Review: Spiritual School of Ascension

oKa said:
No these are not my 'beliefs/noise, stated as fact' Shane .. these are my facts experienced, and become Truth. Workable, usable Truth for Ascension.
So, you have ascended?

Let me share some observations on the subject of "Ascension" extracted from Secret History.

I typed the word “ascension” along with the word “spiritual” into a popular search engine. It returned 115,000 pages for my edification. This led me to ask: Why, at this present moment in history, is so much attention being focused on this subject?

Well, we all know the answer to that question. It is because of the frightening state of the World in which we live.
[...]

Seekers of Spiritual Verity - a large number of whom could be considered “Intelligentsia” - are always aware of these things, and they are asking, “What is the origin of all the misery and suffering? Does it just happen? Do people and only people cause others to suffer? Is it that God is good, but allows bad things to happen?”

“Don’t forget the power of prayer,” we are told by our religious leaders, or “positive thinking,” as the New Age gurus tell us. The only problem is, prayers and positive thinking do not seem to have improved the world very much on the occasions when it is certain that nearly every human being was praying for a certain outcome.
Jesus promised: “If any two of you shall agree and ask... it shall be done.” (Matt 18:19) That’s a promise. What do you want or need? Just ask!

But it doesn’t work and we see it!

Over sixty million people died because God didn’t do what everybody thought he should do. C.S. Lewis struggled with this issue in the latter part of his life. He saw clearly that, before World War II, practically every human being on the planet was praying—to Jesus, God the Father, the Virgin Mary, Allah, Buddha and whoever else you can name or mention, so all the bases were covered—that this terrible thing would not happen. The memory of the previous “Great War” was still fresh in the mind of mankind. They remembered the horrible carnage and vowed, never again!

In the end, after the mightiest cry of prayer in human memory, rising from the earth, almost one-third of the world was uninhabitable and sixty-five million human beings were dead. Are we to think that this was God’s answer to prayer? It certainly doesn’t give us much hope for the “power of positive thinking.”

Think about it.

Throughout history we find one group praying to their god to protect them from the depredations of another group. The other group is praying just as fervently that their depredations will be successful. When one group succeeds in killing another, is that proof that its god is supreme? What then happens if the members of the successful group are then reincarnated into the group that was defeated? This is not a rhetorical question since a very interesting book was written about the great numbers of Jews who died in the holocaust now being reincarnated as Christians. There has also been some suggestion that many Nazis are now being reincarnated as Jews. What then, does such an idea do to the concept of “my god is the only right one?” [...]

I can assure the reader from my own experience as a hypnotherapist, that every single case I have worked with in terms of “past life therapy,” has demonstrated a “string” of “past lives” in such variety of nationality and religious orientation, that it literally makes a joke of anyone stating with absolute certainty, that their beliefs or religious orientation now, are the only right ones. It is evident that those who declaim against another group most vehemently will most certainly find themselves a member of that very group in the next “round” of incarnation.
This begs the question of why people cannot remember the previous lessons in past lives; why the wisdom of the soul is not available to the person. If humans have souls or spirits, why is the knowledge of past karmic cycles not part of a person’s wisdom? The answer to that question is, of course, part of the Quest for Ascension - to reclaim that knowledge, among other things.

The questions about how our beliefs may shape our reality are among the most significant in all of consciousness research. And so it is that many seekers step outside of the “standard religions” and begin to seek the “truth” of the ways and means of Ascension.

As noted, “Ascension” is discussed widely in books, articles, on the Internet, in classes and workshops, and other media. The general trend of ideas expressed includes the search for the “one thing that will transform your life.” Various “techniques” are advertised which promise to provide stress relief and even the “key to the highest levels of human consciousness.” The shopper in the market of ascension “tools” is told that they can now make a choice to “swiftly and easily free the nervous system from stress, enjoy maximum creativity, clarity and health, experience inner peace, fulfillment and joy,” and of course, change one’s self-limiting beliefs.

Another perspective on “ascension” tells us that ascension is “the way to integrate all portions of your self in a conscious way.” The seeker is told that he or she is a “multi-dimensional being who seeded portions of itself into the physical reality” and that fully “remembering who you are” is the act of integration and the “removal of the veil of time, identities and separateness in yourself.” What, precisely, the result will be—other than being “healthy, wealthy and wise”—is not clear.

As we read further in the available literature, we discover other ideas. One “expert” on the subject tells us that this thing called “ascensions” was only achieved in the past upon dying, and that now people can do it and take their physical body with them. He suggests that spirituality is so advanced in the present age that souls can graduate more quickly. It is as though he is suggesting a “grading curve” has been instituted so that the requirements are lessened. Either that, or he hasn’t been paying much attention to what is going on “out there.”
The evidence of “advanced spirituality“ in our world is severely lacking in spite of the New Age claims that “light workers“ can “help bring forth the ascension for the masses before physical death, before totally wearing out the physical body in resistance to evolution. Much more energy can be expended on the positive and much less wasted on the negative.”

