Thursday Night Report - March 17

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I spent Thursday looking for a job. I could feel nothing but terror regarding my existence for no apparent reason. A friend that I recently got back in touch with, Jahn, (it turns out) has been studying Tibetan Buddhism for about as long as I have, on and off the last year or two. He Instant Messaged me. I was overwhelmed with tasks but I figured what the heck. We ended up chatting for a long time about life and I printed it out and titled it, "Buddhist Journal Entry." I told him how I felt. After we were done it was time to go to Shambhala center. As soon as I left the house I started having synchronicity with the conversation. Before our talk on life, spirituality and philosophy he inquired about my genealogical research. I told him that I was descended from the Le Strange family and also the Strangeways family, just to make him laugh, although it's quite true. On my way to Shambhala, Tim and I stopped at the burrito place and the guy standing in front of us in line had a Doors T-shirt on that said,
"When you’re strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you’re strange
No one remembers your name
When you’re strange"

Another synchronicity:
I told Jahn in the midst of our pep talk that I needed a friend but according to his logic a friend is a "crutch." His response was:
congruent_one says:
But I am just YOU
Ariel says:
yeah I know we are one
Ariel says:
I really do experience that a lot with people - that they are an extension of me
congruent_one says:
but you don't KNOW how expansive your ego is, do it is easier just to explain it as DEATH
congruent_one says:
the ONLY way out of ego/death is to NOT give fear any space
Ariel says:
well my ego is fighting its own demise harder then ever and its tearing me apart
congruent_one says:
Yeeeeeesssssssss
congruent_one says:
Have you ever had a dream neo.....
congruent_one says:
how would you know the dream world from the REAL one?


So when I arrived at the Shambhala center, the first vehicle I saw had a license plate on it that said, "I AM U."

Once inside the center yet another synchronicity occured:
Usually the meditation is just a sitting meditation. For the first time since I started attending the center, at the end of the meditation, they performed a "walking meditation," after I asked Jahn to tell me what walking meditation is:

congruent_one says:
'free your mind' is not what most people think
Ariel says:
what is it then?
congruent_one says:
people normally think it means a shift in perspective - and in Neo's case, a huge one
congruent_one says:
NO MIND
Ariel says:
why is it a secret?
congruent_one says:
Free the mind from it's thinking
congruent_one says:
no thought
congruent_one says:
no form
congruent_one says:
no action
congruent_one says:
only BE
congruent_one says:
empty
congruent_one says:
receptive
Ariel says:
but its a paradox I've read a million books that say the same thing and experienced it at times so whats the big secret?
congruent_one says:
in the space of 'no thought' is NO TIME
congruent_one says:
this is a major theme of siddhis
Ariel says:
I am not surprised about the siddhis thing
congruent_one says:
these monks aren't even awake most of the time - not in alpha like we are
congruent_one says:
in theta, the limitlessness of dreamtime meets the manifest world
congruent_one says:
what do you suppose this would look like?
Ariel says:
I have had some success in treating waking life like a lucid dream
congruent_one says:
good
Ariel says:
I just wish I could stick with it more
congruent_one says:
walking meditation is closer to living a theta state 'waking life'
Ariel says:
hmmm so whats the big secret?
congruent_one says:
the problem with not being prepared or disciplined is the accidental creation of a run-away dream manifesting in our world
Ariel says:
how does one perform walking mediation?
Ariel says:
That's why I started going to Shamballa, to try to develop some self discipline and its the hardest thing in the world right now
congruent_one says:
That children are already living this life - naturally, already - and we 'Babylonize' then right out of what you and I are trying to get back into
Ariel says:
I feel so very very far from self discipline
Ariel says:
OK well children are not really self disciplined so that answers it
Ariel says:
I am like a child quite a bit I must say
Ariel says:
so I must be doing better than I realized
congruent_one says:
the mind has been on autopilot for 34 years. you'll need to break that habit.
congruent_one says:
the 'secret' is simply this:
Ariel says:
how? What do I do? I can't stand sitting meditation. What is walking meditation?
congruent_one says:
when you are willing to lay down your life for your fellow man....
congruent_one says:
...oh
Ariel says:
I like mantras. I need a good mantra these days. I read really cool ones in books but dont know how to pronounce.
congruent_one says:
walking meditation is taking the theta state successfully attained (typically via sitting meditation) and putting it into motion without disturbing the theta awareness - which is friggin hard
Ariel says:
Maybe I could ask at Shambhala


