Message From The Spirit Forest

Its inhabitants attacked, but not broken,
The Spirit Forest dispatches an invisible emissary
Concealed in storms manifest by men
Which tear into continents without mercy
Unnoticed by a world consumed with itself

Its stillness of spirit resides in destructive spiral cores
Vacuum manifesting destruction
Invisible in the aftermath
Drifting silently to unsuspecting kingdoms
And slipping unnoticed into inner sanctums

News of its arrival will be silence
Yet its presence will blare like a thousand falcon cries
Self proclaimed Masters will see their end
Unsuspecting loyalists cling to crumbling palace walls
Brightness shines on Darkness
Dark inhabitants, their true form revealed, scatter

What has been proclaimed as Bright will reveal its Darkness.
 ...And those imprisoned in Darkness will shine like Morning Stars


Monkey Man

A Long Walk After Tea

Born human – A child filled with spirit and wonder. Memories of the land where I was born, but a vague echo. I remember blue sky. Green forests extending to horizons. Exotic animals, both amusing and fearsome.

I grew to adulthood. A life filled with greyness, sprinkled with disjoint flashes of inspiration. When inspired, my heart sang songs. This confused and intrigued those around me. I created contraptions that attracted attention and power. I was invited live in lofty places, with powerful people, where I fell out of grace when my songs and contraptions ceased to be useful.

I was sent into exile, chased by a flurry of shadow demons to a tower in a barren land. I spent mornings sipping tea. I had a vision between sips. Time was lost, the tea grew cold. The vision lingered - the very void of soul. I saw singularity. I saw here-ness and now-ness. It was zero and infinity. No movement, no color. Greyness became a brilliant endless landscape. Inspiration became the signposts on an endless Journey.

With a sip of tea, I resumed Journey that I thought I had forgotten...

This Journey led me to a treacherous trail where neither demons nor saints dare venture. It is a mountainous, razor edge path. An abyss on each side. A lone Owl rules the skies in the darkness and guides me to mountain pools where sustenance can be had.

For more than decade I persevered on this journey. It has led me to a cliff, extended in both directions to infinity. Water falls into a torrential river far below. Before me, a sea of green forest extends from horizon to horizon. Exotic animals call in the distance.

With no choice but the one before me, I leap into the thrashing waters below...

Hot air ascended from foot to head
Like the breath of a lion about to devour its prey.

Interrupted by a jarring sensation.
Swallowed by frigid waters.

Descending into a torrential abyss.

Suspended for an instant in frozen silence.

Searing lungs, pounding heart.

Flung to the surface in a violent explosion of hissing of water.

Gasping and dragged helplessly by an angry river.

Beaten by rocks.

Bleeding and broken.

Drifting to a resting spot at the forest edge...

Vision blurred, body broken, I lay in a calm pool at the forest edge. An unseen monkey laughs as he leaps from tree to tree. I lay shaking on the forest floor. Emotions explode. I laugh, with tears of sadness. I cry to Creator in anger. Escaping eternal barrenness, I lay naked and vulnerable, surrounded by abundance and danger

I seek shelter from predators in the forest. Monkey continues to laugh, invisible in the looming darkness of nightfall. Overwhelmed with exhaustion, I drift into unconsciousness. 

I regain consciousness to the eyes of Monkey staring into mine. 
A reflection of Monkey reflected in Monkey's eyes.
A reflection of myself, looking at my own reflection in a forest pool,
Looking at the reflection of myself in the reflection of my eyes. 

I AM Monkey.

With consciousness regained from my dream of being human, I recall my visions between sips of tea. It beckoned from the Spirit Forest.

I leap to the treetops to feel the moist morning breeze and welcome the sun. I sing a song of joy to all of Creation. The creatures Spirit Forest sing back. My Journey continues.

Monkey Man

Destruction and Renewal

In the darkness of nightfall, violent storms unleashed themselves upon the Spirit Forest. Torrents of rain flooded the earth beneath the trees. Violent winds test weakness in the forest canopy, tearing away all things unable to withstand its force. 

In the havoc and darkness,  predators joined me in the trees.  Among them, my Panther sister and her young family. While they are welcome here, as a precaution, I ascend to higher and more delicate branches in the trees which would not withstand physical mass of my guests. In the dark chaos, with eyes open to each other, we wait for the storm to pass. 

