LOABT004 – Layers of Reality

One of the earliest things Abraham Hicks shared with Jerry and Esther, according to the book “The Basic Teachings of Abraham Hicks”, was the statement that the non-physical world is inextricably linked with the physical world. This concept is one that appears in many traditions of esoteric knowledge, often referred to by the phrase “As Above, So Below”.

The reality however, as I see it, is that there is no “Above” nor “Below”. Rather, all layers of reality are overlapped or interlaced with one another at all times. What happens in the physical world is only a portion or manifestation of what is happening at any given time at all layers of “reality”.

Let’s set aside for a moment that time itself is an illusion and that all there is is the “now”. But for the moment, at least, I agree with the statement made by Abraham. Things are simultaneously happening at many layers of “reality” all at once, including the layers we can’t see with our physical eyes. Another way of saying this is that whatever happens in our physical reality is only a physical manifestation of things happening in the “unseen” world layered on top of ours and vice versa. Again, they are linked.

Furthermore, Abraham taught, we in the physical world are merely an extension of those in the spiritual world. I would suggest that what they really mean is that we and them are one in the same. Our physical bodies and reality are just one manifestation of what we are. Much like our finger is not “us” but rather a part of us, so too our entire physical body and the world we live in is not “us” but merely a part of us. We are this and much, much more.

Here in lies the great mystery for human understanding. We view ourselves as separate from them. We were taught, from many world religions, that there is “God” and there is “us’. We believe that the creator therefore must be greater and separate from the the thing being created. When, as “Jesus” is quoted as saying in the Bible that “I and the Father are one”, we again think that’s a special one-off case. Surely that can’t apply to all of us. Jesus must have said that because he himself is God but we are not! Personally, I think we may have missed the point. After all, Jesus also said, “Does not the scripture say that YOU are gods?”

Those of us who grew up Christian also believe there are other beings (often called angels and demons) that are not us. We again believe that we are separate from them and that there is “them” and there is “us”. I think “Christians” are getting a little closer when some of them suggest that each of us have a “guardian angel”. At least in this respect some Christians understand that there is some spiritual form that is linked to us in some way as “our” special spiritual connection.

In “reality”, I believe, they (those in the so-called spiritual realm) are all us and we are all them. The illusion that we are separate beings is the reason our focus and attention is solely fixated on the physical plane of existence. We have forgotten that we all ALSO exist on the “spiritual” plane as well and that all of us also have a spiritual component that is inseparable from what we call “ourselves”. We have simply filtered that part out, for whatever reason.

I believe Abraham Hicks will shed some light onto why it is we “humans” choose to forget that we also exist on the spiritual plane. Perhaps, as many believe, it is the great game. In order to “enjoy” our physical reality we must “forget” that we are also spiritual beings. It is, in a way, like purposefully forgetting the ending of a movie or book (if that were possible) so that you can experience the shock and wonder at the surprise ending yet again. If you already know what’s going to happen, the ending, in time, will get boring. Only by “forgetting” can we enjoy the surprise waiting for us.

LOABT003 – Non-physical Beings Use Non-physical Communication

Yesterday I shared some thoughts about how seekers like myself may not be able to quiet our own minds enough to receive the message from non-physical entities. This is true, I think, with the possible exception of psychedelics and meditation. Today I want to explain a little what I think happened to me on psychedelics and why I was able to communicate with non-physcal entities in “that space”. Also, I want to explain how my experience with psychedelics opened new pathways of communication through meditation that were not previously available.

Let me first start by trying to explain some of my experience communicating with non-physical entities while “under the influence” of a psychedelic, then I will explain why I think it works.

In my first ever experience I recall waiting for the “drug” to kick in. I had no real idea what to expect and was told that the experience is different for everyone so I tried to just let it happen. As I was staring up into a bright afternoon sky my ears began to ring with a high pitched ringing that I somehow knew had always been there but that I had simply filtered out. That was, in itself a lesson from some other intelligence. Without hearing words it was as if something in my head was telling me to pay attention. This ringing is always here. You know this already but you are remembering it now. Why do you pretend it isn’t there when all you have to do is listen? By the way, while typing this just now, the ringing is coming back loudly in my head. I am hearing the same ringing now because I’ve learned how to listen for it and turn my awareness to it.

