Logan is not your typical super hero story.
In fact, at times it's so sad it's hard to watch. Maybe it's because I grew up watching Western movies that I really enjoyed this movie. There was a real grit to the movie that I liked. The reality that life is not always pretty and that it can be dirty bloody and down right loathsome. With the R rating, like Deadpool, the writers were able to develop the characters with more adult issues. For the most part, watching this, made me think of responsibility. Logan has a responsibility to Charles whom he sees as a father. He has a responsibility to Laura whom he finds out is his daughter (although, technically a clone). The Wolverine character has always been treated like an animal. He's been more about show and fighting then anything else. In many of the movie's he's referred to as an animal. I can't say that there are parts of this movie that I would quote. A lot of what I liked about the movie was entirely body language. There were moments punctuated by actual words but there was a lot of subtle communication between characters in this movie that made it great. The movie was about Wolverine finding his humanity in the most unlikely place at the end of his life...and learning to care again even though life had beaten him down. He had become in a survival mode routine grinding along day after day barely making ends meet so he can take care of Charles...what better to bear that burden then a beast? This movie felt new and different. I love that they chose to have a sad ending...yet, with a little spot of hope. There aren't always happy endings in life. I've seen it twice, once at home and once at the theater.. Both times when I watched it I cried when Wolverine's daughter calls him father. Throughout the movie they have a very tenuous relationship. He rejects her a lot and she doesn't accept him. When she finally calls him father after he rescues her along with her friends...and he says, "Oh, that's what it feels like," it simply hits an emotional nerve. Perhaps, it is because the movie is so bleak that I can't say it's in my top ten favorites but its definitely an instant classic. This one just isn't going to get old because it absolutely stands on it's own and it's so unique I doubt anyone can pull off anything similar with any credibility. I'll probably pop this one in every now and then when I need a good cry. Some of the scenes with the elderly Charles (Patrick Stewart) were just amazing. They reminded me of taking care of my aging grandma in her final days. No matter how proud the person might have been in their prime they are absolutely child-like and vulnerable when they are old. I highly recommend Logan.
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This is a transcript for my upcoming YouTube video on perception. I think it pretty much nails the topic and it absolutely felt like I was channeling when I made it. I was exhausted for two days after making this and almost look at this as made by someone else.
My goal is to keep all of my video's below ten minutes. My target audience is for people like my mother who never researched any of this deeply due to a lack of time. This means I have go back and clearly define as many terms as I can. This is a subject that I can write oodles about and it's a term I use often. Enjoy. Perception is a very interesting subject because while appears simple it is not. What is perception and why is it important? The definition of Perception is: 1. The ability to become aware of something through the senses. 2. The state of being or the process of becoming aware of something through the senses. 3. A mental impression. Now, in the Mechanical Universe point of view advocated by science all of our senses come from the body. Traditionally we are taught that there are only five senses. However, neurologists think we have nine senses and some scientists have argued that we have twenty one senses. The basic senses you are taught in school are: 1. Sight 2. Smell 3. Taste 4. Hearing 5. Touch If perception was limited to the body this limited point of view would be logical. Yet, how do we sense the personality of an individual. We can't touch, smell, see hear or taste the specific personality of a person...it's an intangible idea. In fact, most of the human world we perceive consists of intangible ideas. We cannot taste, touch, feel, hear or see the economy but we believe it exists because we seem to see the results in how easy it is to get a job or the price we pay to buy milk at the grocery store. The third definition for Perception, then, is what we really want to look at...that perception is a mental impression. Take a cup of coffee, for example. The cup of coffee is neutral. There is liquid inside a ceramic cup. We can weigh and measure the coffee. We know it's eight fluid ounces. We know it's a result of water going through grounds of the coffee beans we bought at the store. We know there is no cream or sugar added to the cup of coffee. On all of this we can agree. Yet, when I pick up that cup of coffee and take a sip the mental impression that I get from the taste is very different from what my husband will have. I've learned to do coffee tasting. I can identify the level of acidity in the coffee. I can pick up whether the flavor is more earthy or citrus. Sometimes I can even tell the region that the coffee is from. I can also tell if it's a bold, medium or light roast. My husband, if he picks up the same cup of coffee only notes that it is very bitter. He likes coffee with a lot of cream and sugar. Why is my mental impression different from that of my husband's when it comes to this simple cup of coffee? Does the coffee exist in two states...one where it's a simple experience and one where it's more complex? Is one experience right and one experience wrong? The answer to these questions lie in our ability to process information. Both of us are having the same exact experience, both experiences are real and yet completely different. I perceive the cup of coffee as being a satisfying experience and he does not. Where does this difference in perception come from? Why do we process the same experience differently? The answer lies in the concept of our individual consciousness and the personal subjective reality we have created. Scientists have been unable to prove where consciousness, that part of us that perceives ourselves and the physical world, comes from. They believe that it comes from just the right amount of chemicals in our brains. They have been trying to reproduce the effect of human consciousness based on this idea for decades without success. It is clear that our physical brain does not create perception by emitting chemicals. Perception, starts before the physical senses. There exists within us a mental impression of the world and our consciousness interprets that world based on what we expect. Prior to interacting and experiencing the coffee my husband and I have different expectations. I have trained my mind to pick apart the experience into categories while my husband simply determines if it is sweet or bitter. Perception, then, is the mental picture that an individual creates in their mind of themselves and the world. That mental picture is based on a number of ideas or beliefs that they have accepted to be true to them. We learn the majority of these ideas or beliefs from parents, peers, society and education. There is a mystery about perception. The big question, of ancient origin, is if perception does not arise from the sense of the physical body where does it come from? This is a subject that is tough.