I feel no fear for the glowing eyes in the darkness.  They  know me as the Spirit Monkey in the trees. I am lighter then they are, more nimble on my paws. They respect my lack of fear and my purpose. I respect their role in the balance of Creation. 

When my body becomes old and broken and is no longer needed, I will gladly sacrifice it to my Panther sister so that she might nourish herself and her young. For now, they enjoy the poems that I sing to the forest from the treetops. She would not silence my voice. In fact, she protects my voice from lesser predators in the Shadows. 

In the dawn light, the storm has subsided. Vultures are perched high up in the trees with their wings wide open, waiting patiently for moist breezes to dry their feathers. The Panther and her entourage  who took refuge in my home, offer me a farewell glance and descend to resume their predatory duties on the forest floor. Clouds and the treetops gently grace each other like a lover strokes the hair of his beloved.

The devastation has caused so much fear in the uninspired residents of the Spirit Forest. Their fear is like the weakness in the forest canopy. Just as weak branches in the trees are removed by the torment of the night time storm, creatures weakened by fear will be exposed to the predators in the Shadows. They too will be culled from the forest herd. 

Those who band together in fear only delay their ultimate demise. Their numbers are difficult to hide, and attract the attention of the predators of the Shadows. The weakest, or noisiest in their group are sacrificed, allowing others to live in fear for another day, but most will find a similar end in the jaws of a predator.

All play a part. The broken branches nourish the soil in the forest floor. The fear ridden creatures nourish my Panther sister and her family. What remains, is cleaned by the vultures whose wings are now dry and circle high above the treetops. 

Even in the aftermath of destruction, the awesome balance of Creation is evident. There is no creature, no rock, no tree, that does not play an essential role in the eternal dance of life. Out of destruction comes renewal. 

I smell cool air, cleansed and renewed by the violent storm. It fills my lungs and lifts my Spirit. With this air filling my lungs, I sing a song in praise of Creator. It reverberates in the Spirit Forest. My Panther sister responds in the distance with a grateful growl. 

Monkey Man

Gratitude

Introducing Monkey Man as Guest Blogger

I have made a place for Monkey Man to be a co-writer on SkaiJourney. He is more prolific than I and writes from a perspective that I believe has significance to those embracing their IS-Ness on their Infinite Journey.

-Michael



GRATITUDE AT DAWN

From my resting place in the treetops of the Spirit Forest, I am awakened by the song of a peacock down below. 

The morning mists have descended, partially obscuring what is left of the night time stars. They make my face feel moist and refreshed, forming dew droplets on my fur. 

Looking into the expanse of the heavens I see the horizon glowing a faint grey. I sit in anticipation of our star, which will soon rise above us.

Birds fly overhead, disturbed by the hint of a predator below. I hear a panther respond with a growl not far from my tree perch, giving the creatures of the Spirit Forest one last warning of her hungry advance. 

I am surrounded by danger. The harsh vacuum of space above me, the stealthy predator beneath me, making  life seem so improbable -  Yet, Creator has made a place for me in the Spirit Forest - A place where I can thrive in the awesome splendor of Creation. 

Predators, drought and scarcity, all impose struggles that hinder my survival. Yet every moment my heart still beats, Creator has permitted me to exist another day in the majestic expanse of Creation. With every breath, my existence is blessed. 

As the horizon begins to brighten, I sit. Like a child, seeing the sun rise from the darkness for the very first time, I await - To relish this event in awe and astonishment. 

I am but a small Monkey in the Spirit Forest. I live on an insignificant rock - chasing a fiery ball of gas as it is hurled through the vast and seemingly infinite vacuum of space.

Gratitude fills my heart. I play such a small and insignificant role in this celestial dance, yet I am blessed with my very existence. I am full of gratitude to be part of this dance. I am grateful to simply BE!

Monkey Man

Spirit Secrets

Updated on November 20, 2011: Added Chapter 3 - Establishing Our Inner Circle

Introduction

I have come full circle - Inspired in adolescence, disillusioned in youth - I have been an aspirant and a warrior... I've heard  secrets whispered in board rooms and meditation halls. I've engaged in battle with demons of spirit and flesh. I've been betrayed by those closest to me - Spirit injured but not broken, I persevered.

