The Secret of Prayer

                When the book and subsequent movie ‘The Secret’ came out, people everywhere were buzzing about its’ revelation: the Law of Attraction. Revealed as the key to the prolific success of some of history’s greatest minds, like Michelangelo and Thomas Jefferson, the Law of Attraction is a powerful insight into the workings of nature that can be consciously, intentional used as a tool for manifestation. A tool whose ideas underlie the manifestation processes.

                However, utilizing the guidelines surrounding the Law of Attraction can be obtained via invocation and evocation; invocation being the safer ‘white magic’, and evocation the ‘black magic’ requiring a sacrifice. The sacrifice evocation requires is one of placing power outside the center; outside the divine within. It is equivocal to worshiping false gods. There are better ways to utilize the guidelines that the Law of Attraction lays out. It is only through lack of wisdom, knowledge and a dwelling in the dark that we are caused to error, which brings about lack and suffering. We can obtain our desires and pay a price for obtaining them if we use an evocation method; but the price is not necessary if you have the wisdom of divine perspective. The Law of Attraction works whether or not we dwell within the light.

                Neville Goddard taught causative imagining. The premise is that we can ’create’ our futures by ‘imagining’ what we want with feeling, gratitude, and the absolute belief that what we wanted ‘presently’ exists. We need to give our imagined ‘post-end’ all the tones of reality in our imagined experience. It needs to be real, a ’present’ experience of what we desire already existing. This is what the Bible said in the ancient Aramaic, according to Neil Douglas Klotz (Prayers of the Cosmos, pages 86-87; also noted in Braden's ‘Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer’, pages 166-167).

                According to Klotz, John 16: 23-24, has been expurgated and this method was removed in edits. The passage originally said:

"All things that you ask straightly and directly from inside my name you shall be given. So far you have not done this. Ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire, that your gladness be full."

"All things that you ask straightly and directly from inside my 'name' you shall be given (name/face/nature/imagination). So far you have not done this (asking with our voice is not doing this: we need to ‘ask’ by ‘imagining’ the condition we want). Ask without hidden motive (i.e., do not be judgmental, but forgive the present with grace) and ‘be surrounded by your answer (in fervent, vivid, '3D' imagining). Be ‘enveloped’ by what you desire (the end-state having already been established), that your gladness be full (belonging to you)."

"The great secret of prayer is ‘thinking from’, rather than ‘thinking of’.”

- Neville Goddard

This form of utilizing the Law of Attraction that Neville Goddard proposes is technically an invocation. This is the practice most who practice the ritual and spell-work of the Law of Attraction utilize. However, to do so without spiritual discipline and acceptance of all things will often result in detrimental possibilities being drawn to you as well as your desires. This is the universe presenting lessons to you in order to widen your perspective. It is our duty to grow spiritually by widen our perspective, and once obtaining acceptance of all things, to not fall from that divine state; to continue to pray without end.

                I Thessalonians 5: 17 commands, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” How can we pray without ceasing? Does it mean we should be uttering a prayer all the time mentally or orally? No, it most assuredly does not mean this, for that would be absurd vain repetition. But prayer without ceasing does mean turning our heart toward God often in our daily lives.

                We pray successfully when we do not ask amiss by asking for something to spend upon our selfish pleasures; that is upon our ego needs. Our egos hunger for approval from the world. Ego needs are thus always centered upon objects such as persons, accomplishments, situations, things, money, etc. We center upon objects because we are looking for approval. All object or ego centeredness is based upon fear. The preacher wants the successful church so he can have more approval. You may want a new situation to increase your approval rating.

                James 4: 3 speaks to ego centered prayer. He says it is asking amiss or missing the mark. He says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it upon your pleasures.”

                Proper prayer, and proper invocation of the Law of Attraction, is to be filled with and project compassion. Compassion is the language of God and the universe. Feeling and projecting compassion is the way to pray successfully without ceasing at all times. In the Old Testament it is said, “Be holy for God is holy!” But Jesus teaches, “Be compassionate for God is compassionate!” Consistently throughout history, spiritual teachings must be reworded to fit the language of our times.

                Compassion is the key to praying successfully because our thoughts and emotions have the power to influence matter. The universe was created and is sustained by a ‘mind over matter’ principle; as taught in the first Hermetic Principle of Mentalism.

                Three major experiments in the 90’s proved that our thoughts and emotions can affect our DNA’s behavior instantaneously. In each case, extracted live DNA was taken from a subject’s cells and placed in a vacuum tube and moved from 100 feet to 350 miles away from the subject. Then the subject was exposed to material that evoked emotions that ranged from horror and revulsion to ecstasy, love and compassion. An atomic clock was used to time the response of the DNA’s response to its’ owner’s thoughts and emotions. In each case the DNA responded immediately to the subject’s reactions. Feelings of horror and revulsion twisted the DNA into a knotted like mass. Feelings of joy, love and compassion relaxed the DNA into its’ relaxed ladder like position.

