The Quest ( Renewed ) For The Holy Grail

"How strange is the notion that Jesus was actually married?" Strange as it may sound to our Western ears, probably about as strange as the notion that He wasn't! Now, before we go down this rabbit hole too much farther, let me just say that it's possible, though not likely, that one of the reasons Jesus got on 'the bad side' of the Pharisees was that, unlike them, Jesus never took a wife. I would think however, that if this were the case, we probably would have some implication of it in the text of Scripture ( ? ). This would not be a great surprise, as it really wouldn't do much, if anything, to enhance the gospel of Jesus the Christ ( or WOULD it?! ). 

"If Jesus HAD been married, would it be detrimental to the gospel message, or would it actually bolster it?" Well, let's think about this a minute, shall we?! While it was, from my understanding, not necessarily a REQUIREMENT for the Priesthood, it was definitely encouraged. If indeed Jesus HAD never married, this might well have been a valid reason for the Pharisees to hate him; "He's flouting our traditions!" However, as I said, "Not likely". The church fathers, with their patriarchal mindset, might have taken issue with a wedded Jesus, but I can see no reason why it would have posed any kind of threat.

As to whether such a notion might BOLSTER the gospel message remains to be seen....................

"Come, Mary; we must make haste!" Jesus urged the Disciple Whom He Loved. As was common with women of any age, Mary of Magdala was taking extra care in preparing to celebrate this special meal with Her Husband & His 12. Finally, with every hair & piece of clothing situated 'just right', Mary was ready! "Quietly, now!" Jesus cautioned. Just being here on this Night of Nights could get Him arrested & likely killed, He knew. Though both He & His Wife knew the risks involved, the importance of sharing this traditional meal with His Chosen Ones far outweighed the danger. Mary didn't have quite the same sense of danger that Her Husband did, for Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed by one of His 12. Mary quite understood the danger Her Husband faced just by being in the City, but with the great influx from outside the City, even the Nation itself, She decided the risk was much lower than normal!

As Jesus led the way toward the domicile that housed the Upper Room His Friends, Peter & John - 2 of the 12 - had rented for this Great Occasion, He couldn't help but think of the Great Sadness to follow, of which His Wife was blissfully unaware! "Mary," He said, "this will be the last time I will celebrate this Feast!" "Why, what do you mean, My Love?!" Mary asked, Her trembling voice full of concern. "I don't mean to frighten you," Jesus said, " but as soon as the Feast is over, we must leave!" "You Silly," Mary replied, with a hint of relief in Her voice, "I knew THAT already; I'm all packed & Elizabeth is ready for us!" "No, My Love; we're not just leaving the City - even Bethlehem is too dangerous - we have to leave the country!" We're going to Egypt; I have friends there that I haven't seen in quite a few years!" This was unexpected, but as a good Jewish wife, Mary would follow Her Husband to the ends of the world, even to the Gates of Hades itself!

After the agreed upon greeting, Jesus & Mary entered the sparsely furnished room. Somewhat longer than wide, a table ran down the middle of the room, with 14 place settings prepared for Jesus, His Wife & His Chosen 12. Several flagons of a rich red wine adorned the table already, as well as a dish of vinegar & oil at each place setting, with heaps of unleavened bread ( it would be called 'matzos' today ). The lamb, Peter assured Him, was "on the way up!" Sure enough, not long after they were all comfortably reclined, there was a knock at the door & the man of the house, along with one of the household servants entered, carrying a decent-sized roast lamb. Mary, being the practical one, couldn't help immediately thinking, 'I hope that's going to be enough,' but She didn't say anything, because She knew first hand the miraculous way Her Husband could feed a host with little food at hand!

Jesus led the celebration by recounting, from memory, the Exodus from Egypt. While recounting the Story, of course, He couldn't help but note the irony in His words earlier to His Wife! After Jesus had finished telling His Story, He lifted His glass & said, "Indeed, My Brothers, long have I looked forward to celebrating this Feast with you, for I will do so no more until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of Heaven!" At this, there was, understandably, a bit of consternation on the part of His Chosen 12. Finally, Peter, ever the readiest to speak out ( of place), asked, "What do you mean by that? I mean, JESUS; it's not like you're going anywhere we can't follow! Surely we could just meet You somewhere else?!" "Peter," Andrew gently chided his brother, "let the Man finish!" Jesus replied, after fully raising His glass again in toast, "I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until I drink it with you in the Kingdom!" 'Again with the cryptic speech,' Judas, who was also known as Iscariot, whispered to Simon the Caananite, who was seated next to him. "What was that, Judas? Would you like to share with the rest of the table?" Jesus asked. "That WAS rather rude!" Matthew said, breaking his normal silence. Jesus then uttered the words He dreaded; "The hand of my betrayer is at this very table, supping with ME, with us!" Well, you can just IMAGINE the consternation THAT little revelation caused, not least from His own Wife! "BETRAYER?" Mary exclaimed. The 12 just sat there in silence for a minute, while Mary unleashed a tirade on Her Husband; "I'm not going to even as how you KNOW, because I KNOW You know, but You couldn't at least have WARNED Me?!" Before Jesus could answer, the 12, beginning with Peter, of course, began to ask, somewhat selfishly, I might add, "It's not ME is it? I would NEVER betray YOU!" Knowing it wasn't yet His time, Jesus forestalled everyone by changing the subject - back, of course, to the ORIGINAL one! "What, would you say, Peter - really, anyone can answer this one - is the significance of the Exodus from Egypt?"A little put off by this, Peter rather huffily said, "Well, of course the Exodus itself was our forefathers escape from slavery, but..................." "Mothers too!" Mary interjected. Jesus, always ready to bail Peter out, quickly said, "Yes, Dear; "Mothers too!" Wincing a bit at the gentle castigation from the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, Peter continued, "It's really a picture of how we escaped the slavery of Sin, by going on a Wilderness Journey to find our true Home." This was a bit of a pleasant surprise even to Jesus; 'Peter HAS been listening!' He thought to Himself. "Not only that, Brethren, it is a Picture of how we can escape the ravages of our consciousness & return to our True Self, the Divinity within each & every One of Us. You look at Me as someone Special, but I say that you will be like Me, accomplishing even greater things than I have done!", Jesus prophesied. After dropping this 'Truth Bomb', which ALMOST went unnoticed ( "Mary kept these things in her heart" ), they discussed what Peter had said for a bit, as several of the others had to add their two cents, Jesus told the 12 to "Dig in", as He would not partake until they had done so. When they had begun to pull at bits & pieces of the roasted lamb, the signatory Sacrifice, Jesus took up one of the loaves, as He had previously, on the occasion Mary had remembered earlier, and bluntly told them, "this bread is significant of my Life, which is given for you; eat it in remembrance of what I am about to do!" Again, the 12, along with His Wife, were flummoxed! "What I am about to do"? 'What do you suppose He means by that?!' This question was foremost on everyone's mind, but Mary kept Her mouth shut this time, knowing that Jesus would reveal in His own good time what He meant by these ominous words! The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, and Jesus took up the cup yet again, saying, "This wine signifies the Covenant in my Life's-blood; do this as often as you partake of it, in remembrance of Me!" Judas, knowing that his time had come, asked Jesus again, for the sake of everyone at the table, "You said that one of us will betray You, Brother, so which one of us is it?!" Jesus, knowing full well that it was the Iscariot, simply said, "It is one that dips his bread with Me in the dish!" 'Well, THAT'S about as clear as mud,' they all thought, 'we're ALL dipping our bread with Him'. Judas, tired of the facade, finally asked,"Is it ME?!" Wearily, Jesus told him, "Yes, Judas; go do what you must!" (Now, what happened next is kinda weird; Mary got it, but the rest of the 12, because they knew that Judas held the purse ( like a secretary ),THEY thought that Jesus was telling Judas to go buy more wine or something ) Mary said nothing at this time, although She shot Her Husband a look of compassion & then leveled a gaze of pure malevolence in Judas' direction. By this time, Judas had bolted for the door, as though he couldn't get out fast enough: he must have felt Mary's deadly glare! When Judas had gone, Jesus again toasted His Chosen Ones, then led them in a Psalm of Freedom. Throwing back yet another, Jesus prepared Himself for a destined meeting, by suggesting to the 12, now 11, as well as His Wife, that they adjourn to the Mount of Olives, in order to wrap up their celebration. Mary, knowing by now what was getting ready to transpire, quietly whispered to Her Husband that She would rather go back to their temporary lodgings & ready Herself for the Trial She felt already. Jesus gave His assent by gently kissing Her on the forehead & left with the remainder of His 12 for the short journey to a small, but private garden near the Mount. Arriving at the secluded spot, Jesus indicated that He wanted to go off by Himself & spend some time alone in prayer. He advised them to do the same. After He had bolstered Himself for what He knew was coming, Jesus returned to find that the Chosen, to a man, had all succumbed to sleep ( it WAS late & the wine HAD taken effect! ). After rousing them, Jesus warned them; "My betrayer is at hand; look lively now!" The commotion of a great crowd was heard about when the lights were seen & soon Judas, leading a small contingent of men, some armed, some not, appeared in front of Jesus. "Is this the Man?" one of the soldiers asked Judas. "It is He Whom I greet thusly!" Judas replied, going up to Jesus & kissing Him like he would a brother. Jesus asked Judas, "Are you betraying me with a kiss, Brother?!" Judas stepped aside then, to allow the soldiers forward, but as he did, one of the Chosen ( "pretty sure it was Peter" ) drew his sword - several had wisely, or so they thought, decided to arm themselves that fateful night - trying to clip Judas' wings ( "but GOOD!" ), yet succeeded only in haphazardly taking off the ear of one of the high priest's servants! "Put that away, Peter," Jesus commanded him sternly, "before you hurt yourself; plus, don't you know: "he who lives by the sword will die by the sword!" ( "I heard that after this, Peter threw his sword down the deepest well he could find!" ) After saying a few Words of Healing, Jesus restored the man's ear, right before they carted Him off to face Judgement!

