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Welcome new visitors from Truth Frequency Radio

Welcome new visitors from Truth Frequency Radio

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

Special thanks to hosts Chris and Sheree Geo of Truth Frequency Radio for having me on their show last night, December 05, 2015.

We covered a range of topics related to the celestial foundations of the world's myths, ancient scriptures, and sacred traditions -- including some more extensive discussion than I have previously published regarding the spiritual message in the story of the inebriation of Noah, pictured above in a painting (oil on canvas) from the early 1600s by Carlo Saraceni (1579 - 1620).

We also went into some extended discussion of the importance of Thomas in the New Testament texts and in Gnostic tradition.

This interview is currently available for online listening or downloading at this link, and for subscribers to their show it will be available for listening or downloading in their show archives indefinitely.

I believe that for all other listeners, it will be available for listening or downloading only so long as it is the most recent interview, after which it enters the archives.

The part of the show containing my conversation with Chris and Sheree begins at about -145:00 (that's "minus one hundred forty-five minutes") on the embedded play bar found at the link above, which looks like this (you can click on this image to go there as well):

To navigate around to different points in time on the show you can simply click anywhere along that blue line with the high-voltage corona discharge resembling a streamer arc between the spark gap of a Tesla coil(which is a form of radio frequency oscillator, and hence highly appropriate for a show entitled "Truth Frequency").

You can also pause the playback at any time by clicking on the triangle inside the blue circle on the left of the play bar, which starts and stops the audio.

Prior to that -104:00 mark in the show, Chris and Sheree discuss various topics of their own. Of course, I don't necessarily agree with everything that anyone else on earth might say, or everything that might be said in that part of the show, but it should be obvious that none of us really ever agrees with anyone else on every single topic, and I believe that we are all here trying to figure out the complex set of data that we encounter as best we can -- I myself have had to change the entire paradigm through which I view the world on more than one occasion, based on new information that I encountered (my first published book, in fact, was written while I still believed that the scriptures of the Old and New Testament were intended to be taken literally, which I obviously no longer see as consistent with the overwhelming evidence in the stars).

I'm personally not comfortable with frequent references to a "New World Order," and suspect that the "Old World Order" might in fact be much more of a concern and a subject which requires careful examination and consideration. 

I also do not believe by any means that everyone in the police is corrupt, which appears to be implied in one of statements in an ad during a break. I actually believe that police forces and militaries are necessary, but I absolutely agree that they can be misused and also deceived (the metaphor of the orangutans and the gorillas in the extremely important original Planet of the Apes film from 1968 is very helpful in this regard, in my opinion -- see additional discussion here).

However, I most definitely agree with the sentiment that Chris expresses at around -108:00 in the portion of the show before I came online, in which he says: 

But the only way to overcome, I should say, is to realize the power that we have -- and to realize the power of unity, as a human species. You know, forget about all of the labels; forget about all of the religions -- forget about everything else, and just start seeing each other for just . . . human beings. And I guarantee you -- they won't be able to bring in a New World Order, because we won't be controlled at that point.

Chris and Sheree were very gracious hosts and I am very grateful to them for inviting me onto the show and allowing me to discuss a subject which I believe to be extremely important to all of the above subjects. They offered some of their own very insightful perspectives during our two hours that led the conversation in what I hope you will agree were some interesting and fruitful directions.

I have not had the opportunity to talk with them before but I think it is clear that they are exploring important questions regarding human consciousness, and seeking to elevate awareness and consciousness through their insights and their work -- a cause that I think we can all agree to be of the utmost importance.

The show ended just as I was getting ready to thank them for having me on to their program -- so, in case it was cut off by the closing music, I would like to express my deep appreciation to Chris and Sheree for having me on to Truth Frequency Radio.

_/\_

Below is a list of links to things that I have previously written about some of the subjects that we touched on during the conversation (and, as mentioned above, we went a little deeper into some of these subjects than I have previously, during one or two parts of the interview):

Welcome to all new friends who found this page through the Truth Frequency Radio broadcast or website!

Namaste.

Welcome new friends from Grimerica!

Welcome new friends from Grimerica!

Big welcome to all new visitors -- and returning friends -- from the wonderful land of Grimerica!

It was an honor as always to be welcomed into The Igloo and to have an opportunity to discuss matters mysterious and mythological with Darren and Graham, who are always fantastic hosts as well as expert and experienced interviewers -- and to get a spontaneous on-show The-Matrix-synchronicity rated at 9.5 on the Grimerica Scale (which is unheard-of and may have been an aberrant data-point, but definitely a new league record for me).

It was the first live-and-on-the-air announcement of the publication of my new book, Star Myths of the World and how to interpret them: Volume One, as well as the first on-the-air debut for my dog, Zephyr, who wanted to interject comments at all the most-important points of the show and finally had to be unceremoniously kicked out of The Igloo into the cold (poor guy).

