Author: alexander.mcd@gmail.com

Words of Power or \”Don\’t Translate Your Prayers\”

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Prayers, Ritual words, Mantras, Chants, Sacred books – the words that you use in spiritual practice and religion are not just prose – they are not just simple statements of fact that we can understand with our rational brain.  They operate on at least three separate levels simultaneously, and in the combination of those three levels they do not just tell us something, or say something.  They Do something – they change our state of consciousness.  In the best case when well written they elevate us to the state of joyous connection with the divine and with all things, and people will report unexplainable happiness and inspired wisdom following the use of these words, but if they are not written with such inspiration that could put us in any other state of consciousness – they could create depression or loneliness, or a sense of passionate love and desperation, or even the sense that God doesn\’t exist and there is no point to religion and spirituality.

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In most cases this is not too much of a problem because ritual words are either written by spiritually elevated teachers who know what they are doing, or they are evolved slowly by the community, and the community will naturally choose the best and discard the worst and by process of natural selection create the best possible expression to suit their needs.  (That second community based process can be rather slow and go through some less inspiring forms before it finds its inspiring form, and sometimes i think it is worth hurrying it along a little)

But where it does go wrong is when you translate those words of power into another language.

Let\’s just take a little aside to understand how these ritual words work, and how they affect us so strongly.  As I said above they work on three levels simultaneously.  The first level is the meaning – what do the words say?  They need to express something that is uplifting if they are going to be uplifting – they need to express something that is inline with their purpose – You cannot build inspiring texts from words of insult or other coarse language, and in the same way you cannot build inspiring texts from any language that is not inspiring in some way or other.  This meaning level of the text is the most commonly understood, but perhaps surprisingly to some it is the weakest in terms of its effect on our consciousness – hence the common use of archaic language that we don\’t understand in our spiritual services – it doesn\’t matter too much what the exact words are as long as the general spirit is good.

The second level that words affect us is their poetry – the sounds and rhythms and ways that the words are put together.  Do they have a rhythm that is pleasing to the ear?  are their rhymes and recognised forms?  Does the sound that we hear, and the feeling on our tongue when we speak them create an experience that is inline with the inspiration and upliftment that we are looking for from them?  The sounds of the poems affect our consciousness in a stronger way than the meanings, but they can only have their desired effect if the meaning is also appropriate.

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The third and by far the strongest level is also the most esoteric (of course) – it is the energy that is conveyed through those words.  This energy is something that can be built up over time through use of the words – for example if people around the world are using the words in sacred, beautiful ways then those words take on an energy of sacred beauty, and share that with us every time we use them.   Texts can also be energised consciously – empowered by putting yourself in a particular state of consciousness as you use them and thus sharing that consciousness with them.  So the texts become a medium of direct communication of a state of consciousness from the people who have already experienced it and energised those words with it to those who have not experienced it, or need a boost. A well developed spiritual teacher with sufficient mystical experience should be able to consciously create and empower words to have particular effects and to create particular states of consciousness.  Incidentally this can be done through other media as well – body postures, yoga postures, musical compositions, symbols etc.  In some cases the power of the sounds are backed up with other elements that go along with them – eg in the Hebrew and Arabic texts the letters themselves also have a similar powerful effect on the consciousness as well as the sounds.

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This energy that is carried through the words is by far more powerful in its effect on our consciousness than either the poetic sounds, or the meanings, but it depends on both of them.  Without the appropriate meanings and sounds the energy does not stick (not that the words will have no energy, but that they may be appropriate for a different kind of energy – a different state of consciousness)

What does this mean for translations?  It means that we translate the meaning – and this we manage reasonably well – though even here it can be difficult and we lose a lot of subtlety, the poetry is almost always completely lost, though some put some effort into recreating some kind of poetry.  But the energy – the empowerment of those words is completely lost – even in the best translation the same energy does not translate with the words, and so we create words without power.  If the words were truly without power this would not be too bad – we would have created a ritual that does nothing – and then at least we would be doing no harm, but words always communicate energies and states of consciousness – on some level everything always holds an energy and words are no different.  Therefore what we have created is not something that has no power, but rather something that has a random power that we do not understand.  And while if we are very lucky this might be an uplifting power – most often it is not – it creates an experience that is detrimental, or confusing to us.

Let me give you an example – until a few hundred years ago the Catholic Church had all its bibles in Latin, and held its services in Latin – and then they started to translate everything into different languages including English.  Now the old Latin services were very uplifting – as attested to by the love that we still hold for the Gregorian Chant of those days.

