God Beyond Religion: Reimagining the Cross and the Resurrection with Eclectic Spirituality, Part 2

(Eph 2:15)  He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,

Paul received mystical revelation about the meaning of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Here are some questions to ponder. What if the message of Jesus is important for two reasons and orthodoxy got it so twisted that it was presented as a toxic mess? What if the cross was not about sin? What if Jesus was really the first born of a "New Humanity?" What if his way of forgiveness and love is a pattern for a "New Humanity" for a new age? What if the cross event was a symbol of the death of the "Old Humanity" and the resurrection was a symbol of the rise of the "New Humanity?" What if that understanding causes a dramatic shift in how we read the mystical revelation of Paul, and the way we see the acts and teaching of Jesus? What if the story was never meant for the age of Pisces, and always was meant for the age of Aquarius? What if it was simply made to be an integral part of an eclectic spirituality that included Taoism, Buddhism, Greek Philosophy, Hermetic Teaching, and New Age Metaphysics?

Above are some important questions to ask oneself when thinking about the message and teaching of Jesus and the cross event. It was the first century Jewish community that was obsessed with sin, obedience, punishment, blessing and cursing. Paul explained it this way. Jesus was born of a woman (humanity) born under the law, to redeem those under the law? Could it be that there is a better way to understand what Paul wrote? 

Galatians 4:4-7  "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,  (5)  to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  (6)  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"  (7)  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

First, what was the fullness of time? It was the completion of the time. Paul wrote that Jesus was born under the law, meaning that he was born into a Jewish family that faithfully observed the Jewish law. Where in the world does it say that the Gentile world and most of humanity was under the law? The answer is simple, NOWHERE!!! Jesus mission, as it related to the law and sin was vary narrow in scope. It was strictly to the first century Jews and their idea of God. What was the sin he came to redeem them from? It was the sin of not believing what had been written about humanity in their Torah. It was not believing that God had declared that humanity was very good. It was not recognizing that the messiah was on a mission for all of humanity, and not to restore a material kingdom to the first century Jews that would ultimately cause the Romans to destroy their city and temple. It most certainly was not to redeem humanity of sins, the result of a law they were never under. 

Added to this is that when John in his gospel refers to the world, that is the sins of the world or the love of the world, with careful reading, he is really talking about the Jewish world and the Jewish religious system which he calls the world. One of the meanings of the Greek word kosmos, is orderly arrangement. This leads one to see the world as the orderly arrangement of his world which was the Jewish world of the first century. To add to this problem, the King James Version of the bible calls aion world, which is really "an age," again, meaning the Jewish age known as the present age, in contrast to Olam Ha Bah, the Jewish age to come, or new age.

It is after the resurrection that Paul begins his mystical journey with the risen Christ. He receives revelation aimed at what he called "kainos anthropos," in other words a "new humanity." Paul's mystical revelation was aimed at the new humanity and what he also called the new creation. It is safe to assume that Paul used new humanity and new creation interchangeably. Paul realized that he had not completely experienced this new creation, new humanity for himself. He was just getting an introductory taste, or to use another sense, a brief whiff of what the new humanity, new creation would be. He said that he was not saying he had attained it. He simply was set on a path that was an upward spiral toward it. I shudder when I think about the interpretation that orthodoxy and evangelical orthodoxy placed on these words of Paul. 

I am trying to establish that for the wider world, the cosmos in general, Jesus did not come to take care of a sin problem. It was for the Jews that sin was a problem. Don't misunderstand me, I am not trying to suggest that humanity does not have the capability of evil actions and motives, but what I am saying is the sin is not the major problem of the world. And much further on the point, Christianity has not been that successful in eliminating the evil inclinations. In fact, some of the real evil of the world has been perpetrated  by Christians. One need not look farther than slavery in the U.S., or Nazi Germany to see a glaring example of this fact. Jesus did not die on the cross to take the punishment for the Nazi's or the Southern Baptists. I use these examples because the evil perpetrated both in Germany and the Southern United States was by believing Christians that actually used the scripture to justify their evil.

According to the mystical revelation received by Paul, the cross was the symbol of the death of the old humanity, and the resurrection was the symbol of the birth of the new humanity. Galatians 6:14-15  "May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  (15)  For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!" As you look at the above passage in Galatians in its context it is obvious that Paul sees the world similar to John as the Jewish religious order. For Paul, that represents the old humanity. Likewise for Paul, the cross through the resurrection made possible the "new creation."

