the ”Gospel Messiah” as “The Messiah”. But the fact that it was surprising was no surprise; for the prophet Isaiah had spoken centuries earlier, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isaiah 64:4
The same sentiment was expressed by Paul of Tarsus after Jesus ministry on earth as the Suffering Servant had been completed, paraphrasing the same scripture, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 The Messiah was intended as a surprise.
This is the first of two proofs by contradiction, and not an easy one to dispel. (By not easy, I mean that it is possible to dispel, and I extend the invitation for readers to try their hand at it in the comment section). The first of two proofs is that the learned rabbis, yearning for Messiah, had envisioned at least three other scenarios for the coming of Messiah, but the Gospel scenario that changed the world had not entered into their hearts, attests to the Gospel Messiah’s credibility, having fulfilled the words of Isaiah concerning the element of surprise. We will discuss the second proof by contradiction, the predicted rejection of Messiah by his own people, in a future part of this series.
Legacy of Noah’s Sons
Genesis describes the continued decline of mankind into every kind of corruption. According to it, the sons of God were having orgies with the daughters of men. Genesis 6:4-5 If you will, this a metaphor describing how man’s lower nature, when predominating too long, suppresses the capacity to receive enlightenment from the heavenly realms, channeling whatever Light that does come through into perversions. This perversion of the Light is sort of like an apostate Christian buying a married friend a beer at a tavern to celebrate his baptism, then buying him another, and then another, then introducing him to the ladies upstairs. I know this sounds far-fetched, but this is approximately what happened to former “Praise the Lord” TV evangelist, Jim Bakker.
In the story of the flood, corruption due to undeveloped consciousness reaches the desperate level required to trigger a need for a complete makeover. Realizing the great suffering that selfishness brings to mankind, the divinely inspired soul of man longs to start over again with a more successful game plan. Noah is starting to wake up to the change. He can sniff it in the air as if perched on his shoulders.
And so he makes preparations for that change, listening intently to the guiding voice of divinity within, as if telling him, “Stop drowning in the mire. Build an Ark and extract yourself and the ones you love most from this chaotic corruption and the deluge of its consequences.”
Noah is deemed righteous because he listens to the inner voice with intent to obey, unperturbed by the distracting forces of the lower nature trying to pull him away. Listening to the inner voice and taking action with accordance to it – that, and that alone- is the necessary ingredient for the soul to survive and flourish; everything else must go, tossed over the side like flotsam and jetsam, useless dead weight. It’s either that or drown in the deluge. The fundamentalist version of this is “trust and obey”, but unless we want to get invited back to the tavern, which is now hundreds of feet underwater, we better make sure who to trust and what to obey.
The water that was the great threat is now the instrument of salvation, lifting the Ark out of danger to the height of the tallest mountains, where it safely lands with its cargo of 8 humans, the 8 signifying new beginnings, and with every seed of life necessary to start over anew. The Light has pierced the darkness. It will never be necessary for everything else to get tossed over. The turning point has come. God makes a promise in the sign of the rainbow never again to take such desperate measures, because as scripture declares, “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”. Genesis 8:9 So whenever the rainbow appears, it is a reminder to appreciate what catastrophic consequences from which grace has saved us.
Now that consciousness has more fully matured, it is time for man, uplifted by grace, protected from evil influences inside the protective womb of the Ark, to be reborn with a new heart back into the material world. This rebirth brings Noah’s three sons into it. One of them, his youngest, Ham, who is the father of Canaan, has awakened prematurely with a touch of perversion still lingering, causing him to dishonor his father instead of serving him. But the order of the day in this new age of awakened consciousness is to be trained and disciplined instead of destroyed. The vision in Genesis is that, one day, the descendants will grow out of this immaturity through service to the descendants of Shem and Japheth; and when they do mature, they will be honored with full equality and responsibility; but like everything else that is good, they will learn its full worth by struggling to attain it. The descendants of Shem and Japheth will likewise struggle and prevail in the end to fulfill their archetype legacies to humanity.
This is a difficult pill to swallow, and I am hesitant to even bring any of this up because of the racial connotations. It might help to premise this by explaining that each of Noah’s sons was bestowed with a mixed destiny of trouble and blessing. Often it is the lessons from the trouble that brings the most blessing in the long run. As we may already be aware, Shem’s descendants, the Semitic peoples, are slated to be persecuted, dislodged and scattered, subject to genocide, and then endure the worst horrors, including corporate annihilation in the end times. In comparison, Japheth will launch out in a hundred false directions, following futile religions and empty philosophies, pitting strength against strength in wars and economic competition, only to be drawn back to the tents of Shem to find real fulfillment.
These archetype traits of Noah’s three sons are easy to accept as allegorical. They represent tendencies in every people and in each one of us. What is harder to accept, and what may invoke inquiries in the comments sections to this post, which I would welcome, is that this is not simply a fairy tale. It will play out in history. It will produce unbearable strife, but out of it will come heroic visionaries like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr who changed the world by inspiring all men to stop oppressing minorities. This is a struggle that belongs to all of us who are conscious of it. It is both a historical struggle and a symbolic struggle of all mankind, a lesson for the soul.
The decedents of Japheth who have formed all the nations, and who after futilely fighting two devastating World Wars, wars that were supposed to end all wars, will seek a higher path by sitting down at a United Nations to try to hash out their differences; and yet still they will not be entirely satisfied, and will thus continue to be drawn to the tents of Shem where the spirit of the Messiah dwells. This too is both a historical struggle and a symbolic struggle of all mankind, a lesson for the soul.
My point is, that as allegorical as most of the Book of Genesis may seem to us, from which valuable metaphorical applications may be derived to raise our consciousness; yet there is another reality to these stories, in that they prophetically foretell world history in a manner that is astoundingly accurate. Some of it is awesome, and some of it is so scary we would like to discount it.
The good news is that the historical implications – some better, some worse – are also for our spiritual edification. They establish the credibility of Messianic prophecies, some of which have already been literally played out in history, and the others will continue to be literally played out, working their way beyond the predicted tribulations and, at last, to a happy ending in the world to come.
An even greater implication that is relevant to us in our day, and that will be borne out further in later parts of this series, is that the Suffering Servant Messiah’s appearance in Israel, which was foretold by the prophets to occur before the destruction of the second Temple, was as historical as the destruction of the Second Temple itself. It was not merely metaphorical, although the metaphorical implications are extremely relevant. Written in our scriptures, written in our history, and written in our very own lives, the Messiah is as real as our next meal.
Getting back to Noah, according to the bible story, when Noah discovered what Ham had done, he pronounced a blessing on two of his sons, but a curse on Ham’s son, Canaan, “Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.” Genesis 9:27
Japheth is a strong and handsome lad, and will spread the double-sided coin of the delights and enticements of both physical attractiveness and physical strength throughout the earth. His name means enlarge, and his descendants will expand to populate the nations of the world as the Gentiles. Rabbis believe the Hebrew root “yapht” is contained in his name, which is used in Psalm 45:2 to connote physical attractiveness, “Thou art fairer (yapht) than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever”.
Shem, who is said to be less physically handsome, has a more subtle type of attractiveness that is spiritual. His descendants will start the world’s monotheistic religions and carry the seed of Messiah. Japheth will be attracted to the tents of Shem for that reason. When he is not so engulfed in expansive competiveness, or driving a steam roller over the tent, Japheth will protect the tent and yearn for the spirit of Messiah dwelling in it. Can anyone deny that history attests to that? (Another invitation to comment).
Conclusion
The bible starts out as what we understand as an allegory, and then moves slowly into the realm of the real. Whatever similar stories may have appeared in the sacred literature of other cultures (see references 3, 4, 5) whether they have been borrowed or lent, and which have great significance to those cultures and to us, they do not have the same direct impact enfolding into human history, such as the account of Noah’s sons have.
This does not mean that all of human civilization has been traced back to one man, Noah. DNA evidence of that is presently either inconclusive or skewed the other way. However, what was foretold either metaphorically or literally, and what was then recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures millennia ago, has literally manifested throughout human history to this present day. We would be hard pressed to explain this apparent coincidence any other way. (Another invitation).
We have seen in Part I of this series that the rabbi’s hoped for the Messiah promised to Eve who would be both wounded and triumphant. He would be descended through her third son, Seth, whose name means “appointed”. We discovered in this present post, part II, that the lineage from Seth would pass selectively through Noah, whose name means “repose”, down to his son Shem, whose name means “renowned”.
As we shall discover in the next part of this series, the actual bones of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Ishmael are said to be laying in the carefully guarded “Tomb of the Patriarchs” in the Holy Land. As we have discovered in a previous post discussing Jericho2, there is considerable archeological evidence showing that the Hebrews did actually sack Jericho after coming across the Jordon on their way to conquering the land of Canaan. Ruins that are considered to be King David’s palace have in recent times been unearthed in an archeological dig in Jerusalem. There are gaps in historical records because Rome ransacked Jerusalem. There are records from surrounding cultures about first century Israel that are sometimes sketchy and suspected at times of partial fabrications. Yet still, what the prophets predicted about Israel and the nations is still coming true. The rabbis guessed incorrectly about how the Messiah would manifest, just as the prophets foretold they would; and in this age Israel continues to reject the Gospel Jesus as the Suffering Servant Messiah, just as the prophets foretold.
With all this in mind, the most important question to be pondered by each one of us throughout this series on “Understanding the Messianic Prophecies” is as follows:
Why would we think Messianic prophecies, which have had excellent credibility in foretelling historical events, and which point through a myriad of voices toward a visitation of Messiah specifically in first century Jerusalem… why would they be fulfilled by a myth instead of flesh and blood. (Comments invited).
I have a few reasons for disagreeing with this article, which was wonderfully written by the way.
1) all biblical prophecy would come true regardless of if it was indeed prophecy or myth because we humans will seek to make them true. It helps that they are also very specific, in ways that describe human nature. Let me give you an example, “there will come a day when a person born of lowly stature will rise up to save his people. He will succeed but at the cost of his own life.” This will happen, because it is the way that humans work. This does not make the prophecies in the bible worthless, it instead makes them insightful. Allowing us to use them to understand ourselves better.
2) the idea of a literal conquering Messiah leads people into thinking that because they adhere to a faith that that messiah belongs to that they are better/more right than others. This is divisive and causes issues eventually.
3) having a literal conquering messiah that will fix it all in the problems in the world removes the responsibility that each of us has to bring heaven to earth. Faith in a messiah is very comforting, but in the end it is only a comfort and relies on an outside entity to correct the cause of the discomfort.
Of course these are just my views. I am very much enjoying reading your post on this subject and look forward to reading more. Thank you for taking the time to put these thoughts into words for us all.
Justin,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Let me try to answer your questions one at a time.
(1). You mentioned “all biblical prophecy would come true regardless of if it was indeed prophecy or myth because we humans will seek to make them true… This does not make the prophecies in the bible worthless, it instead makes them insightful. Allowing us to use them to understand ourselves better.”
Hm. This is an extremely interesting comment. It seems to touch on the phenomenon we call “self-fulfilling prophecy”. We humans do tend to bring about what we believe will happen. When these are negative things we could have stopped, we may not have been motivated to stop them because we expected the negative event anyway. In contrast, people who feel empowered in bringing about a positive event will work more effectively to make it happen. They find themselves jumping on opportunities instead of dodging meteors. That is all just normal psychology.
But then there is the parapsychological effect that involves supernaturally influencing an event, I call it “bending the spoon”, a kind of mental or spiritual focusing to cause a change that we otherwise have no control over. If we become really metaphysical, we can speak about believing in something strongly enough that we bend time and space or jump into a parallel universe to cause it to be true.
When you talk about seeking to make something true, it can include psychology and parapsychology where the event really does change, and it also can include self-deception where the event you believe in really isn’t true. Sometimes doing this has positive benefits, in that strong false beliefs can strengthen determination and help people to organize and deal with what would otherwise be a chaotic world in which they feel totally helpless. Sometimes there is price to pay later on for the delusion.
Definitely as you say, allegorical meanings in the biblical accounts of prophecy can help us understand ourselves.
The thing about prophecy playing out literally through history is that they are external to us. They were spoken by a prophet centuries ago whether I am interested in believing them today or not. Some of them already came true before I was born. I didn’t interact with them. They just plain happened as foretold, and continue to happen. Even if I decide to not pay attention to them, to allegorize them, or to disbelieve them; they swill till do their thing and happen. I think paying some attention to them reminds us of a greater power and dimension enveloping us. That is comforting and empowering.
(2). You also mentioned “the idea of a literal conquering Messiah leads people into thinking that because they adhere to a faith that that messiah belongs to that they are better/more right than others. This is divisive and causes issues eventually.”
There are attitudes of pride and superiority in many individuals and groups who have not yet matured enough to deal with the ego and issues of identity and security. This is going to happen in every religion, that there are people who are at this lower level of spiritual development. When religious organizations have no tools or interest to deal with this, they block souls from evolving to their full potential. So this leads me to conclude that it is not the idea of a conquering Messiah that causes this, but the lack of knowing how to teach people about higher levels of spirituality.
The bible says the first thing Jesus will do when he comes back is rescue and humble the Jewish people and touch them as if piercing their hearts. The conquering Messiah represents to us, in the truest spiritual sense, the anointing, including that part of it within us, that triumphantly conquers pride…kind of a paradoxical idea, the ultimate hero conquers pride.
Churches these days are looking for answers and cutting new paths. There are a lot of religious books written starting with the title “Rethinking ….”. In time they will find the answers to these issues when they look for them. Younger generations in educated areas don’t want much to do with intolerance and self-righteousness, so the churches that don’t change will eventually shrink themselves out of existence. The Pope is doing a lot of reform that will effect large portions of the world’s population. Protestant churches are trying to emerge. Even some Evangelicals are beginning to ask a lot of interesting questions.
So my solution would focus more on fixing the church, so the conquering Messiah can be understood on a deeper level.
(3). Finally you mentioned, “having a literal conquering messiah that will fix it all in the problems in the world removes the responsibility that each of us has to bring heaven to earth. Faith in a messiah is very comforting, but in the end it is only a comfort and relies on an outside entity to correct the cause of the discomfort.”
These views you have are insightful and unfortunately realistic. They are reflective of many faults that have crept into the Romanized church. What can we expect; remember, this was the institution that once sold forgiveness for dead relatives.
The emerging church concept of “Messiah within” is a powerful remedy for overdependence on the helping hand that reaches down from the sky. It puts the responsible entity back inside us.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and allowing a healthy exchange of them. You questions helped me sort some things out, provide things to think about later, and I am certain it will stimulate a lot of readers who have been thinking along the same lines. I hope you will continue following and commenting on this series.
So are we gonna argue about the messiah or becoming our higher selves? The Word is Spirit, and it speaks Spirit and Life; The higher self life. Becoming the Christ(God consciousness), and staying in that dwelling place is the main theme of the Scripture! Let’s crucify our Ego, in the place of the skull, by renewing our minds through the baptism of meditation on the Word. Gotta stay spiritually charged in spirit and in truth, all the way through. Strength comes to those who wait on the LORD*Root* Delight in the Christ overflow with joy*Sacral* We have confident in the Christ for God conscience is wisdom and power and of a sound mind*SolarPlex* We love the Christ(God Conscience) with our all, as our brethren or neighbors*Heart* We speak the truth bringing the gospel of peace and good new about the Christ: The new creature, spiritual man, the kingdom within.*Throat* I have understanding and wisdom inhabited in Christ: The Spiritual Light.*Brow* We are all one, as spirit and matter are1.*Crown* Man and Christ are one marriage; therefore, let’s produce fruit of the spirit, so a person will taste of divine love:-). Amen.
David,
Thank you for your prayer for developing our higher selves and producing the fruit thereof. I am sure it will not go on deaf ears. Focusing on attaining and sustaining higher consciousness is the primary directive to each of us as individuals for our souls to mature, to connect with our source and one another.
I agree, that should not be sacrificed by over-focusing on needless details of religion. What I am addressing is a recent trend I esoteric circles to teach and encourage one another to focus out any details of religion whatsoever, some of which are necessary.
It is not the case that the age of prophecy is over. I think we make a mistake assuming it is done, settled and irrelevant. We are living in an age of prophecy as a historical work in progress. We are a part of it and our daily lives are affected by it. It will determine whether the world we walk and breath in will live in harmony, peaceful coexistence, or WW III. If affects the price of gasoline and other things we encounter on a daily basis. We are in the matrix of it, though we have a window to the light beyond it. If we want to keep ascending, I think we must learn how to share that light, specifically share it with the matrix we are in visitation with, but share it with that matrix without getting hung up in it.
Thank you for the very well-written article Robert. Justin hit the nail on the head in the first part.
Consider this if you will:
This world we call “reality” (lower case “r”) is actually nothing more than the world of “make believe”…literally. Humanity has been conditioned through the eons to accept what they’re taught as “true” and to cede their all-powerful focus to the control of others – others that are fully aware of this universal law – “where your attention goes, energy grows”.
Thus, the more people’s attention that can be focused on subject “x”, the greater energy that it receives, and ultimately “manifests” in this “reality of make believe”.
This “reality of make believe” is nothing but an ephemeral, temporary manifestation of ever-changing “energy” at the “physical” level (“consciousness” at the spiritual level). The only constant is change in this land of make believe.
Can we agree that the truth is always true…that the truth never changes?
If the truth can change, than truth could only be temporary, and thus unreliable over the long-haul. Not very satisfying if this is the case.
The most liberating question one can ask is, “what do I know for certain is absolutely true?” Not a “relative” truth, for instance “It is true that I had grape nuts for breakfast today. But an absolute truth. One that has never changed?
Where there is change, there is no truth. Rather, only a passing, ephemeral phenomena that appears different relative to the perceiver. In other words, a belief.
Beliefs are what the fighting and arguing are all about. “My belief is true, my story is true, this book is the truth”, etc.
Humanity as a whole has confused beliefs with truths. It can be safely said that no “beliefs” are “truths”. If there was such a belief, it would exit the “belief” category and enter into the realm of “truth”, would it not?
And the truth is self-evident. There is nothing to argue about. Truth needs no explanation, no defense, no analysis. It’s either a truth or a belief.
“All human beings need to breathe in order to survive”. That’s pretty much a truth we can all agree on. There might be a few highly evolved “human beings” on the planet that have transcended their body/mind/ego identity (enlightened) that might be able to disprove this, but they are not representative of the present state of humanity’s mass consciousness at this time. By and large, we can agree this is a “truth” though, yes?
Having studied the teachings of many masters, gurus, mystics, etc. from numerous traditions over the years, I have found that all have agreed when it comes to truth. There is only one that can be “known”. They continuously profess that they know nothing at all. And it is the recognition of this, that divine wisdom is born in the. The one and only truth that they claim they know is: “I exist”, or “I Am”.
