Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Bringing Back the Goddess
"Have you ever noticed that the great masters often painted the angels as children? Here above we see the angels surrounding the mother, the woman, Mother Mary, or what can simply be viewed as the Goddess by many.
The Goddess is a spirit as great as God, for there is only one God, one greatness of the Oneness of Being. The Goddess though represents a gentler, empathetic, and more compassionate God than the one found in the Old Testament.
Many times I have heard women say that if only they ruled the human heap we would not have more wars and I think of Margaret Thatcher. But then I agree, it’s the male ego and the male God that haunts everything from boardrooms to banks to the military, and even medicine is adulterated with the sickness of the egotistical macho man. Many women have caught this disease though they fool us pretty well with their smiles and skirts.
If you are one of those strange people who thinks mothering does not matter see the recent research that shows that a loving mother who kisses her child’s boo-boos is providing actual health benefits.
New research indicates that can have a lasting effect on health by influencing a person’s risk for chronic inflammation, the immune reaction that is the body’s first line of defense against disease. Subjects who had a warm bond with mom expressed fewer genetic markers of inflammation, which over time can take a toll on the body.
Genetic markers are molecules that indicate a gene is being actively turned into protein, in this case proteins that contribute to inflammation. The finding, published online May 18 in Molecular Psychiatry, fits with data indicating that close family ties can protect children from inflammation and disease.
In another recent study, published online April 29 in Psychological Science, researchers found that adolescent girls who reported having harsh family lives growing up—abusive, neglectful or violent—had increasing markers of inflammation during the 18-month study period compared with girls who came from more stable homes.
Children are sensitive—extremely so—but they obviously don’t teach doctors and nurses about this. Negative early childhood experiences can actually reduce a person’s life span.
Behind every great man lies a great woman and behind her is her man who stands tall in every way. It is an interesting dance of power between strong men and women but in the end the man has to be the man and the woman the woman, though roles pass back and forth depending on circumstances. But when the two fires merge as equal complementary flames then heaven can be experienced right down here on planet earth."
Source Bringing Back the Goddess Church
http://drsircus.com/retreat-center/bringing-back-the-goddess-2
The Goddess is a spirit as great as God, for there is only one God, one greatness of the Oneness of Being. The Goddess though represents a gentler, empathetic, and more compassionate God than the one found in the Old Testament.
Many times I have heard women say that if only they ruled the human heap we would not have more wars and I think of Margaret Thatcher. But then I agree, it’s the male ego and the male God that haunts everything from boardrooms to banks to the military, and even medicine is adulterated with the sickness of the egotistical macho man. Many women have caught this disease though they fool us pretty well with their smiles and skirts.If you are one of those strange people who thinks mothering does not matter see the recent research that shows that a loving mother who kisses her child’s boo-boos is providing actual health benefits.
New research indicates that can have a lasting effect on health by influencing a person’s risk for chronic inflammation, the immune reaction that is the body’s first line of defense against disease. Subjects who had a warm bond with mom expressed fewer genetic markers of inflammation, which over time can take a toll on the body.
Genetic markers are molecules that indicate a gene is being actively turned into protein, in this case proteins that contribute to inflammation. The finding, published online May 18 in Molecular Psychiatry, fits with data indicating that close family ties can protect children from inflammation and disease.
In another recent study, published online April 29 in Psychological Science, researchers found that adolescent girls who reported having harsh family lives growing up—abusive, neglectful or violent—had increasing markers of inflammation during the 18-month study period compared with girls who came from more stable homes.
Children are sensitive—extremely so—but they obviously don’t teach doctors and nurses about this. Negative early childhood experiences can actually reduce a person’s life span.
Behind every great man lies a great woman and behind her is her man who stands tall in every way. It is an interesting dance of power between strong men and women but in the end the man has to be the man and the woman the woman, though roles pass back and forth depending on circumstances. But when the two fires merge as equal complementary flames then heaven can be experienced right down here on planet earth."
Source Bringing Back the Goddess Church
http://drsircus.com/retreat-center/bringing-back-the-goddess-2
"The assemblies of Diana of the Ephesians were called "ekklesias."; Bringing Back Goddess Church
In the Greek language, the assemblies of Diana of the Ephesians were called ekklesias, which is translated into English as "churches."
"So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth" (Acts 19:27).
"For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches (ekklesias), nor yet blasphemers of your goddess." (Acts 19:37).
"Some therefore cried one thing, and some another for the ASSEMBLY (ekklesia) was confused; and the more part knew not why they were come together" (Acts 19:32).
"But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful ASSEMBLY (ekklesia)" (Acts 19:39).
Another monument to the power of the Risen Christ....The temple of Diana of the Ephesians in Turkey was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, but nothing remains today . . . except ruins....However, her ekklesias or churches have found their way into most translations of the Bible.
The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was written in Greek
The records of the birth, life, death and Resurrection of the Son of God were written in Greek —the language of the 3rd universal empire.
The history of the early Christians and all the translations of the New Testament into the languages of the ancient world were made from the Greek language. In the Greek tongue, an ASSEMBLY or group of people was called an ekklesia:
" . . .that the Greek word, meaning etymologically 'the body of the ekklesia or select counsellors' was the name given by Solon to the public formal assembly of the Athenian people, and hence to the similar public assemblies of other free Greek cities" (Oxford English Dictionary).
The word ekklesia meant an assembly of pagan Greeks meeting to discuss their false gods.
In the Book of Acts chapter 19, it is used to describe the meeting places of the worshippers of Diana of the Ephesians.
The Latin word for God's people was CONGREGATION!!
In the Hebrew OLD Testament, the name for God's people was QAHAL. The Latin equivalent was CONGREGATION. In the pre-Jerome Latin Bible, which was translated from Greek into Latin around 150 A.D., and called the Italic version, QAHAL is translated as CONGREGATION. This is the CORRECT translation. JEHOVAH's people were called His CONGREGATION over 300 times in the Latin Old Testament. His CONGREGATION consisted mostly of Jews and salvation was by RACE.
Jesus is the Son of God or the JEHOVAH of the Old Testament. He did not come to build a "CHURCH" or even to start a new CONGREGATION. He came to open the CONGREGATION to ALL THE WORLD so that salvation would be by GRACE . . . and not by RACE....Jesus said to His disciples:
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this (Israel) fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be ONE fold, and ONE shepherd" (John 10:16).
St. Peter confessed that Jesus was JEHOVAH!!
In the Old Testament; when the Son of God, or the Angel of the Lord appeared to the Jews, he was WORSHIPPED as God or JEHOVAH:
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (ekklesia); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:13-18).
In the English Bible, the word CHURCH was substituted for CONGREGATION. This is the CORRECT and only translation of the Greek word ekklesia.
Latin is the father of the Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian languages, but they still retain the CORRUPT word ekklesia when describing the New Testament congregation of Christ.
The English word "CHURCH" comes from CIRCE!!
The Greek word ekklesia is translated as CHURCH in English. Church or kirke comes from the Greek goddess CIRCE who specialized in turning men into PIGS....Here is the definition of the word "CHURCH" from the FINAL AUTHORITY on word meanings: the Oxford English Dictionary:
"CHURCH: FORMS: (a) cirice, cyrice, chiriche, churiche, chereche, (b) CIRCE, cyrce, chyrce, cirke, etc., etc., "The ulterior derivation has been keenly disputed. The L. circus, and a Gothic word kélikn 'tower, upper chamber' (app. originally Gaulish) have both been proposed (the latter suggested by the Alemannic chilihha), but are set aside as untenable; and there is now a general agreement among scholars in referring it to the Greek word, properly kurion adj. 'of the Lord, dominicum, dominical' (f. Kurios lord), which occurs, from the 3rd century at least, used substantively (sc. doma, or the like) = 'house of the Lord', as a name of the Christian house of worship.
Of this the earliest cited instances are in the Apostolical Constitutions (II. 59), a 300, the edict of Maximinus (303-13), cited by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. ix. 10) a 324, the Councils of Ancyra 314 (Canon 15), Neo-Caesarea 314-23 (Can. 5), and Laodicea (Can. 28). Thenceforward it appears to have been in fairly common use in the East: e.g., Constantine named several churches built by him Kuriaka (Eusebius De Laud. Const. xvii),"(Oxford English Dictionary).
The Egyptian goddess Isis was the precursor of Circe, Diana and Cybele!!
About 100 years before the birth of Moses (1613 B.C.), Egypt became a world superpower and the most important and influential country in the world. The worship of the Egyptian trinity: Isis, Horus and Seth spread to the entire world. Pyramids and obelisks built on the Egyptian model are found everywhere. The ancient Mayans and Aztecs in the New World had pyramids copied from ancient Egypt.
CIRCE was a Greek goddess who turned men into PIGS!!
Semiramis was called Isis in Egypt. According to Homer, Circe was a witch who turned men into PIGS:
"CIRCE: In Greek and Latin mythology the name of an enchantress who dwelt on the island of Aea, and transformed all who drank of her cup into SWINE; often used allusively"(Oxford English Dictionary).