It was also an honor to meet James from Wasted Nation and his friend Nadz, who were also at The Igloo during the visit. They were fresh from a Halloween show during which it was revealed that they look suspiciously like the same bunch who kept giving Daniel-san a hard time on Halloween some years ago (see Wasted Nation photo here), which made me a little nervous at first, until I remembered that I had Mr. Miyagi on my side and also that they all became friendly at the end and wished Daniel all the best after he defeated their leader in the tournament (hopefully that wasn't a spoiler for anyone).

Be sure to check out their music and invite them to perform gigs in your town if you have any connections in that department.

During the course of this visit to Grimerica, we touched on a host of important subjects -- below are some links to help anyone who might want to explore some of them further:

  • The Star Myths section of my davidmathisen.com page, which contains links to a "Star Myth Index" that can direct you to most of the Star Myth discussions that have been published on this blog over the years.
  • The discussion of the famous story of the Judgment of Solomon found in the ancient Hebrew Scriptures (often referred to as the Old Testament of the Bible), and analysis of its celestial connections and possible meanings. I also made a video about this important episode from ancient scripture.
  • The two-part discussion of some of the important stories from the 1,001 Nights (also known as "The Arabian Nights") which was the first Star Myth analysis to use the format which is used in the new book, in which the myth itself is presented first and then the analysis is presented after you have the chance to think about the celestial correspondences for yourself. Here are the links to "Part One" and "Part Two" of that discussion of the 1,001 Nights.
  • The discussion of the episode in which Ares (Mars) confronts the two giants Otus and Ephialtes, and finds himself unceremoniously shoved into a brazen jug for his efforts. That discussion also mentions the important star Fomalhaut in the Southern Fish, and has a link to a previous post which talks you through some tips on locating Fomalhaut in the sky (this happens to be a good time of year for finding Fomalhaut, but because it is located fairly far to the south on the celestial sphere it is not visible from some of the more northerly latitudes).
  • Some discussion on the importance of Orion. Orion is such an important figure in the Star Myths of the world that his significance has been mentioned in too many posts to link-up here, but this link will take you to some discussion of Orion in conjunction with the vital concept of "raising the Djed column," which is also discussed in other posts here, here and here as well as in videos here and here (among others).
  • The story of Samson, which was really the one that started my journey of seeing that the stories in what we today call the Bible are almost entirely celestial, from first to last. Also, here is a video about the importance of the Samson-cycle, entitled "The Samson Myth is all about YOU."
  • The assertion that the Bible is essentially shamanic in nature.
  • The assertion that all the myths of the ancient world are essentially shamanic in nature.
  • The assertion that human beings appear to be designed to be able to access and make contact with the Invisible World.
  • The incredible work of Dr. Peter Kingsley.
  • The seminal 1969 book Hamlet's Mill, which was one of the first to offer a comprehensive argument that the myths of the world appear to be connected by some kind of ancient celestial system. This kind of argument had been made before, often with regards to specific myths or sets of myth (the Reverend Robert Taylor made an extensive analysis of the celestial foundations of the stories in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible during the early 1800s), but Hamlet's Mill is important for its examination of evidence that all of these celestial references appear to be "fragments of a lost whole" whose origin and purpose is now largely forgotten to history.
  • The discussion in the dialogues of Plato in which the philosopher has Socrates presenting some extremely important perspectives on the right and wrong way to approach the myths and sacred stories.
  • A recent post with details on the dazzling planets Jupiter and Venus in the pre-dawn sky, appearing along with Mars in the region of Leo the Lion and in an early-morning sky that includes some of the biggest and brightest constellations visible from the earth (and yes, Graham was exactly right during the show when he said he thinks he sees Orion off to the south and west in the pre-dawn sky this time of year).
  • Some discussion of what these ancient Star Myths could have been intended to convey, which I believe involves many layers (possibly endless layers) of profound knowledge, but which certainly points towards "raising the Djed column" in ourselves and others, blessing and not cursing, and the knowledge that we have a divine component or a Higher Self and knowledge of how to rectify our internal relationship with our "divine twin."

We wrapped up the discussion with some thoughts on the importance of music as both a pathway to and a sort of "messenger from" the Invisible Realm. For some previous discussions on the incredibly central importance of music, see for example:

and

Once again, it was a pleasure to discuss these important topics -- which concern us all -- with Graham, Darren, and the rest of Grimerica! Thanks for having me!

I truly hope to have another opportunity to return to that unique land in the future (see Grimerica passport, below).

Please support their efforts through their "value-for-value" system, which enables them to keep all of their broadcasts completely open to the world, with no "paid section" and no advertisements or sponsorships that could limit their freedom to discuss any and all topics and to pursue the evidence in whatever direction that it leads!

Here are the links to this episode's page (#142 -- big thank-you to Napoleon for the show-art). To watch as a YouTube video, click here. To download the audio file to listen at your convenience, right-click (or control-click) here and select "save as" or "download." To go back and refresh your memory of my previous trip to Grimerica (show #99 I believe), click here.

original image: Wikimedia commons (link). Modified.

