Eclectic and Syncretistic Spirituality Explained

The word eclectic is normally used as a furniture style, but it is also related to thoughts and tastes etc. Syncretistic is an amalgamation of various religious traditions, cultures, and schools of thought such as philosophy. So syncretistic and eclectic spirituality is an amalgamation of beliefs. It is my belief that this approach makes by far the most sense in choosing a spiritual path and spiritual practices.

The reason for this is simple. All mystics are first and foremost human beings. This means that they are not only influenced by mystical input but also have the cultural and life experiences of their place in history, their community, and their familial and ancestorial traditions. It also includes all of the religious ideas they were exposed to by their environment. 

While this does not mean that they cannot rise above these factors, it likely means that all of the above factors will spill over into their mysticism. It is also dependent on the intellectual and technological advancements of their society and culture. Therefore, one can rest assured that all so-called sacred texts have within them a certain amount of human and cultural input. All means all and it is especially true of the bible.

This is where eclectic spirituality can be so important in one’s spiritual path. All religions have mystical revelation from the source within their teachings. Likewise, they all have human and cultural input. Our intuition is able to distinguish which is which if we but learn to trust it.

Since I was raised in evangelical Christianity, I have found that while there is mystical revelation in the bible there is likewise cultural input that is not necessarily pertinent today. However, I have also found that for me, Christianity is not complete and that I can find additional revelation in other religions and religious texts, and yes, even in science. We continually are advancing in knowledge and experience. This is true of us as individuals, and it is likewise true of us in various cultures as well as humanity as a whole.

I will give you an example of my eclectic spirituality. I draw mystical revelation from Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hermeticism. I have actually come to believe that Hermeticism is foundational to western religion and philosophy. But I also see that there is potential to reinforce mystical revelation from quantum mechanics, philosophy, cognitive science, and biology.

For me, I see reincarnation as a very likely phenomenon. So, I draw on some of eastern thought as well. However, I am not a fan of the perpetual circle of karma. This forces me to use my intuition and the mystic within me to find a better solution to the purpose of reincarnation. I have done this and have addressed it in other blog posts. There are countless other examples, but I will not pursue them here.

I mainly want to point out that we each have divinity within each of us. This divinity makes us all mystics. We are effective in mysticism to the degree that we believe we are divine, trust out intuition. I want to encourage you to make sure that you allow your intuition and your individuality to help you ascend along your spiritual path and find the perfect place of integration between your higher and lower self. Both are equally important to the human experience. Part of the lower self, or the human self is what Carl Jung called the shadow self, and we likewise need to embrace and accept it as well. That doesn't mean that we cannot improve and change the things we don’t like, but it does mean that we should embrace wholeheartedly our humanity.

An Introduction to the Kybalion.; Video Blog

I am going to begin posting video blogs to go along with the written ones. I will continue with the written blogs as well. I am using an AI program called Pictory AI. Please like and subscribe, and enjoy.

Introduction to the Kybalion

Deconstructing Scientific Dogma

Having been a relatively recent pastor and theologian in evangelical Christianity, I am well aware of deconstruction. I have in fact deconstructed much of my former belief system. That is terribly painful for some but was less painful for me because I had deconstructed before, and I allowed life circumstances to bring me back, but not full circle. The things that I learned and believed from my first deconstruction, many of them, I kept locked away, but I did not voice them because I wanted to fit in and work within the evangelical framework. One of my reasons was to attempt to reform and reshape Christian dogma into a more realistic and more palatable place.

It is my belief that much of scientific dogma is a reaction to Christianity. The age of reason liberated people from the constraints of religious dogma, but the process of liberation created a dogma that was just as ridged as Christian dogma to make sure that religious dogma would not gain a strong hold again. This resulted in denying any kind of supernatural or paranormal phenomenon. More than that, scorn was placed on any in science that would investigate or give credence to anything labeled pseudo-science. This included parapsychology, extra-sensory perception, and anything that could be connected with the spiritual plane.

Not only did academic science ridicule individuals that would look investigate the paranormal, the actively damaged the careers of anyone daring to step outside of the accepted scope of materialism. They had concluded that the material world happened independently of any outside force and that even consciousness arose from materialism.

Of course, there were intellectual giants that did not give into the materialist physicalist dogma, but they were few in comparison to all those in scientific endeavors. One such giant was Carl Jung, who held that one of the most important parts of psychology was humanities relationship to the numinous. Many of the physicists that developed quantum mechanics were bold in stating that there was most definitely a supernatural aspect to reality.

Over the millennia, Greek Philosophy, especially Platonism and Neo-Platonism stated that the universe at its core foundation was mental and ideal. Over the last one hundred- and fifty-years Newtonian Classical Mechanics has given way to space time and ultimately the micro world of quantum physics. These seem incompatible to scientific theory, and yet, it is quantum physics that is responsible for so many inventions and upgrades. You often hear physicists say that they cannot explain the weirdness of the quantum world but only that it works.

Philosophers have struggled with the hard problem of consciousness. The cognitive scientists have been unable to identify how we know the difference between the taste of chocolate and vanilla within the brain. They are unable to deal with experience. There is a rise in philosophers that have a panpsychist view of the nature of reality. The biologist, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has theorized that there are morphic fields of resonance which are responsible for mental telepathy. It is not just in humans but in the animal kingdom as well.

Dr. Donald Hoffman, a cognitive scientist from the University of California at Irvine is working on a theory that consciousness is the foundation of reality. He is making progress mathematically using evolutionary game theory. In 2022 the Nobel Prize in Physics was given to three men who have proven that the universe is not locally real. The latest in physics believes that space-time is doomed and that there is a deeper reality out of which space-time arises.

The public is led to believe that everything in science is tangible, measurable, and repeatable. And while that may be true of the basic aspects of our science, it is not true at the foundational level of reality. In that area there are theories and hypotheses and there is a wide difference of opinion. They simply agree to disagree. The quantum level works for a multitude of advancements in technology, and yet it is still a mystery.

I can understand why they stay away from what they call woo, but that is not the same thing as ridiculing woo. The fact is, they ridicule woo! The question becomes why do they ridicule woo? I think the answer is, if they give any room for the supernatural, if they give any room for consciousness to be foundational to reality, they establish religion’s role in human philosophy. I don’t think it has to be the case. They can embrace the possibility of consciousness being foundational without validating religious dogma. But the fact is, they have developed scientific dogma to eliminate the return of religious dogma and in my view it needs to be deconstructed.

Imago Dei

So far as I can tell the idea that we were created in the image of God is found only in the Abrahamic religions, that is, it is only found in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. And too often within those religions it appears that the truth of the matter is that God was created in the image of humanity. I suppose that one could infer from the Greek pantheon that they also were created in the image of humanity. At least that is the case of the artwork and myths. However, that doesn’t mean that humanity was not created in God’s image. If there is a God, and I believe there is, then God is not corporeal or material as we understand it. God is of a substance that we cannot see or touch. For millennia, it has been called spirit, and the metaphor for God is the wind or breath. One cannot see the wind except for the way that it interacts with other things. We can see it move the trees; we can see it create waves in water, yet we cannot see it itself. However, we can feel it. We can feel gentle cooling breezes, it can exert force on us and it can be destructive. That may be where the metaphor breaks down unless we are referring to spirit. In that vane it can be beneficial, and it can be destructive.

I personally intuitively believe that the creator is conscious energy. For me the word spirit and the word consciousness are interchangeable. Likewise, the word God is synonymous with creative consciousness.

This means that to say that humanity is created in the image of God one is saying that the human is first and foremost, divine, eternal, conscious creative energy. However, when one looks a little deeper, one finds that the aboriginal people across the globe and millennia thought that we were essentially and foundationally spirit. What they meant, and what the idea in the Abrahamic Religions must mean, is that humanity is composed of eternal spirits at the core. Hinduism and Buddhism believe that the human is essentially spirit and on a cycle of samsara. This is the Hindu word for reincarnation. Taoism sees the Tao as an ineffable and unknowable spirit. The American indigenous people speak of and teach their people that there is a great spirit of which they participate in.

