COMMUNITIES OF KINDRED SOULS

 
There are many reasons why people join spiritual groups. Often, people look for answers, advice or solace in times of crisis. Others simply look for spiritual growth and enlightenment. I belonged in the first group when I began my search, and progressed to the second group after I outgrew the first. I didn’t have any expectations when I started and just went with the flow. In time, I realized an emerging pattern that happened in most of these groups. You begin with an open mind and end up with a closed one.

I began my search because of a spiritual crisis in my life. I couldn’t find the answers from my religion, and so I looked for them in the other faiths. My introduction to these groups began with a common adage: Keep an Open Mind. It was a reasonable enough expectation, I thought, as there may be certain principles or practices that I may not be aware of or may find strange. In extreme cases, they may even be contrary to and prohibited by the belief system I grew up in. As I progressed in my studies and practices, I was prohibited to do certain things in order to move on to the next level. If I found these prohibitions reasonable, I would comply in order to progress. The higher the level I reached, the more demands and prohibitions were imposed. This went on until I realized an ironic twist in my spiritual development. I began with an open mind and was now approaching a closed one. In fact, I suddenly realized that I was a product of a similar conditioning and indoctrination by my childhood religion. Feeling indignant at being controlled and not having any freedom of choice, I knew instinctively that it was time to move on. This pattern would repeat itself in subsequent groups. What surprised me more was why people stay in these groups at the expense of abdicating control over their lives.

People stay in a spiritual community because the group satisfies an important inner need in their lives even if it means giving up control and surrendering to another. Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Motivation provides a helpful structure to explain behavior in this regard. According to Maslow, human beings are motivated by a hierarchy of five unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be addressed. General basic physiological, safety, love, and esteem needs have to be fulfilled first in that order before achieving growth and eventually self-actualization .

There was a spiritual community that settled in the wilderness of Canada. The leader of the group provided for everybody’s needs. Not only did he give the community spiritual sustenance, he provided for food, looked after their safety, nurtured love, and recognized the elders of the community. The community prospered and grew. One day the leader suddenly died, and the community expected the son to assume all the father’s responsibilities. The son refused to accept the father’s legacy and announced that each member of the community must do their share to work for the survival of all. In time, many left the community because they no longer had someone to fulfill their needs.

Man’s basic need is to survive and to provide for his food, shelter and clothing. He will use any means to achieve this even at the cost of surrendering his soul. Missionaries are successful in proselytizing because they provide food and other basic necessities in poverty stricken areas. Their ability to satisfy the physiological needs of the hungry will assure them of a continuous stream of ready converts.

With his basic needs addressed, man now seeks to meet his concerns for personal safety, financial security, health and well-being and a safety net for unforeseen circumstances. A spiritual group that provides income and other material benefits for its members in terms of employment or business opportunities will always attract loyal followers. Faced with a choice between a group that provides both spiritual and material sustenance against one that only offers spirituality, people whose security needs are wanting will surely choose the former over the latter.

With physiological and safety needs fulfilled, man needs to belong and to be accepted by others. They need to love and be loved. This need is so strong that, given the right kind of peer pressure, it overcomes the two lower needs. The devotional fervor of a group can transform it into a fanatical machine capable of doing almost anything for the leader. The kind that cult groups are made of. One can easily discern that a group without nurturing love will soon be extinct. Fellowship among kindred souls is just as important as lessons from spiritual treatises.

The next need involves the human desire to be accepted and valued by others. This normal need for recognition has led to people joining groups that are perceived to be more popular or more prestigious whether or not the teachings are the same. It has led to the formation of hierarchies and ranks with symbolic or actual powers and authorities within the group. People will argue that these are all unnecessary for people in genuine spiritual work. Unfortunately, in this mundane existence these glamour constructs are effective motivational and marketing tools if proselytizing is the group’s ballgame.

After satisfying and mastering all his needs, man finally reaches and realizes his full potential. That could mean a number of things, but simply put it means becoming everything that one is capable of becoming. A self-actualized man on the spiritual path need not depend on any group to satisfy any of his lower needs. His only need is enlightenment. And when he finds it, he achieves transcendence.

Provide food, shelter, clothing and you will bring the poor and hungry at your doorsteps. The group who provides a regular income stream for their leaders and followers will gain a loyal cadre of workers. The community that provides emotional support and solace will nurture dedicated devotion among its followers. A spiritual teacher who can bestow the title of master on his astute leaders will have an army of workers throughout the world. A master who has nothing but wisdom to offer and simply points the way will have a handful of advanced souls for students within the threshold of enlightenment.

Is one group better than the others? Are any of these groups wrong? No. They are all right because all roads eventually lead towards the same direction. People will find a group suitable for their needs given the circumstances at a particular point in time. Sometimes, they join several groups at the same time, as they cannot find a single one that can satisfy all their needs. When they are ready to move on, another teacher appears and another group joined. We only have eternity to find what we ultimately seek.

DO PETS HAVE KARMA?

