Christianity's repression of meditation

[Patrick]

I am currently pondering Christianity's repression of meditation and does not seem able to find what I am looking for "out there" or inside my own meditation.

I was raised as a Catholic and so fear of the devil is strong in my family.  They would consider stuff like the Ra material as coming directly from Satan, etc...

What I am looking for is the source of this fear.  At first glance, the source should be obvious doesn't it?  Negative teachings inserted into the biblical message or something like that.  But really I feel there is something embedded much deeper at work here.  Even today, having complete faith in the Law of One, I can from time to time come across information that jitters an inner fear that I am being led away from God by having faith in non-biblical materials.

The part that I believe any Christian would find hard to understand is why meditation is "evil"?  To anyone I know, even my parents, meditation is seen to be a "good" thing.  So I thought I would start my search into this subject by looking into the repression of meditation, seeing it as one of the most "successful" machination of the devil in modern times from the point of view of Catholicism.  There are many articles about the "dangers" of meditation.

Anyway, it feels to me like there is an enormous spell or a very powerful magical working that is in effect.  In the depths of my being, I know full well that the Ra material is the least distorted view of existence (that I am personally aware of) and yet this does not touch this fear that is embedded within me, it still comes from time to time.  It makes no sense to me, neither of the logical nor of the intuitive kind.

If anyone would like to ponder this with me, I would be grateful.
 

[APeacefulWarrior]

Honestly, I think it's just a tribal\exclusivity thing. One of the key tenets of Christianity in nearly all its mainstream forms is that only through Jesus can one make contact with God. Meditation directly threatens this, since it offers a route to higher spiritual insights and contacts that requires no outside intercessor whatsoever. As such, it could also be seen as devaluing or even negating the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, to those who believe that Jesus died to absolve mankind.

So many Christians try very very hard to keep people away from activities that would cut Jesus out of the equation.

And if there's a "spell" that's at work, it's just the nature of human psychology. Fear is pretty much THE most successful motivator of people throughout recorded history. Make someone afraid of something, and they will almost always avoid it, especially since in times past, those sorts of fears were more of the "Don't eat THOSE berries!" variety. We're evolutionarily programmed to take such socially-based warnings very seriously, since they were usually the only way people could keep themselves alive in a world full of things happy to kill them.

It's something you (and just about anyone) can get past, given enough time and motivation. Mostly time. As the memories of the warnings fade, they'll seem increasingly irrelevant.

[AnthroHeart]

My friend who's an atheist doesn't see meditation as evil, but there's no point in it.

[anagogy]

I would only suggest that you (and others) are not just combating the conditioning from just *ONE* lifetime, rather you are most likely combating the fear of *MULTIPLE* lifetimes of religious conditioning. You know how even if you haven't ridden a bike for years you can pretty much just hop right back on that sucker and ride it again with no significant issues (for the most part)? Well, any serious subconscious conditioning is like that (even beliefs). The cognitive pathways have been grooved, and then some.

That is to say, this is probably not the first lifetime you have had the pleasure of being brainwashed as a child in. So naturally, it is going to be rather strong on the subconscious level. If you want to call that subconscious conditioning a magical working, the label could certainly apply because that is ultimately what a magical working is -- the entrainment of the behavior of consciousness. How long has our Earth been swallowed in religious ignorance and alternate spiritual modality intolerance? How often do we get to incarnate in societies free of such conditioning? Probably not too often.

You'll find in any cult like belief system that any behavior that expands awareness or leads to challenging existing thought structures will be strongly discouraged, vilified even (such as meditation, which tends to expand one's awareness). It is essentially a psychological lock (or a virus in cases of aggressive proselytization) in the sense that the mechanism is such that one is rewarded if the limits of the cognitive structure are respected (you get validation from your religious peers and the promise of wondrous heavenly rewards) and punished when the taboo of the structure is violated (with threats of hellfire and eternal damnation). This is prototypical of negative STS psychology and hierarchical social constructs because it strongly reinforces unquestioning loyalty and forgoes critical thinking which, of course, would give back one's sovereign autonomous right to hold their own opinions and perspectives. As is customary, fear and greed are used to control the masses.

