Paul, the Apostle,

Albert Einstein

PATH TO THE VOID

        A philosopher is, as best he can be, a seeker of Truth. He ponders the eternal questions about the nature of reality, mostly as an attempt to gain some understanding about God, and Truth. Regardless of his educational background, he somehow believes that to discern Truth is to be set free. So powerful is this conviction that each who willfully chooses this path dedicates the whole of his life to the quest. His is usually a quiet search, but he is obsessed with a burning fire within which drives him, and which leads him to ever new arenas of frustration.

        The philosopher finds that each answer prompts more new questions. Finding more answers becomes a self-defeating exercise. Answers even become part of the problem. If a philosopher is honest, it eventually becomes clear that for each correct answer, he finds the opposite is equally true at some level of understanding. He is forced to conclude that there are no valid real answers, only relative answers.

        If there can be no valid answers, then no valid question is possible! This leaves him without his traditional tools, without hope; he feels abandoned at a spot which feels like an infinite void, an eternal nothingness where thinking is not permitted. Finally, the philosopher becomes a Mystic.

        The infinite void that I am trying to describe is what one finds in that state of being "spiritually destitute" of which Jesus spoke in his very first sentence in his sermon on the mount when he said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The English translation here is not as clear as is the Greek where "poor in spirit" means spiritual destitution.

        The experience of this destitution need not be depressing or frustrating; surprisingly it can be bliss and relief if one can yield to it. It is the release of the finite thinking process; it is freedom from the finite world. To return afterwards to finite consciousness is uncomfortable because one feels devoid of method by which he can consciously continue to walk the path. The Path has become by now ultimate, and more; it is the only true value left recognizable! Paul gives some clue of this walk when he says to "feel after God in the hopes that you might find Him, for He is not far from every one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being."

        To "feel after God" is different than one's customary search for Him through reasoning and limited dialectic process. Rather, it is some undefined process that one person cannot explain to another. It is to walk the path alone, knowing that there is no other way, that there are no teachers, no questions, no answers. All finite concepts must be abandoned and left behind. One's concept of God must be reevaluated and released from the limitation of blind and ignorant consciousness. You must let that old concept of God die in order to realize the incomprehensibleness of His nature with which you are united. To walk on you must confess to yourself that the old God is dead, just as that spiritual philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche said. "God is dead!"

        Blessed comfort and encouragement be to anyone who musters the great courage to let go of that God to whom he had dedicated his soul in order that he might realize Him in Truth. This leap into the void is a death of self, a gambit, which leads to the victory.

I do not pray for these only,

but also for those who believe in me

through their word,

that they may all be one;

even as thou, Father, art in me

and I in thee,

that they also may be in us,

so that the world may believe that

thou has sent me.

The glory which thou has given me

I have given to them,

that they may be one

even as we are one,

I in them and thou in me,

that they may become perfectly ONE.

Jesus, the Christ

per his friend, John, Ch. 17

        The religion that calls itself "Christian" attempts to make salvation such a simple exercise as stating one's belief-in-the-name-of-Christ. It places Christ on a pedestal, or cross, and teaches seekers to look upon him, pray to him, believe in Him. "There He is, believe in His name, and you will be saved to go to heaven when you die."

        I contend that such teaching is soul-endangering and pernicious, that it makes Christ a serious obstacle to your spiritual growth. Religion teachers are externalizing Christ just like the Old Testament externalized God; that is, they make God to be an individual that is separate from you, someone who is out-there somewhere, in a distant heaven. It was proper back in history during the Old Testament period to externalize God; that was the lesson between the time of Abraham and Christ. The Lamb was not yet sacrificed on the altar; the veil still separated outside worshipers from the Holy-of-Holies - that small room in the temple where God lived. The whole import of the New Testament is to remove the veil, to have God directly accessible, to restore His children to union with Him, and to union with Christ as Jesus makes so clear in his prayer in John l7. The church-temple has been destroyed; the church of ritual and religion and dogma has been nullified; the body of the Lamb was killed for the last time, and the altar is no more - is not out there anymore. Rather, the new altar is within you, in spirit, where also is your God. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (I Cor 3:16; 6:19. II Cor 6:16)

    Let's get this clear, that old external God is no more - gone - dead. Nietzsche tried to shout this glorious message to the world and was mocked. Our world despised and rejected another who loved us, who tried to convince us of our Godly greatness. Sadly, our people are convinced they are not great, and that God is still out there somewhere as one who responds to emotional pleas rather than to honest attempts at acting like His beloved offspring.