People don't think about this too often. I've never seen anyone put it quite this way. Often times people get tripped up by their emotions and what they believe when it comes to this subject. I have no fear of presenting this subject in this way because I do not Fear Source. Let's take a look at the religions that descended from Abraham. If we remove all of our emotional baggage about what is wrong or right what do they really look like...how would I describe them to an alien visiting this planet? Let us, for the sake of this meditation, accept the idea that all of these groups were in touch with the same Source. Perhaps, it was intermediaries such as Angels who spoke on the behalf of Source and not necessarily Source itself...but either way they were being taught from Source about Source. These religions have accomplished a lot of positive goals...without the Abraham there wouldn't be monotheism (belief in just one God). There is a very clear progression of thought through all of these groups. So, let's take an objective look at each and how this idea developed over time through groups. This may be a bit cynical but I hold no romantic feelings for any of these religions. They served their purpose...each looking at the same truth from a different perspective....but they fall short when it comes to bringing peace to the world. The same fatal flaw exists in each. We will then, by the end of this post, understand why the Middle East is not at peace. The Jewish Tradition In the Jewish tradition they were taught their bloodline was going to be the chosen example to the rest of humanity. Naturally, they took this to mean that they were meant to rule the rest of humanity. In the days of Joshua they drove out and killed the people in the land from which they were meant to rule. They did this to establish the Kingdom that was promised to them. In fact, whatever contact they had told them it was okay to kill entire cities: "When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed[a] all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai[b] and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day." (Joshua 8:24-29). All other religions that were born from this group agree with the following two ideas: 1. The children of Abraham are an elite Chosen People of God. 2. There is One Supreme God. They, at some point, failed to live up to expectations and so they were allowed to fall under the rule of Babylonia and eventually Rome. They expected their Messiah to be like Joshua. They expected him to be a Warrior who would re-establish their authority over the rest of the world through war. This is why Jesus will never be considered the Messiah by the Jews. He was not what they wanted. He did not fulfill their world based expectations. They wanted someone who would prove their supremacy. Christians There was a time when Christians didn't like Jews because they rejected Jesus as their Messiah. They hate Muslims because they don't believe Jesus was anything more than a prophet. A lot of hatred used to be between those two groups. I've always found this interesting. There is a lot of confusion regarding what Jesus was exactly. The dogma teaches that Jesus was the only Son of God. According to Dogma, that Son of God was totally innocent. He was sent here and chose to offer himself as a blood sacrifice to appease a wrathful God so that the rest of us would not be destroyed for our sins. Jesus didn't say that, but it was said by people who lived during his day who were interpreting what happened...based on mostly Roman ideas. Taking the cue from the Jewish tradition of holy blood lines it was then said all nobility...or all of those recognized as Kings by the Pope who was ruling the world until Jesus returns to rule it...claimed that they were descendants of Jesus and thus their enlightened blood entitled them to rule their countries. In a way, Christianity rejected what Jesus taught as a path to peace. If they had truly understood the teaching there would never have been a holy war. Yet, it was important for Rome to gain control of the Holy Land of the Jews. From there they could establish even more supposed authority to rule the world in the name of the one true God. Rome and a lot of Christians went to war to fight for the place where Jesus died failing to understand that it was not important. He was never all that excited by worldly things because he had realized that he was an immortal soul that was not of this world. Why would a place like Jerusalem matter or even the temple? The only temple that really matters is within the mind. Jesus always taught the temple was within and not outside. The outer worship was a misunderstanding that he came to fix. He didn't place any value on Jerusalem or the temple. He predicted that not one stone would be left upon another of the Temple. He did not say that it was a bad thing...but seemed to use it as a metaphor to say that the old traditional Jewish approach to God that was in error would be essentially wiped away. Here, again, the people who believed in Jesus was the Jewish messiah believed they were elite. Although, they did extend this to the people who were not of Jewish descent after some debate. They believed that they worshiped the only son of God and only through him could they go to heaven (even though he told the religious authorities of his time that we are all Sons and Daughters of Gods...or at least the Jews were based on a quote from Psalms). As an elite group they felt it was necessary to make everyone think like them in order to save them from Hell. Muslims Muslims believe that Jesus was simply a prophet. In this, I agree because he never claimed to be the only son of God. Although, I do think Jesus was unique in that he willingly released his body and as such was able to show his light/astral body to his disciples and others. However, he clearly told the people they could do the same things and be just like him. If he was the one and only spotless Son of God as dogma suggests he contradicted himself. In many ways he followed the template of the Prophets. He clearly spoke on behalf of the Source. He sought to teach the people a new way of working with Source. The Prophets also made predictions that came true and worked miracles. In this way, I think that the Muslims have it more right then the Christians. They understand that all of the people who have ever taught on the behalf of the Source are equal. In fact, they are right in their insistence on not worshiping the self (Ego) or worldly objects (idols). In the realm of spirit that stuff is just not important. Although, it is a little bit off, because it's not really taught clearly why, the intention is sound. The only thing is, like the Jews and Christians, they believe they are an elite group that should rule the world and dictate to people what they can or cannot own as well as how to behave. They believe that their prophet is the last prophet of all time and that there will never be anymore...again this is in error that just doesn't make sense unless a group wants to claim that they are more "special" than the other religions. Conclusion Throughout the different iterations of the religions of Abraham we have seen groups set themselves up as the elite. Perhaps, they tie it to the bloodlines of Abraham. Always, however, they are the Elite that represent the only way to Paradise/Heaven. This elitism has caused a lot of suffering and mayhem in our world. Either way, with the knowledge they gained from the Contact they have with whatever Emissary from the Source they interacted....they felt that their people were the right ones to rule the world on the behalf of the One God that appeared to be mysteriously absent. The thing is that everyone has the ability to be a Channel for Source. That is starting to be accepted in the New Age/Spirituality group as never before on this planet. Shamans of all groups have always had this ability but the religions of Abraham are the only ones who try to say their contact gives them the right to rule the world in God's name. The amount of prophets is not limited to one group or one people. Instead, it is a universal ability as we are all One with Source. We are never apart from Source...and the Source is never truly separate from us. We don't require emissaries such as Angel's or even Jesus to interact with Source. Once we let go of this fear based belief that we are not pure or good enough to reach out to Source...we see simple truth. We also see with sorrow that these people became so twisted with their contact...and that the contact brought so much sorrow to others around the world. Instead of learning to love their neighbors they see them as inferior or infidels that need to be killed. I'm not sure if it was the followers not comprehending what these channels meant, the entity that they were in contact with or the channel's ego mixing with the message they were delivering to the people that caused the elitism. Either way, the purity of the message of Oneness was obstructed. At least they got the message of monotheism across and it spread across the world but it was a brutal bloody way of getting the message out. The Abrahamic religions, at their heart carry an elitists belief and brought a lot of unnecessary pain to this planet. I suppose, since they are born of a man who would sacrifice his innocent son to Source (which does show devotion but is twisted) it's not too surprising. There is a lot of truth in all three religions and all of them do carry the same message. That message was that there is only one Creator. Yet, too often the followers went too extreme and sought to exterminate the error in others instead of working with themselves or demonstrate a "godly" life. Often, this has been done out of fear of the one Creator and not love for All-That-Is. This tendency to react in fear and project the source of that fear outside of ourselves onto Source is common in many belief systems. Since we see ourselves as imperfect and inadequate it's scary to think of standing before Perfection. Yet, simple reductive reasoning insists that we must be perfect in the exact way that our Creator made us...how can we judge our perfection when we don't really know why humanity was created? If we were created to be companions for the One Source...then it's very possible that the reason we exist is simply to attain individuality...not a personality so much as a unique energy signature. In the end, it doesn't really matter because it's easy to trust that and all-knowing Source had a purpose in creating us and Source's creations are always perfect. Book Review of Ancient Egyptian Mysticism and It's Relevance Today By John Van Auken
