World Citizen Practice: Victory Tabernacle

Originally Posted to firesofcreation.gaia.com on Oct 29th, 2009

I attended a very fascinating service at Victory Christian Church in Middlefield this last Sunday. I've always seen this church when driving by it on route 66 and have been curious as to what it's all about. I first checked the website and discovered that it seems a bit fundamentalist in orientation with their statement of beliefs. But as part of my World Citizen Practice every month, half of my fellowship is intended to take me outside my comfort zone and home base at my Buddhist sangha. 

Another reason I am more open to explore what was once considered incompatible with my spiritual orientation is the gradual realization that in going beyond surfaces, things aren't always as they appear. Even though I may attend a Buddhist sangha that is guided by the teachings of spiritual leaders such as Teitetsu Unno, Shinran Shonin, Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodrin, The Dalai Lama, Ekhart Tolle and even the historical Buddha himself, not everyone will agree as to what the implications of where these teachings should lead. There are Buddhists who voted for Barack Obama just as there are Buddhists who voted for John McCain. 

There are Buddhists who favor Fox News and there are Buddhists who favor CNN. And even though one of our highest aspirations is to become "food and drink during time of famine, to give assistance to the helpless and the poor," what if the poor people being assisted are illegal immigrants? It may not sit well with Buddhists who are anti-immigrant and support measures of shutting down the border between the U.S. and Mexico to keep them out. The point I am getting at here is the moral cohesion and certainty is blurry everywhere you look and this includes Eastern and Western centers of fellowship. 

Even though a Christian church may appear to have fundamentalist and dogmatic leadership, there are always members within their midst who are more liberal in their thinking. They may not rock the boat and they may not speak their mind in the presence of more conservative leaders and fellows, but they are nonetheless there and think outside the box. There may even be some members who are non believers or will later become non believers. This is just a natural course of being human and how there is often a constant shift in orientation that contradicts one side of a duality that was once deemed the standard. We hear examples of this from both sides too. 

There have been instances where rock hard atheists had conversion experiences, devoted their life to Christ and became "born again." There are also instances of steadfast missionaries who had conversion experiences that lead them to atheism. And as a rule of thumb, there is a piece of yin within yang and yang within yin. Some who may appear to be oriented on one side of the duality may display characteristics that would orient them to the other side and vice versa. 

Learning to live with this reality has been an exercise in tolerance and going deeper than the appearance of surfaces. I used to believe that those who displayed such hypocrisy were corrupt and potentially untrustworthy. What I have gradually discovered though is that these contradictions of the duality exist even within myself. I come from a family split down the middle between the atheist and theist orientations. Even if I favor the atheist orientation, it is entirely possible I may have offspring that adopt a Western theism just as my Christian grandfather gave rise to pagan children who followed a guru and favored an Eastern spirituality.


Before he died, I became one of the most loyal and trusted helpers of my grandfather, helping him go shopping, run errands and even go on trips across country with him. In helping him, I not only became an indirect supporter in the fundamentalist ministries he donated money to or bought books from, (Jessie Duplantis, Kenneth Hagin, John Hagee, Pat Robertson and Benny Hinn to name a few) I also became an indirect supporter in the election and reelection of a politician (George W. Bush) whose legacy as one of the most misguided presidents in U.S. history is being hotly debated by people around the world. Even though I didn’t approve of everything my grandfather did, I still loved the guy dearly and saw the good within him. 


The choice at hand is not how we can make war on our opposite or our hypocritical selves, but about how we can accept, integrate and create something new with the other side so as to potentially make peace with them.

In my forays into Christian fundamentalist churches, I have had to fight back fears that it will lead me into a direct confrontation with their dark side. But there is also the possibility that their side might open up to its opposite. Rather than seek a continuation of warfare, perhaps they might see the potential for wholeness where East and West unite and create lasting peace together. 

When I first arrived at Victory, the members that greeted me were friendly and outgoing. They took a genuine interest in knowing who I was and finding out why I was there. But as the sermon started, I saw some red flags go up inside my mind. The minister (Pastor Pete) began with an offhanded comment about hippies. (both my parents were hippies and I have hippy friends) Then he performed a prophetic pronouncement over a young kid in the audience, declaring that he would become a great business man and leader for the Lord. Not my kind of thing but I took it in strides and was open enough to stay, pushing the limits of what I was used to. 