                Prayer and meditation that focuses on love and acceptance works wonders. We live in a magical enchanted universe because the Divine Conscious Spirit and source field that creates it connects everything together. Quantum physics has demonstrated that our observation actually changes the behavior of sub-atomic particles. A photon is ordinarily a wave of light but when we observe it, it becomes a particle. Deciding to usurp a feeling of sincere compassion can affect the nature in which we live, move and have our being.

                An outstanding Tibetan Buddhist monk was asked by a computer scientist, religious and philosophical researcher Greg Braden “Is compassion a force of creation or is it an experience?” Thoughtfully, the monk answered with great force, “It is both a force in the universe as well as a human experience.”

                Truly, all thoughts, feelings, emotions and acts we choose are forces within the universe as well as human experiences. These are the primal forces that surround the center.

                Living in non-judgment of all things with deep compassion is the most exciting adventure we can ever enter into. Do not judge what the answer to your prayer should be; just live envisioning your prayer as if it is already answered. Live the answer as if it is a current reality. See it in your imagination. Feel it with compassion for all concerned, including yourself. Stay open to all possibilities. Do not judge what exact possibility you should receive. Accept with thanksgiving whatever comes; because the frequency of your heart will draw in its’ match, and the result is the fulfillment of the prayer.

                We receive what we need in order to grow spiritually; and if we’ve grown spiritually we receive our comforts that sustain that divine outlook. We do this at all times, just as Osiris judges the hearts of the dead by weighing them against a feather. The spiritually dead receive detriments to widen their perspective.

                Jesus said, “Therefore I say unto you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Little do most of Jesus’ followers know, that they are always praying. The marriage of thought and emotion is what manifests in the world around us. Utilizing compassion and feeling our desires fulfilled is akin to making your eye one. When we do this we can move mountains. Let us illustrate this from two other writings.

                John 16: 23 says, “And in that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say unto you, whatever you ask the Father in my name; He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full.” What does it mean to ask in Jesus’ name? And how may your joy be full?

                An ancient Aramaic translation of John 16: 23-24 gives explanation of these words and what asking in Jesus name means and how your joy may be full. It says, “All things that you ask straightly and directly…from inside my name you will be given. So far you haven’t done this…so ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire, that your gladness be full.”

                Asking in Jesus’ name means asking according to his character, his way of life and his attitudes; it is to align oneself with divine consciousness and act as the Messiah yourself. (W.W.J.D.?) As we have said, this means first getting your selfish, fear based ego desires out of the way. Ego repels the power to receive desired results; it is asking with hidden motives and not straight and direct. Selfish motives receive ‘nothing’ or ‘darkness’; acting from the ego self still attracts the intention of the heart, and that is detriments from the universe.

                Your joy becomes full by you surrounding yourself with your answer. This is done by practicing the greatest principle in psychology, the “as if” principle. You must live and think always as if you have the answer already, surround yourself with your answer. Do not demand any certain answer. Just live as if you already have all that you need. Surround yourself constantly with this assurance. Envelope yourself with the feeling of already having obtained your desires. Though negative possibilities exist, you do not repel them, but thank them for their perspective and accept them as being possible. Focus on the feeling of health, wealth, success or material things that you want. Surround yourself with the sense and belief that you have what you desire already. This draws the answer, solution to you.

                Be open as to what form the answer shall come in and then accept what comes with gratitude. To demand the answer in a certain form causes you to miss it and reap detriments. You must live with the uncertainty of how your answer will come to you but with the certainty that the correct answer that is best for your soul will come. This enables you to live with peace, knowingness, and compassion for all. Being enveloped with compassion is praying without ceasing.

                The only prayer we were told to utilize according to Jesus is the ‘Our Father’ or ‘Lord’s Prayer’. It is appropriately dubbed the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ because it is a method of the Law of Attraction utilized by wise and knowledgeable ‘lords’. This is a nod to the fact that we are the ones responsible for our position in life. This is an interpretation of it as found in Matthew 6:

“Our Father (progenitor) that resides within the center (heaven), hallowed be your name (face/image), your kingdom come (what is built upon the center), your will be done (becomes manifest), on earth as it is in heaven (mirrored energy/ as above, so below/ the tesseract like quality of the cosmic egg). Give us today our daily bread (deliver nourishment). And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

                In Matthew 6 is a wonderful interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer. It identifies more properly in the English language the feelings our consciousness should take on to better understand and utilize the Divine source and manifest our desires. The word ‘debt’ instead of ‘sin’, as used in Luke 11, reflects a better understanding of the weight we put on our hearts. It also more appropriately identifies evil to be a singular concept, as there is but one cause to evil; and that is darkness. Where there is lack of light, lack of knowledge and wisdom, there is fear and misinterpretation. Speculation in darkness and acting on fear is the cause which makes us sin against one another. Acts of fear adds the weight of a karmic burden that must be relieved in order to dwell in the light once again. The sense of guilt we put on ourselves makes us feel like we don’t deserve our desires, and so to with ones who we blame. This is why forgiveness of self and others is so important.

