Chapter One: To Be Born In A Forgotten Past, To Be Reborn In The Now
The intersection of science, religion, and philosophy enriches our exploration of consciousness. Scientific theories about the origin of consciousness offer valuable insights into the workings of our minds, complementing religious and philosophical perspectives. By engaging in interdisciplinary dialogue, we can better understand the complex nature of consciousness and bridge gaps between different realms of human experience. To truly grasp the nature of consciousness, we must embrace all such dialogue and integration. Science, religion, and philosophy each offer unique perspectives, and by engaging in meaningful conversations across disciplines, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of our conscious experience. It is through this interdisciplinary dialogue that we can forge a path towards a holistic exploration of consciousness, and create stories that playfully, artfully, and/or accurately represent their successful fusion into new understanding.
Our theories of ourselves and all of our concepts of the past are not real in any absolute sense, being only a collection of memories, social/historical narratives and all such related assumptions. But we won’t let that truth get in the way of telling meaningful stories. So let’s take a creative, whirlwind tour through history, dating back to, perhaps, a million years ago or more. The last thing I want to do is to create alternative facts and implant false memories that were never real, just like many want-to-be biblical scholars, malicious fake news generators and conspiracy theorists of today attempt to do. The best way to get to new answers to old questions is to discard the old questions and ask new questions.
So, here we go!
- What was our mental atmosphere like back then, when mankind was first becoming conscious?
- With humanity’s dark history, the survival of the fittest evolutionary imperative, and the fear of dangerous animals (which includes human strangers not of one’s tribe and not prone to collaborative behavior) what can we speculate about the original nature of that consciousness?
- Based on our present understanding, could one surmise that trauma and suffering have been with mankind from the beginning?
- Is the Garden of Eden story, and many other myths and legends from other cultures, merely stories created by ancient peoples seeking the same answers?
The previous questions are riddled with assumptions, and the answers that we might supply to questions of this nature are subject to both speculation and revisionist history. We must apply the tools of historical, anthropological, sociological, psychological, mythological, and spiritual analysis and discernment in any endeavor of this nature. I will only touch upon the highlights of this epoch of mankind, and you should not believe me, any more than you might believe the scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and biblical writers who have already undertaken their studies and vain attempts at understanding.
We only need to look within ourselves, and to our pasts, to see how uncertain our memories are, and extrapolate that to our human history, which is also plagued by short-term, medium-term, and long-term memory loss. We can see how impossible it is to accurately recall and recreate memories from times long past, especially of the times when we were babies or children, though the recollections of others, coupled with insight can help in this daunting journey of discovery. Yet, as the evolution of our biological being can be witnessed through observing the stages of the development of the human embryo through its birth, so might we be able to observe the historical, evolutionary unfoldment of humanity, replicated in a compressed form through our unfoldment, from an unconscious state as a newborn baby into the consciousness of a personal sense of self, to see if a parallel understanding may be derived.
Without a recorded history, and supersubstantial archeological records, a careless investigation and exploration can become yet another Rorschach test for all inquisitors, and we will only mostly confirm what we already think that we know. We can attempt to create our best representation of what we think their truths might have been in the earliest iterations of mankind, the times that existed before verbal accounts were being passed down through the generations. Even though our present history has only about 5000 years of written records, some cultures have historical narratives that appear to have been passed down for at least 30,000 years. The aborigines of Australia claim a 60,000-year narrative, while Central and South American indigenous peoples and their shamans also claim lineages of tens of thousands of years.
Western European civilization appears to be an outgrowth of the migration of African tribal members at least 13000-30000 years ago. Cave drawings in Spain and France show sophisticated art capabilities, and, apparently, versions of animal and spirit worship. Many ancient cultures created sculpted objects resembling the human penis, and the pregnant woman, so the need for fertility and the reverence for all associated body parts appears to be a fundamental need for our race. Other caves have been found showing even earlier creative endeavors. in a remarkable recent, though questionable discovery, a cave was discovered that is purported to possess chiseled storage cubicles dating back one million years ago, according to carbon dating. The human race has a long history, indeed, though finding a physical, or even spiritual, starting point is probably impossible.