[Here\’s a latin christmas carol many of you may be familiar with – but listen to the subtle difference in feel and effect]

Now some very well meaning people decided that we should celebrate in language we can understand and so we created the English Liturgy.  What they didn\’t realise they had done is created words of power that have a sense of boredom in them – a sort of tiredness – so church became depressing – people kept going because they believed in it, but slowly that belief was leached away by the lack of inspiration and upliftment experienced in the service, and this fueled the move away from the church and to modern materialist rationality.

[The same hymn sung in English – see if you can feel the difference in effect]

We can never know what would have happened if the church had kept words of power that were inspiring and an inspiring service, but i would be sure that many more people would be attending church today if that were the case.

So don\’t translate your prayers, ritual words, mantras, chants etc – leave them in their original sacred form.  Or if you really do feel the need to translate make sure you have a genuine mystic or spiritual teacher who can help you to make sure that your translation is also formed and empowered such a way that it has a positive influence on your consciousness, and on the consciousness of others who attend your services.

P.S.  And if you are not sure you believe me try it out – find a ritual prayer or chant from your tradition and its translation – and meditate with it – start by rating your happiness level on a scale of 1 – 10 then chant it 10 or 20 times or even more until you feel its effect – now rerate your happiness level, and do the same for the translation.  If I am right (and I am pretty sure I am) you will find the happiness level much lower after reciting the translation.

 

The Secret to Relationships

I am deeply worried about the state of our relationships.  If we had as many ill people as we have unhealthy relationships then people would be panicking.  Relationship skills are one thing that all of us need to learn.

There is one single key that can unlock all of our relationship issues – one skill to learn.  (Well almost all of our relationship issues – it may not be so effective in finding your ideal partner – its better for dealing with the relationships you already have.)  It is not healthy boundaries, or sweetness, or loving yourself, or faith, or gratitude but it does have elements of all of these.  Technically it is called \”Differentiation\” though a more commonly understood term might be \”Interdependence\”  It is not independent and closed off to others, and it is not dependent and clinging to others, but interdependent and sharing with others.

Here is a discussion we had about the concept:

https://www.facebook.com/1741120519473919/videos/453905548709879/

Here is a little discussion about how we managed to find interdependence and differentiation:

https://www.facebook.com/1741120519473919/videos/334395523888966/

Differentiation refers to the idea that we can be closely connected with other with out losing our individuality – our differences.  It is what happens when you are authentic (true to yourself) – Compassionate (true to others) – and Positive (true to the infinite) – all three at the same time.  This is not necessarily an easy task and takes some practice, but it is not out of our reach.  What it means is that we must find ways to accept each other as we are – to not try to change each other, to not try to change ourselves, but to be truly who we are in connection with each other.

A disturbing but effective way of learning this is to ask yourself the question – \”What would i do if i knew they were never going to change?  How would I be true to myself?\”  If you can answer this honestly then you will find for yourself the answers you need and will create the differentiation that makes all the difference in relationships.  The irony is that when you stop trying to change people often they make changes by themselves, and progress is made.

Another method to learning differentiation is to spend time with well differentiated people – if you know anyone with a strong meaningful happy relationship and you spend time with them, you may find that you pick up something of their energy of their way of being and are able to express that in your relationships.

A more direct method is to use spiritual technologies that encode the energy of differentiation.  By practicing these you will directly practice embodying the feeling of differentiated relationships, and in time will be able to bring that feeling into practice in your relationships.  Here are some mudras that can be used to learn differentiation.

This one is for Men:

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This one is for women – you can see that it does not make me so happy because it is not the right one for me.  I am hoping to replace the image with a picture of someone else so that you can get the sense of the positive effect it has.

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Some so called \”Tantra\” classes use other mudras and techniques that are based on differentiation (though there are plenty of classes that are teaching something completely different)

I am working on a set of energy medicines – water imbued with spiritual energies and there will be one for differentiation, and it can also be expressed through art and music.  Here is an improvisation based on an Indian Raga that expresses differentiation.

[soundcloud url=\”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/624661407\” params=\”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true\” width=\”100%\” height=\”300\” iframe=\”true\” /]

For those who want the video version here I am discussing differentiation and its importance, and below are some other video resources about relationships that you might find useful.

https://www.facebook.com/alexander.mcdonell.3/videos/pcb.10157288623356779/10157288612056779/?type=3&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARDOKUZSklk-q3vcBIKlzux1rHYjPmVvwL5Iq-49uA3i2t8uQqIhK6qNbdTKaEABZmMWOIOYpuXZiyOC

Negotiating Relationship Issues:

https://www.facebook.com/alexander.mcdonell.3/videos/pcb.10157288599846779/10157288591301779/?type=3&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARAi8u_ERjV8aF8yto_SdwSIRirtiKJ9LU4BMwk_MCLfBjFaIn7ptl0AyBaQ_tJw70mK1DHQpeJRNwRV