Lastly: When I heard Acharya David Schneider's talk on the Rigdens, many of the words and phrases that he emphasized had been spoken by Jahn earlier, especially the part about relaxing.

Ten pages of notes from Schneider's talk on the Rigdens to follow.

Quote for the Day

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"The universe is not a beautiful balance; it is a chaotic miracle."

From The Darkness Before the Dawn
http://www.elcollie.com/st/darkness.html

Bliss.......................

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Bliss......................

Intoxicating

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Great! Intoxiating? oh man......I can't wait to get off this fast and be 'normal' again. I want to eat organic cheese puffs.

Fasting

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....or maybe its the equinox AND fasting........

woa, could this actually be the 7th day of my fast?
For about 2-3 days I have been eating seeds and pineapple and to a lesser degree apple juice w/ wheat grass powder and once in awhile a little oatmeal or plain cultured yoghurt or lentil dahl and lots of herbs and teas.

today I am doing a little tea and mostly water all day...

ITS THE NEW MOON

More Intoxiating Weather

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We took Sage to the garden last night, in the cool of the evening this time, to dig out Bermuda grass...ah the sunset...aahh the sacramento valley....

We just moved here in January but I have some deep ties to this land.....

maybe it's the nearing of the equinox and/or the fertile fields of 'gold coutry' - I haven't felt a distinct season or a breeze just so full of life force in a very long time.....

Ah Sunburn!

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I just got back from the Shambhala Center and I've got a sunburn from our lascivious day in the garden!

Tonight I showed up at 7pm for the Thursday night meditation with the Songs of Milarepa following. But I should start from the beginning.

On Thursday, February 27, I showed up on Thursday night at the Shambhala center on "D" st. in downtown Davis. That is one of two days a week that they offer meditation instruction. There was another man who showed up when I did. He said he saw the sign and wanted to try it. A woman named Rebbeca took us to the annex to instruct us.

She mentioned that in many meditation traditions, such as Zen, small cushions that are low to the ground are used. In Tibetan Buddhism, she said, they use much higher cushions and sometimes even add another one to that. Next, she instructed, was to sit up straight and that in this tradition rather than cupping the hands or something similar that they just rest the hands on the thighs, palms facing down. She also noted that in this tradition, rather than the eyes being closed, they leave the eyes open but cast downward towards the ground. She said to just focus on the breath and let any thoughts go. Don't try to control the thought.

After this basic instruction and practice was completed by about 7:30. The other man left. Rebecca said that I was welcome to stay for the Songs of Milarepa, which I was curious about.

Actually before the Songs started, a very long liturgy that is chanted by the entire group, took place. This was called the Sadhana of Mahamudra. All the Tibetan Buddhism that had seeped into me over the semesters of religious studies training had prepared me to plow through this more easily than otherwise. It was very energizing. Very potent. After the recitation the man sitting next to me, Richard, commented that I must have had some practice with the chant. I said well maybe in another life but this was my first time in this one. we sang and sang from a songbook with songs by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and Milarepa and Marpa and others. There were even a couple of Celtic songs in there that just happened to fit in with the Bhuddhist songs. It was nice since one of the tunes was one of my favorites.

The day that I went to the Shambhala center for the first time, I spoke with an old friend that I hadn't spoken with for a long time. He said he was closely following the work of Father Francis Tiso who is working with IONS and Esalan Institute to try and scientifically document and research extraordinary human abilities such as the Rainbow Body. I told my friend that was very interesting because I was on my way to the Shabhala center.