The earliest human creatures spoke primarily with gestures, grunts, and body language, with their evolving vocal cords eventually joining in the conversation at some unknown point in the distant past. They eventually standardized certain verbal sounds, sounds that became words that were supposed to represent that which they were seeing, doing, using, or eating. Eventually, mankind made the quantum leap to symbolic writing, where animal and plant forms once used to symbolically represent life were replaced by crude symbols, which eventually evolved into hieroglyphics, and then cuneiform alphabets. It must have seemed like magic to the first humans who realized, and then taught others, that their thoughts could be approximated and shared through words, and then an ever-evolving symbolic representation.
It appears that the creation, or formation of a new world had been made possible through words and concepts that were arising in the evolving consciousness. Formerly, there were mainly biological systems with limited freedom of choice responding to environmental influences, with a more instinctual response coupled with real life experience conditioning to meeting the needs of the body, and of whatever family or community that existed. We could call that world the “real world”, as it dealt with the harsh realities of a world not yet under the subjugation of the human mind. With the advent of symbolic representation of the real world, a concurrent, though alternate “reality” was created that only existed in the minds of those entertaining those new concepts and symbols. To the point that this alternate reality created within the mind, both individually and culturally, matched up with the conditions of the real world, one could say that becoming verbally conscious was an amazing evolutionary leap for humanity. They now lived in two intimately related and interdependent worlds, that of their sensory inputs and biology, and that of their minds.
Once symbology is introduced into the human mind, absolutely remarkable, if not miraculous, phenomena start appearing. Consciousness expressed through symbology appears to have a self-organizing principle innate to it, and as it weighs and measures and assigns names to the objects of its awareness, a personal sense of being is also introduced into the biological system entertaining the symbology. Thus, the “word” or the act of first recognizing that a verbal sound or a specific set of symbols can represent an environmental influence is the initial generative force behind the creation of the awakening of the personal sense of self.
I began this chapter with a question about when mankind first became “conscious”, and the story of Helen Keller is a remarkable account of that very universal process happening to a handicapped individual. Helen Keller gives an outstanding narrative of the beginning of her sense of self, a new self that seemed to arise out of her more instinctual, or even chaotic biological response to life.
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s story is one that has captivated and inspired generations. Born in 1880, she faced unimaginable challenges from a young age. At just 19 months old, a severe illness left her deaf and blind. But it was through her unwavering resilience and the pivotal moment that marked the beginning of her sense of self that she became an iconic figure, teaching us valuable lessons about human potential.
As I reflect on Helen Keller’s journey, I am struck by the profound significance of that breakthrough moment. It was a beautiful spring day when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, led her to the water pump. As the cool water flowed over one hand, Anne spelled out the word “water” into Helen’s other hand. In that instant, Helen made the connection between the tactile sensation and the word, and her world opened up. It was a transformative moment, not just for Helen, but for all those who have been touched by her story.
Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, played a crucial role in guiding Helen through her education. With innovative teaching methods and unwavering dedication, Anne helped Helen navigate the complexities of language and communication. Their bond went beyond that of student and teacher; it was a deep connection rooted in mutual understanding and trust.
Helen Keller’s journey has profound implications for our understanding of human potential. Her story reminds us that, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, we have the capacity to grow, learn, and achieve great things. It is a testament to the power of resilience and determination. It is a testament to the power inherent in becoming conscious.
In our own lives, we have the power to shape our identity and forge our own path. Helen Keller’s story teaches us that the choices we make, the knowledge we seek, and the connections we form all contribute to our sense of self. It is through these choices that we define who we are and what we can become.
