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.

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.

God Beyond Religion: Mystical Revelation and the Ongoing Illumination Toward Spiritual Enlightenment

Proposition: It is my belief that there is mystical revelation from source in all of the sacred writings over the millennia. Finding and refining it is the process of illumination and has been done over the centuries and is still taking place today. It can be likened to spiritual spiral dynamics and needs to be an ever-ongoing process.

Let’s face it, orthodox Christianity did no real favors with canonization of certain scripture. Mystic revelation from source should be ongoing as people develop culturally, socially and spiritually. It should be obvious that at least some of those writing down the narrative about Jesus did not believe they were codifying anything but acting as a reporter. This is obvious from Luke’s writings and also from whoever wrote the Johannine epistles. Here are three examples:

Luke 1:1-3  “Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us,  (2)  just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,  (3)  I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,”

Act 1:1-3  “In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning  (2)  until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  (3)  After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

1Jn 1:1-4  “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—  (2)  this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—  (3)  we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.  (4)  We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

It seems rather clear to me from the above passages that they were not trying to codify but rather report an important phenomenon that they had witnessed, and that it was meant for them within the context of their culture and time. In other words, it was for their contemporary audience, based on their cultural norms. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that what they wrote included mystical revelation from the creative source but also contained the input that they naturally inherited from their culture, beliefs, and customs. It is likewise reasonable to assume that those cultural and customary aspects were not meant to be codified into perpetuity. At the same time it is also reasonable to conclude that some of what they wrote as witnesses reflected enlightened revelation they received from a messenger whose mission was to further illuminate and correct what they had erroneously or mistakenly believed from past revelation.

Therefore, it seems incumbent on those who follow these traditions to apply the same kind of reporting and illumination into the application of these mystical gems using spiritual discernment and mysticism. In fact, it is an edict in the Johannine gospel. John 16:12-13  "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  (13)  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” There is absolutely nothing in the above writing from John’s gospel that states that shortly after the spirit comes it will then reveal a set of principles and beliefs that can be codified as the final message from source. In fact, that idea is preposterous. If one looks at the evolution of culture and enlightened awareness that is set forth in spiral dynamics it demands that this edict from John’s gospel be ongoing, and that the actual canon can never be codified and sealed. However, neither does it mean that it cannot be helpful in the effort to provide greater and greater illumination with all of the spiritual and scientific discoveries that regularly change our view of reality.

It is in this view that proposition above is stated. Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a group of modern Christ followers take the edict of John 16:12-13. This could be accomplished by using an understanding of the first century history and culture coupled with spiritual illumination and discernment to put together those aspects of the scripture that are indeed mystical revelation from source and what is actually a product of the culture that created them.

One thing is certain, the concept that the entire canon was codified for perpetuity two thousand years ago in a culture that was far less humane than our current culture. I know, many may try to point out the evil that seems rampant in our culture today, but two things must be considered. First, most people are kind, and spiral dynamics has shown that there is an upward spiral of enlightenment that has increased the humaneness of humanity. Secondly, the media and news outlets emphasize the apparent evil so that it holds a higher place in our awareness, and it is likely that the incidence of what we call evil is less in relation to overall population than it was in times past.

This would enable Christ followers, who believe there is a command to create a better, more peaceful, and more loving humanity use the best parts of their tradition to facilitate this growth and build a bridge that is syncretistic and eclectic that could show the similarity of the mystical message across cultures and religions. Further, it could create and environment that would build tolerance of all people of all religions and likewise include those who are completely non-religious.

 

God Beyond Religion: It’s all one thing!

If we live in a mental universe; If the first axiom of the Kybalion is correct; If the All is mind and the universe is mental, then the corporeal and material world arises from consciousness and conscious activity. I am finding this increasingly interesting in view of the fact that it seems that paranormal activity, UFO’s/UAP’s, portals, and cryptids all seem to be connected. Further, often when you have one, you also have another and sometimes all of them. In the last post I mentioned the TV series on the History Channel, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. Certainly, in that area, in and about the ranch all of the forementioned phenomena are reported and observed.

It is also interesting that petroglyphs and hieroglyphs, many which are thousands of years old contain images that resemble space travelers and portals. There are petroglyphs in Utah, near the ranch in the Uintah Basin that are thousands of years old. If we simply trace the concept back to Egypt, it goes at least 5,000 years in the past and quite likely is much older than that. Add to this the recent archeological find of Gobleki Tepe, and it dates to 11,000 years ago. Of course, Plato wrote about Atlantis, an ancient civilization that was destroyed by water.

