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: Skinwalker Ranch, Occam’s Razor, UFO’S and Mentalism

 There is a fascinating show on the History Channel called “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.” I know, the History Channel has a dubious reputation, but this series is on the up and up based on the people featured in the show. Skinwalker Ranch is a ranch in the Uintah Basin of Northern Utah that has an infamous history surrounding UFO’s and a variety of other paranormal activities. It would take several posts to explain all that has gone on with the ranch but to list the phenomena, there is UFO/UAP activity, potential portals, poltergeist activity and cryptid activity. This has been documented over the century by many including the federal government. There have been mysterious cattle mutilations as well.

There have been three seasons produced already, and I believe they are working on season four and if you want to binge on a series, this one has my highest recommendation. It should also be noted that the U.S. Defense Department recently organized the Unidentified Arial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF.) It was disclosed on various YouTube channels, that the physicist on the show, Dr. Travis Taylor is also chief scientist for UAPTF. I mention this because I want to explain that not all the people on the show are fellow travelers with what is called woo woo. And, I want to also explain that those who are on this show have all experienced what one would call woo woo while working on the experiments on the ranch.

The most recent owner of the ranch is in my view above reproach with his integrity and honesty. He has devoted his time, energy, and most telling his money to try and explore, explain and understand the anomalies that have plagued and accompanied the ranch for at least the last eighty years. They do scientific experiments and scientific inquiry to try to ascertain the anomalies. This brings me to my purpose and interest in telling, about the show, the ranch, and the work being done there.

They are trying to solve the mystery of the ranch through scientific endeavor, and while they are uncovering a great deal of data, the ranch seems to be an illusive entity. Yes, you read me right. The ranch behaves like a cognizant entity. Perhaps more accurately, it behaves like a pre-cognitive sentient entity. So where does Occam’s Razor fit into the picture? In this case, not from a materialist, physicalist point of view but from a mentalist perspective. As I have documented over and over in this blog, there is a rich history that spans at least 5,000 years beginning with Hermetic teaching that explains that the creative force of the universe is conscious energy. This was passed on in western civilization through the Greeks and recently revisited in what has been called the “new age” movement.

So, for Occam’s Razor, here are my thoughts. Occam’s Razor states that the simplest explanation of a situation is probably the correct one. how does this correlate with the Skinwalker Ranch show? The varied phenomena that present on the ranch can be examined by measuring various types of electromagnetic radiation and studying the concept of inter and intra dimensional portals, unidentified ariel phenomenon, and cryptids. However, if as is stated in the Kybalion, The All is Mind, the Universe is Mental, that is the place to begin the investigation. Bringing in a genuine psychic, such as a clairvoyant, clairsentient, or claircognizant would be a great place to begin study.

It would require one who is grounded in the understanding that the creative source of the universe is love and peace, and that peace is the highest vibration prior to enlightenment. If such a person went to the ranch with a reverent regard for the forces at play and was grounded in love, light and peace at its highest vibrational state, then one could examine all that is at play there and perhaps discover the most beneficial path for exploring and explaining all the anomalies. That one would need to be cautioned of the fact that originally, the ranch was the source of a conflict between indigenous tribes and a curse put in place by one of the parties. Perhaps it could be liberated from its malevolent past and become a jumping off place for additional scientific and metaphysical study.

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: An Egalitarian Gnosticism

The case against Christian orthodoxy is really solid when viewed with an open mind. The practices of the orthodox movement in general are shady when it comes to deciding what is orthodoxy and what is heterodoxy. The facts are undisputable. There was a rich variety of Christianity’s in the second through third centuries. Further, one can surmise that there was a rich variety of literature produced in the second and third centuries. It is very probable based on the Nag Hammadi find that there was much more literature that did not meet orthodox standards that was destroyed and will possibly never be seen. Let’s face the fact. It was serendipitous that we found what we found in the nineteen-forties.

Please do not jump to the conclusion that I think everything orthodox was wrong and evil and everything Gnostic and heterodox was right and good. That is not my view at all. You could say that I was born an egalitarian. From my earliest recollections I was always deeply concerned with what was fair and right for all. I still am. Its probably the reason that I see the error in the extreme polarization of our country these days. It almost seems like a plot of a bad movie but that is another topic for another time. Suffice it to say that egalitarianism in important to me.

While orthodoxy was not egalitarian neither was Gnosticism and the other heterodox views. I guess this makes me one following the left-handed spiritual path because for all of my years I have been a rebel. In a variety of ways, I hate conformity. My main criticism of Gnosticism is that it is exclusive. That is also my critique of Christianity, especially evangelical orthodoxy. I would argue that it is exclusivity that has alienated so many from Christianity. It creates an us verses them atmosphere. It creates a saint verses sinner when the truth is we are all a little of both. It reminds me of the Eagle’s lyrics “I’ve been searching for the daughter of the devil himself, I’ve been searching for an angel in white, I’ve been waiting for a woman who’s a little of both, I can feel her but she’s nowhere in sight” ~(One of These Nights) I think that these lyrics could be a metaphor for what most seek.

This is why I see the Gnosticism in some of John and some of Paul (not the Beatles.) Both writers have an egalitarian Gnosticism. In fact, universal reconciliation is an egalitarian doctrine, and it is present in both the writings of John and Paul. I know, they also sound exclusive at times, but that simply means they need to be discerned, and in my view that is exactly where gnosis comes into play. We are first and foremost conscious beings. If in fact we were created in the image of God, then that is consciousness. The Logos is consciousness. I believe it is fair to equate consciousness and spirit. In fact, we are tripart beings. We are body, spirit, and soul. The body is our flesh, our corporeal, material existence. The spirit is universal consciousness and our link to it. The soul is our individual psyche or our individual consciousness.

That was the egalitarian message of Jesus according to both John and Paul. We are the Logos in earthen vessels. This was the essential spiritual (universal consciousness) message that Jesus brought to humanity. YOU, I, and the FATHER are one. We are ALL wrapped up in each other because we all proceed from consciousness. That is egalitarian Gnosticism in a nutshell. That is the truth whether comprehended or not. All of us are moving in an upward spiral toward that ever unfolding and expanding realization. The way to grasp it with ever increasing degrees is to use our most important asset. It is our spiritual intuition. It is the amalgamating of the spirit and the psyche. Trust your gut! Both the orthodox scripture and the gnostic gospels contain spiritual revelation from source. You are capable of deciding which!

God Beyond Religion: Cell Phones, Radios, and Consciousness

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

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

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

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

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

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