The following week the synchronicity increased. I was late to the center so I waited in the lobby through the meditation and when that was over there was no Mahamudra that week so I joined in for the buddhist songs. I find them to be very effective because they stay in ones head for hours and days afterwards. On my way home I reached in the newspaper bin for a free copy of the Sacramento News and Review and the cover story was on a young man, Stephen Keale, who had hemophilia, AIDS, and hepatitis. The man had lived an extraordinary life and it led him to study tibetan buddhism. After affecting the lives of many including his amazing wife he went to a retreat in Clear Lake and died there. His teacher Sogyal Rinpoche said that it was a great blessing to all. Here's the story:
http://www.newsreview.com/issues/Chico/2005-03-03/cover.asp

Tonight I made it for everything, meditation, the Sadhana of Mahamudra, and the songs. Tommorow I will write about my meditation experiences.

The Most Beautiful Day In The World

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Today is the third day of my purification fast, mostly a liquid diet with herbs. Recent medical testing and concerns have been stressful.

The day before yesterday Tim and I went gardening for most of the day and worked the soil until we could barely walk. This morning the breeze and the sun were so ethereal we just couldn't stay indoors despite the fact that we have plenty to do, so we went out and worked the soil again for a good few hours.

Tonight is the Songs of Milarepa at the Shambhala Center.

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Wow that was easy! I wanted to start logging and keeping track of some of my independent studies, among other things. Just to kind of give my self credit for all the studying and learning I do on a daily basis and to kind of keep track of my trajectory.

I was doing a google search on herbs and was inspired to go off on another google tangent "really quickly" of course and came across this very interesting article on Hermes and ancient history. I guess Hermes is a very apropos way to christen my new page!
http://www.skyscript.co.uk/mercurymyth.html

later skater...lilah-bee

My New E-Journal

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Hello World!

This is a journal for college credit. I got tired of writing by hand and thought this might be more convenient, so here goes!

Those Worthy of My Mysteries: Mormonism and Gnosticism by Lynn Ridenhour

“…To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” –Acts 1:3

Without a doubt, there is great correlation between present-day LDS beliefs and a group of ancient Gnostic texts found in Egypt: The Nag Hammadi library.

Let’s briefly explore the following subjects:

1) Gnosticism
2) The End-Time Hidden Treasure Motif
3) Secret Writings & Teachings
4) Equality with God
5) Three Degrees of Glory – Three Types of Persons
6) The Veil of Forgetfulness
7) The Spirit Prison – The Spirit World, and
8) Eternal Marriage

The above list is definitely present-day “Mormon doctrine.” It’s also ancient doctrine. Many Christians today are unaware—the above teachings were part of the true secret teachings of the early apostles. More than a few scholars believe that our Lord, during his post-resurrection period, taught the very mysteries that were lost to the church down through the centuries.

It’s not our purpose, however, to go into great depth concerning these mysteries. Much like an Impressionistic painter, we will simply touch on them. And then draw our connections. First…

GNOSTICISM

Of course, the word “Gnosticism” comes from the word Gnosis – which means “secret” or “hidden mystery.” Unlike most of our Church Fathers, Origin acknowledged that there was a “true gnosis,” or secret teachings of the apostles. Regardless of the “philosophies of men,” the mixing of Greek philosophy and Oriental beliefs, or the pretenders of false secrets trying to impose their doctrines in place of the true secret teachings of the apostles – there was a “true gnosis.” There was a secret teaching of the apostles. And Jesus taught those mysteries to those who are worthy.

Times have not changes. Perhaps here’s a good place to interject a parallel. Perhaps you’ve heard the comment, “…the teachings in the temple are not secret; they’re sacred.” I beg to differ: the teachings in the temple are secret and sacred! As Latter-day Saints, we need to stop apologizing for our Savior’s secret teachings. They’re sacred. But they’re secret too. Hidden from the eyes of the world.

