Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Introduction
Review Of Literature
History Of The Apocalypse
Modern Prophets: Nostradamus
Modern Prophets: Cycles Of Karmic Retribution
Modern Prophets: 2012 A.D.
Self Transcendance & End Times Engagement
Apocalyptic Themes
Purification Of The Emotions
Clarification Of The Mind
The Consecrated Will
Vision & Intuition
The Second Coming, Armageddon, & Resurrection
Conclusion
By Balthazar Seferiades
Introduction
From the Book of Revelations and Daniel in Biblical times, to Nostradamus in the 1500's, prophets and their predictions have held the world spellbound for centuries. Kings and politicians, priests and emperors, all have made use of these predictions to justify their own actions and to convince others of their divinely ordained success. Many predictions appear to have come true, especially in the case of Nostradamus, as will be shown later. Other prophecied events, such as those from Revelations which concern the end of the world, never seem to arrive. However, the failure of previous doomsday predictions doesn't seem to discourage new soothsayers from claiming that the world will end soon. Strange and frightening events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, and plagues continue to occur, and many people interpret these events as signs of an impending day of doom. The twin threats of nuclear war and environmental catastrophe add a chilling sense of realism to the concept of divine wrath. Even the most hardheaded materialist must admit that humans now have the power to put an end to life as we know it on this planet.
As in the past, those who control the armies and weapons of today use prophecies to justify their wars and to assure their followers of a divinely sanctioned victory. Different interpretations of the same apocalyptic scriptures abound, and the champions of these schools of thought compete for the minds and hearts of the masses. Militant Evangelical Fundamentalists use their Dispensationalist theology to justify neverending war in the Middle East, Branch Davidians use the Book of Revelations to predict a fiery end for the United States, Rastafarians keep on moving toward the mystical land of Zion that lies somewhere beyond this corrupt Babylonian world.
Can all of these competing interpretations of the Apocalypse be correct? Certainly not. If not, then who is right and who is wrong? Only a true prophet could tell us for certain. In the absence of a verifiable Messiah who can explain all these mysteries to us, must we be content to sit on our hands and await the Day of Judgement? The answer to this last question must, perforce, be an unequivocal "no." What can we do to prepare for the Apocalypse? Read on, and with patient study a seed of wisdom may be planted in your mind that will grow into a veritable tree of knowledge, the fruit of which will nourish and sustain your spirit through the dark times ahead.
The misuse of predictions for political ends can only be sustained through a literal interpretation of prophecies. Current literalist or Dispensationalist theology in the English speaking world can be traced back to Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, a nineteenth century interpreter of Apocalyptic literature. Scofield's event-oriented interpretation of Revelations and other books, which holds that Biblical prophecies refer to events in the material world that take place at a certain point in time, makes it possible for modern interpreters to use the Bible to predict the date and ultimate outcome of nuclear war. However, the Bible itself does not provide instructions for how the prophecies contained in it are to be interpreted. Scofield's focus on single, identifiable events reflects the materialist bias of nineteenth century thought. Other interpreters of the Scriptures, ultimately deriving from the Alexandrian school of Biblical exegesis that existed before 325 A.D., see the prophecies of the Book of Revelations and the Books of Daniel as allegorical and metaphorical rather than as literal predictions.
Allegories and metaphors can be applied to many events instead of just one event. In this way, Biblical prophecies help to keep individuals and groups on a spiritual path whenever a collective crisis arises by providing a metaphorical formula for keeping the faith in the face of impossible odds. Such crises have occurred many times in history: the Roman persecution of the Jews in 70 A.D., various Roman injustices against Christians, the fall of Rome itself, and even the American Revolution are all events that were seen at the time as the advent of the Apocalypse. Those who resisted injustice or invasion at these historical times, whether Jew, Christian, Roman, or American, used Biblical prophecies to lend strength to their cause and to convince themselves that God would grant them ultimate victory. The continuous application of Scriptural prophecies to vastly different events in history lends weight to the idea that such prophecies are allegorical rather than literal. In other words, they can be applied to many events, not just to one set of events. The Apocalypse can occur many times, metaphorically speaking, rather than only once in a literal sense. By the same token, the Kingdom of God can also come more than once. In fact, it could be created again in our own lifetimes. This might be what Christ meant when he said, "This generation shall not pass away before all of these things have been fulfilled." Certain individuals who lived at the same time as Jesus did experience the Apocalypse, metaphorically speaking, and in the same sense these individuals achieved entry into the Kingdom of God. We also have the same opportunities today.
The prophecies of Nostradamus were written as a series of highly metaphorical quatrains, or four line poems. When taken literally, only a few of these poems reveal any clear meaning. Sometimes the meaning of a particular quatrain becomes abundantly clear after the event it refers to has passed. Other quatrains have remained obscure for centuries, or have been interpreted in several ways at different times in history. The passage of time makes the translation of the Nostradamus prophecies more difficult, since the quatrains were written in 16th century French with a mixture of Latin and Greek words thrown in. This makes it easy for irresponsible translators to alter the quatrains to suit their own purposes, since modern readers will be unlikely to understand the original French. Some have even gone so far as to combine elements from different quatrains, or to invent their own quatrains and attribute them to Nostradamus, in order to claim that the illustrious prophet predicted some notable event.
Poorly translated Nostradamus quatrains can be imaginatively interpreted so as to fit almost any past event, or predict whatever outcome is desired for an unfolding historical situation. Therefore, let the reader beware of the many books that claim to have cracked the Nostradamus code and that allegedly reveal the secrets of future events. It seems more likely that no author as yet fully understands what Nostradamus meant. The famous French prophet possessed a vast knowledge of astrology, Qabalah, and magical rites, as well as mathematics and techniques of encryption. In short, he was a mental giant, and his own words tell us that only divine guidance can reveal the true meaning of his prophecies. His metaphorical quatrains may reveal the future to individuals who approach them with the appropriate mystical state of mind. Those who truly understand the secrets of Nostradamus may be unwilling or unable to reveal these Mysteries to lesser minds.
Let it first be understood that prophetic writings can be interpreted as metaphorical, spiritual messages, instead of literal predictions about what will happen at a certain time. The spirit world exists outside of time, and thus it can coincide with many different times and spaces in the material world. This makes it possible for prophecies to be fulfulled many times, and to be applied to many situations. In addition to this first type of prophetic ambiguity, there is yet another layer of meaning hidden in any given prophecy: all predictions can be taken personally rather than collectively. In other words, the Apocalypse can be interpreted as an individual event as well as a collective one.
The personal Apocalypse can be followed by an individual rebirth, or resurrection of the spirit. Prophecies, when seen in this light, take on a more mystical or metaphysical character. They lead the seeker after Wisdom on toward the Divine Light, rather than frightening the ignorant into some holy paroxysm of terror. This is not to say that the personal Apocalypse will not be scary or difficult. However, the hope exists that each individual will learn from his or her own experience of Doomsday and thereby come closer to the Divine. The central thesis and teaching of this course will be that each of us must prepare for and eventually face our own version of the Apocalypse and be reborn out of this experience as fully awakened spiritual beings. Only then will we be able to play our parts in the collective Apocalypse now unfolding on the world stage, and serve as the catalyst for the spiritual rebirth of all humankind. Once we have entered the Kingdom of God ourselves, we can also help the rest of humanity to do so. The Golden Age awaits.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Review Of Literature
Saint Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999), by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, "includes dramatic prophecies from Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, and Mother Mary," as well as the channeled spirit being known as "Saint Germain." This book offers valuable insights about the nature of karma, the opportunity represented by prophecies, and the astrological influences that will dominate our planetary system during the next two decades. Prophet also offers spiritual techniques that "will help you shape the future you want."
The Archaic Revival (1991), by Terence McKenna, contains "Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFO's, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History." The book features McKenna, the pioneer of higher consciousness, in a series of interviews where his Irish gift for gab can reign unchecked. Of particular interest to the present course are McKenna's insights into the coming Eschaton or End of the World, scheduled to occur in 2012 A.D.
Apocalypse Now (1988), by Peter Roche de Coppens, turns the conventional concept of Armageddon on its head. Peter shows how Biblical prophecies can be interpreted metaphorically and used as tools for individual Initiation and spiritual awakening. This book is highly recommended for all students who wish to completely experience and integrate the information contained in the present course. It contains a wealth of exercises and meditations that assist the seeker in the process of consciousness transformation represented by the metaphors of the "Apocalypse," the "Second Coming of Christ," and the "Resurrection" that follows "Judgment Day."
The Oracles Of Nostradamus (1891), by Charles A. Ward, is the original masterwork on the famous French prophet and sets the standard by which all later books on Nostradamus must be judged. Ward offers a wealth of detail concerning every aspect of the prophecies and their author. Though the modern reader may find Ward's prose a bit dense, this book puts most of the present-day books on this subject to utter shame. Prophecies are examined in the light of several centuries of history, showing the uncanny accuracy of so many prophetic quatrains that even the most skeptical reader will be hard pressed to deny that Nostradamus possessed precognitive powers that far exceed those displayed by any other figure in modern history.
Internet savvy students would do well to explore the following websites and their respective links in order to gain an awareness of the background information that is now available on the subjects of the Apocalypse, the End Times, Nostradamus, and the Eschaton.
http://www.levity.com/eschaton
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
History Of The Apocalypse
Apocalyptic writings are those which claim to reveal the future by means of divine revelations. According to modern Biblical scholars, the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible is the original apocalyptic scripture. Professor Tabor of the Religious Studies department at the University of North Carolina informs us that (www.mille.org, 2005): "The Book of Daniel is the apocalyptic book of the Hebrew bible. Its sister book would be the Book of Revelation. And in fact the Book of Revelation is largely a Christian interpretation of the Book of Daniel." Daniel's fifth dream, or revelation, appears in chapter 11 of this apocalyptic book, and constitutes the longest prophecy in the Bible. It gives details of what will happen at the end of times, and the signs leading up to the end. The prophecies contained in this book are the most specific of all Biblical predictions.
The Biblical story of Daniel takes place in the ancient city of Babylon. The king of that city, Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Jerusalem with his armies in 586 B.C. At this time, many Hebrews were taken captive and brought to Babylon where they were forced to live for many years. Among these captives was Daniel. Today certain religious groups such as the Rastafarians draw a parallel between the captivity of the ancient Hebrews and the enslavement of Africans who were brought to the Americas as captives. For this reason, the United States has earned the metaphorical title of "Babylon" in modern times.
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians had a profound effect on Hebrew theology. The people of Israel had been conquered, the temple of Solomon destroyed by the invaders. Why did God allow this to happen, the Hebrews wondered? They concluded that their own sins must have been the cause of this traumatic event. The apocalyptic idea of divine wrath being delivered on a day of judgment thus stems from the destruction of the first Hebrew temple and of the holy city of Jerusalem. This idea persisted throughout all later forms of Jewish and Christian theology. After this first defeat and enslavement of the Hebrews, Jerusalem and Babylon became symbols of opposing forces in the struggle between the chosen people of God and their enemies, or between good and evil. But opposing the evil without is not enough, obviously, since the forces of good can be defeated if they fall from God's grace. As Professor Tabor explains (www.mille.org, 2005), "If we don't live up to our end of the bargain, if we don't remain faithful to God, God will allow us to be punished." This idea has come to be known as covenant theology, and closely parallels the New Age conception of karma.