The entire “trip” was much like this. I was continually reminded by a thought in my mind that I already know these things, I merely have to remember. I became aware, as the clouds above me began to fold in on each other like a kaleidoscope, that the trees were watching me. They had suddenly become aware that I had woken up and were now eyeing me suspiciously. I could feel the one closest to me was a female and very strong and powerful, she stared at me menacingly but another thought in my mind told me to just relax and I’ll be fine. “You have entered her space,” I remember thinking. “She is just making sure your not a threat.”. I felt like telepathically I was telling her I’m “ok” and not here to do anything evil. Eventually she stopped staring at me and became convinced I was not a threat.

The next communication I remember was when I was told to look at the temple. It again was not words but a feeling. I found myself feeling as if I had entered a sacred temple and that invisible teachers were here with me to teach me a lesson. I was asked somehow, without words, to look around and notice the beer cans and cigarette butts laying around the space around me. I became revolted by the idea that people would come into this temple and shit all over the place by leaving their drugs and alcohol all over the place. I was distinctly “told” for lack of a better word, that I should not treat this experience mundanely and do not disrespect the temple by treating it as if it’s just “doing drugs”. The garbage around me was what the profane do to the temple. Do not be like them. Do not treat this experience recreationally. This is not a game.

Later in my first trip I was shown pitch blackness and heard the dripping of water from somewhere as if I were in a pitch black cave underground. I asked the “experience” what this place was and I remember feeling the answer immediately, “REMEMBER!”. And suddenly I did remember. “Ive been here before!” I exclaimed. “Why did I forget this place?? I’ve been here!!!”

In my mind I was not given the answer about what the place was. I was just continually impressed to “remember”. Several times after that trip I came back to it again (the dark place with dripping water) and every time I came back I was angry about why I had forgotten it. I was never given the answer, simply asked to remember.

One more comment on this before I concluded with what I think is happening. From an outside perspective or that of a skeptic, there is NO proof of anything here. The conversation was entirely in my head and thus, to many, entirely made up by me. Then again, that is EXACTLY how telepathy is supposed to work. All I can tell you is that when I asked questions in my mind, the questions felt as if they were from me and were MY questions, but the answers felt like they came from someone entirely NOT me. I had the clear distinction between my own thoughts and the thoughts of something else.

So what is happening here? I have begun to theorize that most of us in our conscious state do not relax enough or lower our resistance enough to hear the answers to our questions from non physical entities. We are too rooted in the “here and now” or our physical reality to quiet the mind and pick up on the more subtle things around us. Just as I was made aware that the ringing I heard in my ears was always there but I merely tuned it out, so too I believe, non-physcal entities communicate with us all the time but we have tuned them out. But, on a high dose of psilocybin, you are no longer able to focus on the physical world. You are so deep into altered consciousness that you are no longer aware you are sitting in a chair or in a house, or laying on the beach. Your focus on the physical world around you is GONE and all you are left with are the things you normally tune out. That is where I met them and communicated with them. In time, I learned how to do it better with mere meditation, but that is another story.

[The series category LOABT contains my thoughts and observations about the book “The Law of Attraction: The Basic Teachings of Abraham Hicks”]

LOABT002 – Physical Mediumship

I’m going to continue sharing random thoughts about non-physcal entities for a while, understanding of course that many of you won’t remotely be interested. As I have stated before, I have little doubt that I have been in contact with intelligences of a non-physcal nature. That, for me, is not the question. The question is, what are they, how does it work and why doesn’t it work consistently? Why is there always room for doubting our communication and explaining everything away as random coincidence?

Now I want to make it clear for those still reading that what I experience is no different, in my opinion, than every single Christians experience. Christians, at the end of the day, cannot prove that God exists. Even when they themselves are 100% sure that God saved them from a near death experience or answered a prayer, if they tell a skeptic, that skeptic will make it clear that their experience is no proof at all. It is just the Christian’s gut feeling and explanation for random events. No miracle story about how “Jesus took the wheel” and saved them from a head on collision will convince the skeptic that it was anything other than the person’s wishful thinking. Ironically, these same Christian’s are usually the most likely to reject MY “evidence” for non-physcal entities because it feels in conflict with their own personal understanding of God.