“I Am that I Am:
“I Am the way, the truth and the light”
“Before Abraham was, I Am”
Or, as the Hindus would say, that first “word” that issued from Brahman (God) was (and still is) “Ommmmmmmm”, which translates to “I Am”.
All other “knowing” that we humans do, in truth, is simply believing.
We are believers extrodinaire! That’s what human beings are at the core.
“As a man thinketh (i.e. “believeth) in his heart, so is he.”
The operative phrase in this quote is “in his heart” (as it first appeared in KJV, since surreptitiously stripped from most modern biblical translations). And here lies the secret to our libration from the land of “make believe”. A land wholly and entirely projected by the human mind, “egoic consciousness”, metaphorically referred to as the devil or satan in the bible. For the human mind (ego) is in truth, nothing but a great “believer”. Knowing nothing, it has cleverly masqueraded “belief” for “truth” for eons. Since the “fall from grace” if you will. The mind is the great deceiver, the trickster. No horns or pitchfork needed.
That “fall from grace” was the shift from heart-based consciousness to mind-based consciousness. And since that time, humanity has been lost in the miasma of opposing beliefs which all stem from “the knowledge of good and evil”. Where “knowledge” represents human beliefs and “good and evil” represent the world of polarity/duality/opposing opposites.
The divine wisdom that emanates from the heart has taken a back seat to human knowledge. And chaos has ensued.
What we see playing out before us in this “outer reality” is nothing but the dominant human beliefs given the greatest attention, thus garnering the most energy and most apt to manifest. Have a look at the nightly news (propaganda engines) or standard television programming being pumped into hundreds of millions of households worldwide. They sell us fear, anger, judgment, outrage, pain, suffering, deceit, war. A massive proportion of the unsuspecting populace takes this all in on a daily basis without skipping a beat.
Is it then not a surprise what we see happening all around us?
Consider this if you will. And by all means, test it. Try it out. It’s of no use to believe or disbelieve what I’m saying here. Find out for yourself if this is possible; What if we have it backwards? What if “seeing is believing” is incorrect? What if this reality is actually “believing is seeing”? Is it possible that those seeking to control and hold down humanity know this universal law all too well?
The good news is, all this is about to change. It’s happening now. Humanity is making the shift back to the heart, one soul at a time. “The still small voice within (the heart)” is regaining its rightful position over the mind. Wisdom trumps knowledge. And divine wisdom is quite simply, love.
Another point to consider, briefly, is that all great mystics, masters, sages, gurus, saints across a multitude of religions/philosophies have unequivocally stated that there is no “time”, but only this present now moment. Eckhart Tolle being the most prominent in recent years. The past and future are simply more “ego mind” hard at work keeping us away from the “truth” and caught up in the land of “belief”.
With all that said, at most, the only thing that could be truly “prophesied” is a shedding of “belief”. A dropping away of all that is false (beliefs), with only the ever-present and eternal truth remaining. Absent all “beliefs”, the truth shall stand alone.
How humanity chooses to envisage this playing out in the “outer reality” is a function of the most dominant beliefs last to hold our attention. Ultimately, all beliefs will fade away and only the truth will remain.
The Messiah (Christ) is indeed within each and every one of us. It is not a singular human being, it the very truth of who we are. It is that which animates these elemental bodies, which we mistakenly believe is “me”. But these bodies are not who/what we are. We are Christ. We are our own saviors. All who search within with sincerity and persistence will come to realize this (enlightenment/awakening/self-realization).
“Be still and know I AM God.”
It is in silence, meditation, stillness where the truth is finally revealed. Inward attention. Withdrawing our focus as often as possible from the “outer reality” of “make believe”.
And one last thing in closing. Consider this; there is nothing to “fix”. This is another “belief” that keeps us forever looping around on the wheel of samsara. The only thing that needs “fixing” is the very belief in each of our minds that there is something to fix. As long as we continue believing there is something to fix, then the outer-reality will show us things we think need fixing. How simple is that?
By allowing everything to be as it is, perfection will then arise in our outer awareness.
By truly seeing (and thus believing) that there is nothing to fix and nothing to achieve, the truth will surely arise in your awareness and you will see that all is well. Always has been and always will be.
As the summary of “A Course in Miracles” so succinctly states:
“Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God”.
God = Love = Truth. Three words, same thing at the core. God is All-That-Is. All-That-Is is God.
If you’re interested in truly expert, mystical analysis of the old and new testament from one who had “eyes to see and ears to hear” I recommend Neville Goddard. All his books, lectures and audios are freely available online. Some of it is beyond the ego-mind’s ability to fully grasp or understand (as it must be) but nonetheless, he offers innumerable pointers to truth. He should help you affirm, as you suggest you suspect in your article (the “realm of the real” being the dominant belief patterns appearing momentarily), that the lessons in the bible are entirely allegorical. The linear, time-based movement from Abraham to Jesus is a metaphorical representation of each human’s evolving consciousness from darkness back to light, from separation back to unity, from fear back to love, from belief back to truth
It is a journey we all will surely take, if not in this lifetime, then in the next…
Thank you for sharing this article my friend.
I Am, we are!
Namaste,
-Brad
Brad,
I have read your comment twice. I will probably read it and reflect on it again. I am certainly interested in reading his works. I found them online available for free at
http://www.realneville.com/text_archive_pdf.htm, and http://nevillegoddard.wwwhubs.com/.
This is going to take awhile. I can also find summaries of his teachings online. Meanwhile, it looks to me that what is at the heart of our present difference in perspectives is whether prophecy plays out literally in the world we live in as something to be learned from, or whether it is just an illusion and the bible is a totally unhistorical allegory placed in that illusion as strictly an allegorical teaching tool to help advance us out of the illusion.
Here is what one reviewer of Neville’s work, who recommends it, says about this at http://themakelifebetterguy.com/neville-goddard-teachings:
“What may be even more controversial than Neville’s God personified claims are his claims that the Christian Bible is not a work of history, as many of the Christian faith believe, but is a fictional symbolic work and the symbolism represents humans cut off from their God source, and how this God source can be reclaimed. The events of the Bible didn’t really occur, according to Neville, but are representative of the internal struggle of humans losing and then regaining their God nature.”
So far I am not convinced that all the events in the bible didn’t really occur. As I mentioned in my comment to David, prophecy is not over, it is a work in progress even in our current history. To make that not so, someone in a location outside of the Middle East would have to invite all the Jewish people in Israel to move out and move in with them. But nobody has the inclination or the space. All attempts, to date, to settle them somewhere else has failed. They are providentially back in their homeland, both flourishing and floundering as a secular state which is spiritually yet to be revived… all foretold by prophecy. And there is absolutely no way we can undo the destruction of the Temple that occurred in 70 CE, which was also prophesied centuries before that. I have no knowledge of dreaming these two events into existence, or all the rest of history. I find with a little skill I can change the future, but I cannot change history. That is why I believe lessons from the historical perspective should be integrated with the allegorical perspective.
I agree with Neville Goddard that some of us can become enabled to change some things about the future though a spiritually awakened ability. He calls that “imagining”. People I know, including myself, have experienced this on occasion. He teaches that we are privileged to use “imaging” until we become aware of living in so much grace that it is not necessary. These are ideas that I would like to know more about.
Neville was taught everything Christians know about the bible by “a black Jew named Abdullah” according to the second reference I listed above. ??????. Sammy Davis’s conversion to Judaism does not sound strange. But this sound’s strange. I don’t know much about Abdullah, but like millions of other Americans I used to get automated phone calls on my cell from an Afro-American prophet named Manasseh Jordon wanting money for him or his staff to prophecy to me.
I will read up more on what Neville had to say, and get back to you on this. Thanks for bringing this to my attention to ponder over.
Blessings and Imaginings
Robert
Greetings Robert,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I’ll try to stay a bit more on point as my previous comment was somewhat intended to shift perspective away from the thinking/understanding/believing that we so naturally seem to want to default to. I’ll try to stick with the thinking nature this time around.
First, thank you for reading the comments a few times. That was a lot to take in. Perhaps more than I intended. It can all be quite overwhelming the first time it is seen. Sometimes those fingers just get to typing and the mind feeds supporting idea after idea and it gets away from me…heh! 🙂
As for Neville. It looks like you found his works. Here are some others.
Many of his lectures transcribed -> http://nevillegoddard.wwwhubs.com/Neville_Index.htm
(note, some of the content is far to difficult to comprehend and keep up with…not worth trying sometimes…)
And here is a link to his book “The Power of Awareness” which should lend some supporting guidance to my comment about “Where your attention goes, energy grows”…
http://www.thepowerofawareness.org/
Note, in the right hand column is the chapter navigation (kind of strange) and below that are links to many of his other books. Another I found highly inspiring is “Your Faith is Your Fortune”.
As to our perspectives, I don’t see us as having a “difference of perspectives”. I understand that is your perception at this time. More on that later…
To be direct, what I was trying to get across in the previous post was that biblical scripture is and was intended to be learned/absorbed by the spiritual initiates of that time under the watchful eye and tutelage of, for lack of a better term, an “enlightened master” or an “annointed Christos” as one at that time might have been seen to the Greek. I apologize for not knowing the Jewish term for the higher attainment of spiritual awareness.
The applicants of their day who proved their dedicated, earnest and sincere desire to study, understand and live the core initiate lessons were then ultimately admitted to studying and understanding the mysteries of scripture through a teacher with “eyes to see and ears to hear” if you will. These would have been called “mystery schools”, “esoteric teachings” or “occult teachings” in those days. This would begin the unraveling of what was previously “known (believed)” to be true by the initiates and the opening of the spiritual energies and thus, new states of spiritual awareness.
As you are probably aware, many of these mystery/occult schools were marginalized, punished and often destroyed throughout history. In ancient biblical times in Israel, the Essenes would be one such group. As you are probably aware, there were different “sects” of Essenes practicing various degrees of asceticism, poverty, denial, isolation, etc.. Not unlike various factions of Hinduism and Buddhism. But not all the Essene groups did the exact same thing. Generally it’s just been easier for historical scholars to lump all that didn’t fit into tidy categories like gentile, Pharisee, Sadducees , etc. into this group called “Essenes”. In other words, some Essenes understood “the mystery” better than others. The adjunct “sects” were generally those that couldn’t make the cut through the entire process of induction and went off and started their own “less informed” sects as it were. Anyway, I digress…
The only protection groups like some of the Essenes had against the more powerful, ruling forces and dominant ideology based on material control and fear was SECRECY.
I do not intend to delve into the “why the need for secrecy” in this post however…
I’m sure you’re familiar with the term “alchemy” or “alchemists”. Most today believe that alchemists were our earliest scientists/chemists/etc. and their ultimate goal was to turn base metals (e.g. lead) into precious metals (gold). Further, that they could create things like the “Philosopher’s Stone”, “Fountain of Youth”, “Elixer of Life”, etc.
But do a little research and you will come to find out that this was not what was really being taught at all. Their teachings and writings were all symbolic representations of an individual’s movement through consciousness/awareness. From the base egoic personality (lead) to the immortal/universal/eternal state of awareness (gold).
The teachers and masters of alchemy who wrote these works had to hide their wisdom. Only the earnest, honest and dedicated initiates would be shown the true meaning and symbology of the “chemistry/metal” lessons. This could literally take decades to unfold.
Suffice it to say, both scripture and alchemy demonstrate that secrecy was paramount and ultimately shared the same ultimate goal of awakening/liberation/enlightenment/self-realization.
In Neville’s case, he proved to be a remarkably dedicated student of the bible through his entire childhood and early adulthood. So much so, the “masters” were aware of him on another level of consciousness. When he arrived in NYC, Abdullah (the “black Ethiopian Jew”) had been expecting him for over a month according to, and unbeknownst to Neville. As I understand, the entirety of Abdullah’s instruction was through the Kabbalah. I’m not sure how you feel about it as differing Jewish groups have wildly varying opinions about it I believe, but I’m sure we can agree that the Kabbalah is regarded as the “esoteric” teachings originating through Judaism. Understanding opinions as to its validity may vary significantly.
Nevertheless, it was Neville’s Kabbalah studies that ultimately opened him up to greater levels of awareness so that scripture would eventually make sense to him as he proceeded through higher states of awareness achieving greater and greater understanding through the years.
In his later years, some of the things he said are virtually incomprehensible, despite his best efforts to communicate them. This phenomena occurs with enlightened masters around the world through the centuries who have attempted to translate spiritual awareness into the mundane world (land of “make believe” as I coined it in the earlier post). It just can’t be translated.
The reason I recommended Neville to you was two-fold. First, that he frequently quotes scripture and attempts to share the true symbolic/allegorical meaning in his writings. And second, because he recognized that, prior to a true awakening, his students could never really understand what he was sharing. Thus, the thrust of his teachings is that you can EXPERIENCE the truth of who you are through your imagination/belief/feeling nature by learning to bypass the miasmic dross of the mind’s seemingly never-ceasing ramblings.
This matches what so many masters/gurus/sages have said throughout the centuries;
“The truth cannot be known, it can only be EXPERIENCED”.
In short, the human egoic mind was designed to understand absolutely NOTHING about the TRUTH, thusly only enabled to believe. It is an absolute impossibility to “figure things out” as a human.
Neville understood that for his students to come to trust and believe in his teachings, they must first gain first-hand experience of their true powers. There are innumerable teachers today teaching this falling under several categories like the “law of attraction”, “co-creation” and “manifestation techniques” etc. His hope that one would then move beyond the “physical desires” and be moved to truly dive in and taste the spiritual waters of liberation of course…
You are quite correct in calling his teachings “controversial”. I’d say “massively controversial” would be more accurate! 🙂 No doubt. That he is quoted as saying “none of the events in the bible actually occurred” is not precisely accurate, at least from the human, egoic understanding and relationship to the construct we call “time”.
I would agree with him, as many mystics/sages/masters/gurus etc. that I’ve studied have shared, that in terms of the ABSOLUTE TRUTH, that none of the events ever REALLY occurred. In saying this though, we delve into the realm of the so-called “dream” or “illusion”. Two of the best words that can be found in the english language to use metaphorically, yet highly misleading.
The word “illusion” is so often casually tossed around by many on the spiritual path. Yet I believe most misunderstand it profoundly. It is neither useful, nor helpful in my opinion to walk around believing all this is an “illusion” and can thusly be ignored or treated as unreal or unimportant. Nor do I believe the masters who have referred to this reality as an illusion intended this, although this is how it is often understood. But rather, what they were attempting to convey is that all the labels, definitions, beliefs that “I know” is in fact the illusion. For example, you, me, bird, ocean, water, temple, United States, Israel, sky, cat, tree, rock, house, car, etc. etc. etc. These “labels” are the “illusion”. These things are “there” (at least temporarily in relation to eternity), they just aren’t what we’ve “named” them. In truth, we don’t know what they are. They are a mystery! This “belief that we know” is sometimes referred to as the egoic “veil/overlay/insertion”.
“Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”
The eyes of innocence. The state of “not knowing”. Humility…
Enlightenment/Awakening is the falling away of this veil/overlay where the truth is finally seen/experienced (but not known by the mind).
“I and my father are one”
“It is not I that do these things, but it is my father who does these things through me”
Such were attempts by Jesus at communicating and conveying the experience of self-realization. Said another way, “There is neither me, nor my father, there is but the nameless one, and I AM (IS) that one. There is no other…
How remarkably simple it is to misunderstand….
Neville was not saying “all the events in the bible did not occur” relative to human perception, but rather relative to spiritual/eternal awareness. This brings me back to resolving the idea that you thought we may perhaps disagree. I’m in perfect agreement with you that prophesied events in the old testament have indeed come to pass (most recently, the re-establishment of the nation of Israel as you point out), relative to our awareness. Further, I have no doubt more will arrive in our “future”, culminating in the return of the “Messiah”. Indeed it must be so. Only it will not be a single individual as many of the replies to your post have pointed out, but rather the awakening of Christ within the hearts of all of humanity as its final crescendo. In its finality, all in the “twinkling of an eye”.
However, one need not wait for, nor anticipate the final crescendo. Which, as I understand it anyway, will occur when the power of the living, breathing awakened humans on earth reaches a certain number that overpowers the lesser egoic consciousness that dominates today and throughout recorded history. That number I’ve read about is 144,000. I realize this appears in the Book of Revelation….
As I’ve come to understand, the awareness/consciousness of one who is enlightened is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 to 2000 times more powerful (entraining) than the base-level egoic consciousness of humanity at this time. Thus, if say 1500 unawakened people were in the presence of a “higher than average” awakened soul, the awakened being’s consciousness (peace, love, bliss, compassion, kindness, etc.) would ultimately prevail within all. Whereas, in a crowd of say 2500 for instance, egoic consciousness (fear, judgment, worry, guilt, anger, etc.) would prevail and entrain that group.
Many stories, and personal encounters I’ve had of my own around enlightened beings, lend credibility to this idea for me personally. So many stories of remarkable experiences, visions, fear dropping away, never before experienced love arising out of nowhere, uncontrollable laughter and tears, awakenings, etc. that I’ve had, read, and heard about. This is the “entraining vibration” that an enlightened being holds.
What doesn’t add up is 144,000 x even 2000 does not equal 7 billion people (a bit less than 300 million actually). So I can only surmise that either the number 144,000 is not accurate, or when that day does arrive, that not only the enlightened beings, but humanity’s consciousness will be so much higher on the whole, that the final crescendo will occur; the full return of the “messiah” within all.
Regardless, you can achieve this recognition (enlightenment) here and now if you so desire. Or, you can wait like the majority will do. Neither is right nor wrong. Simply differing experiences.
As to your comments about not dreaming all the events throughout history (like the destruction of the temple), quite so indeed. And again, from the human perspective, that is quite impossible, of course. But perhaps you are not really the human you “believe/think” you are. Perhaps such is the “dream/illusion” of I AM. Perhaps I AM has indeed dreamed these events into their apparent existence; all events to be precise.
I greatly encourage you to learn more about “imagining” through whatever teacher best resonates with you. There are thousands. Neville is a great start and I feel quite appropriate with your religious background. As Neville repeats quite frequently, “God is your own wonderful human imagination”….”use it as it was originally intended to dream of love, beauty, peace, kindness, brotherhood, happiness, sharing, giving, goodness for all mankind, etc. etc.”.
Haha, love the story about the telemarketing calls Manassah Jordan. Funny! Indeed, run as fast as you can from someone who says “I know” and “you can know too with my help”. Should you wish for a teacher, seek the wisest amongst us who claim to know nothing at all and offer you nothing in return.
Like Neville, I don’t encourage you to “believe” or “trust” anything he has said or I have said. In effect, you would simply be replacing one set of beliefs for another. It will have little impact on your life or the lives of others (belief replacement).
