I just viewed a documentary about the Source Family. They were a spiritual commune in the late 60's - 1975. Kids discovering mysticism for the first time, swept up in the spirit of new-age optimism. They were also a cult.
Jim Baker, their leader, was a charismatic man; cut from the archetypal cloth of all cult leaders. He was like Santa Claus and Donald Sutherland smushed into a white robe. He was the father figure that his "children" wanted, the dad they never had.
The evolution of their mystic practices were directly tied to Jim Baker's own self-concept. Early on He had a recognition of his own limited understanding. His humility and rigorous self discipline allowed him to lead a growing following in his footsteps. Gradually his ego began to inflate. Supported by the adoration of his followers and occult influences, He began to refer to himself as God. He then changed his name to 'Yod' and later 'Yahowha'.
The turning point for the group seems to be when he changed his policy on monogamy, which heretofore had been observed. Much like Mohammad, He instituted polygamy, and became the chief polygamist of the group with 13 wives. This divided the group and many left. Jim Baker continued his pursuit of mystical knowledge and power, their rituals and ceremonies becoming stranger and darker. They began to practice sexual magic, particularly influenced by the Order of the Golden Dawn.
Eventually they group moved to Hawaii, it was there that Jim's ego deflated rapidly. The morning of his death, he gathered his followers and took a walk. He told them he was not God, he was only a man. Jim took a hang glider out in a high wind with no training, crashed, and died 9 hours later.
What struck me most profoundly about this story is that one cannot entirely dismiss the group because of the moral failure of its leader. They were trying to fulfill a very real longing for a spiritual father, Jim Baker tried to be that father. He wasn't merely playing God, he was sincerely trying to take on that role, and his failure came from being unable to bear such a burden. We all have a longing for a spiritual father and mother, it outlives our relationship with our natural-born parents.
The motivation of this mystical group was not an unnatural one, and it hits close to home. The mistake they made was in confusing their heavenly father with an earthly one. The man died, but our heavenly father remains, alive and available.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
B.C. - A.D.
It is now customary to use the notation B.C.E and C.E. in dating systems to distinguish between the era before a certain event and the era after it. The term "Before the Common Era" has replaced "Before Christ" and "Common Era" has replaced "Anno Domini" (after Christ).
This was done in order to pacify those who reject Jesus as Christ, or those who simply would not like His name mentioned. I will not get into a monologue about this, but merely remind the reader that changing the term to common era does not alter the beginning of the calendar.
This brings me to a completely new thought. The calendar that the western world has used these 2,015 years began when Jesus of Nazareth was BORN. What day do we celebrate that? Christmas. What day do we celebrate the new calendar year? New Years Day. Why?
Wouldn't it make sense to celebrate the anniversary of the event that prompted the calendar year to begin on the same day that we celebrate the beginning of the calendar year?
Celebrating Christmas on New Year's Day would be the most logical thing to do.
This was done in order to pacify those who reject Jesus as Christ, or those who simply would not like His name mentioned. I will not get into a monologue about this, but merely remind the reader that changing the term to common era does not alter the beginning of the calendar.
This brings me to a completely new thought. The calendar that the western world has used these 2,015 years began when Jesus of Nazareth was BORN. What day do we celebrate that? Christmas. What day do we celebrate the new calendar year? New Years Day. Why?
Wouldn't it make sense to celebrate the anniversary of the event that prompted the calendar year to begin on the same day that we celebrate the beginning of the calendar year?
Celebrating Christmas on New Year's Day would be the most logical thing to do.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Form and Substance
Form and substance are a duality with many names. They may be called truth and good, wisdom and love, or light and heat. I was thinking of how one could describe form and substance.
There are many easy analogies, one can think of blueprints to a house. the design precedes the building, it outlines and gives form to a use. the blueprints give specific form to a specific concept of shelter. The form may be simplistic like a child's box drawing, or as complex as . A form separate from any substance could only describe geometric shapes, but never make art.
Substance is like the lumber waiting to be built. it is potential energy, or perhaps like the flame of fire. Substance can be as mild and calm as a breath, a flicker, or as powerful as a volcanic eruption. A substance separate from any form could only describe raw elements like fire/water/air/earth but never give them function.
Form is never completely isolated from substance anywhere but in the mind. All of physical reality is the final product of the cohabitation of form and substance. Light the principle example of this duality. In science it is called a wave/particle duality. Light illuminates form for the eye to see, and warms substance for the body to live.
In a spiritual way form and substance may be expressed as wisdom and love. But Mr. Swedenborg expresses the idea better than I do so I'll just quote him here:
DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM ARE SUBSTANCE AND ARE FORM. The idea of men in general about love and about wisdom is that they are like something hovering and floating in thin air or ether or like what exhales from something of this kind. Scarcely any one believes that they are really and actually substance and form. Even those who recognize that they are substance and form still think of the love and the wisdom as outside the subject and as issuing from it. For they call substance and form that which they think of as outside the subject and as issuing from it, even though it be something hovering and floating; not knowing that love and wisdom are the subject itself, and that what is perceived outside of it and as hovering and floating is nothing but an appearance of the state of the subject in itself. There are several reasons why this has not hitherto been seen, one of which is, that appearances are the first things out of which the human mind forms its understanding, and these appearances the mind can shake off only by the exploration of the cause; and if the cause lies deeply hidden, the mind can explore it only by keeping the understanding for a long time in spiritual light; and this it cannot do by reason of the natural light which continually withdraws it. The truth is, however, that love and wisdom are the real and actual substance and form that constitute the subject itself. [DLW 40]
There are many easy analogies, one can think of blueprints to a house. the design precedes the building, it outlines and gives form to a use. the blueprints give specific form to a specific concept of shelter. The form may be simplistic like a child's box drawing, or as complex as . A form separate from any substance could only describe geometric shapes, but never make art.
Substance is like the lumber waiting to be built. it is potential energy, or perhaps like the flame of fire. Substance can be as mild and calm as a breath, a flicker, or as powerful as a volcanic eruption. A substance separate from any form could only describe raw elements like fire/water/air/earth but never give them function.
Form is never completely isolated from substance anywhere but in the mind. All of physical reality is the final product of the cohabitation of form and substance. Light the principle example of this duality. In science it is called a wave/particle duality. Light illuminates form for the eye to see, and warms substance for the body to live.
In a spiritual way form and substance may be expressed as wisdom and love. But Mr. Swedenborg expresses the idea better than I do so I'll just quote him here:
DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM ARE SUBSTANCE AND ARE FORM. The idea of men in general about love and about wisdom is that they are like something hovering and floating in thin air or ether or like what exhales from something of this kind. Scarcely any one believes that they are really and actually substance and form. Even those who recognize that they are substance and form still think of the love and the wisdom as outside the subject and as issuing from it. For they call substance and form that which they think of as outside the subject and as issuing from it, even though it be something hovering and floating; not knowing that love and wisdom are the subject itself, and that what is perceived outside of it and as hovering and floating is nothing but an appearance of the state of the subject in itself. There are several reasons why this has not hitherto been seen, one of which is, that appearances are the first things out of which the human mind forms its understanding, and these appearances the mind can shake off only by the exploration of the cause; and if the cause lies deeply hidden, the mind can explore it only by keeping the understanding for a long time in spiritual light; and this it cannot do by reason of the natural light which continually withdraws it. The truth is, however, that love and wisdom are the real and actual substance and form that constitute the subject itself. [DLW 40]
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
A thought on world-building
Designing an internally consistent fantasy world is easy if it is a tiny world, and if it follows the same rules of common sense as our regular world. Worlds become more difficult to maintain as they expand and elucidate details. To maintain in this sense is to retain verisimilitude and the sense of immersion.
There are two general patterns I have observed. First, as the world becomes more fantastic, one must progressively move out of familiarity and thus out of verisimilitude. Second, and in like manner, as the world becomes more complex it becomes more rigid and unable to expand.
You see evidence of the first in Tolkien's middle earth, where, the most fantastic/grand elements are the most shrouded in mystery. Such as Gandalf, Sauron, and the rings themselves. The most mundane are painstakingly detailed. Such as Hobbits, and the genealogies of characters. He has done this to keep the fantasy world grounded in a familiar setting. The same is true of our world where the same is evident. The psyche and dreams are very mysterious, as are the nature of meaning and being.
The second is a re-statement of the first observation, really. As elements of a fantasy world are explained and given a definite place, they lose their sense of the fantastic. The more a fantasy world is explained the more mundane it becomes. The extreme case being that everything gets explained and the fantasy becomes completely mundane. This pattern too is present in our world. We see that in a naive person the world is magical and inexplicable, however in a cynical person everything is "nothing but" a cause and effect.
What the great world-builder must do to satisfy his audience is to maintain a balance of fantasy and familiar. This is the case in the great stories we love, even outside the fantasy genre. The author must always know something we do not, but he gives us some clues to help us try and figure it out.
The same is true in our world. Our experience of life is grounded in the mundane, yet meaning and motivation are always glimpsed but never grasped. The author of our lives knows something we do not, but gives us clues to help us press onward.
There are two general patterns I have observed. First, as the world becomes more fantastic, one must progressively move out of familiarity and thus out of verisimilitude. Second, and in like manner, as the world becomes more complex it becomes more rigid and unable to expand.
You see evidence of the first in Tolkien's middle earth, where, the most fantastic/grand elements are the most shrouded in mystery. Such as Gandalf, Sauron, and the rings themselves. The most mundane are painstakingly detailed. Such as Hobbits, and the genealogies of characters. He has done this to keep the fantasy world grounded in a familiar setting. The same is true of our world where the same is evident. The psyche and dreams are very mysterious, as are the nature of meaning and being.
The second is a re-statement of the first observation, really. As elements of a fantasy world are explained and given a definite place, they lose their sense of the fantastic. The more a fantasy world is explained the more mundane it becomes. The extreme case being that everything gets explained and the fantasy becomes completely mundane. This pattern too is present in our world. We see that in a naive person the world is magical and inexplicable, however in a cynical person everything is "nothing but" a cause and effect.
What the great world-builder must do to satisfy his audience is to maintain a balance of fantasy and familiar. This is the case in the great stories we love, even outside the fantasy genre. The author must always know something we do not, but he gives us some clues to help us try and figure it out.
The same is true in our world. Our experience of life is grounded in the mundane, yet meaning and motivation are always glimpsed but never grasped. The author of our lives knows something we do not, but gives us clues to help us press onward.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
going into the field
Reading: [Heaven and Hell 197]
In the Word, places and times correspond to changes of state.
I'm working alongside a friend on changing our states of mind. More precisely, our perceptions and affects regarding an ideal woman. Our ideals say a great many things about ourselves, and when we investigate and refine these ideals, we learn about ourselves.
A few nights ago I had a dream, in the dream i was given the advice:
"Marry not the woman she is now, but the woman she is to become."
This gives some important clues.
If you think about the qualities of a person that change, physical features are not what one thinks of. So, in short, don't marry her for her body.
If you are thinking of a future state of being for an ideal woman, one should also disregard whims of the moment, current preoccupations. She won't fit your present lifestyle.
If you are going to marry the woman, it is for life, so you had better plan ahead. She is to become a wife, perhaps a mother, and you are to become a husband, perhaps a father. Plan accordingly.
If you marry the woman for who she is to become, you had better realize that does not mean who you want her to become. You will be delightfully surprised or very disappointed depending on how a real person matches up with any expectations you may have. This means your ideals must be reasonable, and grounded in character traits that will improve over time.
The reflective restatement of the advice from the dream would be:
"Marry not as you are now, but as the man you are to become."
In the Word, places and times correspond to changes of state.
I'm working alongside a friend on changing our states of mind. More precisely, our perceptions and affects regarding an ideal woman. Our ideals say a great many things about ourselves, and when we investigate and refine these ideals, we learn about ourselves.
A few nights ago I had a dream, in the dream i was given the advice:
"Marry not the woman she is now, but the woman she is to become."
This gives some important clues.
If you think about the qualities of a person that change, physical features are not what one thinks of. So, in short, don't marry her for her body.