Understanding the word and its symbolism opened the miraculous door to Helen Keller’s self, and both phenomena seem to have arisen concurrently. Helen Keller’s new sense of self arose out of a life-giving and sustaining symbol, and she grew into a creative, profound, and spiritually wise human being, beloved by all who knew her. The word water became flesh to her, covering her biological skeleton with the flesh of a life imbued with the meaning of words.
So far, neuroscientists have found that there are no images, videos, or sound bites in our brains. There are only patterns of synapses firing. Everything our senses see, hear, smell, taste, and feel is converted into these patterns. This is the only way we know the world. The sight, warmth, and flavor of our favorite foods all exist for us only as synapses firing in specific patterns. Even the obsession with chocolate bars is just a pattern. Our brains process all sensory data in the same way, whether it comes from our eyes, ears, mouth, fingers, or nose, or even areas, not under public scrutiny. Any pattern in the world that our senses can sense gets mapped by our synapses in pretty much the same way.
Helen Keller’s, and our own, experiences happened because our brain’s activity became another source of sensory input. This one seemingly small change would allow our brains to become aware of their processes, and themselves and to become conscious. And it would allow us–for the first time in history–to develop a sense of self. This is a direct result of the profound mystery of the development of the word that is first recognized within an individual self and then shared with others.
How does our brain do this, or is this a manifestation of something beyond the brain? Brains can process electromagnetic light waves, auditory sound waves, and molecules of aroma, but how, exactly, does it process the Word? Is just the sound of the word sufficient? As we now know, just the sound of the word is not sufficient for the creation of this interior insight and understanding. Something now is playing the keys of our brain’s interior synapses, and the music we hear is the melody of OUR SELF. Are our neural patterns creating our sense of self?
Ha, the mystery remains, as well as our sense of self.
Once humans evolved consciousness, our internal sensations, emotions, and thoughts went online and became available to make us aware of who we are. Our internally observed neural activity told us:
- what we like, and don’t like
- who we love, and don’t love
- how things make us feel, or how there is only numbness where feelings should be
- what we think, and what we think about what we think
- how, and maybe why, we behave in the sometimes odd ways that we do
- what we want, and how far beyond our moral boundaries we’ve increasingly gone to get it
Because this inward-directed, self-sensing part of our brain can itself be seen as an input, we can be aware of ourselves being aware of ourselves being aware our ourselves, times infinity.
The experience of having conscious awareness happens on levels beyond the physical plane, without typical sensorial awareness. It can feel so extraordinary and exalted that it seems like it must be the result of something more than just brain chemistry, perhaps even a manifestation of something of an otherworldly, or even divine, nature. Our nervous systems are a vast universe of sensations, feelings, and thoughts. Conscious awareness has added a window to this interior dimension where the immeasurable and the unknowable may be accessed, caressed, or manhandled, by our sense of self.
Consciousness has completely changed the nature of our experience, as well as the state of nature across the entire planet. There are real mysteries here, what exactly is, or isn’t consciousness, and what does it feel like to have it?
It can be argued that once the mind of man finally became conscious of its self, and then that others also might also have a self, it opened the doors to a collective mind that entertained and hosted the symbolic representations of all of the other individual life forms, human or animal, that it was witnessing, as well as itself. It also opened Pandora’s Box, or the doors to all manners of the mistaken judgment of others, and of self, opening the internal windows to illusion and fantasy, and that tragic fact of the unfoldment of consciousness remains not only a historical fact but a present reality.
When was mankind’s first W A T E R moment? Some neurobiologists guess that it happened when our neo-cortex first came online, about 30-60 thousand years ago. I am not so sure. It could be said that individual man, and collective man, may have left the Garden Of Eden state with that same evolutionary unfoldment in consciousness.
In the mystical literature of the Bible, as recorded through the words of New Testament scribe John:
“The Word. became flesh, and dwelt among us”.