Most of the ancient world was familiar with the Greek Odyssey written by Homer. Anybody who read the New Testament could see immediately that the woman described in the book was none other than CIRCE— the filthy witch who turned men into PIGS.
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH "
(Revelation 17:3-5)"
Source of Bringing Back Goddess
http://www.reformation.org/church-of-rome.html
"So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth" (Acts 19:27).
"For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches (ekklesias), nor yet blasphemers of your goddess." (Acts 19:37).
"Some therefore cried one thing, and some another for the ASSEMBLY (ekklesia) was confused; and the more part knew not why they were come together" (Acts 19:32).
"But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful ASSEMBLY (ekklesia)" (Acts 19:39).
Another monument to the power of the Risen Christ....The temple of Diana of the Ephesians in Turkey was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, but nothing remains today . . . except ruins....However, her ekklesias or churches have found their way into most translations of the Bible.
The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was written in Greek
The records of the birth, life, death and Resurrection of the Son of God were written in Greek —the language of the 3rd universal empire.
The history of the early Christians and all the translations of the New Testament into the languages of the ancient world were made from the Greek language. In the Greek tongue, an ASSEMBLY or group of people was called an ekklesia:
" . . .that the Greek word, meaning etymologically 'the body of the ekklesia or select counsellors' was the name given by Solon to the public formal assembly of the Athenian people, and hence to the similar public assemblies of other free Greek cities" (Oxford English Dictionary).
The word ekklesia meant an assembly of pagan Greeks meeting to discuss their false gods.
In the Book of Acts chapter 19, it is used to describe the meeting places of the worshippers of Diana of the Ephesians.
The Latin word for God's people was CONGREGATION!!
In the Hebrew OLD Testament, the name for God's people was QAHAL. The Latin equivalent was CONGREGATION. In the pre-Jerome Latin Bible, which was translated from Greek into Latin around 150 A.D., and called the Italic version, QAHAL is translated as CONGREGATION. This is the CORRECT translation. JEHOVAH's people were called His CONGREGATION over 300 times in the Latin Old Testament. His CONGREGATION consisted mostly of Jews and salvation was by RACE.
Jesus is the Son of God or the JEHOVAH of the Old Testament. He did not come to build a "CHURCH" or even to start a new CONGREGATION. He came to open the CONGREGATION to ALL THE WORLD so that salvation would be by GRACE . . . and not by RACE....Jesus said to His disciples:
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this (Israel) fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be ONE fold, and ONE shepherd" (John 10:16).
St. Peter confessed that Jesus was JEHOVAH!!
In the Old Testament; when the Son of God, or the Angel of the Lord appeared to the Jews, he was WORSHIPPED as God or JEHOVAH:
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (ekklesia); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:13-18).
In the English Bible, the word CHURCH was substituted for CONGREGATION. This is the CORRECT and only translation of the Greek word ekklesia.
Latin is the father of the Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian languages, but they still retain the CORRUPT word ekklesia when describing the New Testament congregation of Christ.
The English word "CHURCH" comes from CIRCE!!
The Greek word ekklesia is translated as CHURCH in English. Church or kirke comes from the Greek goddess CIRCE who specialized in turning men into PIGS....Here is the definition of the word "CHURCH" from the FINAL AUTHORITY on word meanings: the Oxford English Dictionary:
"CHURCH: FORMS: (a) cirice, cyrice, chiriche, churiche, chereche, (b) CIRCE, cyrce, chyrce, cirke, etc., etc., "The ulterior derivation has been keenly disputed. The L. circus, and a Gothic word kélikn 'tower, upper chamber' (app. originally Gaulish) have both been proposed (the latter suggested by the Alemannic chilihha), but are set aside as untenable; and there is now a general agreement among scholars in referring it to the Greek word, properly kurion adj. 'of the Lord, dominicum, dominical' (f. Kurios lord), which occurs, from the 3rd century at least, used substantively (sc. doma, or the like) = 'house of the Lord', as a name of the Christian house of worship.
Of this the earliest cited instances are in the Apostolical Constitutions (II. 59), a 300, the edict of Maximinus (303-13), cited by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. ix. 10) a 324, the Councils of Ancyra 314 (Canon 15), Neo-Caesarea 314-23 (Can. 5), and Laodicea (Can. 28). Thenceforward it appears to have been in fairly common use in the East: e.g., Constantine named several churches built by him Kuriaka (Eusebius De Laud. Const. xvii),"(Oxford English Dictionary).
The Egyptian goddess Isis was the precursor of Circe, Diana and Cybele!!
About 100 years before the birth of Moses (1613 B.C.), Egypt became a world superpower and the most important and influential country in the world. The worship of the Egyptian trinity: Isis, Horus and Seth spread to the entire world. Pyramids and obelisks built on the Egyptian model are found everywhere. The ancient Mayans and Aztecs in the New World had pyramids copied from ancient Egypt.
CIRCE was a Greek goddess who turned men into PIGS!!
Semiramis was called Isis in Egypt. According to Homer, Circe was a witch who turned men into PIGS:
"CIRCE: In Greek and Latin mythology the name of an enchantress who dwelt on the island of Aea, and transformed all who drank of her cup into SWINE; often used allusively"(Oxford English Dictionary).
Most of the ancient world was familiar with the Greek Odyssey written by Homer. Anybody who read the New Testament could see immediately that the woman described in the book was none other than CIRCE— the filthy witch who turned men into PIGS.
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH "
(Revelation 17:3-5)"
Source of Bringing Back Goddess
http://www.reformation.org/church-of-rome.html
We as Gays and Lesbian, Have Religious Freedom as well and the RIGHT TO MARRY under Religious Freedom Laws, as well as a Massive amount of other rights.
I have studied so much on Religious Freedom Laws, that I often Joke that if Being a Lesbian were a Religion, We would have had Equal Rights Long Ago. Much more on that later, Today This;
"For years, conservative media figures have attacked marriage equality by citing "religious liberty" concerns, baselessly warning that churches might be forced to perform same-sex weddings against their will.
But a new lawsuit in North Carolina challenges the right-wing media's commitment to religious freedom when it's not being used as an excuse for anti-gay discrimination.
On April 28, the United Church of Christ (UCC), a progressive Protestant denomination that supports marriage equality, filed suit in Federal District Court challenging North Carolina's ban on clergy blessings of same-sex unions.
Under the state's 2012 same-sex marriage ban, it's a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 45 days in jail, to perform a ceremony for any couple lacking a valid marriage license. The UCC argues that the ban infringes on clergy members' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion:
"We didn't bring this lawsuit to make others conform to our beliefs, but to vindicate the right of all faiths to freely exercise their religious practices," said Donald C. Clark Jr., general counsel of the United Church of Christ.
The lawsuit represents the inverse of a long-standing (and entirely baseless) conservative horror story about marriage equality - that churches will be forced to perform same-sex weddings against their will.
This myth has been perpetuated by conservative media personalities like Fox's Todd Starnes, who in 2012 warned that a Kansas non-discrimination ordinance "would force churches to host gay weddings":
When the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Breitbart News' Ben Shapiro claimed that churches would lose their tax exempt status if they failed to perform same-sex weddings. Fox contributor Erick Erickson has gone so far as to claim "gay marriage and religious freedom are incompatible."
And Fox News' longstanding campaign to depict marriage equality and anti-discrimination laws as burdens on religious liberty inspired a rash of so-called "religious freedom" bills across the country earlier this year.
Given social conservatives' self-appointed role as guardians of religious freedom, the North Carolina case would seem ripe for their attention.
But now that religious liberty is being invoked to oppose a gay marriage ban, will right-wing media rush to tout the cause of a pro-equality church?
Conservatives who rushed to defend "religious liberty" legislation like Arizona SB 1062 have so far been silent on the case. The New York Times' Ross Douthat, who penned a column supporting Arizona's bill on religious liberty grounds, has yet to comment on the UCC case on his blog.
A TV Eyes search shows that Fox News - which regularly features segments titled "The Fight for Faith" - hasn't taken up the UCC's mantle. The same goes for anti-gay conservatives like Starnes, Shapiro, and Erickson.
While civil marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples would have no bearing on churches' doctrines and practices, laws like North Carolina's actively restrict religious denominations' right to freely exercise their faith.
If serving a cake to a same-sex couple constitutes an unconscionable violation of religious liberty, then surely a law telling churches which unions they can and can't bless does.
But the right's crusade against LGBT equality has almost nothing to do with genuine, intellectually consistent support for religious liberty, and everything to do with keeping discrimination enshrined in law.
Too often in conservative media, religious liberty becomes a shield to deflect accusations of bigotry, even while justifying blatant anti-LGBT discrimination. UCC's lawsuit, and conservative media's interest in taking it up as a cause célèbre, will test whether the right's interest in religious liberty is anything more than a shallow excuse for homophobia."
