Creation Dictionary

Berosus (3rd century BC) A Chaldaean priest of Belus living in Babylon at the time of Alexander the Great, who translated the primeval traditions of the human race down nearly to his own times. Fragments of this work have been preserved by the historians and mythographers Apollodorus and Polyhistor, and also Josephus, of the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. His cosmogony shows that the Biblical stories of creation and deluge were derived from older sources, as since has been confirmed by Babylonian archaeology.

(See also: Berosus , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Batu (Egyptian) Also Batoo, Baiti. First man in the Egyptian legend of the Two Brothers, the probable original of the Greek story of Epimetheus and Prometheus. Just as Pandora was sent to Epimetheus, so is a beautiful girl, the creation of the heavenly artist Khnum, sent to Batu, whereupon Batu's happiness is destroyed.

(See also: Batu , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Arupa (Sanskrit). "Bodiless", formless, as opposed to rupa, "body", or form.

Arvaksrotas (Sanskrit). The seventh creation, that of man, in the Vishnu Purana.

(See also: Arupa , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Gnosticism

(from Gk. gnosis, "knowledge")

A pre- Christian category of religions which emphasizes that a personal experience, or knowlege, is essential to salvation.

The oldest oldest known Christian scriptures, The Nag Hammadi Library, are Gnostic. Neither unequivocally Christian, Jewish, Greek, nor Iranian, Gnosticism is not a clearly delineated religion, but rather a specific religious interpretative perspective.

Gnosticism lives mainly in or on the edges of Christianity and Judaism and it bears a number of philosophical, astrological, and magical marks loosely belonging in the Near Eastern and Inner Mediterranean areas.

Common to many Gnostic texts and systems are an emphasis on dualistic speculations (e. g. , light vs. darkness, good vs. evil, the earthly realm vs. the heavenly world, or the Lightworld); a reevaluation of many biblical traditions (especially Genesis and the New Testament) so that the Old Testament God, for instance, becomes an inferior figure ignorant of Lightworld entities above and prior to himself; and a keen interest in the salvation of the human soul, which, due to its Lightworld origin, is opposed to the body it inhabits and possesses a superior knowledge.

Gnostic mythologies offer intricate, detailed speculations on cosmic geographies, provide emotional descriptions of the fate of the soul in its material prison, and, in frequently impressive poetry, describe the soul's journey back to its lofty home.

In brief, Gnosticism exemplifies the common religious and creative response of Late Antiquity to a feeling of alienation toward bodily, material, even social existence, and a burning interest in arriving at a higher, more authentic level of life. Far from leading to paralytic pessimism, this orientation caused Gnostics to create mythologies, ideologies, rituals, and organized communities.

Subversive Gnostic interpretations, especially of the biblical traditions, elicited horrified, swift denunciations from the early fathers of the church, who rightly perceived the Gnostics as a menace to the budding Christian orthodoxy. Much of what we know about Gnostic doctrines and practices comes from these church fathers, but their accounts are unavoidably colored by a strong hostility toward Gnostics.

Direct Gnostic testimonies are available from numerous sources: the Nag Hammadi texts (a cache of fifty-odd documents unearthed in Egypt in 1945); manuscripts found or bought by European scholars in recent centuries; and voluminous texts from two Gnostic groups-the Manichaeans (whose system became a "world religion" stretching from North Africa to China) and the Mandaeans (a still-extant community of Gnostics in Iran and Iraq). Various Gnostic texts show strong affinities with Greek philosophy, Syriac Christianity, and Iranian traditions.

Gnostic speculations tend to pose a "prehistory" to the creation accounts in Genesis, imagining a number of Lightworld angelic (aeonic) beings emanating or springing from one or more original, ineffable entities. A progression of male and female emanations eventually result in the lowest levels of aeons where the Old Testament God belongs. Ignorant of-or rebelling against-his more elevated predecessors, this god (sometimes called Samael, "the blind one") creates the visible, material world, the human body (an androgynous Adam or the pair Adam and Eve), and imprisons the human soul in it.

Having thus separated the supreme god from the creator god, Gnostics give a negative evaluation of the latter and his minions. In parallel, heroic figures in the Bible turn into villains and vice versa, so that the serpent in paradise and Cain become principles of the light and of gnosis, while Noah turns into a collaborator with the ignorant creator. Gnostic ideas about Jesus tend toward splitting his personality, with Christ, the Lightworld aspect of Jesus, escaping crucifixion, while the bodily Jesus, a mere shadow of his real self, is destroyed on the cross.

 The principle of evil originates within the Lightworld itself, results unavoidably from the emanation process, or exists as a separate, anti-Lightworld entity from the beginning of creation. Personified (or hypostasized) evil is in many Gnostic myths portrayed as a tragic figure: he (it is usually male) knows of his wrongdoing and ignorance but seems unable to act differently, though he still hopes for his own, final redemption and return to home in the upper worlds. His mother, personified Wisdom or Error, is likewise tragic, but possesses more insight than her son. Human responsibilities include knowledge about the good and evil principles, the numerous aeonic beings populating the spheres between earth and Lightworld, and a firm sense of cosmic geography so that the ascending soul may know its way home.

 Anthropological models often correspond to cosmic maps: the upper human component is the spirit, the mid-level is the soul, and the material body roughly correlates with the macrocosm. Gnostic religions undoubtedly possessed a rich cultic life alongside the mythological/speculative component, but except for Manichaeism and Mandaeism-and a few scattered texts from other, less delineated traditions-we have only hazy evidence of the intricacies of Gnostic rituals. Initiations, baptisms, sacred meals, rituals for the dead, and techniques for ecstatic experiences are attested in various traditions. Community ethics, class divisions based on levels of gnosis, and aggressively polemical interests against "normative" Christianity and Judaism testify to organized Gnostic schools and groups eager to define themselves against outsiders and against one another.

(See also: Gnosticism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Iukabar Zivo (Gnostic) Also Iavar Ziva, Iu-Kabar Zivo, Javar-Zivo, Kebar Zivo, Cabar Zio. Known also as Nebat-Iavar-bar-Iufin-Ifafin (Lord of the Aeons) in the Nazarene system. The Codex Nazaraeus tells of the efforts at creation of the Lords of the Aeons.

In order to counteract the creation of the seven badly disposed principles, the greatest lord, Mano, calls on Iukabar Zivo, the mighty Lord of Splendor, to create in his turn. He does so by emanating seven other lives: these are the cardinal beings or Virtues, the seven primordial archangels, "who shine in their own form and light 'from on high' and thus re-establish the balance between good and evil, light and darkness" (SD 1:196).

These seven holy lives are the seven primal dhyani-chohans, while Iukabar Zivo is called the third life, the creative or Third Logos. He is also identical with Christ (Christos) as the true vine.

(See also: Iukabar Zivo , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

TONING

All of creation is energy, which vibrates according to varying frequencies. Our physical bodies are no exception, and which also responds to the appropriate sounds that can help you to regain balance, good health and emotional stability.

The ancients knew of this and we can see from the chanting of Sama Veda from India, the Tibetan Chants, Gregorian Chants, and many more instances of the healing virtues of sound. Toning by musical instruments, such as the drum, as is used by the Native Americans and Africans, exemplifies the tradition and value of music and /or individualized musical notes.

The human voice has a tremendous range and capability as illustrated by the “Overtones” of the Tibetan monks. The appropriate tone allows the mind, body and spirit to harmonize and be in balance.

See also: Vibrational Healing, Healing Sound, Healing Music

(See also: TONING , Alternative Health, Holistic Health, Body Mind and Soul)

HEBDOMAD

(The sphere of the Demiurge, lower than the Ogdoad.) Seven divides perfectly into the elemental quaternity from the 28 days of the lunar month. Set of seven, as the seven planets, the seven metals, Shakespeare's seven ages of man. In Mithraism: the 7 ceremonial steps. The Ziggurat of seven-metalled planes. Stairway of Alchemy: Quicksilver, Copper, Iron, Tin, Lead, Silver, Gold -- corresponding to the successive triads of the Tarot. The Gnostics and others claimed that the elohim were the seven gods of Creation.

(See also: HEBDOMAD , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Over the decades much discussion has focussed on finding the exact correlation between the Mayan Long Count and the Gregorian calendar. Most researchers in the field have now come to agree that the so-called GMT correlation, placing the beginning of the Long Count 4 Ahau 8 Cumku on the Julian day 584 283, August 11, 3114 BC, is correct. This means by consequence that it will end on December 21, 2012 and most, such as Jose Arguelles, John Jenkins and Terence McKenna, who have taken an interest in the calendar of the Maya, have endorsed this date as the end of the current cycle.

Read more here: » Mayan Calendar: Why the Creation Cycles do not end December 21, 2012, but October 28, 2011

It is important to remember spiritual teachings regarding prosperity. What we focus on we make real. To develop prosperity consciousness, first remember that prosperity adores a prosperous attitude. Instead of complaining about writing checks for monthly bills, start by giving thanks that you have the funds to cover them.

Read more here: » Prosperity Consciousness: Living the Metaphysical Life - Enhance your Prosperity Consciousness

Why should we understand how the universe was created? Because it gives us a clearer understanding of where we have come from, where we are going, who and what we are, and what our purpose is here. Once you consider that there is a purpose to life, the search for life's origins may very well lead you into a different direction than simply trying to find an explanation for a mechanical or chemical process of creation. This article by Stephen Knapp takes different approach to the origin of the universe, the Vedic approach.

Read more here: » Vedic Science: Understanding The Creation Of The Universe

According to ancient Mayan beliefs the Cosmos was made up by Nine Underworlds. This fundamental idea was expressed very powerfully through their most important pyramids, the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent in Chichen-Itza, the Pyramid of the Jaguar in Tikal and the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, which were all built with Nine different stories.

Read more here: » Mayan Calendar: The Pyramid of Consciousness

The analysis of dreams and their cause by psychoanalysts are defective. They maintain that the cause of dream creation lies in the suppressed desires of the dreamer. Can they create dreams as they like by suppressing desires? No, they cannot do that. They say that desires stimulate or help the dream creation. But they do not know what supplies the material out of which they are made and what turns the desires into actual expression, enabling the dreamer see his own suppressed desires materialised and appearing to him as real.

A spiritual view on dreams and the meaning of dreams by Sri Swami Sivananda, an authority in the vedic sciences and traditions.

Read more here: » Philosophy of Dreams: Introduction to Philosophy of Dreams by Sri Swami Sivananda

In 1999, Bennie LeBeau of the Eastern Shoshone tribe began to experience a torrent of dreams and visions. The visions directed him to set in motion the plans for a massive Medicine Wheel Ceremony. The ceremony is set to take place at High Noon on Saturday, May 8, 2004 at more than 20 sacred sites in the American West, and at many other sacred sites elsewhere around the world, including Australia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and the Middle East.

Read more here: » Native American Spirituality: Native American Medicine Wheel Ceremony on May 8th 2004

We're evolving. Our perspective is changing. When events come into our reality, we're looking at them with more loving hearts. Understanding and compassion are replacing judgment and condemnation. Yet, there are still souls on this Earth who see things very narrowly and demand punishment for anyone who steps outside the prescribed mold.

Read more here: » Conscious Creation: The Greatest Show In The Universe

Spirituality and Science: Two Ways to Arrive at the Truth

Some of the greatest scientists have attributed their sparks of genius to spiritual inspiration. "I assert that cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research," said Albert Einstein.

Scientists today are striving to discover how creation came into being, and how human beings came to be. A state-of-the-art space telescope has been able to detect some of the earliest moments of the Big Bang. By picking up signals from several light years away, we are able to glimpse at the early universe, whose light is only now reaching us, billions of years later. Will we ever be able to discover the secret of creation?

Read more here: » Spirituality and Science: Two Ways to Arrive at the Truth