As I was reading the teachings of Abraham Hicks (a supposed “channeled” group of entities), Esther and Jerry Hicks explained how Jerry and Esther were the perfect match for bringing Abraham forward. Jerry was a seeker. He had a million questions about life, the universe, and the meaning of it all. Esther, on the other hand was a more simple type who didn’t think too deeply about things and didn’t really care to question the nature of everything. As Jerry and Esther describe it, it was the combination of those two types that allowed Abraham to speak through Esther. It was Jerry who drew the non-physcal entities known as Abraham to him because he was the one seeking answers. However, Jerry’s skeptical mind did not allow “them” to communicate through him openly. His resistance was simply too high. Esther was able to fully relax, in a meditative state, and these beings were able to enter her in a way because she had no resistance. She let them in and work with her physical body to provide them an instrument to speak to Jerry.

In my own experience, I feel I am very much like Jerry. I have a million questions and would love to sit down with a non-physcal entity of sorts and ask it millions of questions. Because of this, I feel I have drawn some of their attention. They, whatever they are, know that I’m a seeker and are responding to my “vibration” (as the Law of Attraction would call it). I am drawing to myself those who can answer my questions. BUT, my resistance is far too high. I always have to look for the “scientific” explanation of everything. When something happens of a supernatural variety, my mind immediately starts questioning the experience. Sure, that was really strange, but it could be that….(And off I go with a scientific explanation that can dismiss everything I experienced as just a strange coincidence).

I have had a friend tell me that my unwillingness to just accept things for what they are prevents me from getting the answers I seek. Because I have to explain everything or understand everything, I do not allow for the possibility that some things simply can’t be explained with human logic and I close my mind. Like Jerry, I seem to need a physical medium who is not resistant to their communication methods and is open enough to allow them to speak without questioning everything.

In my life I feel I have met a few of these people, ones who do not think too deeply and are open to “allowing”. The problem is, they aren’t really interested in getting the message because they really don’t care. It is such a strange dichotomy. No wonder it is so rare to find someone who has the right disposition to receive the message. It seems you need both a seeker and one who doesn’t seek anything.

[The series category LOABT contains my thoughts and observations about the book “The Law of Attraction: The Basic Teachings of Abraham Hicks”]

LOABT001 – Jerry and Esther Hicks and Tarot

[The series category LOABT contains my thoughts and observations about the book “The Law of Attraction: The Basic Teachings of Abraham Hicks”}

While reading a book tonight on the Law of Attraction I was reminded about how when I was younger, my conservative Christian beliefs would not allow me to try any of the well-known tools for communicating with non-physical entities. I was, for sure, aware of their existence, but I was taught that they were “angels” or “demons” and largely I was taught to fear them. I was also told what these beings were not. They most certainly were NOT dead people, ghosts, or anything that suggested that there is consciousness that survives death. That was, according to my parents, a direct contradiction of the Bible for the Bible says “the dead known nothing”. And so, my parents convinced me any “ghost-like” encounter was just a demon playing tricks on me and I was encouraged to pray to Jesus and beg them to go away. For decades I feared them and shut them out, even while they continued to let me know they were there. They never hurt me, never touched me, and, I only feared them until I realized I had nothing to fear.

I have felt for my whole that I have seen first-hand “evidence” of non-physical entities communicating with me. They have, and still do, frequently disturb things in my house, mimic sounds that come from places and situations not possible, knock things over or bang on walls and, at times, they have even manifested themselves by blowing out light bulbs, knocking things over, creating balls of light that explode in the darkness before me, and much, much, more.

While reading tonight the author explained his own fears and prejudices over using a Ouija board. Like me, he was taught to fear something he didn’t understand. And, like me, he eventually gave in and decided to see for himself. While the Ouija board did not work for him when he was alone, he witnessed many people who used it and found that certain individuals truly seemed to be in contact with something intelligent of a non-physical nature.

Like the author, I tried Ouija in my attempt to finally communicate with non-physical entities. And, like the author, the Ouija just didn’t seem to work for me when I was alone. It “sort of” worked with a friend of mine but never after that. To be fair, I didn’t try a whole lot though I still own a board today.

What HAS worked for me, at least to some extent, is Tarot. That, and psychedelics. Honestly, NOTHING compares to psychedelics in it’s ability to open MUCH more clear communication with non-physical entities, but Tarot does seem to do something for me that doesn’t require an altered state of consciousness.

I have worked off and on with Tarot for years now and have found that I resonate with one particular artist the most, Ciro Marchetti. Every time I look at Ciro Marchetti’s decks I feel something stirring inside me that says “PAY ATTENTION!!!”. I have never resonated so fully with a “foci” (as I call it) than I do with Ciro’s tarot. The images “speak” to me and I have managed to intuitively discover interesting things about myself though them. No, the communication via the cards is not as clear or concise as a telepathic conversation with “god consciousness” or non-physical entities while under the influence of psilocybin, but it’s a start.

