The Tree Of Life and the Divine Marriage

In a recent communication, author John Joseph Dewey posed a number of questions as to the difference between the original teachings of Jesus and TheWay that is missing and not understood by the modern seeker (see http://www.freeread.com/ ) JJ Dewey made the statement that:  "I accept the idea of merging with the higher self and embrace the tree of life."    And what we see in JJ's statement, is in fact a common misconception that is embraced by many people who can be catagorized as New Age seekers.   I am presenting the following answer to JJ Dewey not only because of the misconceptions of many in the New Age, but also as an explanation to the modern Christians who have virtually no understanding of the nature of the original teachings of Jesus that have been suppressed by the Church.   And this is especially true with respect to the question of why the Bible rejects the modern issue of homosexual marriage?  Why Jesus portrayed adultry as sin?   And perhaps just as important is the issue as to whether Catholic priests should have the right to marry?  In the below reply to JJ Dewey I set numerous links where important subjects and human realities are explored in great depth.   These links are necessary, because they permit me to write in summary.   Which means that to truly understand the transformative power of the Divine Marriage as a catalyst to become nourished by the life-giving fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, it is imperative to understand the foundational environment inwhich man's access to the Tree of Life is obtained.  

Shalom JJ:

With respect to attaining Oneness with first our True Self, and ultimately the Indwelling Logos, I reply to JJ Dewey: If what you are asking was easy -- and the process could be easily conveyed -- then the biblical authors would have written it down literally, so that seekers would know the process.   But this is not at all the case -- as demonstrated at http://TheThreeLies.com#mystery .   And this to the degree that Paul stated to the same people who he had himself taught the elementary principles of the Gospel which he called the "testimony of Christ" -- that if he had spoken to them with any degree of spiritual maturity and higher spiritual wisdom, that they would reject what he would state as utter "foolishness"!   And this inability for man in his organic condition of mind to perceive and comprehend his own higher soul and spiritual reality, is true across the spectrum of humanity -- and is as valid today, as when those words were written 2000 years ago.   Why?   Because what is required is self-knowledge -- as stated in the Gospel of Thomas: "...But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty".   Self-Knowledge includes, but is not limited to, (1) an understanding of what we portray as the Cosmology of Mind and Being (see http://SoulSelf.org ); (2) an understanding of the Laws and Forces of Mind upon which man's consciousness is manifest; (3) including a thorough understanding of one's own relationship to their higher soul-self; (4) an understanding of the personality that you are in relation to the personalities that your soul-self has lived in what is often portrayed as the previous and future lives of your higher soul-self; (5) an understanding of your higher soul-self's relationship to Creator-God; (6) your soul's relationship to all other souls that dwell within the Mind of God; (7) and the dynamics of the relationship and reality of the male/female paradoxical opposites of both Creation and the Divine Pattern, as well as the dynamics of the holographic pattern as expressed within your own mind and being.   

The process is not a merging with one's higher self -- we don't merge with our higher soul-self that is a Being Of Light (see http://BeingOfLight.com ) which exists in an inner reality of mind and being -- but as Jesus stated to Nicodemus, you must bring about the next stage of birth -- and birth requires the merging of the male and female paradoxical opposite spheres of mind within you -- as stated in the Gospel of Thomas saying 22 (see Saying 22): They said to him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female ...then will you enter the kingdom.".  In the same way that an embryo which is the merging of male/female must evolve through the stages of embryo, fetus, infant and eventually to maturity, the third-force balance of the male/female duality within your own mind must evolve to maturity.   One of the problems is that man is a complex being -- with the Tree of Life being a a representation and pattern of your own mind.   Which means that the pattern of your own mind is the manifestation of four (4) trinities -- comprised of four (4) male/female paradoxical opposites which comprise the Tree of Duality (aka Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) -- with the essence of the Tree of Life being the four third-force balance spheres where the duality of the opposites must be brought together and evolved to maturity.  The process of birth requires Wholeness -- a term not understood that is used throughout the Gospels.   In the same way that the Trinity is portrayed as Mother/Father God and the Third-Force balance/offspring portrayed as the Logos, all of Creation is a manifestation of the Divine Pattern that is holographically imprinted into every aspect of Creation.  Wholeness, from the perspective of man that brings about the next stage of birth -- thereby permitting the person we are in this world to be At-One with our higher Soul-Self (see http://SoulSelf.org ) -- is achieved when the third-force balance of the four trinities within our own mind and being have achieved a condition of fullness -- and this fullness enables the next stage of birth to be brought about.   In the Gospel of Thomas (GofT) saying 22 this reality is portrayed in the question: They said to him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?"   With respect to these four trinities and their respective third-force balance-spheres that comprise the Essence of the Tree of Life, they can be portrayed as the perfect balance of what is often spoken of as Earth, Water, Fire and Air -- which when in the condition of evolved balance and wholeness, is portrayed as the "good ground" in the parable of the Sower and the Seed.  And the references to receiving the Kingdom as a child in the four Gospels, is a corruption of this reality where you must evolve the third-force balance within the four trinities of your own mind, and achieve the next stage of birth -- which birth we often portray as soul-birth -- in that, this next stage of birth enables you to become At-One with your higher Soul-Self which is your True Self that you are an expression of.   After all, as stated that a House Divided cannot stand.   After achieving the next stage of birth which we portray as Soul-Birth, there are still two additional stages of birth which can be portrayed as Spiritual-Birth, and the final stage of birth which is allegorically portrayed in the crucifixion where one is At-One with God in the Totality of their Being -- thus, reuniting the divided realities of Adam and Eve on all levels within you, permitting a return to what is portrayed as the Garden of Eden (see http://GateOfEden.com ).   Quoting from The Pattern Of Mind And Being:

After eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Duality (aka Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil), the statement was made in the allegorical account of Genesis: "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever" (Gen 3:22-23).   Thus, the objective of life is to become nourished by the fruit of the Tree of Life -- i.e., "'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God'" (Rev 2:7).   And respecting the Tree of Life it is written: "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Rev 22:1-2).   With the final statement pertaining to the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Life in order to gain entrance to what is often portrayed as Spiritual Jerusalem in the words: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates" (Rev 22:14).  

Only by eating the fruit of the Tree of LIfe -- being nourished by the Impressions thereof -- can the next stage of soul-birth be brought about, and only then can man achieve the necessary Wholeness to become At-One with his higher soul-self -- and ultimately, the Indwelling Logos.   And only by travailing in TheWay and permitting these subsequent stages of brith to be brought about within your own mind and being, can the journey of the soul be fulfilled and the seeker/disciple enter the Kingdom that Jesus taught is within us (see Luke 17:20-21).

One of the only reasons that I can even present the process of achieving the next stage of soul-birth that the biblical authors could not in the past, is because of (1) modern web-technology that permits me to set hyperlinks into a large array of subjects that would be too complex to place in a standard document written from a linear perspective; and (2) the fact that the people I am writing for are all fairly educated and can read with a high degree of reason -- whereas in the past, only the very elite were educated and could read.   This enables me to write and convey in summary, and set links to those areas within the supporting documents that are relevant to what I am attempting to convey.   In the Law of Octaves which was the mainstay of the wisdom of both Pythagoras and Gurdjieff, reference is made to the necessary foods that act as a catalyst at the point where the sequence twists.   Gurdjieff correctly portrayed the final food in the last stage of the octave as Impressions -- making note that few people would even be able to fathom what the nature of this food is.   In my Intro to the Law of Octaves (see http://lawofoctaves.nazirene.org/#Intro ), there is a pictorial of an Ennagram which portrays  the formation of the process at http://lawofoctaves.nazirene.org/Enneagram_evolution_of_food.svg_.png .   And these crucial Impressions are presented throughout what follows the subheading The Esoteric Feminine Mystique at http://beingoflight.brotherofyeshua.com/self.htm#EsotericFeminineMystique .   Part of my presentation in London in The Conference On Consciousness And Human Evolution on the subject to Know Thyself, I presented important information on the Impressions generated by men and women as presented in the subheading The Divine Pattern Of Mind (see http://knowthyself.nazirene.org/#DivinePatternOfMind ).   Wherein, what is portrayed as the fruit of the Tree of Duality, is in fact the Thoughts and Impressions of the divided spheres of the male/female mind.   While the whole of the previous subheading is extremely important to understand, let me focus on one segment within the context of what is presented (quoting):  

In the diagram on the left, we see the aura-field that encompasses both the man and woman individually, as well as forming the morphic field that has the capacity to manifest and join the two halves in Oneness.   In the diagram on the right we see a pictorial representation of the merger of the bio-energy that when joined, is no longer lost into nature -- but rather, is channeled within the dynamics of the union.    In the subheading entitled The Merger Of Opposites Into One, I demonstrate where the impressions generated by an evolving man and woman are in fact the food portrayed by Gurdjieff who built upon the foundation of Pythagoras and the esoteric Gospel teachings, to demonstrate that it is the merger of the opposite polarity male/female impressions that brings about the expansion of mind and being within the morphic field of the seeker/disciple.  