The Apocalypse of John, or Book of Revelations in the New Testament, is only one of many apocalyptic books written close to the period of time when Christ was supposed to have lived. The plot and characters of the book can be recognized in thirty or forty other versions of the same basic story, all of which comprise the genre of writing known as apocalyptic literature. The Apocalypse of John tells of a future time when God's wrath will be visited upon the poeple of the world. Professor Tabor summarizes the Book rather succinctly (www.mille.org, 2005): "If you open the Book of Revelation and simply begin reading it as an unfolding scenario, it goes something like this. There will be wars and famines and disease epidemics and heavenly signs that will alert the world to some sort of crisis. Then will come an Antichrist as he's called, or a political ruler, that will establish control over the whole earth. He'll be backed up with a religious ruler, who's called the false prophet. They together establish a unified social, economic and religious system that dominates the world. The only thing opposing them are the people of God and these two prophets, they're called the two witnesses, who appear in Jerusalem, and begin to speak against this power. The rest of the book, really the last half of the book is about the overthrow of this system. The beast, the false prophet, who has the number 666, the Antichrist, is overthrown with judgments and plagues. Most of them are very cosmic. Asteroids hitting the earth. The water turning to blood and that sort of thing, until finally, Jesus Christ returns as a warrior on a white horse and sets up the kingdom of God." Here we have the essential elements and characters commonly associated with the Apocalypse: wars and famines, the Beast 666 who is associated with or sometimes equated to the Antichrist, the two prophets or witnesses, cosmic disasters, and finally the Saviour himself. However, the Book of Revelations does not actually mention by name all of the events and people commonly associated with the end of time.
Classics Professor White of the University of Texas at Austin avers that the elements of the end times prophecies are actually drawn from several Biblical texts and pieced together, and that in the Apocalypse of John (www.mille.org, 2005), "Notably there's no reference whatsoever to the Antichrist. That terminology only shows up in two places in the entire New Testament. One time in First John and one time in the Second John, but not in the Book of Revelation itself. The other terminology that [is] sometimes thought to be in Revelation is the Rapture, that is, the snatching away of Christians just at the last moment before the Tribulation occurs. That, likewise, is not actually in the Book of Revelation itself, that actually comes from a passage in First Thessalonians. And so what we have to realize is that in some interpretations of the Book of Revelation―in fact most of them―the interpretation is created by bringing things into the Book of Revelation, into its scheme, that are not actually there and reading them as a kind of a jigsaw puzzle of eschatology and last judgment." In other words, the prophecies have been slightly embellished by interpreters in order to make a more convincing picture of the Apocalypse. This kind of fudging wouldn't be necessary if prophetic texts were seen as allegories or metaphors rather than as literal predictions.
The most influential passage from the Book of Revelations may be Chapter 13, verse 17, which mentions the mark of the Beast and its number, 666. Here is the text of this verse and the passages immediately preceding it (www.mille.org, 2005): "13:12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. ...14 and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is 666." (Rev. 13.13-17). This prophecy has been "fulfilled," according to different interpreters, several times in history.
History Professor Boyer at the University of Wisconsin tells us that (www.mille.org, 2005), "There are fascinating continuities here when you stop and think about it, because in the 1760's, the colonists saw the Stamp Act, the requirement of the stamp on legal documents, as possibly the mark of the Beast. In the 1930's, in the Depression era, some writers said it's the union label that's beginning to be put on products. It's the NRA blue eagle. In the contemporary context, it's the consumer product code. So there's a real continuity here of efforts to find a kind of literal representation of this account in the Book of Revelation of the mark of the Beast, the mark of the Evil One." Thus, in a metaphorical sense, the "mark of the Beast" prophecy has come true several times in the last 250 years. The Stamp Act's association with this prophecy was powerful enough to help spark the American Revolution. The next fulfillment of Revelation 13:17's prophecy may occur in the form of mandatory microchip implants in human beings. These microchips are already available as a form of credit verification and for medical and security purposes, on a voluntary basis up until now. If such implants are made obligatory, for example as part of a National Security program in the U.S., the "mark of the Beast" metaphor might again be applied to this event with even more devastating effects than were seen in the case of the Stamp Act.
In summary, the Book of Revelations provides religious groups with a host of ready-made prophecies that can be fitted to any set of future historical events by means of a little imaginative interpretation. On the other hand, it also gives true seekers of Wisdom a powerful set of metaphors that can be used to maintain integrity and faith in the face of oppression. Unfortunately, the former path of literalist scare mongering has been followed more than the latter path of allegorical application. Professor Collins of the University of Chicago Divinity School illustrates this trend (www.mille.org, 2005): "As soon as the Book of Revelation is written it makes a synthetic whole of apocalyptic ideas available to readers. It accumulates bits and pieces and puts them into an accessible sequence of events. Then the question becomes simply to match up its admittedly vague utterances with historical events. When it doesn't seem to accurately predict the end at its time of writing, it gets taken up again in the second century by people like the Montanists. It gets taken up in the Middle Ages by all kinds of people, and it gets taken up very prominently in the contemporary period by Protestant Evangelicals like Hal Lindsey, whose book The Late Great Planet Earth, is one of the best selling religious books ever, if not the best selling religious book. So it essentially offers an arsenal of apocalyptic images and predictions that can be used to target any specific time as the apocalyptic moment."
Since this apocalyptic moment actually exists outside of time, in the realm of the spirit, it can "occur" at any time. Those of us who can see beyond the literal interpretations of Biblical prophecy can gain insight into both outer world and inner world events by means of prophetic writings. With luck and conscious effort, we can bring the light of reason to bear on the masses who might be deceived and who may unwittingly fall victim to misinterpretations of prophecies designed to advance an agenda of war against a supposed "Antichrist" in some other nation, or to gain converts to a particular religious sect. As the Bible itself states in 1 John 2:22, the Antichrist does not represent one particular person or one nation, but instead stands for anyone who denies that the teachings of Jesus come from a divine source (www.mille.org): "22 Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the Antichrist―he denies the Father and the Son." This verse shows that even famous apocalyptic characters such as the Antichrist are meant to be understood as allegories rather than as literal and singular individuals.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Modern Prophets: Nostradamus
Michel de Notredame, better known as Nostradamus, was born December 14, 1503, in the town of St. Remy, France. He studied medicine at famous school of Montpelier, and took his doctor's degree there at the age of 26. Not long afterward he settled in the town of Agen and married a woman, who bore him two children. His wife and children died at a young age during an outbreak of the plague, an event which might be called the personal apocalypse of Nostradamus. This tragedy failed to break his spirit, however, and eventually he found gainful employment for himself as a successful physician treating plague victims in the town of Aix, beginning in 1546. In 1547 Michel de Notredame married Anne Posnard, and in the course of time they had six children. The first edition of the "Great Prophecies" of Nostradamus was published in 1555, and the complete edition containing nearly 1000 prophetic quatrains was published in 1558. He died a scant eight years later, on July 2, 1566.
In his famous book, Oracles Of Nostradamus (1891), Charles A. Ward writes, "Michel Nostradamus was one of the most learned men of his day, the friend of Jules CÉsar Scaliger. He knew many modern languages, and the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He had followed medicine from the age of twenty-two, took his Doctor's degree at twenty-six, filled a professional chair at Montpelier, and late in life devoted himself to judicial astrology; in which, and in an intuitive forecast beyond what that can bestow, he has distanced by far all other competitors in the same line." Nostradamus must indeed have been a learned man in order to have predicted future events so accurately that his name still instantly invokes the idea of prophetic insight almost five hundred years after his death.
Many of the poetic prophecies of Nostradamus have presaged events with an eerie degree of accuracy. The prophet names persons, places, and details associated with events that later came to fruition exactly as he described them. However, the quatrains in question could only be matched up with the events they described in hindsight. As the introduction to Oracles Of Nostradamus (1891) states, "Another point which comes up again and again is that it is almost impossible to use Nostradamus to actually predict events. The predictions usually only make sense in hindsight. It is far too easy to predict 'there will be earthquakes, floods, famine.' What distinguishes Nostradamus is the accuracy of his 'hits' when viewed in the rear view mirror." Some of Michel's most notable "hits" include the death of Henry II, prophesied in Century I, quatrain 35. King Henry II of France, a personal friend of Nostradamus, died from wounds received during a joust. The manner of the King's death so closely paralleled the prophetic quatrain in question that the precognitive powers of Nostradamus could not be doubted thereafter, though some attributed his uncanny foresight to the Devil.
In Century III, quatrain 44, Nostradamus clearly predicts the invention of firearms, even providing a slang term that was not used until the 1600's. As Ward explains in Oracles Of Nostradamus (1891), "The invention of the musket dates 1630. Troops, Le Pelletier says, were first armed with it in 1671. Nostradamus, it is to be observed, anticipates by an ingenious amplification and periphrasis the very name chien, by which the French designate this portion of the lock. It would not have served its purpose for the name of the same thing in English. This anticipation of the slang term of manufacture, a hundred years before the thing itself was used or named, seems to show an intimacy with what would be called matters of chance, that is inconceivable and beyond all comprehensibility." Century I, quatrain 60, clearly refers to Napoleon:Century I.―Quatrain 60. [I. 168.]―
Un empereur naistra pres d'Italie,
Qui ˆ l'Empire sera vendu bien cher:
Diront avec quels gens il se ralie,
Qu'on trouvera moins prince que boucher.
Which can be translated into English as:
An emperor shall be born near Italy,
Bought by the Empire at a bankrupt rate:
You'd say the herd, he gathers to himself,
Denote him butcher rather than a prince.
As Ward elaborates on this quatrain in Oracles Of Nostradamus (1891), "An emperor shall be born in Corsica―Napoléon Bonaparte. His advent to the throne of France will prove prodigiously costly to her. It is enough to make one say, from the tribe he surrounds himself with, that he is more like a butcher far, with the steel dangling at his side, and slaughter-man apprentices, than a prince." From these three instances it can be seen that Nostradamus was indeed able to predict future events far more precisely than chance would allow, even centuries after his death.
However, present day authors who claim to have cracked the code used by Nostradamus to conceal the dates of future events should not be trusted. Such authors know that they can take advantage of the ignorance of modern readers by providing less than accurate translations of the quatrains, imposing arbitrary interpretations onto these mistranslations, and even changing the number and wording of certain quatrains in order to make it seem as though Nostradamus predicted an event which the author hopes will come to pass. A particularly blatant example of this sort of prophetic hoax can be found in Manfred Dimde's book, Nostradamus: Predictions For The 21st Century (1998). In this grossly irresponsible book, the author misnumbers Century X, quatrain 100, as Century IX, quatrain 100, in order to make it seem as though this quatrain refers to the year 2000 according to an arbitrary dating system invented by the author. As if this error was not bad enough, Dimde translates this quatrain so as to render it almost completely unrecognizable, and does so to deceive readers into thinking that Nostradamus predicted a 300 year empire for the United States. On the contrary the prophecy undoubtedly refers to England, as any reader with the least knowledge of French would know. The original French of Century X, quatrain 100, reads as follows:
"Le grand empire sera par Angleterre,
Le Pempotam des ans plus de trois cens:
Grandes copies passer par mer & terre,
Les Lusitains n'en seront pas contens."
Which can be rendered into English as:
"The great empire will be for England,
The all-powerful one for more than three hundred years:
Great forces to pass by sea and land,
The Lusitanians will not be satisfied thereby."
Nostradamus: Predictions For The 21st Century (1998), however, gives us the following translation for the same verse, which he erroneously numbers "IX Century, Verse 100, Prophecy for the Year 2000":
"Great power is established through the angel land
The twofold undiplomatic spirit for more than 300 years
Large mass-produced vehicles travel across the oceans and the land
And those with a clear head will not be happy about it."
To set his readers up for this hoax of a translation, Dimde writes, "Nostradamus leaves no doubt that America will dominate the world stage for the next 300 years." He goes on to claim, in reference to the mistranslated quatrain in question, "To understand the following text, one must know that the term 'angel' is used by Nostradamus for 'flying people.'" This statement is absurd, since the word Dimde refers to, "Angleterre," means "England" in French, and has nothing to do with the word "angel." To cover up this blatant falsification, Dimde continues: "The term 'angel land' first brings Great Britain to mind. However, Nostradamus means the United States, because this is the country that in the future will have air superiority." In other words, Dimde knows what Nostradamus meant and the rest of us had better believe it. Who's the prophet here, anyway? Let the reader beware of Dimde's books and other like them. Remember, the prophecies of Nostradamus cannot so easily be used to predict the future. As the Nostradamus himself warned in his "INCANTATION OF THE LAW AGAINST INEPT CRITICS":
"Let those who read this verse consider it profoundly,
Let the profane and the ignorant herd keep away:
And far away all Astrologers, Idiots and Barbarians,
May he who does otherwise be subject to the sacred rite."