The cross was not a punishment that Jesus vicariously did for us. The cross was a action that Jesus took upon himself willingly. It was for two reasons. First and foremost it was to provide a way of overcoming the fear of death by his resurrection from the dead, but also, it was the symbol of end of the old age, the old humanity, and the birth of the new age and the new humanity. It is in the birth of the new age and the new humanity that the situation becomes interesting. He arrived at the dawning of the age of Pisces. However, if one researches the age of Pisces, it is obvious that the age of Pisces was an age of deception and illusion. It went on for 2000 years. Paul caught a whiff of this, or if not Paul, a disciple of Paul's, but in any case, the revelation was likely from Paul, and if written by a pseudo Paul, that individual heard this from the real Paul. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul says that Christianity would be turned over to a strong delusion, that they would believe a lie, and this tracks perfectly with the Pisces age.

Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that the penal substitutional theory of atonement was part of the deception and illusion of the age of Pisces. That makes Paul's explanation in Galatians six all the more important as it explains that the cross was indeed symbolic of the end of one humanity and one age, and the beginning of another humanity and another age. Yet, the deception continued throughout the age of Pisces and will now come to full fruition in the age of Aquarius.

God Beyond Religion: Eclectic Spirituality Part 1

The focus that I will be centered on going forward in this blog is "Eclectic Spirituality." While each and every post may not be entitled that, the fact is that, in the upward spiral of humanity as laid out by spiral dynamics, and integral theory, eclectic spirituality is key in the upward movement. When one thinks about reincarnation, they usually think about cyclical or circular movement of the soul. In reality, the goal and actual process is that it is in reality a spiral. A spiral can either move upward or downward depending on the direction taken along the circular line. The goal for humanity should be an upward spiral. An upward spiral depends on taking what is beneficial from the past, and discarding what is not beneficial, on an ever moving course upward. 

Thus far, in my spiritual journey, I have had a pendulum experience between evangelical Christianity and metaphysical, esoteric, and new age thinking. As I look back in retrospect, I see the hermetic principle of rhythm manifesting over and over in my life. It is interesting to view what was written in the Kybalion.

“Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum‑swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.”—The Kybalion

I believe that eclectic spirituality will help bring the pendulum to the center with a less drastic swing to the right and left. The reason is that there is ample room for both in my spirituality. There is room for Christ and there is room for the metaphysical aspect. In synthesizing the two, it will help me to find myself closer to the middle and moving away from polar swings. I maintain an emphasis on Christianity because I chose to be born into Christianity and I chose a life path that put me smack dab in the middle of western thought and culture. 

From what do I draw my spirituality? The answer is from eclectic sources. I focus on what is the discernable truth in many spiritual paths. I refer to these sources as spiritual paths rather than religions because religion has a rather toxic connotation. It is religious dogma that is responsible for much of the pain and suffering that we experience here in the material world on planet earth. Dogma necessitates being dogmatic, and dogmatic does not lend itself to inclusion. Whereas, eclectic spirituality is very inclusive. While I realize that this view is highly unpopular with evangelical Christianity, it is indeed finding inroads there and will even more in the denominations of main stream Christianity, especially as we move farther into the age of spiritual awakening.

For me and my chosen life path, I will rely heavily on mystical revelation that came through Christianity. However, it is important to realize that there is some great revelation that came through other traditions. The following, though not exhaustive, is a list of other sources that offer great insight into the spiritual world.

• Hermetic Teaching: My favorite source is the Kybalion and the writings of William Walker Atkinson, such as The Arcane Teachings, and The Arcane Formulas. It is my believe that Atkinson wrote the Kybalion as well. The source of this material is from the Egyptian Thoth and was transported to Greece and read by Plato and all the Greek philosophers. In the Greek, Thoth became Hermes Trismegistus. While the Greek word Logos was not used this Egyptian teaching taught that God's word was the son of God. It was written on hieroglyphs.
• The Stoics of Greece and specifically Heraclitus. They are the first to introduce teaching about the Logos being the creative source of the material world. They no doubt got the concept from hermetic teaching.
• The Tao Te Ching from Lao Tzu. It describes the Logos in the femine.
• Metaphysical teaching of the current new age movement, including Reiki, Tarot, Numerology, Astrology, and Transcendental Meditation..
• The writings of Aldous Huxley and Frijof Capra, the work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Jung.
• The scientific studies and theories of Dr. Donald Hoffman, a cognitive scientist, and quantum theory.

