Saying Your Sorry is Not a Sign of Weakness

I was watching NCIS the other day, which is one of my favorite TV shows. I like it because it is humorous and entertaining. I think it is one of the top TV series on the network. In one particular show (I am not sure which) Gibbs, who is the fearless leader of the NCIS crime unit, makes the remark to his subordinate saying, “Don’t say you’re sorry, it is a sign of weakness!” I couldn’t believe it. Although I love Gibbs as a character, this statement could not be farther from the actual truth. Saying that you’re sorry, is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength! It takes courage to say that you are sorry to someone for something you did that was wrong. It takes strength to admit that you made a mistake and that you own up to it. It is taking responsibility for your actions. It is letting another person know that you are sorry for your mistake and will try to do better.

Now I know that NCIS is just a TV show (and I think a good one), but many younger and some older viewers look up to the character of Gibbs, and may take to heart what he is saying about being sorry as a sign of weakness. I think it is important to realize that it takes strength to say you are sorry to someone. It is a very hard thing to do! You are admitting that you made a mistake and are not perfect. And that is not a sign of weakness; it is part of being human. We are not perfect. We make mistakes and sometimes hurt other people. Then we need to say we are sorry. I think it is very important to strive to be the best we can be in this world. But we do make mistakes and we should try to learn from them, and move on. Let us practice the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”.

Christmas and The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice occurs when the sun descends to its lowest point in the sky and is the shortest day of the year. “Solstice” literally means to “stand still”. At the winter solstice, the sun moves into the astrological sign of Capricorn. Here marks the beginning of winter. For those of us in the northern climates, the snow begins to fall and cover the countryside. Of course this time period is celebrated throughout the West as Christmas. The majority of Christians celebrate the birth of Christ at this time of year. Prior to Christianity, the Pagans celebrated the Winter Solstice. The Pagans held that this time of year was sacred as it was the rebirth of the sun or light force. It is the time when the light or day force begins to grow again. There is an interesting correspondence between the Winter Solstice and the birth of Christ. Paramhansa Yogananda, who was one of the first Yogis to bring Yoga to the West, held that Christ Consciousness was something that was inherent in all people. It is a level of consciousness that everyone has the capacity to realize. Christ Consciousness is that inner light of realization that Jesus brought to fruition within himself. Through yogic practices and spiritual development, we all have the capacity to realize the Christ Consciousness. Jesus is not the only Son of God, we are all Sons of God. Jesus said it himself, “Do ye not know that ye are Gods”.

The Winter Solstice is the darkest time of the year. It is also when the seeds of light and renewal are born. It is the time of year when the sun is resurrected and begins to rise again. For most Yogis this is the real meaning of Christmas. It is the celebration of the birth of the inner light of Self-Realization.

There are many interesting rituals that are done at the Winter Solstice. The majority of them have their roots in the Pagan tradition. Most everyone is familiar with the Christmas tree. I have enjoyed this ritual since childhood and loved the whole act of going out in selecting a proper Christmas tree and decorating it with special care. Now this practice originated from an old Pagan tradition where pine trees were brought into the house to dispel evil spirits and as a celebration of the life force that continues through the depth of winter. The symbolism of the Christmas tree is very interesting. From an astrological perspective, trees are ruled by the planet Saturn. Saturn is also the planetary ruler of Capricorn which is the sign that the sun enters during this time of year. One of the ways to get in touch with the natural energy of this time of year is to bring something into your household related to the energy of Saturn. Trees are ruled by Saturn and bringing a tree into your house helps you tune into the energy of the season. It was also under a Bodhi tree that Buddha experienced enlightenment.

During this current age of the Kali Yuga, I think our culture has lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas. It has become very materialistic with an emphasis on buying and receiving gifts. I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving and receiving presents, but when it becomes the focal point then the spiritual meaning is lost. The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a great story for the real meaning of Christmas. I think everyone I know as seen this movie many times but I watch it every year as a great reminder to what is really important. In a nutshell, Scrooge is portrayed as a stingy, self-centered person who is mired in the depths of materialism. His only concern is for himself and monetary achievement. He is then visited by three spirits of the past, present and future. He undergoes a spiritual awakening and self-realization. He comes to understand the true meaning of Christmas and carries it in his heart everyday. Like Scrooge, I find it very easy to get caught up in materialism and past karma. There are bills to pay, children to support, and jobs to take care of in order to make a living. Things are not easy. But it is important to remember our spiritual center because that is where all nourishment and fulfillment ultimately comes from.

This time of year is celebrated by the Hermetic Yogi as a Wish Festival. Like the Wish Festival celebrated at the Summer Solstice, we again plant seeds or wishes that we hope for fruition as the Sun rises again. Many people celebrate by placing their wishes upon their Christmas tree with the prayer of peace and goodwill for all humankind.