        Well, hear me now. If you wish to stand at a distance and shout your cries to a distant god, that is your choice, your rebellion. But the supreme almighty God of all eternity isn't over there somewhere and you do yourself no favor by thinking that He is. No, He dwells behind the lies you cling to, and behind the terror you feel about looking within your inner self. So, hear the great Paul as he tells you to "feel after Him." Get out of religion and into your inner self! In your quiet self you will find Him.

The time is near.

Let him who does wrong

continue to do wrong;

Let him who is vile

continue to be vile;

Let him who does right

continue to do right;

Let him who is holy

continue to be holy.

Jesus,

according to John

        The very title of this article is a misnomer, a common statement made popular by Christians who have misread Biblical passages which actually refer to the ending of this civilization, preceding the inauguration of a new period of history on earth, called an "age". There are no prophecies which indicate that the existence of this planet will be terminated. But there are many prophecies from many different sources which describe events that will occur as this age/era/generation/yuga comes to its natural demise in a natural death. Without getting carried away with the emotion of doom-saying, one is not out of order to take a look at some of the facts on this subject, along with some of the speculations.

        Nostradamus was an amazing prophet and seer of the 16th century who foresaw worldwide disaster and destruction near the year 2,000 A.D. He said there would be a third world war with China at approximately this time and that great battle would be a necessary prelude to the birth of the Golden Age, which he referred to as "a reign of Saturn".

        Edgar Cayce was a prophet of sorts in our century who has proven incredibly accurate with his medical diagnoses and prophecies. He said there would be a World War III in 1999, that communism will have ceased prior to this time and that our civilization would come to its final end early after the year 2,000.

        In 1917 at Fatima, Portugal a vision of a lady appeared to three shepherd children. Messages from this alleged "Madonna" continued to come to one of the children, Lucia, until 1960. The messages seem to be mostly of a warning nature with some descriptions of a coming catastrophe which would destroy much of the world. She said that a sign of the end would be a "bright, unknown light which will be God's sign that he is about to punish the people of the world for their crimes," the light to be seen in the heavens. The Bible gives some details of these events in three parallel chapters in the Gospels: Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, and refers to a sign which will appear in the skies, immediately after the battle, indicating the coming again of the Son.

        The great pyramid of Khufu at Giza, built 12,000 years ago, has been surveyed and measured with great precision and these measurements have been interpreted chronologically with one pyramid inch equivalent to one solar year. The fascinating results of this work reveals a direct correlation of passageway steps, stone variations, angles, etc. with exact dates of major events in world history. Using a system of interpretation which works with past world history, it is interesting to look ahead into the future to see what is indicated. The pyramid seems to be saying that a new spiritual civilization will begin prior to the year 2,000; the total collapse of the materialist civilization will be completed between 2004 and 2025; and the appearance in the sky of a sign of the Messiah will happen in 2034. (Ref: The Great Pyramid Decoded by Peter Lemesuier, Avon, 1977).

        David Monongye, the venerable "Keeper of the Prophecies" of the Hopi Indians in northern Arizona has much to say about these events which are close at hand. The ancient Hopi prophecies state that "after white people who look like Indians come, (he thinks this a reference to the "hippie" generation) then will come a great world war and then the earth will cleanse herself." He says this war will be with people wearing red cloaks, and that they will pour out onto the earth a "gourd of ashes." He interprets this to mean nuclear bombs. By the way, David Monongye is 106 years plus in 1984, is in good health at his home in Hotevilla, Arizona, and daily sits with warm welcomes for visitors from all over the world. He is internationally renowned as a man of peace and has been honored in Geneva and at the U.N. in New York. He received the U.N. Peace Medal which he now always wears. He is a very humble and great man. I've sat many hours with him listening to his ideas.

        As we consider the above prophecies, it becomes clear that events in the world today are confirming their accuracy. It becomes relevant how we choose to respond, especially spiritually.

        One of the least acceptable responses is that eagerness of millenialists who anxiously await disaster with gleams in their eyes and hunger in their hearts for that moment when they become the reigning authorities and have their chance for revenge against a world to which they have felt inferior. A more intelligent and spiritually appropriate response might be to meditate upon your earthly values and the meaning of life, perhaps reaching a level of enlightenment where you really know that your spirit exists independent from your temporary physical body vehicle. Then you may find some satisfaction with the idea of accepting the death of this era as coinciding with the release of your physical egoic identity, all in preparation for a life more glorious. The transition period of the earth may become personally meaningful to your successful transformation and resurrection.