A few hours had passed, during which those who had arrested Jesus abused Him in many ways, sarcastically mocking the claims to godhood He had made, using this occasion to beat Him mercilessly, but finally, when Dawn had begun to lighten the Sky, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, the main body of His Accusers, or 'Satans'! The Sanhedrin's main concern, on the surface anyway, was Jesus' claim of Divinity: "How COULD a mere Man be God?!" To their strict Jewish mindset, this, of course, was the penultimate blasphemy, not that those Pharisees were REALLY that zealous for their 'God', most of them were simply jealous of Jesus for the things He did & the way He lived His Life! There WERE, however, those in the Assembly who had a valid complaint, at least as THEY saw it. Although many complaints were indeed filed against Him, Jesus validated none of them with a word. Even when some came forward, reminding the high priest that Jesus had once said, "I will destroy this Temple made with hands, but I will raise One made without hands in three days!" this reminder only served to infuriate His Satans even further; "That did it!" He was assaulting their precious Temple, their greatest Idol! Of course, they ASSUMED that He was attacking their Temple, but He was actually referring to His own Body ( that's another Story )! Having reached the end of his patience, the high priest plainly asked Jesus, "Are you the Christ, the Son of God?" Opening His mouth for maybe the first time since His arrest, Jesus, in return, plainly replied, "I AM A Son of God! Hereafter you will see My Judgement on your precious Temple, indeed on your ENTIRE idolatrous nation, which will be scattered to the Four Winds of Heaven!" After this short diatribe, Jesus closed His mouth, refusing to utter another word. Of course, by saying what He had, Jesus had opened the floodgates; the Sanhedrin had everything they needed: He was guilty of the worst blasphemy, claiming to be equal with their 'God'!  However, they were not technically allowed to administer the Death Penalty, so they sent Him over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, hoping to have Jesus condemned on the count of spreading sedition. Standing before Pilate, they further accused Jesus, saying, "this vile Galilean stirs up the people of this nation, telling us NOT to pay our taxes to you, our most gracious Benefactors!" Of course, this was not at all true, for Jesus had clearly stated that they were to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's", but this barely registered with Pilate, for when he heard that Jesus was in fact from Galilee, he sent Him to Herod, who at that time was Tetrarch of that region. As Herod claimed to be a Jew like His Accusers, Jesus had nothing to say to him either, except that He WAS, as Herod wished to know, "the ( TRUE ) King of the Jews". Herod would get no other word of acknowledgement out of Jesus, so he sent Him back to Herod, having found no real reason to have Him put to death. Pilate, being faced with the responsibility of this Man's death, yet again, told those Satans plainly, "Neither Herod nor I have found ANYTHING in this Man worthy of the Death Penalty! I will thus punish Him for the crimes against the State you say He has committed, then I will release Him to you. However, with seemingly one mind, those Satans, His Accusers, continuously chanted, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him, Crucify Him!" Now, Pilate knew enough of Jewish law to understand why they would bring Jesus to him in the first place, so he gave them one more chance to repent, saying, "Would you have me kill your ( true ) King, then?!" They chanted even louder, "CRUCIFY HIM!" So when Pilate heard their staunch betrayal, he washed his hands of the whole affair & hoping he would be heard, said, "I am innocent of this Man's death.!" Then he delivered Jesus up to be crucified!

You probably know the Rest of His Story: Jesus WAS subsequently crucified in the Roman fashion, thus sating the Pharisee's thirst for His Blood, while staying within the bounds of their law. "They hadn't actually nailed Him to the Cross, but they were STILL guilty as sin!" 

Back to the question of whether the fact that Jesus was married would have bolstered the Message of the Gospel, the question itself might be "neither here nor there", but think of it thusly; had Jesus been married, as no doubt, were the overwhelming majority, if not ALL, of His detractors, it would have either 'softened the blow' or made them even madder. On the other hand, would having a wife have detracted from Jesus' Ministry, because of the innate distraction, or would it have allowed Jesus to have a greater compassion for those who cruelly treated Him ( "I forgive them, because they know not Themselves, or what they do!" ) You, my readers, must judge for yourselves!

The Divine Feminine obviously posed a threat to the patriarchal Church Fathers! Try as they might, though, they were not able to erase Her completely from the Record; She is there, if only one is willing to accept Her. By speaking thusly of the Divine Feminine, I do not mean to oppose Her to the Divine Masculine, either; both are needed to bring Balance to the Force, so to speak. The tendency has been to go from one extreme to the other; from Matriarchy to Patriarchy. With the rise of Feminism, that extreme tendency has reared its ugly head, yet again, for as one may witness in this mess of a world that we live in, particularly here in the West, maybe, a lack of balance is seemingly bringing us to the brink of ruin! Thanks be to the Goddesses & the Gods, though; that Balance is slowly being restored, as the True Message of the Gospel is being fulfilled as we speak!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

The Lives of the Gods ( How to Live Like a God )

"You, a mere human being, are going to tell US how to live like a god?! Them's fightin' words!" Not only are those "fightin' words"; they COULD get one killed! No, seriously, they got my Grandfather killed! My Grandfather, in a previous lifetime, was the One known as Jesus, who was the Christ, or Messiah to the Jews. All exclamations of "Bullshit!" aside, one immediate objection might be, "Jesus never told His disciples how to live like gods!" Did He not, though? When He told them they would do GREATER things than He ever did, what do you suppose He was telling them?! I'm sure those good, Jewish disciples were all thinking, "How are we, mere men & women, supposed to do greater things than the One who calls Himself the Son of God?" To be truthful, Jesus never did outright say, "I AM the Son of God", but He called the God of the Hebrews His Father more than a few times & He DID say, on one occasion, "Before Abraham was, I AM!" Previously, I attempted to elucidate what my exalted Grandfather meant when He uttered those enigmatic words ( 'Greater Works' ), so without going into that again, I will endeavor to explain how I understand that Jesus, rather than proclaiming Himself the Savior of Humanity, was instead telling them how to live like gods. 