We cannot be certain as to what the first words taught to each other in the dawning times of human consciousness were, but by historical evidence, it would appear that the language of survival, defense, killing, eating, competition for mates and sexual activity, and, eventually, attempts at understanding their place in the universe, probably dominated early language-building cultures. Remember, this matrix of information and ignorance becomes the very foundation of collective consciousness, the very consciousness that we continue to add to and access daily, even in our modern times.
With the advent of symbolic representation, our history was no longer dependent upon oral transmission, yet oral transmission still, to this very day remains a powerful, and primary, form of communication, especially for those not proficient in their reading ability, and lacking in intellectual and spiritual discernment. Words spoken in groups of people have infinitely more power in the present moment than words read from a book by an individual in the privacy of the home. We all have witnessed the remarkable power of the mob mind, and need only look at the insurrection on January 6, 2021, to see the insane, crazy-making energy they can stir up within people disconnected from reality.
There are two or more sides to every story, and the epoch of mankind certainly could have been defined historically by its nearly infinite number of interactions between members of our worldwide community, past and present, and all of the resultant stories derived through those connections, be they ordered or chaotic in nature. But, in the interest of brevity and our need to create meaning and bring order out of the apparent chaos of the limitless multitudes, we tend to select the stories that appear to not only carry the ethos of the age in which they originated but also appear to support the perceptual agendas of the writers.
Our present civilization now proudly touts its written “recorded history”. History is created and maintained by the institutionalized powers and transferred to all members of the community. Our history continues to be written to accommodate the prevailing victorious powers and understandings of the age in which it was first written.
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In the distant past, and even today among the few uncivilized indigenous tribes left, the mother, father, and whatever tribe or supportive community transferred all of their wisdom and knowledge about hunting, weapon construction and use, tool construction and use, gathering, childbirth and rearing, wound care, fire building, and survival to the children, until they were of age, and could join their father, or their mother, in the daily grind, or branch out and seek their fortune elsewhere. Today, our parents and our culture continue the same process, transferring their knowledge, sacred or otherwise, to our children. So, not only do we live in two worlds, we also have two identities to deal with. Our collective/cultural self and our sense of self are rarely one person, though both now travel with us, wherever we might travel. The civilized being is plagued by schizophrenia, whether we want to face that difficult truth, or not.
We have more than a biological evolution, we also have an ongoing emotional, intellectual, and spiritual evolution. Our latter history, which is written, shows our ability to philosophize and to form creative narratives about what the world once was, what it is now, and where it might be going in the future. Our vision of what the world once was will always be just a best guess, and, just like now, our ancestors wrote their histories and proposed myths and legends to explain that which was pre-existent to their own lives. Our myths and legends serve us well in this regard, and many times they complement what we have discovered through all of the sciences, spiritual literature, as well as through our intuitive natures.
Who tells the story? Many times, the greatest, most courageous and intelligent heroes of our race remain anonymous, though their stories were captured by others.. They died before they could even create a story, thus the survivors, usually less qualified and relatively more uninformed, are the historians, and their story, not the story of the real heroes, is accepted as the narrative. Religious texts abound with such exposition. Our American history also has suffered under the need to present the prevailing propaganda of the time, as it looks back and interprets other’s historical accounts of what transpired, and molds it into a more self-supporting and self-aggrandizing cultural ethos and narrative.
When we were under the law of “survival of the fittest”, we had to measure up, and use all of our physical, emotional, and intuitive resources at maximum power, coupled with community and individual knowledge (wisdom) to have any hope of not becoming a meal for a stronger and hungrier predator than we were or a victim of a hunter/aggressor from another tribe.. Biologically, the men of our species usually were blessed with the greatest physical assets, while the women, through their capacity for becoming impregnated, were the carriers of the species’ future, plus messengers from a deeper realm of human potential through their heightened intuition and Earth-centered wisdom. Women within many ancient cultures were regarded as healers and carriers of “medicine”. They were loved, honored, respected, and protected by the community for those very reasons. Modern anthropological studies continue to confirm that early indigenous women were held in at least as high esteem as the hunter/gatherer/warriors of ancient times, so it can be surmised that in our pre-history the balance of the masculine and the feminine through mutual understanding, acknowledgment, and equality existed and supported the good for all.
