The Scarab beetle

We have evolved as the early Egyptian once worshiped the sacred and interesting Scarab beetle then the god RA of the sun who eventually took on the title of creator god. We find the Jews lead from captivity were once idol worshipers and heathens themselves. They were then chosen to worship the one God who has many names. Instead of many gods with many names this was quite an improvement. This new faith gave them strength to defeat their enemies and endurance during the time of wandering as the compass was not yet invented by the Chinese.

 Why was the dung beetle such an advancement in religion as it's tiny hairs that surround it's body seem almost alien. Then it can be mummified and carried in a purse if you can get the smell out. The god Khepri was said to have been a scarab that created man from clay. We can trace the scarab beetle back to millions of years before man in modern science. It is also the view that the scarab is the most sacred symbol of all to the ancient Egyptian and other societies. They were often used as royal seals for the rulers to seal marriage documents or other writs of importance. This went on for thousands of years longer than most religions. At the center of the human brain is the shape of two scarabs quite interesting.

  So what does all this prove and how does it relate to religious studies. It is actually very important to realize religion is evolutionary. The scarab still looks the same as it did millions of years ago, however man was said to have changed from a reptile to a monkey then to a man in far less time. The bible story that man was created from clay could have been derived from the story of the dung beetle.
We have yet to know all the mysteries of our own creation. Did the insect roll us out of dung apparent creating an image of themselves in our brains? Well it would seem far fetched however this was once believed.

 Then we hope we were not created just for the dung beetles amusement as we speed around in our Volkswagen beetles. Adoring the most popular group of all time the Beatles now wait that is spelled 'beatles'. Fondly how we are so imaginative , so full of illusion and dreams. What amazing creatures we are and we worry about such nonsense like what another is wearing and the length of it.

 Can we take a minute for a sanity check when it come's to religion. What are we really looking for? Is it enough to shake the primordial self and seek enlightenment. Then we return to the earth and become rolled into another piece of dung thanks to those magnificent creatures.

 I would prefer to believe in a heavenly place that is as beautiful as the mind can imagine.

Peace.

Earl.

The Middle Path

 Having studied the great religions and thought of our time - there is a path that can lead to enlightenment - the Middle path or Buddhism. As with many philosophies close to religion there are may variations of Buddhism as there are Islam, Christianity or Judaism. Each variation suits a particular culture , each is unique yet a part of the middle path. Pure land Buddhism has always been my favorite along with Zen. It is so similar to my own spiritual experience that sometimes it contains many if not all of the elements of the same path.
 When Jesus said you must become as a child to find the kingdom of God, the Buddha remembered an experience he had as a child where he was close to enlightenment and returned to that train of thought after ascetic practice was not yielding the mind path he was looking for. Buddhism in the Zen format has the perfect middle path. It balances all things out to the result equation of nothingness. there is neither good or evil , there is no desire the cup is always full. Do the right action for the human reason not as a religious act. It is also my experience the christian has a full cup as they return to the well of prayer to fill it.
 Jesus was very much in the same way as he was human first , he wept , he ate did all things as a human. The Buddha never claimed to be divine and desired no worship. He even asked to be cremated that none of his remains became relics or would be adored. However it is said that one tooth survived and was fought over in many wars. The one who owned Buddhas tooth was said to be a supreme ruler.
 Comparing the life and works of Christ to the Buddha can be interesting. Buddha faced the Goblin and Christ faced off with Satan. It has been my experience we all will eventually face off with an internal primordial being that represents a new direction in spiritual evolution for us personally. It is a step in spiritual evolution we try to explain within our own cultural knowledge. Then we enter into  the pure land where the mind is free from its old distinctions and on to the path of truth. The master of lies is defeated our primordial self is no longer in charge. We are at perfect peace and that particular struggle is gone , the mind can then pursue higher development.
  To the christian it is to become more like Christ , in essence to become one with Jesus as he and the Father are one. In Buddhism it is to become the Buddha to obtain the knowledge of the middle path , through right thinking and actions. There are very few distinctions considering the Buddha existed 500 years before Jesus is not surprising to me. We seem to have a spiritual evolution every 500 years and each step or stone has a statement of the one to follow would be even greater or a return of an even more glorious one another messiah. The Jews had been looking forward to a Messiah , the Buddhist another Buddha, Jesus was coming again it is evolution in its finest. Greater works than these will be performed by those that follow me.
  Will we miss the next super guru , the next divine being? To the Sikh the granth guru sahib is the last guru the sacred book containing all the famous wisdom of the prior gurus , to the christian the bible has all the truth, to the Jew it is the Torah , to the Muslim it is the Quran and many others have their holy books. We have in essence collected the wisdom of our time and made that our Lord. To preserve wisdom is not such a bad thing only we need to recognize that wisdom is continuous like a tree of life - evolves. We are told this by all the gurus all the teachers all the holy men wisdom does not stop with one generation to look forward to the next revelation.
 The middle path is one of peace of mind it is not that the Buddhist does not care to take on a cause or be benevolent. Peace and purity are the middle path. Any personal desire will cause an inner conflict and the result would be contrary to inner peace. Once giving away all my worldly goods sought this path of no desire. I was recluse on a deserted island for a year in prayer with a bible and catching water in rain barrels , feeding on the the local honey and cocoanuts and what goods that were brought to the island occasionally it was like a spiritual oasis. As extreme as it may seem my experience was to continue it was merely another step. Similar to the Buddha going through his ascetic stage it passed. I returned from the pacific Islands with hair down to my back and beard to chest to another reality.
 We often hear the kingdom of God is within us. We search inward for answers sometimes escape from the life of everyday chores to find this inner peace. To me inner peace is all that matters and it is also important to share this inner peace with others through encouragement and kindness.
 We are told not to put the candlestick under a table - to let our light shine for others to see. This is harmony within and outside. The wisdom of the ages can be found many places and it is my contention we should keep an open mind. We learn to love others as ourselves for we may be all in the same boat - this planet earth. Am I a Christian or a Buddhist a Jew or a Muslim a Sikh it would seem that we can learn a lot from each other. Perhaps another stone in time created by living water.