 
In one darshan, a student shared his grief about the death of his beloved pet dog. He was so distraught that his pet was accidentally ran over by a speeding automobile. He wondered if pets like humans are also subject to karma. It was a simple enough question but it required a deeper understanding of karma to answer it.

Karma is a Sanskrit word that succinctly encapsulates the Law of Cause and Effect in one word. In physics, it is expressed as “for every action there is a corresponding reaction.” Steven Covey calls it the Law of the Harvest after the biblical adage: “You reap what you sow.” Confucius calls it the Golden Rule: “Do unto others what you want others to do unto to you” or conversely “Do not do unto to others what you wouldn’t want others to do unto you.” It is simply Divine Justice where a person’s actions are adjudicated and retribution exacted by the Lords of Karma. No one gets away from it; unless, one knows the rules.

There are two sides to karma. There is good karma when one is rewarded for good deeds, and there is negative karma when one is punished for the bad deeds. Traditionally, good karma is referred to as grace or good fortune, and bad karma is referred to as sin or misfortune. According to common practice and beliefs, an act becomes a sin or a crime if it conforms to 3 conditions: (1) it must be a grievous act, (2) it must be committed with full knowledge, and (3) it must be committed with deliberate intent. Without all three conditions present, an act is not subject to karmic retribution. Using these criteria, do animals suffer from negative karma?

Because of the level of their soul development, animals do not possess a developed will. They have a primitive form of will, which we call instinct. Since their behavior is ruled by their instinct, their ability to make choices is therefore impaired. As such they find themselves more as victims of chance and circumstances rather than one of deliberate karmic retribution. No. Animals do not suffer from karma.

Man is a different story altogether. He has the capacity to discern and make choices and as such is held fully accountable for his behavior. The motive of the act is more often the crux of the matter when it pertains to humans. Soldiers, legal enforcers and executioners, for instance, do not suffer the consequences of killing other people because it is their role as instruments of the state to protect its people from external harm and aggression.

In the Mysteries, there is a fourth condition that affects the mechanism of karma. It involves the act’s emotional-mental or kama manas dimensions. It must be committed to satisfy an inner desire. The act must be performed in a detached manner in order to be free from its karmic consequences.

There is a classic story about a samurai warrior to illustrate this point. On the command of his daimyo, a samurai warrior set about to hunt, capture and slay an escaped fugitive. After successfully entrapping and immobilizing his prey on the ground, the hunter unsheathed his sword ready to decapitate the fallen foe until the latter unexpectedly spat at the samurai’s face. The samurai was consumed with anger and shame at this act of defiance but quickly becomes aware of his reaction. He returned his sword to its scabbard, bowed to the fugitive and departed leaving his prey unharmed.

This story contains all the four conditions that could make the act of killing subject to or exempt from negative karma. The act of killing in this story is clearly a grievous act. It is to be done with full knowledge and intent by the samurai. However, since it is to be executed in a detached manner in compliance to his duty for the benefit of the State, the negative karmic consequences of the act is conceptually neutralized. The situation changed completely after the fugitive spat at the samurai. Being angered and humiliated, the samurai’s intent changed into a desire for revenge to appease his personal ego. Had he proceeded to slay the fugitive, he would have committed an act deserving negative karma.

Many people claim that it is easy to get away from karma. All you have to achieve is detachment. Unfortunately, attaining complete detachment is not exactly easy to achieve. It may take many years, even many lifetimes. But as always, the first small steps are easier to do. Begin with the Golden Rule.

IN SEARCH OF THE UNICORN

 
My fascination for the unicorn began when I met my teacher, Mang Mike. On one off-guarded moment, I asked him if unicorns really existed. He smiled and said yes. When I asked him where I could find one, he just smiled. It was his sweet smile, which meant that I had to look and find one for myself. Thus my quest to find the unicorn began.

My starting point was Mang Mike’s version of the legend of the unicorn.

There lived a wild beast in the forest that the village people feared and dreaded. The beast was black and appeared to look like a menacing steed. To put an end to this terror, the village offered a handsome reward to capture and tame the beast. No one dared to accept the offer, until a young virtuous maiden stepped forward to take the challenge. She entered the forest and followed the tracks that led to her goal. The beast stood still as the maiden drew her hand and touched its brow. The steed turned white and assumed a noble bearing. On its brow, an alicorn appeared. From that day onwards, the beast was known as the noble Unicorn.

Mang Mike explained that the beast is the symbol of the savage man, and the virtuous maiden is the symbol of the soul, the higher self. Unless man is touched by the soul, he will never be awakened to his true Divine nature. The Unicorn is the symbol of the awakened man. With this in mind, my search for the unicorn led me to places where he had a significant presence – London, Paris and New York City.

You will find the unicorn practically everywhere in London specially where the government offices are located. This is because the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom contains a Unicorn on the right and a Lion on the left supporting the shield between them. Historically at odds with each other, the English Lion and the Scottish Unicorn finally found themselves united under a single monarch King James VI of Scotland in 1603. The unicorn has been a part of the official seal of Scotland since the late 1300s under King Robert III. The Scottish Unicorn is in an upright position with a crown worn around its neck and a broken chain loosely floating around its body. The crown symbolizes the Scot nobility and the broken chain as the Scot’s spirit to be free preferring death over subjugation. What I found interesting is the position of the alicorn. It originates from the crown of the unicorn. This position was more prominently depicted in a wooden relief of the Scottish Unicorn I found in Westminster Abbey. I wondered if there was any significance to this.