As Neville encourages, follow his essential teachings using your imagination. Practice dreaming up something wonderful for yourself, or better yet, for loved ones or even strangers around you. The power of imagination amps up significantly when all the effort isn’t made to “get stuff for me” (egoic selfishness). Not that there is anything wrong with wanting things in your life of course. But many jump into this trying to manifest a million dollars, a Ferrari, mansion, yada yada yada which is not what the REAL you desires.
If your curiosity is piqued, simply try it out when you feel you have a sufficient understanding of his teachings (the two free online books I recommend earlier are a wonderful start). It isn’t difficult, but it also doesn’t work the way we “think” things work. Thus, the mind will jump in often to “help out”, which will truly be the greatest hinderance for starters.
As he teaches, the only thing that can quash your dream is “doubt/disbelief” in your power to imagine the life of your dreams. And in the beginning, it will surely have its way with you. I can’t tell you how many people I know that have made an effort at this, only to say a week/month later “I knew it wasn’t really true and it wouldn’t work”. And there you have it. Their doubt and disbelief manifested perfectly. As you believe, so shall you see.
So in summary, I feel we are in perfect agreement for the most part. Our only difference lies in understanding the original intention of scripture, which I believe was never intended to portend future “events in the realm of the real” as you’ve coined this reality. But rather, these stories were symbolic teachings intended to represent stages of the awakening spiritual consciousness. However, I think we agree that many of these prophecies have indeed played out throughout our perceived human history, and will continue until the culmination. The point of my post was to suggest that this has occurred as a result of the power of human belief (imagination) to manifest events into this reality. A most fascinating thing to bear witness to indeed.
The return of the Messiah in its fullness is the day we all fall gracefully out of the dream of separation and fear and return to the REALITY of love, our true and eternal nature – so agree all the enlightened masters I’ve studied. Until that day, dream the happiest, most beautiful dreams for yourself and all sentient life in the universe.
I wish you a joyful and exciting dream and remembering my friend. Good luck with your Nevill studies. And BTW, I know nothing at all….really! 😉
Blessings and imaginings indeed!
-Brad
Brad,
Reviewing your comment a second time, it is truly an in-depth explanation of the normative values embraced by many subgroups of esoteric culture. They were exciting to ponder when I first heard them, not even so well-expressed, years ago. They include an infusion of Eastern religious concepts and provided a framework for reaching for the more subtle experience of higher consciousness, that has been neglected by mainstream Western religion. Unfortunately, some of this infusion has been commercialized in attractive, watered-down packages, creating a self-sustaining culture that is market-based. In other words, people wanting self-help theology have tuned in to this version and now authors who want to make a living cater to the same version.
The “Course on Miracles” is a case in point. The primary author was a professor of psychology who experimented with channeling and experienced what she believed to be to a download of wisdom from God. A lot of the wisdom turned out to be a reflection of her mother’s involvement with offbeat groups like Christian Science and her own fanciful interest, as an agnostic Jew, with worship of Mary in Catholicism. Her supervisor encouraged her to keep channeling and after several years of accumulating messages, he introduced her to other people who had some knowledge of other religions and “New Thought” theology, and were interested in revising her downloads to produce a marketable book and a teachable course in self-help spirituality. When Oprah picked it up, it went viral. People who had never been exposed to Eastern or Western religion, or anything the slightest esoteric, where lapping it up like water in the desert. Part of the underlying message was what is real is unreal, so there is no need to be afraid because what is really real is unconditional acceptance and nurturing, not the world of illusion.
This is a liberating message. The problem is that the explanations and descriptions of reality and illusion were instant pop aphorisms which did not explain what reality and illusion really are as understood by Eastern religions. The professor’s business partners threw in their splattering of Christianity and “New Thought” metaphysics into it to widen its marketability to Westerners. So what you got was a mish mash of self-help branded spirituality that took on a life of its own apart from the professor’s channeled messages. Before the professor passed away, she was miserably depressed and made disparaging remarks about the Course and wished she’d never gotten involved with it. There were legal battles over the copyright for the Course. Millions of people who got the books or attended the course were the forerunners of the continuing market that had been created and demanded to be fed the diet they were used to. This course, especially, encouraged divorcement from reality and disassociation with historical value of the bible. It created an attachment to a new subcultural norm, instead of an open minded quest for wisdom. You can verify much of what I have described by googling “Criticism of A Course on Miracles”.
This creates a problem for me now that I have gotten used to the new popular metaphysical explanations of reality, illusion, relative truth, etc. They are oversimplified, easily misconstrued, and can lead to a new form of myopia if we do not reevaluate them and their popularly-held implications, such as about the value of historicity. We need reassessment, balance, and integration. These are all values esteemed in Kabbalah.
So in effect, I am saying something does need fixing, namely the fix that unfixed us from open mindedness. We must proceed with this the same way Krishna persuaded Arjuna to lead his chariot according to time-honored principles instead of by passion and comfort, thus persuading him to not just let everything be as it is.
I do not want to discourage you or anyone from embracing Eastern mysticism, which fills a void in Western mainstream religion. I will continue to meditate and experience connectedness and mindfulness and whatever revelations they lead me to embrace. I appreciate your effort to try to explain your metaphysical concepts. They are not easy to convey. I think you did a very good job. You have a much better handle on them than a person would obtain from the Course in Miracles. I find your explanations inspiring. I will continue to reread them. The only thing I disagree with is the avoidance of biblical history, which I believe so far is an artificially imposed subcultural norm, not a revelation. I may change my mind. So I look forward to your comments. Meanwhile I will continue to try to influence yours.
Blessings and Namaste
Robert
Greetings Robert,
You are truly a beautiful soul blossoming into new understandings and greater spiritual awareness. I admire and praise your open-mindedness and willingness to thoughtfully consider new information. This is what it ultimately takes to free oneself from the illusion/dream.
I agree wholeheartedly with your assessments of “some (maybe even “most”)” new age thought as well as the path “A Course in Miracles” has taken. As with all things, once egoic consciousness gets a hold of something “divinely inspired” so to speak, it quickly becomes distorted, altered, mistranslated, misunderstood, etc. etc. Egoic consciousness ceaselessly wishes to “take” and “get” for “me”. What ensues is always a loss of coherence, a loss of meaning, a loss of the essential, intended guiding principles of said works. True for ACIM, true for the bible, true for the Koran, true for Torah, true for the Kabbalah. Happens each and every time – no exceptions I’m aware of.
As the pithy saying so aptly goes; “God provides and man divides”
And so it is…
During my own personal “spiritual revolution”, I read literally countless books, ACIM one amongst many. My journey actually began, believe it or not, with the Kabbalah. I learned some rudimentary Hebrew, some numerology along the way. It was an exciting time and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thousands of books/videos/articles/recordings later, through every religious work I could get my hands on (Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sufism, Hermetic literature, Egyptian mysticism, Zoroastrianism, Advaita-Vedanta, New Age, channeled material, and on and on. I rejected nothing that was absent “judgment”, which became my guiding principle throughout the journey.
Following this was a brand new appreciation for scripture. A brand new set of eyes that saw the beauty, the wisdom, the brilliance contained in scripture. Something I previously despised, resisted and criticized my entire adult life (as per the mainstream Christian understanding and teachings of sin, hell, repentance, satan, etc.). I went from a hatred of all that Jesus represented to absolute love and astonishment at just how remarkable his journey was, and how perfectly his words matched those of the masters/sages/gurus/etc. from all the other traditions. I saw nothing but perfect harmony between them all. And I was filled with so much love for him, and how deeply misunderstood his message was then, and remains to this day (to the masses).
And then one day, that “aha, I see” arose out of nowhere (as it always does). Enveloped in a profound depth of love so incompressible, so all-encompassing, it all made perfect sense in that moment – this is real, this is the truth – I KNEW it – was undeniable. It was so remarkably obvious. Then I AM (Love) gave this body I called “me” in this incarnation the biggest hug imaginable. I basked in this experience for days. When I slipped back into egoic consciousness, I at last knew that I don’t know and I knew that nobody “knows”. The seeking ended there and then and life has been a magical ride of grace, ease and flow ever since. I wish this experience upon the world daily for those who are seeking “Truth/God”.
For those who already believe they “know the truth”, I wish them well on their chosen journey. Again I digress…
So as to your comments about Eastern influence, commercialization, etc. Yes of course. These distortions have always happened, and will continue as egoic consciousness remains dominant. I have no doubt we can find “legitimate criticism” of all “unprovable” works, claims, faiths, religions, belief systems, etc. I neither recommend nor discourage ACIM as a worthwhile course of study. It is one path toward the light that works for some, but never all. Disillusionment is guaranteed for those not ready and open to its message.
I’m very aware of all the problems, arguments, alterations, distortions, etc. that have ensued since its publication, and still to this day. All works of this nature generate enormous controversy.
In truth, ACIM was a book appropriate for the times (70s-80s) and the dominant consciousness of that era in the west. While it can still be a valuable tool for greater spiritual awareness today, it was largely a “mind-based” teaching. The thrust was, as I understand, to gently release the egoic mind’s grip and belief that “I know”. A precursor for a follow-up work that arrived in the 90s. That series was wholly “heart-based” and offered a simpler, and more powerful way forward (Love). Notwithstanding of course, that ACIM could and does achieve the same end result for many. Neither one “better than the other”. Simply different methodologies.
My intent was not to recommend ACIM to you, but rather just the summary which I find most telling in its simplicity.
As to authors, commercialization, exploitation of “new age thought” and or “Eastern mysticism”, again, I’m wholly in agreement with you. No religious movement or spiritual belief system I’m aware of remains untainted, unexploited, un-abused through the annals of time. Dare I say, we can count on it happening, again and again and again, yes?
For ultimately, egoic consciousness is “misperception” at its very core. And with this misperception begins the apparently ceaseless sin (forgetful, unconscious, absent, “missing the mark”) as humans remain caught in their minds, lost in the past or the future. Thoughts, concepts, ideas, beliefs ceaselessly intruding on the “peace that passeth all understanding”. Absent to the Present…where peace lies awaiting our attention.
Egoic consciousness – Forgetting – For Getting
Divine consciousness – Forgiving – For Giving
You said: “Part of the underlying message was what is real is unreal, so there is no need to be afraid because what is really real is unconditional acceptance and nurturing, not the world of illusion.”
Yes indeed. Fear is the opposing force of Love. As long as fear remains within us, Love cannot fully return and take its rightful place in the “drivers seat”. Fear is born, lives and dies in the mind – it is always a thought of the “future”. When it is given consistent attention and believed, it manifests!
You said: “This is a liberating message. The problem is that the explanations and descriptions of reality and illusion were instant pop aphorisms which did not explain what reality and illusion really are as understood by Eastern religions. ”
Yes indeed again. Spot on my friend. See my previous reply to you that is still awaiting moderation for my thoughts on this exact subject – we are in perfect agreement yet again. Namely the confusion that arises with the popular understanding of “the illusion”.
You said: “This creates a problem for me now that I have gotten used to the new popular metaphysical explanations of reality, illusion, relative truth, etc. They are oversimplified, easily misconstrued, and can lead to a new form of myopia if we do not reevaluate them and their popularly-held implications, such as about the value of historicity. We need reassessment, balance, and integration. These are all values esteemed in Kabbalah.”
Oh how correct you are again my friend. So easily misconstrued that it’s virtually a CERTAINTY that profound confusion will arise as one is introduced to these concepts, for they stand in direct opposition to what is firmly believed! The underlying issue is always that “I know”…again….and again….and again (rinse and repeat a million times over). As one attempts to learn the concepts, that all-familiar “I know” arises, takes over and maintains control for as long as it can. Never knowing, always believing.
The Kabbalah is a wonderful path I wholeheartedly recommend for those that resonate with it. As I mentioned in the prior post, this is what Abdullah used to teach Neville. I credit it with opening my awareness massively in the beginning. Why I chose to move on from it I cannot say for certain. I “believe” I was destined to come full circle on the teachings of Jesus – something I resisted violently for the first 3 years of my journey, having been raised in a very conservative Christian home. I remain the only “black sheep” of the family to this day…hahaha 🙂
You said: “So in effect, I am saying something does need fixing, namely the fix that unfixed us from open mindedness. We must proceed with this the same way Krishna persuaded Arjuna to lead his chariot according to time-honored principles instead of by passion and comfort, thus persuading him to not just let everything be as it is.”
Well said. However, this is indeed a tricky area (fixing) – easily misunderstood. I totally understand. Let me at least attempt to clear this up…
Have you heard of the Hermetic maxim “As above, so below”? Well worth a bit of research if not. Expanding this concept, one can say “as within, so without”. Here lies the essence of Jesus’ wisdom – “The kingdom of heaven lies within you”. What does that really mean? There are many different beliefs and interpretations about this quote. Suffice it to say, that which is “within” is everything that IS NOT “without”…vis-a-vis the “picture screen/movie” we view outside of ourselves or “the realm of the real” as you coined it. Thus, that which remains in the “within” category are thoughts, beliefs, emotions.
In your spiritual studies you may have run across guidance or advice many times stating something to the effect of “you must do the ‘inner work’ first”. In other words, in order to see the changes you seek in the “outer reality” your “inner reality” must change first (as within, so without).
This “inner work”, however presented by a particular spiritual system, largely consists of withdrawing judgment, dropping fears, the loosening of the “I know” mentality, in whatever form the teaching takes. Whether that be practical exercises, counseling, mantras, chants, meditation, conscious breathing, etc. This is the ultimate goal – to “empty your cup of ‘worldly knowledge’ so that your cup may be filled with ‘divine wisdom'”. As it might be stated in some Eastern mysticism (Buddhism), “Emptiness then becomes fullness”, “Nothingness leads to everything-ness”. Same ideas here, simply shared in different ways.
As you become that “empty cup”, you become open to the whole of Divine wisdom, all that you’ll ever need to know in any given situation/moment becomes available to the one who remains the “empty cup”. No attachment, no “holding onto”, no grasping, no attempting to “keep it for oneself”. It comes when needed, and goes when not.
Okay, that’s a lot of build up…sheesh! 🙂
So what needs fixing? That which is “within” each and every one of us (thoughts, beliefs, ideas, emotions). For that which is “within” becomes out-pictured “without” onto the film of the “realm of the real” by each and every one of us. Herein lies the “first cause”.
How much access do we have to that “first cause” – what the masses believe and feel? They feel and believe what they are taught to feel and believe. Those that have controlled this world for millennia have a stranglehold on the “outer influence” – mass media, mass entertainment, prevailing mass religious thought/expertise/translation, government, banking, corporations. They run it all, soup to nuts.
You and I, and even a legion of 1,000,000 like-minded souls don’t stand a chance against this behemoth. That is, we don’t stand a chance of “fixing the outer results” we see in the world around us which is being born continuously “within” the masses. This is akin to bailing out the water of a leaky boat continuously rather than simply patching the hole. Fixing what we “see in the outer” is folly. The fix needed is an “inside job”.
There must be another way – some hope. And indeed I firmly believe there is!
That hope, largely spoken about in new agey circles, channeled messages, etc. is personal vibration, or “entrainment” (as I speak of in my previous reply to you). In short, your personal vibration (frequency, feeling nature) is contagious to those around you. Depending on the consistency and strength of your personal vibration (inner feeling world), results will be become visible accordingly.
Strong, consistent feelings of love, kindness, compassion, peace, bliss, joy are far and away the most powerful and most entraining. Those around you will have only two choices: Join you within this vibration (most often unconsciously) or exit your sphere of influence, choosing instead to remain in fear/judgment and the like. You are in effect like kryptonite to those that choose to entertain lower vibrational thoughts and feelings. They can’t stand to be around you and will always find a reason to move away, either consciously or unconsciously.
In effect, love trumps fear – joy trumps worry – passion trumps guilt – bliss trumps depression – peace trumps chaos, and on and on…exponentially!
You, my friend, are clearly of the higher vibrations. And however high you are now, you can arise still higher, and higher and higher with no end in sight. You are shifting those around you, most certainly unconsciously to you and them, but perhaps also consciously if you’ve become aware of “positive” changes you’ve noticed with those around you.
This is the way forward as I understand it. Quite simply, be in peace, be in Love, be in joy and the rest will take care of itself. The more of us “Being that which wish we wish to see in the world (Gandhi – who studied the Bhagavad Gita daily)”, the faster the “problems that need fixing” fade away.
Take notice of where you’re vibrating in any given situation, and take notice of how those consistently around you behave in return. You will see quite clearly when you become PRESENT and aware to your “inner world”!
We all have, or at least have had experiences with certain people we just didn’t get along with, didn’t like, hated to be around, etc. What great lessons we can learn with them if the effort is given. That’s a whole different post, but suffice it to say, quite simply, when you change your long-held opinion of said person, and instead CHOOSE to interact with them while feeling love and kindness to them, simply watch how that relationship changes…dramatically! See them anew with the eyes of innocence and the heart of love. Anyway….
If you only find this explanation semi-convincing, which is perfectly fair, then consider the more esoteric explanation. That in fact, all is perfect in every moment, despite the certain protestations from ego-mind (war, terror, crime, violence, bigotry, illness, etc.). What is seen in the “outer reality” is always and forever a perfect reflection of what is coming from within – aka “beliefs manifest”. This idea is hard to come to grips with I realize.
Consider this. You’re certainly familiar with hypnotherapy. Herein lies a wonderful example. People who want to lose weight, fix opinions, fix relationships, quit smoking, etc. have been helped immensely (although often for only a relatively short period of time) through hypnotherapy. How does it work?
A skilled hypnotherapist is able to subtly move one’s egoic consciousness to the side. This is the “belief engine” saying “I can’t seem to lose weight now matter how hard I try, I failed to quit smoking a thousand times, I can’t reconcile these problems with my partner no matter what I do”…and on and on and on. As these beliefs are “believed” in the “inner reality”, so are then reflected and seen in the “outer reality”.
As I’m sure you know, once the belief engine (ego) is moved aside, the hypnotherapist then gently suggests new beliefs opposing what was previously believed matching the desires of the patient. And voila, success in most cases…for the short term anyway.
And why aren’t the majority successful in the long term? The good old belief engine takes over again and overtakes the hypnotherapists opposing suggestions over time.
Thus, the “Inner (Real) You” is always delivering to “the me (ego)” that which is believed most strongly. You have “Free will” to believe whatever you choose…and you get to see it quite clearly and convincingly in the “outer reality” where it becomes your “truth”.
That’s about as clearly as I can at this time explain the “Nothing needs fixed” subject. What needs “fixing” is inside each one of us. And rather than trying to fix the institutions or the people in the “outer reality”, it is the beliefs, and thus the vibration of the inner reality that requires adjustment. A near impossible task to do with words, new laws, changing agendas, etc. with the behemoth opposing force operating with absolute impunity (seemingly in the physical anyway).
But what that force cannot combat is the force of love, peace, bliss, joy within. It is exponentially more powerful than all the controlling institutions that seem to hold our attention so completely away from the present moment.