Eventually one comes to understand that secrets kept are not worth knowing, Truth - neither found or sought. The Journey simply IS... 


Side tracked by the sideshows on the Journey, I have returned from whence I came, to my inspired adolescence. With no time for anger or vengeance, I stand with a journey before me and the mystery that engulfs it.


What follows is what has been reveled on this unfolding and ongoing Journey.  

Chapter One: The Journey IS

The human spirit comprises of many unique and complementary elements;  masculine, feminine, fire, water, air, earth - all integrated to exist and manifest within the Universe in which we exist. 

The human soul, however, exists as a singularity. It exists in a single instance in time/space. It is animated by a unique and many faceted Spirit which draws from and resonates with external elements within our surrounding environment and universe. 

In a healthy and balanced existence, our inner Spirit elements resonate in harmony with external environment and gain sustenance and power from them.

When aspects of spirit become silenced or distracted, the spirit becomes unbalanced and fragmented.  The soul feels unprotected and out of balance. It goes into a slumber and seeks out external spirit elements to stabilize, control or even replace the fragmented Spirit in order to regain its awakened state.  


The intrusion of foreign spirit elements create further turmoil within the Soul as it does not satisfy or sufficiently replace the missing Spirit fragment. This fragmentation of Spirit is the source of addictions, mental imbalance, compulsions and pretty much all that ails humanity. It creates lost souls - souls entrapped in a futile effort to gain balance through taking on external and disassociated spirit elements. These souls suffer from a thirst that can never be quenched.

Humanity, since ancient times, naturally adopted rituals and spiritual practices that unite the spirit and fulfill the soul, fostering an inner state that is in harmony with Creation. Ancient communities performed rituals and practices that unified the collective spirit. Many of these traditions exist today, but are diluted by humanity's innate  sense of inadequacy and overpowering external forces that reinforce this inadequacy. 

Retrieving ones Spirit Fragments and regaining harmony within the Soul is easily achieved. It requires, however, that one discard all thoughts of spiritual inadequacy. It requires that one embrace an un-ending and Infinite Journey and expect nothing.  It is a state in which one feels the infinite and unconditional love that seems to exist everywhere. Its achieved simply by embracing ones humanity. It requires one to make every moment, every breath a sacred gift.

While Saints and Sages claim achieving their elusive nirvana requires lifetimes of suffering and sacrifice, they in fact distract Humanity from its Journey. This is because there is nothing to achieve, there is only the Journey that unfolds before us.

Chapter Two: Good Fences - Good Neighbors

We are created whole at birth. Our soul exists as a singular instance in time and space. It mirrors the singularity in which Creator manifested our universe. It is Zero divided by the un-manifest potential, Infinity - which is the infinite source that sustains Creation. As such, the soul connects to the infinite. 

Our spirit, which animates us, exists with all the essentials to establish and maintain our soul/singularity in this existence. Spirit establishes the boundaries of our soul. Without this boundary, we would cease to exist.

As life pulsates through our very being, so does it pulsate around us. Humanity imposes itself upon us. From the moment of birth the process of defining our boundaries begins. Life is a process where we choose either to seek external forces that resonate with our spirit within, or allow external spirit elements into our inner circle to influence, tamper with, or even replace the Spirit that our soul chose to align with at the moment of our birth. 

While all life is connected to the same Creator/Source, our Soul is a singularity, an individuality. Before it experiences its own individual Journey. This Journey is both unique to our Soul, yet infinite and therefore part of the collective experience or Journey.

Key to this life’s Journey is to establish and define the boundaries of our existence as a position of strength. We learn to interact with God’s Creation and in doing so, gain knowledge, strength and experiences that ultimately become part of the universal experience. When the boundaries of our Soul/Spirit are weak or compromised, we become something other than unique selves.

The universe around us is teaming with life. It is natural for our boundaries to be challenged. All disease, be it Physical, psychological or spiritual is a result of some foreign element violating our boundaries. 

The Journey that lays before us, requires that we establish a firm boundary that protects our being. This enables us to experience the Journey and gain strength from our interactions with the Universe. When boundaries are violated, dysfunction and disease are manifested. 

Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall”,  ends with the phrase “Good fences make good neighbors”. This poem plainly and innocently describes the “Dance Of Life”. In this dance, our boundaries and the boundaries of others are defined, maintained and challenged as we interact with our "neighbors". Our Journey is interrupted when the boundaries of our Spirit/Soul are not in tact, and when we interfere with the boundaries of others, we interrupt their Journey.