Then there was the worship provided by Victory's very own rock band. People would move to the front, raising their hands towards heaven and shouting glory to their God. Afterwards the pastor told us that the purpose of praise and worship is, "to give God the glory. To let him know that you appreciate him, to express your love. I mean what can we give the Lord physically? well we can't, he owns everything. But we can give him our heart. and so we can bless him as we let him know that we love him and appreciate him."

Pastor Pete then began his sermon which was Part III of Understanding the Biblical Church. Here is a excerpt of part of the sermon I found the most compelling and took down after listening to the recording:  

"What is the local church and why is it so strategic? The local church is critical because it is the place I submit myself and my family to spiritual oversight and accountable living. If you're a parent this morning you want your children to listen to you and submit themselves into your parental leadership for their lives. Well guess what? In a pastoral sense it's the same thing. It doesn't matter how old chronologically someone is. When they come to Christ, they are an infant. That was one of Paul's issues with Timothy. 

When you read second Timothy chapter one, he says two things to Timothy. He says first of all, you need to stir up the gifts of God that are in you. The implication being, because if you don't, no one else will. You gotta stir it up. Second thing he says in verse 7, for God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power and love and of sound mind. Why was he saying both of those things? Because Timothy was being harassed and beaten down and intimidated by people older than him. They were trying to leverage their age over Timothy and harass him into submission and here he is the pastor. Whether they were doing it intentionally or not is not clear in the scripture but the effect on Timothy's life was that he was shying away from his call because he was being intimidated, looking at peoples age and position. 

I remember that happening to me years and years ago early in the ministry. There were people two in a half times my age and they had to listen to me. I was always taught, you respect your elders. Mr. So and So, Ms. So and So, Mrs. So and So. Yes, ma'am, yes sir! And now God puts me in this place where I'm teaching people two in a half times my age. I tell you what, I always held that with great respect. Even though I could preach and administer to them in the Lord, and had the anointing to impart to them, I always respected them for the position they had in mind. 

But Timothy was loosing a handle on this. So, let's go again, let's look at number three and lets look at the scripture. This is what the writer of Hebrew said regarding this issue. He said, obey those who have, (to paraphrase a little bit) the spiritual rule over you, the spiritual leadership in your life, and simply learn to listen. Why? For your spiritual leaders watch out for you and those who are, must give an account for their leadership. Let them do so, let them do their job with joy and not grief. For, if they had to do it with grief, it would be unprofitable for you. 

Let's dissect a couple words. First is the word submission. What he means by that word is to yield under. So when you are being submissive, it doesn't mean you don't have a brain, it means you are choosing to yield under someone else's anointing and spiritual authority. I'll tell you what, you will never be a good leader unless you learn how to be a good follower. You will never be given your own thing unless you can be faithful to that which is called another. Who said that? Oh yeah, Jesus did in Luke 16. If you can't serve someone else's vision, you'll never be given your own. Oh, you'll get a vision but it will be a pipe dream. Understand? You'll never make a great leader unless you're a great follower. It just starts in the trenches."

What was interesting to me at this point was the use of the word "trenches" which wasn't the first time I heard this word used in the service. It evoked imagery of warfare for me and even the church name, "Victory" could refer to a game, or a battle. 

Pastor Pete's service continued...

 "I'll tell you what, this spirit of submission, here's the difference. Someone can obey on the outside, you can only submit on the inside. Jesus was submissive to the will of his father even unto the death at the cross. He submitted here because when his flesh was tempted in the garden of Gethsemane, he wanted that cup to pass from him, he took it back and said nevertheless, not my will father but yours be done. You can only submit in here."

 This was the part of the sermon that made me a bit uncomfortable. One of the many criticisms lobbed at Christianity from atheists is the story of Christ submitting to his divine Father who wants him to be executed as a sacrifice. One of the other stories that this evokes in the Old Testament is the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham thinks he hears God telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac, who obediently allows his dad to bind and prepare to have him stabbed with a knife. 

