Realities of Life

  There is nothing in the material world, in the exercising of the psyche, or in the metaphysical realms that we can hold onto for safety or take for granted. Nor is there a "little self' that we need to rise to be in tune with the world. Everything that we see, feel, or experience is just an illusion! So, nobody has to tell us a moral, and what the truth is, because it will be like "sweeping dust under the carpet"…

 The cause of all our suffering and insecurity is a joy-blockage and a constant search for something “better” than we have. With time, it becomes an attachment. Then our emotions feel like the flow of water that we are trying to dam up. They get higher and higher until they overflow or burst the 'dam'. Our suffering or striving to change the future is a clinging to material interactions… The advice from our ancestors' teachings is give up all our desires and stay in the Middle Way.  That means we must be in our self-silence, which is described as existence and nonexistence, between any two opposites. It is also a state of not attempting to give up more desire than we can, so that we can move out of the extreme.

 Some people think that the state of liberation is some kind of "nirvana," which essentially means “blowout” (blowing out the flame of desire). For me, it looks more like "breathing out," which is a principle of life. We can’t hold our breath forever! Same with our physical life, without inhaling and exhaling, we die. What is the point of surviving when life is a drag?  When you let your breath go, it comes back, the same as joy does for our lives!  That is why "nirvana" is not some undifferentiated void; it’s a state of being here and now in this life.

 The last "reality of life" is “mindfulness.”  With everything we do, we know that we do it when we’re self-aware.  We discover that there isn’t any way to be absent-minded—all thoughts are in the present. However, we are often excited to explore new things without stopping. We explore our minds, and then share them with others. The problem is that when our “mindset” starts to grow, as an “acorn” grows into the oak tree, we run back to the original “acorn” so that we can switch it with the new oak fruit, which becomes the seed for another tree. We forget to expand inward and elaborate on what we are already familiar with. We value the written word and speeches, which are purely incidental for us. The Taoist sage, Chuang Tzu, once said, “Just as a dog is not considered a good dog just for being a good barker, a man is not considered a good man just for being a good talker”...

  So, letting go of "control," we are aligning ourselves with the natural order of the Universe. A true "boss" is someone who minimizes their grip on things, allowing harmony to occur without forceful ruling. It is a strong and flexible person who, at the same time, lets "life’s strings" move freely rather than manipulating them tightly.

  Yours faithfully, 

  HAC 

Thunder, Perfect Mind

  

 The “Thunder, Perfect Mind” exists only in the Coptic version found at The Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of thirteen ancient books (called "codices") containing over fifty texts, which was discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945.  The author, date, and place of composition of this poem are unknown, but a cultural milieu like that of second- or third-century Alexandria is plausible.

 The text was originally composed in Greek well before 350 C.E. The surviving text is relatively well preserved, with minor damage near the top of the first four pages (13-16) and more serious damage on the first ten lines of the remaining manuscript pages (17- 21).

 This Primary Gnostic scripture (from the Greek word “gnosis” - knowledge) is an incredibly far-reaching possession of secret knowledge, that is comparable to Biblical works, to the Hymn of Isis and Sophia from the Wisdom of Solomon to the Isis aretalogies, Platonic dialogues, and to the Yin/Yang of the Tao.

 The Greek word “thunder” is a noun, feminine “bronté”, translated means “to roar” (e.g., seven powerful voices of God).  Thunder is often a mark of judgment in Scripture as in 1 Samuel 2:10, 2 Samuel 22:14, and several more places in Revelation (8:5, 11:19, 16:18). Psalm 18:13 says, “The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.”

 The Theogony (Greek: Θεογονία, Theogonía "the genealogy or birth of the gods"), a poem by Hesiod (8th – 7th century BC) says, that Chaos was the first thing to exist, and next, out of Chaos, came Gaia, the Ancestral Mother parthenogenic (from the Greek parthénos, 'virgin' +  génesis, 'creation) of all life. Later, out of Gaia spun other elemental forces - Love, Earth, and Sky.  She bore the Mountains and Sea and the twelve Titans "without sweet union of love" (i.e., with no father). Then she gave birth to the Kyklopes, creatures of marvelous power: thundering Brontes, lightning Steropes, and strong-hearted Arges, who are the makers and givers to Zeus of thunder and lightning.