To embark on this Infinite Journey we must not only establish the “fences” that encompass our Soul, but must also respect the “fences” of others if we are to interact on the path that lays ahead of us. 

Chapter 3: Establishing Our Inner Circle

My oldest child was born to a mother who lived in a disturbed psychological and spiritual state. Her own personal boundaries were severely compromised at an early age resulting in the development of a disorder clinically referred to as a Borderline Personality Disorder. The “borderline” that the clinical psychologists refer to is the fine line between normalcy and schizophrenia, however, the name is fitting as the source of this disorder comes from the tampering of our physical, mental and spiritual boundaries in our early childhood. The moment our first child was born, in true “borderline” character, his mother refused to hold him. The nurse, confused by this behavior, handed my 3 minute old son to me and left us alone to go ponder the disturbing event that had just happened. 

What should have been a traumatic and uncomfortable moment for me and my son was instantly transformed into a timeless state of magic. My son, now minutes old, opened his eyes and looked into mine. Still connected to the primal singularity of creation out of which he came, I stared into an infinite expanse. I took him to the window and we looked out on the world together. I experienced, for a moment, his experience of the world. I experienced a world from the point of a soul, that was very clear about the boundaries of his existence - where his existence ended, and where the outside world began. It was a wondrous moment that transcended time. In that moment I had the privilege of experiencing the world from a newborn's perspective.  Much to his mother's dismay,  even as a newborn infant, he would cry in her arms and cease to cry when handed to me. His instincts would prove prophetic as her abusive behavior towards him and his little brother escalated, culminating  in a series of events that nearly took their young lives from them at the hand of their own mother.

This experience taught me the power that we are born into this world with. I learned that, at the moment of birth,  we are more inherently aware of our physical, mental, and spiritual boundaries then at any other time of our existence. Our soul, which exists as a singularity or singular point in Time/Space, is powerfully aware, uncluttered by self consciousness or any sense of limitation. The world we experience is wide open to opportunities. We are born intuitively aware of our existence or “Is-Ness”. Every moment we experience and learn from stimulus on all levels of the Creation that we exist in and that exists in us!

In this state we are able to rapidly advance on all levels . We learn and grow from external stimulus. We learn to trust and embrace familiar protective forces, mother, father, family, home, and in that trusted environment we are able to embark on our life’s journey through direct experience. 

Injuries and mistakes incurred along the way become important lessons that enable us to expand our experiences safely the next time we are confronted with similar circumstances. 

Creator and creation provide us with this “Inner Circle” the moment we are born. Humanity has survived due to this powerful force that naturally engulfs us. In an ideal world, a child’s inner circle begins with it’s physicality, psychological and spiritual boundaries of experience. It extends to its maternal and paternal influences. As a child grows, it learns how to trust and extend its circle to include its tribe/community - every step expanding awareness into the infinite expanse of the universal experience. 

All this, however is based on the very foundation that we learn at birth. At birth we are the most cognizant of our singularity - our singular existence in space and time.  We inherently know our boundaries, where we begin and where the outside world exists in reference to us. We are inherently “wired” to learn external forces that resonate with our spirit and strengthen us, and those forces that harm or weaken us. 

This is all well and good, but for the constant assault put upon us at birth to tear down our personal “inner circle” boundaries, and question our inner voice. The day we are born, the world that we are born in attacks the integrity of our Inner Circle. We are told that we were born in Sin - that we are vulnerable, damaged and in need of purification ceremonies and guidance. Our natural and inherent ability to learn from an protected but expanding Inner Circle, is replaced with an imposed structure of indoctrination intended to make us subservient to a social structure that insists that we are worthless fodder who must succumb to Kings, Gurus and Gods to be purified. We are taught to pursue access elusive goal, nirvana, heaven through subservience to a higher master. In other words,  are indoctrinated from the day we are born to born with a slave mentality. In this process our inner circle, which is powerful at the moment of birth,  is torn down and replaced by a higher authority - government, church, guru, etc..