My favorite saying of His, in so many words, is, "Treat others as you yourself would like to be treated". This sounds dangerously similar to "Love your neighbor as yourself"! I have treated this phrase previously as well, as the Universal Truth it is. It just goes to reason that if we do not first love ourselves, we will treat ourselves accordingly & thus we will treat our neighbor similarly because we do not love them. As a short disclaimer here, let me make crystal clear that the overwhelming majority of what is called 'love' today, in particular, 'romantic love', is nothing more & nothing less than LUST! "How can I say that with such vehemence?" Better yet; "WHY?" First, "WHY?" 'Modern Love', as they often call it, more often than not, is very conditional, based on feelings! "I'm just not 'in love' with you anymore!" "WHY?" Why would someone once 'in love' with someone else, not be so anymore?" The short answer, of course, is that it wasn't Love in the first place! "Okay, I see where you're going with this; you're gonna tell me it's Lust, right?!" Right; you weren't 'in love', you were overcome by lust! Before this gets all sexualized, understand that, "No", it's NOT always about sexual intercourse! It ( 'lust' ) can mean something as simple as, "I don't want to be alone anymore!" to "I'm a meat & potatoes man". To get back to the question of being 'in love'; the reason someone isn't 'in love ( lust )' anymore is because it's based on feelings. Feelings change!

This is not to say, though, that Love does not exist! Love is not based on feelings; humanly speaking, Love is a choice. "But", someone might ask, "doesn't that mean one can choose NOT to love another? And furthermore, might one not CHOOSE differently, from moment to moment, day to day, etc., based on how they FEEL at any given moment?" Again, "Love is NOT based on feelings"! If one bases their choice, their actions on feelings, it is NOT Love; it is Lust! "You say "Lust" like it's a bad thing!" Well, yes; that's what programming does; it tells us, "This is good, That is bad!" Personal experience, however, tells us, that while this may be good for one person, it is bad for another. This may not be the best example, but corn may be good for one, but for another, with corn allergies, like my best friend, it is very bad! ( Not that the corn we eat today is really 'good' for ANYBODY ) Anyway; back to "Lust": "is it good or bad?" Like the feelings it is based upon; it is really neither good nor bad, it simply is. It's a hunger, really, a "want", based, again, on programming: our culture, our society, even religion to some extent, teaches us that we have "needs", desires that need to be fulfilled, but really, it's only Lust. We only think we want ( 'lack' ) it because we are taught that we lack it, but we HAVE everything we need; we ARE everything we need!

We are NEVER truly alone! Personally speaking, "yes", we might find ourselves alone, without anyone else around ( often on purpose ); this is our choice. Whatever the reason we are 'alone', it stems from our choices, whether we elected not to shower for days at a time, because we allowed our B.S. ( Belief System ) to get in the way, or because we feel that "people suck", so we distance ourselves from most forms of human contact. ( Sadly; it could also be because our spouse has been taken from us, for whatever reason - in such a case, I have nothing more to say ) "These reasons obviously do not form a comprehensive list, but you get the idea!" However, "as above, so below", "We are NEVER truly alone!" The reason I say this with such authority is that, we are always surrounded by "a cloud of witnesses"! Sure, one might escape the gaze of another human, but call It 'God' or the Universe, there is NOTHING we can do to escape the 'All Seeing Eye'! 

"Cloud of Witnesses"? Call it the Ancestors, call it the Akashic Field, call it the Spirit World, nothing we ever say or do ( even what we think? ) goes unnoticed, or for that matter, passes without consequence. "Don't worry; I say this to remind mySELF maybe most of all!" The Author of the Letter to the Hebrews uses the same phrase near the end of that letter ( 12:1 ), in much the same way. 

At this juncture, some of my readers are probably thinking something like, "I thought he was going to tell us how to live like gods?! He hasn't even explained how Jesus was teaching His disciples that!" Well, I guess I say all that to say this. I realize I've said this before, but "Life is all about Choice!" We make choices every day, some greater, some lesser, both in scope & in consequence. The Choices we make affect, not only us, but the lives of those around us! My readers are probably more or less familiar with the saying that "when a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa, there are thunderstorms in Florida": that may be a bit of a stretch ( ? ), but the point is fairly clear. What happens in one part of the world will likely affect another, though a world apart. Look at what is going on over in the Middle East, for instance! Ukraine? So many other hotspots around the world where the good ole U.S. of A. has stuck Her nose where it didn't belong! The point here is, that the Powers That Be have chosen, for selfish reasons of their own, to involve US in these affairs, which actually DO concern US! Part of the Problem, the Issue as I see it, is that WE, collectively speaking, have forgotten, not only Who & What WE are, but the fact that "as above, so below", what we do, or neglect to do, affects the world around us, which in turn affects, to whatever extent, The Greater Picture, the World at Large, like Ripples in a Pond!

It is thus our Ability to Choose, our ResponsAbility, if you will, that makes us Gods, the Masters of our own Destiny! "But some things just HAPPEN!", one might argue. For one thing, things do not just happen! For two, yes, sometimes things DO happen that are out of our control, but our reaction IS something we get to choose. "Hell, what if we all chose NOT to react, but instead ACTED in Love?!" What if we chose to manifest Love, even though everyone around us was reacting to all the bullshit, seeking "an eye for an eye". A Wise Man once said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Maybe that's why the overwhelming majority have forgotten Who they are; they have been blinded to the fact that they are killing, not just each other, but themselves & their future as well!

"Well, you STILL haven't told us how to LIVE like gods!" Haven't I? "What do you think it means to live like a god?" If your answer is akin to what we read about in the Greek myths, you might be well on your way to understanding how to live like a god, as long as you take them for the metaphors they are! I recently watched the Netflix Limited Series 'Kaos'; if you haven't seen it, I recommend it, if only because it shows how NOT to live like, or as gods. 'Kaos' takes place in modern-day Crete & basically portrays the Greek Gods as they would typically behave in this modern, technical age. The point I'm making here is that to live like a god/God, one needs to live with Intention, to take responsAbility for their OWN life, not hoping vainly for Divine Intervention from some outside Source, as in most ancient myths!

The question foremost in the minds of some of my readers, as we approach the end of this post,mightbe something to the effect of, "Why does he say that Jesus was teaching us how to live like gods/Gods"? Rather than being the genesis of a new religion ( Christianity? ), Jesus showed His first century disciples how they could become like Him, how they could be ( in fact, WERE ) their own Saviors! For instance, He told the woman who formerly had an issue [ of blood ], "your faith has made you well." ( Mark 5:34 ) Yes, for the most part, He said, "Believe in me and.................", but He also told Mary, "Do not cling to me.........." ( John 20:17 ) In some sense, Jesus DID introduce, not so much a new religion, but a new WAY of BEing religious. His brother James ( my great uncle ) explained this in his biblical letter. ( James 1:25-27 ) Jesus told His disciples & through the Universal Truth in Scripture, tells US that it is NOT by institutionalizing our religion, by externalizing it, that it proves true, but that by internalizing it & thus manifesting it, we prove its worth, which is "more than apples of gold!"

