We are Light: Unplugging from the beast

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 
                                                                                      John 1:4-5, 9-10

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.   Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

As often as I've written about the light, it never came to me as clearly as just recently when I was forced to unpack a deeply painful situation. 

"Why do these things happen to good people?" I asked rhetorically because I knew the answer.

Because it is only through suffering that we learn.  It is a hard fact of reality.  Only when the pain gets really tough, really hard to bear,  so difficult that we can't avert it, drug it, dim it or shut it up,  it is bound to get through to us. Then, there in the deep caverns of our soul, it works its alchemical magic. It wizens and changes us, always for the better. It wakes us up and helps us see another piece of the truth. When you can't push the pain away, it's going to get your attention and then you can listen to its message. Ultimately, it wakes you up more.

St. Thomas More said to his distraught daughter on the night before his execution by the English King Henry VIII, "One does not get to heaven on a feather bed."

We are all, in our perfect ideal nature, beings of pure light.  If you were to cut open a hand of a light being, there would only be more light.  That's all they are.  That's all we are.  We are light beings living in earthen bodies.  The difference among us is as wide and diverse as the levels of our awareness of this truth.

Ok.  You probably get that.  I get it, but here's the missing piece to really driving that awareness into the greater depths of your consciousness where it will actually catalyze and activate a profound change in your life.

Jesus told us, "do not judge, lest you be judged."  Why?  What is judgment, really?

It is an abuse of power.  It is imposing one person's power over another.  And, it creates an abusive, controlling power paradigm.  As children we are all taught to submit to authority, and we try or else.  What happens if we don't?  In our dark world, we may get punished, beaten, deprived of things we enjoy, and so we learn to obey authority through fear of punishment.  We also, sadly, learn to associate the authority we know here as the authority of God. 

So, we have to unlearn all that, and as Morpheus said in The Matrix, we are enslaved and controlled, living in an unreal, imaginary world that is feeding off us. We have to free our minds.

It may be like quitting smoking after 30 or 40 years, that's if you live long enough to get to that point.  We are controlled by judgment, which is a terrible corruption of your authentic being and of your understanding of God. We have to unplug from it - both internally and externally.

I realized, that like most of us, I had internalized a lot of guilt if I stood up for myself to an abusive person. I realized that I wanted peace at any cost and that cost usually meant me giving in.  That became a life long pattern of acquiescence. 

But, God wanted to take me to the next level, and unplugged me from that mindset and gave me a  vision of a light being and told me that's what you - and all other humans - really are.  Every time you give in, submit, to an external authority, you are allowing them to impose their control over you, and that is darkening your being.  After a lifetime, you discover that you have a lot of buried insults and hurts.  

As you have learned to submit to others' judgment of you, you have also found an inner reaction to them.  You find that your reactions blind you and you stay caught on authority's fishing line, feeding them your power, while you thrash in the air wondering what happened.

If we knew that only God deserves our worship, then we would not submit to the authority of our world. That, quite simply, is idolatry - the very worst kind.  Yet, we've all been taught to submit.

A friend of mine pointed out to me recently that all the states in the United States are "at-will" states in terms of employment (well, with the exception of Montana).  That means that any employer can fire you for absolutely any reason.  Even if they want to fire you because of your race, they can make it about the color of your socks rather than the color of your skin.  We are at the mercy of our employers, our bosses, these false gods in the corporate world. 

I often wondered why people are so afraid to speak up to their mean and abusive bosses.  Because life on the street isn't so pleasant.  You can be in debt, on a long term lease, living pay check to pay check, and your boss can kick you out the door with one minutes notice.  You're cooked.  It's over.

So, what are we to do?  That's a very real issue that our social justice people who talk and talk about economic justice, and helping the homeless, etc. should look at.  But, it underscores why corporate America, which is built on the masculine power down structure needs to be turned upside down. 

I believe this is what Jesus came to teach us.  We need to unplug from the authoritative power of the ruling powers of our world, and tune in to the beautiful music of heaven within us.  We can begin by honoring our own innate right to be wrong.  We can accept we are not perfect and we make mistakes and we can be honored despite that.  We need to never allow another fellow human being have power over us and we need to begin to detox from all the internalized hurt and woundedness we all share because of this system that runs completely unchecked, and has for thousands and thousands of years. 

Knowing that we are light is the first step in our own awakening.  Realizing our worship is of God and only God, whether you call God, Allah or Krishna.  (You know, "A rose by any name smells as sweet.")

The second is checking ourselves, catching ourselves when we gossip, judge, condemn, criticize or have a negative self righteous opinion about anyone else. 

When we talk about changing global systems of exploitation and control, that's not an opinion or a condemnation. That is a fact that is calling for the transformation of our global political and economic systems which are destroying the world. It is a power-down system, which controls us like slaves, each one afraid of losing their job.  So, each one prostitutes their truth to the great wizard of the corporation.  That is evil.  The whole system is corrupt. Period. It is no wonder that the Book of Revelation talks about the Great harlot and the beast at the end times. Do you see a correlation here?

I think, and all of this I remind myself of constantly and am only sharing it here on Tiger Lilies to stretch my awareness and share it with anyone interested enough to read these long-winded pieces.  I have learned to listen carefully to what I'm thinking and watch my reaction to others.  Any reaction of mine points to the place in me where I have buried pain.  And, it is in this deep inner place where the wound is, like a sunken ship in the mouth of the Columbia, and this is when and where to apply the beautiful Hoponopno prayer.  (Published on Tiger Lilies on April 20, 2011)

Mystery school

Rest on the Flight into Egypt*

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Matthew 2:13-15 New King James Version (NKJV)

If anyone thought that all you needed to know about this extraordinary story about the birth of a baby who would change the world is in the Gospel, think again. There's so much more to the story.

Throughout the story there are clues to a deeper message. In Matthew, right after Jesus' birth, the Magi arrive having followed a star and after inquiring of Herod of the birth of the new king. After they depart, Joseph has the dream. Clearly they gave the Holy family more than incense, gold, and myrrh. Those may be symbolic. But, they must have talked to them about going to Egypt. They knew the meaning of the baby's birth and that he was sent to lead his people back to the original spirituality they left in Egypt. 

The wise men were Magi of the Priesthood of the Biblical Melchizedek dating back to 12,000 BC.** They were Gnostic mystics with close ties to the Sufis whose origins are unknown, yet may have stemmed from before the great flood. (Which is true according to latest archeological and anthropological findings). 

There was a time in the ancient past when Yogis, Hindus, and Sufis all shared a highly spiritual and powerful enlightened mysticism. They were from the last Golden Age which would have been within that time frame. Their teachings were almost lost with the rising power of the Egyptian and later Roman empires. 

Also, preserved in the Torah are traces of an ancient mystical Judaism, from before the flight out of Egypt led by Moses. Judaism's Star of David, which is a complex element of spiritual geometry, further suggests this. 

Those ancient Hebrew mystics could never have imagined the Star of David, their sacred symbol for God, would one day be on the national flag of Israel. The star, which reflects the merged and overlapping symbols for the male and female principles of creation indicating the divine is a perfect balance of both, points to the existence of an ancient mystical path. I think there are hints in this story that point directly to that ancient path.

So, the Magi followed the star, and the star may have been an inner vision as much as an external real star. In Yoga, in meditation, you will see an inner star and as you focus - which maybe only the Yogis can - you are able to enter the inner realm through that star. 

Then, also, the holy family was directed to go to Egypt. Those are hints or road signs suggesting there is so much more to the story, and signs of a much deeper mystical message or story buried within this one. Did the gospel writers and the fledgling group of Jesus followers realize their lives, and Jesus' message, would be in danger if the story was more fully revealed? Why is this deep mysticism so threatening to the oppressive ruling powers like the Romans and Egyptians? Again, it seems then (as now) an unbalanced masculine principle, which is rampant external control, is threatened by the feminine which is a deep mystical inner spirituality.

So, the myth was preserved in these hints to protect and preserve the story from the corrupted Jewish leaders of the time and Romans. Both were threatened by Jesus' message. The real meanings, hinted at in this shadowy mythic birth narrative, would not be revealed until they could be understood by an awakening age when humanity would have "the eyes to see, ears to hear" the real story. That time is now.

The era was as rife with corruption, control, and exploitation then as now. At the time, the authentic Zadok priesthood had been deposed by Herod and replaced by Sadducean priests who could be bribed to comply with Herod's orders to ensure his own selfish rise in the Roman ranks of power. 

Jesus challenged them with his awareness of their plot to deceive and cheat the people of both their money and the empowering spirituality in the authentic teachings of Judaism. When they realized he was on to their religious fraud, they set out to trap and eliminate him.*** 

The true story of the birth of the inner spiritual self, the inner child, threatened by external powers of control that attempt to limit its creative potential and freedom, had to be framed as a nativity narrative, I think. While it may have been actually a true story about Jesus' birth, the myth carries a more important message, consistent with Jesus' teachings.

There are other hints carved on the walls of ancient ruins and temples, pyramids and religious sites, some of which are under water. They point to a time of great mystical enlightenment, a time so beautiful one can only imagine what it might have been like. I think the truth is accessible through our imaginations, which are fueled and informed by the Holy Spirit. It seems clear that we are on the way back to rediscovering these ancient mystery schools and the profound truths they hold.

The birth narrative of Jesus, who was wrapped in simple swaddling clothes, points to a worldview based on the rich wisdom of surrender to the divine and non-attachment to materiality. It shows humility is the ultimate wisdom, and closer to the divine kingdom than the temporal power of that time.

In Luke's story, there is the juxtaposition of a vulnerable baby born in the humblest of circumstances set against the threatening monster of world domination then, Caesar Augustus, the epitome of unbalanced control and psychopathic excess. The power of the world contrasts the power of heaven evident in the divine birth, born in humility and truth. The story is clearly the feminine principle facing off with the masculine.

I recall in the story of Solomon, which was part of the Melchizedek priesthood, who prayed for wisdom, and wisdom was given him. In the story, God says to Solomon that wisdom will always be granted to those who ask for it.

That sounds similar to, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9)

When you explore the deeper meaning of that passage, Jesus is saying, whenever you ask for the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit (who is ultimate wisdom) will be given to you.  It's not, if you ask for a Ferrari, you'll get a Ferrari. 

So, entrance to the path to enlightenment is hidden in the birth narrative.

In the inspiring painting (at the top) by Merson is an imaginative depiction of the young family's exhausting flight from Herod's threat to kill the newborn, into the ancient land of wisdom.  

It reflects the journey back through the desert through which the ancient Hebrews would have fled from Pharaoh, who was a lot like Herod in his power paradigm of oppression, control, and slavery. 

This painting, which is one of my favorites, is on display in Boston's Museum of Fine Art.  Many of Merson's critics considered him "strange." He was suggesting something in this painting that was still lost to the common scholars of the time.  It seems Merson was well aware of the ancient mystery schools, whose teachings on enlightenment would be restored. 

Now 2,000 years later, we are again returning to the original teachings of Jesus. He directed us to look for God's kingdom within our hearts, where we would find our true selves and connect with each other and all of life in that limitless inner realm. As we embrace the beauty of the divine within, we will increase our courage and inner power, reduce or eliminate our fear, and bloom in our newfound creativity. This deeper awakening and greater creative enlightenment will give us the direction we need to balance the rampant externally driven masculine principle threatening to destroy our world today.  

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For simple clarity, the feminine principle is the life-giver, the birther, the creative allowing. The masculine is the protector and defender of life. Both must be paired in equilibrium. Too much of one, without the presence of the other, is destructive.

Addendum:  As I was writing this, I saw the attempt by the oppressive, controlling masculine principle in the Nazi regime to wipe out the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s. The Jews who were being exterminated were marked and identified with the Star of David.  Unknowingly, they represented the perfect balance of the divine feminine and divine masculine in that symbol. 
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*     Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1879, by Luc Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920)

**   As a result, the Magi Priesthood of Melchizedek of the Templar Order (as restored from the 12th century) is the direct continuation of the 12,000-year-old Priesthood of the Biblical Melchizedek, possibly the oldest ecclesiastical authority in recorded human history.

*** Jesus, Politics, and Society: A Study of Luke's Gospel by Richard J. Cassidy