How to master Differentiation:

https://www.facebook.com/alexander.mcdonell.3/videos/pcb.10157288599846779/10157288597381779/?type=3&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARBQzXSSaifDCt5_1dY6RQdFyHxDoF46bR5Zx4oZ4L9nF9EKykFv2GQALKH0fUa66qJ7wX8kDiNeW4rg

Finding your needs – the 10 needs:

https://www.facebook.com/alexander.mcdonell.3/videos/pcb.10157288599846779/10157288594791779/?type=3&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARBUOxEagX4xeySczwjpz6LGSLm-sJGCeu5gkk7Ap4TsXjjxAyegSEiLOYfTjqqVEQyTh_OfehiLyFon

 

What is Enlightenment

For many enlightenment is pictured as an unattainable ideal – the removal of all human issues, becoming perfectly wonderfully happy at all times – completely unaffected by the physical world or even by the mental and emotional worlds.  While this is not completely unachievable it does have one quite serious implication that must be considered.

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When one is entirely unaffected by something one becomes entirely uninterested in it.  When someone becomes unaffected by the physical world, by the needs of the body and the needs of society – they cease to eat or communicate or pay attention to their surroundings.  While this can be quite pleasant it leads fairly quickly to what is known as spiritual death where the consciousness and the body become so disconnected that they cease to live as one and the body ceases to function.  The vital energies that are collected in the body during this process can become so strong that it leads to strange effects such as bodies that do not decay after death.  It seems like a really pleasant way to go, but it does not lead to functional behaviour or the ability to guide others, and it makes the concept of enlightened teachers rather meaningless as those who reached enlightenment would not be among the living.\’

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But let me paint a different picture – we are all seeking the expansion of our sense of identity (whether we know it or not) and as we grow in consciousness we eventually expand to identify ourselves with the whole cosmos.  this is not to say that one forgets who they are or loses their identity on the human level, but that we no longer have any clear boundary where myself ends and yourself begins – I see myself as a node in an infinite connected web – where all are parts of me but this particular node is like the centre of me.

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When one experiences this infinite oneness one can no longer be small or selfish, or limiting in ones purposes, but this is not to say that one becomes perfect in any way.  There is a great joy in that infinite connectedness as well as great weight of responsibility and even pain in empathic relation to all the pains of so called others, as well as your own small self\’s pains.  There is still confusion, lack of experience, excitements, personal needs and desires – the ordinary human experience goes on in all its fallible imperfect mess, but against a backdrop of the beauty and perfection and joy of that infinite connection – perfectly imperfect, joyous and yet compassionate and even passionate.

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While the first vision of enlightenment leads us with no living enlightened beings, this second view provides us with whole communities of enlightened beings – in every indigenous society that I have ever come across this experience of oneness is expected and normal, and even some developed societies and many spiritualists also achieve this out of their own efforts.  To those who have not experienced this profound oneness in their own lives these \”enlightened\” people would be largely invisible – they seem normal.  But to those who live in this infinite connected experience the others who also do shine with an inner light and exude peace and joy.

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This concept of what enlightenment is has a greater impact than one might think.  It guides our choice of actions, practices and the type of master we seek in our spiritual journeys.  If you seek unattainable perfection then you will be forever striving and never attaining, but if you seek the connectedness that is the natural way human societies have lived and expressed themselves for millenia then it will be a small journey home to that infinite joy of existence.

How to be an Atheist Christian

\"RelatedI was walking through the city only a few days ago, and met a christian missionary handing out flyers as they do and asking leading questions – \”Do you believe in Jesus?\” etc.  It was quite an unpleasant experience – exacerbated by the fact that i actually had met this particular christian before in more pleasant circumstances and felt that i had to treat him as a friend and not just an annoyance.  I am sure most readers will be familiar with this situation – how do you deal with missionaries?

I am sure this poor behaviour from a group of people who call themselves christians has alienated many of us from the christian tradition and left us with little respect for christianity as a whole, but the tradition has some valuable wisdom to teach us and it would be a shame to lose that wisdom in stepping away from zealotry and thoughtless proselytising.

Now I would not ordinarily consider myself a christian – my spiritual practice tends to be Taichi and Meditation, and my family is Jewish, but I have been baptised, I have read and learnt to follow Christ\’s teachings of Faith and Love, and I have a little book of gregorian chants from the christian liturgy that i like to sing from now and then, and now and then i do attend churches if i can find one that meets my high standards for beauty and connection.  So despite my unorthodoxy i think i count as a good christian in the true sense of the term.  But I could not in authenticity agree that I \”Believe in Jesus\”.

So let\’s look at this concept \”Belief in Jesus\” and see what\’s wrong with it.