Likewise, the Egyptians believed in a conscious creative spirt and it was allegedly passed on to the Greeks by Pythagoras. The Greeks then developed the idea of the Logos as being the creative source and the divine seed. Plato believed and taught that there was a spiritual and ideal object for all of material reality. They likewise believed in a reincarnation of sorts.

Today, panpsychist ideals teach that consciousness is foundational to reality. There are physicists and cognitive scientists theorizing the same idea. So, to say that this concept is ubiquitous is a definite understatement of fact.

Is it possible that we can be spiritual and not religious? I think so. It should be agreed upon that the term God describes the creator, and even in polytheism, there is always one supreme creative source. Is it possible to redefine God? I believe it is. If we realize that there is one foundational source of reality, and it is consciousness, then it follows that we are describing God. Whether one calls the creator God or consciousness it is still the same concept. It is describing the same exact thing. It is through our consciousness that we participate in the divine nature. We are indeed creators, and as a scripture states it is yet unknow what we may become. I personally believe that it is unlimited. Yes indeed, we are Imago Dei, born in the image of God.

Reimagining Reincarnation

 The idea that mind or in other words consciousness is foundational to reality is as old as recorded history. Likewise, some form of reincarnation is as old as these spiritual traditions. The concept of judgment and heaven or hell related to one lifetime is not historically ancient compared to the idea of reincarnation.

And yet, the theories of the operation of reincarnation are less than optimal. The concept of being trapped in circular perpetuity, solely based on the judgment of good and evil deeds, is based on superstition. It begs the question who is judge and what qualifications do they have? However, in my opinion, the concept of some form of reincarnation is the only spiritual explanation that makes sense to me if indeed we are eternal spiritual beings. Of course, there is the possibility that we are not eternal and the one life we have is a mere matter of lottery. That certainly is not very appealing. Especially when one looks at the development of humanity in a historical sense. Very few people, in view of the myriad of individuals who have lived win the birth lottery. Most over history do not.

Further, if consciousness is foundational, and we are sentient conscious beings then we are directly related to the source of creation via our consciousness. This brings to the front the question. Is the creative source a singular entity or is it a collective? If a singular entity to what purposes does it create and if a collective how does that work practically? My answer to the first question is that it is a collective. My answer to the second question is it is a paradox. It is both singular and a collective. Which is which is decided by the point of view or perspective of the observer.

At the foundational level is appears as a collective, that is God is in all and all is in God which is a pantheistic view. However, from the viewpoint of the individual conscious agent, or if you prefer individual soul, the source is greater than and outside of the individual and while the individual is conscious and a part of consciousness it is not the whole and therefore appears to be panentheistic. Now, if you are an evangelical Christian reading this, before you blow an aorta, realize that Jesus taught pantheism. He said that he was in the father and the father was in him and subsequently that he and the father was in humanity and humanity was in he and the father.

So what’s to reimagine you ask? I will try to answer. If consciousness is the creative source, and if it is a collective in which the whole is greater than the parts it must be acknowledged that the parts are the same substance as the whole. In other words, the parts are consciousness as is the whole. This is why the metaphor in Genesis states that we were made in the image of God. God is equal to creative consciousness. As the Kybalion states the ALL is mind. The ALL is merely one of the names we give God. It is the all-mighty creator. Guess what, we are each severally and jointly an integral part of it.

Most all ideas of reincarnation have the whole in charge and the parts subservient to the whole. This is the idea behind karma. It is also the main idea with reincarnation in Jewish Kabbalah. The idea is that the soul revolves and revolves until it earns either Nirvana or Ola Ham Ba. In the Hindu expression it is called Samsara and in the Jewish view it is called Gilgul. The end goal in each of these is becoming reunited with the creative source. However, in reimagining reincarnation I believe that one is never separated from the divine source.

What then is the purpose of creation? Here is my opinion of it. For me it is the only thing that makes sense. Consciousness has knowledge. However, it does not have experience. That’s where we conscious agents come into the picture. We incarnate to gain experience of the knowledge that we have as a collective. The knowledge is eternal. The dimensions are infinite. The exploration is likewise eternal. However, we choose to incarnate, and we choose to rest in the collective. In our choices we all equally experience pain and pleasure; we participate in good and evil. Eternally we are amoral. Eternally we are love and peace. Eternally we cannot be harmed. Yes, I am thinking of an infinite myriad of experiences.

I will leave you with this thought. Dr. Bernardo Kastrup is a computer scientist, a psychologist, and a philosopher. He theorizes that we all may be dissociative personalities of the one great creative mind. For me, while not totally convinced, it is a real possibility.

The Conscious Cosmos: Unified Field of Consciousness

This is an explanation of my theory of panpsychism. Assuming that consciousness is the foundational element of reality then it seems to follow that consciousness and energy are interchangeable. As the words of the poem, the primal dream flowed into my mind in 1974, I wrote “energy and thought, inseparable conceived the primal dream.” The above illustration is in the shape of the current graphic representation of the universe. Everything within the universe consists primarily of waves. The waves have particle potential and can result in matter. The original creative observer is consciousness itself which historically has been called the Logos, by Greek philosophy, Hermeticism, and Christianity.

Consciousness created individual conscious agents through sacred geometry. These conscious agents are integral to all of the dimensions and yet, the sum of conscious agents is greater than the individual parts. When I speak of conscious agents, I think of them similarly to Dr. Donald Hoffman in his book “A Case Against Reality.” This leads to the paradox of pantheism and panentheism. Both are true, as the Kybalion states in the principle of polarity. “All truths are half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.” The way it is resolved is in the truth that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts which is pantheism, and the individual conscious agents are a part of the whole, cocreators and that is panentheism.

To what purpose you may ask? I like a variation of how Dr. Hoffman answers the question what is consciousness up to? It is answered in a YouTube video. A Donald Hoffman Quote from his YouTube lecture on the Weekend University Channel entitled “Is Reality an Illusion?” It begins at roughly 1:13:38 into the video.

Quote:

“If we start with consciousness being fundamental then there is an interesting question; that is what is consciousness up to and why? What is consciousness doing right? And when we think about consciousness inside space and time we often think about it in terms of evolutionary theory and we say maybe consciousness helps you to survive somehow, maybe its an accident, but now we can think differently. Space and time are not fundamental. Evolutionary theory is not fundamental. Consciousness itself is fundamental.

So, what is consciousness up to? I don’t know, but I have only found one idea that is deep enough so far to take the idea seriously. I’m not saying it is right but it’s at least deep enough to be interesting and to take seriously. Kurt Godel, around 1930 proved what are called incompleteness theorems. What Godel discovered was that effectively, the exploration of mathematical truths is unending. There is no way to be omniscient about mathematical truths and what’s interesting about that idea then, is that if consciousness is fundamental and consciousness is all there is then mathematics, consciousness and that endless exploration of mathematics is endless, then that means that exploration of the possible varieties endless and is exploring, it’s a theorem that will never stop. And so maybe that is what consciousness is up to. It is constantly exploring itself!

So what’s happening right now, where we go, we talk, we have questions, we have lectures and so forth. This is just consciousness in space using space time as a virtual reality exploring one of many, many different possibilities, worlds in which there are attended spaces. Dimensions of space is irrelevant there is no dimension.”

I am not a mathematician, and if you want to accuse me of trying to turn science into “woo” go ahead. What I am writing here is intuitive. However, it resonates deeply with me, and I believe that it is correct. So let me explain the above quote in more spiritual and mystical terms. I do not think this explanation is incompatible with Hoffman’s far more scientific explanation.

Consciousness is knowledge. The ancient Greeks called it Gnosis. However, knowledge lacks something. What you may ask? It lacks experience. Knowledge is awareness of all the potential. It is aware of possibility. Experience completes knowledge. One cannot truly understand love without experience. Nor, can one know pain without experience. One can know it exists but only through experience does it become complete knowledge. We participate in the divine nature in order to complete knowledge with our experience. The possibilities are endless and infinite. One could say that we are God experiencing creation.