This is just one of the more successful STS instigations in our society. If there wasn't Christianity, there would be something else just like it. The involutionary forces of the universe will always lay their traps, just as the evolutionary forces will attempt to make others aware of them.  

[Jade]

I read once that the process of baptism (especially Catholic baptism) is a ritual that seals the third eye - a cross being drawn upon the forehead with enchanted water. (I may have read this here!) Either way, that resonated with me, also being raised Catholic and going to Catholic school and desperately wanting to skip the ritual of Confirmation (conscious acceptance of the baptism ritual at age 12/13) but being unable to break free from the group influence.

But, I feel as if there were things that would definitely be considered "in the realm of" meditation that some Catholics do - like the rosary. I know a lot of the ladies my grandma used to pray the rosary with felt similar to the process as a nice group meditation, as it's basically just rhythmic chanting of prayer.

[Patrick]

Thank you guys, that's all very helpful.

How can such a thing take root in the tree of mind so that it remains from one incarnation to another?  Or maybe it is just within the social mind itself that it is embedded and not really in the root of the individual mind? 

So, from the perspective of a wanderer, I could have been given a part of this social fear to deal with and help release.  I tend to just ignore it, thinking that it's ridiculous, but maybe there is something I could actually do to help.  I'm just not seeing it.
 

[Spaced]

I was baptised Catholic, went through the rituals of first communion and confirmation (and found confirmation especially a powerful positive experience for me). I also went to a private Catholic high school with Jesuit teachers. I found the Jesuits to be very open and non-judgmental, we learned a lot about world religions and it was pretty unbiased. In the last year we were taken to a Jesuit retreat for a weekend and they actually taught us to meditate.

My mother also works as the administrator of a Catholic basilica (even thought she claims to be an atheist) and the priests there are (for the most part) very open-minded.

Over-all I have had a positive experience with Catholicism, but the dogma never really matched my personal beliefs which is why I no longer consider myself Catholic (Christianity in general is too masculine for my taste).

It's also worth noting that Carla was a devout Christian her whole life. I think it's a perfectly valid path for seeking, though it's not for everyone and it can be twisted to serve various purposes.

[Patrick]

Oh it was not my intent to suggest that my personal experience as a Catholic had been negative.  I have somehow always been able to ignore the negative information from the scriptures and focus on the true message that Jesus was bringing.  It was easy for me to see that a God of Love would not say or act in such and such a way, as is often portrayed in the bible, that was not congruent with the nature of Love.  Easy to see that this was non-sense that humans had added to the message as laws for the population.  Here in Quebec, in my generation, priests don't focus much on Hell and fear, they mostly talk about Love all the time, quoting beautiful passages from the bible.  My upbringing was within a loving and understanding atmosphere.

So my parents did not implant this on me, nor was is from attending masses in this incarnation.  Even though my parents do fear hell strongly, they did not push this aspect of religion onto me, they too focused on the Love and beauty of it when talking to me about religious stuff.

That being said, the blockage (fear) is still present.  No measure of knowing/understanding touches it.  It still rears its head from time to time, probably waiting for me to do something about it, but what?

I feel detached from that fear.  That is why I thought it could be a spell or something like that.  It feels unreal.  I can observe it without reacting to it, when it comes.  It does not sway me from my faith in Oneness.

Maybe it is just catalysts offered by discarnate negative entities, offering me a chance to reject the positive material I am reading when it happens?

I'm thinking that I am not here to fix it, but maybe I can somehow fix it anyway just by loving it?  Sending love/light to the offering entities.  Or just loving and accepting my part of this social fear, giving it lots of opportunities to transmute itself into something constructive.
 