My readers must judge for themselves if I have sufficiently proven, both that Jesus actually came to show us how to live like gods & whether I have myself explained to your relative satisfaction how we are to live like gods/Gods, or whether I have simply further muddied the waters. Either way, I intend, by this short remonstrance, to bring to all our minds ( "hearts" ) Remembrance; Remembrance, not only of Who & What We are, but Why We are here! "How shall We then live?" As Gods ourselves, or as sheep in need of a Shepherd?

Namaste' & Blessed be!

Sage Charles

The Lust of the Flesh vs. "Intentional Eating"

Though the phrase, "The lust of the flesh" is probably most familiar to my readers as referring somehow to the 'fallen' nature of humanity, as well as the foremost of the infamous 'Seven Deadly Sins'; in this blogpost, I will primarily be exploring the benefits of 'veganism' or  even 'vegetarianism' ( note of warning; like any other 'ism'; great care MUST be exercised when broaching either subject! ) While I am not opposed to eating meat for any reason, either spiritual or physical, I DO try to be careful in my consumption of any kind of meat! For instance, I'm becoming wary of consuming any ( beef, for instance ) that I know has been raised/slaughtered inhumanely ( whatever THAT means ), or in other words, in Fear! I read somewhere recently that cows have the greatest ( largest? ) aura of all animals, including the human animal; this actually make sense with the reverence that the Indian ( Hindu ) peoples ascribe to their bovine counterparts. Actually, it wouldn't hurt for us here in the West ( America ) to take a lesson from them & worship OUR cows, even though we DO consume their flesh!

"Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals.^[c]" This definition from the Wikipedia article of the same name hits a chord with me personally, in particular the last part, because it speaks to the sad fact that we, as a race, tend to look at everything, from the earth/land we live on, to the 'livestock' we 'own' as simply 'means to an end', as possessions & use them ( or rather, 'abuse' them ) them to sate our lusts, rather than living in Harmony with them, as Mother Nature intended! As intimated earlier though, we must exercise great care with this 'ism', lest we begin to think & act as if our practice makes us somehow better than those who don't. Even worse, we might begin to vilify those who don't believe the way we do ( "wait..............that sounds strangely familiar!" )

Vegetarianism, on the other hand; while it means pretty much the same thing, allows the consumption of by-products, such as eggs & milk. To be a true Vegan, in other words, means the traditional American breakfast of bacon & eggs or milk & cereal is out of the question. ( I use almond milk myself )

My readers may be familiar with this concept already, but I heard somewhere that the longer gut ( 'bowel' ) of the human animal, as opposed to other animals, like cats, means that rather than being carnivores ( meat-eaters ), we are actually herbivores. Bible-believing Christians may point to Genesis 1:30 & 9;3 as indications that we are, or SHOULD BE, Vegans, or at the very least Vegetarians. There are many arguments available for perusal, both pro & con, on the subject, but the idea that the human animal is naturally herbivorous resonates with me because, with the longer intestines, the meat, which is more difficult to digest anyway, would thus spend more time & may in fact become partially lodged in the intestine, thereby, in some sense, becoming one with the consumer. Thus, we bear witness to things like obesity, IBS & in general, poor gut health, which in turn affects the REST of the human body! Now, don't get me wrong; I'm NOT saying either that human beings should NOT consume flesh, but personally speaking, I WILL say that I have learned that when I eat meat at certain times of the day or in certain amounts, it DOES tend to disrupt, for instance, my sleep pattern ( such as it is ). On the other hand, a diet of vegetables moves more quickly through the digestive tract, cleaning up its own crap ( pun intended ) as it goes. Speaking of 'crap', my best friend gave me some books recently, on reversing disease ( 'Dis-Ease' ) which prescribes a diet primarily ( if not wholly ) of fruits & vegetables as a means of detoxification of the gut. Not only is this advantageous in the physical sense, it also makes sense spiritually, as I mentioned earlier, the Fear Factor: When we ingest the flesh of cows ( chickens, etc. ) that were full of fear when they were slaughtered/murdered, we unwittingly ingest their Fear as well!

'Life is about Intention!" 'Choice' may well be inserted here as well, but the point is, much of what I've written above is really only applicable to those who choose to consume in ignorance ( "Ignorance is Bliss"? ) Generally, we here in the West in particular, with our generally unhealthy lifestyle ( especially, maybe, when it comes to the food we eat ), usually don't spare a second thought when we shove, for instance, a slice of pizza ( not a very healthy choice to begin with ) in the microwave, or when we stop at Mickey D's for a quick bite to eat, but I'm sure I don't need to inform my readers of the dangers ( yes, I said "dangers" ) of eating fast food ). Microwaved pizza? Depending, of course, on the pizza, this is  usually not the healthiest option anyway, but depending on what information you choose to believe, the microwaves employed to heat the pizza ( or whatever ) tend to deplete or otherwise remove whatever nutrition was there ( if any ) in the first place! 

However, in the greatest, spiritual sense, one might argue that, as the apostle Peter saw, in Acts 10; when we eat with Intention, ALL meat is good for us! In other words, if we eat with the intention of nourishing our biological bodies & with reverence for, as well as thankfulness to the animal whose flesh we are consuming, it could well be argued that we may eat with impunity, or without fear of harm. I do not wish here, to get into the politics of religion by defending my statement about eating with intention, nor do I intend to defend the Bible against those who doubt its veracity. I simply, by using Peter's experience, whether real OR imagined, as an example, intend to show that more often than not, it is our BELIEF about something, that makes it so for us! Does that make it so for the next person? "Of course not!"

"At this point in the game", some would likely say, "our biological bodies, thanks to evolution, have become so accustomed to consuming meat that it has become a necessary evil." I am not a biologist by any stretch of the imagination, so while I would agree somewhat with that statement, I would not wholly agree. "Have our bodies being accustomed to, even in some sense chemically dependent on meat?" I would have to say "yes"! "Necessary"? "No", I do NOT believe that we would perish from lack of sating our lust for flesh! It may feel like we're dying, but I would imagine it would be just like coming down off any other drug: we'd be 'jonesing' for awhile ( probably even get 'the shakes' ), but after we got through that, I'm pretty sure that we'd feel like a brand new person!

That said, while I would love to feel like a "a brand new person", I am nowhere near ready to quit consuming meat, to say nothing of meat by-products. However, with THAT said; I DO love my 'dairy crack' ( most people simply call it 'cheese' ); strangely enough, cow's milk does not set too well with me ( hence the almond 'milk' ), but I DO love me some cheese! Chicken is probably my favorite meat, aside from a good salmon steak, but nowadays most chicken is pumped so full of hormones & other such ingredients that I'd almost prefer not to go there either. I do not eat a lot of meat anymore, not just because it does not agree with me sometimes, but simply because I know it is not healthy for me! "Could I go totally meat-free?' I think I could without too much problem. The question to ask though is, "WOULD I?!" To be totally honest, 'twould be hard to give up my 'dairy crack'!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

The Christ & The Buddha

For a period of roughly 20 years, Jesus, my grandfather from another lifetime, disappears from the Biblical narrative! Are we thus to assume that because that part of history is absent from the text that it's not important? Of course not; "Don't be Absurd!" In all actuality, it could mean one of two things: One, it could mean that bit of history had no bearing on the "Gospel of Jesus [ the ] Christ" ( unlikely ), and/or Two, it could, more insidiously, mean that the fallibly human authors of the Greek Scriptures purposefully left out any mention of what might have been at odds with the message they wanted to present ( likely )! Whatever the case may be, I will endeavor, within these few lines, to rebuild a bit of that history. 

