Sunday, November 27, 2011

Laws: Divine vs. Man-Made


"Forgive him, for he believes
that the customs of his tribe
are the laws of nature."

- George Bernard Shaw

We spend such a large portion of our lives dealing with man-made
laws that many of us have probably forgotten that there are laws
which are far superior to man-made laws . These superior laws
are the Divine Laws which govern not only our personal lives but
also the conscious universe, along with all that exists within it,
as well.

And as each one of us is primarily concerned with our personal
lives, let us look at the difference between man-made laws
versus Divine Laws and evaluate how these two different sets of
principles affect our Current Incarnation.

Man-made laws:

We are all familiar with man-made laws. They engulf us. They
overwhelm us. They confuse us. And, quite often, they are used
by oppressive regimes in an attempt to suppress us.

In addition, man-made laws are not limited to statutory laws;
they also include the rules, regulations, by-laws, and policies
and procedures of every organization and faction on our planet.

Although society requires a basic structure in order for it to
function freely, safely, and properly, an over-abundance of
man-made laws often leads to chaos and loss of respect simply
because these laws, over time, become not only contradictory
to each other but their design is very often inconsistent and
dis-Harmonious with the Divine Laws which govern all of creation.

Man-made laws, by their very nature, tend to be fickle, fleeting,
changeable, prejudicial, and inconsistent. Furthermore, man-made
laws may either be enforced, randomly enforced, or disregarded
depending on the whims of whatever political faction is currently
in a position of authority. Also, man-made laws quite often bestow
special privileges upon individuals belonging to a certain class,
social status, or income status.

And finally, as most of us have experienced, man-made laws often
differ radically from time to time and from place to place. What is
considered to be legal or illegal in one period of time may be
looked upon quite differently in another period of time. The same
holds true for cultures, states, nations, and races: what is deemed
to be either legal, illegal, or important in one segment of society
may be looked upon entirely different in another segment.

Man-made laws are based upon theory, Compromise, and current
political and social whims. Man-made laws are governance by force
and Guilt. And this is why societies, nations, and civilizations often
meet bitter ends; for they force upon people rules, laws, restrictions,
and constrictions which are not only inconsistent but often at odds
with Divine Laws.

Divine Laws:

Divine Laws are the exact opposite of man-made laws. Divine Laws
are constant, unwavering, and eternal. Divine Laws are the same for
every person, place, and time...without prejudice!

Divine Laws are Divine Principles. They are the basic Truths which
govern the cosmos. These Laws have been passed down to us from
the very beginning of Time. We find these Divine Laws depicted in
the Symbolism contained within the ancient Egyptian Neters.

Divine Laws, if adhered to, allow for the free and balanced flow of
energy within a race, a nation, a society, and a person. If not
adhered to, those who disregard these Laws will suffer the
consequences of their actions.

Divine Laws allow for self-governance: we can either Choose to
obey these Laws or disregard them.

Divine Laws are simple, basic, and eternal. And it is perhaps
because of their simplicity that these Laws are so often ignored.

Let us examine a few of these Divine Laws.

The Law of Truth: What is is. Truth is not found in the Hopes,
wishes and Opinions of either ourselves or of others.

The Law of Ignorance: To be unaware of what is Real and True
does not release us from the Consequences of our Ignorance.

The Law of Karma: Every Action, whether by Word or deed, has
its Consequence. It is up to us to know the Consequences of
our Actions.

The Law of Awareness: To observe and understand what is
happening within us, around us, and throughout our world.

The Law of Free Will: We have the freedom to Choose our
Thoughts and Actions. However, with this freedom comes
responsibility and Consequences.

The Law of Sovereignty: The supreme gift which is bestowed
upon each one of us that grants us a dream: a dream of how
we Choose to experience our Current Incarnation.

The Law of Interconnectedness: All Words and Actions have
effects; often in ways we are unable to conceive.

The Law of Destiny: There are various kinds of Destinies:
personal, societal, and planetary.

The Law of Alchemy: To make something or someone pure,
all impurities must first be removed.

The Law of Harmony: We are either in Harmony (perfect balance)
with the Laws of the Universe or we are not. There is no middle
ground in these matters. The Ancient Egyptians called this Divine
Principle Maat.