 Because there are multiple translators of this beautiful poem (as the most religious scripts), it leads to comparing them and trying to find a way that is the most accurate to present the truth of God’s Word, and understandable by most people. Each translation usually has strengths and weaknesses; ultimately, most are a true combination of the two. So, let us introduce our simplification of this sacred text that is created for our community for a deeper understanding of its meaning and symbolism. Enjoy it!

 

THE THUNDER

 

I created myself from nothing (“Creatio ex nihil”), by My own power.

I AM here for those who seek Me in emptiness and in dark nothingness,

I AM here for those who are ready to hear and receive Me.

Do not cast Me from your presence,

But restore your joy and uphold your free spirit.

Be silent before Me so that I may speak, and let it nurture you because it will.

Be careful and attentive to My words; incline your ear to My sayings.

 

I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

I AM who is honored and who is scorned.

I AM who is fallen and who is a holy woman.

I AM who is a wife and who is a virgin bride.

I AM who is a mother and who is the daughter.

I AM who is in solace of My childbearing, and I AM who is not in labor.

I AM who was born sterile and who has many children.

I AM whose wedding is lavish and who did not have a husband.

 

I AM the bride and the bridegroom, and my husband gave birth to me.

I AM My father’s mother, My husband’s sister, and My husband is My child.

I AM who was begotten by Him before the time of birth and I AM Mother of Him who was born in due time.

 

I AM the bondswoman of Him, and I AM the ruler of My offspring.

I AM the strength of His power, and He is My guide, whatever He wants happens to me.

I AM mute with silence, but My voice’s sound is manifold, and My name's appearance is multiple.

I AM the very first breath, and when I open My mouth wide, I will fill it.

 

Do you love Me? Then why, vilify and loathe the ones who fellowship Me?

Why do you, who deny Me, confess Me, and you who confess Me, deny Me?

Why do you bend your tongue like a bow for lies, and declare that you know Me?

 

Be aware and do right to silence the ignorance of foolish people,

Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.

Let the proud be ashamed, and the tent of the wicked will be no longer,

For I AM your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

 

I will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wrongful,

For there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.

I will bring a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

For every My word is flawless; and a shield to those who take refuge in Me.

Give heed to Me, My righteous rules endure forever.

I AM wisdom, I AM better than jewels; nothing can compare with Me.

I AM in the middle of the path of justice; I walk in the way of righteousness.

Do not be arrogant toward the branches;

It is not you who supports the root, but the root that supports you.

Do not fear or be dismayed, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Look upon Me when you are pelt out among those who are disgraced and have laughed at you.

I AM sound of wisdom and understanding, and I AM power of strength,

Thus, I will show compassion to anyone I choose.

Be on your guard and stay alert!

 

I AM who does not make you timid, but I give you willpower and self-discipline.

I AM who helps you fulfill your fear and seek salvation so that you can achieve your purpose.

I AM who gives you safeness and a comfortable place when you are weak.

I AM who is beyond all senses and wisdom.

 

Pay attention, be silent, listen to Me, for I have more to say.

Why have you contempt for My counsel?

Why have you Greeks rejected Me?

I AM a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish.

If I know not the force of the words, I will be a foreigner to the speaker,

And the speaker will be a foreigner to Me.

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,

And I AM the judgment of the Greeks and of the barbarians.

 

I AM the one, whose image is multiple in Egypt,

And I AM who has no likeness among the barbarians.

I AM who has been alienated in every place,

And I AM who has been loved everywhere.

I AM the one, whom one calls Life,

And I AM the others have called Death.

I AM the one, whom one calls Law,

And I AM the one others have called Lawlessness.

I AM the one whom you have pursued.

I AM the one whom you have seized.

I AM the one whom you have scattered.

I AM the one; you have gathered together in My name,

And I AM the one who is in the midst of them.

I AM the one before whom you have been ashamed,

And I AM one whom you have been shameless.

I AM one who does not keep rituals,

And I AM who shows you many signs with symbols.

I AM beyond all forms,

 And I AM the one whose God is multiple.

I AM one about whom you meditate,

And I AM one whom you scorned.

I AM one, who unlearned,

And I AM one from who you learn.

I AM one that you have despised,

And I AM one who you honor.

I AM one from who you are hiding,

And I AM one who you searching.

 

Stop ruminating about secrets, they will come to light.

Open your heart, that when you come to Me, I will be not hidden from you.

Let Me take your grief away by helping you understand it.

Let Me help you pass through being crushed and disgraced by seeing beauty in the ugliness.

Let Me help you pass guiltlessness and shamelessness shamelessly.

