No Expectations
Moving Mountains Effortlessly This is the perfect New Years post. I love how I "meant" to write this weeks ago but it just naturally happened today. One of the 'themes' I'm experiencing in my current life is the idea of having no expectations. This is, right now, my favorite thing to practice daily in life. Believe me, there are numerous times even within one day when this practice can be applied. As we enter this New Year there is a tendency for us to set '"New Years Resolutions" or things we want to change during the New Year. Most people choose physical goals- usually exercise more or lose weight or some other thing they would like to change physically. Those goals usually turn into insurmountable mountains that we bang our heads against and eventually we just give up on. Some people's New Years Resolutions are given up within days, some are more stubborn and it takes months while others never start. This year, I'm setting more abstract 'spiritual' goals. I have chosen to see this year as the unfolding of a present. I sit back, watch the paper get taken off (Spring), the box open (Summer), the plastic wrapping within removed (Harvest) and finally the revelation of the whole (Winter). I don't want to hurry the process but just enjoy each part. Another way to view it is a journey into the forest. Grandma's house is at the end of the Journey in December. Until then we get to go on all of the twists and turns of a familiar yet different hike along the path. Not Projecting Too often, I have discovered, that I project too much onto an upcoming event. Other people do this too. When I do this and I have high hopes of an exceedingly fun and 'perfect' time I've discovered I often feel incredibly disappointed in the moment and unable to truly enjoy the experience. In the other direction, if I'm dreading a particular event I find that I make it worse subconsciously when I'm undergoing the experience. I'm leaving the door open this year to limitless opportunities. I do not want to color it in any fashion or project on it because I know I have a limited point of view from my perspective. I might not currently see all of the doors and if I set in my mind that I only wish to open certain doors along the path I might leave great adventures and opportunities undiscovered. I'm not expecting anything but I'm open to the sheer possibilities. I figure that my Higher Self will fill in the blank canvas and it will be better then anything I can really come up with on my own. Now, this doesn't mean I'm going to be lazy and not help. Obviously, I will follow the general formula of life. I'll make appointments, show up to work, and all of the normal tasks. What it means is that if something doesn't appear to be easy or I don't know how to do something I'll just let it unfold naturally. Things always find a way of happening regardless of how much 'work' we feel we need to put into it. Effortless Life is an effortless process. The sun does not require us to perform rituals for it to rise every day. Yet, in Ancient Egypt at one time the priests believed that if they did not perform their daily rituals it would not rise. We know that Mother Earth has a rhythm all of her own and that she is very good at taking care of herself without the intrusion of man. Indeed it is whenever we try to exert our control over her that things become troubled. (Which is why this trying to 'fix' global warming thing sort of worries me). We will wake up each morning regardless of the state of mind that we had when we entered into our slumber. We do not simply wink out of existence when we will it and wink back in...instead it's a continuous cycle. No matter how much we try to influence or control that cycle of sleep with stimulants that natural rhythm prevails. We don't need to consciously DO anything to "make the system work." In fact, I've discovered that the more I try to push my influence and my will onto life or others the more resistance that I get. The harder life seems to be when I try to do things my way. When I have a concrete idea of what I expect without allowing anything else to happen I feel as though I begin banging my head against the wall. Suddenly the task or goal appears to be a mountainous process that I cannot surmount. Then because it's not happening the way I want and I'm not getting my way it is painful. I feel unsupported by the universe and separated from everyone else in my toil. The seemingly lack and turmoil seems to solidify and I just endure it while experiencing a great deal of pain. When I let go of the idea I have in my head of 'what should be' and accept things the way they are issues seem to resolve themselves effortlessly. Events and situations occur naturally that lead me to navigate away from that which is causing me distress and without even 'trying' I discover (sometimes weeks later) that what I thought was such an immovable mountain simply ceased to exist. Indeed, usually with a surprising twist that I would not expect it resolves itself into a glorious situation that is better then I could have ever imagined. The River of Life A river simply flows, it does not think of where it is going, it does not make conscious decisions of how to twist and turn. Instead, it works with the landscape, molding the softer rock and being naturally diverted by the harder rock. When water reaches the hard rock through which it cannot pass it simply changes it's course and continues to flow. The river does not stubbornly stay there attempting to change the nature of the rock. In life, it is much the same way. When I come up against a perceivable seemingly unchangeable obstacle it is better to just let life flow so that it takes its natural course. I have begun to see obstacles not as an obstruction but a sign (provided by my higher self or spirit) pointing me in another direction. Sometimes that avenue is simply closed down for further construction. Sometimes I find a more productive journey for my soul elsewhere. Not Comparing Myself To Others No two rivers are alike either. You do not hear the Colorado River talking to the Nile discussing which one has a better route. Nor do the people who travel on those rivers compare them to one another. They do not compare the sound of the water rushing along. They do not compare the various waterfalls or canyons they race through and see one as lesser. If all rivers were alike they would be boring. The idea of comparing one river to another and finding one wanting is also silly. Instead, when we look at rivers we see them as unique beautiful monuments to nature. Each unique and appreciated for their uniqueness. Rivers are notorious for shaping (or moving) mountains. Our lives are much the same, they are monuments to Spirit (God) or the Higher Self. Each journey is unique and appreciated for that uniqueness. That is what life is like...each of us have our unique journey through this 'spiritual landscape' (or matrix). Each of us come up against the hard rock that changes our course...we have our waterfalls, we have our canyons that we race through but eventually just as with any major river we return to the ocean. The river does not question its journey, it does not question it's course but it simply trusts the landscape to lead it to the right destination. When it encounters resistance, it changes course and flows around it to a new adventure. In much the same way, we need to trust that our Higher Self( or God if you wish) has molded that landscape for us in a way that is appropriate. When we encounter resistance we change our course appropriately. In a way, it is how we can communicate with our Higher Self (God) in a subtle sublime method (instead of an overt fashion which would take away from our free will as though we were puppets on strings). Conclusions We are taught to set expectations and goals in life. From the time we are a child we are told to choose our vocation as though it will not change. We are taught to start planning for college, plan for working, plan for children...etc. etc. If something fails we didn't plan well enough so we need to subject ourselves with self-blame and start over. We should not be satisfied until we obtain the dream of having a job that makes us wealth, lots of stuff, a big house, a four car garage filled with vehicles, and children that we need to send off to college. However, nothing is set in stone and just as a child that thought they were going to be a vet (as I did when I was younger) sometimes we end up in unexpected places. I could have forced my will and settled for nothing less insisting on that future but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have brought me the same amount of happiness let alone wisdom. Currently,I am a Barrista serving coffee and that is my ultimate favorite job in this moment. I simply adore this job, even though it is not prestigious and it doesn't provide me with a lot of money. What it does do is bring me unlimited joy and restores my faith in myself that I lost when my daughter died which is far more valuable. I have discovered when I do not set expectations that I find myself in a far better situation that I can imagine. The first step is to decide what I'm passionate about, the second is to let that passion run it's course in whatever way I can. Then everything else seems to unfold in a natural progression with very little 'work' on my behalf. This is hard sometimes, don't get me wrong, I am just like everyone else that I am programmed that all of the boxes must be checked, all of the 't's' crossed and 'i's' dotted in a painstaking manner. Yet, I've discovered this rigid point of view is not the natural way of life...it is actually unnatural. My experience, so far, when I let things take their course in a more holistic way is that not only do I enjoy the process more it actually has a better outcome. So stop ramming your head against immovable mountains (obstacles). That obstacle probably means that your current path leads you somewhere you really don't want to go. Let life flow naturally in it's natural course with no expectations and you'll find the mountain moves effortlessly and sometimes dissolves completely. Life then becomes like a babbling brook filled with sparkling laughter as it joyously leaps among the rocks of life that guide it.
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Before I move onto less esoteric subjects than the similarities of the God Tummoz and Jesus I wanted to take some time to add some things I left out of the original blog.