The Musée de Cluny in Paris houses one of the greatest works of art of the Middle Ages, six fifteenth century tapestries of the Lady and the Unicorn. The Lion again appeared juxtaposed to the Unicorn. Five tapestries were interpreted to symbolize the five senses, and the center tapestry, the most beautiful of them all, was the synthesis of the five. This particular centerpiece was entitled A mon seoul Desir or "My own sole desire" after the words inscribed on the panel itself. It was interpreted as the lady's desire to be free of the passions provoked by ill-controlled senses to ensure right behavior. In all the tapestries, the Lion was on the left and the Unicorn was on the right displaying similar if not opposing attitudes towards the Lady's behavior. This led me to interpret the Lion as the symbol of the dark forces and the Unicorn as the symbol of the light. The Lady represented mankind performing a balancing act between the two while being subject to the taunting of the senses. Ultimately, she chooses to stay at the center; detaching herself from earthly possessions as a means to spiritual liberation. Oddly, the unicorn’s alicorn was again on its crown.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has quite a collection of Medieval Art housed at The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park. Among these are the famous Unicorn Tapestries, a series of seven tapestries depicting the Hunt of the Unicorn. The theme of the tapestries runs parallel to my own quest and may perhaps contain the clues I have been looking for. The story begins with a party of men commencing their hunt. They find the unicorn and a chase begins. A struggle ensues but the unicorn escapes. Unable to capture the unicorn, the hunters prepare a trap using maidens from the court to ensnare the beast. He finally succumbs to the charms of the maidens and is rendered defenseless. The unicorn is killed, resurrects on the third day and is held in captivity in the garden. The Unicorn Tapestries draw much of its symbolism from Christian beliefs with allusions to the unicorn as the symbolic Christ. Since the soul is the Christ within, could we possibly be unicorns?

The insights drawn from the preceding unicorn encounters only began to make sense as I advanced in my spiritual practices. One day after performing certain practices as a group, we were told by our teacher to look at each others' brows. We were shocked to see a thin stream of light projecting from our foreheads. We began to scan each others' alicorns comparing lengths and thickness and validating that what we were seeing was not an illusion. It was only then I realized that man had the capacity to become unicorns. But what did it take to reach this stage.

Like the Hunt for the Unicorn tapestries, it begins with the search. Beset with an inner dissatisfaction with his life, a seeker looks for answers to existential questions. He begins a journey of self-discovery to satisfy an inner longing to find meaning in his life. In this journey, he is confronted with the world of duality and, like in the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, he confronts the world of senses and works towards balance and right behavior. While undergoing purification, he finally experiences glimpses of the spiritual reality around him like sporadic sightings of the unicorn and searches for other means and practices to hasten his development. But his quest continues to be frustrated until he is finally touched by the virtuous maiden - a resurrection process of dying to one’s lower self and being reborn as an awakened soul, your true self. He resurrects and achieves the alicorn of enlightenment but ironically, however, remains captive in the garden of earthly life.

But according to Highland myths, the unicorn, like a true Scotsman, would rather die than lose his freedom. How can the unicorn be held captive? The answer came to me in a dream. I dreamed that I was riding a satiny black stallion when suddenly it turned white and began to fly. I asked Mang Mike if unicorns could fly. He answered that winged unicorns exist. It is the symbol of a liberated soul, a Buddha, one that is no longer subject to the wheel of death and rebirth. And so the Scottish Unicorn finally made sense to me, the broken chain around it is another symbol of the liberated soul. The royal crown around its neck and the alicorn above it, are fitting symbols of a winged unicorn’s uninterrupted link to the cosmic consciousness.

So do unicorns exist? Take a good look at the person sitting next to you. If he or she has a noble demeanor, and exhibits a peculiar stream of light from the forehead, you have more likely encountered a unicorn.

THE DIVINE MOTHER BIXIA YUANJU

 

I have a special devotion to the Divine Mother. I was baptised and raised a Roman Catholic. I studied in exclusive Dominican and Jesuit schools where the Blessed Virgin Mary occupied a special place in the student’s prayer life. In times of trouble, she would come to my aid whenever I prayed for her intervention. Our abstract relationship was based on faith in a detached sort of way. She was for all intent and purposes a mental construct. That all changed when She became real to me in the most unusual place and circumstances.

It was August 1995. I and five other companions arrived at the foot of Tai Shan (Great Mountain) in Shandong, China. There are five sacred Taoist mountains in China and Tai Shan is said to be the most significant one. Standing at 1,545m above sea level, emperors would climb the mountain for thousands of years to make offerings to Heaven and Earth upon ascending to the throne. There are several paths to the summit. One can take it the hard way on foot going through 6,660 stone steps from the Red Gate, or the easy way by bus and cable car. We took the easy way. We took the bus from Tai’an City to the Middle Gate of Heaven, which was half way between the base of the mountain and the summit. From there we boarded the cable car to Moon Viewing Peak followed by a long flight of steps up to the South Gate of Heaven from where one can reach the summit.