Come toward Me, you who know Me, and you who know just parts of Me.

Take the lowest place that you can raise to spiritual greatness.

Be like a child.

Do not despise virtue because it is immaterial.

Do not reject the small parts of greatness because they are undersized;

Smallness is recognized from within greatness.

Do not imprecate, revere, hurt, and ask mercy at the same time.

Do not judge and you will be not judged.

Do not reject and you will be not rejected.

Forgive, and to you will be forgiven.

Love and you will be loved.

 

I AM the mind and true essence of your being.

I AM your greatness, the power, and the glory.

I AM your own good, who leads you in the way you should go.

I AM the mighty one who does Her word.

I AM the breath of the Almighty.

I AM the Designer of All Creation.

I AM Mother, the Spirit of God Moves.

I AM the spirit of all men who exist.

I AM women who dwell in me.

 

I AM who is revered and adored, and who is reviled with contempt. 

I AM for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

I AM a stranger and an alien residing among you.

I AM the substance of things hoped for, the evidence and the womb of things not seen.

Those who are in darkness and ignorant, let them be ignorant.

Those who really know Me will know their substance.

Those who acknowledge Me in the presence of others I acknowledge them in My presence.

 

I AM the vine; you are the branches.

I AM the energy of all things; I AM the way, the truth, and I AM the life.

I AM within the light of the world and within the essence of your soul.

I AM who controls and who is uncontrollable.

I AM the union and I AM isolation.

I AM the manifestation and I AM cloudiness.

I AM not of this world and I AM earthy.

I AM the judgment and I AM acquittal.

I AM humble and I AM noble.

I AM lust and I AM refrained.

I AM the knowledge and I AM ignorance.

I AM a mute who does not speak, and My words are endless.

Hear Me in gentleness and learn of Me in harshness.

I AM gentle and humble in heart, and in Me, you will find rest for your soul.

I AM thrown down your altars, and I AM who prepares food for your mind.

I AM unknowable, and you understand that I AM.

  

You honor Me with the lips, but your heart is kept far away from Me.

You who pass judgment on someone else, have no excuse.

For at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself.

What is inside of you, that is outside of you.

The one who fashions you on the outside is the one who shapes the inside of you.

Rend your heart, and not your garments.

If you live in Me and what I say lives in you, ask for anything you want, and it will be yours.

Listen closely and don’t ever forget My words; keep them always in mind.

They are the key to life for those who find them, and they will give you life.

I AM the hearing that is attainable to everything.

I AM the speech that cannot be grasped.

I AM the justice that will prevail.

 

The mere sound of My name will signal hope even among far-off unbelievers.

Everyone who calls on Me, I will deliver them safely back to land.

Grace and peace to the One who created Me. 

And will speak His name.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy.

Blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it.

Blessed are those who come from Holy Essence, and who come from the Seven Spirits.

Glory for those who are before His throne, the angels,

And those who have been sent from Pneuma,

And those who have arisen from the dead.

 

I AM the One, who alone exists,

And there is no other, none like Me,

And I have no one who will judge Me.

So prepare your mind for action.

Be completely sober and alert.

 Fix your hope completely on the grace,

And you will find Me there,

And you will live,

 And you will never die.

 

***

 In the end, please allow us to present one of our favorite prayers, “Prayer to the Creator of the Universe”: Meditation on "The Lord's Prayer" in ancient Aramaic, where we also made our own simplifications. 

 Contemplation on and breathing in the worlds prayers is always very beneficial. It is a great opportunity to step into a unique human mind, heart, and sacred thought, and by understanding those treasures of our history to proceed to create a better world for all of us.

 

Prayer to the Creator of the Universe

Father/Mother of all, from whom the breath of life comes,

Who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration,

May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest, and

Your Heavenly Domain come forth.

Let Your will come true - in all that vibrates,

As on all that is material and dense.

Give us wisdom for our daily need, and

Detach the fetters of faults that bind us,

Just as we let go the guilt of others.

Help us not be lost in superficial things, and

Be freed from that which keeps us from our true purpose.

From You comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act, 

The song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age...

Amen

Yours faithfully, HAC 

Select Bibliography:

1.     “Thunder, Perfect Mind.” Translation from James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, revised edition. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990.

2.      “Simon Magus: The First Gnostic?” By Stephen Charles Haar. 2003.

3.      “Thunder, Perfect Mind.” By Buckley, Jorunn J. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 1992.

