|
We often say spirituality and politics have nothing to do with each other. But they do, at least the way I understand spirituality. There are two meanings in which I’ve seen the word “spiritual” used: One in the sense of esoteric, metaphysical - matters relating to spirit. Another is in the sense of bringing heart to the table of life. The heart is the great equalizer. (Some people say guns are — but I’d say the heart is.)
To me, spirituality is the understanding that all things are made of God. If I want to love God unconditionally, I want to love life unconditionally — independent from whether what it brings me is a challenge or a delight. In the flow of life, the flow of experiences both pleasant and unpleasant, spirituality to me means to stay focused on one thing: A heart-full, “whole-hearted” presence with all of it. Therefore I define “spirituality” as bringing heart into the matters of life, bringing heart into the “mundane.” “Mundane” comes from latin mundus, and it means “world.” The “world” is the sacred expression of God. God cannot easily be understood directly, therefore I find it difficult to bring my heart to the abstract thought “God.” But I can love God by understanding that all I perceive is God, made of God, expresses God. The world is the expression, the “light”, of God. According to my current understanding, the world comes into being through a refractionation of consciousness — basically a “trick” of light, an optical illusion of consciousness. “God” has actually never changed; but our consciousness perceives it as if God has changed and become various forms. I am not clear yet how exactly this occurs. Currently it looks to me that by taking a perspective, a way of seeing, automatically correlating other perspectives come into being — such as that you can’t take a bite out of a whole apple without now having an apple with a bite missing, and a piece of apple between your teeth. The apple is still whole — but your experience of the apple is of having a separate piece in your mouth. The same way, by taking a perspective, we’re taking a bite out of the wholeness of God; and now we experience God as “the bite in contrast to all the rest of the apple.” And so you can see that the entire world is still God — everything we experience, every bright light, and every dark darkness, and every dynamic and transaction between all of these now as if separate aspects. While I can rarely grasp the Infinite, Ultimate, “God” directly, I can grasp the world, I can grasp whatever I experience in front of me. And I can aim to love this – what I see, hear, sense, taste, whatever I perceive. Instead of failing at bringing heart to an abstract thought of the Ultimate, I can love God through loving the world, through loving all of life, all of experience. Through this, I come to love God in any and all form it takes. The question no longer is: Does God love me unconditionally? The question now has become: Do I love God unconditionally? And because the world is God-as-if-having-taken-form — a refractionated perception of the whole due to a trick of consciousness —, therefore the “mundane” is the same as the “sacred.” If we want to bring our hearts to God, then bringing our hearts to all of life, to our world, to the “worldly” aspects of our being, is a sacred act. For this reason bringing consciousness and love to our shared governance, aka “politics”, and to the medium by which we share in each other’s life-force, aka “currency,” is a sacred act. Thus, economy and shared governance are a matter of heart, of spirituality.
0 Comments
Cosmic Bookkeeping - The Categorization of Thought on the Aspects of God
If we conceptualize God as the vastness of all-that-is and all-that-is-not, and then further conceptualize it as something that is at once ONE and EVERY SINGLE THING that comprises it, we can consider the solve et co-agula formula of alchemy – issolve/differentiate and put back together/rearrange – as follows: For the longest time I have considered this a dissolving of things into their pure components, and re-integrating of those now-purified components into a whole; similar to taking apart a badly functioning, embedded-in-goo car engine, cleaning every part of it, and then putting it back together to create a shiny, clean smoothly running engine. But, for the first time, I am seeing a new light being shone upon the subject of God and Alchemy, and the angle it highlights fascinates m. It appears that in order for us humans to integrate all aspects of life non-dually, as all equally valid states of being, into our awareness and consciousness, it is required, for proper integration, that we properly identify each aspect of God that we’re taking a look at. And once identified, we need to properly categorize it, so we know where it belongs in the picture that includes everything – the same way that we would need to identify each part of our car engine in order to successfully put it back together. The engine has always been whole. Whether it had been “well”-working or not is now completely irrelevant to this new perspective, since the engine existed, and whatever quality it existed in is valid, independent from how useful or useless the human consumer of divine energy considered its quality of working.In this metaphor, catering to human desire isn’t the engine’s job, nor is being effective toward human aims. Instead it’s job is being-as-it-is. Thisis also a useful thought for being human: It’s not our job, in my opinion, to