 

A visit to Grimerica

A visit to Grimerica

Big thank you to Grimericans Graham Dunlop and Darren Grimes for inviting me over to "The Igloo" to discuss ancient myth, celestial mechanics, world mysteries, and the shamanic-holographic nature of the universe and human existence (here's a link to the page where you can listen or download -- the guys are doing great work there so please support their "value-for-value" model if and when you are able to do so -- and tell a friend about it).

Welcome to new visitors from the unique land of Grimerica, as well as to all returning friends here to this blog -- really hope you enjoy the conversation Darren and Graham had with me as much as I did.

Below are a series of links to help you find your way to places with more info about some of the subjects we touched on in our chat -- and below that I've added a few more thoughts about the show:

  • Star Myth Index: start here! a list of links to over fifty previous blog posts discussing the evidence for the celestial foundations of different myths from around the world -- including the stories in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
  • "Wax on, wax off" -- how the original Karate Kid movie can help explain why the ancient myths would be constructed according to this system of celestial allegory.
  • "Like a finger, pointing a way to the moon . . . " another discussion of the idea of "the esoteric," this time using a scene from Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.
  • Shamanic Holographic: discussion of some evidence that part of the message these ancient myths were intended to convey to us was that our universe -- and human experience in this incarnate material existence -- is both holographic and shamanic in nature. And, here is discussion of the direct quotation from the very important Lakota holy man Black Elk who said that it is the spirit world "behind this one" that is the real world, and that actually is the source of this one.
  • Shamanic foundation of the world's ancient wisdom: connecting the message of the world's ancient myths to the worldview that is broadly termed "shamanic" in nature, and how this worldview connects to other concepts including journeys to the unseen world.
  • The Old Man and his Daughter: this is the story from a First Nations people living on what is today called Vancouver Island which can be very clearly shown to connect to the outlines of the constellations Virgo and Bootes -- which is an example of the fact that, even if different people around the world group the stars into different constellations, it is also true that they may have myths which very clearly relate to the constellations as they are "grouped" in the system we still use today, and which suggests that there was some kind of worldwide system operating in the ancient past.
  • How many ways are there to contact the hidden realm: evidence from around the world that we may be naturally designed to be able to access the invisible realm (also known by many other names, a useful one being "non-ordinary reality") and that there are almost unlimited ways to actually do it.
  • Mushrooms: a couple posts discussing their importance, and their connection to myth and to the ancient wisdom -- see also "Buddha, Odin, Mushrooms" and "Graham Hancock identifies war on consciousness: TED confirms that he's right." 
  • The Chinese ideogram for "boat" which is composed of the symbols for "vessel," for the number "eight," and for "mouths" (or passengers): eight passengers on a vessel = a boat. This is a link to the website of (and online book by) Dr. Walt Brown, the originator of the hydroplate theory which discusses the overwhelming evidence that our planet has experienced a catastrophic flood in its past.
  • The Eleusinian mysteries: what they were, and why they were so important. And, related to that, the priestess at the Temple at Delphi, who was known as the Pythia, and why she and Delphi are so important (see also the opinion of Plato and Socrates on Delphi). 
  • The Roman emperor who shut down both Eleusis and Delphi, and how he may well be an important clue in the mystery of what happened to this ancient wisdom in a certain part of the world, and how the suppression of the ancient wisdom became official policy in what Graham Hancock and others have described as "the war on consciousness." 
  • The Princess Bride: I almost forgot that we briefly alluded to the beloved Princess Bride film during the show! Here is a link to a discussion of the near-death experience that takes place in the movie (he's only "mostly dead"). This post actually connects to the concept of the "ideology of materialism" which seeks to suppress and marginalize all the evidence pointing to the existence of the non-ordinary realm, including NDEs, other types of out-of-body experiences, shamanic journeying, and even accounts of ghosts and apparitions.
  • Celestial foundations of the Samson story: during the show, we discuss just how important the Samson story was in my own personal journey of discovering that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible were not intended to be understood literally. Also, here's an amateur video I made that discusses some of the celestial aspects of the Samson story, for those who are interested.
  • Celestial foundations of the Odyssey: also mentioned during the show, right at the beginning.
  • Celestial foundations of the Three Kings and Star episode: this is one of the examples Graham wanted to discuss for connections to the motions in the celestial realms. In addition to the discussion linked here, I also made a video discussing the celestial aspects of this well-known Christmas story (the video also discusses the celestial origins of the Adam and Eve story).
  • Celestial aspects of the Epiphany and related traditions: this came up once during our talk, in reference to the fact that this interview was actually recorded on January 06, 2015.
  • Precession = The Key: here's an old video that I made to try to illustrate the concepts of the solstices and equinoxes, the sun's progress through the zodiac throughout the year (which is really caused by the earth's progress), the concept of precession, and how important all of this is to the ancient myths.
  • One degree in 72 years: what that actually means, when people tell you that precession delays the background stars by one degree every seventy-two years (actually it appears to be closer to 71.6 years, but for encoding precession in myth, 72 is much nicer than 71.6). Seventy-two is an important precessional number -- for more on the concept of precessional numbers, see this postthis post,this post, and this post.
  • The "earth-ship metaphor" and the solstices and equinoxes: a post from way back in 2011, which describes the earth as an old sailing ship that is always "pointed in the same direction," even as it circles the sun. Also mentioned in the interview is how the solstice "pause" is kind of like the pause at the top that you see when a surfer is carving down and then back up a wave and then back down: I didn't fully explain what I was trying to say, so here is a post that shows the "surfing" concept and talks about it.
  • Cross-quarter days: those important stations on the solar year located in between the solstices and equinoxes, which are still recognized in celebrations such as Ground Hog Day and most importantly in Halloween and All Soul's Day. Here's another discussion of the importance of cross-quarter days.
  • Leap year: the guys wanted to spend a little time kicking around the concept of leap years -- crazy!
  • Great circles, ancient sites: links to amazing research done by Jim Alison showing that ancient sites around the world are positioned on great circles, which indicates extremely sophisticated ancient knowledge of the size and shape of our spherical earth.
  • Easter Island and currents from the coasts of Canada and South America: why there may be a connection between the place that is today called Canada and the place that is today called Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui -- and the people of Rapa Nui also called it Te-Pito-o-te-Henua or "the Navel of the World"). This post discusses some of the arguments of Thor Heyerdahl, which have largely been rejected by conventional academia but which continue to receive additional support as more evidence comes to light.
  • How the original 1968 Planet of the Apes film demonstrates the importance of ancient history: at least one of the orangutans in that film clearly knew that ancient history was very different than the story the orangutans were putting out to their society -- and how suppressing the truth of ancient history can be a tool for controlling and suppressing others. Here is another discussion of the importance of that 1968 Planet of the Apes film, and yet another.
  • How the violent and criminal genocide inflicted on the peoples of the Americas may be connected to the suppression of ancient history -- and the suppression of the esoteric shamanic and holographic message of the ancient myths and sacred stories -- which has been going on since at least the fourth century AD. See also this post and this post.
  • Additional posts discussing the massacre at Wounded Knee, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and the murder of Tatanka Iyotanke -- Sitting Bull.
  • The celestial foundations of the story of Noah and his three sons: we discussed this story a little bit on the show as well -- I think this one is so important on so many levels.
  • Answers from the land of dreams: how the celestial connections of the story of the three sons of Noah literally "came to me" overnight, without any real effort. Written before I ever heard the Grimerica show with Robert Waggoner, which is an excellent show and very thought-provoking (also seems to fit very well with the shamanic-holographic model of the universe and human experience, which I believe the ancients were trying to convey to us in the celestial system of myth).

