Thank you, Sasha!!! People generally confuse Religion and Spirituality, thinking the two are the same. They most certainly are NOT the same. Religion is a group thing: worship around a set of beliefs. Spirituality is an Individual thing, where the experience(s) and Attainments are gained by practice of Meditation and/or various forms of Yoga (exercise routines for specific purposes). Even the varied forms of Ritual Magic, including Wicca, result in Attainments for the serious and diligent practitioner.
Once certain Knowledge is gained, you realize that looking at things from the Physical viewpoint (what happens after death), is and Illusion. The Reality is from the Viewpoint of Spirit: Physical Life is a temporary vehicle for learning certain things and balancing some of the Debt incurred from previous Mistakes. Unless, one is here for a Much Higher Purpose (what I call High Destiny).
I am a Melchizedek, in the Order of Melchizedek (what it is called on Earth).
Now, Creationism vs Evolutionism: The fundies of both are wrong, since they are exclusionary of the other. Ever notice how the Creationists are fanatical about 6,000 Earth Years (and that number NEVER changes)?? Who, the heck are They, to tell GOD how long ago Creation happened, and to say that there is no such thing as evolution???
Btw, in Genesis, the Garden of Eden story was Originally one of "Time to leave the nest and grow up," rather than the original sin version, which one of the early Popes change it to.
To the Ancients, the Serpent was symbolic of Wisdom, not Evil: Be as Wise as a Serpent. Wisdom is a result of Spiritual Attainment, and the Ultimate in that, is the full awakening and raising of The Kundalini: The Serpent or Sacred Fire which rises up along the Spine, interwined as Twin Serpents. The Caduceous of Medicine is the Symbol of Kundalini Risen: The Rod is the Spinal Cord.
When this happens to an Individual, it is best described as a Nuke going off in the Mind (oh, brother, aint THAT the truth!) and you have a time of Universal Consciousness. You are now a Spiritual Initiate. In the Ancient Mystery Schools, only Initiates could carry the Staff that symbolized this, for the reason that they had attained that status.
Usually, before that happens, you experience a time of Samadhi: fully conscious on ALL levels of being, at the Same Time. (what fun that is! I spent 3 months in Samadhi, nonstop, 24/7. Awake the entire time, full of energy and NO hunger, thus no need to eat. It felt like I was levitating around the apartment and had to look down to see that I wasn't.)
There are 2 kinds of personal experiences, Subjective and Objective. Subjective is internal, like visions, or say, telepathic communication with Archangel Gabriel. Not something that can be proven scientifically. Objective experiences come from outside yourself, usually from another person, like when a perfect stranger to you, greets you as a Master (it has happened to me, more than once). I even got greeted as the Governor of the Seventh Heaven, in the Eckankar office in Honolulu, last time I lived there. All I did was stop by to pick up a book. Before that, I was tested by a Real Kahuna (they don't announce the fact, but the perceptive can tell). That was a fun conversation: totally incomprehensible to a non-initiate, but totally logical to an Initiate.
My first Spiritual Teacher in this life, told me that my Silent One is Jesus. In Eckankar (means Soul Travel), there is you, your Silent One, and The Sugmad (The All-In-All). a Triunity. In other Spiritual traditions, there is the High Self, which is that part of you, that is not in the Physical: the Real You. I was curious one night, so I asked Archangel Gabriel if one's Silent One and one's High Self are one and the Same. He told me: Yes. Now, look at the beginning of this paragraph and put 2 and 2 together............
If your reaction(s) are anything like mine was: Total SHOCK! I still have an extremely hard time accepting it, and still prefer not to (I was raised Methodist, though am not a Christian). Though, remember that He did not say How He would return, just that he would, and the World conditions at That Time. (I make NO Claim that I am He, merely speaking of my experiences here. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif )
It gets even stranger. When I make a decision in High Matters, Archangel Gabriel addresses me: Thine Will Be Done, on Earth, As It IS in Heaven, True Sugmad!
I had a close Friend check into matters concerning my True Identity, and he confirms what I have experienced. When he checks on things, he has absolutely NO doubts with the resulting information. He and I have had visions of physical things (high-tech and not of Earth, but underground on Earth) that we are supposed to find. Since these are physical, if we do find these, then he and I will accept this as physical proof of the rest of the information. Until then, we treat this with reservations (considering its nature, wouldn't You??).
So, am I:
The Most Evil One??
or
A total Nutcase??
or
........ (I won't say it)??