If you are thinking of a future state of being for an ideal woman, one should also disregard whims of the moment, current preoccupations. She won't fit your present lifestyle.
If you are going to marry the woman, it is for life, so you had better plan ahead. She is to become a wife, perhaps a mother, and you are to become a husband, perhaps a father. Plan accordingly.
If you marry the woman for who she is to become, you had better realize that does not mean who you want her to become. You will be delightfully surprised or very disappointed depending on how a real person matches up with any expectations you may have. This means your ideals must be reasonable, and grounded in character traits that will improve over time.
The reflective restatement of the advice from the dream would be:
"Marry not as you are now, but as the man you are to become."
Friday, January 23, 2015
The Tree of Life2015
We have shared the soil since we were transplanted
The very third day amid the sudden garden
Standing above the seed of every flowering thing
Withholding our abundance from all save Elohim
Alas, I became known before the time was ripe
dehydration, I withered and was barren
A fallen bough has broken our former symmetry
Desolated I lie below your verdant branches
All I pray for now is that you would graft me on
a branch seeking succor from your living roots
The perennial in focus, lifting arms to heaven
Calling down lightning from the swollen sky
I cannot contend that our forest should be spared
Thickets crackle screaming as they timorously combust
The undergrowth stayed unchecked for many generations
Now bone dry drought parches the compass rivers
I will not pretend that our forest can be spared
For the wind is mighty and the flame all-consuming
All I pray for now is that you would graft me on
a branch seeking sap from your bleeding roots
All I pray for now is that you would graft me on
a branch seeking succor from your living roots
All I pray for now is that you would graft me on
a branch seeking sap from your bleeding roots
Why dream?
It's the secret of our tribe that we don't need to hide since there is no one believing. - Advena
I was going to write up a post about a dream I had, and my interpretation. But I'm over it. Anyone who wants to learn to interpret their dreams just has to start trying and eventually you will start figuring it out. You don't need someone else to figure it out for you, what you really need is to care enough to remember your dream and give it some thought.
But why are dreams even worth investigation? Lots of people have nightmares, or "don't dream" at all. They need it more than space cadets like me. Your dreams are where you spend a THIRD of your ENTIRE LIFE! When your body dies, that dream world wakes up and becomes part of your waking reality. Of course that is the general rule, but its very much worth figuring out.
Did you know that most of us out there are sleepwalkers? We wake up, go to the gym, go to work, and think we have left our sleep far behind. But the veil has never completely lifted, we always have one foot in heaven and the other in hell. partway dipped in the river styx.
I don't believe this I know it. I don't need to hide from myself or from the Lord. He made me and sustains my life, when I sleep He hovers over me, over the deep. Don't hide from yourself, don't hide from God. Though your dreams may terrify you. And standing in the sun, going towards the light is burning you to ashes. Still He will preserve what is left and cultivate you. After all, ashes make great fertilizer, and what are we but soil?
I was going to write up a post about a dream I had, and my interpretation. But I'm over it. Anyone who wants to learn to interpret their dreams just has to start trying and eventually you will start figuring it out. You don't need someone else to figure it out for you, what you really need is to care enough to remember your dream and give it some thought.
But why are dreams even worth investigation? Lots of people have nightmares, or "don't dream" at all. They need it more than space cadets like me. Your dreams are where you spend a THIRD of your ENTIRE LIFE! When your body dies, that dream world wakes up and becomes part of your waking reality. Of course that is the general rule, but its very much worth figuring out.
Did you know that most of us out there are sleepwalkers? We wake up, go to the gym, go to work, and think we have left our sleep far behind. But the veil has never completely lifted, we always have one foot in heaven and the other in hell. partway dipped in the river styx.
I don't believe this I know it. I don't need to hide from myself or from the Lord. He made me and sustains my life, when I sleep He hovers over me, over the deep. Don't hide from yourself, don't hide from God. Though your dreams may terrify you. And standing in the sun, going towards the light is burning you to ashes. Still He will preserve what is left and cultivate you. After all, ashes make great fertilizer, and what are we but soil?
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