The Shenqui Hotel was the only hotel in the summit and served as our abode. Its location more than compensated for the limited and basic amenities. The major sights, shrines, and temples were within walking distance. We explored the mountain, marvelled at the breathtaking sceneries, and meditated at certain spots radiating tremendous spiritual energies. One such place of interest to me was the Precipice of the Tang Dynasty. About a thousand Chinese characters in elegant Tang Dynasty calligraphy were inscribed on the 13.3 meters high and 5.5 meters wide precipice memorialising Tai Shan. I wondered if Chinese characters were akin to sigils as I could sense the presence of powerful beings.

The Bixia Temple Complex was another important pilgrimage site in the mountain. It is the home of the Supreme Goddess of Tai Shan, Bixia Yuanju known also as Azure Cloud. One late afternoon, after viewing the Drum and Bell Tower, a thick fog covered the mountain on our way to the main Azure Cloud Temple. We were in the front courtyard when the visibility became so poor that we had to walk close to each other in order not to lose our way and miss the portal. It was dark inside the temple hall except for some candles illuminating a bronze image of a woman with what appeared to be colourful balls suspended in the air by strings surrounding it. As I moved forward to have a better view, the image transformed into what looked like little spheres of energy moving up and down a pillar of light. Suddenly, my whole body was embraced with such overwhelming maternal love that I began to weep uncontrollably like an infant from the sheer intoxicating joy and sense of reassuring security. Embarrassed at the spectacle I was making of myself in front of friends and other visitors, I tried so hard to stop crying. Suppressing my tears just made me shake uncontrollably until I decided to just let go and let the moment pass. After calming down, Master Choa Kok Sui, the leader of our group of six pilgrims, asked me what just happened. I replied just as puzzled and said ‘I don’t know.’ Our circle of friends subsequently discussed the incident that night and concluded that I more likely entered the womb of the Divine Mother.

The next morning, we woke up early to catch the spectacular Tai Shan sunrise at the Sun Viewing Peak. Still reeling from yesterday’s experience, I positioned myself beside our tourist guide under the rock formation called the Gonbei stone. It is shaped like a suspended stubby index finger pointing towards the sea. The view in front of us looked just like a Chinese watercolour painting. The mountains were spread out with their peaks jutting out of a sea of clouds. The Sun shortly began to ascend along the horizon. As it stood over the mountains, the Sun’s radiance transformed the white clouds into gold and painted the blue sky with tints of gold, orange, pink and violet. At that moment, our guide nudged my shoulder, pointed at the breathtaking panorama and whispered “Azure Cloud. Azure Cloud.” I didn’t know if he was referring to the clouds or the Sun but I intuitively knew I was witnessing the Sun Goddess in all her splendour. At that same moment, the previous night’s familiar sensations resurfaced and confirmed my epiphany.

I found out later that Bixia Yuanju is the Divinity associated with the dawn, childbirth and destiny. There is no direct allusion of Her as being the Sun Goddess. Sun deities are traditionally male in China. As such, her role as Goddess of the Dawn is ambiguously referred to as attending to the birth of a new day. As Goddess of childbirth, she is the benefactrix of women who wish to give birth, bringing good fortune and influencing the destiny of children. The dawn and childbirth are analogous representations of the Divine Mother’s archetypical qualities. Just as the rising sun illuminates the earth from the darkness of the night, a child emerges to the light of the world from the darkness of the womb. In certain places in Tai Shan, one can find mounds of loose pebble stones and prayer locks on chain railings representing petitions and prayers from her devotees. She is said to be the only daughter of the Lord Emperor of Tai Shan and thus the mountain’s Empress. She is also known as Princess of the Azure Clouds, Princess of the Rosy Clouds, and the Heavenly Jade Maiden.

The Japanese adopted much of China’s culture and traditions, but had the clarity to acknowledge the Light Bringer as female and thus their Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. All created form is female. The earth, the moon, the sun are all female. On the other hand, the unseen mover of creation, the spirit that gives life to form, is male. An Australian aboriginal dreamtime story of creation speaks of a Sun Goddess in the eternal cycle of rest and activity. According to the Karraur tribe of South Australia, the Great Father Spirit, Baiame, saw the world asleep and in utter darkness. He stirred Yhi, the Divine Mother, from her slumber and whispered ‘it was time for activity to begin again.’ Ascending from the Nullarbor cave, she bathed the plains around her with radiating light dispelling the darkness. The Sun Goddess travelled in all directions springing life forms wherever she went. Wastelands were filled with vegetation. Creatures of every kind filled the earth, the sky and the sea. At the end of the day, she returned to her cave, the symbolic womb where aboriginal mothers would traditionally give birth. All creation wept and mourned her departure only to rejoice the following day when a new dawn brought the eternal promise of renewal. Baiame was pleased and ruled over his dominions over a long period of time until the return of the next period of rest.