In this lifetime, I have no memory of my grandfather! Bits & pieces have surfaced here & there, but nothing, as some would say, "concrete". I DO have some inkling that he traveled as far as India, where he met the yogis, learning their wisdom & technique, but that was about the extent of my own wonderings/wanderings. Lately, I have heard that Jesus may have traveled, not only to India, but even farther North & East, as far as China! "Did he meet the Buddha, or more correctly, one ( or more ) of the buddhas, there?" ( as a side note, the term 'the Christ' simply means, "the anointed one", whereas 'the Buddha' means "the awakened ( or 'enlightened" ) one" ) Although Gautama Buddha walked this Earth roughly 500 years prior to Jesus, it should not be too difficult to see his influence in the teachings of the Christ. On that note; you might have heard rumors about the New Testament having been written by the Roman victors, some time after the Fall of Jerusalem in AD70, or more correctly, 70CE. This actually almost makes some sort of sense, for we know from experience that "the victors write the history books". However, as the case may be, whether the account of Jesus we read in the Bible is indeed factual, or whether the Romans did indeed write the New Testament to cast themselves in a more favorable light; the teachings of Jesus are not dissimilar to those of the Buddha.

And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 

The above quote is from the Gospel of Luke. We hear nothing from Jesus, according to Luke's account, until, at approximately the age of 30, about 18 years later, he is baptized by his cousin. The only clue that Luke gives as to Jesus' activity is at the very end of the above account;

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

This, of course is not proof positive that Jesus DID come in contact with the teachings of the Buddha, either in India/China or in Judea, but it is definitely not out of the question, either! Was Jesus a Buddhist, as this ( Buddhist ) website asks? My readers will have to judge that for themselves, but as Jesus stood in opposition to the religious leaders of his own nation, I would have to answer with a resounding "NO"! On the other hand, but in the same vein; "Was Jesus influenced by the teachings of the Buddha?" It would be difficult to say, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he wasn't! 

Jesus was a Jew; that much is clear! As a Jewish boy, at the age of twelve, Jesus would no doubt have been undergoing some kind of rabbinical teaching, if not training. Therefore, reading Luke's account above, we see that Jesus was a dutiful Jew as well, for though he averred that "I must be about My Father’s business", he did not disobey his parents & dutifully went home with them. Although here is where we must stray into the realm of extra-biblical history, it is not without precedent that we do so.

Having left his mother in the capable hands of his father's younger brother, who according to Jewish tradition had married Jesus' mother after Joseph died, Jesus began his Journey of Discovery, traveling ever farther East. Now, as he followed the more familiar trade routes, Jesus began to come in contact with some rather strange teachings. Having been brought up in strict Judaism, these new teachings, though not nearly as stringent as those he had been weaned on, were not totally new either. Having become somewhat familiar with the teachings of Buddhism in his own country, Jesus had ventured out of his comfort zone and gone in search of more of the same principles. More importantly; this Journey was to be one of self-discovery, for now Jesus would get to the heart of the matter, His own Divinity!

Growing up Jewish, of course, Jesus knew, according to the Scriptures he was made to memorize, that man ( kind ) was made in the Divine Image, though the same Scriptures seemed to tell him that Image had been marred by the Fall from Grace of the progenitor of the Hebrew race. He wasn't sure about all that, so when Jesus began to come in contact, more & more with the teachings of Buddhism which point us to our OWN Divinity, that from Within, not Without, he came to understand that, as Divine Beings ourselves, we are only ever separated from that Divinity in our own minds! ( After Jesus returned to Judea, he kept the Faith of his Fathers, although he repudiated the harshness of the Law & rejected the Keepers of the Law, the Pharisees ( not that he rejected the Pharisees themselves; he rejected their way of thinking & acting ) Jesus was still a Jew, as far as religion went, so aside from the stringency that the Pharisees had dogmatized, Jesus was a Law Keeper himself! 

Of Jesus' time in the Far East, I have no memory, but it is enough to know that Jesus learned to know Himself through the Journey He took. Jesus never, in so many words, claimed to be Divine, though He DID claim that the 'God' He had been taught to worship was His Father. Obviously, the dogmatic Keepers of the Law took issue with that & had Him executed because of it, but even so, Jesus readily forgave them for what they did because they knew not their OWN Divinity & so did not recognize His! 

Some time ago, I wrote a piece called 'Jesus; the Lost Years'. At the time of my writing, I did not know everything I know now ( still not much ), but, I had gotten an inkling of what might have happened those many centuries ago. This is a bit cliche' by now, but Jesus did not come to start a new religion; he came to show us that we are innately Divine. Jesus even told His disciples "he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [ works ] than these he will do"! Whether, therefore, one is a Christian or a Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim, we must remember that we are ALL Divine: we all have that same Spirit Within. The problem is that most of us have forgotten Who We are. "If we cannot remember who WE are, how then will we EVER see that Image when we look into THEIR eyes?" 

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

The Rainmaker ( "Whatever helps you sleep at night........." )

Charlee was a good kid; everybody said so! From the earliest days, she had been a bit of a diplomat, doing her best, even to her own detriment sometimes, to keep the peace! From preventing fights on the playground, to making sure her siblings were satisfied, even if it meant her going without; Charlee was always looking for ways to smooth things over. Not that she wanted to sweep things under the rug, so to speak, but she did what she had to, both to keep the peace & to make sure that all was right, just & good!

Charlee was born into a very religious family who, though one couldn't quite call them fanatics, were zealous for their 'God'! By the way, Charlee learned fairly early in her short life, that 'God' took many forms! She would find out, before the End, that this 'God' manifested in many & various ways, none of which had ever been & never would be fully discovered by ANY religion! She came to KNOW ( NOT simply "believe" ) that ALL humanity could be identified with this 'God' concept. 'God' was therefore, by human reckoning, neither male nor female. Being More than human, Charlee knew that, as a race of human beings, we were under the oversight of those she called 'our Higher Selves'. Ones Higher Self was the Divine, or 'God' part of us. As a child, Charlee had been taught that this Christian 'God' was immutable & infinite, but reading in her 'Holy Bible' ( the Christian's holy book ); she remembered that phrases like, "And the Lord was sorry " ( Genesis 6:6a ) & " So the Lord relented" ( Exodus 32:14 ) had always confused her: "That's not an immutable, omniscient Being; THAT'S a finite HUMAN being that makes mistakes, that has human emotions, like 'regret'!"

Suffice it to say, that even though she knew that things didn't quite add up, Charlee pretty much went with the flow, growing up in that strictly religious household! Near the End, she did begin to question the Authority she had been taught ( some might say "programmed" ) to fear & so ended up alienating most of her family, but while she remained 'under her father's roof', she respected HIS decisions, HIS authority & ultimately, HIS religion. In fact, Charlee identified as a Christian for the overwhelming majority of her adult life. 

Charlee was not perfect! As a Human Being, she was Aware of her Higher Self, indeed, she was even in close Communion with It, but she still fought It's Influence! Charlee's Intuition, when she was preparing to act in her human capacity, would give her clues as to how best to meet a certain situation & sometimes she would listen, sometimes not. She still found it difficult, sometimes, to differentiate between her Ego & her Intuition. As Time went by however, Charlee was able to distance herself from the raucous notes of her Programming & thus found it becoming ever easier to distinguish between the two!