Yes, there was – and is- a true gnosis. True Christianity is a Gnostic Christianity. A true Christian is a Gnostic. He knows something the world does not. He knows — Angels and Spirit Beings walk among us. They ride our elevators and have lunch with us. The world sees nothing but buttons and bosses and bulletin boards. We see translated beings and signs and tokens.

THE END-TIME HIDDEN TREASURE MOTIF

Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven unto treasure hid in a field (Mt. 13:44). In these latter days, truth like a hidden treasure, will come forth out of the ground. Listen to the Gospel of the Egyptians:

“…The Great Seth wrote this book with letters in one hundred thirty years. He placed it in the mountain that is called Charaxio, in order that, at the end of times and eras, it may come forth and reveal this incorruptible, holy race of the great savior, and those who dwell with them in love, and the great, invisible, eternal Spirit, and his only begotten Son…And you will leave this book upon a mountain and you will adjure the guardian, ‘Come Dreadful One.’”

Taken directly out of the Nag Hammadi library!

Of course, the parallel is obvious. The hidden treasure motif is exactly the story of Moroni hiding the gold plates up in a hill until the end of time. Yet, the Nag Hammadi library was not discovered until 100 years after Joseph Smith’s death in 1844. Amazing.

SECRET WRITINGS & TEACHINGS

Why do we have difficulty with the notion that our Savior taught many secret things to his apostles, commanding them not to reveal his teachings until a later date (Mt. 7:6; 17:1-9)?

Hear the Gospel of Thomas:

“These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down. Jesus said, ‘It is to those worthy of my mysteries that I tell my mysteries.’”

Listen to the Apocryphon of John:

“The teaching of the savior and the revelation of the mysteries, and the things hidden in silence, even these things which he taught John, his disciple.”

And what of the Apocryphon of James:

“Since you asked that I send you a secret book which was revealed to me and Peter by the Lord, I could not turn you away or gainsay you; but I have written it in the Hebrew alphabet and sent it to you, and you alone. But since you are a minister of salvation of the saints, endeavor earnestly and take care not to rehearse this text to many – this that the Savior did not wish to tell all of us, his twelve disciples. But blessed will they be who will be saved through the faith of this discourse.”

Again, let’s draw the parallel.

In the above Gnostic scriptures is contained the notion that there are certain teachings reserved for those who are ready for them. Such a notion today has been lost among the majority of Christians. Yet has been restored in the LDS temple endowment ceremony. Simply put, Christ has his secret writings and teachings for those who are ready for them. In the truest sense of the word, to become a Christian is to become an Initiate.

One enters, in other words, a Secret Order when one comes unto Christ. Another restored teaching: there are other writings currently withheld, for we’re not ready for them. There’s more to come. With great joy and expectation, we Initiates await these writings; i.e. the writings of Enoch, the sealed portions of the Book of Mormon, writings of the Lost Tribes. And I’m sure there are more. Let’s move on.

EQUALITY WITH GOD

The doctrine – being as God is – did not originate with a coined couplet. Listen to the Gnostic Scriptures, the Tripartite Tractate:

“All those who glorify the Father have their begetting eternally, - they beget in the act of assisting one another – since the emanations are limitless and immeasurable and since there is no envy on the part of the Father toward those who came forth from him in regard to their begetting something equal or similar to Him, since he is the one who exists in the totalities, begetting and revealing himself. Whomsoever he wishes, he makes into a father, of whom he in fact is Father, and a god, of whom he in fact is God, and he makes them the Totalities, whose entirety is…their begetting is like the process of extension, as the Father extends himself to those he loves, so that those who have come forth from him become him as well.”

What a glorious passage. If I may say so, LDS to the core. The passage actually needs no commentary. There are some passages it behooves us to meditate upon rather than debate upon. This is one of those passages.

Being as God is. Equality with God was a central theme running throughout the Gnostic scriptures.

