Review – Paul Tillich’s Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions

Tillich Park - new harmony indiana: paparutzi / christina rutz

I just finished reading Paul Tillich’s Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions (1963).

Although it seems Tillich is somewhat confined by his particular conceptual categories and dialectical mode of thinking when speaking of the complexities of life and spirit, I found some of his observations interesting.

Perhaps most noteworthy is his assertion that a religion must adapt and change in order to survive. It must “negate itself” (can you hear Hegel clapping?) to continue to live and breathe the Holy Spirit.

This is very much like Carl Jung’s argument, but I wasn’t too surprised to see no reference to Jung in this book (up until about 1990 it was common in the humanities and theology to ignore or discredit Jung’s thought).

Consider this quote, appearing near the end of the book:

We know today what a secular myth is. We know what a secular cult is. The totalitarian movements have provided us with both. Their great strength was that they transformed ordinary concepts, events, and persons into myths, and ordinary performances into rituals; therefore they had to be fought with other myths and rituals—religious and secular. You cannot escape them, however you demythologize and deritualize. They always return and you must always judge them again. In the fight of God against religion the fighter for God is in the paradoxical situation that he has to use religion in order to fight religion (pp. 93-94).

In The Undiscovered Self Jung said, several years before Tillich, “You can take away a man’s gods, but only to give him others in return” (1958, p. 63).

When speaking of the fight of “God against religion” Tillich is talking about movements such as Communism, Fascism and those ossified, oppressive structures that apparently no longer communicate the Holy Spirit (for Tillich, this includes the Catholic hierarchy and sacraments).

It seems he’s pointing to the idea that we cannot escape two main elements in the human adventure: Power and belief. Whether or not the powers and beliefs we encounter are truly in line with God’s will is a question that any mature person will always want to carefully examine.

And yes, it takes belief in God and God’s power to overcome elements that are not from God. On this point I fully agree with Tillich.

However, as I’ve indicated, there’s much in this work that I found limited by his personality structure, Protestant beliefs and historical position.

Of course, a similar charge could be leveled against me. And to his credit Tillich points to this concern in his discussion on dialogue vs. conversion, and the related idea of non-Christian criticisms of Christianity being positively transformed into healthy Christian self-criticism (Tillich is speaking on a group level here, but the same dynamic could be applied to individuals).

Still, I found the book’s overall approach a bit stiff and it contained not a few sweeping generalizations. At times it seems that Tillich is just playing a little philosophy game with a lot of general intellectual ideas. And then suddenly he’ll come back to being relevant and make a good point or two.

In fairness, the fact that I’m taking the time to write this indicates that I found this book far more accessible and meaningful than most of the dry bones theological works I’ve encountered.

While some readers at amazon.com see Tillich’s conclusion as a sort of syncretic cop out, I find it somewhat optimistic, if perhaps simplistic:

In the depth of every living religion there is a point at which the religion itself loses its importance, and that to which it points breaks through its particularity, elevating it to spiritual freedom and with it to a vision of the spiritual presence in other expressions of the ultimate meaning of man’s existence.

This is what Christianity must see in the present encounter of the world religions (p. 97).

I say simplistic because it seems there are many different kinds of spiritual presences, ranging from quite impure (i.e. spacey, gloomy and self-obscuring) to exceedingly pure (i.e. holy, uplifting and self-affirming), a point Jung also touches on in his discussion of numinosity (as did Rudolf Otto and others).

Now, Tillich does talk about differences concerning the idea of individuality (and problems in defining it) earlier in the book with his comparison of Christianity and Buddhism. So it’s not as if he overlooks this point completely.

But it remains unclear why in his conclusion he glosses over the central issue of different spiritual presences.

These shortcomings aside, Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions is a good little book and certainly worth the dollar I paid for it at the used bookstore.

–MC

Review – 2012: Mayan Prophecy and the Shift of the Ages (DVD)

Reality Films

If the universe placed an online ad looking for a hero to guide us into the next phase of human history, it might look something like this:

JOB TITLE: Herald of the Transformation

EMPLOYEE TYPE: Full-time

EMPLOYER: Planet Earth, in association with the Galactic Center

JOB DESCRIPTION: A highly creative organization seeks an outstanding hero to connect the two worlds of ordinary time and eternity

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as spokesperson and exemplar for the rest of humanity
• Candidate must reevaluate traditional religions, be willing to make sacrifices and spend long hours traveling through inner space
• Position may involve misunderstanding and even hostility from those reluctant to accept the emerging 21^st century paradigm

JOB REQUIREMENTS: You are the One

SALARY: Commensurate with ability to fulfill responsibilities

*****

At least, it would if 2012: Mayan Prophecy and the Shift of the Ages accurately represents how the cosmic cradle of life sees things.

Let me explain.

2012 is an ambitious, far-reaching film that synthesizes a great many ideas about time, eternity and what really matters as we journey into the 21^st century.

Building on the work of the late Terence McKenna, alleged parallels between two cyclical systems – the Mayan calendar and the Chinese I Ching - are outlined. Apparently in 2012 the long Mayan calendar completes its cycle. And detailed calculations based on the I Ching are said to reveal 2012 as a collective terminus or, on a more optimistic note, global tipping point.

According to the film, both of these ancient oracles point to 2012 as the foretold time for humanity to reconnect with nine Mayan ancient ones who are either nine otherworldly deities or, in the Aztec worldview, nine aspects of one deity.

Practically speaking, this could entail a radical break with all that we take for granted in the natural and ideological world. Severe geomagnetic disturbances, called Earth Changes, would contribute to geographical and psychological disasters like we’ve never seen before.

But it doesn’t have to turn out this way.

As part of a living system extending throughout the solar system and beyond, to include the visible and invisible, mankind plays a key role in how things may unfold.

Put simply, it’s time for us to sink or swim in the cosmic mind.

The film says that embracing the ancient prophecies 2012 could spell an end to war, greed and famine. In essence, 2012 could be the dawning of a new era for mankind as we undergo a dramatic paradigm shift.