The Karraur dreamtime creation story runs parallel with the story of creation in the Mysteries. All of existence is eternal, no beginning and no end. There are only periods of activity, and periods of rest. In the microcosm, they are called day and night. In the macrocosm, they are called manvantara and pralaya. The Divine energy encompassing everything is vibrating at different rates. Energy vibrating at the highest rate of the spectrum is Spirit or the Divine Father. Energy vibrating at its lowest rate is Matter or the Divine Mother. The synthesis of both energies is the Cosmic Consciousness or the Divine Son.

Since my wonderful experience with the Divine Mother in Tai Shan, I have become more aware of her presence everywhere I go. During our 1997 meeting in Canterbury, United Kingdom, Drunvalo Melchizedek shared his encounter with the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and once again I felt the Divine Mother’s presence. In recent times, She has made more appearances in the form Her devotees recognize Her to be. She appears in my meditations and continues to give me guidance and solace. The Divine Mother is indeed actively involved in our planet’s transformation and finally reclaiming her rightful place in mankind’s consciousness. Isn’t it about time for you to acknowledge Her as well?

A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTMAS STORY

 
For a deeper understanding of the mysteries, the ancients would refer to certain principles of creation. One of these is the Law of Correspondence. It was succinctly written on the Emerald Tablets as - “As above so below. As below so above.” In order to understand the mysteries of the microcosm, one has to look for answers in the macrocosm. Equally whatever happens in the heavens is correspondingly manifested on earth. Christmas provides an excellent event to explain this principle.

Our planet Earth revolves around the majestic Sun for a period of one year. The Earth’s spin axis is tilted 23.5 degrees with respect to its orbit around the Sun. In view of this tilt, the ecliptic plane of the Earth’s path is likewise tilted 23.5 degrees. This ecliptic anomaly results in the different seasons we experience in the planet. The Sun would appear to be traveling between the North and South Poles along an imaginary vertical line crossing the earth’s equator twice a year.

The Sun is on the tip of the North Pole during the Summer Solstice around June 22 varying each year between the 21st and 23rd day of the month. The northern hemisphere is at its warmest and brightest. People living in the farthest reaches of the north hardly experience any nights at all. Three days later, the Sun appears to begin its descent to the south. As the earth travels farther on its orbit, the Sun reaches the equator on the Autumnal Equinox around September 22 each year. The nights become longer and days shorter in the northern hemisphere. The Sun heads towards the South Pole and reaches it on the Winter Solstice around December 22. People in the northern hemisphere experience darkness in varying degrees. In the farthest north, it becomes completely black 24 hours a day. The Sun stays on the tip of the South Pole for three days, and on the third day, it begins its journey back to the North Pole. It reaches the equator on the Vernal Equinox around March 22. As the Sun crosses the equator, the days become longer and the nights shorter until the North Pole is reached on the Summer Solstice where the annual cycle begins once again on the third day.

Picture yourself in the farthest reaches of the North Pole during the Winter Solstice where there is complete darkness for three days. How do you think you would feel? Feelings of deep depression, of desperation, of doom and gloom would likely rule. How do you think you’d feel when the third day finally comes and the Sun begins his journey back? Feelings of ecstatic joy and the jubilation that hope of a new beginning brings would probably be overwhelming. The ancients understood this cycle of death and rebirth profoundly, and called the third day after the Winter Solstice Natalis Solis Invicti or Birth of the Unconquered Sun. This return of the Sun god was universally observed in the pagan world. The Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb in Ireland acclaimed this rite of passage as early as 3200 BCE. In 274 CE, Roman Emperor Aurelian fixed the feast day on December 25.

This annual solar event is influenced by other astrological interventions. In the year 4 CE, it is said that two unusual events happened. On the 24th of December, a brilliant star appeared in the heavens moving towards the west. Following it from the east were three bright stars. It is said that the brilliant star was from the Canis Major or Sirius and the three bright stars following it were from the belt of Orion or Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. In the early hours of the next day, the constellation of Virgo ascended in the eastern sky just as the Sun appeared over the horizon below it. It is said that under auspicious moments, such as the preceding star configuration, an Avatar is born by a Virgin during the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. The custom of ascribing December 25 as the birth date of divinities born of a virgin began. Mithra, Hercules and Krishna were said to be born on December 25.

To consolidate power during his reign between 306-337 CE, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great introduced many changes to the Christian religion distancing it farther away from its Judeo origins, aligning it more to the pagan practices of Rome, and introducing uniform Christian doctrines and practices that were more acceptable to the Romans. The Sabbath, for instance, was moved to Sunday in honor of the Sun God. Supplanting the Natalis Solis Invicti with Christmas was also attributed to him but no official records attest to this. It was only in 354 CE during the Roman papacy of Pope Liberius and the reign of Roman Emperor Constancius II that a list of observances included both Natalis Invicti and natus Christus in Betleem Iudeæ on December 25 in the Philocalian Calendar.