THREE DEGREES OF GLORY – THREE TYPES OF PERSONS

The three degrees of glory is also an ancient teachings embraced in Gnostic scriptures. AS well as in The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. For instance, take the orthodox Christian teachings of the Shepherd Hermas, who taught that all men are given a bough from the Tree of Life. Later when judged, it is by the look of the bough. For those boughs bearing more branches and fruit, that person was given a crown and allowed to dwell in the tower. For those whose branches showed some growth, they were allowed to live in the tower. For those whose branches who showed some growth they are allowed to live in the tower, yet without a crown. Others, showing promise, were allowed to go in the courtyard, while the disobedient were not allowed entrance, but were cast out. Three degrees of glory – three types of persons.

Again, we make reference to The Tripartite Tractate:

“They were fathers of the third glory,,, Each one of those who give glory has his place and his exaltation and his dwelling and his rest, which consists if the glory which he brings forth.”

Let’s move on.

THE VEIL OF FORGETFULNESS

I glory in Joseph Smith’s account of the creation story, He shed so much new light. Added so much to the story that had been lost. He let us know by revelation, man had a pre-existence before the garden of Eden.

So do the Gnostic scriptures. Hear the Apocryphon of John concerning the creation of man:

“This is the tomb of the newly-formed body with which the robbers had clothed the man, the bond of forgetfulness; and he became a mortal man.

And he (Adam) saw the woman (Eve) beside him. And in that moment the luminous Epinoia appeared, and she lifted the veil which lay over his mind.

And he became sober from the drunkenness of darkness. And he recognized his counter-image, and he said, “This is indeed bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” And when Adam recognized the likeness of his own foreknowledge, he begot the likeness of the son of man. He called him Seth according to the way of the race in the aeons…And he made them drink water of forgetfulness, from the chief archon, in order that they might not know from where they came.”

So much similarity. So much LDS doctrine. We were indeed spirit children of our Heavenly Father before we graced this earth. Yes, the veil of Forgetfulness will one day be lifted.

THE SPIRIT PRISON – THE SPIRIT WORLD

To the Latter-day Saint, the spirit world is real; the after-life is not static. The Prison House? Or Paradise? Both are intermediate states of the soul. Both temporary homes of the departed.

There is an almost uncanny resemblance of thought recorded in the Apocryphon of John:

“And I said, ‘Lord, those, however, who have not known to whom they belong, where will their souls be?’ And he said to me, ‘In those the despicable spirit (Satan) has gained strength when they went astray. And he burdens the soul and draws it to the worlds of evil, and he casts it down into forgetfulness. And after it comes out of (the body), it is handed over to the authorities, who came into being through the archon, and they bind it with chains and cast it into prison and consult with it until it is liberated from the forgetfulness and acquires knowledge. And if thus it becomes perfect, it is saved.’”

Talk about a clarification of Peter’s gospel! I can think of no better way of explaining the preaching of the gospel to the dead! The Prison House and the Spirit World were ancient teachings of the true gnosis.

ETERNAL MARRIAGE

I have saved the best to last.

Clearly, the doctrine of Eternal Temple Marriage was taught by early Christians. It’s the main theme in the Gospel of Phillip. According to James M. Robinson, “When Eve was separated from Adam, the original androgynous unity was broken. The purpose of Christ’s coming is to reunite Adam and Eve. Just as a husband and wife unite in the bridal chamber, so also the reunion affected by Christ takes place in a bridal chamber – the sacramental one, where a person receives a foretaste and assurance of ultimate union with an angelic, heavenly counterpart.” (Nag Hammadi Library in English, p.140)

Wow!

There is so much hidden truth in the above passage. So much dripping symbolism pertinent to our times. The Gospel of Phillip refers to the three chambers of the temple. That the inner chamber, the Holy of Holies, is the bridal chamber, Latter-day Saints, obviously, will recognize the great similarity between the modern ordinance of eternal marriage in the sealing room of the temple and Phillip’s bridal chamber.