                So what is the secret of prayer? In a nutshell: you’re doing it right now. You’ve always been praying, and you will always continue to pray. The secret is to always be mindful of what you’re praying for, and to develop a method of self control.

APOTHEOSIS

                Apotheosis is the pinnacle achievement of spiritual development for an individual. There are a plethora of pathways for one to take to get there. Once divinity is accepted and brought into one’s life, the clarity that leads to this goal becomes more defined. By mastering the spiritual concepts that lead to this perfection, its’ aspirants have been known to perform miracles. For most it remains an enigmatic concept, because its’ truths lie outside the confines of the Earth. To obtain apotheosis, is to truly know God; and this is the ultimate goal for each of our souls.

                Apotheosis is defined as the highest point in development of something. It also means the elevation of man to divine status. From Greek apotheoun, “to make a god, “to deify”, implies a polytheistic conception of gods. It also recognizes that some individuals cross the dividing line between gods and men.

                It is assumed that godhood, associated with such characters as the Greek pantheon of gods, is mythical. It also has been proposed that the myths have something to do with ancestor worship, or reverence for the dead. Some assume that godhood has been attributed to past rulers as a method of mere flattery. It is uncommon today to assume that the myths of godhood were literal.

                Though, it is often observed that mankind had in the past, has always had the ability of achieving, and has to some degree at all times, a god-like potential that goes unseen. These abilities have been recognized throughout all of time and are usually likened to the ability and product of prayer. The potential of this power is directly related to the spiritual purity of the individual.

                Where does this quest for spiritual purity begin? For Christians it is possible that this journey begins with the sacrament of Baptism. All religions have rite of passage rituals that bring their members through a type of spiritual advancement. Throughout history there has always been a service offering all mankind a separate form of advancement outside the confines of religion. From ancient Egyptian mystery schools taught by Hermes Trismegistus, whose reincarnated governance of the craft has been attributed to the works of Thoth, Hermes and Tubalcain, to the schools governed by King Solomon, Pythagoras, and all the way to Freemasonry today; no matter what path is chosen spiritual truths are always within our grasp.

                Most mystery schools have a symbolic “lodge room” where groups of practitioners perform their ritual. King Solomon’s Temple is proposed to be a symbolic representation of the Mind of God. Initiates to the craft are always brought through from the West. Some medieval rabbis claimed that today's Western Wall, at Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is a surviving wall of the original Temple of Solomon, and cautioned Jews from approaching it, lest they enter the Temple precincts in a state of impurity.

“Man is born without raiment; he is born helpless; he is born dependent upon those who love him for everything that makes life possible. The candidate for the Entered Apprentice Degree must be born again, before he is really entered; and when his preparation is so regarded, the rite becomes solemn, convincing, sacred; there is no humor in it, nor any intention or desire to wound the most sensitive feelings. The initiate does but go the same way as all good brothers who have preceded him through the West Gate.”

- Carl H. Claudy

                Freemasons today recognize and respect a similar concept of the Western Wall of Temple Mount with the Western doors of their lodge room. A Mason is essentially one who has acknowledged what spiritual purity is and has vowed to ever work towards it. That is the first step towards spiritual understanding.

                Throughout the Degrees of Freemasonry a Mason learns the methods in which to purify himself. He studies the world around him and works to obtain a ‘gnosis’ or ‘nirvana’ state of understanding, and with that wisdom he can see that his own Apotheosis is potentially obtainable. For most, the work is never complete during their lifetime.

                The Monomyth, as presented by Joseph Campbell, vaguely represents the journey of a Freemason through the degrees. It has been used as a template for telling stories by Hollywood, Disney, and many others for many years. It can be found in a broad category of tales that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed. It is important to note that adventurer must answer the call before he begins the journey as that is the required first step for spiritual growth; choosing to believe in deity. Then the adventurer seeks out his cause, his journey; he chooses to seek out deity. In doing so the adventurer comes back changed; his ignorance of deity dies. This is the symbolic return of the king.

                Phophecy in the Bible talks about the return of the Messiah coming through the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem. Not often is it publicly disclosed, but the truth in understanding the wisdom offered by all myth is that this prophecy is symbolic of the Temple within man. Freemasons understand this concept as their journey from the West to the East.