The prophecies of Nostradamus may indeed reveal the future to those with the wisdom to understand his words, and to seek divine guidance as a means to acquiring greater understanding. The French text and English translation of the prophetic quatrains can be found at www.sacred-texts.com. Don't become the mental slave of biased interpretations. Judge the Nostradamus prophecies for yourself.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Modern Prophets: Cycles Of Karmic Retribution
Following the lead of Jewish and Christian covenant theology discussed previously, some New Age thinkers have taken up the idea that the universe records the karmic value of human actions and that divine forces return this karma to those who created it after a certain amount of time has passed. The time of karmic retribution and the type of karma to be returned might be foreseen through astrological calculations, as well as by means of prophecies. Those who heed the warnings of impending doom can mitigate or expiate their own karmic debt through sincere prayers, a renewal of faith, righteous deeds, and repentance. Thus, prophecies are never set in stone. On the contrary, they offer divine mercy by giving those about to be punished a chance to change their ways and be spared thereby. As Elizabeth Clare Prophet writes in her book, St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999), "Heaven has allowed the prophets a rare glimpse of what the future may hold so that we can transmute our negatives before the handwriting in the book of life becomes an indelible record and we reap the full consequences of our actions."
A Biblical precedent for this idea can be found in the Book of Jonah. In this story, Jonah refused to tell the people of Nineveh of the doom that he foresaw for them if they did not repent of their wicked ways. Jonah wanted God to destroy Nineveh, and so he tried to escape from his duty as a prophet by fleeing on a ship. However, God's will could not be thwarted so easily. A storm overtook the ship, and Jonah was thrown overboard to be swallowed by a giant fish. Eventually the fish spat him up on shore, and Jonah journeyed to Nineveh to deliver his prophecy to the people there. Much to Jonah's disappointment, the people of Nineveh repented and were spared. Thus the Bible supports the idea that karmic retribution, or the wrath of God, can be averted through prophecy and repentance.
In addition to the negative karma each of us must individually be held accountable for in this lifetime, we all must collectively face the karma of the world and nations into which we were born. As Prophet writes in St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999), "The negative karma of those who live on earth has been held in abeyance for thousands of years by the spiritual consciousness of the great lights of East and West. The end of the age of Pisces marks the day when we must carry the full momentum of our past karma, which is why the prophecies for this time of transition are so very sobering." An examination of current and approaching astrological cycles may help us to prepare for this world transition that will affect all of us to a greater or lesser degree. One of the major planetary conjunctions occurred on May 3, 2000. At that time the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were all in the sign of Taurus. Some of these planets formed 90 degree squares with Neptune and Uranus in Aquarius. These squares indicated that the old social consensus will be broken, and that the old order will pass away.
The ongoing wars sparked by the attacks of September 11, 2001 would seem to coincide with the beginning of the end for the old order, but the passing away of the current powers that be may take quite some time. As we read in St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999), "Although the Taurus mega-conjunction exists in the heavens for only a short period of time, its influence and effects will play out and be felt over a very long period of time. It will be a turning point in astrological history."
Other major astrological transits include the passage of Uranus through the sign of Pisces from 2003 to 2011. Uranus symbolizes sudden breakthroughs and scientific advancements, while Pisces represents mysticism and self-transcendence. Thus, great progress in the metaphysical sciences can be expected during this period. Neptune also moves into Pisces beginning in 2012 and stays there until 2026. This transit will intensify society's impulse toward mystical pursuits.
Self-transcendence will be the keynote of this cycle. As St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999) tells us, "The critical path to self-transcendence is self-actualization (to be who we really are) and service to others (to give who we really are). In this cycle, our collective initiation will be to serve others, to reach out and take some gift of the self and use it to help others so that they too can self-actualize and self-transcend."
The last major transit, Pluto in Capricorn from 2008 to 2024, indicates a redistribution of power. Struggles between the old power structure and the newly arising wielders of force will ensue, as the old order collapses and the new one crystallizes. These sixteen years will be crucial for those who wish to see new political ideas come to fruition, and conflicts will naturally arise over who will decide what the new political landscape will look like in the 2020's and beyond.
At this point we would do well to remember that astrological cycles indicate tendencies and probabilities, but cannot dictate the course of events. Planetary transits are like the winds and tides. People and nations are like ships on the sea: affected by the weather and currents, but ultimately under the direction of human will. In reference to the 20th century prophet Edgar Cayce, St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999) notes, "Cayce said that we are not ruled by the world, our environment or even 'planetary influences,' but by our own free will. When we disregard divine law, we bring 'chaos and destructive forces' into our life; when we are in harmony with the divine, we create 'order out of chaos.'" Just as a sleeping helmsman can steer a ship onto the rocks even in the calmest weather, so can a brave and competent captain guide his ship safely through the worst of storms. So it is with our own lives. The law of karmic returns will destroy us if we come into conflict with it, or shower us with blessings if we live righteously. The choice ultimately lies with us. However, right living can be a great challenge in the troublesome times in which we now find ourselves. The seas have grown rough, and great skill will be required if we are to avoid being smashed on the rocks of world karma. Wars, natural disasters, economic pressures, and governmental oppression all seem to intensify and occur with increasing frequency as we go further into the new millennium. No wonder so many people are turning to prophets for answers at this time. These prophets may indeed be able to provide us with some insights that will enable us to face the challenges ahead with greater confidence, so long as we can avoid the danger of relying on predictions to dictate the course of events in our own lives.
How can the increasing frequency and intensity of personal and outer world disasters at this time in history be accounted for? Elizabeth Clare Prophet explains this by means of a series of visions concerning the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999) she explains, "The Four Horsemen are delivering the negative karma mankind have made over the past 25,800 years in each of the four levels of existente―fire (etheric), air (mental), water (astral), and earth (physical)... As they move through time they deliver the karma in cycles, and the cycles are getting shorter, taking less time to complete." The impersonal law of karma returns whatever we send. We reap what we sow. As the end of the current astrological age of Pisces approaches, karmic returns get faster and faster until we reach what rock singer John Lennon called "instant karma."
The age of Aquarius represents a higher stage in our spiritual evolution. Before we are ready to pass on to this higher stage, we must reap the karma of past ages so that we and the world can be purified. Once we have been freed of past karma, we will be able to master the next higher level of existence. Prophet, in St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999), explains it this way: "In more precise karmic terms, our final exams require us to resolve unresolved issues of karma not just from the last 2,000 years but from the last 25,800 years. Why 25,800? It is one cycle around the cycle. It takes approximately 2,150 (one astrological age) to go through thirty degrees of the zodiac, or one astrological sign, and about 25,800 years for the earth to move through all twelve astrological signs. So today we are completing our unfinished business not only from the Piscean age, but from the previous eleven ages as well. What's more, we have the awesome opportunity to pioneer not just the new age of Aquarius but an entirely new 25,800-year cycle." This karma consists of both personal and planetary lessons, and the deliverance of such karma constitutes our own personal and collective Apocalypses.
Can the effects of the negative karma that we and the world have created somehow be avoided? Can the disasters waiting in the wings for us on the individual and group levels be somehow averted? The answers are: yes; and, not necessarily. In order for the effects of bad karma to be mitigated for us as individuals, we must cease to create such karma (i.e. repent or change our ways) and make amends for our past misdeeds. In order for collective disasters to be avoided, entire groups and nations must also change and make amends. On the individual level such a turnaround can be accomplished, provided that the will of the individual in question is strong enough to make the change, and that the weight of past misdeeds can still be balanced out by positive action before it is too late. Otherwise, some amount of negative karma will crystallize into the physical world and the individual will experience this as some form of personal Armageddon. On the group level, turnarounds will be much more difficult. However, if we hope to avoid collective disasters, groups and nations must also change their ways. Prophecy has long been one of the most effective ways to change the actions and habits of large groups of people. Therefore, it may be beneficial to mankind for some prophecies to be printed here.
Some of the prophecies channeled from the spirit being called "St. Geramin" appear in St. Germain's Prophecy For The New Millennium (1999): "If you who know better do not engage in serious karma balancing, giving powerful fiats [short, dynamic commands or affirmations] to the violet flame for world transmutation, you could very well see come to pass that cataclysm that has been predicted for so long. And if it come to pass, the advances civilization has achieved to this hour could take thousands of years to regain, depending on the severity of earth changes. Continents could be severed and nations divided... Some of you have entered in to this materialistic civilization, and it has cost you. For you have been driven this way and that way, looking to outer things, forgetting that you once knew and tended the flame on the altar of the heart... Alas, it is late in the centuries, and some of those who have come to be reborn here to build America in this century and the last have not fulfilled their reason for being. Some have entered into the same old [Atlantean] spirals of deception, the abuse of power and money, and have therefore turned around what might have been truly by this day a golden age in America... Economic debacle is foreseen. Prepare. Setbacks will be sudden. Many band-aids upon the economy, the money system, the banking houses. These will not prevent the collapse of nations and banking houses built on sands of human greed, ambition and manipulation of the lifeblood of the people of God... What is noteworthy, beloved, is that in all areas of crisis and ultimate catastrophe, it has taken but a few Lightbearers to save a situation and but a few spoilers to ruin all for the people. Thus, understand that key figures play their parts this day, even as chessmen on the board of life... Recognize that in you the light is the majority... Your actions, choices, moves and decisions will truly affect the fate of earth and her destiny for centuries to come." The concept of the violet flame that St. Germain mentions will be explored in more detail below.
The central message of his prophecy seems to be that the preoccupation with materialist pursuits has led us to this current karmic impasse as a people here in the Americas. To avert the coming catastrophe, we must awaken and become "Lightbearers." In other words, we must undergo, as individuals a spiritual awakening. This awakening has also been called "self-realization" or "self-transcendence." The goal of the second half of this course will be to guide the student through the karmic returns that constitute the personal Apocalypse, and to provide a method for spiritual awakening, self-realization, and self-transcendence. In this way, a few of us may become bearers of the light and help to avert the worst effects of the karmic disaster that we now collectively face.
The first step on the path to spiritual awakening consists of finding a way to free ourselves from negative karma so that we are free to act and direct our energies toward positive goals. The "violet flame" mentioned above can be visualized and invoked by means of prayers and incantations. This "flame" can be thought of as a subtle energy, similar or identical to the "chi" energy used in certain forms of healing and martial arts. The violet flame can be directed and channeled to dispel negative karma. As the prophetic spirit in St. Germain's Prophecies For The New Millennium (1999) tells us, "Karma is the weight that prevents the soul from flying. Karma affects all choices. It affects contracts―business, marriage, and otherwise―those who are drawn to your life and those who cannot be, the children you may give birth to. Every day as percentages of your karma pass through the violet flame and you ratify that transmutation by good deeds, words and works of love and service, you are lightening the load and therefore rising to new planes of realization, new associations... The less karma you have, the greater your opportunity day by day."
In order to invoke the violet flame, visualize yourself enfolded in a field of blazing indigo fire that warms but does not burn you. While holding this image clearly in your mind, say the following invocation: "Holy flame burning bright, Round me seal your field of light, From ascended master flame, Called forth now by Divine Name, Let it keep my temple free, From all discord sent to me. I Am calling forth violet fire, To fuel and transmute true desire, Keeping on in freedom's name, Till I Am one with the violet flame." When the flame has been invoked, bring it down into your head and let it burn away all of your negative thoughts, clearing away the darkness that covers your third eye. Then draw the flame down further, into your heart chakra, and allow the flame to burn up all the pain, anger, and sadness held there. Lastly, let the flame flow down into your hands, and from there imagine yourself directing it out into the world to dissolve the karma of your past misdeeds.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Modern Prophets: 2012 A.D.