        Theologically, I find this subject quite fascinating, for it seems directly related to the concepts of sacrifice and redemption. Of course, the world is aware of the emphasis that the Christian church places upon sacrifice and redemption as it relates to Jesus, his death and rebirth. Historically, that event was the natural culmination and fulfillment of the religion of our Old Testament which taught that man fell from perfection back at the beginning of that era with Adam and Eve.

        One man is identified with the beginning of this game, the "fall", and that is the first Adam. The Bible calls Christ the second Adam and he is identified with the successful conclusion of the process with a "redemption", a paying off of the incumbent debts and restoration of a reality of oneness. Christ is supposed to exist as a perfect union of  matter and of spirit, from a genuinely earthly mother and spiritual father. The idea of redemption is then effected when this perfect example reverses the natural order of the game by willingly sacrificing himself through a death experience. This illogical and normally unreasonable move was a gambit that resulted in victory rather than defeat. Such a reversal is the key to victory  for anyone. The natural order must be reversed. Other statements in the Bible about reversal are even more explicit but still generally unrecognized for their deeper significance, such as, "the greatest shall become least and the least greatest," and "the mountains shall be made low and the valleys exalted," and "the first shall be last and the last first," etc.

        Now we are looking at the death experience of a civilization, which involves the whole planet. The key to victory is this, that through death comes life, that the results are opposite from that which the simple rationale would expect. So, if one's redemption is attained by his realization that things are opposite from what they seem to be, and that sacrifice is the key to victory, does that apply also to the planet upon which we live? MAN fell from God's oneness and was cursed and kicked out of the garden, but what about the planet? Note this: Genesis 3:17 states that the planet was cursed too. "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field." (NIV)

        In the fourth chapter of Genesis we see immediate repercussions of this fact of the ground being cursed. Cain and Able, brothers, both brought offerings to God's altar, but God rejected Cain's offering of fruit of the ground (Cain was the farmer) and He accepted Abel's offering of meat from his animals. The ground had been cursed and the products which grew directly from it were not acceptable. The meat from animals was acceptable because animals fed from grasses and processed those plants through a death experience and transformation which processed the life force of plants to a higher level of life in the animal. Note that the death process for the plants is a transformation which makes them acceptable again. This typifies the project of "redemption".

        We are not here talking about transmigration of souls or of Darwinian evolution, but rather a process of approaching God, of returning to that perfect state in which life was originally created. It is the spirit-of-life which is important, not this physical life. Life exists within every atom, within every sub-atomic particle of energy, within all that is: hylozoic. Life is the consciousness of the spirit of God that is the essence and substance of all realities. Where this life has been adulterated, distorted, and violated, then a cleansing process of redemption is required to restore it to the Godly state of perfection. It is not the soul of a plant that evolves from the plant state, through death, to a meat state, but rather it is life itself which is being redeemed. This life which fills all things, even though it appears lifeless in such things as rocks, does have sentience. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 8, speaks to this idea of redemption as it applies to all creation, including the physical bodies:  "The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (RSV)

        So, the perfection of all creation, the purifying and the redemption process is happening right now and we are privileged to live at a time when we can witness the fulfillment of the prophecies about this era of known history. The opportunities for us as individuals are great, but the responsibilities are equally great. There are many warnings that false leaders, teachers and alleged messiahs will appear during this crucial period and that many, even of the enlightened, will be led astray. It is so critically important right now to maintain your own counsel and avoid getting caught up in any movement which detracts from your highest spiritual experience and benefit. There are intelligent energies and forces with great powers which are working to deceive us all. These entities all have one thing in common, they strive to focus your attentions and concerns on finite reality, this world, this life, earthly success. If your conscious mind can be arrested and prevented from flying toward the incomprehensible eternal verities, then you will remain earth-bound throughout this whole transformational period of the end of this age. But, if you can maintain your spiritual mindedness and acknowledge a release from the limitations of time and space and materiality, this will permit you to "graduate" to higher dimensions of existence where such limitations do not exist.

        An admonition here would be to beware of any teachers who excite your minds with fearful or material concerns. They may urge you to act in panic and horde canned goods for the time which is coming. The storing of goods may not be bad, but the material focus and fears are effectively limiting. Other false prophets may lead you to hope for evacuation from this planet so you will be "saved" from the transformational experience, with promises that you will return afterward to help build a new world. Ask yourself why people with such limited spiritual consciousness and lack of faith would be used to help build an unlimited spiritual civilization in the new age.