This may sound far-fetched but it’s a notion that, ironically, was seeded by the work of Sigmund Freud.

Freud was no New Age guru. Far from it. He didn’t believe in God as a metaphysical being and ridiculed most paranormal claims. He also said that his new technique of psychoanalysis, at best, could only give mankind “normal human unhappiness.”

But despite his double-edged sword of skepticism and pessimism, Freud was the first modern researcher to look inside and develop a systematic theory to try to explain the deepest layers of the psyche.

While Freud rejected the idea of God, he did, however, forge the concept of the unconscious, later polarized into life (Eros) and death (Thanatos) instincts.

Today, the archetypal theory of Freud’s most famous successor Carl Jung is often credited as the first giant leap for mankind’s odyssey into inner space. But Freud, himself, also said that his concept of the unconscious was, at the most fundamental level, collective.

So the image of a psychological totality (a.k.a. Universe or All That Is) trying to reconnect with itself through introspection isn’t terribly new.

Freud arguably opened the door for Jung, whose refinements and advances saw the ego as ideally becoming a servant to the Self, the Self being a circle of infinite circumference. As Jung put it:

The self is not only the centre, but also the whole circumference which embraces both conscious and unconscious; it is the centre of this totality, just as the ego is the centre of consciousness.

“Introduction,” CW 12, par. 44., cited in D. Sharp, Jung Lexicon.

And in 1970s pop culture, the progressive rock group, Yes, had this to say in the song “Awaken“:

High vibration go on
To the sun, oh let my heart dreaming
Past a mortal as me.
Where can I be?

Wish the sun to stand still.
Reaching out to touch our own being
Past a mortal as we
Here we can be.

What’s new is the belief, right or wrong, that a lasting planetary metamorphosis will soon take place with 2012 as its projected start date. This kind of worldwide revolution won’t be some ephemeral trend scattered among a few isolated artists, eccentrics and elderly hippies.

Evidently the old prophecies are calling for a hero who will endure the great stress and sacrifice involved in keeping sane amidst a break with the normal, everyday sense of reality. This Promethean hero will give humanity a life-affirming answer to the demented and scheming 21st Century Schizoid Man, a metaphor from the rock group King Crimson for all that’s sordid and corrupt in industrial society.

As the Native American Indians and Tibetan lamas have put it, this hero will possess an abundance of ‘crazy wisdom.’

He or she will straddle two worlds: The one world extends outward to the familiar people, places and things of everyday life. The other world penetrates into the Self – the very core of existence – through a kind of psychological Stargate that pierces the veil between time and eternity. And both of these realms will be accessed without crashing and burning, going insane or ending up behind bars, a sad fate that has befallen many unsuccessful inner adventurers.

Along these lines, depth psychologists say that individuals lose their grip by overly identifying with archetypal powers. Some become violent and cruel while others seem more like splintered glass, succumbing to fear, paranoia and withdrawal. And some just burn out before their time.

One only has to think of Adolf Hitler (who believed he was guided by a higher power), Jim Morrison (who died in a Paris bathtub) or those tragic casualties immortalized in Alan Ginsberg’s poem, “Howl.”

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked…
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.

Fortunately, the message of 2012: Mayan Prophecy and the Shift of the Ages isn’t quite so somber. We need not relinquish our inalienable human rights and freedoms to the irrational whims of some dark, cynical despot. Nor must we cook our brains with psychoactive drugs or space out with unnatural “guided meditations” to become more enlightened, better beings.

According to this video, the universe will make the call. And all we have to do is answer.

–MC

Wake Up! The Social Construction of Sleep

insomnia by Jonathan Jacobsen

Copyright © Michael Clark 2010. All rights reserved.

If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying.
It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.

–Dale Carnegie

It’s 2:42 a.m.

A short while ago I was awakened by two cats howling outside my window. Unable to get back to my slumbers, it seemed like a good time to write about the social construction of sleep.¹

Sleep is a wonderful restorative. The ancient Greeks extolled its virtues as a sacred salve releasing mankind from diurnal cares. And Sigmund Freud called dreams the “royal road to the unconscious.”

Freud’s brightest student, Carl Jung, was equally interested in dreams. Jung felt that our nighttime productions compensated for and guided daytime activity toward a greater, integrated sense of meaning.

Sleep Deprivation and Snake Oils

The Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo had another view. He said sleep is a sluggish, inferior form of consciousness that is best conquered through intense meditation. In fact, Aurobindo claimed to have overcome the need for sleep. Similarly, Christian monks tend to get less sleep than the average layperson.

But on a physiological level, sleep is important. The body synthesizes proteins faster in the cerebral cortex and retina during sleep hours, enhancing growth and restoration.² Sleep deprivation actually impairs the functioning of the cerebral cortex, the newest portion of the brain in evolutionary terms.

It’s been repeatedly demonstrated that sleep deprivation has harmful effects on memory and contributes to anxiety and even paranoia. Keeping people sleepy is a great way to brainwash, manipulate or indoctrinate. No wonder cult leaders and political interrogators use sleep deprivation to weaken subjects into compliance.

In National Geographic a Harvard neuroscientist claims that US society (and by implication other so-called developed nations like Canada) is “tremendously sleep deprived.” If we don’t sleep well during the night, it’s usually recommended to nap, rest or meditate sometime during the day.

As for the latest sleep-inducing herbs and wonder-drugs, this is a clear case of buyer beware. Scammers more concerned with making money than helping others often have a clever sales pitch (one which postmodern deconstructionists would have a field day with).

For instance, if you don’t get a solid eight hours every night these unscrupulous sellers say you have an illness.³ Then you’re informed that substance X (which they happen to market) is just the thing for you, this being supported by a host of quasi-scientific claims. Your saving medicine may be an extract, a herb or perhaps some other costly snake oil–all to make you healthier, happier and more productive.⁴

This, of course, is an extreme scenario, one facilitated by cheesy web marketing. On the other hand, there is solid scientific research in support of the responsible use of some herbs and extracts. Healing with herbs is also advocated in the Old Testament (Sirach 38: 1-15) and many people swear by their benefits.