This is the beginning of understanding the New Humanity that Paul introduced. As we leave the age of Pisces and enter the age of Aquarius there is still a lot to be gained by the revelation found in the New Testament, but it must be read with a different lens. A lens that acknowledges that the real revelation of Jesus was not for the age of Pisces but the age of Aquarius.

Eclectic Spirituality is inclusive not exclusive. It is revelatory and not dogmatic and is the beginning of an exciting journey. 

  

The Arcane Formulas, Practical Steps for the Law of Attraction Part 3

While I may revisit this idea later, this will be the final post in this series for a while. Hopefully, I have provided enough information to pique your interest in the writings of William Walker Atkinson, especially the Kybalion, The Arcane Teachings, and The Arcane Formulas. As always, I will provide links to part 1 and part 2 at the end of this blog as well as a link to a free PDF of the Arcane Formulas. I strongly suggest that you read the blog posts as a series if you only have seen this post.

In Lesson 10 of the Arcane Formulas Atkinson presents what he entitles "Mentalism in a Nutshell." It is designed to lay out all of the formulas that a person needs to perform mental alchemy. It is longer than all of the other lessons as it summarizes what is necessary to manifest. I would be naïve to suggest that one can successfully manifest all that they want as the result of reading the Arcane Formulas. It is an involved process that requires practice, focus, and self work. However, it is the most detailed set of instructions I have seen to date that explains the process for working the Law of Attraction.

The first of the formulas for successfully doing mental alchemy is the realization that the will of the individual is actually the degree of the cosmic will each point of individual will has within the cosmic will.

Here is a quote from the Arcane Formulas:

"The Arcane Formula for the manifestation of Will Power consists simply in the development of the realization of Egohood—of the fact that the individual is a focalized centre of force and Will in the great Cosmic Will. The higher the degree of this realization the higher degree of positivity will the individual possess. Fasten this truth in your minds: The Will Power of the individual is not something created by him, but is, in reality, the power of the Cosmic Will in which he lives and moves and has his being. The individual has no Will Power in himself, but all the will he manifests must flow through his organism from the Cosmic Will. The individual is merely the focal point of Will—a channel through which the Cosmic Will may act. Ponder well these words, O Neophyte, for in them is contained the whole Secret of Mentalism." Lesson 10, Mentalism in a Nutshell, William Walker Atkinson.

Here is the idea that one finds in almost everyone speaking of cosmic consciousness, the mind at large, or the one universal mind. Atkinson, like so many others states that it is necessary to establish what he calls "egohood." That simply means that one recognizes that they are an I-AM and not a me that is simply associated with material body or the material self. Others call it spiritual awakening. It is becoming aware of what is behind the material us. It is that which can observe our thoughts and realize that there is a part of us that is separate from the thinker. This is our eternal nature. Some may choose to call it the higher self.

Here is an explanation of what one should do to begin to see him or herself as egohood. I apologize for Atkinson using only the male pronoun, but the fact is that he wrote this in the early 1900's.

"It will aid him to think of himself as surrounded for a distance of about three feet with an egg-shaped aura or atmosphere of highly charged Will, radiating from him and vibrating with an intense energy. As a matter of occult truth, this phenomena is really existent, although the ordinary senses cannot perceive the vibrations or aura. Treat yourself every day, or oftener, with the intent to increase the degree of your Positive Atmosphere. The more clearly you can visualize, or imagine, the existence of this aura or atmosphere, the greater will be your degree of positive personal atmosphere." Lesson 10, Mentalism in a Nutshell, William Walker Atkinson.

I find this particular description interesting because in the shamanism of the Yaqui Sorcerers it is believe that the real form of the human is a luminous egg.  The bottom line is that it is very important to develop this sense of will connected as a point in the cosmic will. The greater degree of will possessed, the greater the ability to perform mental alchemy. Likewise, it is directly related to the degree to which a person is awakened to their true spirituality. The more one accepts the fact that they are more than their material self, the thoughts of their brain, and all the trappings that fit into the material me, the more they can realize that they are an integral part of the larger cosmic consciousness. To use a Christian description, they become aware of their divine nature and their participation in the universal Christ.