These are avenues of interest that I am currently exploring. All of these need to be researched as each of the following are just summaries of what I already know and serve as nothing more than the tip of the ice berg. I present these as abstract curiosities at the moment. Civilizing Plan I believe that Laird Scranton has provided a significant amount of evidence to argue that there was a universal civilizing plan given to early mankind. By analyzing the basic root words and concepts in the Dogon tribe of Africa, Tibetan Buddhist, Egyptian, Hebrew and Chinese he has discovered a thread of knowledge that is reflected in each as well as an original language. Interestingly, that civilizing plan is mentioned in the Sumerian Cosmology as well in that Inanna, after the flood, steals the Me's from Enki and brings the Me's down to Mankind giving them civilization. The Me's helped reestablish mankind after the flood. As I said before, I am very much interested in Stitchin's observations of the Annunaki. However, with the information provided by Laird Scranton I might say that the stories of that group might actually contain the Me's, that ancient civilization plan, and this is why they had knowledge of seven planets (besides Earth). One of the most fascinating aspects of this Civilization Plan is that it is focused on turning mankind from hunter/gatherers to farmers. This ties into the idea that the Sumerian God's gave mankind the Plow. There is evidence, thanks to Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, that religion predated towns and agriculture. This agriculture society was known to have started in Mesopotamia. Previously, it was believed that humanity first discovered how to farm, gathered into cities and then created religion. Now we know that it is the opposite. Earth As The Underworld Okay, so this is a concept largely based on what John Van Auken teaches regarding Ancient Egyptian mythology. Now this isn't based on scholarly stuff, this is based on John Van Auken actually going to Egypt and talking to their wise men. Strangely, Western Egyptology completely ignores what the Egyptian elders teach about their own beautiful places of worship and belief systems. For example, no mummy has ever been found in a Pyramid. I've heard that little gem of a fact validated by several sources so it really stands to reason that they are not merely tombs and Western Egyptology lacks substance. However, what the Egyptians, in their Book of The Dead teach us is that this world is considered upside down and backwards compared to Ra or Rae consciousnesses. The Ra or Rae consciousness (represented by the circle) or the womb, is the 'true' reality and this is a illusion based on that reality. Earth, or our dimension, is represented by the square. (What is curious is the idea in Egypt of the Jackal being the one who weighs the heart of the deceased before they 'cross the river' and travel into the next dimension. This Jackal is Anubis. There is, in the Dogon Mythology a Jackal named Ogo. Ogo -also known as the Pale Fox- took a square from the primordial consciousness -the womb- and attempted to make his own creation. Ogo, seems to represent the the demi-urge that Gnostic believe in though his story predates any such society). So, in some ways when we read myths of people traveling to the underworld it could very well mean the Earth or the plane of existence we know. Inanna's descent into the Underworld, could possible mean that she descended to Earth. Therefore when Tummuz (Dumozi) descends for six months it could mean to Earth and his sister might be the same. Thus, when we talk about the underworld or the land of the dead we might be talking about Earth. Over time this idea changed and was replaced with the backwards teaching that the underworld is where we go when we die. Blood Reviving the Earth The first thing that really hit me when I was reading of Dumozi and vegetation gods in general was the relationship they have to the Dogon myth of the eight ancestors. As I said, Ogo (the Pale Fox who resembles Coyote in Native American myth as a trickster) basically tore off or fell with a piece of square placenta because he was impatient. According to Dogon myth, Ogo was a member of four pairs of twins, totaling a number of eight, that were male and female. Ogo was impatient and took off with the square piece of placenta and basically messed up in trying to create something as magnificent as the creator. He is also always separated from and trying to find his twin sister. His story (minus the twin sister) is very similar to that of the devil in traditional church stories- an angel that defied god and fell to Earth. To cleanse the square piece of placenta (Earth) the creator asked that one of the other male twins sacrifice himself. He was then sacrificed and it was his blood that cleansed the Earth. Subsequently, he was resurrected by the primordial creator. Tummoz/Dumozi could be seen as a direct descendant of this mythology of a God or Ancestor whose blood redeems or cleanses the Earth from chaos bringing renewal. Symbols Here are the symbols that I am currently researching. They will each result in their own eventual blogs. Grain/Corn- It is interesting we call both of these 'ears'. Also, it appears that the Dogon Grainary and Buddhist Stupa hold within them a central teaching of that Civilizing Plan. Therefore, in that civilizing plan there is a very large emphasis on the Grain/Corn although I am not sure the significance. Grape/Grapevine- As this is turned into wine and it is very much an important symbol (often poured out as an offering to the gods onto dirt) it is interesting that Dumozi's sister is referred to as a grapevine. (A strange synchronicity after writing this blog someone in a daze came up to me at work and asked me, "Where are your grapes?") In Isaiah 63:3 a wine press is mentioned and as everyone knows Jesus referred to the wine being his blood. Seven- The original Seven Rays, The Seven Gates to the Underworld, the original 7 twins (minus Ogo), the Seven-Fold Nature of God (Revelations of the bible), 7 lamp stands, 7 demons cast out, 7 virtues and 7 deadly sins....there is a lot of sevens not just in the bible but in almost every religious or spiritual story. That's one of the things I want to look into... The Bull of Heaven- One of the most mysterious items in the Sumerian Myths given that the tablets dealing with Gilgamesh's encounters with the bull are so deteriorated. The association with the Age of Taurus and that age being shorter than expected is obvious regarding the term Bull of Heaven. There is also the association that the Bull of Heaven is the god Nergal who was known to represent famine, pestilence and the fields being burned during an enemy raid. Bulls were famously worshiped in Egypt as an incarnation (Ka) of Ra. Israel as Inanna This one is a bit bizarre but it does seem to fit. The Christmas song "O Come Emmanuel," made me think of it. "O Come, O Come, Emmannuel And ransome captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear, Shall Come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, Free Thine own from Satan's tyrranny From depths of Hell Thy people save, and give them victory over the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emannuel, Shall come to thee O' Israel. O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer, our spirits by Thine advent here, Disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O Come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home." I think it is possible that when the Civilizing Plan didn't really stick or became confused that whoever it was that first provided it returned. I do find it possible that the nation of Israel was set up with the task of embodying the civilizing plan to the rest of mankind. This is just a thought, and not a very developed one. I will probably write about this in another blog. Conclusion I also want to mention that these concepts also tie into the Mayan stories. In the Mayan history the Hero Twins descend into the Underworld to Play the Game of Life. Their mother was given spit from the Crucified Corn God when she went to a forbidden part of the forest and then conceived the Hero Twins of Mayan Mythology. As you can see, there are many different stories of a Crucified God or Ancestor that is tied to Grain and Corn. I understand that these concepts are difficult and perhaps repulsive to some. The idea that there was some sort of underlying meaning to what Yeshua did and said, perhaps reflecting an ancient civilizing plan or knowledge of how the universe first began. Yet, for the devout it could be said that Yeshua fulfilled the death of the sacrificed Ancestor Twin and that it was all according to God's plan shared with us long ago. So, in a way the idea that Yeshua acted out an ancient cleansing myth said to have happened in Heaven on Earth could reinforce faith instead of negating it and perhaps that was his point. If he did belong to the ancient sect of Essenes that held onto ancient sacred knowledge they might have had access to the Civilizing Plan and an understanding of it's symbols that have been lost. I am including here a John Van Auken lecture. Within the first few minutes he talks about the Upside Down nature of our reality compared to the mother consciousness primordial womb. Here is what I am really focusing on at the moment because I find it strange. I have long been familiar with the idea that Yeshua (Jesus) was associated with the fish god Dagon and other Fertility Gods.
