Book One, Chapter One

Table of Content

Book One:

The Great Reflection

1. Introduction

2. Images

3. God With Man

4. Patterns and Shadows

5. The Classic Pattern:

Fiery Serpents

6. The Two-Sided Existence

7. Mirror Image

8. Facing the Mirror

9. Through the Interface

10. Elusive Reality

11. USMs: Universal Spiritual Mechanics

Laws and Theories

12. Rhyme and Reason

Book Two:

The Spiritual / Corporeal Handshake

1. Dualities

2. Following Suit

3. Actions Initiated From the Other Side

4. Does the Spiritual Require the Corporeal?

5. Ups and Downs

6. More Toward the Spirit

7. Working the Lines

8. Man / Son of Man

Part One

Book Three:

The Upper Room

1. Man / Son of Man

Part Two

2. Man / Son of Man

Part Three

3. Ingestion

4. The Holy Ghost

5. Holy Communication

6. Spirit and Truth:

a Two-Sided Coin

7. Man and God:

a Two-Sided Coin

8. The Power of the Mind

9. A New Focus

Book Four

What Exactly is Spiritual?

1. The Effort to See

2. Our New Mind

3. Crook’d Staff in Hand

4. Am I a Rock, Am I an Island?

(Are your thoughts really your own?)

5. What Exactly is Spiritual?

6. Perception

7. Practicing the God-Mind

8. Mapping Out Your New Mind

9. The Purpose of the New Mind

10. Every Man is a Letter

11. Realization

12. Embracing Spirituality

13. Discerning Spirits

14. Heart and Mind

15. Discerning Evil Spirits

16. Levels and Types

Emotional Levels

Lost Levels

Social Levels

Aggregate Levels

The Mindful Type

The Spiritual Archetype

Three Bonus Studies

Book One

The Great Reflection

INTRODUCTION

I am entering a study that chases shadows; that pursues phantoms. It will be a study that will

stalk secrets and clutch clues. I will conclude with a greater understanding of the relationship

between what is corporeal and what is spiritual. I will look at the interface between the two; a

looking glass not unlike Alice’s, where secret transactions occur, and the stirrings of enlightenment

are broadcast.

We are familiar with the concept that the earthly temple is a reflection of the Heavenly, a

shadow of things to be. This study, then, will deal with ‘mirror images’; and of all reflections, I will

begin with man, for man was created in the ‘likeness’ or ‘mirror image’ of his creator; and while the

flesh may be a secondary issue, we may see that, of our nature, we have inherited certain family

traits. If we, then, derive what we call human nature from God, it should be no surprise that God

displays some of those same traits.

Micah 1:8 gives us an image of God in His own words, “Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.”

We, as a race, struggle with our search for a concept of God. It is a real issue for us because

we ‘feel’ connected, but are hardly sure how. Accordingly, many cling to a fragmented concept: the

group on the right will say God is love; the group on the left will say God is a man of war - both

concepts are scripturally based. Both, however, are examples of people seeking a single, simple

answer. I might be jumping ahead of myself, to introduce the meat of the word of God to those not

yet weaned from the milk, but quite frankly, a stronger constitution is needful to bear up under the

weight of the ‘bigger picture’.

Isaiah 45:7 gives us that bigger picture thusly, “I form the light, and create darkness: I

make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”

This may not sit well with those who believe that God ‘cannot’ look upon evil. It may not

sit well with those who believe that God ‘cannot’ lie. As for me, I think it wise not to place

limitations on God. He can do whatever He wants to do. He’s God. I don’t have a problem with that

concept of God; to me, He is still Holy and Reverend. The point I wish to stress in regard to Isaiah

45:7 is that if we are made in the likeness of God, we should not whitewash His or our nature. I think

we must simply trust that He has a plan. Some people, and not a few, get caught up in that whole

‘how can God allow bad things to happen to good people’ thing.

Hosea 6:1-3 gives us a better mental approach to the issue, “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

An interesting note about this particular verse is its reference to ‘cyclic’ occurrences such as

rain, such as the rising sun. The word ‘prepared’ is significant, as will be seen later. Note, too, that

the ‘cyclic’ reference is but a small part of a larger reference, or ‘a shadow’: and that is our salvation

in Christ through His resurrection - He being lifted, or raised up, draws all men up with Him. It bears

repeating that this study will deal with shadows and reflections. If you are desirous of truth, as am

I, then what we want out of all this is an understanding. We just want to know. By and by, we will

know, that is if we do not trip ourselves up on old preconceptions. It would not do if our best

reasoning only led us back to incomplete first thoughts.