I've always had a deep attraction to all things Egyptian. You don't have to believe in reincarnation or find the work of Edgar Cacye to be even slightly true to appreciate this book. If you merely pick it up out of curiosity to view Egypt through the eyes of a mystic...you'll enjoy this book. This is not a stuffy academic explanation or some philosophy academic studying of this topic. John Van Auken has been to Egypt and remembers a past life experience in Egypt. I am not an advocate for the stuffy professors of Egyptology with their 1800's anthropological attitude that everything that came before the egalitarian christian ideology is savage death magic. They, like many other academics, are very stuck in a particular era and there mindset has changed little from the time when King Tut's tomb was opened. Of course they think that Ancient Egyptian's (not to be confused with modern day Muslim Egypt) were obsessed with graves...because the majority of their artifacts and knowledge come from graves. John Van Auken always comes off as a very down to Earth regular guy who want's to make mysticism approachable for everyone. He has the phenomenal ability to sum up concepts that are very complex in every day language. He presents a wealth of material from Egypt to explain how the Egyptians saw life and death. They were a culture that were intricately familiar with the concept that spirit descended into the material world and became trapped. Further, they left a guide so that we may remember the way home out of material reality. Not only was that story encapsulated in what we commonly know as the Egyptian Book of the Dead (the name that the Ancient Egyptian scribe who wrote it gave it was Coming Forth By Day). In this book John Van Auken includes excerpts from the book of the Dead so we can follow Ani on his trip to the afterlife. The philosophy put forward for Egyptian Mysticism by John Van Auken fits well with the Buddhist belief in Samsara and the ability to attain enlightenment so that we do not have to reincarnate into the material world. This also seems to be the source material for the Sumerian religion. John Van Auken makes a strong argument that the Egyptian creation story correlates with the biblical creation story. I go back to this book when I'm comparing cosmologies all of the time. The one part that I have found repeated in all the creation stories is the part where Ra perceives himself and then starts naming his members who are the God's who accompany him. That's not very different from how in the Bible Adam naming things as soon as he is created. If you are interested in cosmology and Egypt I highly recommend this book. This approach to who Egyptian's viewed the world simply makes sense...instead of the Egyptian Book of the Dead being a 'spell performed for the dead to ensure they go to the afterlife' as the stuffy academics perceive it.... The full page color photos really bring alive his examples and he explains how the God's really represent concepts in the physical realm (a.k.a. forces of nature/archetypes) and the Egyptians knew they were weren't actual 'beings' (at least at the start of the Kingdom). A good portion of the book is dedicated to explaining Edgar Cacye's past life as an Egyptian Priest...which isn't as interesting as the explanations for the tomb drawings or John Van Auken's approach to Coming Forth by Day but it is very interesting. I refer to this all of the time in this blog and when comparing cosmologies it offers a very fascinating look into interpreting Egyptian Mysticism in a way that it actually makes sense...and ties in nicely with a majority of other cosmologies throughout the world. Instead of making Ancient Egypt appear to be a unique culture filled with magical heathen practices that existed within a vacuum without influencing other cultures...He explains how the Egyptian perception of life is still relevant in our life today. I highly recommend this book even if you look at it all as pure fancy and fiction it is a highly entertaining read. (The above is a picture I took from Mt. Wilson).
At this point, hopefully, you've read what I've discovered about the journey of the soul or what Tim Boyd calls the one story and Joseph Campbell called the Hero's Journey. The story of who we are and why we are here has always been hidden in plain sight. We write it over and over again. Only when we deal with all of our emotional baggage that we project on the rest of creation can we really see things for what they are truly. By now you should hopefully have read about my meditation on how the Kingdom of Heaven is not a place but a state of mind. Further, you should have read my meditation on Lucifer/Prometheus/Maui...and how they represent us and the disorganization of perception that occurred in our Minds when we created the Ego as an apparatus to experience the physical world. Now, here is something that really shifted my paradigm again. The Mind Of God As I explained before in the Mind of God blog there is nothing in all of the Cosmos that exists outside of All-That-Is/ Source. You can read this here: http://bridgetkorns.weebly.com/blog/category/mind-of-god. Different sources say there are three aspects of this source. The Unchanging One of which everything is composed, The one that perceived itself and created, and then the material world. The Unchanging One that is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. This part doesn't experience the material realm...is more like the data that composes reality or the particles that simply exist. The Egyptians call this the Womb or Nieth. This is the part that composes absolutely everything...this is the omnipotent, omniscience and the perfect aspect. In Kabbalah this is called The Kingdom. From that womb of potential one was produced that could perceive itself (I'm in midst of writing what perception means) and it was upon this sense of perception that, according to Kabbalah, light was unleashed so violently that it caused disorder. In Egyptian Mysticism this was Ra who created names for his members and these came into being int he form of the Gods who are int he following of Ra. From these Gods came "the Millions." (1999, Ancient Egyptian Mysticism by John Van Auken). This suggests that God is both latent and active. We can see a hint of this idea in science. In the Double Slit Experiment (which has been proven with the Scientific Method by several groups), light particles act as waves but when observed they become particles and this is why 'god' can be in two states at once...not only does God compose everything that exists but another aspect acts as an organizing principal that creates what we perceive. No Separation We are taught through Dogma that we must all be good little girls or boys in this life in order to gain entry into Heaven or exit Samsara. We believe that we must 'go' somewhere in order to rejoin with God/Source. The 'truth,' we are taught, is out there somewhere beyond our body and beyond us...we need outside information or some spiritual journey to a place to find the answers (astral or physical). This isn't true. If we are composed of All-That-IS and we are in the image of All-That-Is there is nowhere to go because we are always in contact with and a part of Source. We have never and will never be separated from Source. We can only perceive that a boundary exists because we do not experience communication in the form we expect when interacting on the Material Plane of Existence. The communication and the connection is always there. We only think that we are operating independently. We don't have to earn anything. We don't have to go anywhere. We don't have to die to the flesh to know All-That-Is. Since it is merely our state of mind that prevents us from seeing God/All-That-Is...we merely have to expand our consciousness to the point where we realize we are One with God. That we never left and that there is nowhere to go to find our answers. Instead, we know that we are a divine reflection, a copy (or mirror if you prefer) made in the same image of Source and so we have all of the information stored within ourselves. Once we begin exploring what that means we realize that we can experience the At-one-ment here and now. The experience doesn't become something that we only have when we die...it becomes a part of our life in this instant and every instant that we experience thereafter. Spark of the Flame Here is a simple metaphor. This is an old metaphor. You can see it in the worship of Ra in Egypt. In the Zoroastrian eternal flames. The Eternal Flame of the Goddess Smith Bridget. All-That-Is or Source is like the sun...a glowing disc that is warm and gives life freely. Each of us is made in the image of that sun...we each have a tiny little inner sun within us, that we normally call the soul, that is part of that larger ball of fire. That image is a perfect copy of the sun...it has access and contains all of the same potentials and energy of the Source. The flame of a candle is a smaller version of the fire in he hearth...and single flames compose the larger fire. The Source could not and would not destroy itself in any way shape or form so realizing that we are One does not diminish us nor Source. In fact, it makes everything stronger. The problem is most people act as though their souls are the moon. The moon reflects only diminished light back to the Sun. In order to access the knowledge of Source, to clear our little mirror of debris so we reflect back the full light of Source, we must simply Know Ourselves. That can be as complicated a process as you deem necessary. This involves analyzing our beliefs and how we react to our every day situation with the question, "Does this belong to me?" Too often we take on beliefs that are from our society, our parents, our educational system or some religious doctrine that does not genuinely reflect