or that there are multimple gods(Please note, this is an unedited rough draft).
I am not someone who really goes with either the idea of a central God who created humanity in it's image. I most certainly never entertained the notion of a Goddess. I always thought of the Goddess religion as being more of a product of the Feminist movement (a movement that I do not support because any time another group is slandered-men- in order to feel validated it is not beneficial to humanity). Raised as a Christian I do believe that Christ lived and was crucified. I dedicated several years as a teenager to reading the entire bible and studying what the 'authorities' on the bible had to say about the 'Word of God'. Strangely, it is the Bible that inspired my imagination when writing my fantasy series Merosis. The concept of Ancient Days that humanity has forgotten and secret knowledge only a select knew comes from Biblical references. However, I have fundamental conflicts with the core dogma of that religion. I believe that, for the most part, as soon as Yeshua died what he taught was changed to suit the needs/views of his disciples who interpreted his teachings in different ways. Further, in other points in history the story of Jesus was rewritten so often and the dogma reinterpreted so many times that Jesus probably wouldn't recognize the lessons taught in churches today. In fact, if he introduced himself to the clergy they wouldn't recognize him. Many don't know that the name 'Jesus' isn't Jewish and therefore is not the name of the 'Lord' they claim to follow. Based on the oldest known manuscripts of the New Testament his name was Yeshua which is a variant of Joshua. Nevertheless, a Patriarchal (that is male oriented) religion is taught throughout the world. Buddha, Muhammad, Yeshua/Jesus, Siva of the Hindu religion or even Ganesh...all of these are male oriented religions. When organized religion arrived it came packaged in a male form of a creator. One of the more tantalizing tales that speak to a feminine religion is that of Marion Zimmer Bradley's take on King Arthur that started with the Mists of Avalon. There, it shows the Goddess religion practiced by hunter/gatherers was replaced by the the Christian Religion. Literally, the Isle of Avalon (of the Goddess) fades into another dimension (much like Tolkiens Elves) and becomes replaced by a Catholic Abbey. However, I never really entertained the idea that a Goddess religion could be anything but the ideas of a barbaric society. Christianity, after all, has always been purported as being a civilizing method that ended Paganism that was founded upon outdated superstition. However, Marion Zimmer Bradley might have hit upon a hidden deeper truth (which is why her books became so insanely popular spawning several sequels that never quite lived up to Mists). The Annunaki The bible, when I read it, particularly the Old Testament with it's animal sacrifices and bi-polar humanized God, left me with a lot more questions then answers. Further, the treatment of Lot where God and Lucifer are testing him and debating whether or not man was good challenged the way I viewed the Devil/Satan/Lucifer. God seemed to be having a casual conversation with an equal. Later I would discover that the Devil as we know him in popular culture today was largely created based on interpretations of the New Testament and 'Pagan' religions (mostly Revelation which was not based on the teachings of Jesus) and that there is not a equivalent word for 'devil' in old Hebrew. Then I ran across Zechriah Stitchin's work regarding the Annunaki. Within the same Sumerian culture, the writing being the most ancient writing (the epic of Gilgamesh) there was the concept of Gods "that from Heaven to Earth came." Based on his reading of the texts Stitchin believed this pantheon of "gods" genetically engineered humanity as a slave race. Their antics, which were far too similar to the politics (and pantheon of Olympic Gods) revealed two factions- one that belonged to the Lord of the Seas (God of the Seas much like Poisiden- symbolized by a Snake) called Enkii and the Lord Commander of Land (Zeus? Symbolized by a Ram) the Enlil. There is even a Venus/Aphrodite type character named Inanna. Now, around 2012 the idea was sensationalized and people became fanatic about the concept thinking that the Annunaki home planet, Nibiru, would arrive and cause mass destruction to our planet or they would save us or...well, something. There is an entire subculture that has grown around the Annunaki Conspiracy idea that I don't find very important. Here, for the first time, I began to see repetitive symbols and an explanation, on a small level, for the reason we find the same symbols and concepts throughout many religions around the world and the bi-polar representation of God in the Old Testament. Instead of believing that this means all religions/spiritual practices borrowed from each other there seemed to be an inherent underlying unifying story to these concepts. The Annunaki explained part of where the strange concept of religion and where the masculine concept of God but it certainly didn't explain all of it. Parts of the idea fit, but other parts did not. If you want to read more I recommend that you look up Stichin's books. I have the book End of Days. Curiously, despite his interpretations of Sumerin text Stitchin held to his belief in Christianity. He even seemed to imply that Yeshua had something to do with the last passing/intervention of the Annunaki. All Religions As One Religion Now, here is a concept that angers every person who clings to a specific religious dogma as a form of 'salvation'. Of course, to look at religion and spiritual beliefs in general with a logical eye opinion as to what is 'right and wrong' must be suspended. Indeed, a lot of students of comparative religion ultimately give up religion when they see that so many different spiritual studies share specific ideas in common. The most sacred concept in Christianity, for