This is not limited to one life in one plane. Quite the contrary. However, we are also able to rest at will. I do not see reincarnation as a karmic hamster wheel that one is trapped on. It is not a punitive alternative to purgatory or hell. We all, in an egalitarian fashion, based upon our choosing experience joy and pain, good and evil. The unified field of consciousness, the All, God if you prefer, is the eternal present. As Eckhart Tolle states it is the Now. Energy cannot be destroyed it can only be changed. I think that the best illustration of what I am saying is that it is similar to a video game. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. You can get tired, even exasperated so that you put the game down only to become refreshed, perhaps bored, and you pick the game up and try again.

Experiential knowledge is ever increasing as we alternate between being whole consciousness to conscious agents and back and forth.

The Conscious Cosmos: Conquering the Cosmos

John 16:33  “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

According to the author of the gospel of John, Jesus said what is written above. This is a bold claim but I believe it is accurate with regard to our relationship to material and corporeal reality. According to Jesus teaching and claims, how did he overcome the world? This is a question that I hope to answer and also, what did he overcome or conquer? Let’s look at some of the Greek words that make up this claim.

World is translated from the Greek word kosmos. The Greek word kosmos describes and defines the known universe and all of material and corporeal reality. Suffering, tribulation, trouble is from the Greek word thilipsis. It means all of the above meanings. Finally the Greek word nikaho means conquered or overcome. So, I believe that Jesus is actually saying that he has conquered material reality and all of the trouble it presents.

How then did he conquer it? He conquered it with knowledge and faith. In other words, he had faith in his intuitive knowledge. His intuitive knowledge told him that he was the eternal offspring of the creator. He took that intuitive knowledge and applied trust to it. It was a fact in his mind that he relied on. He saw creative consciousness as the parent. While he called it father it was both feminine and masculine. If one believes in as above so below and as below so above then it is only reasonable that the divine parent is both genders. We see in the material world that it is the combining of the two genders that produce offspring. Therefore, the divine parent is the perfect description of creative consciousness that many call God. Thus, Jesus intuitively realized his divinity and went on to explain that it is true of ALL humanity!

That is the good news and it is truly good news. Being an eternal expression of creative divinity is good news we can use. He goes on to explain that by the very nature of the material world, the kosmos, the universe there is the likelihood of trouble, suffering, tribulation etc. However, there is likewise the opportunity for pleasure, peace and love. There is the possibility of experiencing the knowledge of the parent and thereby expanding that knowledge.

Eternity is now. It is always now. It has no future, and it has no past. Therefore, the knowledge that one is eternal and eternally part of the creator and creation, is what overcomes or conquers the kosmos, the material universe. This is the perspective that embraces faith in the eternal conscious creator. It is also the source of theodicy.

Both spiritual and material wickedness is a thought form linked to the material universe. While it has real effects, it does not have eternal effects. Therefore, the nature of creative consciousness which is love and peace conquers the material universe always. Putting trust in that knowledge lets each of us individual conscious agents, offspring of the parent conquer as well. Be of good cheer and have peace!

  

The Conscious Cosmos: Skinwalker Ranch, My Analysis Part One

Consciousness does not arise from physics. Physics arises from consciousness.

I am not a scientist, so this is not a scientific analysis. I am more of a philosopher and am deeply interested in the nature of reality. This analysis is more philosophical, psychological, and sociological than scientific, especially if you do not view the former three hard sciences. I hold to some kind of idealistic panpsychist view of reality. It is in this that my interest in Skinwalker Ranch and the docuseries arises. Skinwalker Ranch is a veritable laboratory for consciousness.

Sometimes the obvious is obscured. Historically we have had at the most two-hundred and fifty years of materialist physicalist science. On the other hand, we have had thousands of years of philosophy with humanity trying to answer the basic questions of the nature of reality. Too many people have lost sight of that history and have smugly settled for the more recent history of science. That has been to the peril of advancement in my view. Not to technological advancement. But, it has to philosophical advancement in understanding the nature of reality. Every physicalist theory has always been replaced as incomplete and just a portion of the larger story. From Copernicus to Galileo to Newton to Einstein, to all of the many physicists the understanding of the nature of reality has evolved and each theory has been replaced by the next generation. Those theories were good so far as they went but were simply incomplete. It is time for physicalists to exchange their hubris for humility!

So, this brings me to Skinwalker ranch and the Uintah Basin. There is a remarkable history of personal anecdotal stories about the anomalous and paranormal activities of that area. One of the areas that sociology takes into consideration is people’s stories and experiences. They are very important. Testimony has been revered for centuries in the legal area. We have given people the death penalty and locked people up for life based on testimony. The fact is that the more similar testimonies that exist, the more reliable they are. It should be noted that experiences and observations are a product of consciousness. It mystifies me as to why people are so incredulous for people’s stories about the anomalous and the paranormal. Especially when these stories of experience have been told over thousands of years by a multitude of experiencers.

The overview of the Skinwalker Ranch and its surrounding area shows that a multitude of people have experienced all kinds of anomalous phenomena. It ranges from orbs, to lights, to unusual entities, to unusual energies, to poltergeist activity, and it seems to me like a playground for consciousness. It seems obvious to me that it is consciousness that causes all of the phenomena and that it is for some reason messing with perception. Therefore, investigation and documentation is very important. That is what the docuseries is doing. In addition, the investigation team is openly offering themselves to public scrutiny by their many appearances on YouTube, and at conferences. The Insider’s Website is also giving unprecedented access to the ranch and its environs.

No, I am not a blind believer in anything. However, I do believe people until it is proved otherwise. One can intuitively judge people and their stories and their motives. At least I can, and I think many others can as well, and truth be told, all can if they would but trust and develop their gut awareness’s. I believe the current Skinwalker Ranch team and their stories. I believe the stories told in the book Skinwalkers at the Pentagon. I believe the stories related in the Ryan Skinner and Cheryl Carter books. I believe the stories that were collected by Junior Hicks and recorded in the book “The Utah UFO Display. There are way too many of them and they have too much in common to be all fictitious.  When you add to this all of the stories reported to MUFON and again look at the similarities the picture is overwhelming.

If consciousness is foundational and it appears that it may be; If as the latest Nobel Prize winners in physics proved that the universe is not locally real is true; Then consciousness is likely foundational and since that has been the predominant theory for thousands of years until the last two hundred years, a lot more credence should be given to exploring the experiences of the anomalies, recording them to build a database that can be analyzed by AI and begin to find predominant patterns that exist across the globe and across time.

Because of that I applaud Brandon Fugal and the History Channel for giving Skinwalker Ranch and the Uintah Basin a platform for a large audience to see.

Part 2: Basement Office Rebuttal, Skinwalker Ranch – Sins of Omission

Steven Greenstreet just completed a six-part series over an eleven-month period on the recent history of Skinwalker Ranch. In my view it was a hit piece. This is in large part because he omitted a major portion of the information. I am fairly new to ufology. I have been interested in spirituality and consciousness for many years but did not include the UFO/UAP phenomena in my study and research. It was only after watching the docuseries “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” on the History Channel that I made a connection between consciousness and paranormal activity with regard to the UAP phenomenon. That came about in large part because of the combination of apparent nuts and bolts UFO’s and paranormal spiritual activity. I believe it was that final piece of information that convinced me that it truly is all one thing, and the foundation of the one thing, is consciousness. Luckily for me, foundational consciousness is steadily gaining respect in the scientific community.

Not only did he omit a ton of information about the Fugal years, but he also omitted a lot of information about the AAWSAP years as well. I base this on reading the book “Skinwalkers at the Pentagon.” This post will be an overview of the omissions and in subsequent blog posts I will do a deeper dive into the specifics. His main point in his video “Skinwalker Ranch Dino-Beavers,” was that it was all fiction. He cited all of the paranormal stories and investigation and did not mention the UFO/UAP investigation including the investigation into the Tic-Tac event. AAWSAP did several investigations that were generated from Mufon. While one could say that the stories are merely anecdotal, it should be pointed out that there are thousands upon thousands of anecdotal stories with very similar descriptions. The stigma against these stories comes from an repressive dogma position from physicalist scientists. With the ever emerging theories that the foundation of reality is consciousness, with respected physicists proclaiming that space-time is dead the ubiquitous occurrences of these anecdotes should be given far more credence and a lot more investigation. This was dare I say the main focus and emphasis of AAWSAP. Further, with the military budget of the USA, it is ludicrous and asinine to get excited over a two-year expenditure of a mere $22,000,000.00.

The level with which he ridiculed the intelligence analysts showed that he had some kind of an axe to grind. It is safe to conclude that he accused them of lying. His suggestion that the hitchhiker effect should have been reported to the CDC ludicrously borders on malicious sarcasm. This by the way is something that he brought up with Brandon Fugal as well and Brandon’s look showed that he knew that the question was a ridiculous one. He also through inuendo suggested that there were no real medical consequences from being on the ranch.

Now for the omissions of the Fugal years. My question is will this post become too long? The omissions from the docuseries are legion. For brevity I will list them in bullet form and then in subsequent posts will examine them more closely.

Greenstreet Omitted:

• The UAPX visit and their testimony. He also omitted the physical distress of Jason Turner and how the faraday cage solved the problem. All three of the UAPX team witnessed a uap.
• The astronomers who visited from Salt Lake City whose telescopes had data removed from a closed system, not once but several times and who witnessed a UAP during their visit.
• The rabbi that performed a ceremony designed to open portals and the subsequent temperature vortex that was repeated with the same result from play a recording of the ceremony.
• The laser that was bent and split
• The nature of the metal recovered from a dig into the mesa
• The many mysterious ailments and medical conditions that happened to various cast members including Tom Winterton, Travis Taylor, and Tom Lewis

I could go on but the post is getting long and there will be an opportunity for a deep dive into these and more in following blog posts. Again, let me reiterate, he was a practicing Mormon at one time that left the church. I cannot help but believe that this plays a large part in his skepticism against the whole thing. After all, by admission he is a UAP/UFO experiencer.

If you have not read Part 1 just use this link.

God Beyond Religion: A Panpsychist Panentheistic View of Reality

 

The above diagram is an effort to provide a visual graphic of my view of the nature of reality. The foundation of the diagram is Cosmic Consciousness or Creative Consciousness that I see as primal in the creation of the corporeal material world. I have taken cues from the Kybalion and the seven Hermetic Principles. You can see in the diagram a cyclic construct that keeps individual conscious agents, more commonly known as souls, cycling in and out of material and corporeal reality at the will of the individual. The only place in my view that free will can exist is with the overall cosmic consciousness which is eternal and with the individual aspect of that consciousness which we call souls, which are likewise eternal. It is in the eternal nature of souls that free will exists.

I base the cyclic nature of reality on the principle of correspondence. the second principle of the Kybalion. It states as above so below and as below so above. The idea is that both the material realm and the spiritual realm are similar in nature. Therefore, one can extrapolate from the material realm which is visible the nature of the unseen spiritual realm. We see cycles everywhere in the material world and by the principle of correspondence we can know that the spiritual realm is cyclic as well.

It is the cyclic nature of reality that has me convinced that reincarnation is a reality. I view it in a nuanced way that is different than most of the traditional views of reincarnation. It is the incarnation process that allows us to exercise our free will. While this may anger some people who have experienced trauma, I am of the belief that we choose our life paths and to a great degree what experiences we will have. If we all exist in the eternal now, and if matter cannot be destroyed only changed, then a life span has much less effect on our eternal soul than it would seem while in the midst of incarnation.

When I say I view it differently and nuanced I mean that I do not see it as souls being trapped in a karmic cycle that they must advance in to move off the treadmill. The little that I know about Buddhism and Hinduism assumes that souls are locked into the cycle from some outside superior force. That karma is similar to a punishment reward system that gives an alternate dynamic of the orthodox Christian view of heaven and hell. What resonates for me is that each of us individual souls are autonomous. We ultimately decide what we participate in and consequently what we learn. What we learn is added to the experiential knowledge of Cosmic Consciousness. I do not think that we have to learn lessons over and over. I like the system of spiral dynamics to explain the progression of the soul, the soul’s journey, and the soul’s purpose.

This leads to the concept that we are not trying to move back to oneness. We can do that at will and we do that similar to resting or sleeping. This means that for me the material corporeal world is not evil and not the construction of an evil demiurge. This is the place that I part ways with Christian Gnosticism. I do not think that Yahweh is an evil creator. I think that Yahweh is the construction of a people that saw evil in the world and tried to explain it in human terms. I do not believe that the creator ordered genocide. I do not believe that the creator destroyed the world by a flood because the creation was too evil. I think things like that are merely experiences of Cosmic Consciousness and an innate consequence of geometrical form. Beyond that I will not try to explain as it is perhaps incomprehensible. So, the whole journey back to oneness and the source does not fit into my paradigm.

Another aspect of our reality that is plausible is the reverse of as below so above. That of course is as above so below. If indeed consciousness is foundational, then matter and the corporeal world is very similar to a dream. Is it only our dream or is it a corporate dream. I tend to think it is the latter. I conclude that from the as below so above aspect of correspondence. We see within societal structure governing and planning committees. It is reasonable to me then that the material realm is a construct of what would be similar to a committee. This communal spiritual aspect could be called a dream and locks us into the duration of our incarnation. It is more solid than the dreams we individually dream but made essentially from the same stuff, mind. In this case however, it is from the cosmic mind, the universal mind, or the mind at large. This fits in with the first principle of the Kybalion, “The All is Mind, the Universe is Mental.” So, there is a very plausible way to see material reality as God’s dream.

It does seem natural to me that at some point in our evolution on the incarnation path, we will be able to use our individual minds for the purpose of mental alchemy. There is a way in which we are all capable of changing circumstances by a mental process. This falls back to the principle of correspondence. As above so below. Since Cosmic Consciousness creates reality as we know it, then being a conscious agent, having within us the divine nature of the Logos or consciousness of God, it follows that we too can create reality and change reality with our mind and thought process.

After seventy-six years of living, I have settled on a metaphysical and esoteric view of reality that includes panpsychism and panentheism. My spirituality is syncretistic with an emphasis on the teachings of Jesus and the Tao Te Ching. I think that Buddhism and Hinduism have value as well. However, all religions are merely symbolic metaphorical views of reality. While I find physicalist materialistic science wanting, I am happy to rely on all it has established short of its explanation of creation being accidental. For me, the idea that consciousness is the fundamental reality resonates and it is being more widely accepted by some philosophers and scientists. In other words, I see consciousness as the creative source and would be happy to call it Cosmic Consciousness. I also see Christ Consciousness, Mind at Large, Universal Consciousness as synonyms for Cosmic Consciousness.

It is easy for me to see mathematics as the prime foundational knowledge. It is from mathematics that all other aspects of reality emerge.  Dimensions come from geometry, so I see sacred geometry as an important aspect of reality and the catalyst of form. I view Cosmic Consciousness as ethereal. I believe it to be synonymous with spirit. I am beginning to see spirit as a quality of universal or cosmic consciousness and its connection to matter or corporeal reality is the soul. I define soul as similar to psyche or the Greek word Psuche. This is the spirit of a human or an animal. I contrast that with the Greek word Pneuma and the Hebrew word Rauch. They both are wind and are the metaphor for Cosmic Consciousness or Creative Source/spirit.

I have adopted an eclectic or syncretistic spirituality. I draw from mystical revelations in all religious traditions. I am most familiar with Christianity, both orthodoxy and gnostic expressions. I would say that next I am familiar with Hermetic philosophy. Third but certainly not lesser, is the Tao Te Ching. I am somewhat familiar with Buddhism and Hinduism. The foundation of my spirituality is Christian Mysticism, Gnosticism, combined with Hermeticism and Neoplatonic philosophy. I am also informed by Jungian Psychology, certain aspects of cognitive science and new ideas in quantum physics.

A significant influence for me is the Kybalion and other writings by William Walker-Atkinson. I have studied the Corpus Hermeticum from three different sources and translations. I frequently read the Tao Te Ching and have looked into Greek philosophy that I believe to be influenced by Egyptian mystery religions. While I have not looked into the Kabballah, I am at least familiar to the extent that it reinforces the esoteric teaching of Hermeticism.

I will end this here for now with a quote from the Kybalion. “The ALL is mind, the universe is mental.”

God Beyond Religion: What is the Proper Use of the Bible?

So many people have been traumatized by evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity. This is in large part due to the weaponizing of the bible. So here are the questions. Is there a place for the bible in spirituality? Is there a way to view the bible that does not create trauma and actually informs our spiritual journey? What was Jesus real message and did Orthodoxy coopt it? How did the bible finally get to the place that evangelical and fundamentalist are able to use it as a weapon?

Let’s begin with the last question and address the elephant in the room. The bible is not the word of God. Let me repeat this. The bible is not the word of God. I make this statement by the teaching of the bible itself. According to the bible in the Old Testament, the Torah is the word of God, and in the New Testament the gospel or Jesus is the word of God. Evangelicals will kick, spit and yell claiming this is not so but no matter it is the truth, even by biblical standards. I will not relitigate this as I have written so much in the past about it.

Now for the question, “How did the bible finally get to the place that evangelical, and fundamentalist are able to use it as a weapon?” It became final with the reformation and the doctrine of sola scriptura. The reformers were trying to eliminate the magisterium of the pope and claimed sola scriptura which means scripture alone. However in the early states of the Reformation it was not scripture alone for all faith and practice but scripture alone for the method of salvation. Over time, it was solidified into scripture alone for all faith and practice and ultimately the doctrine of inerrancy and infallibility came into being. That was the final death knell that weaponized the scripture and turned it into the written word of God. Still, it is a gross and damaging error!

The reason is that the bible is an anthology of myths, cultural input, and mystical revelation. Anyone willing to use common sense would realize that the creative source of the universe would not codify eternally a set of unchangeable rules in the iron age. Especially with a society that believed in animal blood sacrifice to appease God. Further, if one is being honest, they would admit that every time the word of god is mentioned in the New Testament, the authors always meant gospel and not scripture. So, there is absolutely no plausible reason for the weaponizing of the bible. Further, those who would say that the bible is the “whole counsel of God” do not even understand that the verse meant the whole purpose of God and not counsel as in a document or teaching. Literalism always leads to ignorance when interpreting writing. Those who teach inerrancy and infallibility, no matter how educated, are influenced by rigid dogma.

The question (“is there a place for the bible in spirituality?”) has an affirmative answer if one looks at the literature for what it is. As stated above it is an anthology of myths, cultural input, and mystical revelation. So, in that vane it has a place in spirituality. Of course, it is necessary to use intuitive discernment to find its value. It may be instructive to provide a bulleted list of the possible benefits of the mystical revelation within the bible.

·         The notion that God is love.

·         The definition of love.

·         The definition of the fruit of the spirit.

·         That the Logos indwells all of humanity

·         Consciousness is the creative source of the universe.

·         With a proper understanding of the garden myth and Adam and Eve, a figurative explanation of human pathology and the source of evil.

The first five are self-explanatory but the sixth one needs some further explanation. So what is the benefit of the garden myth in Genesis? It explains that mortality coupled with the survival instinct (necessary for human and animal survival) combine to explain greed and therefore, explain all of the evil present in the material world we live in.

However, the remedy for that is not a sacrifice to God of a human prototype. It is the knowledge that we are divine and that the creative source is a loving parent. This is what makes the “Gospel of Truth” important in explaining the mission and teaching of Jesus and just exactly how one could look at him as a savior. It is indeed too bad that so much of Gnostic writing was destroyed. Not that Gnostic writing was literal truth, but that it contained mystical revelation that helps explain reality and our place in the material world. It also shows the problem with literal translation and meaning for any religious texts.

The answer to the question (“What was Jesus real message?”) can only be properly understood with the entire writings of the second and third centuries CE. This would include parts of the New Testament, the Gnostic texts, the Corpus Hermeticum, and Neo-Platonic texts. The best answer I have found is that it was to correct the forgetfulness that souls adopt upon incarnating into material reality. This is the main idea stated in the Gospel of Truth. It resonates deeply with me.

To answer the question (Is there a way to view the bible that does not create trauma and actually informs our spiritual journey?) is somewhat complex. First it would have to be void of any of the dogmatic voices that play in the head of one who was brainwashed with fundamental and literal teaching. If this cannot be accomplished there is little chance that it can inform the spiritual journey of such a one.

If one can really understand and believe what the bible is, an anthology of myth, cultural input and mystical revelation, then one can gain spiritual knowledge from it. This requires discernment and intuition but I think there is a benefit from the bible. So far as I know it is the only sacred text that states God is love. Further, it is the only text that gives the definition of love and the fruit of the spirit. Especially in the Gospel of John, but in other places as well it explains that we are divine. This message is very beneficial.

How then can one discern what is mystical revelation from the creative source? Here are the criteria I use. Does it promote love as defined by Paul? Will it produce the fruit of the Spirit? Does it inform us of our familial connection to God? Does it show God as a parent? In fact, you can apply this to all mystical writings. It is true of the Corpus Hermeticum. It is true of the Tao.

 

God Beyond Religion: Poemandres, Father, Word, and Spirit

1.  “And I do say: Who art thou?”

“He saith: I am Man-Shepherd (Poemandres), Mind of all-masterhood; I know what thou desirest and I'm with thee everywhere.” ~The Corpus Hermeticum, Translated by G.R.S. Mead, Section, Poemandres, The Shepherd of Men

It is my intention to examine the Corpus Hermeticum because I think it is a foundational explanation of reality.  One of the problems that is encountered in giving credence to the Hermetica is that Christian orthodoxy has relegated Hermeticism to a recent invention and a rehashing of neo platonic thought. This is largely due to King James and Isaac Casaubon. King James wanted to rid the kingdom of Hermetics and Casaubon gave him the ammunition. However, the ability to read hieroglyphics proved that Casaubon was not entirely correct and while it is true that the Hermetica is a product of Middle Platonism, the first to third century CE, it is highly likely that Platonism was built upon the foundation of Hermetic teaching.

Also, while Hermeticism was accompanied by the superstitions of the age it was introduced, it gives by far the best explanation of the nature of reality and creation than any other western idea. It tells the story of the source God and the word/logos God’s only begotten son. Here is where orthodoxy misunderstood and led people astray from Jesus real mission and message. The Word, Logos, was the mind of God and it was given to humanity as a gift. This word, logos, reason is consciousness. It is why we can say that we conscious human agents are in the image of God “Imago Dei.”

Here is how Hermes expressed it in Poemandres: “But All-Father Mind, being Life and Light, did bring forth Man co-equal to Himself, with whom He fell in love, as being His own child; for he was beautiful beyond compare, the Image of his Sire. In very truth, God fell in love with his own Form; and on him did bestow all of His own formations.” ~Hermeticum G.R.S. Mead pp 6

It is clear here that humanity/mankind are the offspring of deity. That is why John wrote in the first chapter of his gospel that “The Word,” not Jesus, but the word was always in the world. It was because reason was always in the world. The world was created of and by consciousness. Itis important to recognize that this hermetic principle was present in philosophical thought long before John’s gospel was written. It was known to Plato and the Stoics. It was written about by Philo of Alexandria prior to the writing of John’s gospel. This does not in any way diminish the mission and message of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus did not claim to be God in the flesh any more than anyone else. He just introduced the sure knowledge that he was, as we all are, the incarnation of the Logos. It was this understanding and message that allowed Paul to say that Jesus was the firstborn of many siblings. Awakening to this realization is what created a “new humanity.” It brought into reality through metaphor the new heaven and the new earth. This is why Eckhart Tolle’s understanding of a new heaven and earth is far more correct than orthodoxy’s.

This is an integral and strategic part of the upward spiral of spiral dynamics. The expanded awareness of this happens from age to age. Paul explained that Jesus understood what Hermes wrote. He realized that while he was equal with God, it was not a reason to exploit it, but instead in entering the earth plane he emptied or forgot the concept with the purpose of awakening to the reality. Am I putting Hermes above Jesus? Absolutely not. Both became aware of the same thing. Both taught essentially the same thing. Many did not understand Hermes, and likewise many, probably most, did not understand Jesus. Orthodox dogma is proof of that. However, we at the beginning of a new age are beginning to awaken to this reality. We are beginning to realize who we really are and what Power we possess. Next, we will look at what Jesus actually meant in what is written in John chapter three.

 

 

It’s All Connected: A peek into the theory of everything and the problem of evil.

First look at the preponderance of the evidence. Consciousness is indeed the foundational aspect of reality, and it is the source from which all dimensions exist. Yes, there are several dimensions. This earth plane can be likened to a laboratory and a university. It offers the chance for one to develop love in a real sense. I am speaking of genuine love for self and for the other. The only way to truly love the other is to fully love and accept oneself. It does, however, have its limitations and drawbacks. It can be beautiful and rewarding, and it can be dangerous and unforgiving. The one thing to take to heart is that each of us is eternal and exists in the eternal now. That is a difficult thing to grasp as this dimension of space time hides the eternal reality, and instead provides the illusion of temporary existence. This illusion seems more real than reality and is deceptive to say the least. It is punctuated by the fact of birth and death.

While we are one with the source we are also separate souls or conscious agents and the following paradox is real. We are one and separate at the same time and in that our oneness is greater than our separateness. These facts can be understood intuitively and quite likely will resonate with you as well. This is important foundational information to begin to look at the theory of everything. There is a problem with space-time and quantum mechanics. Physicists have been searching for a theory of everything that would unify the explanation of the material universe. To date, they have not been able to reconcile the two into one congruent theory. I believe it is because they are trying to do it with physics alone and even if they did it would not be a theory of everything.

Along with the problem of physics, there are other problems that face humanity. There is the “hard problem” of consciousness. Alongside of this, philosophers and theologians have been faced with the “problem of evil.” The theory of everything should solve all of the problems. The first problem I want to confront is the problem of evil. To do this it is necessary to create some thought experiments. The reason is that while the problem of consciousness is a more fundamental problem, the problem of evil gets in the way of exploring all the possibilities. My hope is that in presenting these thought experiments I will not create straw men but be faithful to the explanations that currently exist.

I am not that happy with the definition of theist or deist. I would say that I am an amalgamation of both, and perhaps there needs to be another term though I do not have one to offer. Here is how I currently see God. I much prefer the term creative source because of the negative connotation so many have for the term god. I also like the word parent as I want to include both genders in the creator, but I have been willing to settle for father, and I am also growing fonder of the Hermetic term “The All.” I would label myself a panpsychist. I absolutely see consciousness as foundational. There is a ubiquitous history of that concept which I will deal with at a later point.

I see each of us souls as conscious agents. However, similar to what I believe Dr. Donald Hoffman has suggested, there are conscious agents of lesser consciousness than humanity all the way to the smallest building block and it is a combination of these agents that increasingly grow intellect and understanding. I believe that creative source, which I will forward refer to as consciousness is eternal. If it is the first cause of everything, it always was and always will be. It can anticipate everything that is was and ever will be. However, as solely consciousness it cannot experience anything. So then, this is where Dr. Bernardo Kastrup comes to my rescue philosophically. Consciousness chooses to splinter into a kind of dissociative personality Hoffman calls conscious agents that has a unique place in the corporeal and material world. Our experience is that humanity is at the pinnacle, but it is possible that there are conscious agents much more advanced in experience than us. Of course, as of this date that is speculation on my part.

Consciousness is continually expanding, and this expansion is brought about by the experiences of conscious agents. What we can be sure of is that this expansion is happening in the corporeal material world. It is a logical conclusion that there are other dimensions as well. We have hints of this but do not have specific understanding of what they are or what they might be like from a conscious agent vantage point.

Since we are an agent of the one creative consciousness, our essence is eternal as well. That is why all of the mystical traditions explain our existence as children of the creator. In a corporeal, material, temporal world we cannot be sure of this by any other means than intuition or mystical revelation. However, for me it makes sense that our sense of self as conscious agents is as eternal as consciousness. So within the corporeal, material, and temporal plane there is suffering and pleasure, joy and sadness.

I must add to this that within creative consciousness it seems logical that the individual conscious agents would by committee have input and say so in developing the material corporeal world. This is the place where “free will” would come into existence. Furthermore, it is logical that this committee would make certain that each conscious agent was treated in an egalitarian way. Each would experience suffering and pleasure, joy and sadness equally over the multiple incarnation process. This in and of itself would provide a type of theodicy for the creative source, consciousness. Since time is a product of material reality, at the consciousness level or the unification of conscious agents, there only exists the eternal present or the eternal now. It is in this way that suffering could be a logical choice for the expansion of conscious experience. However it would all be evened out in the eternal present. While this may not be comfort for those who are experiencing extreme suffering in the material plane, it never the less would supply a reasonable explanation of why suffering takes place.

There is natural evil and there is moral evil in the material corporeal realm. Neither of these exist in the eternal present beyond the expanding experience of consciousness. This is the place where I believe that it is all moving toward the expansion of love. I base this on spiral dynamics. Spiral dynamics shows that humanity is moving on an upward spiral toward more and more enlightenment. Of course, I acknowledge that there is much that is evil in this world, but the fact is that it is diminishing over time and more and more conscious agents are operating in a benevolent manner toward one another. It therefore seems logical that this upward spiral is the purpose and plan of consciousness. If this is the case it is reasonable to suggest that at the creative conscious source level is the highest vibration which is peace and love, and the purpose is to have conscious agents that become more aware of this concept and experience each in an ever-increasing fashion.

Yes, this concept involves reincarnation, but it is by choice. It is within the whole of creative consciousness, but it is at the individual conscious agent level that free will exists. Each individual conscious agent is aware of the potentiality of each incarnation but does not have that awareness based on experience, and it is experience that works it out in space and time. Likewise, it is experience that creative consciousness is using to expand and grow the universe or if you prefer the multiverse. Each conscious agent being a part of creative consciousness then, is totally free to choose each incarnation. It is also possible to choose not to incarnate and remain in the whole, but that does not last forever in time as challenges arise and a rested agent is ready for the next experience.

It should be stated that the goal is to create the perfection enjoyed by the whole creative consciousness in a material and corporeal world.. My experience thus far shows me that is impossible and is the precise reason for needing occasional rest after many tries. However, spiral dynamics points to the fact that it is improving on and upward trajectory. While this certainly does not explain everything, it logically goes a long way toward explaining the problem of evil and its solution.

Next, we will look at the place of the mystics, Jesus, Buddha, the Tao, and Shamanism within this explanation.

 

God Beyond Religion: Progressive Awakening; Two Mystical Contributions from the Jesus Narrative

One of my friends on Facebook posted that he realized that he was arrogant when he was an evangelical pastor and that it was a waste of precious time. The arrogance came into play as he thought that God had given him a message every week and that it was important for the people to come and hear it every week. He went on to say that he was delivered from that. This caused a light bulb moment for me because I can recall doing the same thing.  I too thought that God was giving me a weekly sermon that was spiritually important for those who I was teaching and preaching too. What I realized with this is that we all, humanity, are going through, and are at different stages of an awakening to deeper consciousness and deeper reality. It could be that this is because of the dawning of a new age, literally. The age of information, the age of Aquarius. I must admit that the presupposition that informs this idea for me is panpsychism. It is best described by the idea that was stated in the Kybalion, “the All is Mind, the universe is mental.” As the days go by, I become more and more convinced of this view of reality.

So, to differentiate me from my online friend, I’m not sure that it was a waste of time. Rather it was a transition from one reality to a deeper reality. I must take into consideration that I likely chose my life path, which means that I chose to be born into a fundamentalist Christian family in 1946 for a specific reason, and for a specific expansion of consciousness having a material and corporeal experience of learning. I should perhaps relate the nuance of the family I was born into. My mother, and my older sisters were fundamentalist Baptists all the way, however, my father was raised catholic but did not really attend any church regularly, and a childhood memory I have had all these years, is when my mother would go off on a tangent like, the Roman Catholics weren’t really saved, my dad would say. “Iva, I think you’ll be surprised when you get to heaven who’s there. I guess that I sensed that he did not take the fear of hell all that seriously, and that likely rubbed off on me.  You can find a more in-depth explanation of my interesting transition from fundamentalist to agnostic, to mystic, back to evangelical, and finally back to an eclectic and syncretistic spiritual mystic that is probably more accurately a panpsychist. I will post a link to it at the bottom of this article.

So, why wasn’t my foray into evangelicalism a waste of time? That is the question that is the main point of this post. While I understand that orthodox Christianity and especially evangelical orthodoxy is very toxic, there is a fairly important mystical message within the Jesus Narrative. It has nothing to do with sin and salvation, and for those who have suffered spiritual abuse, and spiritual trauma by this concept, they are unlikely to be comforted by this realization, at least for a long period of healing, but I will state it none the less.

If one sees some type of spirituality as important, then this realization is best found in a part of the Jesus story. Whether one believes that Jesus was an actual historical person or not, (I believe he was), this message or realization is important either way. I will readily admit that myth is an important part of all religions and spiritual traditions. Some are beneficial and some are not, but myth has proven to be important throughout millennia in the upward spiral of humanity. So, without further ado let me get to the two concepts. They are what has been called the KENOSIS, and the resurrection.

I do not want to minimize the good teaching about ethics and love found in the sermon on the mount or various other parts of the New and Old Testaments, but the two elements that are missing, at least explicitly in other spiritual traditions is the KENOSIS and the RESURRECTION. I base this on the idea that panpsychism is correct, and therefore, it is most likely that an eclectic, syncretistic spirituality is the best way to proceed. This requires that one uses intuition, the presence of spirit within, to discern what is beneficial from a wide variety of spiritual and religious traditions.

Let’s first examine the concept of KENOSIS. This is an idea that Paul mentions in his epistle to the Philippians. I will quote it from the NRSV. Php 2:5-8  “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,  (6)  who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,  (7)  but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,  (8)  he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” Orthodoxy has limited this to Jesus, but that does not acknowledge what the verse actually says. Paul emphatically states, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”  To literally take Paul at his word would require that we have the same view about our deity as Jesus did. Let that sink in. According to Paul in this passage, we as humans, should think the same way about ourselves as Jesus thought about himself. What did he think? He thought that he was the incarnation of the Logos, the conscious, creative word of God. He thought that he was the son of God, and that God was his father. This means that he thought that he was the offspring of the creative energy source.

He also thought that he was the anointing (Christ) of the Logos, and so if we have the same mind, then we would think that we as well are the anointing (Christ) of the Logos. You may ask was Jesus unique in this regard? I would say that his uniqueness is in the fact that he was the firstborn of a new humanity. He was the first one to recognize that we are the anointing of the Logos. The writer of John’s first epistle expressed it this way, “as Christ is in the world, so are we!” It seems very clear that Paul’s meaning was a lot more profound than orthodoxy had expressed. In fact, in a lot of ways, orthodoxy has been a real detriment to the mystical understanding that the Jesus Narrative provides to all. I am advocating for using the mystical messages of Christianity to benefit people who are far more eclectic in their spirituality. These two understandings of Jesus are a benefit for everyone. You don’t have to embrace Jesus as the savior from sin to realize that woven within the message is Jesus the mystical master that can improve ones understanding of spiritual awakening.

Now let me bring this concept’s implications to the one who accepts eclectic spirituality as a valid path. I mean, the one who draws from a variety of spiritual traditions to inform their view of reality, and most especially their place in spirituality. Many of the reincarnation beliefs teach that we forget our past experiences upon arrival into the earth plane at birth. That is a perfect description of Kenosis. In these traditions it is the goal to remember past experience and knowledge little by little with expansion in mind. Kenosis in the Greek is an emptying. Emptying and forgetting are the same thing when it comes to past knowledge and experience. Further, if as some cognitive scientists believe, we are conscious agents, or as Dr. Bernardo Kastrup believes we are dissociative personalities of the one universal conscious, while we are equal with creative consciousness, we empty that knowledge. The Jesus story provides an explanation of how we forget former lives and former information when we incarnate. It is via KENOSIS.

Now let's look at the resurrection. It also is an important part from the Jesus narrative. The only way that we can be sure that we are eternal is if we are resurrected. That is exactly what is claimed that Jesus did or had done to him. There are no other religions the claim to have the resurrection phenomenon. This is yet another place where parts of the Jesus narrative can inform all religions and it isn't necessary to accept the orthodox position of sin and salvation. Rather, one who is accepting of eclectic and syncretistic spirituality can glean truths from various traditions and amalgamate them in the one view of spirituality. So for instance, 1 can include kenosis and the resurrection with reincarnation and form a better picture of spiritual reality.

It's possible that when Jesus spoke of being born again he was referencing reincarnation. He was speaking in spiritual terms. Therefore, being born again, could allow one to realize that they will have the opportunity to experience many lives on the earth plane and forget the past lives only to rediscover the important truths that carry over into the growth of the individual spiritually. This adds additional experiential information and knowledge to the whole and is likely the reason for our incarnating in the first place. This idea allows Jesus to actually be revealing additional truth to what was already present in other spiritual traditions. This could be true even of Judaism if one realizes that the Kabbalah accepts many of the characteristics eastern spiritual traditions.

While it is absolutely not necessary that one embraces the Jesus narrative or for that matter studies it at all it is still true that understanding kenosis and resurrection are important concepts in eclectic and syncretistic spirituality. It seems a shame to me that orthodoxy and Christianity in general has developed a dogma so toxic as to make it impossible for those who have been traumatized by it to adopt certain revelations into their spiritual view.

Here is the link I promised to my story:

 

God Beyond Religion: A Spiritual Download

It was either 1974 or 1975. It was a warm Michigan summer evening. The windows in my pickup were down because in Michigan there is little need for air conditioning in vehicles. I was driving on highway U.S. 127 coming from Mid-Michigan Community College where I had finished teaching a painting and drawing class. It was close to sunset. There is a fairly long hill by Michigan standards coming south from the campus. It begins in a pine forest and ends at fields of new mown hay. As I got close to the bottom of the grade, the trees gave way to two fairly large fields on either side, both left and right. There it was. The moon was rising about fifteen degrees above the horizon to my left, and the sun was setting about fifteen degrees above the horizon to my right.

Instantaneously I could feel a tremendous amount of energy passing through my head, and I began to chant. It was as if I had the awareness of everything all at once as I chanted on. I was truly one with universal consciousness. It was as though I knew everything known, and it was there all at once. This went on for about twenty minutes of a thirty-minute drive to my home in Rosebush Michigan. During the twenty minutes I did not recall driving and my avatar was on automatic pilot. My I-AM was engaged in a knowledge download. The chant was melodious. I was singing rather than simply speaking. I know that I was fully engulfed in an amazing peace that really defies explanation. The only thing I remember from the experience was the last line of the chant and I said, “and to the lion, killing isn’t wrong.” That’s where it ended. The thing that I remember most during this experience; I was filled with an amazing peace, but I can absolutely not remember any of the chant except the last line.

I do believe however, that in that dump of spiritual info, I received all of the words of knowledge and all of the spiritual insight that I have given over the years. I have a strong intuition and there are times when I know things about people that I really have no way of knowing, and when I have the courage to share it… it always proves to be right on and just what the individual needed to hear at the time. Since that time I have been driven to understand the nature of reality and the purpose to which this material world exists.

I believe as Nikola Tesla did that, we are receivers from the mind at large. I think I prefer that term “mind at large: though little known and only by those who have read Aldous Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception.” It is interesting to me how synchronicity works because a couple of years before that experience, while taking a graduate painting course at Central Michigan University, my instructor assigned us to read that book as part of painting class. At roughly the same time I was introduced to Fritjof Capra’s “The Tao of Physics” and another friend suggested I read Carlos Castaneda’s novels. I began with “A Separate Reality,” moved on with “Journey to Ixtlan” and kept on from there. I also began to have people with clairvoyant abilities come into my life. I understood that the world that I was in was definitely shaped by consciousness or what one could call spirit. It was easy for me to accept the reality that somehow spirit, or consciousness was underlying reality.

While I had never heard the word panpsychism nor was familiar with any of the philosophers that held that view of reality, it was definitely my view even if I did not know the term. It would be many years before I would come to study Hermetics or read the Tao, but the foundation was laid in this experience. It was also in this time period, later that winter, that I would experience other phenomena on that drive. I began to see bright lights in the sky above my home as I was driving. This would be during this thirty-minute drive. It was like they were parked right over my house. I would see them in the direction of where I lived and as I got closer and closer to home it was obvious that they were there, in the sky. I remember one evening in particular. I saw the light there, and when I got home, my wife’s aunt was babysitting our children. I ran in the house to have her come out and look at it. When she came out, I swear it turned into a plane with a blinking light and moved on. She must have thought I was crazy. I swear, before I went in the house it was just a bright light, white in color and hovering up in the sky and it actually blew my mind that it turned into an ordinary plane.