We must then pose the question: While male and female unions are as common as man and woman, why don't these unions initiate the next stage of birth which the mystics make reference to?   Because the union must not be limited to the physical -- but rather, the dynamic interaction of mind and spirit in a state of absolute harmony that is able to raise the two up to a higher level of being.   Thus, together the husband and wife must seek to Know Self -- i.e., their true self -- while seeking Truth and the Inner Kingdom.   Why?   The answer is rather simple -- quoting from the subheading The Intuitive Mind Vs The Linear-Rational: In the introduction to the book Secrets of Mary Magdalene, Prof. Elain Pageles writes and quotes the Gospel of Philip: Simultaneously, the Gospel of Philip celebrates Mary Magdalene as manifesting the divine spirit, which this gospel calls the “virgin who came down” from heaven. When Christians spoke of Jesus “born from a virgin,” this author agrees—but refuses to take it literally. So some people, he says, take this literally to mean that Jesus’ mother became pregnant apart from any man, apart from sexual intercourse. But this, he says, is the “faith of fools” who fail to comprehend spiritual matters (although, as we note, it can be seen in the birth narratives offered in the New Testament gospels of Matthew and Luke). Instead, continues the Gospel of Philip, Jesus was born physically, just as all humans, as the son of biological parents. The difference, says the author of this gospel, that he was also “born again” in baptism--born spiritually to become the son of the Father above, and of the heavenly Mother, the Holy Spirit.   That one of the primary objectives of this life which we are presently living is to bring about and achieve the next stage of birth -- a non-physical birth which is allegorically portrayed as a Virgin Birth -- should be of primary importance to all people.   

In the same way that Peter as representing the (male) linear-rational spheres of mind states of the intuitive visions and wisdom of Mary Magdalene:  "...These are certainly strange ideas", it is a fact that it is the lopsided development of what Einstein portrayed as the linear-rational servant that inhibits the development of the intuitive-gift -- i.e., as seen in Einstein's statement that “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.”     Without the balanced development of the intuitive, the linear-rational which only senses outwardly, arrives as a point where it becomes what can be portrayed as flat-lined -- which in turn inhibits the further development of the linear rational servant from itself maturing beyond organic limitations.   And herein lies the great obstacle to human development that linear-intellectuals don't at all understand -- i.e., the reality that the linear programming of the mind which is the agenda of our educational systems -- including the reading of books and traditional study -- only serves to inhibit the development of the intuitive spheres of mind -- and it is the lack of balance between the inward looking intuitive and the outward looking linear-rational that inhibits the development of the mind beyond a certain very shallow organic physical level of maturity.    Further, what we are presented with are a number of paradoxes that have confronted man since he first stepped foot on the earth.   Thus, these proverbial questions must be confronted: Is the mind of a child empty?   Or, does a great source of knowledge already exist within the mind of the child that must be tapped into?   Do you instruct a child through rote programming in the manner of our educational systems today?   Or do you guide the child into an environment of self-discovery?

The problem is seen in the fact that the linear-rational servant can only look outwardly -- and not only remains totally ignorant of an inner reality that it is blind to -- but it demands that all of mankind ignore and even reject the higher causal reality that can only be sensed and understood through the development of the intuitive centers of mind.   Like the tip of the proverbial iceberg, what is observed protruding out of the water is very small in relation to the immense body of ice that is beyond man's normal scope of vision lying beneath the water line.   And because our culture and linear learning environment actually inhibits the development of the intuitive, it remains atrophied and latently embryonic and immature.   This is seen in the fact that when the leaders of the Jews (Pharisees) asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come upon the earth in the manner that they believed it would, he told them that it would never come upon the earth so as to be seen with their eyes (that look outwardly), because the Kingdom already exists within them (see http://GateOfEden.com ) -- and it is accessed through the development of the intuitive spheres of mind that are positioned to look inwardly -- which then must be balanced with the outward looking rational linear in order to achieve the evolved and transformed Oneness that Jesus stated was required to enter the Inner Kingdom.  

