The Clewiston Inn was built in 1938. It’s set in the heart of Clewiston, which is the home of US Sugar Corporation. The historic hotel has been a rest stop for all kinds of visitors including field workers for US Sugar and even President Herbert Hoover. The hotel’s general manager, Christa Hill, knows all of the inn’s secrets. She’s been working there since she graduated from high school. Christa claims the place is haunted. For example, frequently, guests hear strange noises coming from the kitchen. They hear the sounds of pots and pans banging during late hours of the night when the staff has gone home from work. Christa, herself, has also had strange encounters in the hotel. She’s heard her name called when no one’s around. She’s felt her hair pulled. Christa Hill says the most bizarre experience in the hotel happened after a long-term guest died from a heart attack in the room where she lived. Because the woman died in there, Christa says the hotel had to strip the furniture, the carpet and the wires from the room. Even with the wiring gone, the staff still received calls from the room on the switchboard. The reputation of the Clewiston Inn has spread. Over the years, Christa has allowed many different ghost hunting groups to check out the hotel. Recently, the Florida Paranormal Research Team investigated. The group is based out of Fort Myers. They use all kinds of equipment that can detect paranormal activity: EMF meters, K2 meters, digital voice recorders, digital <b>. . . </b>
THE NEW PSYCHICS: Who Are They and What Can They Do?
They are the New Psychics and Spiritual Healers of the New Millennium. Who are these gifted men and women who are redefining our spiritual values? They are dream interpreters, metaphysical ministers, psychics…
There is an intense renewed interest in Spiritual values and a spiritual life.
It seems that everybody is reading the new books. Dan Brown’s ANGELS & DEMONS, THE DA VINCI CODE and THE LOST SYMBOL. Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln’s THE HOLY BLOOD AND THE HOLY GRAIL. Alan F Alford’s GODS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM. Colin Wilson’s FROM ATLANTIS TO THE SPHINX.
One of the positive results of the fascinating PSYCHIC DREAMS PROJECT (a project that asks the question: “Can dreams predict our future?”) has been an increase in the Feminine as a dream-theme. Feminine Wisdom, the goddess and the female virtues of nurturing, healing, wisdom and guidance have all increased as dream-themes. Who are the real-life Women (and the Men who help them) who represent these virtues? Where can they be found?
And a number of bright new talents have emerged into the public consciousness with the new Century. Bright new talents who are teaching, guiding and healing us spiritually. Who are they?
Meet Psychics like CHANDRIKA:
In her teenage years, she was drawn to the Tarot and found that she connected powerfully to the messages contained within their ancient symbols. In no time at all, she discovered her innate ability to piece together the picture the cards laid out in such a way that she was able to provide clear and concise readings for all who came to call.
As she continued to work with the cards for many years, her intuition developed and eventually outgrew the confines of the techniques she’d already mastered. What she required was a bigger pot of knowledge to dip into. Thus, she set out to find psychic teachers who became her mentors and friends. They helped her to discover new and untested metaphysical waters and to explore an even larger world of psychic tools that were all around her.
She learned to work closely with the healing energy of Angels. She found that she enjoyed the positive and uplifting messages they provided to her clients. She is also a proud member of the Hamilton Witches and is constantly looking for new ways to improve her life as well as the lives of the people who seek out her counsel.
Chanrika’s professional career started around the time of high school, where she began by reading Tarot for friends and family. As she matured and began to explore all that life had to offer, she put aside the cards in favor of pursing her other interests.
However, it wasn’t long before she realized that reading Tarot was a powerful interest that could not be ignored for long. She was once again drawn in by the lure of the cards and the nagging belief that counseling others with her psychic abilities was a big part of what she was meant to do.
When she picked the cards up again, she immediately became aware that her abilities had grown and she was more in tune with the messages that came through than ever before. She knew she needed to take her talents a step further and in 2005, she decided to expand her services to include on-line and e-mail readings for a greater array of clients. She has also been invited to read at private parties with as many as fifteen clients present in one room. Despite the large number in attendance, Chandrika proved able to maintain her focus and to the amazement of her satisfied clientele, she has impressed each and every participant with the amazing accuracy of her readings.
