Archive for March, 2014

What’s the story of the Torah

Tuesday, March 18th, 2014

QUESTION: Masters, many of your daily and weekly answers conflict with what I was taught, which is that the Torah was written by (or at least with the help of) God and that a Jew should finish God’s work of creation and bring God and holiness into this world by performing the Torah’s commandments. I saw God’s hand in the Torah because many commandments complicate life, are revolutionary, or wouldn’t make sense for humans to write for themselves. The stories are also full of human shortcomings, and outsiders are sometimes cast in a better light than the Jewish protagonists (both unusual literary devices for the time). But I don’t think the God you describe would want to regulate the behavior of humans. So was God involved in the writing of the Torah (and if not, who was it)? Does God care about holiness and ethics, or only that we learn lessons? ~Alissa, USA

ANSWER: The Torah is a teaching aid for a religious organization and a nationality of people. For those who accept its authenticity and authority, it creates a set of rules and regulations for daily life. This is the basis for the belief systems of most Jewish people. It is centuries old, and scholars study it for decades and still don’t agree as to the meaning of the verses.

The original writings were hand copied by learned men who sometimes were unaware of the meaning of what they were doing, and some passages got modified unintentionally by them. Some of the stories were not contained in the first documents but were added later as a way to help explain the rules to those who were not literate.

God, as you define here, is a figurehead religions use to describe the ultimate master to whom all owe allegiance. This person is judgmental and passes out rewards and punishments to those who follow or break the rules. Since this concept is a duality of negative and positive actions, it is not found anywhere but on planet Earth.

When we speak of Source, the origin from which all souls derive, we speak only of an energy of unconditional love existing in perfection. It broke off the pieces of itself that are called souls because it desired to better understand the possibilities of life in a duality. Earth was created to provide the stage for that learning process.

Source observes what each soul does when in a body. It does not intercede, take sides, nor judge. It encourages all souls to exercise their freedom of choice to make their own Earth journey and return Home to unconditional love, where all souls are honored for the trials and tribulations they experienced.

 

Is cannabis the answer?

Tuesday, March 18th, 2014

QUESTION: Masters, about 5-7 months ago I tried cannabis for the first time and it completely opened my mind to a higher level. Hazy at first but I was able to get a hold of it with some practice. When I am “high” I get these epiphanies. Brilliant ideas. And everything makes sense to me in a way I cannot describe. I know cannabis has been used in many cultures for spiritual enlightenment. What is this plant and is it an aid to achieve enlightenment? ~Kevin, United States

ANSWER: This plant contains a chemical that is psychoactive – that is, it affects your central nervous system, causing an alteration in your perception. This change makes things look much different from the normal, unenhanced observation. These changes are generally fleeting since the immediate effect also causes a short-term memory disruption.

There are dozens of other substances that can produce the same activity you experienced. Some are common, but with too much consumption, any can become addictive: stimulants such as nicotine and caffeine along with cocaine and methamphetamine; depressants such as alcohol, barbiturates, and chloral hydrate; narcotics such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone; hallucinogens such as LSD, PCP, Ecstasy, and Peyote; and then cannabis in its various forms such as hashish and hash oil.

Any of the above substances can seemingly enhance awareness but have deleterious effects upon the human body with repeated use. They have been associated with the development of schizophrenia, heart disease, and liver problems.

Psychoactive substances have been used for centuries in ritualistic procedures to overcome the conscious mind and allow it to “dream.” It is possible to free the human ego mind using these chemicals, but it is easier to do it with meditation, hypnosis, flotation devices, and music without exposing your body to the dangers.

The term enlightenment refers to the ability to touch the essence of your soul. Your soul is composed of unconditional love and the energy of Source, from whence you came, with all the abilities it contains. If you can separate your conscious mind from the human judgmental ego and exist in the evaluative energy of the loving universe, you will be perpetually in a “high” that also makes you totally aware of the moment and everything around you.

Fantasy replaces love

Tuesday, March 18th, 2014

QUESTION: Masters, I have a deep need for recognition. To compensate for this, I use the mind to fantasize situations where I am accepted and recognized, and became addicted myself in them. Something feels very strong in me that I can only shine when I am recognized by others. Sometimes I have the feeling of being someone very influential in past lives like a queen or something, because I have a strong desire for leadership and senior positions. I wonder if there is anything I can do to free myself of this aspect of my ego. I also want to know why I cannot lose weight. Since childhood I am obese and I cannot understand that mental / emotional aspect is making my body act like that. ~Celina, Brazil

ANSWER: Time to get to the heart of the problem – you hate yourself. You don’t think you are worthy of being loved unless you are better than or greater than everyone else. Recognition is your way of judging if you can be happy.  You enter into these fantasy situations because they don’t hurt like living in reality.

You question everything you do. You have the ability to be a leader and have senior positions, but you don’t have enough confidence in yourself to make the moves or get the education and experience necessary to attain them. The more time you spend dreaming, the deeper you get into the impression that the real world is the dream. It keeps you from having the time to make changes, to change the way you think.

This is accepting the negative or non-real aspects of life. Ego is judgment. Ego is controlled by your conscious mind. Ego always comes with choices if you accept that you have choices. All souls have complete freedom to choose that by which they desire to shape their life.

To change your way of life, and your physical body, you have to have enough love for yourself to step up and start a new journey. Become aware of the world around you. Look for the opportunities to be happy within the physical reality. Any time you feel yourself slipping into dreamland, stop and thank yourself for the recognition, and love that you are in control.

Take a hold of the way you see the world. Put together a series of affirmations about loving yourself. Include that you have the power to change. Accept that you can be the person in your dreams – then go ahead and become that person in real life, not just in dreams.