If God’s word is, as the scripture states and I believe, a treasure chest containing both old and new treasure, should we ignore the new? Take for example the concept bodied forth in Isaiah 43:10. As concepts go, this will seem foreign to many staunch advocates of God’s God-ness. So many times have I heard from them that God has no beginning and no end, even though they will completely accept that Christ is the Alpha and Omega (beginning and end).

Here is what Isaiah 43:10 says: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me.”

And here is my paraphrased version of that verse: “You are My witness and My chosen servant, says God, that you may both know and believe that I am actually God. There was no god formed before Me, and there shall be no god formed after Me.”

If we truly believe the verity of God’s written word, then what we see here is God, Himself,

indicating how He came into being: by some process (here unstated) of formation or realization. In all of our experience, the process of formation requires an external power or agency to form the thing that is formed. In the absence of another power, God was the agency that formed himself.

In a closed loop of serial recurrences, the Trinity may be the diagram of that process.

So then, what of man: that we are formed in His image? Is not a reflection an image of something

that we believe to be real? If we look into a mirror, our reflection reenacts our every posture, and the

image appears just as real.

A Heads-up

Just a thankful heads-up to anyone who takes the time to read what I write. I have decided to return to my roots, so to speak. I plan to edit my first book, "The Great Reflection", and post it as a blog, chapter by chapter. Look for the first installment tomorrow.

There You Have It

I began topically, striving to reach a point in mentation whereby understanding of the scriptures began with and revolved around definition. The work, somehow, transformed itself into a serial attempt at broader clarity, as I went through the book of Luke point by point. I will not continue through the book of John in similar fashion, as I think that book deserves a study unto itself.

No. This is a good place to end this study, and perhaps, to make a return to the topical nature this work began with. I began this study with a pet peeve – namely, how people use a word or concept without first defining it. They seem to think if they say it loudly enough, the meaning will, somehow, come through on its own. I began this study with the much-maligned concept of 'Love'. I said I might return to it, as well the concept that the strait gate might be a Biblical passage.

I am not trying to extend this study, but rather, to bring it to an adequate end. Still, these topics are due further scrutiny. I, of course, will continue to ponder such things – I am an affirmed seeker, after all. But, what about you? Have I reached my fellow-seekers? If I have, here are a few things you might try on your own.

Choose a topic you might find in the Bible. That topic might be 'love', or 'key', 'spirit', 'knowledge', or anything you decide upon. Get yourself a good Bible engine for your computer. Type in that word and search out every instance of its use. Collect them. Place them together and arrange them in an order that helps you to better understand the concept. Combine them into a synthesis that is not overly loquacious. Let it be as brief and lean as possible. Let there be definition. It'll be good.

I leave you with these thoughts. We are seekers. How does one define a seeker? A seeker might seek anything thing. If we claim we seek truth, someone might counter, “What is truth? Are mine the same as yours?” Language contains many words. They orbit concepts like planets and moons. There may be no single answer to existence and purpose of life, rather many individual definitions. However, I see and seek in an existence that is inclusive – it holds the one and it holds the many.

A lot of people seek only their individuality and license. They are like the waves in the sea. Some others seek oneness. They are also like waves in the sea. Even those who imagine they are Captains of their own vessels, charting a course under their own steam, cannot deny they are still part of something bigger than themselves – something that includes them with all else it holds.

All existence, life, being, seeking – they are directional, they are developmental. We move toward something by moving away from something else. We become. The seeker is a 'becomer'. We do not seek idle states of trivia-glut. When we finally find that which we have sought, we add it to ourselves. We become ourselves, plus that which we have discovered. Then – what if what we have discovered is the whole? What if our adding the whole to ourselves is only us mirroring the whole adding us to itself?

A physical Jesus said that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Be the seeker, be the treasure you find. One may be the question and the answer. One may be the wave and the sea.    

The Vanishing Savior

The following, in my opinion, is one of the coolest stories in the new testament. It is later on the same day that the women discover Jesus is missing from the tomb. They went down very early that Sunday morning and after the discovery, they went to the disciples with their news. Peter went to the grave to see for himself.

The group of disciples to which the women brought their news included much more people than the core group. Luke 24:9 informs us that the women brought their news to “the eleven, and all the rest.” When we think of the following of Jesus, we think of men and women together. Some women followed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. Some men traveled with their wives and sisters and mothers. There is evidence of children among the followers.