Again, we note that objective reality does not support such a claim. If anything, since the inception of the New Age “movement,” if it can be so called, things have gotten a lot worse.

This leads to another point: it seems that we must accept the objective fact that attempts to change the world spiritually, or to regulate large scale events, simply do not work. Yes, there does seem to be evidence that individuals or small groups of individuals can make small changes or produce effects with a limited range of influence. But for some reason, the world as it is, seems to operate based on rules or laws that we do not understand. The fundamental nature of the physical world seems to be antithetical to this “spiritualization.”
One recent work that attempts to provide a scientific explanation for this ability to influence the world, Conscious Acts of Creation, tells us:

This book marks a sharp dividing line between old ways of scientific thought and old experimental protocols, wherein human qualities of consciousness, intention, emotion, mind and spirit cannot significantly affect physical reality, and a new paradigm wherein they can robustly do so!
The book, written by three mainstream scientists, goes on to tell us that:

…utilizing a unique experimental protocol on both inanimate and animate systems, that the human quality of focused intention can be made to act as a true thermodynamic potential and strongly influence experimental measurements for a variety of specific target experiments.
After almost 400 pages of math and speculation and descriptions of experiments we are told:

Under some conditions, it is indeed possible to attach an aspect of human consciousness, a specific intention, to a simple electrical device and have that device, when activated, robustly influence an experiment conducted in its vicinity in complete accord with the attached intention. Thus, if they do it right, humans can influence their environment via specific, sustained intentions. […] Some new field appears to be involved in the information passage that occurs between conditioned locales that are widely separated from each other in physical space. Even with transmitters and receivers located inside electrically grounded Faraday cages, highly correlated patterns of information appeared in the remotely located locales.[…] Although we don’t fully understand them, we now have some new tools with which to probe the deeper structures of the universe and a new adventure is underway for humanity.
It is important to note that the “intenders” of the experiments were long-time practitioners of Siddha Yoga and could thus be considered metaphysically “in tune” to some considerable extent. The question is: What did they accomplish? Based on the descriptions, it sounds pretty earth shaking, right? Well, as noted, after almost 400 pages we find that the most significant result seems to have been changing the pH of a small sample of water.

Yup. That’s it.

Nevertheless, this is important for the simple reason that they managed to scientifically demonstrate a principle, even if the overall result was that it was - most often - an iffy proposition and there didn’t seem to be a lot of control. Most results were “statistical“ and this has always been a problem with the “create your own reality“ idea. When all the data is examined, what we generally find is that it is six of one, half dozen of the other. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. What the real rules are, nobody seems to know.

While we all might like to think we can transform our world by praying and/or thinking positively, we must remember that there is a great deal of evidence that real transformations of the planet have repeatedly been cataclysmic. A philosophy, which ignores this fact, is courting disaster.

And so we have a clue that the problem may not be as easily solved as the many promoters of the different “methods or techniques of Ascension“ would have us believe. [...]

As I noted, the subject of Ascension seems to be the number one topic of the New Age and Human Potential movement. If, as we suspect, the New Age and Human Potential movement is the product of COINTELPRO, that means that targeting the correct understanding of, and process of, Ascension is their major goal. Does that mean that such a potential does not exist at all? No. The concepts of Ascension have been with us a long time, as we will examine further on. What is different in the present day promotions is the process that is being promoted. Based on an assessment of the potentials of Ascension, it is obvious that the reason it is such a popular subject is that it is one of the main things that COINTELPRO is designed to obstruct and prevent. [...]

In order to understand the growth of the “Ascension Industry,” we need to look at a close parallel: general culture. Among the observers of the American socio-cultural scene, there are many experts who tell us that there has been a deliberate effort for over 100 years, to “dumb down” the American population both in terms of intellect as well as ethics. This subject is too vast to be covered in detail here and will be dealt with fully in a future volume. For now, let us just point out that the same process that has been used to dumb down the population in social and intellectual terms has been used to dumb us down in terms of philosophy, metaphysics and spiritual awareness. We might observe that it is hardly likely that the effort would be expended on mind control of the masses for the purposes of external controls, without a parallel program being instituted to pervert the spirit and bring it under domination also.