By the time we become adults, our inherent sense of “Is-Ness” has been so compromised - our personal inner circle boundaries are so shattered, that we exist completely exposed to physical, mental and spiritual assaults from the world around us. We respond to this exposure in many ways. We can shut down into a shell that prevents us from experiencing the wonderment of the world and live an uninspired and paranoid life. Alternatively some of us seek solace and security by completely surrendering our selves to enslavement to a causes bigger than ourselves be it political, religious, intellectual or spiritual. This is not to say that being protective of ones self or participating in bigger causes in the world are bad, but taking these behaviors to extreme levels, more often than not are a result of a reaction to feeing disconnected to our soul/singularity. 

The process of recovering from this disconnect involves re-establishing our existence in Time and Space. Connecting oneself in Time is simple if only one can embrace the thought that linear time exists only due to our minds inability to fathom the quantum aspect of reality - e.g. that all time and every possible outcome exists concurrently.  

With this thought, one has access to all the wisdom at this very moment that one would have in every possible quantum outcome in the future. Beyond that, one is inter-connected to all the wisdom of their ancestors and decedents in this very instant.  As a newborn, we are connected to this timeless reality. In our adult life, we are subsequently taught to immediately forget this. The only step required to regain what was lost, however, is to re-institute that thought. With this thought, there is no Master to serve. Mastery exists for us to embrace with every instant. We must only embrace our humanity for what it is Now!

With that said, the next important step to re-establishing one’s Inner Circle is to connect with one’s physical location in Space. We are children of the Heavens and Earth. Embracing our consciousness as it exists in relation to Heaven and Earth is the same as embracing the singularity form which all Creation pours from. We are a mirror of that miraculous singularity.

Our Shaman ancestors created ceremonies that establish an Inner Circle or Medicine Wheel.  The symbol for such as Circle is formed around a cross, which symbolizes our presence in the fabric of Ether or Space/Time. At the intersection of this cross, at it's center is our singularity, our singular existence at the intersection of Time and Space. 

Medicine Wheel: Intersection of 
Time and Space

It can be said that this Medicine Wheel exists within our physical body. It exists at the intersection of the yogic Chakra system, which extends along the base of the spine, and the horizontal chakra system that extends from finger tip to finger tip. 

The intersection of these are at what is traditionally referred to in the yogic tradition as the Heart Chakra. In practically every spiritual and religious system, the center, heart chakra is deemed as the seat of the soul. It symbolically if not physically represents our singularity, our central point of existence where we manifest our Creation and exist in Creation as a small mirror of Creation itself.

The Inner Medicine Wheel:
Intersecting at the Heart Chakra

The Journey which we embarked up on at birth, to experience this Creation and Co-Create within it, resumes the instant we embrace our Heart Center, our Soul/Singularity. With that embrace, we can again, re-establish the boundaries of our existence. We can proceed to experience the world as a coherent being, in sync with Creation and Creator. 

This is not a process that requires years of practice to master. It is a thought that occurs in an instant. The moment we embrace it, we establish our inner Medicine Wheel, our Inner Circle and resume the Journey that we were lured away from as we handed our power over to external influences. With this thought, we learn to be compassionate to ourselves. We embrace every moment and experience, every success and mistake, as experiences and adventures on an Infinite Journey.

The most challenging aspect of this instantaneous transformation that we have available to us, is embracing our imperfections and humanity. We’ve been taught to doubt ourselves. We’ve learned to re-live our past mistakes in our heads to reinforce our inner sense of inadequacy.  This is the most challenging force that we confront at every moment on our Infinite Journey.  It assaults our Inner Circle every moment. Embracing our IS-Ness is the only means to addressing this assault upon our Inner Circle.  This requires our embracing our Humanity with all our imperfections. This requires that we become observers and not be re-traumatized by our past errors. 

As we establish our IS-Ness, our Inner Circle as an ongoing process, we can begin to heal form the hurt and trauma inflicted upon us by our torn boundaries. This healing process is ongoing. Many hucksters would have us believe that if we serve them our pain will subside and we will achieve perfection. The fact is, just as when one exercises, muscles are torn down and regenerate to be stronger, our experience in the world causes injury. The resulting healing or re-generation restores us to be stronger than before.