The larger the community became, the more the equilibrium between men and women became disturbed, Size indicates prosperity, and the bigger communities either traded with friendly neighbors or were attacked by others seeking to help their tribes. As our history shows an almost universal, steady progression of conflict and war, cultures took their strongest citizens and made them into defenders, or aggressors, to preserve the tribe’s rights to resources, which were usually scarce. Biologically, the male warrior usually was considered as the best choice, and a whole consciousness eventually developed around that difference in biology. The best male might be considered the one who brings home the most game, gathers the most berries, raises the most crops (a more recent development) and/or is most fearless and aggressive, within certain community-proscribed limits. The best female might be considered the one most willing to support the hunter/gatherer and the defenders, through family support, maintenance of the home, meal preparation, healing of wounds, and birthing and raising the family, especially while the men go about their business.
Yet, mankind’s story, when told by the historical progression of women, would be much different than the story told by the history that men might present. History is rarely described and defined by the ones who were stuck at home caring for the wounded and the children, by the submissive ones, by the artists or sculptors, or by the losers in any conflict. Our history is no different, being described, and defined, by those in power, which are predominantly white male influences..
There is an imbalance within the field of the human spirit. Masculine energy has dominated our specie’s relationship with the universe, the world, the plants and animals, and with each other for most of the recorded time, and well before the human race had any capacity to keep records. Men carried the seed for life, yet they did not have the love, respect, and nurturing ability that the female of the species seemed to naturally possess. Was this merely an environmental response, or a biological response, or a combination of the two? The Hebrew Bible and its book of Genesis gives an interesting perspective,
Let me start by stating that metaphorical thinking is crucial when approaching all religious texts. The Book of Genesis stands as one of the most influential texts in human history, yet the interpretation of Genesis presents challenges when examined through the lens of modern science and historical context. While some still hold fast to its literal truth, others see the value in exploring its meaning through metaphorical interpretations. Viewing Genesis as a metaphor allows us to delve into deeper truths about our existence and the nature of consciousness. Though not scientifically or historically accurate, metaphors in religious texts serve as powerful tools for conveying timeless truths about the human experience and our place in the world.
Was it just a damned accident at our birth, when our mother ejected us from her womb’s safety, and forced us to figure out how we got here, and what we are supposed to be doing now that we are here in space and time? All religions have a point of view on that question! In the Hebrew-based mythological story of The Garden Of Eden, we even see the beginning of male denial and scapegoating of the female for humanity becoming alive and with consciousness.
In the story of the Garden of Ede, Adam and Eve,is a metaphor for the awakening of human consciousness. The forbidden fruit can be seen as symbolizing the pursuit of knowledge and self-awareness. As Adam and Eve partake in this forbidden fruit, they gain consciousness and self-reflection, shedding light on the human journey towards understanding ourselves and the world around them.. With eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, man, and woman, now may hesitantly approach divine knowledge, yet forever remain outside of their original ignorant unconscious state of being. The “flamings swords of the cherubim” guard the Garden and keep us out, for eternity, or at least until the judgmental.mind is quieted through spiritual practice, enhanced wisdom and understanding.
The serpent in the Garden of Eden remains a fascinating, enlightening archetypal image. The serpent is always in contact with the ground, or with the limbs in the trees, depending upon where it lives, so it serves as a great metaphor for those in continuous contact with our planet. And, mothers have a much more earth-centered understanding of life, being the bearers of human life itself, so the snake is also a metaphor for the earth-centered and connected woman. As the Earth gave life to us, so did the woman give life to the human. Women learned early about the Earth’s capacity to heal us, through judicious application of its plants and herbs, and spiritual awareness and empathy. Women tended to see a more complete picture than did the men, due to the very constitution of their neural networks. Women tended to see the forests and the trees, while the men remained obsessed about the trees. And, in a later development, the more earth-attuned women were persecuted and burned at the stake for being witches.