I can do no better than to quote again from Robinson’s Nag Hammadi Library in English:

“Great is the mystery of marriage! For without it the world would not exist…There were three buildings specifically for sacrifice in Jerusalem.

The one facing west was called ‘the holy.’
Another facing south was called ‘the holy of the holy.’
The third facing east was called ‘the holy of the holies,’ the place where only the high priest enters.
Baptism is ‘the holy’ building
Redemption is ‘the holy of the holy.’
‘The holy of the holies’ is the bridal chamber…

…Christ came to repair the separation which was from the beginning and again unite the two, and to give life to those who died as a result of the separation and unite them. But the woman is united to her husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have united in the bridal chamber will no longer be separated… If some belong to the order of the priesthood, they will be able to go within the veil with the high priest… There is glory which surpasses glory. There is power which surpasses power. Therefore, the perfect things have opened to us, together with the hidden things of truth. The holies of the holies were revealed, and the bridal chamber invited us in” (pp. 148-159).

Need we say more.

The Gospel of Phillip teaches that man and woman were separated at the Fall of Adam/ Consequently, the Great Plan of God all along was to reunite man and woman in the bridal chamber. Never to be separated again.

IN CONCLUSION

These grand ordinances, lost and recovered by Christ during his post-ressurection period and secretly taught to his apostles during those forty days prior to his ascension, clearly demonstrate – the person holding a temple recommend in his hand, entering the house of the Lord where “Holiness Unto The Lord” is above the doorway, where he is washed and anointed, given a garment and a hidden name, then prepared to enter the bridal chamber where he is sealed to his beloved bride for all eternity – understands, the Lord did everything in a mystery.

He understands the precious ordinances – both ancient and modern – are necessary to receive God’s greatest gift: to become Christ before a dying world.

May God bless those worthy of His mysteries.

Mormon Mysticism

"The God of Joseph Smith is a daring revival of the God of some of the Kabbalists and Gnostics.

Mormonism is a purely American Gnosis..." Harold Bloom,The American Religion

Posts by Elizabeth Russell:
The Hebrew Goddess
The Christian Goddess
Mary Magdalene
The Mormon Goddess
Christian Shaman / Was Jesus Christ's Atonement the Ultimate Magical Act?
The Once and Future Zion

Websites:
THE BACKYARD PROFESSER: Respectful, Intelligent Discussion of Ancient Texts, Biblical Scholarship, and Religions Focusing Mostly on Mormonism

MORMON MYSTIC (Yahoo Group / listserv)


LATEST UPDATES:
Book Takes on 'Da Vinci' From an LDS Viewpoint - Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormonism's Sacred Bloodline

"Joseph Smith’s Psychedelic Voyage,” Gnostic Media Podcast

Online Articles

Mormonism: An Eastern Religion? by Melissa Inouye

Joseph Smith: America's Hermetic Prophet

Elaine Pagels on Mormon Response to the Gnostic Gospels

Those Worthy of My Mysteries: Mormonism & Gnosticism

Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection

Mormondom's own Gnostic Priest, Lance Owens, does Da Vinci Code!

Joseph Smith As Latter-day Halcyon: Spiritual Mythology and Mormon Symbolism

Psychedelics in Early Mormonism: Restoration and the Sacred Mushroom

Emma Smith as Shaman

Gematria in the Book of Mormon

Kerry Shirts' Mormon Mystic Page

The Masonic Moroni Home Page

Book Review: The Book of Mormon and Other Hidden Books

Book Review: Written By the Finger of God (more on Kabbalah and the B of M)

The Practice of Hiding up Treasures Unto the Lord

The legendary Mormon-Mystic list-serv

Mormon Mystic thread at Sunstone BLOG

MormonMysticism.com

Mormons and Their Crystal Balls (non-mormon, evangelical website)

Seers and Seer Stones by Mormon fundamentalist Ogden Kraut (hosted on anti-mormon website)

