Jesus’ Wedding

By Mischa V. Alyea

Jesus' Wedding assembles an easily understood model that unifies the mystical experience, which gives birth to all mythologies and spiritual rituals. Elements from every belief system come together to prove the existence of a universal divine nature. Following this model, it is possible to draw the deepest meanings from the symbols and metaphorical expressions within the spiritual language that form the mystical veil.

Throughout history, society has been ruled by either matriarchal or patriarchal spiritual systems. In each belief system, only half of the population was able to reap the benefit of enlightenment. The other half were either spiritually enslaved or destroyed. Jesus' Wedding confirms that both belief systems are valid paths to enlightenment that need to co-exist within society.

In order to create a positive spiritual experience, personal beliefs and practices must be compatible with the psychology of the individual. Full enlightenment requires that a person complete the path of both belief systems. It is time to acknowledge both sides of the spiritual model and allow all persons the chance to fully participate in a spiritual awakening.

Once the overall system is understood, the archetypes that create the stepping-stones of spiritual development will be discussed. This timeless system will empower the individual to make an informed decision about the spiritual teachings and practices that will benefit spiritual development and allow them to approach the path of enlightenment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mischa V. Alyea
• Release date: Dec 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9780988731202

Book preview

Introduction

With the recent literary fiction novels focusing on secret societies and the mystical code, many people have been drawn to find out what is the real truth hidden behind the mystical veil. Questions like: Was Jesus married? What does Immaculate Conception really mean? How can an apocalypse really be an unveiling? How do these issues relate to stories in the myths and tales of other cultures? are now publicly debated at all levels of piety. In the process of mapping out the divine system and understanding how it works, these questions will be answered in this work.

Why is spiritual development important? Our society is currently going through a phase of non-belief. Scientific discovery has taken over many of the areas that were once dominated by the church. Proof is quickly replacing faith as the dominant requirement for belief. However, it is intuition that has driven evolution. Intuition begins with an idea such as standardizing all the parts of a gun so that parts are easily manufactured by the maker and easily interchanged by the owner. This one idea dramatically changed the way we looked at manufacturing, forever. These ideas just pop up out of nowhere and solve our complicated problems. Intuition is creative and mysterious. Spiritual development can boost creativity and give the ability to tap into the realm of the unconscious at will. Intuition brings amazing solutions into the physical realm.

How do we access the unconscious or the mystical realm? It seems that it would be an oxymoron to experiment with or study something as invisible as the unconscious. Yet, believe it or not, we have the research notes from just such experiments going back as far as 5000 years. I have come to believe that a mythical tale is equivalent to someone’s mystical experience. The dream or vision the mystic experienced is now articulated through words and symbols. These tales are pointers to the greater experience of the soul. They are road maps to enlightenment, so to speak. The minute any type of god or gods become involved, the tale is talking about the inner dynamics of the mind or soul. When names, numbers, or certain words have known spiritual meanings, this is another way one knows the tale has leaped into the mystical realm. These personal experiences can be frightening if you are completely ignorant of such possibility. The mythical tale gives a context in which to place the inner experience. These tales, at their best, can bring enlightenment. They are also used to warn you of possible pitfalls along the road of spiritual development.

C. G. Jung shares the idea that myths are expressions of psychic fact. Jung also hypothesized the collective unconscious as a universal realm that every culture has tapped into for its spiritual stories. This explains why the myths that are a part of every culture, from the most primitive to the current popular culture such as Star Wars and Harry Potter, tell basically the same story. Jung defined individuation as the process of joining the opposite forces that pull our soul. The process of alchemy is deeply concerned with polarity on the earthly plane. In the spiritual realm, the process of conjoining opposites is called Tantra or the Hieros Gamos.

Mystical experience can happen in two different ways. It can be physical or it can be imaginative. Spiritual ritual is designed so the participant physically experiences events or emotions in order to attain inner understanding. These rituals, like dancing, the hand movements of mudra, singing, or playing a part in a spiritual narrative, are specifically designed to influence the participant’s psyche in a certain way. So, it is important for the teacher to understand the student inside and out before recommending participation in any ritual. The purpose of spiritual ritual is to bring a positive transformative experience, not to create a new issue or deepen an existing fear.