If the New Testament was supposed to be the new revelation of God, why does Christ so obediently submit to his father's will of sacrificing himself? What kind of father would send off his own son to be sacrificed even if we are told that it was for reasons of cosmic importance? Did not Abraham believe that his son being sacrificed was of cosmic importance to his God? 

It could be said that there are thousands of fathers today in this nation who have not resisted their sons being sent to be sacrificed on the battle field of Iraq and Afghanistan and we are conversely told by our leaders that the shedding of their innocent blood is the necessary ingredient for the salvation of our nation's freedom. If this is mirroring the New Testament story, how much has really changed since the Old Testament? In the New Testament, God allows the son to be sacrificed and in the Old Testament, he stops it from happening. Is this an instance of the yin being within the yang and vice versa? The Old Testament is usually known for its childish depiction of God where as the New Testament is supposed to show a wiser, more loving and evolved God who acts more like an adult. 

Pastor Pete continued...

"You can make people obey and comply on the outside but you can only submit on the inside.The reality of inside is the essence of the New Testament. And the Old Testament, what was it about? Outward sacrifices, keeping all the laws, keeping all the customs, showing up in Jerusalem for the feast. And in the New Testament, Jesus said, and now I say, you've heard it said that basically it's wrong for a person to commit adultery, that guy should be stoned, but I say to you, if a man lusts after a woman in his own heart, I consider that he has already committed adultery with her. 

What was the issue? The message was this, whatever was externally based and judged in the Old Testament, everything now is internal. everything is internally evaluated judged and assessed. Why? Because now we have the Holy Spirit in us. He dwells in us. In the Old Testament he dwells among us. So in other words, you can't have a new and better covenant without taking the responsibilities that come with it, which is, let me change you from the inside out instead of just making you a bunch of people that keep outward observances of feast and holidays and festivals. I want to change you from the inside so that you actually want to do it. So this is what it comes down to. Let us do our job with joy."

 This part of the sermon I really liked and it sent the wheels inside my head spinning. It also reminded me of the banner hanging on the wall near the church sanctuary's entrance. (pictured above) On it was the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet and symbolically, it is representative of God as the first and last revelation ending with the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. The way the Greek letters were merged together on the banner made me realize that this is the Christian version of the Yin and Yang symbol. And in Pastor Pete's assessment of the Old and New Testament, made me think about the masculine and feminine relationship as they relate to the nature of matter and spirit. 

The journey we take in life begins with the masculine side, (the material). We are preoccupied with our appearances and the superficial surfaces that surround us. We may follow rules and the crowd, not because we feel compelled from the inside, but because of what we fear from the outside. The same thing can be said about children just beginning to understand how the material world works. They don't jump off of tall buildings because they don't want to, but because they fear the consequences. Later in life our compulsions to pull off dangerous stunts that threaten to punish us by the material laws of gravity are diminished and a new will comes into place from the inside, compelling us to live in accordance with the laws of gravity because we want to and are concerned not only about ourselves but others. 

By the same token, the latter half of life is marked by connecting with the inside. We realize that our looks are impermanent and our external surfaces don't necessarily determine our identity. The Old and New Testament basically describe the internal evolution of the human race. Our early ancestors were dominated by the external compulsions of fear from a wrathful, vindictive and childish God. Then in the New Testament, a new inner sanction came into being and God became kinder, wiser and more adult like. And in the Old Testament account of Adam coming first, this would correspond to the banner and the Alpha symbol which is often placed in front of male to describe their egotistical orientation when not in touch with their feminine side. And as a Male's sex organs are external, outside the body, conversely, a female's sex organs are hidden inside the body. Paster Pete describes the New Testament revelation being guided by the Holy Spirit, that hidden and invisible force that resides inside the body rather than being external on the outside. 

The last revelation, "Omega" must come at the end of time in order for the birth of world spirit to bring peace and the beginning of a new human kind who is no longer estranged from the divine. And as Jesus stated, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." This now makes sense in context of the masculine coming first to find itself last as the feminine becomes the only one capable of giving birth and nourishing new life to be the first of a new revelation. This new revelation; World Spirit, is the new consciousness that will unite the world and bring God's will to be done, "on Earth as it is in Heaven."