During the show, we also briefly mentioned the work of Robert W. Sullivan IV in uncovering the esoteric symbolism present in many Hollywood movies, and I'd like to just state for the record how important I think this kind of research and analysis is, in case I didn't make that clear in the interview. Robert Sullivan demonstrates some terrific connections in his most-recent Grimerica interview -- I especially enjoyed the connection he makes between the name of Luke Skywalker of Star Wars and the sun itself, which is a "Sky Walker" and which gives us lux, or light!

Finally, I also want to say that I personally think that Graham and Darren work really well together in their interviews, and come up with a well-coordinated crossfire of laser-quality questions, each from his own perspective. Everyone should be listening to these podcasts!

One of the most significant and singular aspects of the show is the focus Darren and Graham give to synchronicities, which they have made something of a trademark specialty of Grimerica. The fact that they often discuss synchronicities with their guests has led to the important revelation that many of the visiting researchers, authors, or inventors on their show seem to have been "propelled" or at least assisted in the direction they ended up pursuing by unexpected synchronicities of some sort. 

This is a very important and significant observation, and Graham and Darren deserve credit for bringing it to the forefront and making it a subject of examination. I suspect that such synchronicities are at work, not only in the lives of those who do a lot of research or writing or inventing, but in all of our lives at some point or another -- and by having different guests share their own stories about this phenomenon, it helps us all to realize how common, and how important, synchronicities can be in our lives.

I personally think it also tends to add further support to the idea that this universe, and our human experience in it, is fundamentally shamanic and holographic in nature -- which is just what I believe the ancients were trying to tell us.

-------------

01/25/2014:

here's the YouTube version of the interview, for those who prefer that format (and feel free to share it!):

The Undying Stars on James Tracy's Real Politik and MemoryHoleBlog!

The Undying Stars on James Tracy's Real Politik and MemoryHoleBlog!

Big thanks to Professor James Tracy for all that he does in the examination of what has been pejoratively labeled as "conspiracy theory" by those who oppose the kind of critical analysis demonstrated by "outsiders" such as Sherlock Holmes (or Scooby Doo and the gang) and which is often very much resented by "the authorities" both in mystery stories and in real life.

His website, the Memory Hole Blog, is an essential source for analysis of important events from perspectives that not only are not offered by the conventional media but perspectives that voices in the conventional media often tell us we must not even consider.

When we are told that certain hypotheses or explanations of the evidence are forbidden and may not even be considered as possibilities, we can be certain that critical analysis is not taking place -- and critical analysis is a powerful antidote to what we might broadly term "mind control" (more on the broad use of that term in a moment).