Why am I sharing this with you? I just find that a lot of people don’t even know that I have used tarot or that I put much “faith” in it. Hell, until this last year not a lot of people knew I was an experienced psychonaut (explorer of consciousness via psychedelics) either. If any of you have had what you feel are experiences with non-physical entities, I would LOVE to hear about them and what you think about that experience. If you work with any tools for communicating with non-physical entities such as ouija, tarot, meditation, automatic writing, etc, I would love to hear your experience as well. Even if you just believe you saw your dead grandmother one time rocking in a rocking chair by the fire, I’d like to hear. It doesn’t have to change what your religious beliefs are or lead to an argument about what God is or isn’t. I’m just curious if anyone out there puts ANY weight in it or if you have dismissed it as non-sense.

AI Morality – NSFW Art Generators and Credit Card Censorship

It was easy enough to find several articles ranking the best NSFW AI art generators using a simple Google search. After reviewing the various programs and prices out there (including one AI program called Undressed AI which will take any person’s photo and create an AI image with the computer’s best guess of what they look like naked), I settled on two options to try first. OnlyBabes AI and Seduced AI, both of which cost money to use.

As an aside, Undressed AI is free (at least to try) but does a HORRENDOUS job at predicting what a person really looks like naked. Trust me, I tried loading a photo of one of you into the app and the resulting image was NOTHING like what you really look like naked. ANYWAY …

As you may see, there are some ethical considerations AI is already starting to surface. For example, is it ethical that I can so easily generate a “nude” image of a friend or co-worker with just a click of the button? Is this a violation of that person’s privacy? Technically it is not because the image isn’t “real” but it does make an obvious grey area about morality and the better the AI gets the harder it will be for anyone to distinguish if the photo is real or not. And what about erotic pictures of a minor? Once again, it’s not a real person (completely AI generated) so technically there was no “victim” yet it may be morally objectionable. But what if there is a legitimate artistic reason to depict a “real” person or “minor”? I’ll give some examples.

My first paid AI generator was a program called DALL-E. If, in DALL-E I wanted to make an artistic expression of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden naked, as depicted in the Bible, DALL-E would tell me that my request is inappropriate based on the word “naked”. This is despite the fact that this story is LITERALLY in the Bible and read to children. That program, despite being paid for, will simply not make nude photos of anyone (real or imagined). It is “inappropriate”. I can’t even have it make a photo of nude figures covered by fig leaves over their privates because the word “naked” or “privates” will be deemed inappropriate and thus it won’t even attempt it.

Then I learned that when you DO pay for an art generator that allows nude depictions you still have limitations. For example, there are “natural language” AI generators and “keyword” generators. In a natural language one you can be very specific such as, “Generate a depiction of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, naked, with Fig Leaves covering their privates” and you might get something very close. In a keyword generator you need to phrase it as “one man, one woman, naked, garden, trees, fig leaves, privates” and hope for the best. One person might be dressed or both, or you’ll get neither. One might have extra privates on their body and fig leaves in the sky. The AI simply uses the elements you give it and creates crazy combinations that might not even be close to what you wanted. Unfortunately, that is the paid for program I bought first without realizing it.

But before I get into reviewing the one I paid for, let me make a comment about the one I TRIED to pay for but couldn’t. One program called OnlyBabes AI was touted as the most creative and robust of them all (from my perspective). However, when I signed up for the site and went to get a paid account I was met with a message that said unfortunately at this time the credit card companies care more about censorship than freedom of expression and have shut down all credit card processing at this time. Until the site can find a way to accept payment and make money from their program, the site is temporarily on hold.

A while back, as I understand it, some court cases set a precedent in this country that online providers can be sued and arrested for the content USERS put on their site. This hit file sharing sites or those that allow uploading of videos in grave danger because now if a user were to upload say child pornography to the site, the government wouldn’t go after the user who uploaded the content but rather than site that hosted it and the credit card company that allowed someone to pay for it. All of the suddenly credit card companies became terrified. They simply cannot risk a huge lawsuit over something a random user posted and paid for. Thus, all companies and credit card processors said they were out of the adult entertainment business. They wanted no part of OnlyFans and sites like pornhub that could allow something sketchy to sneak by and thus make THEM liable in a court of law. And thus, OnlyBabes AI finds itself in the same boat. Because they cannot monitor or police what people generate with AI, the credit card companies won’t allow transactions on that site and thus cut off their revenue source.