Pastor Pete ended his sermon with a great couple of sentences pointing his congregation towards the "Omega" of the Holy Spirit and the new Revelation.

"Make our job a joy. We don't rule over anyone with an iron hand. We don't rule in the flesh. We don't ever take our anointing and our position for granted. We're always one in equal living. Hallelujah. But let your heart be open in peace. That's something God will always bless."

I left Victory church feeling glad that I had explored it. The people who came up after the service to introduce themselves were very kind and genuine. I even got to meet pastor Pete and shake his hand. It felt liberating to connect with my opposite orientation in a domain I used to be intimidated by. I now seek to passionately share my gospel of coexist with Christians just as passionately as they seek to share their gospel of Jesus Christ with me. And even though my sangha feels it is a better path to be lay rather than monastic, something must also be done to break the spiritual monasticism of just remaining inside your comfort level amongst your own kind. My world citizen practice is a means for me to become a spiritual lay person, finding a relationship and learning from those outside of my orientation as well as offering whatever perspective I have from my angle that may enrich their lives.

World Citizen Practice: Catalyst Church - Middletown, CT

Originally Posted to firesofcreation.gaia.com on Sep 13th, 2009

My World Citizen Practice is a means to try and connect with the reality beyond surfaces and discover the peace that can come from this perspective by making contact with the one behind the many. In less abstract terms, it means to celebrate the diversity surrounding us but not to lose site of our non dual interconnected core, binding all of us together as one. In this unity, a space for freedom is born thus allowing for diversity to flower. It’s the whole paradox expressed in the U2 song “One,” where Bono sings, “We are one, but we are not the same.”

The world citizen practice I've developed is born out of a conviction, that like the diverse drinks we consume that are all connected by the common denominator of water, so to are all religions linked together by the universal spirit within. Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims, or practitioners of any other wisdom tradition may have a diverse language of symbolism and elaborate rituals that appear different on the outside, but inside they are all expressing the journey of the same inner spirit, connecting us all into one being. Even in religions where there are obstacles obstructing the spiritual path, eventually blinders will be removed and truth revealed. Water always returns to its source. 

Because I started my journey with an orientation leaning towards the left side of the polarity, I was naturally drawn towards Eastern spirituality. Atheism resonated more with me than Western theism. This is why I immersed myself into Buddhism and joined a sangha. Buddhism served as a home base grounding me and providing an environment with a freedom to develop and implement the World Citizen Practice which is basically a means of seeking to bridge the divide with the opposite side. The journey for every individual usually begins with an orientation leaning towards one half of the polarity and ends by reaching out for the other side to eventually integrate the two polar energies within oneself, finding greater wholeness and integrity. 

This is why my World Citizen Practice seeks a balance by bridging the divide between the East and West, the left and right. Half of my attention is spent at my home base while the other half is traveling outside my comfort zone to explore and befriend western religions while extinguishing fears that this experience will bring me face to face with the  potential duality within; their dark side. 

Just as the unintegrated right side expresses their fears of evil emerging out of the left, the unintegrated left side expresses their fears of evil emerging from the right. World W1n was a vehicle from which I was able to express my own personal fears. Do I know for sure they aren’t going to play out? It is possible that our world as we know it could come to a screeching halt in the fires of World War III caused by a battle between East and West. But it is also just as possible that it won’t. I’ve spent enough time worrying about this possibility and the best way to extinguish one’s fears is to face and overcome them. Then the next phase of the journey becomes a movement away from fear into hopefulness and a focus on visualizing and then moving towards desirable outcomes rather than obsessing about potential worse case scenarios.

I’ve already attended several Christian services in and around Middletown and my goal is to continue doing so until I’ve found one that welcomes world citizen ideals as much as my sangha. Uniting Christ and Buddha is a symbolic exercise representing a viable bridge capable of uniting East with West. The great thing about Middletown is its spiritual and religious diversity. There is not only a Hindu temple here, but also Buddhist centers, a Muslim Mosque and Jewish synagogue; all of which I’m in the process of exploring (for those that I haven’t already).