At the same time, however, a CBC Marketplace documentary suggests that we usually don’t know the full long-term side effects of many herbs (the idea of ’side effects’ arguably being a euphemism for unhealthy effects).

To ingest herbs and oils merely on the reassuring word of an absolute stranger seems unwise. Hopefully mass media marketers of herbs and wonder-drugs will soon be integrated with reliable health officials to avoid some illnesses that may be aggravated by their products. A definite step in the right direction here seems to be the Adverse Drug Reaction Database.

Concerning the normative allopathic sleep medications available today, their use is often a compromise situation due to their oft-downplayed unhealthy and addictive effects. But in certain situations their use can be more positive than negative, providing these drugs are taken responsibly.

The red flag should go up, however, whenever anyone tries to make a fanatical religion out of any kind of treatment–those unimaginative perhaps fearful souls who cling to existing therapeutic frameworks while closing their minds to new possibilities.

New Age Fancies

Many leading New Age figures say the electric lights and general hubbub of modern society have disrupted our natural biorhythms, often called the Circadian rhythm. These pundits of the soul lament that we’ve severed some kind of sacred connection with the natural environment and our distant ancestors.

All this calls to mind romantic myths of the natural man, the natural woman and the noble savage.

But who can really say what’s natural and what’s not?⁵

Anthropological research suggests that Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals weren’t all that different from contemporary mankind. And they probably awoke in the dead of night much like we do in the 21st century.

Instead of fretting about money or health our ancestors likely worried about ambushes, wild beasts, storms and seasonal climate change.⁶ Indeed, this BBC story about Neanderthal violence seems to indicate that life in prehistoric times was no cakewalk.

To say that primitive mankind lived in some kind of stress-free, golden age replete with undisturbed nights seems more like New Age fiction than responsible history.

Transpersonal Connections

As to why we awake in the dead of night, in some cases this could be due to transpersonal connections.

The Catholic saint, Faustina Kowalska, for instance, wrote in her Divine Mercy Diary that she rose in the middle of the night in response to distressed souls in need of her prayerful intercession.

During the night, I was suddenly awakened and knew that some soul was asking me for prayer, and that it was in much need of prayer. Briefly, but with all my soul, I asked the Lord for grace for her.⁷

For some people this kind of scenario is difficult to understand. By way of analogy, it might help to imagine an intern always on call. Suppose there’s an emergency in the middle of the night and she is awakened by her cell. Again, many people today just cannot imagine let alone appreciate this dynamic. It’s far too subtle for the ordinary person steeped in conventional wisdom and a historically relative vision of the universe and beyond.

In many folks’ minds saints like Sister Faustina would be a fanatic or ill. And the tormented souls for whom she intercedes are just figments of her imagination or hallucinations. Sadly, this kind of thinking seems to have crept into certain corners of the contemporary Catholic Church too, a place where a bona fide mystic such as St. Faustina could at one time be just what she was called to be–a contemplative saint.⁸

Most, however, must hold 9 to 5 jobs to maintain a desired standard of living for themselves and perhaps their families. These people are necessary to industrial society and it’s probably in their best interest to do everything possible to maintain a nighttime sleep pattern.

But let’s not suppose for a minute that this is the natural way when arguably it’s just a choice to participate in a highly conditioned social order, one relative to certain historical moments and locations.

Consider, for instance, India or South America. In these cultures a daytime nap is largely built-in to the fabric of life. In the afternoon stores close down, shutters are drawn and most everybody sleeps.

In the West, leading figures like Mozart, Winston Churchill, Elvis Presley and James Joyce took advantage of the late night hours. Likewise, Jesus Christ prayed through the night.

It’s hard to imagine what kind of world we’d have if these great individuals hadn’t let go of the conventional mores of their time.

By the same token, not everyone is a born artist, politician or spiritual leader. Moreover, it seems only a relative few are able to stand aside and see beyond their culture. In fact, getting a solid eight hours sleep can be quite pleasant. It can be reassuring to fit in with one’s real or imagined status quo, as we did in childhood.

But for most of us childhood is over and it’s time to consider alternatives, especially if our socially constructed understanding of the ‘good night sleep’ isn’t happening any more. Waking up in the middle of the night – or just staying up late – could be seen as an opportunity for productivity and enhanced creativity.

For all we know, it might even be essential to the new global community.

Notes

1. For those unfamiliar with the idea of the ’social construction of reality,’ see Berger and Luckman’s sociological benchmark.

2. It’s conceivable that Sri Aurobindo created these metabolic conditions while meditating, but on this we can’t be sure.

3. Readers interested in the notion of the ‘medical gaze’ are referred to Michel Foucault’s The Birth of the Clinic.

4. Manufacturing and sales departments of allopathic and homeopathic substances tend to downplay the negative short and long-term side effects–side-effects arguably being a euphemism for unhealthy effects. And selling consumable substances on the basis of a partial or skewed reporting of results is scientifically unsound. Along these lines, an internal FDA study suggests that about 2/3 of FDA scientists have lost confidence in that agency’s ability to protect the public from potentially harmful substances. See “Inside the FDA,” CBS.news.com, December 16, 2004:  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/26/health/main638721.shtml?CMP=ILC-SearchStories

5. The idea of the natural can be critiqued from sociological, philosophical and theological perspectives. Meanwhile, some maintain that the natural is qualitatively different from the volitional and the spiritual.

6. Ronald Wright’s discussion in A Short History of Progress is worthwhile; part one is freely available in audio here.

7. Divine Mercy in My Soul, p. 319. While the transfer of anxiety may not always be as clear and apparent as with the example of an achieved saint, it seems reasonable to suggest that everyone may be open, in varying capacities, to the ebb and flow of collective emotions and other psycho-spiritual qualities and experiences. In Indian philosophy, this points toward the idea of karma transfer, as outlined by Indologist Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty in The Origins of Evil In Hindu Mythology. C. G Jung and other transpersonal psychologists such as S. Grof similarly speak of syntonic countertransference.

