The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Saturday, November 21, 2020

The Goddess Within, the God Without

Have you ever wondered why some fetuses turn out to be male while others are female? You may be aware of the scientific fact ( ? ) that all fetuses are formed as females. It's only when & if that extra male 'Y' chromosome enters the picture that it's determined whether the fetus/baby is a boy or a girl. Although there are theories abounding, I'm sure that it's still somewhat of a mystery how that happens. Here's a theory, though; what if it can't be explained by Science? What if it has more to do with what is known as 'metaphysical'? If the individual soul that inhabits that fetus/baby, no matter how one believes it got there, is what ultimately determines the sex of the baby, how can we say for certain that genitalia determines sex, or maybe more politically correctly, 'gender'? The ultimate question, in this regard then, is 'who are we'? Do we have genitalia? Or is it the bodies we inhabit that sport genitalia? Personally speaking, then. yes; our sex is usually determined by or genitalia, but is it really? What about hermaphrodites ( also called 'morphodites' )? Maybe homosexuals, male or female, ARE 'born that way' ( or at least, with a predilection for it )!

'You are what you eat'; humanly speaking, this is true enough, our bodies are affected largely by what we ingest. However, this is not all that determines the overall health of these biological machines we call 'home'.  'Stress', though it DOES come in many different shapes & forms ( including tangible ones ), can have an even greater ( adverse ) effect on our physical bodies. Many of these stressors, including the foods we eat, are linked inextricably to this biology, but, equally important, it should be noted. are those which emanate from the metaphysical, in particular, the Mind. Although the Mind may be inextricably (?) linked with the brain, which is tangible, it should be noted here that studies have found that the Mind has been discovered to still be aware, maybe even moreso, in fact, when the brain is functioning at a very minimal level, or else not at all. 

Within the confines of modern Science, there is & probably ever will be, two main camps; one that believes there is no consciousness apart from brain activity & one that sees that the Mind is still aware despite the lack of any noticeable activity in the brain. Not being a student of modern science myself, I hesitate to venture into all the intricacies of the human anatomy, especially the brain, but from what I understand, the scientific community is slowly but surely becoming more aware that not everything can be explained scientifically. For instance, new research has shown that it is not the X/Y chromosomes alone that determine the sex of a baby. According to this article, there is something in the human DNA strand they call 'regulators' that help strengthen a specific gene & voila, the child is either male or female. So far has Science come, but like the Darwinian evolutionists, they still cannot satisfactorily explain the 'where' & the 'why'!

The Christian story of Creation ( every religion & culture has one ) says that 'in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth' ( Genesis 1:1 ). As a covenantal preteristic Christian, I came to the understanding that this phrase refers, not to the actual formation of the material universe, but to the creation of a covenant with the Hebrew people. This is not to say that there is NOT a Divine Source that put everything in motion, just that the Bible is the Story of a specific people, from a specific time & place. I personally believe there IS a Divine Source, 'behind the curtain', so to speak, though this 'Divine Source' is not the personal 'God' they all revere! Some call 'Him' 'Allah' or 'Yahweh', while others revere the Divine Feminine ( as they should ), honoring Her role in the Creation of the material universe.

The Universe itself ( multi-verse? ) has often been ascribed the Creator & Sustainer of everything! In a blogpost a few years ago, I discussed how many view the universe as expanding. Rather than the Universe itself expanding, I raised the argument that it is our perception, or understanding of it that is expanding. The Universe, according to this statement, should thus be seen as Eternal, to use biblical jargon. It is neither expanding nor contracting, though the same may not be said of the objects in said universe. Not unlike our physical bodies, these heavenly bodies are in constant motion until they eventually burn out. Even then, though, they do not die but simply take on a new form.

'As above, so below'; modern science has not been able to satisfactorily explain how certain things occur. For instance, the Big Bang had to start SOMEWHERE, with SOMETHING! Call It 'God', cal It 'Energy', call It 'the Universe', that original bit of matter ( anti-matter? ) had its beginning. Unless, of course, the Universe IS ageless! Personally speaking. as my readers have no doubt gathered by now, I'm of the opinion that the 'God' Christians worship is NOT the Creator of the material 'heavens and earth', though 'He' IS an aspect of, or the Hebrew perception of the Divine Source. 

'As above, so below', getting back to our original subject matter, the Mind, though it is made manifest ( under 'normal' circumstances, anyway ), through the machinations of the brain, it is not subservient to that wondrous organ. Rather, the brain, like the rest of this biological machine, is put in motion by our true Self, which, like the Divine Source, is pure Energy. 

That fabulous instrument we call 'the Mind', though it IS an intangible & thus not really an instrument in the normal sense of the word, is responsible for so much More than the brain. While it does manifest through the activities of the brain, the Mind, which is, humanly speaking, our link to Divinity, is also where everything begins. Routed through the machinations of the brain, all of our thoughts & actions have their genesis in the Mind. Our Reality, for that matter. is all in our mind, in our perception. 

Humanly speaking, then, we may change our Reality by changing what we eat. Part of that Reality, for instance, might be that we are overly obese, looking at the possibly deadly disease of diabetes ( not to mention the aches & pains that stem from being overly obese ). Simply by changing our lifestyle ( diet, exercise ), we will lose the extra weight & even beat the diabetes. By simply not responding in a negative way ( worry, fear, etc. ) to the stressors that are presented to us every day in this grand adventure we call 'Life', we can beat the notion that 'stress is a killer'!

