Topic: Essenes

[Jennifer-]

[Jahn]

Some thoughts:

http://essenes.net/virgin.htm

Let's start with that one - I am sorry but it smell catholic church and their continous devotion to Mother Mary.

"from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life. (Catholic Catechism, p. 128) "

"The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it." And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin." (Catholic Catechism, p. 126) "

"At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church"


One must be aware when people try to sell something. This is close to crap.
What is presented is a object to worship.

According to Don Miguel the father to Jesus was a old man, not the younger Joseph, I cannot recall the details but it was a planned conception. Makes more sense to me.

This "incarnation of god" thing also leaves out the transformation part that evolve human beings. To start as divine is no big idea when talking transformation struggles. So - as I have said some times before, the real heroine among the followers to Jesus was Maria from Magdala, not Virgin Mary.

[Jahn]

This one is better, now we are getting close.

"Thus in Carmel - where there were the priests of this faith - there were the maidens chosen who were dedicated to this purpose, this office, this service...That was the beginning, that was the foundation of what ye term The Church."


"There should not be merely the aggrandizement of an earthly or body passion. Each should give their bodies and there is a necessity for training, even as there was a training in that experience of the twelve girls, in the fitness of their bodies, and of their fathers and mothers. In the present this is called eugenics, which is the preparation for the entrance of souls that make the earth better in material and spiritual ways. For God is not mocked; and whatever ye sow that must ye also reap.

Q.   How were the maidens selected and by whom?
A.   By all those who chose to give those that were perfect in body and in mind for the service...each as a representative of the twelve in the various phases that had been, or that had made up, Israel - or man.

Q.   Please describe the training and preparation of the group of maidens?
A.   Training as to physical exercise, first; training as to mental exercises as related to chastity, purity, love, patience, endurance. All of these by what would be termed by many in the present as persecutions, but as tests for physical and mental strength; and this under the supervision of those that cared for the nourishments by the protection of the food values. These were the manners and the way they were trained, directed, protected.

Q.   "Were they put on a special diet?"
A.   "No wine, no fermented drink ever given. Special foods, yes. These were kept balanced according to that which had been first set by Aran and Ra Ta."
" How long was the preparation in progress before Mary was chosen?
A.   Three years.

Q.   In what manner was she chosen?
A.   As they walked up the steps.

Q.   How old was Mary at the time she was chosen?
A.   Four, and as ye would call, between twelve and thirteen when designated as the one chosen by the angel on the stair. The Temple steps- or those that led to the altar, were called the Temple steps. "

This story makes sense.

[Jahn]

The next link is more of the first.

http://essenes.net/subindexalms.htm

Not so interesting.

[Jahn]

The fourth link is like an excerpt from a dictionary.

The Order of the Nazorean Essenes



"They find it hard to break out of the celibate Christ archetype fostered on the ignorant masses by the Roman correctors of scripture almost two thousand years ago and by their modern sucessors. This unpaired celibate Christ image is a result of the amalgamation of many diverse cults in the early Roman period. True Nazoreans never espoused such a doctrine, knowing that all life is a result of a careful balance of male Ziwa Radiance and female Noohra Light."

The celibate thing with the catholic church was such a mistake. Nothing said about celibate as such but don't make it holy. Luther had his Katherine, an ex nun that got six childs, that is a life.

[Michael]

I have a friend who is a world expert on such matters as the early church etc. I was having dinner with her tonight, so I took the opportunity to ask her about the Essenes and the Gospels.

She said the Gospels of Thomas, Phillip and Judas are now considered as valid sources (she objected to the word valid, but didn't give me a better word). She herself is mot interested in the Gospel of Judas, but she said the Gospel of Thomas is probably the earliest Gospel - ie predates the New Testament. Apparently there are over 50 Gospels.

On the Essenes. The Dead Sea Scrolls are mostly now completed in piecing back together, except for two large earns with pieces too small to work with. The definitive translation is by Florentino García Martínez. She thinks his work may now be on the web.

These scrolls are really the only documents to shine a light on the Essenes, except she said some other Coptic document which is less significant. But she says the information gained from the scrolls is very extensive about their practices etc.

She herself is into the Syrian Christians and esp the Manicheans, who went all the way to India and China. She has just returned from Berlin where she was studying the progress on translating the documents found in those caves in Eastern China where a lot of Buddhist stuff was also found - Germans snatched most of it some time ago and brought it all back to Germany where they are still working on it.

[Jennifer-]

<From Chapter 8>


THE EARTHLY FORCES



The following are the meanings and uses of the earthly forces.

   1.

      The sun is a very important source of energy and its solar power is to be contacted and utilized to the utmost every day in the form that is best for the health and well being of the individual.
   2.

      Water is an essential element of life. It is to be used in the proper way in diet and a bath in water is to be taken every morning throughout the year.
   3.

      Air has a tremendous role in the health of the body and as much time as possible is to be spent outdoors breathing pure fresh air and utilizing the energies of the atmosphere for health.
   4.

