Alchemy of Consciousness

New Beginnings

2010-03-25T02:38:00.000-05:00

I have received my program materials for the New Hermetics Program. It looks very promising. The founder, Jason Augustus Newcomb, will be personally proctoring me.

New Hermetics

2010-01-22T20:24:00.002-06:00

I received a e-mail from Jason Augustus Newcomb today welcoming me into the program, pending the assignment of a proctor. Not only am I impressed with Mr. Newcomb's spiritual writings, but he's actually got a book out called "How the Teaching of Jesus Could Save America," which promotes the idea of liberals and conservatives working together.

Quite a far cry from deep left I usually encounter when dealing with other people of mystical orientation.

Bible Study

2009-07-29T11:51:00.002-05:00

Hey, all!

During the last two weeks, while was at Camp Dodge, IA, for Annual Training, I had the opportunity to attend several sessions of Bible Study hosted by a Baptist chaplain (always a bad idea for me, but what else was there?). I can't say that I personally grew as a result of the sessions, but I did get some other people to think a little bit.

At one point, after we discussed the Beatitudes, we talked about how the Christ (and boy did "the Christ" raise a few eyebrows) generally avoided healing lots of people; instead focusing his time on His disciples. The chaplain agreed with the general consensus, that he didn't know why the Christ wouldn't heal as many people as possible (it was "a mystery"). I proposed the following:

The Christ is both fully human and fully Divine. Consider yourself in His position--you know that in order to fulfill your destiny and save the human race, you must soon face a final temptation between rulership of the Earth, and death. Would it be easier to face that temptation have spent weeks discussing spiritual truths with you disciples and preparing them for stewardship, or having spent weeks being adored as the Son of God by grateful crowds?

Also, we discussed the disciples as the "salt of the Earth." The other students actually pulled references out of their Bibles that talked about salt as "tasting good" and "useful for melting ice." (sigh)
Let's put aside for a moment the idea that "melting ice" was really a big problem in first century Judea: Salt was incredibly valuable. Wages were often paid in salt--that's where the expression "worth his salt" comes from. Back then, you could grow your own produce, you could raise your own livestock... but salt had to be mined. And unlike precious metals and gemstones, salt was necessary to live.
Today, we can create sodium chloride artificially; we even get too much of it in our diet. Back then, diseases of salt-deficiency were quite common, and even deadly.
As for salt "losing its saltiness" and being "trampled underfoot," I actually had to point out that "saltiness" is a chemical property of sodium chloride and cannot be lost; the Christ was speaking hypothetically. However, if salt did lose its saltiness, it would just be a rock (not the fine granules we see in the supermarket. It would be trash, and the Jews would treat it like middle-easterners have always treated trash: throw it out the window. It will either rot away, be blown into the desert, or be trampled underfoot (in the case of a rock) until it disappears into the roadway.

Of course, I really raised eyebrows when they started talking about the infallibility of the Bible. Sorry, I don't worship the Bible, and I don't need it to be infallible. The group asked me for an example of a contradiction in the Bible: I pointed out that the Christ is not only given two different genealogies, but that they are both patrilineal genealogies. Oh, the aneurisms and logical contortions that ensued. We finally "agreed to disagree." Ahem.

test

2009-06-12T08:36:00.001-05:00

test post, blogging by e-mail

On Atheism and Morality

2009-06-07T04:43:00.002-05:00

Point: Atheists cannot be moral.

Morality must be derived from a higher authority than the actor. Without a higher authority--God--from which to derive a code of morality, then each person must define a "moral code" for themselves. This reduces "morality" to essentially acting according to what is one's own nature, anyway. If morality is simply acting according to one's own nature, then no one could be anything except moral, and morality becomes meaningless.

This is not to say that atheists cannot behave in ways that society considers "good," only that they cannot be defined as "moral" people.

On Theism and Atheism

2009-04-20T18:19:00.002-05:00

The theism vs. atheism debate continues to be a popular one on many internet fora that I visit. Still, I have encountered very few people who really understand the issue well enough to make a coherent argument for either side. Here is analysis of the debate itself:

The Western world today is as theologically illiterate today as it was mathematically illiterate two thousand years ago. On one side, you have people reading books of religious instruction like they're history texts. To use the mathematical analogy, this is like adding 2 + 2 and getting 22. They've got a vague idea that something called "addition" is going on, but they really don't understand the nature or intent operation they're attempting. On the other side, you've got people who say, "I know how much two is, and I know how much twenty-two is. It makes no sense that 2 + 2 could equal 22; therefore, the entire idea of arithmetic should be abandoned."
Meanwhile, neither side has even a clue that something like algebra could be possible, never mind geometry or calculus.