be the way we think we want ourselves to be, but to be the way we truly are. And our job is to get on board with the way we are, to get in alignment with who we are. In my opinion, this is truly the meaning of the famous (or infamous) free will of humankind: Do I get on board with who I am, or do I fight who I am? Because I cannot change my nature. I can only change whether I deny and fight it, or acknowledge and accept and roll with it. In this new perspective, we take the engine apart NOT in order to clean it up and make it better, but in order to more precisely understand it. We take it apart and look at each of it’s aspects. We name each part/aspect, and we explore and identify how it interacts with all the other parts. When we put it back together, now we still see the wholeness of the engine -- however, the difference is that now this whole engine is infused with the light of our understanding. As we look at its wholeness, we know of each of its parts, and how it interacts with the other. In our mind’s eye, we see both simultaneously: The engine as a whole, and our understanding of the depth of its inner workings. I believe this is God’s great work upon itself: To discover and identify and categorize each aspect of itself -- with our help, with the help of each perceived separate aspect - so when it reintegrates it, it is fully aware of what everything is, where it is at, and how it interacts with everything else. In this way, we are aspects of God, and experience aspects of God. These aspects, in the light of our awareness and observation, allow God to know more of itself -- through us being and being aware of our being. Therefore it doesn’t matter how we arise each moment, but that we arise each moment. We can relax about our to-do lists and our states of mind, for to the vastness of all-that-is and all-that-is-not, all appearances are equally worthwhile of recognition and understanding. We can become cooperative agents of the Great Androgyne – Goddess/God/Union – by reporting back to it about itself through fully experiencing who we are each moment -- now, and now, and now.  THE FOOL I have known the darkness of the light
and the light of the darkness “deep through the night runs the river of love” and there I found it for I paused in the still of the dark night of the soul. NOW LOVE HAS COME HOME TO ITSELF The darkness is now behind me but so is also the light what lies ahead is nothingness it has no scent. it has no name. Oh nameless one who you are me and I am you I come to embrace you over and over again. the skull is bone
and lives throughout the Ages it has seen many faces and carries them all some are afraid to look at the skull the bony cheeks with no flesh on them the seams that have grown to keep the plates together the seams that prove that the skull has matured (for a child's skull plates are still separate) the skull is unmoving throughout the Ages and sees much it is unmoved by people's fear and remains, ultimately, untouched except by the faces that come to lay upon it life after life after life the skull is like me its structure looks ugly alone with no face, no flesh it is honest and truthful and expresses the essence of the Ages it does not move like a face would because it has no muscles to twitch but it rests in peace throughout the Ages rests in peace throughout Eternity. The Sacred Serpent: Furnace of burning the seeds of karma
Kundalini force is the most sacred thing: It functions as a god installation at the core of the human body and energy body. Or rather - a goddess installation: According to Ancient Gnostic teachings, the female pole of creation was so intrigued with her and her partner's creation of humanity, that she decided to descend into the galactic arm into which the human genome had been planted. This makes our beloved Gaia inspirited by the female aspect of the creator energy. Therefore the matter we are, and upon which we dwell, is highly intelligent energy. When Kundalini gets activated, the sacred spirit of Gaia rises through us. We become a vessel of her creative, primal, life-giving energy. We become an inherent, aware part of her. We have Gaian equipment, and she will take care of us. Our electro-magnetic field is healed, rejuvenated, and strengthened by the earth's electro-magnetic field as well as the healthy organic matter that grows and thrives on it. (The idea that a trans-human body will do better for our wholeness, integration, and self-/ and godrealization is a racket, and I shall go into this in a different article. For one, clearly, it doesn't have a kundalini force that is synched with the creative force of our great mother, our planet. Anything artificial will be out of synch with Gaia and therefore separate us from her life-giving force.) "....when roused to rapid activity, it reacts strongly on the parent organism, effecting in course of time subject again to numerous factors, a marvelous transformation of the nervous system and the brain, resulting in the manifestation of a superior type of consciousness, which will be the common inheritance of man in the distant future. " Gopi Krishna All mystery teachings deal with Kundalini. Kundalini can be roused in many ways, and different schools have different methods. Any form of meditation and spiritual activity will eventually open it. Extended lovemaking, a variety of meditation that simultaneously engages and opens the energy cauldrons of mind, heart, and sex is a sure initiator of this potent force. "This