Mental Imaging:

Atkinson points out in the Arcane Formulas that one of the most important aspects of mental alchemy is mental imaging. The better one becomes at this, the better able they are to manifest change in the material world.

"The Secret of Mental Alchemy may be stated as consisting first, last and always, of the Art of Mental Imaging, reinforced by the Will. Take up your lead-pencil and mark the above statement, so that you will see it easily when turning over these pages. While to the beginner the subject of Mentalism may seem a very complicated one, the advanced occultist knows it to be the extreme of simplicity. Mental Alchemy, under whatever same it may masquerade, may be found to consist, at the last, of simply the power to create strong, clear Mental Images, and to project them into the outer world by means of the concentrated Will." Lesson 10, Mentalism in a Nutshell, William Walker Atkinson.

Atkinson suggests in the Arcane Formulas that one can visualize by imagining that they have a projector similar to a lighthouse projecting light all around. In meditation one can visualize a mental image of what they want to manifest. They can imagine that their focused will is projecting it all around them in the material world. The more specific the visual image, the more concentrated will is exerted toward it, the greater the chance for manifesting the change desired. Whether it be wealth, health, a change in environment, or whatever the case it is through the art of mental imaging that successful mental alchemy is realized.

As I stated at the beginning here are the links to the other two posts on this subject. Post One Post Two

Also, here is a link to the free PDF of the "Arcane Formulas" and I strongly suggest that you get a copy if you do not already have one and study it for yourself. Arcane Formulas

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God Beyond Religion: The Arcane Formulas, Practical Steps for the Law of Attraction Part 2

This is a continuation of the previous blog post, Arcane Formulas, Practical Steps for the Law of attraction Part 1. I will provide a link at the end of this blog so that you can look at it as well and gain the foundational information for this series. It will be best to read as a series, but perhaps this post will pique an interest in following the Arcane Formulas by William Walker Atkinson. 

While many esoteric teachings and masters suggest that one must eliminate the ego, Atkinson insists that one must develop egohood or in other words, develop the ego more fully.  Not the ego of the material self, but rather, the ego of the higher self that is a point of consciousness in the unified field of consciousness. These are my terms and not the terms of Atkinson, but with our basic familiarity with quantum mechanics and the recent developments in cognitive science, I think it is safe to say that the unified field is in reality a energetic field of consciousness made up of an infinite amount of individual conscious agents.

The image to the left shows metaphorically that each conscious agent is an egg shape of energetic light. In a way, each egg is the center of the universe and this will be an important understanding as we move along in Atkinson's thought. These eggs represent the higher self, the self that the apostle Paul explained is seated in heavenly places in "the Christ." They also represent the higher self from every metaphysical and esoteric understanding, any belief system that explains that we are indeed something far more than our material selves. 

Atkinson goes on to provide meditation exercises that are intended to help one develop egohood. The first of these suggests that the person meditates in a comfortable position; that the person becomes relaxed. I personally recommend binaural beats as they are the best way for me to enter a meditative state of consciousness. However, whatever method of meditation suits you best, it is important in the exercise.

During the meditation, one must begin at the feet and become aware of the body and its function. This is done one area and organ at a time. While becoming aware of each body part, it is suggested that one realize the function of each part and that while it is a part of our material selves is it merely a tool for the higher self that exists outside of the material body. This awareness is developed until one comfortably realizes that the real self, what Atkinson calls egohood is much more than the material self, the ego of the material human being. You can find the complete exercise in the Arcane Formulas. I will provide a link at the end of this post for the free PDF of the Arcane Formulas. 

Atkinson goes on with another exercise that a person can do in meditation. It is to realize that the material self can be injured by the elements of fire, water, earth, air, or ether. It can be burned by fire, drowned by water, crushed by the earth, swept away by the air, and electrocuted by the vibrations of the ether, such as electricity. However, in this meditative exercise, it is important to realize that one also has an astral body that cannot be affected by these elements. Meditating one can visualize ones astral self as being completely unaffected by any of the dangers of the elements of the material world.  This goes a long way toward bringing about the awareness of the higher self, the real ego, the one that is spiritual and eternal. The I AM.