The proper development of the mind to eclipse what can be called organic human limitations, is dependent upon the interaction of the linear and intuitive spheres of mind.   But when the intuitive perception is inhibited, and development is suppressed, even the linear is flat-lined from any development beyond what is portrayed in the Gospels as carnal and restricted consciousness.    The linear mind of man remains limited in its development, because the intuitive remains infantile and shackled in a captive environment where it is only permitted to express itself in linear terms.  While the inward looking intuitive has the potential to access higher consciousness and states of mind and being, it is unable to arise to its intended potential because of the shackles placed upon it by a thoroughly domineering and controlling linear culture.    Like a woman who in many Islamic cultures are forced to dwell in an imprisoned world beneath a Burka -- not permitted to openly express herself except when accompanied by a male relative -- totally deprived of the ability to openly speak on her own behalf -- the natural expression of the intuitive mind has been so impeded by our linear-driven culture, that it has remained undeveloped and unreliable as a resource (see Opening And Unlocking the Mind).   Because the male-linear as portrayed as the portrayal of Peter takes the position that "...These are certainly strange ideas", when the perceptions of the feminine-intuitive is encountered, the merger of impressions can never be brought about -- thus, flat-lining the union at a very low-self carnal perception of man's true reality.  

The Twelve Within The Twelve: Holographically, the pattern of the whole is replicated into each of the twelve spheres of mind as represented in the Image of the Tree of Life at the right.   What this means is that 1/12th of each sphere, is the vibration of the bottom Earthly (carnal/organic) Kingdom sphere.  And in the physical union of man and women, the energy that arises through the mind as represented in the pattern of the Tree of Life, is limited to the carnal/organic 1/12th of each of the upper spheres.   Thus, with the exception of the exchange of energies, no meaningful expansion of mind can take place -- and the vast majority of bio-energy or vital life-force, is lost into Nature.  

More importantly is the fact that in (carnal) organic man, the whole of the person's thinking and perception of reality is limited to that Earth-sphere.   Which is why the multitude of people are portrayed as blind and unable to comprehend the concepts and teachings pertaining to the soul and the Mysteries of the Kingdom (see Gospel Mysteries).    And why in the Gospel account, the majority of people are portrayed as being "without" and only capable of being taught in the enigma of parables, while those who have embraced the process of transformation were spoken of as being In The House (see In The House).   The Gospel accounts state that Jesus only spoke to the multitude of hearers in the enigma of parables, it is imperative that we recognize that Jesus did not, and could not, speak and teach plainly to those who are portrayed as being "without" the House -- i.e.,  "And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples" (Mark 4:33-34 NKJV).    The word translated "explained", in the phrase "And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples", literally translated from the Greek into English means to "unloose or untie" -- i.e., what has been "bound or sealed up" -- and "what is obscure and hard to understand" (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon).   And the word translated secret or mystery, makes reference to an esoteric knowledge that can only be revealed spiritually to one who is "in the House", because it is beyond the organic comprehension of those who are portrayed as being "without", or "outside" the House.    The term "open and unloose" the mind, is was also used in the Gospel as the path to entering the Inner Kingdom (see Open & Unloose The Mind).

In the same way that the interaction of the chromosomes derived from the father interact with the chromosomes derived from the mother within the embryo in the process of expansion which forms the body-vessel, on the next level of the holographic reality, the vital life-force from the male interacts with that of the female, bringing about the uniting and expansion of mind -- creating the Third-Force of higher reality as portrayed in the image on the right.   And this creates what is portrayed above as the "morphic field" that creates an atmosphere like environment of mind and spirit that make the husband and wife "one flesh".    Instead of the bio-energy being lost into nature, the vital life-force is instead channeled within the body and mind of the joined husband and wife, and is instead utilized to bring about the expansion and deepening of mind.   

In Organic Man, the vital life-force which begins in the lower Earth Sphere, rises up into the Foundation Sphere where it is then tested.   The Foundation Sphere is connected to the Soul-Matrix, and is the seat of who you are based upon the accomplishments of all the past lives that your higher soul-self has lived (see Soul-Symphony - Time - Soul-Octaves - Spiritual Cathedral).    The Foundation Sphere can be portrayed as being strongly influenced by what can be called each person's Spiritual DNA.   The Church Father Origen wrote that: “Every soul... comes into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats of its previous life” (Origen, De Principiis).   Those souls who have accomplished much, will be able to conserve and channel more vital life-force within them -- thereby possessing greater insight and understanding of what they see and understand.    Those who can be portrayed in the parable of the prodigal son as having squandered away their inheritance on "riotous" living -- expelling their bio-energy on the things of this world -- because the energy can't be balanced in the Center (Tree of Life), it moves out into the lower spheres of the Tree of Duality.   And if it is (male) Earth-Logic or (feminine) Earth-Intuition, it lacks the balance to be channeled within, and the bio-energy becomes lost into Nature.   Thus, the outer columns of the Tree of Life which are the True of Duality, generate thoughts and impressions that are portrayed in the allegory of Genesis as the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Duality that the eating of which brings death.      