[Infinite Unity]

I would like to state, that we are not the creator. The creator is us. One of the main gems I find in the bible. Is the relationship with jesus/God. I believe that to say I am the creator is partially correct but more incorrect in that, Like above, the creator is us. My new inner motto is "I wish to be like the creator." He is our father/mother he gave unto us life. its body is space, its heart blood pumping to us in the manifested form of gravity, and his mind all our thoughts/intelligence. We rest in the creator and everything is a gift. Hand fashioned and spun just for us. The greatest m/b/s in the universe, is but a child to the creator. The is a magnificent thing to think about, and is a great mystery in itself.

[Infinite Unity]

body:matter Love:wave intelligence:mind/thought


all composed and manifested by light.

[AnthroHeart]

Just checked with my friend. He just lacks the patience to do it. Not that he sees no point in it.

[Cyclops]

http://www.lawofone.info/results.php?s=5#2

We begin with the mental learn/teachings necessary for contact with intelligent infinity. The prerequisite of mental work is the ability to retain silence of self at a steady state when required by the self. The mind must be opened like a door. The key is silence.

http://www.lawofone.info/results.php?s=49#8

The passive meditation involving the clearing of the mind, the emptying of the mental jumble which is characteristic of mind complex activity among your peoples, is efficacious for those whose goal is to achieve an inner silence as a base from which to listen to the Creator. This is an useful and helpful tool and is by far the most generally useful type of meditation as opposed to contemplation or prayer.

I was bored today and wondered what happens to the brain when one meditates. Ra speaks to the spiritual aspect of it but I wanted to see the physical aspect. Being that Ra says letting the mind quiet down till it is silent is the most useful meditation we can do, I went looking for some studies on this type of meditation and although most of the studies are on other types I did manage to find a few that focus on mental silence. Here's one:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4777419/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corecgi/tile...58&r=1&c=1

Conclusions

The study shows that long-term practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation is associated with larger grey matter volume overall, and with regional enlargement in several right hemispheric cortical and subcortical brain regions that are associated with sustained attention, self-control, compassion and interoceptive perception. The increased grey matter volume in these attention and self-control mediating regions suggests use-dependent enlargement with regular practice of this meditation.

and from wikipedia, I had to find the term for mental silence and apparently this is what it's called.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation#Mental_silence

Mental silence

Sahaja yoga meditation is regarded as a mental silence meditation, and has been shown to correlate with particular brain and brain wave activity.[sup][164][/sup][sup][165][/sup][sup][166][/sup] Some studies have led to suggestions that Sahaja meditation involves 'switching off' irrelevant brain networks for the maintenance of focused internalized attention and inhibition of inappropriate information.[sup][167][/sup] Sahaja meditators scored above peer group for emotional wellbeing measures on SF-36 ratings.[sup][168][/sup]

I hope this post isn't too off topic, just some info I dug up to convince only myself really on why I should meditate more often. Maybe it can be useful to someone else too.

[Aion]

The source is the fact that there is an esoteric underbelly to the Catholic church and other Orthodox groups in which 'meditation' and all its elements do indeed exist, albeit more under the term of prayer and the fear is created as a way to keep people connected while also keeping them ignorant. In other words, I believe the Vatican is headed by a bunch of very skilled and long-standing 'energy vampires', to use a popular misnomer. Notice the use of the same method that Ra suggested is common for service to others attempting to infringe via the crown. Or you know, something like that.

72.17 Questioner: Why is there no protection at the floor or bottom of the banishing ritual, and should there be?

Ra: I am Ra. This will be the last full query of this working.

The development of the psychic greeting is possible only through the energy centers starting from a station which you might call within the violet ray moving through the adept’s energy center and therefrom towards the target of opportunity. Depending upon the vibratory nature and purpose of greeting, be it positive or negative, the entity will be energized or blocked in the desired way.

We of Ra approach this instrument in narrow-band contact through violet ray. Others might pierce down through this ray to any energy center. We, for instance, make great use of this instrument’s blue-ray energy center as we are attempting to communicate our distortion/understandings of the Law of One.