4.      “Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism.” By King Karen. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988. 

5.      “The Riddle of the Thunder. “ The Function of Paradox in a Gnostic Text from Nag Hammadi.” By Layton, Bentley. Hendrickson publ. 1986

6.      “The Thunder – Perfect Intellect.” By Layton, Bentley. The Gnostic Scriptures. NY: Doubleday, 1987.

7.      “The Ego-Proclamation in Gnostic Sources.” By MacRae, George W. Naperville, Ill.: A. R. Allenson, 1970.

8.      “Discourses of the Gnostic Revealer.” By MacRae, George W. Stockholm, 1973

9.      “The Thunder, Perfect Mind.” By MacRae, George W., Protocol of the Fifth Colloquy of the Center for Hermeneutical Studies in Hellenistic and Modern Culture, 1973, Graduate Theological Union, and the University of California-Berkeley. Ed. W. Wuellner. Berkeley, California, 1973.

10.  “Thunder, Perfect Mind.” By McGuire, Anne.  Searching the Scriptures. New York: Crossroad, 1994.

11.  “In Praise of Nonsense.” By Miller, Patricia Cox.  Ancient Mediterranean Spirituality. Ed. A. H. Armstrong. New York: Crossroad, 1986. 

12.  "The Thunder," By Rev. Hal Taussig. "A New Testament. ".Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2013

13.  “The Thunder: Perfect Mind.” By Anne McGuire. 2000

14.  Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus. 2009, by Neil Douglas-Klotz 

15.  King James Bible Online: Authorized King James Version (KJV) of the Bible- the preserved and living Word of God. Includes 1611 KJV and 1769 Cambridge KJV.

16.  Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts Hardcover – Large Print, October 1, 1982, by George M. Lamsa 

17.  The Place of the Peshitto Version in the Apparatus Criticus of the Greek New Testament (Analecta Gorgiana) Paperback – December 28, 2006, by G. H. Gwilliam 

18.  The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania. Series A: Cuneiform texts.Vol. XX, Part 1, Mathematical, metrological and chronological Tablets from the Temple Library of Nippur / by HUGO RADAU, edited by H. V. Hilprecht. 1911

19.  Theosophy and the Dissenting Western Imagination. By Dara Tatray. Literature & Aesthetics. June 2011

 

Eliminating Personal History

 

 The Life Warrior is one who strives to take control of their life and to live it with as much power as possible. This power is not wielded to control or abuse others, but rather to maximize one’s personal existence. It could result in accumulating great wealth, fame, and perhaps even leading a nation or an immense corporation. Or, it could instead be quietly tending to a small farm and raising healthy, happy children who grow up loving and respecting nature.  Regardless of the path taken, true personal power is impeccable and humble.

*********************

Each of us has a personal history… it may be perceived as good or bad. Often, we indulge in the glory of the good and all too often use the bad as excuses for how and who we are. A Life Warrior does not indulge in personal history. In Castaneda’s writings, he is advised by his mentor, Don Juan, that a Warrior must eliminate personal history. At first, that sounds nearly impossible and, perhaps, a bit extreme. All of us have had what we consider victories and defeats; great accomplishments, ideal relationships, and on the flip side, broken marriages, terrible childhoods, rotten jobs, etc. The Warrior has no defeat or victory but learns from every experience and uses the knowledge to continue upon their chosen path to accumulate personal power. 

Eliminating personal history may not be easy if we remain in the environment in which that history was created. If one is married, raising a family, or has a career, moving and making a fresh start may not be an option.  In such a case, we must simply cease indulging in personal history and get on with life. Stop seeking attention for the great things one has accomplished, and stop using the failures as excuses for one’s current situation. As one adopts the Life Warrior way, relatives and acquaintances will see one differently. It will take time, will be frustrating, and perhaps may never change everyone’s opinion and indulgence about our past…but that is their issue.  In the Chinese classic text, Laozi says, “...failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame”.  Stop blaming others and things that have occurred in your life. That is simply a useless act of indulgence and impedes one's ability to create personal power. Look at perceived failures simply as challenges.   

But what if we have the option of moving geographically and making a fresh start? It is not enough to simply change location, but more importantly, it requires leaving behind all of the conditioning accumulated as a result of our history. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot fix the problem with the same thinking that created it.”Regardless of whether one relocates or remains in the same location, be forewarned that becoming a Life Warrior will result in facing new challenges designed and provided by the Universe to make us impeccable, to build our character. Eliminating personal history does not give one the luxury of shirking responsibilities resulting from our past actions. If you have bad credit, you have to rebuild it. Or, if you are seen by others as unreliable, you must take action to build their trust.