        If you have followed the theological gist of the above, the conclusion seems to be that the key to victory is simply the releasing of the earthly self, in a kind of sacrifice, permitting you a new spiritual birth into a dimension unlimited and incomprehensible to the present earthbound mentality. Jesus called it "Heaven." The next thirty or forty years offer the most wonderful opportunity of this entire age for you as an individual to let go of your earthly bondages and to let go of your physical focus which has anchored you to a dense, gross body, and then you may find the reward of final purification through your sacrifice and the eternal enlightenment in the age to come.

"I must go now, and we shall not see each other any more."

"In this life, but in another? We shall meet in another, surely?"

Then, all tranquilly and soberly, he made the strange answer, "There is no other."

A subtle influence blew upon my spirit from his, bringing with it a vague, dim, but blessed and hopeful feeling that the incredible words might be true - even must be true.

"Have you never suspected this, Theodor?"

"No, how could I? But if it can only be true -"

"It is true."

A gust of thankfulness rose in my breast, but a doubt checked it before it could issue in words, and I said, "But-but-we have seen that future life - seen it in its actuality and so -"

"It was a vision - it had no existence."

I could hardly breathe for the great hope that was struggling in me. "A vision? - a vi"

"Life itself is only a vision, a dream."

It was electrical. By God! I had had that very thought a thousand times in my musings!

"Nothing exists; all is a dream. God - man - the world - the sun, the moon, the wilderness of stars - a dream, all a dream; they have no existence. Nothing exists save empty space - and you!"

"I!"

"And you are not you - you have no body, no blood, no bones, you are but a thought."

Mark Twain

        Energy/power/force on this earth -equals- the force of acceleration which is constantly occurring by the process of thought converting spirit to matter. Although spirit is not some thing, but rather is the power of the mind, it is the primal cause for each moment. As spirit becomes matter it is transformed from a state of rest (peace) to action. This action does not maintain any status or velocity but is constantly being renewed, faster than moment by moment, faster than time. There is only acceleration, the action of becoming matter: E=MC². There is no matter where there is no perception of it, nor is there any time or space. The truth is that spirit, in the state of rest, at peace, has ALL power. The truth is therefore opposite that of classical physics' belief. The falling apple has less power, and certainly no omnipotence, when it is falling because it is limited to vector and momentum. The process of becoming matter (acceleration) is a limiting activity, binding the omnipotence to specific action and direction and moment, a bondage, a gravity, a heavy and unpleasant event. The freeing-up of this matter is the cessation of becoming, the ceasing of acceleration, to be at state of rest, of non-becoming, of non-direction, of BEING,  of the I AM. This freeing-up is salvation, enlightenment, a willingness to non-will, release from the bondage of definition. In total state of rest, there only IS. Omniscience IS. Omnipotence IS. Omnipresence IS. When knowledge or power or identity is directed or defined into Becoming, it is no longer omni but is limited by the property of definition, created by one's perception, brought about by a limited mind (the earthly game). If we could be willing to give up this "game", willing to non-will, we would probably be caught up into the air, physically vanish into the undefined ether, to share omniscience of God, of eternal, undefined, unlimited mind.

        Spiritual enlightenment is a step in that direction.

"No, Ananda, no weeping. How often have I told you that

it is in the very nature of things that what we love must

be taken from us? How can it be otherwise? What is born

is doomed at the moment of its birth to die. There is

no other way."

Buddha

MIRROR OF TRUTH

        St. Paul says that we see through a mirror darkly. This is one of the great keys to truth. All of our creation is a reflection of eternal truths, manifest in physical appearance, but it is a mirror reflection, seen in reverse.

        Many of the new age people, the Aquarians, the metaphysical students, and the prosperity religions, say with hopeful conviction and enthusiasm that God wants us to have all the good and beautiful things of the world and great happiness here, so they believe pursuit of it in this life is a proper goal, and some even imply that a person's spiritual level is indicated by the amount of material wealth he or she has attained. They don't address the converse; they are implying that poor people have fallen short in their spirituality.

        The Bible does not agree with this concept. Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit". Chapter 12 of Hebrews says so beautifully: "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined then you are illegitimate children and not true sons."

        Is this not clear that we should rejoice in our tribulations, like St. Paul teaches, as we strive to perfect ourselves and walk more closely with our Father? Paul says that Moses would rather suffer reproach and disgrace for the sake of Christ than have all the treasures of wealthy Egypt. The Bible is consistent as it makes clear that rewards and treasures for the faithful are not here in this physical world but are in heaven, the dimension of freedom from this material bondage. It is interesting how this point of view will affect our interpretation of history and of things to come.