Today, I checked out a new Christian church that just opened in Middletown called Catalyst Church. It was a heavy dose of Western Yang energy expressed by their own personal rock band. 

At the very beginning of the service, was a symbol that reminded me again of my fears that inspired World W1n. 

During worship as the band performed, two video screens projected the song lyrics for all to read. In the background were computer generated blue patterns. One of the blue patterns present for several of the songs was something that looked just like a Nazi swastika. Part of me thought of the tell tale signs of a potential sweeping religious revival in America of a fanatical kind, justifying the alarm of Sinclair Lewis that lead to his famous quote, “When fascism comes to America, it will be draped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

Another part of me was reminded by how the similar symbolism in Buddhism was hijacked by Hitler and is cause of concern for those who first come to Buddhism but don’t dig any deeper only to leave forever because they fear it is being commandeered by Nazi’s. 

After the catalyst rock band finished, we were introduced to the pastor, Michael Larkin. His sermon put me to ease, as its emphasis focussed on an inner fulfillment guided by a movement away from the limited ego towards the fellowship and wholeness of the collective. (the same emphasis is found within Buddhism) Some of the main points of Larkin’s sermon were as followed;

“Jesus always met physical and emotional needs before he ever got into spiritual needs. We can’t leave the spiritual part out when ministering to people. A child who gets a backpack he needed for school is good but it doesn’t help him when he goes home and sees his parents throwing things at each other. It doesn’t help a child who goes home and sees his parents shooting up on drugs. And it doesn’t help a child who has great parents but they have to work all the time just to survive. The only thing that can help them is if they hear about God’s power to make a way out of now way. As a church we don’t have all the answers, and a lot of times we don’t know what to say, but God is saying I can.” This reminded me of the concept of “Other Power” in Buddhism. 

Further in his sermon, Larkin described the message of the Bible as a passion of God in pursuit of a prodigal people. “You may not understand Revelation or understand the ending. The old testament; all it’s doing is saying Jesus is coming. And here’s why he needs to come. And the New Testament, all it’s doing from Matthew through Revelation, is pointing back to Jesus and what he did on the cross. That’s the Bible. It’s the passion of God in pursuit of a prodigal people.”

“Moses says to the Lord, Lord I’ve never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you’ve spoken to your servants. I’m slow of speech and tongue and I stutter and I can’t say anything. And the Lord said to him, “who gave site to the blind? Is it not I the Lord? I’ll help you to speak and teach you what to say.” The Lord, as Larkin describes in this situation represents higher consciousness; the God like part of ourselves capable of rising above negative circumstances to push us into action even though we may feel inadequate.

“Some may say, my past is dark. You can’t use me.” “No, no, I created you and I want to use you.” Moses says, “please send someone else to do the job.” Then God got angry. “People are living without hope, now go.” Of course God has to get angry because he’s a passionate God in pursuit of a prodigal people. “I want to use you. I want you to make a difference in this community. I want you to have purpose. I want you to have significance and life. I want people to find life in Christ because of what I am doing inside of you.” And you’re coming to God and saying, who am I? That’s an amazing place to start. That’s where we have to start. Because it shows that God is saying, “here we go. There’s something huge I want you guys to do.” 

“Are there burning bushes in your life that you’ve been ignoring? Maybe you’ve got to go back to your middle school days when you were curious. Burning bushes take all forms and shapes.” Larkin was speaking here of crisis in people’s lives that make them want to fold up and throw in the towel. “Maybe this is your burning bush. And maybe if you stop long enough to check it out, maybe God will reveal something to you. “Hey look. I want you to have a purpose and significance with your life.” Larkin’s sermon ended with a challenge calling us towards community service and action; “I want to challenge you with this question. Will you let God be a burning bush in your life? Will you let him say to you, here we go.” 

The music after the service was good and the lyrics seemed to be expressing a reference towards spirit. "Come to the waters and you will thirst no more." At another point, the lyrics made me think about Eckhart Tolle and the power of now. "Love is here. Love is now."