The point to all of this is simply that the concept of the universe being mentation is thousands of years old. While it cannot be proven, it is not wild speculation that people from an advanced civilization interacted with the ancient Egyptians and many of the Mezo-American civilizations. Imagine if you will that those of ancient Egypt were visited by advanced people from the sky. Further, imagine that they also experienced cryptids emerging from portals on the earth. This is a very plausible speculation about how various ubiquitous myths came about, and how they were similar across time, regions, and cultures. The myths are very similar even when the cultures did not have contact with one another.

There are two regularly recurring myths that span thousands of years and thousands of miles. One has to do with the concept of father in the sky, and the other is the demons and the underworld. So, what if they originated from people having experiences with UAP’s and cryptids? The myths of father in the sky could have originated from UFO’s/UAP’s, and the myths of the underworld and demons could have originated with portals and cryptids. It is important to note that while the concept of heaven has been given a spiritual connotation through the various myths, the Greek word describing the heavens was simply Ouranos meaning the sky. Many indigenous people thought of father sky and mother earth, and that the “great spirit” inhabited both.

I am including below a quote from the Kybalion. As I have stated many times before the Kybalion was written in 1908, likely by Wm. Walker Atkinson. I refer to it often because it is a no nonsense stating of the Corpus Hermetica, or in other words, the hermetic material that dates back at least to ancient Egypt 3,000 years BCE. I use this quote as many believe that the archaeological data suggests that the ancients had tutors from an advanced civilization. The quote comes from the beginning of chapter three in the Kybalion which covers the idea of mental transmutation.

Mental transmutation is the craft of the alchemist. This passage is meant to suggest that those who instructed the ancient Egyptians were very sophisticated in the sciences.

Chapter 3.

Mental Transmutation. "Mind (as well as metals and elements) may be transmuted, from state to state; degree to degree; condition to condition; pole to pole; vibration to vibration. True Hermetic Transmutation is a Mental Art." — The Kybalion.

“As we have stated, the Hermetists were the original alchemists, astrologers, and psychologists, Hermes having been the founder of these schools of thought. From astrology has grown modern astronomy; from alchemy has grown modern chemistry; from the mystic psychology has grown the modern psychology of the schools. But it must not be supposed that the ancients were ignorant of that which the modern schools suppose to be their exclusive and special property.”

“The records engraved on the stones of Ancient Egypt show conclusively that the ancients had a full comprehensive knowledge of astronomy, the very building of the Pyramids showing the connection between their design and the study of astronomical science. Nor were they ignorant of Chemistry, for the fragments of the ancient writings show that they were acquainted with the chemical properties of things; in fact, the ancient theories regarding physics are being slowly verified by the latest discoveries of modern science, notably those relating to the constitution of matter. Nor must it be supposed that they were ignorant of the so-called modern discoveries in psychology — on the contrary, the Egyptians were especially skilled in the science of Psychology, particularly in the branches that the modern schools ignore, but which, nevertheless, are being uncovered under the name of "psychic science" which is perplexing the psychologists of to-day, and making them reluctantly admit that "there may be something in it after all."

~ The Three Initiates. The Kybalion: A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece (Illustrated) (p. 13). The Kybalion Resource Page. Kindle Edition.

I want to emphasize the sentence above that is emboldened and underlined. But it must not be supposed that the ancients were ignorant of that which the modern schools suppose to be their exclusive and special property.” This definitely suggests that the ancients were knowledgeable and skilled in the sciences we have today, and quite likely much more advanced. The bottom line is that This explains why the various paranormal anomalies that are found here on the planet are often accompanied by a variety of phenomena that at first glance do not seem related but actually are because they are all a product of transmutation of a material universe that is mentally generated. Likewise, it accounts for many of the spiritualized myths that form the various religions.

  

God Beyond Religion: The Cognitive Self and the Ethereal Self; the key to mental alchemy

I once thought that we were tripart beings, or in other words, mini trinities, but I am having to relinquish the idea in favor of dualities. We have a higher self, and a lower self. We have a cognitive self and an ethereal self. Even in Christianity, you have Jesus the word incarnate, and the Father. In the Hermetica you have Atum/ALL and the word, Atum’s son. In John’s gospel Jesus says the following:

John 17:20-23  "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,  (21)  that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  (22)  The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,  (23)  I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Ok, for a minute set aside religious connotation and look at what is being said. Ignore the patriarchal idea for a minute and realize that the Father represents one half of the two-part divinity. In this passage, Jesus the son, the incarnate word is the lower self, and the Father is the higher self. The salient idea presented in the passage is the amalgamation or marriage of the two into one. It could best be described as unified duality. By extension, Jesus is also stating that this amalgamation should be the goal of all humanity.