                For the followers of Dzogchen, ancient teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, the pinnacle achievement is known as the Great Perfection. Upon realizing the Great Perfection, practitioners’ bodies transform into a light body. The key to turning into a light body is based on one simple, but hard to do premise: love everything, all the time. Of course, it goes much deeper than that such as the recitation of mantra, performance of mudra and visualization; as well as wisdom awareness, observing the egolessness, emptiness, and impermanence of all phenomena. All sound is heard as mantra, awareness of thoughts is the primordial dharmakaya, and appearances are the mandala of deities. At the highest levels of this teaching, telepathy and clairvoyance are achieved, along with complete enlightenment.

                The lightbody transformation is known in many cultures by various names:

Sufism: the most sacred body or supracelestial body

Taoist: the diamond body, the immortals and the cloudwalkers

Yogic schools and Tantrics: the divine body

Kriya yoga: the body of bliss

Vadanta: the superconductive body

Ancient Egyptians: the luminous body or being (akh) or the karast

Gnosticism: the perfect body

Hermetic Corpus: the immortal body

Alchemical tradition: the Emerald Tablet calls it the golden body

Tibetan Buddhism: Rainbow Body

                Tibetan Buddhism has ongoing reports of the “Rainbow Body” to this very day, in which people transform their physical bodies into a new, rainbow-colored energetic form after many years of practice. In many cases, they would complete this process of transformation by meditating in a cave. When they come out, and are ready to graduate to this next level of their own evolution, they will often push their hand or foot directly into the stone. They can now easily flip the stone molecules into time-space, and leave an impression behind. Some of these handprints and footprints have been photographed and published online. There are fully 160,000 documented cases of the Rainbow Body in Tibet and India alone.

                The Rainbow Body concept has been the goal of many within the occult. It is the inspiration for Transhumanism; advancing human capability through means of science and technology. Inspired by the works of H.P. Blavatsky and Friedrich Nietsche, Adolf Hitler employed the Anenerbe, a dark Nazi occult group, to develop an Ubermensch army for his war efforts. This is also where the concept for Super Man comics came from. The fallible concept of a master race started a quest for power and a movement that practiced eugenics, racism, and war; all due to weighing heavily on one end of a polarized concept. They didn’t follow the middle path, nor did they understand any semblance of spiritual purity.

                The symbol the Anenerbe were said to worship was that of the Black Sun. It is essentially a Sun Wheel. The Sun Wheel is an ancient symbol featuring an equal-armed cross within a circle. It is quite a popular spiritual symbol that has been discovered in the iconography and religious art of a number of prehistoric cultures across the world. It is also known by the alternative names of Sun Cross, Wheel Cross, Solar Cross, Pagan Cross, Woden's Cross and Odin's Cross.

                Throughout history, the Sun has always been worshipped and considered to be all-powerful, supreme and a preserver. It is supposed to control the actions and impact of the planets as well as their moons. The Sun Wheel symbol is believed to invoke the great cosmic powers to bless the Earth with fertility, life, abundance, prosperity and peace. The cross in the Sun Wheel divides the circle with four parts, which are said to be representative of the solar calendar and are marked by the solstices. They symbolize the four annual seasons that have a very significant influence on the agricultural cycles.

                This symbol originated in ancient Mu as the circle, then a point within the circle, then as a swastika, and has been misunderstood for thousands of years. The swastika was known in Mu as a hydra. It represented the four primal powers, which came from the divine source. This alluded to physicality’s symbolism of mans’ four appendages, the four corners of the Earth, and the Galactic Cross. It was a spiritual symbol of truth that was admired by all in antediluvian culture. Due to the connotation that Nazi Germany and Marvel Comics have given to the swastika and the hydra, it can be understood that there has been a massive misconception of these sacred images in our modern times.

“Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.”

- Ezekiel 1:10

                The galactic cross is formed by the zodiac the sun appears in during its’ equinoxes and solstices. Two thousand years ago it crossed Aquarius the man, Leo the lion, Taurus the bull, and Scorpio which was then represented as an eagle. Ezekiel’s vision of the angel was an amalgam of the primal forces, like that of the swastika. This same concept is reflected in the much older Sumerian sphinx, Lamassu; which has the head of a man, body of a bull and lion, and an eagle’s wings. This is also synonymous with the 4-headed Hindu god Brahma. These symbols were meant to represent the concept of All Creation. They show primal forces emanating in the center, and the epitome of God’s reach in the stars. It is a conscious reminder that God is within, and as God works through man, reality is set in to place.

                Like voices in our heads, the angels and demons, the elemental gods, Jinns and Neters, etc., are emanations of our own mind. They represent concepts. The Seal of Solomon represents the mastery over these forces. It represents the understanding of Maya, the illusion of physical reality in Hinduism. It is a reminder that all these things are a part of the divine whole.