These are just a few of the Divine Laws which govern the
universe and, by association, our Current Incarnation. It is our
personal Choice whether to obey or disregard these Laws.
However, as these Laws are eternal and unchangeable we should,
at the very least, have an understanding and Awareness of these
Divine Truths.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2011
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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Masquerade
(The Masks We Wear)


"Masquerade! Paper faces on parade.
Masquerade! Hide your face,
so the world will never find you."

- "Masquerade" lyrics,
from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera"

We live in a polyester society; a cosmetic and fabricated land
teeming with deceptive Appearances and false Perceptions.

In this land of artificiality and materialism we are constantly being
bombarded with ads, commercials, and Opinions of self-serving
"experts" as to what we should buy, what we should wear, how
we should present ourselves to the public, how we should think,
how we should speak, and how we should act.

This process of Indoctrination, constantly being heaped upon the
masses by way of ads, commercials, Opinions, and "guilt trips",
strips away from the unwary, the gullible, and the greedy their
individuality, their freedom, and their peace-of-mind.

Those of us who bite into the shiny and attractive lures of these
mass-marketing Indoctrinations often suffer a great peril from the
hidden hook which lies well concealed behind the attractive lure
we find ourselves biting into.

With these thoughts in mind, let us now look at some of the
Masquerades, or Masks, that dominate the world in which we live.

The Mask of Possessions:

We drive through neighborhoods of large, attractive, and relatively
new homes with well-manicured lawns.  These neighborhoods
seem to be just about everywhere. We see late-model and
expensive cars and SUV's parked in the driveways and we
instinctively say to ourselves, "Wow, aren't those people lucky
to be living in such a beautiful house, in such a beautiful
neighborhood, and driving such beautiful cars. I wish I had their
lifestyle."

But how do we know that these people are really "lucky"? How
do we know what is going on within the walls of these beautiful
and expensive homes with the late-model vehicles parked in the
driveways? For, in Truth, a great many of these homes are
occupied by husbands and wives who are heavily overburdened
due to the mortgages, loans, and credit card debt that was
required to create this false facade, this Masquerade, of perceived
wealth.

Under such conditions spouses argue, drift apart, and ultimately
get divorces. Children find their lives torn to shreds. And the parents,
who were once loving couples, find their youthful dreams shattered
as all they have to show for their perceived affluence is decades of
debt which may never be fully repaid.

How many of us know families and couples whose lives have
been destroyed because of this all-too-common scenario?

Ads, commercials, and "guilt trips" are aimed at Indoctrinating
us that this is the kind of lifestyle we "deserve" and should
pursue...even if we cannot afford it.

There is a big difference between having safe, secure, and
comfortable housing versus unaffordable extravagance.

There is also a big difference between having safe and reliable
transportation versus flaunting the latest "power car" to our
friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

The Mask of Appearance:

There is nothing wrong with "putting our best foot forward"; of
presenting ourselves in an attractive and healthy manner. For
personal care, along with the way we feel and Act, is important
to our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

The problem arises when we attempt to use our outer appearances
to Deceive either ourselves or others. For external features can
only camouflage, not hide or change, the person we truly are
once we remove our Mask of Appearance.

Those who rely solely on the Mask of Appearance present
themselves with an air of artificiality. In other words, they are
artificial people. And, as like attracts like, these artificial people
end up attracting other artificial people; with each one forever
wondering why their relationships constantly meet disastrous
ends.

For when we present ourselves as someone who we are not, we
can only attract those other people who are also presenting
themselves as someone they are not. This is the Law of like
attracting like.

Those who depend entirely on a Mask of Appearance and
abandon the pursuit of mental and spiritual substance find
themselves, first slowly and then more quickly, drawn into a
powerful whirlpool from which they ultimately cannot escape.

They are eventually drawn down into the lowest realms of
artificial society which languishes at the bottom of this whirlpool
where, eventually, no cosmetics, surgery, or latest fashion can
cover-up what they have allowed themselves to Become.

However, the Law of like-attracts-like works in both directions.
Therefore, the pure, robust features and warm inner glow of
someone whose honesty, sincerity, and Inner Beauty radiates
warmth, contentment, and friendliness to every person he, or she,
encounters, will attract those similar types of persons into their life.

The Mask of Intelligence:

This is the Mask we wear when we gossip, complain, pontificate
(pass personal judgement), or spout common and unfounded
Opinions in order to be accepted into a social group; or in order
to attempt to impress others at a social gathering.

