dying god

Dying God Myth and Symbolism

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“The myth of Tammuz and Ishtar is one of the earliest examples of the dying god allegory, probably antedating 4000 B.C. … Tammuz did not occupy a position among the the first deities venerated by the Babylonians, who for lack of deeper knowledge looked upon him as a god of agriculture or a vegetation spirit. … Like many other savior gods, he is referred to as a ‘shepherd’. … Tammuz occupies the remarkable position of son and husband of Ishtar, the Babylonian and Assyrian Mother goddess. Ishtar was the most widely venerated deity of the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon. … The story of her descent into the underworld in search presumably for the sacred elixir which alone could restore Tammuz to life is the key to the ritual of her mysteries. … Enraged upon beholding Ishtar, the Mistress of Hades inflicts upon her all manner of disease and imprisons her in the underworld.

“As Ishtar represents the spirit of fertility, her loss prevents the ripening of the crops and the maturing of all life upon the earth. …

“The myth of Ishtar symbolizes the descent of the human spirit through the seven worlds, or spheres of the sacred planets, until finally, derived of its spiritual adornments, it incarnates in a physical body—Hades—where the mistress of that body heaps every form of sorrow and misery upon the imprisoned consciousness. The waters of Life—the secret doctrine—cure the disease of ignorance, and the spirit, ascending again to its divine source, regains its God given adornments” ~Manly P. Hall

Dying God Allegory

Why would anyone create a god that does? And how can anyone think that a being is a god if that being can die? The answer seems to be that that among the ancients who worshiped a pantheon of gods, they generally had a hierarchy for them. Some gods were more powerful than others, and there was usually a chief god or father god who was the true God who was eternal and all-powerful. Tammuz was not considered that chief god. He was, we could say, a few levels down on the pyramid of gods. As such, it was possible for him to die, though it would take some supernatural being or force to do it.

More importantly, it seems that Tammuz was not a true god at all, but simply an allegory or metaphor for the forces of nature. The primitive people say the cycles of nature where plants seem to die in the fall and magically return in the spring. We know now that this happens in one of two ways. Some plants really do die, but leave seeds that sprout in the spring. Other plants only die above the ground leaving bulbs or roots below ground that do come back in the spring. So with the first type, they really do die, but their offspring are born to replace them. In the second case, they only appear to die, but part of them remains alive. So in no case do they truly die and get reborn. Nonetheless, a dying god generally represents this cycle of nature. As such, we can probably assume that to some degree, and on some level, Tammuz was a solar deity. Other dying gods can be found in other cultures, many of them copies of Tammuz who came earlier. Jesus could be put into this category, although he never claimed to be God or a god, but only Messiah. But there are many who believe Jesus was God, yet he was put to death. Continue reading “Dying God Myth and Symbolism” →

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winged souls

Winged Souls Awakened to Heavenly Truth

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“When you stand still from the thinking of SELF and the will of SELF; when both thy intellect and Will are quiet and passive to the impressions of the Eternal Word and Spirit; when the Soul is winged up, and above that which is temporal with the outward senses and the imagination being locked up by Holy Abstraction; then the Eternal Hearing, Seeing, and Speaking will be revealed in Thee; and so God hears and sees through thee, being now an organ of His Spirit; and so God speaks in thee, and whispers to thy Spirit, and thy Spirit hears His voice. Blessed art thou therefore of thou can stand still from SELF-Thinking and SELF-Willing, and can stop the wheel of thy imagination and senses; for it is hereby that thou may arrive at length to see the great Salvation of God, being made capable of all Manner of Divine Sensations and Heavenly Communications. Since it is nothing but your own hearing and willing that hinders thee, so thou does not see and hear God.” ~Jacob Boehme

Stand Still from Thinking

This is a common teaching in spiritual and mystery schools. Whether the primary method of awakening is by meditation or spiritual sun-gazing, it is well known that communication with higher beings only happens when the mind is still. But knowing that isn’t enough, you have to know how to still the mind. Zen methods such as thinking of the sound of one hand clapping can help. You could also try counting and slowing down as you count, like this: “1-2-3-4—5—6–7–8—9—10—11”. The idea is to create gaps in thinking through which Divine Revelation can enter. Even these methods, however, are still thinking. The best way is to ask God to help you still your mind and be patient for it to happen. It won’t happen on the first attempt, or the second, but it will eventually.