                The Seal of Solomon shares this concept. It has also been confused in its’ meaning due the stories of Solomon sealing 72 demons to do his bidding. This story is more of an allegory for the truth, but it is also literal. The number 72 comes from the observance of the stars in the physical heavens. It is the number of years it takes for the entire star chart to shift 1 degree. (In his fallen state, a man believes that the Creation rules over him, instead of God within him ruling over the Creation.) The 72 represents the ‘gods’ of ancient religions that are found within the stars; such is the myth in ancient Sumer. These ‘gods’ are called ‘demons’ to those that understand the truth, because they are merely ‘demonstrators’ of the conscious work that occurs within. To have power over demons is the concept of the Seal. Through this understanding great works can be achieved.

                Spiritual perfection relies heavily on only using invocations. Invocation is likened to white magic, as it invokes the True God within to manipulate the Creation. Evocation is likened to black magic, as it evokes the concepts that exist within Creation. Practitioners of magic know that evocations always come with a price. This is because, in practicing evocation, we literally make a sacrifice with our eternal minds. We choose to attribute power to being within the ‘thing’ within Creation that we evoke, and take it away from the source of power that is within. If apotheosis is your goal, you are to bow before no one or thing but the eternal God within. However, it is admissible to evoke the eternal God within others, and to bow to them in reverence to the same; as this is truly an invocation. When raised to understand spiritual wisdom, one can invoke all the same magic used in evocation without the consequences. The application of this ability in the modern world is likened to healing without medication.

                If apotheosis is possible, it must be done in communion with the eternal God within; by aligning oneself with divine will. In no way is the Transhumanist method of Apotheosis possible by combining Ego with Godly powers. To give in to the ego is to make gods of demons. Sacrifices to false gods are something we are all guilty of until we perfect ourselves. Until one obtains spiritual purity, they will never fully know the ruling power that comes from within.

                Also, if it is possible, then those who have never opened their mind to it will never discern evidence of it due to the prime directive. The prime directive is an intrinsic part of our reality, to where one must accept that there is a divine presence before they are given any proof. No matter how hard believers push the truth upon non-believers, there will always be concepts lacking in the relay of information for the non-believer to fail to grasp. The prime directive is the covenant that gives man the ability to choose any path he desires. It is the assurance of free will within the Creation. To know of it is to understand the allegory of Plato’s cave.

                The universe as we know it is a creation of the foolish god of Gnosticism. In other words, it is a projection of the shared consciousness of our fallen nature. Astrological predictions of celestial bodies determining our destiny is only an implication. The studies into our sciences to understand the world around us, is the same as holding up a mirror to the Unknown God of Gnosticism; our true creator and eternal God within. All we perceive with our physical bodies is a reflection of the inner workings of the collective consciousness. In our fallen nature, our physical environment is a powerful suggestion towards our behavior.

                Physically, behavior has been being modified via frequencies since before the times of ancient Egypt. Tools like the Djed pillars, the caduceus rod of the pharaohs and Caesars, even directed intentions like prayer and spell work intentionally alter behavior on a physical level. Also, when people worship symbols they resonate with power. Our physical bodies are always being suggested to behave a certain way due to our environment. The fallen nature of man is the ignorance to the truth that we are the progenitors of the environment in the first place; and that God dwells within man. Those that do not know this truth become slaves to false gods.

                To advance spiritually, we have to choose to be stoic about life. We need to follow the Middle Path, and have the constitution to transmute the energies around us to overcome any detriments. We must get past the dark night of the soul of experiencing the fear of the unknown. Own it. We have always had free will. We can only be subject to suggestions. The light we see is a demonstration of the inner workings of our soul. The demons and angels are fractal pieces of conscious thought. The cosmic egg of Hinduism suggests this same truth. The kingdom of heaven as taught by Jesus Christ is the same.

                This is the interpretation the Gnostics have been trying to inform humanity of since the fall of man thousands of years ago. Thoth and the Vedas of Hinduism, and many others who have felt the truth with their heart, were technically Gnostics. Their knowledge comes from communion with the divine. Mankind has always had this capability. The Sacred Heart of Jesus reflects this same concept. It is the weighing of our sins upon our heart. When we acknowledge power coming from our environment, our hearts feel heavy; and when we acknowledge that true power comes from God alone, our hearts feel light. Through the discernment of our own individual interpretation of our environment we judge our selves.

                The spiritual heart is the source of the Apple of Perception. All we see are signs that we are meant to interpret the meanings thereof.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

- Matthew 18:18-20 (NIV)

                This is what is meant by the alchemical teaching: ‘as above, so below’. This Biblical passage portrays the true tesseract-like nature of Heaven and Earth. It also shows that physical existence is brought on by multiple sources of invisible energy. Multiple people having the same intention, aligned with the divinity within, culminate in the manifestation within the Creation. Manifestation can also occur when one is enlightened through inner harmony of mind body and spirit. Obtaining this power is to perfect the cornerstone within your spiritual temple. This is the secret of the divine trinities, the mystery of the triune god, the refuge of the three jewels and the cintamani stone of eastern cultures; the wish fulfilling jewel. This is the secret of the philosopher’s stone.

                The same message is repeated to us over and over in different ways. Their concepts may vary slightly, but that is for the reason of introducing divine truths to varieties of people. The understanding of this is also unique to the individual. The message can feel redundant as the world around each of us has been presenting this truth constantly in different ways.

                The ultimate conclusion is the realization of reality as we know it as being a conscious mirror of the interworking of the soul. It’s all a dream. It comes to each of us to decide whether or not to wake up. Heaven on Earth can be an individual accomplishment when one achieves a type of enlightenment and finds peace within.

                Heaven on Earth is also the hopes for our collective future, a place in time and space that the ascended souls go to dwell in peace. It is the prophesied Golden Age. The Revelation of the Bible, the returning of the four legs of Dharma, these concepts are a prediction of the future and hope of a time when we all choose to wake up.

                All we can do is keep trying to spread the word. The obligation of the missionary belongs to all who are initiates of this truth.

Method

            Spiritual growth towards an Apotheosis, through Gnosis, is the ultimate goal for our souls; no matter how you want to define it. To achieve such this is the path. There is but one path. As for the definitions of this path, there are many. Most these days that choose to avoid religion, will pick up a self-help book. Self-help books focus on redefining the world around you. They develop a paradigm of understanding. The new processes they propose only work if the reader accepts the proposed paradigm. The same precepts are brought forth by any religion. Each religion has a specific understanding of their deity, the world around them, and a prescribed code of behaviour. Throughout their vast artisanal and dogmatic doctrines, all of these works follow certain guidelines.

            For example: the path to Nirvana in Buddhism comprises eight aspects in which an aspirant must become disciplined: their understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration. This is known as the Eightfold Path. Buddhists have built their method of ethical conduct on the concept of universal love and compassion for all living beings. Their guideline is the ‘middle way,’ moderation between extremes.

            Every religion has their own set of laws, rituals and sacraments. This is no different from the ancient mystery schools. Practitioners of all of these are to observe the moral code, and participate in ritual in order to receive the sacraments. It is understood in all of these that good moral character is the cornerstone for the developing spirit.

            In Northern-Traditional Shamanism there is a distinction of the techniques we use which change our state of mind. It identifies method without the concept of morality or of building towards anything. It simply observes the various ways which we alter our states of human consciousness. These altered states are brought on by different methods and are a mixture of invocations and evocations.

·         Meditation – “Path of Breath.” This is defined as a willful focus, a directed intention like prayer, breathing techniques, and trance work. This method has to do with sitting quietly and using only the tools of your own mind. This can be done lying in bed, and is where our mind goes without outside input.

·         Routine – “Path of Ritual.” Creation of a sacred space where repetitive and deliberate mindful activities laden with meaning are practiced. After a time, the space itself can create an altered state. This method has to do with organizing our expectations of the space around us. Whether we are attending church or managing our household, we are infusing the space with spiritual energy and producing a lasting conscious change.

·         Entertainment – “Path of Rhythm.” Inspiration through music, watching television, reading, and even looking in a mirror. Observance of physical life. Allowing your body and mind to be influenced by outside forces in sound frequency and harmonizing with them. This method has to do with acceptance and harmonizing with the forces that surround you, or vice versa. The rejection of these forces can also have an effect on the consciousness.

·         Fasting –“Ascetic’s Path.” Avoiding consuming of substances. The use of a sweat lodge, sauna, cold exposure, salt pool, or sensory deprivation chamber. Emptying the body of physical influences like food and toxins; like going through a cleanse. This method focuses on causing you to be sustained through willpower alone.

·         Substance – “Path of Sacred Plants.” Taking medication. Hallucinogenics, smoking, alcohol, etc. Allowing yourself to be influenced by outside forces that you consume; even food. This method is always practiced as we eat. Through it, we remind ourselves of the harmony and disharmonies provided by the Creation, and are thus sustained within it. This method can be quite dangerous if the substance is volatile or used in excess.

·         Experience - “Path of the Flesh.” Love, charity. This method associates with the primal response of the body, and all the physical, emotional, and chemical changes the body and mind can have through interaction with others. Unlike the other methods, this method addresses the pleasures and pains associated with involvement with others, and our expectations of the results thereof.

·         Ordeals – “Path of Pain.” Obstacles. Intentional and unintentional masochism. Effect of stress on the body and soul. This method can describe physical pain and exercise, but it has more to do with obstacles of the mind. When faced with an opposition our mind makes changes to its behaviour to prepare itself for conflict.

·         Channeling – “Path of the Horse.” Willful change of entire self. Communicating with the divine conscious. Spiritual possession. Acting. Fake it till you make it. Quantum jumping. This method has to do with altering the characteristics of the egoic self, and changing your outward appearance and/or belief system. This change can be upwards, downwards, or sideways upon the fractal tree of life. Through it one can discern truth or lose their way altogether. This method can change who you are, for better or worse. It is also a milestone along the path of spiritual growth, as it is what occurs during the symbolic death during Hermetic Rebirth.