As mentioned in the previous section, several important planetary transits will be taking place during the first two decades of the present century, and the year 2012 will be one of the central turning points in these astrological cycles. Neptune will be in the sign of Aquarius until 2012, making this a time when spirituality will become one of the primary concerns of the common people. Self-transcendence, illumination, and higher consciousness may even become more important to the masses than the pursuit of material wealth, as unimaginable as this may seem. Political change and conflict will likely be reaching a dramatic peak at this time as well, since Pluto will have moved out of Sagittarius and into Capricorn by 2008, allowing the present period of religious wars and clashes of cultures to give way to a time of political restructuring and redistribution of power. Mayan astrology has also placed a great deal of emphasis on the year 2012, and interest in the Mayan prophecies concerning this date are at an all time high. Some authors have even gone so far as to predict that a cataclysmic end of the world scenario will culminate in December of 2012. Other, more optimistic authors, most notably the psychedelic shaman Terence McKenna, theorize that the Eschaton or End of Time that seems likely to occur in 2012 will also be a kind of beginning, perhaps even a worldwide spiritual reawakening akin the Biblical Rapture.
However, the time leading up to this turning point may indeed be difficult. In his book of interviews entitled The Archaic Revival (1991), McKenna opines: "I think that there is a New Age about to dawn. I think that it will come, but... we still have much to go through. Because the cultural institutions will not reach for the emergency brake until things are really cracking to pieces. Because, you know, the present form of civilization represents a sinking ship." In other words, the powers that be will not repent of their misdeeds until it is already too late. Civilization as we know it has created an enormous amount of bad karma in the form of military and economic oppression of the poorer nations of the world on the one hand, and environmental degradation on the other. Wars, social upheavals, economic collapses, and natural disasters will bring civilization down if the institutions refuse to change the basic way that things are done. We don't need a Nostradamus to see the truth of such predictions.
This approaching historical moment, therefore, might be called the death of civilization. However, as many spiritual traditions maintain, death need not be the end. Though material forms break down, the energy within the form―call it spirit, astral body, or what you will―has a chance to continue. The key to life after death consists in the creation and maintenance of this immortal spirit that does not depend on the physical form for its survival. By the same logic, the key to human survival after the death of human civilization must be the creation of a society that does not need civilized institutions in order to continue. How can such a spiritual society be created?
The birth of such a society depends on individuals who reach higher states of consciousness in order to devote themselves to guiding their fellow human beings through this time of transition. As McKenna states in The Archaic Revival (1991), "Apparently at the moment of death there is a kind of separation, like birth―the metaphor is trivial, but perfect. There is a possibility of damage or of incorrect activity. The English poet William Blake said that as one starts into the spiral there is the possibility of falling from the golden track into eternal death. Yet it is only a crisis of a moment―a crisis of passage―and the whole purpose of shamanism and of life correctly lived is to strengthen the soul and to strengthen the ego's relationship to the soul so that this passage can be cleanly made. This is the traditional position. I want to include an abyss in this model―one less familiar to rationalists, but familiar to us all one level deeper in the psyche as inheritors of the Judeo-Christian culture. That is the idea that the world will end, that there will be a final time, that there is not only the crisis of death of the individual but also the crisis of death in the history of the species... We are now, there can be no doubt, in the final historical seconds of that crisis―a crisis that involves the end of history, our departure from the planet, the triumph over death, and the release of the individual from the body. We are, in fact, closing distance with the most profound event a planetary ecology can encounter―the freeing of life from the dark chrysalis of matter. The old metaphor of psyche as the caterpillar transformed by metamorphosis is a species wide analogy. We must undergo a metamorphosis in order to survive the momentum of the historical forces already in motion."
Conversely, those who fail to undergo such a metamorphosis will fall into the "abyss" that McKenna mentions. For this reason, the spiritual awakening of humankind has now become a matter of life and death for the entire species. The powers that be, when they realize the futility of opposing the wheel of karma, may attempt to destroy the world rather than accept defeat. Only a critical mass of enlightened human beings can hope to avert such a catastrophe. In the absence of such a critical mass, only those humans with a higher state of consciousness will be able to survive after the physical supports of civilization have vanished in the cataclysm. To avoid falling into the abyss ourselves, and to help others negotiate this delicate time of transition, we must undergo the metamorphosis of which McKenna speaks. Hence, the present course has been created in order to show you how to achieve self-realization and self-transcendence, and in the process help others to do so as well.
The central message of all prophecy seems to be that our time has a limit. Soon we will reach a deadline, after which it will be too late for us to act. We cannot afford to put off our spiritual awakening until tomorrow. The time is now. The sooner we begin preparing for the 2012 transition, whatever it may entail, the better our chances of crossing over smoothly from our present state of being to that way of existence that belongs to the future. We can choose to participate in the future Golden Age by acting now to make that paradise on earth a reality. In order to manifest this dream, we must become the shamans and prophets of the future. We must find and become the heroes that lie deep inside of us. McKenna has some insights on this point in The Archaic Revival (1991): "Hopefully we are now coming into a period of maturity as a species. We can no longer have forbidden areas of the human mind or mindless cultural machinery. We have taken upon ourselves the acquisition of so much power that we must now understand what we are. We cannot travel much further with definitions of humanity inherited from the Judeo-Christian tradition. We need to truly explore the problem of consciousness, because as human beings gain power they are becoming the defining factor on the planet. The questions that loom are, 'Is man good?' and then, if the answer is yes, 'What is man good for?'
The shamans will point the way because they are visionaries, poets, cultural architects, forecasters―all these roles that we understand in more conventional terms rolled into one and raised to the nth power. They are cultural models for the rest of us. It has always been true that the shaman has access to a superhuman dimension and a superhuman condition and thereby affirms the potential for transcendence in all people. The shaman is an exemplar, if you will, and I see the new attention that's being given to these things signaling a sense on the part of society that we need to return to these models."
In order to become transcendent heroes who serve as an example for the rest of humanity, we as individuals must contact the divine or superhuman forces lying dormant within ourselves. Good intentions will not be enough. Heroism implies heroic effort, strength of will, dedication to a higher purpose, and impeccable principles. In short, the prerequisite for shamanic heroism is divine inspiration. The shaman forges a link between the material world and the spirit world, and serves as a bridge between the two. The spirit world may be, at least partly, a sort of collective mind belonging to the entire species throughout history. The gods, myths, and spiritual beliefs of all cultures spring from this collective mind, or mental plane. The Archaic Revival (1991) tells us: "This dualism of the interior and the exterior may have to be overcome. It obviously transcends the individual. But I suspect it is something like an Overmind of the species and that the highest form of human organization is not realized in the democratic individual. It is realized in a dimension none of us has ever penetrated―the mind of the species. It is the hand at the tiller of history. It is no government, no religious group, but actually what we call the human unconscious; however, it is not unconscious, and it is not simply a cybernetic repository of myth and memory. It is an organized entelechy of some sort, and though human history is its signature on the primates, it is very different from the primates. It is like a creature of pure information. It is made of language. It releases ideas into the flowing stream of history to boost the primates toward higher and higher levels of self-reflection. We have now reached the point where the masks are beginning to fall away and we are discovering that there is an angel within the monkey, struggling to get free. This is what the historical crisis is all about. I am very optimistic. I see it as a necessary chaos that will lead to a new and more attractive order." For the first time in our unfolding series of concepts we encounter the idea that maybe the current historical crisis, the eschaton at the end of history, has a higher purpose and a deeper meaning. Perhaps the end of history has been hard wired, so to speak, into the species, in order to serve as a catalyst for our attainment of higher consciousness.
What makes 2012 such a compelling date for the end of the world as we know it? Strangely enough, Western astrology, Mayan astrology, and Terence McKenna's Timewave theory all seem to have produced this date as a vital turning point independently of one another. John Major Jenkins, a student of Mayan time and author of the book, Tzolkin: Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies (Borderlands Science and Research Foundation, 1994), writes of this fortuitous synchronicity, "In the book he co―authored with his brother Dennis (Invisible Landscape, Seabury Press 1975 and Harper San Francisco, 1993), Terence suggests that the position of winter solstice sun within 3 degrees of the Galactic Center in the year 2012 A.D. (a "once-in-a-precessional―cycle" event) may provide the eschatological end point for his theory of time known as Timewave Zero. His end date was chosen for historical reasons and was, apparently, only later discovered to correspond with the Mayan end date. The McKennas point out that this unusual astronomical situation has been noted by other writers, namely, Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend in Hamlet's Mill (1969). As ACS Publication's The American Ephemeris for the 21st Century shows, in the year 2012 the Galactic Center is at 27 Sagittarius (within 3 of winter solstice). Thus McKenna demonstrates that on winter solstice of 2012, Galactic Center will be rising heliacally just before dawn, in a way reminiscent of how the Maya observed Venus's last morningstar appearance."
This astronomical event has a great deal of significance for shamans in the Mayan cosmology, for as Jenkins points out, "it seems that when a planet, the sun, or the moon entered the dark cleft of the Milky Way in Sagittarius (which happens to be the exact center of the Milky Way, the Galactic Equator), entrance to the underworld road was possible, which could then take the journeyer up to the Heart of Sky. Shamanic vision rites were probably involved in this scenario." Thus, Venus will likely pass through the Galactic Equator near the winter solstice of 2012, enabling modern shamans to enter the Mayan underworld and make the ancient journey to the "Heart of the Sky."
To get a better idea of what this means, we would need to undertake a thorough study of Mayan mythology and shamanic practices. Unfortunately, such a study lies beyond the scope of the present course―perhaps another course will explore this fascinating subject in the depth that it deserves. At present, a few details will have to suffice. Jenkins tells us, "Where the Galactic Equator crosses the ecliptic in Sagittarius just happens to be where the dark rift in the Milky Way begins. This is a dark bifurcation in the Milky Way caused by interstellar dust clouds. To observers on earth, it appears as a dark road which begins near the ecliptic and stretches along the Milky Way up toward Polaris... In Dennis Tedlock's translation of the Popol Vuh, we find that the ancient Maya called it the "Black Road." The Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque must journey down this road to battle the Lords of Xibalba. (Tedlock 334, 358)" Thus, the winter solstice of 2012 marks the time when this "Black Road" will again become accessible to modern shamanic heroes. Like the Mayan Hero Twins, we too must take the dark road on our way to the final cosmic battle at the end of history. In this battle, we must first triumph over ourselves. Only then can we obtain victory over the mechanistic, unconscious forces in the outside world that oppose the ascension of humankind toward higher consciousness.
Conscious striving toward enlightenment can transform the momentum of so much unconscious machinery into a positive force that will drive us into the Golden Age or Green Age of the future. In The Millennium Book of Prophecy (1997), the prophet Tamo-san explains the nature of these unconscious forces in the world: "What do you expect? People are machines. Machines have to be blind and unconscious; they cannot be otherwise, and all their actions have to correspond to their nature. Everything happens. No one does anything. 'Progress' and 'civilization' in the real meaning of these words, can appear only as a result of conscious efforts. They cannot appear as a result of unconscious mechanical actions. And what conscious effort can there be in machines? And if one machine is unconscious, then a hundred machines are unconscious, and so are a thousand machines, or a hundred thousand, or a million. And the unconscious activity of a million machines must necessarily result in destruction and extermination. It is precisely in unconscious involuntary manifestations that all evil lies. You do not yet understand and cannot imagine all the results of this evil. But the time will come when you will understand." Thus, in order to ensure the triumph of evil and the destruction of humankind, we must simply continue to do what we have always done. No effort will be required. We can continue to watch television, drive our cars, go to work, go shopping, and when the Apocalypse comes to take us away it will be no surprise.