Of the above mentioned behaviors, perhaps the Mask of Opinion
is the behavior we most often see displayed at parties and social
gatherings.

In its simplest and most basic form we put on our Mask of
Intelligence whenever we act as boastful "experts" while in the
company of friends and acquaintances; or when we are at parties
and other social gatherings.

The Mask of Intelligence is a way of showing to others how much
we think we know, or how much more informed we have become,
by listening to some political speech or some self-serving "expert"
who appeared on last night's news.

Those who engage themselves in conversations while wearing a
Mask of Intelligence do so in order to "impress" others that the
vast sum of all they think they know is also the vast sum of what
everyone else who is involved in the conversation also thinks they
know.

The reasoning here is that we must be up to date on the news,
of course, if we expect to be accepted into the crowd who
proclaims themselves to be "in the know".

And although no problems are solved, no solutions have been
created, nothing positive has been discussed, and those who
involved in these conversations end up more befuddled, confused,
and angry than they were at the start, it does make for "good
conversation".

Conclusion:

Avoiding other people's masks:

We are all social animals. And because of this we must always
be Aware of the trap-doors that society, along with our fellow man,
is constantly constructing beneath the feet of the unwary, the
gullible, and the greedy.

Those who are Aware of these trap-doors, these Masquerades,
are better able to sidestep them. Those who are unaware find
themselves constantly falling into them.

Avoiding using masks for ourselves:

A fisherman uses the correct lure to catch the kind of fish he, or
she, is after. A hunter uses a proper decoy to bag his, or her, game.

What kind of lure, or Mask, are we using? Are we using the lure of
Sincerity and Honesty to attract Sincere and Honest people? Or,
are we using a Mask of Artificiality to attract other artificial people?

If we look the same, talk the same, and act the same as most
other people, what makes us different and special?...Nothing!

We only shine when we allow our true inner-self to show itself to
the world.

There is no one so attractive, and no one who shines the brightest
from their inner glow, as a Sincere, Honest, and caring Spirit who
is not trying to hide or camouflage who they Truly are. These are
the rare individuals whose Inner Beauty is the only lure they require
to attract other similar, and truly radiant, Spirits.

See also: "Beauty (Inner Beauty vs. Outer Beauty)" along with
"Appearances and Perceptions"

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2011
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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Apprenticeships and Internships


"Where your talents and the world's needs cross,
there lies your vocation."

- Aristotle

Here is an interesting thought...

We spend much of our pre school-years, and even our pre job-years,
as Apprentices and Interns. These are the years we spend doing
for free the things we truly love.

When we do the things we love, we are acting in Harmony with
our Divine Nature. And although we may refer to these activities
as hobbies or interests they are, in fact, activities which resonate
with our True Nature.

If our interest is to be an athlete, we will spend these formative
years learning, practicing, and perfecting the particular aspects
and nuances of whatever sport we have a deep interest in.

If our interest is to be a botanist, we will spend a great portion
of our time learning to name and recognize different trees and
plants. We will even venture into the woods and collect different
leaves and preserve them inside pages of a scrapbook.

If our interest is chemistry, we will engulf ourselves in chemistry
sets and experiments.

If we reflect back, most of us will probably remember our childhood
interests and hobbies which were a driving part of our life in our
magical and mystical pre school, and pre job, years.

And though we may think that we were merely "playing" when we
immersed ourselves in these activities, we were in fact playing at
Learning what truly interests us.  And if we give these activities
careful Thought, we will find that these initial hobbies and interests
were our first Apprenticeships and Internships. And, these early
Apprenticeships and Internships were nothing less than our
voluntary self-education and Self-Initiation in a hobby or field that
is very dear to us.

We pursued these early interests enthusiastically, lovingly, and
for free! We were learning without even thinking about it. And,
we became very good at these interests simply because we
loved what we were doing.

Many individuals carry these early Apprenticeships with them for
their entire lives and build their careers upon them. These
individuals stick to their dreams and labor many years in their
self-chosen Apprenticeships until their skills are properly honed.
Then, after years of Sacrifice in which the necessary talents and
skills have been properly refined and mastered , these talented
individuals emerge as the superstars, geniuses, and Trailblazers
in the particular field of their childhood Choice.

Yet there is another beautiful and mystical Gift which is lavished
upon everyone who pursues their childhood Apprenticeships...
even if they do not become superstars or Trailblazers.