I could go on and on about censorship but will try to be brief. The point is, the creators of AI have built in their own morality to the code. Someone decided for you that racism (for example) is not appropriate in today’s day and age thus they will not allow you to create works of art or fiction that include racist elements. You will be hard pressed to find an AI that will depict Hitler waging war on the Jews because someone decided for us that this is offensive and insensitive. Thus, the AI simply won’t allow you to depict it. And thus AI creators are trying to create a utopia society for our future where computers simply won’t allow bad behavior to exist despite the fact that humans are in fact, bad.

Artistic expression historically crosses boundaries. It is not uncommon for an artist to make us think about something differently by depicting something inappropriate. But in a world where the AI will not allow a person to think inappropriately, freedom of expression is hampered. I guess this just means that traditional artists will always have a voice because they can do things AI simply will not do.

User Create an image depicting AI policing public opinion GPT Creating an image that symbolizes AI policing public opinion requires a thoughtful and abstract approach. Let's envision a scene where a giant robot, representing AI, is overseeing a public square filled with diverse people. The robot's eyes are screens displaying various social media icons, implying its role in monitoring digital communication. The people in the square, of different genders and descents, are engaged in various activities like talking, using smartphones, and displaying placards with symbols of speech bubbles, thumbs up, and thumbs down, representing public opinion and social media reactions. This scene conveys the concept of AI's influence and monitoring in the realm of public discourse.

Lee’s Library – Is the United States the Whore of Babylon

The following are random thoughts generated while reading “Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C.”

Before I get started let me remind you once again that I no longer consider myself christian nor do I find that the “Bible” contains authoritative truth for me. Having said that, these two facts do not mean that I still don’t ask myself biblical questions based on my knowledge and understanding of Christian dogma. Today is one of those days.

I remember pretty clearly the day that the World Trade Center towers came down. Even I, a non practicing christian at the time, immediately felt as if something just happened of “Biblical Proportions” and, for about seven years following I became an ultra conservative “Christian” of sorts. I will discuss that more in my memoir “The Story of Me”.

Soon after 9/11 however, I began hearing christians quote a famous biblical prophecy, “Behold! Behold! Babylon has fallen and has been laid low and all the nations weep at her destruction.”. The implied connection was that the United States was the modern day equivalent of “Babylon” mentioned in the Book of Revelations and that the twin towers coming down was a prophesied judgment from God and signaled the end was near.

Christians can be a confusing lot. To equate the United States with modern day Babylon is to suggest that the United States is a wicked nation in opposition to God. No other city save Jerusalem is mentioned as much in the Bible and Babylon almost always stands in opposition to God and Israel. How therefore is it that OTHER christians refer to the United States as a “christian” nation who proudly declares, “In God We Trust” and refers to itself in it’s pledge as “one nation under God” yet also say it’s modern Babylon? To understand this I think a brief history of ancient Babylon and the Founding Fathers of America are in order.

It’s ok to groan, I get it.

It is an established fact that many of the founding fathers of the United States were members of a society known as Freemasonry (a society formed in 1717 in part upon the principle of free men and freedom of religion). Their influence and political and religious ideas form a big part of the basis of our modern government.

Most people in America, I would venture to say, are proud of the concept of freedom, especially of religion. Americans take pride in the fact that ALL religions are accepted here and that you will not be persecuted by your government simply because you believe in a different god than someone else. Having said that, it is my firm conviction that freedom of religion is a very UNBIBLICAL concept and the God of the Bible most CERTAINLY does not believe in freedom of religion. If you know anything about the Bible, when God agrees to be Israel’s God he demanded they put to death anyone worshipping another God and to tear down any idols and objects of worship belonging to other gods. You didn’t see temples to other gods in Jerusalem.

Ancient Babylon, however, was much more like modern America and nothing like ancient or even modern Jerusalem. Historical evidence supports the fact that ancient Babylon was once called in Sumerian times Ka-dingirra or “The Gate of the Gods” and they had four major temples devoted to four different gods as well as I believe twelve or thirteen gates into the city, each gate named after a different god. In Babylon, literally no one’s god was better than another and everyone was “free” to worship which ever god they choose. Again, this is technically Americas position too. You are free to worship whom you choose.