Change of Schedule

2009-01-28T19:30:00.001-06:00

Until now, SED's have always been a burden to my schedule. We are starting a projected 3-day SED today, and I'm going to use it to fix my sleep schedule so that I'm getting up at 0800 and can get to Church again.

There is always possibility in adversity...

Goals for January 2009

2009-01-09T09:22:00.001-06:00

January 2009
Join Episcopal Church
Find Lodge for Monday night
Begin 1-year Bible program

First Quarter 2009
Enroll in AMORC

2009
Read through entire Bible

Gone for Six Weeks...

2008-11-16T02:10:00.002-06:00

I'm not on vacation, but I won't be blogging anything here for about six weeks.

Wednesday, 08 October 2008

2008-10-09T05:51:00.001-05:00

I skipped Lodge last night. I had made up my mind to go, but I burned out so bad doing PT that I fell asleep as soon as I got home from work.

Relaxation Response, Fourth Quarter 2008

2008-10-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

15 minutes, with mantra "IAO"

Followed by reading three chapters from the Holy Bible (from Aramaic); five chapters on Sunday

Autogenic Training, 4th Quarter 2008

2008-10-06T08:25:00.002-05:00

Autogenic Leg Relaxation

My right arm is very heavy. (x10)
My left arm is very heavy. (x10)
Both my arms are heavy as lead. (x10)

Everything is normal. (x3)

Drop one repetition of each of the first three sentences at the end of each week, until the the first two sentences have no repetitions and the third sentence has only one.

Little to report...

2008-10-01T18:13:00.002-05:00

I didn't have a chance to visit Unity Village while on TDY like I'd hoped... I was pretty busy (most of my free time was spent visiting my friends). There won't be any church for me this Sunday; I'll be at drill. Next week I have it clearly marked on my calendar to visit the early service of the Episcopal Church (if I really don't like it, I'll have plenty of time to go the Unity service later...).

A Slow Week

2008-08-29T08:50:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been very much to report, spiritually speaking, this week. I had intended to visit the local Episcopal church on Sunday to observe their services... but my parents visited, and I changed my schedule. At the risk of sounding ambivalent (well, I am) I suppose that I may simply have to resign myself to belonging to liberal church. There are many other things about Unity that I do appreciate, after all.
As it turns out, my job will have me in Kansas City for most of the month of September. The "headquarters" of Unity Christian Church--Unity Village--is just outside of Kansas City; perhaps I'll have the opportunity to blog about a visit there.

Friday, 22 August 2008

2008-08-22T04:58:00.002-05:00

Morning Meditation:
15 minutes of Relaxation Response followed by the QC. I can feel my proficiency with the RR increasing as I use it. Of course, I'm still very "noisy," but I'm relaxing into it. Right now, all of my meditations are performed lying down, so that I'm not distracted by muscle tension. After I feel that I've returned to a decent level of proficiency, I'll start working in half-lotus, and then hopefully I'll get back into full lotus eventually.
I've cut back my Rosicrucian exercise from the LBRP to just the QC. I'm re-learning several skills at once, and I'd rather have a good visualization with the QC before moving on, than rush into longer practices with poor projection.

Thursday, 21 August 2008

2008-08-21T10:44:00.002-05:00

Morning Meditation
20 minutes of Relaxation Response meditation (IAO)
LBRP

Self-Hypnosis
Autogenic Arm Relaxation
My right arm is very heavy. (x5)
My left arm is very heavy. (x5)
Both my arms are heavy as lead. (x5)
Everything is normal. (x3)

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

2008-08-19T05:17:00.008-05:00

Morning Meditation
20 minutes of Relaxation Response meditation (IAO)
Bible Reading: Matthew 16-18
Here Yeshua starts to prepare his followers for His impeding crucifixion. Moses and Elijah appear and spend the day with the apostles--although Yeshua also says that Yokhannon (John) the Essene was the return of Elijah referred to in the Old Testament (I learned "Yokhannon" today; I'll try to be consistent in using it). Although some people take issue with a passage in Mt 16 where Yeshua states that "There are men who stand here who will not taste death, until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom," the real problem should be with Elijah.
After all, Yeshua appeared to his followers in a blinding light after His crucifixion; "appearing in his kingdom," as it were. However, the re-appearance of Elijah is supposed to herald the end of the world.