Professor Tracy teaches young men and women the value of good, open-minded analysis in his work as a university professor, and he provides an extremely important platform for alternative hypotheses, overlooked evidence, and critical examination to take place regarding major events which effect all of us.

The evidence that serious criminal deception may be taking place on a massive scale which is presented in many of the essays on his website is extremely compelling -- and it is not surprising given the evidence that I believe can also be seen connecting this pattern of deception to one with very ancient roots.

Recently, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Professor Tracy on his weekly podcast-radio program, Real Politik with James Tracy, recorded on 11/23/2014 and which aired today (video above). You can listen to the recorded conversation by using the player found on the interview page here, and you can also download the audio file (mp3) to listen to it on a mobile device by "right-clicking" or "control-clicking" on the word "Download" on the interview page or in this sentence.

After our conversation, I continued thinking about some of the valuable subjects that he raised with his insightful questioning during the interview, and wrote a series of connected posts on the topic of critical, honest analysis as an antidote to mind control, including "Analysis: Against mind control, for human consciousness," which Professor Tracy was kind enough to post on the Memory Hole Blog website today (here).

The other recent essays related to the same train of thought inspired by that conversation include:

and

Visitors who are new to the general areas covered in my research, especially regarding "astro-theology" or "Star Myths" as well as some of the outlines of ancient history which I believe are extremely important and which tie in to all the issues discussed above may find the following links helpful, most of which relate to specific references that came up during the recent interview:

Also, during the interview, I explained that I am using the term "mind control" very broadly. The term "mind control" can refer to many different ideas, including some very specific techniques which themselves are clearly violations of natural law and human rights, but I am using a very broad definition of mind control here, which might be summarized as follows: "A range of primarily mental rather than physical techniques, often involving deception, illusion, emotion, and ideology employed on a wide scale in order to control large numbers of people, and especially in order to get them to acquiesce to violations of natural universal law perpetrated against themselves or others, support violations of natural universal law perpetrated against themselves or others, or even completely overlook and fail to see violations of natural universal law perpetrated against themselves or others."

I am indebted to the analysis and teaching podcasts of Mark Passio among others for many of the ideas contained in that definition, as well as my own reading of the work of Lysander Spooner on the subject of natural law. For a list of links to previous posts discussing this particular concept, see the links contained in this previous post. For two posts about Lysander Spooner and his work, see for example:

and

For those who wish to check out other interviews in which these and other topics are explored, there is an "Interview Archive" which contains video links as well as a collection of links to the mp3 files for easy downloading (the mp3 links are in the right-hand column of the page on most browsers).

There is also an internal-search window which can be used to search the hundreds of previous posts in this blog for specific key words or search terms, located in the upper-left corner of most desktop-style browsers. Also, please feel encouraged to get in touch with me via any of various possible methods, including the modest Facebook page and Twitter handle (@davidwmathisen) that I maintain.

Finally, it is notable that Professor Tracy has terrific taste in music, and likes to end his interviews with the inimitable strains of "Elephant Talk," by King Crimson (which is all about the power of language, by the way, as well as the mutability and playfulness of language, an incredibly important area for discussion, related to the "creation of reality," touched on in previous posts such as this one). I happen to have bought that album in the 9th or 10th grade of my indenture to the public school system, and I came across it recently while searching for a completely different album (which I didn't find, but that's ok because I wasn't even thinking about King Crimson when I went looking for that other album).

Here it is (for younger readers, that is called an ALBUM!!!):

Hour Two of my interview with Marty Leeds on the Mathemagical Radio Hour

Hour Two of my interview with Marty Leeds on the Mathemagical Radio Hour

I really enjoyed the first part of my conversation with Marty Leeds on his Mathemagical Radio Hour, and we realized that we still had more important topics to discuss, so we continued for a second hour, which has just now been posted at the SyncBook web page as well as on iTunes and YouTube (the first hour of the interview can also be found at that same SyncBook web page, as well as on iTunes, and here on YouTube).

We definitely ventured into some territory during this second hour that has not necessarily been addressed in other previous interviews!

Again, special thanks to Marty for being such a gracious host and for the insightful questions that he asked! As I listen to the second hour, I realize that towards the beginning there, I took some "big, looping detours" in answering some of his questions, but hopefully that won't throw anyone off -- I was trying to give a comprehensive "big picture" here in this second hour, and I hope that it makes sense!  (I also said "Medea" once when I should have said "Circe" in reference to an episode in the Odyssey, but hopefully everyone knew what I meant anyway).

Below are some additional helpful diagrams and links to some posts that may help give a "map" to the paths I was taking as I "ran through the woods" during this second hour, trying to get to all the important "vista points" that might illuminate this enormous ancient formation that we are looking at.

First off, here is the essential "map of the year" -- the zodiac wheel:

This is the way I usually envision it, and this is the layout of the wheel that I was describing during the interview. The equinoxes are each marked by an "X" symbol, signifying the "crossing point" where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator, and where we cross over from the "upper half" of the year (days longer than nights) to the "lower half" (days shorter than nights).