mechanism, known as Kundalini, is the real cause of all genuine spiritual and psychic phenomena, the biological basis of evolution and development of personality, the secret origin of all esoteric and occult doctrines, the master key to the unsolved mystery of creation, the inexhaustible source of philosophy, art and science, and the fountainhead of all religious faiths, past, present and future." Gopi Krishna Why the common inheritance of man? I would say that by the nature of mystery schools having remained a secret, humanity at large is not aware that this potent force is at the core of knowing oneself and knowing oneself as creator, as part of the great god/dess force that flows through all of us. Know Thyself. It's done. Maybe this secrecy was for protection, for when the sacred serpent rises, it takes with it any subconscious crap, including previously unconscious expanded awareness. The experience can be both terrifying as well as majestic and spiritually fulfilling. Every person's experience is different, of course: Each of us is filled with a unique set of psycho-somatic patterns. So maybe this secrecy was for protection. But honestly, I doubt it. Why do I doubt that this secrecy was for protection? Because, when people, one, two, or more, engage in extended sexual pleasure, this force will rise no matter what. No matter what. You cannot protect humanity from coming into the experience of the Sacred Serpent and knowledge she brings. Her initiation is an initiation (= beginning) into, and activation of a majestic journey of self- and god-discovery. This self- and god-realization she activates is "the common inheritance of [hu]man[s]" AS LONG AS humanity feels free to enjoy the pleasure inherent in the human body and genitals. As long as we are free and natural with our pleasure, the rising of the Sacred Serpent is inevitable. Therefore I believe that the secrecy is in order to keep power structures intact. There are mysteries and mysteries. On the path of initiation, there is a crossroads, at which you choose: Do you pursue the path of beauty, of self-knowledge, or do you pursue the path of power, of manipulation of self and others? The path of beauty is one of surrender to the way things are, a path of achieving union with reality now, and now, and now, without judgment of the experience. The path of power is an attempt at avoiding presence with one's own pains and vulnerabilities. By manipulating the world and everyone in it, facing one's own limitations and tenderness in a human body can be avoided, or at least, delayed until there is nothing more left to try and subdue. If the path of self-knowledge wasn't obstructed by religious and scientific-to-the-exclusion-of-accepting-the-mysterious concepts, much of humanity would soon walk it, for it is a path in alignment with the nature of the human animal. There is no reason to hide the divine equipment, the god/dess installation, within each human. With proper instruction, every person can be initiated and taken through the psycho-somatic and spiritual consequences of the activation safely. But not many people know how to do this anymore, do they? Once open, one aspect of the Sacred Serpent functions like a furnace within: When a constricting concept or a patterned emotion arises, her sacred fire rushes upwards for a few moments, burning them off, briefly incensed like the flame in a furnace into which you have thrown some seeds. Another aspect is that God is always close. This shows up differently in different people: Some experience a non-dual, detached state of consciousness. Others experience bliss in their body. For me, it's spontaneous states of reverence. I personally let the Serpent do her work, for I trust her 1000%. It's the Sacred Serpent, the very consciousness and spirit of our planet - it has to be good. The Sacred Serpent will, at times, intensify perception of both blissful as well as terrifying states. This is a reason to be lovingly cautious and aware with the impact Kundalini has on the human psyche and body. It opens the doors of perception, and not always will one be pleased with what's behind the door. Therefore an attitude of surrender to life, of embracement of what-is, is helpful when encountering this sacred force: A willingness to experience both the horrendous as well as the blissful with equal acceptance. Since neither is the Ultimate itself, but only an expression of it, with that a pointer to and proof of it, taking an attitude of equilibrium toward both the pain and the pleasure allows the karmic seeds to exhaust themselves. They joy of experience is in recognizing that it proves the existence of the Ultimate, Ever-changing-form-without-end, no matter whether we approve or disapprove of the content of that experience. Interference with the natural unfolding of experience by trying to avoid the pain, or holding on to the pleasure, will make things worse. Ultimately, it looks to me, Kundalini fire allows for the gradual burning of karmic impressions, with that gradually removing the veils upon veils upon veils of illusion that keep us from knowing our at-one-ness with the pure creative aliveness of all-that-is. Questions, comments, feel free to email me: MaryRoseCrucis@gmail.com When we know what works and doesn't work for us in regards to our shared economy, we can participate in it from empowerment and clear intent. When we meet ourselves and others with clarity and empathy, we can make wise and peaceful economic choices.