            These methods are omnipresent in our lives and can be defined in a number of different ways. The importance of acknowledging them here is to understand how we subject ourselves to conscious change. We utilize these methods every day, whether we know it or not. Though we are subjected to the influence of environmental, physical, mental, and emotional changes, it is also our choice whether or not to accept their presentation and harmonize ourselves with them. The spirit can only change when the individual allows it to. It is important to acknowledge these gateways of conscious change as a source of study for universal progeny. In doing so we ultimately observe that the source of all things resides within ourselves.

            There are simple guidelines for success in any method. They are: to know, to dare, to will, and to keep silent. Simply explained it means to gather the knowledge necessary, to dare to practice the art, to will the desired results, and to keep quiet about what you are doing.

• To Know: The first factor revolves around knowledge of a thing. Everything we encounter we are also able to fathom. We know of it, so it is relevant. We believe in it. This mostly has to do with imagination. Knowledge of a thing permits it to exist. What is present in our current reality is what is known, and not what is unknown. It is the root of how things manifest into our lives.

• To Dare: The second factor is the acceptance of a thing actually occurring. In order for anything to happen in our lives we must first accept it as a possibility. We dare to take the chance of things occurring. In this step we acknowledge chance at multiple outcomes, some desirable and some undesirable. This is where our knowledge of a thing expands as we explore its possible outcomes.

• To Will: The third factor has to do with willpower. This is where our desires and expectations come in. It is a fragile step and is where our conscious and unconscious mind can fuel or under nourish the desired outcome. Any denial or lack of confidence could contradict the manifestation of a thing and cause undesired results.

• To Keep Silent: The fourth factor is its value, true value of a thing as weighed by the collective conscious. Everything currently in our lives has transgressed this doorway of our acceptance. This is affected by our current value of self-worth and severely influenced by our peers’ opinions. How we feel about a thing, and whether or not we deserve it, greatly influences the manifestations that come to us. This is where we consciously and subconsciously judge ourselves and each other to permit what becomes manifest in our lives. The preferred method at this step for magicians is to keep silent, as it eliminates the variable of the input of others.

            All four factors must be in alignment for anything to be manifest around us. Knowing this we can observe all that is currently manifest in our lives and decipher our current stance of all four of these factors, for ourselves and the collective. This is how things on Heaven and Earth are bound and loosed. It is our role to choose which things we will align with and bring about to experience. Through belief, choice, worship, prayer, desire, and our expectations we channel the creative power of the divine source within us. We tune ourselves like a radio and dance to the song of the cosmos; or rather, the cosmos dance to our song.

* * *

                What we put into the corners of our mind is what emanates around us. To master the world around us, we must master self-control. There are many practices that instill the ideas and concepts in the minds of the many. For most there is the NEWS we watch on television. By being informed on the events of the world we make sacrifice of the firsthand experience and accept the words of others. In this fashion we allow the world around us to be a creation of others. It eludes youngsters as to why their elders had always said that television was evil; now we know why. The old point of view was that it was safer for the spiritual psyche to acknowledge the rest of the world as an unknown. Now we are being told what is out there. For the mystic, to see the outer corners of the world is to stare demons directly in the face. This is not a bad thing. This is why these days are ones of near-instant karmic returns. This is why our world is developing so quickly and so many are coming to enlightenment. When we see the results of our thoughts, words, actions and expectations, it becomes easier to hone them.

                To give an example:

                A humble married man is walking through the woods with his dog. He has him off leash, because he is confident in his control of his pet. A police officer driving nearby is coping with his recent divorce and not paying much attention to anything else. The police officer’s wife is far from these men, and has disdain towards her former husband and has taken their family pet in their divorce; a dog the police officer never cared for. Then a pack of deer pass by the man and dog in the woods. The man begins to worry his dog may run off after them; and the dog does. The deer then cross a nearby road where the police officer is approaching. The police officer, who has not been able to go hunting in the past few years because of his fights with his ex-wife, speeds up in attempts to hit one of the deer. The deer pass over the road. Then the dog comes to a standstill in the road, observing the approaching vehicle. The police officer, who has just enough time to stop to avoid the dog, does not do so. Instead he speeds up and hits the dog, and continues on.

                This fully observed situation can spark a number of opinions on the matter, but the result does not owe its’ fault to any one of the people involved. All three people mentioned, the man in the woods, the police officer and his ex-wife, share an equal blame for the fate of the dog. The man lost his confidence over his control of his dog and succumbed to fear before the dog came to harm. The police officer, in his state of despair ignored basic moral guidelines. The ex-wife, though far removed from the physical situation, wished the police officer an ill fate. Now, you the observer wish to know if the dog survived, or if the police officer was ever persecuted for cruelty to animals. Whatever your feelings may be on the matter, your mere knowing makes you a part of it; and you are now contributing to it. In times of tragedy, some blame themselves; some blame others and some damn all who are involved.