8. (a) Not to ignore the possibility of spiritual deception. Please see ETs, UFOs and the Psychology of Belief and related articles at earthpages.org and earthpages.ca dealing with the idea of discernment. (b) The Church’s organizational structure stresses that the clergy conform (and to some degree laypersons) to a relatively narrow range of officially sanctioned modes of worship and service. And perhaps in an attempt to be ‘modern’ and receptive to the scientific establishment, the Church seems to uncritically embrace some of the more spurious scientific truth claims circulating today. This is no abstract point. In keeping with Michel Foucault’s thinking, giving credence to questionable discourses may have potentially harmful effects on individuals and society.

Review – Diary of a Vampire: The Legacy of Bram Stoker (DVD)

Reality Films

Philip Gardiner’s Diary of a Vampire enters into the intriguing world of Bram Stoker, the renowned Irish author of Dracula (1897).

As possible influences on Stoker’s work, the film looks at European history, Freemasonry, Asian mysticism, mythology, the esoterica of Madame Blavatsky, along with her well documented disagreement with the German scholar of religion, Max Müller.

A great deal of visual and narrative emphasis is given to the idea that, in contrast to the scathing account given in the biblical Book of Genesis, the serpent represents sexual energy that may be transmuted into spiritual power–i.e. the kundalini and seven chakras.

Whether or not this kind of subtle, inner power is healthy, hypnotic or perhaps manipulative is left open to debate.

Along these lines, we’ve all heard about charismatic individuals who use their personal power to manipulate instead of honorably manage situations and other people.

The film’s treatment of the serpent is further developed by mentioning the Christian belief that, as a symbol of evil, the snake’s power is to be overcome through intercessory prayer and, in the past, abject violence.

Dracula, then, is taken as a symbol for the English fear of esoteric cults during a time that saw a resurgence of the ongoing conflict between the ‘Christian West’ and ‘Pagan East.’

To its credit, this thoughtful and well-researched film asks which side Stoker is on–Christian or Pagan. It also asks whether Stoker is merely observing and inadvertently encouraging a nascent consciousness shift that will culminate in a full-fledged Gothic revival in the Victorian era.

Diary of a Vampire is highly recommended for those interested in the ongoing tensions and ambiguities found among Christian and non-Christian beliefs. And this DVD is particularly strong when tracing esoteric, occult and underground influences in the Victorian era.

–MC

There is a Universal Law of Abundance – Part 2

Understand Abundance & Breath: TheeErin

Author: Russell Symonds

Simply praying may not help much. Instead it may be more effective to meditate intensely for more than 15 minutes on the actual result of one’s intent which must be in tune with the good of all and never against anyone’s wishes. By understanding some of the timeless, mystical truths deeply embedded in the Lord’s Prayer, one can find great comfort, guidance and inner peace, knowing that God’s will for all is only happiness and prosperity.

Why is Prayer Seldom Answered?

Prayer is not enough. You must visualize with faith and meditate daily on the ideals that you want to change your life around toward while working closely with a strong sense of God’s personal love and blessing. You must put all your emotional energy (enthusiasm) and focus into what you do want while avoiding thoughts and feelings of what is not wanted or considered undesirable. I don’t at all mean being irresponsible, but rather put one’s focus and energy into being more responsible and caring than ever before, because that is one of the positive ideals, traits, and/or qualities of success that’s most practical to have.

You also must make the new ideals that you want a habitual way of thinking. Never forget you are a powerful spiritual being whose consciousness and thoughts are not just limited to and caused by the physical brain (which is really just a “conduit, switchboard or condenser” through which the physical world can be accessed by the soul), but are from a timeless, multidimensional source of massive power and of universal (holographic) origin and influence. The Reality that is You are actually at or above the level of creation itself. You are a powerful spiritual being, living on Earth to experience and overcome physical limitations.

You absolutely must not wish any harm against anyone else, but rather be very grateful and appreciative of their lives. Avoid jealousy, all sense of competition and all self-righteousness. Instead sense the Oneness of all life and sincerely wish for others all the best of everything. What goes around comes around. Love God in others with all your heart. Respect and serve God in others with all your heart. Avoid all fear (of losing) and attachment to what you have already. Real happiness, true happiness comes from within. As a child (reflection) of God, you are independently wealthy.

To meditate on what is needed is far more potent than simply praying. That means one is to concentrate, visualize with all one’s inner senses for nearly an hour a day the actual fulfillment of one’s goal, desire or dream. Learn how to focus all one’s attention to the exclusion of all other thoughts on the one most desperately needed or desired thing, whether it be piles of money, gold, a house, a relationship, or even a tranquil garden of blossoming roses and all the sublime scents of nature; if it is good for your soul, then it has to come to pass! The more focus and the less distraction one has, the sooner whatever you focus on can unfold into your life as an actual experience. It is important to conserve one’s sexual energy because sexual energy is a creative force and may very well be an essential help for one’s ability, inspiration and enthusiasm (all are essential!) to focus and concentrate on whatever goal has to be reached. Then all one’s actions must in turn logically comply with, responsibly engage in, and physically become involved with the actual accomplishment of the goal in mind.

What You Renounce You Can Have

True prosperity is achieved through following the above inspiring principles with a loving and joyous attitude. Never forget the supreme commandment: love God with all your heart. Build up a habitual attitude of love, joy and gratitude. These positive attitudes give off a strong positive influence, blessing the atmosphere, all other people, all other life forms, and your relationship with the entire inner universe of your being or inner Reality, thus changing everything you experience.