example, is the Resurrection of Jesus/Yeshua. However, he's not the only religious character to have been killed and then raised from the dead. Osiris was recorded in Egyptian history as being killed by his brother and then being brought back to life by Isis. The Sumerian God Marduk was said to have been entombed in a pyramid and then freed...The Hindu God Ganesha is said to have been beheaded and then brought back to life with the Elephant Head. FreeMasons also appear to have a ceremony that puts the initiate through the steps of a 'resurrection' type event that, according to their legend, happened to HIram Abiff whom they claim was the builder/engineer/architect of the pyramids. (Note: groups associated with Egypt in particular and the pyramids seem to be involved in this resurrection topic). The concept of a murdered god brought back to life is a repetitive one. As is the symbol of the snake. The concept that the Gods dwell on a mountain top (Olympus for example) is also repeated throughout many religions around the world. Point of Origin- Gobekli Tepe Then I stumbled across the work of Laird Scanton, a linguist, who began researching what was once a remote tribe called the Dogon in Africa based on 1950's work of researchers who preserved their tradition. The tribe is now largely Muslim thanks to the pervasive brutality and enforcement of that religion in that area of the world. Scranton was able to correlate the ancient words of that group with Egyptian words/hieroglyphs, and concepts that were shared by Buddhism, Chinese Religion, and Hinduism. What he found was an underlying theme of root words and concepts that, thanks to the sacred preserved teaching of the Dogon in the 1950's, traces what seems to be a civilizing course taught to humans to help them re-establish civilization at the end of the Ice Age. If you want to read the entire scope of the fascinating work he has done I suggest you read Point of Origin by Laird Scranton as I will not be doing an exhaustive overview. There is far too much in that book for me to analyze it in one essay nor do I feel I have the authority or right to do so. However, at this point and for the reason of this particular blog I will skip to what Laird Scranton had the hardest time digesting. His research indicates that there was a non-human group that taught selected people from different indigenous Hunter Gatherer groups at the end of the Ice Age at Gobekli Tepe. The matrix of information they taught were symbols, associated with animals, that had several different meanings as the initiates ascended the different stages of learning (which is reminiscent of Free Masons). Further, he believes that the intentional burying of Gobekli Tepe and secretive nature of this information indicates that this group of non-humans were hiding their interaction with humans from a second group. The Wes Penre Papers Another source of information I came across was/is called the Wes Penre Papers. Within these papers the author (Wes Penre) seeks to form a cohesion among various concepts I consider New Age. Various beliefs in certain alien life forms (the Grays, etc) accepted by UFO believers/abductees, the Annunaki, the Hindu Gods (currently the most popular to dissect and reinterpret as proof of alien visitation within this crowd) and information I had not come across. In it he expressed, as all new agers seem to do at some point, the belief that the feminine principal (a.k.a. Goddess) was supplanted by the oppressive Patriarchal religions of our day. He seems to suggest that there are two groups- based out of Orion and Sirius- that are battling for our planet. The Sirius regime are Patriarchs in nature and the Orion are Matriarchs. I only mention this because it is intriguing that two sources that I have read while pursuing my hobby of studying spirituality have come to the conclusion that two groups with two different spiritual concepts influenced/taught humanity in the past. While the Wes Penre papers require a leap of the imagination in order to read them they are curious and paint a very interesting interpretation and synthesis of the New Age movement. Conclusion There are themes and symbols repeated throughout ancient religions and spiritual practices that even a novice can see. However, it seems that at the core of these repetitious symbols and stories there is a Point of Origin. This Original Story, retold and reinterpreted and perhaps even repeated throughout the ages has sunk so deeply into our human collective psyche that Joseph Campbell (who aided in creating Star Wars) studied it throughout his life and psychologist Carl Jung believed it could reveal/heal a person's individual psyche. Understanding what the thread of this underlying story that humanity has been retelling to itself for centuries is important in the development/creation of a new story. Why do I think it's important that this chapter/story is closed and a new one opened? Well, after so many centuries of retelling/rereading the same story isn't it getting a little old? Isn't it time we breathed new life into humanity by consciously reinterpreting/understanding the old story and changing what we don't like into something new? If there is information known by a select few about this story isn't it time everyone understand it? The old story has served its purpose. Society/Civilization has been established. There is no need to destroy civilization again (how many times does one planet and species want to go through such an experience?). Now it's time to understand that ancient story and move on. Curiously, that old story might involve the feminine principal/the Goddess that I really haven't considered. Marion Zimmer Bradley might have been correct. I will go into the concept of how the Goddess was transformed into Mary...and the hints of the original story of the "Mother Goddess".
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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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