Source and More
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/04/29/the-one-religious-liberty-case-anti-gay-conserv/199066
"For years, conservative media figures have attacked marriage equality by citing "religious liberty" concerns, baselessly warning that churches might be forced to perform same-sex weddings against their will.
But a new lawsuit in North Carolina challenges the right-wing media's commitment to religious freedom when it's not being used as an excuse for anti-gay discrimination.
On April 28, the United Church of Christ (UCC), a progressive Protestant denomination that supports marriage equality, filed suit in Federal District Court challenging North Carolina's ban on clergy blessings of same-sex unions.
Under the state's 2012 same-sex marriage ban, it's a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 45 days in jail, to perform a ceremony for any couple lacking a valid marriage license. The UCC argues that the ban infringes on clergy members' First Amendment right to free exercise of religion:
"We didn't bring this lawsuit to make others conform to our beliefs, but to vindicate the right of all faiths to freely exercise their religious practices," said Donald C. Clark Jr., general counsel of the United Church of Christ.
The lawsuit represents the inverse of a long-standing (and entirely baseless) conservative horror story about marriage equality - that churches will be forced to perform same-sex weddings against their will.
This myth has been perpetuated by conservative media personalities like Fox's Todd Starnes, who in 2012 warned that a Kansas non-discrimination ordinance "would force churches to host gay weddings":
When the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Breitbart News' Ben Shapiro claimed that churches would lose their tax exempt status if they failed to perform same-sex weddings. Fox contributor Erick Erickson has gone so far as to claim "gay marriage and religious freedom are incompatible."
And Fox News' longstanding campaign to depict marriage equality and anti-discrimination laws as burdens on religious liberty inspired a rash of so-called "religious freedom" bills across the country earlier this year.
Given social conservatives' self-appointed role as guardians of religious freedom, the North Carolina case would seem ripe for their attention.
But now that religious liberty is being invoked to oppose a gay marriage ban, will right-wing media rush to tout the cause of a pro-equality church?
Conservatives who rushed to defend "religious liberty" legislation like Arizona SB 1062 have so far been silent on the case. The New York Times' Ross Douthat, who penned a column supporting Arizona's bill on religious liberty grounds, has yet to comment on the UCC case on his blog.
A TV Eyes search shows that Fox News - which regularly features segments titled "The Fight for Faith" - hasn't taken up the UCC's mantle. The same goes for anti-gay conservatives like Starnes, Shapiro, and Erickson.
While civil marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples would have no bearing on churches' doctrines and practices, laws like North Carolina's actively restrict religious denominations' right to freely exercise their faith.
If serving a cake to a same-sex couple constitutes an unconscionable violation of religious liberty, then surely a law telling churches which unions they can and can't bless does.
But the right's crusade against LGBT equality has almost nothing to do with genuine, intellectually consistent support for religious liberty, and everything to do with keeping discrimination enshrined in law.
Too often in conservative media, religious liberty becomes a shield to deflect accusations of bigotry, even while justifying blatant anti-LGBT discrimination. UCC's lawsuit, and conservative media's interest in taking it up as a cause célèbre, will test whether the right's interest in religious liberty is anything more than a shallow excuse for homophobia."
Source and More
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/04/29/the-one-religious-liberty-case-anti-gay-conserv/199066
Sunday, April 27, 2014
"Thou Shalt Not Mess With Freedom Of Religion" First Amendment, Freedom of the Press, Peaceful Assembly, Free Speech.
"In keeping with the theme of the discussion, the First Amendment goes something like this:
Thou shalt not make a law respecting establishing a religion, thou shalt not prohibit the free exercise thereof, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are off limits, the people may peaceably assemble and they may petition the government for redress of grievances.
Which, in plain English, means setting up just one religion will not be tolerated, everyone's beliefs are okay and they may practice them, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are self-explanatory, people may peaceably get together, and they can hold the government responsible for grievances. Got that?
This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. As such, folks have started their own company because they disagreed with something regarding their profession, or wanted to branch out. Think of Bell telephone and automobile makers. This principle is the foundation of the American dream.
Now apply that to faith and beliefs. Each major religion has branches that broke off because of administration or divergence of belief. Some broke off to pursue more mystical subjects, others to adhere to a more strict regimen of ritual or belief.
They are perfectly free to do that under the First Amendment and their protection is guaranteed.
The advent of the Internet bore fruit of the kind that isn't always understood today. Information is varied, free of charge and instantly accessible.
Beliefs of all kinds are explained in depth and the invitation to learn more or join in their beliefs is issued in a friendly open manner.
The movement to join in understanding and divine love is gaining momentum and stands a better chance to unite mankind than any amount of war ever did. The diversity is astounding, from the founder of Pastafarianism to Qabbala to Paganism.
Freedom of the press is protected because the authors of pages explaining beliefs and inviting others to discuss the matter have suddenly become the press.
Anyone can put up a page online dealing with all manner of subjects from pet care to how to cut the grass to how to make a snowman. Anyone, in short, can now become the press, because they are authoring something that is being published and public.
Freedom of speech in discussing whatever is the subject of the page is protected as well, as is the freedom to exercise your beliefs.
Peaceable assembly is a no-brainer because it's a little difficult to cause a crowd to get rowdy when the crowd is one and that one is sitting in front of his computer.
Even in a group of people discussing a subject, generally they're having a latte and a brioche while discussing the latest news, YouTube video, political opinion or their date the night before. Even if religion or beliefs enter the conversation, their right to get together and talk about it is protected.
Online churches are a curious subject because their congregations listen to podcast sermons and participate via IM windows. This might not be termed an assembly, but it is clearly subject to freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the right to pursue your beliefs. Judging by these criteria, online churches should be free from persecution and protected by the constitutional amendment.
The proliferation of online churches also clearly demonstrate the search for individual satisfaction, a person's search for something that matches their belief.
Because online churches operate in the ether instead of on the ground does not place them out of the protective reach of the First Amendment. Thou shalt not log off Sunday.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass."
Source
http://www.themonastery.org/starting-a-home-church/freedom-of-religion
Thou shalt not make a law respecting establishing a religion, thou shalt not prohibit the free exercise thereof, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are off limits, the people may peaceably assemble and they may petition the government for redress of grievances.
Which, in plain English, means setting up just one religion will not be tolerated, everyone's beliefs are okay and they may practice them, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are self-explanatory, people may peaceably get together, and they can hold the government responsible for grievances. Got that?
This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. As such, folks have started their own company because they disagreed with something regarding their profession, or wanted to branch out. Think of Bell telephone and automobile makers. This principle is the foundation of the American dream.
Now apply that to faith and beliefs. Each major religion has branches that broke off because of administration or divergence of belief. Some broke off to pursue more mystical subjects, others to adhere to a more strict regimen of ritual or belief.
They are perfectly free to do that under the First Amendment and their protection is guaranteed.
The advent of the Internet bore fruit of the kind that isn't always understood today. Information is varied, free of charge and instantly accessible.
Beliefs of all kinds are explained in depth and the invitation to learn more or join in their beliefs is issued in a friendly open manner.
The movement to join in understanding and divine love is gaining momentum and stands a better chance to unite mankind than any amount of war ever did. The diversity is astounding, from the founder of Pastafarianism to Qabbala to Paganism.
Freedom of the press is protected because the authors of pages explaining beliefs and inviting others to discuss the matter have suddenly become the press.
Anyone can put up a page online dealing with all manner of subjects from pet care to how to cut the grass to how to make a snowman. Anyone, in short, can now become the press, because they are authoring something that is being published and public.
Freedom of speech in discussing whatever is the subject of the page is protected as well, as is the freedom to exercise your beliefs.
Peaceable assembly is a no-brainer because it's a little difficult to cause a crowd to get rowdy when the crowd is one and that one is sitting in front of his computer.
Even in a group of people discussing a subject, generally they're having a latte and a brioche while discussing the latest news, YouTube video, political opinion or their date the night before. Even if religion or beliefs enter the conversation, their right to get together and talk about it is protected.
Online churches are a curious subject because their congregations listen to podcast sermons and participate via IM windows. This might not be termed an assembly, but it is clearly subject to freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the right to pursue your beliefs. Judging by these criteria, online churches should be free from persecution and protected by the constitutional amendment.
The proliferation of online churches also clearly demonstrate the search for individual satisfaction, a person's search for something that matches their belief.
Because online churches operate in the ether instead of on the ground does not place them out of the protective reach of the First Amendment. Thou shalt not log off Sunday.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass."
Source
http://www.themonastery.org/starting-a-home-church/freedom-of-religion
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Nostra Aetate; DECLARATION ON THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS
" NOSTRA AETATE
PROCLAIMED BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON OCTOBER 28, 1965
1. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth.(1) One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,(2) until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light.(3)
Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?
2. From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.
Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry.
They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination.
Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites.
The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.
3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet.
They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.
4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock.
Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage.
