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.

The Conscious Cosmos: A look at the Kybalion and why it is the perfect statement of Hermetic Teaching.

I was introduced to the Kybalion about four years ago by my son. Being a theologian, I was somewhat skeptical of it at first glance. It did, however, have a message that resonated with me to a degree. I was likewise skeptical of Hermes Trismegistus. Over the four-year period that has all changed. I now think that the Kybalion is one of the most accurate mystical works in existence. Since that is quite a bold statement, I will share my reasons and the process I went through to arrive at that conclusion.

The Kybalion was published in 1908 and was written most likely by William Walker Atkinson. I say that because he used the Pseudonym “The Three Initiates. This was what gave me pause, but it also started me on the path of exploring Hermetic teaching. In that pursuit, I found that there was a writing called the Corpus Hermeticum and of course I read it several times. I was still at that time skeptical of the Kybalion. I read a book by Tim Freke and Peter Gandy entitled “The Hermetica; The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs” and learned more about Hermes and the Hermetica. I also obtained a copy of The Corpus Hermeticum translated by G.R.S. Mead, and later the translation by Brian Copenhaver.

This study convinced me that The Hermetica was indeed ancient wisdom, and that Greek philosophy was built on it. I still, however, did not give the Kybalion the respect that it deserves. By this time in my journey, I was becoming familiar with Hermetics and the works of William Walker Atkinson. I also read his works entitled the Arcane Teaching and the Arcane Formulas. They are an excellent companion to the Kybalion and are very helpful in understanding and implementing the law of attraction.

Now for my view of the Kybalion; I now see that the Kybalion expresses the nature of consciousness as the creator without religious trappings, and presents an explanation that is compatible with current scientific understandings of quantum physics. It presents ideas that are compatible with panpsychist and idealist philosophy. It states that we are in the All and the All is in us, and while it agrees with various religious doctrines about the nature of reality, it does so without the superstitious and judgmental aspects that accompany religion.

And yet it offers an assurance of the benevolence of the All and how it relates to us and how we can rest in the knowledge. The following quote is more assuring than any of the promises found in the bible. It does so without claiming that any souls will receive punishment from deity. And more than any other thing it does not anthropomorphize the creative source. Here is the quote I find so assuring: “So, do not feel insecure or afraid — we are all HELD FIRMLY IN THE INFINITE MIND OF THE ALL, and there is naught to hurt us or for us to fear. There is no Power outside of THE ALL to affect us. So we may rest calm and secure. There is a world of comfort and security in this realization when once attained. Then "calm and peaceful do we sleep, rocked in the Cradle of the Deep" — resting safely on the bosom of the Ocean of Infinite Mind, which is THE ALL. In THE ALL, indeed, do "we live and move and have our being." ~The Three Initiates. The Kybalion: A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece (Illustrated) (p. 31). The Kybalion Resource Page. Kindle Edition.

It also gives a better definition of what we have called demons in the past. It is an encouraging message as even those that may be considered demons will not always have to remain in that state. Here again is the quote: The legends of the Fallen Angels have a basis in actual facts, as all advanced occultists know. The striving for selfish power on the Spiritual Planes inevitably results in the selfish soul losing its spiritual balance and falling back as far as it had previously risen. But to even such a soul, the opportunity of a return is given — and such souls make the return journey, paying the terrible penalty according to the invariable Law. ~The Three Initiates. The Kybalion: A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece (Illustrated) (p. 52). The Kybalion Resource Page. Kindle Edition.

You see in the above quote that even the demons have a chance to rehabilitate.

The seven principles of the Kybalion explain all of the aspects of material and spiritual reality and Atkinson gives important insight into how to use the law within the ALL to transmute circumstances by using law against law. Using the higher law against the lower law.

While it explains and elucidates the divine, it does so without moral judgment. That is not to say that it ignores morality but that it provides the understanding to motivate moral behavior in a non-religious way. It presents these ideals in a spiritual way. The one who reads the Kybalion and begins to understand its teachings will move higher on the plane of vibration toward unification with the ALL. It shows that it is a process that happens over various incarnations into a variety of planes and dimensions of existence. In fact, it teaches that the planes of existence are infinite, existing within the ineffable ALL.

The quote, “When the student is ready the teacher will appear” is a reality for me. When I was ready for understanding, I was introduced to the Kybalion. To anyone who is a panpsychist or a philosophical idealist, one who believes that consciousness is foundational to reality, I cannot recommend more highly any work than the Kybalion.

 

God Beyond Religion: The Importance of Myths, Allegories, and Narratives

From the “age of reason” or the “enlightenment” forward, myths especially, but allegories and narratives as well, took a hit in respectability. As the scientific revolution came into being and physics developed a materialist, physicalist paradigm, they became even less important. It is my belief that myths, allegories, and narratives in general are very important in understanding humanities place in the cosmos, and the material, corporeal world. This is especially true if indeed consciousness is foundational, because then, there is really no difference between consciousness and spirituality and it would be just as correct to say the spirituality is foundational to reality.

It is also true that the last 250 years have emboldened historians to claim that ancient characters such as Pythagoras, Buddha, Hermes, and Jesus did not really exist. First, that is unimportant, and second where there is a plethora of sources claiming something or someone to be true or real, there is generally a reason behind it. Could the role of such individuals be to help us understand this basically spiritual world?

My purpose in addressing this is the Thoth/Hermes narrative. Was Thoth and Hermes a god in the sense that we currently view the term god? Very likely not. But it seems clear that they were also more than a myth. Is Hermetics ancient wisdom? I believe beyond doubt that it is. It resonates with me more than any other spiritual tradition. Even if it cannot be conclusive proven that it precedes Neoplatonism in the middle third to seventh centuries, it is likely foundational to Greek philosophy in general and definitely to the idealism of Plato. Here is an article from the Stanford Encyclopedia that substantiates the fact in my view. “The second assumption, which the Neoplatonists shared with the Stoics and the Hermetists (an influential group of Egyptian religious thinkers that predate the rise of Neoplatonism), was that reality, in all its cognitive and physical manifestations, depended on a highest principle which is unitary and singular.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Online. Neoplatonism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Notice it mentions the Hemetists along with the Stoics and states that they were an influential group of Egyptian religious thinkers that predate Neoplatonism.

I am sympathetic with the idea that Pythagoras went to Egypt and studied their esoteric, metaphysical teachings and brought them back to Greece. While it cannot be proven that Pythagoras was the mathematician he is credited with being, it is much more certain that he was a proponent of mental alchemy, the occult, and the metaphysical. Pythagoras was claimed to have gone to Egypt to study by Plato, and was credited with inspiring Platonic thought. This again resonates deeply with me. This, I think, makes the idea that consciousness, the Logos, was ontologically the first principle in the cosmos an original idea with the Egyptians, and was likely given to them by advanced civilizations that preceded them.

None of these understandings would be possible without myths, allegories, and narratives. They are what has preserved and handed down so rich a story that is now being given new credence by cognitive scientists, physicists, and philosophers. I refer to these well know academics often. Donald Hoffman cognitive scientist, Rupert Sheldrake biologist, Bernard Kastrup philosopher, Max Tegmark, physicist. They all claim in one way or another that consciousness is foundational to physical reality.

While all religious philosophies have superstitions and aspects that are likely the ideas of humans, they all contain fundamental existential truths. For me, the one that resonates best is Hermetics. This is especially true with the addition of the Kybalion, the Arcane Teachings and Formulas which all point toward mentalism or as some call it mentation.

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.

 

 

God Beyond Religion: Musings of a conscious universe, “it’s all one thing Part 2”

Panpsychism makes it all one thing:

If the universe is a creation of consciousness. If the main energy source of the world around us is consciousness. If indeed consciousness creates reality, then all phenomena stem from one thing. And to state the obvious, that one thing is consciousness. This would include normal phenomena, and also paranormal phenomena, or anomalous phenomena. Over the centuries, there have been a multitude of stories about anomalous phenomena. So, what are the various forms of these anomalies? Well, there is the UFO/UAP phenomenon. There is the spirit/ghost/poltergeist phenomenon. There is the cryptid phenomenon. There is the power spot or power vortex phenomenon. There is the interdimensional portal phenomenon. There is the psychic, clairvoyant, medium, telepathic phenomenon. I do not claim this list is exhaustive as I have probably missed many paranormal phenomena, but I simply want to point out that it is widespread. It is widespread over the planet, and from stories of the past it is widespread over time. In fact, from petroglyphs and hieroglyphs it goes back thousands of years, and conservatively, fifty centuries, and quite likely one hundred centuries. What is the old adage? Where there is smoke there is fire, and the smoke of these ubiquitous stories, point to a fire of plausibility. I like the term, preponderance of evidence. In this regard, the preponderance is overwhelmingly evident.

All of these anomalous phenomena have been met with skepticism over the ages, and I would say that over the last one hundred plus years, they have been ridiculed. And yet, over this same time frame, religions with likewise wild claims, have been accepted without question.  Who are the main ridiculers? Dogmatic Christian groups and dogmatic materialist, physicalist scientist. The obvious reason is that they interfere with the dogma and bring it into question. Yes indeed, I am linking materialist, physicalist scientists with dogmatic religion. There is a level of hubris in both groups that is unmatched. Likewise, they both have a vested interest in downplaying and debunking these phenomena.

On the other hand, the mental universe has been a continuous story across cultures for millennia. While I mostly understand it from the perspective of hermeticism and Taoism it is prevalent in other spiritual traditions including animism. So back to the concept of preponderance of the evidence. There is a preponderance of views about mental alchemy. The Logos, which is the conscious word of the creator has been widely reported for thousands of years beginning with Pythagoras and the Greeks who claimed that it originated in ancient Egypt. Circle all the way to 2022 and you have many scientists that hold a view called panpsychism. Of course, I have often mentioned Dr. Donald Hoffman and Dr. Rupert Sheldrake as two scientists that believe that reality is first and foremost mentation. Hoffman is a cognitive scientist and Sheldrake is a biologist that has developed a theory describing morphic fields of resonance in animals and humans.

But now breaking it down into the categories. There are Multiple reports annually about flying saucers. There are thousands per year in the USA. In fact, in 2020 there were 7200 reports in the USA alone. Many of these reports are from the military and military pilots who have seen and captured them on cameral. Added to this, there is radar evidence to back them up. Not only do they fly at unheard of speeds and maneuver in ways that impossible to our current technology, but they can zip into the water and emerge. In fact, the evidence is beginning to show that some of them at least may have a base of operations in the oceans. It is a phenomenon that affects the navy more than the air force.

So, what is the implication of these craft? What is the implication of the presence of other worldly or extraterrestrial beings observing us? I say other worldly because they may be extra-dimensional or they could be from another planet, star system within the galaxy. The fact remains that if the universe is mentation, then it is possible for worm holes and portals to be accomplished by mental manipulation, a skill that we have not yet understood or developed. If from another dimension it could be that they have constructed UFO’s, UAP’s, and USO’s that help maneuver in this three-dimensional world. One thing for sure is that it expands greatly the concept of the creative source of the universe and eliminates a god in the box that religion has created. It also establishes the fact that what was once ridiculed and considered mass hysteria is now admitted existing by governments around the world. It is not a quantum leap to believe that all paranormal activity that is widely reported across cultures and time has validity as well.

But what about spiritual dimensions? Could they simply be dimensions within the universe that we as yet do not understand? That is more than likely the case. However, if the universe is an organic and atomic computer creation, and if it is sentient then it is possible that what we have come to call the spiritual world or spiritual dimension is all there is. At this time, I lean in that direction. There is one thing that is undeniable. What we call paranormal activity is reported extensively over all locations and time eras. It crosses cultures and centuries and by the sheer preponderance of the reporting it should be taken seriously. Especially when the reports are so similar.

There is a growing number of panpsychists that offer the possibility that it is all one thing. Many of them are well respected and published scientists and philosophers. While not all of them are comfortable calling consciousness spiritual, the fact is that it operates as essentially the same thing. Most metaphysicians look at spirituality being another name for panpsychism. It is definitely in this realm that all of the above-mentioned paranormal phenomena can fit nicely together as one thing, and that is likely why you have such wide reporting of a variety of phenomena at places like Skinwalker Ranch in the Uintah Basin, and Mount Shasta in Northern California. Up until the time that I began to understand panpsychism I had a hard time accepting that cryptids, and portals and other spiritual anomalies accompanied UFO/UAP activity. Panpsychism offers a unifying medium for all of them. Certainly, panpsychism offers a plausible answer to the problem of inter-stellar distances, explains how it is possible for extraterrestrials to hide in plain sight. It also explains portals in the sky and on the earth.

 

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: Reverse Engineering Spirituality “The Kybalion”

“ II THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE: This Principle embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: “As above, so below; as below, so above.” And the grasping of this Principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox, and hidden secrets of Nature” The Kybalion, by Three Initiates page 17 Yogi Publication Society, 1908

The only thing one can really know is what one experiences. And now, in several scientific disciplines it is being discovered and understood that what we experience is really not reality. At least not in its fullness and underlying foundations. However, there is a way of knowing, that is in my view really reliable, and it is intuition. A common phrase would be “trust your gut!” Here is an exercise that one can do. Sit down, quiet your mind and ask yourself this question. What am I 98% sure of if anything? I am assuming that no one is actually 100% sure of anything. Then, take a piece of paper and make a list of the things that you are 98% certain of. Continue on by asking what you are 90% sure of, then 80%, and 70% on down. The test again should be, how does it resonate with my intuition?

I mention the above because, in full transparency, even when I was a pastor and preaching the evangelical gospel there were many things that did not resonate with my intuition. For example, the concept of hell and eternal torture got no more than 10% certainty ever. I actually believe that one has to be somewhat intellectually dishonest to embrace evangelical doctrine at all. The test is for the individual in the privacy of their bathroom, bedroom, or closet mirror.

On the other hand, the principles in the Kybalion have a very high resonance, and I have a certainty of 90% that they are correct. Yes, I can say this while all alone looking at my countenance in the mirror. I think that principle 2, the principle of correspondence is a very important axiom and that it alone can go a long way toward helping us reverse engineer the creative spiritual source. This is especially true of the second clause. It reads as below so above. The statement is that as above so below, meaning that the creative source created the material, corporeal world to match the source world. It does not mean that above is corporeal and material as well. Science sees it as a field of potentiality at the behest of conscious agents. That also resonates with me, but the second part of the principle, as below so above gives us a great place to begin our reverse engineering of the spiritual world. Since I do not believe that it is corporeal or material, then it follows that it is spiritual. This lines up nicely with the many sources over millennia that have suggested that the creative source is the Logos or Logoi. The concept goes back over 5,000 years to Egypt and Thoht. The Greeks called him Hermes. It was brought to Greece by Pythagoras and many different Greek Philosophers wrote about the Logos.

Back to the Kybalion and as below so above. By means of extrapolation one can begin to understand the spiritual world, the world of creative consciousness. This extrapolation enlists the principle as below so above. Everywhere we look there are cycles. There is the water cycle, the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of the rotation of the planets and so on. It is therefore reasonable to assume that there are cycles in the spiritual realm as well. One such cycle would be conscious agents reincarnating into corporeal material reality. However, there are many things in material reality, in the human condition that can be used to reverse engineer the spiritual world of creative consciousness. I will explore many over time, but beyond cycles in this one, I want to imagine what might be the purpose of existence based on this principle.

Imagine that at the creative conscious level there is complete knowledge. Further, there is eternal existence without beginning nor end. Imagine if you will what would be the result of not having challenges on earth. It would be boredom. This is why it is important for a person who retires to have something meaningful to occupy their time. Those who don’t go stir crazy or end up going back to work just to keep busy. So, I think it is safe to extrapolate that one of the reasons for corporeal and material existence is to alleviate boredom. I am not suggesting that it is the only reason but definitely makes sense that it is one very good reason. Keep in mind that we want to have rest and vacations as well. Perhaps we reincarnate until we are exhausted, and then take a rest break, a sabbatical until boredom once again settles in and we then look for a fresh challenge.

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.