The serpent is also recognized for the way that it winds around its victims, or coils before it strikes. It is an obvious reference to the cunning nature of thought itself, winding around its victims and coiling before it strikes. Our limited thinking, even with all of its knowledge, attempts to baffle us with its bullshit, while it instinctively strikes out at others, or even ourselves, when feeling threatened. The serpent metaphor does successfully represent our biological and instinctual needs, like our unevolved thinking nature, our natural reflexes, our unenlightened sexual activity and our need for self-preservation. In some early cultures, the serpent was even worshiped as a God, or even feared as the devil, probably because of the pain, suffering, and sometimes death that ensued from failing to follow its edicts, such as avoiding contact with others, or thoughts within ourselves, of a poisonous nature. The greatest poison in existence is our so-called knowledge of good and evil when is used to attack ourselves and/or each other. The greatest deceit in history is when mankind began defining the Divine in terms that were merely projections of its own limited understanding, and hypnotizing others with their own self-assured ignorance.
In the words of Joseph Campbell, “Anything that can be said or thought of God is, as it were, a screen between us and God. If we take it literally, absolutely, we are in a way short-circuiting our own experience of an ultimately ineffable mystery, something that can not be talked about. Half of the people in the world think the reference of a metaphor is a fact. The other half of the world knows that it’s a lie. So we have people who believe in God as a fact and people who believe that he’s not a fact, both theists and atheists. The real position is to realize that the word God is metaphorical of a mystery, and the mystery is absolutely beyond all human comprehension”.
There is no return to the Garden of Eden while we ignorantly trust our collective perception derived knowledge of the divine. All religions thus must be regarded as mere representations of truth, and not Truth itself.
An artist paints or sculpts its representation of a revered object, but the creative work never becomes alive. As the Buddha proclaimed, the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. Thus, our pseudo-knowledge parading as truth and accepted as such removes us from our direct divine connection.
Before I enter the portion discussing the common knowledge game in detail, it is beneficial to provide some information about the physiological similarities and differences in the brain between men and women, and how we process information and express ourselves, as a result of those differences and similarities. I will also post some quotes from the New Testament of the Christian Bible, to show how men have attempted to suppress the nature of the feminine, both within the women in their lives and culture and within their own “masculine” minds. Both of these factors have ultimate importance in the Common Knowledge game, providing the basic foundation for perception of our collective consciousness, and unconsciousness.
Wow, there really is a difference! How did THAT get in there?
It’s no secret that men and women are different, biologically, historically, emotionally, and spiritually, and extend beyond what the eye can see. Research reveals major distinctions between male and female brains. Scientists generally study several areas of difference in male and female brains: including structure, activity, processing, and chemistry. The differences between male and female brains in these areas show up all over the world, but scientists also have discovered exceptions to every so-called gender rule. Some men are very sensitive, immensely talkative about their feelings, and naturally eschew the masculine way of doing things. As with all gender differences, no one way of doing things is better or worse. The differences are simply generalized differences in typical brain functioning, and it is important to remember that all differences have advantages and disadvantages.
The male and female brains are structurally different. “Structural” refers to actual parts of the brain and the way they are built, including their size and/or mass. Females often have a larger hippocampus, our human memory center. Females also often have a higher density of neural connections in the hippocampus. As a result, women tend to input or absorb more sensorial and emotive information than males do. Women tend to sense a lot more of what is going on around them throughout the day, and they retain that sensorial information more than men..Before birth, the male and female brains develop somewhat differently, with the right and left hemispheres of the male and female brains showing distinctive paths of development.