Below is a video I made some time ago to illustrate the mental model of the "solstices and equinoxes in your dining room" that was described in the interview, and which helps explain why we have this zodiac wheel in the first place.

During this interview we discussed:

  • The celestial foundations of the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent, and some of the esoteric teaching that the celestial understanding of this myth might be intended to convey.
  • The teaching that we are in a condition similar to that of stars who have plunged down from the realm of spirit into the realm of matter, and the way that the ancient teachings of the "hidden god" and the concepts of Namaste and Amen remind us of our true condition.
  • The connection of Virgo (who follows Leo across the sky) to the goddesses of ancient mythology who are depicted in association with lions (and see also this post about the Festival of Durga).
  • The example of "wax on, wax off" as a means of imparting karate to Daniel-San in the first Karate Kid movie, and how it relates to the question of "the esoteric," and the related metaphor of Montessori as another good example of the teaching aspect of the esoteric. 
  • The assertion by R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz that I was trying to reference on this subject is found in Esoterism & Symbol, where he says that: "Esoterism has no common measure with deliberate concealment of the truth, that is, with secrecy in the conventional sense of the term. [. . .] The intention of the enlightened, the prophets, and the 'messengers from above' is never to conceal - quite the contrary" (1, 75). This explanation of esoterism by Schwaller is discussed in the second chapter of my book The Undying Stars, and you can actually read the table of contents and the first three chapters online here.
  • The evidence that those who decided to deliberately suppress the esoteric aspect of the ancient scriptures may have done so in order to "keep the karate" all to themselves.
  • The evidence that the ancient esoteric understanding of the myths was deliberately overthrown during the Roman Empire using the twin vehicles of the secret cult of Sol Invictus Mithras and the public religion of literalist Christianity (see also here, here, and here).
  • The evidence (such as that offered by the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library) that the rise of literalist Christianity corresponded to a violent suppression of the esoteric or broadly gnostic understanding and of the teachers and writings that posed a problem for the propagation of the literalistic viewpoint.
  • The undeniable fact that literalist Christianity was forced upon non-Christian Europe at the point of the sword, and the possibility that its centuries-long opposition to the shamanic worldview (which can still be seen to be operating to this day) may be evidence that the actual correct understanding of the Biblical texts is that they themselves are shamanic -- and that literalism was invented in part to hide this important fact (see the link entitled "keep the karate" all to themselves, above).

Please feel free to post up your feedback or questions, either underneath the YouTube video, on Facebook, or on Twitter, and of course to share it with anyone who may find this information to be helpful. Also, you may find this archive of previous interviews to be a handy reference: it also contains links to download the mp3 version (whenever possible), as well as links to other "liner notes" like this blog post, containing links to other material about the topics discussed.

When sharing, however, please be sure to be respectful of the deeply-held personal beliefs of others: this material is not intended to be used to "beat people over the head" but to be of assistance for those who are already looking in this direction. Remember that we're all here in this life trying to figure out the mystery, and forcing our beliefs on others can easily cross the line into violating their individual rights. I believe that each individual is very much a king or a queen of their own realm, and they must be allowed to examine the evidence, and make their own "rulings" within their own proper realm as they see fit -- we have no right to invade the territory of their individual domain and tell them how they must rule in their own minds (but neither does anyone else have the right to do so to us).

At the end of the show, Marty asked a question about how all of this has impacted my own spiritual journey. In my answer, I incorporated some references to the Scarab, Ankh and Djed, and to the very important concept of blessing.

I believe these concepts may actually lie at the very heart of our purpose here in this material realm -- and that we should be actively involved in blessing (rather than cursing) as often as we possibly can. That is to say, in recognizing the divine spark in everyone we meet, and indeed in all of nature around us (including all the animals, plants, and even in the rocks and rivers and ocean waves), and working to bring it out, bring it forth, elevate it (rather than suppressing it, oppressing it, denying it, or brutalizing it).

Blessings!

Namaste

.

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

The Undying Stars on Marty Leeds' Mathemagical Radio Hour!

The Undying Stars on Marty Leeds' Mathemagical Radio Hour!

Recently, it was my great pleasure to have a conversation with philosopher Marty Leeds, whose fascinating exploration of number, symbol, language, and sacred geometry (among other subjects) has led him to some incredible discoveries, which he shares through his writings, his videos, and his interviews.

Welcome to any new visitors who might be dropping by this site for the first time after hearing that conversation -- hope you'll visit often and explore some of the information that you can find here about topics that you may find to be interesting or helpful.

I really enjoyed our conversation, and I hope that you will also. We actually decided to extend the discussion beyond the first hour, so eventually you should be able to hear that as well, perhaps as part of a subscription model on Marty's site, or through a YouTube video or other method.