                It is a culmination of forces that bring cause to the physical existence. Knowing this truth makes it easier to forgive. We are responsible for each other as much as we are responsible for ourselves.

* * *

                What we put into the phylacteries of our hearts is the most pivotal causation that affects the physical world. A phylactery, sometimes called ‘tefillin’, are small, square leather or wooden boxes containing portions of scripture from the Torah worn by Conservative and Orthodox Jews during prayer services. Phylacteries are worn in pairs, one phylactery is strapped on the left arm, and one is strapped to the forehead of Jewish men during weekday morning prayers. The word ‘phylactery’ comes from a Greek word meaning: “safeguard, protection, or amulet.” The symbol of the phylactery, like the Kaaba black stone in Mecca, is meant to mirror the kingdom of Heaven in our hearts. Ritual involving them is symbolic in the physical realm, but it affects our consciousness and manipulates the spiritual realm. These symbols are just like the altar in a Christian church or in a Masonic Lodge. What we surround the center with, is what emanates forth from the singularity; this is how God works through man.

                Inside the Jewish phylacteries are these scriptures:

                Exodus 13:1-10: This passage speaks of freedom from slavery and uses the allegory of the unleavened bread. It represents the idea of equality for all mankind who are born again in spirit.

                Exodus 13:11-16: This passage speaks of honoring God and uses the allegory of sacrifice of the firstborn. It represents the idea of responsibility to spread the word of God and assures a promise of salvation for all that accept it.

                Deuteronomy 6:4-9: This passage speaks of the importance of God and uses the allegory of educating children. It represents the idea of omnipresence of God and finding instruction wherever you look.

                Deuteronomy 11:13-21: This passage speaks on the promises of God and uses little to no allegory. It directly informs that those that honor God will have abundance, and those that honor other gods will have scarcity.

“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your win and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.

Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that here will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.”

-Deuteronomy 11:13-21

                From these passages, Jesus discerned spiritual truth and presented the Beatitudes as a code of conduct based on spiritual law. Instead of a masked and veiled code of conduct offered in Exodus and Deuteronomy, Jesus told his disciples directly the actions they should take. Though he spoke in parables often, he did often offer a version of spiritual truth that was abridged and unmasked.

* * *

            All of this may be pure nonsense, but I want to believe it. I admit that I myself am fallible. Even if I don’t say so out loud, I accept it as a possibility. In doing so, I make myself humble and open to the viewpoints of others. I know that I have accepted a paradigm of the reality around me that is unique to my own perception. I use words for things others identify in a different manner. Everyone is guilty of this, no matter how politically correct they train themselves to be. This is the fallibility of language. You can try to make sense to a specific audience, but you can’t identify with everyone.

            Each of us has a lens that we view the world through that makes us unique. This is why we each have our own path. It is unique in the details alone; but the concepts are identical for all of us. There is only one path to spiritual understanding, and each of us has our own path; a difficult concept to explain for sure. The uniqueness of our paths comes down to the details within the consciously manifested details in space and time that are laid before us on our individual journey within the Creation. Although he is among others, man walks this path alone.

            Man is not brought to enlightenment by other men, but by manifestations portrayed to him from God; and the teachers are always the same. In ancient Egypt these teachers were known as the 7 sages. They are the lower kingdoms in the Sephiroth, the realms of the world tree, the chakras of the body; the fallen angels, the 7 churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation, the Grigori, and the 7 deadly sins, etc. Though some of these symbolic representations of these concepts take on a negative or positive connotation, they are the same within their dualistic identities. Understanding the lessons wrought by these powers is to understand Arcanum. The teachers are duality itself.

            How we tip the scales in the dualistic paradigms of conscious thought is how we harden our hearts, spin upon the wheel of fortune, and draw in karmic returns. The fight between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ never ends as long as they continue to fight. Fighting against the devil only makes him stronger. To put these concepts into balance is the true goal that frees us from bondage of them.

            The methods used are trivial in their detail. The guidelines surrounding the concepts seem to apply to all methods, but it may not be so. Most of the rules are made up and agreed upon by man, but the divine has few rules. These have been portrayed in many different ways throughout many different traditions. The Biblical portrayal of these rules goes as such

• Love the one true God within with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Attribute power over the Creation to nothing else. 

• Love your neighbor as yourself. For he is in you and you are in him.

            We depart now with these commandments to reflect on. These two rules are not just a suggestion, but are cosmic law. They are the answer to all your ills. They are the key to spiritual growth and rising above duality.

“Though we each have our own path, there is but one mind.

Our methods are many; and the concepts entwine.

The details, trivial;

but the meaning, divine.”

-William Howell