I left Catalyst church glad that I had explored it. It is possible that I may return at some point in the future.

------------------9/16--------------Update--------------->

To be fair to Michael Larkin and his church, I'm posting his response to my blog:

"Thank you as well for your honest candid evaluation of our service. I also want to thank you for pointing out what could be perceived by some to be a swastika. I in no way agree with the thoughts or actions behind the symbol. It is one of those things that we just never noticed. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, we have deleted that background."

Self Realization Fellowship Headquarters

Originally Posted to firesofcreation.gaia.com on Nov 20th, 2008

Just got back from California where I checked out an interesting place in Pacific Palisades. It's the SRF headquarters that Paramahansa Yogananda set up in 1920 after coming to the United States from India.

I'd heard about Yogananda after reading an Autobiography of a Yogi back in 2000 when I was living in California. I had also met several folks there who were involved with the community.

Autobiography of a Yogi is an interesting read.  It's Yogananda's personal account of his life and search for truth which is chalk full of miracles and pseudoscientific claims the Atheist crowds would dismiss as absurd. I found myself challenged by all the accounts of Yogananda performing or bearing witness to miracles, the kind you usually only read about in the Bible or see in movies. But aside from the far fetched aspects of it, the heart of the story is in the right place which describes the author's attempt to unite East with West. 

Some of the characters in the book are very memorable, especially Yogananda's master Sri Yukteswar who looks like the Gandalf of India. A matter of fact, I could totally see Autobiography of a Yogi being adapted into a major motion picture.  

The SRF headquarters was a fascinating and beautiful place to visit. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of the main temple which had paintings in the front of Yogananda, Babaji, Sri Yukteswar, Gandhi, Krishna and Jesus Christ. 

Some of Yogananda's most impressive work is his efforts of reconciling Western and Eastern religion. He wrote two huge volumes of commentary on the gospels and the Bhagavad Gita.

After finishing an internet search on Yogananda, I found some videos on YouTube which are the first moving images I've ever seen of him. 

More of My Pics: 

This is the shrine Yogananda built for Gandhi. His meeting with the Mahatma had a big impact on his life and he devotes an entire chapter to describing it in Autobiography of a Yogi.

This was a meditation / prayer room by the lake.

Yin and Yang United

Originally posted at Gaia.com on May 12th, 2007

Should humanity embrace more Yin power in order to balance and tame the Yang power? Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ taught a middle way between the extremes. According to legend, a few disciples of Jesus wanted something more militant which is why they hoped he would lead a (masculine) violent revolution and destroy the Roman Empire. Christ responded by saying they didn’t understand his message. Even after the Romans executed him, many followers of Christ preached of Jesus as a coming messiah who left as a feminine lamb but would return as a masculine lion to judge the world and destroy the enemies of Christianity. Many of the disciples sought to turn the feminine into the masculine. Like those in their culture, they had an aversion towards the feminine because it appeared weak and ineffectual in the material realm.

A lot of Christians refer to God in the masculine, because masculine matter appears the most visible and it seems to always dominate the more feminine spirit just as the masculine dominates and oppresses the feminine in most cultures. In Africa it’s genital mutilation of women. In the Middle East it’s keeping them from voting, being educated and imprisoning their body, sometimes from head to toe. In America it’s men who get paid the most while women’s salaries are on average less. In China and India, many mothers will abort their fetus if they have a daughter because a son is more desirable. In some conservative Christian house holds, a woman is to submit to the authority of her husband. It’s the masculine power that runs the majority of all governments. It’s mostly men who discovered how to use masculine matter to split atoms and create the most destructive force we know in the world today; nuclear weapons.

This conflict between masculine and feminine perspectives is also found in the research of psychologist Carol Gilligan. When playing games like baseball, one younger boy gets three strikes and is out so he starts crying. The other boys want to eject him from the game so they can keep playing. If a girl is around she will usually say, “Give him another chance.” The girl wants to help, connect and to heal. This is what bothers the boys because they see the game as an initiation into the world of rules and male logic. The boys will hurt feelings in order to save the rules and the girls will break the rules in order to save the hurt feelings.