She is a practicing witch, residing in Ontario, Canada. Those around her would describe her as fun loving, compassionate, empathic to those around her, and selfless. She also possesses a humorous side that instantly draws you in, and compels you to stick around for the fun. She has a wonderful family made up of her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two cats named Prince and Shadow.
Chandrika enjoys giving back to her community by volunteering every summer to coach baseball. She loves all varieties of music, but her favorite band is “Good Charlotte,” which drives her eldest daughter mad, mainly because Mom knows more about them than she does. Though she is content with her family and her ability to help others, it’s her lifetime goal to one day own a store that will benefit and enlighten all who enter.
CIARA: A highly accurate and proficient tarot reader, Ciara has practiced her craft since she was eight. She has since added healing stones, the pendulum, and her own brand of uncanny intuition to the mix, tailoring her gifts to the needs of the client.
Over the past several years, Ciara has dazzled her loyal clientele, as well as her psychic peers by giving readings that have helped countless people to achieve their hopes and desires. Since she first made her home at psychic web, her loyal clients have lined up in her electronic room, patiently waiting for a reading with Ciara because they know she is worth the wait. Her patience, compassion, humor and non-judgmental manner attract clients from all walks of life. Of that fact, she is most proud. Once they have a reading with her, she has gained a friend for life.
An adventurous Aquarius, she has a hunger for knowledge. She is currently filling that need by advancing her studies in the nursing field, a life-long dream she is finally accomplishing. During her free time, when she’s not chasing her four active kids, she enjoys competitive bowling and volunteers her time to local fundraisers and various causes.
LILY: Lily lives in upstate New York. She enjoys its majestic setting, appreciating the beautiful lakes and changing seasons. Her family includes a wonderfully supportive husband, her cat-familiar, Isis, and Loki, their outrageous ferret who makes them laugh and appreciate life’s little joys and wonders.
As a member of the amazing new PSYCHIC ACCESS, she has provided private one-on-one readings at her home and at several New Age bookstores in her area. Recently, she’s begun offering her services online as a way to spread her gifts around to a much broader audience, thus helping a greater number of people. She’s also been the featured attraction at small, private psychic parties, enjoying the conversation and mutual growth that these intimate gatherings provide. Her work online is reminiscent of this approach, which serves to confirm her sense that she is where she is meant to be.
The gifts of psychic and empathic awareness and of healing and energy cleansing have allowed the universe to work through Lily in ways that have changed countless lives. For over a decade, she’s worked with numerous tools and methods of divination that have enabled her to clearly see into anyone’s past, present and future.
Her use of tarot cards and runes has helped her to establish a clear and coherent connection with her clients and their guides. Rather than recite meanings verbatim from a book, she uses her own intuition to read the cards and/or stones. Often she has seen startling and completely unexpected images that have nothing to do with the literal meanings of the symbols that are presented. She’s learned to trust her abilities, and has found that when she does, the message she conveys has a direct bearing on the client’s personal situation. She is clairvoyant, clairaudient, and also a gifted medium for guides and spirits who have important messages and truths they need to deliver.
She is a heritage witch, believing in the strict adherence to the threefold law which states that any action taken will return three times to the person who began it. When helping others to deal with their problems, she brings the power of magick and the universe to bear, while ensuring that no additional karma is created that will impact negatively upon the client later on…
HEARTLIGHT: She first became aware of her psychic abilities as a young girl when she realized she could sense as well as see images that weren’t apparent to anyone else. It took a lot of years before she could shake off the cultural conditioning she had as a child which taught her that the use of her psychic sixth sense was wrong. But, by the time she reached her twenties, she had developed her own independent views of what was right and wrong and she finally felt ready to embrace her psychic gifts.
Heartlight has since come to think of her abilities as a blessing bestowed upon her at birth and has made it her life’s purpose to share these gifts with others. She started her career reading for friends and family and later branched out, providing her services professionally to the public.