The Life Warrior must become impeccable, which means developing behavior in accordance with the highest standards. This will not be achieved by wishful thinking or by following someone else’s teachings. If we wish to become Life Warriors, then we must take on the challenges that will reshape us. Sometimes we will fail, and other times we will succeed, but in all instances, we must learn the necessary lessons. These challenges often come in the form of mirrors.   As an example, if one has relationship issues, they will almost invariably find themselves in a close personal or working relationship with a similar person.  Why? Because the issue is never with the other person; it is always in us. What we don’t like in others is a characteristic that resides in us, even though we may be unaware of it. Thus, one’s relationships are often a mirror of our internal struggles. This is known as the first mirror of the Essenes, a mystic Jewish community, known for their astute teachings. There is a wise old adage, “If you want to change someone, first change yourself.” 

Eliminating personal history is only one step toward being a Life Warrior, but it is an important one. It must not be interpreted as eliminating responsibility for anything one has done. Instead, it requires that we simply cease indulging in the past.

Yours faithfully, 
Ron 

The Life Warrior

 

Each of us has been born into a life that is filled with challenges.  It therefore behooves one to take the warrior’s approach to life.  It has nothing to do with wielding a sword or gun, nor does it call for sacrificing oneself. Instead, it entails a fearless approach to developing the power to live life to the fullest. But what is the life warrior’s power? Is it money? Command of a nation or an army? I defer to three words from Sir Francis Bacon’s Meditationes Sacrae, “knowledge is power.” However, I would take it a step further in saying that knowledge properly applied is power. Therefore, a life warrior is one who seeks power by attaining knowledge and applying it to everyday life.

   The life warrior concept is a path to knowledge and understanding of ourselves as well as the world around us. It is the art of conquering the forces that impede our lives and bind us in fear.  The importance of knowledge as power can be found in various teachings, such as Hwa Rang Do's, which was developed in ancient Korea. It was initially a fighting system that stressed the use of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism philosophies equally as much as martial techniques.

There is much more to the world than we can perceive with an average state of mind. In his writings, Carlos Castaneda, anthropologist and author, often refers to non-ordinary reality, a state of mind that allows one to see what his mentor, Don Juan, calls a mysterious world that is all around us, yet out of sight to those unable to see past the “ordinary”. The necessary state of mind can be created by silencing our minds through meditation. Few are able to “see” the true world for what it is because of the programming we receive beginning at birth. Our world becomes defined by this knowledge. This programming has evolved over millennia of human existence. To break free of it, we must discard the norms of society, the “ordinary”, and live the life of a warrior, a life that is humble and without anger.  It means abandoning the role of being a follower. One must choose their own path, one with heart. In order to break free, we must, as Castaneda writes, “… seek to act rather than talk.” This echoes the words of Epictetus: “Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.”

Becoming a life warrior requires one to step away from the many distractions that surround us.  We must learn to silence the internal dialogue that takes place in our minds. Learn to question the non-stop information that streams into our minds from the internet, TV and those who simply speak the loudest. It is the pursuit of the path of personal power to find the totality of oneself. In the words of Socrates, “To find yourself, think for yourself.”

Yours faithfully, 

Ron 

The True Self

     Ancient Vedic wisdom says that the one who sees with his own eyes is the True Self, the Seer, and the Knower. Hindu philosopher Patanjali (also called Gonardiya) suggests that "though pure, modifications are witnessed by the Seer by the coloring of Intellect. The spectacle exists only to serve the purpose of the Atman..."

     True Self or Ātman (the Sanskrit word for the impersonal consciousness within each individual) is "neither this nor that” ("Neti Neti"). It cannot be described in any other way. Everything that surrounds you and what you see or feel is you. Without understanding this, we see ourselves in a mirror and take our reflection to be the self. On the other hand, the non-dual True Self is NOT a “blank mind” or a state of no consciousness of the sensory world, which most of us like to think. It would shut out life if it were something as an exclusive state of mind. What has been called a mystical “enlightenment,” “bliss,” or “trance” in certain traditions is a state of mindfulness, one in which we can perfectly attend to all our daily affairs. It is a state of mind in which we “humble ourselves while respecting others". It is also described as the "personality" (from Latin “persona”, a theatrical mask worn by performers) that takes the path towards "bodhi" (Sanskrit bodhati " watchful", buddhah "awakened", or Lithuanian budėti "to be awake") or one who is NOT wrapped or too much engaged in the life events. It is one who has gone beyond the illusion of Nirvana (when the process is done, and one who ceases to be).