In fact, I do believe that many of the Jewish stories in the Old Testament were influenced by the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylon pantheons. The book of Genesis appears to be a monotheistic version of the Sumerian/Babylon origin stories Enu Elish complete with Noah (Ziusudra). Some go so far as to say that the name Genesis implies it's the 'Genes of Isis' an ancient Egyptian Goddess, and Laurence Gardner at least seems to think the ancient Sumerian/Akkadian/Babylonian gods founded a genetic lineage of kings. The idea that the entire Passion of the Christ was some sort of complicated script is what gives rise to the following being of interest. Yes, this is based primarily on the source of my Past Life memory which leaves a lot of room for doubt (in fact, perhaps, mired in doubt) but it does provide some room for a curious hypothesis. Looking At History Rarely do we sit back and think of things from a different perspective then what is taught. We are taught that each religion, especially ancient ones, exist in some sort of distant vacuum then those that are currently in vogue with absolutely no connection. In fact, what happens in one part of the world is taught as being completely unrelated to events in other parts of the world. Recently, when I was pursuing a question someone raise about Esther in the bible being Ishtar from Babylonia not only did I find that completely in error but was shocked to discover that Xerxes of Persia (Iran) who invaded Greece (famously depicted in the three hundred) was married to Jewish Esther. I think it is important to remember that Israel was conquered by Babylon (Iran), Persia (Iraq), Greece in 333bc, and then by Rome. They also had intricate relationships with Egypt (the captivity that may or may not have happened) and other countries. The problem is, much like large companies today, when the name of the state or area changes so much it's really hard to keep track of what area or gods were attached to that area. I find this a lot when trying to study the ancient Sumerian Gods and Goddesses for the purpose of trying to follow Zechiriah Stitchin's approach to what he calls the Annunaki (an idea I sort of love because it actually explains the paradoxes in the bible). Whether the were aliens that came down here or some sort of souls from another dimension I don't really care that much. I originally intended to write about the two oldest texts that I knew of regarding the Hero's Journey: Gilgamesh and the Descent of Inanna/Ishtar. My goal was to explain that there are two very different views of what a man's Hero Journey consists of and what a woman's Hero Journey consists of but then I ran into several curiosities that provoked a unique series of research. This is one of the blogs in which I will address this curious journey I've taken. As I researched the subject on Innana's descent I was appalled. I have seen comparisons of Jesus with Krishna, with the fish god Dagon and with a series of others but never Dumozi The Shepard. I was never impressed by the loose and vague similarities by other dieties to the story of Yeshua or his symbols. The similarities are staggering regarding several symbols used for both and there are startling coincidences that are almost overwhelming. These thoughts of course, might be blasphemy to some but I hope they are true because it would be truly gorgeously stunning and beautiful. Scholarly and spiritual folks have weighed down both stories with layers of rhetoric and theory. However, when we remove the interpretations and look at the stories themselves some ideas become apparent. When a story is repeated over and over again I always find it fascinating. Down the Rabbit Hole First, it was the story of Gilgamesh that lead me to the story of Innana's descent. Gilgamesh, a demigod, kills the bull of heaven when he's attempting to become one of the immortals. What prompts Inanna to journey into the underworld is to witness the death rituals of the Bull of Heaven, her sister's husband. Second, there is an astonishing amount of similarity between Yeshua (Jesus) and the story, worship and symbols of Innana's consort Dumozi. When I say a lot, I mean it's stunning. To really get at the similarities we have to look at the marriage of Innana and Dumozi/Tammuz. Dumozi may have been renamed Adonis in the Westernized version of the myth. I have not really delved deeply into opinion articles to see if this connection has been made before by other people in the way I am going to present it. I have seen that there are articles exploring the connection between the two comparing and contrasting them, debunking this idea and what not but I have not read them. Here are the Symbolic Similarities: 1. The Shepard. Yeshua is known as a Shepard. Dumuzi is the Shepard. 2. Venus- Inanna's star was that of Venus. Yeshua refers to himself as Venus. 3. Pisces- Innana is associated with the constellation of Pisces as is Jesus. This is the reason Yeshua symbol is the fish. In one of the original churches they found the ancient symbol of Pisces on the floor although the original reason for this has been lost. 4. Inanna is represented by the image of the lion. Dumuzi is the lamb. Hence, when the two lay down in their wedding bed it would be the lion laying with the lamb. (Note, however, that the lion and lamb quote isn't in the bible. The actual quote is wolf and lamb). 5. Fisherman- Yeshua refers to his disciples as Fisherman and two of them were known to actually hold that vocation. There is a story where Inanna's 'fisherman' defended her temple from desecration. 6. Crucifixion- When Inanna descends to the underworld she is crucified by her sister. Her body literally becomes a rotting corpse hung on a nail. Yeshua was crucified with nails through his wrists and ankles. 7. Resurrection: Innana is resurrected after three days. Yeshua is resurrected after three days. 8. Association with Grain: In both the case of Jesus (Mark 2:23) and Dumozi there is an association with grain and harvest. This may be, in large part, due to their resurrection being associated with fertility or vegetation Gods that are associated with the yearly cycles of spring, summer, fall and winter. 9. Sacred Marriage: Inanna symbolized the sacred marriage of the infinite and the finite. Yeshua (and the Jewish Old Testament) speak of a sacred marriage (the prior being with the Jewish people who broke the covenant when worshiping the golden calf and the latter between Jesus and his Church). 10. Bethlehem- The city of Bethlehem actually housed a Temple to Dumozi. Bethlehem was the birth place of Yeshua. 11. Yoke- In his marriage to Inanna Tammuz brings a wedding gift of two pails of milk that he carries in a yoke upon his shoulders (a type of contraption made of wood to easily carry milk about). Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you." 12. Jesus says that after he is gone the 'holy spirit' will descend. Dumozi only spends six months in the underworld after which he reascends. He is then replaced by his sister- Khi-dimme-azaga- known as "child of the renowned spirit." 13. Bread and Wine. At pass over Jesus refers to the wine as his blood and bread as his body. In the myth of Inanna it is bread and water that revive her. (note that Dumozi's sister is considered the 'heavenly grapevine.') 14. The name Adonis (western version of Tammuz/Dumozi) literally translates as, "Lord," at title often applied to Jesus. 15. Prostitute Consorts: Inanna, Dumozi's wife, was the goddess of prostitution. Mary Magdaline who is proposed to be Jesus wife is traditionally considered to be a former prostitute or perhaps ran a brothel. Other Curiosities: 1. The River Adonis- Nahr Ibraham. On an interesting note the river associated with Tammuz/Dumozi/Adonis is now called the River of Abraham in Lebanon. This river is known to turn blood red which is considered the blood of Adonis that then cleanses the land. 2. Tammuz is a Jewish Month. Tammuz is an alternate name for the god Dumozi. 3. In the month of Tammuz there are Three Weeks of Mourning. In the tradition of Dumozi there is a period of mourning for the God who has descended. 4. Mostly women worshiped Tammuz and mourned him. There is a reference to that worship in the Old Testament Ezekial 8:14, "Then he brought me to the entrance of the North Gate of the house of the LORD and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz. 5. Corn Spirit. This one opens the door to an entire world of thought I do not want to delve into deeply here but I may build upon later. Adonis/Tammuz/Dumozi is considered a 'corn' spirit. He is considered to have taught mankind how to grow corn and cultivate fruit. Considering that there is corn depicted in association with Jesus in the Rosslyn Chapal of Scotland that predated the discovery of North America this is plausible. 6. Khi-dimme-azaga name is associated with the grape vine. There is very little about her in recorded history. 7. Khi-dimme-azaga time in the underworld is the fall and winter. Tummuz time in the underworld is Spring and Summer. 8. Two Witnesses- In biblical tradition there is the idea of the two Witnesses in Revelation. These Witnesses are traditionally Moses and Elisha. In the tradition of Inanna there were two witnesses sent into the underworld to bring her back. Traditional Thoughts The story of Innana's descent into the Underworld and Yehsua's Resurrection are both clear cases of the Hero's Journey Template. Further, there is the clear association between the typical story of the Changing of the Seasons (Inanna) a that processes 'marriage' to the dying/resurrected vegetation God (Dumuzi). Then there is the mysterious sister, Khi-dimme-azagand, who descends when Tummuz ascends. One could easily say that the reasoning for this is that they (both Jesus, Tammuz/Dumozi) are allegorical concepts of these natural changes of the seasons. This is a very shallow interpretation as it seems that our world is more of a reflective matrix that is operating on a central Template (the Hero's Journey). These traditional thoughts and explanations are based on the typical mainstream thought that our ancestors were ignorant natives worshiping the powers of nature. Every take on the 'vegetation god' archetype reflects this belief. I have heard the argument that since this natural process was the core of almost all religions it made it easier for the Christian religion to grow. The reason being is that the pagans merely adapted their former beliefs based on this cyclical exchange to the new patriarchal idea. Non-Traditional Thoughts As everyone knows, I am not a huge supporter of mainstream thought. I believe it is simple but that there are, as I suggested with the Hero's Journey, Templates that exist on some other level/dimension that govern the matrix we experience here (I will get into this with a blog on the Higher Self and Matrix idea which are concepts I struggle with). What really amazed