If, on the other hand, we wish to create an enlightened civilization for ourselves and those who come after us, a great deal of conscious effort will be required of us. The purification of our hearts and minds, the training of the will and the imagination, and the raising of our consciousness toward a superhuman or divine level, are but the first steps in this process. For once we have achieved enlightenment for ourselves, we must then face the task of projecting the light of higher consciousness out into the world so that others can cease to be machines and begin to act consciously as well. At this point we will have become prophets ourselves, and our words will be the predictions that will come true through the united efforts of all conscious beings.
Once enough human beings have transcended their unconscious, mechanistic natures, it will be possible for a collective transformation to take place. If such a shift toward higher consciousness can be achieved at the collective level, then the crisis culminating in 2012 will pass without the fulfillment of the doomsday scenarios which would-be prophets currently use to frighten the masses into a confusion of terror. As The Millennium Book Of Prophecy (1997) tells us, "The critical mass of enlightenment can be defined as the smallest number of awakened human beings whose collective influence can initiate a significant shift in global consciousness. The process of creating enough enlightened ones to achieve this critical mass can be likened to the transformation of coal into diamonds. The pressure of surrounding human unconsciousness creates an urgency in the potential enlightened one to awaken from illusion. The total weight of so much unconscious 'carbon' exerts a tremendous pressure, through which a few coal stones reach the appropriate mass to become 'diamonds.' These awakened beings embody the crystal clarity of enlightened consciousness which can transform the level of consciousness of the entire planet." Such an achievement would tremendously improve the quality of life on earth. We could see the end of war, environmental destruction, inequality, and poverty. The technology and knowledge now at our command makes all of these things possible. Consciousness is the only factor lacking in this equation.
If ignorance and mechanistic inertia can be overcome, then virtually any positive achievement will become possible for us as a species. As John Hogue writes in The Millennium Book Of Prophecy (1997), "The forewarned end of the world may not see civilization go up in a thermonuclear holocaust at century's end. There may be another kind of atomic explosion ―of human consciousness ―in which the smallest mass of a fissionable material that will sustain a chain reaction is not uranium but 'Uranian.' (Surprise! Uranus the ruler of the Aquarian Age is back. Blow the doors of your prison of limitations and seek your freedom from the known.)" Our efforts during the present time leading up to the year 2012 can make this dream into a reality.
The shift toward higher consciousness that humanity must achieve, with the help of a critical mass of shamanic heroes, may be the fulfillment of the Rapture or Kingdom Come of Biblical prophecies. Thus, a harmony between humanistic and religious thought becomes possible, healing the philosophical divisions that have for so long divided Western thinkers into secular and spiritual camps. Higher consciousness, a concept derived from psychology, can lead to the "Christ consciousness" symbolized by the Second Coming. Jesus may indeed come riding down out of the sky on a white horse with sword in hand, but He will not need to do this physically. His coming may instead be a metaphorical one that coincides with the collective shift in human consciousness. The white horse might be thought of as a symbol for divine inspiration or devotion to God's purpose, the sword could symbolize the will of the divine, and Christ himself can be conceived of as the dawning of higher consciousness and enlightenment in each one of us.
Terence McKenna uses language curiously evocative of the Rapture idea in this excerpt from The Archaic Revival (1991): "What is happening to our world is ingression of novelty toward what Whitehead called "concrescence," a tightening gyre. Everything is flowing together. The 'autopoetic lapis,' the alchemical stone at the end of time, coalesces when everything flows together. When the laws of physics are obviated, the universe disappears, and what is left is the tightly bound plenum, the monad, able to express itself for itself, rather than only able to cast a shadow into physis as its reflection. I come very close here to classical millenarian apocalyptic thought in my view of the rate at which change is accelerating. From the way the gyre is tightening, I predict that the concrescence will occur soon― around 2012 A.D. It will be the entry of our species into hyperspace, but it will appear to be the end of physical laws accompanied by the release of the mind into the imagination.
"All of these images―the starship, the space colony, the lapis― are precursory images. They follow naturally from the idea that history is the shock wave of eschatology. As one closes the distance with the eschatological object, the reflections it is throwing off resemble more and more the thing itself. In the final moment the Unspeakable stands revealed. There are no more reflections of the Mystery. The Mystery in all its nakedness is seen, and nothing else exists. But what it is, decency can safely scarcely hint; nevertheless, it is the crowning joy of futurism to seek anticipation of it."
Put aside the fears, therefore, with which the false prophets have tried to fill your mind. Seek instead the light of wisdom that burns within you and within all of humanity. Seek to make all of your actions conscious, and make love the keynote of that consciousness. Strive patiently yet persistently to purify your heart and mind, develop your will and imagination, and activate the Hero within. Then will your spirit shine as a beacon of light and hope for others in the world who also seek the path of wisdom, and a critical mass of enlightened humanity will transform the current dark age into an Era of Illumination. The rest of this course will be dedicated to the exercises and practices that will assist you in smoothly negotiating your personal Apocalypse, or the individual transition from mechanistic unconsciousness to willful enlightenment. When your intuition has been awakened and you have forged your link to the divine source, you will no longer be in need of instruction. Instead, you will have become a self-directed, complete individual. Then you will be ready for your journey down the dark road, at the end of which your own heroic deeds await.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Self Transcendance & End Times Engagement
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Apocalyptic Themes
The journey from the unconscious state of being where most humans dwell to the illumined realms of higher consciousness and divinely inspired action has three major phases. These phases are purification of both the mind and emotions, consecration of the willing personality to a higher purpose, and unification with the divine soul or higher self. The stage of purification frees the energies of the personality so that they can be directed by the will toward the attainment of spiritual goals. Consecration can be likened to a second birth of the personality, since it represents the beginning of dedication to one's spiritual work on earth. This second phase consists of self-realization, self-actualization, and visionary unfoldment. Unification can be seen as a resurrection of the spirit, wherein the personality becomes reunited with its divine source. This source can be conceptualized as the Kingdom of God, Mount Zion, Valhalla, or some other place in the spirit world. The Mystery behind these concepts lies beyond the ability of the human mind to conceive, yet It contains them All. Unification includes the opening of the third eye or discovery of the intuition, illumination or the dawning of Christ consciousness, inner Armageddon or the war between the unconscious and superconscious, and finally resurrection or spiritual reawakening.
As the end of history approaches, things seem to get a little bit crazier every day. In his book Apocalypse Now (1988), Peter Roche de Coppens identifies the major apocalyptic themes or "laws" which can be used to describe the escalating chaos of these "last days." The first of these themes can be called the "law of polarization," which describes the increasing necessity for people to choose between spiritual values and material concerns. As we get closer to the Eschaton predicted for 2012 A.D., commitment to one set of values becomes crucial. Less and less middle ground exists between moral extremes. Each individual must decide whether to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of material gain at the expense of ethics and dreams, or to risk the hazards of economic uncertainty in order to remain dedicated to a higher calling. Those who attempt to walk the middle way will find themselves caught between these conflicting polarities, and even alienated from both sides to an increasing extent.
The second theme, called the "law of intensification," describes the increasingly dramatic interplay between outer events and inner responses. Self control becomes crucial at this time, as the ever intensifying storm of chaos in the outside world will tend to throw us off balance more and more as time goes on. Prices continue to rise, laws become more oppressive, social interactions become more stressful as a result, and so on. The increase of available information, and the greater intelligence made possible by the expansion of knowledge, also tends to make our thoughts, emotions, and imaginations more liable to spiral out of control. An increasing focus on the inner world can provide a counterforce in our own lives to balance the greater intensity of life in the outside world.
The next theme can be named the "law of acceleration." Events at this time take place ever more rapidly. The exchange of information now occurs almost instantaneously by means of computer networks. Jets make most places in the world accessible to travelers overnight, and goods can be delivered just as fast. The availability of knowledge allows children to grow up more quickly, and increases the rate of cultural mutation. Political, social, and economic events all accelerate as a result of a faster infrastructure. Individual change must parallel this ever accelerating rate of movement in the outer world, lest one be left behind and disregarded by society as obsolete. This effect has been called "future shock," and causes a great deal of stress that can prompt an individual to seek ever more desperately for some kind of escape. Once again, turning our attention toward the world within can provide a sanctuary from the deadly speed of end times existence.
Two spiritually oriented apocalyptic themes provide a counterpoint to the previous three "laws" operating in the physical world at this time. These are the "law of etherealization" and the "law of consciousness expansion." Etherealization refers to the increasingly inward focus of people that develops as a response to the polarization, intensification, and acceleration of outer events. Thus, metaphysical interests become predominant as material concerns lose importance. Emotional, psychological, and spiritual survival take precedence over physical security. Consciousness becomes more valuable than wealth, which brings us to the next theme: the law of consciousness expansion. This law states that vital energies in the human being increase as one's level of consciousness rises. Increasing perception and intelligence give us greater power over the world we know. This power can be used for good or ill, and thus the law of consciousness expansion feeds into the law of polarization. Here lies the key to the dark side of the New Age, and the potential for dystopian scenarios to arise from the more intelligent manipulation of destructive machinery. The simple expansion of consciousness and increase of intelligence won't be enough to bring on the Golden Age. In order for higher ideals to triumph, the light of the divine mind or superconscious must illuminate and transform the mechanistic forces of the unconscious into tools for the attainment of spiritual goals.
We have now reached a turning point in our development as a species. The culture or civilization that we might call the Old Order, which seeks to conquer the material world and offers the promise of an ever higher standard of living to its adherents, has reached its peak and begun to wane. The new culture rising from the ashes of the old seeks rather to explore the spirit world, to harness invisible energies accessible to the mind, and to develop sensitivity to the subtle realms previously beyond the perception of ordinary humans. Thus the original meaning of "apocalypse," "the revelation of hidden knowledge," perfectly describes the goal of this emerging culture from which a new civilization will spring. Thus, the end of history also will be the beginning of a new story in which the previously dominant theme of physical conquest will give way to transcendence and spiritual development, provided that a critical mass of human beings can achieve illumination before the 2012 A.D. deadline.
This turning point in cosmic time represents a great test as well as a great opportunity for all human beings. Will we pass the test? The answer to this question lies in your hands. Even one individual can make the difference between the success and failure of the species. "But what can I do?" I hear one student ask. Apply yourself diligently to the exercises and practices that follow. Read some of the works listed in the bibliography. Develop your own lines of research. Most of all, seek the inspiration and develop the dedication that will make you a hero. Dare to live your dreams, so that others may gain courage to do so as well.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Purification Of The Emotions
In accord with the law of etherealization, the end times demand that we turn our attention to inner development and attainment. Some students may find themselves possessed of excellent health and physical prowess. These attributes do provide an advantage in terms of a greater amount of energy that can be devoted to inner work. Other students may be physically injured or limited in some way. Such limitations need not be considered a disadvantage, and can even make it easier for the student to focus attention inward instead of becoming distracted by physical activities. Provided that you now possess the minimum amount of health and vitality necessary for you to concentrate and meditate, you should have no difficulty performing the exercises required for success in this course.
Purification is a twofold process that clarifies: the emotions, or astral body; and the mind, or mental body. Since emotional problems lead to mental confusion, the emotions must be purified first. Many of us experienced traumas in childhood that have crippled us emotionally. Since a rationalist paradigm currently predominates even in these dawning days of the Aquarian age, emotional well-being has little importance in society. We are told to simply "deal with it," get over whatever might be bothering us, and let reason dictate our actions. Too often such a strategy leads to emotional repression. Anger, depression, and apathy result from a consistent denial of emotional realities. Social institutions seek to classify these conditions as forms of insanity, and to treat them with drugs like Prozac. Such outer conditions result in further repression, since no one wants to admit to any emotional troubles when such problems are equated with insanity.
Fortunately, a solution to any emotional problems we may face does exist. Though it may not be easy, we can purify the astral body and balance our emotions by means of a few simple exercises. Before performing any of these exercises, however, the student must first practice the discipline of emotional fasting. Make an effort to consciously refrain from the indulgence and expression of strong emotions, both negative and positive. When powerful emotions overwhelm you, focus on breathing steadily and evenly while allowing the emotion to dissipate of its own accord. Do not feed it by focusing attention or thought on the object of this emotion. When the feeling has passed, resume your activities. Do this for one day at first, then try fasting from strong emotions for two or three days at a time.