The entity of Orion pierces the same violet ray and moves to two places to attempt most of its non-physical opportunities. It activates the green-ray energy center while further blocking indigo-ray energy center. This combination causes confusion in the instrument and subsequent over-activity in unwise proportions in physical complex workings. It simply seeks out the distortions pre-incarnatively programmed and developed in incarnative state.

The energies of life itself, being the One Infinite Creator, flow from the south pole of the body seen in its magnetic form. Thus only the Creator may, through the feet, enter the energy shell of the body to any effect. The effects of the adept are those from the upper direction and thus the building of the wall of light is quite propitious.

[Reaper]

Christianity was designed to control people. It encourages repression of natural urges and paints practices that increase self-awareness as evil, because it would be very hard for a self-aware, open-minded, awakened person to not see its contradictory posits as ridiculous. It is a religion that draws its power from fear, not love, regardless of the fact that many of its main figures were portrayed as loving people. I've seen a few people, like Carla, manage to twist the tenets of the Christian faith into something loving and use it as a means of service, but I have no doubt that it was originally designed as a system of mind control.

[Parsons]

I would like to address two things here: my theories on why Christianity would suppress meditation and why I think you still (occasionally) experience that fear.

I think that in order for a religion such as Christianity to survive (especially so long), it needs strong coherency in it's tenets. I like to think of it like a submarine; if there are any major design flaws that would cause leaks, the whole ship will sink. I think that's why some religions / cults gain a lot of traction at first, but quickly sink after a few years. With other short lived faiths / philosophies, it's as though the submarine dove anyways and sank relatively quickly. In the case of Christianity, I think a slow but serious leak would form if it encouraged meditation. The reason that leak (in logic) would form, is meditation is a surefire path to (eventually) find the truth of the unity of creation. I think any religion that suppresses free thought by telling you what to believe and avoiding encouraging finding the truth for yourself, is going to be much more coherent over time and potentially have many more followers than a religion that does not. I think that at some point someone realized this consciously and shaped Christianity with that in mind. However, at this point, I think most Christians in positions of power within the religion are no longer consciously aware of that and are just blindly following tradition.

When it comes to your personal unexplained fear, my theory is it has something to do with the 'thought form' for Christianity. I'm pretty sure you are aware of that concept, but I'll give a brief explanation in case you don't or other readers don't. When many people believe in a specific religion or philosophy, a thought form / egregore forms. It has been discusses elsewhere, but I firmly believe one has formed around this forum community (just for example). Around this thought form forms beliefs commonly held by the people surrounding it. The more common and more strongly believed, the greater the influence it has on this thought form. In the case of Christianity, the thought form(s) surrounding it are extremely powerful because so many people follow the religion. If many Christians believe that meditation and similar pursuits are 'evil', it becomes a part of the thought form. Now I realize you hold the Ra Material in much higher regard (for lack of better terminology) and you don't consciously believe that meditation is 'evil', but that doesn't mean that you aren't still attached to this thought form that has that belief. It can still influence you even if you don't consider yourself a part of a Christian denomination. 

I'm not saying you should completely drop all Christian beliefs nor am I blaming you for being influenced (even in some small way). I actually have a similar challenge when it comes to my atheist upbringing / mindset. I will (occasionally) still catch myself being influenced by tenets of a mindset that I no longer believe in at all. When I catch something that doesn't feel right, I will stop and compare it against my current beliefs. If it doesn't hold up and especially if I think it is a part of the atheist thought form, I will do my best to avoid that influence. Usually I will try to neutralize it by balancing it mentally with it's opposite concept. Above all I make sure I am consciously aware that the intruding belief is not my actual belief. Personally I find it to be even more helpful to understand why the negative belief I am encountering exists. In your case, please refer to my above theory that that specific belief is there merely to prevent the loss of followers through the discovery of the unity of creation.

[YinYang]

A picture that emerges from the gospels and the Ra material about Jesus, once you get the popular, mainstream saintly and holier-than-thou image out of your head, which makes him even cooler to me personally, was that he was essentially a maverick, a rebel and a trouble maker. Being a rebel myself, I love that image, and it could not have been any other way, because a meek, fearful person would not have been able to turn the establishment on its head like he did. He constantly challenged authority.

