by Nanice Ellis

Often our religious beliefs are handed down to us by family and culture, and by the time we are old enough to consciously choose, it’s too late because we are already brainwashed with pre-ordained beliefs that seem to be set in stone.

Ideally, the true purpose of any religion should be to facilitate a direct connection with the “Divine,” and to support spiritual awakening.

Unfortunately, few, if any religions, fulfill this purpose. If they did, many more of us would be awake by now, or at least intimately connected to the Source of who we really are. Even with the prevalence of “new age” spiritual practices today, few of us have attained full spiritual awakening and direct Divine connection.

What’s wrong with this picture…? (more…)

By Andrew Tomas

Introduction

A different theme demands an unconventional approach in the method of research, hence our choice of the aphorism of Pythagoras, ‘walk in unfrequented paths’. A new idea, no matter how unusual, must be a contribution to the already accumulated pool of knowledge. It must be validated by fact so as not to remain for ever in the realm of pure speculation, and also have some pragmatic value, otherwise it would be useless.

During Krishna’s times the pundit Narada warned about the danger of a hasty condemnation of fresh thoughts: ‘Never utter these words – I do not know this, therefore it is false – one must study to know, know to understand, understand to judge.’ The intolerance amidst which modern science was born can serve as an example of the fallacy of rejecting novel concepts and untried methods.

In an atmosphere of narrow-mindedness and persecution during Cromwell’s reign, progressive scholars of England founded the Invisible College which has eventually become the highest scientific institution of the kingdom, the Royal Society. Hardly anything is known of the activities of another ‘invisible’ scientific and philosophic society which pursues its studies in the majestic isolation of the Himalayas. These savants possess the answers to the most abstruse questions of science. (more…)

Draft Shows How Religious Narratives Progressed Through Revisions

By Jay Greenberg

The Draft of the Bible Includes Notes And Commentary

An early draft of the Bible has been discovered at the University of Cambridge in the UK that has been marked as one of the most significant discoveries in modern history.

The handwritten draft was found after it had been mislabeled inside an archive and had gone undetected for decades.

The book has been confirmed by leading experts as an early working of The King James Bible which is one of the most influential and widely read books in the English language.

The discovery has been hailed as definitive proof that Bible is a work of fiction as it shows a process of revising, cutting, and then more rewriting, which contradicts popular belief that the book is the “divine word of God”. (more…)

By April Holloway

Shambhala, which is a Sanskrit word meaning “place of peace” or “place of silence”, is a mythical paradise spoken of in ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra and the ancient scriptures of the Zhang Zhung culture which predated Tibetan Buddhism in western Tibet. According to legend, it is a land where only the pure of heart can live, a place where love and wisdom reigns and where people are immune to suffering, want or old age.

Shambhala is said to be the land of a thousand names. It has been called the Forbidden Land, the Land of White Waters, Land of Radiant Spirits, Land of Living Fire, Land of the Living Gods and Land of Wonders. The Hindus call it Aryavartha (The Land of the Worthy Ones); the Chinese know it as Hsi Tien, the Western Paradise of Hsi Wang Mu; and to the Russian Old Believers, it is known as Belovoyde. But throughout Asia, it is best known by its Sanskrit name, Shambhala, Shamballa, or Shangri-la. (more…)

by Paramhansa Yogananda

A proud prince and his large retinue galloped into a Hindustan jungle on a hunting expedition. After bagging many game birds and animals, the prince and his party lost their way in the jungle. They had food but no water, and though they searched frantically, they found no water.

As the danger-filled tropical night approached, the prince and his retinue rode even faster, now seeking shelter. Just as the sun was silently fading away, they came upon a crumbling, old cottage. The prince dismounted, pushed open the unlatched door, and went in. The cottage was dark except for a faint glimmer of sunlight coming through a hole in the roof.

Looking around, the prince saw the hole in the roof and despaired at the thought the cottage was deserted. He was about to leave when he decided to call aloud: “Hello, anybody here?” To his surprise, a calm, firm, peaceful voice replied: “I am here. Do you want water?” The prince was astounded that this person knew his thoughts even before meeting him. (more…)

by Paramhansa Yogananda

To seek happiness outside ourselves is like trying to lasso a cloud. Happiness is not a thing: It is a state of mind. It must be lived. Neither worldly power nor moneymaking schemes can ever capture happiness. Mental restlessness results from an outward focus of awareness. Restlessness itself guarantees that happiness will remain elusive. Temporal power and money are not states of mind. Once obtained, they only dilute a person’s happiness. Certainly they cannot enhance it.

The more widely we scatter our energies, the less power we have left to direct toward any specific undertaking. Octopus habits of worry and nervousness rise from ocean depths in the subconscious, fling tentacles around our minds, and crush to death all that we once knew of inner peace.

True happiness is never to be found outside the Self. Those who seek it there are as if chasing rainbows among the clouds!