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[well maybe we can accept the \”In\”, but Belief and Jesus are more dubious]

 

 

If you asked me do you have \”Faith in Christ\” I would give an unqualified yes, and yet these two phrases though seemingly almost identical have enormous differences in their impact on our lives and thought, and their ability to create loving connection in our lives.

Faith Vs Belief

\”Faith\” in spirituality refers not to blind belief in some higher power, but the willingness to put your trust in something outside of yourself – to relax your need to control things and allow.  It is a relaxing and trusting process.  To understand the difference between belief and faith think of the drama exercise where with your eyes closed you let yourself fall backwards and the rest of the troupe catch you before you hit the ground.  Have you ever tried it?  It is easy to believe that people will catch you.  You have seen them do it to other people you know they will catch you.  You know they care about you and won\’t let you fall, but when you stand with your eyes closed and feel yourself falling does that belief translate into trust?  Can you relax and allow yourself to be caught?  And notice if you will that it is very difficult to catch someone if they are not trusting themselves to be caught, and so the faith and trust itself has a powerful effect on the outcome of the exercise – where belief does not.

In fact it is entirely possible to have belief without faith – as many religious people do – believing in God but still keeping control over every aspect of their lives, (and of other people\’s lives – if you can\’t accept gay relationships, or other religions then you have little faith in God\’s power – you might believe in God\’s power, but you are not relaxing and allowing God to look after it).  It is equally possible to have faith without belief – to trust in the natural processes of the universe, to allow things to turn out in your life without controlling them, and without the need to believe in a God or Saviour of any kind.  This at first glance would seem to be more rare, and more difficult as if you have nothing to believe on what basis do you put your trust?  but Taoist Taichi and buddhist meditation teach exactly this – a process of relaxing and accepting that leads to faith and trust without necessarily needing concepts about what power we are trusting.

Stages of Faith

And here\’s another thing about belief.  It is a only one step in a series of deeper and deeper approaches to life and spirituality.  It is widely recognised that there are 7 stages of spiritual development.  You will find the concept everywhere from Christianity (Teresa d\’Avila\’s Mansions of the heart) to Yoga (the Koshas of the mind) to western psychology (James W. Fowler\’s Stages of Faith) I would describe the 7 stages like this:

  1. Avoidance
  2. Belief
  3. Questioning
  4. Insight
  5. Soulfulness
  6. Ecstasy
  7. Connection

Now obviously being a religious believer (stage 2) is better than being an avoidant narcissistic criminal (Stage 1) and there are many cases where conventional belief based religion has helped people to step out of destructive behaviour to become a more productive upright citizen, but spirituality goes a lot deeper than that, and the social and environmental issues of the day require us to go a lot deeper into self knowledge than that fairly primitive stage of belief.  In my opinion we now need the 7th stage – connection and selfless service to become much more widespread if we are to tackle our current issues – but that\’s something i\’ll talk about another day.\\

Jesus Vs Christ

\"ImageI am going to question the importance of Jesus though.  Here\’s the first problem with Jesus – apparently it is very important to many religious christians that you get his name right – that you call him Jesus Christ, and not something else like Isa Bin\’allah for example.  Now obviously this is mostly lack of education, and probably not so important in the scheme of spiritual wisdom, but if the name is important then let\’s at least get it right.  His name was probably Yeshua which is a variant of Yehoshua – \”Joshua\” so it would probably be more accurate to call him \”Josh\”.

However more importantly Jesus refers to a human being who arguably lived and died in ancient israel, and probably did some but not all of what is written about him in the bible, and definitely did a lot of other things that were never written down.  Christ on the other hand refers to the Spiritual principle that he embodied – this can be described as the point between the manifest and unmanifest worlds, or in christian parlance The bridge between living beings and \”God the Father\”.  This is the part of consicousness that is simultaneously in touch with the world of creation, and at the same time touches the infinite peace that is beyond this world (nirvana).  So this Christ principle is what allows us to step outside of the troubles of today and into the perfect peace where we are outside of time and cares and worries.  So Jesus refers to his physical human existence, and Christ to the spiritual consciousness which he connected to.

Jesus probably lived and probably did great things, and certainly had an enormous influence on society and the world, but his actions 2000 years ago are not what really makes the difference in our personal lives and meditations it is the spiritual principle of the Christ that has a direct influence on us, and has the same influence now as it did 2000 years ago when Jesus/Yeshua lived and had the same influence 20,000 years ago or even more way back into prehistory.  You can believe what you want about Jesus – \”he died for our sins\” – \”he never existed\” – \”he was an alien from alpha centauri\” – it doesn\’t really make all that much difference to your spiritual life, but what does make a difference is whether you have \”Faith in Christ\” – whether you can trust in that cosmic principle that leads us to infinite peace, and allow that to influence and transform us into the connected, happy, selfless people that we can be.