Joseph Smith: New Age Prophet

Hugh Nibley's: The Early Christian Prayer Circle

A Note on Termas

Interesting Photographs

• Whitmer Family Seerstone
• One of Joseph Smith's Seer Stones
• Picture Gallery of Seerstones and Wilford Woodruff's Magic Square (non-mormon website)
• Treasures Past

Recommended Reading

• If you could read only one book on Mormonism make it: Strangers in Paradox! On sale now at Signature Books
• Early Mormonism and the Magic World View
• The Book of Mormon and Other Hidden Books: Out of the Darkness and Into the Light
• Hidden Teachings of Tibet : An Explanation of the Terma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
• The Rosicrucian Enlightenment
• The Sufi by Idries Shah

Artwork: (Top) Alchemical Rose-Croix and Beehive with alchemical flask, from Geheimnisse einiger Philosophen und Adepten 1780 via alchemywebsite.com Unlike (some of) their spiritual ancestors the Rosicrucians, and like (some of their other spiritual ancestors) their Templar forerunners, Mormons actually reject the iconography of the "uneven" cross. The Beehive, however, should be familiar to anyone who has visited Utah. In a basic sense, The Rose-Croix could be analogous to the masonic compass and square or the Asian yin and yang symbol. (Bottom) Maier's famous picture: the circle becomes a square, then a triangle then again a circle.

The Mormon Goddess

..."I had learned to call thee Father,

Thru thy Spirit from on high,

But until the key of knowledge was restored,

I knew not why.


In the heav'ns are parents single?

No, the thought makes reason stare!

Truth is reason; truth eternal

Tells me I've a Mother there"...



Invocation, or the Eternal Father and Mother, A Hymn by Eliza R. Snow



The Tree of Life as Nurturing Mother

The Bee in the Judeo-Christian, Essene, Mormon, and Esoteric Traditions

To Bee, or not to Bee: History in the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price Noting The Deseret Connection

The Tools of the Ancient Bee Priestess

LISTEN to the Bee Priestesses:

http://www.myspace.com/thebeepriestess

http://www.myspace.com/whenthedrummerswerewomen

Online Articles

• The Divine Feminine (in the Deseret News!)
• Nephi and his Asherah
• Plain and Precious Things Restored: Margaret Barker and the Queen of Heaven
• Margaret Barker's Response at The (Library of Congress) World's of Joseph Smith Conference
• God the Mother in Mormonism
• Shekinah the Presence of Diety (discusses the Mormon Heavenly Mother)
• BYU Exhibits Teichert Work During Da Vinci Code Lecture Series
• Mother Wove the Morning
• Some Early Mormons Believed That Eve is the Mother Goddess
• Mother Eve: Mentor for Today's Woman - A Heritage of Honor
• Goddess Worship in Ancient Israel
• Is There a Place for Heavenly Mother in Mormon Theology?
• In the Heavens are Parents Equal?
• Mother In Heaven
• Do We Have a Mother in Heaven?
• More on Mother in Heaven
• Our Mother Which Art in Heaven
  
• THE DIVINE MOTHER GODDESS OF MORMONISM




• A Brief History of Mormon Feminism
• Mormon Women as Natural Seers: An Enduring Legacy
• Where Have All the Mormon Feminists Gone?
• Another Good Article on the Feminine in the Book of Mormon: Nephite Feminism Revisited
• Heavenly Mother, Gods Soul Companion
• Links to all of (non-mormon) scholar Margaret Barker's online articles and MP3 speeches

Now Online!
Complete texts newly online:
Women and Authority: RE-Emerging Mormon Feminism



Strangers in Paradox: Explorations in Mormon Theology

Further Reading:

• Glenn Kimball's review of The Chalice & the Blade is crucial!
• Dangerous History: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Her Mormon Sisters, Ch. 8 in Jan Shipps' Sojourner in the Promised Land
• Edward Tullidge and the Women of Mormondom by Claudia Bushman Or read online
• God the Mother and other Theological Essays
• The Common Origin of the Ancient Hebrew/Pagan Religion and the Demise of the Hebrew Goddess
• Pedestals and Podiums: Utah Women, Religious Authority, and Equal Rights
• The Matriarchal Priestesshood and Emma's Right to Succession as Presiding High Priestess and Queen

Artwork via Essenes.net

Mary Magdalene

And the companion of the [Lord] Mary Magdalene.