The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)
The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: "theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.
As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and "serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Soph. 3:9).(12)
Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.
True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.
Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.
Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church's preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God's all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.
5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man's relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: "He who does not love does not know God" (1 John 4:8).
No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.
The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to "maintain good fellowship among the nations" (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven."
Source of Post
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html
Interview with shaman Mira Michelle Jones; Bringing Back Goddess Church
Bringing Back Goddess Church
All Faith Spiritual Sanctuary
Port Townsend Washington
Pastor; Priestess; Reverend Crystal Cox
ReverendCrystalCox@Gmail.com
Monday, April 21, 2014
Searching for the Divine Feminine: Looking for Aspects of "Her" Between the Lines; Bringing Back Goddess Church, Reverend Crystal Cox.
"May The Blessing of God Go Before You
May Her peace and grace abound.
May her spirit live within you.
May her love wrap you ‘round.
May her blessing remain with you always.
May you walk on holy ground.
~Miriam Therese Winter, Life Prayers
I always had a sense that if there was a God, there had to be a Goddess.
Host-Hostess. Steward-Stewardess. Actor-Actress. In my heart I knew there had to be a yin to the yang I grew up knowing as the Divine source of all that is. I just did not have a clue as to how to find Her.It wasn’t until I was in seminary school that I began to truly see the many feminine faces of God, known as Goddess, as she exists in so many of the world's religions and traditions.
My path included many bumps, questions and doubts along the way. I share my insights with you because I suspect that many people raised in our traditional religious culture may find it hard to believe--and perhaps even sacrilegious to consider--that the male God of the Bible is one of many interpretations of divine presence that exist in the world’s religions.
Fortunately, I was trained by a seminary that encourages free thinking and exploration. Its motto is "Never instead of, always in addition to." In order to embrace all faiths we were taught that God is one source and yet that source manifests in many ways, through many paths, religions and spiritual practices. And that God is represented by a wide-range of deities with different names.Nevertheless, the fear of acknowledging a feminine face of God grabbed hold of me in the middle of seminary school. I was doing what seminarians are supposed to do... grappling with God. As I studied comparative religion, I was trying to reconcile the belief system I was raised with--God is a man, no two ways about it--with the new belief systems I was learning--The Divine is neither male or female and/or The Divine is indeed both male and female.
One day I was praying to a feminine deity...and I became panic stricken: What if the Male God gets mad at me and cuts me off? What if he’s saying, Oh, switching teams, eh? We’ll see about that...
Many people are even afraid to consider the Divine as feminine in form or nature. Yet I learned on my personal journey that in order to be truly whole, whether we are women or men, we must embrace both the male and feminine aspects of the divine--and we must embrace those aspects of ourselves and of one another.
I discovered that I am among so many women--and men--searching for spirituality that brings both The Father and The Mother to the table. As we desperately seek balance and peace on our planet, and in these times of deeply disturbing and frightening world events, many of us are searching for what’s been missing in modern life.And I believe one of the most important missing pieces of our lives has been The Sacred Feminine--not instead of, but in addition to, The Sacred Male. In the tradition of all-inclusive spirituality, we refer to the Divine as God, Goddess, All there is.
She is there, in between the lines
When I first began to search for signs of the Mother in the world’s religions, I found a few beautiful examples, including the "she aspect". One was in the gentle spiritual practice known as Taoism, founded by Loa Tzu in the 6th Century B.C.E..
The Taoists explain the origin of all that is as feminine, yet is manifested as both male and female, in what is known as the Yin and the Yang. It is this energy that the Taoist religious text Tao Te Ching attributes to the creation of the cosmos. "Conceived of as having no name, it is the originator of heaven and earth...it is the Mother of all things."
In Kabbalah, the mystical aspect of Judaism, the indwelling aspect of God, also known as Shekinah, is considered to be the feminine aspect of God. Kabbalists also know the soul as "She." Consider this petition to the divine from the tradition of mystical Judaism:"My soul aches to receive your love. Only by the tenderness of your light can she be healed. Engage my soul that she may taste your ecstasy."
The Judaic scriptures and the Gnostic Christian doctrines also include wisdom as a feminine aspect. She is called, Sophia and considered the personification of wisdom.
The Buddhists confer that Praj-na-para-mita (which means the perfection of wisdom) is feminine. An important Buddhist text, Sariputra, puts it this way: "The perfection of wisdom gives light, O Lord. I pay homage to the perfection of wisdom. She is worthy of homage. She is unstained and the world cannot stain her."
Then of course, there is Grace. In Christian Theology it is the expression of Gods love in his free and unmerited assistance. And, as the New Testament puts it, Grace can only be conferred through Faith. Isn’t it interesting that those are names assigned to women?That Grace and Faith evoke perhaps the greatest sense of connection to the Divine, yet do so in the name and essence of the feminine. I was excited to see that when you dig around a bit you will find the feminine between the lines of well-established religions. Still, I was searching for a God who looked like me--feminine in nature and in her manifestations...The spiritual mother I longed for.
Hail Mary
Conventional religious belief is obviously dominated by references to and images of a male Divine, whispering ever so softly of feminine energies between the lines. Yet Catholicism has given us our most tangible mainstream connection.
Mary, mother of God’s only begotten son, along with a handful of popular female saints, have been the most highly visible aspect of the feminine in the traditional religion for 2,000 years.
Because of that, The Blessed Virgin cuts across religious boundaries. She is, in many ways, the adopted spiritual mother of all women, and people of many faiths embrace her. She has been solely responsible for keeping the sacred feminine alive for a couple of millennium.Yet there are many cultures that are rich with mythology, spiritual practices, religious experiences and sacred texts that show us many ways in which The Goddess has been and can be worshipped, remembered and evoked.
It is extraordinary to realize that just over 2000 years ago, less than 40 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, queen Cleopatra of Egypt prayed to the mother Goddess, Isis, who was the favored deity of the Queen’s temples. Cleopatra’s beloved, Julius Caesar, bowed to Isis’ Roman counterpart, the Goddess Venus.
What was considered sacrilegious in their day was not the worship of Goddesses… but Caesar’s worship of Cleopatra, which was so intense that he erected a statue of Cleopatra as Venus, but looking like Isis, in a holy temple to the Roman Goddess. The Romans did not appreciate that interfaith approach to Goddess worship back then.
When the Romans conquered Egypt, they ultimately replaced the antiquities and images of Isis and her infant Horus with images and icons of Mary and the baby Jesus.
Although Mary and Jesus are the most famous mother and child, the image of the mother and the child (or the pregnant, fertile mother) abound as a motif of cultures that worshiped The Great Mother. Joseph Campbell often said that the same essence of the Divine Feminine could be found in the religious mythology and folklore of every culture. Many of the stories are the same, yet the names and specific circumstances change according to cultural tradition.
History of the Goddess
The earliest signs of Goddess worship date as far back as 33,000 years ago. One of the most famous artifacts of the Divine Feminine is The Venus of Willendorf, which is believed to have been carved in stone 20,000 to 30,000 thousand years ago.
And while she looks like a rotund female--pregnant and voluptuous--when you place a replica of her famous statue flat on her back, she takes on the form of the earth--the hills and valleys, mountains and ravines, are all in her body.
And that is how the ancients worshiped The Great Mother--as Mother of the Earth, Mother Earth and Mom Nature. They followed an earth-based religion. The Great Goddess Mother was the earth--alive, growing, pulsating with life.
She was fertility, death and regeneration, as witnessed in the flowers and trees, the moon and the ocean, the cycles of life and nature. She was seen in so many diverse forms--fluid, capable of assuming any role. Much like our own mothers.
She was revered as the great power because women were seen as the great power. It was human women who could conceive, birth, and nurture children from their own bodies. A Miracle. But a miracle akin to the magic of mother earth--who could nurture flowers in the summer, protect them in her womb in the winter, and magically let them grow again in spring.
Native American and indigenous shamanic cultures
The shamanic religion--50,000 years old and still going strong, and considered the oldest of all religions--also reveres the mother, along with the father. She is the earth, the Great Mother. Some cultures call her Patchamama or Corn Woman.
She is the nurturer who feeds us from her own body and sustains all of life. In Native American cultures she is represented by the turtle--a hard shell with a soft inside. A popular Lakota chant sums it up well: "The earth is our mother... we must take care of her."
Who is the Goddess?
Like most people who are unfamiliar with the concept and rich spirituality of including The Goddess, the first time I began to explore the aspect of Feminine Divine called Goddess I was afraid that it meant I had to worship only a SHE and practice a spirituality that excluded men. Wrong.Almost three decades ago, Merlin Stone wrote a groundbreaking book called When God Was A Woman, tracing cultures that worshipped "The Goddess" or "Goddesses".
She described Goddess this way: She is the "divine feminine principle" or the "sacred feminine principle in the universe."
In this millennium we are seeing a resurgence of the Divine Feminine and an observance of the feminine as sacred. We are seeing her in history, art, folklore, religion, spirituality, archeology, media, and mythology.
Many scholars and clergy agree that we need Her help to midwife this new point in history... Because she brings to our world--and our lives--those qualities that, as discussed, even some traditional religions and most mystical religions assign as feminine qualities: Wisdom and the expression of the Soul. When we tap into wisdom and follow the call of our souls we can then forgive, be tolerant, appreciate everyone’s individual evolution, and love without conditions. The energy of the Divine Feminine also balances the energy of the male; without it, the qualities traditionally associated with male energy--which include warring and aggression--will get completely out of hand.
Rich spiritual traditions and religious mythology can help in everyday life
The natural progression of my search for the Divine Feminine is to write a book that puts together all that I have learned about the Goddess and how she can help us in our daily lives.
In researching my book, A Goddess Is A Girl’s Best Friend (Perigee, Fall 2002), I found thousands of ways the Divine Feminine is personified in different cultures.The rich mythology of the Feminine Divine has reemerged to offer role models--and guidance--to modern men and women. She comes to us as The Mother, and also the Maiden and The Wise Woman. She is also Sister, Daughter, Best Friend. For example:
The Greek Goddess Aphrodite, also known as the Roman Goddess, Venus, is Goddess of Love and Infatuation. She has completely insinuated herself in our culture, helping us to evoke the love within us all and encouraging us to experience high romance.
The Egyptian Goddess Isis is one of the most revered Goddesses, worshipped as Queen of Heaven in the ancient Egyptian religions. A healing and resurrection Goddess who was also considered a physician, she brought her beloved Osiris back to life from the dead and bore his child Horus, who went on to be the chosen son to represent the father, on earth.
She lives on through her image and energy in reliefs on ancient temples and tomb walls. She shows us we can heal, survive our grief, and live fruitful lives.
Goddess Isis
The Chinese Goddess Kuan Yin is a beautiful Bodhisattva who has captured the heart of Buddhist worshipers and beyond, just as Mary has captured the heart of so many in her religion of origin and around the world. She comes to tell us to be merciful and compassionate--especially to be our own merciful mothers.
Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of Good Fortune who brings abundance and beauty into our lives, pouring her gifts upon us. She, like Aphrodite, was born of the milky waters of the sea. She is symbolized as beautiful woman with four arms, one pouring coins into the ocean from whence she came. She is still worshipped daily in Hindu temples and homes, as are all Goddesses in that tradition. Read More About Lakshmi in Rev. Laurie Sue's Monthly Column at SoulfulLiving.com.
All that is Divine is both Female and Male
The Hindus teach us that the Divine essence of all that is is the creative summary of both male and female principle. And so do the Taoists, who show us the feminine and the masculine principle that feed one another and make up the whole in the symbol of Yin/Yang.
The circle of black and white halves show two opposite energies, from whose interactions and fluctuation, the universe and its diverse forms emerge. Tibetan Buddhist do the same with their most sacred objects, dorje and bell. The bell represents the feminine and the dorje is the male principal. No worship service is ever conducted without use of each, together, one held in each hand.
In these systems of belief.... You can’t have one without the other. You can’t have day without the night. You can’t have man without woman, or masculine without feminine. In very, very simple form, you can forget about toast for the rest of your life... you can’t plug in a toaster without both the male plug and the female outlet.When we really understand that the Divine nature of all that is contains both the masculine and the feminine principles, it begins to make sense that men and women each contain those Divine principle; that the energy of the Goddess exists within all of us; and that one energy might at some times be more prominent than the other.
For example, any man or woman in a traffic jam may choose to evoke their male energy by vocalizing dissatisfaction with the traffic or even trying by driving aggressively. On the other end of the spectrum, both the man and the woman who share a moment of gentle nurturing and loving are operating from a more receptive and gentle feminine energy.We are all children of God, Goddess, All There Is. When we acknowledge that we are all Divine, as well as complex beings that are both feminine and masculine in nature, we can begin to access true balance in our lives. It is in acknowledging that these qualities exist in all of us that we begin to find balance in our relationship to ourselves, our relationships to one another, and in our relationship to the world we live in.
I Believe The Goddess Is Re-emerging Just In Time…
The Goddess is re-emerging to show us another side of ourselves. Or at least to help us consider God is both masculine and feminine in nature, and therefore, that we all possess The Divine Within. She’s come just in time. Here’s why:
Women feel left out of traditional religion.
It’s not just about becoming a clergy person or having power, it’s about being able to recognize our own divinity. Men have been able to recognize their divinity through worship of a male divine. It’s time that women access The Goddess Within but first… we need role models.Men are shut off from their feminine energy and, quite frankly, their softness in many cases, and there is so little in religious environments in our culture--and most of the world’s cultures--that nurtures that side of males. Because of this, men are suffering, and our world is suffering, because we still do not completely support the idea of men being sensitive, loving, gentle, forgiving, healing, even mushy. This is so odd, because that was exactly what the ministry of Jesus Christ was about. Jesus was, in so many ways, the embodiment of both the male and female principle.
Because of the ingrained idea of a male divinity, our relationship lives are utterly confusing. Love means war when instead of accessing all the qualities of the male and feminine in ourselves, we seek partners to make us whole. We have to learn to come into relationships whole and we can only do that when we embrace all aspects of the Divine.
We’ve got kids to raise and it’s time we teach them that all of who they are is okay; that their sex doesn’t have to assign them to specific gender roles; that we are all made up of the male and female principle, the yin-yang. If we raise our boys to know the divine only in male terms than we deny them access to a part of themselves, and if we teach our girls that the Feminine Divine only exists in fairy tales, they will grow up as Barbie Dolls instead of as Goddesses.We live in a world that is spinning out of control. This became so painfully evident in the September 11, 2001 attack on our nation, which brought forth a darkness that shocked and pained us all. But even before that, we were at war with one another and within ourselves, and our world reeled with imbalances: violence in our schools, people starving to death on a planet that has plenty of food to feed everyone, one natural catastrophe after another. Mom Nature has been trying to get our attention. God, Goddess, All There Is has been whispering in our ear… We must take stock of our world and ourselves. We must change, now.
New York author Rick Carrier told me that his book, The Mother of God, is about a female deity who walks the earth to come and tell us: CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM. It is time to clean up our planet, our personal lives, our pain, our wounding of one another and our earth, our relationships, our bad habits, our unconsciousness.The Feminine Divine lives to love and protect all her children. She’s there for us, always. But she’s screaming out for our attention: "Listen to your mother," she calls, "I know what’s best for you!"
Source
http://www.soulfulliving.com/divinefeminine.htm
Bringing Back Goddess Church
Pastor; Priestess; Reverend Crystal Cox
Port Townsend Washington
ReverendCrystalCox@Gmail.com
Reclaiming the Divine Feminine; Bringing Back Goddess Church; Reverend Crystal Cox
"I was confused about the vision I received to begin my pilgrimage to reclaim the Divine Feminine in Rome because when I close my eyes and think of this ancient city, my first image is of the Vatican. And my first association with the Vatican is it as one of the main propagators of a patriarchal paradigm. Flashes of Scripture that oppress women's voices and instill ideas of male superiority flood my consciousness, like
Think of the yin/yang principle. But how can we even begin to find balance, when the stories that lay the foundation of our major world religions and mythology are undeniably patriarchal?
On a deep psychological level, I have often wondered what the impact is on women who are taught that God is male and that the only access to God is through a male priest, pastor, bishop or rabbi.
One of the questions most human beings come across in navigating their life is about their individual relationship to God. And if God and access to God is perceived as having a male gender preference, and God is seen as the power of all things and the ideal within which we desire to emulate, where can a woman find her own map to the divine?
It becomes difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to access one of her deepest powers of intuition -- receiving guidance from the Divine and the courage to follow it -- if she inherently believes that she does not have the capability of doing so. If she has not seen images of women as divine or heard stories of women who have also had a direct connection to spirit, the possibility lives outside of her.
With the lack of the Divine Feminine in our history, coupled with the scriptures above instructing women must be kept quiet, a woman is faced with a frightening question in her own heart: Does she acquiesce to the written word that oppresses her in many ways, while bringing comfort in others, or does she venture out of the structure that was created so many years ago to find her own truth?
In the book "The Alphabet and the Goddess," the idea is introduced about the power of language and how the alphabet was used as one of the main ways in which the feminine was oppressed and patriarchy could take and retain power, not only over women, but men over other men.
The author Leonard Shlain explains that the Old Testament was one of the first alphabetic written works to influence future ages and the words on its pages anchor the three powerful religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. He proposes the impact of these scriptures depended as much on their being written as the moral lessons they contained.
Because theses stories and words were written down, they were seen as the ultimate authority of truth. And this written word was used as a way to bring people together in a shared belief system that explains where we came from, why we are here and where we are going after this world.
It also helped strengthen the power of the word when anyone who disagreed with this written story was killed, like in the Crusades, Inquisition and other religious wars, many of them which began with the Romans.