As stated in the above, the Linear-Logic which is male, and the Intuitive which is female, not only perceives the world differently, but often from opposite and sometimes conflicting perspectives.   Yet with all paradoxical opposites, each side of the equation is not only equally valid -- but in the Divine Design is intended to be resolved when the third-force balance of Mind is elevated to a higher plane.    And when rightly understood, all man and woman need is each other -- developing and raising up both the Linear and the Intuitive into a state of Mental and Spiritual to where the Third-Force of Mind exists on a Higher Enlightened Plane

 

In summary, the true meaning of the scriptures presents a holographic allegorical image of the pattern of our own mind -- referenced above as the Cosmology of Mind and Being.   And because of the great difficulty in conveying the higher reality of the soul to organic man, much of what is presented in the Alice Bailey writings is also the Cosmology of Mind and Being that is presented in what appears to be the Cosmic Hierarchy of the various masters and lords that are allegorically presented to the reader of these books.    My own higher soul-self conveyed to me to abandon reading esoteric books such as the Alice Bailey writings, because the Gospels and the allegorical accounts therein presented a catalyst that could enable me to access the inner storehouse of knowledge that my soul had achieved over the course of utilizing these scriptures to to achieve the next stage of soul-birth over the course of the previous lives my higher soul-self had lived.   The allegorical symbolism used in such writings as those by Alice Bailey, were foreign to the path my soul has walked and travailed -- and therefore were not as useful to me as the Gospels and associated scriptures.   In either case, what is presented in both the Gospels, as well as such esoteric writings as the Alice Bailey books, are both allegorical portrayals of the seekers own mind and being.   And this reality is attested to by one of the foremost Theosophists, G.R.S. Mead, in his celebrated work, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, where he explained that, once properly understood, the true meaning of the allegorical symbolism used is “…projected onto the screen…” of the scriptures, “…was in reality a picture of their [man’s] own minds”.    And this is true not only of the spiritual meaning of the scriptures and the Alice Bailey writings, but also the images which we perceive in the outer world which is portrayed as the illusions or shadow-images of Plato's Cave.   Which presents the reality of the words of wisdom found in the Delphic Oracle where it states: "Heed these words, you who wish to probe the depths of Nature: If you do not find within your Self that which you seek, neither will you find it outside.  If you ignore the wonders of your own House, how do you expect to find other wonders?  In you is hidden the Treasure of Treasures.  Know Thyself and you will know the Universe and the Gods."    Which provokes the question: How can it even be stated: "If you do not find within your Self that which you seek, neither will you find it outside"???    While the vast majority of modern authorities would immediately reject this statement as absurd, when rightly understood it is true beyond even their ability to grasp and imagine!   And yet these same men and women who lack the depth of self-comprehension  to understand these words of unparalleled wisdom, are hailed as teachers and authorities in our modern culture.

Yet, change is on the horizon.   What these words of wisdom represent is a reality that modern physicists are only now beginning to prove and comprehend -- i.e., that not only is this world a reflected shadow-image of a higher causal reality as set forth in the analogy of Plato's Cave  -- but in taking the analogy of Plato's Cave one step further, modern physics has demonstrated that each person is subject to their own self-created world that would constitute their own personal images of Plato's Cave.   But when rightly understood, what this means is that it is imperative to understand what we think we are seeing -- why we are seeing and perceiving in the manner that we are -- and why our organic human consciousness is limiting and inhibiting us from seeing more -- much less, the Whole of man's true reality?   Which is why the Gospel of Thomas declares: (5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you."      

To go beyond this point in answering your question, JJ, one would have to possess a semblance of knowledge of the Cosmology of Mind and Being that would provide insight into the reality of one's own mind as the pattern of the Tree of Life -- and the use of the scriptures as the Key of Knowledge.