So perhaps you can see why some christians made the connection that the United States and it’s position that all gods are equal is more like ancient Babylon than ancient Jerusalem (the city of God). In Jerusalem the worship of other gods would never be permitted and you would be put to death if caught worshipping another god.

It has always struck me as odd when some christians maintain the belief that the United States is a “christian” nation that needs to return to its christian roots. If one understands that Christianity came out of Judaism and that presumably the God of Israel is the same God of Jesus, well it doesn’t make sense that a christian nation would believe in freedom to worship any God you choose.

As an aside, early Christians know as Gnostics came to the conclusion that the God of Israel was NOT in fact the same God that Jesus worshipped. I could also make an argument that Freemasons have a lot of gnostic beliefs so maybe that’s how they reconciled freedom of religion being ok in God’s book. The God of Jesus, they might believe, is ok with the worship of other gods but not that “jealous God” of the Old Testament.

The point of today’s post, loosely inspired by the book Solomon’s Builders is simply that the United States was founded on ideals that one could argue are extremely unbiblical (i.e. that all gods are equal in importance). I am convinced that the God of Israel would not have tolerated today’s American society. I simply cannot ignore my feelings about this every time someone refers to the United States as a “christian” nation.

Rant over

Lee’s Library – Hidden in Plain Sight

The following are random thoughts generated while reading “Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C.”

Dan Brown’s 2003 book the Da Vinci Code seemed to have set the world on fire with renewed interest in hidden symbolism.  It was an exciting time for me because I’d been talking about a lot these types of things for YEARS and no one seemed interested.  Suddenly it seemed everyone was a little bit interested. 

Prior to Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code I had, for example, repeatedly shared details about the American “Great Seal” and the symbolism on the dollar bill. I’d pointed out the great Eye of Horus on the pyramid and asked why any “Christians” would feel compelled to put the symbol of an egyptian god on their money?  And what exactly did “Novus ordo Seclorum” (often translated as “New World Order”) mean and why is it written in Latin?  It seemed none of my friends (save maybe one) could give a shit.  Most have never given it a seconds thought.

Prior to the Da Vinci Code, if I tried to point out the odd behaviors of so the called “christian” founding fathers, people would scoff and tell me I’m making shit up. Then along comes Dan Brown who LITERALLY just made a lot of shit up and people ate it up by the millions. Suddenly the average man was spouting out interesting (but historically incorrect) “facts” based on what they read in a Dan Brown novel, forgetting that Dan Brown was, in fact, a Fiction novelist. Sure, some of what Dan wrote has a kernel of truth but there was a lot of just made up stuff because it sounded true and made for an interesting book/movie. 

What I have found to be true about Dan Brown’s book is that it is true the founding fathers really did use a lot of occult symbolism when starting the new America.  In fact, occultists new and old actually do hide symbolism in books, movies, national monuments, religious and secular ceremonies and just about anything really.  But why? Is it just something bored people do because it entertains them, or is it designed to communicate a hidden meaning to those who know what to look for? Is it just silly nonsense or does it have religious importance to the person hiding the symbols?  What do the symbols mean and why do we spend time and money putting them all over our government entities?

Watch any opening ceremony of the Olympics and the casual observer will just see unusual dances and images that seem silly or rediculous but to those “initiated” in the the ancient mystery religions you might see lots of symbolism that is hidden in plain sight.  Pointing out the symbols to those who don’t see them or understand them is pointless because you arent able to explain to most rational human beings WHY it is being done.  And so, I would argue, the masses unwittingly watch an occult ceremony take place right before their eyes without seeing a thing.  In Kubrick’s famous words, they are seeing the world with “Eyes Wide Shut.'”

It has been said many times in the things I read and study that there is supposed to be great power in performing occult rituals right in front of the masses and having them ignore all the signs of occultism.  It is important, in the occult, that the masses CHOOSE to remain blind and believe the lie that there is nothing to see here.  One of my favorite movies, “The Cabin in the Woods”, depicts this nicely.  When a group of young people are led to a cabin in the woods to be ritually sacrificed one by one to appease the old gods, someone asks why there are so many warning signs everywhere letting the young people know what’s about to happen to them.  Why not just kill them if you need a sacrifice? Why give them a chance to see the danger ahead and escape?  The answer, according to the movie, is that those being sacrificed HAVE to be given a chance to escape their own horrendous ending and instead CHOOSE the path of destruction anyway.  It makes the sacrifice more powerful.  There is a line in the Bible that this always reminds me of.

