The Antichrist and the True Believer
They are the same -- person that is. The conclusion comes first in this post. End of story? Not quite. Here we have the champion of orthodoxy who becomes literally an antichrist (persecuting the followers of Jesus according to biblical tradition) in his earnestness to please the leadership of the day.
One blinding flash of light later we see that he becomes the forerunner of a new orthodoxy -- and we all know what that is today.
This is not a religious story, but a story about humanity. My favourite cause! This is how progress occurs. Yesterday's fringe element (that is persecuted, prosecuted, etc.) becomes tomorrow's new orthodoxy.
Science is like this too. [First, Pythagoras -- ignored.] Copernicus (mocked to scorn) and Galileo reviled as a heretic are now taken for granted. And we really do believe the earth goes around the sun today!
Furthermore, religion and science are becoming harder to separate. Quantum physics has seen to that. Stories of bilocation by mystical yogis (See Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda or Lila Amrit by Yoga in Daily Life) are now being verified/justified/vindicated by minute quantum particles that seem to have more than one location at a time..
This text So before dismissing any new approaches to every day matters -- such as finance or economics, let us remember the above. What seems outlandish today, that we might not need for these things to be done much longer (the levying of rents and mortgages upon us -- refers to first post, Jan 2014) -- could be the no-brainer (so intuitive we don't give it a second thought) of .. [fill in year here]
My concern is that we do not miss the boat. It is important to be able to track new energies on earth as they arise and learn how to harness them for positive effect. I suppose some people are more prone to seeing blinding flashes of light than others -- just as there are those who have been struck by lightning multiple times.
And to be able to distinguish the old energy from the new and the living from the dead (refers to previous post -- The Right to Live on a Healthy Planet). The pictorial quote was from the music of Pink Floyd, "Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail / A smile from a veil". This is important because our world is full of examples of non-living materials, surrounding us in our homes and environs. There is a third distinction -- formerly living -- which refers to things like wood that come from living processes. Steel is a good example of a non-living material from a non-living production (smelting, mining, annealing and extruding for ex.).
In some ways cycles occur between the old and new -- traditional materials for home-building , timber and stone more closely allied to what the earth naturally provides -- could come back into our lives again, if we let them.
On the subject of orthodoxy (and hierarchy) -- humanity maybe on the verge of a breakthrough (blinding flash!) in terms of leadership. Whilst we formerly required others to dictate the terms of our living conditions and lifestyles -- due to survival needs, it may be that a gentler approach of non-domination in these spheres will take hold. Remember those still small voices guiding us toward the next step.
There are costs and benefits to following orthodox practices. When you have seen the light -- the difference between old and new becomes blindingly obvious. Survival is well and good -- but by risking everything -- sometimes we lose nothing! Quite the contrary.
Bilocation.
I feel somewhat apologetic about using your comment section to offer further notes on the post. However, is it not our comment section? And am I not also a reader and prone to think over the things I've just posted..
ReplyDeleteHere are some more insights into the subject of unity as discussed above. Firstly, why was there a picture of twins at the end with the caption, bilocation? It seems I've presented you with another koan, visual this time. It used to be that I would write things and not fully get the meaning of what came through me until years later (a radio only receives music - who creates it?). This time, though it is visual -- a wonderful new language that has become available thanks to internet and blogging.
So at the beginning were religious symbols (in a non-religious post) that achieved unity under the banner of the international red cross. Many forms, one meaning -- protection, healing, rescue and shelter in times of strife. The twins show two identical bodies, but their meaning, portrayed by their emotions differ. The message is to search for the underlying unity behind forms and meanings. We are all humans with different forms (mostly) but our capacity for emotions is the same. Basic needs are the same, although our locations differ.
To religion, I found years ago that the underlying basis of 4 religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity was the same. Certainly if you look at the mystical elements of these (pure meditation which looks at the nature of matter, and the contemplative self-reflective aspects of looking within for truth and wisdom, ) and the ethical dimensions of non-harming other beings -- the similarities (as opposed to the differences in form and practice) come into focus.
(We can include Judaism here I think, if the Kabbalah is examined, the mystical side as Sufism is the mystical part of Islam, l although I have not done this.)
So were we to include Hinduism and Buddhism in the Red Cross banner, we could have the wheel shape (wheel of dharma signifying Buddha's teachings) found on India's flag. Somehow I thought to include a wheel of fortune at the end of the post without considering that aspect. The relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism is like that between Judaism and Christianity; Jesus was a Jew, the Buddha a Hindu presumably.
On to the earth. Do the earth's cycles have anything to do with us? Let's compare -- a mother with a small child (or partner). The mother has cycles and moods. And the others are affected by them. But are they the cause? Not really. The mother's cycles are based on fertility and the possibility of nurturing new life. Same with the earth. Periods of renewal are needed to ensure that life -- in any form -- may flourish.
For example, ice ages. What happens when ice melts is that fresh cool water is introduced into an ocean that is starting to become lifeless. Deep ocean currents that bring nutrients from the depths to the surface where they may be used are also affected by glaciation. The apparent lifelessness of ice contains the possibility of renewal of life. Extinctions may be the same. Numerous times, massive extinction events have occurred. And the result has always been a flowering and a multiplying of new life forms. Today we have both these issues. And the earth is designed to support life after all. We just happen to be in the family while the earth prepares to renew herself.