I mean he challenged the rabbis in the temple at the age of 5, left his parents' house at 13 and disappeared to who knows where. Being as positive as he was, he must have a had great sense of humour, cracked jokes, laughed out loud, pranked people, and must have had a real lust for life, like anyone who has accessed intelligent infinity. Turning water into wine, striking up a conversation with the prostitute at the fountain to the chagrin of all bystanders, turning over the tables of the money changers in the temple, mingling with the lepers, that's someone I'd like to be friends with! It must have been an electrifying experience just to be in his presence. I have read that people experienced spontaneous enlightenment just by being in close proximity to Buddha (just as big a rebel, secretly fleeing the palace in the dead of night, without saying goodbye).

Jesus wasn't this monotone, tragic and depressing figure Christianity has changed him into, and our churches basically resemble a courtroom, with the minister dressed just like a judge, and the elders (jury) in their allocated slots, and everyone sitting on wooden benches in rows, facing him. No-one wants to be there, it's depressing. Jesus stood on a rock and taught, and walked amongst the people.

[YinYang]

I feel very strongly that the moment something is organised or made permanent, with dogma and doctrine, it loses all spontaneity and excitement. I feel this way about all organised religions, not just Christianity. A friend of mine was recently ordained as a Buddhist nun in Thailand, and she says it's the same story, they worship Buddha, and it's lifeless and full of dogma and doctrine.

This speech by Jiddu Krishnamurti when he dissolved the Order of the Star is something I strongly resonate with:

Truth is a pathless land

The Order of the Star in the East was founded in 1911 to proclaim the coming of the World Teacher. Krishnamurti was made Head of the Order. On August 3, 1929, the opening day of the annual Star Camp at Ommen, Holland, Krishnamurti dissolved the Order before 3000 members. Below is the full text of the talk he gave on that occasion.

“We are going to discuss this morning the dissolution of the Order of the Star. Many people will be delighted, and others will be rather sad. It is a question neither for rejoicing nor for sadness, because it is inevitable, as I am going to explain. “You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend said to the devil, “What did that man pick up?” “He picked up a piece of Truth,” said the devil. “That is a very bad business for you, then,” said his friend. “Oh, not at all,” the devil replied, “I am going to let him organize it."

I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organize a belief. A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others. This is what everyone throughout the world is attempting to do. Truth is narrowed down and made a plaything for those who are weak, for those who are only momentarily discontented. Truth cannot be brought down, rather the individual must make the effort to ascend to it. You cannot bring the mountain-top to the valley. If you would attain to the mountain-top you must pass through the valley, climb the steeps, unafraid of the dangerous precipices.

So that is the first reason, from my point of view, why the Order of the Star should be dissolved. In spite of this, you will probably form other Orders, you will continue to belong to other organizations searching for Truth. I do not want to belong to any organization of a spiritual kind, please understand this. I would make use of an organization which would take me to London, for example; this is quite a different kind of organization, merely mechanical, like the post or the telegraph. I would use a motor car or a steamship to travel, these are only physical mechanisms which have nothing whatever to do with spirituality. Again, I maintain that no organization can lead man to spirituality.

If an organization be created for this purpose, it becomes a crutch, a weakness, a bondage, and must cripple the individual, and prevent him from growing, from establishing his uniqueness, which lies in the discovery for himself of that absolute, unconditioned Truth. So that is another reason why I have decided, as I happen to be the Head of the Order, to dissolve it. No one has persuaded me to this decision. “This is no magnificent deed, because I do not want followers, and I mean this. The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. I am not concerned whether you pay attention to what I say or not. I want to do a certain thing in the world and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies. Then you will naturally ask me why I go the world over, continually speaking. I will tell you for what reason I do this: not because I desire a following, not because I desire a special group of special disciples. (How men love to be different from their fellow-men, however ridiculous, absurd and trivial their distinctions may be! I do not want to encourage that absurdity.) I have no disciples, no apostles, either on earth or in the realm of spirituality. “Nor is it the lure of money, nor the desire to live a comfortable life, which attracts me. If I wanted to lead a comfortable life I would not come to a Camp or live in a damp country! I am speaking frankly because I want this settled once and for all. I do not want these childish discussions year after year.