Things being what & how they were, Charlee had always felt, growing up, that she was on the outside looking in! Sure, she had a pretty good relationship, both with her parents & her siblings, but the older she got & the further she opened her mind, the more strained these relationships became. Of course everybody, her siblings in particular, told her that it was all in her head! At first, she believed them, but the farther she distanced herself from them, the more veils were stripped away, exposing the fact that it wasn't "all in her head"!

Charlee had a problem; she had begun to see through the holes in the theology she had grown up with, but the rest of her family remained blind to it! "How could she make them see without pushing them even farther away?" While Charlee was definitely on the right track, at least as far as she could tell, she was still ruled by her Ego & so ended up being a bit less tactful than she could have been. So, Charlee ended up alienating the majority of her family members, specifically her siblings. This, of course, was not at all what Charlee intended, though as the distance between herself & the majority of her family, both geographically & theologically increased, her Higher Self began to slowly reveal to her that this was indeed purposeful & for the best!

Speaking of Charlee's Ego, though It no longer ruled her actions, It was still alive & well, flaring up every now & again, just to keep her on her toes, so to speak! On certain days, at random, or so it seemed, Charlee would wake up with the intention to not react to how others acted, but rather to just BE & to act according to her set intention: more often than not, she found that, the harder she tried, the more difficult it was, not only to act with intention, but to not react. After a time, she discovered that it was usually on the days when she meditated. It was like her Higher Self was telling her, "oh, really?!"! Charlee soon began to understand through all of this, that she was trying to HARD! In fact, "trying" may well have been part of the problem! "Sometimes, instead of DOing all the time, we need to practice more BEing: BEing human, BEing Who we really are, not DOing this or that to prove that we're something ( or someone ) else!"

As Charlee continued on the Path that She had been shown, She couldn't help but think of her younger days & of passages from her parent's holy book, like Proverbs 22:6; "Train up a child in the way he should go,^[a]and when he is old he will not depart from it." Obviously, Her Path did not look like the One her parents had envisioned for her, but this only goes to show that we're ALL on the same Path, in Reality; the ONLY reason the Path looks different at any given time is that we are all at different stages, or levels ( you might even say "degrees"!

Obviously, Charlee no longer identified as 'Christian'; in fact, She did her level best NOT to identify anything at all, but even so, she still acted the part of 'the Christ', or 'the Buddha' ( respectively, 'the Anointed One' & the Enlightened One' ). She endeavored to live her life as Jesus did ( more or less; he was brought up in the East & she was brought up in the West ); having & showing respect for ALL Life. Now, don't get me wrong; again, "Charlee was not perfect!", she DEFINITELY had her moments, but these moments were getting shorter & shorter, according to the handle She had on her Ego ( or not )!

Charlee WAS grateful for her upbringing & for the parents who raised her! "Her siblings, now, THAT was another matter entirely!" No, No; just kidding; She saw the 'Christ Potential' in them as well! In fact, she had already noted certain ways in which they each manifested 'the Christ Within' in their own special way. Sure, they had made & still made plenty of mistakes, as did she & even though they were basically estranged, she knew that, if & when the need arose, they were there for each other, though maybe not in the way each one wanted, or envisioned!

At the Time of Her Graduation, Charlee had found Peace in the midst of Chaos! "Was it REALLY 'Chaos', though?" Or were things simply transpiring as they were?! Charlee came to realize before the End that, though things may seem chaotic at times, EVERYTHING happens for a reason & if we can find Peace in the day-to-day, the Chaos in Life becomes less of a problem, even, to whatever extent, not really an issue! In other words, Life IS often chaotic, so if we can just accept things the way they ARE ( we don't HAFTA agree with them ) & instead of trying to change them ( egoically ) into OUR image, or the mold we have envisioned for them; we can just BE ourselves!

Charlee had not passed from this Life to the Next, to the 'Afterlife' that she had been raised to believe, or hope in! No, Charlee was still very much alive & well on Planet Earth! Speaking of our Blessed Mother; as far as 'religion' went, she was doing her best to love & respect ALL her siblings, be they plant, animal or human. However one chose to interpret it, she remembered from her earliest days, that even Jesus, according to the Bible ( Luke 19:40 ) referred to stones crying out, if humans refrained their voices! 

Life on this Earth, in this World, so to speak, from a merely human, or egoic perspective, is definitely NOT as it should be, but then, "Who are WE to say how things SHOULD be?!" In one sense, we want to accept things the way they are & embrace the seeming chaos, while on the other hand we want to do what we can to help implement the Peace that we KNOW is possible! Along those lines, however, our girl, Goddess that She is, had come to realize that "the Peace which surpasses all understanding" is that within our own hearts: "Indeed, it is within every human being on Planet Earth, if only they themselves would realize & acknowledge It!"

Call It 'the Universe, 'God', 'the Source', or just simply 'Energy'; It DOES have a Divine Plan! "Does that mean that every little detail is mapped out?" Are we waxing fatalistic, or deterministic here?! No; not at all, my friends, we ( Charlee & I ) simply want to remind you that "It's ALL good"; We have your back! In Essence, our Higher Selves, not just Charlee's & mine, but EVERY human being who has ever or will ever become incarnate on our gracious Mother Earth, "got this!" No, the results most likely aren't going to look the way that we, in our egoic mindset think they should, but we are most definitely covered by 'the Glory Cloud', the "cloud of witnesses" ( read"Ancestors" ) that the Christian 'Holy Bible' speaks of!

Namaste' &  Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

 

Civilization & the Death of Culture

 “I didn't think it would end this way."
"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take."

Gandalf to Peregrin Took - The Lord of the Rings

According to Google, "Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art." With the emergence of AI ( in particular ), as well as other related technologies, we are fast approaching the culmination, or even termination of much of what Google defines as 'Culture'. Many would beg to disagree with such a seemingly brash statement, but on the other hand, there are those who would heartily agree! Belief has become just something we say, a crutch, if you will: there are many out there who will say, "I believe this" or "I believe that", but their manner of life tells a much different story! Speaking of 'manners'................well, lets just say they've seemingly gone the way of 'common' sense'. AI ( I'm as guilty as anybody ) has made it easier ( more convenient? ) to create art, whether that be painting, writing, or even doing research on the internet ( "Hey, Google" ), but is that really 'Art'? Part of the problem, though most don't see it as such, is that Life, or the semblance thereof, has become so BUSY, thanks again to Technology, that we feel more often than not, we must take any shortcut we can in order to get things done. 

 

This is what sparked this blogpost! I found this particular image on Pinterest & the comment that caught my eye is one that had to do with something called 'body shaming'. The comment went something like this; "Why do people always use pictures of skinny, naked white women for these kinds of 'memes'?" My reply, although this is not exactly what I said, ran something like this; "Well, maybe if we all got back to Nature, we would look like that too!" With the damage that we have done to our DNA, our fucked up genetics may not allow that sudden of a change, but "who knows?!" As I've said before, in the pages of this Blog; "It's taken us this long to get to where we are, it'll take at least that long to get back to where we should be!" But yet, on the other hand, Science has only begun to clarify the complexities of these Wonders we call our human bodies, so again; it's possible that the turn-around could be as quick as that. More importantly, we as human beings are not the ones running the Show: not only does the Universe have a big hand in our lives, but our own Higher Selves know what's best for us! If we, as a Collective, HAD NOT gone through the many centuries, or even millenia of what is called 'Civilization', who is to say if we would be where we think we SHOULD be! 