Once you find yourself able to dis-identify somewhat from your emotions by the above method of emotional "fasting," you will be ready to undertake the practice of emotional purification. Emotions give life to the astral body, just as blood gives life to the physical body. Astral energies can originate in the unconscious, subconscious, or superconscious portions of the psyche. Energy from all three of these sources manifests itself as emotion. In the previous astrological age of Pisces, the creation and perfection of the Astral body was paramount. The path of Initiation in the Piscean age could only be followed through suffering and sacrifice. In the Aquarian age the focus has shifted to the mind and the Mental body. Therefore, the Aquarian Initiate must learn to rise above the Astral Plane and the emotional body that inhabits it. Sensitivity of feeling must be developed and refined to allow a greater range of empathy and expression. Positive emotions must be cultivated, and negative ones transformed through a conscious uplifting or enlivening process. Music, physical exercise, and writing can all serve as tools to this end.
By means of dis-identification we can learn detachment from desires, feelings, and relationships. To dis-identify from a given emotion, we must realize that we are separate from that emotion. When we cease to identify with a feeling, it will no longer have power over us. Instead, we will have power over it. Any emotional suffering that cannot be avoided must be recognized as an opportunity for personal growth and spiritual development. By facing and accepting such suffering, we can gain courage to take emotional risks and trust our own feelings of love even if this means we might be disappointed. Empathy and compassion for others will enliven our hearts and help us to maintain a healthy perspective when facing our own emotional difficulties. Remember, fate can put you into a situation, but you can decide how to respond. The way that you perceive and act toward an emotionally charged event can make the difference between catastrophe and catharsis.
In order to achieve the proper frame of mind for meditation, three preliminary exercises will be of inestimable value to the student. These three exercises should be performed just before the meditations listed at the end of this and each of the following parts of the present course. The first exercise is called introversion, which means to focus the attention inward and let the outer world recede from consciousness. Find a place and time where you will not be disturbed, assume a comfortable position, loosen any tight articles of clothing, close your eyes, and look within.
The next preliminary exercise, supraversion, focuses the attention on the light of higher consciousness radiating down from the spirit world. At first it will be enough just to visualize a globe of light above your head, and imagine yourself rising up into this light until it surrounds you on all sides. Eventually you will be able to see this light clearly with your mind's eye. Do not be discouraged if your inner vision is not clear at first. Just continue to imagine it as best you can. The third preliminary exercise is called infraversion, and involves bringing the light of the superconscious down into the physical body. First bring it down to the level of your head and concentrate on opening your third eye. Then imagine the light descending to the region of your chest where it fills and opens your heart chakra. When you have completed the threefold process of introversion, supraversion, and infraversion, you will be ready to meditate.
Do your best to meditate upon and answer in your mind the following questions:
- How have your emotions been harmed by experiences you have had in the past?
- What are you doing now to heal your emotional wounds and cultivate positive feelings?
- Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by powerful negative feelings?
- How do you deal with negative emotions and transform them into positive ones?
- What techniques have you found or developed to help you achieve emotional peace and balance?
Write down the answers to these questions in your workbook. Over the next week, perform the following exercises:
- Practice emotional fasting by dis-identifying from all violent emotions for at least one but not more than three days.
- Cultivate positive feelings by spending time in nature, enjoying art or music, engaging in enjoyable activities with friends, and by meditation.
- Draw a picture or symbol that represents the emotional state you would like to achieve. Invoke the violet flame or other appropriate power to energize this symbol.
- Identify the situations and events that give rise to negative emotions in your life. How can you redefine and change your perception of these things in order to neutralize the emotional charge they contain for you?
Write down the results of these exercises and any insights you have gained from them in your workbook.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Clarification Of The Mind
"It is not what happens to us that is either 'good' or 'bad' but, rather, the way we think about what happens to us."
—Marcus Aurelius
Too often we go through life without pausing to think about the meaning of our experiences. Only when something bad happens do we stop to ask, "what am I supposed to learn from this?" With a little more thought on our parts, we can begin to understand the purpose behind every event in our lives. The trick lies in gaining a higher perspective from which to redefine what happens to us. The mind can be trained to reduce outer circumstances to symbols in the same way that things are reduced to words. By finding inner symbols to represent events in the outer world, we can disidentify from these events and become detached from the negative emotional charge they might contain for us. Symbols thus become tools for breaking negative thought patterns that lead to undesirable emotional states. Qabalah, photographs, sketches, or even clippings from magazines can serve as the material focus through which we can make these symbols come alive in our minds. Once our experiences have been symbolically transformed, we can manipulate them, reorganize them, and discover or create new meanings for them. A spiritual state of mind provides the perspective necessary for this redefinition of daily life.
Since thoughts make up the contents of the mind, and the mind defines the nature of the world, what we perceive outside ourselves depends on the quality of our thoughts. In Apocalypse Now (1988) we read concerning thoughts that, "Far from being ethereal and remote from life as we may sometimes believe, thoughts act on us in profound ways. Indeed, we can literally say that thoughts are living beings. Practice shows that we can create, vitalize, and strengthen an idea force by thinking about it. As we observe its possibilities, dimensions, and applications it becomes more clearly defined. Feelings are attracted to it, and the new idea force seeps into us, becoming part of our attitudes toward life and our habits of action. Thus by thinking about strength, love, or joy, we create strength, love, or joy in ourselves." This idea illustrates the reason for meditating on positive qualities we would like to possess, goals we wish to pursue, and ideals toward which we ought to strive. By concentrating on our thoughts and learning to direct them consciously, we can teach ourselves to create particular states of mind at will.
The perspective from which we perceive ourselves and the world depends upon our state of mind. Our minds can dwell in different parts of our field of consciousness. To identify these mental states, it helps to have a map of our consciousness field. Any map that can be described here must of necessity be a general one, and students will need to personalize this rough sketch of the consciousness field by adding details of their own. Briefly, the mind can occupy an unconscious, subconscious, self-aware (conscious), or superconscious portion of this field. The higher the state of mind (i.e., closer to the superconscious), the broader the perspective that can be gained on experiences. A broad perspective offers more possibility for thought and reflection, since happenings can be interpreted in a variety of ways, some of which might be positive and meaningful. The limited perspective afforded by unconscious or subconscious mental states can lead to negative mental and emotional responses to events. Thus, we are more likely to lose our tempers or become upset when we are "spaced out," not paying attention, or unaware of what we are doing. The closed mind jumps immediately to a certain conclusion about what an event or experience means, leaving no room for ambiguity. The more limited the mind's perspective, the easier it becomes for misinterpretations of events to be perceived as real and reacted to without sufficient thought.
Prayer, meditation, and invocation can serve to raise the consciousness and provide the long range perspective necessary for dis-identification from negative thoughts and emotions that can cloud the mind and cause us to perceive the world as dangerous or hostile. The superconscious perspective gained from these spiritually oriented practices gives us the ability to respond to even the most difficult experiences in a calm and balanced manner.
Once a spiritual perspective has been, at least temporarily, achieved, we can begin to perceive the hidden meaning behind events in the outer world. Everything that happens to us has a purpose. Our experiences are meant to teach us something. As Apocalypse Now (1988) tell us, "If we look at the human pilgrimage on earth and at the infinite variety of human experiences through the grid or glass of the 'spiritual perspective,' we find that its true nature and essence appears now to be a long series of very diversified adventures, trials, and tests. All of these now become 'transparent' and reveal their nature and function as being that of self-actualization and self-realization―to enable a human being to fully develop his nature, consciousness, and other faculties so that he may be an effective vehicle and temple for the expression of spiritual energies, or God's will on earth in the physical dimension." Thus, even the most difficult experiences can be understood as necessary steps along the path to true wisdom and perfect happiness. Without hurricanes, periods of poverty or ill health, loss of a job or of a spouse, or some other trial, the goal of self-realization would be impossible to achieve. Only dissatisfaction with the circumstances of life leads us to seek the more stable ground of enlightenment and the peace of mind that comes from rising above worldly concerns. For while earthly riches may flee, good company depart, and waters rise to cover the cities where thousands live, the wisdom of the spirit endures on the holy mountain that cannot be moved.
In order to gain and keep a higher mental perspective, the mind must be flexible and agile. The agile mind possesses the ability to concentrate, visualize, and organize the thoughts it contains. Mental habits must be identified and detachment gained from them if the mind is to remain flexible. This process must be ongoing, since new habits of thought often form after old ones have been broken. Objectivity and fair thinking must be cultivated by consciously searching for and entertaining all the possible meanings for a given event or statement. An awareness of mental limitations must be obtained and a strategy developed for how to transcend them. The way that the mind works should be examined, and methods for changing its manner of functioning developed. Finally, the ability to shift the focus of one's attention and the level of one's consciousness must be cultivated and perfected. The following questions and exercises will help you to create a more agile mind for yourself and assist you in your journey toward higher consciousness.
Questions for Mental Clarity
- Describe the contents and workings of your mind: What kind of thoughts do you have? How does your mind operate?
- What are you doing to feed your head and strengthen your mental muscles?
- Are you able to think clearly, organize your thoughts, and carry out your mental plans effectively?
- What higher meaning and purpose lies inside the experiences of your life at present?
- How is your mind being tested and tempted by your present circumstances?
- How can you transform negative thoughts and ideas into positive ones?
Exercises for Mental Agility
- Find interesting and challenging books to read. Discuss the ideas you discover with intelligent friends and associates. Meditate on topics you would like to understand more deeply.
- Create or find a symbol that represents the state of mind you would like to achieve. Invoke the divine power of your superconscious mind through the appropriate invocation to charge this symbol and make of it a bridge through which your ideal state of mind can manifest.
- Identify your mental strengths and weaknesses. Develop a strategy for turning your weaknesses into strengths.
- Redefine the circumstances and situations of your life from a spiritual perspective gained through meditation, prayer, and invocation.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
The Consecrated Will
Self-realization, or self-transcendence, can be defined as: "the full development, coordination, and completion of the personality." The Magus Aleister Crowley called this process "the discovery of the True Will." We do not refer here to the will in the Victorian sense of self-denial. The consecrated will directs, it does not restrict. Ideally, the will organizes and coordinates all the powers of the personality. According to Roberto Assagioli, author of The Act Of Will (1979), the personality can be divided into seven psychological functions. These are: 1. Sensations, received through the five senses; 2. Emotions, or feelings; 3. Impulses, or desires; 4. Imagination, also called visualization; 6. Intuition, which leads to second sight; and 7. Will, the master function of the psyche. Assagioli calls the process by which the will organizes and directs the other six functions of the psyche, "psychosynthesis." Essentially, the concepts of self-realization, discovery of the True Will, and pschosynthesis, all refer to the same thing. In order for the self to become realized, two things must occur. First, the will must be created and developed. Second, a purpose must be found or made for this will, and the will dedicated to this purpose. Once will has been wedded to purpose, it can be called "the consecrated will."