what we know at our core. We can go out and research this information until we are blue in the face...but knowing and believing information is two different things. That which we do not truly believe never really finds a place at the core of our being. After deep introspection it is easy to identify what is truly something you believe in versus what someone else taught you to believe (often at the punishment of destruction if you failed to believe it). Acceptance Of Self We must take that one step further in order to accept Oneness with All-That-Is. We must learn to love ourselves and not fear ourselves. A lot of the suffering I see comes from people rejecting some aspect of themselves. We walk around with what we think are these big dark secrets that if other people knew them or we admitted their existence to ourselves people would surely reject us. Well, not usually, and not if the people who surround you really love you. Love does not see flaws...it only sees beauty. For example, you might be aware of a great big pimple on your nose. Well, if someone really loves you they won't even notice it. The only people who notice and dwell on flaws in others are those who dwell on their own flaws. That's one of the ways you can tell if people are operating on the Level of Love which is of Source or the Level of Judgement which is of the Ego. Everything that is judged not perfect is cast out and denied in the person who cannot accept themselves. We can see that when people dis-own parts of their reality. They are disowning that aspect of themselves. The reality a person perceives is but a reflection of their inner state...it becomes clear they lack self acceptance and usually in the area that they vehemently deny or try to control in other people. If they hate drunks, they don't accept that they might have been intoxicated at one point and disliked how they behaved. If all they talk about is how they hate cheaters, more than likely they were a cheater at some point or are a cheater...unable to accept the truth about themselves they project their un-owned aspect on someone else. When we look at others and we see them as gross, disgusting or hard to stomach...we disown that in our own way we are gross, disgusting and hard to stomach. There is at least one person we have encountered in our lives that have perceived us that way. To deny this is similar to denying our own existence. We cannot always please everyone and always leave the best impression with everyone. We all have bad days, we've all made mistakes and we have all been the 'bad guy' to someone in our life. However, we can choose to relate to someone who is having a bad day...find that place of sympathy and loving kindness that we developed for ourselves and extend it to them. Instead of reacting in fear and anger to someone who is having a bad day...we can show loving kindness and patience. We can only have this loving kindness and patience when we develop them for ourselves first. We must admit to ourselves that we make mistakes, we have bad days, we are not perfect...and only when we have forgiven ourselves can we forgive all that we encounter. We can then extend the peace we carry within to other people. Conclusion To me this was a mind-boggling realization. I knew that it was the inward path that would lead to God/At-One-Ment with All-That-IS but I didn't realize that there never was separation....just the illusion of Separation to give us room to adjust to our own self-perception. As I wrote in my Standing Unashamed Before God post...it takes a lot before we can stand before God unashamed. A big part of that is forgiving ourselves for our seeming lack of self-perfection. Sure, we are not perfect as this world wants us to be but we are Not Of This World. We are of All-That-Is....and this world is but a fading dream. Unless and until we accept and forgive all of our own faults we will never fill that we are worthy to Stand Before Source. We created this world to hide from him what we thought were inadequacies and try to purge them. Yet, there are no inadequacies within us...yes, perhaps we have failed at some point in life but that is how we learn and we are not always what we think is perfect...but we are always what Source perfectly created us to be because we cannot be anything less or more. Who are we to argue with Source about the perfection of creation? Instead, on an individual level we think there is separation. We think we are alone when we are surrounded by God/Source/All-That-Is...we cannot and will never leave the infinite womb of the creator for we are always One. Yet, we focus on the trees never realizing that we never left the forest. We need not die nor go anywhere to experience the Oneness. We simply expand our mind until we perceive all of creation differently. I know some people are saying, "It can't be that easy. You say simply but it's more complicated then that!" The process needs only to be as complicated as you what you think is appropriate. Those who come to this realization earlier then others are no less valuable then those who make themselves jump through hoops. At the same time, we are aware that we are an individual and when we are awake we can choose to work with All-That-Is through the Natural Order because our role within this play of light is obvious. We realize that trying to impose our will on anything in creation is a fruitless venture. That nothing that Source wishes to exist will ever cease exist. That we are not the creator of our own reality but the co-creator willingly riding the tides of life wherever they may take us filled with wonder of the majesty of it all. Forever safe, forever loved and forever treasured by Source there is never anything to fear because not even Death which most people fear most (as Jesus proved) exists. We are eternal beings of pure consciousness that will exist forever and nothing can harm us. (The Photo Above was taken by me at McArthur-Burney Falls in Shasta County California)
There is a concept I've carried in my heart for a very long time. I don't know where it came from exactly. All I know is that it was something that I read when I was a teenager and first started searching for answers. Some where, I read the question, "Who can stand naked before God?" This resonated deep within me. I don't see this as being naked in body. I see this as standing naked in the way of the mind...with all of our thoughts, desires, needs and acts laid bare. How many times do we judge ourselves for the mistakes we have made and our seeming lack of perfection? How many times do we hide from God in fear that we are unworthy? How many secrets do we send into the darkness because we are afraid that if God saw them he would pass judgement? When I made the decision to live a life so that I would be unashamed before God I wasn't really sure what I was doing. Over the years I found that choice was hard to maintain because the very society we exist within believes in the justification of what I consider to be selfish acts against our fellow human beings in the defense of 'business,' 'survival,' and 'profit.' Fear Of God So many carry a deep fear of God. First, let's change the name from God. The word God has come to be associated with so many negative things. There are all sorts of different Gods, Gods of an elemental nature and Gods that were like humans in every way shape and form. This doesn't capture the magnificence of the One Creator. What I believe in is beyond the scope of most human imagination. The closest to it is the Force that they refer to in Star Wars. All of us are within the Source... nothing that exists is outside of the Source even if it carries the illusion that it is separate. The Source is the basis or the basic building blog of energy of all life throughout the cosmos. We know that particles seem to behave in an intelligent way...that is they respond and change their behavior when they are observed by a conscious being. Even the most minute form of life that we can pick up with our most sophisticated equipment seems to exhibit 'behavior.' I have come to the point where I realize that it is not right to fear the Source. Yet, the idea of fearing Source is deeply ingrained in our society. My friend Jennifer Lara wrote an excellent blog where she explains that the Jewish approach to fearing God actually consists of three different types of fear. To sum it up, the first type of fear is that of unpleasant consequences or punishment, second, is the anxiety caused by breaking God's law and the third is reverence for all life by seeing God in all things. As you can notice, one type of fear is of punishment, the other actually consists of anxiety because breaking the law suggests thee should be a form of punishment and finally the fear is a form of reverence. The idea Jenifer suggests is it is fear that instills a deep form of awe for Source. You can read her blog here: http://observationsfromasimplelife.blogspot.com/2017/05/what-does-it-mean-to-fear-lord.html?spref=fb. What is interesting to me is that although people fear facing the consequences of their own failure to act in ways in accordance to the laws of God (the Bible is full of laws, most that are not currently fulfilled but are now looked at as symbolic including specific instructions in animal sacrifice). Yet, people wish to invoke it on their neighbor as a form of punishment. They don't wish to be punished or suffer...but they will volunteer their neighbor for that experience. In fact, they would have the entire world be punished through the accepted form of a future catastrophic even known as the Apocalypse...and seem to crave witnessing that punishment upon their neighbors. If they realized that they are one with their Neighbor they would understand that to destroy their neighbor would be akin to destroying an important aspect of Source and themselves. Part of this ingrained fear rises from the political application the Abraham religions have invoked to control their citizens. To keep disorderly citizens in place they used fear tactics. Even if the state didn't find out you had broken the law God would know and punish you. When someone fears that their immortal soul will be punished for eternity as a result of their actions they will be less likely to commit crimes and