While everyone will readily admit that there is probably too much violence on television and that the ads are revoltingly juvenile, very few people have a real conception of the precise nature and extent of the hypnotic influence of the media. Still fewer have any idea of the purposes behind this inducement. Wallace and Wallechinsky write in The People’s Almanac:

After World War II, television flourished... Psychologists and sociologists were brought in to study human nature in relation to selling; in other words, to figure out how to manipulate people without their feeling manipulated. Dr. Ernest Dichter, President of the Institute for Motivational Research made a statement in 1941... ‘the successful ad agency manipulates human motivations and desires and develops a need for goods with which the public has at one time been unfamiliar -- perhaps even undesirous of purchasing.’
Discussing the influence of television, Daniel Boorstin wrote:

“Here at last is a supermarket of surrogate experience. Successful programming offers entertainment - under the guise of instruction; instruction - under the guise of entertainment; political persuasion - with the appeal of advertising; and advertising - with the appeal of drama.”

[…] programmed television serves not only to spread acquiescence and conformity, but it represents a deliberate industry approach.”
Allen Funt, host of a popular television show, Candid Camera, was once asked what was the most disturbing thing he had learned about people in his years of dealing with them through the media. His response was chilling in its ramifications:

“The worst thing, and I see it over and over, is how easily people can be led by any kind of authority figure, or even the most minimal kinds of authority. A well-dressed man walks up the down escalator and most people will turn around and try desperately to go up also... We put up a sign on the road, ‘Delaware Closed Today’. Motorists didn’t even question it. Instead they asked: ‘Is Jersey open?’”
Submission to minimal signs of authority; lack of knowledge and awareness; and a desire for a quick fix and an easy way out. Paraphrasing Daniel Boorstin: “For seekers of Ascension, here at last is a supermarket of surrogate experience. Successful [ascension philosophies] offer entertainment - under the guise of instruction; instruction - under the guise of entertainment; [metaphysical] persuasion - with the appeal of advertising; and advertising - with the appeal of [Cosmic Drama].”

When we consider the information about mind programming and its potentials compiled in Dolan’s book, UFOs and the National Security State, and how it has probably been used on the masses of humanity, we must also consider, as a logical step, that the major and most popular components of the New Age alternative approach to interpreting reality and seeking spiritual advancement, have also been produced by this same process in the context of electronic COINTELPRO.

What seems to be so is that most of the New Age and Human Potential movement consists of a new sub-set of programmers that work to “prepare the ground,” so to speak, so that the audience will be warmed up and ready for the final drama. They are the “sales team” that sells the ideas upon which the “closer” depends for success. They are here, now, in our world running New Age Circuses, seminars, workshops and “methods” or techniques for “ascension,” or accomplishing any of a dozen occult or purported spiritual aims. They are the New Age COINTELPRO in its function of creating “bogus organizations.” [...]

In the present day, there are all sorts of “mystical” groups and organizations that claim to be the recipients of ancient knowledge, what is commonly called “occultism,” or the “esoteric,” or magical practices. There is a plethora of books that purport to be scientific, but which totally reject mainstream science in any context. Subjects such as sacred geometry, archaeoastronomy, and new physics have all become subjects of fevered study in order to discern the “occult significance” of the works of the ancients. And, invariably, it is done in strictly ritual terms, positing that all of the abilities of the ancients were accomplished strictly by magical rites or rituals - controlling what is “up there” by rituals “down here.”

Occultists claim that the mental and spiritual powers of the ancients were what we have lost. They then assert that this ancient wisdom was broken up and obscured in magical doctrines, which those who are not “initiated” simply cannot grasp. They claim that parts of it have been handed down by continuous tradition, and released to the world at opportune times, and other parts have only been released to an elect few, of which exalted company, they, of course, are obviously members.

When considering such ideas, we do come to the thought that it is very likely that there are rites or stories or myths behind the rituals that may, indeed, have been passed down in such secret groups in a more pure form than the stories that make their way around the globe across millennia. But that does not mean that the “priesthood” of such groups truly understands the stories or rites of which they are guardians—especially if they do not consider the possibility that such information may be scientific codes and require a trained scientist to decode them.

Most of the so-called “occultists” and “sacred geometers” remind me of David Macaulay’s Motel Of Mysteries, a humorous account of an archaeological excavation of a twentieth century motel, in which everything is meticulously excavated, recorded and then totally misinterpreted. The “vast funerary” complex unearthed by Howard Carson contains wonders such as the “Great Altar” (Television), a statue of the deity WATT (bedside lamp) and the Internal Component Enclosure (or ICE box).

There are other promulgators of the occult who seem to be part of the very Control System we have described above and who seem to have extremely dangerous proclivities, as we will discuss further on.

In terms of archaeology, there are processes involved in the formation of the archaeological record. A lack of understanding of these formation processes is not always confined to the non-professionals. It has only relatively recently been suggested that the archaeology of a site is not a direct record of what went on there, but instead may have been distorted by a whole series of processes.

We are suggesting that the same may be true regarding myths and legends and religious rites. They are a sort of archaeological record of the history of mankind held in archetypal terms, buried in stories, distorted by a whole series of processes.