Self-Hypnosis
Autogenic Arm Relaxation
My right arm is very heavy. (x5)
My left arm is very heavy. (x5)
Both my arms are heavy as lead. (x5)
Everything is normal. (x3)

These autogenic exercises I'm doing are from a book called Power Hypnosis by Pierre Clement. Good luck finding a copy--it's been out of print for years. Autogenic induction seems to have gone out of vogue.
I found this book when my parents moved and cleaned out some of their storage; I had previously used it to good effect when I was in high school and college. I wish I had continued my practice--but I fell out of a lot of good habits in Boot Camp, I'm afraid. The skill of self-hypnosis is not coming back to me as quickly as I first acquired it, but it is returning.

Afternoon Meditation
20 minutes of Relaxation Response meditation (IAO)
QC-LBRP-QC
Although I'm not currently affiliated with any Rosicrucian bodies, I'm going to try to start working Rosicrucian exercises back into my daily routine. I don't think it will be much of a problem... at least until I register for classes in September! For right now, I'm limiting myself to one session daily.

Freemasonry
Blue Lodge
We did a first-degree initiation tonight. I didn't participate this time, but I did get the recommendations I needed to enter the Scottish Rite in December.

Thursday, 14 August 2008

2008-08-14T07:54:00.001-05:00

Morning Meditation: 10 minute Relaxation Response
Matthew 14--The beheading of John the Essene; the miracles of loaves and fishes and walking on water.

Sunday, 10 August 2008

2008-08-10T09:23:00.001-05:00

No Church today! I'm at work--my schedule has been changed for the month due to scheduled absences of my co-workers.

No Lodge Last Night...

2008-08-06T09:01:00.004-05:00

... For me, at least. I went to a Neighborhood Watch meeting instead. I felt compelled to go; I keep getting invited and not showing up--I feel anti-social! Except for meeting my neighbors, however, it was a complete waste of time... Thankfully, I live in a very quiet neighborhood.

Definitely a step up from my last two residences!

Shopping Around...

2008-08-01T12:36:00.003-05:00

Well, I'll be at drill this weekend... but, given last weeks' Church fiasco, I've decided to start shopping around for congregations again. I suppose, should worst come to worst, I could attend the local Southern Baptist Church; although, truth be told, I see little advantage in doing so. They have as little relationship to the Apostolic, sacramental tradition of Christianity as the Unity Church, and would be wholly intolerant of my esoteric studies.
More interestingly, the Archbishop of Canterbury apologized to Freemasons in 2003--which should open up the Episcopal Church to me. I'll have to check them out again next week.

Not that I have a terrible problem with Unity as such--but last week's service was really embarrasing--both during and after. And if I'm going to Church, I'd prefer an apostolic, sacramental service over the evangelical service of Unity--even if Unity supports my other spiritual activities.

Then again, I still have to consider that, all things considered, Unity may constitute a true vocation for me.

Oh, my...

2008-07-31T07:58:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday's service at Unity Church of Peace was... not memorable. Apparently, the several people who are all responsible for putting the service together ALL decided to "wing it." What was memorable, however, was the workshop I was invited to after.
These sorts of activities were why I had decided to settle down into the Unity congregation in the first place... I thought. The workshop, as originally described to me, was titled "Have You Had a Spiritual Experience?" Since it's fairly difficult to imagine someone having the sorts of experiences they gave as examples--OOBE's, for example--and not realize it, I assumed that it would be a sharing group.
It was actually a workshop on "ECKANKAR," the self-described "religion of the light and sound of God."

It was RIDICULOUS.

It is organizations like this that really give esoteric studies a bad name. The group--consisting of myself and about a dozen middle-aged women--sat around chanting "HU" (pronounced "hyoo") and talking about dreams we'd had (well, I didn't participate much...). "HU" was described as, I kid you not, "a love song to God," which had been "used in ancient civilizations from Africa to South America."

RIIIGHHHT.