peace.

Earl

Prison or Prism

The mind can become a prison or a prism. It can hold us in fear or refract the light in various directions.

The imprisoned mind is bound, it cannot think for itself. It can be bound by a society or school of thought or even a religion. It can be imprisoned by fear or guilt. It can represent a cult or a self imposed judgement. It can be imprisoned by material things or corrupt thoughts.

 The prism mind is one of balance, reflection and refraction. It is creative , it takes light and passes it on- sometimes in a million directions like a star. The prism mind is open to new ideas or discoveries.
Yes if we meditate on a prism allowing the divine thoughts to flow through us and become dispersed it will bring joy.

 Ask yourself this question is my mind a prison or a prism. Then work toward making that change it will bring you peace.

joy and peace.

Earl.

The Mark

 So what is a mark? The world had been plagued by the mark for thousands of years. We have even heard of the mark of the beast. In gypsy circles the mark was used to take from the innocent it was a way to extract money from a certain people using - yes , fear. The mark of the beast is an old gypsy technique to extract money from the fearful. An ancient con that still goes on today.

 The mark is also a gambling term it is a give away a twitch , a nervous motion an indicator. The people that show their fear are an easy mark to a gambler. Life is full of gamblers and full of marks waiting to be taken.

 Religion can use fear there are many out there that use gypsy magic to take your money. Is this peace of mind?

 I am only telling you this not to embarrass or deceive you. For chances are if you believe in the mark you have already been taken by fear.

 I have found freedom from fear - the peace that passes all understanding, Love. The love that comes from the truth. The truth will set you from from fear - from the mark of the beast. There is another mark one of faith , one of love and peace. These can be detected in the forehead or in the hands.

 Always look at a persons forehead when speaking to them. Shake their hands , watch them if they are steady or shaky. If they do not offer a steady hand shake it probably means they are germ a phobic or have fear. Be careful though the politician has learned to disguise these traits , ha ha.

Worldly
Revelation 19:20 - And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
 Jehovah said, Go through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that groan and sigh for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof; and smite; let not your eye spare; but come not near against any man upon whom is the mark (Ezek. 9:4-6).

Spiritual
Behold the Lamb standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having the name of His Father written on their foreheads (Rev. 14:1).

They shall see the faces of God and of the Lamb, and His name shall be on their foreheads (Rev. 22:4).

It was said that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, nor any tree; but only the men that have not the mark of God on their foreheads (Rev. 9:4).

The bible is a book that teaches all about defense from magic, gypsy magic. If you learn to read with eyes of wisdom and love it will be a valuable book and enlightening . If you read with the eyes of fear it will destroy you. It was written for the man of faith with the mark of God on his forehead and also a warning to the man of fear the mark of the beast. It is a two edged sword.

 You see our foreheads can show worry or enlightenment and our hands can be shaky or show honesty. It is the body language of the bible.

peace.

Earl.

Past , Present and Future

We can live in various states of thought. We can dwell on these for moments , days or even years. We can become historians , students or scientist depending on the degree of this contemplation. Often the monk that spent their entire life in prayer and meditation only highlight that one brief moment of enlightenment. The moment that creator and creation were united consciously. Even though they were never really parted.

The pure land is the place between the inner and outer. We often will say I remember the good old days, when taxes were not so high and the land was full of game and the waters fish. We did not need a license to hunt or fish or permission to  produce or sell goods.
We also say life is good -we no longer have to hunt game or grow food - there are stores and shops. We just need to get in our cars and go to the malls.