me is that Yeshua refers to himself as a Shepard. If we remove the idea that the Jews existed in a cultural vacuum, and it is indeed confirmed they knew of Tammuz because he is referenced in the Old Testament and there was a temple in Bethlehem, this becomes even more fascinating. (Fascinatingly, the God Enki also seems to be associated with the term the Great Shepard). Inanna's story was already ancient news when Yeshua was born. The question is what if Yeshua knew the story of Dumozi and was trying to invoke it on purpose? What if Yeshua was appealing to some sort of Template that exists on a higher level than the Hero's Journey? I have long believed that the sacred marriage that Yeshua refers to is not with the church or the nation of Israel. I also think that the true meaning of the "Holy Spirit" was concealed on some level and may reference a feminine aspect of the divine. One can also argue regarding Dumozi and his sister Khi-dimme-azagand represent summer and winter. This association is directly embodied in C.S. Lewis Narnia (that has been tied to the Christian religion). Also, we can see this born again, as it were, with the ascent of Daenary's Stormborn in Game of Thrones with the onset of the ominous statement, "Winter is Coming." The fact that the king richard is killed by a boar is tied into traditional stories of Adonis being slain by a boar as a sign that summer is over. Finally, there is the association in the myth regarding the river and grain. This is a bit confusing but the demons that pursued Inanna and ended up taking Dumozi to the underworld first offer a river and then a field of grain to the two witnesses and then to Khi-dimme-azagand who was hiding Dumozi. I may depart on a quest to better understand this concept in the future of the River and Grain but it is definitely a major archetype...and curiously appeared in one of my dreams long before this research. Conclusion There is definitely some sort of underlying Gnosis regarding the Jewish/Christian religion and the tale of Inanna and Dumozi. That there are associations between the symbols, events and sayings of Yeshua with the original tale are undeniable. There is even historical evidence that the Jewish people were exposed to the worship of Dumozi for a very long time as the God's name is mentioned in Ezekial and there are references in Joshua and Isaiah. The tale of the betraying bride (Inanna) can also be seen as being retold as the story of the Jewish people breaking their original covenant with God. We can find that there are 23 associations between traditional Judaisim and Christianity with the Inanna/Dumozi story. Further, if we look into other historical stories we can see the same story retold yet again in the tale of King Arthur. Here his wife, the beautiful Guinevere betrays him with Lancelot. Then there is his sister of Morgan Le Fey who collects his fallen body resembling Khi-dimme-azagand. Plus there is a promise of a return. In the book Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradly there is definitely hints that Christianity is just the reiteration of a long held spiritual belief system (the priestesses laying with the king at Beltane is a direct references of Innan's priestess who inaugurated the King to divinity). This is something I will develop further. Whenever humanity tells a story over and over again it is important. Although this one is not as defined as the Hero's Journey it is fascinating. Soul Lessons
Alright, we moved through the lessons on Soul Perspective that I have found to be the most profound. I have decided to go deeper into the Hero's Journey but as I said before, all of us who come to Earth are performing the Hero's Journey. We are all hero's. Luckily, as I said, I'm distilling knowledge I have soaked in over twenty years of spiritual seeking. Hopefully these bite sized bits are providing perspective and a succulent feast for the spiritual seeker. Even now as I embark on the journey of sharing this knowledge even more mind blowing concepts are flowering before me in a way I can't quite comprehend. I believe we come here and we learn many lessons. The depth and breadth of our experiences are one of the reasons Earth is an amazing school. Not only do we learn lessons while we are here we have the ability to actually apply those lessons in such a concentrated form we become steeped in them. Much like brewing a good tea it takes time and patience to reach the appropriate level of flavor we want to achieve. The next series of blog posts are going to be some of those lessons that I am in the process of learning or have learned that were really difficult. I will deviate a little on a new concept that I am incredibly excited about. I'm hoping to illuminate and provide that silver lining for not so positive experiences. One of the most powerful tools I've learned in the group experience is the sharing of similar circumstances and different ways to learn from them. External validation and appreciation can be incredibly healing even if we go through terrible traumatic experiences that leave behind psychological scars. Also, learning to look at circumstances that we have experienced with a different perspective can also lead to acceptance, self-forgiveness and healing. Reading about them, as opposed to experiencing them, does give one knowledge but it's only when we really apply spiritual teachings to our every day life and experiences that we see the real value. Spirituality is not something that is 'out there' that happens to other people, it is the essence of that which we consider ourselves and it's something we should work with in a cohesive balance. A Challenge I honestly believe that many of the topics I have discussed and will continue to discuss were concepts originally taught by Jesus. I think that he was a teacher that was trying to explain to people how things work on a spiritual level. My own spiritual challenge is sharing these ideas with others. The fear of being rejected for my beliefs, since most of the people I know are predominately Christian is very real. I do not want to offend anyone, hurt anyone's feelings or be called crazy for these ideas. Past Life Memory There is an even greater fear regarding this topics as in one of my lives I was stoned to death because I did not agree with the spiritual beliefs of a group. In that life, I was a child in Jerusalem when Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified. I was looking at my hands amazed at how red they were when I realized that I was primarily of Egyptian descent. As with all past lives I only remember the snippets my soul sees as important. Then I looked up and I saw Yeshua reassuring one of his disciples and my thought was that he was of mixed descent with a good helping of Greek (which is very possibly historically valid as Greeks were in Israel in those days). As my eyes met his the conversation he was having abruptly stopped as he hushed his disciple. He turned to look at me, this young girl, and could, somehow, sense that I was looking at him through the eyes of that child. He looked as startled as I felt. That scared the holy living crap out of me. That's where the memory ended, save the last wisp of thought regarding a painful death by stoning when I was a teenager a few years later. I had disagreed with the group of Yeshua's followers. Within less than a decade they had already changed the teachings so much that I disagreed with them. For publicly disagreeing with them, they stoned me to death at the very place he was crucified called Golgotha, the edge of which I leaped from and broke my neck which was a mercy to the pain of the stoning. I had an image of a the skull shaped hill in my head as I came out of this past life memory and when I researched it I discovered it was a real place and that many believe that Yeshua was crucified there. The place is called Golgotha. Being Limited Sharing this past life memory is profoundly difficult for me. First, I did not expect to even remotely see someone I viewed as a historically important person let alone Yeshua. To me it almost devalued the experience because it could possibly mean my current belief system had created the experience in an abstract form of wishful thinking. Also, I have toyed with the idea over the last few years Second, it eluded to things that went against assumptions I had about Israel during the life of Yeshua including that they were in a sort of cultural vacuum instead of a place filled with a lively melting pot of people. Could Yeshua have really been of mixed descent that included Greek? Was there a population of Egyptian descent in Jerusalem? Were there disagreements in the 'first churches' politics and possibly even a change in the ideas they taught? I embarked on an incredible journey of research that I will share but the answer is yes to all of these questions I had. Everything suggested that past life recall is plausible history. Third, the idea that he could see me in real time, the me from this time and place, through the eyes of that child was incredibly shocking. I tend to have a bit of complex of being unworthy. We are taught so much that only a blessed few are worthy that I really questioned why someone like me, not some devout Catholic or some such, would ever have the experience of looking upon the face of Yeshua. So, I do question that as another form of wishful thinking or demented psychological god complex. Conclusions I do believe that we have mental echos of past lives in our current lives and even fears carried over from past lives. Once burned it's hard not to be afraid of fire. That same association can be carried over into the current life. In a past life I stood up for what I believed in, what I believed were the true teachings of Yeshua, this idea was something that was different from the group and I died an abrupt painful death. Now, as I write this there is a bit of me that is terrified with sharing this information least someone decide that I must be silenced again. Yet, my motivation stems not only from quantifying these beliefs in a solid form (in effect grounding the nebulous ideas of my own mind into writing) but to help alleviate the great sorrow I see upon so many these days. There is so much suffering, sorrow and confusion that I feel the desire to serve others in whatever way I can to help ease that pain. If it means my death in some way so may it be but if I can in anyway illuminate the darkness of this age I find it a worthy venture. On this note, I will share my favorite bible quote which hints that Jesus lived his life as a true leader should, as an example to others to follow: Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." P.S. Matthew is my favorite book of the bible and it is the closest of the entire New Testament to what he actually taught.
This is by far one of my more ambitious blogs. I hope you enjoy this concept and it brings a little bit of illumination.