more likely to attack others to secure their 'place in heaven.' Living A Life of Right Action Concerning the idea of fearing Source, I differ dramatically from the commonly accepted Christian beliefs. I believe that by living a life of Right Action we can stand before Jesus and God unashamed. Of course to understand the idea of living a life of Right Action, we have to define what that means. For me, this means that I make every decision from the perspective that will benefit the whole and not just me. There are a lot of laws in the bible. There are a lot of United States laws. One can memorize all of them. I prefer to sum all of them up, the idea is do not harm another being or do anything that would harm them mentally, emotionally or physically. Right action brings joy to everyone involved and harms no one....that is the guiding principal. When you are about to act the question is, "Does this benefit everyone?" If the answer is no, that it might harm someone in some way...then it's not morally correct to do it. Even if it's just saying a bad word. In this way, from the time I was a teenager I have striven to live a life where I could stand unashamed before Source. Have I been petty before to other people? Yes, and I've learned how to remedy that in myself. A lot of what allows me to do this has been looking into the eyes of another person and seeing Source there. I know their origin is from Source, just as mine is, and that on that level of Creation we are One. I can appreciate the creation that Source made even if the other individual cannot. I can appreciate them and that the they have a reason to exist because Source created them. That sort of love penetrates the other persons shell every time...they feel it and they light up. Spreading that love and joy is one of my favorite things...although, sometimes I have to be creative to wake them out of their negative thinking pattern. There are some people the light of love can't reach. I trust that some day they will awaken to Source but that's not my job in life...it's their choice to make that decision. To fear Source is to assume that Source made us imperfectly...which is impossible because Source is perfect. Therefore all of Source's creations are perfect the way he made them...but they do not share in perfection until they unite their will with Source's because only in that way are they complete. Why No Punishment? "I've done evil things!" you might say, "I don't deserve to stand before God for surely he will cast me down." I don't believe that Source considers us guilty. Not even Hitler. This is going to floor you, but as far as many traditions are concerned...the world we live in is but a dream, a nightmare, that the soul is having and nothing more. The Egyptians call this the 'upside down world' and the Buddhists/Hindu call it Maya. They maintain all of this world is just an illusion. Even in the bible, God put's Adam to sleep to make Eve because he is lonely...but it never says Adam woke up (we will cover what this concept might mean in a future blog)! Therefore, in the the reality that Source exists in, none of this has happened. That can be a hard realization for some people. You are not your body. This life, what you consider to be the waking world...is not the reality of Source. Think of it this way...as this is the best metaphor. We would never punish someone in 'real life' for what they do when playing Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. When they kill a pixelated character that's not real....yeah, sometimes the method they use is just evil. In the real world it's just evil...but they are not really killing anyone. If all of us are truly immortal souls made in the image of God that existed before we occupied these bodies and we continue to live afterwards...well, we are not our bodies. Just like we don't get too bummed out when our character dies in a video game....our soul doesn't really get all that bummed out when the body dies. Dang, the soul says, I didn't expect that to happen...but then it continues on because the Soul knows that it existed before and it will exist again. This world, these fleshy bodies...are no more who we are then the character's we play in video games. When Pac Man dies, no one cries because he isn't real. If anything, when we die we judge ourselves and then we make choices to balance what we experienced or did in that past life. Yet, Source loves us no less just as you would not disown your child from shooting another character in the video game Call of Duty. Does that mean that those people get away with what they did to other people? I guess you could say in the long run...yes...but that soul will go through trials and tribulations before they reach that point. No soul is given up on by Source...no one is beyond redemption. Yet, they won't allow themselves to wake up and be in the presence of Source until the point where they are unafraid. If you kill thousands of your fellow human beings, which when you cross over is a portion of yourself...you're going to put yourself through a lot of punishment until you don't fear standing before Source. I know, you're probably facing a lot of cognitive dissonance on this one. Fear of Jesus Now, this goes hand in hand with the Fear of Source. Most people know that Jesus died for them. Yet, they are afraid of Jesus in the same way they are scared of Source. I know that I was...but it wasn't until everything I feared most happened to me that approached Jesus. Even then when I encountered him in a past life regression I snapped myself awake. I learned a lot from that brief moment in that life but man oh man did that scare me. First, because I didn't want to feel important. Second, because I felt he had some sort of magic that he could read everything about me and despite years of living by making choices so I wouldn't be afraid...I still felt too broken to face him. Again, it's a bit silly to be afraid of Jesus because he did sacrifice himself to teach a lesson. I will cover what I believe the crucifixion really meant..and it is not in alignment with what Rome taught but that's a subject for another time. They were close to the meaning but they changed it because they wanted docile citizens they could lead so they taught Fear so that people needed them. By his own words Jesus was our brother and we are equal to him. He said that all of us were the son and daughters of God/Source...not just him. To fear him is to be in error. We are making a mistake because he simply set himself up as an example or a template which we could follow to become whole. He also proved that death is not real. In response of being accused of blasphemy for saying he is the Son of God in John 10:34 he said, "Is it not written in your law, "I have said you are Gods?" While, this is partly true, it is not usually explained correctly. People see that as meaning that Jesus alone is the Son of God but that is not what he taught. He explained that we are all one...that we are all equally Sons and Daughters of Source. Because we are made in the image of Source that makes us little gods. He never claimed what he did was 'special' to him but that all people could walk on water if they really understood what he was teaching. Jesus can't truly save us, not by some magical means, but he did teach us how to save ourselves and reunite with Source. He taught us how to wake up. That is simply by submitting and combining our will with Sources. That too is a future blog post. Conclusion I will be writing a blog on how important it is to release Fear. Living life in a way that we could stand unashamed before Source...or at the very least Jesus....is so important. That is one of the key steps along the path to being able to release Fear and the belief that we are unworthy of being in the presence of Source. To say Jesus was the only way...well, that's debatable...because the Levites were allowed to be in the presence of God in the Temple before Jesus existed. I haven't heard a good Christian explanation for that one...did all the prophets prior to Jesus die and not have the chance at heaven because they passed away before Jesus came to the Earth? These are tough questions if you are looking at this from the dogmatic Christian point of view that we only live once and only reach heaven through Jesus. There is this beautiful connection between these two concepts...Releasing Fear and being unashamed. In this too, is the release from guilt. I don't know why anyone ever truly believes that Source would destroy them. This suggests that they were never meant to exist...which means that Source is not perfect and can make a mistake (this summarizes the plot for Dogma by the way and is an old philosophical dilemma that has been declared unanswerable). That isn't truly what happened at all...we made the mistake but Source did not. Again, as I said before each of us are so important that Source knew what would happen when we were created. All of us are so important that despite all of our mistakes...we were needed and desired by the Source of Life. We were desired to be companions to Adam...and, therefore Source....because Adam (and perhaps Source) was lonely. Why would a perfect being destroy it's creation? The Source would not. Yet, the greatest way to start lessening that Fear is to start living in Right Action. To love your neighbor as you love yourself (of course, to do that you must first learn to love yourself)...and learn how to love the Source without fear. I know that's a lot to ask a person to accomplish...but it's perfectly doable. I've done it...and it's been a worthy journey. I have no idea where I'm heading...aside from home when I leave this life. I have no fear of death, I've experienced it in my Past Life Regressions and it's not sad...it's more joyous and even more so if you've lived a life of Right Action. On a side note...in Alchemy the number for Earth is 5 and Earth represents Fear. If we look at this based on how Edgar Cacye views the planets in our solar system (Each representing a lesson)....the main thing we came to do on Earth is to experience and learn from Fear. Fear can be a powerful teach or or a horrible dictator depending on what we create while we are on this planet. Normally, I would be doing a review for a book today.