Pandora's Box

The myth of Pandora's Box is very fascinating. I think most people are familiar with this unique Greek myth. The name “Pandora” comes from the Greek and means "giver of all". She was said to be the first woman created by Zeus. She was given unique gifts by various Gods and Goddesses, i.e. Hermes gave her the gift of speech, Aphrodite gave her the gift of grace, Athena taught her to needlework, etc. The myth goes on that the reason Zeus created Pandora was to get even with Prometheus who stole the “sacred fire” from Zeus and gave it to benefit all mankind. Now, Prometheus's brother, Epimetheus fell in love with Pandora and was warned by Prometheus not to accept any gifts from Zeus. But of course, Epimetheus did not listen to his brother and married Pandora anyway. Now as we all know, Pandora had been given a box by Zeus. It really was not actually a box, but an earthen jar. In the jar contained many various evils and illnesses. Pandora had been instructed by Zeus to never open the jar, but Hermes had also given Pandora the gift of curiosity, and she eventually opened the jar. When she did, all the evils, illnesses and diseases were released to plaque mankind. After Pandora saw all the evils being released from the jar, she tried to close it, but was too late. The only blessing to the entire incident was that at the bottom of the jar, layed the gift of hope.

The normal understanding of the myth of Pandora’s Box is to provide an explanation as to why there are all the evils in the world. Of course, it is always the women’s fault and one should note the similarity to the story of Adam and Eve. But there is a much deeper meaning, and esoteric understandings to this myth than most people are aware of.

From an esoteric point of view, Pandora is not a woman in the ordinary sense. She is the symbolic representation of the feminine principle of receptivity and the nature of the subconscious. Pandora is directly connected to the power of the subconscious mind. This is the esoteric key to the entire myth!

What is the subconscious mind? Analytical psychologists such as, Freud and Jung, occultists such as Paracelsus and Dion Fortune, spiritualists, hypnotherapists and many others have well known the nature of the subconscious mind. The subconscious or more popular term unconsciousness mind is that receptive part of our mind where our hopes, fears and dreams are stored. The Wikipedia defines the unconscious as:

“that part of the mind which gives rise to a collection of mental phenomena that manifest in a person's mind but which the person is not aware of at the time of their occurrence. These phenomena include unconscious feelings, unconscious or automatic skills, unnoticed perceptions, unconscious thoughts, unconscious habits and automatic reactions, complexes, hidden phobias and concealed desires.”

This is very interesting from an esoteric point of view. Pandora was given certain gifts, skills and abilities by the Gods and Goddesses. She was also given a jar that contained many ills, phobias, complexes and desires. These are all contained in our subconscious mind. Our subconscious is a reservoir where we store all of our memories, hidden thoughts, fears and desires. It is the feminine or receptive balance to our everyday active conscious mind. What is really fascinating is that the subconscious mind has the power to manifest our most precious dreams and wishes, but also our fears, phobias and hidden desires. Pandora is called the “giver of all” and she is the giver of all gifts. Our subconscious mind can help us to realize our dreams or our illnesses. That is why it is so important to use our subconscious mind positively to help make our lives more happy and fulfilling.

What is in your Pandora’s Box? We all carry hurts and pain from childhood, relationships and our past lives. It is important to find out if you are carrying any unresolved pain, anger or negativity in your box. As it can fester and cause all kinds of psychological and physical damage. Freud and Jung knew that psychological complexes can be cured by helping the patient to become aware of their own subconscious material. By becoming aware of things we have buried in our subconscious, we can heal ourselves. Carl Jung even went a step further than Freud and said that by becoming more aware of our subconscious we make ourselves more whole.

One of the ways to get in touch with your own subconscious is through your dreams and feelings. These are the main keys to opening your Pandora’s Box. It is very important to listen how you talk to yourself. If you call yourself names, i.e. I am so stupid or if you constantly have fears and worries, these will have a negative affect on your subconscious. And will bring negative manifestations into your life. If you catch yourself doing this, counteract it by saying something positive about yourself and balance your fears by courage and hope. Remember that the last thing in Pandora’s Box was hope which stayed in the box after she opened it. This is a reminder that hope is a very real force that can change our lives for the better and the world around us.

For further information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconscious_mind, http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/consciousuncon.htm, http://www.vitalaffirmations.com/,
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypnosis/SA00084, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-primary-differences-between-freuds-and-jungs-theories.htm

Magic & Miracles

Is there a difference between magic and miracles?