One newspaper reporter, who interviewed me, considered it a magnificent act to dissolve an organization in which there were thousands and thousands of members. To him it was a great act because, he said: “What will you do afterwards, how will you live? You will have no following, people will no longer listen to you.” If there are only five people who will listen, who will live, who have their faces turned towards eternity, it will be sufficient. Of what use is it to have thousands who do not understand, who are fully embalmed in prejudice, who do not want the new, but would rather translate the new to suit their own sterile, stagnant selves? If I speak strongly, please do not misunderstand me, it is not through lack of compassion. If you go to a surgeon for an operation, is it not kindness on his part to operate even if he cause you pain? So, in like manner, if I speak straightly, it is not through lack of real affection–on the contrary.

As I have said, I have only one purpose: to make man free, to urge him towards freedom, to help him to break away from all limitations, for that alone will give him eternal happiness, will give him the unconditioned realization of the self.

Because I am free, unconditioned, whole–not the part, not the relative, but the whole Truth that is eternal–I desire those, who seek to understand me to be free; not to follow me, not to make out of me a cage which will become a religion, a sect. Rather should they be free from all fears–from the fear of religion, from the fear of salvation, from the fear of spirituality, from the fear of love, from the fear of death, from the fear of life itself. As an artist paints a picture because he takes delight in that painting, because it is his self-expression, his glory, his well-being, so I do this and not because I want anything from anyone. “You are accustomed to authority, or to the atmosphere of authority, which you think will lead you to spirituality. You think and hope that another can, by his extraordinary powers--a miracle–transport you to this realm of eternal freedom which is Happiness. Your whole outlook on life is based on that authority.

You have listened to me for three years now, without any change taking place except in the few. Now analyze what I am saying, be critical, so that you may understand thoroughly, fundamentally. When you look for an authority to lead you to spirituality, you are bound automatically to build an organization around that authority. By the very creation of that organization, which, you think, will help this authority to lead you to spirituality, you are held in a cage.

If I talk frankly, please remember that I do so, not out of harshness, not out of cruelty, not out of the enthusiasm of my purpose, but because I want you to understand what I am saying. That is the reason why you are here, and it would be a waste of time if I did not explain clearly, decisively, my point of view. “For eighteen years you have been preparing for this event, for the Coming of the World Teacher. For eighteen years you have organized, you have looked for someone who would give a new delight to your hearts and minds, who would transform your whole life, who would give you a new understanding; for someone who would raise you to a new plane of life, who would give you a new encouragement, who would set you free–and now look what is happening! Consider, reason with yourselves, and discover in what way that belief has made you different–not with the superficial difference of the wearing of a badge, which is trivial, absurd. In what manner has such a belief swept away all the unessential things of life? That is the only way to judge: in what way are you freer, greater, more dangerous to every Society which is based on the false and the unessential? In what way have the members of this organization of the Star become different? “As I said, you have been preparing for eighteen years for me. I do not care if you believe that I am the World–Teacher or not. That is of very little importance. Since you belong to the organization of the Order of the Star, you have given your sympathy, your energy, acknowledging that Krishnamurti is the World–Teacher– partially or wholly: wholly for those who are really seeking, only partially for those who are satisfied with their own half-truths.