Development of the will has been metaphorically referred to as "learning to swim." The oft-repeated admonition "sink or swim" also refers to the absence or presence of the will in a human being. Those without wills "sink," or in other words they fail to fulfill their purpose for being here on earth, succumb to the weight of circumstance, and achieve nothing worthwhile. On the other hand, those who can "swim" make their own way in the world, are masters of their own destinies, and can accomplish the things they set out to do. For the willing individual, predictions and prophecies represent opportunities rather than obstacles. If death has been written into your stars, you might as well die with your boots on. The willing person cannot be beaten by circumstances or turned aside from a deliberately chosen purpose by prognostications of doom. As Aleister Crowley wrote in The Book Of The Law (1904), "Thou hast no right but to do thy will." Thus, once the will has been developed and consecrated to a higher purpose, nothing can prevent your eventual realization and achievement of that purpose. The attitude to be cultivated in the creation of the will is that of the warrior. A warrior is the master of his own destiny. A slave serves the purposes of others. This constitutes the crucial difference between swimmers and sinkers. Slaves can be easily dispensed with by their masters. There will always be more slaves to replace those who become injured, or weak, or too demanding. The warrior needs no master, and can only be replaced by another warrior consecrated to the same purpose. Such replacement only becomes necessary at the time of a warrior's death. The concept of the warrior is identical to that of the hero mentioned earlier in this course. The shaman is also a warrior in the realms of consciousness. Note that warriors and heroes need not commit acts of violence against other human beings. The apocalyptic war of Armageddon takes place symbolically, between the forces of the superconscious and the unconscious. Though symbolic battles may have their physical counterparts, these worldly conflicts may be fought with words and deeds rather than with swords and bullets. Napoleon feared newspapers more than armies, and thus illustrated that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. The spiritual warrior fights with symbolic weapons for real freedom from the tyranny of circumstance.
How can the will be created and developed? The Act Of Will (1979) by Roberto Assagioli contains a complete and comprehensive study on the development and training of the will, and serious students should consider this work required reading for the present course. To create or awaken the will in yourself, you must first realize that the will exists and that you are not a mere leaf in the wind, at the mercy of events in the outer world. In fact, each of us can be master of our own fate and the maker of our own destiny. Next, you must realize that you have a will, a specific purpose to which you are fitted and for which you have been incarnated into this world. Finally, you must identify yourself with that will and purpose so that you effectively become that will.
The discovery of the will thus coincides with the awakening of self-consciousness, the realization of who you really are. This process has also been called the discovery of the "I" or self-realization. To make this identification with the will complete and clear, a conscious effort must be made to dissidentify from the contents of the personality and identify with the self directly. Thus, realize that you are not your sensations, emotions, or thoughts, but rather the self that perceives all of these things. Self awareness follows from this realization, and this provides a basis for movement into higher states of consciousness as well as exploration of the subconscious and unconscious realms of the mind. The Act Of Will (1979) has the following advice for the preliminary training of the will: "To ensure success in training the will generally, a proper preparation is needed for arousing the initial urge and impetus; this preparation should produce a lively, fervid, and intense desire to develop the will, leading to the firm decision to do all that is necessary for attaining that end."
Many techniques exist for training the will. In fact, any activity can serve to train and strengthen the will so long as it is done consciously rather than out of habit or under compulsion. Physical exercises such as labor, gymnastics, martial arts, and sports help to strengthen the will. Performance of daily tasks with calm rapidity, style, rhythm, and a sporting sense of competitiveness develops the skillful aspect of the will and makes the day pass more pleasantly. Concentration and meditation exercises such as mantras, pranayama, and yoga focus and clarify the self-conscious aspect of the will. Finally, creative activities such as crafts, art, and music make the exercise of the will joyous and teach how to combine willing with love and devotion. Affirmations such as "I am a living, loving, willing self" can also be used in combination with these activities.
Once the will has been created and developed through disciplined action, a higher purpose must be found for that will. Ideally, this purpose would coincide with a passion such as music, painting, or scientific discovery. However, any higher activity will serve so long as you can dedicate yourself to it wholeheartedly and "play the game" as if your very life depended on it. How do you choose a purpose worthy of all the strength and precision of will that you can develop and possess? At first it might be useful to read the biographies of outstanding individuals who possessed great willpower in order to inspire and awaken a similar passion in yourself. The next step involves an analysis of life and the different games that can be played within it. Apocalypse Now (1988) lists three greater games, four lesser games, and one master game. The greater games are Religion, Science, and Art. The lesser games consist of Homemaking, Fortune, Fame, and Power. The master game can be called Initiation, the search for Wisdom, Enlightenment or Illumination.
Once you have reflected on life's possibilities, you may begin to remember or conceive of a dream that you would like to make real in your life, an achievement that will be valuable both to you and the world. Remember to choose a purpose that coincides with the common good of humankind and the world. Selfishness and self-centeredness are obstacles to the realization of a good will, and in order for a purpose to be truly satisfying it must be motivated by love. As Roberto Assagioli affirms in The Act Of Will (1979), "There are two great laws which operate in the physical and in the psychological worlds: the Law of action and reaction, and the Law of rhythm and equilibrium. Through their operation, those who cause harm attract harm upon themselves; those who are violent and merciless ultimately evoke the violence and cruelty of others against themselves." Thus, it behooves us to choose a purpose that coincides with the common good.
Some students may find it difficult to decide upon a higher purpose to which to dedicate their lives and wills. Do not be discouraged by this. The next stages of this course, the development of vision and intuition, will make this higher purpose more apparent. The development of the will necessarily precedes the election of a higher calling, and provides the necessary force required for the activation of the visionary and intuitive powers. In order to realize your own True Will, you might find it helpful to meditate upon the following quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self Reliance" (quoted in The Act Of Will (1979)): "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried."
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Vision & Intuition
Everything that humans have created in the outer world originated in someone's imagination. Conversely, the eclipse of the imagination leads to a loss of creative abilities. Since the period of history known as the Enlightenment, or post-Renaissance, the exploration and conquest of the outer world has taken precedence all else. Consequently, creative and imaginary powers have been belittled and those who exercise them ridiculed as useless members of society. For centuries the vast majority of poets and painters were faced with a choice between starvation or abandonment of their art. A few musicians achieved fame and fortune while the rest struggled merely to survive. Only since the end of the 20th century with the rediscovery of the feminine principle and the renewal of interest in higher consciousness has the imagination again returned to prominence. The long dormant creative powers of the human mind have again become valued and sought after, though few possess them anymore. Peter Roche de Coppens, in his book Apocalypse Now (1988), has the following thoughts to convey on this subject: "The central thesis of this writer is that we are now on the very threshold of a new culture that will put a great deal of value on intraversion and supraversion―on the exploration of the human psyche and on the harnessing of its latent higher energies and faculties. As man has learned in the last 500 years to observe, study and control the forces of the outer, physical universe, so he must now learn to observe, study, and master the potentialities of the inner worlds of his own being. One of the most important keys to accomplish this task is to understand and be able to use the imagination and the power of visualization which can be studied and trained as we did with the power of observation." Through visualization, the inner world can become just as real for the student of the imagination as the outer world is for the average person.
The imagination can be thought of as the image making function of the mind. Its unique power consists in the ability to evoke the other functions of the psyche and reproduce their materials. Thus the reproductive imagination can conjure up sensations, emotions, desires, and thoughts. Auditory sequences, visual images, tactile sensations, and mental crystallizations can all be recreated with the imagination and synthesized into art. The creative imagination can also generate new materials of all types. The subjective imagination focuses on the self, while the objective imagination concerns itself with the inner world beyond the limits of the personality. Use of the objective imagination leads eventually to direct perception of the Etheric, Astral, and Mental planes, which can be considered regions of the transpersonal superconscious or collective unconscious. Contact with these higher planes can be achieved through the use of symbols. According to Carl Jung, "the psychological machinery which transmutes energy and consciousness is the symbol."
Symbols constitute the forgotten language of the imagination, and the deepest parts of the mind understand the messages contained in these symbols automatically. Such automatic understanding has a very close connection to the power of intuition. Therefore, visualization of symbols leads to an opening of the intuitive powers. Furthermore, images have the power to conjure up the things that they represent. As Apocalypse Now (1988) informs us, "images and mental pictures tend to produce the physical conditions and the external acts corresponding to them." The potency of magick rests upon this secret power contained in the images used during rituals or inscribed in grimoires, mysterious symbols designed to activate the intuitive flow and awaken the creative inspiration. Attention fills a symbol or image with energy, and repeated visualization of an image will reinforce and bring to life the thing it represents. Images act directly on the lower and higher unconscious, and thus need not be analyzed or directly understood through the intellect. Instead, imagination awakens the emotions and the intuition by opening the less explored, unconscious regions of the psyche, including the subconscious and superconscious.
At this point it might be useful to draw a map of the psyche, though any such map will necessarily be limited and will not provide a complete guide to the regions of consciousness. At the center of the map lies the conscious self, or "I." A larger circle surrounds the "I" and represents the field of consciousness. This field can expand as more regions of consciousness are explored. Below this field lies the lower unconscious, which intersects with the collective unconscious where dreams and myths originate. Above the field of awareness we find the higher unconscious, which borders on the transpersonal regions of the superconscious. Angels, gods, and other aspects of the universal intelligence reside in the superconscious realms. Outside the field of consciousness lies the middle unconscious, or subconscious region of the psyche. The unconscious can also be called Hell, and the superconscious, Heaven; or the Norse terms Hel and Valhalla can be employed. For the inner or imaginary self, these regions are just as real as places in the material world and can be explored at will through the practice of guided visualization or pathworking. The inner journey develops the power of visualization more effectively than any other single practice. To explore the subconscious region, visualize yourself walking into a meadow or forest. To descend into the unconscious realms, imagine yourself descending into a cave or into the depths of the ocean. To rise to higher superconscious regions, see yourself climbing a mountain, ascending a flight of stairs, or flying up into the sky. If possible, find and speak to people or creatures in each of these regions. When you return to a normal state of consciousness, meditate upon what you have seen and write down your experiences in your workbook.
The next stage of self-realization, the awakening of the intuition, represents an abyss in personal development. This chasm must be crossed before the process of self transformation can be completed, and the True Will integrated with the psyche. Intuitive awakening can be compared to "the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel" in Aleister Crowley's system of magick. We read in Apocalypse Now (1988), "Once, but only once, this abyss, or qualitative threshold, has been successfully crossed can one be truly inner directed, find the source of inspiration and guidance, love, and life within one's self rather than outside in other poeple, teachings, or traditions. Thus, the opening of the intuition is a truly crucial step in one's human and spiritual growth and the effective Initiation which can lead one to the rule of the Divine Spark and to the establishment of the Kingdom of God within―the dawning of genuine Spiritual Consciousness." Intuition bridges the psychological and spiritual halves of the self, connecting the field of consciousness with the realm of the superconscious. Thus the visualized ascent to the Holy Mountain can serve to symbolically awaken the intuitive faculties.
Only the intuition can truly answer the questions: "Who am I? What have I come here to accomplish?" Therefore the intuition provides the key to the realization of the True Will, the purpose to which we must consecrate our lives, our higher calling. Intuitive awakening leads ultimately to the state of consciousness called "Illumination." Roberto Assagioli, quoted in Apocalypse Now (1988), describes Illumination as "an inner perception of light which in certain cases is so intense as to be described as a dazzling glory and an impression of fire. It is from these characteristics that the term "illumination" has arisen, the term by which the superconscious states are often designated." Illumination can also be called the "descent of the Light," and this descent appears in the Biblical apocalypse as the metaphorical second coming of Christ. Thus, illumination represents the awakening of Christ consciousness in the individual. The illumination of a critical mass of people could therefore create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Two paths lead to intuitive awakening: the Mystical path, and the Occult path. Both paths require an initial recognition on the part of the seeker that the intuition exists. Attention must be given to those flashes of intuition that come to us spontaneously, and trust placed in those feelings which have in the past proven correct. To follow the Mystical path to the intuition, the student must practice silence on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Such silence creates a space for the intuitive flashes to spontaneously descend from the superconscious into the field of consciousness. Zen meditation, hatha yoga, martial arts, and prayer are all viable practices pertaining to the Mystical path. The Occult path involves the ritual or theurgic use of images, symbols, and archetypes to call the superconscious fire down into the field of consciousness. This process can be called invocation, which means "calling down." Invocation combines meditation, devotion, visualization, and concentrated affirmation. It is the most potent and effective of inner activities, and also one of the most difficult.