Even without that additional material, however, we managed to range over a wide spectrum of subjects. Below, I have put together a list of links to places where those interested can explore some of those subjects in greater depth:

  • The "Star Myth Index," which has links to discussions of the celestial foundations of many different sacred stories from around the world, including many from the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament of the Bible.
  • Further discussion of the ancient Greek myth in which the giants Ephialtes and Otus (two sons of Poseidon) imprison the war-god Ares in a brazen cauldron for thirteen months, until Ares is rescued by Hermes.
  • An extended meditation on the vital importance of Hermes, the "trickster god."
  • The "mental model" of the earth-sun model in your dining room
  • Another "mental model" -- which I call the "earth-ship metaphor" -- which helps explain why the angle of light from the sun changes throughout the year. Another post which tries to illustrate this concept can be found here.
  • The reason everyone should use the outline-system suggested by beloved children's author H. A. Rey when looking at the constellations -- and see also this post, which shows how the outlines suggested by Rey (in this case, for the zodiac constellation of Aquarius) can be critical to understanding the celestial foundations of myth -- in this case, in the Old Testament story of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
  • Further discussion of the ancient Greek myth regarding the illicit affair between Aphrodite and Ares and the time they were caught in a net woven by Aphrodite's aggrieved husband, Hephaestos -- mentioned briefly in this interview. 
  • The zodiac wheel, and how it forms the foundation for many mythical concepts, including the shining "upper half" of the wheel and its correspondence to heaven or paradise or a holy mountain, and the gloomy "lower half" of the wheel and its correspondence to hell or sheol or tartarus or hades or the underworld.
  • The zodiac in the human body -- and the related concept of macrocosm-microcosm (see here and here and here for even more!).
  • The teaching that the organs in our human body resonate with and are influenced by specific heavenly bodies.
  • A discussion of the way that different forms of architecture can make us feel very differently -- and the undeniable fact that buildings in which "education" is supposed to take place in the United States often have absolutely hideous architecture, architecture so hideous one cannot help but wonder if a form of "anti-feng-shui" is being deliberately employed.
  • Alvin Boyd Kuhn's exploration of the spiritual symbology surrounding Halloween and All Saints' Day, and the significance of the fact that this important dual-holiday falls forty days after autumnal equinox.
  • The amazing fact that Odin's horse, Sleipnir, has eight legs -- appropriate for the fact that Odin in Norse myth is related to Hermes and Thoth and Mercury in other mythologies, and that the planet Mercury (the swiftest in our solar system) orbits the sun in a mere 88 days! This post contains an extended discussion of the fact that all these Star Myths from around the world may in fact be trying to point us towards a worldview that is shamanic in nature.

It is my opinion that Marty truly embodies the ancient concept of "the philosopher" -- as I think you will agree if you listen to an excellent show he and Greg Carlwood recorded over at The Higherside Chats this past August (and which has been quoted in this previous post). Through his curiosity, analysis, insight, contemplation, and synthesis, he has found compelling evidence that number and language and geometry and symbol were all used by ancient sages to convey profound spiritual truths to humanity. In his interviews and teaching, he explains how important it is to learn from nature, and how the book of nature is the best teacher of philosophy.

The importance of the areas that Marty explores and teaches in his books and videos is attested to by the ancient tradition regarding the sign which was said to have been posted above the entry to the ancient Academy of philosophy founded by Plato, which supposedly read "Let none who is ignorant of geometry enter here."

What is perhaps most interesting is the fact that the deep teachings he finds encoded in the very letters and numbers and words themselves are also the same teachings which I believe can be found in the stories and scriptures and texts and traditions which are in turn made up of those words and numbers! In other words, the symbolism is taking place at the "microcosmic" level inside the words and letters at the same time that it is taking place at the "macrocosmic" level of the myths or stories which are built out of those words and letters! This fact very much parallels the teaching that individual men and women themselves seem to contain and embody and reflect the entire universe -- each person is a microcosm of the infinite macrocosm of the universe.

These metaphors -- whether they be metaphors which are formed in number or in gematria letter-symbolism, or whether they be metaphors which are found in the Star Myth stories that are based on the motions of the heavenly bodies whirling across the infinite reaches of space -- all seem to be "bringing down" the invisible and ethereal world into the physical and material world where we can perhaps "wrestle with them" more easily, and in doing they point us towards that world of spirit, and in a sense "drag our consciousness" back up with them into the invisible realms.

This is a concept I have written about in an essay entitled "Clothing spirit with matter and raising it up again: How metaphor transcends and transforms the material realm." Later, when I began to read Marty's book

Peacock Tales: The Alchemical Writings of Claudia Pavonis (volume one), I was struck by this line towards the beginning of the book: "Like with any creative endeavor, the true goal is to bring the ethereal down to the material and thus lift the corporeal up to the ethereal" (19). Clearly, his book is here articulating the very same concept! 

You can see why I was so excited to have an opportunity to have a conversation with Marty on his show.

Finally, Marty ended this episode with some haunting music by Portland artist Whim. Appropriately enough for the microcosm-macrocosm theme, he chose a song called "Small Infinity," which you can listen to below. To hear more of her music, visit Whim's website here.