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Vistas of Infinity by Jurgen Ziewe deals with the reality of our life after death, not spirit communication, but actual visits with all sensory perception intact using out-of-body travel. The author spent over forty years refining his OBE skills via a lifelong practice of deep meditation. He projects his consciousness into parallel dimensions and non-physical reality systems whilst retaining full waking awareness throughout. He probes into the infinite vistas of human consciousness and brings back detailed accounts of his journeys and observations.

The reports gathered followed a strict research protocol, where the author interviewed dead people and visited the higher dimensional realities, from the darkest places to the most illuminated regions of cosmic consciousness and realms which are traditionally referred to as ‘Heaven’.

These are lively, first-hand accounts providing a narrative which is destined to revolutionize old concepts and perspectives. ~ review by lulu.com (more…)

by Acharya S/D.M. Murdock

The reproaching cry of heretic, infidel, atheist, etc., will be raised against the author of these lectures, by every fiery intolerant bigot into whose hand they may fall. But he alone is the true infidel who forsakes the laws of his nature, and gives up his mind to a belief in fabulous and demoralizing legends, which contradict all experience, and stand in opposition to the testimony of his own sense and reason.” – Christian Mythology Unveiled, 1842

While the Western world begins its new millennium, little has changed in terms of religious understanding, and the world in general continues to be divided largely along the lines of faith. The proselytizers, proponents and propagandists of these various faiths persist in fighting over bodies and souls, in an endless religious tug-of-war that has ruined culture, wrecked minds and wreaked havoc. It also invades privacy and stomps all over individual rights. Religion is motivated by fear and insecurity: People want to believe, in God, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha—something, anything, so as not to feel so alone, helpless and forgotten.

Life is a cruel, sadistic torment in countless places around the globe. This fact should create more questions than it does about whether or not there is any good god in charge of everything and whether or not religion has any value in the first place. Yet, in the face of tragedy, rationality and logic fail to win out over powerlessness that desperately needs to believe in the Other, somewhere “out there.” What this insight reveals is that God is a popular concept not because people have reasoned it through and proved it true, but because humans are terrified of the opposite notion: If God is not, all is for naught. (more…)

A brilliant young man, he was appointed professor at the University of Basel at age 24 having not even finished his degree. His evanescent philosophical life ended 20 years later when he went insane and died shortly afterwards.

Nietzsche’s argued that the Christian system of faith and worship was not only incorrect, but harmful to society because it allowed the weak to rule the strong – it suppressed the will to power which was the driving force of human character. Nietzsche wanted people to throw off the shackles of our misguided Christian morality and become supermen – free and titanic.

However, without God he felt that the future of man might spiral into a society of nihilism, devoid of any meaning; his aim was for man to realize the lack of divine purpose and create his own values. The core of Nietzsche’s work, including Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-92), Beyond Good and Evil (1886), The Birth of Tragedy (1872) was to find a meaning and morality in the absence of God. (Excerpt from bbc.co.uk) (more…)

Compiled by S.E. Mar, Director of the Department of Interplanetary Affairs, January Through May 1972 and year 1990

CANADIAN SCIENTISTS CONTACT VENUS

Government Project: In January 1972, the Department of Interplanetary Affairs was created, to research into the scientific investigation of UFOs and attempt to contact UFO occupants if possible. Extensive files on reports of UFO landings, sightings, and contacts in Hawaii were soon accumulated, and it was discovered that many UFO researchers desired our reports. We began to trade data, and were amazed when former officials of secret government and military intelligence agencies came to our office, and offered to trade us what THEY KNEW for what we knew. The information was often classified TOP SECRET and beyond, they admitted government and military UFO secrecy, and much of the information alarmed us then! Regardless of whether they came from NASA, were government commissioned civilian scientists, military pilots of intelligence agents, or from the United Nations, THEY ALL TOLD THE SAME SHOCKING DETAILS.

There were no contradictions in these reports of alien bases on Earth, other planets, crashed retrieved saucers with bodies, and secret alien government contacts. And most of these informers, who wished to remain anonymous due to threats of assassination, fines, court marshals, or mysterious disappearance warned that we could get in big trouble for publicly releasing what they told us! In the early 1950s, the Canadian Government established PROJECT MAGNET to investigate UFOs. The director of that project, Wilburt B. Smith, publicly wrote that a top U.S. Pentagon official said that UFOs was the biggest secret they had, even greater than the H BOMB (the ultimate weapon then). We were able to obtain a copy of Wilburt B. Smith’s research on Project Magnet. This research was so startling he could possibly have been assassinated for releasing it, so it was not available to us until he died. PROJECT MAGNET has been able to work with Canadian scientists who had continued working on inventions of Nikola Tesla, one of the most prominent scientists in history. Tesla, who invented the AC/DC electrical current, helped invent radar and much military technology, was the holder of hundreds of successful patented inventions. (more…)