To awaken the intuition, the Temple of Silence pathworking can be used repeatedly by students of both intuitive paths. In this pathworking, imagine yourself climbing a sacred hill or mountain until you reach the Temple of Silence at the top. No word has ever been spoken in this place, and no sound can be heard here. Enter the temple and allow the silence to fill your being. When the silence has penetrated to the very depths of your mind and spirit, return to the outside and descend. Listen for the voice of your intuition that will speak to you out of the silence you have now experienced and discovered. Write down the results of this pathworking in your workbook.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
The Second Coming, Armageddon, & Resurrection
We have now reached the end of the process of personal psychosynthesis, called self-realization in psychological terms or the Lesser Mysteries in the language of spiritual tradition. We may now explore the Greater Mysteries, the stage of development known as unification of the Personality and the Individuality or Union with the Divine. The Greater Mysteries consist of three stages. The first of these can be called the personal Christmas, the birth of Christ consciousness in the individual, or the Descent of the Light. Since Christ must be born again within each person, this dawning of higher awareness can also be likened to the Second Coming of Christ wherein he establishes his Kingdom on earth through us, his Avatars.
The second stage can be called the personal apocalypse, which culminates in the inner war of Armageddon between the lower and higher selves. The third and final stage allows us to be reborn in the spirit, and thus can be compared to the Resurrection that Christ underwent at Easter time, to the rebirth of the sun in Spring, or to other myths of resurrected gods such as Dionysus in the Greek or Baldur in the Norse pantheon. Higher consciousness must first be awakened in order for the struggle to begin between the personality and the spiritual self, since without such a spiritual awakening the personality would remain in control of the individual and no initiation would take place. The dawning of higher consciousness provokes a crisis in the individual, since the personality will most often try to remain in control and will not relinquish its power without a fight. Personal disasters thus become necessary in order to shift the center of gravity of consciousness from the lower to the higher self. Only then can the individual be reborn to a life centered in the spirit and infused with Divine Light.
The awakening of the spirit must be consciously sought after and brought about, it will not simply happen at Christmastime when you open your presents. We must seek to bring the Light of the divine down into ourselves. In Apocalypse Now (1988) the manifestation of this Light is said to exist on four levels: "On the spiritual level, Light is the very source of consciousness and wisdom, of love and feeling, and of energy and will... On the mental level, Light manifests itself as consciousness, knowledge, awareness, and clarity... On the emotional level, Light manifests itself as love and feeling... and as Courage, in the old French meaning of the word, which means 'a new heart…' On the physical level, Light manifests itself as life, vitality, and energy―the ability to use the physical vehicle as a responsive and well-trained instrument to achieve whatever purpose we have in mind in the physical world." The personal second coming of Christ occurs at the end of one world, that of the personality or lower self, and the beginning of the next world belonging to the spirit or higher self. This descent of the Light thus represents an important crossroads in the life of the individual, the evolutionary crossing from a lower to a higher state of consciousness.
A study of the four gospels in the Bible, or of other death and resurrection myths which can be found as far back in the history of literature as the Sumerian tale of Innanna's descent into the underworld, will give the student a metaphorical framework for the awakening of the divine Light in the individual. Pathworkings involving journeys to high mountaintops or into the sky can serve as exercises to contact the Light in the imagination. Rituals involving the use of powerful holy symbols (from the student's chosen religious framework) representing death and resurrection will also bring the Light down into the personality.
Once the Light has descended (if this has not happened to you already), you will likely begin to undergo one or more spiritual crises or Initiations. The four preliminary or elemental Initiations make up what can be called the personal apocalypse. These crises involve the breaking of the false self that has become attached to the material world, also called the Personality or lower self. The first crisis, or Earth Initiation, breaks the physical body or the health of the individual. The second, or Water Initiation, breaks the heart or emotions. The third crisis forces you to change your basic philosphy of life in some major way. The fourth, or Fire Initiation, involves the breaking of the will, possibly through a near death or out of body experience.
Your preliminary self-realization work will have prepared you to face these Initiations and overcome the challenges contained in each of them. Realize that you are not being broken by these crises. Rather, it is your ego that must die so that your spirit can be reborn. The process can be painful, but the rewards are well worth any suffering you may undergo. It may be that you have already experienced one or more of these Initiations, especially if you have already experienced some kind of spiritual awakening earlier in life. In this case, you may be able to move on to the stage of Resurrection or spiritual rebirth more quickly. First, however, you will most likely face the inner conflict known metaphorically as Armageddon, or the war between the lower and higher selves. Apocalypse Now (1988) tells us concerning this inner battle: "The first fundamental spiritual insight into the true nature and function of Armageddon is that this term cannot be interpreted literally but, rather, symbolically; thus, it does not designate a war in the outer, physical world but an inner clash and conflict in the consciousness and soul of a human being. The second is that Armageddon, the Great Inner Conflict, takes place not only once but many times, on different levels of consciousness. As such, it is a most important and significant process that faces every human generation and, in particular, every candidate for spiritual initiation." In the same way, every prophecy can be applied to the present generation in a collective sense and to each individual in a personal sense. Predictions thus can be understood as metaphors that guide the intiatory candidate along the spiritual path to Illumination. Even the prophecies of Nostradamus can be interpreted in this way.
In the inner war of Armageddon, the idea is not to fight against the personality and its desires but to transform and harness its powers to accomplish higher, spiritual tasks. Repression of the desires leads to projections and externalizations, and thence to conflict with the world or other individuals. Instead of demonizing the lower self and the unconscious, we must integrate these primal energies and forces into the field of consciousness. This can be partly accomplished by pathworkings that explore the underworld or the depths of the sea. Rituals using symbols of the lower realms such as Saturn or Pluto can also help to integrate these unconscious elements of the self. Care must be taken, however, that the Light accompanies the seeker into these darker realms. In regards to this work we read in Apocalypse Now (1988): "This, then, is the true work of the disciple: in the midst of all vicissitudes, variation, and tribulations of life, he must succeed in aligning, harmonizing, and integrating the consciousness and will of the Personality with that of the Individuality so as to become a living temple and instrument of the God within. This is the quintessence of the true work of spiritual regeneration, of the Great Work taught by all the genuine spiritual schools and traditions."
The lower self or Personality wants to dominate the world and possess the riches it contains. It becomes demonic when the instincts, appetites, and desires of the Personality become ends in themselves that rule the life of the individual. The lower self keeps us alive and increases our wealth though its strivings, but it lacks a conscience in the same way that a wild beast has no compassion for its prey. Predominance of the Personality causes strife, misery, and contradiciton to multiply in the world. By contrast, the Individuality or higher self brings peace, harmony, and inspiration. As Apocalypse Now (1988) informs us, "When our center of consciousness and being has finally reached and been properly rooted in the Individuality, then we shall learn to operate and fight in the outer theater of life with the weapons of love and light." This love and light can be expressed as great works of art or music, for example, that inspire others to live a life of compassion and kindness toward all beings.
The lower self resides in the first, second, and third chakras of the subtle body. The first chakra relates to physical survival, which at the present time translates into money. The first chakra motivates the individual to work, or failing that, to hunt, beg, borrow, or steal in order to survive. The second chakra concerns itself with emotional security, which, after the breakdown of the family, has been subconsciously reduced to the pursuit of sex. The third chakra gives us the desire for social status and the symbols of success that lead to acceptance in society. Third chakra motives might include the desire to wear nice clothes, own a car or a house, or succeed in a career. Symbols that evoke the desires of the three lower chakras can be seen in advertisements that offer gratification of these lower drives. The first three elemental initiations break the attachment of the lower chakras to the material objects that drive them. Thus, poor health may make it impossible for you to work. A divorce may plunge you into a state of complete emotional insecurity. Loss of a job or house may reduce your social status to that of a homeless beggar. Corresponding ego deaths will occur in each of these cases, leading to the possibility of spiritual rebirth in the elemental planes.
The Fire Initiation which involves a breaking of the will leads to an opening of the heart chakra, and awakens empathy and compassion for others. The near death experience which often accompanies this Initiation causes the center of consciousness to shift from the physcial body to the astral body. Since the astral body cannot die, a successful Fire Initiation indicates that the individual has attained immortality or eternal life. The taste of death brings an awareness of life's value, and begins the inner conflict of Armageddon which ideally results in the triumph of the higher self and the activation of the higher chakras or spiritual centers.
Rebirth on the elemental levels also requires conscious effort and participation. Otherwise, you may be unable to recover from your apocalyptic crises. Physical or first chakra rebirth can be facilitated by getting extra sleep, exercising more, and eating a healthy amount of nutritious food. In some cases it may be necessary for you to move to a more hospitable climate, or to escape from the pollution of the city and seek a more natural environment. Meaningful, spiritually oriented work can then be sought and engaged in for the maintenance of your physical well being. Emotional rebirth can be assisted through painting, music, and spending time in nature, as well as social activities, prayer, and medtiation. Mental or third chakra resurrection comes through the development of a life of the mind, which should include reading good books, discussion of ideas with intelligent friends, meditative reflection, and writing. On the fourth chakra level, Apocalypse Now (1988) informs us: "Resurrection, or spiritual rebirth, involves not only a new state of consciousness and a higher level of being brought forth by the action of the Divine Spark in our Souls, it specifically involves a whole new perception and understanding of the meaning and purpose of one's life and of the events therein." The death of the ego and subsequent resurrection of the spirit involved in the Fire Initiation leads to the opening of the three higher chakras and the corresponding spiritual awakenings that these centers of higher consciousness represent.
The fifth chakra, located in the throat or speech center, corresponds to a higher meaning and purpose in life. Thus, the opening of this center gives us a voice with which to express our deepest selves on all levels. Poetry, music, and art originate in this center. The opening of the fifth chakra coincides with the discovery of the True Will. The sixth chakra or Third Eye, when opened, gives us the power of second sight. This power allows us to travel objectively in the astral and mental planes, transpersonal regions of the inner world or higher unconscious. The sixth chakra also corresponds to Christ consciousness or the awareness of Divine Love as the primary force in the universe. Apocalypse Now (1988) tells us concerning the sixth chakra: "When this chakra is fully opened, the personal gratification of the lower self is completely transmuted in order for that person to bring a particular higher principle of existence into manifestation, and one becomes an Avatar." In other words, here lies the inner hero or shaman who can fight the outer war of Armageddon on the world stage with the weapons of love and light.
The opening of the seventh chakra represents the highest spiritual goal now known to us: union with the Divine, or attainment of godhead. Here the individual becomes the physical incarnation of a divine principle, and executes the will of Heaven on earth. Prophets such as Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, and perhaps even Nostradamus, achieved the opening of the seventh chakra and were thus able to express the Word of the Divine as prophecy.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>
Conclusion
Ah, yes, the world may end, it may not. No one really knows. It has yet to be decided by the mass consciousness. Or perhaps it has already been decided. Whichever is the truth, you can embrace the ideas of the End Times and use them for your own spiritual growth.
There is no need to worry about surviving the End Times. You survive everything, even death. Nothing can truly hurt you. If you live in a disaster zone and you know it, then perhaps you might want to take practical actions, like moving away from a volcano, a tsunami zone, or an earthquake faultline. However, do not feel like you have to do anything other than raise your consciousness. If you raise your consciousness, you will automatically be in the right place at the right time, a place that is safe and secure if that is what is meant to be. Surrender to whatever is to be your fate. If you are meant to survive, you will. If you are not, you won't. It is only the body that would pass on, not you.
If these are the End Times, what a dramatic show it will be! Consider yourself lucky to be here so that you can see it all happen. This is an adventurous time to be alive, to be sure, and never in recorded history has the world been connected the way it is now, with global communications, mass media and translations into the various languages the vestiges of the knowledge of the world. Celebrate your great luck and opportunity, and do not worry about the End Times. The whole thing, remember, is the maha leela, the great dance, the grand drama. There is nothing to fear when you are watching a movie, and the End Times "movie" will be non-harmful to you. This is your chance to participate in the Great Awakening of humankind, rather than the end of civilization. As you know, death is actually a rebirth into something new, so at worst, the End Times are a closing of one chapter in human history and the beginning of a new direction.
Predictions: Introduction To Apocalyptic Eschatology: Index >>