      Food is to be of the right kind and taken in the right amount to supply another vital force to the organism.
   5.

      Man was considered to be a force representing each one's right and responsibility toward his own evolution. Each individual is to use every moment to further his progress in life and it is a job which no one can do for him. He is to know, and understand, his own potentialities and find the most practical way of developing and utilizing them in the service of mankind.
   6.

      Earth represents the two aspects of the generative force which creates more abundant life on the planet. The one creates life from the soil, producing the trees and all vegetation. The other manifests in the sexual energies in man. The individual is to understand and utilize the most optimal ways of growing plants and food, and of a harmonious sexual life.
   7.

      Health is dependent upon man's harmonious relationship with all the forces of earth, with the sun, water, air, food, man, earth and joy. The individual is to realize the importance of good health for his own sake and for the sake of others; and he is to practice all ways of improving his health, in thinking, feeling and acting.

    * Joy is man's essential right and he is to perform all his daily activities with a deep feeling of joy surging within him and radiating around him, understanding its great importance for himself and others.

These are the forces of nature which man is to learn to understand and utilize. The following eight powers of the cosmos are even more important in man's life, for he cannot live in complete harmony with the earthly forces unless he is also in harmony with the heavenly powers.

    THE COSMIC FORCES

   1.

      Power is manifested continually through man's actions and deeds, both of which are the result of his cooperation or lack of cooperation with all other powers and forces, in accord with the iron law of cause and effect. The individual is to understand the importance of good deeds; and he is to realize that his personality, position and environment in life are the result of his past deeds, even as his future will be exactly what his present deeds make it. He is therefore to strive at all times to perform good deeds that express harmony with the laws of both nature and the cosmos.
   2.

      Love is expressed in the form of gentle and kind words to others, which affect the individual's own health and happiness as well as that of others. Sincere love toward all beings is to be manifested by harmonious feelings and words.
   3.

      Wisdom is manifested in the form of good thoughts and it is man's privilege and right to increase his knowledge and understanding in every way possible so that he may think only good thoughts. He is to seek to grow in wisdom so as to understand more and more the cosmic order and his own role in it. Only by attaining a degree of wisdom can an individual learn to hold only good thoughts in his consciousness and to refuse to entertain negative, destructive thoughts about any person, place, condition or thing.
   4.

      Preservation of values concerns the power to preserve all that is useful and of true value, whether a tree, plant, house, relationship between people or harmony in any form. When anyone destroys, or lets any good thing go to waste, deteriorate or be damaged, whether material or immaterial, he is cooperating with the negative destructive forces of the world. Every opportunity is to be used to prevent damage to whatever has value.
   5.

      Creation signifies the necessity for man to use his creative powers, since his role on the planet is to continue the work of the Creator. He is therefore to try to do something original and creative, something new and different, as often as he can, whether it is an invention of some kind, a work of art, or anything which will benefit others.
   6.

      Eternal Life concerns man's sincerity with himself and others in all he does and with all those whom he meets. He is to be deeply sincere in analyzing his relationship, his understanding and utilization of all the forces of nature and the cosmos; and he is to make every effort to evaluate himself honestly as he actually is without rationalizing or justifying the things he does or says or thinks.
   7.

      Work is the precondition of many other values. It means the performance of one's daily tasks with care and efficiency. It is an individual's contribution to society and a precondition of happiness for all concerned, for when one person does not perform his work properly, others have to do it. Man is to learn to have a deep feeling of satisfaction in his work so that he may return to society all he receives from it.
   8.

      Peace is to be created and maintained by every individual within and around himself that he may be an instrument in helping to prevent inharmony, enmity and wars, since the condition of the whole of humanity depends upon the condition of its atoms, the individuals who compose it. The individual is to feel deeply the need for this inner peace and to do all he can to establish and maintain it wherever he is.

The person who evaluates himself according to these sixteen elements of life will know clearly wherein his personal development may be improved, and in what ways he can help more fully in the evolution of humanity.

"I have reached the inner vision

and through Thy spirit in me

I have heard Thy wondrous secret.

Through Thy mystic insight

Thou hast caused a spring

Of knowledge to well up within me,

a fountain of power, pouring forth living waters,

a flood of love and Of all-embracing wisdom

like the splendor of eternal Light."

From "The Book of Hymns"
of the Dead Sea scrolls.

[Jennifer-]

 

Thought Id bump it incase anyone wants to poke around with Jahn's recent discussion.

[Jahn]

Thought Id bump it incase anyone wants to poke around with Jahn's recent discussion.

You have a good memory and you are also clever and astute, dear Raven 

[Jahn]

"I have reached the inner vision

and through Thy spirit in me

I have heard Thy wondrous secret.

Through Thy mystic insight

Thou hast caused a spring

Of knowledge to well up within me,

a fountain of power, pouring forth living waters,

a flood of love and Of all-embracing wisdom

like the splendor of eternal Light."

From "The Book of Hymns"
of the Dead Sea scrolls.