        The New Testament focuses on attainment of eternal heaven and emphasizes that this world of woe is a painful experience which is necessary on our journey. What we do with ourselves, how we develop spiritually, is of utmost importance. Nowhere does Christ indicate that we should hope for or seek material wealth during this temporary experience. And yet, those who anxiously await the golden age on earth hope for just exactly that; they hunger for the material luxuries.

        We have learned that God punishes and chastens his children for the sake of their own progress. So, we can be confident that God is not going to supply golden wealth and bliss during this lifetime to His children because that would cause many to turn from Him to the enjoyment of their wealth and their material comforts and their worldly security. Satan uses wealth as a most effective tool to draw suffering man's mind from God to an attitude of complacency.

        Revelation 20 speaks about the judgment and of those souls who were beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus, who did not worship the beast or his image. Those souls come to life in the first resurrection. I think the beast is material wealth and his image is that hope in the mind of people who fill their imaginations with dreams of ever greater wealth.

"Is there no kingdom of heaven, then?"

Peter cried out, terrified.

"There is, Peter, there is - but within

us. The kingdom of heaven is within us; the

Devil's kingdom is without. The two kingdoms

fight. War! War! Our first duty is to chop

down Satan with this ax."

"Which Satan?"

"This world about us. Courage, friends

I invited you to war, not to a wedding."

by "Jesus"

according to Nikos Kazantzakis

        I think the world is OF nothing else than that which we call God. There is nothing in earth, heaven, or hell that is not of God because God is the eternal source and essence and substance of all that is. This is not the same as saying that the world is God. I am thinking that this world of activity is an exercise of potentials. This exercise is an unfathomable operation of "forces," forces which were objects of veneration in ancient mythology, when perceptive minds recognized them and named them and worshiped them. I believe that the forces DO have sentience, consciousness, memory, will, emotions, individuality, capability, and intelligence. The forces are manifested into our knowable reality. The forces which function within the bounds of time and space arise forth, appearing as a reflection, out of a seeming void which is beyond time and space. The void has no intelligence as we could possibly understand it. The void has nothing which we could understand. The void is the perfect nothingness. The void is the ultimate essence of God. Everything that "IS" stands in diametric opposition to that which "ISN'T". What IS is the great lie. Everything that IS has no reality beyond anyone's individual perception of IT. That an individual might participate in this great lie is his evil propensity, his perverted inclination, his deep instinctive and seemingly irresistible urge which is obstinate to God. It is that part of anyone which believes that something IS.

        Within this exercise of potential, the lie is the opponent of Truth. Both are aspects, or forces, which arise out of the void. There is nothing that is not God. And Nothing is God. Both statements are equally valid. But, in our ignorance, in our myopic vision, with blinders on, we step forth, each onto the stage, to perform exercises-of-potential, where we play the elements of the duality against each other. We each act as the general, as a god, in a war that we each design. There is no other activity in our finite universe than this war between positive and negative, good and evil. WAR is what is happening. This is our dimension of reality. It is based upon a distinction between good and evil (the tree of knowledge of good and evil).

        While we are separating good from evil, and knowing how one thing is different from another, we focus our minds upon things. That is, we perceive with our minds only finite items of uniqueness, rather than seeing through the illusion of reality to perceive the eternal oneness of all that seems to exist. Because we persist in distinguishing one thing from another we limit our conscious reality to the perception of only this finite dimension.

        Paul said we see through a mirror darkly. A mirror reverses the perceptible image. This concept of reversal is a key to  understanding Christ's purpose, and of our own redemption. Jesus gave a few hints about the importance of "reversal" when He said the last shall be first and the first last, and that the mountains shall be made low and the valleys high, and the least shall be greatest and the greatest least. He made enough such statements to convince me that this subject is important to his teaching.

        But, I too, did not learn this lesson from His messages or by listening. It came to me as any higher insight comes to anyone, by spirit of the mind, i.e., the Divine Spirit. I write in vain if my purpose is teaching. There is no such thing. Jesus spoke in vain if His purpose was teaching, as it clearly wasn't, and He made clear that it wasn't! When his disciples frustratedly asked Him why he spoke so confusingly He told them that He couldn't teach clearly or else the people would understand, repent, and be forgiven. He came to accomplish a victory over evil and keynote a new age where Christ will reign. Within His words and His life are lessons hidden which the devoted follower might find if he opens his mind to such and persists determinedly enough. The insights that come to the faithful seeker are more closely akin to the incomprehensible void than to the finite. They are not verbalizable. Anything that can be put into words falls short of Truth. The ancient Sanskrit Vedas teach that one is in error to the same degree that he can state his truth. Again, we find a key to ultimate Truth to be the concept of "reversal". And, again we might look at the major lesson of Jesus' life, that the key to "life" is death, that surrender is the key to victory, that the low grave is the path to the high heaven, that service is a function of the master.

        How is it that the theologians of all church history have missed the full meaning of that which is the Christ? And, they have not only missed Him, they have built a "Christian" tradition that unanimously focuses the attention of seekers upon the person of Jesus as a finite God, a trap that dooms a devoted one to a bondage of earthly-mindedness, a religion that motivates sincere followers to live earthly lives like Jesus, to think earthly thoughts of love, sorrow, happiness, pity, generosity, unselfishness, neighborliness, and a long list of other emotions which bind the mind to finite reality. Better were a millstone hung around these teachers' necks and they were drowned at birth. I pray forgiveness that in my youthful stupidity I believed and taught such poison. Into the Void do I cry my repentance and my grief and pray that this may be the last emotion for me, and that it may be left in my past.

        And I pray that I may deserve nothing, that I may become nothing, that my ego, my mind, my soul, my consciousness, and any other characteristics of my immortal being may be permitted to cease all existence, in transmutation to become nothing, that is to be reclaimed by the eternal as a drop of water is reclaimed by the ocean.

        There is an evolution of realization. During the history of primitive cultures around our Adamic ancestors, prior to Abraham, those people venerated many gods. Then came some giants of God teaching monotheism - Abraham, Ahkenaten, Zoroaster - and a higher insight was realized as we came to worship that higher level on the pyramid, that pinnacle stone, that God above all other gods. Two thousand years later came the Messiah who resolved the dilemma of man standing separate from a distant God by teaching a special spiritual oneness. Later, Fritz Nietzsche would expound on Christ's message saying we should realize yet another insight, that the old distant God of gods, that supreme and almighty God of earth and heavens may be considered as he crudely put it, "dead". I understand what he was trying to say.

        This teaching comes at a time when quantum physics and particle physicists have concluded that there is no such thing as a particle of matter, that there are only units of energy which seem to be products of and controlled by thought, and that time is not a constant, that it in fact moves backward as easily as forward, and that space is not linear but is curved and relative. Einstein did not say that energy was the same thing as mass in motion; he said that energy is acceleration of mass, that energy is nothing less than state-of-change. Change is the occupation of the individual mind of each person and by the group mind of all. Mind, MIND, MIND! Are there hearers to hear?

        The sidewalk that I walk on isn't solid anymore; the next step may be anywhere within or without the finite realm. Since the mind is all there is to reckon with, how is it with the mind? The mind can create history (behind or ahead) as easily as the moment. So what can one know for certain? Nothing. I cannot know that this person whom I believe to be Roger ever existed before this very moment - perhaps I sprang into being this moment with a complete programmed life history in my memory. I cannot know if I am progressing forward in time or backward, if I am learning or forgetting, or anything about the nature of this exercise of potential which I seem to be. In this state of reality there are no constants, no truths, no right or wrong; it is beyond good and evil. The WAR ceases to operate as we drink the power from each opponent, good and evil, by recognizing its relative and impermanent existence, by denying both sides of the war. Can anyone come to any other conclusion after realizing the truths of the modern physicists? Can we continue to look "up" to a God as external from us. If our reality is energy usage which is controlled by our minds, are we not then gods, as the bible says, "ye are gods"? This doesn't mean we are separate gods from that One god, but that we must redefine that which we call God. We can no longer play the victim role as entities separate from greater power.

        It is time to take responsibility, each one for his own life and his whole reality. We are not separate from God, but are part and parcel of that which is God. Now, to realize that, it is my purpose to reverse my thinking and to become servant and least, for sake of the goal of surrendering my life to nothing that the victory may be won. The victory is peace!

Abraam had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman.

But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh,

the son of the free woman through promise.

Now this is an allegory: these women are the two covenants.

One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.

Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem,

for she is in slavery with her children.

But Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

by Paul, the Apostle, To the Galatians

THE VEIL IS RENT

        A joyous cry sounded throughout the heavens, "The veil is rent! The veil is rent!" The angels and all the host of heaven sang and danced and felt the fullness of the love of their Father. They knew the meaning of this event - while earthbound people wept.