SELF and Will of SELF

I don’t know why Boehme chose to capitalize SELF like that, but he did (or at least the translator did, which probably means Boehme did). I don’t think Boehme means thinking about yourself when he says this, however. I think that he is saying that we must quiet the thinking of our own mind and ego—that which we think of as ourself. In that way, the spirit and soul can function better. Of course, that can only happen if you have awakened the spirit and soul using the light of the Spiritual Sun. The awakened soul can communicate with God and Angels readily, but has difficulty sharing that knowledge with the mind. If your mind is constantly active, that makes it even harder. For that reason, sometimes the soul can communicate with the mind only through dreams.

Winged Souls

I have not heard anyone refer to the awakened souls as winged souls before, yet it seems a good metaphor to me. Of course, just as with the wings of Angels, it should not be taken literally. Angels do not have bird wings sticking out of their backs, they have wings of light. Likewise, the soul would have no use for actual wings, but it can use the spiritual light that can appear somewhat like wings at times. It is still more of a metaphor to say that the awakened soul can sour to great heights, to higher levels of consciousness, to higher dimensions where Angels and Light Beings dwell. It also symbolizes the newfound freedom of the soul and the self after the spirit and soul have been truly awakened.

God Speaks

Yes, God does speak in us, to us, through us. But only awakened souls, winged souls, actually listen. Only the awakened are attuned to the necessary frequencies to communicate with God or His Angels. Many today believe in God, but don’t believe He speaks to us anymore. They think the only communication that comes from God is to be found in holy books that are two, three, or four thousand years old. They are wrong for two reasons. First, what God said several thousand years ago is often no longer applicable to the current times and conditions. Second, what is in those books is often not exactly what God said, but the interpretation of certain men of what he said. In some cases, it is simply the opinion of men on what God would say if the question were asked of Him, but they have not actually got that answer from God. But the important thing is that reliance on these writings to tell us what God wants is to act as if God is dead and can no longer communicate with Man. God is not dead and still communicates with awakened souls. The problem is that for centuries, as man became more and more materialistic, he was discouraged from awakening and using his spiritual faculties. Now, despite the fact that many have become so densely material they no longer believe in anything spiritual, others are starting to awaken their spiritual Self again and communicating with the beings at higher levels of consciousness, including God Himself. These winged souls are beginning to change the world for the better. These winged souls will be the leaders in the coming Golden Age of Light.

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apostolic state

Apostolic State and How to achieve it

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“The true Apostolic state is to become all things to all men; that is, to impart to each one spiritually, according to his necessities. Only those who are reduced to littleness and simplicity have this power of communicating grace. They have also the ability to sympathize deeply to the states of others, of bearing to some measure their burdens, and are sometimes in great heaviness on that account. This communication of grace and aid is not necessarily restricted to the personal presence of the individual. We may be ‘absent in body, yet present in spirit,’ after the manner of God’s operations, and as the angelic powers communicate to us. It is only by the enlightening of God’s Spirit that we realize the state of those to whom we are spiritually united.

“Unity of souls is experienced, not only with those in the body, who have affinity with ourselves, but also with those out of the body. I realize, with the holy prophet David, a correspondence and unity, which renders our souls one in God. You will experience this unity with the saints more fully when all perception of self is taken away.” ~Madam Guyon

Apostolic State

What Madam Guyon calls the apostolic state is better called today a state of spiritual enlightenment. This is the state of being sought by the ancient mystery schools and schools of spiritual philosophy such as those of Pythagoras and Plato.