However, my ex-brother in law that has been in my life for nearly twenty years has gone missing. He disappeared Mother's Day from his home in Odessa Texas and has not been seen since. This is very much out of character for him as he's very devoted to his sons and his job. He was last seen wearing the same shirt as the picture. He's about 5'9" and 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Please, everyone say a prayer of protection for Rene Zarazua that he may return home where he belongs safe and sound. May the angels attend and protect him wherever he may be. May the light of Source shine so brightly upon him that no mystery or secret can remain hidden in this matter. If you have any information about him please call Odessa Police. This is just a continuation of the last blog.
Above we see four character's that are considered Trickster characters that conform to the archetype from recent movies. I love all of these charecter's but as you can tell only one of these is straight up evil. Dead Pool, Captain Jack Sparrow and Loki tend to have humbling moments that make them appear human. This is just a thread of coincidence that I noticed when reading certain books. To me, as I suggested in the last blog, the Devil is nothing more than our Ego. Humanity once knew that the ideas and the knowledge it held was preserved in the form of Gods...much like chapter headings in books. Each God was just a way of organizing knowledge but the bodies of knowledge they stood for were lost in antiquity and when Christian anthropologists looked at them they saw only they only saw their own biases. By projecting onto the inferior humans that came before them they rendered the ideas incomprehensible, magical and removed them from reality or practical applicable knowledge. I'm just going to let these quotes stand for themselves and you can come to your own conclusion. Enjoy! Joseph Campbell Joseph Campbell was the first to identify the Trickster Archetype. Here is what he had to say: "There is a figure, in American Indian Myths, that represents the power of the dynamic of the total psyche to over throw programs. This is the negative aspect and it's called the Trickster. It's a very, very important figure in American Indian mythologies. In The East, in the forest lands of the North East and South East it's the Great Hare, a rabbit. When you go West of the Mississippi in the plain lands its coyote. You get up in the North West Coast and it's Raven. These are smart clever birds and animals. It's a great puzzlement to well train Christians to come across the Trickster Hero because he's both a kind of devil and Fool and the creator of the world. So, he comes in as a upsetting factor he breaks through, he even breaks through the notion of what a deity ought to be and this, I think, is about as good as an example as you can find anywhere of the Trickster Hero." (Taken From: https://youtu.be/JM10AvJ3bsM). The Mystery of Skara Brae (Laird Scranton) "In the Dogon conception, matter begins in a perfectly ordered state in the form of primordial waves. For the Dogon, existence takes its true form as waves, and our material world represents only a kind of reflected image of that fundamental wave like reality. The Dogon and Egyptians define water-like source of matter with the term Nu. So, it's significant that the Farose definition of the world also includes the meanings of "fountain" "spring" and "fountain head" because it demonstrates that the people at Skara Brae likely understood the cosmological concept of Nu in the same essential ways as the Dogon and the Egyptian." (page 31) The Blackwell Companion To Religious Ethics "According to the Dogon Amma's first attempt at creation failed. The elements remained stagnant and sterile. Amma set them into motion by emitting the vibration of his first word. This churned the elements within the cosmic egg to form the pairs of the original primordial twins. But the world as we know it was was created in response to the restless determination of Ogo, one of these beings. The impatient Ogo broke away prematurely from the cosmic egg, tearing away a piece of placenta which he scratched and stretched to make Earth. Next, he stole some sacred grain to create a fecund world of his own making. When this failed without his twin partner, he tired procreating with the mound of the placenta Earth but still failed. The havoc that Ogo sewed upon on the cosmic order nevertheless created this world. Rather then destroy the mutated universe, Amma repossessed the new creation by consecrating it through sacrifice. Then to ensure ongoing manipulation of the cosmic elements and the Earths fecundity Amma created human beings." (pg 440). "For the Dogon, the process of creation began when matter in its wavelike state is disrupted by an act of perception. The Dogon and Egyptians refer to this act using the term Maa...the Dogon Priests say that the mere act of perception causes the perfect order of the primordial waves to be disrupted and creates a kind of chaos that must then be fundamentally reordered and restructured. The stages of this re-ordering of mater create the Po Pilu." pg 31 Edgar Cacye and the Kabbalah Kabbalah teaches that when the Creation burst forth from the Darkness of the deep, it did so with such intense brilliance that it broke open all of the orbs (shevirat hakelim: "breaking the vessels") The orbs were unable to contain the light (netzotzot)- that is, all except the tenth orb: Kingdom and the "little I am" of those created in the image of the Great I am. Wonderfully the contained light then flowed backwards to it's creator, gathering all the shards (kelipot) of the broken orbs and repairing them. Miraculously, the image of God as expressed in the tree of life was whole again for all of creation to comprehend. Before the repair, chaos reigned. As the light flowed backward, order was re-established. The Infinite was now revealed in a balanced manner. According to the Kabbalah, this balance was achieved by "hinging" energies and perspectives that appeared to be opposing forces but in balance, they complimented one another in specific triads or trinities." (page 76) Course Of Miracles "The ego is the part of the mind that believes in division. How could part of God detach itself without believing it is attacking him? We spoke before of the authority problem as based on the concept of usurping God's power. The ego believes that this is what you did because it believes that it is you. If you identify with the ego, you must perceive yourself as guilty. Whenever you respond to ego you will experience guilt, and you will fear punishment. The ego is quite literally a fearful thought. However ridiculous the idea of attacking God may be to the sane mind, never forget that the ego is not sane. It represents a delusional system and speaks for it. Listening to the ego's vice means that you believe it is possible to attack God, and that a part of him has been torn away by you. Fear of retaliation from without follows, because the severity of the guilt is so acute that it must be projected." (unknown page) "You are a being blessed by every beneficient though of any of your brothers anywhere. You should want to bless them in return, out of grattitude. You need not know them individually...the light is so strong that it radiates through the Sonship (humanity) and returns thanks to the father for radiating his joy upon it. Only God's holy children are worthy channel's of His beautiful joy, because only they are beautiful enough to hold it by sharing it. It is impossible for a child of God to love his neighbor except as himself." (page 97). "Ideas of the ego can conflict because they occur at different levels and also include opposite thoughts at the same level. It is impossible to share opposing thoughts. The decision to share them is their purification....as you teach so shall you learn." page 108. Conclusion I'm not sure if everyone sees what I say in these above quotes. The Trickster is not something to fear. If anything, it's something that improves. By breaking through outdated modes of thinking it introduces something new and an opportunity for growth. So there is no scary devil out there trying to fool you. There is just the Ego which is something we created to experience physical life. That is another blog post in and of itself...yet, it was this Ego that made havoc of creation. As time only exists within our part of reality it is possible for all of this to have happened already...while we still experience life on Earth and have yet to form a connection to each other as one body that can hold and reflect back the light of God. Perhaps, that is what we are in the process of doing in this stage of life on Earth. I was recently watching a YouTube video featuring Tom Campbell and Bruce Lipton. In it, Bruce Lipton explains how it takes hundreds of amoebas to form the human body. The next stage of evolution on the planet is for all humans to come together to form one being. Each needs to retain their own individuality. For example, the cells of the heart are not the same as the cells of the skin and for good reason...if our entire body was just one clump of heart cells it would not be functional. Each person, then must retain their individuality but it's in unifying, sharing and acting as one we will really 'evolve'...not through the manipulation of technology. There is ample room in the cosmos for multiple perspectives on life. Working together united with the will of the Creator/God/Source...amazing things can happen. Now, this is an interesting complex subject