Again, I encourage you to not “believe” what I said. As always, the proof is in the pudding. Find that love, peace, joy, bliss within (which is always and ever available) and then watch how those around you begin to behave. Words never suffice…you will be astonished!
And I want to make clear about the many references I’ve had about the “controllers” I’ve alluded to periodically. While I’m firmly aware this force is in existence presently, I hold nothing but love for them. They are the ones that delivered the “evil” we all chose to believe in through the eons. On the physical level, they are despised by all. But in the higher levels of awareness, they will be seen and thanked immensely for having taken on this most difficult task, for wearing the most stifling and blinding “veils” in order to carry out the apparent atrocities humanity has been a party to over the millennia. They are the most “cut off” and “far removed” from their source amongst us. And the only remedy is love. Not punishment and not judgment.
I realize that’s a remarkably tough pill to swallow, let alone sell. But nonetheless, I had to point that out. For if we are all one, than nobody should be excluded from our loving thoughts, despite whatever “acts” they carry out in the outer reality. Sharing and intending anything other than Love toward anybody only perpetuates the illusion that much longer….
Love heals all things
I will say I don’t see what I shared as eastern vs. western mysticism, although it may be quite clear to you (and most others) that this is what I’ve done. I see no distinction any longer – no categories. I have been heavily influenced by many any eastern traditions no question. However, pointers to the truth are pointers to the truth, however conveyed.
What I attempted to convey is, however this mind has best come to comprehend “the great mystery” and translate it into lackluster words. Said words are open to each individual’s interpretation and are, as you pointed out so eloquently, very often greatly misunderstood.
What I hope, and sense is that you picked up on the deeper resonance of these words; a refreshing lack of judgment perhaps; a feeling or sense that I’m not saying “I’m right and I know, and therefore you’re wrong” perhaps (although it will quite certainly come across to some that this is how my words seemed to them…c’est la vie).
I put forth that on the physical level, everybody is “right”, for this reality attracts to each one of us apparent masses of evidence that that which we believe is in fact quite true. And yet on the spiritual level, everybody (who thinks they’re a “somebody”) is most certainly “wrong”, for this outer reality is but a temporary appearance of “light and shadow” dancing ever so briefly within the eternal All-That-Is.
I thank you deeply for your words in the closing paragraph. Each of us are individuals (for now anyway) and will naturally form differing opinions and beliefs. This is to be expected, and frankly celebrated! There is much beauty and joy in our diversity. How boring a world it would be if we all believed the same things. What comes next in our brief history is most certainly just such a celebration. Where we celebrate and enjoy our differences of opinion rather than fighting to impose them on each other. My deepest “belief” and hope is that this time is much closer than any of us fully realize.
I thank you deeply for your kind words. I appreciate all you’ve said as well as making a very sincere effort to comprehend what I’ve shared. You’ve done a most admirable job and I feel, gotten the gist of what I said in full. Most certainly, more will reveal itself in time as these “difficult to convey concepts” are absorbed more deeply, beyond the mind’s natural grasping for understanding. You are a wise soul indeed my friend.
And for the record, you have influenced me deeply, and will continue to do so. Perhaps not in the way you intended with your original post, but you have nonetheless in more ways than one. Most namely, that you have strongly reinforced my hope and belief that humanity at large is opening up, at ever-deeper levels, to allowing new ways of viewing and interpreting our most ancient and sacred wisdom shared across all cultures since time immemorial. For the truth is in plain sight, be it eastern, western, new-age, ancient, mystical or plain language teachings. It matters not. The truth is everywhere but in our minds. Once it is finally seen, you will have the deepest and most joyful, longest lasting laughter of your life. And your joy will be so utterly contagious, you will bring those around you that you love most to the same discovery of joy, freedom, peace, laughter and love without so much as lifting a finger!
Peace be unto you. Happy discoveries and joyful remembering. I wish you the deepest taste of “that peace that passeth all understanding” in your very near future if you haven’t already arrived there yet.
Namaste,
-Brad
Brad,
One more note. I fully support the mystical concept of influencing what we perceive as reality by focusing on the more harmonious aspects of what we would like it to be. I don’t know if we really change reality, or just change our perception of it, or maybe eliminate negative attitudes that would otherwise sabotage our efforts to attain it. When I have done this, it seems like I have really changed reality. But it is difficult to be objective.
I can understand how with the wrong attitude, historical perspectives could interfere with experiencing harmony, but I do not think they have to if approached with the right perspective.
I also do not know what happens in higher levels on the Kabbalah tree of life. At lower levels, we readjust perceptions of levels below and integrate them with newly experienced levels above. So I see myself integrating aspects of New Thought theology with readjusted aspects of Christianity. In fact, this is what my “inner voice” advised me to do a few years ago. So I have been on a mission to carry it out, exploring the new and seeing how it fits with the old and vice versa.
Also I wanted to make sure I did not discourage anyone from channeling. In the particular case of A Course in Miracles, there were negative consequences of an agnostic Jew with a dabbling of offbeat Christianity exploring something new for her, without much background or guidance from people who are more experienced in channeling; and then her experiences got hijacked for commercial use. There are all kinds of approaches to channeling. I probably don’t agree with all of them, but I acknowledge that some of it can be very valuable. I have problems with the Quran which states that it was obtained by Muhammad channeling from the archangel Gabriel, not so much in the original messages, but in the disorganized compilation of them which lends itself so readily to misinterpretation. Those Muslims who are anti-Semitic claim the Quran says Jews are pigs and apes. This is not what the Quran says although it does use the words pigs and apes as a nasty metaphor to describe apostate Jews who violated their own laws. The problem is that the compilation of these channeled messages lends itself to this kind of abuse. So I humorously raise the question, “What was Gabriel Thinking?” when he dictated the messages like this. Didn’t the archangel realize what a mess this would cause down the line?
Of course the Christians who called Jews “Christ killers” in the Middle Ages were far worse. They had no plan to accommodate Jews who did not convert. Islam theoretically does accommodate Jews who are faithful to their own laws and are cooperative with, and not a hindrance to, Islamic domination of territory. This is still not the ideal we need in the 21 st century world where people need to just call it quits and learn to to get along.
Therefore, I don’ favor discarding the Quran or the Bible. They just need to be interpreted by eyes that are pure and full of compassion.
You said: “I don’t know if we really change reality, or just change our perception of it,”
Reality (truth) is, has been and always will remain unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. Your personal, temporary ‘reality’ IS your belief/imagination (inner world) being perceived in the “outer”. And yes indeed, it behooves you to believe and imagine beautiful and wonderful things for yourself, and for all.
You said: “When I have done this, it seems like I have really changed reality. But it is difficult to be objective.”
Yes indeed, you have changed your personal reality. I dare say it is nearly impossible to be objective as well. This is to be expected. In fact, you are doing it this moment…and this moment….and this moment…..continuously. New thoughts, attitudes and beliefs bring the “changes”. The same thoughts, beliefs, attitudes bring “more of the same”, thus firmly entrenching the “I know the truth” notion that much deeper. You need not comprehend or understand it so much. The proof will be in you living and experiencing it.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks……hmmm?
You said: “I can understand how with the wrong attitude, historical perspectives could interfere with experiencing harmony, but I do not think they have to if approached with the right perspective.”
Well said. By dropping the seemingly intractable ideas of fear, exclusivity, judgment, punishment, righteousness, etc. that seem so firmly entrenched in so many of the world’s spiritual and religious belief systems, a new and beautiful harmony arises within. No matter which religion/philosophy, they can indeed be most easily interpreted as inclusive, loving, compassionate and attainable by all, regardless of a particular belief system.
These “lesser vibrations/beliefs” are the lies we’ve been sold. The only judge is each one of us that chooses to pass judgment on the “outer reality”. “Hell” is what we live each day we choose to entertain fear. The “chosen ones” are those that choose themselves – that choose to move back into their true nature, which is simply love.
You said: “So I see myself integrating aspects of New Thought theology with readjusted aspects of Christianity. In fact, this is what my “inner voice” advised me to do a few years ago. So I have been on a mission to carry it out, exploring the new and seeing how it fits with the old and vice versa.”
Wonderful my friend, simply wonderful. That “inner voice” is truly all that is needed. Most of us have a hard time hearing it…most of the time. But that is indeed the ticket. The day will come for you when you hear it clearly and consistently. That day you will no longer believe you require any “outer” teaching of any kind.
I encourage you on your exploration to harmonize the old and the new. I see absolute harmony between them, and I hope you will discover this too.
And you are quite right to question “channeling” on the whole. Much channeled material has indeed been brought forth by, shall we say, dark entities masquerading as “beings of light”. As always, one need only sense how such channeled work makes one “feel” inside. This is your guiding light. As I mentioned previously, anytime I sensed even an inkling of judgment, I dropped it immediately. I was quite blessed and guided on my journey.
That being said, I read dozens of channeled message every week, and have been doing so for over 7 years now. Some have been dropped along the way, some new ones have been added to my rotation. As always, simply go with what you feel.
I can’t claim I know nary a thing about all you say regarding the Koran, Muhammad, Muslims, AA Gabriel, etc. It all sounds quite pejorative, unkind and nasty – i.e. “judgmental”. Therefore, I personally would immediately reject it on that basis alone as having been heavily influenced by “the controllers”, despite what were most likely the best intentions of the channel him/herself.
As I learned long ago, “what easier way to sell a lie than to sprinkle it with the truth”. Having no apparent way to determine which scripture is “true” versus which is “untrue”, the task seems hopeless (for the mind anyway). However, as I also learned long ago, you can always trust your feelings. How do the words and ideas make you feel? When you stop and pay attention, it will become obvious. You will no longer need an authority figure to tell you what it means or to clarify your apparent confusion and uneasiness.
Is it loving, kind, joyful, playful, inclusive, sharing, giving, helpful? The feeling is unmistakable. Is it scary, worrisome, troubling, guilt-producing, exclusive, damning, judgmental, justice-seeking, punishing? The feelings that arise here, are quite obvious too, are they not?
The lies jump right off the page when this simple method is employed…
It is interesting that your inner-voice pointed you toward “readjusted aspects of Christianity”. Perhaps this explains why you are I are dialoguing so profoundly here in this wonderful forum.
As I mentioned previously, I was raised in a Christian household and attended church through my 17th year. I never understood what I was taught and rebelled violently against it. I knew no matter what, that what I was being taught could not be “the way”. Some time later in college I remember reading “A Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. I was astonished at how strongly I identified with this Holden Caulfield kid. He was thinking and saying the things I was thinking (but not saying) – “These adults are absolute phonies!” They can’t possibly believe what they appear to be believing and trying to convince me of! What a revolution that was for me…for up until that time, I thought I was quite alone in my perceptions.
Anyway, I despised everything there was about Christianity and Jesus. None of it made even a modicum of sense to me…I mean nada. I could not reconcile any of it. So I rebelled and sought solace in Zen, the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, etc. over the years. Never really understanding a word of it until years later. I most resonated with Zen Buddhism. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized the entirety of the Zen teaching – and had a most hearty laugh at my folly in attempting to understand it!
So I explained in my last post my movement through all the traditions after my opening which led me right back to…..of all people…Jesus. I pushed and resisted, pushed and resisted like no other. But here I sit today, admiring him as the greatest master (that I’m aware of). Astonished that virtually nobody did, or still does understand his message, save a small handful of his inner circle (the apostles that “chose themselves”). Mary Magdelene being the closest. There are however, many tens of perhaps hundreds of thousands today that have a much clearer understanding of his message thanks to the “new age” movement I will say, myself included here.
The man “Jesus” is not our “savior”, of course. He isn’t the “chosen one”, of course. He never asked to be “worshipped”, of course. He never tried to start a new religion, of course. He didn’t “die for our sins”, of course. Jesus was the personification of the “example life” one should lead should they choose the “righteous path” out of sin (forgetfulness) and the world of “death” and into heaven (love) and everlasting life (our true existence). Always available to each and every one of us, here and now, for those who choose to have the eyes to see and ears to hear.
All is but a choice to move toward love. Such was his singular, and only message. No new religious beliefs required. Far and away the fastest, easiest and simplest way to realize the truth…to be in constant love with everyone, everything, everywhere, all the time. But unfortunately, a near impossibility when under the heavy influence of egoic consciousness and most cultures around the globe. It is a trying experience, but such is the journey at this time…
So I encourage your pursuit in this area, whatever conclusions you draw. For me, it was astonishing to make such a full circle shift. And my praise for Jesus is not to downplay any other master through history. All are wonderful, all are valuable, all I’ve become aware of have helped me immensely along the way. As I’ve come to understand, each of has a “lineage” that traces back through many past lives….I’m not sure how you feel about this subject of reincarnation….technically not true in the absolute where time does not exist…but in relation to how humans perceive, relatively true. Some like to call these “parallel lives” instead…either way works.
Anyway, we are all naturally drawn to our spiritual lineage. And apparently mine, despite numerous attempts to lock into many other traditions, was of the Judeo-Christian origin. So be it. They’re all exactly the same at the core in my estimation.
You said: “Of course the Christians who called Jews “Christ killers” in the Middle Ages were far worse. They had no plan to accommodate Jews who did not convert. Islam theoretically does accommodate Jews who are faithful to their own laws and are cooperative with, and not a hindrance to, Islamic domination of territory.”
All thoughts and ideas I simply choose to not entertain. Pure nonsense that isn’t worth a second of attention. Energy/attention withdrawn from such ideas ensures they’ll soon fade away. Your entraining vibration and choice to not give thought to these beliefs brings us collectively one step closer to “heaven on earth” my friend. Love, joy, peace, bliss, freedom, kindness and compassion will prevail, despite what the outer reality is displaying in this particular moment.
Such is a hope and belief worth entertaining that helps us move through the apparent nonsense and chaos our media and government choose to present a steady diet of that can be so downright discouraging and seemingly hopeless at times. We each have a choice in every moment. And when that choice is loving, peaceful, kind, despite outer circumstances, the ride gets smoother, grace arrives effortlessly and ease and flow in your own personal experience is guaranteed.
Those beliefs others choose to entertain will play out on the screen of their reality until sanity returns. We can only hold them in the highest and most loving regard in our thoughts and pray that they make the turn toward love sooner rather than later. Ultimately, it is each and every one’s choice. And individual choice is always honored in this realm. Nobody can interfere without first, the choice of the individual to open to and allow a new perspective…
You said: “Therefore, I don’ favor discarding the Quran or the Bible. They just need to be interpreted by eyes that are pure and full of compassion.”
Well said. Innumerable pointers to the truth lie within both. It is indeed the interpretation that requires adjustment. One set of eyes, one mind, one heart at a time for now. Your recognition of this, and willingness to maintain your peace and compassion is more than enough to turn any hearts and minds you personally interact with around, whether you ever come to consciously know it or not. Rest assured.
You are far more powerful than you can even begin to realize or imagine. By “being the change we wish to see in the world”, it will most assuredly come about. Perhaps not as soon as or on the time table we demand. Perhaps not in the precise way we desire. Perhaps not for all those we love so dearly.
But the times of fear, judgment, separation, greed, punishment, etc. are rapidly fading away. They are in their death throes now. I wish I could say they’ll be over this year or next, but I simply don’t know. It doesn’t happen “cosmically” according to time, but rather the overall collective vibration of humanity. As the channeled material I read and trust shares, it would appear that roughly 2033 – 2036 marks the “return of the Messiah” for the whole of humanity. In terms of the cosmic time scale anyway, that’s but the twinkling of an eye. For those that choose to remain in fear and judgment during those times, they will simply “die”, no longer able to stand the intense vibrations of love and light that the majority choose to hold. But nobody needs to wait until then. Your shift to “heaven on earth” can happen at any time you choose.
Now that’s a lot of crazy information to take in there in those last two paragraphs…haha. I couldn’t fault you for disbelieving nearly all of it. But it is something hopeful to look forward to. And I firmly believe what I’ve written here. Only time will tell for the “whole”, but fortunately, your own personal awakening is entirely under your control and choice to entertain thoughts and feelings of love as often as you so choose.
Here’s to our choice for more love my friend. The greatest mystery of them all. We all constantly want more and more and more of it. How wonderful the discovery is when we begin to realize we ARE IT. What we’ve been seeking all this time is to return to BEING that which we truly are, and always have been! 🙂
Namaste,
-Brad
Brad,
Your last two comments have been more than helpful in assisting me in sorting things out. The first one provided a better basis for me to understand what is meant by reality versus illusion. Thank you for expending so much effort. It is something I really needed to receive. I have to say about them later. You know I am a scientist by education, so I will try my best to resist having my brain scrambled by the lower frequencies for the next week and report back what I experience during this experiment. More later.
Brad,
Isaiah 53 clearly describes a Suffering Servant who carries the burden of others sins for them, who is chastised for them, and they are healed because of it. He is identified as descended from the root of Jesse (King David’s father). The time and place of his appearance is foretold in Daniel. There are hundreds of prophecies all pointing to the person of Jesus and the affect he would have.
I am having a problem believing that this is all some kind of conspiracy of human powers who want to control us. Whereas, I don’t have a problem believing that this information has been hijacked by controlling humans and institutions. I see the need to be liberated from the control of the hijackers. But the original information, once it is freed from their exploitive purposes, is valuable and important. I think it is important to distinguish that.
I am glad you have overcome the bad associations you encountered with the judgmental applications of Christianity you experienced when you were younger, so that you are now able to embrace the wisdom and compassion of all the world’s sages that you now identify in, and equate with, the allegorical projection of the spirit of Jesus. I am wondering if your original revulsion was not so much toward the historical aspect of Jesus, as much as toward the judgmental applications that hijacked them. It might have been hard to distinguish the two. You know, if someone imbeds jalapeno peppers in hamburger meat and keeps feeding it to you, and you are allergic to jalapeno peppers, and never had hamburgers with jalapeno peppers, there is a good chance you would end up deciding to never eat a hamburger again, concluding that hamburgers are toxic.
Greetings Robert,
Looking forward to hearing about your experiment….
I must say, I’m beginning to get lost in the comments section of this article. You’ve spawned a great deal of very insightful dialogues – congratulations!
That being said, I wrote a lengthy response on 3/16 that is still “awaiting moderation” and I’m not sure why? Perhaps it is because I included a few links to some of Neville’s websites? Perhaps I wrote something “controversial”? I’m not quite sure. Anyway, I do hope the moderator either allows this comment and/or emails and let’s me know which part of it was unsuitable so I can remove/revise that portion and repost.
As to your recent comments. Yes indeed, there were many prophecies that foretold the “Coming of the Messiah”. So many, in fact, that they seem almost indisputable. But once again, I propose that what appears in this realm (for the most part) is nothing more than what we “believe to be true”. Each of us, in effect, manifesting said beliefs in our own personal universe. Where no belief exists prior to something “new” to each individual, the dominant cultural/societal belief will “appear true”. When the dominant belief is not accepted as “true” (which takes considerable individual focus) new experiences of “truth” will arise. These alternative beliefs, once shared, are always marginalized and maligned.