        We still weep each year on Good Friday, caught up in the emotion of grief at the memory of an event we have failed to understand. Simple, blind, and ignorant, we gaze upon that man on the distant cross and try to feel his pain that we might increase our sorrow. Perhaps it was not for his crucifiers but for us, his friends, that He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

        In that era of history between Abraam and Christ, that period of biblical history which we read about in the Old Testament, man was held at a distance from God. Here is the major difference between that period and this era since Christ. Man, back then, perceived himself to be base, ungodly, defiled, unworthy to approach God, and kept separate from Him by means of laws which condemned him and by an intermediary priesthood and by the dark curtain, the veil, which hid the Holy altar from the worshipers. Once each year the highest priest could penetrate the veil to make an offering, to approach the nearest to God that could be permitted.

        Then Christ came as the ultimate High Priest, the final intermediary between God and man. His body came to represent the veil of separation, and when His body was penetrated so did the temple veil split apart giving open access to the actual presence of God Himself. No more separation! We were set free from the death penalty which held us prisoners and kept us distant from God! Suddenly, no more priest as intermediary! It is henceforth a whole new game. This is what the word, "salvation", actually means, that we are saved from the penalty we earned by violating our contract, and set free from "unworthiness," and freed from a separation from the real presence of God in person.

        So, we have a new and potentially joyous period of history following this good news. But, it didn't work out that way for very long. The new church was led by men of ambition. And the concept of personal spirituality wasn't understood very well, so it was natural and human that these power-hungry men reinstituted a priesthood, and the laws, and the separation of the individual from God again. They soon effected the period of history we call the "dark ages," a debasement of the common person worse than ever before. The new church principalities and powers collected the wealth of the poor by methods of fear in order to create a treasure-rich hierarchy of religious despots for whom pillage and killing were acceptable. Times were dark indeed and a putrescent stench covered the so-called "civilized" western world.

Listen to some words of Jesus as recorded in the Apocalypse of Peter, one of the scriptures discovered in 1946 near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Jesus is speaking: "They will cleave to the name of a dead man, thinking that they will become pure. But they will become greatly defiled and they will fall into a name of error and into the hand of an evil, cunning man and a manifold dogma, and they will be ruled heretically. For some of them will blaspheme the Truth and proclaim evil teaching. And they will say evil things against each other.. . . And there shall be others of those who are outside our number who name themselves bishop and also deacons, as if they have received their authority from God. They bend themselves under the judgment of the leaders. These people are dry canals."

        The name of the dead man would of course be "Jesus." A religion based upon simple worship of Jesus on the cross, as our altars reveal, is not enough. The name of Jesus is not an automatic ticket to the kingdom of heaven. The cunning man would be the Pope. It's easy to see why the church organization in the fourth century did not accept that book into the list of acceptable writings for the New Testament canon!

        It was nearly fifteen hundred years after Christ demonstrated His message of reunion with the Father before a few brave souls were able to stand up and protest church laws which forbade the owning of Bibles, and protest that the church was teaching opposite of that which Christ taught.

        It has taken another four hundred years before we are beginning to realize what Jesus was saying so clearly. And this seems to be by a mere few voices outside the traditional churches, a few voices of people who have dared to think of the freedom which Jesus taught, of the opportunity to approach God directly, or of the concept of oneness, the central theme of all that Jesus taught.

        I remember during my years of Seminary that my questions about this Biblical teaching of oneness upset my professors. They would get angry with me and hint that I was perhaps into occult teachings. They would pass off the clear teachings of oneness in John 17 as meaning "togetherness", "with", or "hand in hand." I tried to understand as they understood, but the concept of oneness seemed so clear and important and central to all that Jesus and Paul taught that I could not let it go. Later, I would resign from the ministry in order to be free to grow in my faith and spiritual understanding.

        Because the veil was rent, at the temple and on the cross, we are each now free to approach the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God, and to realize the greatest Truth of all, that there is no separation between the individual and that which he calls God. That is to say there is NO DISTINCTION between the two. No longer can you pray to an external Being, a distant Power, a King who rules in heaven above, because that is not where He is to be found. Being one with AllThatIs, you cannot look outward to pray, but must look inward where you and God have oneship.  As we can all read in the New Testament, "Know ye not that ye are gods?"

        No, we don't know it very well, do we? In our relative ignorance and blindness, we don't understand this very well yet, but to entertain the idea is a bold, bold step in the direction that Jesus points.

        Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to walk in that direction, along your path. If something inside you feels excited about these concepts, feels compelled to begin that walk, or even to leap headlong onto that path, your life will never be the same. It will be tougher. God be with you.

