Genesis and Christmas

                                          "Genesis" 22 X 30" acrylic on paper.  Available for sale.

I just wrote an article based upon the writings from Dr. Tom Harpur's The Pagan Christ for the Freemasonic Holy Royal Arch December Notice.  For those that have no idea the Holy Royal Arch is another adjunct body within Freemasonry that speaks to deeper truths of finding the missing word symbolic of the missing spiritual or component of enlightenment within each human being.  I just finished writing an article that pertains to this annual time of the year which contains nothing of a secretive nature but rather hopes to spark the thought on what this season or time of the year may represent.  In doing so i was drawn to the painting of mine i called "Genesis" that may indeed fit perfectly to what i am delivering in the Royal Arch Notice.

"The Real Meaning of Christmas-

Christmas as an annual festival of light and the element fire once more returns and how many realize that the Christian holiday is far more pagan and ancient in complexion?  We can see the symbolism of fire everywhere- the annual burning of the yule log, the lighting of candles, the decorated tree and house decorations and the fact that December 25th marks the older pagan holiday ‘Die Natalis’ or birthday of the Sun which comes after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, thus light triumphs once more over darkness.  December 25th was the birthday of all the ancient sun gods, especially Mithras the figure from whom the early Christian took and reinvented their Christ figure from who was born in a cave.  The Christos spirit of light is symbolically born December 25th in every human soul.  To mythographer Dr. Joseph Campbell the virgin birth represented the potential birth of the spiritual to the merely natural life and recognition that there are higher values and aims in living rather than self-preservation, pleasure, reproduction, the acquisition of money and things, struggle for power and status.  It symbolizes the birth of the heart- of love and compassion- or the idea of cyclically being given the opportunity at this time to be spiritually ‘born again’ that Jesus spoke of which is so completely misunderstood by fundamentalists today.  "So the question posed by the annual Christmas celebration is not if you believe in a literal virgin birth or not, but rather have you experienced your own divinity born from within you?"  Are you claiming your spiritual inheritance as being more than human animal but rather as a divine fully spiritual human being who is self aware?  "According to Herodotus, the ‘father of history’, the Egyptian correspondent Jesus was  Iu-em-hetep or Iusu, was one of eight great gods who were described in papyri almost 20,000 year ago.  He bore different names as specific cults changed but the ancient messiah was a anthropomorphic representational figure that came from age to age which represented cosmic lunar and solar symbolism.  The solstices and equinoxes marked his waxing and waning presence and his constant repetition was the assurance of unfailing fulfillment."  The elevation of human consciousness into the divine and the fulfillment of a kingdom born of goodness, truth, beauty and love.  Interesting that the phrase “Our Lord the Sun” was used by every Christian up to the sixth century CE until it was changed to “Our Lord, the God.” (The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur)  The essential truth of all human cultures presented by all wisdom religions of antiquity is that there resides within each of us a divine spark or ‘sun’, a divine light that is part of the ONE eternal essence (whatever that may be- the great and eternal mystery spoken about in ancient Hebrew mysticism, the Kabbalah).  All sun symbolism of all religions and the great initiatic Mystery cults of ancient Greece, Egypt, Persia and further East were an attempt to express the one truth of all Christ like figures found in ancient antiquity who were denominated sun gods that each human being all share in the potential, we all share in this holy, divine and primordial fire."    

For more read The Pagan Christ by Dr. Rev. Tom Harpur and The Jesus Mysteries by Dr. Timothy Freke and Dr. Peter Gandy.  I would also suggest The Gnostic Gospels by Dr. Elaine Pagels.             

SOLD!

Both "Ancient Petroglyph" and "Intuition of the Great Mother" celebrate nature and were sold to a women who entered Garry Green's gallery and saw them and simply loved them and had to have both pieces.  They are both framed paper acrylic pieces 22" X 30" and just gorgeous (if i may say so) in person.  

Quantum Weirdness and Changing States of Consciousness...