Going with the flow and sailing with the status quo seem almost instinctual behaviors for the masses of humanity. But there are always a few that buck this trend. If one is after the truth, it takes a careful, persistent, sincere and discerning mind to break free from the “hidden influences” of mass belief.
Humanity has, by and large, been granted free will to believe whatever they choose. Aside from “divine intervention”, what we believe is what we see.
To have a proper discourse on the prophecies foretelling the coming of Jesus, we must first decide whether we wish to discuss this on the outer/belief/relative/historical level, or on the inner/truth/absolute/allegorical level. Any attempt to co-mingle the two will ultimately lead to frustration and confusion. In my earlier comments, I attempted to point you toward the latter for consideration.
The thoughts and questions you posed in your original article ultimately come down to the distinction between these two levels of awareness/understanding. Whether they be about scriptural prophecy in general, or about Jesus.
The relative level of awareness will lead to the appearances of truth for each individual believer. The absolute level of awareness requires, at first, a new level of open-mindedness and willingness to move “within” for confirmation. A reawakening and reassessment of one’s own amazing power to believe.
This reawakening and reassessment is not available to the fearful, judgmental, righteous, mainstream consciousness. This consciousness is presently choosing a different level of awareness. These “negative” beliefs, concepts and ideas must be moved aside from this “full cup” for something new to emerge. Until then, more of the same, more “outer confirmation” shall appear. And for the record, you do not fall into this group. I’m merely making this point in attempt to clarify for other readers who perhaps may.
So, from the relative point of view, yes, prophecy apparently foretold of a singular “man” that would arrive in “time” who is marginalized, takes on the burden of our “sins” and “heals” others. And from the relative point of view, all this manifested in the “man” so named Jesus. We are in perfect agreement on this. Nothing more to discuss if we accept this as “truth” and accept the “definitions” we’re asked to believe.
In order to shift to the the absolute point of view, a new openness and willingness to consider a possible alternative must be allowed to enter into one’s consideration. Until this is allowed by each individual, what follows appears as pure and utter nonsense and is easily attacked and dismissed as the rantings of a madman. Each individual reader shall come to their own conclusion – as it must be.
A healthy dose of skepticism, but not immediate and absolute disbelief, is recommended. It is a sign of an elevated state of consciousness to become curious, rather than dismissive and critical.
And one more caveat. As you read this, please take the notion of “cognitive dissonance” into consideration:
Definition: the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.
This plays a major role in allowing these new (seemingly ludicrous and impossible) ideas into one’s awareness…
All caveats given their do consideration, so we begin…
Firstly, I’ll begin by pasting a block from my comments I made in my 3/16 posting which remain “awaiting moderation” regarding the “illusion” for consideration:
The word “illusion” is so often casually tossed around by many on the spiritual path. Yet I believe most misunderstand it profoundly. It is neither useful, nor helpful in my opinion to walk around believing all this is an “illusion” and can thusly be ignored or treated as unreal or unimportant. Nor do I believe the masters who have referred to this reality as an illusion intended this, although this is how it is often understood.
But rather, what they were attempting to convey is that all the labels, definitions, beliefs that “I know” is in fact the illusion. For example: you, me, bird, ocean, water, temple, United States, Israel, sky, cat, tree, rock, house, car, etc. etc. etc. These “labels” are the “illusion”. These things are “there” (at least temporarily in relation to eternity), they just aren’t what we’ve “named” them. In truth, we don’t know what they are. They are a mystery! This “belief that we know” is sometimes referred to as the egoic “veil/overlay/insertion”.
“Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”
The eyes of innocence. The state of “not knowing”. Humility…
It is humility that ultimately opens the door and begins to lift the veil. What if I don’t really know? What if nobody really “knows”? What if there is really nothing to know? Is this a possibility?
So begins the lifting of the veils. This, I propose, is the intended goal at the core of scripture and all religious/spiritual teachings through the eons.
Now that that has been said, we move on to a few “definition” readjustments for consideration…
In a previous post I offered some alternative definitions for “sin”.
Sin = unconscious, forgetful, absent, missing the mark
My preference being “absent”. In other words, “caught in the mind”, not PRESENT.
All history, memories, ideas, concepts, beliefs, labels, definitions exist solely in our minds. It is at once impossible to be PRESENT, and be THINKING. Thought removes one’s awareness from the present and places it…well…on thoughts! Those mysterious, truly unknown “things” that seemingly drive every aspect of our lives.
This is a massively difficult idea to embrace I realize. So massive, it seems like utter nonsense. For without our minds/thoughts, we BELIEVE we’d become helpless, useless clumps of flesh. Unable to work, unable to support our family and loved ones, unable to do…well…..seemingly everything!
Not my will but thine will…
This concept is so easy to dismiss, that even if one were to apparently embrace it, the mind will cleverly ignore it regardless in its attempt to remain in control and to begin a “practice” of “being present”.
As such, through the eons, one of the most tried and true methods to break this spell has been meditation. Properly defined as, – the art of being present – the (non-)act of doing nothing. And, when finally perfected, the disappearance of “the doer”.
In its absolute simplicity, this state is all but impossible to achieve in the early stages for the all-controlling mind deeply lost and entangled in the illusion. For it is perceived as yet another “activity” for “me” to “schedule” and “do”. But I digress. If you’d like some more guidance on meditation, I’d be happy to share in another post for your consideration.
Next we have “time”. Given the previous comments on the “present”, I propose that to experience “no time” one must first become “present” in order to become aware of this human construct. Time is born and dies in the mind. For advanced meditators, this state of “timelessness” is frequently experienced.
For those that are not experienced mediators, the best pointers are “sleep” and “joy”. When the mind exits the equation (i.e. sleeping), no time is experienced, despite what the clock might say. One becomes absolutely “present” while sleeping. The illusion that time elapsed is merely a thought/idea, not an experience.
A discussion as to why we need to sleep would be a whole new thread. In brief, consider this notion. Egoic consciousness is absolutely insane. In order to not literally “go insane”, one must exit this realm of insanity on a daily basis in order to “reset” within the truth. One need not look any further than verified medical findings that demonstrate people that cannot sleep for extended periods of time tend to literally go insane.
The other example all can relate to is during heightened sensations of joy, happiness, bliss, etc. As the saying goes “time flies when you’re having fun”. Sheer presence is the most joyful experience one can have. And when one enters this realm of presence via the activities and experiences they LOVE to do, joy arises. In effect, HAPPINESS is the FEELING of LOVE flowing through you which brings your awareness into the PRESENT.
A readjusted saying might be, “time does not exist when you’re having fun (IN LOVE)”.
At the level of absolute truth, indeed, time does not exist. We experience it through our mandatory sleep and through our occasional joyful moments. But they are fleeting and never enough. The pursuit for more happiness continues unabated. Why can’t we seem to hold onto it?
The masters all agree, we can’t seem to find this eternal happiness because we aren’t present, in the only place that happiness exists. We have been taught that it must be attained, that it isn’t ours, that we must “work hard” to get a hold of it.
The effects of alcohol are another classic example of this phenomenon. What state are we in when that perfect “buzz” is achieved? We become absolutely present in the now moment. The place where joy reigns unassailed. The place where memories of guilt/failure from the “past” and worry/concern of potential “future” consequences dissolve. We begin behaving “out of our minds” as it were. These are good “times” while they last (the state prior to the decline into drunkenness). A blissful state of no FEAR/GUILT/WORRY.
Hence, this is why drinking alcohol is so universally loved. Is is but an “outside” stimulant to bring one back into the truth, back into the present moment where joy reigns supreme and everlasting…
But alas, that perfect “buzz” only remains for so long (perhaps an hour or two at best). Eventually it diminishes, despite our best efforts to regain it through more and more drinks. The only way to return to this state again is to start anew from the state of sobriety.
So if one is open to what is being suggested, new questions should begin to arise in one’s awareness. Am I chasing more joy, more love, more fun in my daily activities (and the necessary alternative – avoiding pain, fear, judgment)? Is that what’s ultimately going on? What would happen if I ended the chase and avoidance? Such is a common teaching in various “eastern” spiritual traditions. What if I began to allow everything to be as it is as often as possible?
A wonderful and simple exercise to perform is to begin thinking about someone/something/some place that one loves. The closing of the eyes (tuning out of the “outer reality”) and “re-membering” a happy time. When done completely, the feelings of love, joy, bliss will soon follow the “thinking”. This is a simple demonstration you can use to prove to yourself that “happiness/love” always exists here and now.
We are ALWAYS and LITERALLY “IN LOVE” when we choose to recognize it. But alas, our non-stop, activity-filled lives we’ve been conditioned to partake in apparently give us little “time” to remember this often enough for it to finally stick it seems…….onward.
Next we have the word “man”. Building on the previous concepts, look and see where your definition exists. Is it not, once again, a label, a concept, an idea “in the mind”?
As preposterous as it surely must seem when first presented with such a pointer, the opportunity is available for those open to looking.
Does the idea of “man” exist in the present moment or is it in the mind. Can the two co-exist?
And lastly, the notion of “healing”. I revert to numerous channeled resources I’ve read over the years for this explanation….
The “man” known as “Jesus” reached the state of “enlightenment/awakening/self-realization” during his “baptism”. As with most people, this state of awareness comes and goes for most who experience it in the beginning. The 40 days and 40 nights in the desert was the final culmination and allegorical story of fully releasing/ignoring the thoughts emanating from ego-mind (thought) – the great deceiver, trickster – satan in the allegory. The story of Buddha under the Bodhi tree battling the demons, temptresses, warriors, etc. is virtually identical to the 40 days and 40 nights in the desert allegory. Epic battles with extraordinary “beings”…
Awakened/Enlightened, the “man” known as Jesus became fully present. The ego-mind was finally dropped. And in that state of PRESENCE, bliss, love, joy, “the peace that passeth all understanding” arose and became his permanent experience. What was dropped, was the idea/concept/label of there being someone called “me”. Consider that Jesus saw that only love exists, that he was THAT, as was everybody else, and taught this during his brief ministry.
How many could possibly understand this then, let alone right here and now do you imagine? How many people can even begin to accept this notion as a possibility as it is being presented in this comment?
Are you saying “I” don’t exist?
Not at all. “I” does exist – “I AM” to be precise. It is the “thought of me” that does not really exist. The apparent “doer”, the “striver”, the “achiever” called “me” is the very illusion the masters speak of as best they can articulate. When dropped, the pure state of meditation.
Is it possible that it is “God” that is looking through “your” eyes, sensing through “your” senses? Could it be, in truth, “I AM” perceiving through all 7 billion of “us” in this moment? Could “God” be but “Love”, and you are THAT which you are playing the game of SEEKING? A grand play of epic proportions perhaps?
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are players…
With that said, consider that Jesus arose out of said illusion of the mind and became truly, “the witness for God” as it were. Long gone were the thoughts, ideas, labels, the sense of “I know”. Perfect humility arising within a field of everlasting love – might this be the “heaven on earth” we are all seeking? 😉
For how could “I know” when it is seen that there is nobody truly here called “me” to “know” anything in the first place?
Enlightenment – the “believer” is finally dropped…
Now, imagine Jesus seeing through the eyes of God/Love that in ABSOLUTE TRUTH, everything is really perfect. He then encounters the unenlightened masses, BELIEVING that everything is far from perfect. We now have an intersection of two opposing levels of consciousness. From my previous comment, the consciousness of love/perfection being exponentially more powerful and “entraining” than that of fear/imperfection.
Consider also, the notion of “free will”. Despite this powerful and entraining consciousness Jesus held, free will still remains granted to resist his words, his presence, his consciousness. It cannot “overtake” the consciousness of one choosing to resist it. But it can “overtake” those ready and willing to allow it (faith).
At this intersection of consciousness, the consciousness of fear/imperfection has an opportunity to be immediately released as “untrue”. This opportunity exists for only the “faithful” as it were. Those people that “believed (faith)” Jesus was the messiah, their savior, were, in that moment “instantly healed” of their “illusory beliefs” of imperfection via the powerfully entraining consciousness held by the “man” called Jesus.
For those doubters, those skeptics choosing to resist, no such healing could occur.
As I’ve come to understand it through channeled material, Jesus wasn’t running around TRYING to HEAL people. For he already knew everyone was, in truth, perfect, despite their protestations, genuflections and apparent outer-demonstrations of their imperfection (e.g. lepars, blind, etc.). He saw right through all this nonsense. His presence alone was enough to entrain those around him, faithful, to begin to re-cognize what he “re-cognized” following his enlightenment.
The “faithful”, in their encounters with Jesus were open to dropping their beliefs to the contrary of what he was perceiving. The entraining consciousness (love) overtook fear.
This is something each one of us has the ability to do NOW. And in all NOWs. We don’t need a “master” of “Jesus” to be around…although it is easier this way. Hence the many Hindu Ashrams and Gurus, or Buddhist monasteries, etc. (even Judeo-Christian monasteries).
Anyway, this is how I have come to understand how Jesus “healed”. For those open-minded to consider, we need look no further than the tens of thousands of reported medical cases of “spontaneous remission” from all sorts of terminal illnesses. These cases go into the annals of the “unexplainable” by medical science.
Chalk another one up for the power of belief!
So in summary of your first comment, we have:
1. A “man” within the relative perception, “God/Love” in the absolute perception
2. “Sin” as an “evil act” in the relative perception, “Absent to the present in the absolute
3. A “historical event” that took place in “time” within the relative perception, “Always present now” in the absolute (“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”)
4. “Healing” in time within the relative, “Re-cognizing” eternal perfection in the absolute
To remain with the “relative” story is to continue with the same “cognition” that one has been taught to believe. In order to allow the new to unfold within oneself, one must “Re-Cognize” that which one has been taught. Cognitive dissonance is a near certainty in the beginning. An apropos segue to your second paragraph.
If you were having a hard time believing what I said earlier, how about now? hahahaha 🙂 If there’s one thing I can share, it is a multitude of things “hard to believe”!!! 😉
You are so correct in your assessment yet again. The “controllers” (whatever name one likes to use) are present precisely because we have given away our “power” to something “outside of us” (in the outer reality). Our collective belief is, “I have control over some things, but not all” (Parents, teachers, religious institutions, governments, media, military, corporations, etc.). And so it manifests as such. People/Groups/Secret Societies must manifest and fill the perceived “control” void we have given away.
Liberation comes one soul at a time (for now). The information contained in scripture hasn’t been so much “hijacked” (although somewhat to an extent), it is that we are taught to BELIEVE whatever the “controllers” wish us to believe about it. If you accept what you’ve been taught to believe (because you have given your power away), any other “interpretations” seems absurd. And yet, all we’re doing is interpreting “words”. Even in my efforts to redefine certain key words throughout this post and others, there is still enormous room for them to be mis-interpreted in massive ways.
Words. Twice removed from reality. Words point to “Ideas” – once removed from reality. Ideas point to, but do not “represent” reality. For reality can only be experienced (love/happiness/peace), not “thought about”. The experience of “thinking” about love/happiness/peace pales absolutely in comparison to the experience of them.
You are “liberated from the control of the hijackers” this instant, and every instant hereafter and forevermore when you come to realize you gave away your power through the singular belief that the power did not reside within you all along.
Beliefs all powerful in this realm…
When one begins to take back control, one begins to take responsibility for every aspect of their lives, and the power given to the controllers begins to diminish.
This lesson is being played out in super-heightened HD ways this very moment across the media and television sets of the world. It’s a beautiful thing to behold (for me). Fewer and fewer of us trust, or have faith in politicians, Congress, the President, government, etc. looking out for our best interests. This is happening as our belief/faith in their power diminishes. Politicians are nothing but a reflection of our dominant “old beliefs” presently in their final death throes. It is the younger generation that brings these new beliefs, instinctively rejecting outer power and authority.
Most still look on with the eyes and awareness of anger, outrage, judgment, worry, fear, rebellion as the drama unfolds (as they have been taught and continuously trained to do). And yet more and more who understand what is happening observe and “witness” with the eyes of love, compassion and understanding as to what is playing out.
So while the “controllers” still hold the apparent “upper-hand” over the masses, you can liberate yourself this moment, or in any moment you choose by re-cognizing that your power to believe who is really in control can shift this instant.
No choice being right or wrong. For many, the illusion is still an exciting game of drama they aren’t yet ready to release!
It is important to distinguish this, and I thank you for pointing it out.
You said: “I am wondering if your original revulsion was not so much toward the historical aspect of Jesus, as much as toward the judgmental applications that hijacked them. It might have been hard to distinguish the two.”
Precisely. I was taught a story, the story all Christians have been taught (or so I guess anyway). I had neither the wisdom, nor maturity to think otherwise as a teenager or young adult. I simply had to chalk it all up as complete “BS”.
I always loved Jesus. I loved his words, I loved many stories attributed to him. But those stories never matched up with the over-arching message I was taught (hell, satan, sin, repentence, eternal damnation, etc.). His messages were simple, the mass-thoughtform of Christianity is horrendously complicated! For me, the two could not be reconciled in the slightest.
Today of course, my reading of scripture bears little resemblance to a common Christian who has chosen to accept the popular beliefs. We can interpret a single sentence in such massively different ways, there is simply no common ground to even make the effort to continue.
Believing is seeing…
So while I agree that scripture has been amended, altered, changed somewhat over time by the hands of man, I am able to recognize the deliberate intentions to deceive quickly based solely on how it makes me feel. The bulk of scripture is a magical mystery tour through the depths of consciousness that reads like pure poetry for those with “eyes to see and ears to hear”. Eyes and ears that are blossoming for me, but not yet in full bloom. 🙂
I contend that scripture was never something meant to be “understood” by our minds. This was the “hijacking” that occurred. The attempt to each it to the masses as something for the mind. Scripture was meant to be used as one type of esoteric tool used to unravel all of our mistaken understandings so that we could ultimately return to the awareness of our true nature. Scripture under the guidance of a “master” is but one such “tool”.
“Be still and know I Am God” is another (Zen, meditation. presence)
Jesus offered a simpler, more enjoyable “tool” in my estimation; Love God with all your heart and mind and love thy neighbor as thyself…nothing more, nothing less is needed. No “understanding” is required to love. It’s our natural inclination. We need to be taught from the beginning, and continuously thereafter that it is not.
Over the years, I’ve used all in combination with one another. To each their own.
How to describe the beauty and joy the world takes on when we are in love. Most of us can conjure vivid memories of times seemingly gone by. Our first crush, the early weeks/months in a new relationship with a girl/boy-friend, a wedding for some, the birth of a child for others, the Love of a mother/father for her/his children for others. These being the closest experiences that can be pointed to for reference.
The collective belief is that these experiences are temporary and require these relatively brief “outer events and circumstances” such as those listed above to rise up into such blissful states. But “in time” these feelings of extreme joy and bliss begin to fade away, back to the mundane, fearful world all of us have believed in at one stage or another. Such is the popular belief.
The Masters/Sages/Saints/Gurus will tell you that this feeling of love/bliss/joy/peace is everlasting and persistent requiring nothing at all in the outer reality. That this is in fact our natural state. Their pointers are contrary to our common experience however. Their guidance is “hard to believe”. And for those that make continuous efforts to “understand” and “reach” such states, they almost always continue to fall short as long as the “mind” remains in control.
The seeker remains…
Thus we have the notion of “surrender” as the final teaching for the initiated in all spiritual traditions I’ve studied.
Not my will but thine…
Perhaps the most misunderstood pointer of all. For as long as there remains a “somebody” who is the “Surrenderer”, the act of surrender cannot unfold. Because of this dilemma, another way of understanding “surrender” is the full and complete embrace of LOVE.
Love heals all things (including the illusion!). For it is in love, and only in love, that the truth can arise. For the TRUTH IS LOVE ITSELF.
As a recent channeled message that I trust completely shared, “As one begins to re-member that they ARE love, all will begin to make sense”.
So there you have it my friend. I just wrote a whole lot of words, ideas and concepts for consideration. In truth, none are needed if one can come to recognize:
The shores of Heaven on Earth will be arrived upon on the boat of humility in the sea of love. One needs only to listen to their heart, that “still small voice within” for guidance and the next steps appropriate for their unfoldment into liberation.
And what is love? I have no idea. All definitions fall pathetically short. But we can all “sense” quite clearly what if feels like when it moves through the body. It’s the feeling we all like best. It’s the feeling we’re all constantly chasing. It is the feeling of being “in love” that ultimately brings liberation.
Truth=God=Love….all the same “thing” that none of us have ever been able to define.
The truth shall set you free
The only way to “feel more love” is to “give more love”.
Give and you shall receive
This need not be done overtly with actions and words, although it can be, of course, with those closest to you. We need not hug and kiss the cashier at the grocery store and tell her we love her. But we can be thinking/feeling that in our “inner reality”.
Gratitude/Appreciation offered to the cashier is no different than offering gratitude/appreciation to God. One and the same. Same goes for those who conceived of, and those that built the computer you read this message on. For those who made your clothes, for those who built your car, built your house, your roads, etc. etc. etc.. There is no end to how much gratitude/appreciation/love can be extended toward “God”.
Projecting these feelings on a consistent basis in our daily lives brings new insight that simply cannot be explained in words. New “aha” moments that are unique to each of us. It is the ULTIMATE in spiritual practices, trumping all others in my humble opinion.
Spiritual practice isn’t something that we “do” outside of our normal physical daily lives. It must exist right in the middle of our normal daily lives. Until, at least, the two become one.
Watching/Reading the news, mass entertainment, going along with the status quo, gossiping, criticizing, judging, condemning extends the illusion and prevents this insight so many masters have pointed us toward.
As always, free will reigns. The choice is always available to each of us in every moment! None right, none wrong. Simply different experiences being chosen.
Each of us has the opportunity to see and experience for ourselves. It all comes down to choice. Experience is beyond words and teachings which is what all scripture and religion is striving for its students to understand.
Reading and thinking about what an orange tastes like bears no resemblance, and pales in comparison to tasting/experiencing an orange for the first time. This is spirituality at its very core.
Thoughts/Ideas/Beliefs bear no resemblance, and pale in comparison to what it feels like to live in love/joy/bliss and within the peace that passeth all understanding.
Jesus wanted nothing more than for us to live/experience this love constantly and forevermore in all its fullness. And by doing so, to remember who and what we truly are.
Experience is here and now – present. We’re all having an experience NOW. What do we choose to experience now? It is indeed under our control. I choose to experience love, despite not having the foggiest idea what it really is.
And so it is…
Namaste,
-Brad
Brad,
I am still evaluating all your comments. I found this passage of yours really helpful in defining what we mean by “illusion”.
“.”The word “illusion” is so often casually tossed around by many on the spiritual path. Yet I believe most misunderstand it profoundly. It is neither useful, nor helpful in my opinion to walk around believing all this is an “illusion” and can thusly be ignored or treated as unreal or unimportant. Nor do I believe the masters who have referred to this reality as an illusion intended this, although this is how it is often understood.
But rather, what they were attempting to convey is that all the labels, definitions, beliefs that “I know” is in fact the ….”
So the reality before me is not fake, I just need to experience it differently than what I have been conditioned to do.
I appreciate they detail in which you have explained some basic concepts that slipped by me. I must have fallen asleep in Esoterica 101 when this was discussed, or they sent in a substitute teacher that day who was not certified in this field.
Here is some other thing I have experienced that fascinates me. I had skimped on my meditations for awhile and gotten caught up in distractions. I seemed like I suddenly had a lot of problems and was not covering my bases very well. When I got frustrated enough I locked myself in and made myself meditate. It was hard to sit still, but I just kept at it. I wasn’t experiencing some of the tangible benefits that I used to sense when I mediated more regularly. It seemed like I had to make myself persist just to get part way there. So I learned I had to practice consistently or I would lose momentum. But then even though I thought this was not a very good mediation for me, everything throughout the day seemed to just fall in place. I needed to find something and there it was. I wanted to talk to someone, and they called right then. Everything I did, right or wrong, seemed to work out for the good. I was living in a bubble of providence and grace. I kept wondering what I did for this to happen, and then I remembered my long, dry, seemingly unproductive meditation.
So now I have some questions about this. Was the universe rewarding me for meditating, did my meditation change the universe, or did I change my perception of the universe. In the old days I used to say “God is pleased with me”. Now I am not sure what to say. I was even thinking that by mediating I entered a parallel universe that is much kinder. ????
What would you say about this?
Hi Robert,
You said: “So the reality before me is not fake, I just need to experience it differently than what I have been conditioned to do.”
Indeed. Experience it all as “God” or “The Universe”, whatever “thing” you see, hear, feel, taste, touch, etc. Do that, and your life will begin to take on a most magical quality thus far unbeknownst to you. By doing so, you will indeed be “seeing through the illusion”!
Wonderful to hear. I only wish everybody would have the fortitude to stick with meditation – CONSISTENTLY – for a month or two. As I like to say, “all the rough edges become smooth and life just flows effortlessly”. 🙂
Consider this. you – that is, the “you” that you think/believe you are in this moment is not the “doer”, the “actor”, the “achiever”…..at all. This is absolutely an UNBELIEVABLE thing to consider…literally…that is the proper use of the word “unbelievable”. Because it cannot be believed…..EVER….as long as the “believer” remains.
Remarkably, this can be easily proven for those willing to look. I could give you some pointers if you like, but won’t here.
Consider this: Human beings are believers, not achievers…
So why then does meditation seem to work? Simple. You are consciously engaging with your true self – the REAL YOU. By meditating, you are effectively saying “I don’t know….I surrender into a higher wisdom”.
Further, you begin to move your powerful attention away from the false “outer reality” and toward the “inner reality”. You become less and less distracted, less and less enticed by the “illusion”.
And the result? Your “higher wisdom” is able to regain control and dominion over your daily life. It knows (because “it” is really “you”) what you really want. Nothing to fear here. The false “you” (Robert – the believer/ego-mind) begins to lose full control.
The believer/ego-mind has been programmed to want “things” in the outer reality that it believes it needs. Said needs, like money, houses, cars, entertainment, health, career, relationships, security, etc. are what it believes it requires to survive. In the west, we have been conditioned to focus nearly all of your attention almost exclusively on these things.
Of course there is nothing “wrong” with any of these things. The problem arises when we feel we’re “lacking” in one or more of these areas. This drops our vibration/frequency and causes us to fall into self-loathing and work even harder to gain these things from the outer reality.
All the while, we are ignoring the very “thing” that can and actually DOES bring all things into our experience anyway – yes ALL, bar none. Call it what you will – “God” is probably most appropriate in this forum.
If you can come to recognize that you’re actually only the believer, and not the achiever, life undergoes a massive shift toward spirit – toward truth. We see this awareness being expressed through Jesus:
John 5:19 – “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
In effect, I need only “believe” and God will take care of the rest.
Mathew 21:22 – “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
Meditation being the highest and purest form of prayer. That of “surrender”. “Not my will, but thine will”.
As this is experienced more and more through consistent meditation, one is in effect “getting out of the way”. That is, getting the one (me) out of the way, that’s “been in the way” most of the time. Haha 😉
You begin to be “moved” gracefully through your daily life, rather than being so focused on “me” being the “actor” that has to “get things done”. It just happens. It’s like magic. There’s nothing to understand because it can’t be understood – humility.
If you REALLY want to amp things up, the simple feeling of “gratitude” as you perform your routine daily activities, your experience of grace will heighten immensely in conjunction with regular meditation. Gratitude for being able to do the dishes, drive to work, take out the garbage, pay the bills, you name it. The things we aren’t so often normally feeling gratitude towards.
It’s a real kick in the arse I realize. It’s like magic. I gave up trying to figure it out long ago. I trusted what all the masters had suggested and have never looked back.
In truth, what we are all seeking so hard with our active outer lifestyles is what is already here and simply awaiting acknowledgment – love, happiness, peace, bliss, freedom, security, etc. The more the seeking to gain “things” in the “outer reality” to fulfill these feelings, the more the frustration, disappointment, suffering, etc. Such is the “game” we’re logged into…
As this is realized, all those “things” or “symbols” that represent love, happiness, peace, bliss, freedom, abundance, security, etc. to YOU, whatever they may be, MUST appear in your outer reality as reflections matching your inner state.
As within, so without…
There’s nothing “out there” to “get”, nothing that must be “achieved” by “me”. In effect, the exact opposite of what we’ve been conditioned to believe, is actually true. Conditioning by the “world of man” that is.
Scripture becomes much easier to read, and far more eye-opening and amazing as these things are recognized. One could almost say, the truth is 180 degrees, upside down, inside out and the opposite of what I’ve been led to believe.
So when you step back into your meditative practice, it is the “me” (ego-mind) that pushes against it for a period of time in the beginning. Why? Because it knows it will ultimately lose control. If it isn’t being “used”, it fades away. This is why we are constantly bombarded with “thoughts” during most of our meditations in the beginning.
Even when you say, “I don’t want any thoughts now during my meditation”, they come and come and come even more relentlessly. Why is this? Could it be, perhaps, that these “thoughts” are not even yours? Seeing as how you are not asking for them to come, why do they still come? Should we just brush this under the carpet (as most do) and say, “well, this happens to everybody so it’s perfectly normal”? Hmmmmmm?
I’m sure you’ve read about the “veil” that hangs over humanity – hiding the truth, our recognition, our understanding, etc. The “veil” is nothing more than one belief layered on top of another, like an onion. The initial belief, that this body is “me” and my name is “Brad”. Taught to me by other bodies that believed the same. Stacked on top of this initial belief are hundreds more that confuse matters immensely thereafter. But what if this weren’t true? What if I was never really “born”? Wouldn’t that mean that I then could never die, and thus be able to escape the “world of death” so often referenced in scripture? What if my “original sin” was simply to believe that this body was “me”?
Meditation is the beginning of peeling away of the onion. Beliefs begin to drop. Egoic demands and desires begin to fade away – sometimes causing great concern as the journey back to spirit truly begins. But there is nothing to be concerned about. Only the false self (ego) can be “concerned” to begin with.
In summary, there is nothing I’m aware of more powerful than meditation when practiced consistently and with no apparent “goal” in mind. Other than, of course, to make life better, easier, more graceful. The entirety of the practice of meditation is to DO NOTHING. Thoughts will bombard, emotions will rise, and yet there you sit, unaffected, unmoved.
In its finality, like Jesus in the desert, Buddha under the Bodhi tree, our own personal “demons/devils” will arise to tempt us, to scare us, to move us. But with clarity, purpose and recognition, these illusions will be ignored, smiled at and like all the beliefs that had been shed before them, they’ll also fade away. And in their place, the light shall enter and retake its full dominion within you.
You said: “Was the universe rewarding me for meditating, did my meditation change the universe, or did I change my perception of the universe.”
You rewarded your self my friend, by going within and communing with the truth of who you are! You are always changing the universe, regardless of whether you meditate. The universe is not a solid/static “thing” as believed by science. Scientists treat is as such, believe in it as such, and thus experience it as such. So yes, your perception of the universe shifted closer to the truth. You’ll know you’re on the right track, just as you said, when you can’t understand why everything starts working so wonderfully in your life apart from anything you consciously “did” to cause said changes.
You said: “In the old days I used to say “God is pleased with me”. Now I am not sure what to say. I was even thinking that by mediating I entered a parallel universe that is much kinder. ????”
That’s one way of looking at it. Considering all “parallel universes” are simultaneous and available to you at all times. You are constantly entering new parallel universes, unendingly. It only appears as the same universe most of the time if your feelings/inner-reality remain unchanged. Meditation lifts your feelings/vibration/frequency naturally. And thus, you begin to experience “more of what you like”.
How you feel inside moment to moment to moment is the magic. You are the magician. You are happiness, joy, freedom, abundance, beauty, peace, security, kindness and compassion personified! Love is your real name.
Now, the only question is….. do you believe it? 😉
Namaste,
-Brad
P.S. I’m probably going to stop checking this thread. If you want to continue what is becoming a more personal dialogue now, feel free to email me here: evan2543@yahoo.com
Glad to stay with you on your inward journey and answer any questions or point you to references for your consideration…
Hi Robert:
I’d like to share with you an excerpt from my website — one in which I deal with the subject of the Bible as literal history. I have de-emphasized the text so it doesn’t sound too harsh or dogmatic. Of course you are completely free to disagree with/disregard all of it. They represent my thoughts and rationale for why I believe the way I do.
Literal, or Allegory?
Again, the Bible is not a history book, as is commonly taught in The Great Western Paradigm. First of all, it says clearly that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is clear, as well as simple common sense, that history needs no inspiration; it is simply a factual event that has been recorded. To reduce the historical event to paper would not be considered “inspiration.” Consequently, if even one percent of scripture constitutes history, then the statement “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” cannot possibly be true. No. The whole of the scriptures is extraordinary allegory (Gal. 4:24, KJV), with powerful spiritual messages couched in fascinating stories that make for an incredible reading experience.
Second, scripture says the “natural man” (the sensual man, or man “of the senses,” which is what the word natural means in the scriptural context) cannot understand spiritual things. What is there not to understand about literalism? You read it naturally, it says what it says, and it means what it says. But this is not how you read the scriptures.
When you do come to understand the proper method of reading the Bible, it will become for you a most fascinating adventure that you won’t want to put down. We will begin to make all of this plain herein, with the caveat that it is impossible that a work of this limited length can even scratch the surface of the explanation of the whole of scripture (although we will point you in the right direction).
Nor is it possible that one man, or even a group of men, can hold all of the truth of the Living, Omnipotent and Omniscient God Almighty, to the exclusion of all others, for if that were possible, it would leave man at the mercy of the men who possess it. “We are God’s spokespeople. If you’re not one of us, ….”
Many religious groups fall under this umbrella; i.e., many claim to be your Messiah — that if you don’t join their group, you are lost. None can see that they are all but men. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm …” (Jer. 17:5). “Let God be true, though every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). The light of truth dispels the darkness of error, for when you turn on a light, the darkness disappears. Many think of darkness as the opposite of light. Darkness is not the opposite of light; darkness is merely the absence of light. Those who are in darkness are lacking the light.
Let God be your guide and stop trusting in the sword (the tongue) of man, which results in your swift spiritual destruction.
Listen to man, but don’t be guided by man. Let Spirit be your guide. Learn how to hear “the still small voice” within. Again, we will point you in the right direction. Pray for light! Pray for truth! Pray for wisdom and understanding! Pray for insight! With all that you do, pray, pray, pray!!! “Ask and it shall be given” (Luke 11:9).
If you are interested in reading the entire article, you can find it on the home page of my website at: http://www.decodingscripture.com/ The video on that page also presents ideas you may not have heard or considered before. I would welcome your thoughts on both if you decide to read/view them.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on this article. You did a great job of sharing your thoughts with us. I am merely reciprocating, per your request.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for this really good article. Wow, the comments here are ALL AMAZING, particularly, Brad’s…fantastic commentary!!!
Just to comment, Robert, on two points from your article:
“..For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isaiah 64:4
and…
..“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9″
What I wanted to say primarily is captured nicely in Paul’s comment: “..scripture says the “natural man” (the sensual man, or man “of the senses,” which is what the word natural means in the scriptural context) cannot understand spiritual things.”
As I have a new article ready for Josh, I won’t pre-expose its content by a lengthy comment here. But, just to say, Robert, on the two highlighted sections above from your post, it’s my understanding that, man’s senses and nervous system are contaminated at birth, (natural man) and that, EACH of the five senses are in need of purification to perceive or “know” spiritually — become multisensory or cosmically orientated. As it’s through the senses that the mind / heart “knows” or experiences, essentially thus, to perceive spiritually within consciousness, it’s the Spirit which first hears, sees, tastes, smells, feels/touches, not the physical eyes, ears, etc, they’re the conduits or mechanisms to facilitate spiritual interpretation, awakening to both within and without simultaneously. Thus, for accurate interpretation and experiencing of divine nature, the conduits must be pure, otherwise we judge and opinionate through lower-man.
Through the blessing of regular meditation, the senses become spiritually Heightened, purified, thus, the mind / heart perceives divinely.
Thanks also for part I, Robert.
Raymond
Raymond,
Thank you for your continued encouragement to pursue meditation and a more spiritual outlook obtained through a purified consciousness. Few people express this as well as you. I am expecting that my continued practice of meditation will continue to open up new perspectives.
Some other people, but not you, have implied that I am not discerning things spiritually if I place any relevance on historical events. For their sake I think I need to find a way to differentiate between being carnally minded, and discussing the relevance of historical events from a spiritual perspective.
If someone can show me that if I continue to meditate, I will automatically discover that history is a total waste, I might be convinced. So far I am trending just the opposite, although I will agree that excessive preoccupation with history can be distracting. So I am led to question whether I am being warned to ignore history because ignoring it is a popular idea of the normative esoteric culture of the day, or whether this is a bona fida personal “struck by lightning” insight of others who are warning me.
I am waiting to hear if they have been struck by lighting, or by the “Couse on Miracles.”
I will of course continue not to neglect the directions you have mentioned.
Robert,
Thank you for such a challenging post. You are different than the allegorical and literal camp in that you propose both could be true. You admit that the Bible begins as allegory and then turns into something real and historical. There are not many that take this approach and it is interesting.
As you already know, I don’t believe the scriptures are meant to be taken literally. And I don’t think one can say definitively that history has played out as foretold by the prophets. It is very possible that Genesis was written around 1400 B.C. and much of the spreading out of the earth as it is described in the Bible from Noah’s sons had already happened when it was being written. Therefore what seems like happened up to this day could be coincidence.
More importantly, if the Bible began as allegory and then somewhere along became an instrument of literal prophecy, how do we know when and where it happened?
If the messiah is an external figure of flesh and blood other than ourselves and Biblical prophecy is literally true according to external events, then according to Ezekiel, which has always been considered controversial by the Rabbis, a literal temple with literal blood sacrifices will reign again under the messiah and the Father, and all will have to abide. This poses all kinds of problems for the New Testament. For me this temple in the temple of ourselves once the messiah has come within us.
Most importantly for me is that Jesus clearly stated that the kingdom was within us and does not come by observation. This makes sense in a universe of impermanence, in which, paradoxically, we can say that the only thing that is truly constant in this universe though duality is change. This speaks to me that there is an underlying divinity within the individual on the spiritual level that is always in motion, evolving within itself, and therefore cannot truly be a reality in duality, but only a perception, and experience, which is what conscious existence is.
I will say that Israel has become a nation again as it would seem to be foretold, again if the Bible is literal. This would seem to indicate some truth in what you propose, more so to me than Noah’s generations. However I’m not so sure we can equate this with Biblical prophecy, especially if we take Paul’s understanding that a true Jew is one of the heart, not necessarily the flesh. This is also supported many places in the Old Testament. Of course there was a literal nation known as the Jewish people who produced and preserved the sacred Bible for us, and to that all other nations are indebted.
I do think you have a challenging post though, Robert, and I look forward to seeing where you go with this in the next few parts.
Thank you.
By the way, great comments on this one so far as well.
Josh,
I am working my way backwards now through the comments to this post until I cover all the news ones, and replies to my replies.
I will cover more of your comment on the third go around. For now I want to mention that bringing up Ezekiel introduces more than I originally intended to cover. I have written part IV (not posted yet) and am only up to King David. I think Ezekiel is among the more complicated books to interpret, ranking just below the Book of Revelation with its phantasmagorical images. This is one of the books that were meant to be interpreted symbolically. And yet Ezekiel predicted the cessation of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the temple, bringing a change in the priesthood to one that would not be subject to corruption.. He depicted the Spirit with wheels that could roll away, and history bears out that that particular type of physical manifestation of the Spirit, validating that it dwelt in the Temple, did literally roll away from the Temple. Records that survived the destruction of Jerusalem that date back to just before the common era and just after, and repeated in the Talmud, describe eyewitness accounts of physical manifestations of the Spirit fading away.
“Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open” (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157).
So portions of Ezekiel’s prophecies came to pass centuries later in a physical, literal manner. This attests to the change in Jewish priesthood from a physical Temple priesthood to an eternal heavenly priesthood through Messiah. And yes, it is true, this also further attests to each of us now being “a temple not built with hands” in which the divine spirit indwells.
Will the physical Temple be reconstructed in the world to come as a literal fulfillment of Ezekiel? It is hard for me to say. Part of me wants to say “No, it is no longer necessary.” But another part of me recognizes that the irrevocable covenant to the Jewish people is one that is destined to play out through history as a divinely instituted physical portrayal of a higher spiritual reality, a physical monument as real and as revealing as Stonehenge pointing to an ethereal reality.
This is not necessarily relevant to your particular comment, but I am beginning to believe that the well known “Course in Miracles” from the 1970’s has become the defining manual of new thought, new age, esoteric culture for many, many people. It condensed the bits and pieces of this theology that came before it and became a spreading point for it. It was very helpful for people who had been turned off to conventional religion. I agree that it is correct in stressing that the esoteric is what we are really after in the long run. But even this course does not deny the purpose of the physical entirely? What I am concerned about is that people use what they have picked up from condensations like this to defend what is really a cultural phenomena to correct past unbalances, and even though it is effective in promoting aspects of their spiritual growth that was formerly suppressed, it can also now suppress their spiritual growth and cause them to adhere to the precepts of the cultural phenomena, for which is easy to find voices to confirm their choices from that culture. But the are no long “empty and open” to embrace changes.
I will comment to your comment more later.
Josh,
I will briefly reiterate my response to another comment, about “Spiritual Israel.” Paul of Tarsus was explaining that the spiritual benefits of a people in the new covenant with God through the Messiah as promised to Abraham, are available by faith in Messiah, not a biological bestowment made with the descendants of Jacob through Moses. Even the Mosaic covenant encouraged heartfelt observance. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your strength, and all your mind.” The Mosaic covenant still does this and is hearkened to by many Jewish people who embrace observance from the heart, and not just as an ethnic custom. But Paul of Tarsus never, ever meant for Christians in any way shape or form to replace the Jewish people as heirs of the Mosaic covenant, which was given to their descendants for eternity and non revocable. Paul of Tarsus says they were broken off from the more encompassing Messianic promise, but would one day be grafted back in, and that their calling through Moses was irrevocable. This does not make them superior, any more than a man is superior to a woman, but they both have some different functions in the reproductive process. He admonishes the non-Jewish followers of Messiah not to be arrogant or covetous toward the Jewish people.
Paul of Tarsus was largely ignored by the Christian world until the rebirth of the nation of Israel in its present form in 1948, this event also foretold by prophecy. Until then, replacement theology was very popular and used by advantage by the Spanish inquisition, then Martin Luther, and finally the Nazi’s. It was also used as an excuse by German and Polish Christians who turned away Jews knocking on their doors in Germany and Poland pleading to be hidden by them until they could escape; they used the same bible quote out of context about the “inward Jew” as they slammed the door in their faces.
Hello Robert,
Again this is a very interesting article which gives us much food for thought but it is your view on this subject. I do not think anyone can say it is true or it is not true. It just is and there is nothing wrong with that. Just as my view in this comment will be just my view.
You quote the following two Bible texts : “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isaiah 64:4, and “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9, as a proof by contradiction that Jesus actually was The Messiah.
I am afraid that this does not convince me. As you know already, I have learned to interpret the messiah-concept, together with the serpent-concept, as a force that is active in each one of us during the whole cycle of our descent into this illusional world of matter, our process of crucifixion of our ego there and then the ascension out of it again. Each one of us has a (potential) messiah within us.
I believe that the prophecies in the Bible point to that wonderful process.
I also believe that it is possible for man to embody this process in one lifetime as a means to show the way to our fellow man and as such to be of tremendous help to him. It might be possible to do this on several levels as well, and of course such a person could be called a messiah.
An example of this might be Moses and Joshua from the Old Testament, who led the people of Israel from the phase of slavery and addiction to the ego (in)to the Promised Land, where they still had to struggle with the forces of ego (the peoples in the land) however, and Jesus / Jeshua who showed the way to the Kingdom of Heaven within, where I am sure there is no battle against ego anymore.
As such I do believe that Jesus was a historical person and a Messiah of the highest level, but I do not believe that the prophecies in the Bible are necessarily about him.
About Noah I would like to add something. You quote: “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”. Genesis 6:8.
In Hebrew Noah, 50-8, and grace, ‘chen’, 8-50, basically point to the same thing: higher awareness (50) and the beginning of a new World (8) after the completion of the World of the seventh day. The total value of 58 (which is also part of the numerical value of the words ‘nachash’, serpent, and ‘mashiach’, messiah, which is 358) is also the numerical value of the name Nebo, 50-2-6, which you can read as 50-bo or ‘higher awareness (50) is in him (bo)’, which was the level of awareness of Moses when he ascended (climbed this mountain).
In your conclusion you state: “The bible starts out as what we understand as an allegory, and then moves slowly into the realm of the real”.
I would like to ask: “How real is this real, when we are after all talking about this world of illusion we still live in. It does seem awfully real to us but we each create our own world which is never totally the same as someone else’s world. This world is a game we play in order to gain conscious awareness and what we experience we have created ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously. Your world and mine may be vastly different, considering the way we look at things, but none of it is either true or not true. It just is. We, all of us, may seem to be moving into different directions but I am sure we will all meet at the end of the game and joyfully exchange experiences. But I do not think that anyone of us can ever prove anything to be true or not true as long as we are living in this world of illusion. And that is my conclusion.
Love,
Anny
Anny,
I love your comments. Like you, I too live and breath on the esoteric revelation in the scriptures, and I have so much too learn from your posts. I am even trying to learn Gematria. I am good at the technical part of it, but I don’t know if I have the ability to interpret the numerical comparisons like you do.
I will be careful to continue to emphasize, that a historical perspective does not detract form an allegorical one. I think if we deny the former, then some of us can end up at times in a bubble of ego-confirming theology that is comforting but incomplete. Since you have the unique privilege among us to have lived in Israel at one time, and may have seen the ruins of the Temple, and Jewish people praying devoutly at it, some of them even davinning (rapid short bowing) themselves into a trancelike state, believing for both the future physical and spiritual restoration of Israel; then you have seen the evidence of history firsthand of the Jewish people’s longing for Messiah. This is not a story about their longing. This is factual history, a material framework that carries the esoteric revelation in the same way that Hebrew letters carry their more subtle vowel points. There would be no vowel points without the letters to frame them on. In the same way, the historical carries the spiritual. My premise is that by studying and integrating both that we can learn to enter more subtle spiritual realms in the best way possible. The Kundalini rises from the base chakra upwards. Yogis warn us that if we are not well grounded in the base chakra, we can have some negative side-effects when we chant mantra for the higher chakras.
I am going to keep emphasizing that the scriptural literalists did a lot of damage by denying the more subtle allegorical meanings. It was therefore necessary in the tide of human spiritual development for theologies to arise that denied the historical meanings in order to focus on the allegorical. The fans of esoteric spirituality are still riding that wave. But I am predicating a new wave that is more balanced, one that allows us to explore our internal revelations of the world while living and sharing the world’s common historical realities. The sun comes up every morning even if we are experiencing the dark night of the soul.
I will explain more fully why the rabbis did not and still do not consider Joshua the “prophet like unto me” (Moses) in later parts of this series, nor did they accept King Hezekiah as this successor. Some Islamic theology claims that not only is Muhammad the one and only successor of Moses and that he is also the one and only “Helper” of the New Testament, but that Judaism and Christianity have made erroneous interpretations of their own scriptures in choosing other candidates. I will address this in a manner that is not disrespectful to any culture, but, in fact, supportive of all, and supportive of the universal Christ.
Hello Robert,
I very largely agree with you on this subject of both the allegorical and historical interpretation of the Bible.
As far as gematria is concerned, I think you may be better at it than I in a technical sense. That is why I use only the simplest of methods.
Yes, I have been in Jerusalem many times and visited the Wall there – which seems to be the only part of the second Temple, or rather the foundation of the platform it was built on – that is still there, and I have seen the men davening in front of it. I did not know that it was in order to get into some sort of trance though, like the Sufi derwish dance maybe?
I like the way you compare both interpretations being necessary with the Hebrew alphabet and the vowel points. Indeed, without the characters there would be nothing to attach them to and everything would just vanish into thin air. The historical foundation must be there in my view. That does not mean however that I consider the Bible stories to be an exact account of historical events.
Integrating both interpretations is indeed one of the key aspects, I believe. We should rise above the duality of either …. or. We should learn to think inclusively instead of exclusively. Which leaves enough room to think differently about certain aspects of whatever the subject is.
As far as the rising of the Kundalini is concerned, I do not know if we would experience negative effects when we start chanting mantras to achieve this (as long as we do not succeed yet), but I do believe that these effects will be there when the Kundalini rises prematurely. There seems to be medical evidence of that.
I like what you wrote here: “The sun comes up every morning even if we are experiencing the dark night of the soul.” You might stretch it even further, I think. In your example you can still see the sunrise with your physical eyes (if you are not blind) and take comfort in that, but if the weather is in a state of depression as well, and you even physically cannot see the sunrise, then the sun still rises and we may count on that.
Love,
Anny
Robert:
This is turning out to be a great conversation. Here are what I believe to be the key scriptures in support of a non-literal, non-historical Christ.
Galatians 4:22-24
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman by promise. WHICH THINGS ARE AN ALLEGORY; for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar (Gal. 4:22-24).
The first time I saw this scripture I was absolutely floored – stunned beyond belief. I had been a lifelong Bible student, and yet I had NEVER BEFORE seen this scripture. And why not? Because my former beliefs left no room for me to see it. In general, we see what we are conditioned to see, and the emphasis on the literal leaves no room for the allegory. Once I decided I didn’t really want to believe anything anymore, but all I wanted was to know the truth, no matter what that truth looked like, then at that point I was ready to see it, and only then did I see it.
The Greek word for “allegory” in this scripture is “allēgoreō.” For the benefit of those that many not know the definition of an allegory, it is defined as “a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another (from http://www.dictionary.com).
I’ve heard it said a long time ago that we don’t see the world as it is, but we see the world as we are. I have, since I discovered this verse, shown it to quite a few people, and they all see it quite differently than what is actually written. This is one of the reasons why it is hard for us to change our views about anything. This is especially true if those views concern our lives. Many of us are simply afraid NOT to believe in the literal Christ because of the belief in our being condemned to a literal hellfire by a loving God if we do not conform to what it is we have been taught about God. This is the great curse of Jeremiah 17:5: “Cursed be the man that trusts in man.” Of course, we are all free to believe whatever we want to believe, but we must ask the question, “do I want to know the truth, or do I want to continue in the comfort of that which makes me feel good.” Spiritually, there is no condemnation either way, but understand that “strait is the gate and narrow the way to life, and few there are that find it.”
In my view, this scripture clearly tell us that the story of Abraham and his two sons is allegory. This is a huge biblical revelation and obviously has far-reaching implications. If the story of Abraham and his sons are allegory, I would like for someone to explain to me how you get a literal Christ (the son of Abraham) out of an allegorical Abraham? In my view, this scripture alone (although there are others, as you will see below), shows the allegorical nature of the entirety of the scriptures. I would like to suggest that you look at this scripture again and again, until it speaks to you, because it is very powerful, if we can believe it.
1 John 4:2-4
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is IN YOU, than he that is in the world (John 4:2-4).
Once again, we are not taught the meaning of this scripture in the realm of organized religion, and have been conditioned to believe that Christ comes in the flesh (i.e., as a literal human being), but when you read verse four (you may actually need to study it), it becomes crystal clear that we are talking about Christ coming IN YOU (i.e., in YOUR flesh), and greater is he that is IN YOU.
This scripture defines the anti-Christ as any spirit that does not confess to Christ being IN YOU. It is astounding to me that the experts of the religious world have been in such confusion regarding the subject of the anti-Christ, because this scripture makes it plain for anyone who is not afraid of it, at least in my view. All we need to do is to open our eyes. It is right there in front of us.
Our religious world is looking for a Christ to return and take us on to glory, which we are told is the literal heaven above. But the Bible itself has a different take on this:
Colossians 1:27
To whom God would make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ IN YOU, the hope of glory (Col 1:27 KJV).
Again, in my view this scripture is very plain and corroborates the other aforementioned scriptures which validate the veracity of a Christ IN YOU concept. This mystery works directly in tandem with Ephesians 5, and established the mystery of biblical marriage, which is you and Christ – male (Christ) and female (man) – becoming one flesh.
Ephesians 5:30-32
For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church (Eph. 5:30-32).
These scriptures all work in tandem to form the crux of the teachings of the New Testament, which is the marriage supper of the Lamb – our marriage to Christ. It is when Christ and we become one flesh. This is Genesis 1:26-27 fulfilled.
Further Problems with a Literal Christ
Picture yourself as a disciple of the literal Christ, having lived during the time of his alleged existence. You see firsthand the miracles he performed, and then he tells you “greater things will you do than what I did, because I go to my father.” What would you expect to do?
When he ascends into heaven (Acts 1), his disciples are told that “in like manner is he returning.” This causes us to look for a literal return of a literal Christ and actually denies an existence of an allegorical Christ, because you are literally told he is coming back in the same way he left. I’m sure others may disagree, but this is problematic for me, personally. Again, anyone is free to disagree about all this.
These are my views and reflect the reasons for my beliefs. It has nothing to do with ego, and if anyone would like me to consider an historical Christ, he or she would have to show me what the above-referenced scriptures mean.
Finally, consider some of the extreme miracles we find in the scriptures: Moses and the burning bush; the whole Red Sea experience in relation to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the burning fiery furnace, etc. Again, in my view it stretches the limits of everything common sense to see these miracles as literal. If you have ever stood on a beach and watched the vastness of the waters, and then consider that one man actually raised his arms and separated those waters, for me that is a little bit much, although I used to not only believe these things, but taught them as well. I guess I can say my beliefs have come full circle.
Blessings, Robert and all.
Paul,
I really like the esoteric variant of the interpretation of Christ in the flesh being Christ within our personal flesh. I think the Spirit is highlighting for you the importance of the Christ within. I still think the normal interpretation is still valid because it agrees with the rest of the references to Jesus Christ as Messiah by Paul of Tarsus, the one who knocked him off his horse and blinded him until he could be discipled by one of the followers of Jesus who he had been persecuting, the one he talks about as being propitiation for sin, the one who the disciples bear witness of throughout the Book of Acts. They reached a lot more people than Jesus did and performed miracle after miracle on his behalf (in his name), so those works were greater than his. The object of their evangelism was to spread awareness to newbies that they could live by the divine spirit within them. The Jewish believers were not encouraged to stop observing most of their covenantal responsibilities, but to continue to observe them with a new perspective, that the Kingdom of God was within them. No such requirements were put on the non-Jewish believers except common sense morality which they were free to refine using Jewish law as guidance if they wished to. There were thus two classifications of believers who were united by being awakened to the divine spirit within.
Many institutionalized churches took the focus off the spirit within and set themselves up as paid intercessors between God and their congregants. This has slowly changed, but not much, but will continue. Paul’s admonition to assemble together and strengthen each other is still relevant. But it is understandable that many if us have found our spiritual progress suppressed and weakened in conventional assemblies, some of which have taken the law, added some rhetoric about grace, and stuffed it in our faces, so that we want to rebel by quitting God or finding a spiritual alternative. Often the alternatives reflect some hostility to everything churchy, anything literal, or anything historical. My mission is to rescue the baby out of the bathwater. Physical assemblies of esoterically minded people do exist.
As for stretching common sense, I wish you the blessings of overcoming its limitations. More miracles of the type you can’t conceive as happening have been reported much more frequently in third world countries. Most of Western society does not need a burning bush. We need security from enemies, equality, redistribution of wealth, improvements in the economy, and last but most important, peace of mind.
Once again, both esoteric and normative interpretations coexist.
Hi Paul,
While I fully respect your opinion that only the allegorical interpretation is valid, you know of course already that I do not agree with this view. At least, not completely. Because I do believe in a historical reality – as far as we can speak of a reality in this world of illusion – behind the Bible stories as well, although I do not consider these stories and other texts to be an actual account of that history.
As an example to show why you feel this way, you use some texts from letters of Paul and John in the New Testament. As you may remember however, I have learned from several studies about the original manuscripts, that had continuously been copied and ‘improved upon’ for centuries already in order to spread the gospel, there are more differences between the varying (parts of) manuscripts that are still in existence than there are words in the whole of the New Testament. These studies were done by different people in different time frames and countries, completely independently from each other, with the same outcome. So I believe that these letters are hardly a basis to draw such definite conclusions from. At least in an absolute sense. Of course you are fully free to draw such conclusions for yourself.
Besides that these conclusions are based on an old English translation from Greek manuscripts which I believe to have been a (maybe even bad) translation from Hebrew originals, as I wrote about in my last article about the Bible codes. The allegorical meanings of words or texts that I found in the New Testament I could only find when I translated those texts or words back into Hebrew. So how much of the original letters is still left after all this?
Further I have never considered any of the letters to be ‘the Word of God’ but I see them ‘just’ as letters from one person to other persons, which certainly may have divine inspiration in them, as yours or mine may have as well, but are not the ultimate proof of anything in my view.
I have looked up this text from Galatians 4:22-24 in four different Dutch translations, of which two mentioned ‘which have a deeper meaning’ and only one mentioned ‘an allegorical meaning’. The fourth had something different altogether. I also looked up the word allegoreo, which is a verb, in my Greek dictionary where I found the translation: to speak in images.
As this is not a gospel but one of the letters, I do believe it was written in Greek as these people did not live in the area where Hebrew / Aramaic was spoken. And I do think you are right that IN THIS INSTANCE an allegory was meant, that is, if this was indeed the original text. However, to me that does not necessarily mean that everything in the Bible is meant to be interpreted allegorically, and even when it is, that there cannot be a historical background behind it as well.
You write: “In general, we see what we are conditioned to see, and the emphasis on the literal leaves no room for the allegory.” I think that the opposite can be just as true! You are so happy to have found the allegorical side of things (so am I) that you cannot see the possibility of a historical aspect any longer. Again, you are of course completely free to do so but when you say: “Spiritually, there is no condemnation either way, but understand that “strait is the gate and narrow the way to life, and few there are that find it.”, you do kind of claim ‘the truth’.
In my opinion we cannot possibly claim ‘the truth’ of anything whatsoever as long as we still live in this world of make belief in which literally everyone has created his or her own world with his or her own truths. As long as we are still in this realm of relatively lower awareness, we cannot even grasp the Truth with a capital T but only climb our own ladders of consciousness towards it, coming from wherever we started on our way up, and following the guideline of unconditional love.
All these texts you mention may have allegorical meanings, I agree with you on that point, only that does not at all prove to me that there is no historical background to the Bible generally.
A historical background does NOT necessarily mean that you have to take everything literally!
As far as performing miracles is concerned, I believe this is happening every day all over the world. Even in very fundamentalist churches sometimes. I think this is a potential talent we all have but not everyone has the inclination (or the faith!) to use it. I must confess that I am one of those but I have seen examples of healings for instance that proved to be for real.
When in the Bible is written that someone ascended, in the form of whatever metaphor, it does not mean that because of the allegorical meaning of this term this person never lived or climbed a mountain. Ascending can be meant both in a literal and in an allegorical sense, according to different levels of interpretation which can both be true.
When all is said and done, we are all going to ascend, which however does not mean that we are going to take off into space like a rocket but that our conscious awareness will rise to such an extent that the frequency of our vibration will become so high that we will enter a new reality which will no longer be a world of illusion or a dream world. Then the Truth will become known to us all.
Meanwhile I think you still believe too much in ‘either … or’ and that is not necessary. Not anymore now that we are moving past duality. Two sides of an issue can both be true in their own way, which does not mean that you have to concern yourself with both if you do not want to. Just that you keep open the possibility that what someone else believes might also be true. In your own writings you do not have to bother with this issue either way, I believe, just bring your truth how you see it, but as your truth. In that way you will not alienate people who do not agree with you right away and keep them from listening to all the valuable things you have to share.
And that is my truth and my opinion.
Love,
Anny
Anny:
We may have to agree to disagree on this point. As you mention, it is only my opinion (and I state on a comment on Robert’s first article in this series that I may be a party of one). I don’t have any problem with this. After all, all any of us have, if we are to be totally honest, are our opinions. We all have them, and we are sharing them. If we knew any of this, perhaps we wouldn’t be online discussing any of it, I don’t know.
I thought that we were simply having dialogue as to how we each felt about this subject. Perhaps I am wrong for sharing my views, although I thought I had stressed that it was how I see things. However, I think I may have offended some, and I have absolutely no intention of offending anyone.
Anny, you have completely misunderstood something that I said, and I want to make a correction so that everyone will understand where I am coming from. You said:
You write: “In general, we see what we are conditioned to see, and the emphasis on the literal leaves no room for the allegory.” I think that the opposite can be just as true! You are so happy to have found the allegorical side of things (so am I) that you cannot see the possibility of a historical aspect any longer. Again, you are of course completely free to do so but when you say: “Spiritually, there is no condemnation either way, but understand that “strait is the gate and narrow the way to life, and few there are that find it.”, you do kind of claim ‘the truth’. (emphasis mine)
Just to set the record straight on this issue, which to me is a very important clarification, I am absolutely not claiming any truth. By alluding to the “strait and narrow,” what I mean to say is that the literal interpretation is espoused by the many, and that I believe there is a spiritual interpretation that is much more narrow, but much more important. Now you may take issue even with that statement, and that is okay. Again, it is just my view. What I am NOT saying is that I have the truth. I definitely have not entered the Kingdom of God, and as such, I am not a lick different than anyone else on this board, or in the world (and even if I had entered the Kingdom, I still wouldn’t be any different than anyone else). Again, I am just expressing my own views on the subject, and why I see things the way I do. I will continue to acknowledge that I do not see any history in the Bible. That may change tomorrow, but that is the way I see it today. I used to teach it has history, so this is a more recent, and a major, change for me.
I don’t think I have condemned or ridiculed anyone with my statements, and if I have, please show me so that I can make the appropriate corrections. I think that on this comment thread, and in general, all of us are merely sharing what is inside us. We should all feel free to agree or disagree with any of it, without feeling bad, getting our feelings hurt, hurting others’ feelings, etc. If I have done any of that, I sincerely apologize.
I believe one of the major points of Divine Love is to be able to disagree without being disagreeable — to be able to love through any disagreements we may have, with each other and otherwise. As I heard a long time ago, “if two of you are the same, one of you is unnecessary.” Of course this is not true, but is a very humorous way of saying that differences are good. Sharing of divergent viewpoints, if we can back up what we are saying, can provide food for thought that we may not otherwise experience. There should be no compulsion felt one way or another to agree or disagree.
In short, it’s all good.
I say to all, don’t be afraid to express your views on this or any subject. The most important things to remember are to respect the views of everyone else without condemnation (don’t have an expectation for people to see things exactly as you do), and to remember that love is the force that should drive everything we do. Remember the Golden Rule: “Treat everyone the way you want to be treated.” Disagree if you must, but remember that we are all different, coming from different backgrounds, having learned to think differently, having different beginnings, etc. There is no need to be disagreeable, although sometimes we do this very subtlely, and sometimes even intentionally so.
Love to all.
P
Dear Paul,
Thanks for your reply to my comment.
I was a bit surprised in that you seemed to consider my comment as a criticism and that you seemed afraid that you had offended anyone. If you have ever offended anyone in your articles or comments, I at least cannot remember that. Nor was my comment meant as a criticism. Just as another view on the subjects that you addressed in your comment. I emphasized that at the end of my comment but not in order to make you wrong. I apologize if I gave that impression but my intention was just the opposite.
When you stated:
“Anny, you have completely misunderstood something that I said, and I want to make a correction so that everyone will understand where I am coming from. You said: You write: “In general, we see what we are conditioned to see, and the emphasis on the literal leaves no room for the allegory.” I think that the opposite can be just as true! You are so happy to have found the allegorical side of things (so am I) that you cannot see the possibility of a historical aspect any longer. Again, you are of course completely free to do so but when you say: “Spiritually, there is no condemnation either way, but understand that “strait is the gate and narrow the way to life, and few there are that find it.”, you do kind of claim ‘the truth’. (emphasis mine).”,
you were right. I did completely misunderstand what you were actually saying there. I got stuck in the old interpretation I learned in the church and which I rebelled against. You did indeed not claim anything like that and I thank you for explaining what you did say. I completely agree with you there and apologize for jumping to hasty conclusions.
You misunderstood however that I was implying that you might have ridiculed or offended anyone. I most definitely do not think so and I know you to be a very loving person.
I completely agree with your two final paragraphs and it was good to see that in writing once again, so we can become aware of that again in case we had forgotten.
Love,
Anny
Paul,
I sense that it is important for you to continue to explore allegorical interpretation of the bible together with you knowledge and experience with other religions. Maybe you will even be able to convince some of your friends and family to embrace the allegorical. Maybe you should not pay attention to me. My distinction is very subtle and quite, and may not be as conducive to blowing someone’s mind to jerk them out of slavery to overly strict literal interpretation.
I can’t afford that luxury. Somewhere down the line I have to make decisions in the material world based on a spiritual response to historical developments, like telling my congressman that I want my government to cut off funds to charitable organizations that funnel their money to Hamas for military purposes. Things like that. I care desperately for the Palestinians who are trapped in Gaza, and the sooner Hamas falls, the better for them, and the easier it would be to create the two state solution mandated by the UN so all can live in peace and prosperity. That is not going to happen as long as Iran uses and supports Gaza as its political puppet.
My interpretation of Galatian’s 4:22 – 24 is that Paul is not stating that the narrative about Abraham having two sons was not historical, but he is extracting an allegorical meaning from the narrative. There are historical descendants of Jacob and Ishmael. Some Talmudic rabbis were encouraging of the descendants of Ishmael who they traced to a limited but substantial nation that had 12 princes in the Middle East, but not the ethnic source of all Arabs, who are from a mixture of ethnic sources that preceded them. Islamic scholars have expended a lot of energy trying to validate the historical lineage from Ishmael to Muhammad without tangible results. I will reply to the rest of your comment later. Thanks for keeping up the dialogue.
Robert:
I can definitely appreciate where you are on this subject, and I am very sensitive to the sufferings caused by the Israeli/Palestine drama that appears to have no end in sight.
Two questions, though.
1. Can you help me to understand why the Bible needs to be interpreted literally in order to “make decisions in the material world based on a spiritual response to historical developments.” Is it not possible to make those decisions simply based on what is going on there?
2. In your view, do the historical accounts of the Middle East line up with the Biblical accounts? Because I see the language of the scriptures as symbolic rather than literal (including the concepts of Jerusalem, the Temple, Zion, Babylon, etc.), I can no longer correlate one with the other.
Thanks.
P
Paul,
Great question. In two- three hours from me writing this reply the Israeli elections will close and we will soon know whether Israel will pursue a one state solution under Netanyahu or a two state solution under Herzog and his partner.
There are two historical trends battling each other. One is the Jewish People’s claim to the original borders of ancient Israel through biblical and historical evidence. The other is the Quranical and historical push for Islamic world dominion, but especially in the entire Middle East, which sees a Jewish state, or any state that is not Muslim, as a gross intrusion. These have been like two trains playing chicken. Add to this the real danger of racial annihilation of the Jewish People, UN mandate for a two state solution, and now the world threat of ISIS.
I am not convinced that the most influential players of this deadly game are going to forget history and sit down in the here and now and make a plan to coexist, even if the general populations on both sides were in favor of it. It “seems” like my influence through decisions I make to vote and influence others can be supportive.
Brad has proposed that this is futile, and he may be right. Maybe the only way we can deal with this is to recognize it as an illusion or game which pulls us through our ego identifications into more and more endless entanglement, and the only way out is to withdraw from it and seek inner liberation, and trust everything else will be taken care of. This is something I will have to consider. Brad has done an excellent job of explaining from his first hand experiences why he concludes that this is necessary.
Something to consider as a precaution in surrendering the will to influence the game is that many Tibetan Buddhists, including the current Dali Lama, were displaced to India by an oppressive Chinese occupation of Tibet.
Paul,
I also think Anny’s suggestion of not viewing everything so black versus white, literal versus allegorical, is relevant to answering your questions. Both can coexist in various degrees, the symbolic interpretations and the historical settings. The symbolic (or abstract) has more universal and eternal value; but it is undergirded by divine design playing out through time and space in the historical (concrete). As I might have mentioned before, the predestined reemergence of the Jewish people as a nation in their ancient borders is not just a fairy tale. It is happening in real time and is as much of a sign and lesson to all of us of the providential aspect of divinity as the allegorical.
Robert:
Thanks for being gracious enough to answer my questions. Again, I can appreciate the difficulties the Israelites are currently facing, and I understand your passion in wanting to come to the defense of justice under these deplorable circumstances, on both sides of the issue. I believe it speaks to a true desire to love everyone and to want what’s best for everyone.
All,
Great comments all around, everyone one of them.
We now have a collection of comments and opinions all of which have validity in their own right, and all of which are worthy of respect and admiration, which is in the spirit of the greeting “Namaste” meaning I honor the divine presence within you.
We express our experiences in the same way that the blind men each expressed their experiences when touching different parts of the proverbial elephant. One who touched the leg said that an elephant is a pillar. The one who walked behind stated that an elephant is soft, mushy, and unpleasantly aromatic.
I thought it would be entertaining if I summarized some of our statements about the topic of this post, without really giving away what the topic was about. It is not intended to make a serious statement about any particular opinion. It is just intended to have fun and laugh about us together.
1. Understanding history, anatomy, or present condition of any particular elephant, or elephants in general. is a waste of time. The allegorical meaning of the story of the blind men and the elephant is all that matters, even if I encounter something that looks like an elephant running towards me very fast.
2. The only way we can truly make sense of anything is to fine tune our perceptions by emptying all thoughts and conditionings. Only then will we be able to understand what an elephant is, who we are, and to mind meld with the elephant so we don’t forget everything all over again.
3. The elephants stampeded my childhood village when they were chased by ivory hunters, so I would prefer not to have any association with elephants. It reminds me of chaos, which is most unpleasant, especially when I have finally found peace in my life. Please, no more about elephants.
4. It is not important to me what other blind men say about the elephant. I have my theory about elephants; believing in it is what I do, and it works for me. Thinking about pillars and soft, mushy things only gets me confused. Ugh. Let’s not do that again.
5. I was taught to love and respect elephants. I don’t care what anybody else says about them. They are real, they are good, and they are an inspiration. I don’t make wooden statues of them anymore, or have pictures of them all over my room. But I still have a special place for them in my heart.
6. Elephants do exist, not just in stories. They are not here now, but what was written of them is true; they are coming back no matter what we think.
7. It’s all imagination. If you imagine you are an elephant leg, you will be like a pillar. If you imagine you are soft and mushy, well….
Namaste,
Robert
Robert,
Loved this summary. Gave me a looooong chuckle, and so true in so many ways.
Wow, the comments here were very informative about diverging viewpoints and ones we can all agree on. Excellent all around.
Paul,
Thanks. Previous to the outcome of these elections and Netanyahu’s sudden turn into supporting an apartheid one state solution, no one could conceive of how Israel could lose so much favor with the nations, or how it could become this distant from its best ally, the United States. Very soon, on April first, the Palestinians under Abbas will have the right to charge Israel with war crimes in the international court. The biblical end time scenario of Israel being alone and undefended by its allies is no longer so implausible. We just never thought it would happen because of Israel’s own doing.
Robert and friends,
Both 1 and 2 are magnificent writings/observations from your perch which have created a “stimulus package” for our spiritual evolvement!
It is a thing of beauty to absorb the articulate comments from our regular community readers comments and also some new commenters.
It is nice to see you here Brad, an enormous pleasure trekking with you on your journey and what you have brought back to save and cherish.
A lovely voyage you have shared.
Your distinctively astute knowing’s propel me to cruise onto further lands of our ship of dreams!!
Recently, I came across something of value I would like to share with everyone for your contemplation, which has been a substantial part of my present mountain climbing of my own personal spiritual evolvement.
And thus I share…
“No reveries, no conversations, no tracing out of the meaning of phantasies, contain this now, which belongs to a higher order of consciousness. The time-man in us does not know now. He is always preparing something in the future, or busy with what happened in the past. His is always wondering what to do, what to say, what to wear, what to eat, etc. He anticipates; and we, following him, come to the expected moment, and lo, he is already elsewhere, planning further ahead. This is becoming — where nothing ever is.
We must come to our senses to begin to feel now. We can only feel now by checking this time-man, who thinks of existence in his own way. Now enters us with a sense of something greater than passing-time. Now contains all time, all the life, and the aeon of the life. Now is the sense of higher space.
It is not the decisions of the man in time that count here, for they do not spring from now. All decisions that belong to the life in time, to success, to business, comfort, are about ‘tomorrow’. All decisions about the right thing to do, about how to act, are about tomorrow. It is only what is done in now that counts, and this is a decision always about oneself and with oneself, even although its effect may touch other people’s lives ‘tomorrow’.
The feeling of now is the feeling of certainty. In now passing-time halts. And in this halting of time one’s understanding has power over one. One knows, sees, feels in oneself, apart from all outer things; and above all, one is.”
(Maurice Nicoll, who offers a hint regarding the nature of this now in his book Living Time).
As many of the community here know the trials of my mother’s recent passing, for her and myself brought us both to the “NOW”.
I can only imagine the beauty of human reverberations we created through this love in the “NOW”.
She took it with her to send back, I hold it here in the NOW.
With all of the unconditional love all of you have given me I am ok, with all our love going out unconditionally in the “Now”, we are all ok.
Sending now, with gratitude…
Sparks
Sparks,
On behalf of all our SOS friends, thank you for touching us with your inspirations. We stand in timeless unity and everlasting love in supporting you.
Ahabah אַהֲבָה Love 13
All
Thank you for your kind words Sparks. It is an enormous pleasure to be trekking with you as well! I’m happy to have found this haven of wise souls on the web.
This is a lovely sharing indeed. Here’s to us all simply allowing the NOW to arise in our experience of unconditional love!
Namaste,
-Brad
Thank you for the article and all who wrote in the comments, a lot of spiritual ideas about meditation have been made easier for me to understand. I’ve just loved reading them. I’m going to take what I’ve learned from here today and apply it to daily life.
Janine,
I am thrilled that the discussions have motivated you to explore meditation. I know my proposed theology to integrate the historical with the allegorical went against what many readers were used to, and I had to field a lot of objections. But now I am glad this post drew you to it so you could experience various responses that led to your new interest. I guess we tossed a lot of salad into the air and you spotted the radish you needed to find. Thanks for your encouraging comment.