So, the news of the resurrection was announced in the early morning hours and later in the day, two of the disciples took off walking down a road openly and without fear. They were on their way to a town named Emmaus. That particular town was believed to be approximately seven miles from Jerusalem. When I walk at a fast pace, I can cover three miles in about forty-five minutes. Since they were taking their time, I give them a walking time of around three hours.

Of the two disciples, one is immediately named. He is Cleophas, with some translations being Alphaeus or Clopas. Many scholars identify this disciple as the brother of Joseph, the husband of Mary. His wife was also named Mary and his sons included Jude, James, and Simon, half-brothers or cousins of Jesus. The unnamed disciple may have been Cleophas' son Simon. More on that later.

These two disciples are joined on the road to Emmaus by Jesus himself, only they do not recognize him. Their eyes are closed to his true identity. While it is possible that Jesus looked different after his death on the cross and three days in the grave, this is not the only instance where Jesus is not recognized after his resurrection. From an account in another gospel, Mary Magdalene sees him but thinks he might be the groundskeeper.

When the two disciples reached their home in Emmaus, they invited Jesus to eat with them. The reason why is found in Luke 24:29. It was getting close to dark, as the verse says, “it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” I mention this only to point out the time of departure from the main group. An approximate three-hour walk would have placed their departure around noon.

As they ate, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it – sort of a signature move. One of the core disciples would have recognized that from the last supper, but no doubt, in his three years of ministry, Jesus would have often eaten with his followers, perhaps breaking bread, in the same way, each time. It was at the point where Jesus blessed and broke the bread that the two disciples' eyes were opened and they recognized the man as Jesus.

He sat right there with them. He had been in their company for hours preaching from the scriptures, but only now they saw him for who he was. Their mouths must have fallen open only to be stammering and speechless. There he sat – Jesus, back from the dead. They recognized their Lord – and then he just vanished. In our day and age, we are used to many fantastic representations in TV and film, but he vanished as he sat between them. Did the bread fall from hands no longer there?

They had not recognized him until that moment, but something in them wanted to. They may have thought the style and delivery of preaching seemed familiar – they just couldn't place it with the face. They reasoned among themselves, in verse thirty-two, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”

Of course, they had to jump right up and run back to the other disciples. Another three-hour trek, perhaps this time made in half the time. And here is the part I mentioned earlier that I would get back to. They recounted their adventure to the others, perhaps waking them to do so, and they said in verse thirty-four, “The Lord is risen indeed,” and here, they did not say that Jesus had revealed himself unto them, which might have seemed more natural, but they mentioned a name, “and hath appeared to Simon.”

Had Cleophas blinked or looked away at the critical moment? Was Cleophas very old with diminished eyesight? If he was revealed to Simon, then is that Simon the unnamed disciple? Even as they recounted their tale, Jesus appeared to all of them. It startled them, hearts were racing. Many still did not believe the resurrection, they had just lost their Lord to the cruelty of the Romans, a thing that all their experience told them was permanent.

He proved to them that he was real, that he was back. He ate something in their sight. He showed his physical wounds to them. In other gospel accounts, Jesus upbraids them for their unbelief, but not in Luke. As he had done for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained everything. He then led them to Bethany where he blessed them and was “carried” up into heaven.

Carried by what, or by whom? Was it a moonlit evening? Was it cloudy? Certainly, as endings go, this one is brief. Some accounts have him around for as many as forty days after his resurrection. In those other accounts, he heals and preaches and is seen by thousands. Did he reveal himself to his accusers, or did they hear of his presence, perhaps seeking verification, but all too late? Did Pilate hear of his doings in those final forty days? All of that would make a great movie, but more importantly, and lastly, what was the significance of Luke's exclusion of the forty days? Was there significance in Jesus revealing only “unto the eleven, and to all the rest?” Was there significance to the location of the Ascension? Bethany was the home of Lazarus (another resurrected) and Mary.

Things We Don't Notice

We turn our attention to the last chapter in the book of Luke. We look at the first twelve verses. The women from chapter twenty-three return to the sepulcher. They had followed to see where Joseph placed the body, then they went home to prepare the spices. After that, they observed the Sabbath – in other words, they had to wait a whole day before they could return with the spices they had prepared.