[He] loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth.

The rest of the disciples... They said to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?"

The Savior answered and said to them,"Why do I not love you like her?

When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness,

they are no different from one another.

When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light,

and he who is blind will remain in darkness."

--The Gospel of Phillip, Nag Hammadi Library


Free Online Articles and Books

• Was Mary Magdalene the author of the Fourth Gospel?
• The Magdalene and the Tarot
• Magdalene.org
• Mary Magdalene - Wild Woman of the Bible
• The Maya of Magdalenas
• Mary Magdalene, Bride of Christ, First Woman Apostle and Early Leader of the Gospel
• The Nag Hammadi Library
• The Pistis Sophia
• The Da Vinci Code: Official Website

Recommended Viewing

• A&E's Biography Series - Mary Magdalene: The Hidden Apostle

The Christian Goddess

NEW! Khokhmah and Sophia by Max Dashú

Free Online Articles

• Margaret Starbird's Website The Sacred Union in Christianity
• Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?
• Holy Spirit: Divine Feminine
• She said, He said (by one of my favorite scholars Michael S. Heiser!)
• Paradise Lost
• The Holy Spirit: The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead
• The Christian Goddess
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton: We Must Acknowledge Our Heavenly Mother
• A Summary of When Women Were Priests:
  Women's Leadership in the Early Church and the Scandal of their Subordination in the Rise of Christianity
• Ancient and Contemporary Female Shamanism in the Judeo-Christian Traditions
• Goddess Christians
• Who is Margaret Barker?

Crucial Reading


The Mother of the Lord: Volume 1: The Lady in the Temple by Biblical scholar, Margaret Barker

http://www.margaretbarker.com/Publications/MotherOfTheLord.htm

• SOPHIA: Goddess of Wisdom, Bride of God
• AD: After the Death of Christ (Audio CD)
• The Drama of the Lost Disciples
• The Avalonians
• The Coming of the Feminine Christ
• Anna, Woman of Miracles (the story of the Grandmother of Jesus)
• The Pistis Sophia

VIDEO:

Methodist minister, and former president of Society of Biblical Literature and President of Society for Old Testament Study, Margaret Barker's talk on Mother in Heaven

https://youtu.be/ilF9NXEl6Xs?t=100

The Hebrew Goddess

"Thus says the Lord: Where is your Mother's bill of divorce with which I cast her out?… because of your crimes was your Mother an outcast."

Isaiah 50:1

"Belief in Asherah seems, in fact, to have been a conservative position in ancient Israel; criticism of it was innovative." --Daniel C. Peterson

NEW! Khokhmah and Sophia by Max Dashú

Free Online Articles

• The Lost Goddess of Israel
• God's Wife Edited Out of the Bible -- Almost
• Reinstating the Divine Woman in Judaism by Jenny Kien
• Asherah, the Tree of Life and the Menorah by Professor Carol L. Meyers
• The Shekinah
• The Matronit/Maggid
  

Recommended Reading

• Yentl's Revenge (contains one of my favorite articles - Why Eve Is Better Than Lillith!)
  
• The Hebrew Goddess by Raphael Patai
• Sarah the Priestess: The First Matriarch of Genesis by Savina J. Teubal
• Ancient Sisterhood: The Lost Traditions of Hagar and Sarah by Savina J. Teubal

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"Thus says the Lord: Where is your Mother's bill of divorce with which I cast her out? … because of your crimes was your Mother an outcast." (Isaiah 50:1, Avraham Gileadi Translation of Isaiah)