I have stated before that I see Jesus as an ultimate mental alchemist. All of the miracles are an example of mental alchemy. In John’s gospel, the first miracle is changing water into wine. That is not just mental alchemy it is physical alchemy as well. How was he able to accomplish that? He had joined the cognitive self with the ethereal self to create a unified duo. It is the unified duo that finds nothing impossible. He had amalgamated his higher-self with his lower-self. Please understand that you do not have to take all of the things credited to Jesus and accept them as fact to understand what I am proposing here. Set aside if you will, the cultural aspects and the belief system of the people that Jesus came to, and observed the miracles claimed and see that they all fall into the category of mental alchemy. Again, I want to emphasize for clarity that this was possible because of the amalgamation or marriage of the higher self and the lower self.

Now let’s examine what Jesus went on to teach.

John 14:12  “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Believes in what? Believes that he has amalgamated his higher self and his lower self. He is aware that he is the incarnation of the Logos or the word of the Father. He is conscious of his unified duality and has allowed that knowledge to unite the two into one. That is the goal for each of us. He stated that we would do greater works. How would that happen? It would happen when we make the two one by amalgamating the higher-self and the lower self, the cognitive self and the ethereal self. This is indeed the key to mental alchemy.

 

God Beyond Religion: Mystics, Mysticism, and Revelation

One of the ways we know about the creative source of the universe is through mystical revelation. Those who receive mystical revelation are mystics. Let’s look into the world of mystics and mysticism. When I was in evangelical orthodoxy, teaching seminary and preaching, most if not all of my colleagues believed that there was a difference between revelation and illumination. Their point was that only those who wrote the works in the accepted canon of scripture were able to have their writings be classified as revelation. Any insight received by a person after the time of the writing of the canon was simply illumination of the previous revelation. To this I merely call BS! First of all, if one thinks about it for more that a few minutes not guided by dogma that they are afraid to veer off from, it makes no sense that God would give final revelation to men in the Roman Iron Age that would be the final word for the rest of the time the planet exists. That makes a lot of assumptions that are not plausible. It assumes that humanity will not advance, and that spirituality will not evolve. It assumes that a small country with an insignificant population would have an even smaller segment be the arbiter of all truth for all time.

The truth is that mysticism and mystical revelation have been ongoing since the dawn of humanity. Indigenous shamanic tribes of people from all over the globe had very advanced spiritual understanding. Especially in regard to the nature of reality, and the spiritual purpose for existence. So, let’s return to the electromagnetic fields that are at the foundation of our material and corporeal world. Using the example of microwaves, and radio waves we can extrapolate that the brain waves are connected with the waves from the unified field of consciousness; in what Rupert Sheldrake has identified as the fields of morphic resonance and is the plausible source of all mystic revelation. Further, every human is capable of tapping this source of revelation. It is where all intuition comes from. Likewise, it is the source of all of the mystics over the millennia as well as the source of the creativity. In ancient Greece, they called it the muses. It is also the source of all artistic inspiration. Most importantly it is nothing to fear, and it is NOT demonic or evil. It is a natural phenomenon in reality.

It is also the source of spiritual awakening. It appears that there is a rapid growth in spiritual awakening at this time, and it is quite probably linked to our entering the Age of Aquarius. There is a prediction that the planet is transitioning into a new stage of spiritual density. This transition will result in the vibrations of everything on the planet being raised to a higher level on the spiritual plane. The Kybalion mentions three planes of existence. The material plane, the mental plane, and the spiritual plane. The change that is taking place will eventually affect all three planes. It will begin with the spiritual plane and move into the mental plane and will ultimately change the material plane as well. It will end up making mental alchemy easier. This will aid those who are practicing the law of attraction.

One important aspect of this trend is that it will initiate eclectic and syncretistic spirituality. More and more people will be able to discern the mystical revelation found in all of the world religions and religion itself and ritual will diminish. Dogma will give way to open minded acceptance and wider tolerance of individuals that have differing views of spirituality. There is a move toward truly being spiritual and not religious. Dogmatic religions are toxic and abusive, and they will diminish until they completely vanish.