Your Relationship with God

Why even bother to have a relationship to God and who is God anyway? God is a cosmic conscious “computer” of infinite size and vastness, encompassing and consisting of all dimensions, especially those beyond time and space, cause and causation. God is beyond even the duality of existence and non-existence: after all, what is pure awareness? So anyone asking whether God exists or not is beside the point. You can’t possibly describe or even comprehend this pure awareness which is the Source of all experience and creation. You can only experience it. But you must work with and strive to know and love this awesome Reality behind all existence because it is the underlying Source of you. It is the tree of the branch that you depend on for support, the trunk of your “tree” of creation. You are a part of God and to the degree you can drop all fears, desires, etc. and to the degree you can develop a profound sense of love, joy, prosperity and laughter, determines just how much of this truth you will experience. The metaphysical books by Joseph Murphy gives one confidence and knowledge as to where and how to take the “helm” of one’s life and turn it around to the “still waters” of peace, and the abundance of an “overflowing cup.” We give up or renounce our fears and desires by realizing that they are fulfilled already with the unsurpassed mercy and abundance of the universe. These truths are as timeless as the 23rd Psalm.

The Deep Meaning Behind the Lord’s Prayer

There are many variations and translations of this prayer. It is one of the most widely recited prayers in the world. Of course, there is a major metaphysical meaning and significance to every word of the Lord’s Prayer that tells us how to live in complete harmony with the universe, and when recited with devotion and sincerity of heart will saturate one with a great sense of awe, love and abundant blessings from God.

“Our Father which art in Heaven” proclaims the universal consciousness of Godhood or Spirit as being in a continuous state of perfect wholeness or “Heaven.” God is all knowing, all truth, all love, all powerful and all joy. To know this state of consciousness is to always be in a state of heavenly joy, abundance and bliss.

“Hallowed by thy Name.” The name of God, whatever it may be, is to be made holy or set apart for holy use. Never cry out the Lord’s name in vain (how many times have we all done this?) because it’s vibration is potent and all too wonderful for it to ever be abused in a fit of mundane frustration. Would you want to say something as sacred and close to your heart as the name of your true love, your soul mate and spouse forever in a way without reverence and respect? Love is too sacred and any name or word for one you love, who is the nearest and dearest (God) should be a deep and sacred joy to meditate on or chant deep within the sacredness of one’s heart.

“Thy Kingdom come.” We must remember that God is far more than just a religion or a prayer. God’s purpose is to lead us up through many states and stages of evolution or consciousness or strata of being, revealing entire kingdoms or spheres of 100% natural realities of finer and finer vibrations (far beyond the range of the physical senses) that are awesomely beautiful, abundant and all fulfilling in their nature. The “Kingdom” is within all conscious beings and when it arrives (or rather when we arrive to it) we get to live in paradise. The main challenge is to live in this paradise as a perfect master of life while still on Earth and to create abundance where originally there was only lack.

“Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” is the great reason why many souls must come to this earth which is so full of misery and all sorts of challenges. This statement reveals God’s intention for all of us which is to somehow channel light from heaven and to manifest on Earth the same goodness and values always found in the higher realms beyond death and above the physical plane, and to bridge the gap between heaven and Earth, and to even create a communication bridge between the spheres so that Spirit can directly guide and instruct physically incarnate humans toward a much more fulfilling destiny of wondrous abundance and permanent salvation from suffering. In other words, we are here to create heaven on Earth, however, most tragically and unfortunately too many are mired in spiritual ignorance and are therefore doing just the opposite and are often undoing all the good things the wise and good souls are trying to do.

“Give us this day our daily bread” and we are praying in this way to become established in the attitude of receiving God’s universal abundance, provision or care that is also very personal, complete, and affectionately loving. This prayer acknowledges the fact that we are lovingly looked after by Spirit for our own good and safety depending on how much we acknowledge Spirit, how much we put Spirit first in our lives. Spirit is the more feminine aspect of God that is the Divine Mother, Zero Point Energy or Sustainer of all animate and inanimate objects and can be heard in the right ear as the universally creative “Om” sound. Her universal consort is God the Father who is the great, unmanifested infinitude and guiding laws of physics and principles of all reality, or pure consciousness beyond all manifestation without end.

As we come to “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” we discover there is a universal law that underlies the importance of forgiveness.

Jesus in St. Matthew 14 and 15 had this to say about the prayer: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive men not their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This statement is what I believe to be the foundational truth behind that widely acclaimed A Course in Miracles which teaches forgiveness as a way toward miraculous recovery from all kinds of difficulties and challenges people are often afflicted with. After all, if you feel one owes you even a simple apology or had made your life miserable and should bring back all kinds of compensation, never forget all the favors you must owe others! There is a universal law of karmic balance so subtle that materialistic scientists completely dismiss it, yet it is so profound and fundamental to the health of the soul, to ignore it would be the height of spiritual stupidity and ignorance. Holding a grudge, or insisting everyone who owes you money pay up, and/or never letting go of old hatreds and long unsettled debts would only serve to block one’s progress forward into a much freer life of healing vitality, spirituality, abundance, and prosperity.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” means if we are not centering our life on God’s glorious values of light, love and goodness, then what are we centering our lives on? If we seek not the Light, we could soon end up in darkness. We must always discriminate between good and bad, light and dark, chastity and lust, etc. or be lost in many reincarnations until we do learn, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and death in this sense means having to go through as many cycles of birth, suffering and death until all karmic lessons are paid off. Only when we are free from selfish materialism does the everlasting life in multitudinous heavenly existences ultimately become available. How wise indeed are those who stay away from the temptations of materialism and selfishness!

“For thine is is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever” signifies the endless and wonderful existences in the eternities of heaven most worthy of attainment. We must keep in mind that the eternal glorious Kingdom of Heaven and God’s profound love is potentially within all souls. Words fail to depict and describe the actual experiences of souls living out their eternal spiritual lives in the higher spheres which are full of wonders and wondrous abundance impossible to convey to those on Earth because everything must be brought down to a materialistic level to be understood in our three-dimensional universe of corporeal reality.