So. let us check our facts. It is very early on a Sunday morning. The women who returned to the grave of Jesus are listed in verse ten. They were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. Wikipedia tells us this about Mary the mother of James:

Although James the younger is often identified with James, son of Alphaeus, the New Advent Encyclopedia identifies him with both James, son of Alphaeus and James the brother of Jesus (James the Just). According to the surviving fragments of the work Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis, who lived c. 70–163 AD, "Mary, mother of James the Less and Joseph, wife of Alphaeus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord, whom John names of Cleophas"

These three women were not alone, they were in the company of other women. Verse one calls them “certain others” while verse ten calls them “other women that were with them.” So, there were at least two other women present with the listed three. In all probability, there were more than two. These were the women who had followed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry in Galilee.

Again, early on the first day of the week, these women who had followed Jesus from Galilee went to the tomb. In verses two through four, they found the stone rolled away, they entered the tomb only to discover that the body was gone, and they were “much perplexed.” They were bewildered, uncertain, and troubled over the turn of events.

I mention all of this in preparation for making a point. Of course, they were surprised to find the body missing, but my point is that the stone being rolled away was just as much an eye-opener. They had followed to see Jesus buried. There is little doubt they also saw the stone being rolled into place.

Did these women go to the grave expecting to see the stone rolled away? The short answer is no. At least five of them went to the grave – perhaps, they thought that such a number was sufficient to roll the stone away. This little bit of information is perhaps a clue to the size of the stone and the entrance to the grave. More clues to follow.

A dead body is like a sack of potatoes. It is hard to manage. The size of the grave entrance had to be sufficient for at least two men to carry a body through it. Since no mention of the women having trouble entering the grave is made, one may assume that the sepulcher was designed with a slight descent into the cavity.

So, the women who actually entered came back out with the news, and as they stood perplexed, two men appeared in shining garments. White garments were not unheard of in that culture, but the implementation of the word 'shining' suggests something other than merely white cloth. When Jesus was on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah, all three of them were shining. We have a kind of naturally shiny view of angels. But, it was also around dawn when these events transpired. The sun was coming up. The light could have caught the white garments in an especially eye-catching manner.

The women were so taken by the appearance of the two men that, in fear, they fell on their faces. Now, one may think of that culture and time as a people who would fall on their faces at the drop of a hat, but a sudden reflexive fear is more in keeping with human nature as we know it. For instance, what does one do when he or she perceives the near report of gunfire? They hit the deck. It is only human nature to duck and cover.

The women of the Bible are not as often mentioned as the men. In this particular case, we find them equal to the men in a certain sense. That is, they had to be reminded what Jesus told them. They were with Jesus from the beginning; they heard all of his sermons, all of his sayings. Yet, like the men, they had to be reminded. This too is human nature.

If only they had believed his words from the beginning! All of us who have grown old reach a point of personal realization where we think, 'why didn't I listen to my parents? They were right from the beginning. How much I might have spared myself if only I had listened.'

They thought he was dead, but then, they were reminded of his words – and they believed. They ran to tell the apostles. Herein lies another point we don't notice. We have bought into the general concept of frightened apostles cowering in darkened rooms for fear of their lives. Multitudes followed Jesus. They followed him to Jerusalem. They lost him for a time but found him again after the trial. They followed him to the crucifixion and stood afar off.

The remaining eleven apostles were not the only apostles of Jesus, they were just his inner circle. Aside from the general multitude, there were at least seventy-two other appointed apostles. You may recall that Jesus, in chapter ten, sent them two by two, in the same manner, he had sent out the twelve – preaching and healing. When the women went to the eleven with their news, verses nine and ten inform us that “the apostles” noted in verse ten included “all the rest” mentioned in verse nine.

And then there was Peter. He was somewhat mercurial in nature. When first receiving the news, he with the others did not believe. He thought they were idle tales. But Peter gave the matter a second thought. Maybe, just maybe, they were right. What was it Jesus had said? So, Peter leaps to his feet and “runs” to the sepulcher.

Here is another clue about the grave – that is to say, about its design. Peter, in verse twelve, did not enter the grave but stooped down and looked inside. “Stooping down” is that clue. From a stooping position outside the grave entrance, Peter was able to see the place where the body had been laid. The body was absent but the “linen clothes” were still there.

Some depictions of the sepulcher have a great round wheel of a stone that may only be moved by the strength of many. Some scholars imagine a grave where the entrance is on top and the body has to be lowered into the cavity. It is human nature that we run with whatever is in front of us. When they say big wheel, we go with it. When they say hole in the ground, we go with it.

We think one thing by excluding all other possibilities. Well, here is another possibility. The grave was small enough to stoop down and see inside. The stone that was rolled away from the entrance was small enough that approximately five women thought they could move it.