Now, we know the meaning of life is to experience. We know that we are learning to create on a minute level. We understand the role of the Dark and Light experiences (positive or negative) giving depth to those creations. Can we know learn anymore about the purpose of this life journey? The Hero's Journey is the story that humanity keeps retelling itself. Now, I believe that each of us are living our own story and our soul is the narrator just as we are the characters in the story. This is why when we go back to a painful experience in our past we can redefine it and see how it led us to new knowledge. The Hero's Journey is the story of the soul. The soul starts off in the Spirit Realm, it hears the call to adventure...and off to Earth we go to play the Game of Life. To better understand this ride we have chosen let's look closely at the Hero's Journey... The Hero's Journey In 1949 Joseph Campbell shared a revolutionary concept in a book titled The Hero With A Thousand Faces. He studied the myths and stories of many cultures. He discovered that humanity seemed to resonate and repeat one story with many different characters. He dubbed this story the Hero's Journey. From The Hobbit to Star Wars we can discover that this Hero's Journey applies to them all. I believe it is important to note that Joseph Campbell had a direct influence on Star Wars. We can easily sum the Hero's Journey up by dividing it up into four sections. Those sections are Departure, Initiation, Crisis and Return. However, Campbell has three sections consisting of seventeen parts. The hero departs from the world that they know into the world of the unknown. In that unknown world there is usually an initiation (sometimes with a mentor), then there is a Crisis the hero must overcome and then they Return to the life they formerly knew with some sort of boon they share with others. Campbell's Seventeen Elements The above four steps are an abbreviation of Campbell's version of the hero's journey. Here are the seventeen stages that appear in most stories. Part One, Departure, Contains Five Elements: 1. There is the call to Adventure. We see Gandalf visiting the Shire and talking to Bilbo about a great adventure or in the case of Luke Skywalker the two mysterious droids appear. 2. There is a refusal to the call. The hero fails to heed the call because of some duty, obligation, fear or insecurity. Bilbo states that Hobbits don't approve of adventures and Luke states that his Uncle Owen needs him to stay on the farm. Campbell described this as, "...the subject loses the power of the significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved." 3. For those who don't refuse the call the first encounter is with a protective figure that will offer them teachings or talismans they will later use in their adventure. Campbell says, "...such a figure represents the benign, protecting power of destiny." 4. Crossing the threshold, is where the character cross into the unknown realm. "The usual person is more than content, he is even proud, to remain within the indicated bounds...the adventure is always and everywhere a passage beyond the veil...for anyone with competence and courage the danger fades." 5. Belly of the Whale: This is where the hero goes into a situation where there is a rebirth. This can be symbolically represented literally by the belly of the Whale (as in Pinocchio or Jonah). Campbell says, "The idea of the passage of the magical threshold is a transit into the sphere of rebirth...the interior of the temple." Part Two, Initiation, Contains Six Parts 6. The Road of Trials. The road consists of a series of tests, often in threes, that the person must undergo during their transformation. "The hero is covertly aided by the advice, amulets or secret agents of the mentor or he discovers here...for the first time...a benign power everywhere supporting him in his superhuman passage." 7. Meeting The Goddess. This is the point where the person experiences a love that has power and significance of the unconditional love an infant experiences with it's mother. According to Campbell, "The ultimate adventure, when all the barriers and ogres have been overcome is represented by a mystical marriage of triumphant hero-soul with the Queen Goddess of the world and if the adventurer be a maid, she is the one who, by her qualities, her beauty, her yearning, is fit to become consort of an immortal. The heavenly husband descends to her...if she has shunned him the scales fall from her eyes or if she sought him her desire finds peace." 8. Woman as Temptress. The hero faces temptations of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him or her to abandon or stray from their quest. "The crux of the curious difficulty lies in the fact that our conscious views of what life ought to be seldom correspond to what life really is..the seeker of life beyond life must press beyond (the woman), surpass the temptations of her call, and soar to the immaculate ether beyond." 9. Atonement with the Father. The person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. Everything in this story leads to this moment and away from it. "Atonement consists of no more than the abandonment of that self-generated double monster- the dragon tho to be god (superego) and the dragon thought to be Sin (repressed Id). This requires an abandonment of the attachment to ego itself, and that is what is difficult. It is in this ordeal that the hero may derive hope and assurance from the female figure, by who's magic he is protected from the father's ego-shattering initiation...only to find that the father and mother reflect each other and are in essence the same." 10. Apotheosis. When someone dies a physical death or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. "Those who know, not only that the Everlasting lies in them, but that what they, and all things, really are is the Everlasting, dwell in the groves of the wish fulfilling trees, drink the brew of immortality, and listen everywhere to the unheard music of eternal concord." 11. The Ultimate Boon. The achievement of the goal of the quest. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself or a plant that supplies immortality or the holy grail. "The gods and goddesses then are to be understood as embodiment's and custodians of the elixir of Imperishable Being but not themselves the Ultimate in it's primary state...it's guardians dare release it only to the duly proven." Part Three, The Return, Has Six Elements 12. Refusal to Return. Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow this boon onto his fellow man. "The hero must return with his life-transmuting trophy but this has been frequently refused. Even Gautama Buddha, after his triumph, doubted whether the message of realization could be communicated and saints are reported to have died while in supernal ecstasy." 13. The Magic Flight. Sometimes the hero has to escape with the boon. This can be adventurous and dangerous. 14. Rescue From Without. Sometimes the hero has powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back with their boon especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. 15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold. The biggest trick is to integrate the wisdom learned during the journey back into normal life. Trying to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. 16. Master of Two Worlds. This is usually represented by transcendental heroes such as Jesus or Gautama Buddha. For the human hero it is a balance between the material and spiritual. 17. Freedom to Live. Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. Campbell, "The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become, because he is." Conclusion I could, perhaps, write a blog on each level of the seventeen steps that Joseph Campbell shows. I may do that one day. However, right now we are like rocks skipping over the surface of the information I want to penetrate deeply into so that I may get to that which is occupying my mind currently. I have been familiar with and have adored the Hero's Journey for twenty years. I apologize if this is almost a callous treatment of this subject and I will develop this further. However, upon embarking on investigating the two oldest Hero's Journey's that I know I came across a startling idea that has currently shocked me into wanting to discuss that subject. For now, I will say meditate on the idea that the Hero's Journey is not just a pattern writers plot device that can be used to really speak to the masses. Instead, think of it as the story of the human soul. Each of us hear the call of this world, we turn to it and decide to descend because the wisdom we gain is worth the toil. While here, we hear the call of our immortal soul and we have the choice to depart on the Spiritual Journey. Some ignore the call and become victims. We are seeing this separation of people into those who consider themselves victims and those who seek to rise above this mortal coil for the bigger picture on a global scale right now. The Spiritual Journey then, is laid out in this template that mankind has been reinforcing to itself for years in the form of stories. Anyone can follow it once they see it for what it is and understand that it is ultimately a journey within oneself.
I'm partly writing this in honor of Star Wars: The Awakening. Later on, when all the hub bub dies down and everyone has seen the movie I will go into my thoughts on the movie. I found the symbol and locations so incredibly profound as to be absolutely familiar beyond those that parallel the story of Luke. I am incredibly excited to see Her Story for once as we almost almost read everything from His Story point of view.
For now, the part that seems to really grab people with a Force Choke driving them to adore this movie is the powerful myth involved...specifically the archetypes. The one concept that is, perhaps, the most fascinating and polarizing is that of the Light and Dark side. This plays into a concept of people choosing good or evil. While most of us know that most people fall somewhere in the gray area this is undoubtedly a profound part of human existence. Polarity Why are there good people? Why are there bad people who hurt others? Why does it seem as though on this world there is a battle between the Light Side and the Dark Side? What is the point of experiencing Creating Reality in this way? Souls Are Neutral I once heard a spiritual teacher say, "The soul doesn't care if the experience is negative or positive, as long as it has an experience." I really hated that idea. However, in our natural Soul state that we start out as and that we return to upon death we are not negative or positive. There are no good souls and evil souls. We are naturally neutral and pure. We return to that state after we go on the wild ride we call life. Often, we think of those who 'go to the Dark Side' as irredeemable and humanity has set up many myths on this subject but that simply isn't the case. While we might see Satan as some irredeemable damned creature god created and will destroy that is not the case in Jewish folklore. The idea of people being so evil that they are irredeemable was a new incorrect concept used to inspire group think and has trapped more than a few souls on this plane of existence for fear of punishment in the spiritual realm. I am not approaching this topic with the fervor of those dedicated to the Star Wars canon but as a broader brush that can be applied to the world we know. The reason that the concepts ring so true with so many is that it truly does capture part of our own human experience. The question is why would someone want to experience the Dark Side or the Light Side? A Matter of Taste To know what we do and do not like we must first try many things. A recently released Disturbed song captures this concept perfectly. Here is an excerpt of the lyrics: "Like an unsung melody The truth is waiting there for you to find it It's not a blight, but a remedy A clear reminder of how it began Deep inside your memory Turned away as you struggled to find it You heard the call as you walked away A voice of calm from within the silence And for what seemed an eternity You're waiting, hoping it would call out again You heard the