When we re-establish our Inner Circle, Embrace our Is-Ness or Humanity and the Infinite Journey that we have embarked upon, we resume our ability to re-generate from our wounds and exist in an ever expanding awareness of the Creation we live in. There is no beginning, and no end. There is no goal or mastery. All there “IS”, is our existence at this very instant on our Infinite Journey, along with all the possibilities that have been and will be!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Chapter 4: Our Inner Spirit Elements

Chapter 5: Seeking Protection and Guidance

Chapter 6: Embracing Humanity

Chapter 7: The Infinite Journey

The Path of IS: Humanity At The Crossroads

  "The goal is to not have one. 

It is better to live ones life cherishing every moment - 

Treat every breath as a gift,

Embrace existence itself.

The journey is never ending. 

Embrace the moment and let the Journey be the goal. "

Humanity has been bred to be slaves. We’ve been genetically and socially manipulated to accept the myth of human inadequacy. We have been bred to be subservient to a King, a Nation, a God, a Demon - something, anything but rely on our own ability to manifest the very existence we participate in.  

We have been trained to accept our fall from Eden, our premature entry into the realm of divine consciousness where we envision Creator as something separate from ourselves. 

It really is a simple matter of accepting our own divinity - Embrace the Creator that exists within us - Embrace our place in Creation - Embrace the Creator that IS us.

The role of humanity is at a crossroads. Two paths lay before us:

1.Continuing our slave-human legacy, begging for mercy and a handout from a spiritual Hierarch in exchange for our subservience.

2. Embracing our part in Creation itself and embarking on the Infinite Journey - Participating in the manifestation that is our universe.

The fist path prolongs our enslavement and insures the continued degradation of the human condition. It likely leads us to the ultimate demise of humanity itself.

The second path has always existed for us. It leads us on a Journey beyond words.  It is time to dispense with our fear of death, and embrace our very existence - our IS-Ness.

We not only are born of Earth, but of the dust and ash of the heavens. We have been forged by the celestial fire of the stars. We are, and always have been children of both Heaven and Earth. Our place in Creation already IS!

MANIFESTATION OF SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES

MANIFESTATION OF THE COLLECTIVE MIND
We live in a reality that is manifested by our very thoughts. Our collective minds have gathered around a common perspective of Time/Space, establishing a shared reference within the fabric of Ether. Beyond this thought construct, lies an infinite expanse that mind cannot comprehend. Within this construct, however, we share a common reference of Time/Space and share physical and mental laws and limitations.

The Collective Mind imposes a powerful boundary that limits the Individual Mind from venturing into the un-imaginable and potentially mind-shattering realm of the Infinite. Beyond the Collective Reality, the laws and rules that we have manifested do not apply.




When the Individual Mind suspends belief in the Collective Reality, it is able to experience the impossibilities that lie beyond. A mind altered by drug-induced hallucinations, sleep deprivation, dreams or mental instability, can stumble into a realm that appears very real, yet defies the constraints of the Collective Reality. The Individual Mind can also suspend belief through various mind-distracting practices, like meditation or sensory deprivation and have similar experiences. The influence of another Individual mind can also cause in the suspension of belief in another individual mind resulting in experiences outside the realm of the Collective Reality.

Regardless of the method, when an Individual is able to suspend belief in the Collective Reality, any experiences or resulting capabilities that defy the perceived boundaries of Time/Space are immediately discounted by the “rational mind”. These experiences are written off as coincidence, mass hypnosis, illusion, insanity or worse. When the rational mind takes over the experiences cease to occur.

We exist in a web of entanglements that lie within an infinite expanse. We each experience an individual and shared journey in that infinite expanse.  Any experiences of this Infinite Journey are filtered through our collective and individual manifestation. It is possible to remain so entangled in our manifestation that we cannot even acknowledge the possibility of an Infinite Journey, let alone experience it.

In other words:

1. Our mind manifests the reality and associated limitations in which we exist
2. Our individual and collective manifestation exists within an infinite expanse
3.  Every individual is on an Infinite Journey that is experienced through or limited by our individual/collective manifestation.

SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE COLLECTIVE MIND

Spiritual and Religious Hierarchs use techniques that confuse or divert the individual mind from the Collective Reality, causing momentary suspension of belief. This results in experiences that defy the collective manifestation. Hierarchs reinforce the individual’s belief of inadequacy in order to establish dependency on the Hierarch for these experiences. It is an ancient technique and few who are capable of this can resist the temptation to claim their supremacy for bringing about these experiences

But it does not end there…

To create a Spiritual or Religious Hierarchy, the Hierarch focuses the minds of their converts to create an Alternate Reality - an Alternate Reality that overlaps the already established Collective Reality. This new reality conveniently revolves around the manifestation of Hierarch as the supreme sovereign. They create a trusted Inner Circle that reinforces the Alternate Reality.