The celestial story of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun and the birth of the Christ is a good example of the Law of Correspondence. The former represents the macrocosm and the later the microcosm. Just as the Sun returns from darkness to bring the light, the Christ was born to bring the light and hope to the world. Just as the Christ was born of a Virgin, the Solar daybreak was under the constellation of Virgo. Just as the three bright stars on the belt of Orion followed Sirius, the three wise men of the east followed the brilliant star to Bethlehem.

Barring whatever distastes Christians may have for anything pagan, the fact that the annual celebration of Christmas had its origins from pagan traditions cannot be disputed. But does the origin of Christmas day really matter? Christmas is about the joy and the hope that comes with the spirit of renewal. It is about acknowledging our interconnectedness and unity with all of creation. It is about the birth of a Divinity whose life and message of love makes our world a better place to live in. That’s the real story of Christmas whether it is depicted as a spectacular drama in the heavens or a treasured event in our mundane lives.

The Wiccan High Priestess

 
My knowledge and appreciation of Wicca or Paganism had been superficial and at best theoretical.  My encounter with the High Priestess of the Solar and Lunar traditions shook the very foundation of my belief systems, and opened the portals of a new world for me. 


It was late 1997. I was in Jakarta, Indonesia where I met a friend from Mexico. He was traveling with his new bride whom he confided was a Wiccan High Priestess. His revelation made sense to the etheric entourage of elementals that I could see following her around wherever she went. By some unknown kindred force, we easily bonded and interacted like long lost friends. I eventually remembered her as my mother in a past life in view of a recurring vision of a lad in a cavern pounding some herb in a mortar with his mother giving instructions. It was a joyful moment when I addressed her as “Mama” and she acknowledged our past relationship. The discovery that I was once a sorcerer's apprentice sent chills through my spine.

Her true identity and origins were well-kept secrets. What little I knew about her had been sworn to secrecy. I have no photographs of her. My only memento of that encounter was the gift of a round medallion with the runic wheel on one face, and a tattva of a triangle within a square within a circle on the other. It was a treasured gift as it symbolized a new understanding of the unseen world we live in. 

She is known by many names. For the world to appreciate her origins and background, she uses two names –Taisha Abelar and Brida. Each representing the different traditions and practices she was raised and trained in. You would have probably come across Taisha’s name in one of Carlos Castañeda’s books where she figured prominently in Don Juan’s circle. More insights about her are revealed in her book, the “Sourcerer's Crossing.” This book hints at the Toltec tradition she grew up in, and the initiations and training she had to undergo.  She became an apprentice of the renowned English witch, Sybil Leek, who initiated her in the Lunar tradition.  In the book, “Brida – the life of a modern witch,” Paolo Coelho immortalized her as an initiate of the Solar tradition.

I was so excited that I finally met a genuine Wiccan High Priestess and Priest. I invited them to stay with me in the Philippines as my guests and teachers. They arrived a week later. I organized a group of students who were interested in learning the ancient practices of Wicca. We were 24 in all; excited to have a lot of fun from the experience. As the days passed, our eyes grew bigger and bigger as the awesome revelations progressed. This was the real thing and many of us were strickened with fear. Our ranks grew thinner until strangely there were only 13 of us left by the end of the course – the number of a coven. I cannot reveal what was taught during those three weeks the couple stayed with us. Only that it was a grim awakening to forces and realities that our consciousness was not prepared for. Wicca is far too serious a matter to deal lightly with.

To better illustrate the impact of the experience, I will relate one of many events that happened as I ‘saw’ it.

One night in a small villa, we sat on the floor and formed a circle. Holding their ceremonial daggers, Brida and her consort walked outside the circle like alert sentinels watching over their wards pouring salt around the perimeter. We were to close our eyes and just be mindful of what was happening around us.  At an unexpected moment, Brida began to sing an unfamiliar sound that is akin perhaps to the banshee wailing in the wind. The high priest joined her and together their combined operatic sound was transformed into what seemed like a choir of many haunting melodious voices. It was then that I realized that they summoned the presence of nature spirits. The room darkened and was filled with many different low and ugly creatures making all sorts of eerie sound and movement. I looked towards Brida and I saw a tall, powerful woman clad in a Viking warrior’s garb wearing a helmet with a pair of outstretched wings standing protectively behind her. I was awed by the strength and power projected by this towering figure, and cowered at her intimidating presence. I eventually found out much later that the being was a Valkyrie and my daemon.

While this was happening, Brida appeared to be expelling something from one of the students who sounded like she was in some kind of distress. We found out later that she was possessed by a being who Brida exorcised. Soon after, Brida and her partner changed the tempo of their sound and our etheric guests began to depart. Light returned once again to the room.

Each of the person present that night had a story to tell. Out of fear, many departed from the group as the days went by, and as more aspects of Wicca were revealed. The esoteric tradition is full of secrets. Literature in this field is often abstruse and couched in multiple meanings to protect the truth from the uninitiated.  Those three precious weeks afforded me with many insights.