All of this was on my mind that first morning, when I stumbled upon one of largest feminine sites in Rome. I had just missed the bus and the next one wasn't coming for 30-40 minutes. It was then I looked up and saw a huge church across the street and decided to explore it. The church was called Santa Maria Maggiore. It's the largest church in Rome dedicated to Mary as the "Mother of God."
To my astonishment, I experienced a profound sense of peace in this church and was so moved by the images, each of which portrayed Mary above or next to Jesus, showing and honoring a feminine expression of the Divine that my eyes were so thirsty for.
The synchronicity of finding this large church devoted to Mary on that first day affirmed the vision I had to begin my pilgrimage in Rome.
The coincidence of setting out to reclaim the Divine Feminine and finding her the first place I looked, in all her glory, drew me into a deeper place of being able to trust myself.
This experience illuminated the first insight from this pilgrimage: one of the core practices in reclaiming the Divine Feminine is the ability to trust one's intuition, vision and gut instincts. One has to be willing to go beyond what has been written about the past to explore and interact with life in present time following your instincts vs. your expectations.
Put any cynicism aside for a moment and imagine the power that you as an individual would feel and could hold if you truly trusted yourself. If you believed that you had a direct connection to God/Goddess/Spirit and that the visions of your highest destiny and next steps you could trust and follow.
And then imagine how it would feel if you didn't believe that was true, if that power was outside of you or not available. And lastly, imagine you could choose.
Imagine you as an individual could believe that you had a divine spark within you, access to infinite inner wisdom and the capability to decipher it from your ego. Do you already believe that? If not, would your life be different if you chose to believe such a thing?
The best part was coming home from my first day of the pilgrimage with this experience and remembering the importance of trusting myself and honoring my vision and then doing some research about this church, the Santa Maria Maggiore, and learning how it came to be built -- from a vision.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius and instructed him to build a church precisely where he saw a patch of snow on the next day.
Since Rome was currently experiencing one of their typical hot summers, it was out of the ordinary that he found snow at the summit of the Esquiline Hill the next morning (on Aug. 5) and was thought of as a miracle. In commemoration of this event, every year thousands of white petals are released from the ceiling church to "snow" on the congregation.
Beyond the words written that define our connection to the Divine, our visions, intuition and instincts are a vital way that each of us can connect with the Divine Feminine.
As we each learn to trust our own visions -- and one another's visions -- we can begin to dream a bigger dream. I think of John Lennon's quote, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." May this vision of a Feminine Renaissance expand in our own consciousness, so that it can also expand in our world."
Source and Full Bringing Back the Feminine Divine Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rochelle-schieck/reclaiming-the-divine-feminine_b_1766494.html
Bringing Back Goddess Church
Pastor; Priestess; Reverend Crystal Cox
Port Townsend Washington
ReverendCrystalCox@Gmail.com
1 Corinthians 14: 34-35.Perhaps my vision was leading me back to the old adage All Roads Lead to Rome. My intention to reclaim the Divine Feminine on an individual and collective level is not about diminishing the masculine perspective, but elevating the feminine voice so that they can become integrated and equal while remaining unique in their own strengths.
34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.
35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home;
for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
Think of the yin/yang principle. But how can we even begin to find balance, when the stories that lay the foundation of our major world religions and mythology are undeniably patriarchal?
One of the questions most human beings come across in navigating their life is about their individual relationship to God. And if God and access to God is perceived as having a male gender preference, and God is seen as the power of all things and the ideal within which we desire to emulate, where can a woman find her own map to the divine?
It becomes difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to access one of her deepest powers of intuition -- receiving guidance from the Divine and the courage to follow it -- if she inherently believes that she does not have the capability of doing so. If she has not seen images of women as divine or heard stories of women who have also had a direct connection to spirit, the possibility lives outside of her.
With the lack of the Divine Feminine in our history, coupled with the scriptures above instructing women must be kept quiet, a woman is faced with a frightening question in her own heart: Does she acquiesce to the written word that oppresses her in many ways, while bringing comfort in others, or does she venture out of the structure that was created so many years ago to find her own truth?In the book "The Alphabet and the Goddess," the idea is introduced about the power of language and how the alphabet was used as one of the main ways in which the feminine was oppressed and patriarchy could take and retain power, not only over women, but men over other men.
The author Leonard Shlain explains that the Old Testament was one of the first alphabetic written works to influence future ages and the words on its pages anchor the three powerful religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. He proposes the impact of these scriptures depended as much on their being written as the moral lessons they contained.
Because theses stories and words were written down, they were seen as the ultimate authority of truth. And this written word was used as a way to bring people together in a shared belief system that explains where we came from, why we are here and where we are going after this world.
It also helped strengthen the power of the word when anyone who disagreed with this written story was killed, like in the Crusades, Inquisition and other religious wars, many of them which began with the Romans.
All of this was on my mind that first morning, when I stumbled upon one of largest feminine sites in Rome. I had just missed the bus and the next one wasn't coming for 30-40 minutes. It was then I looked up and saw a huge church across the street and decided to explore it. The church was called Santa Maria Maggiore. It's the largest church in Rome dedicated to Mary as the "Mother of God."
To my astonishment, I experienced a profound sense of peace in this church and was so moved by the images, each of which portrayed Mary above or next to Jesus, showing and honoring a feminine expression of the Divine that my eyes were so thirsty for.The synchronicity of finding this large church devoted to Mary on that first day affirmed the vision I had to begin my pilgrimage in Rome.
The coincidence of setting out to reclaim the Divine Feminine and finding her the first place I looked, in all her glory, drew me into a deeper place of being able to trust myself.
This experience illuminated the first insight from this pilgrimage: one of the core practices in reclaiming the Divine Feminine is the ability to trust one's intuition, vision and gut instincts. One has to be willing to go beyond what has been written about the past to explore and interact with life in present time following your instincts vs. your expectations.
Put any cynicism aside for a moment and imagine the power that you as an individual would feel and could hold if you truly trusted yourself. If you believed that you had a direct connection to God/Goddess/Spirit and that the visions of your highest destiny and next steps you could trust and follow.
And then imagine how it would feel if you didn't believe that was true, if that power was outside of you or not available. And lastly, imagine you could choose.
Imagine you as an individual could believe that you had a divine spark within you, access to infinite inner wisdom and the capability to decipher it from your ego. Do you already believe that? If not, would your life be different if you chose to believe such a thing?
The best part was coming home from my first day of the pilgrimage with this experience and remembering the importance of trusting myself and honoring my vision and then doing some research about this church, the Santa Maria Maggiore, and learning how it came to be built -- from a vision.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius and instructed him to build a church precisely where he saw a patch of snow on the next day.
Since Rome was currently experiencing one of their typical hot summers, it was out of the ordinary that he found snow at the summit of the Esquiline Hill the next morning (on Aug. 5) and was thought of as a miracle. In commemoration of this event, every year thousands of white petals are released from the ceiling church to "snow" on the congregation.
Beyond the words written that define our connection to the Divine, our visions, intuition and instincts are a vital way that each of us can connect with the Divine Feminine.
As we each learn to trust our own visions -- and one another's visions -- we can begin to dream a bigger dream. I think of John Lennon's quote, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." May this vision of a Feminine Renaissance expand in our own consciousness, so that it can also expand in our world."
Source and Full Bringing Back the Feminine Divine Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rochelle-schieck/reclaiming-the-divine-feminine_b_1766494.html
Bringing Back Goddess Church
Pastor; Priestess; Reverend Crystal Cox
Port Townsend Washington
ReverendCrystalCox@Gmail.com
Sunday, April 20, 2014
A GLOBAL EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION; Crimes on Humanity in the Name of GOD, are Here By ABOLISHED. ~ "the spiritual disestablishment of the church of Rome" Amen, God - Goddess Bless YOU All. May Compassion, Peace, Love they Neighbor and HOPE.. REIGN.
The New Covenant Has Begun; in Love, in Light, in Truth, in Honor and Dignity
"Today, at sunrise on Easter, April 20, 2014, ceremonies in Rome, London, Maastricht and at the key energy centers of the earth proclaimed and invoked the spiritual disestablishment of the church of Rome and the entity governing it.
The Maastricht Proclamation was made by Rev. Kevin Annett at the oldest catholic church outside of Italy.
The Proclamation was preceded by sunrise exorcism ceremonies at the Vatican and dozens of other locations under the authority of spiritual elders.
To quote their statement, "This third and final exorcism of the dark entity of Rome is accomplished. The power of that false church is forever broken, and replaced by a new spiritual gathering of free men and women under a new Covenant with the Creator.
"The new Covenant stands solely on the authority, judgement and laws of God, and nullifies the de facto rule of church and state that wrongfully posed as lawful and legitimate authorities over mankind. The new Covenant replaces those de facto, criminal powers with the de jure, lawful government of God that overturns and replaces all unjust, man made authority of church and state."
The new Covenant issued today's Proclamation, which follows.The Proclamation has supreme spiritual and lawful authority and binding power under the laws of heaven and earth, and all free men and women are empowered to actively enforce it.
I, Kevin Daniel of the House Annett, give witness and judgement today to this Act and accomplishment of God on behalf of the Court and the Covenant."
Issued by ITCCS Central, Brussels and the Covenanted Congregational Charter, New York - 20 April, 2014
..................
A GLOBAL EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
MADE UNDER THE LAW OF GOD AND MAN
(This Proclamation is issued and available in thirteen languages)
Invoking the Legal and Spiritual Disestablishment of the Church of Rome and its adjunct bodies, the Vatican and the “Holy See”
AND
Issued as a Binding De Jure Annulment and Emancipation Order by The International Common Law Court of Justice and The Covenant of Free Congregational Christians on Easter Sunday the 20th Day of April in the year 2014
Let it Be Known and made effect by all men and women, persons and authorities that under the Supreme Law of God as embodied in the Common Law of Nature and Natural Right, as of this day, the institution and entity of the Church of Rome, its officers, clergy, adjunct and derivative bodies and corporate entirety, is now and forever abolished and disestablished as a corporate and a spiritual body.
All people and powers formerly under its authority and influence and owing it allegiance are now and forever emancipated and freed from such obligatory servitude.
Having violated and waged unrelenting war on God and humanity through its history of crime, murder, apostasy, child sacrifice and idolatry, and thereby repudiated its covenanted requirement of duty to uphold the honor of Heaven and Earth, and the life and dignity of mankind, the Church of Rome has nullified its basis for existence and brought upon itself the status of a renegade transnational criminal organization in the eyes of God and man, and under the laws of both heaven and earth.
The ultimate authority of God as expressed in De Jure common law courts of judgment and in congregations of just, truthful men and women does therefore nullify the existence of the Church of Rome, the alleged “Apostolic Succession”, and its so-called “Canon Law”.
Therefore, as of this day, all such law, statutes, and all church offices and officials are declared to be forever abolished and possessing no effect or binding authority in heaven or on earth.
All Church of Rome officials and agents, commencing with Jorge Bergoglio, so-called Pontiff of the Church of Rome, every Cardinal of the Roman Curia, the heads of the Vatican Bank and Adolfo Pachon, chief “Superior” of the Jesuit Order, are hereby ordered to immediately stand down from and relinquish their offices.
The wealth, property and movable assets of the Church of Rome are hereby forfeited and declared to be under the common ownership of the People of the world, and may be peacefully seized and occupied by them.
Every member, employee and adherent of the Roman Catholic Church is hereby released from all of their vows, allegiance and obligations to the Church of Rome, and are freed to gather and worship in whatever congregational form that God and their conscience compels, separate from the disestablished Roman church.
The sheriffs and peace officers of lawful common law courts, assisted by the free people of the world, are henceforth authorized and encouraged to enact and enforce this Annulment and Emancipation Proclamation wherever possible, under the supreme and sovereign authority of God and the Law of Nations.
The people of God who have been lost and held in bondage within the spiritual captivity of the false church of Rome are now free to assemble in covenanted congregations which stand solely under the law of God and recognizing no other legitimate authority, for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth.
The long night of spiritual tyranny and Vatican crime is over.
Let the free people of the Earth and all true servants of God and Christ cleanse their lands of the Lie and the Murder formerly enthroned in Rome.
Proclaimed and enacted as on this Resurrection Sunday by The International Common Law Court of Justice with the collaboration of the The Covenant of Free Congregational Christians (The Covenanters)
This Proclamation is accompanied by a third and final exorcism and spiritual reclamation ceremony in Rome and throughout the world, on this Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014
In Coram Deo: Invoked in God's presence - As God wills it, it is accomplished
A Lawful and Binding Act made under the Divine and Common Law. The power to bind and free now resides in God alone and through God's free, covenanted people."
You are NOW Free From the Crimes of the VATICAN
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Bringing Back Goddess Church, All Faith Spiritual Sanctuary, Port Townsend Washington. Reverend Crystal Cox.
Love * Light * One Tribe * Healing * Helping * Hope
Life in the Spirit World
"Over the years, countless people have asked us: what is the Spirit world like? Answering this question is both easy and difficult. It is easy because so much information concerning life in Spirit has been given to us. It is difficult because much of that information tends to be confusing or, at least, contradictory.
Where is the Spirit World?
What Do We Do in the Spirit World?
What About Surroundings?
There is only one way in which we can be given information about what it is like in the Spirit world. That information has to come from someone who is there, first hand. And there are two ways in which someone can go to the Spirit world: either temporarily, through some type of out of body experience or expansion of consciousness; or permanently through death. Both have been sources of good, insightful information on what the Spirit world is all about.
Indeed, most of what we have learned about the Spirit world comes from those who reside there. Obviously, that information has to be passed through mediums and channels. The problem lies in the oftentimes contradictory information given to us. Oddly enough, much of the contradiction seems to come from within the more traditional Spiritualist movement.
As any student of mediumship knows, the preconceived ideas and prejudices of the medium can, very often, color or influence the information which passes through his or her mediumship. It is the wise medium who understands this fact clearly and, therefore, endeavors to separate himself or herself, as completely as possible, from the communication coming from those in Spirit.
Horace Leaf, in his book "What Mediumship Is" (Spiritualist Press, London; 1976), pages 133-134, describes this quite admirably by stating:
"Mediums are not like gramophone records; they are living beings with brain and mind governed by lifelong habits. Every person's mind is full of tendencies, capacities, desires, ideas and habits. These are so vital that, in the main, they govern the way in which the individual thinks and behaves.
"All controlling entities desirous of transmitting philosophical, religious and spiritual ideas through a medium find themselves as much under the control of the medium as the medium is under theirs. The consequence is, if the medium is ignorant and his mind untrained to serious thinking, the less successful will the speech be. The reverse is also true. An educated medium with a well-trained mind will, with few exceptions, produce better results."
So, how do we come to any reasonable and truthful conclusions concerning life in Spirit? In other words, how do we separate the wheat from the chaff? Really quite simple: truth ALWAYS passes the test of time.
New age fads and fancies come and go with the winds of time and people's folly; but truth remains steadfast, eternal, constant, and is generally free from contradiction. And here is where we must be discerning in our search for truth.
Much truthful information regarding life in Spirit has, indeed, come from with the Modern Spiritualist movement, and for this we should be eternally grateful; but, far more has come to us from outside Modern Spiritualism's ranks and members.
It is unwise to think that Spiritualism had its birth in 1848, with the events at Hydesville, New York. 1848 marked the beginning of a movement, not the beginning of Spiritualism itself. What happened in 1848 marks the rebirth -- or reincarnation -- of that which has been with us from the moment we appeared on this great Earth plane.
The events in Hydesville also marked the seedlings of a movement which would eventually emerge from within the home circle, that nursery for so much of mediumship's phenomenal manifestations.
Spiritualism was given birth with the creation of the spirits (that's you and me); Modern Spiritualism was born in 1848. And there is a difference between Spiritualism and the Modern Spiritualist movement.
For more information on the founding of the Modern Spiritualist movement, please see our section on Modern Spiritualism.
What many Modern Spiritualists fail to accept is that while their movement was being fashioned, so, too, were other movements of the Spirit; most notably Theosophy.
Furthermore, an abundance of information regarding life in Spirit has been given to us through mediums and channels outside the more traditional Spiritualist Movement. Alice Bailey, Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts, Eileen Garrett, as well as the multitude of investigators from within the Theosophical movement, are but a few.
What is most intriguing about this is that, once you step outside the more traditional Spiritualist circles, the contradictions concerning life in the Spirit world seem to disappear.
What does this mean, and why do we mention this fact before getting into the meat of the subject of this series of articles?
It means something very important; something which our Church has been promulgating since its founding, in 1883: mediumship; life after death; spirit communication; and, yes, even Spiritualism, itself, belong to no group, no Church, no denomination, and no faith. These are universal elements of the Spirit, and the Spirit knows no boundaries.
Having said this, let us, now, get to our subject: Life in Spirit.
The Spirit world is right here, where we are. We do not have to travel in order to get to the Spirit world. It is not separated from the Earth plane by distance, as we perceive distance. What separates the Earth plane from the Spirit world is DIMENSION.
It is through the doorway of consciousness and dimension that the Spirit must pass in order to enter the Spirit world. That is the doorway through which we shall all pass at some point in time, when we leave this Earth plane. How we get to that doorway varies with people, conditions, and circumstances.
What we experience, once we pass through that doorway varies, to some degree, with those circumstances. But it is the same doorway for all of us. Kings, paupers, prophets, messiahs, tyrants, saints, rich, poor, and everyone in between all pass through the same doorway of life.
The Spirit world exists in a higher rate of vibration than does our three-dimensional Earth plane. From time to time, people experience a heightened or extended sense of perception, and they catch glimpses of this amazing world. Mediums have trained themselves to do this, somewhat at will.
An out of body experience, or OBE, happens when the spirit or consciousness separates itself from the confines of the body and brain; thus becoming free to experience other worlds.
Every night, while most of us sleep, our spirits separate from the earthly confines and visit the Spirit world. We often experience that visitation through dreams. Sometimes, those dreams are colored by our fears, cares, and concerns; sometimes not. Many are the people who claim they have visited departed loved ones in their dreams.
The skeptic will say that such experiences result from wishful thinking, manifested in those dreams. But, most people know better: these precious experiences are far more than wishful thinking.
So, you see, the first thing we have to understand about the Spirit world is that we do not have to die in order for us to visit this grand place. Furthermore, we can be in touch with our departed loved ones, even while on earth.
This is a question which many people ask. It stems from the fact that we are so ingrained to perceiving life only through the physical form that we simply cannot imagine what one can do without a physical body. For so many, no body and no earth translate into NO LIFE.
In Spirit, we do not go to jobs, we do not have to earn money, we do not have to worry about mortgages and food on the table; these are all aspects of earthly life. So, what's left? Very simple: LIFE. We engage in life and living.
What motivates us on the Earth plane will, very likely, motivate us in Spirit. Death accomplishes one thing: it allows us to shed the earthly body and move through the doorway. We do not change dramatically, nor do we become all-knowing and perfect. We are the same person on that side of the threshold as we are on this side of the threshold. For many, this is disappointing. It would be nice to think that death suddenly removes all problems, all obstacles, all sin and evil, and all ignorance. That is not the arrangement we made with our Creator.
We learn, very often through struggle, and we grow through hard work. Nothing of the Spirit is handed to us on a silver platter. That would be cheap and not beneficial to us at all. Thus it is in the Spirit world.
In Spirit, we seek to communicate with our earthly loved ones. We meet our already departed loved ones, and there is a grand reunion of sorts. Spirit tells us that it is so wondrously amazing when we meet those loving family members, waiting at the threshold to welcome us into the new life.
People who suffer long term illness, as they come closer to the time of death, often see their loved ones, in Spirit, waiting for them at the gate. This gives them joy, comfort, and a sense of knowing that everything will be OK.
Our loves, our hopes, our aspirations, our dreams are all part of us, and we are given every opportunity to follow those dreams in Spirit. Thus, the Spirit world is a world of tremendous opportunity and fulfillment, even more so than the Earth plane.
In Spirit, we devote much time to assessing the recent earth life. We look at the successes and the failures, and we do so with unclouded vision. There are special Spirit helpers who guide and assist us in this. For some, this can be very painful, as they face themselves and their earthly deeds. But, even for these unfortunate souls, there is always love and guidance given, as they wend their way through the consequences of what may have been a very evil life.
There are halls of learning and great schools of the Spirit, where we are given the opportunity to learn and become wise in our knowledge. Many of these great schools of learning have counterparts on the Earth plane. The Mystery Schools of the past are an example of this.
There is the opportunity to pray and offer healing from Spirit, just as we can do here on earth.
In all of this, we await the arrival of our earthly loved ones, as our previously departed loved ones awaited our own arrival.
As time passes on, we integrate more and more of our recent earth life and its experiences into the essence of the Spirit. More and more of our family and loved ones join us. And eventually, we move further along the Spirit world, into areas which are more separated, in terms of vibration, from the Earth plane. We can always draw back, closer to the earthly condition, in order to communicate with earthly loved ones or family members. So, we are never separated from our beloved, no matter where they or we may be. Please keep this in mind.
The whole of the Spirit world is comprised of various levels of consciousness and states of vibration. As we move along in the Spirit world, we pass through these various stages. There are even varying levels of vibration within each of the afterlife stages. In fact, we experience a sort of death, as we proceed from one level of Spirit into another. We shall not discuss this, as it goes beyond the scope of this series of articles.
The area of the Spirit world to which we all go, once we pass from the Earth plane, is known as the Astral world, or the Astral plane. It is here where we spend a good amount of our time assessing the most recent earthly life, while awaiting the arrival of our earthly loved ones. It is here, also, where much of the more difficult aspects of the recent earth life are confronted and healed, to the degree that we are willing to confront them and to the degree that they can be healed, according to our overall stage of spiritual progression.
Freedom of choice is inherent to all Spirit. We are healed and we experience transformation only to the degree that we are willing to confront and change that which must be changed.
There are countless Spirit emissaries and helpers, always anxious to guide and inspire us along the pathway of spiritual healing and transformation, but change can only come about through our own desire to change and our own willingness to work through that which needs to be changed.
Therefore, better we should endeavor to make those changes now, while on the Earth plane, than when we arrive in Spirit. Why? Because, in Spirit, there is so much to learn and to experience; there is so much wonder to behold and incorporate into our selves. There is so much pure love and beneficence to share in. All this, and so much more, is available to us; BUT, only to the degree that we can experience and receive it all. So, let us be healed and develop those loving qualities, now, here on Earth, that we might be free to experience all this wonder, once we pass into the Spirit world.
It is the Astral plane which is most closely linked to the Earth plane. In fact, within the Astral plane there exists an exact replica of the Earth plane, with houses, cities, mountains, people, etc. It is not really a replica; rather, within the Astral plane is the astral counterpart of our Earth plane. Everything on this earth, ourselves included, has an astral counterpart. Remember, we are Spirit in body. Our true home and our roots are in Spirit, not on the earth. We "visit" the earth, from time to time, in order to experience it and its lessons. Therefore, even while on the Earth plane, we are Spirit, with our connection to the Spirit world. This astral counterpart represents the link, so to speak, between us and the Spirit world.
Everything which happens on the earth -- individually and collectively -- has an impact within the Astral plane. So, the Astral plane is inhabited by two types of spirits: those who have passed from the Earth plane and are, still, within the Astral plane; and us -- or our astral counterparts. In fact, without going into complicated discussions, suffice it to say that we live within and experience multiple levels of life and consciousness, even while on the Earth plane.
It so happens that, right now, our focus of attention and concentration is on the Earth plane. But, that does not deny the fact that we are rooted in the Spirit.
If we were not living on multiple levels of Spirit, simultaneously, then we could not experience such things as mediumship, extended sensory perception, out of body experiences, or, even, dreams.
It is because we are living life AS SPIRIT ON EARTH that we are able to shift from one level of awareness to another, back and forth; sometimes spontaneously, other times quite intentionally.
Thus, there is a strong link and connection between the Earth plane and the Astral plane. It is through the Astral plane that so much of the spiritual help and assistance is given to us. The Astral plane represents the doorway between the Earth plane and the higher levels of the Spirit world.
The Astral plane has been subject to much confusion and misinformation. It is called the Astral plane because, within it, there is light and sparkling energy, very much like stars. Astral originates from the Latin "aster," meaning star. Because the Astral plane is where we deal with our recent earthly difficulties, people tend to consider it to be a place of punishment and negativity. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Within the Astral plane, there is offered the greatest opportunity to set right that which may have gone wrong and to become even more intimately involved with our family and friends, in a truly spiritual manner. What is even more amazing is that, once we step through the Astral plane and enter the next level of the Spirit world, the degree of love and intimacy magnifies itself a thousand-fold.
Indeed, it is a place of work; but of far greater significance, the Astral plane is a place of healing, love, and compassion.
Because the Astral plane is so closely linked to the Earth plane and its inhabitants, many proclaim that it is inhabited by countless spirits who are lost or earthbound. NONSENSE! The idea of lost souls and earthbound spirits makes great movies, sells lots of books, and, unfortunately, gives many unscrupulous psychics and mediums lots of work; but is not based on fact.
Very few are they who become "stuck" between "here" and "there". Some certainly do have difficulty in making their earthly transition, but always there are loved ones and special Spirit friends who endeavor to help in that transition. And, if for some reason, a spirit is just not ready or willing to make the transition complete, he or she will fall into a sleep state and remain quiet, until the time comes for a reawakening into the Spirit world.
Furthermore, that reawakening is aided through love and healing by those special Spirit helpers. Such spirits do NOT go around haunting the Earth plane; nor do they sit around just waiting to possess a weak earthling; nor do they hang around graveyards or around bars, inhaling smoke and the smell of alcohol.
Thus it is in the Spirit world; or at least the first phase of the Spirit world, immediately following physical death.
In Part Two of this series, we shall look at the concepts of Heaven and Hell, as they apply to the Spirit world. Are Heaven and Hell, in fact, places; are they merely states of mind; and who goes or experiences what? Should prove to be very interesting.
If you would like further information on the journey of your Spirit and Soul, through life and the Spirit life, we suggest you consider purchasing our very informative and very complete Journey of the Soul. You will be hard pressed to come up with a question concerning your Spirit and its journey through creation that is not addressed somewhere in this study course. It is an excellent and truthful course of study and experience."
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