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Females tend to have verbal centers on both sides of the brain, while males tend to have verbal centers on only the left hemisphere. This is a significant difference, as females tend to use more words when discussing or describing objects of their concern. Males have fewer verbal centers in general and have less connectivity between their word centers and their memories or feelings. When it comes to discussing feelings and emotions and senses together, women tend to have an advantage..Another difference worth looking closely at is the activity difference between male and female brains. The female brain, in part thanks to far more natural blood flow throughout the brain at any given moment (more white matter processing), and because of a higher degree of blood flow in a concentration part of the brain called the cingulate gyrus, will often ruminate on and revisit emotional memories more than the male brain.
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Males, in general, are designed a bit differently. Males tend, after reflecting more briefly on an emotive memory, to analyze it somewhat, and then move on to the next task. During this process, they may also choose to change course and do something active and unrelated to feelings rather than analyze their feelings at all. Thus, observers may mistakenly believe that men avoid feelings in comparison to women or move to problem-solving too quickly.
Scientists have discovered approximately 100 gender differences in the brain, and the importance of these differences cannot be overstated. Understanding gender differences from a neurological perspective not only opens the door to a greater appreciation of the different genders, it also calls into question how we parent, educate, and support our children from a young age. None of us are doomed to remain tethered to a solely male or a female perspective, though our culture and our religions certainly have dedicated much time, historically, to maintaining the status quo and the division between the sexes.
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There appears to be a physiological reason in the brain for why men and women see life differently from each other. Men and women tend to process information and emotions somewhat differently. Women tend to think more globally, and outwardly network with others, and also within all centers of their own brains, better than males. Yet, there are aspects of many styles of processing available to both men, and women, depending on their own internal natures, and intentions. And, through proper training, intention, and insight, men can actually process information and emotions in more intelligent, balanced, loving manners. And men can become much more interested in, and sensitive to the needs of others, and their own emotional needs, if this becomes a conscious intention for them. Studies have also shown that the internal nature of all brains can be changed, even after one reaches adulthood. Men can become much more “feminine” in the way their brain processes emotions and information, showing the powerful transformative force that conscious “nurture” has upon “nature”..The bible has so many revealing statements and texts about the subjugation and disempowering of women, all in the name of maintaining “Godly” relations.
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The Christian bible is replete with aphorisms and statements relegating women to the background of the “church”, and in all relations with life. This oppression of women, and repression of so-called “feminine characteristics” within the male have been historically inculcated into the history and traditions of so-called “religious people”, and it reflects in the diseased and imbalanced relationships between some Christian and Jewish bodies of thought, and the world in general…These religious principles have also become established as conscious, and unconscious, norms for perception within the collective consciousness of America, and mankind in general. Just having a political and philosophical need to keep the church and the state separate is not quite enough, apparently, to establish healthier norms for relationships between the sexes. And, an unfortunate and dangerous outcome to this division between the man and woman is that the man is unconsciously conditioned to see the ‘feminine” aspects of himself in an objectified manner, and tries to oppress, control and dominate those aspects, emotions, and tendencies as if those parts were his “Christian wife”, rather than integrate them into a complete holism within himself..
- For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.-—1 Peter 3:1
- Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a world by the conduct of their wives-–1 Corinthians
- The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church—-1 Timothy 2:12-14
- I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.—-1 Timothy 2:
- To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.“—–Genesis 3:16
.So how on Earth, or in Heaven, do we bring balance back to ourselves, and with our relationships to each other, with our men and women, and with our planet Earth?.
Before I leave this discussion about myths and our origins, and the differences between the sexes, I would like to speculate that if I had a different early childhood, and if the first word that I learned was the unifying, life-giving word W A T E R, rather than the conflicted, confused, sometimes abandoned experience that I had around the words M O T H E R and F A T H E R, I too, might have had a much less fragmented understanding of life, and a more positive experience as a child and young adult. My early life experience and how consciousness ordered my sense of self was definitely not of the same nature as the beloved Helen Keller’s, though I was at least was loved by my grandparents, parents and pets.