This is going to be a long blog and it's going to tie up a lot of loose threads some of you might perceive...and possibly blow your mind. We are going to explore the idea of the Trickster and what it really means. Not what our fear based ideas project onto the Trickster but what it really represents. The Trickster is usually seen as the sower of disorder. Where he goes chaos follows. I wonder if the Pepe the Frog Kek thing has to do with the The Trickster character. Aside from Source, I have come to a state of being that suggests that all other types of "Gods" were just used as a method of teaching knowledge. Both Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell recognized the Trickster archetype. There has been much confusion on this subject. We will look at the characters depicted through various spiritual practices that are Tricksters. Then, I will draw my conclusion. In our Current Paradigm on this planet the Trickster is something to Fear. If I say the Devil some religious people might faint. Just saying his name, the superstitious believe, draw's his attention. Once you cross that point where you realize that you are an immortal aspect of All-That-Is or Source there is no fear of destruction. What is it that you can fear when you are One with that which is and creates all? So, with that in mind....let's dive into what so frightens and terrifies humanity in their current frame of mind shall we? Ogo, The Pale Fox As always, when people try to understand stories from other cultures they project onto them. When doing a search of Ogo you might find a wealth of information. Most of it is taken, thanks to our prudish society, to be very sexual and dirty in nature. I am going to summarize what I read in the book Titled The Pale Fox by M.Griaule and G. Dieterlen. First and foremost, if this wasn't an important figure in the Dogon Cosmology...why is it that Griaule and Dietrlen named their book on the subject The Pale Fox as opposed to the creator deity's name- Amma? The story goes something like this: When Amma, the creator God of the Dogon was creating the cosmos he made eight sets of twins. One of those, Ogo, before his sister was fully formed, slipped loose of where he was supposed to stay and tore out a piece of the placenta from which he was born. He then took that part of the placenta and tried to create with it believing he was capable of creating a cosmos equal to Amma's. This brought disorder to what was once the orderly system of the cosmos. Because of this Amma took Ogo's Twin and hid her in the Sirius Star system. The Earth is the product of Ogo's disorder. Eight ancestors were sent an Ark to the earth. "...the shape, design, and proportions of the Ark express all of the principals and science humanity would need for the regorganization and at-one-ment (emphasis mine) of Ogo's Earth." The above excerpt is from this website which has a the full story of Ogo: http://www.secretoftheankh.com/?p=79. Keep in mind that this story is told differently for different levels of initiates. This is why there are so many versions. A lay person would be taught something very different from the more involved information the Dogon Priests. They believed that anyone who had serious inquiry and asked the right questions must be given the correct answers. Those who did not ask the right questions wouldn't be given the information.(This is normal in almost all spiritual systems). Prometheus Prometheus has conflicting myths about him. First, he was a Titan so he is one of those forces of nature that exists before mankind (much like Ogo). In one tale the Titan is the one who created mankind from clay. In two different tales he stole fire from the God's and gave it to mankind. In one story, he is said to have given it to them in a reed. In another story he is said to have returned the fire to them when Zeus wanted to keep it for cooking his own food. Either way, since he made Zeus angry Prometheus is tied to a stake where an Eagle eats his regenerating liver. The liver is a purifier...so, this symbolizes that the Titan is unable to purify his body. So again, we see the trickster who plays a role in the creation of mankind and represents a body that is kept in constant chaos (by not being able to purify). Source: http://www.ancient.eu/Prometheus/ Maui Again, we find that the Trickster Demi-God Maui is credited, in one version of the myth to have created mankind. In the myths he is abandoned by his mother who ties her Top Knot around him giving him the name Maui-Tiki-Tiki. The ocean then takes him to the Gods who save him. He too is credited with stealing the fire of the god's and giving it to humanity. Strangely, the Disney film depicted him pretty well so I'll just include the song, "Thank You," that really captures most of what I've read about the character. (https://youtu.be/79DijItQXMM). The one main difference, is that in some of the different myths he returns to his mothers house where he has three older brothers. (http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Le-Me/Maui.html) Coyote This is from Jamie Sams Animal Medicine Cards: "There are thousands of myths and stories about Coyote, the great Trickster. Many native Cultures call Coyote the "Medicine Dog."....You can be sure that Coyote will teach you a lesson about yourself. Coyote has many magical powers, but they do not always work in his favor. His own trickery fools him. He is the master trickster that tricks himself. No one is more astonished then Coyote at the outcome of his own tricks. He falls into his own trap. And ye he somehow manages to survive. He may be banged and bruised by the experience, but he soon goes on his way to even greater error, forgetting to learn from his mistakes. He may have lost the battle, but he is never beaten. Coyote is sacred. In the folly of his acts we see our own foolishness. As Coyote moves from one disaster to the next, he refines the art of self-sabotage to sheer perfection. No one can blindly do themselves or others in with more grace and ease than this holy trickster. Coyote takes himself so serious at times that he cannot see the obvious; for example, the steam roller that is about to run over him. That is why, when it hits him, he still cannot believe it. "Was that really a steam roller? I better go look," he says. And he is run over once more. Contained within the trickster medicine is the humor of the ages. The cosmic joke is not just on ourselves but on everyone else, if they are following Coyote or have strong Coyote medicine. Someone like this may be able to convince others that a skunk smells like roses, but the fact remains it is still a skunk. Lucifer There are three words that are used interchangeably in dogmatic Christian tradition: Lucifer, Satan and The Devil. The Devil is undoubtedly a trickster character. Since Christianity is such a dominant religion delving into this subject for research can be intimidating. This can lead to a heck of a lot of confusion. For now, we will just look into the one word and how it has been used. Lucifer meant the Morning Star and it also referred to Venus. (Note: Jesus was reffered to as the Morning Star. This apparent contradiction will be explained). Again, Lucifer is called in Isaiah the Light Bearer. In Dogma (it's not in the bible at all) we are taught that Lucifer was the leader of a group of Angels. Those Angels turned on God, fell from grace and became Demons. They were cast out of heaven to their own domain of Hell where we will go