Wake Up!
Spirituality as the Foundation of Life
Embracing all Traditions

"Whether conservative or liberal Christians, or members of other faith groups, or just spiritual seekers, we are all guilty of succumbing to a diminished religiosity that is characterized by privatized belief systems, devoid of the prophetic and social witness of Jesus and the prophets - ultimately, nothing more than "small-s" spirituality that is really only ad hoc wish fulfillment or a collection of little self-help techniques we use to take the edge off our materialistic rat-race lives"

                                                                                           Jim Wallis

General Part
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The world is slowly waking up. Especially in Europe and the USA an increasing number of people start recognizing, that the global crisis we are in, is REAL. Problems like violence and war, poverty and injustice, pollution and climate change are running out of controle. Some are talking the necessity of a radical change in politics, others - religious people - talk of the need for "resurrection" on all levels of society, Michael Lerner wrote his inspiring book "The Left Hand of God", Roger S. Gottlieb passionately advocates the development of "religious environmentalism", even evangelicals like Jim Wallis includes creation in his plea for "conversion", others align themselves with the vision of "a new civilization" (Michael Gorbatchev), while some take even a more radical stand, saying that "because civilization is the cause of global collapse, the former should be broken down altogether" (Derrick Jensen). The truth about all this is, that it is all really true. Indeed, no escape possible anymore. Big cities like New York, London, Bangkok and Amsterdam maybe drowned sooner than later.

Small excursion

(Western) civilization is obviously in decay. And the concerns described above are more than justified. The crucial thing, however, is, that we will never will find a real way out, without understanding the exact causes. Actually, the current situation is the result of a long process, that started some 10.000 years ago. It coincides with the takeover of power from the Great Mother by war waging patriarchal tribes. The need for protecting emerging property played an essential role. The "Sovereignty of the Land", previously owned by the "Eternal Feminine" and shared by all, turned into private ownership. (PS. Ironically, since women were the inventors of wealth, it certainly suited their interests as well to have their accumulated property protected....by men). Warlords (e.g. the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Hebrews and countless others) incessantly terrorized peaceful agrarian communities (Canaanites), slaughtering entire cities without mercy. Accounts of this destruction became the holy books (Bible) of the oppressing patriarchal religions. Their societies destroyed life in favor of ruthless exploitation until this very day ("wasteland").

The (Northern) European "secular hell" is aptly described by Roger S.Gottlieb1)

"A purely secular society seems to leave people with no real reason but shop, amuse themselves, and seek power and wealth. It can lead to an impersonal and exploitive sexuality, a cheapening of human relationships, a life in which the people learn the price of everything, and the value of nothing. Wonder, awe, reverence, self-awareness, or even the quiet peace of a simple Sabbath become harder and harder to come by. Most important, there is nothing to sustain us as communities, and the lack of community devastates all of our human relationships, leaving us with fractured marriages, pointlessly rebellious teenagers, and business that will purvey physically and culturally poisonous material without ever thinking that they have a responsibility to anything but the next quarterly report. Too many politicians and professionals have a similar lack of concern for anything but self-advancement".

1) Roger S.Gottlieb "A Greener Faith", 2006 Oxford University Press

Many justify their non-commitment with "being in the herenow". However,
Being the HereNow includes past, present and future as well as
your environment, simultaneously

Throughout the ages, some miracles managed to survive e.g. even experienced a great survival. One of them is the Legend of the Grail. Few were able to give it a right interpretation, though. Most writers remained stuck in a male dominated adventure story, or wrote popular versions, only guessing the Truth behind. One of the exceptions is Malcolm Godwin with his book "The Holy Grale".1) Contrary to popular opinions he was able to go to the depth of it. One of his major thesis is, that the Grail is about the condition mankind got in, after the latter had destroyed the Feminine Source of life, the Cauldron of ever-flowing abundance. Cut off from the life-giving Cosmic Womb2), the land had become barren, ruled by the Wounded King. This ruler refused to surrender himself to the Original Mother, reason why he - together with his kingdom - were not able to renew themselves. The intervention of an outsider - Parcival - was needed to give the land its fertility back. To me this is not just a myth. I hesitate to say it, for disbelief will be my share, but I was granted - without any doing on my part - to be the embodiment of this primordial Quest.

1) Other renowned authors are Jessie L.Weston, Marie-Louise von Franz, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Caitlin and John Matthews, Norma Lorre Goodrich and Heide Göttner Abendroth.  

2) The Grail symbolizes the Cosmic Womb. See: Vision of the Grail and Grail Background.