For over thirty years, she has professionally worked as a psychic, offering her clients a broad range of talents she has spent many years mastering. This includes training as a motivational and relationship coach, and experience as a medical intuitive. Heartlight is also skilled with Tarot and can communicate with spirit guides. In her readings, she also incorporates her natural abilities as a clairvoyant and clairaudient. Her work experience includes several jobs on various psychic advice lines and she has provided readings through her own web page on a referral website.
Now in her fifties, Heartlight has truly “hit her stride” and lives what she considers to be a small, but valuable life, full of joy, contentment and balance, in the Northwestern corner of the United States. She cultivates an attitude of gratitude and endeavors to help solve the world’s problems by not being one of the world’s problems. She likes to say,“Power is where power is perceived!” She has a love for anything Celtic and owns a great deal of jewelry, tapestries, shawls and drums with Celtic knots. She loves sharing her visions with others and providing the healing that’s needed so that her clients may live their lives to their fullest potential.
RESMYRRANDA: Resmyrranda has been a professional clairaudient and clairvoyant tarot reader for eleven years, giving online readings to people from around the world. Her ongoing psychic development studies include: The Jose Silva Ultramind ESP and Remote Viewing courses. A fourth generation mystic, she also holds ministerial and doctorate credentials with the Church of Seven Planes and The Universal Life Church.
A natural intuitive, she began developing her abilities in the early ‘90s after the death of a close family member. This spirit “telephoned” her frequently in her dreams, letting her know that her number wasn’t really disconnected. It was then she began to weave together her clairvoyant, clairsentient and empathic abilities along with the spiritual teachings she received as a child. As technology grew, and more opportunities existed for psychics on the internet, she gave up the unrewarding nine to five grind in favor of her spiritual calling Quickly, she began to develop a varied and devoted clientele and has read for them over the internet for the last five years. Clients sing her praises, stating that she calms their spirits and reaches out to them in ways that deliver hope and comfort. Resmyrranda continues to develop her abilities, believing that as a psychic counselor she owes it to her clients to keep her skills honed.
Spirits draw pictures through the use of her Thoth tarot deck–her favorite–to reveal the characters and situations connected to the client with uncanny clarity. She also relies on her spirit guide, Tony, a colorful personality, who can often be blunt as well as humorous. If you find yourself off course with your relationship, career, or need to know your purpose in life, Resymyrranda has the skills and the compassion to gently guide you on your way.
She is a Capricorn who enjoys music, movies, writing, and studying the connections between electronics and the supernatural. She produces and hosts her own internet radio show called “Resmerized.” Presently, Resymyrranda lives in Texas with her adult son and her soulmate, whom she met online through her show…
SUNNYGRACE: A Master Tarot reader, she uses her psychic abilities to tune into the cards and listen to the guides who are there to help her clients deal with the issues that require tending to. Though she was born with the gift of clairaudience, the ability to hear messages, she’s worked hard at developing other tools to enhance her readings. In 1977, she joined the Spiritualist Church where she studied under Reverend Frances Scher. From the Reverend, she learned to communicate with the spirit world and relay messages from “The Beyond.” Over the years, she’s found Tarot to be a marvelous tool to help fine-tune her readings. She also mastered the art of automatic writing and drawing and found that she could not only channel her guides through that practice, but she could hear them as well.
She let her creative and intuitive powers guide her to the solution and came up with her own self-designed oracles. She then added the technique of psychometry to her repertoire, a skill she learned from a Master teacher while studying mediumship…
You can meet and talk with these and more at the amazing new PSYCHIC CHAT NETWORK
Thanks to psychologist and psychic researcher Kate Falken of YOUR DREAM TEAM and of WUVING.comfor her help and inspiration in writing this article.
-Brian Alan Burhoe
About the Author
A Graduate of the Holland College Culinary Course, Brian Alan Burhoe has cooked in Atlantic Coast restaurants for over 30 years. He is a member of the Canadian Culinary Federation. Brian’s articles reflect his interests in food service, dreamstudy, imaginative literature and our best friends — our dogs. His Home Page is A CULINARY MYSTERY TOUR – A Literary Chef
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The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowleys The Book of Thoth.Quality European card printing and durable, attractive sleeve. Small 80-card deck, including 3 versions of the Magus card, with instructions and bonus full-color spread sheet....
Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck
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The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowley's The Book of Thoth. The Crowley Thoth Tarot Decks currently available are published by AGMuller and distributed by U. S. Games Systems, Inc....
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Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck (large)
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The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowleys The Book of Thoth....
Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck (small)
$27.95
The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowleys The Book of Thoth.The small deck includes 3 versions of the Magus card, 80 cards total....
Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck (premier edition)
$29.95
The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowleys The Book of Thoth.Quality European card printing and durable, attractive sleeve. Small 80-card deck, including 3 versions of the Magus card, with instructions and bonus full-color spread sheet....
Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck
$15.39
The magnificent Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck contains the kabbalistic and astrological attributions described in Aleister Crowley's The Book of Thoth. The Crowley Thoth Tarot Decks currently available are published by AGMuller and distributed by U. S. Games Systems, Inc....
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$97.11
Complete 80-Card Crowley Tarot Deck
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The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After Death Part 3
FINDINGS
In this chapter we will consider the four perspectives in greater detail. We will look into the dying process and the nature of life in the higher planes, as seen through the eyes of Western and Eastern occultism. Analysis of the religious concepts anent death, dying and the after-death state will offer us a clearer picture of what is commonly believed by the average person. We will deal with religious concepts not from the perspective of any particular religion, but from an overall, general view. The findings of modern researchers of the paranormal will greatly enhance our comprehension of nature’s laws, while Tibetan teachings concerning death will offer us a better insight into the purposes of life and the liberating nature of the death process. We will discuss these various perspectives with a metaphysical understanding.
The metaphysician is a seeker of empirical and pragmatic truths–truths and laws that are applicable and relevant to one’s life. The metaphysician, as a healer of man’s souls, is a searcher for not merely theoretical, but practical, factual, and experiential knowledge. Such knowledge, as an accumulation of relevant data, offers the material required to gain wisdom, insight and understanding of God’s plan, and the privilege of participating in the creative work of the universe. Knowledge of the death process and the purposes of life offers us a certain power to pre-determine our fate in the higher worlds and in subsequent incarnations with the exercise of our God-given gift of free-choice and the divine-will of our Higher Self.
Religious Beliefs
Followers of religions have viewed death, or the passing over to a new dimension, in contradictory terms. On one hand, there is a lively anticipation and hope for a glorious future-state in a heavenly paradise, and on the other, a pronounced fear of eternal damnation and torture in an everlasting burning hell. The concepts of heaven and hell are common to most religions, and from the occult point of view, there is a basis for these ideas; however, heaven and hell as understood by the masses and unenlightened clergymen are a distortion of the reality underlying those states.
Hell, according to religious ideas, is a place in the afterlife for the punishment of wicked, immoral and sinful men and women. It is described to be a place of eternal torture, a place filled with fire and brimstone, a place of horror and terror, a locality where one suffers pain and misery indefinitely. Judaism refers to this hell as Sheol and Gehenna, while the ancient Greeks called it Hades and Tartarus. In Buddhism, the hell-state is known as Avitchi. Hell has been described in literature as the Inferno, the Abyss, the Pit, the Darkness, Limbo etc. In Paradise Lost, Milton called the capital of Hell, Pandemonium, which figuratively, refers to a state of chaos, lawlessness and anarchy. In the Gospel stories the Piscean Master referred to a pit outside the walls of Jerusalem–a pit utilized as a garbage incinerator. This burning pit was used as an illustration, in a metaphorical and symbolical manner, of the nature of Gehenna. Not understanding the symbolism, followers of Christ have accepted the Master’s explanation in a literal sense. It should also be noted that ancient mystics considered this earth plane to be one of the hell regions.
In the scriptures we are told that God is a consuming fire. This fire is synonymous with the fires and flames of hell; to the soul, higher vibrations are always fiery in nature. What do the flames of God consume? They consume temporarily the manifestation of the false ego with its expressions of pride, hatred and cruelty. They cleanse the subtle bodies of psychic dross. In the alchemical tradition, fire has been a symbol of the processes of transmutation and purification. In the same esoteric sense, the fiery stimulus of hell causes a purification and transmutation of the soul which results in soul-awakening. Once the soul realizes its mortal errors and repents, it rises from the fires of hell and enters into the planes of “purgatory” for the next phase of the purification process. From another perspective, the flames of hell may symbolize a soul’s lust for the physical world–its ungratified consuming desire, and rage or resentment towards all that opposes its egoistic will. Freedom from such a hell is a simple matter of extinguishing lowly desires and the acquisition of humility. Sufferings one experience in hell, aside from the above conditions could also be the result of remorseful feelings for one’s past negative deeds, one’s “sins” of omission and commission; or the result of one’s anger and displeasure for not possessing the ability to resume the life-style one had previously known. This often cause what is called an “earth-bound spirit.”
The concept of purgatory was first formulated by Pope Gregory I, who lived in the sixth century AD. Although turned into a dogma in some Christian sects, this particular doctrine is based on reality, as it is validated by the experiences of psychics and mystics. Purgatory is an intermediate plane between heaven and hell; however, in actuality, all planes are purgatorial in nature. Purgatory, in a specific sense, is a plane of consciousness, a dimension where souls sojourn temporarily to cast off material and carnal habits, attitudes and feelings. It is a realm of purification of one’s thoughts, emotions and desires. Purgatory is where one also commences the assimilation of experiences of one’s incarnated life. Once this purification has taken place, the soul goes to one of the heavenly regions appropriate for its expression. This occurs automatically without any authoritarian decree or overseeing.
To believe that a loving, kind and merciful God would banish and exile wayward souls to eternal condemnation and punishment is a sacrilegious attitude and feeling, and an injustice towards our Creator. The loving Omniversal Mind of the Cosmos would never have conceived of such an idea. God does not punish. The many hell regions were not created by God but by man’s guilty conscience, by man’s evil tendencies and propensities, by man’s willful disobedience and violation of the Cosmic Law of Harmony. This is not to say that hell and its tortures do not exist. They do exist, but as an illusion of maya. They are tangible but are phantasmagorias. Hell is an inner state of darkness within the consciousness projected and objectified onto astral substances. Hell is a state of mind and consciousness externalized and reflected in one’s astral, or even physical environment. Sojourners of hell unconsciously build, share, and experience a collective thoughtform.
Religion in the collective sense, paints hell in frightful forms and images. In actuality though, most of the devils and demons torturing souls in hell are mere phantasms arising from the psyche. The wrathful deities, creatures and demons found in hell, such as Satan, Beelzebub, Ashtaroth, Mara, the Raksasas, the Furies, the Harpies, the Erinyes, Chimaeras, Cerburus and Hydras, are all negative thoughts and feelings within one’s soul externalized in an illusory, hallucinatory sense to torment oneself for one’s past misqualification of soul-energies. Aside from hell, these gruesome and grotesque images are also seen and experienced at a certain phase of the bardo. These terrifying demons are mere symbols of negative human behaviour. The guilty conscience of men and women evilly-inclined erupts from the unconscious to manifest as horrible illusions. Simply put, a bad conscience and temperament creates the experience of hell. Cornelius Agrippa, the eminent occultist of the 16th century, referring to the illusory nature of hell as experienced by hell-sojourners says that souls,
“. . . are most cruelly tortured in the irascible faculty with the hatred of an imaginary evil, into the perturbations whereof, as also false suspicions, and most horrible phantasms they then fall, and they are represented to them sad representations; sometimes of the heaven falling upon their head, sometimes of being swallowed up into the earth . . . and sometimes of being taken, and tormented by devils.” (1995:596)
In the Gathas, one of the holy scriptures of Zoroastrianism, hell is described as the place of the worst thought, and as the House of Lies. The people of Ahura Mazda believed and still believe that in hell one is tormented by the daena, or conscience; however, they do not propose this to be construed and considered as a permanent state–a concept expounded by theologians of many other living faiths. Eternal punishment is illogical, senseless, and without purpose, and goes against all spiritual principles and values. It would be more realistic to view a merciful God ending soul-identity and consciousness rather than to picture the Almighty banishing and gloating at the sufferings and miseries of wayward souls. Hence, the purpose of hell is not that of punishment but to awaken the soul of its spiritual poverty, of its need to turn towards the Divine Light. Here we emphasize the concept of hell from the perspective of Zorastrianism for it has greatly influenced the Semitic religions which somehow distorted the transmission of esoteric knowledge.
Hell should not be seen as an eternal state. It exists for the soul only for as long as the soul refuses to acknowledge and face the Light of God, of Truth, and give up its resentments, hatreds, and other negative feelings. Not all souls sojourn in hell or purgatory. Lofty, pure souls bypass the lower worlds to head straight for their place in the heavenly regions. Every soul goes to the plane most appropriate for its nature. This process or procedure is not directed arbitrarily by any being, there is no one to coerce and force us to be in any realm. This is all executed according to the Law of Correspondence. Man’s spiritual attainment or lack of it determines where he would go. It is a matter of frequencies. One’s personal frequency attunes one into the appropriate dimension vibrating at the corresponding wavelength. Imagine if you will, a wicked sinner obtaining forgiveness at the last hour and goes to the heavenly worlds. The very presence of the sinner would transform heaven into hell, for his innate wickedness, his negative character, would pollute the surrounding environment. Death does not transmute our character. We carry our same personality, character, minds and emotions wherever we go. If we are in constant discord with our environment, with our many relationships here on this earth plane, we would express no differently in the subtle worlds. The presence of negativity causes the soul, the astro-mental bodies, to assume a certain density in its energy-structures and fields, a certain atomic weight which binds it to the lower regions of hell or purgatory. Heaven is thus protected from trouble-makers. Whether in hell or purgatory, the soul suffers all of its misqualified and misspent energies alone. The length of time that one sojourns in hell or purgatory is dependent upon one’s self, upon one’s own inner desire to improve one’s character, upon one’s desire to be free, the desire to forgive self and others–to request forgiveness from those wronged, and the desire to serve others.
Concerning heaven, Christians have long visualized it to be a magnificent city with streets paved in gold and ornamented with precious stones. The book of Revelations has done much to mould Christian beliefs regarding this matter. What is not known to the average Christian is that the apocalypse in Revelations is symbolical and that it is a work written by great initiates for lesser initiates studying the mysteries of God, and that to interpret it literally is to deceive and mislead oneself. It takes a great deal of familiarity with the occult, the Qaballah, and the initiatory teachings of the ancients to properly interpret the real significance of its spiritual contents.
Heaven, generally, is believed to be a place of rewards, of eternal rest. Ancient Greeks called heaven the Elysian Fields or Olympus. Followers of Zoroaster describe it as the House of Suns, and the abode of the best thought–a place where the sun never ceases to shine–no doubt alluding to the luminous nature of the plane. To Hindus, heaven is Surga, and it lies in the higher lokas. Theosophists call heaven “Devachan.” Ancient Egyptians referred to it as Sekhet-hetepet. To Scandinavians it is Asgard; and spiritualists call it Summerland. Heaven as an abode of peace, happiness, and abundance is a fundamental religious belief in every culture, ancient and modern. As hell is believed to be a place of punishment, so heaven is believed to be a realm of rewards due to the virtuous, the “poor in spirit” and to those who serve God faithfully.
Like hell, followers of religion have likewise misunderstood and misconceived the nature of heaven. In their theology, most religions lay too much stress on externals without considering the mystical nature of their teachings; this applies most specifically to such concepts as heaven and hell. The Bahá’i faith, as an exception, believes heaven and hell to be spiritual conditions, and not mere places. In their theological teachings, heaven is defined as the proximity of the consciousness to the throne of God, and hell as a remoteness from the heavenly Godhead. This is in accord with the words of the Nazarene that the kingdom of God is within. Eventhough the concept of paradise among Christians has a different meaning from the kingdom of God as enunciated by the Master–the former believing it to be a place–it could indeed be considered as such, as a place or places reflecting the inner state of the soul, just like hell–eventhough we apparently contradict our previous statement concerning Christian emphasis upon externals. As mentioned before, heaven and hell as places have been substantiated by the discoveries and experiences of mystics and psychics. However, we have to realize that the external protean reality is but a reflection of the inner state or condition of the mind. We have considered this before, but it is necessary to reiterate because of its importance.
Although heaven is as beautiful and glorious as described by religions, it is not a place of eternal rest. A heaven of ease and idleness is a static state. Inertia does not exist in the universe. All is in motion and in a continuous flux. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said that “everything is becoming.” All Sparks, or creatures of God are forever evolving. Everything is in a dynamic state moving towards a higher expression and manifestation. Heaven as experienced and understood by mystics, is a state of intense activity. Heaven is not a place where one sings hymns and play on the harp all day long (unless that is what gives us pleasure), it is a place of continued education for the evolving soul, where the mysteries of the universe, and Cosmic laws are studied. In the higher worlds one learns to exercise one’s creativity in myriads of ways. One also spends one’s time in heaven serving the whole of creation in various capacities, in accord with one’s innate abilities and talents. In the heavenly regions, there are no angels ornated with wings and halos, as represented by painters in their artwork. In heaven, angelic beings are adorned with their purity, love and other positive virtues. What are supposed to be wings are simply magnetic radiations streaming from their persons.
One of the salient features of religious beliefs is that during transition, before one passes over to heaven or hell, one has to undergo a judgment. The Ancient Egyptians, Tibetans, Christians, Muslims and many others all have and had their judgment scenes in their theological concepts. This is ingrained in the eschatology of religion and has, as a matter of fact, a basis of truth which we shall see later as we consider the bardos. It will suffice here to describe certain aspects of the Judgment scene.
The Judgment scene of almost every religion consists of a judge, a weigher of the scales, a scribe, and of course, the soul being judged. To Ancient Egyptians, Osiris was the judge of the soul, Anubis the weigher of the scales, while Thoth was the scribe. The human soul was often depicted as hawk-headed. In Zoroastrianism, Mithras or sometimes Zoroaster sits on the judgment seat, with Rashnu acting as weigher and Sraosha as recorder. Tibetans called their magistrate Dharmaraja and their scribe Shinje–the monkey-headed one. Christians believe that Jesus would be the one to judge the “quick and the dead,” with angelic personnel acting as his amanuensis.
In the Judgment scene, as conceived by the ancient Egyptians, the Ab, or heart of the soul is weighed against Maat, or Truth, symbolised by a feather. The deceased makes a long confession, affirming his or her goodly works. The negative works of the soul goes unstated and unproclaimed–the soul hoping that its past sinful deeds are overlooked and not revealed. But then comes the weighing of the scales, where the statements of the soul are gauged of its truth. When found not to measure up to its honesty, the soul is led to hell to be tormented by Typhon, who is one of the presiding demons; otherwise, it is shown the way to paradise. The Judgment scene of all religions follows more or less along similar lines.
According to some religious and cultural beliefs, prior to the Judgment or the entry into the underworld, the soul had to cross a river or rivers, before passing on to its destination. The soul is usually led across the river in a boat or by using certain bridges. Ancient people used these symbols to signify the processes of transition. Muslims call the bridge “Sirat,” while followers of Zoroaster call it “Chivat.” Ancient Greeks called the underworld rivers Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, and Phlegethon. These named rivers correspond to the four streams of the Garden of Eden: Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Phrath. Occultly, they probably refer to the four etheric planes. Scandinavians also believe in a river that souls in the cthonian world had to cross. They call this “Wimur.” Ancient Babylonians believed that the soul had to cross the Huber river prior to reaching the “mountain of justice,” or the Judgment scene.
Psychologically, rivers, oceans, pools, and lakes all refer to the subconscious element within man. In the depth of the Freudian “id,” lurk various monsters–phobias, psychosis, neurosis, and repressions. In an occult sense, these monsters of the psyche are known collectively as the Dweller on the Threshold. Crossing rivers in the context of its symbolism, entails encountering these monsters, these repressed images in the death process; and indeed, according to Tibetan thanatology, this is exactly what occurs in the bardo. All religious doctrines teach of the danger that the soul may have to face in the intermediate state.
Metaphysical teacher, counseler, healer and merchant of occult/magickal items of Indonesia. Magickal Items from Indonesia: talismans, mustika pearls, kerises, etc. Magickal Bezoar Mustika Pearls from Indonesia.
Nuwaupic The Ancient Egiptian Mystery Language (class one part2)
Art Poster, Thoth, Lord of Writing - 27.5 x 18.75
$19.95
FREE SHIPPING on this item when you purchase 2 or more Art Posters from ClassicPix.com. This high quality, durable Art Poster measures 18.75" x 27.50" and arrives ready to frame. Posters are printed on heavy-stock, semi-matte paper producing the best possible combination of color vibrancy and durability. All posters from ClassicPix.com are made on demand one-at-a-time, just for you -- not mass-pro...
Black Framed/Matted Print 17x23, Thoth, Lord of Writing
$69.95
FREE SHIPPING on this item when you purchase 2 or more Framed Art Posters from ClassicPix.com. This high quality art poster is matted and framed by our professional framers, and arrives fully assembled and ready to hang. The durable black wood frame measures 17" x 23" - poster size is 12" x 18". A clear plexiglass facing protects your poster and adds a lusterous shine. Posters are printed on heavy...
Canvas Print, Thoth, Lord of Writing - 18 x 12
$39.95
FREE SHIPPING on this item when you purchase 2 or more Canvas Prints from ClassicPix.com, any size -- mix or match. This high quality, durable Canvas Print measures 12" x 18" and arrives ready to hang with all necessary hardware already fastened. The Canvas Print is stretched over a sturdy wood frame for maximum stability and tautness, creating a striking three-dimensional piece of artwork. All pr...
Thoth - Pewter Pendant
$12.95
Enclosed Card Reads... Thoth "Patron of the Scribes" -Thoth is usually depicted with an Ibis head and has served in many roles. Most notably that he introduced writing to the world. The God who "Loved Truth & Hated abomination"...
Art Poster, Thoth, Lord of Writing - 27.5 x 18.75
$19.95
FREE SHIPPING on this item when you purchase 2 or more Art Posters from ClassicPix.com. This high quality, durable Art Poster measures 18.75" x 27.50" and arrives ready to frame. Posters are printed on heavy-stock, semi-matte paper producing the best possible combination of color vibrancy and durability. All posters from ClassicPix.com are made on demand one-at-a-time, just for you -- not mass-pro...
Black Framed/Matted Print 17x23, Thoth, Lord of Writing
$69.95
FREE SHIPPING on this item when you purchase 2 or more Framed Art Posters from ClassicPix.com. This high quality art poster is matted and framed by our professional framers, and arrives fully assembled and ready to hang. The durable black wood frame measures 17" x 23" - poster size is 12" x 18". A clear plexiglass facing protects your poster and adds a lusterous shine. Posters are printed on heavy...
Canvas Print, Thoth, Lord of Writing - 18 x 12
$39.95
FREE SHIPPING on this item when you purchase 2 or more Canvas Prints from ClassicPix.com, any size -- mix or match. This high quality, durable Canvas Print measures 12" x 18" and arrives ready to hang with all necessary hardware already fastened. The Canvas Print is stretched over a sturdy wood frame for maximum stability and tautness, creating a striking three-dimensional piece of artwork. All pr...
Thoth - Pewter Pendant
$12.95
Enclosed Card Reads... Thoth "Patron of the Scribes" -Thoth is usually depicted with an Ibis head and has served in many roles. Most notably that he introduced writing to the world. The God who "Loved Truth & Hated abomination"...