First of all, esoteric religions is my second-biggest hobby, just behind martial arts; and my best friend has a master's degree from Oxford in Early Christian History and is working on his D.Phil. on the Roman occupation of sub-Saharan Africa. If "HU" was really this universal sound, ONE OF US would have heard of it.
Second, I haven't bought God dinner. I'm certainly not going to meet His parents. As close as I may feel to God, we're really not in the sort of relationship where I sing love songs to Him. Had Dr. Klemp--the founder of ECKANKAR--put forward the statement that he had worked with yogic mantras (or some other form of sacred vibration) and found "HU" to be particularly useful... I might have been interested. But I'm not going to work with any group that lies to its members.

There was also a Tarot exercise... except it wasn't described as a Tarot exercise, and we didn't use Tarot cards. Instead of universal symbolism developed over centuries of refinement, we used index cards with pictures the coordinators had clipped from magazines the night before. I was somewhat less than surprised when the exercise turned out to be useless to me.

Anyway, I certainly don't recommend ECKANKAR, and I hope that I am exposed to something more substantive in the near future.

More on Entertainment: J. R. R. Tolkien

2008-07-24T13:45:00.007-05:00

Now that I've started writing about Christianity in contemporary entertainment, I'd like to set down my apologetics for The Lord of the Rings, once and for all. I have talked to more than a few Christians who either refuse to watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy, or say they watched it but didn't see anything Christian in it at all.
To which my first reply is, "Great--read the damned book!"

However, many of the Christian elements of The Lord of the Rings successfully survived translation into film (even when other story elements were destroyed). People no longer recognize that J.R.R. Tolkien was one of the great Christian writers of the 20th century. This is odd, since, as a member of the Inkings, he was a close friend of C. S. Lewis, whom few would deny was a staunch Christian apologist.
The problem arises because Tolkien despised direct metaphor. He thought it too simplistic for adult writing--so, unlike Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings has no single character that one can point to and say "That's Jesus."

Tolkien rather divided the Christ-attributes between three characters: Aragorn, the King who Returns, who entered the Land of the Dead and returned to pass judgement on the living and the dead, and who healed with his hands; Gandalf, the wandering miracle-worker, who cast down demons, who fell into darkness and returned to his followers in a flash of light such that they could not at first recognize him; and Frodo Baggins, who was wounded terribly and carried a great burden toward certain death to redeem the evil of the world.

Hey, maybe I could start performing services for Unity Christian Church!

Superman Returns

2008-07-24T12:07:00.009-05:00

So, as I recouperated from helping my brother move furniture Tuesday night, I decided to go back and re-watch Superman Returns. Not everyone realizes that the Superman story fuses two divergent elements: the science fiction element, as Superman is an alien, and the mythological element.
Superman, you see, was set adrift in space by his parents when his planet was destroyed. The TV series Smallville plays up the Superman-as-alien theme, because it plays into the teen-angst of the program's genre. Superman Returns, however, continues the mythical element, using Superman's relationship to the sun to cast him as a Christ-figure.
Being set adrift as an infant by one's parents--usually upon their death--is a very common element in mythology: one sees it in origin-myth of Rome, with Romulus and Remus; in the the story of King Sarkand of Akkadia; and with King Sigfried of the Thidreksaga and Niebelungenlied. Most famous today, of course, is the birth of Moses, who was set adrift and raised by the family of Pharoah.
Superman Returns updates Superman from Moses-figure to Christ-figure with a number of devices; the most innocuous of which is his twice-stated "I'm always around, Lois," coupled with images of him hovering above the world, listening and rushing to save people in need. The imagery goes much deeper than that however: Lex Luthor's shard of kryptonite is the Spear of Longinus; raising the island of Kryptonite is the bearing of the Cross toward Golgotha; he dies saving the world and returns. Of course, Lois/Mary Magdalene does not find his crypt empty (a nurse does), and I'm not sure how the son works into all of this (but then, I'm not sure how a son works into the Superman story at all), but the imagery is quite prevalent.
I'm interested to see if it is continued in Superman: Man of Steel.

Tuesday, 22 July 2008

2008-07-22T07:31:00.002-05:00

Morning:
Qabbalistic Cross; 10 minute Relaxation Response Meditation (I.A.O.)
Matthew 11-14
In this section we are introduced to Jesus speaking in parables. Of particular interest to me is the quotation: "For to you it is given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven; but for them it is not given," indicating a tradition of secret teachings all the way to the beginning of Christianity.

OOOPS!

2008-07-21T16:07:00.001-05:00

I slept through Church yesterday... and the service is at 11:00 a.m.! Man, I'm still strung out from that last SED. I feel a bit better, now, though. :)

Ike Skelton

2008-07-17T07:27:00.000-05:00

Hey, did you know that Ike Skelton is a Freemason? Scottish Rite, too--he was the exemplar of his class when he was inducted. The guy I talked to Tuesday night was inducted with him.