        Henceforth, the Path is everything. There is nought else to compare it to. A single insight into enlightenment is worth more than a lifetime of misery. To have more insights is intoxicating and exhilarating beyond what narcotics can do. The Path is addictive and more than addictive; the path and you become One. Once you experience the path, the fear of leaving it will be more frightening than all the difficult lessons that the path will bless you with. This is serious stuff and henceforth your soul and your spiritual progress will become your real and ever-present concern. You have reached that fork in the path where your decision affects your eternity.

        Isn't that wonderful! It is a time for celebration and dancing and singing for the opportunity of the Path is available. Have we waited countless lifetimes for this or does it just seem that way? Think what joy it was for Hercules when he set forth on his path of twelve labors, of the enthusiasm and fearlessness and childlikeness that was his. He knew one thing for sure, that the seeker who dares the Path has all advantages and promises of rewards. The alternative offers no hopes at all. So, celebrate and sing and dance, and know this, that the song and the path and the dance and you are one and the same.

The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan

will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders

and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish,

because they refused to love the Truth and so be saved.

Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion,

to make them believe what is false,

so that all may be condemned who did not believe the Truth.

by Paul, the Apostle,  To the Thessalonians

REFLECTIONS

        Every person that I know is a part of my self, a reflection of characteristics or attributes that are me.

        We do create our own realities, and these realities are manifestations of the stuff of which we are. I, as a personality, as a being, am many things, both good and bad. In order to see what I really am I can look at people and things in my reality and recognize that whatever they are, I am.

        One is bound to this dimension of consciousness by physical and emotional attributes. Enlightenment is the process of releasing the ties to these things by recognizing them honestly and without fear, being willing to change one's nature and behavior, and letting these things cease to be part of the stuff of which one is. This is the letting-go. This is more than just a statement about release; it must be an inner, deep, genuine willingness to be different. Sometimes this is difficult to achieve and one may have to suffer traumatic experiences in life to make it possible.

        A valuable exercise toward the understanding of self is to consider every acquaintance, fellow employee, relative and family member. Look at each one honestly and write down what you dislike about that person, or what you like in particular. These are the points which are reflections of your own self. You can only recognize in someone else things that are part of your own self, of your personal reality.

        Is there someone who irks you more than any other? That is a good person to start with. What irks you about that person? Describe it fully, in detail. Then examine and find how that characteristic reflects your own self, how it is a part of you.

Write these criticisms down in words, like, "He reflects my pettiness, my gossipy nature, my vindictiveness, my insecurity and fear of others, my feeling of incompetence and lack of self esteem. If I weren't so insecure about my own capabilities I wouldn't have to put others down and be so nasty. Then I could afford to be more tolerant and generous. Actually, I believe I can afford to be more generous, even complimentary. It is a shame that this poor person has to do the job of reflecting such rottenness of my nature. Now that I can see how he is a mirror of me, and now that I change my attitudes, he will be able to change and become more loving too." This is the wonderful work of "peacemakers" whom Jesus said were blessed.

        Don't hesitate to be very critical, even to admit your hate toward this other person, which really means your hate toward your own faults. And, don't forget to include your parents, the most important ones on the list. There are aspects about every person which you may hate and some which you may love. Remember that the good points reflect you too. It is usually more difficult to be honest about parents. Perhaps this is part of what Jesus meant when He said you must hate your mother and father to be His disciple. And with this honest criticism you become more willing to realize those faults and those people who reflect them. Your act of releasing, totally, will amazingly enable those persons to be different and you may not see evidence of those faults anymore. As you release and rise above, so will they, because they are stuff of the reality which you create. In each case you will release the person to be free to be whatever he/she wishes and you do not demand any change to be like you wish. In some cases the person may move out of your life, or he may become your dear friend. It doesn't matter. You win either way.

A bird cannot fly until he releases his grip from the branch,

and launches forth.

The forces of heaven rally to support one who risks such leap of faith.

R. H.

ESSENCE OF NUMBERS IN ST. PAUL'S SERMON

Recognizing that numbers have significant meanings in scripture, it has been an interest of mine for many years to understand that significance. The import of numbers seems to extend beyond just that of symbols in esoteric literature, perhaps to the very essence of the nature of reality, even to the substance of reality.

I have long been astounded that Paul would go to the gathering of scholars on Mars Hill in Athens with such an apparently simple little homily as he spoke, recorded in Acts 17. One day as I was reading it, it struck me that his statements correlate with the elementary numbers. Here it is as I see it.

Those who truly practice this work

do not worship by prayer very much.

When their prayers are in words,