“Amen” is “Aum” or “Om” or original sound of creation that is the Holy Ghost or Spirit. A whole book can be written on this remarkable syllable alone but it represents the sound often heard in the inner right ear by mystics and yogis during deep meditation. It comes from the Source of creation which is Zero Point Energy which sustains every electron in its orbit and is the ultimate source of all matter and energy and is the entire ocean of energy, prana, or Spirit engulfing all creation.

The mystical truths of the Bible come from a profound and universal Source of knowledge which is God. By focusing on all the wonderful qualities of God, one becomes more and more like what one focuses on.

More information and videos related to this article can be found right here: http://www.wholejoy.com/thelawofabundance/income.html

Russell Symonds (Shaktivirya) has dedicated his life to finding wholeness and is living the “wholeness” lifestyle. His website, Science of Wholeness is a spiritual and nutritional information and research center dedicated to helping you find your keys to wholeness (everlasting joy, love, bliss, rejuvenation, and much, much more). There is no greater thing of beauty, value and joy as wholeness!

The rest of his original articles and his free online book can be found here: http://www.wholejoy.com/wholeness/NEWS.html

About the Author:

I am a spiritual truth seeker looking for wholeness, or the perfect inner joy and abundant health that we all long for. I have found much of that wholeness through ionized water fasting, afterlife research, advanced dieting/nutritional supplementation, meditation, and transmutation of the lower chakra energies into a higher expression of joy and love.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – There is a Universal Law of Abundance – Part 2

The belief in spiritual warfare: some complexities for 2010

Stomp: follow777 / Milan Klusacek

When one hears the term ’spiritual warfare’ images of uncompromising religious fundamentalists and TV preachers may come to mind.

The idea of battling demons is nothing new. Hindus have been familiar with it for centuries. As have Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Jews, Moslems, Shamans and Amerindians, among others.

However, not all persons see spiritual warfare in the same way. One historical example is found with the prominent Hindu philosopher, Sankara (c. 700 – 750 CE).

Put simply, Sankara characterizes the Buddha as an evil avatar–that is, a demon in the flesh. For Sankara all Buddhist distinctions between good and evil deities are misguided.

A similar problem arises when we compare Christian and Hindu spiritualities. For some Christians the entire pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses are demonic; meanwhile Hinduism itself distinguishes among helpful, harmful and sort of trickster-like deities that may seem ethically ambiguous to some.

Confusing? Yeah, a little. At least, it can be if all we have to rely on is a pile of books or Wikipedia.

This kind of riddle is probably insolvable through reading alone. Arguably we have to experience how different spiritual pathways make us feel–and not just think or, even worse, uncritically adopt a politically correct position.

I’ve developed my own criteria to discern what’s right and not so right for me. It’s not a rigid checklist but an ongoing investigation, subject to change according to my experience and reflection. And perhaps everyone who cares about spirituality should develop their own criteria.

Another interesting wrinkle within the idea of spiritual warfare is found in the psychiatric perspective.

Psychiatry is a more or less unified worldview as to what’s right and wrong with people’s heads and their related behavior. The science of psychiatry has developed dramatically over the past few decades and enjoys a high degree of ideological influence, legitimacy and power, these powers differing somewhat according to local policies and laws.

Anti-psychiatry figures usually point out that homosexuality was a disorder in the 1960s and early 70s before the American Psychiatric Association (APA) declassified it as a mental disorder in 1973.

One can view this fact negatively or positively. Anti-psychiatry figures tend to uphold it as alleged evidence that psychiatry is a sham. Meanwhile, supporters of psychiatry argue that science is always changing and evolving. And the fact that the APA made this positive change is evidence of its scientific credibility.

I tend to embrace the latter view, hoping that psychiatry will continue to grow and recognize not only spiritualities linked to major, established religions but also to those prayerful wildflowers, if you will, who are healthy, beautiful and doing good works but not adhering to any major religious group.

We need pioneers of the spirit who can see through all the varnish, hoopla and hypocrisy of organized religion. Otherwise there might not be any significant spiritual evolution for mankind.

With this in mind, the other day I saw a PBS article about an alleged psychiatric emergency in India. Something about the article struck me as incomplete but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

• Psychiatric Demands Jump as India Battles Mental Illness | PBS NewsHour | Dec. 29, 2009 | PBS: http://bit.ly/8wBbKb

Read and decide for yourself if perhaps the article is a bit hegemonic about the (implied) wonders of 21st century medical science and its associated worldview.

I just wanted to spell out some of the complexities around the oft misunderstood notion of spiritual warfare. There’s no unanimous agreement. For some, gods are demons while others say those very demons are gods.

And atheists might write off the whole gamut of religious deities as some kind of man-made security blanket or possibly hallucinations to be fixed with psychotropic medication, no matter how harmful the short or long term side effects of those medications may be.

This much said, I’d like to direct the reader to the article, Spiritual Warfare Study: Truth Cries Out, immediately below. Please recall that Earthapages is about dialogue. This piece represents just one perspective among many in this largely unsolved yet important area of debate.

–MC

Spiritual Warfare Study: Truth Cries Out

Aiming For Heaven... WTC 9/11/08: NJScott

Author: catagory987

Spiritual Warfare Bible Study: Truth Cries Out

To understand the battle, we need to begin with acknowledging that we are in a war. Battles make up smaller components of the bigger picture. By definition, battles involve combat between two persons, between factions, between armies and they consist of any type of “extended contest, struggle, or controversy” (Webster-Merriam). As Christians, we are in a spiritual battle of some sort on a daily basis. In warfare, battles are fought on different fronts, for different reasons, and with varying degrees of intensity. The same is true in spiritual warfare. Our spiritual battles are real, even though we cannot physically see the attacker. But, we can educate ourselves on how the battles are fought and how they impact our lives on a daily basis.

We have to ask ourselves, “Why do we even want to fight?” It will do us no good to educate ourselves on the battle if we see no reason for the fight. War is very controversial today in the physical realm. Those attitudes, beliefs and convictions will transfer over to the spiritual realm. However, in the spiritual realm, there is a battle going on regardless of our opinion. We are either victors or victims. Jesus has come and conquered. The war is already won in the heavens. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:18 that, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” We now have the privilege of having an eternal relationship with God. Many of us enter into that covenant of salvation by grace. But the Matthew 28:18 verse is not only about our salvation; it is also about our every day victory, which adds up to victorious living in Christ. Every day victory is achieved by knowing, believing and understanding the battles that we are enduring daily, regardless if we are passive or active in the battles. Do you want all that God has for you on this earth right now, or do you want to wait until you get to heaven to receive the victory and blessings?

How do we know that there is a spiritual realm? If we cannot see it, should we believe in it? Many believers and unbelievers today do not want to “deal” with a world we cannot see when the world we do see is hard enough to “deal” with. Before we can discuss the spiritual battle, we have to believe in the spiritual realm. We have a tendency to act like a two-year-old child who closes her eyes and places a blanket over her head, really believing that no one can see her because she cannot see them. Just because we cannot see the spiritual realm does not mean it is not there. Keith Green, a Christian songwriter, wrote, “I [Satan] used to have to sneak around. Now they just open their doors. No one’s looking for my tricks because no one believes in me anymore.” However, if we choose to ignore or not believe in the spiritual realm, we will find ourselves confused, frustrated, and quenching the peace that God has promised to each of us. The best defense is a strong offense. Just educating ourselves about the spiritual realm is half the fight and God gives us everything else we need to be victorious with the other half.

Are you tired of feeling like you are losing the battle…even the war? When you learn the truth, you are truly set free. Most of us are not aware of the bondage around us, keeping us locked up. The sad part is that the barriers are mostly invisible. We are wrapped up in thoughts of fears, doubts and failures. But, once we learn the truth, we never go back. I used to have a large fenced in area in my back yard that held two large German shepherds. They were big dogs and as they were growing and they were very gregarious dogs and I had to build a pen in my backyard to hold these dogs. I called a fence company and basically fenced in my whole backyard, so they had plenty of room to roam and play. The fence was about six feet in height. One day as I am watching them romp around the yard in their pen, I realized that they could both jump the fence with little effort. I knew they could jump the fence, but they did not know they could jump the fence. Then, one night they jumped the fence. I could never keep them in the pen anymore. I would put them back in the pen and they would jump over the top. They knew their freedom was on the other side. They learned the truth. If we just could learn and know that the very fence or pen we are in, we can get out of it, then the enemy’s lies, schemes, tricks, and manipulations will no longer work because we know the truth and the truth has set us free. There is nothing in your life right now that you cannot get out of. No bondage, no captivity, no addiction, nothing can keep you down if you can know what the Son has done for you by the blood of Christ. We must start by knowing the truth. How do we then live in it?

For more information, go to http://spiritualwarfarestudy.com. Learn how to fight and win. Learn how to live in victory for the rest of your life.

About the Author:

Bobbye Brooks

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Spiritual Warfare Study: Truth Cries Out

Review – Angels, Demons and Freemasons (DVD)

Reality Films

Are we being ruled by a secret society of powerful mystics? Do the Freemasons represent more than just a charitably-inclined organization?

Producer Philip Gardiner’s new DVD, Angels, Demons and Freemasons explores these other intriguing issues, leaving us with just as many questions as answers.

At the heart of Gardiner’s argument is the idea that Freemasonry, along with its hidden rituals and archaic symbolism, embodies centuries of esoteric knowledge once shared among priests, scribes, military elites and royalty.

Gardiner’s analysis probes deep into the gnostic world of the Egyptian pharaohs, Kabbalistic Judaism, Islamic Sufism and different types of ancient and medieval alchemy.

Apparently all these mystery cults and Freemasonry share one key element–the transmission of an underground stream of covert, illuminated knowledge. And since knowledge is power, those in possession of that knowledge are best positioned to shape the course of history, peacefully or through violence.

History demonstrates that individuals have always formed relatively small, hierarchically arranged groups to maximize their power over the apparently unenlightened masses.

This has been the social dynamic for centuries within Churches and other governing bodies enjoying both knowledge and power. And so it is today, Gardiner believes, with Freemasonry and some of its allegedly related offshoots.

The contemporary power brokers differ, however, in that neither religion nor nationality play a part in their domination. According to Gardiner, the real kingpins in the so-called New World Order are mostly hidden from view and, perhaps equally important, international and interdenominational.

One unanswered question runs throughout this video, and this is whether the many social symbols found in 21st century society, while clearly similar to their ancient roots, are consciously or unconsciously embraced by mankind.

Angels, Demons and Freemasons seems to suggest that the mere presence of these symbols in contemporary artifacts is evidence of secret societies flourishing in the 21st century, replete with esoteric knowledge and power.

But a postmodern semiotic analysis could interpret things another way.

Jean Baudrillard, for instance, argued that the meaning of signs becomes imploded over time. Although ancient symbols carry on, they take on entirely new meanings (or lack of) in contemporary culture.

For Baudrillard we live in the hyperreal consisting of so many distorted or entirely reinvented simulacra–i.e. signs once having clear meaning, meaning that has all but vanished in the 21st century.

Not to say that Baudrillard is necessarily correct. One could argue that reinvented signs continue to carry some kind of numinous allure and deeply entrenched significance.

For instance, the U.S. dollar bill contains the image of a pyramid with an eye in its capstone. And this might make the US bill more appealing on some unconscious level.

But is this clear-cut evidence for a secret society operating deep within the US government?

Some have argued that if these societies are so secret, why would they proliferate such a blatantly esoteric symbol?¹

Now, to switch gears a little, another point to consider is the New Testament portrayal of Jesus Christ as the King of Heaven, while Satan is deemed the Ruler of This World.

Here Gardiner makes the astute observation that practical leaders (and we do need them) ideally possess a healthy balance between mankind’s dual nature of vice and virtue, greed and goodwill.

Organizational leaders are often called upon to make personal sacrifices and difficult compromises in order to render legal decisions among competing interest groups.

For Gardiner, this shouldn’t be a free-for-all or raw and brutish survival of the fittest scenario. The wise leader, he says, ideally leans toward the compassionate rather than Machiavellian end of the spectrum.

Meanwhile, theologians might not agree with Gardiner’s view that individual choice is merely the outcome of all preceding influences, a view which seems to omit the possibility of grace and divine intervention at the moment of decision making.

But these apparent theological differences may be more a matter of semantics than actual difference. For the film closes with an undeniable ray of hope.

Angels, Demons and Freemasons is a thought-provoking piece that poses seminal questions about the complexities of power in contemporary society.

It should appeal to specialists and intelligent laypersons and serve as a consciousness-raiser for those who perhaps put a bit too much stock in what the evening news says.

–MC

¹ See: Is the dollar bill’s eye-on-a-pyramid the symbol of a secret society? http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1064/is-the-dollar-bills-eye-on-a-pyramid-the-symbol-of-a-secret-society

Hindu gods on Thailand postage stamps

Rainy Night in Thailand: Kyle Simourd

Special to Earthpages.org

Thailand has reportedly launched postage stamps of Hindu gods.

These reportedly include Ganesa, Brahma, Narayana, and Siva; priced at five Bahts each; and each numbering 700, 000. Complete package includes Souvenir Sheets (25 Bahts each) numbering 100, 000 and First Day Covers (30 Bahts each) numbering 16, 500.  Produced by Thailand Post and printed in France, these multi-color stamps were designed by Veena Chantanatat.

First Day Cover shows picture of a decorated conch-shell. Special cancellation stamp depicted Om, the mystical syllable containing the universe.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Thailand coming out with postage stamps of Hindu gods was a great honor for Hindus worldwide. Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged other countries of the world also to produce stamps about symbols and concepts of Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world with rich philosophical thought whose ultimate goal was moksha (liberation).

Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand Post’s beginnings go as far back as 1880. It is organizing “25th Asian International Stamp Exhibition” in Bangkok from August 04-12 next.

Thailand is popularly called “golden land” and is known for its warmth and hospitality, white sandy beaches, and fertile rice fields. Buddhism is the major religion.

Paul’s Celibacy

St Paul, Huddersfield - detail: Tim Green

by: Phillip Ross

Paul’s marriage counseling in 1 Corinthians 7:6-17 is not a biblical command but a personal recommendation based on his knowledge of both Scripture and people. It was a recommendation based on his observations about the Corinthians and their church difficulties. And because it comes from Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, it deserves serious consideration.

What is Paul’s recommendation? He began by setting the context, “I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another” (1 Corinthians 7:7). From very early in Christian history this verse was considered to refer to Paul’s married life. But in spite of the fact that the Roman Catholic Church believes that he was not married, the evidence is not conclusive. He may have been married, or he may have been a widower when he wrote these words. There really isn’t enough evidence to establish anything certain about his state of marriage.

Nonetheless, we note that the traditional understanding has been that Paul was not married, and that his celibacy is here spoken of as a “gift.” But if we examine both the context and the implications of this idea, we will find that Paul was not speaking about celibacy at all. The idea that Paul was saying that celibacy is a gift is absurd for a couple of reasons.

First, he wished that “all” people were like he was with regard to whatever he was talking about. Do you think that Paul really wished that all people were celibate? Ridiculous! We know that Paul clearly understood that the gifts of the Spirit were many and diverse, and that their diversity was a strength. Paul celebrated the diversity of spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1-12, 30). So, for him to want all Christians to have the same gift is ridiculous.

Secondly, Paul surely knew that if all Christians were celibate, they would die out. The Essenes believed that Paul wanted all Christians to be celibate, and they actually died out. Paul was not stupid. Celibacy is a strategy of death, not life. This all suggests that Paul was not speaking in this verse about celibacy as a gift of the Spirit. This misunderstanding has been read into the verse, not taken from it. Even more, it suggests that he was not talking about celibacy as a lifestyle at all. Why not?

We have already determined that Paul was trying to correct a Greek misunderstanding that lead to confusion about the nature of biblical sexuality, that the Bible taught neither that all sex was okay, nor that all sex was to be avoided. Rather, the Bible teaches covenant responsibility with regard to sex — covenant responsibility, or marriage. And celibacy is an avoidance of covenantal responsibility in as much as it is an avoidance of marriage. But don’t jump to the false conclusion that this means that unmarried people are unfaithful. It does not mean that. The point is simply that the whole idea that Paul was talking about celibacy is a Greek misunderstanding about what the Bible teaches.

So, what did Paul mean? Actually, his words are not perfectly clear. He assumed that his audience knew exactly what he meant, and it is likely that they did. The subject that Paul was talking about was assumed rather than stated. But it is nonsense to think that he wished that all Christians were celibate. It just doesn’t fit with anything that Paul taught anywhere, and especially not here in First Corinthians.

So, what was Paul talking about? Earlier Paul urged Christians to “be imitators of” him (1 Corinthians 4:16). In all likelihood, Paul was referring to this idea. It is more likely that Paul was referring to his commitment to Jesus Christ, to the fact that he had been waylaid by the Holy Spirit on the Road to Damascus, to the fact that he had been born again by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, and to the fact that his regeneration had actually changed his life. This is what Paul wanted for every Christian. Paul was referring to the gift of regeneration, not celibacy. Paul wanted every Christian to be born again, to enter into a covenantal relationship with Jesus Christ and with the fellowship of saints.

About The Author

Author of many Christian books, Phillip A. Ross has been a pastor for over 25 years. In 1998 he founded http://www.Pilgrim-Platform.org , which is loaded with information about historic Christianity. He published an exposition First Corinthians In 2008 that demonstrates the Apostle Paul’s opposition to worldly Christianity. Paul turned the world upside down and Ross captures the action in Arsy Varsy — Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians.

The author invites you to visit: http://www.pilgrim-platform.org

Article Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/religion/article_949.shtml