shadow reckoning Then your fears seemed to keep you blinded You held your guard as you walked away When you think all is forsaken Listen to me now (all is not forsaken) You need never feel broken again Sometimes darkness can show you the light..." First and foremost, to really know ourselves we must experience a variety of opposites. As in all things that are neutral by introducing the choice between darkness or light we find depth of meaning of existence.. I guess, it could be seen as introducing gray tones to that neutrality. In our world, no one can exist without the darkness. We are both dark and light so when we reject one part or the other we reject a part of ourselves. That rejection or separation of self causes a lot of sorrow and suffering. We are always seeking to unite those two parts. However, to know those two aspects we must first experience them as separate. The Dark Side, even in the Star Wars movies, really represent Group Think (the storm troopers) and those who are motivated by Fear to unleash their powers to subjugate others. The Light Side, often despite of a personal trauma that would normally cause others to turn to the Dark Side, rise above the Fear and Hate. They reach for a place of Serenity deep inside. Once we tap into that internal voice of peace, that of our neutral soul, we are able to draw upon it's knowledge and experience life on a new level we previously did not know existed. We can then Rise Above these negative feelings and emotions unleashing a flow in our life that is far more power than anything we gain by taking from another. Contrast Also, it is very hard to appreciate the light without the darkness. If light is all that is known then there is no perspective. In fact, there is no choice involved because that is literally all that you know...a blank slate. We need the darkness and the light to contrast each other and introduce the spectrum of color that can be chosen. Two choices is very limiting but when you have a variety to choose from it becomes a far more rich experience. To steal a concept from Forrest Gump, if there were only two types of chocolate in the box it would not be very exciting and you would know what you were 'getting.' When it's a variety you might end up with some very unexpected experiences (and not particularly good). Light is the absence of all color and darkness is all of the colors mixed into one. Group Think could be considered darkness where all the colors are mixed up and lost in one another. As we know Group Think stifles creativity stagnating groups so that efforts usually fail much as as black hole devours all of the matter around it. Absence of light or color is a blank slate...nothing is really there. Just as with apathy, there is no form of creativity but just a potentiality. Should a choice be made the canvas can be filled but a choice must be made and there must be contrast to fill the canvas. We find creation in between these two polarities. All of those colors are an expression of those two parts but they have unique properties that form an image that would not exist if the canvas was entirely black or blank. Those two aspects of ourselves need to find balance in order to be true creators. Choice When we question why there is darkness and light- the good vs. the bad- in life we have to understand that it is a matter of perspective. Darkness and light will always be married to each other in a way because they have a push and pull effect on creation. We have a choice between the two opposites or somewhere in between. We cannot appreciate the light or the good times in life without the dark times. The dark times teach us lessons in life that make the light times all the more sweeter and appreciated. Have you ever stepped outside a funeral home and looked up at the sky? The colors seem so much more vibrant, the bird song normally taken for granted more melodic, and the sun so much brighter? Laughter sounds so much more merry when there is deep sorrow in the heart as well. As people point out there is a very thin line between love and hate which are both driven by passion. Passion is good but it is all consuming. Understanding that there must be a balance between the two is a very important lesson. The contrast between the darkness on the inside after experiencing the passing of someone causes the light of day to seem that much more sweet and brighter. Conclusion There is an effect and a lesson in experiencing every strand of the spectrum of color. The darkness has as much value as the the light. Eventually, we return to a neutral state of being when we return to the Spirit Realm. Having the choice between the dark or lighter side of life gives us an even deeper appreciation and immersive experience during life. We can appreciate those who act from the goodness of their heart and feel sorrow for those who instead choose the more painful method of trying to subjugate others through their own power. We will all experience both sides at one time or another with varying depths in each life or in different lives. I believe this is more of advanced form of learning. Not all souls can experience it and so that is why Earth is considered one of the harder schools of creation. To me, it is the knowledge that we have the power to subjugate others but choosing to abstain from such abuse of that power that is truly wondrous. True power is knowing that such power is possible but out of respect allowing for every other individual who also chose to come to this planet to forge their own path. This is why I believe Yeshua never would condone killing anyone that has a belief system that is not what he taught. He had respect for people making that choice. If by some obscure chance people would dare to follow in the footsteps it was worth risking his own life but he did not put any of the lives of his followers at risk. They chose that path on their own. The grand experiment is to see if we go far into the darkness if we will be able to sling shot back into the light. Some would say that darkness is ignorance but I would no go that far. Darkness is believing that we are truly isolated and alone in a collective experience. To go from believing that to understanding that this is a subjective collective experience that we can influence and that we agree to is incredibly powerful. Creation 101
Now this belief of mine is heavily influenced by the book Journey of Souls by Michael Newton, Edgar Cacye readings and the channeling from Bashar. Again, I in no way say that everyone must believe this but to me this makes sense. This is how I interpret life in between life and our purpose here on this planet. The scope of what we are doing here is pretty amazing. While I say that experience is the main purpose of life there are a lot of little details that go along with that experience and the main question I had was why? One of the things that I believe that we are on this planet to experience is creation on a very small slow scale. The original creator is obviously a creator himself and if we are to be companions to that essence of life we need to learn how to control powerful forces. These are my musings on this topic and I hope you derive some comfort to it. If we look at life as a learning experience (that inevitably involves failure because I have found that I learn more from my mistakes then times when I flawlessly execute a formula) that is ever unfolding so that we may learn more about ourselves and creation itself it becomes more of a journey. Everyone wants to know what their life purpose is but the strange thing is there isn't any one thing. Some look at Mother Theresa and think that needs to be the template for their own life but that is not true. Each of us have different talents and faucets of creation that we are focusing on in our lives. We don't have to be the ultimate caretaker to someone else because sometimes we are here to be the caretaker to ourselves. So let's look at why we would come into a very slow complicated world to learn how to create. Creation In Spirit In certain realms of spirit each thought we have can take on a life of it's own. I do not believe that there are levels to creation that we must earn in life but there are different dedicated areas. Much as we have a building for school, a building for our home and one for the grocery store...each different realm has it's own activity that we conduct when we are there. This opens the door to all sorts of theories such as Multiple Dimensions, Multiple Time Lines and I could go on several tangents. However, for the purpose of this blog we will focus on the Spirit Realm where there are almost too many choices and too few consequences. Creation In Miniature There is an infinite potential in spirit. However, it is all neutral until a soul comes along and decides to mold that energy. In some realms, that energy can simply materialize and then go away with another thought. The experience is meaningful in it's own way but it lacks a certain substance. If the creation is bad it can simply be blinked away. There are no consequences to that type of creation or making mistakes. One benefit that we receive here on Earth is that we have definite consequences. If you have ever seen videos of animal experimentation (heartbreaking stuff) the consequences for a poorly conducted experiment is evident. Also, because we are constricted by time and space on this planet we don't have as many choices of what to create as in the spirit realm. There is an amazing plethora of ideas that we can turn into reality but we are limited to physical tools in order to do so and constrained by time. This teaches a sense of creativity that would not exist if we were not limited. Here we must plan ahead, inevitably there are bumps in the planning causing some fine tuning, a little bit more planning, and finally we have something that works. Then, other people might come along and really fine tune that original design (just look at the Model T versus the cars we drive today). Just thing of the vast universes that have been crated within the pages of fantasy and science fiction and it is obvious the full range of what we are capable of creating or helping to create in spirit. Further we learn how to work together as teams in this realm with very real consequences to our failure which, again, is something that we can learn and apply in the realm of Spirit. We are learning the basics of Creation 101 on such a level that it is going to give us more appreciation and a far better approach on the other side of the veil when creating (as souls). Slowing the Process Down I've always hated the saying, "The journey matters more than the destination." I just want to get to the darn destination already. I always feel like the little kid in the back seat saying, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" The purpose of studying creation on such a minute level on Earth is to understand that the process itself has as much meaning as the product. To randomly and haphazardly rush into creating anything on the other side of the veil can have disastrous results. Learning to refine, enjoy and allow the process to take the necessary time is an important lesson we learn on Earth. In the process of the activity there can be great satisfaction and appreciation for what we create. Indeed, when I make something that takes a long time I usually rate it as having a higher value than something that is easily made. We see this in evidence in the marketplace as well because hand made objects have a higher price than items stamped out by a machine. I love drawing, for example, so the process of sketching something, then adding details and the final result is all very rewarding. The sense you get when you participate in such basic creation is so rewarding despite the result. The time that it takes is not counted, weight or measured because the process itself is blissful and valuable. When something takes effort, time and patience to create it is of a higher value. I have no doubt it is that humbling appreciation for creating that is one of the greater lessons we learn on Earth and that is invaluable to our souls maturation. The Basics At the heart of it we come to Earth to experience life to experience a slowed down process of creation. In that slowed down process we are humbled. We learn to appreciate the satisfaction from creating without any specific expectations. We also learn the responsibility associated with creating because we acutely experience the consequences. We learn to enjoy the process and we learn the humbling value of a creation. We carry all of these experiences back over with us to the spirit realm where we can apply it to a different less constricted form of creating. We also teach other entities in the spirit realm that might not incarnate with us what we have learned further enriching the spirit world. Again, the spirit world is neutral so if we created something very bad on this side we learn a very pricey valuable experience as well. I don't want anyone to think that there is anything 'perfect' or that there is a better way to create in our own personal way then someone else that might be rewarded on the other side. Our lives on Earth are a very private worthy experience that we can apply in the Spirit Realm earned at the high price of experiencing the agony of fitting a limitless ever lasting being into a limited body that is just the opposite. Our bodies break down if we do not maintain them properly and even those who are still die. The idea of the infinite tasting death seems a paradox but once we understand that it is an illusion we have tricked ourselves into believe is real it makes a lot more sense. Without death, our souls would not know the value of the infinite experience. Purpose of Life Meditation