There is little doubt in my own mind that language and civilisation itself arose out of a shift in consciousness brought about by some form of proto shamanism, approximately 40,000 years ago.   Reading Graham Hancock's Supernatural -Ancient Teachers of Humanity and more (Greek Mysteries-the archaeology and ritual of ancient Greek Mystery Cults by Michael B Cosmopoulos) and the works of psychiatrist Benny Shannon, the beginnings of organised religions (awareness of or a belief in higher intelligences) it seems humans have been dousing their nervous systems with entheogens since at least 30,000 BCE.  Whether North or South American, African, Australian Aboriginals, pre-Vedic Hindu's, Eleusinian Mystery Initiations of Greece or even anointing/King making ceremonies as described by the Pyramid Texts of Unas (4300 BCE) as related by Anthropologist Jeremy Naydler (Shamanic Wisdom of the Pyramid Texts) we find  people engaging in contact with other intelligences aided by mushrooms, soma, peyote cactus, eboga, ayahuasca and other DMT and related entheogens.   The catalogue is substantive, over 2,000 different varieties of chemicals may be found around the world and i believe it can be safely said a definitive link between use of the substances and a belief in higher or intra-dimensional intelligences are the most probably basis for what we find is ritual based religion's existing today.

Even more curious is the basis of all forms of religious and ecstatic experience where people report contact with all forms of altered state intelligences- magical beings, UFO beings, the Virgin Mary and Jesus, Buddha, all forms of beings seem to be seen, but how is this possible?  To be sure human beings around the world ARE having a genuine experience and seeing something but what?  How to explain the phenomena except when one begins to realise that it may be higher forms of consciousness or beings that are intra-dimensional that we interpret through our own nervous systems based also upon own cultural backgrounds?  Scientist Jacques Valle published his own scientific thoughts based on studies and found that indeed we are having experiences of some kind and that may be because of our own nervous systems generating its own brand of reality based upon cultural conditioning imprinted upon our consciousness.

Collating the research by several thousand scientific researchers on all majour continents over a period of decades we can come to some conclusions:
1) that evidence can be explained by Bell's Theorum: that parallel universes seem to be presenting themselves or we are accessing them in some fashion (a plausible explanation); OR/AND;
2) some human beings with highly evolved psychic powers are somehow manipulating reality (which i doubt very much as i think the bulk of humanity and even the smart ones aren't that smart/intelligent or spiritually capable of such influence or if they were that greatly adept wouldn't be screwing around in such a manner) OR;
3) we are being contacted or experimented upon by beings from another dimension or world (doubtful) OR;
4) we share this planet with other intelligent species which remain invisible or manifest themselves in forms in any way they choose (some call these "Ultra-Terrestrials") called fairies, demons, angels (I'm not sold but maybe, who knows?) OR;
5) We are evolving into a newer state of evolution with altered neural circuitry.  This activation is already happening as exemplified in new temporal states of temporary weirdness that seem to be happening at an increasing rate for some- objects appear, disappear, extra-sensory experiences, synchronicity;
6) a combination or permutation of one or two, some of the above.

To be sure i speculate as Alan Watts, Niels Bohr do that reality seems to be plural, malleable or mutable, its certainly not fixed which then really gives theologians, priests, philosopher's and scientists plenty of grief or fodder.  The notion that reality is singular and fixed in some hermetically sealed container is inaccurate.  Rather if matter evolves so too do energy systems (Living Energy Universe by Dr. Shwartz & Dr. Russek).  Writer Robert A. Wilson writes: "The only 'realities' (plural) that we actually experience and can talk meaningfully about are perceived realities, experienced realities, existential realities- realities involving ourselves as editors- and they are all relative to the observer, fluctuating, evolving, capable of being magnified and enriched, moving from low resolution to hi-fi, and do not fit together like the pieces of a jig-saw into one single Reality with a capital R."

Given all this information and ideas of so many models of realities, existence and consciousness i find useful to think that any model we do construct MUST include and be validated by science, by also by personal expereince as discovered through a Hermetic, Magick, Gnostic, Kabbalistic Philosophy and Shamanic entheogenic process.  "Learning to die before we die" infers we must come to consciousness while we are individuated in our bodies using our minds and spirits to their utmost to expereince reality- whatever that may be and wherever it may lead us---but it will surely lead us to a greater understanding of ourselves, our true nature, the creator, and our ultimate destiny.