Wicca is said to be once the universal religion. It was universal because at one point in time our ancestors could see the inner worlds as vividly as the physical world. They could see the beings behind created life forms and forces of nature that they honored and revered. The names given to these godly forces of nature may be different in each pagan culture but the underlying principles are universal. Over time, only a few retained the ability to see and communicate with the inner world and they were designated as shamans or priests by the people. In most cultures, a woman occupied this position because of the gender’s innate creative powers, which no man could adequately replicate. Priestesses were known as witches, a title which only assumed a negative connotation with the rise in power of other competing institutional religions.

To a Wiccan, there is no such thing as white or black magic. There is only magic. The intention of the practitioner makes it either black or white. Unfortunately, power ultimately corrupts and a black practitioner eventually emerges. In the course of our association, I found out that Brida was dying being herself a victim of witchcraft. Through our intervention, she underwent psychic surgery in the Philippines and was spared from an early death. I came to realize that wars among witches were common occurrences. This was the principal reason why identities were closely guarded and secrecy a way of life.

When Brida and her consort departed from the Philippines, our coven met for the first and last time. In our deliberation, we arrived at a consensus not to continue with the Wiccan practices we learned and to terminate the coven. We were grateful for the knowledge we gained, but we acknowledged that this way of life was not meant for us. In our spiritual journeys, we will eventually encounter choices along the path, and the decision we make will determine our ultimate destination and fate.

Understanding the World of Illusion

 
A vast majority of humanity is asleep. They exist in a world of illusion and are victims of the forces surrounding them. An awakened soul is able to see what is real and what is not. We now explore the world of illusion, glamour and maya so one may develop the capacity to discern the world we live in and get a glimpse of who we really are.

Jonathan Swift’s book “Gulliver’s Travels” provides a good teaching aid to explain the esoteric concepts of Illusion, Glamour, Maya and the Dweller in the Threshold. The following is an excerpt of the Voyage to Liliput from where we will extract the pearls of wisdom –

On May 4, 1699, the Antelope set sail for the South Seas from Bristol. On board the ship was Lemuel Gulliver, a merchant marine surgeon with a spirit for adventure. Little did he know that this particular voyage was about to bring him to places beyond his wildest dreams.

Six months overseas, the ship encountered a storm in the East Indies which swept it to the big rocks; splitting it apart. Everyone was lost at sea, except Gulliver who drifted safely to an uncharted island. This island was known as the Empire of Lilliput which was inhabited by humans no taller than six inches. Initially, the Lilliputians were wary of the giant Gulliver and therefore tied him up while he was unconscious on the shore. They found out later that he was a good and harmless giant, and therefore set him free to wander within the empire. In return for services, and for complying with certain restrictions, the emperor provided a quantity of meat and drink sufficient for the support of 1724 Lilliputians. Among the services expected of Gulliver was the destruction of the naval fleet of the island of Blefuscu, the empire's dreaded arch-enemy who was poised to invade Lilliput.

To the Lilliputian's six thousand moon history, there were only two great empires that existed in this world - Lilliput and Blefuscu. These two mighty powers had been engaged in a most obstinate war for the past thirty-six moons. It all began when the proper way of breaking the egg was altered. It was the custom to break the egg on the larger end, but, while he was a boy, the emperor's grandfather happened to cut one of his fingers while breaking the egg according to the ancient practice. Since then, an edict was published commanding all the subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this law that there had been six rebellions raised on that account, wherein one emperor lost his life, and another his crown. These civil commotions were constantly fomented by the monarchs of Blefuscu; and when they were quelled, the exiles always fled for refuge to that empire.

It was estimated that eleven thousand persons have suffered death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end. Many hundred large volumes have been published upon this controversy: but the books of the Big-Endians have been long forbidden. During the course of these troubles, the emperors of Blefuscu did frequently expostulate by their ambassadors, accusing, Lilliputians of making a schism in religion, by offending a fundamental doctrine of their great prophet Lustrog, in the fifty-fourth chapter of the Brundecal. Now the Big-Endian exiles have found so much credit in the Emperor of Blefuscu's court; and so much private assistance and encouragement from their party at Lilliput that a bloody war had been carried on between the two empires for thirty-six moons with various success, during which time Lilliput lost forty capital ships, and a much greater number of smaller vessels, together with thirty thousand of their best seamen and soldiers, and the damage received by the enemy was reckoned to be somewhat greater.

To prevent the Blefuscu invasion, Gulliver devised an extraordinary stratagem. He swam unnoticed into enemy's channel where 50 men of war, and a great number of transports were anchored. After frightening the enemy away from the ships, he fastened a hook on each ship, and tied all the cords at the end. Pulling the cords on the other end, Gulliver moved the whole Blefuscudian fleet in order away from the enemy channel and arrived safely at the royal port of Lilliput,

The great Lilliputian emperor received Gulliver with all possible encomiums and bestowed the highest title of honor upon him. The jubilant emperor thought of nothing less than reducing the whole empire of Blefuscu into a province, and governing it by a viceroy, of destroying the Big-Endian exiles, and compelling the people to break the smaller end of their eggs, by which he would remain the sole monarch of the whole world. Gulliver diverted the emperor from this design by many arguments, and by plainly protesting that he would never be an instrument of bringing a free and brave people into slavery.