There is an age old question that has undoubtedly plagued humanity from the dawn of the first man and woman. Hundreds of philosophers, spiritual teachers and laymen have weighed in on the question, what is the purpose of life? The question can have personal and universal meaning. Who am I to answer this question? I'm nobody really, but I am very much in tune with myself. Philosophers, psychologists, spiritual teachers, and religious authorities have bogged the question of our existence down to the point that even with Ph.D. you might not be able to understand what the heck they are talking about. Religious and philosophical authorities will tell you that you have too little knowledge to possibly understand the bigger picture or subtle nuances of this very important question. I reject them and their high brow overly developed complex unnatural philosophies. The amoeba doesn't ask how to swim, it is a simple single celled organism that simply knows what it is meant to do and all of us know the purpose of life innately. Sometimes, it just helps to have someone else shine a little light of hope into our hearts so that we believe in our own senses. We depend too much on 'authorities' to tell us how to think as though we are puppets or robots and only they know the 'great secrets.' Since it is a universal it is not complicated and it is something all of us are meant to know. This is not a question that is only answerable by the elite among us. This is a question that we must pose to ourselves. I believe in the K.I.S.S. principal- Keep It Simple Stupid. The answer has always been out there for anyone to see and understand. The sages have spoken about it at great length but I'm going to boil it down in the most basic elements so that absolutely everyone can comprehend it. Differing Opinions Some believe that each person was put on this world for a mission they must complete. I find that too harsh of an idea, after all, that suggests that on some level if we don't fulfill a mission we will have failed in life. Not a single life is considered a failure when we are on the other side of the veil. In fact, I can tell you that in my past life recalls the lives most would consider 'successful' were not the ones I considered the most valuable learning experiences in spirit. The lives that were full of grueling difficulties were the ones I was most proud of and those where I indulged selfishly in the pleasures of life the most ashamed. When we enter the soul world we are not going to go to our fellows and proudly say, "I accomplished the most. I had the biggest house and the best car." Further, the idea that we might be punished for not living a 'good' life in the after life or that we will be rewarded by pushing some religious perspective on others is equally disheartening and not accessible to the masses. Life is naturally neutral, as souls we are neutral, we come into this world to experience polarity of good vs. evil or negative vs. positive. That simply doesn't exist on the other side of the veil. These religious propaganda ideas muck up the entire idea behind the journey of life. I don't judge who live by them, they are doing the best with what they have and learning their own lessons. However, for a true seeker it is best not to get sucked into such one sided ideas. If all of life is neutral there really isn't a right or wrong. There are rules that we are here to live by and when we selfishly affect another's paradigm it is greeted with great sadness by Spirit much as a mother might feel if her son accidentally cuts off his own thumb. There is no blame, just sadness and deep sympathy for the one experiencing that self-inflicted pain. Others, given these harsher points of view on the purpose of life and feeling as though they cannot live up to those expectations or out of the desire to rebel against those ideas give into debauchery. These people give into the ultimate indulgences of the material world. Instead of seeking they toss out the idea and focus on what they can control with their five senses. To the soul, that's fine too. I've lived those lives, sometimes we learn what type of experiences we want by learning what we don't want first. The most beautiful gift we have ever been given is that of choice (a.k.a. free will). The Soul I ultimately believe in the soul for several personal reasons. The most meaningful to be included here, because it was almost unbiased and witnessed by another, was that of the Past Life Regressions. From those experiences and remembering what it felt as a spirit I know that we are timeless and we have a lot of time to get this whole 'living life' thing right. The soul exists before we are born and it exists after we die. Our souls are little mini-creators in the making. Our spiritual essence is made up of little prism's of God's original light. We are creators in training and we come here to learn in detail how to create, the consequences of creating, and creating as an individual or group. Just look at your house, at all of the trinkets, the furniture, the technology...you cannot deny that humans create almost as easily as we breathe. Conclusion Here is the purpose of life- Experience. We are here to experience the highs and lows. The wonder and the sadness. The sorrow and the madness....every depth and height of human experience. Every sense of accomplishment or failure. Our soul learns more about itself from each of these situations. Our soul learns what it prefers and what it does not prefer. Earth is a testing ground that we created for ourselves as a wonderful experiment to explore the idea of, "What If I was all alone and separated from the whole?" We are never alone but we have created that illusion to experience that idea and learn from that experience. In life, when we watch a movie or read an article we can pretend to be that person. We can say that we would do this that or the other. In that scary movie, we tell ourselves, we definitely wouldn't split up from the main group and go it alone. When we are in an emergency situation, however, when all of the cards are on the table and we know that we have a losing hand...we learn how we really act. We might postulate in better times, in safety, about how we will handle a situation but we really don't know until we experience it in depth. Some run away, some remain frozen in fear and some rise to the challenge. Each human life can be given perspective in this way. Our souls really don't know what we will do in our life scenarios until we are in them. Then our soul learns a little more about itself and if our souls sees the need for improvement it works on that aspect of itself in the spiritual realm and future lives. We are endless and timeless beings so there is plenty of time to learn everything. Each of us experience the Hero's Journey in life, we come here to mine information about ourselves, and then we return to the spirit world changed where we learn our hard won knowledge with others. I will go into this concept in detail with the next blog. The Symphony of Life
In this final Creating Reality blog I want to finish off with Paradigm Shifts. At this point I think it's more than time to switch into the more spiritual aspect of things. In order to really understand how creating reality works and why we bother to create reality we need to look at it from the big picture of the Soul's narrative. This is, you could say, the connecting fabric between these two blog series. I am attempting to build this blog in a way to convey my current focuses. However, instead of just dumping you into the middle of a process that has developed for about twenty years I'm crafting each plate to be easily digestible. The Creating Reality Blogs are just the appetizers. Each soul in this world has a particular unique song. That song joins the chorus of all souls on this planet creating an even more beautiful and complex song. In my own journey I am currently learning to refine my own personal song and to have the courage to sing it. The Paradigm Shift is a very important aspect of this process. My Experience I first learned about Paradigm Shifts in High School. I was coming out of my more religious phase (1994-1996) when I first encountered the idea. We talked about a lot of strange subjects in my Honor's English Class. At that time I was very shy and not very good at participating in group activities. This was just many of the strange but unique spiritual situations I found myself in as a child that prompted me to have a never ending Spiritual Focus in life. A Paradigm Shift is: "A fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions." More or less, it is an idea or perspective that causes your view of the world around you to shift- to change into something different than it was before. You then begin to approach life in a different way. The First Paradigm Shift My first Paradigm Shift was reading the book Journey of Souls. I found the idea of reincarnation, let alone life in between lives, to be incredibly strange. I had recently delved deep into Christianity, reading the bible from cover to cover and Christian books such as The Case for Christ. The book of Matthew is still my favorite out of the entire bible. I even had several bible quotes on the door of my room when I was a teenager. The strange thing, when I was reading Journey of Souls, is that it did not contradict the bible. In fact, as I read the many case studies I was reminded of passages of the bible...and that was my first Paradigm Shift. Instead of rejecting Reincarnation because hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Christian authorities in the past and current time rejected it I discovered that it actually fit nicely. This is much like those who read or watched Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. The idea that Jesus family has descendants is one thing entirely to comprehend but to add to it that Jesus might have had children is an entirely other. However, the idea does not contradict the bible in any way but it does contradict thousands of years of religious authority figures teachings. These teachings, when you apply a little research, seem to be based on ideas that existed over a hundred years after the death of Yeshua by people who did not know him. (Not to mention his true Jewish name being lost in time). Shifting Constantly Evaluating our Belief System is a very healthy habit that should be given serious attention. However, I did not include an important part of that idea. When we realize a set of beliefs are negative and produce negative results, we reevaluate it and apply a new belief- then we experience a Paradigm Shift. Usually, when I approach an idea that causes a Paradigm Shift I start off feeling dissonance (mental disharmony). Ideas