    So, when we truly know who we are, our research in spiritual teachings and religions becomes just a raft for crossing a stream. Once we step on the stones on the other side of the bank, we walk away from the raft, leaving it in the place where we landed. We don't take it with us on our journey. In other words, we become “not-knowing”, but constantly learning new things, being open and receptive, and "seeing" the world through our own eyes… 

   Yours sincerely,

   Irmina

Self-Expression

  Yesterday I contemplated self-expression and the foundation of my feelings. All that was given to us by the Primary Source as the substance of Joy and Satisfaction. I found it interesting that if we want something to rejoice over, it is necessary to remove acquired conditioning. It means to travel the path of reduction. If our mind is disturbed by desires and loses its sincerity, we become like a building that decreases its strength and stability. Its walls become too heavy for the structure, and its firmness is lost with time. 

   Those with a sincere mind are naturally alert about every second of their life. They already realize that they manifest unceasingly with each thought. Their mind’s strength and flexibility are balanced. Their fate depends on themselves, not on outside world blessings. They know that good fortune comes (even though one does not try to bring it) as they stop to see life as filled with “faults”, which are naturally nonexistent in this aspect…

Yours sincerely,

Irmina

The Goddess Culture

 

“The Goddess is Nature and the Earth itself, pulsating with the seasons, bringing life in spring and death in winter. She also represents the continuity of life as a perpetual regenerator, protectress, and nourisher…” / Marija Gimbutas

 

   One morning, while sitting on the patio, my husband and I observed a dove on the power line who was cooing loudly as though trying to interrupt our thoughts. Near it landed another one. Immediately, the bird began fighting over what it perceived as its territory and forced the other dove to fly off.  Was it perhaps its mate? Or was it simply a younger dove? Each species has a particular way of subdivision and the urge to fight about something.

    

   Edward O. Wilson, a pioneer of Evolutionary Biology, said that almost all vertebrates "conduct their lives according to precise rules of land tenure." Biologists call this territoriality. It is a particular way of divvying up land. This impulse to control everything about one’s possessions is highly universal. Could this also explain the wars among humans? Maybe the answer is in our DNA.

   

   Delving into the vortexes of humanity's past, we found well-documented evidence of an Ancient European civilization without war. It was a civilization whose governance had multiple centers of decision-making. It didn't possess weapons for waging war or fortifications for defense. The architecture was articulated through small households built on the plains, near the source of rivers. Lithuanian-born archaeologist and anthropologist, Marija Gimbutas, spent most of her life researching this ancient culture through archaeological digs and studying artifacts found by her team and many others.  She found that they did not use distinctions of rank in their burials, a strong indicator that they lived by respecting each other as equals. The artifacts and symbols that she examined gave an undeniable description of a family unit that was strictly Goddess-oriented and had a Great Mother's concept. It revolved around the Bountiful Mother Earth, the Nourisher of Life, and Receiver of the Dead for Rebirth. All creatures acknowledged Her as the Personification of the Power of Space, Time, and Matter. Within those bounds, all beings arise and die, and everything has form, name, and purpose.

   

   According to Gimbutas’ research paper, “The Kurgan Culture and the Indo-Europeanization of Europe: Selected Articles from 1952 to 1993 (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph), and her book, “The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe”, this Goddess culture ended as a result of an invasion by the Kurigans in about 4400 BCE. In these writings, Gimbutas repeated that Neolithic communities in Southeastern Europe lived in harmony, with a high degree of economic, social, and sexual equality. Women ran the temples and held prominent positions, while men performed physical chores such as hunting, building, and industry. The deities these people worshiped were overwhelmingly female, emphasizing nonviolence and reverence for nature. It was marauding Indo-Europeans, the forerunners of Western civilization, who destroyed these societies. They were the bearers of the Kurgan culture of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and west of the Urals. They were violent, indifferent to nature, and dominated by men. This accounts for today’s Western civilization with its destruction and crises, which are increasingly threatening the entire planet. 