All Things to All Men

I have to disagree with Guyon on this one. At least in the way we would interpret it today, no one can be all things to all men. If, for example, a person wanted to hire a hitman to murder a rival, would one in this apostolic state take the job? Certainly not! What Goyon is really saying is that a person in this apostolic state will treat all people equally, not showing favoritism based on race, nationality, language, etc. Just as the sun shines on us all, the true mystic sends love and joy to all. That doesn’t mean that the mystic will teach the path of hidden knowledge to anyone who seeks it. They are aware that the misuse of that knowledge makes that a dangerous thing to do. Yet the mystic, or person in an apostolic state, will teach any who are ready for such knowledge and will not misuse it.

Littleness and Simplicity

Today we would say with more accuracy that the spiritual person in an apostolic state must have humility. While the ego need not, and should not, be destroyed, it must be controlled by the awakened soul so that one can function in humility, yet still function. Only those with humility would want to help others, and only those who still have an ego would bother to do so.

Sympathize Deeply

I don’t know if the term was used in the time of Madam Guyon, but what she is describing here is an empath, and that is indeed common among those in an apostolic state. It simply stands to reason that spiritual people have far more concern for others than a materialist would. That concern often reached the point of being an empath where the person can feel the emotions and sometimes even the physical aches and pains of other people who are physically close to them. I know that I can get very sad when near a funeral even if I have no idea who the dead person is. Why are we like that? Because God wants us to understand the trials and tribulations of our fellow beings trapped in the realm of matter. This makes us more sympathetic to their plight as well as our own. Some spiritual people just wouldn’t worry about it too much if their own life was difficult, but when they can feel the difficulties of others, they are more motivated to work to heal the world. To be in a true apostolic state means that we want to aid in the process of changing the fallen worlds of matter back into spirit, and we won’t let any of the efforts of demons or those they inspire stop us.

Unity of Souls

The apostolic state is one in which all souls become united into one super being called the Godhead. Most, however, only experience this state occasionally, and for brief periods of time. But as they continue to practice and to raise their frequencies and consciousness levels using the Light of the Spiritual Sun, they experience that unity more often, and it affects their behavior even on the physical and mental levels.

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world of becoming

World of Becoming Mystical and Spiritual

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“We have seen that a vast tract of experience—all the experience which results from contact between a purged and heightened consciousness and the World of Becoming in which it is immersed; and much, too, of that which results from contact set up between such a consciousness and the Absolute Itself—is included in that stage of growth which the mystics call the Illuminated Way. This is the largest and most densely populated province of the mystic kingdom. Such different visionaries as Suso and Blake, Boehme and Angela of Foligno, Mechthilde of Magdeburg, Fox, Rolle, St. Teresa, and countless others have left us the record of their sojourn therein. Among those who cannot be called pure mystics we can detect in the works of Plato and Heracleitus, Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Walt Whitman indicate that they too were acquainted, beyond most poets and seers, with the phenomena of the illuminated life. In studying it then, we shall be confronted by a mass of apparently irreconcilable material: the results of the relation set up between every degree of lucidity, every kind of character, and the suprasensible world.” ~Evelyn Underhill

World of Becoming

The World of Becoming is all about achieving higher and higher states of consciousness. It is also about awakening and developing the spirit and soul. Those are not really two different things. The awakening and development of the spiritual faculties is the only way to really reach higher states of consciousness and enter the world of becoming.

Between Consciousness and the Absolute

Contact between our own conscious and the Divine Consciousness of the Absolute (God) is indeed the goal of the world of becoming. Real spiritual development isn’t about self-interest or education. It isn’t about making ourselves better than others so we can lord over them. Neither is it a panacea that will make us happy and wealthy without having to work for it. It is all about awakening the spirit and soul, then developing them into higher and higher states of consciousness until they become linked to the Divine Consciousness of God. This absolute consciousness may be looked at as a massive temple of consciousness in which each of our individual consciousnesses is but one small stone. Individually, those consciousnesses are not much, but when billions of them are working together, you have a very powerful force. Continue reading “World of Becoming Mystical and Spiritual” →

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