that challenge my view of life gives me a sort of tingling feeling. Those who have a rigid set of beliefs feel uncomfortable and might turn away from the feeling. However, once I became used to it and learned to enjoy the challenge I discovered something fascinating. These days I seek out that which causes dissonance and my Paradigm is constantly shifting. I'm constantly readjusting or tweaking the way I see this world. I kind of consider it like Doctor Who when he's in the T.A.R.D.I.S. and he's turning dials or pushing levers to 'dial into' the location he wants to go. With each adjustment that I make in my perspective I feel I'm getting closer to the experiences I want to have. The people who don't believe that they can change anything, that they are stuck in a box, that reality happens to them instead of being created by them...probably can't imagine a life of constantly Shifting Paradigms. I feel sorry for those who live in such a world of black and white. Wrong and right. I can no longer imagine what it is like to live in a world without the color of the rainbow...for each perspective I have experienced as I go about this journey seems to have its own tone and color. In The Flow When I was young I read books such as Celestine Prophecy and The Way of The Peaceful Warrior. Both of these authors wrote a story that has the basic set up of the Heroe's Journey (which I will coverlater). Joseph Campbell was the first to tune into the story of the Hero's Journey, realizing that it is the basic set up of any good myth or story. No doubt it was Joseph Campbell's contribution to Star Wars that touched the heart of millions making it a main stay in popular culture. In these cases the author used the methodology of parables that Jesus used to illustrate spiritual concepts and the spiritual journey. Jesus used these because the ideas he taught were so foreign (such a different paradigm) to the ordinary people he had to speak their language. I personally think, as a society, we have graduated from this basic idea. People are initiated and are ready for the openly frank discussion of spiritual concepts. There is an urgent need to put away the secrecy and divulge the information as many have had their spiritual appetite whetted long ago. Now in these stories they would talk about some mysterious thing called the Flow or the Zone. I couldn't comprehend it when I was younger. For the Star Wars people, let's call this The Force. Then I worked at UPS and while loading trailers I experienced 'The Zone' that athletes describe for the first time. There is this moment where the mind and the body act in unison but there is a strange detachment. There is no thinking, no planning, no trying to make something happen...you just do it without really thinking. I would create beautiful seamless walls of packages in that zone without trying. I experience this also when I'm making drinks as a barista, I seem to move with the fluidity of a dancer without a real conscious thought...just instinctively effortlessly creating. I am also in the flow when I'm writing. The conclusion at the end of this blog is one of the moments where mind, body and soul seem to work in unison so that the words simply flow out and onto the computer screen effortlessly without much 'thought' on my part. Constantly shifting paradigms in the flow is my favorite experience at the moment. Life seems to unfold much as a blooming flower does with an over abundance of experiences in tune with my current spiritual focus. If there is a discordant note I know that there is something I need to focus on in my belief system that needs to be tweaked so I may bring that into harmony. Conclusion Life is similar to a symphony. Our belief systems are the musical notes. If we live in a way where there are only a few notes we experience a simple song that is bland and repetitive...often times jarring. When we open our eyes to other ideas, we shift paradigms, we begin to add notes to that symphony and sometimes entire instruments. Then we can start to experience the whole symphony instead of focusing on two notes or a single instrument. As long as we are focused on perfecting an instrument or note we will never experience the entire creation. However, I cannot judge those who choose this focus in their current life as that too is a perfectly worthy experience that will lead to other lives where they can experience the entire song of creation by perfecting their unique part. When we hear a discordant note in the symphony we can seek out the belief system causing the disturbance. We can then research or meditate on it until we reach a paradigm shift (there are always options and choices)...that then change the note to one of harmony. Eventually, we will be able to flow with the music, adjusting it here or there as needed. We aren't necessarily the conductor, but we work with the conductor to create the symphony so that all of us (including the conductor) can share the experience. Once we are working in harmony with the whole our experiences simply flow naturally just as a brook flowing in it's naturally cut channel without any forced conscious direction. Reincarnation
"Elisha has already been here but you did not recongnize him...(he was)...John the Baptist." Matthew 17:12 "All of you shall be here in those days..." Matthew 24 How My Thought Process Evolved I was just like everyone else in school that was brought up in a Christian household when I first crossed the idea of Reincarnation. The classic version that I came across involved coming back as some sort of an animal equivalent to the life that was lead. I found the idea strange and abhorrent. Then I came across a book called Journey of Souls. For various reasons it seemed to reinforce the ideas that I had taken to be true in the bible and really expanded on them. I was always puzzled by passages in the bible that seemed to imply that people would somehow 'come back' again. That seemed to be some weird zombie like experience and defied scientific knowledge. While I am in no way discounting that some people might choose to believe in that I had a hard time doing so given the physical evidence that our bodies decay. As I studied the stories about life in between lives and then, eventually, people who recall their past lives (without regression and with regression) I found the idea even more compelling. The idea that I had found so strange and bizarre before- that people would come back as animals as punishment was removed. There are still some who do believe that but for the most part in stories regarding reincarnation I've found very few that recall past lives as animals. A Too Real Dream I am strange that I do have dreams that seem more of a reality and form more of a memory than actual physical life. Dreams have influenced my thinking process, I am highly imaginative and have very detailed dreams, and there are some that I can remember crystal clear even from childhood. One when I was eighteen years old really stands out. I have told it to multiple people and they say that it was a Past Life. I was male and Middle Eastern. When I was eighteen I was facing a choice similar to that of the Middle Eastern life where I would possibly leave my parents against their wishes. The dream was much like the experiences I would later have with the Past Life Regression sessions. Only, here, I looked in the mirror at myself, knowing it was me and not me at the same, and saw a male middle eastern person who was truly terrified...no doubt because he saw my face (he was high on drugs smoked out of a hookah- a word an object that I would not identify until later on in my adult life). I was then asked by an impartial voice, "Do you want to experience this again?" I chose to rebel against my parents and move out so apparently I did. Experiencing Past Life Regressions I decided to do a Past Life Regression after my daughter passed away. I had always wanted to do one and I had some extra money so I figured I try it. I was scared of the experience because I thought it would be evil or I would be under someone else's power. Society almost seems to teach us to believe in demons (just look at the movie the Exorcist or Poltergeist) and think that's what's talking or something when someone goes into hypnosis or channels. There are still remnants of those strange people who believe in witches and that anything that is "not of the church" is "of the devil." This powerful form of Group Thinking makes it absolutely terrifying to consider anything that might even possibly be witchcraft. After the initial session with someone trained in hypnotherapy I did an online version and got some results as well (although, not as detailed or immersive). (https://youtu.be/xTnAqDPBsoY) Hypnotherapy for the Past Life Regression was nothing like anything on television. There was no part where I was not in control, where I couldn't pull myself out of it, or that I was unaware of what was happening. I would know if I had any gaps in my memory but I was completely aware the entire time. In fact, I was pretty much listening to myself tell the story and even had an illustration. I'm sure it is different for everyone but my recall wasn't real time, like a movie, it was more documentary style. For example, in one of the past lives that I recalled in the session with the actual therapist was a life as a orphan child in Jerusalem during the crusades. The scene opened up with a illustration of a alleyway with ragged fabric tents made out of torn rags and bits of wood. I saw children, that I explained were orphans, running in different directions. When asked why the children were running the camera seemed to zoom out from what I was looking at to a third person point of view. I then saw two men on horses with red crosses on their chests, long shields and helmets that covered their noses gleaming in the sunlight. I sighed saying, "Oh, the crusaders," in a kind of impartial voice. I knew, even as I said those words, that the orphan child that had stayed very still and pretended to be dead as the Crusaders killed all of the other children in cold blood around her did not know that answer. Instead, something else seemed to be telling the story from an outside perspective even though I felt the emotions and the horror from the first person perspective of the girl. Conclusion I in no way say that what I experienced in those sessions are the truth or that I can say that reincarnation is 100% real. I cannot even say that what I experienced rules out the possibility that it was somehow an induced dream. However, I did not feel lead in any way by the person who regressed me. The feeling was too much like a dream for me to rule it out aside from a sense of self that was different from what I normally possess in waking life. However, I gained an immense amount of perspective from the experience. Just as I can say that I did not experience anything that convinced me it wasn't real or couldn't be real. I have not been able to corroborate the information that I have from that past life history, however, I haven't really tried. For some reason, having validation actually creeps me out as I don't think it's too healthy to fixate on the past. Finally, the lives that I experienced in the sessions were not something I would have chosen nor that I would fantasize about. In fact, from the perspective of how we view a desirable life in our society here in the United States none of them were truly 'desirable'. In the case of the last life that I lived, I did not know there was a Jewish Mafia and I've never watched the God Father because I always felt mobster films were abhorrent. Therefore, the details in that life were absolutely not something I would have expected, nor a life where I was 'like a nun but not a nun' during the occupation of Jerusalem by Crusaders (which I have never really studied in detail but there were abbesses). In fact, I've never encountered stories about the Crusaders from any perspective other than that of the Crusaders. The will go over the spiritual perspective I received from the past life regression experiences. |
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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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