Future is here we can go online , we can stay home and the mail person will deliver us food or clothing. We can earn a degree or even work from home. We have Google glasses that will remember all we see and allow us to search other minds or sources with just a blink. We are integrating into technology. Soon we will spend less time bathing or in the bathroom. Our fluids and bionics will be regulated by technology. We will live in a virtual reality within a virtual reality. Our dreams will be replaced by programmed utopias not much different than now. Our memories will be stored on a chip, we will have redundant existences in various parts of the world to avoid extinction.  We will exist in a cloud like the angels we once hoped to be like.
 The cloud will hold our memories Past , Present and Future.

Peace.

Mirage or Miracle

A man is alone in the desert - suffering from hunger and thirst. He see in the distance an oasis of trees sprouting with fresh fruit. He goes toward the oasis - the closer he gets the further away it seems. Like the enormous mountain ranges of the world they seem to take forever to arrive.

Is the oasis a mirage or a miracle? The mind can seem both kind and cruel. It offers both hope for survival and can see beyond circumstance.

In my writing mostly focused on comparative studies and uniqueness I sometimes mention scriptures or stories in reference. A fine line between hope and deception. I see the mind as being both within and around us. It is both present and beyond. We are told to have the mind of Christ in the christian life. To some to seek the Pure land. Where is this place the kingdom of God within , the kingdom of Heaven. To me it is the mind within and beyond.

As far as the the miracle - it is the future state of hope. The dream that came true whether it was a cure for a disease or a new birth. A miracle can be an outcome beyond the odds a spark of energy or creation. So if a man heads toward an oasis only to find it to be a mirage. Was it an act of a vain imagination or just someone that needed a miracle. The mind preserved the man in his journey toward this mirage had he not seen it perhaps he would have perished long ago. Then again it may had been the oasis was real. We have no way of knowing till we get there.

The mind preserves us through mirages and miracles. It seems we often dispel that life itself is a miracle , even though the odds of earthlings even to have made it this far are very great. The fact that we exist is a miracle. We live in a world of tides , both men and women go through changes in the physical and mental. We see the economies change , the governments change. The planet and universe changes. The internal tides and beyond tides are all connected to the mind. The mind can sense these changes.

We call this sense of change awareness. It is tied into our survival as a person and as a species. We feel a sense of peace when our survival is not threatened.

To sum it up Mirage or Miracle , all bring hope. The mind is kind.

Peace.

Earl.

Alignment

 We live in a world often which seems like randomness , particles bouncing off one another with no seeming purpose. Then a magnet appears and amazingly everything goes into alignment. What we see conceptually in the physical also happens in the spiritual. There are those that live random lives totally unaware of what is happening around them. 

 To make better use of the energy that is being generated by random particles many scientist have learned how to use magnetism. How to bring that energy into alignment and make it useful. 

 In life energy it is the same principal. Learn to use attraction to bring the random energy around you into alignment. At first you may think and may have heard this , It is what it is. Yes- we are all the product of many thousand of years of evolution and genetics. Probably 50% of what goes on around you may be random. You may have inherited a genetic tendency toward diabetes  or heart disease. That is all a part of the physical reality. Genetics are accountable for many of life's hardships in the physical.

 

 In the physical there are also other factors such as medicine or therapy that help relieve these inherited traits. We also have meditation and spirituality. We have wisdom which is not inherited and can be obtained. We learn to bring our lives out of the chaos into alignment. 

 Some think spirituality is a placebo and not a real cure for inherited diseases. Actually spirituality can be thought of as the magnet that brings the life force into alignment. 

 In Corinthians we are told God is not the author of confusion. This means exactly what it says there is no hidden message. Randomness or chaos is real and also order and alignment are real. We need to understand the principles of alignment to have a better life. Spirituality is more than just about order, it is about alignment. 

 It is about happiness , your true desires being met. Having order without alignment is like having the law without freedom. Alignment is having a good relationship , by saying good it means one that makes you happy. You should define the things that make you happy and learn to use the spiritual lessons to make it happen. The desires of the heart are important and we often think we have no ability to make any sense of the randomness or chaos. Actually we do ! Learn alignment. 

 Here are three easy steps to alignment and happiness:

Define your goals! The earlier the better and if you are already past your prime that is ok. You have all that past experience to draw from (lessons learned).

Let others know your goals and only compromise if your goals can be achieved! You set your course now sail for it. Yes, there may be storms or waves along the way , still keep focused. Keep an agenda because if you do not  have one , someone will put you in theirs. There are other magnets out there, you just need to keep your's intact.

Experience happiness! Once you realize - you are not just the product of the environment or thousands of years of evolution. You do not give into that 50% the scales will start to tilt in your favor. It only takes 51% then you will start to see that change. The 50/50 chance in life is only bested by alignment. This mean learning spiritual principles , learn to be positive. Learn how to attract those random particles into alignment. Become a magnet and experience happiness. It is not about physical beauty. It is about spiritual beauty. You will find spiritual beauty is charismatic , it is powerful , it is pure happiness. Always retain at least that 51% in your favor- never compromise beyond that for work or play or anything. If God is with me , who can be against. 

Peace and joy,

Earl.