God Beyond Religion: Cell Phones, Radios, and Consciousness

What do cell phones and radios have to do with consciousness? Well perhaps nothing, but I sense that there is a comparison there. Let’s begin with the Hermetic principal as above so below and as below so above. Nikola Tesla was an eccentric genius and among many things, he researched electromagnetic energy. He had predicted that electricity could be transported freely through the air. Of course, Edison won out and created an electric grid of wires that ended up costing humanity money but that is another story and off the point.

While Tesla never achieved the success he desired, his work has continued with others and has ended up producing a plethora of wireless inventions, gadgets, and uses. Another pioneer in wireless technology was Guglielmo Marconi. He is credited with the invention of the radio a similar use for a different type of electromagnetic energy called radio waves. Whether radio waves or microwaves our communications will never be the same.

This brings me to my point about consciousness. Where does human creativity come from? The ancients used to credit the muses as being the sources for creative people such as writers, poets, musicians, and artists. I listened to a YouTube video of Michael Jackson in court when he was sued concerning his song “Dangerous.” I would recommend you listen to it, at least mid-way through where he demonstrates how he wrote songs. He stated that it came into his head, and he would begin with beat-boxing the bass part. Next would come the overall chords of the music with the same method of beatboxing. Next would come the melody and lyrics. He would record each part and then he would go into the studio and show the musicians what each part would sound like.

I myself, though not the genius that many are, have creative and new ideas just pop into my head. Much of my blog writing is inspired by these thoughts that seem to appear out of nowhere. This leads me to believe that our brains are in fact a type of transceiver. We receive and transmit ideas via this sort of electromagnetic waves. The brain and brain activity is the result of oscillating waves of electronic impulses called brain waves. Is that what links us to universal consciousness?

Science now understands that at the basic level of reality are fields of energy. Of course, quantum mechanics suggests that there is a unified field. Rupert Sheldrake has theorized that there are morphic fields of resonance. Several other biologists have done experimental studies with these fields and have found evidence that they exist, and that various species communicate through them. Carl Jung the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst that pioneered psycho analysis theorized that there is a collective unconscious that people communicate with, get ideas from and transmit ideas too. There is also a phenomenon in science called multiples. These are cases where more than one person, not linked by locality or in any other way came up with the same theory or equation at roughly the same time. By the same token, roughly around 500 BCE give or take a hundred years or so, Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, the Greeks were writing about the Logos, and the Buddha was developing his teaching.

As I have studied these fields, I am becoming more and more aware of the reality of them. To me, they seem like an ocean and flowing freely within this ocean of electronic energy are all of these various fields. I suspect that both, the microwave and radio wave energy that is used by the materialistic world is hovering, swimming, floating in this ocean, but also simultaneously are the morphic fields of resonance that include human and animal consciousness, and if I may speculate plant consciousness and that the indigenous description of the great spirit and mother earth, the sky, the rivers, the mountains, the rocks, humanity and all flora and fauna share this same cosmic soup of potentiality. One could apply the prefix morpho to all of them because morpho means taking form. This is the way in which we participate in creating reality.

God Beyond Religion: Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Consider a panpsychism view of reality. That view suggests that at the source of the universe is consciousness. So far as we know consciousness is invisible. Both the Hermetica and the Bible speak about creation coming from darkness. “Darkness was upon the face of the deep,” and “hovering over the dark waters of potentiality.” Panpsychism believes that within consciousness lies all potentiality. Quantum mechanics speaks of potentiality instead of materiality. Lao Tzu said that the ineffable Tao was the mother of all spirit and matter. Again, the spirit is likened to the wind or the breath because it is invisible. Therefore since there is an ubiquitous idea that consciousness or mind is the creative source of the universe in ancient writings and philosophies, I think it is safe to assume that the bible and the hermetica are both referring metaphorically to dark matter and dark energy.

Here is a quote from an article about the effort to find out more about dark matter...

 "One part of the mystery is dark matter, which has by far most of the mass in the cosmos. Astronomers know it's there because when they measure the stars and other regular matter in galaxies, they find that there is not nearly enough gravity to hold these clusters together. If nothing else was out there, galaxies would be “quickly flying apart,” Manalaysay said.

“It is essentially impossible to understand our observation of history, of the evolutionary cosmos without dark matter,” Manalaysay said.