“Because they were not lovers of the truth, God gave them over to a strong delusion so they would believe the lie to their own destruction.”

I have often pondered this question from a religious perspective (Seventh-Day Adventist) as well as a more spiritual perspective (ala Buddhism). From an Adventist perspective, all of creation should inherently know that God exists and yet people still doubt him.  Is it because we continue to doubt the existence of God regardless of the evidence given us that God has given us over to a strong delusion to believe the lie that he does not? Is the evidence right in front of our faces but because we are not lovers of truth we simply don’t see it?  Or from perhaps a Buddhist perspective, is the nature of reality in front of us every day that we should inherently understand that this physical reality isn’t “real” and is only an illusion?  Is it because we do not love the truth about our own inherent nature that we have been given over to a strong delusion and made to believe that we really exist in a physical universe and that we are not indeed spiritual beings?

As a final thought, I have contemplated before that Jesus was, in fact, an occult master.  Consider the following.  One time Jesus disciples asked him why he spoke in parables and riddles. His response was essentially to say that it is designed to deceive the masses. His exact explanation recorded in the Bible is “so that by seeing they do not see and by hearing they do not hear”. In other words he speaks so that people hear what they want to hear.  He further told his apostles that the “secrets” had been taught to them in private but that the masses were given stories so they would think they understand .  Is it possible therefore that the Bible simply contains the stories for the uneducated masses so that while seeing (reading) or hearing they still do not truly see or hear?  They believe they understand the meaning but perhaps the real “secrets” were indeed revealed in private and it’s only the public stories for the ignorant masses that survives in our modern Bibles. 

Lee’s Library – Solomon’s Builders

Random thoughts from the book: “Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington, D.C.”

Growing up Seventh-Day Adentist, I’d heard more than a few bad things about the secret society known as the Freemasons.  While one of my grandfathers was, himself, allegedly a Freemason and despite the fact that my mother refused to believe he was involved in anything “evil”, the general attitude among those in the Adventist church was that the Freemasons held religious beliefs that were certainly NOT “Christian” or inline with the teachings of the Bible.  Of those who were more radical in their views of Freemasonry, they believed that the masons were flat out secret devil worshipers. 

As a young Christian (before I left the church)  I did a bit of study into the Freemasons and saw enough in my own studies to conclude that the two main objections of my Adventist “family” were true.  One, the tenets of masonry are not really in line with traditional “Biblical” teaching. That is still my opinion today though that doesn’t mean the masons are wrong. And second, yes, some (if not most) masons view Lucifer as a “light bringer” and thus one of the good guys.  This does not, however, mean that masons are “devil worshipers” or that they are necessarily wrong.  I think they just have a bit of a gnostic view of the world and so do I. And no, that doesn’t make ME a devil worshiper either.  

Anyway, one of the most fascinating books I ever started reading was a book titled something like “The Secret Architecture of our Nation’s Capital”. I didn’t read much past the first quarter of the book because it was frankly a little dry.  What was fascinating about it however was that the book was quite scholarly with lots of cited references and even endorsements from the head of NASA and the Freemasons which acknowledged that not only was the book accurate, but that it perhaps is the best book ever written on the subject.  The basic premise of that book was that our Founding Fathers established America as a sort of occult (hidden knowledge) mecca and that all over the U.S. Capital are evidence of their occult beliefs (often very UN-Christian despite those claiming the nation was founded as a “Christian” nation) and hints as to what was the true purpose of America.

In my life I have had maybe one real friend who would even consider this sort of information interesting.  Most people I know scoff at the idea that there is some dark or occult (hidden) agenda that is kept from the masses.  Most people I associate with are just not “into” conspiracy theories and have been conditioned to mock all such theories before even considering the possibility some of it might be true or ask “why”.  In any case, when I saw the title of this book, “Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington, D.C.” I was immediately intrigued. Not only does it hint at covering the same topic of the hidden occult symbols around Washington, D.C. but it hints at looping in occult beliefs about King Solomon from the Bible which is a topic that has fascinated me for years.

Was it true, for example, that King Solomon (one of the greatest kings of Israel) was believed to have dabbled in occult magic and used special symbols or rings and amulets to summon and compel demons to help build a temple to the Most High God?  That was the tradition I had heard after leaving Christianity, but is there any proof or evidence for this or is it merely wild speculation? And, if it were true, what insights might this tell us about angels, demons, and the goings on of the spiritual realms?