if we are bad little boys or girls and don't listen to Christian Priests. Further, if you look at the book of Job we are told that it is The Devil or Satan that God consults with and decides that Job's faith must be tested. So not only is this character a Trickster but he is also the Tester. I think it is important to note in the Jewish religion there is no Lucifer/Satan/Devil character that is the equal and opposite of God ruling over a domain called Hell. That is entirely a Christian creation. The Morning Star Myths The Caananite God Attar was associated with the Morning Star. Attar attempted to take the throne of Baal and when he was not able to descended into the underworld. Ishtar/Innanna was also tied to the Morning Star, Venus. That character descended into the underworld to visit her sister. There she was crucified until two witnesses went to her one of the elder God's who then came to retrieve and revive her. The Babylonian god Etana was similar. In this case he wanted the highest seat among the divinities and was cast down by the supreme ruler. As we can see, what happens is there is a repetition of those who are associated with the Morning Star visiting the underworld. I have proposed before that Inanna was representative of the souls involution/descent into matter. Edgar Cacye Morning Stars In Reading 364-10 Edgar Cacye gives this amazing account of the start of creation: Hence we have that which has been given through many of the sources of information, or the channels for individuals - and in those, these, the entity - as a voice upon waters, or as the wind that moved among the reeds and harkened, or again as when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God beheld the coming of man into his own, through the various realms as were brought by the magnifying of, or the deteriorating of, the use of those forces and powers as manifested themselves in a material area..." Conclusion This blog contains hints of where I'm going with this information. What becomes clear is that the Trickster character is a self-sabotaging entity throughout many cultures. We seen an association with both light and visiting the Underworld. Also, another interesting note is that Light is the maximum limitation of our cosmos. Nothing can exceed the speed of light. Laird Scranton makes this observation when he explains that he believes that Ogo represents the scientific concept of Light. I propose that the Trickster character throughout myth is our Ego. Ego believes that it stole the light from Source so that it could make life in it's own image on the same level as God/Source. Therefore, we are the Fallen Angels, the Morning Stars, of the Christian mythos (again, this is not even slightly in the bible but was created entirely by the Roman Catholic Church) tricked by our own egos and probably the desire to experience eating into the involution into matter and forgetting our connection to Source. That story is nothing less then the same story as the fall of Adam which is a subject we will visit next Friday in a blog called: Meditating on Adam and the Garden. No doubt, to solidify their authority the Roman Catholic Church invoked Fear by creating the Devil. The Jewish people, from whom the Christian religion was born, had no such outside character tempting them into sin. The Roman Catholic Church turned the Trickster into an unnatural force outside of the individual that the individual had no control over....therefore they needed the Roman Catholic Church to keep them safe. We continue to glorify this idea in almost every Horror film. This is in error...but with all things what people believe they create and so they can truly make it appear that a demon can posses someone. The Ego is entirely something we create. I will explore more of this in a blog on Monday the 22nd. In our next blog we are going to delve into the concept that creation of Ego created disorder and how this lead to the illusion of separation. This is just a thread I've followed some books that I recently read. Strangely in a case of synchronicity, Light recently came up as an important part of two movies: Split and Guardians of the Galaxy with the character called Ego. The idea that the Light is what gives different personalities (alter egos) in Split, (each 'grabs the light') in order to control the body is fascinating. In Guardians, it was the awareness of the light that caused the planet Ego to become aware of itself (very similar to the outline of events that might have created our Universe that I will be covering in my next blog). By manipulating the Light that emanated from the brain at it's center Ego created an entire intricate world (although, devoid of life) and once the movie comes out on DVD I'll write a review but essentially the planet name Ego in the movie is the perfect metaphor for the human ego. I was attracted to this book when I was in the depth of my own crisis after my daughter Lilith-Ann died. I felt as though the rug had been pulled out from beneath me and that I needed some sort of guidance to get me through.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who finds themselves in a Dark Night of The Soul without a compass. The book is a gold mind of spiritual and psychological information. Colette Baron-Reid is a psychic intuitive but she approaches this book from a psychological perspective. The inner landscape that she guides you through is that of your own inner terrain. There are 12 hefty chapters that you make your way through the book. First, you find out where you are on a map mentally using guided meditations. Then she reviews when you are...because it can be very easy to be stuck in the past or try to reside in a hypothetical future. In many of the chapters there are Guided Meditations and there are journal activities to help you discover your psychological map along with where you are on that map. Guided Meditations My favorite meditation involved the Goblin. All of us have an inner accuser that says that we are not good enough. That's the part of us that prevents us from achieving the best things in our life because it causes us to doubt ourselves. My personal Goblin was named Shame and it was huge. Learning to accept this part of myself. I was ashamed of being dyslexic, ashamed I had not achieved more in my career, ashamed that I was still childless in my thirties, ashamed I was paying for a degree I wasn't using...that troll was huge. Just learning that a part of me had been guided by that Goblin for a long time was a staggering discovery for me. That part of me had been locked away in a deep dark hole for a very long time. My second favorite part of the book was the Gardener. The Gardener is the one that we meet in our Mental Field of Dreams. Here this gentle teacher shows us how to clear the soil of thorns and weeds so that we can plant and water what we want in our lives. The guided meditation in this section was really wonderful and healing. The magic that Colette teaches us in The Map is our own inner psychological power. She gives us tips and acts as a guide to a Map that outlines our own inner mental landscape. As we work on befriending our Goblins and working with the Gardner to grow what we want (as opposed to the fear we usually subconsciously grow) we learn more about ourselves. Conclusion The Map is all about the Inner Psychological Journey. The Magic it teaches is how to identify your own mental map so that you can choose where you dwell. Are you in the Ghostlands where you are living in yesterday or are you in the Sticky Swamp where you just need to let things be for a time to percolate? What Seeds are you planting in your Field of Dreams? I highly recommend The Map to anyone who desires to know more about themselves and how to change th way they think. As they say, when you change yourself you change the world. You can buy it on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. |
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Brave Soul! May Your Journey On The Path Of The Seeker Bring You Joy and Peace! I'm currently posting every Saturday. With a new addition the family I have pre-scheduled most posts through December 2022. Full Moon Posts will contain up-to-date content when I can get to them. Thank you so much for your support and understanding! This is a place where you can encounter new spiritual ideas that have helped me develop as an Individual On The Path of the Seeker. Take or Leave this information as you see fit. Archives
April 2024
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