 Lippincott, a University of California, Santa Barbara, physicist, said “we would not be here without dark matter.” ~ Here is a link to the article Huge underground search for mysterious dark matter begins (msn.com)

 Look at this quote from the Hermetica.....

"Bless me with Knowledge of Atum,' I begged. Suddenly everything changed before me. Reality was opened out in a moment. I saw the boundless view. All became dissolved in Light — united within one joyous Love. Yet the Light cast a shadow, grim and terrible, which, passing downwards, became like restless water, chaotically tossing forth spume like smoke. And I heard an unspeakable lament — an inarticulate cry of separation. The Light then uttered a Word, which calmed the chaotic waters. My Guide asked: 'Do you understand the secrets of this vision? I am that Light — the Mind of God, which exists before the chaotic dark waters of potentiality. My calming Word is the Son of God — the idea of beautiful order; the harmony of all things with all things. Primal Mind is parent of the Word, just as, in your own experience, your human mind gives birth to speech.”

Freke, Tim. The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs (pp. 32-33). Tim Freke Publications. Kindle Edition.

Also, look at this quote from the New Testament: Heb 11:3  “ faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”

COULD THE METAPHOR OF HERMES "THE DARK CHAOTIC WATERS OF POTENTIALITY BE "DARK MATTER"?

I personally find that the preponderance of evidence shows that mystical revelation from source has suggested for millennia that consciousness is the creative agent. This would be true of the Greek Logos, and the Chinese Tao as well. The descriptors of dark and invisible fit nicely into this theory.

 

God Beyond Religion: Looking at the Arcane Formulas; Egohood

Egohood

Everywhere you turn these days you can find people who suggest that in solving our most perplexing and disabling problems that the answer is to let go of ego and become one with all. Further that we should deny ourselves and work toward the good of a whole and become one with it. Many spiritual paths suggest that the ego is essentially bad, that is our enemy and needs to be brought under control by denying it.

However, in reading the “Arcane Formulas” by William Walker Atkinson one finds a different view of the ego. The Arcane Formulas is a small written work by Atkinson that gives practical steps and exercises to enable one to do mental alchemy and spiritual feats. First among the steps is the developing of what he calls egohood. For Atkinson, egohood is a goal to be reached and not everyone reaches it. One is not born with egohood. Rather it develops or is developed by awakening. For many esoteric teachings initiates are awakened to an egoless state, but for Atkinson, initiates are awakened to egohood.

With Atkinson, egohood is synonymous with the awareness of the I-AM within the individual. This is differentiated from the me or self. Here is an excerpt from the Arcane Formulas that explains that concept. “Just as one is bound by the illusion of the corporeal nature of the “I,” so is it further bound—and even more closely bound—by the illusion of the personal nature of the Ego. The Ego is not only more, and greater, than the physical body it uses—but it is also more, and greater, than that part of the mind, consisting of a series of inherited or acquired impressions which constitutes the “Me.” There is a great difference between the “Me and the I.” The “Me” is the individual as he thinks he is—a bundle of prejudices, tastes, ties, etc. The “I” is the Individual as he is in reality—free from mental ties of all Lesson IV. Establishing the Ego III. 21 kinds. The “Me” is the character being played by the Ego—the “John Smith” part of him. The “I” is the real player of the part. It is often very difficult for one to disentangle and free himself from the overwhelming force of Personality, so completely is the average person self-hypnotized and race-hypnotized with the “John Smith” idea. The Arcane Teachers have several Formulas for unloosening the bonds of Personality. Let us consider them” ~ The Arcane Formulas, William Walker Atkinson, Timeless Wisdom Collection, 2016, page 14

In this quote, found in the third chapter of this booklet entitled Egohood III, Atkinson points out the difference between the I (I-AM) and the me. He sees the me as a part in a play that the I-AM is acting in. The I-AM or egohood is directly tied to the Will. And as one moves on in the Arcane Formulas it is evident that the Will is the I-AM within the cosmic I-AM, or the cosmic will. This is the source of being able to manipulate and manifest from the infinite potentiality.

Atkinson claims, and I am not certain that I agree or that it resonates with me, but nevertheless, the claim is that no all people have the potential to develop egohood, the I-AM, the will within the cosmic will. That does not resonate with me like the concept of egohood and the I-AM does. I think it is because I see each of us as individual conscious agents on a journey of incarnations that has us at different stages in the growth spiral, and while I have no problem with accepting that some people within a specific incarnation may not be able to achieve egohood, I think that eventually they will. I see our spiritual journey as an upward spiral that may from time to time take downward movement but is ultimately on an upward trajectory. Do not despair about being locked into a cycle of karma. While there is not time to discuss this in this particular article, I believe that we are each in control and there can be rest from the cycle when necessary, and a return when rest has refreshed our spirit.