You have been preparing for eighteen years, and look how many difficulties there are in the way of your understanding, how many complications, how many trivial things. Your prejudices, your fears, your authorities, your churches new and old–all these, I maintain, are a barrier to understanding. I cannot make myself clearer than this. I do not want you to agree with me, I do not want you to follow me, I want you to understand what I am saying. “This understanding is necessary because your belief has not transformed you but only complicated you, and because you are not willing to face things as they are. You want to have your own gods–new gods instead of the old, new religions instead of the old, new forms instead of the old–all equally valueless, all barriers, all limitations, all crutches. Instead of old spiritual distinctions you have new spiritual distinctions, instead of old worships you have new worships. You are all depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for your enlightenment on someone else; and although you have been preparing for me for eighteen years, when I say all these things are unnecessary, when I say that you must put them all away and look within yourselves for the enlightenment, for the glory, for the purification, and for the incorruptibility of the self, not one of you is willing to do it. There may be a few, but very, very few. So why have an organization?

Why have false, hypocritical people following me, the embodiment of Truth? Please remember that I am not saying something harsh or unkind, but we have reached a situation when you must face things as they are. I said last year that I would not compromise. Very few listened to me then. This year I have made it absolutely clear. I do not know how many thousands throughout the world–members of the Order–have been preparing for me for eighteen years, and yet now they are not willing to listen unconditionally, wholly, to what I say.

As I said before, my purpose is to make men unconditionally free, for I maintain that the only spirituality is the incorruptibility of the self which is eternal, is the harmony between reason and love. This is the absolute, unconditioned Truth which is Life itself. I want therefore to set man free, rejoicing as the bird in the clear sky, unburdened, independent, ecstatic in that freedom . And I, for whom you have been preparing for eighteen years, now say that you must be free of all these things, free from your complications, your entanglements. For this you need not have an organization based on spiritual belief. Why have an organization for five or ten people in the world who understand, who are struggling, who have put aside all trivial things? And for the weak people, there can be no organization to help them to find the Truth, because Truth is in everyone; it is not far, it is not near; it is eternally there.

Organizations cannot make you free. No man from outside can make you free; nor can organized worship, nor the immolation of yourselves for a cause, make you free; nor can forming yourselves into an organization, nor throwing yourselves into works, make you free. You use a typewriter to write letters, but you do not put it on an altar and worship it. But that is what you are doing when organizations become your chief concern.

How many members are there in it?” That is the first question I am asked by all newspaper reporters. “How many followers have you? By their number we shall judge whether what you say is true or false.” I do not know how many there are. I am not concerned with that. As I said, if there were even one man who had been set free, that were enough.

Again, you have the idea that only certain people hold the key to the Kingdom of Happiness. No one holds it. No one has the authority to hold that key. That key is your own self, and in the development and the purification and in the incorruptibility of that self alone is the Kingdom of Eternity.

So you will see how absurd is the whole structure that you have built, looking for external help, depending on others for your comfort, for your happiness, for your strength. These can only be found within yourselves.

You are accustomed to being told how far you have advanced, what is your spiritual status. How childish! Who but yourself can tell you if you are beautiful or ugly within? Who but yourself can tell you if you are incorruptible? You are not serious in these things.

But those who really desire to understand, who are looking to find that which is eternal, without beginning and without an end, will walk together with a greater intensity, will be a danger to everything that is unessential, to unrealities, to shadows. And they will concentrate, they will become the flame, because they understand. Such a body we must create, and that is my purpose. Because of that real understanding there will be true friendship. Because of that true friendship–which you do not seem to know–there will be real cooperation on the part of each one. And this not because of authority, not because of salvation, not because of immolation for a cause, but because you really understand, and hence are capable of living in the eternal. This is a greater thing than all pleasure, than all sacrifice.

So these are some of the reasons why, after careful consideration for two years, I have made this decision. It is not from a momentary impulse. I have not been persuaded to it by anyone. I am not persuaded in such things. For two years I have been thinking about this, slowly, carefully, patiently, and I have now decided to disband the Order, as I happen to be its Head. You can form other organizations and expect someone else. With that I am not concerned, nor with creating new cages, new decorations for those cages. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free."

“Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.” – Alan Watts.

“The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.” – Alan Watts.

[Patrick]

Thank you everyone !

You are giving me a great deal to ponder here.  This is very much appreciated.
 