Even if some of the purported ancient schools and mystical paths have kept some of this information intact, or in a purer state, it still seems that much has “faded on the page” due to the long period of time since such things were part of the external reality. But still, there are those who have seen the contradictions in our reality and our beliefs and who have sought in these ancient teachings to discover what might have been known. Many of them have made discoveries that, when considered with information from many other fields, assists us in this essential discovery of our true condition and purpose.

The question naturally arises, what does the history of our subject - Ascension as Ancient Science - have to tell us about what may or may not “really work?” Can we examine it; can we track it and discover not only the obstacles to the process, but also the real benefits that might accrue to the Seeker? Can we track and discover the apparent abilities that are the signs of accomplishment of the successful Quest?

In short, what is the real Philosophers Stone? What can the Hero really accomplish when he finds the Holy Grail?
 
oka said:
Allow me to put my ascending experience in this way.
So, how's the weather up there? Interesting that you still have an internet connection, considering you've ascended and all. :rolleyes:
 
oKa said:
Allow me to put my ascending experience in this way.
If you have ascended, then what are you doing coming back here?

oKa said:
I first learnt that it is the upper dimensions that know the Universal Truths.
There are countless number of dimensions in each Density. So, how do you know for sure if this "upper dimensions" you've been to has all the answers?


oKa said:
These are the message of fluff and deceit - 'there is nothing to do' ..'you are already it' BS. So people do nothing, change nothing.
You're right about that. You're basically "a dream in the past" if you do nothing.

oKa said:
Tools are used, many tools not just one or two, and they are all used in conjunction with each other - and the dream, lucid dreaming are very integral tools for the ascending initiate to use.
With a strong point, I echo what Shane have said above. Dreams can be helpful, but not the only means to use. We cannot and will not have the "answers" handed to us either in dreams or in life. Effort is important for us here to do the Work.

oKa said:
Every sincere action and EFFORT to commune and collaborate is rewarded .. experience is the clincher.
Above sounds like "you will be rewarded" if you do this or that. Personally, I don't care about rewards. I care about Doing. It is my impression that you have not read Gurdjieff and other readings here.


oKa said:
No these are not my 'beliefs/noise, stated as fact' Shane .. these are my facts experienced, and become Truth. Workable, usable Truth for Ascension.
If you have ascended and if you have known the Truth, you would not come back here in this reality unless someone asked for your "knowledge" and "truth."

If you have ascended, then I would have to say that you ascended to a subjective dimension.
 
anart said:
oka said:
Allow me to put my ascending experience in this way.
So, how's the weather up there? Interesting that you still have an internet connection, considering you've ascended and all. :rolleyes:
In a book called "A Fire Upon the Deep" those that live in the transcend (ascended consciousness) manage to do this. So it must be possible!


:D :D :D
 
Hi oka -- Thanks for your comments. They're very interesting. My concern is that you wrote, "We now know of these (because Terra and our Nature guides tell us so, through the dream )." But, is that knowing? It's being told, for sure. I definitely agree that growth is all about acquiring true knowledge, but I'm not sure what being told or given beliefs amounts to, other than reliance or dependence. A justified belief or a personal, reasoned hypothesis is the next best thing, I'd guess. So, I'm curious about whether you consider what you're told to be knowledge, or really just belief justified by credibility of the source. And how was credibility of the source assessed? Hope you can help with these inquiries. Thanks!
 
AdPop said:
Hi oka -- Thanks for your comments. They're very interesting. My concern is that you wrote, "We now know of these (because Terra and our Nature guides tell us so, through the dream )." But, is that knowing? It's being told, for sure. I definitely agree that growth is all about acquiring true knowledge, but I'm not sure what being told or given beliefs amounts to, other than reliance or dependence. A justified belief or a personal, reasoned hypothesis is the next best thing, I'd guess. So, I'm curious about whether you consider what you're told to be knowledge, or really just belief justified by credibility of the source. And how was credibility of the source assessed? Hope you can help with these inquiries. Thanks!
One piece of "advice" the C's have mentioned, which, seems to apply to this discussion, is: "knowledge" given out like halloween candy (or, recieved (being told by Terra and Nature guides etc..)) will rot your "teeth" - which, it seems to me, is saying -- the "mechanism" used at the beginning of the "digestion" process becomes unable to fulfill its proper function - which is the "preparation of the food" to be assimilated. In terms of the process of acquiring knowledge - the mind is the "chewing" mechanism, or the "preparation of the food" - arks "thinking with a hammer".

Also, "Terra and our Nature guides" are "external", even if it is internalized in the "dreamstate". Putting faith in something external is silly - potentially, probably, self-defeating. Applying that faith instead to one's ability to discover - or, learn - is self empowering.

Just a couple of pennies

Kris
 
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