Tuesday, 15 July 2008

2008-07-16T08:27:00.000-05:00

I went to Columbia today to attend Lodge with Acacia #602... they had a first-degree scheduled, and I figured they could use some assistance. However, I got sidetracked with requesting degrees for the Scottish Rite and talked with the local secretary for about two hours!
I will probably be a 32° Master Mason by Christmas... Next year, I'll probably look into the York Rite, as well.

No Chuch Today!

2008-07-13T08:09:00.000-05:00

I'm at drill today, so no church. Next week I'm going to talk to Rev. Rosado about "officially" joining the Unity congregation.

Complaint-Free World

2008-07-12T11:13:00.001-05:00

I've added a link to the Complaint-Free World bracelets to the left. I first heard about these on Fox News about a year ago, after starting my new job with MOARNG. These bracelets--which through convergent or divergent evolution, are related to esoteric practices of the Golden Dawn--are yet another connection to the Unity Christian Church that I had before joining the church.

Friday, 11 July 2008

2008-07-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

1930: 10 minute Relaxation Response meditation followed by Matthew 8-10.

Matthew 8 largely deals with Yeshua healing people according to their faith. Greatest of these was the Roman centurion, who knew that Yeshua could heal his son without even visiting the centurion's house. Interestingly, in Lamsa's translation, he describes "two lunatics" rather than "two men possessed by demons"--and the lunatics attack a herd of swine before Yeshua can heal them. This is why he is not allowed into the next city.

Matthew 8:26- Jesus said to them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.

It should be noted that this was a miracle commonly ascribed to students of the Mysteries in the ancient world. Pythagoras (yes, the triangle guy), who brought the Egyptian mysteries to Greece, was also said to be able to do this.

In Matthew 9, we have:

3 Some of the scribes said among themselves, This man blasphemes.
4 But Jesus knew their thoughts; so he said to them, Why do you think evil in your hearts?

If more church-goers thought about this verse, I might have found myself in a more main-stream congregation!

Matthew 10 is fairly straight-forward admonitions by Yeshua to his followers on how to live while spreading his teachings. I noted that where before, when addressing crowds, he admonished not to resist evil. Here he tells his disciples that he brings not peace, but the sword--and to knock the dust from their sandals when leaving any place that did not accept them, so that that place would meet harsh penalties on the Day of Judgement.

Tuesday, 08 July 2008

2008-07-08T20:25:00.001-05:00

After a ten-minute meditation (interrupted half-way through by a forgotten alarm clock), I studied Matthew 5-7. The Beatitudes, of course, and quite a few directives on the Kingdom of Heaven; most interesting to me, however, was the Lord's Prayer from the Aramaic:

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven so on Earth.
Give us bread for our needs from day to day.
And forgive us our offenses, as we forgive our offenders.
And do not let us enter into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

Sunday, 06 July 2008

2008-07-08T20:17:00.001-05:00

The main pastor of the local Unity Church was back today; Rev. Rosado. No matter how interested I become in Unity, I don't like her sermons (or "lessons," they are called in Unity). I also realized some things about the Unity Christian Church:
--They apparently are Nestorian, and may have adopted this belief from Dr. Lamsa. That is to say, they believe that the man "Jesus" and the redemptive spirit, "Christ," were two separate beings. This actually goes along with certain Gnostic teachings, although the Unity folks apparently ascribe this condition to everyone.
--They don't have crosses anywhere that I could see. I'll have to discuss this before I join.
--They now have a fly up advocating a "U.S. Department of Peace." This, folks, is an abomination. It is not the business of the U. S. Government to enforce specific conflict-resolution methods on private citizens. Further, the U. S. of A. was founded on the ideal that FREEDOM IS WORTH FIGHTING AND DYING FOR. I may post more on this later.

I have been invited to both an upcoming church picnic and a float trip; it is refreshing to once again be part of a group which puts such things on. I hope that I don't have to leave for doctrinal reasons--of course, I won't be the first person in history who didn't see completely eye-to-eye with their pastor, if I do stay.

Saturday, 05 July 2008

2008-07-05T10:04:00.000-05:00

1930: 10 minute Relaxation Response
Matthew 5-8

The Perversion of Lamsa?