<a href="http://whimmusic.bandcamp.com/album/small-infinity-ep">Small Infinity - EP by Whim</a>

Welcome to new visitors from New Dawn magazine! (and to returning friends)

Welcome to new visitors from New Dawn magazine! (and to returning friends)

I'm very excited to be part of the latest installment of New Dawn magazineissue number 147 (November-December 2014). Thanks to editor David Jones and the rest of the staff at New Dawnfor including my article "The Bible, the Myths & the Zodiac Wheel" in this issue.

Special welcome to any new visitors to this site who learned about my research and writing for the first time through this issue of New Dawn. Please feel free to send feedback, ask questions, or otherwise contact me through Twitter or Facebook, and to explore this site using the site-specific search window found in the upper-left corner of the screen on most full-sized browsers.

To learn more about the evidence which supports some of the arguments made in "The Bible, the Myths & the Zodiac Wheel," you may wish to start with the "Star Myth index" that I have put together here, as well as any of the interviews which can be accessed at the "Interview Archive" here. I hope that you will enjoy exploring these topics and hope to see you back here soon!

For readers of this blog who may not be familiar with New Dawn magazine, below is the complete description of the publication and its purpose, found in the "Mission Statement" at the very beginning of the latest issue:

The first issue of New Dawn magazine appeared in May 1991 in Melbourne, Australia. From humble beginnings, New Dawn has grown into a unique 80 page bi-monthly publication distributed nationwide throughout Australia and New Zealand, with a growing international readership.
New Dawn magazine explores ancient wisdom and new thinking while encouraging greater awareness and open-mindedness. Each issue examines the hidden dimensions of society, culture, history, religion and current events in a non-dogmatic manner.
From lost civilisations and ancient knowledge, to secret societies and higher states of consciousness, New Dawn is a fascinating blend of cutting-edge articles on unexplained and behind-the-scenes events.
New Dawn is not about telling you what to believe, but is a forum where diverse ideas and creative thought is presented for our reader's consideration, inspiration and empowerment.
Today all mainstream media outlets propagate the consensus reality. Every child is born into a crowd that is already conditioned, the teachers are conditioned, the neighbours are conditioned, and the whole community is conditioned. Born into such an environment the child cannot envisage any other alternative. Awareness is sacrificed to conformity. Existence becomes a trap, a cog in the wheel of the great machine of modern society. William Blake described that machine as a 'Dark Satanic Mill.' Philip K. Dick identified it as the Empire's 'Black Iron Prison.' "It is possible to get out of a trap," wrote Dr. Wilhelm Reich. "However, in order to break out of prison, one must first confess to living in a prison."
It has been observed that there are two ways of looking at the world. You can take the morning newspaper or nightly news at face value and believe everything you're told by the establishment media and those in 'positions-of-authority.' Or you can begin to question this mass hypnosis and awake to new perspectives and possibilities. New Dawn is a doorway to this new way of thinking and seeing the world.
Since 2004 New Dawn has also published Special Issues devoted to ancient mysteries and the unexplained. These Special Issues, now published every two moths, are a thought-provoking and highly readable examination of the greatest mysteries of the past, the present, and the future.
Thank you for reading New Dawn. We're sure you will find this magazine insightful, enlightening and absolutely unique. 
Enjoy the journey of discovery.

"Art is individualism, and individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating force.

There lies its immense value. For what it seeks to disturb is monotony

of type, slavery of custom, tyranny of habit, and the

reduction of man to the level of a machine."

-- Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), Irish writer & poet

Those who find that mission statement, and the existence of a major publication which devotes itself to such ends, to be commendable might consider supporting New Dawn through the purchase of individual issues in electronic or print format, or through a subscription to either the electronic or print edition. 

They did not ask me to say any such thing, but I personally believe that the existence of forums such as New Dawn in which writers and researchers and readers can explore perspectives which challenge the conditioning of the "Black Iron Prison" are absolutely essential, all the more so because many of the conventional media platforms are now completely dedicated to the "conditioning" described above, rather than to challenging that conditioning. 

As an example of the degree to which challenges to that conditioning are generally deemed unacceptable, even in forums which paint themselves as "a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other," see my post from this past September entitled "Graham Hancock identifies war on consciousness: TED confirms that he's right." Many other such examples could be piled up, one atop another. There truly is a "war on consciousness" in the words of Graham Hancock, and indeed it is a war of ideas and a war of information and a war of language (and, quite often, a war of dogma). 

Publications such as New Dawn which are dedicated to examining "society, culture, history, religion and current events in a non-dogmatic manner" and to "encouraging greater awareness and open-mindedness" with the end result of the individual's "inspiration and empowerment" can almost certainly be counted on the side of "consciousness" in the war that Graham Hancock has identified.

You can purchase electronic editions of past issues going all the way back to 2005 in their back-issue archive here (at a very reasonable price), as well as read some of the articles from those back-issues for free online in the same archive. 

This particular issue revolves around the subject of "mind control" -- an extremely important subject, and one that has been discussed in the pages of this blog many times before. Below is a collection of some of those. I hope that regular readers who may not have heard of New Dawn previously will check it out, and that first-time visitors from New Dawn will enjoy exploring the deep archive of previous posts that are available here, and will come back regularly to check out future posts as they appear!

Mind Control discussions, from the archives: