Mother Worship
The Original Tradition
To Restore the Wholeness of Life
MOTHER CHURCH/
CHURCH OF THE MOTHER
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Grail,
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VISION OF THE GRAIL
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HERSTORY
MOTHER WORSHIP/
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COSMOLOGY
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7 OBSTACLES ON THE ROAD TO WORLD PEACE
THE ORIGINAL TRADITION
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GREEN MEN
HIS STORY
RECONCILIATION OF RELIGIONS
BLACK MADONNA
THE GREAT JESUS INTERVIEW
MARY MAGDALENE
THE SACRED VALLEY
UNIVERSAL SHRINE
PRAYER, CONTEMPLATION
AND MANTRA
GREAT MOTHER HEALING
YOUNGSTERS ARE ASKING
IS THE MOTHER A FEMINIST?
REBORN ORDER
TRANSFORMATORIUM
"The Eternal Feminine"
GREAT MOTHER BUDDHISM
REALIZING YOUR MAITREYA MIND
THE ULTIMATE SUTRA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
JOKE
NEWSLETTER
Additionally
The Shattered West * Letter to spiritual and religious Leaders worldwide * (Wo)Man rooted in Heaven and Earth * The Politics of "Happiness for All" * Only Tradition has Future * The Integral Way * Community democracy acc. to J.Althusius * The New Economy * Transformation Manifesto for the 21st Century * Poetry * Existential Consciousness * Revolution of Being * Youngsters are asking * Personal Reactions
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The Great Mother
"In the beginning" was the Great Mother. Actually, She is the Cosmic Womb, Who is there from eternity. The Cosmic Womb is empty, an absolute Vacuum. In Her Bottomlessness everything - including the Divine - is being born, while continuously returning. In ancient times people understood this as the Law of the Universe, the dynamic balance between birth, the web of life and death. Spiritual life is to comply with this law: dying to the old, being reborn as a New Self, while fitting in in Her web of life - Heaven, earth and the (new) community - once again.
Q. I have read your website, which is very impressive, indeed. However, everything is depending on the foundation of your philosophy: that what you call "The Great Mother". Many people ask themselves, what is "new" about it. Could you explain?
A. First, the Mother is not a philosophy, concept or idea. Her REALITY was so overwhelming, that for a moment She totally wiped out my whole Being*. Second, "the people" are right. The Ultimate Dimension - "something" beyond God and the universe - has revealed Herself for the first time since patriarchy took over the culture.
* See: Threefold Realization
Q. Well, without doubting your information, but hasn't been there countless people talking and writing about The Great Mother e.g. Goddesses, before you received Her Revelation?
A. O yes, very much so. You might consider this as a "warming-up" - wonderful people, who had the right intuition about what would come - initiated by the Mother, to prepare mankind for Her actual interference.
Q. Why She appeared at this moment?
A. Every time the culture is thoroughly out of balance, compassion of the Ultimate is triggered. The more severe the crisis, the deeper the layers (of the Cosmos) that are mobilized. So, in the past the Light (Echnaton, Pythagoras, Lao Tse, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed to mention a few) manifested Itself in order to give people the possibility of Self-Realization. In these most critical of times ever.....however, the Light proves to be inadequate to solve the world's problems. On the contrary, it has become the object of great controversy.
Q. You mean the conflicts between the various patriarchal religions?
A. The Light is something you can identify with. In that case it strenghtens your ego, rather than the opposite. In these times of decay, people use it for their own self-aggrandizement, rather than surrendering to it. Clerics use it to extend their authority over the people.
Q. So God is not going to help us this time?
A. He would like to (laughs), but men have corrupted Him (It).
Q. You say, that the Mother is Emptiness beyond Emptiness. Isn't that concept stolen from the Buddhists?
A. Actually, it is the other way round. You have to understand the situation. At that time society was still very much mother-oriented. In the Original Mother Religion the Ultimate was perceived as a Vacuum, ruling the Law of the Universe. Life was inclusive, embracing death, life and rebirth equally.
Q. So?
A. Buddhists took over that heritage. However, to erase all memories of the previous era - in favor of their core teaching: to "escape from the cycle of birth and death" - they deliberately replaced the notion of A Cosmic Womb by something abstract, something that nobody really understood*. Having said that, Buddhism is the only religion, that preserved this deepest possible insight.
* They do talk about "The Womb of all Buddha's". However, its meaning is Enlightenment, not the Ultimate. See under.
Q. Right, but how can an average person understand this? And, why he or she subsequently would embrace The Great Mother, a mystery beyond mystery?
A. Everybody, without exception has an intuition about the Ultimate Reality buried in his or her innermost core.
Q. How, then can people come in contact with It?
A. The Mother is the All-Embracing Cosmic Womb. In Her Vacuum everything dies, while at he same time being born without interruption. It is the restoration of primordial Power. And indeed, this can be frightening. To let go of your ego in favor of the Great Unknown is a tricky thing. Trust is required.
Q. Aren't these times characterized by lack of trust and faith?
A. So how to get it back? I will tell you, what happens in practice. Usually, people think they have to do it themselves, doing effort in "motivating" themselves. You can't create what you don't possess, though. The surprise is this: the outer world is going to take care of it.
Q. The outer world?
A. Inner is outer. The outer world is a materialization of our ego-ambitions. Its monstrous growth now starts overpowering us. We are confronted with a global crisis, that hasn't any precedents. Overwhelmed by disaster, people will seek refuge in the "only thing left": the Ultimate.
Q. Yes, Christians will seek refuge in Christ; Buddhists in the Buddha; Muslims in Allah etc. Why in The Great Mother?
A. What about the millions of people, who in recent decades have lost their faith? They "have tried" the patriarchal God-concept and it didn't work out. Who or What is there for them?
Q. They increasingly will be confronted with ultimate nothingness.
A. Right, and what - spiritually understood - this nothingness ultimately is?
Q. Yes, well, eh.....like you have explained....
A. In these most desperate of times - in which everything will be broken down - we all move towards Ultimate Nothingness. This Nothingness isn't "the end" though. Contrary to what we think (conditioned by our patriarchal culture, that considers death as "the end"), Nothingness proves to be a Vacuum, a Cosmic Womb, a Vessel of Regeneration in Which everything (ego) dies in order to be reborn. Thus, while the ego threatens our very existence, the Mother has come to take it from us. Isn't that a miracle?
Q. So, while we are moving to Her, She has moved to us.
A. This is an almost poetic statement. Thank you for that. The point is, that "normally" nothingness would create an enormous amount of fear, existential fear. No religion - including Buddhism* - has given us any deeper insight about the true Nature of Nothingness beyond Nothingness. The beauty of the current situation is, that for the first time in modern times, people are able to understand it.
* In case of Enlightenment the ego has disappeared. Hence, TO THE EGO Enlightenment is Emptiness. In its turn Enlightenment disappears in a Dimension beyond, though: Absolute Emptiness. This is the Ultimate (Ultimate) Reality, the Cosmic Womb, The Great Mother. Very few people have actually "experienced" it. See also: The Ultimate Sutra and Prajnaparamita Sutra.
Q. Is that enough to solve this their deepest obstacle?
A. Surrendering to nothingness is frightening; surrendering to Mothers Womb is homecoming.
Q. How will be the perception of this coming home?
A. Because destruction of the (identification with the) ego and the birth of the New Self happen in the selfsame timeless moment, one usually feels immediately renewed. Remember, the Divine ("God") being Mother's Light Body. Hence, everybody, who faces his or her greatest challenge will be rewarded accordingly.
Q. Surrender to Darkness and the Light will be bestowed upon you?
A. Exactly.
Q. Many people, including many women, will not be so happy with a Mother, that ultimately represents "Nothingness". They prefer an image of an inclusive caring Being.
A. The closer you come to the Truth, the more paradoxical life becomes. Superficially - to the mind - these two things are excluding each other. In the Cosmic Realm they are the same.
Q. How?
A. To a fetus the womb is an hollow, empty cave. That is the reason why the latter is all-embracing, though. Emptiness and inclusiveness thus don't excude each other. On the contrary, the former is a pre-requisite for the latter.
Q. Are there other examples?
A. Th furniture in the room; the buildings in the street; the trees in the landscape....everything exists thanks to the space (nothingness") of which they are the content.
Q. Just another example of existential paradoxes? (I like them).
A. By projecting our earthly experience into "Higher Dimensions" we f.i. create the image of a MotherGoddess conceiving from a male FatherGod. Ultimately, the Great Mother creates though "parthenogenesis" though - creation coming out of "self-emptying" - without any "male interference". At that level, there doesn't exist a masculine principle.
Q. Bad news for all men, who try to regain some self-confidence, nowadays......
A. Men have to redefine their role according to the Truth. Indeed, as long as they continue to think, that they are the "masters of the universe" the future looks bleak. And not only for them.
Q. What would you suggest?
A. There is a bright perspective for New Men. These men realize, that the masculine principle has been born out of the primordial feminine. Women represent the substance of life, while the mission of men is to maintain it. Manhood thus finds its highest fulfillment in serving. In order to accelerate this awareness I have called both genders to become part of the Whole, once again*.
* His Green Man/Wise Woman project.
Q. Is there proof for the thesis, that "Eve is older than Adam?"
A. Historically, the earliest cultures were Mother-centered. Spiritually, Light is born out of Darkness. Evolutionary, the X-chromosome is older than the Y-configuration; oestrogene-receptors preceded the androgene-receptor, the former being a real "mother-hormone" (prof.dr.J.C.Netelenbos). In the first six weeks all fetusses are female-shaped.....
Q. Are females thus superior?
A. Both genders are in Essence identical, since both are embedded in the same Cosmic Consciousness. Ultimately you are not your gender. Obviously, both possess the same potentiality with regard to the mind. Their bio-psychology chacteristics ("self") have different emphasis, though. Both have their weaker and stronger points. Add to that, that in every man or woman the balance between the two is different.
Q. Which poses a challenge of its own?
A. In psychology circles it is very popular to idealize men or women. They favor an optimal balance between anima (in men) and animus (in women). If realistically approached this is something very valuable, indeed. On the other hand, there are men with very little femininity and women with equally little masculinity.
Q. Even good-willing ideals should not be imposed on people.
A. Right. In these cases the concept of the "Law of the Universe", whereby women reflect the web of life, while men are corresponding with the "death and rebirth" aspect - like mentioned above - is making more sense.
Q. Does this direct Way - taking refuge in the Mother - exclude the use of idea's, images and concepts?
A. The core of your practice is surrender, acknowledging the Cosmic Reality of the Great Mother. You recognize Her awe-inspiring, unfathomable all-embracing and all-penetrating Presence*. She appears to be IN and AROUND you. Contemplation is the way through which direct contact can be established. However, additional practices like mantra, chant, dance, imagery, offerings, ritual and a home altar have proved to be valuable, as well. Actually, surrender to the Mother is celebrating life.
* This is a crucial difference with all those practices, that reduce the Mother to a tool/instrument, with the aim of serving their own (little) desires, purposes and interests.
Q. In particular?
A. Nothing "in particular". The Mother embraces the whole of existence, so do we. Orientation is Her Law of the Universe. Surrendering to Her means continuously dying to the old, being reborn as a New Self, while becoming part of the Whole - Heaven, earth and the (new) community - once again.
Q. Do you favor a tradition and if so, which one?
A. Nowadays - because of the breakdown we are facing - we have no other choice but to re-invent tradition. In practice, this didn't prove to be too difficult. Both women and men can reconnect to a past, that was hitherto suppressed*. Restoring your roots is a pre-requisite for empowerment.
* See: Herstory, History and The Original Tradition
Q. A very hopeful development, indeed. The survival of the planet as we know it is at stake, after all. May the Mother support you in achieving your goals!
A. There is Nothing in the world, that is so supportive!
Q. Thank you very much for this interview.
A. Mother's Blessing.
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Last revising: 03/20/07