2008-07-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

In searching for Aramaic Bible resources, I came across the following website. I'll go ahead and link, because I don't have a problem with opposing religious views--even rather silly ones.
The authors of this website believe that the King James Bible is the "most reliable" transmission of "God's Word," and that Lamsa's translation is not derived from ancient Aramaic. Rather, they believe that he simply added his "occultic" (sic) ideas into the text of the KJV. I have been unhappy with Lamsa's retention of the KJV style of language, and specific words, for other reasons; openness to this sort of criticism hadn't really occurred to me. Of course, the authors of this website drew this conclusion because the Lamsa Bible is approved by my newly-adopted Unity Christian Church, whom they hold to be "occultists" as well.
Of course, Lamsa's Bible is also endorsed by Oral Roberts' Bible Study, and these folks think that the Roman Catholic Church "suppressed" the truth of the KJV...

Be that as it may, George A. Lamsa was a native Aramaic speaker and middle-eastern Christian whose new (1933) translation of the Bible really clarifies a lot of things that got muddled as the ancient manuscripts passed through Greek and Latin and into English. He--and his surviving student, Rocco E. Errico--has also published books that assist in understanding Aramaic and middle-eastern idioms. Errico has even written an introductory text for Aramaic, so that one can read the original texts without relying on anyone's translation.

Thursday, 03 July 2008

2008-07-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

After work today I did a five-minute (oh, how the mighty have fallen!) Relaxation Response meditation, followed by reading chapters 1-4 in the Gospel According to St. Matthew in Lamsa's Holy Bible from the Ancient Eastern Text.

Third Quarter 2008

2008-06-30T08:19:00.000-05:00

Although I will not do any additional training, such as SEE or the Rites, I will attend every Unity and Blue Lodge function I can this quarter. Further, every day at 1530 I will perform a 20 minute Relaxation Response session using IAO as my mantra. After this session, I will read three chapters from Lamsa's Bible from the Aramaic, or five chapters on Sundays.

29June 2008

2008-06-30T06:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I attended my second service with the local Unity Christian Church, and I have to say, it was more enjoyable than the first. I had a great sense of energy and well-being for the rest of the day--whether that was simply due to returning to a congregation after so many years, or whether it is specific to Unity services, I do not know. I will say again that being a Gnostic attending Unity services is what it must be like for a Catholic to attend Protestant services--they hit all of the themes; they've even got some creative innovation going on... but they miss the deeper substance. Still, it is far and away better than having no church at all!

As for the service itself... I can't make this stuff up. The guest minister actually did a sermon on the relationship of Back to the Future and Harry Potter to the Acts of the Apostles. I think I have drill next week, but I'll be interested to see where this goes after that.

I was going to attend Lodge Tuesday night, but the JOC is finally standing down, and my schedule has been temporarily shifted to assist with the transition. Maybe I'll get to stop in on the 15th.

Upcoming

2008-06-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

I am still on SED for the flooding in Missouri. However, due to a random tweak of scheduling, I should be able to to attend both Church tomorrow and Lodge next Tuesday. If I can, I would like to start attending Lodge regularly enough to get elected to an office next year.

Sunday, 15 June 2008

2008-06-14T16:23:00.000-05:00

Morning Meditation

Afternoon Meditation

Self-Hypnosis

Saturday, 14 June 2008

2008-06-14T16:22:00.000-05:00

I was called in to work early and missed my morning mediation.

Afternoon mediation (Relaxation Response)

Self-Hypnosis

Thursday, 12 June 2008

2008-06-12T19:24:00.000-05:00

I have elected to return to seriously attending Church (through the local Unity church) and Masonic Lodge. I will return to the spiritual training fundamentals of twice-daily Relaxation Response and daily self-hypnosis training.

Are We All Connected?

2008-05-31T09:44:00.000-05:00

Transplanted from my main blog:

So, I've been playing around on MySpace lately, and I've come across a group of Gnostics. I've been enjoying some good conversation with them, and I've had several opportunities to impart my wisdom.
In one particular exchange, the question was asked, "Are we really all connected?"
The immediate answer, of course, was, "Yes, we are all connected. See how wise we are!" (Okay, I'm paraphrasing. But I was having a serious flashback to the scene in The Life of Brian when the gigantic crowd is chanting "YES! WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS!")
I posted that we are NOT connected ("I'm not!" cries the lone voice from the crowd). Connection demands separation--for you to be connected to me, you and I have to be different things. We are, in fact, all part of a single, undivided whole.
"NO!" came the soon-to-be-paraphrased war cry. "Supraconsciousness! Quarks! The balance of light and darkness! We are WISE, dammit!"
And so, after ruminating for a time, I presented the following analogy:
-----
"Let us imagine that we are both apples, on the same branch of an apple tree. You see that I am an apple HERE, and you are an apple THERE. Then, one day, you look around and discover the tree.