Back to the current situation. Obviously, the world is in decay. Everything is broken down. We are heading for individual and collective burn-out. The question is: what is degenerating here? Right: it is the ego with its accumulations that is destroyed. This leads to an unexpected discovery. We are "dying to the old" with the promise of renewal. The underlying meaning of the current crisis is death of the ego in order to become reborn as a New Self. Spiritual people understand this. The calls for "resurrection" aren't idle or superficial. The situation is giving people increasingly courage to express themselves in an unconventional way. A short while ago this would have been blasphemy. For instance, some are saying, that we shouldn't just be followers of Jesus, but successors (F.Alt). With other words: nowadays every human being should realize his or her Divine potentiality to the benefit of the Whole. We are in desperate need of people, who stand up and testify. Who not only talk about their innermost Being, but who ARE IT. Who are driven by passion/compassion for the Whole, sharing their wisdom, love and courage with everybody else. Thus, come forward - I personally know how difficult that is1) - and become a Light to others. "Become Holy" (Teresa of Avila), in order for others to become the same. It is the (inner) quality of commitment, which is decisive. In these times of degeneration we are all invited to go back to the Source, in order to become reborn2). The more people "die to the old", the sooner the long expected "resurrection" will take place. Therefore, follow your vocation.

1) Immeasurable Grace has been bestowed upon him, being twice-mothered ("Dimetor") and thrice-born ("Trigonos"). See: Threefold Realization, Acknowledgement and Autobiography. See also His Story under Dionysos.

2) In America the concept of rebirth could give rise to misunderstandings. People may immediately think of "born again" Christian fundamentalism. Obviously, our approach has nothing to do with them. The difference a.o.  is, that a "born again" remains the same person, getting a "second chance" through identifying him/herself with a different mind-set, while somebody who is reborn, has been genuinely and authentically stripped of every identification, while having transformed him/herself into a New Self, a New Inner Identity.

Consciousness is All-Embracing

We urgently need a breakthrough. First of all, "inner is outer". That means the mess we see in the outside world is a reflection of our addiction to our selves, having and greed. It is a deeply spiritual problem, because "to have is the inability to Be". The core problem is the absence of inner fulfillment. In the past something must have gone terribly wrong. The cause lies in patriarchal religions destroying the contact with our deeper Self (God-Realization), women and sexuality, our bodies and nature. After many centuries of ruthless suppression, people had no choice but falling back on the only inner faculty left: their ego's. It was the beginning of individualism and materialism (ironically called "Renaissance"). Now, some writers are strong advocates of existing religions reforming themselves into a more humane direction. The passionate book of Roger S.Gottlieb1) has to be mentioned. He is totally right in saying, that religions play an increasingly crucial role in trying to achieve a sustainable world, democracy, justice and human rights. A very promising development, indeed! To already make them champions of transformation - as he does - goes a little too far, though. More than 2000 years of extreme hostility towards life, cannot produce trustworthy leaders overnight.2) And the church has always shown itself opportunistic, when its own power position was at stake. Reverend Jim Wallis' great work, on the other hand, tries to pave the way for a broad movement, uniting Left and Right. His inspiring journal "Sojourners"3) gives account of the practical spiritual-social work, done by him and his followers. Rabbi Michael Lerner not only wrote a bestseller4), but also took the lead by founding a Network of Spiritual Progressives, a very powerful initiative, indeed.

1) Roger S.Gottlieb "A Greener Faith", 2006 Oxford University Press

2) I agree fully with Protestant theologian James Nash, who says that Christian commitment - in order to become trustworthy - should be based on permanent and ongoing repentence.... 

3) Open: http://www.sojo.net

4) Michael Lerner "The Left Hand of God", 2006 HarperSanFrancisco

However, identification with "new ethics" alone doesn't solve our deepest problem: the longing for our deepest Self. As before, God-Realization is the deepest taboo of all existing religions. So, on the one hand urging to renew, while at the same time blocking the possibility of becoming the Divine within, where all renewal is coming from....Also, the necessary turning point doesn't come from just emphasizing different values. It remains limited to the mind only and therefore (too) superficial. A new world - that what we desperately need nowadays - will come from people, who really have transformed themselves from bottom up. The old concept of God proves to be too limited in this regard. If a concept has exhausted itself, the only way to regain new inspiration is to go beyond. Only that will give you the necessary insight. The Ultimate as a Vacuum - a Cosmic Womb - explains why everything dies, while continuously being reborn1). It thus makes you understand the need for breakdown of the old (the ego), as a pre-requisite for (inner) renewal. It is the foundation of A New World View2). In practice, The Original Tradition connects to existential suffering, the fact, that we have become alienated from life: from our deeper Self, women and love, our bodies and nature. It is committed to Restoring the Wholeness of Life on all levels of society: spiritually, psychologically, medically, culturally, socially, economically and ecologically. It does so by going back to the Original Source - the all-embracing/all-inclusive Cosmic Womb or Great Mother - in order to continuously "die" and being reborn, while subsequently fitting in in "Heaven, earth and the (new) community", once again, thus enlightening, guiding and supporting everyone, who is searching for Transformation of Self and Society. You are invited!

1) The Cosmic Womb is giving birth to God (the Divine/Her Light Body) and the universe (Her Material Body), both continuously returning.

2) Based on "feminine" values, like inclusiveness, eco-spiritual awareness, sustainability, mutual support, commitment, respect, wholeness, justice, sharing and care. See also MatriTalks, 72 interviews on New Ethics.

I've got A Vision
A choice of social relevant spiritual and religious topics

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