Finally, Atkinson suggests that one must be able to distinguish between what he calls the I and the me. For him, the me is the material ego that accompanies our corporeal body. It is the ego that has fears and prejudices. This is the me. It is a particular character that the we play in the material world. He explains that an actor can adapt other characters and if they are able to focus on their likes and dislikes, their loves and hates, they can easily become that person that they are trying to portray. All of these characteristics are what form the me. To fully embrace egohood one must be able to see that the me is not really who we are. Our true self, our true ego is the I AM that is eternal and exists whether or not the corporeal body survives. It is the eternal I that is in reality our will. 

This I sees the material body for the tool that it is. It sees the material body as a vehicle to house the higher self, again as the apostle Paul states, we have a treasure in earthen vessels. The treasure is our egohood. It is the I am that we really are. It is this entity, the real us, that is the one that can manifest our reality, that can change circumstances through mental alchemy.

Link to part one. Link to the Arcane Formulas.

God Beyond Religion: "The Arcane Formulas" Practical Steps for the Law of Attraction Part 1

The law of attraction was made widely popular by the book and video "The Secret." However, the video and book was really quite secretive when it came to practical application. In fact, many people were disappointed when they tried manifestation and it did not work like advertised. I must confess, I was one of those people. There is a reason of course, and it is that there is more to it than just declaring, believing, and affirming. William Walker Atkinson is a prolific writer, that more than anyone in modernity, has written about the spiritual nature of the material world. In fact, he wrote in depth about all that was covered in "The Secret" and added practical exercises that are found in his work called the Arcane Formulas.

William Walker Atkinson lived during both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was born in 1862 and died in 1932. In the last thirty years of his life, he wrote over 100 books on the ancient hermetic principles, mentalism, and the law of attraction. He studied the ancient writings from both the Hindu and Greek and Egyptian traditions. He wrote several of these books under pseudonyms, such as Theron Q. Dumont, Swami Bhakta Vishita, and it is widely believed that he was the Three Initiates of the Kybalion. In his early years he was a successful merchant and lawyer. His successful legal career ended when he had a physical and mental breakdown and he ended up recovering as a result of his venturing into the spiritual realms. 

While it would be helpful to read the Kybalion and another of his works, The Arcane Teaching, the practical application for working the law of attraction is the "Arcane Formulas." In this article I want to focus on one of the seven principles taught in the Kybalion and how they are addressed in the Arcane Formulas. For anyone who doesn't know, arcane means secret or mysterious. The first one of the seven principles in the Kybalion is as follows. The ALL is mind, the universe is MENTAL. According to Atkinson, it is mentalism or mental alchemy that is responsible for the ability to manifest things in the material world and change circumstances. Atkinson is not alone in proclaiming this truth. The theory that the universe is mental and that thought energy is the creative source of the material world is shared by many, including most of the world religions. The Christian Logos, Hindu Brahman, Taoist Tao, Buddhist Samsara, Jewish Elohim, are all essentially conscious agents, that create the material world through conscious effort, whether thought or speaking.

Donald Hoffman, a cognitive scientist has written a book entitled "The Case Against Reality" based on the research that he and his team has done in cognitive science examining consciousness, its origin and its connection with the material world. The conclusions that the mathematics shows thus far is that the material world is an interface for conscious agents that has a reality similar to a computer program, a video game, or a holographic projection. This research leads toward the direction that the universe is, as Atkinson wrote about, mental.   

When you add to this the teachings across the centuries that the mental universe is a reality the case becomes quite compelling indeed. In the late 1950's Aldous Huxley experimented with hallucinogens' that showed that there was a deeper reality behind the world we experience. In his little book, "The Door's of Perception" he posited that the human mind acts as a reducing valve to cut out unnecessary stimuli that would actually impede our ability to function day to day. It is interesting because in his research Donald Hoffman suggests a similar concept.

Now that the stage has been set for the probable fact of mentalism and a mental universe, We can move on to the "Arcane Formulas." The first and most important principle according to Atkinson is the establishment of "egohood." According to him, egohood is the ability to understand that one is a unique conscious agent in the field of consciousness or in other words, the mind of the all. His premise is that each of us are points of egoic consciousness within the large ego of the All or the mind at large. As a distinct point of consciousness in a field of consciousness we become creators. Egohood accepts the reality of the individual, I AM, for each of us. He presents a series of exercises that meant to develop this sense of egohood. It is from the sure knowledge of our egohood that we can begin to manifest our world and manifest changes within it for the positive. According to the "Arcane Formulas," without this first initial step of developing egohood, all the other steps such as concentration, visualization, and affirmation are futile at worst, and extremely limiting at best. In his view, the key to mental alchemy is a sense of egohood, grounded in the assurance that we are not corporeal first and foremost, but rather mental and spiritual.