The other way the psyche is influenced is through mental imagery. This is sometimes known as the top of the tower method of Tantra or simply as visualization. This method is used in creating. Designers, inventors, and even scientists like Eisenstein with his mental experiments use this method. This allows for a person to imagine all the possibilities before anything is implemented in the world. Mental imagery is a tool used by the mythical tale as a tactic to bring a person to understanding or enlightenment.

Many of these tales are woven from actual physical events such as: the eruption of a volcano, a flood, or the destruction of a city’s walls. The characteristics of animals and plants or pure fantasy can be woven into a mythical tale. It is the deeper meaning that the story is trying to convey, or as the Zen masters say, point to, that is important. Every element of a parable or teaching myth will point in the same direction. This way no matter which element is grasped, everyone hearing the tale will receive the same understanding.

The language and symbolism used is always cultural. It is very important to be knowledgeable of the culture of the people who created the mythos. An experienced teacher will insure that any myth told to the student matches the student’s inner culture. Otherwise, the lesson will be lost in a turmoil of confusion. Those who by nature are active and consider aggression beneficial will be confused by a story that commemorates passiveness. While those who by nature are passive and peace loving, will be horrified by a story of war and destruction. In both cases the lesson will be lost and cause a disruption in the spiritual and psychological development of the student.

There is, however, great similarity throughout the world’s religions and belief systems. All belief systems contain two divine forces fused into a polarity or dance of the opposites. This polarity is part of every religion. The first, most commonly known as fire, can be warming or destructive and burns upwards. It can be interpreted as The Blood, The Wine, The Life, The Sword of Truth, Breaker of Barriers, The Sweetness, The Snake, or The Phallus. It melts the inhibitions and cuts away all attachments. In this work, this energy or force will be called Passion.

The second, which is most commonly known as a river or rain, is water that is cool and flows or falls downward. It brings understanding to the scattered or rigidness to the powerful. It can be interpreted as A Blessing, The Bread, The Manna, Peace or The Dove of Peace, The Redemption, The Anointing, or even The Semen of God. Water turns molten lava into stable rock. It tempers steel and makes it stronger. In this work, Grace will be the name of this force.

In many cases these polarities are described in terms of gender. Much of myth is based on such gender roles. Symbols such as sun and moon, light and dark, dragon and tiger, dog and cat, are used where physical gender is absent. These attributes are to be associated in the metaphorical sense or with the inner being or soul. It is Jung’s theory that everyone has both an animus and anima or inner masculine and inner feminine. These inner human qualities, when blended with their divine opposites, create a person who is whole, balanced, kind, and understanding. So, a person who is ruled by the inner feminine or anima will need to marry or bring down the Divine Masculine or Grace. Those ruled by the inner masculine or animus will need to initiate the upward movement of the Divine Feminine or Passion.

It is easy to mix-up the attributes due to gender identifications when reading mystical texts. It is important to analyze the context of the story. Is the story discussing the development of an actual person? Or is the story telling us the qualities and movements of the divine powers. Mixing and matching the physical realm and the mystical realm creates misunderstandings that are handed down and expanded throughout the centuries. The newly formed Christian Church defined Passion as masculine because Jesus was a human male and thus, this attribute must then also be considered masculine. Grace, since it is the direct opposite of Passion, became a feminine attribute by necessity. Christianity is the only religion that has historically reversed these attributes in this way. Both water and fire have been related to The Love of God in texts and stories. So, it is important to sort out what the tale’s author is really meaning when talking about Divine Masculine or Divine Feminine.

In the ancient world, the physical body determined gender. The roles of men and women were very distinct. There were exceptions, but for the most part women gave birth to babies and took care of the household, while men dealt with the outer realm of business, war, building, or art. These were the basics of the metaphors used in ancient tales. In the current modern age we can use anything from baseball to technology to explain spiritual principles without hanging a gender on anything. However, we cannot ignore the fact that there are physiological differences, such as left-brained (animus or masculine) and right-brained (anima or feminine) people, which determine the differences in the physics of the soul. The psychological framework of a person will constitute the designation of gender in this work. So you can physically be a female, but we will call you masculine if you operate from the masculine or left-brained mindset. Prime example of this type of oxymoron is the warrior maiden.

So, is spiritual attainment nature or nurture? It is both. The way to honor nature is to nurture it in the correct way. Just as it is destructive to place a tree in an oxygen bar, or to expect a dolphin to live on land, it is destructive to think we can mix and match any spiritual practice that catches our fancy. I have spoken to many a mom, who with the greatest of intentions, gave their sons dolls only to be horrified when their child used that doll as a weapon instead of using it to build their caring side. Introducing inappropriate ideas, myths, and ceremonies to our children and spiritual students causes great damage to individuals and thus our civilization.