I remember another evening in the cold Michigan winter. It was a crisp evening with a full moon shining down on the shivering cold. I looked up at it and I had a sense come over me that I was not from here. I was in reality from somewhere out there. It was an overpowering awareness and then it passed. So yes, most definitely I am a believer in paranormal anomalies. For good reason. I am an experiencer of many paranormal circumstances over the years. So numerous that it would take a book to retell them all. Do I realize that we need to stay grounded and accomplish things in the material world for our benefit? Yes, of course. But, I likewise realize that there is much more to reality than simply meets the eye, and I believe that consciousness is on an upward spiral trajectory with a purpose of enlightenment as one goal.

God Beyond Religion: Ufology and Paranormal Activity It’s All Connected

I recently watched the Netflix Series “Manifest.” The phrase “it’s all connected” was used over and over in the show. It was a drama about the divine consciousness and while it exaggerated the action and suspense to make it appealing to a large audience, it covered basic principles that would be important in a panpsychist view of reality. I have written previous posts about the fact that it is all one thing. If you haven’t read any of my previous posts, you may be asking what’s all one thing? The answer is ufo’s/uap’s, portals, interdimensional phenomena, cryptids, poltergeists, etc. 

There is a controversy on UFO Twitter with respect to the veracity of Lue Elizondo, Christopher Mellon, Sean Cahill, Dr. Garry Nolan, Ross Coulthart, George Knapp, Dr. Travis Taylor, Dr. Eric Davis, Jeremy Corbell, et.al. When I look at it with historical retrospect, I see that the critics are very likely wrong. The reason?  they do not take an overall historical look at the phenomenon. I am including in the critics Steven Greenstreet, Mick West, John Greenwald, and most recently Lu Angeles. So what are they missing? They overlook years of a preponderance of evidence that begins with the Air Force acknowledgment of a crash in Roswell New Mexico in 1947 with a questionable at best quick retraction. That alone should be all the evidence anyone needs but fortunately, that was but one event of a plethora of events, and the recent advocates are just a few of the historical many that believed the phenomena was real.

 

I am old enough to have been in my late twenty’s early thirties in the 1970’s. I was privileged to attend a lecture by J. Allen Hynek at Central Michigan at that time. His presentation was very convincing. He told of many encounters and was convinced that the subjects of his many year’s investigation were telling the truth. I am sure that the ilk of Greenstreet and West would find a way to show Hynek as a misguided believer, but that is the only thing they can do. They just sling mud! In large part they do that by believing the DOD and that in itself is a joke and should show what they are.

 

Here is an excerpt from and Article that J. Allen Hynek wrote for the Journal of the Optical Society of America in April 1953. It is entitled “Unusual Ariel Phenomenon” and it is in vol 43. Here is the quote:

 

“Radar observations as well as visual observations are involved in this problem. Early last month shortly before dawn colored lights were observed in the sky southeast of the radar station. At the same time and the same azimuth, unidentified targets appeared on the scope. Only a very slight temperature inversion was present, 1° at 25,000 feet. No more than two lights appeared at one time. They were observed to be moving in a rather erratic pattern and changing colors occasionally. The last thirty minutes of observation revealed the lights remaining yellow prior to that they were red, green, and blue. They moved in no apparent formation but mostly appeared in one area and disappeared in another, when either the light went out or the objects dived behind clouds. They were starlike objects and appeared to develop long, white vapor trails, when they dived. They were motionless at times and moved rapidly at other times. This corresponded to similar movements observed on the radar scope.”

 

The article itself is an interesting read and can be found at ufo - UFOs at close sight: J. Allen Hynek paper in the Journal of the Optical Society of America, 1953 (patrickgross.org). When you add this to the multiple testimonies of military and law enforcement individuals, and the documentary films by James Fox such as “Moment of Contact” and “The Phenomenon” the preponderance of the evidence is overwhelming. For anyone to believe the government over Lue Elizondo, Christopher Mellon, Sean Cahill, Garry Nolan et. al. defies logic and demonstrates that those skeptics have ulterior motives. When you add to that the high strangeness of the Uintah Basin via the show “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” it simply adds another layer to the preponderance!

God Beyond Religion: A Christ, Taoist, Idealist, Panpsychist Ontology

The lyrics of John Lennon’s “Imagine” is something to consider and even move toward. A siblinghood of humanity that is inclusive and not exclusive. This could be achieved without sacrificing various kinds of spirituality as long as the exclusive nature of them is eliminated. Whether it is religion, philosophy, or national division and divisiveness it is unnecessary with the simple addition of tolerance. Tolerance and acceptance should be at the heart of any ontology. Beating swords into plowshares is a noble goal. It is in this vane that I would suggest the above title. It is not designed to start another divisive religion, but rather to provide a way in which people can honor their traditions, by embracing the best and eliminating the worst of belief systems. Letting go of terms like dogma, orthodox, and heterodox, and further letting go of the ideas that exist behind the terms is the first necessary step.

Still, there is nothing wrong with holding onto spiritual explanations of the nature of reality. For example, the Christ concept is a reasonable one when considering that it is the Christ of the Logos, or in other words, the anointing of creative consciousness. Christ as Richard Rohr has so eloquently stated is not Jesus of Nazareth’s last name. It is important to realize what the terms meant within their original language and too their original audience. Christos was an anointing, a rubbing on of an ointment as done for anointing kings. Logos was a word but in the Greek philosophical sense it was creative consciousness. So, the universal or cosmic Christ is a description of the anointing or the presence of the Logos. Jesus taught that it was the natural state of humanity. While he acknowledged his Christ, he also saw it as being for everyone. He did not think it was unique to him but available to all. This is one of the main themes of John’s gospel.

A concept that fits well with the Christ of the Logos is the Tao. Simply stated, the Tao, pronounced Dao is the creative conscious source of the universe and is similar in nature to the Hermetic concept of “the-all.” It should be noted here that most all civilizations had in one way or another the concept of the universal creative source. Many of the indigenous tribes, especially of the Americas called it the great spirit. While it is easy in retrospect to romanticize the concept of the great spirit. The indigenous tribes certainly had their share of wars, violence, and inhumane practices it is interesting that the concept was essentially similar to the concept of pneuma or qi (chi.) The life force and breath have been ubiquitous in cultures over millennia in describing the prime source of life and energy.

For an ontology to be plausible it needs to have consistency in agreement across multiple areas. It must at the very least take account for previous spiritual traditions and recognize the truth that is embedded with all of them to one degree or the other. It must also take into consideration scientific thought, theories, and established data. However, it is important to be able to recognize that science too has dogma, and dogmatic factions that make it difficult for the non-scientist to easily filter out the dogmatic from the exploratory and theoretical. When one recognizes that within the scientific community, especially within quantum and astro-physics, that there is a wide variety of disagreement. Likewise, when it comes to the nature of consciousness there is equally a wide range of theories. While there is currently an effort to advance those aspects of science, consciousness itself is a difficult topic to study with mathematical precision. Some are trying, especially Dr. Donald Hoffman, but it is in the infancy stage, and most are locked into the dogma of physicalism and believe that consciousness is an evolutionary product of the brain. However, in so doing they simply bypass the hard problem of consciousness.

This in my view devalues the purview of logic and epistemology. There are things that can be knowable that are not mathematically provable or modeled. It is especially in this area that panpsychist idealism offers a more plausible explanation of reality than the materialist, physicalist explanation that stops short of explaining the why of existence. In a nutshell, the Panpsychism Idealist view sees consciousness as the foundational basis for reality. It is not completely out of the question given the nature of the quantum field of waves that collapse into particles based on observation.

Further, it explains the many paranormal and supernatural occurrences that are common over millennia that have been reported ubiquitously across cultures, eras, and among a plethora of reliable people. If you name the anomaly, Panpsychist Idealism explains it.