For generations, our forbears have, to a great extent, swallowed hook, line & sinker, old adages like, "the doctors know best". Whether it's the drugs they prescribe or the foods they say we should eat or not eat, even the toothpastes we should use ( fluoride ), we have ruined our natural health to the extent that we have begun to rely on their poisons, with their inherent side effects, to even feel a semblance of good health. "Have you taken good note of the rise of auto-immune diseases?' Cancer is still a big Fear Factor. "Have you begun to realize yet that there is a CURE for cancer?!" Speaking of Google, a quick search might reveal countless former physicians, even some PhDs that have admitted there is a cure. Diabetes is another such disease that is on the rise. "Did you know that diabetes, if caught early enough, can be treated naturally?" There are most probably those who would ( strongly ) disagree with such a statement, but, as David Duchovny once said, "The Truth is out there!" The same could be said of diseases like the various allergies ( also on the rise ) & don't even get me started on ADD, ADHD & autism, which has been linked to certain immunizations, or 'shots'.  It's interesting; as I write these words, I'm listening to music on YouTube ( thanks Google ) & one of the commercials was talking about child cancer. "How does this happen?" Well; I almost hate to say it, but it doesn't "just happen"! Remember those "fucked up genetics" I was talking about? Not to lay blame on the parents, necessarily, or really anybody in particular ( except maybe the food manufacturers, but we'll get to that later ), but not only the foods that they, THEIR parents & grandparents have ingested, again, "for generations", but the drugs that doctors have unknowingly ( in most cases ) prescribed, have been killing us; LITERALLY! I myself have a hereditary disease called Friedrich's Ataxia. I don't blame my parents or grandparents; I really don't even think about it like that. They, speaking of my parents, grandparents, etc, did the best they could with what they knew!

As the case may be, then, these "fucked up genetics" have slowly gotten worse over the generations. As we saw earlier, auto-immune diseases are on the rise, cancer is taking our older generation, even some of our younger ones, more & more cases of autism, ADHD, etc, are surfacing ( "It can't be what we're feeding them!" ) & when they do, we inevitably throw this drug or that at them, hoping they'll go away. But they don't! We've come full circle to "the semblance of good health" I referred to earlier! Please don't get me wrong; the doctors ( for the most part ), like our parents, grandparents, etc, are doing the best they can with what they know. "What they know", unfortunately, comes from textbooks. Yes, I know, they've garnered plenty of real-world experience, but again "unfortunately", the overwhelming majority of this real-world experience involves throwing this drug or that at the issue. Ultimately, the blame, if one wishes to lay blame, can be laid at the feet of that insatiable monster that we all love to hate, Greed!

I was raised Christian, so I am quite familiar with the biblical quote, "Money is the root of all kinds of evil". This is, unfortunately, one of the Bible's Universal Truths, for it applies across the board. Much, if not most of what I've described above is funded by, driven by, you guessed it; money! You might be familiar with the saying, "Money makes the world go 'round!" In a very material sense, this might not too far off the mark, but in reality, Love, not money makes the world go 'round. But that might be another Story for another day. So, back to the money issue, the Story goes something like this: the pharmaceutical companies ( AKA, Big Pharma ) are all about the bottom line ( like most corporations ) & because they're all about the bottom line, this usually translates to the doctors, who, even though only a few realize they're poisoning their patients, for the most part, are actually trying to help their patients. Then Politics steps into the Ring & all bets are off! Although many or most politicians have, at one point or another, dirtied their greedy little fingers by dipping into the pharmaceutical pool, it's not all politics; some politicians, I'm sure, have seen through these nefarious schemes & refused to play along. Of course, these politicians rarely last long either! 

Big Pharma doesn't have a corner on the market either, although, being the conspiracy theorist I am, they're probably in bed with the food manufacturing industry! I say, "manufacturing", because, "Yes", much of the food we eat today is manufactured, much like automobiles or cell phones! Unless you grow your own fruits & veggies, even raise & butcher your own animals ( beef, pork or chicken ), you cannot get away from it. Even if you ARE self-sufficient; the poisons are in the ground we furrow, the water we drink, even the air we breathe!

"Whatever shall we do? Wherever shall we go?" "Frankly, my dear, I'm pretty sure they don't give a damn!" But seriously, there is really only one thing we CAN do & one place we CAN go. No, I'm not saying we should all become expatriates & leave this sinking ship behind! Neither am I advocating that we should all become militant Patriots & physically, with violence, dismantle our government. To affect any lasting Change, the most & best we can do is to work on ourselves, to make the necessary adjustments in our own lives to bring about the desired effect. That leaves the second question; "Wherever shall we go?" If you are at all familiar with the musings of this Blogger, you should know that the clear Answer is "Inward"! Inward & Upward is the Way to go! Again, if we are to affect any lasting change in our little world, we must BE that Change! In order to do that, we must examine our own shadows. "Have we accepted "hook, line & sinker"like our forbears, that "doctors know best"? If so, why? We must go Inward to figure out why we have done so. If not, we have taken at least one step toward understanding what we need to do to extract ourselves from this mess!

"Where SHOULD we be?" Well, now that could be rather a complex question. Is "where we SHOULD be", where our programming tells us we "SHOULD be", or is it some Utopian Dream, more or less based on the Christian concept of 'heaven'? At the other end of the spectrum, so to speak, should we endeavor to return to living in caves? Would it be best for us to become hunter-gatherers again & strive to forget our agrarian ways? "Is THAT the Answer?!" No, I think NOT!!! We can have our nice little houses, even white picket fences if you feel so inclined. We can still have our nice vehicles, in order to get back & forth to our nine-to-fives & YES, we can keep our guns, so that we can enjoy the bounty of Nature, with wild meats like deer, elk, antelope, even moose & bear, if you're so inclined. Most importantly though, is to do the Inner Work, for without that, the Outer Work will have no real & lasting effect!

My purpose here is not to present you with a horror story! We have all seen ( or heard of ) the movies where AI takes over the Culture, but the thing is, as far as I understand it, anyway, AI is simply a very complex, very well thought out computer program. It is not, in & of itself, a sentient being, as the fearmongers would have us believe! Now, is it possible, especially if we stay on the track, or in the 'RUT', I should say, that we are currently traveling at a dangerous rate of speed, that these advanced computer programs could become self aware? I'm going to go out on a limb here & say that, "Sure", its possible, maybe even probable. With the leaps that Science & Technology have made over the past 50 to 100 years, I can't say I'd be too surprised by much of anything!

Unfortunately; these "leaps" are slowly but surely killing us! Not to mention the burgeoning transhumanist movement, etc. It's not too late! To borrow from my Christian days; we can "Reverse the Curse"! There is much ( too much ) generational trauma to heal from. However, once we DO heal those generational wounds, again, speaking collectively; everything else will fall into place. It may not be in our lifetime, or even the lifetimes of our grandchildren, but it's gotta start somewhere. If it starts with us, it'll happen that much sooner, but, just like in 'The Matrix'; we have a choice, we can take the 'red pill', a very dangerous proposition indeed, or we can opt for the 'blue pill' & keep dying while we're alive. I choose to live dangerously ( within reason ); how about you?!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

The Grand Illusion ( the Illusion of Free Will )

"So if you think your life is complete confusion
'Cause you never win the game
Just remember that it's a grand illusion
And deep inside, we're all the same
All the same.. "

- Styx - The Grand Illusion

"A planet of playthings, we dance on the strings of powers we cannot perceive. The stars aren't aligned or the Gods are malign, blame is better to give than receive". These lyrics by the Progressive Rock band 'Rush' tout the virtues, not only of choice, but of Free Will. In my later years as a Christian, I too used to preach 'Free Will', to the disdain of most of my family, most of whom were strict Calvinists. Now, as a Pagan, my main mantra is, "It's all about choice!" Of course, this is merely from a humanistic point of view! The subject of this short treatise is to look at the question of 'Free Will' from a more spiritual perspective!