Of course the answer to this depends on who you talk to. Most scientists will tell you that there is no difference between magic and miracles because they both don’t exist except as a fantasy of the imagination or in the movies, i.e., Harry Potter. Many Christians will tell you that they do exist and that there is a huge difference between a miracle and magic. I don’t mean to pick on the Christian faith per se (I consider myself a Christian mystic of sorts), but I do take exception with those who take the position that a miracle is good and magic is bad. For many Christians, a miracle is considered a supernatural act of God and magic is basically a supernatural act of man. So for some Christians, basically the main difference between a miracle and magic is that a miracle is something God does which is good and magic is something that man does that is bad.

Does this make any sense? Who is it that performs the miracles in the Christian Bible? Moses and the prophets, Jesus and the apostles. Are they not men? Jesus is considered both God and man, but he is still part man. So how do they maintain this contradiction? Jesus could walk on water and this was considered a miracle by most Christians. If you saw somebody walking on water today, would you consider that a miracle or an act of magic? Plus, there is the fact that Jesus taught his disciples various miracles that are also considered magic; such as the laying on of hands, expelling demons, spiritual healing and walking on water. This is important, because from a Christian point of view, these acts would be considered magic as these acts were done by men, not God.

I think that most people today consider miracles as an act of a higher supernatural power and magic as a supernatural act of will-directed power.(Although the famous occultist, Aleister Crowley defined magick* as any act of will designed to cause intentional change, I prefer my own definition of magick as a supernatural act of will-directed power). For instance, if someone falls from a ten story building and is not hurt, most people would consider that miraculous. It is considered miraculous as most people would not survive a ten story fall to the ground. The person who had fallen, and survived may contribute his or her survival to God or a Guardian Angel. It would not be considered an act of magic as no person (directing will) was involved. Now in that same scenario, if there would have been a person present who sent forth supernatural power and saved the falling person, then it would be considered an act of magic.

From an esoteric spiritual point of view, a magical act and a miracle use the same supernatural energy. There is no good or bad in supernatural energy. It just is. It is similar to electricity. There is no good or bad electricity is there? It can be used to power your house and it can also be used to tear down buildings. Moral judgment as to whether something is bad or good is determined by us. Magic is considered good (White magic) when it helps to heal a person and considered bad (Black magic) when it is used to hurt someone. Miracles are usually considered good, but remember that after God created the universe, he later destroyed it with the flood. Did he do a miracle or magic?

After the flood, God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Gen 9:12.



* Aleister Crowely spelled magic as magick to differentiate between illusionists who perform stage magic and real magic.



For further information, see: http://steve-badger.net/magic/mirmag.html, http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/_PDFArchives/theological-dictionary/TD1W1102.pdf, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic.

Esoteric and Exoteric Spirituality

What is Esoteric Spirituality? The word esoteric comes from the Greek work esoterikos meaning inner or from within. Basically, esoteric has to do with information or knowledge that is understood by a select few individuals or group of people. Esoteric knowledge may consist of teachings and doctrines handed down from a teacher to the initiated. This knowledge may require an inner realization, either from insight, intuition or meditation/contemplation in order to understand it fully. Esoteric spirituality, in a nutshell, would consist of any religion or spirituality that centers on an awareness or knowledge that is obtained through intuition or meditation and shared with a select group of followers.

Throughout history, western esoteric spirituality has been connected with diverse movements such as the Orphic tradition, the Eleusinian Mysteries, the School of Pythagoras, Gnostic Christianity, neo-Platonism, the Hermetic Tradition, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism, Theosophy and Occultism. There are many branches to the tree of esoteric spirituality and it encompasses many different topics such as: Alchemy, Astral Projection, Astrology, Clairvoyance, ESP, Hermeticism, Intuition, Kabbalah, Magic, Metaphysics, Mysticism, Numerology, Occult, Rosicrucianism, Tarot and the Western mystery tradition, just to name a few.

Esoteric Spirituality has to do with spiritual development from within. It’s greatest teachers, i.e., Pythagoras, Hermes, Plato, Plotinus, and including Jesus have taught that the soul can expand the boundaries of every day consciousness and experience higher levels of awareness all the way to cosmic consciousness. The essence of their teachings were esoteric and given to a select inner group of followers or disciples. Pythagoras had his inner group of followers called the mathematiikoi who were given the guarded secrets of the cult. Hermes’s esoteric teachings were only given to those who were initiated. Jesus taught his deepest truths to his disciples. Jesus said, Do not throw your pearls before swine. In other words, do not throw your pearls of wisdom to those who would not understand them and then trample them. This is the essence as to why esoteric teachings were only given to a select few. Certain information was only given to those who were ready to receive it. This is one of the main differences between esoteric spirituality and exoteric spirituality. Exoteric spirituality was meant for the public and is about the external teachings of spirituality. Esoteric spirituality is meant for the inner spiritual development of the soul.