[Minyatur]

Was raised a Catholic by parents who didn't have a great focus on religion, so this never did much. Much later I was re-introduced to Christianity by a friend and had experiences which led me on this path, but I was a self taught christian and got quite a lot of positive from the bible. Probably did a greater work on my heart than the Ra material did, although it was a very unconscious form of seeking unlike what the Ra material led me toward.

I think Catholic churches are considered dead churches by most other christian groups, as in that the presence of God does not dwell in them. They also see the Catholic church as the prostitute from the book of revelation, which works with the beast. If you look at history you can see that this church has quite a lot of blood on it's hands, on occasions toward christians even, they kept the bible away from the masses so it could not be read, inovated quite a lot the art of torture, made others wage wars, etc.

Bottomline I think the Catholic church is the least positive one although you can meet priests with really good vibes, but I also went to some churches that gave me really negative ones.

[Patrick]

All the Churches I have attended so far has been really positive and I must say that the priests seems to be simply ignoring the "negative" stuff coming from above them in the hierarchy.  But if I believe history, the experience was quite different in the not too distant past here in Québec.

Anyway, I guess the current switch to 4d is helping all religions bring their positive aspects to the front.
 

[Minyatur]

All the Churches I have attended so far has been really positive and I must say that the priests seems to be simply ignoring the "negative" stuff coming from above them in the hierarchy.  But if I believe history, the experience was quite different in the not too distant past here in Québec.

Anyway, I guess the current switch to 4d is helping all religions bring their positive aspects to the front.
 

Haha, I also thought the pastor in my home town's church, also in Québec, had a really good vibe to himself and it did seem like his work was a tad unrelated to the higher hierarchy of the church. Most place I went to were really nice.

Most negative one I went to had a big massonic symbol right at the front center of the church and I spent my time in there praying to bring in good energy instead of listening to what was said. Felt uncomfortable from moment I entered the place like something was harassing me.

[Manjushri]

Also raised Catholic, to this day I still have a huge hurdle with fear in meditation every single time. I don't think it is a huge mystery that there are controlling forces on the planet, and a religion which can permanently attach fear to a spiritual practice ought to be proof of Them.

[Matt1]

I think its probably a feeling of turning away from Christ as he taught prayer. Meditation is normally seen as eastern and thus not with Christ. That being said you have esoteric Christianity which includes meditation. The Rosicrucian tradition and the Christian Cabalah. You also have the Eastern Orthodox Church which i believe includes meditation, although don't quote me on that one.

[Patrick]

So far I think I am leaning most with Parson's views that this is related to the "thought form / egregore forms" of Christianity.  I also believe that by receiving a part of this fear to work with, we are actually helping transmute this thought form to a more positive expression.
 

[Parsons]

Since you are leaning towards acceptance of the idea, I feel I should add a few thoughts.

When dealing with the thought form concept, you are dealing with a perception that it is an external force. I have personally found it critical to take FULL responsibility for any external influence on myself. I say that because I firmly believe that I am powerful enough to neutralize any and all external influences on myself. That applies to everyone, of course. This attitude is meant to prevent the feeling of helplessness in the face of something that seems so vastly powerful.

IMO, it follows the pattern of understanding, acceptance, and integration that Ra talks about. You understand the forces at play here (you recognize the thought form and the reasons why it exists). Even though you may see it as a powerful external force on one level, you fully accept responsibility for it's effects on you and your ability to deal with it. Then, rather than rejecting the thought form, you integrate the thought form by dealing with the occasional 'maintenance' of neutralizing the aspects of it that you currently don't find to be helpful.

I have done this with the 'atheist skeptic' egregore and even the Bring4th forum egregore. I guess I could liken it to harnessing the aspects that I find useful and neutralizing the aspects I don't find useful.

Your mileage my vary, of course. I have personally found it to be quite effective when I find myself slipping back into old thought patterns. Actually, the only thing I have fear about when it comes to these 'external' thought patterns is not noticing their influence (which I feel is a rare problem).