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Once we become conscious, there does not appear to be any obvious way of going back to permanent unconsciousness of our self, except through neurological damage or disease. Yet, many seekers of truth and knowledge throughout time have claimed that by meditating upon their body, their biology, and their breath, rather than the endless stream of words, thoughts, and concepts that seem to be constantly present, a door may open revealing the possibility of an enhanced experience of non-thought based awareness, however.
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I propose that there is a way to be born again, but it can be an unusual path for some, characterized by a surprise intuitive connection, or another, much more common path that embraces much pain and suffering initially. In the latter situation, the aspirant must be disgusted with the past, and be willing to be freed from it and be open to new possibilities for a refreshed life experience.
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Does anyone know the way back “home”?
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Would we return to a pre-verbal or nonverbal state of being, or would we recognize words for what they are, and use them with more love and care, or perhaps a conscious blend of the two states? Perhaps we will discover that words only have limited, relative value rather than absolute value, in the search for our real origins.
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Jesus, in the New Testament, proclaims:
- “Unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.“, and
- ““It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”, and, finally
- “My Kingdom is not of this world”.
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So, even prophets and biblical writers understood the difficulty of such an undertaking. Jesus knew that those already rich, or overburdened, with their religious knowledge would be least likely to want to let it all go, and start over once they learned that they really knew nothing of the timeless divine knowledge. It is quite an insult to the ego, no matter how much so-called religious knowledge it is disguised with..
Most of the human race continues to be born into ancient times, using the tools of ancient, unenlightened thought, and they embody a continuation of the same mental and material processes that our ancient, mostly unenlightened ancestors practiced. If we can discontinue thinking the same thoughts about subjects we really don’t understand, our now opened minds become the now innocent wombs for the birth of new understanding and awareness. This is the “virgin birth” metaphorically referred to for Jesus Christ’s entry into this world.
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
Yet, not all of our ancestors were ignorant, disconnected beings. In the optimistic assessment of John Trudell, all human beings are descendents of tribal people who were spiritually alive and intimately in love with the natural world, and children of Mother Earth. When we were tribal people, we knew who we were, we knew where we were, and we knew our purpose. This sacred perception of reality remains alive and well in our genetic memory. We still carry it inside of us in a long neglected dusty box in the mind’s attic.
There is an exciting alternative to the repetition and continuation of our human and personal history, however, but to be a part of that evolutionary leap, we must either access this long neglected dusty box, and/or be born again. You don’t need to study my works to find the Truth, you just need to learn how to study yourself. You are the greatest teacher, healer, and redeemer that you will ever find, once you tune up your understanding. We have to understand that which we attempt to understand with. We finally understand that to search for our divine source with just a mind stuffed with scriptures, words, and thoughts is like chasing a sunbeam with a flashlight. But, in the quietness and love of our heart, we may finally discover our real self, and, perhaps, see with the real mystery of life. It may become the greatest challenge of your life, yet the rewards make the whole process meaningful beyond all description.
Is it possible to finally learn who is the being searching for the divine?
Is it possible to see the divine in everyday life?
Have fun and learn, and then teach, or unteach, your children well!
What about the rest of you? Well, you will do what you feel that you need to do, without question, and your learning will come with much suffering and pain as a continuation of the historical momentum of humanity. Why would anybody want to change, anyway? I changed because I was going to die, and I wanted to see if life had any lasting, eternal meaning. I had to stop telling Life solely what it meant to me and be watchful and silent enough so that Life could reveal more of its undiscovered meaning to me. I had to let go of my misunderstandings of the words that I used and applied to Creation that I had oppressed and limited by using them ignorantly.
Are you ready to transmogrify?
Welcome to the next chapter!
“If everything around seems dark, look again, you may be the light”. —Rumi