The matter was debated in council, and the wisest part of the ministry supported Gulliver's opinion. After all, the Brundrecal clearly states "That all true believers shall break their eggs at the convenient end." And which is the convenient end, seems in Gulliver's humble opinion, to be left to every man's conscience, or at least in the power of the chief magistrate to determine.

The story focused principally on the absurdity of people's lives when controlled by Illusion, Glamour and Maya. In the midst of all these absurdities, the need for enlightenment comes to fore.

The problem began in the realm of the mind. A wrong thought is what is known in the mysteries as Illusion.  In the case of the Liliputians, their belief of being superior to other people in doing the right thing led them to break the egg on the Small End, and any other way was wrong.

Because of the wrong thought, outrage emerges among the Liliputians whenever the egg is broken on the Big End; further fostering and reinforcing the negative emotions of hate and anger against the Blefuscudians. The ensuing wrong emotion is what the mysteries call Glamour. 

The wrong thought and emotion consequently materialize into wrong behaviour such as persecution and war. The negative actions resulting from illusion and glamour are what the mysteries collectively consider as Maya.

Now consider all the accumulated illusions, glamours and mayas that a Liliputian lives with all his life. The result of all these influences is what the mysteries call the Dweller in the Threshold. The Dweller now controls the behaviour of the Liliputian automatically without any further conscious and deliberate consideration. His behaviour becomes a victim of his beliefs and emotions. He is effectively programmed to think and act like an automaton.

Consider further a child born in Lilliputian society. From birth, he accepts the family’s and the society’s belief systems as truths without question. His life becomes almost predictable unless he begins to question as an adult the “truths” he grew up with. Jonathan Swift was an Irishman. The story he wrote was a farcical portrayal of the conflict between the Anglicans and Catholics of his times. You change the labels to Jews and Muslims, or to Whites and Blacks and the same pattern emerges all over again.

The concepts discussed beforehand affect us in our daily lives. We behave in the way we were conditioned to respond to stimulus. Labels elicit strong responses because of the power of thought association. The word Champagne, for instance, cannot be used for just any sparkling wine. Only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France can be legally called Champagne. The French are very aware of the importance and value of image association and will protect their proprietary rights over the brand name Champagne in international trade laws. The brand Dom Perignon automatically triggers images of the finest Champagne money can buy. Other sparkling wines, no matter how superior they may be, will never approximate the powerful image associations of French Champagne.

Ethnic labels also carry powerful thought associations. When one hears the phrase “German engineering” for instance, images of superior technical excellence are evoked. “Swiss precision” triggers the association of quality and accuracy to watches made in Switzerland. But just as positive images are associated with ethnic labels, negative responses can likewise be readily elicited. The recent passing of an Arizona state law concerning illegal immigration triggered concerns on the dangers of racial profiling. Minorities are concerned that images of illegal immigration associated to certain ethnic groups will result in undue harassment and violation on the right to privacy. Their concerns are valid and deserve serious consideration. 

Many nations have a pejorative kind of humour labeling the people of a neighbouring nation as stupid.  The English do this with Irish jokes, the French with Belgians, Americans with Canadians, Australians with New Zealanders, and so on. Humour is a conditioned response - a behaviour resulting from an attitude: “the other ethnic group is stupid.” This attitude is a result of a repeated thought: “my ethnic group is better than others.” This kind of illusion is the basis of all forms of racism.

How do we then deal with Illusion, Glamour and Maya?

To end Illusion, we have to dispel it in the mental plane by developing intuition and spiritual perception through meditation.  Through meditation, we come to realise and experience that we are not the mind, the emotion, or the body. We become aware of who we truly are - the immortal Soul.

To end Glamour, the object is to dissipate it in the astral plane by achieving illumination, lucidity and vision. The weapon is the path of character building where the baser desires are transformed into a life of virtue, and unconditional love of an illumined mind.

To end Maya, the objective is to devitalize it in the etheric plane through purification. The process is to free the etheric body from the controlling influence of matter through physical exercise, diet, breathing and energy manipulation.

To neutralize the Dweller in the Threshold, one has to achieve discrimination in the brain consciousness. We have to be constantly aware of why and how we react and respond to ideas, people, situations and other stimuli so that our behaviour becomes conscious and deliberate, instead of a blind conditioned response.  In so doing, we liberate ourselves from whatever programs that shackle and victimize us. The process will result in the absorption of the lesser light of the personality into the greater light of the Soul.

Let us use the story of Gulliver’s Voyage to Lilliput to see what may happen when the perception of truth is not distorted.

If the Lilliputians and the Blefuscudians believed that all of humanity is one and that they are no better than anyone else, it would not matter whether the egg was opened in the small, middle or big end of the egg. With this enlightened thought, mutual respect will move them to understand each other’s way of life. The right thought and emotion will translate into global peace and cooperation instead of a world of war and hatred.