The more we participate with clear intent and love, knowing what we want and need in our shared economy, the more our economy will begin to reflect our spirituality and deep humanity. And the more our economy reflects our spirituality and deep humanity, the more we are able to sustain a true democracy, a democracy that is shaped by and serves the needs of the people. May we employ our knowledge and power with wisdom and love. God In Union
Is it possible to have an open heart without being open toward one's sexual energy? (Without being open to the movement of one's desire and being loving with it?) I'm not sure if any ecstatic states can be had without it. For me, ecstatic moments are nourished by being open to the way my sexual energy moves and flows. It appears to nourish the openness of my heart, and of my brain, to moments of ecstasy and stillness in the midst of ordinary life. When the wind rustles in the trees, when the rain falls gently, when the storm rattles my home, or when the light of our Great Star, our beloved sun, meets the grey clouds of a late fall afternoon, the ecstasy of life moves through my bones, through my central column, making it shake: Would these ecstatic moments occur if I hadn't practiced allowing my sacred creational energies to permeate my energy body? I often ponder the traditions that make men abstinent monks. I can see that it's useful, at first, for a man to refrain from seeking sexual release, as a way to learn to control his sexual fire. And for a woman, if the man is merely focused on his release, it is usually highly unsatisfying, and matters are worse. Yet I do not find it spiritually beneficial for women to go without a loving sexual life, as it is truly nourishing for us, and opens our heart, mind, and spirit. Sexual fulfillment for women is usually not a quick affair. It takes time to arrive in deep pleasure, a journey of building and moving with waves of expansion, contraction, feeling, emotion, reluctance, and opening: It is a constantly shifting tapestry of physical, emotional, and spiritual experience, and each moment calls for wholehearted presence. It is a meditation. However, the quality of sexual connection is crucial for whether the experience is nourishing or frustrating for a woman. We appreciate a man who is able to hold his seed. It allows us to share each other for extended periods of time. The shared presence becomes primary, and orgasmic release a side effect. (Basically: Don't get distracted by orgasm. Stay focused on the shared ecstasy.) Therefore I wonder if men could substitute monk-hood and abstinence with holding their seed and prioritizing connection over outcome. This would include women into spiritual expansion and allow them to meet divinity where it often dwells for us: In the experience of deep ecstatic contractions, physically and energetically, of the womb. In this way, a woman would benefit from a man's sexual discipline, and both would enjoy the resulting heights of consciousness. Religious and spiritual hostility toward women's sexual nature greatly disturbs me in many other ways, as well. I have observed that women are expected to cover up so as to not trigger a man's sexual desire, while men do not need to worry about how much clothing they wear. This means that women are expected to protect men from having sexual responses while having to suppress their own! Have you noticed that men take their shirts off without second thought? (.As if their sisters had no appetites of their own. Or maybe men know, but they also know that it's legally sanctioned for them to show their chests and get the women's heads turning. And they know that they are safe, because women are unlikely to violently assault them for showing skin. Whereas a woman will still be considered responsible for sexual aggression coming her way. ...) This allows for a dangerous double standard in which women are expected to contain their own sexual energy while being held accountable for men's. I want to see a world where both sexes become equally responsible for their sexual energy; a world in which a woman is expected to choose a lover wisely, and where she is never pressured into sexual connection. A world where she is not marginalized for her sexual nature, but instead loved and revered. I want to live in a world in which it is safe for women to be present to our sexual force, present to, as I like to call it: the Virgin Force. Emerald Truth
You've got Gaian equipment, Gaia takes care of you. on the earth I lie resting for now. many days have risen behind me into darkness the only thing I know to calm me is SHE: GaiaMa. the scent of ancient cedars embraces me I can rest now in the stillness of this Emerald Truth. cradled in HER magnetism I can rest once more perhaps til the sunrise perhaps til tomorrow perhaps I may sleep tonight. the cat gently comes around my legs sits on my sleeping bag wetly sniffs my nose. I can take it now: the morning darkness no longer scares me and perhaps one day the days will be days again. One thing is clear to me:
We are rebuilding our economy. Beyond rebuilding, we are restructuring and redefining it. We are restructuring not only the external pathways of commerce, but we're rerouting our inner pathways, the way we think, about commerce, economy, and the means of communicating value: currency (which frequently is money). In short, we are re-e-VALUE-ating our approach to our personal, interpersonal, and global economies. As human awareness of each other expands through communication and information technologies, we are starting to see something we've never seen before: the true reality of other people. Thus they start living as real people in our perception, versus just a vague sense in our minds' eyes. And as we see ourselves in their shoes, we can't but care. Thus many of us recognize that we want to share prosperity and happiness amongst all of us, and that we can't leave any one person or sentient being behind if we want the whole that we feel part of to thrive. We recognize that often quantity of money applied does not equal quality of life stimulated, and we don't like the discrepancy. Particularly, as global citizens, I believe more and more of us share the desire that the resources we contribute and circulate serve the wellbeing of every being of this earth. It's not a choice anymore: Feeling our tribal nature and innate empathy naturally expands the definition of value received