All the legitimate religions have teachings and Ways or methods of attainment for both of the psychological types. However, most religions follow a pattern of the exoteric and esoteric, the outer and inner paths. It is not until one has fulfilled the requirements of the exterior path that an applicant is allowed to participate in, or even see, the scriptures of the secret or esoteric path. However, after much study, it seems to me that they are just isolating the two psychological genders and making initiates walk these paths sequentially. The problem with this method is one of psychological gender. If the designated outer path is animus or masculine-based, then anyone who is psychologically anima or feminine-based will experience continuous humiliation and degradation that causes them to miss all the verbal cues of their teachers that call for them to step forward and declare a place of authority in the group. They will be considered spiritually retarded and never allowed to learn the inner teachings. Being denied in this way hampers full understanding and prohibits them from officiating at spiritual rituals and ceremonies. The same is true of an animus-based personality trying to walk the feminine path. The feminine Way strengthens and deepens all intellectual understanding, including issues. When we empower or give Grace to a psychologically masculine personality, we most likely will create an arrogant dictator.

While Christianity openly celebrates both paths (the path of peeling off the ego or the flesh and the path of creation or giving birth and nurturing your dream), it is sad that most denominations isolate the teachings of one path and teach only that method of attainment.

Full enlightenment requires that a person complete both circuits or Ways. They have gone fully up and fully down the central pole. The enlightened person understands that everything is good and that all possibilities exist for those who benefit others. It does not matter whether you envision the possibilities first and then bring forth the best possible outcome through grace, or if you are given a challenge and perform the needed actions with understanding and compassion.

The enlightened person understands both sides of the spiritual model and can give an appropriate teaching designed specifically for each student’s needs. The enlightened ones know who needs to be leashed or corralled in order to see the full impact of their actions and who needs to be nurtured or redirected. Just understanding and using these two very simple concepts can bring great benefit to our world. No one would have the desire to trample others since they themselves would never have been trampled.

I have been fascinated with mythical tales all my life. My imagination and creativity allows me to place myself inside these tales and feel the events as they unfold. While I know enough to be dangerous, I must admit that I am not a lettered scholar. I am just doing my best to understand my personal experiences. This is my personal theory. I will leave the judgment of these ideas to you, the reader. My hope is to show that the road to spiritual understanding runs both ways, as it has from the beginning of time. I believe an aspirant can begin from either end of the pole and still complete the mission of enlightenment. However, the procedure, the issues, and the pitfalls will be different for the different Ways.

While it is the ultimate to experience the divine, the mind is powerful enough to create false experiences. Thus, the mythical tale was invented as one of the ways to open one’s being to the possibility of the divine. It gives an essence of the inner divine workings for those who can relate and is an exciting jostling of the emotions for those who cannot. An actual inner experience is life changing and, outside of metaphor, is completely indescribable. This book’s focus is an attempt to understand why I feel as if I have spent the past fifteen years participating in a perpetual snipe hunt, instead of experiencing the wonder of the Divine within.

Chapter Two

The Blueprint

A blueprint is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object. The word, blueprint, is a word that comes directly from the Jewish tradition. The Hebrew name for the Temple’s physical building is Beit HaMikdash or The Sanctified House. Only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name. The temple is also referred to by a variety of other names in the Hebrew Bible, such as Beit YHWH (House of God) or beiten (house of love). It is Philo of Alexandria who first maintains that the Torah and Jewish Law is a blueprint for the pursuit of individual enlightenment. This idea is a result of a blend between the Jewish belief systems with contemporary Greek philosophy. Philo interprets the stories of Torah as elaborate metaphors and symbols. He does not reject the subjective experience of Ancient Judaism; yet, he repeatedly explains that the Torah cannot be understood as a concrete, objective history, either. For example like Jung, Philo explains that ideal Greek forms for reason and wisdom illustrate the deep, mystical truth of God and Judaism.

Another example of blueprint metaphor is when Jesus predicts the destruction of the Second Temple. It is only later that the disciples realize the allegorically, that the temple will be torn down and raised up again in three days, is Jesus comparing his body to the temple. A new idea that the temple was considered the body of Christ became a popular theme in medieval writings. The temple/body can be interpreted