These individuals experience an Incarnation full of the same
magic and enchantment that consumed them during their
childhood years. To look at it in another way, these individuals
never forfeit either their childhood, their dreams, or their
enthusiasms.

So, for those of us who pursued our childhood Apprenticeships
and Internships, let us recall how we laughed with enthusiasm
and excitement each and every time we learned something new
and interesting in those activities and fields which are very dear
to us. And, above all, let us forever Remember those magical
and mystical days when we enthusiastically did for free the
things we are getting paid to do today!

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2011
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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Spirit And Matter


"Where the telescope ends the microscope begins,
and who can say which has the wider vision."
-Victor Hugo

For the purpose of this article, the terms Spirit and Energy are
interchangeable.

What is Spirit?

Ancient texts refer to Spirit by various different names and terms.
Some of the names used to refer to Spirit are: prana, chi, and
Aether. Some of the terms used to describe Spirit are: The Divine
Breath, The Word of God, the Hermetic Logos and the Guna Rajas.
The Pythagoreans referred to Spirit as the sacred quintessential
Fifth Element and used the Symbol of the Pentagram, or five-
pointed star, to represent this Divine Essence.

But regardless of whatever Word or term is used to represent or
describe Spirit, Spirit is Energy! It is the sublime and eternal Divine
Energy which permeates all manifested realms, space, and Time.

In its purest state, Spirit (Energy) is free and unbounded. The
metaphor "free spirit" is an excellent description of this eternal
Truth.

Science tells us that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it
can only change form. Energy can manifest itself into matter, or
it can remain in its free form. After its manifestation into matter
has completed its Cycle, energy returns to its free form...its
Free Spirit!

Spirit (energy) can, and does, exist without matter. However,
matter cannot exist without Spirit. Furthermore, Spirit (energy)
is contained within all matter.

What is matter?

Nearly all sacred texts allude to the mysterious process by
which Spirit manifests itself into matter. These sacred texts tell
of how Spirit leaves the realm of the sublime (the realm of Unity)
and descends through the spheres accumulating more and more
density until it ultimately appears in the physical realm (the realm
of duality) in the form of matter.

This process of manifestation is what is alluded to by the terms:
"The Fall", "Original Sin", and the "banishment from paradise".

Furthermore, the terms "adulterate" and "adultery" are also used
to refer to this process of material manifestation.

Adulterate means: to corrupt; to taint; to combine a higher and
faster vibratory energy (Spirit) with a lower or slower vibratory
manifestation (matter). In other words, it is the tainting of pure
Spirit with gross matter; it is the imprisoning of Spirit within
matter for a specific period of manifestation or Incarnation.

When science analyzes matter, it finds that at the heart of all
matter is atoms. These atoms combine to form molecules.
These molecules ultimately form the building blocks which
eventually manifest themselves as some form of matter: a tree,
a rock, a cathedral, a person, etc. But, again, at the heart of all
matter is the atom; an infinite and uncountable number of atoms.

At the center of every atom is an energy field around which an
electron, or a number of electrons, orbit themselves; similar to
the way the planets in our solar system orbit our sun. This energy
source at the center of every atom is the Spirit, the Aether, the
Divine Breath, and the Word of God referred to in religious texts.

Without this Divine energy source there would be no atom...
there would be no molecules...there would be no building blocks...
there would be no matter. Therefore the ultimate makeup of all
matter is energy, or Spirit.

Matter cannot be formed until Divine Consciousness combines
the appropriate energies which ultimately become the "spark"
which manifests matter from "nothingness". This nothingness
is the Great Abyss and the Gnostic and Hermetic Chaos which
is referred to in ancient and spiritual texts.

Manifestation is that specific moment when the Free Spirit of energy
becomes "entrapped" within matter for a specific amount of Time.
This is the process of creation.

Once Spirit tires of, or no longer has a use for, the matter in which
it is entrapped or adulterated with, it vacates matter and once again
becomes Free Spirit. This ultimate vacating of Spirit from matter is
what is referred to as "death" in the material realm and the freedom
of "release", or "re-birth", back into the Spiritual Realm from
whence it originally came.

See also: "Smoke - As A Symbol" and
"Dust (Mythology, Mysticism and Symbolism)"

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2011
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Yahoo mister-wong blogmarks spurl BlinkList Furl