God Beyond Religion: Panpsychism, Religion and Science

There is a full circle from ancient mystery religions to cognitive and quantum science. The connection is panpsychism. At the basis of Panpsychism is the idea that consciousness is the basic element of the universe. Here is a definition from the Britannica Online Encyclopedia. “panpsychism, (from Greek pan, “all”; psychē, “soul”), a philosophical theory asserting that a plurality of separate and distinct psychic beings or minds constitute reality. Panpsychism is distinguished from hylozoism (all matter is living) and pantheism (everything is God).

For Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the 17th-century German philosopher and a typical panpsychist, the world is composed of atoms of energy that are psychic. These monads have different levels of consciousness: in inorganic reality they are sleeping, in animals they are dreaming, in human beings they are waking; God is the fully conscious monad.

In 19th-century Germany, Arthur Schopenhauer asserted that the inner nature of all things is will—a panpsychistic thesis. And Gustav Theodor Fechner, the founder of experimental psychology and an ardent defender of panpsychism, contended that even trees are sentient and conscious.” In the United States, Josiah Royce, an absolute idealist, not only followed Fechner in affirming that heavenly bodies have souls but also adopted a unique theory that each species of animal is a single conscious individual—incorporating into itself the individual souls of each of its members

While panpsychism is not a religion, it is adopted by various religions including pantheism and panentheism. There is also a close relationship between panpsychism and animism. Animism is a religion that believes that the cosmos is a living entity. It is common among indigenous beliefs such as the Native America shamanic religions. It sees conscious entities beyond human beings and animals. The mountains, the forest, the sun and moon all are conscious entities. The bottom line is that these beliefs hold consciousness as a top down causation rather than as some material panpsychists see the consciousness at the molecular level and believe that it evolves into greater and greater awareness in a bottom up fashion.

Since I was born into western civilization and thereby into western thought that has been my focus in study. I certainly believe in the recycling of souls or conscious agents, and since I believe that each conscious agent is a mini creative conscious in the likeness of the source, then I believe that free will demands that we are instrumental in choosing our life path in incarnations. I realize that this is not popular with those who have experienced a lot of trauma, and I do not want to victim blame, but at the end of the matter, in my view, this is the least undesirable of all the other possibilities. While someone in the midst of a traumatic life path may find little solace in the reality that he or she is eternal, and that nothing lasts forever except our conscious soul, it remains for me the most logical fact.

That aside, in selecting to be born into western culture, western religion, and western philosophy I can best explain what my thinking is in terms of the development of western philosophy. So, I mention panpsychism, religion, and science in the title. I also see what I would call a preponderance of evidence that consciousness is indeed at the basis of the nature of reality. It does begin with Hermes for me. I assume and I think that the evidence points to the fact that it is at least 5,000 years old and began with the mystery religions of Egypt. It was taken to Greece by Pythagoras and adopted into Greek Philosophy and Metaphysics. This was the forerunner of mathematics and modern physics. The ancients adopted the idea of the ether/aether. Looking back it was essentially a field in which all things existed. The catalyst for matter and the material, corporeal world was the Logos, in other words consciousness. Over time, this gave way to a more materialistic view of the nature of reality, however, with recent developments in cognitive science, physics, and biology we have returned back to a field similar in nature to the ether/aether.

Interestingly enough, in the twentieth century we had individuals that were stating that the universe is consciousness. For example, Aldous Huxley doing controlled experiments with hallucinogens, developed the term the mind at large. Carl Jung, a psychiatrist, developed the term collective unconsciousness. Rupert sheldrake developed the theory of fields of morphic resonance. So there is a circular phenomenon at play but it is a spiral. With an increase in technology and scientific method, what the ancients knew intuitively is being substantiated by scientific method.

I am quite sure that all of the various world belief systems have explored and developed this over arching idea. They have just used different language to express it. At this time, I do not have the study and expertise to validate it but it resonates strongly with my sense of understanding. What I am seeing is more along the lines of the nature of reality and not ethical. However, I certainly believe that ethics can fit well into this cycle that appears to be an upward spiral.