Theos-Talk Archives (February 2003 Message tt00318)

Hi. I am using a message I am going to send to another list as part two of this, as it says what I intended to say, and I do not have time to write a separate email. (Someone from this list posted part of the first part of this message on another list, and I am replying.) If you think this is old material and I am not adding anyhthing, look carefully, as it is subtle. In Part Three, which is to follow, I will get down to brass tacks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi. I just joined this group because someone notified me he posted a few words from one of my messages on here, and the message with the link to the essay on "scripture versus spirit" is the first I read. I looked through several pages of the article referred to, but it was too long for me to finish.

Of course, if people think allegory to be literal, it will put them into a box, as there is no way to unlock the symbolism after that. It is a dead end which not only fences one, but perpetrates authority. It is the nature of people who are not trained in the interpretation of allegory to turn an alive teaching into dogma. Also, every symbol is open to many different levels of interpretation according to the level of spiritual maturity of the person who interprets it.

There are many reasons why allegory is used as a vehicle to convey material, one of which is that certain material cannot be told, but only shown or demonstrated, as it needs to enter the functioning of a human being ( thought, feeling, sensation etc.) in a way which is not lopsided, and also that it has a certain quality of grip or texture so that it does not go in one ear and out the other. Allegory is a way of showing by connecting images like dots so that if you put them all together, they form a picture that is more condensed and not so far away from being fully present to oneself as a physical LOCATION as one is when excessively thinking, emoting, daydreaming based on an image of oneself, or following a certain line of activity, all of which is dependent on a highly subjective and interpretative base which is formed around not only a movement away from pain, but also many false conclusions about the nature of physical reality. Any well designed allegory always brings the receiver of it to a closer correlation to physical (objective) reality, and to design allegory that can achieve such is always an act of love, as it helps people find the way home.

I am not disparaging this person's writings on scripture versus spirit, but he is using far too many words, and I am not sure he fully understands the nature and aim of spiritual allegory. If I say to you a few words, "We are going to make a special kind of bread and partake of this bread together," we know that we will not be making actually bread on this list, so, in order to translate the meaning of this to my inner self, I need to correlate the image of myself baking bread with the physical reality of myself sitting at the computer reading these words. Between these two, as a polarization, the thought of myself making bread with others, along with all the sensations and feeling that accompany this mental image, and myself actually sitting at the computer, a force is created which results in the formation of a certain substance. This substance is the food we will receive from the partaking of bread together. The word, "bread" functions like a compass that will align me closer to myself as a simple physicality that can make, eat, and share bread.

If someone does not understand the subtle nuances of this message and takes it too literally, it is not my responsibility, in that I have done the best I can. Though it may be my heartfelt desire to communicate with many, it may be possible only to communicate with a few. In any case, my time and my resources, as anyones, are not unlimited, and I am doing the best I can, under the given circumstances, to say something.

If organic religions are very similar to each other, but if the symbolism, which is designed specifically for a certain culture at a certain time is taken not only literally, but also out of its original context, it is obvious that different religions will not align and/or intersect in a way that is harmonious. If I do not like this, I will need to design something that is different and put it into effect in such a way that it will change people, as if I try to take the subjective meaning of dogmatic interpretation away from people, I will not only create resistance, but this resistance will reinforce the tendency to take symbolism literally. If I do not know how to design something else, which is probably the case, I will first need to study myself, AS I AM, without interpretation, in order to gain impartial data. This data will yield a different kind and quality of information that will not conflict with the information of anyone else, be he atheist, Christian or Muslim or whatever.

I cannot participate on this list regularly, as I like to receive my messages by individual email, so I can give each one my full attention, and the volume of messages on here is too large for me to handle, but if anyone is interested in participating in a much smaller group, for both Christians and atheists, to discuss the subject of correlation or orientation as an end result of the deciphering of allegorical material, in conjunction with supporting each other in the simple non-interpretative practice of the Work of "standing watch" to ones physical self as it goes about its day, please email me, and if I hear from enough people, I will start a small list. If there are any replies to this message, I will try to post a response on Sunday. If there on no replies, I may leave a message on circular reasoning.

To the person who posted my material out here, thanks for notifying me. I know you were well-meaning, but in the future, I would appreciate it if you would contact me first and ask my permission, as quoting just one paragraph takes everything out of context. This is an interesting list, but it is too large for me.If anyone knows of any smaller lists, with reality-based people, where I might feel more at home, please notify me. Sincerely, Wry. 


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