Any thoughts of the Infinite Journey are obliterated. The Individual is instructed to accept the Hierarch’s manifestation as their own. They forgo any pursuit of an Infinite Journey in lieu of achieving some elusive goal established within the Alternate Reality.



This overlapping Alternate Reality sets up a parallel existence for those who participate in it. It is very real - with its own levels of achievement, always around some ultimate goal, only accessible to those who totally surrender to the Hierarch and his/her Alternate Reality.

Individuals who succumb to this new reality experience a sense of empowerment. They are part of something that extends beyond the Collective Reality. Any sense of inadequacy in the Collective Reality is replaced by the dependency on the Hierarch and his/her Alternate Reality. Participants in the Hierarchy cling to their new reality with a fervor that can be unsettling to those observing it from the outside. This is how Cults are formed.

The process of indoctrination into a Spiritual Hierarchy is as follows:

1) The Individual experiences nothing beyond the Collective Reality and either believes nothing lies beyond it or accepts that they are incapable of experiencing it on their own.

2) Through the association with a Spiritual Hierarch, the Individual has experiences that defy the rational mind.

3) The Spiritual Hierarch claims responsibility for the Individual’s new experience.

4) The Spiritual Hierarch reinforces the Individuals sense of spiritual inadequacy and offers guidance to overcome it.

5) The Disciple surrenders their thought power to The Spiritual Hierarch who uses it to continually manifest an Alternate Reality

6) The Disciple embraces the Alternate Reality and replaces the Collective Reality with it

7) The Disciple becomes enslaved to a new collective manifestation, but one that revolves around a Spiritual Hierarch.

There is speculation that some Hierarchs are sincere and truly have the best interests in mind for their disciples at heart.  It is more likely that these Hierarchs are so entangled in their own Alternate Reality that they are unaware of the damage they have done. It is my belief that ANY Spiritual Hierarchy that claims to have a defined goal and insists that the Individual must become dependent upon the Hierarch and Hierarchy, only results in a new set of entanglements. The Infinite Journey is replaced by a finite goal that serves the Hierarch and his/her Inner Circle and Successors.
 
THE LIFE CYCLE OF ALTERNATE REALITIES

Alternate Realities have shown some longevity, but none can outlive the primary Collective Reality that they overlap. They begin with the inception by a spiritually adept Individual seeking greatness, however, in order to build their Hierarchy, they require an Inner Circle and a series of successors. It is the very Inner Circle that sustains the Hierarchy, which ultimately destroys it. Dissention within the Inner Circle creates fragmentation of the Alternate Reality. The collective manifestation becomes weakened and the power-seeking members of the Inner Circle loose power over the masses. The Alternate Reality dwindles and once forgotten, ceases to exist.

This life cycle can be said to have five stages

1)    Inception
2)    Establishment of Inner Circle
3)    Dissention within the Inner Circle
4)    Fragmentation
5)    Dissolution

Religions, spiritual organizations, even political movements all appear to follow this life cycle.

THE INFINITE JOURNEY OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Some spiritually inspired Individuals do not seek greatness or choose to create a hierarchy around themselves. They silently proceed on their respective Infinite Journey, occasionally inspiring other individuals to peek outside their own manifestation and into the Infinite. This powerful and silent thread weaves throughout the history of humanity and influences every age, every religion and every spiritual movement.

These Individuals generally remain nameless, choosing not to participate in the enslavement of the masses or creation of Alternate Realities. They instead inspire others, one by one, without asking for anything in return or attracting attention to themselves. These inspired Individuals are everywhere and exist in all time.

Those who seek out such Individuals for guidance are rarely successful. This is not due to their being unworthy. What limits seekers is the very belief that they are not worthy of experiencing the Infinite on their own and must seek guidance. Once a seeker realizes that they themselves are whom they seek, they begin to receive the infinite bounty that exists beyond our Collective Reality and the Infinite Journey commences. The Individual embraces their existence for what it IS without the need to manifest anything to justify their Is-Ness.