  

    In almost every religion and culture, we can feel this influence and its detriment in the family unit. Women's roles have become suppressed and identified with child-bearing and looking after family needs, as well as being expected to be breadwinners. Thomas Berry writes that “...in their relations with men, women were to be either utilitarian or ornamental. Public decision-making in all major fields—religious, political, economic, and educational—became the exclusive role of men. Both in the public life of the community and the private realm of the family, all important affairs were regulated by them. This distorted appropriation by men of all major dimensions of human life produced ever-increasing difficulty.” While it is true that we have examples of female Presidents and Prime Ministers today, they are faced with living up to the expectations established in a patriarchal society. They have to balance being female, in a male-structured world… It is like “dancing on knives”!

  

    Similar dynamics exist in communities and churches, where members are forbidden to pray to the Holy Mother. Religions force worship of only the Father. Every ceremony associated with honoring and celebrating Mother Earth, which is an intuitive aspect of female energy, unfortunately, and pathetically, is looked upon as "communication with the demons". Most likely, it is a preserved belief from the Middle Ages, where a female was chased as a witch. Burning and dunking of them was almost exclusively done to women.

 

    Social structures and environment are closely intertwined with our society’s values and our mindset. There is very strong evidence of this in every Epigenetic study. They fully describe how behavior and environment can cause changes, which have the power to influence our genes. By changing our environment, we are rewriting our DNA. Through the Kurgan invasion, the resultant intermarriages that took place, and thousands of years of living in the new patriarchal structure, the DNA of the Old Europeans was changed. Thus, the former Goddess culture ceased to exist.

   

   When events and mindsets exist in one part of the world, the influence is felt everywhere. The changes that took place in Europe were not isolated events. When one revisits prehistoric China, the Americas, Africa, and the South Pacific, peaceful matriarchal civilizations once flourished. The change to a patriarchal mindset was a universal event. This is confirmed by new research looking into the evolution of human genetics, which indicates that human genes have continued to evolve even after the split from our prehistoric ancestors. Applying the concepts and wisdom of the Neolithic Matriarchal Period does not endorse some type of feminist power structure. We believe that on a collective, global scale, something more occurred that brought an end to the Goddess Culture. It is a long-standing piece of wisdom “that where two are fighting, the third party is the winner”.

   

   So, if our civilization wants to bloom, be wealthy, and be healthy in its spirit, it needs to apply the concepts and wisdom of our predecessors. This means full responsibility for creating positive mind patterns for ourselves and our communities. Also, it is important to understand that everything in this world comes in dualities and has a polarity, so the Mother Goddess's role, together with Father God is essential. "Mother of Everything and All" exists in every facet of our life, because it is the Universal principle of our existence. This is documented in every ancient religion and ideology. Let me cite Marija Gimbutas once again, “female snake, bird, egg, and fish played parts in creation myths and the female goddess was the creative principle. The Snake Goddess and Bird Goddess create the world, charge it with energy, and nourish the earth and its creatures with the life-giving element conceived as water. The waters of heaven and earth are under their control…” The female, primary energy concept is truly everywhere. She is the Queen Bee who directs the activities of the drones and worker bees in the hive. The Queen Ant, who is in charge of the colony, and is generally the mother of all its ants. In the animal kingdom, it is the male who strives to please the female and is adorned with brighter colors and exercises behaviors, such as mating rituals to attract the female. 

  

   In the Neolithic and early Bronze Age cultures, only the elder females participated in healing circles. They possessed the knowledge of Mother Nature’s healing power and were responsible for communicating with the Highest Spirits. Later, the entire family was involved in these rituals. A more recent example is the traditional “Ho’oponopono Practice of Reconciliation and Forgiveness” used by Indigenous Hawaiian elder female healers. You can find this practice in the HAC article "Concept of Healing".

   

    Exist and many other spiritual traditions around the world that use sacred rituals to worship the Life-Giving Goddess or Mother Earth. This includes those used by Contemporary or Neopagan religious groups, the New Age movement, Hindus and Bantu people, and other sacred communities. Despite tremendous diversity among these approaches to the sacred, these practices have a strong thread of continuity. We learn from Mother Nature and Father Creator how to heal ourselves and harmonize our inner feminine/masculine energies, by becoming whole. On the other hand, it is truly not important what we trust or believe, the God Mother/Father is Oneness. This Creative and Sacred energy is everywhere, and as most old scripts say, we are children of that Source. It is important to be conscious of this vital fact because it is absolutely necessary to our well-being and identification!

Yours sincerely,

Irmina