for money given to include more than just oneself. Life stimulated, aliveness inspired, is what I equate with "value." Providing goods and services is what I equate with the human need to contribute, "to make life wonderful," as Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication, puts it. The instinct to engage in trade and commerce is based on our needs to stimulate life for ourselves, and to make life wonderful for our community. In other words, our need for everyone to thrive, to share and experience companionship in our experience, and to live this earthly life to the fullest. When money given and life (value) received are within reason of each other, sanity settles. We relax, rest our bodies onto this beloved planet, and money becomes a natural earthly means instead of an abstract, alienated entity accessible only by a fearless or ruthless few. Now money can become a friend to those of us who are sensitive, who need it to come lovingly, who insist on circulating it with an open heart, clear mind, and confident choice. We further recognize that commerce isn't all about profit, and safe-guarding ourselves: It's about connection. I get to meet you, and you get to meet me, through the contribution we make to our world, through the exchange of our goods and services and ideas. Suddenly, commerce becomes a sacred means of sharing our humanity. A sacred means of respect, curiosity, and mutual exploration. And thus an ancient aspect of human interaction becomes a new and primary dimension of economic relations: Enjoying each other. Friendship. Fun. Thus I envision an economy where everyone feels comfortable participating. Where the joy of sharing diversity through commerce and trade inspires everyone to partake meaningfully. Where people effortlessly recognize how to express their spiritual integrity within the web of human sharing. (Incomplete sentences are common place in my German native tongue. I like them, so you will see many in my writing.) I believe economics are at the very root of human evolution. Money, originally of the earth, has gotten a bad reputation, because it's been abused. A basically spiritual essence, closely tied to Gaia, I want money to become a worthy representation on the altar of the Goddess. A representation of our earth, of our interconnection with each other, of sharing respect, and beyond respect, a representation of a deep celebration of sharing this sentient existence on our earth. A representation of sustenance through meaningful exchange. Instead of complaining that money has become a God, I want to celebrate that money, like everything that exists, expresses God. Participatory Economy, Democratic Economy
A recent experience made it crystal clear to me how the history of our economic affairs completely repels some of my human siblings from participating in it: A few months ago, I drove up from Santa Cruz, up Highway 1, enjoying a sunny coastline. Three young hitchhikers were waiting for a ride, and I pulled over a few hundred feet past them. While they were walking toward me, I made room on my passenger and back seats, stuffing everything in the trunk (not easy, it's a gypsyesk commutomobil). Two young men and one young woman wandered up to me, with tattoos, creative hair, and spiraling expressions in their eyes, and I knew immediately I would be safe taking them. (Just tapping them gently would probably have been enough to knock them over, had the need arisen.) As they were settling in, the young woman in front, and the two young men in the back, and we were getting to know each other, I found out that they were on a super-heroic trip up North to get five-fingered green leaves for their deprived friends at home. I was announced as the superhero of superheros for helping them on their mission. When I mentioned that I'd been reading 5 people's tea leaves over the weekend, they immediately explained that tea leaf reading was my superhero power, and dragoncat (as in Dragoncat Music) was my superhero name. I thoroughly enjoyed their delightfully sweet and unpretentious company. And I discovered a new insight hearing their main pastime, which sounded was to get stoned, and, during the occupy movement, to camp out on the streets: These people did this job for me, did this job all of us. These three young people, stoned out of, or rather, into, their minds, were doing the dirty work toward a sane economy and true democracy. They were willing to sit there, camp out for weeks, put up with the all the crap and bullshit, and make a statement, for all of us, a statement for which I am grateful. The statement that is now changing our world. This also had me realize that our current state of affairs simply isn't palatable to many people. The reason they weren't participating through "work" in our economy is simply because it's not working for them. I can see that their choice is their way of participating, of contributing to the creation of a world economy that works for all. I have to respect the resolve with which I see these young people live: They simply won't participate in our mainstream economy until they've been able to shape it into a quality of trade and commerce that works for them. Until then, they will do the dirty work for me and all of us, the dirty work of living without money, and sitting on the streets, exampling the things that need changing, integrating, lifting into a functional approach to our economics and our democracy. "Thank you for doing that. Because I wasn't going to risk my citizenship application, or my physical safety, or my client relations. Yet I want the effect this movement has brought. Thank you for doing this." In appreciation for the ride, one of them gave me a most beautiful pendant from blue/grey agate, foaming like the sea meeting the coastline, and brass wire lace. He told me he'd been making it while we were driving, and I can only conclude that his lucid drug state allowed him to see straight into me, because the pendant exactly matched my inner landscape. This experience has expanded my understanding. I now recognize how everyone contributes to the shaping of our economy and democracy. We can't but be part of it, and each of us gets to choose how. I believe ultimately we all want to participate the way that works best for our deep inner truth. This gives me hope, and passion for what is to come, and what we are to become. |
Nora Hoffmann
Categories
All
Archives
October 2018
|
RSS Feed