Click this link for a free PDF copy of the Arcane Formulas

God Beyond Religion: An Audible Blog: Introduction

While I have been blogging for ten years with two different blogs, I am going to change the format a little going forward. I will continue to write blog posts as I believe that writing is my most effective means of communication. Some people speak better than they write, but others write better than they speak, and I certainly fall into the latter. I also realize that people enjoy the ability to get their information audibly these days so I am going to produce audio files of all the blog posts going forward, and I will also make previous posts audible going back to the posts on this blog that I began in 2020. Since there is a ten year hiatus from blogging on this blog I will not include the posts from 2009 backward. The reason is that I have grown spiritually since then, and the posts 2020 forward, more closely reflect what I am seeing these days.

The title, God Beyond Religion is self explanatory. I no longer consider myself religious but have an insatiable drive for the spiritual, metaphysical, and esoteric world. I am convinced beyond doubt that the material world we occupy is at its base a construction of consciousness. As the old hermetic principle is stated, "the All is mind; the universe is mental" so I believe at my core. Recent scientific beliefs back this up. Most notably, Dr. Donald Hoffman and his book "A Case Against Reality comes to the forefront of my mind. I was actually sold on the idea long before that with the investigations of Aldous Huxley and others. One other influence was Frijof Capra and his book "The Tao of Physics" which was popular in the 1970's.

At this point in my life I have settled on the idea of eclectic spirituality. I believe that over the centuries, The Source has given revelation to many different mystics from many different civilizations. I have grown to reject the idea that any one religion has the exclusive truth, and have adopted the idea that all of them have some spiritual truth. I am convinced that inclusive acceptance of people's spiritual journeys is the key to developing a society that is spiritually evolved, loving, accepting, and will be helpful in propelling humanity to a new rung on the spiral of social, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual advancement. 

While I am not certain that there will be a universally utopian society any time soon, or whether there ever will be, I am confident that humanity is on an upward spiral. While it is obvious that we are on that upward spiral technologically, it is my abiding belief that it is not simply limited to technology. I believe that we are also moving upward in kindness, tolerance, and acceptance. 

My spiritual path began as a Jesus follower and though I left that path for many years I have circled back. You can read or hear about that journey in a blog post entitled "Your Lifepath is a Choice: Leaving the Dance with the One You Came With." In saying that I circled back, I must say that I circled back as a person sold on eclectic spirituality and not as a Christian. While I still have a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus I do not identify as a Christian.

This blog is the place where the Christ follower can embrace the law of attraction, the ancient hermetic teaching, the Tao Te Ching, Buddhism, and all sorts of metaphysical practice. It is my hope that you will join me on this journey and I likewise intend to provide content that will be beneficial, uplifting, and educationally rewarding.

God Beyond Religion: The Christ has been poured on all flesh

Joel 2:28-29  "Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  (29)  Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit."

John 1:10-11  "He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  (11)  He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."

We will address these two scripture passages directly and show how they are congruent with the idea of God beyond religion, but first some foundational information. The term, "The Christ," is an interesting term indeed. What does it mean? Well, naturally one would think the Messiah, but is that really what it means? Yes and no. The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew language, and it is machiyach, it is the word Messiah, and it means to rub with oil, to anoint as a special person usually as a ruler or king. The anointing of oil is symbolic of authority that is passed on ceremoniously. 

Moving forward to the Greek scripture, the so called New Testament, I say so called because I think it is a misnomer to call the entire Greek Scripture the New Testament as the fact is that much of it is actually the Old Testament, and testament is really a misnomer because it has the specific meaning of covenant. So when the word testament is used in the scripture it really means specifically covenant. Testament being similar to testimony causes one to wrongly believe that it is referring to a new and old story. The proof of this is seen in what the Mormon's have made of scripture. The Mormon scripture includes the Old and New Testaments of the bible but it also has the Book of Mormon, which it labels as 'another' testament of Jesus Christ. There, Joseph Smith, is not speaking of another covenant, but of another or additional telling of the biblical narrative. He no doubt came to that conclusion by accepting the connotative definition of testament that was widely accepted in his day, and quite frankly continues on today.