As it stands now, (masculine) logic is telling us we are destroying the world. The environment is in crisis while a third world war looms on the horizon. Many Biblical prophecy interpretations in the West say humanity would be a doomed species if it wasn’t for a Jesus who comes back to save the world through war and dictatorship. This kind of Christ carries a flaming sword, (masculine) and returns as a lion because the (feminine) lamb was ineffectual in bringing heaven to Earth.

Many claiming to be part of mainstream Christian theology believe the Anti-Christ; the incarnation of evil will rise from the (masculine) West. Even though this view envisions a warrior Christ, there are some Christians who believe Jesus is a prince of peace. Because this version of Christ is a balanced form of opposites, he returns to help unite the feminine and masculine together in harmony (Yin and Yang united to bring the kingdom of God to earth as it is in heaven) with ends that are preexistent in the means. In this paradigm it is the feminine who is finally able to shine because the masculine side has been tamed to create an equal balance. If the masculine dominated the beginning (Alpha) stage of human history, it is the divine feminine who finds transcendence at the end of time. (Omega) Only after the unification of opposites can World Spirit be born for the salvation of humankind.

When one is designated as superior; masculine and feminine, matter and spirit will be at war with each other. Perhaps this is what threatens to create an Anti-Christ in the West; the conviction among the masses that sees the feminine East as inferior. This is what could lead the West to seek her oppression and enslavement (through the control of Middle East oil) just like the extreme version of masculine has sought to oppress and enslave the feminine for thousands of years.

Matter needs spirit and spirit needs matter for any life to experience this existence. With the knowledge that there is a piece of yin within yang and yang within yin, we can see that a piece of ourself is within our opposite and a piece of them is within us. Holding this perspective is a way in which the compulsion to make war on what is perceived as evil outside ourselves, can be dissuaded for the more desirable power to seek its transformation. This is why the East could potentially transform the West, bringing heaven to earth through the harmony of opposites; spirit (beauty) tames the monster (beast) within matter.

This is the power Christ and Buddha knew, who together formed the corpus collosum of the Earth brain. These two masters were able to bend the rules of matter with the power of spirit. Christ walked on water and replicated food. Buddha vanished from thin air and sent his rice bowl to float upstream against the current.

It is this power to bend the harsh laws of the material that modern day mystics seek to harness. In his book, ‘Peace is the Way’, Deepak Chopra speaks of his acquaintance with those who are able to bend spoons with their minds. (pg. 66) Even Deepak claims to be close to accomplishing this himself. It is interesting that one of the leaders who he says bends spoons telekinetically, is heavily involved in working for peace in Israel; the epicenter of colliding forces between East and West.

Because the recurring drumbeat of war seems as if it is something we can expect with as much certainty as the unchangeable law of gravity, it isn’t surprising then that the interest of bending the rules of matter plays into the same attempts to bend the masculine logic perpetuating the wars that seem unstoppable.

The West has made many attempts to turn the Christ of the (feminine) lamb into the (masculine) lion. This is how they’ve learned to justify wars in the name of Jesus and many Christians to refer to Buddha as evil and weaker than the warrior king of Nazareth. Words from a Christian imperialist missionary, whose early influence helped pave the way for the banning of a Buddhist holiday in Vietnam, illustrate this point: “Just as when a cursed, barren tree is cut down, the branches that are still on it will also fall. When the sinister and deceitful Buddha is defeated, the idolatrous fabrications that proceed from him will also be destroyed”. 1

The disease of masculine imperialist aggression is the scourge we must cure by turning to the (feminine) archetypal spirit of peace. Science has been employed to treat this illness with little luck because the technology of modern war is the fruitless method many believe can be effectively used to win the next world war; which is only possible if we are willing to consider the millions and perhaps billions of casualties that are prophesied to destroy us and the world as we know it.

1 - Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ - “Alexandre de Rhodes”, (Page 5)

In one form of Chrisitan mythology, Christ returns to unite East with West, Yin and Yang in order to prevent the following:

The End, Nuclear War

More about the theory of opposing hemispheres of the Earth brain:

http://homepage.mac.com/eliw/visionaries/visionaries.htm