So, if in the beginning, again, humanly speaking, we are conceived female, who are we, as a society, to say that one must assume a certain role, simply because they were born with certain genitalia? What if their individual spirit ( do spirits have sex, or gender? ) does not wish to conform to the status quo, just because their biological bodies were formed in a certain fashion? As 'spirits having a physical experience', we are More than this Biology! We are Eternal ( for lack of a better word ) Beings that inhabit these biological bodies, but we are not defined by these marvelous machines; we DRIVE these marvelously fantastic machines! We are the Goddesses & Gods of our Universe ( or multi-verse )!

Namaste & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Overcoming Fear; Knowing Yourself

“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.”

  Socrates'

'The fear of the Lord [ is ] the beginning of wisdom........................'

Psalm 111:10a 

Being brought up Christian as I was, I was taught to 'fear the Lord' from early on. To be honest, it was often, in my limited understanding, 'softened' ( for lack of a better word? ) to 'a healthy respect' or 'reverence', but for most of my Christian life, I experienced this 'healthy respect' as an almost deafening, blinding fear; fear that, at any second, the bottom could drop out & the hammer ( or 'lightning bolts' ) could come crashing down. Such was the Fear I was forced to confront when I began to 'see' myself for Who I really was, not what I was taught I was! Though Fear continues to rear its ugly head, it no longer rules me!

'Know thyself', as the phrase usually attributed to Socrates is often shortened to, has been the subject of philosophical arguments from ancient times, even, some say, as far back as Ancient Egypt. Some, in this article, for instance, seem to take it to mean that striving to know yourself could & most likely would lead to 'cognitive dissonance' & even confusion. This argument, however, should be dismissed outright, if only because who we are is not necessarily who we've been led to believe we are! As we have discussed for some length of time in this blog, we, as human beings, are More than our humanity. We are, in reality, 'spirit beings having a physical experience'. If we allow this physical experience to define us, then, as the article above suggests, it might be silly & yes, even dangerous to 'know thyself'. But if, in fact, our quest for self-knowledge reveals our True Nature, then it is truly a noble, even Divine venture.

Fear, in this human experience, is our greatest detractor! It could also be seen as one of our greatest protectors. By that, I simply mean if we have a healthy respect for what will most likely result from certain actions, we, humanly speaking, are preserved from bodily harm. On the other hand, though, an unhealthy fear will lead to stagnation, to rotting in our own shell, being afraid to venture Beyond our humanity & what Truths lie Within. In many ways, not just because we have been programmed for it, we fear this Truth, this Wisdom, because with Knowledge comes Freedom & with Freedom comes Responsibility. Responsibility scares the 'hell' out of most human beings. When we do the things we know we shouldn't or fail to do the things we should ( my training is showing here ), who are we to blame if we can't blame someone ( or Something ) else? For instance, 'the Devil made me do it', 'he/she finally pushed me too far & I just snapped', etc., etc., etc. 

When we, as human beings, begin to take responsibility for our own actions, though it hurts like hell, this in turn, leads to experiencing true freedom, which can, admittedly have the startling effect of learning to know yourself. 'Knowing yourself', of course, is not so simple or frivolous as truly understanding beyond a shadow of a doubt what kind of person you are ( in essence, what kind of coffee you like; 'am I coffee or tea-drinker?' ) To truly know oneself, one must discover their True Nature by peeling back, like an onion, the various layers of their humanity. This is by no means to say that our humanity is necessarily a bad thing, just that it does not define us! 

As responsible human beings, we do have an almost frightening tendency to blame anyone but ourselves for our problems! Part of 'knowing yourself' is acknowledging that we ARE responsible for our own actions ( or inactions ). 'As above, so below'; this can lead us dangerously close to the 'abyss' of Freedom, which, again, usually involves learning much of our True Nature. Being Who & What we are, we need not live in Fear of 'what may come', for whatever may come can only harm to our humanity, though this is itself somewhat relative, for 'harm' is just a perception. Only if we perceive our humanity as defining us can someone ( or something ) harm us. On the other hand, what one person perceives as 'harm' may indeed be perceived as a 'boon' by another. 

'As above, so below'; to truly know Oneself , One must simply acknowledge that One is More than Human, More than this Biology. Sounds simple, right? Well, yes; it IS that simple, but its also easier said than done! Yes, we're More than this Biology, but we're also IN this Biology. So, in Essence, we must reconcile these two glaring & glorious facts. In order to function in this mundane world in which we live, we must accept the fact, like it or not, that we have chosen to manifest in this Biology, in whatever form. However, if would truly be Free ( as we are ), we must live with the understanding that, though we are human beings, existing within the Circle of Life, we are also Spirit Beings, Eternal in the Heavens, without Beginning or End, outside that Circle! 

'Yes', as you may have guessed ( neither should it come as a surprise to some of my readers ), 'I AM equating Myself ( indeed, all my readers, too ) with the One that Christians call 'God'. 'No, I'm NOT saying that we, in our humanity, are equal to ( not even a blip on the radar ) the Source of all Life, though this Biology too, derives from this same Source & is inextricably & unexplainably linked to It'. Maybe it would be more correct to say that we are One with the Spirit of Life, call It 'Divine Energy' or what you will. Our Higher Self, then, is simply an extension, if you will, just one facet of an infinitely multi-faceted Gem!

Namaste' & Blessed Be, 

Sage Charles