So the New Covenant has meaning within Judaism. The concept of the New Covenant is found implicitly in many of the prophetic writings of the major and minor prophets, but it is specifically named by the prophet Jeremiah. He actually prophesies the coming of a New Covenant for Israel. Christianity has found a way in which the New Covenant is expanded beyond just the Jewish people and has included all people that accept Christianity. On the other hand, the New Covenant did not turn out according to the Jewish expectation and the Jews rejected the opportunity. They rejected the Christ, or in other words, they rejected the offered anointing. They actually rejected what Joel had prophesied. Pouring out the Spirit on ALL FLESH, not just Jews, and certainly not just Christians, was rejected out of hand as being a possibility. They were not ready and willing to have a new spiritual awakening. Jesus described them perfectly when he said that people tasting new wine usually say, no thanks, the old wine is better, or it is sufficient.

Let me address what I discern was really going on. The advent of Jesus did bring about the New Covenant, but it was not a covenant with strictly Jews or Christians. It was a covenant with humanity in general and it was meant to develop the NEW HUMANITY! Jesus mission was to demonstrate what the pouring out of the spirit would accomplish. In this, he was in fact the universal first born of the new humanity. He realized in a way that had not been realized before that he was divinity residing in humanity. Humanity had progressed to the point that it was ready to receive, a universal anointing. Unfortunately, once again the message was coopted by an orthodoxy that wanted to remain in control and be able to establish a hierarchy.

This was largely accomplished by blending Old Covenant Judaism with New Covenant Christianity and creating another religion, claiming to be the one true religion. When in fact, religion was always antithetical to the relationship that the source wanted for all of humanity. The New Covenant that God was trying to established was based on the fact that "the Christ" spirit would be poured out on all flesh. This becomes obvious when one looks at the passage above from John's gospel. Verse ten refers to a time before verse 14. Let me repeat for effect, like I did when I was preaching. Verse 10 refers to a time before verse 14. The Logos was in the world before the Logos was incarnated in Jesus of Nazareth. The Logos came to his own, but most of his own did not receive him. What is the Logos? It is the word of God or in other words, God consciousness. God consciousness was in the world before verse 14. I believe it was in the world from the beginning. 

Who were the ones that was the Word/Logos own that did not receive him? Most of humanity. Humanity was his own because they were conscious agents. Being a conscious agent is what it means to be created in the image of the source. However, following John verse 11, is the explanation that some did receive the Logos. Who were the ones that received the Logos? It was the mystics, seers, prophets, and ascended masters over history. It was Hermes Trismegistus. It was Heraclitus. It was Lao Tzu. It was Gautama Buddha. It was Abraham. It was the prophets of Israel. I could go on but you see the point. Yet, each of those mentioned were humans. They received direct revelation from the source, but they also included information from their cultural experience. We are all capable of discerning which is mystical revelation and which is cultural because the spirit was poured out on all flesh. 

We have begun a new millennium and it is the age of the spirit being poured out on all flesh. It is the age of "the Christ." That simply means that we are all capable of tapping into the Christ, the anointing. We are all the word made flesh. We all have a direct line to source. However, we should build on the foundation that already exists. No, I am not speaking of Christianity. I am actually speaking of what I called eclectic spirituality in another post. I want to build toward that understanding so that we can take our discernment from the reality that the spirit has indeed been poured out on all humanity, recognize those mystical revelatory gems that form the foundation of spiritual reality. I include in that the hermetic teaching, the writings of Heraclitus and the Stoics, Lao Tzu, Gatauma Buddha, and many others including Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and of course Jesus as foundational to the progression we are making in this new millennium. I will provide a list of examples of that foundation but it is not exhaustive. It is some of the foundation to show what I am seeing. They are in bullet form because I do not want to show a hierarchy of importance as they all are important.

Examples of the foundational truth list for the new millennium for the purpose of eclectic spirituality:

• God is love
• The All is Mind, the universe is mental
• As above so below, and as below so above, the law of correspondence
• The Tao is the mother of all that is
• As Christ was in the world so are we
• We will accomplish greater works
• Love is patient, kind, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it is not proud
• The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, meekness, goodness, temperance
• We have the mind of Christ
• The universe is constantly vibrating