'AHA!' you say,'we are all CONNECTED. See there, you and I are both attached to the limb of this tree. We both draw our nourishment from the same roots; our energy from the same leaves. A blight on that limb way over there will surely affect us as well. I am wise; I have achieved the true Gnosis.'

Well, you haven't.

The tree, in this analogy, represents the physical universe. Humans are connected to each other in the universe in many ways: by quanta, by gravity, by society, by genetics. For the Gnostic, however, the physical universe is kenoma: it is illusion, a falsity. The true reality is the Pleroma: the truth over which the veil of kenoma has been drawn. The Pleroma is the realm of God, where all exists as undifferentiated spirit.

'So where then,' you might well ask, 'IS the Pleroma in your story, if it is not the tree which connects us?'

The Pleroma is the seed from which the apple tree sprouted. To achieve Gnosis, you must return to the original seed. Now, ponder: when we were POTENTIAL apples, before the seed ever sprouted--were we connected, or were we part of an undifferentiated unity?

Severed Ties...

2008-05-16T07:23:00.000-05:00

I have suspended training with the Sanctuary of Ma'at until further notice...

Saturday, 29 March 2008

2008-03-29T08:27:00.000-05:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Ritual Bath, Meditation on the Tau Robe

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Mystical Warriors

2008-03-28T15:24:00.001-05:00

This post is obviously of particular interest to me.

Slightly over a year ago, I was working on an article for Soldier of Fortune magazine (never published). While working on it, I reviewed videos of al 'Qaeda training procured from my friend and co-author, who reviews such professionally. My friend was unsure why terrorists, during their training, would reference Aristotelian elements--but I immediately recognized the elements of alchemy, an obvious tie to the Sufis.

This is not to to vilify the Sufis (who probably represent a more direct connection to the original Gnostics than I), but to inquire into the relationship between mystic and warrior. Ethical considerations aside, modern so-called "mujahidin" terrorists are obviously drawing inspiration from the older, Sufi-inspired Hashishin, incorporating Islamic prayer, alchemy, and other mystical practices in their martial training. Similarly, the shinobi of medieval Japan trained in many exercises familiar to the modern Initiate--from the four-fold breath to the five-element philosophy of Tantrism.

This should not be confused with the more passive exercise of prayer before battle; these are examples of conscious and willful efforts to improve the spiritual prowess of the warrior. How effective might such a regimen be? What ethical arguments might be made for or against such practices?

On the Christ as the Word of God

2008-03-28T13:09:00.000-05:00

I was recently in an argument on the nature of the Word of God. I asserted that Christian theology defines the Christ as the Word of God (Logos Theoi); an evangelical Christian, countering that the Bible is the Word of God, accused me of presenting Gnostic theology instead.
Toward a resolution of that discussion, I am posting a few internet pages which explain the Christian exposition of Christ-as-Word.

The first is the homepage of Les Oxnam, a Christian convert in New Zealand. Although it begins with a very friendly and evangelical tone, it goes on to present a well-reasoned and reasonably researched argument (caveat: the author does reference a personal dialogue with God in his study of the Bible):
http://www.all4god.net/word_of_god.htm

Next, we have the thorough scholarly research of the Catholic Encyclopedia:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09328a.htm

The third is a more parsimonious exegesis, hosted by Learn the Bible (of the Antioch Baptist Church of Knoxville, TN):
http://www.learnthebible.org/s_o_john1_1-5_jesus_christ_as_the_word_of_god.htm

Finally, we have a presentation by Hebraic-Foundations, a Bible study forum hosted by Christian Challenge International, which describes itself thus: "Hebraic-Foundations is an online email conference which provides studies as well as offers open discussion on the Biblical Christian. Its special emphasis is towards the pre-325 A.D. Church." Not as exhaustive as the Catholic Encyclopedia, it is nonetheless a well-presented study:
http://www.christianchallenge.org/hebraic-foundations/HF139.html

Friday, 28 March 2008

2008-03-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Meditation on the Banners of East and West

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Thursday, 27 March 2008

2008-03-28T11:25:00.001-05:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Leaving the Body

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah at meals. Relaxation Response for 10 minutes after Four-Fold Breath.