Previously, I had toyed with the notion that, as spiritual beings having a human experience, rather than the other way around; We do not actually have 'Free Will'! From a merely human perspective of course, like I said, we do, but with that said, I must remind my readers that we are NOT 'merely human'; "We are More than human!" Our Humanity is an integral ( though not necessary ) part of our Being, yes, but our humanness does not define Who we are. As a human being, I have been given the name 'Charles Haddon Shank', but as a spiritual being, I am known by other means. I mean, we can make up names, like 'God', for instance, or even 'Allah', but do names even apply to the One?! I call It 'the Source'; you may call It 'Energy', or even just 'the Universe', but are not all these just monikers; names given by human beings striving to understand & name the Nameless? 

To get back though, to the question of 'Free Will'; being that We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but rather are spiritual in nature; would it be correct to say that We have free will? To answer this question, we must go back to the Source! What then, is this Source? "What does he mean by 'Source'?!" I guess you could say that 'Creator' might be a more familiar term, except that, rather than being merely creatures of some creator, albeit with a 'Spark of Divinity', we actually ARE Divinity, Part & Parcel with the Source ( 'Energy'? )! As Part & Parcel with this 'Source', then, "as above, so below: "would it be correct to say that We have free will?" As individuals, we absolutely have 'Free Will'; everybody has a choice, right?! "Right', everyBODY has a choice! As spiritual beings, can we rightly say we have a choice? Here's where we might enter some choppy waters though: are we possessed of individual spirits, or are We, as Spirits, simply part of of the Collective? Some might wonder about the so-called 'evil spirits' that play havoc in the physical realm; "Are they individual spirits, or is the Collective itself 'evil'?" Such an argument might sound familiar to some Christians; "If God is truly Good, why does He allow evil to exist? "If God is truly Omnipotent..........................." 

Most of us, to whatever extent, have "been there, done that" ( either that, or we're choosing to remain blissfully ignorant ), but I'm not intending to start a religious argument here ( ? ), merely to define the term 'Free Will'. As a former Christian myself, I'm more than a little familiar with the biblical concept of the 'Satan', who with the other 'fallen angels', fell from Heaven. "If that doesn't prove 'Free Will', I don't know..................." Of course then, you have A & E, who were created "good", but Satan tempted them & they fell from Grace. So, if 'Satan' had 'Free Will' & Adam & Eve had 'Free Will'.................. According to the Bible; it would seem that Individual Spirits do exist & that We are not part of the Collective ( i.e. 'Glory Cloud' ) unless we so choose: this sounds kinda like, "Even though God is Omnipotent, He cannot save us unless we let Him"! For this blogger, the question is not even begged, but for the sake of those who are still mired in 'B.S.' ( Belief Systems ), I revisit these scenarios. As far as I'm concerned, the question of 'Free Will' is settled; it is a merely human concept!

The question of 'evil spirits' still remains: "if indeed there IS such a thing ( which I will NOT deny ), then would not that prove the existence of Individual Spirits?" ( Either that, or the Collective is Itself evil ) This may open up a can of worms, but "What if I told you the Collective is neither 'good' nor 'evil', that these are themselves merely human inventions?" Since then, the Collective is neither 'good' nor 'evil', then it would seem to follow that, as Part & Parcel with the Collective, We are neither 'good' nor 'evil'. "But what about 'evil spirits?" some may say; "Surely with all the bad things happening in the world today, there can be no doubt as to their existence?!" I would reply thusly; "Yes, bad things HAPPEN!" The reason that bad things happen in the world is that human beings have 'Free Will'; they often CHOOSE to do 'evil' rather than 'good'. "Is there such a thing as disembodied spirits then? " It's hard to say no to that question, but here's something to think about ( maybe a subject for a future blogpost too ); "keeping in mind the ( largely ) untapped Power of the Mind; might it be possible that what we observe as the work of 'evil spirits' is simply the manifestation of 'evil' human beings using their minds, whether knowingly or unknowingly, for nefarious purposes?!"

On the subject of the Power of the Mind, one might note that we have come full circle, back to our discussion of Free Will, for it is in the Mind that we make our Choices! One might note as well that I have used the terms 'good' & 'evil' rather loosely; the reason for this is that both terms are relative. What to one is 'good' may be 'evil' to another! For example, if one happens to kill another in self defense, it is justified in that one's mind & therefore relatively 'good', but to the relatives ( father, mother, sister brother, etc. ) this act ( of self defense ) might be seen as 'evil'. This can be applied as well to foreign wars: we go into other nation's territory, for whatever reason, commit genocide, again, for whatever reason, but we see this as 'Just War', as 'good', because these are known terrorist strongholds. The people of these nations, on the other hand, in defense of their lives & land, retaliate! To us, this is 'evil', but to them, it is 'good'. We, speaking collectively of course, in our finite wisdom, have chosen to live in Fear, rather than Faith in our fellow human beings!

Coming back around again, to the subject of 'Free Will': Although it is well nigh impossible to discuss this concept without getting into religious territory, the term itself need not carry a religious connotation. 'Free Will' plainly states just that; "the will is free!" Before we go too far though, down that rocky road, it must be acknowledged that there are some who would vehemently disagree with that statement! For instance, when one is addicted to something, some would say that the Will is NOT free, that such a person really has no choice in the matter. However, as far as this blogger is concerned, there is ALWAYS a choice. It may not be much of a choice ( "the lesser of two evils", for example ), even, as in Rush's 'Free Will', "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice". Now, can one's brain/mind become so utterly befuddled/befogged by this addiction, whatever it may be, that the person cannot control their actions?! Some would say "yes", while others might just as non-reservedly say "no"! Again, this blogger would lean fairly heavily toward "no", but maybe that's just me. People have gotten away with murder employing this argument & guess what? It's all about money! But, I digress...........

The Will is Free! As a wise man once said, "If you wanna be free, be free!" It's as simple as that! But........................it ain't easy......not by any means! The chemistry in the Brain is not as mysterious as it used to be, but there is still much there that cannot be fully explained. I really do not know if it's possible for one's brain to become fucked over to the point that the person looses the freedom of their will. "Is it possible that, through the overuse of drugs, or severe mental, or even physical trauma, one's ability to choose could be lost?" Whatever ones judgement may be on this matter, the position of this blogger is that, "no, of their own volition, they have allowed their brain to become so addled that they have lost the ability to make a RATIONAL decision, a viable choice, but even if that's the case, they still have made a choice, for 'good' OR 'evil'!

This, however, is humanly speaking. "As above, so below"; We are More than human! Whether one wants to use the term familiar to every Christian, 'Glory Cloud', or whether one freely acknowledges that We all, spiritually speaking, are part of 'the Collective ( 'Mind'? )'; we are all, in Essence, One! The Bible even speaks of us as being of one mind, that of the Christ! Now, again, this is by no means to say that we ARE ACTUALLY of one mind, at least not humanly speaking; we HAVE our own individual thoughts, but as spiritual beings & part of the Collective; we ARE, in Essence, the same Mind that hung the Stars!

It really is ALL about choice! However long ago, maybe a certain person makes the choice ( ignorantly ) to dive into a sea of drugs, whatever their drug of choice may be: even though they may loose the ability to make a rational decision, they still made their choice & they must live with their decision ( or die, as the case may be )! This is not to say that we should not strive to rescue them if we can, but we must also tread very carefully lest they bring us down with them. ( "Take care lest you partake in another person's karma!" ) However, this must be YOUR choice; YOUR judgment!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles