Are all religions cults?

All religions began as mystery schools or cults. These groups designed systems of belief and worship that enhanced the human experience by balancing the spiritual energy system, so the soul could open to the realm of the universal. Each system was a unique formula created for a specific psychological trait or archetype. This means that any one religion was never intended for every person.

The progenitors of the legitimate spiritual systems followed the human psyche’s universal model. Just as Judaism required prophets to pass a test of legitimacy, so too should religions be required to pass the same test. That test consists of whether or not the religion uses the universal model of the psyche to enhance the human experience. Those that enslave a person to the guru or insight someone to violence Do Not pass the test of legitimacy.

Just being nutty doesn’t make a religion a cult, because what a person thinks is based on their internal psychological set-up. In the past the king or leader had full control and freely exerted their will throughout their area of influence. However, now kings have parliaments and CEOs have a board of directors that make such sweeping dictates impossible. This is why the pope resigned. I believe the cardinals ganged up on him and revolted against his actions that betrayed his unhumanitarian beliefs.

There is a method to the madness.

Here is the crux of the situation. The road runs both ways. Like Jacob’s Ladder, the angels are climbing both up and down the ladder. It is a fact that the Divine Spiritual Energies, Light/Grace and Passion/Kundalini can both kill and heal. Any system set up to balance one of the dual Divine Energies, will heal some and will confuse, infuriate, or outright kill the inner being of others. This is why we have such a schism regarding religious belief. Those that feel healed, love it. Those that feel nothing or have traumatic experiences, hate it.

This is why the Oracle at Delphi said, “Know Thyself.” If you join a group or are forced into a religion at a young age that is not compatible with your personal psychological make-up, your inner being will be destroyed by the practices and beliefs. That does not mean that that religion is bad or a cult, as long as it is has passed the test of legitimacy by using the universal human psychological model. It means that you were exposed to the wrong religion for you. (Once your inner being is destroyed then you are prime fodder for being manipulated, even to the extent of becoming a terrorist or suicide killer.)

The good news is that if by chance you have experienced a negative reaction to a religion or spiritual practice, it is possible to reverse the energies and heal. This is the meaning of  Jesus exorcising the demons from Mary Magdalene.

Just as religions should be screened for legitimacy, so too should members be psychologically tested to make sure their psychological make-up matches the belief system. This is what the gurus of old did. They understood the dangers of spiritual practice and did not accept students that were not a good fit. They knew that it was better to let a person stay as they were with the warts and blemishes of ego, than to destroy the psyche and create a being that was broken or dependent upon the master for everything.

 

For more information on balancing the spiritual system, here are the url’s to a couple of my earliest blogs:

http://jesusweddingthebook.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/the-divine-powers-7/

http://jesusweddingthebook.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/creating-spiritual-balance/

Today – An Affirmation

Dear Holy Presence,

I thank you for filling me with Your Light, Your Life, Your Energy, Your Love.

I thank you for all that You give me, both the seen and the unseen.

I thank you for Your guidance, for I wish to walk only in your way,

And when I don’t, or when I am afraid and think I just can’t,

I thank you for Your Mercy and Your Grace.

For I know I am Your child, loved completely and totally by You, through The All that You are.

Why Zen?

Reblogged from Essays in Idleness:

Lately, I've been inspired to re-read an old book on Zen I bought in Japan. The book is bi-lingual Japanese/English, so I will post the quote in both languages:

禅は心の垢（あか）の掃除であり、心の垢のバスだというのである。例えば２、３日机の上をふかないと、知らず知らずのうちに白いほこりがたまっていることに気付くものである。私たちの心にも日々、いや刻々と様々な考えや感情が起る。つまりものごとに触れて、憎しみ、怒り、不満、嫉妬...などの思いが起こり、あるものは消えてしまい、あるものは残っていく。あまり溜まっていくと、気持ちが重くなって、掃除をしなければならなくなる。さもなければ、次第に生きる気力がなくなっていくからだ。

もちろん禅は心の掃除にとどまらない。いずれにしても確認しておきたいことは、禅は「心」を問題にしているということである。

And in English:

Zen is a way of washing away your mental impurities, a kind of bath to cleanse the mind. If you don't clean your desk for two or three days, you'll notice that a film of dust has accumulated on its surface.

Read more… 198 more words

Egyptian Valley of the Kings – Those who must descend into Hell.

In the last post, I posited that the pyramids were the earliest renditions of what would later be known as Kabbala’s Tree of Life. This is the traditional Way of the King or Way of Passion/Kundalini. The earliest known myth that maps out this spiritual progression, which promotes the shedding of ego by the animus-based personality, is the Sumerian myth of Gilgamesh. There were 2 more pyramids built on the Giza plateau during the 4th dynasy. Then, pyramid building petered out. The first king of the 18th dynasty, Ahmose I, built the very last royal pyramid during what is known as the Middle Kingdom.

The Egyptian New Kingdom was marked by a very different means of burial. The oldest known burial in the Valley of the Kings is KV-20. This is also the very first time that The Egyptian Book of the Dead is painted on the walls of a tomb. There is much confusion as to who built this tomb because two different kings have their sarcophaguses here. According to Zahi Hawass for National Geographic, the pharaoh who built this tomb was Hatshepsut. She donated a sarcophagus to her father Tuthmosis I, and was buried beside her father. She most likely did this as a reminder to all through eternity of her rightful claim to the throne. Later, it seems that her son and grandson moved Tuthmosis I out of KV-20 and into KV-38. They then added more offerings to their grandfather’s tomb.

If it is true that Hatshepsut built the first rock cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings, complete with the first know rendition of the Book of the Dead, then this is a monumental change in the religion of Egypt. Instead of the king being shot up into the heavens and falling to earth, the new philosophy requires the king to go down into hell and fight the demon serpent Apophis through the night and be resurrected in the morning with the rising sun. This down first philosophy matches the anima-based philosophy of the Way of Light or the Way of Grace. The philosophy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead matches the water to wine system of spiritual development, which is the natural spiritual development system of a woman or anima-based personality.

What is interesting is that even though the later pharaohs hacked Hatshepsut’s name off most of the monuments and thus out of the historical record, they did not demolish new spiritual philosophy. As time goes on this philosophy was expanded and later it was extended to all those who could afford a “proper” burial. Burial in a tomb with scriptures was no longer reserved for the king.

Was the Great Pyramid meant as a depiction of Kabbala’s Tree of Life?

Ancient Egyptian history is divided into two very distinct eras, the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom. Each of these eras had very distinctive and opposite burial practices.

The Old Kingdom pharaohs built pyramids. The word pyramid comes from the word “pyro” meaning fire and “mid” meaning center or middle. So, the word pyramid literally means fire through the middle. Originally, the Great Pyramid had a shiny white casing that symbolized the return of the spirit to the body. That return brought the Power of Grace down into the physical realm and blessed the nation. This is why it was so important for the pharaoh to have a proper burial, complete with a perfectly proportioned resurrection machine.

If you look at the chambers of the Great Pyramid, you will see that they closely correspond to the circles along the central channel of Kabbala’s Tree of Life. The underground chamber matches the base of the tree known as 10 Malkuth or Kingdom. The Queen’s Chamber corresponds to 9 Yesod or Foundation. The King’s Chamber corresponds to 6 Tephareth or Beauty. The Pinnacle of the Pyramid corresponds to 1 Kether or Crown.

The shafts correspond to the connections of the central channel of the tree to the outer circles. The Star Sirius was considered the star of Isis. This star, which is directly connected to the Queen’s Chamber, corresponds to 8 Hod or Splendor. The constellation of Orion, which is directly connected to the King’s chamber, was considered Osirus. Orion’s belt corresponds to 5 Gebrunah or Severity. Alpha Draco, which was the North Pole Star during the time the pyramids were built, corresponds to 4 Chesed or Mercy. Kochab is the brightest star in the constellation of the little dipper and corresponds to 7 Netzach or Victory. This group of stars was known as The Indestructibles, because they never disappeared from the sky throughout the year.

The Great Pyramid does not have any type of painting or decoration on the inside walls. The Egyptians of the time believed that the monument itself insured the resurrection of the pharaoh. It is not until the 5th Dynasty that the tomb walls contain writings that are known today as the Pyramid Texts. These texts describe the upward journey of the spirit to the stars. This spiritual journey matches the animus-based personality’s quest to shed ego and Kabbala’s Passion/Kundalini based spiritual system. The building of the great pyramid, with the Tree of Life incorporated into the design, pre-dates Gilgamesh, the earliest known spiritual journey myth, by more than 600 years.

While there are those who connect the Pyramid Text writings with extraterrestrials, the intent of these writings is the metaphorical and esoteric journey of the resurrected soul. Mixing spiritual metaphor and physical reality creates the most insane of speculations.

The Trick Question: Are human beings playing God when they develop technology?

First off, I have to say that no one can be God. Regardless if you believe that there is an old man with a white beard sitting on a throne in the clouds or if you believe mystical experiences are just a combination of chemicals in the brain, it is not possible for any human being to be God. Anyone who thinks they are God is deluded and needs psychological help.