Wednesday, 26 March 2008

2008-03-26T09:37:00.000-05:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (25 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (25 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Body Awareness

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (25 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Tarot Meditation (Key XXVIII)

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Tuesday, 25 March 2008

2008-03-25T07:37:00.000-05:00

I have been away from practice for some time, due to the commitments of OCS. This week I will be working back into my schedule, and hopefully next month I won't be so completely thrown off.

Morning-- (0600)
QC

Operational Tempo

2008-03-06T07:40:00.001-06:00

Due to time constraints, I do not anticipate engaging in any ritual activities or studies until Monday morning. I will update Tuesday morning if the situation changes.

Wednesday, 05 March 2008

2008-03-05T07:13:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (25 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for ten minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (25 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Body Awareness

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for ten minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (25 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Tarot Meditation (Key XXVII)

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

MySpace

2008-03-04T09:27:00.000-06:00

A MySpace friend of mine, "Leon," has recently invited me to join his new group, "Tree of Life." We have been having some very interesting discussions on Christian mysticism and esoteric practices--although there are currently 15 members there, all by invitation, and it seems that only Leon and I are posting.

Tuesday, 04 March 2008

2008-03-04T07:52:00.001-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (25 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for ten minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (25 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Rit. Elem. Eq.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for ten minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (25 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Monday, 03 March 2008

2008-03-04T07:51:00.005-06:00

0700--QC, LBRP, QC

2100--QC, LBRP, QC

Sunday, 02 March 2008

2008-03-04T07:51:00.003-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Saturday, 01 March 2008

2008-03-04T07:51:00.001-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Ritual Bath, Meditation on the Tau Robe

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Friday, 29 February 2008

2008-02-29T09:16:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Meditation on the Banners of East and West

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Tarot Meditation (Key XXVI)

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Thursday, 28 February 2008

2008-02-29T09:15:00.001-06:00

Sick Day.

Wednesday, 27 February 2008

2008-02-27T08:12:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1530)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Q. H. Wash, Body Awareness

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Tarot Meditation (Key XXV)

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Tuesday, 26 February 2008

2008-02-26T08:03:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1530)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Q. H. Wash, Rit. Elem. Eq.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Sunday, 24 February 2008

2008-02-24T09:21:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1530)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Q. H. Wash

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.
I did not attend Church today, as I had to take an extra shift.

Saturday, 23 February 2008

2008-02-23T11:40:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Ritual Bath, Meditation on the Tau Robe

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Friday, 22 February 2008

2008-02-22T08:01:00.001-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration LoU.

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Meditation on the Banners of East and West

After the Four-Fold Breath, I continued for five minutes of Relaxation Response.

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Tarot Meditation (Key XXIV)

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

Thursday, 21 February 2008

2008-02-22T08:00:00.002-06:00

Wednesday, 20 February 2008

2008-02-22T08:00:00.001-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration

Afternoon-- (1600)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Body Awareness

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Med, QC, LBRP, Tarot Meditation (Key XXIII)

Other Work:
Kheperu nu Ra and Berakah.

19 February 2008

2008-02-19T09:15:00.000-06:00

Morning-- (0500)
Kheperu Nu Ra (Midnight, Morning)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Adoration

I felt quite relaxed this morning.

Afternoon-- (1600)
Kheperu Nu Ra (Noon)
QC, Four-Fold Breath (20 breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Qabalistic Holy Wash, Ritual of Elemental Equilibrium

(1800)
Kheperu Nu Ra (Evening)

Evening-- (2130)
QC, Neophyte Meditation (20 Breaths), QC, LBRP, QC, Middle Pillar

Other Work:
I downloaded all of the Probationer and Neophyte files from ritual-magic.com onto a thumb drive to keep them available.
I attended Lodge this evening.

17 February 2008

2008-02-16T12:36:00.000-06:00

Attend Unity Christian Church.

16 February 2008

2008-02-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

Morning: Four-Fold Breath (twenty breaths), LBRP

Afternoon: Four-Fold Breath (twenty breaths), LBRP

Evening: Four-Fold Breath (twenty breaths), LBRP

Day 1

2008-02-15T14:33:00.001-06:00

Day 1