Here are the two basic belief systems that have guided mankind throughout the ages.

There is the Divine Right of Kings. The fact that there are those few who have gone through the spiritual training, fully shed ego, and become true stewards of God’s will on earth is a given fact throughout human history. This system creates a hierarchy of achievement that is culminated in the King, General of the Army, or Architect who is the chief judge, top warrior, or chief innovator. Such a man honors the Divine Feminine while balancing the forces of nature to benefit those in his community. The traits of “Wise,” “Just,” and/or “Second Sited” are attached to the character of such a man. This is the basic philosophy of the Way of Passion.

What happens we when a corrupt king, general, or architect comes into power? The masses are used for the aggrandizement of the leader or the wealthy. Quite an ugly situation for those on the lower rungs of society and it eventually leads to a revolt by the populous. (French revolution.)

There is the idea that we are made in the likeness of God. We have the ability to create as God creates. God has provided everything we need to solve every problem, situation, or circumstance. Why not go out and deepen our knowledge and find the answers to our problems. This philosophy believes that squelching the creative and innovative side of the psyche outright dishonors God. This is the basic philosophy of the Way of Grace.

We have ended polio, cholera, and the plague. We are working on the next generation of diseases like AIDS and cancer. We have created great cities with amazing engineering innovations. We have polluted the earth to the point of global warming and permanent devastation. We have also created the worst weapons and means of destruction ever known to man.

Without innovation, we would still think the world was flat and that the earth was the center of the universe. Without laws, limits, and boundaries, profit seekers and charlatans would devastate both the planet and violate the rights of all inhabitants.

It is time to blend the two philosophies and bring forth the best of both worlds.

We need the innovators to continue to create. We need the civic leaders to set limits on what will be allowed to continue. (I like the fact that no more incandescent bulbs or Teflon will be available after a certain date regulations because they create negative situations for the environment and to the health of humans.) We need the civic leaders to direct technological development in ways that use these new ideas for the good of all humanity and not for the protection of a small piece of soil or the profit of a small number of people.

Sorry, I’m not going to pick sides. I don’t want to go back to the good ole dark ages, nor do I want the further devastation of our planet or the rights of any creature violated.

The road runs both ways. It’s time we use both lanes.

Cathedrals of Light vs Temples of Darkness

As I was watching a documentary on the stained glass of the medieval cathedrals, it dawned on me that there is a very distinct difference between worship spaces. These spaces match the belief system that built the structure.

The medieval cathedrals were built to showcase The Light. They are huge vaulted spaces complete with magnificent windows of colored glass. In many cases, the orientation of the building is such that certain windows are lit during certain times during the day. In the earliest churches, the windows were just patterns of colored glass. As glass making developed and became more sophisticated, it became an art form in and of itself. Snapshots of biblical scenes and personages were included. The illumination provided by the sun, as it streamed through the windows, added to the mystical ambiance as well as the education of the masses.

Everyone is welcome in a cathedral. There is no separation between the sexes or between the ordained and the laity. When you enter a most cathedrals, you step out of the physical world and into a small space or vestibule. When you step into the nave it is a grand experience of sacred space and beautiful light.

The Temples of Amarna, built by Akhenaten, also followed this pattern of moving from the small and dark into the expansive and light. There was a large open courtyard with innumerable altars that worshipped the Aten in the open air.

On the other hand, the Temple of Solomon began in the women’s court, which moved to the men’s court, which then moved into the sacrificial space and finally into the Holy of Holies. As you pass through each gateway, the space becomes smaller and darker and the number of people allowed access becomes less and less. Only those who are deemed most worthy are given access to the secret or mystical teachings and allowed into the deepest parts of the Temple.

The Temples at Karnak also followed the system of mystery that only the initiated or ordained were allowed to enter into the small dark Holy of Holies.

These two very opposite worship sites are a further indication of which spiritual path, the Way of Grace or the Way of Passion/Kundalini, that a particular group was/is following. Those who follow the Way of Grace consider everyone and everything an expression of God. Everything is sacred in its own way. Grace is equivalent to The Light, which is celebrated in the open meadows and courtyards or vast spaces of the cathedral.

The Way of Passion is a graduated path that requires adherents to slough off the ego. This creates a hierarchy of achievement, which means that one must pass tests in order to be allowed to the next level. All is kept secret until the adherent is ready for the next stage of development. Thus, the mysteries were born in the caves and deep forest groves or the dark inner spaces of the Holy of Holies.