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. One angel, one mission

1. Metatron, the angel
2. Creating my world
3. Freedom of Choice
4. Place of choice
5. Pagan Belief

One angel, one mission

#angel

One angel cannot have two missions. Two angels cannot have the same mission.

Bereshit Rabbah & Targum Rashi  

תָּנָא אֵין מַלְאָךְ אֶחָד עוֹשֶׂה שְׁתֵּי שְׁלִיחוֹת, וְלֹא שְׁנֵי מַלְאָכִים עוֹשִׂים שְׁלִיחוּת אֶחָת, וְאַתְּ אֲמַרְתְּ שְׁנֵי, אֶלָּא מִיכָאֵל אָמַר בְּשׂוֹרָתוֹ וְנִסְתַּלֵּק, גַּבְרִיאֵל נִשְׁתַּלַּח לַהֲפֹךְ אֶת סְדוֹם, וּרְפָאֵל לְהַצִּיל אֶת לוֹט

No single angel carries out two missions. Nor do two angels have a single mission. And you (f) said in addition, as Michael said his piece, and left; Gabriel was sent to overturn Sodom, and Raphael, was there to save Lot.

   —(Bereishit Rabbah 50:2)

and behold, three men: One to bring the news [of Isaac's birth] to Sarah, and one to overturn Sodom, and one to heal Abraham, for one angel does not perform two errands (Gen. Rabbah 50:2). You should know that [this is true] because throughout the entire chapter, Scripture mentions them in the plural, e.g., (below verse 8): "and they ate"; (ibid. verse 9): "and they said to him." Concerning the announcement, however, it says (ibid. verse 10): "And he said: I will surely return to you." ... And Raphael, who healed Abraham, went from there to save Lot. This is what is stated: "And it came to pass when they took them outside, that he [the angel] said, 'Flee for your life.'" You learn that only one acted as a deliverer.

   —(_Targum Rashi_ on Genesis 18:2)

This is echoed in physics, where it states “No two objects can occupy the same space at the same time.” It is not a repetitive universe, and no situation can re-occur in exactly the same configuration.

We might spend a lot of our time and energy trying to recreate an event that affected us from the past, but even if we repeat it, it will never be the same as the previous one. The classic example of this is sex. If one’s first sexual experience is blissful and fulfilling, one may seek this bliss in further sexual experiences, but it will never be the same as that first one. Or, strangely enough, if one’s experience is one of brutality and pain, one might find oneself seeking to recreate that same feeling…
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The negative version of this is that the experience is horrible, and so one will spend the rest of one’s life avoiding this experience so as not to experience that horror again. Just as the negative aspect of the wonderful, blissful feeling is in the frustration at never achieving that same blissful high again.

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Metatron, the angel

#angel

There is a line of thought that places Metatron at the centre of the continuation of Creation. The very word, Metatron, referring to a “tron” — as in proton, neutron, positron, electron, etc — as the meta-particle from which all the other particles emerge. It is as if he, Metatron, is constantly flinging “arrows” down into the world, and each one produces one of the “tron” forms, according to the characteristics of its entry.

However, another line, perhaps a gentler one, is that there are certain angels, who, upon meeting (or being called to a meeting) by Metatron, is then sent on its journey into this reality. Some might flit in and out of our experience, some might find a more visible (and permanent) form — from a mountain, to an insect, etc. This form might take a moment to emerge, and disappear, or it might take aeons for it to form. It could be of a galactic nature, or microscopic and short-lived. The metatrons, flitting in and out momentarily, seem to be short lived, but many are incredibly ancient, and have been playing their particular tune since the music began. They too, are the “leaders” that open the game, like the pawns in a chess opening. For until they have set the board in motion, none of the other angels can emerge and enter to fulfil their tasks.

An angel meets Metatron (or a Metatronic event) and it emerges into our reality—even if only as a momentary and visceral event. It is like the double helix of the DNA molecule. However the angel is not one of the two strands, but the energetic force of the axis mundi around which the two streams, masculine and feminine, form.

In order for anything to exist, there has to be the space in which it can exist. So before existence emerged, there needed to be space into which it could manifest. This “space” is not space as we know it—for that would require something that had to be removed. This was just a perception, pregnant with possibility.

This “space” is measured by “time”! Not the time we measure, which requires space for the object to be measured in, but movement or progression, as in the emergence of the finite within the infinite. One might think of this space as an expansion, but that is from a finite point of view. From the standpoint of the Infinite, space is a contraction.

The angelic force enters via the the Sephirotic gates and has to pass through each in order to incarnate (even for a moment). But once ensconced, it forms the link between the upper and the lower worlds of the soul and body as an expression of the Divine Will to incarnate.

Driven by the desire for the Infinite Oneness, the Unity, to have the only experience It could not have—that of separateness, of duality and of death. In the realm of the One Infinite, there will be the need to express this anti-thesis of Its own Being in some part of Itself.

As All is Perfect, with the Infinite Oneness, also known as the Infinity of Infinities, there must be an Infinite Multiplicity, or rather, an Infinity of Infinite Multiplicities that are balanced in the Infinite Oneness. In fact, the only Oneness we can comprehend is the Infinite Oneness of the Multiplicity apparent in both these Infinities. For the only place we can rest is at that vertex that is the One that is the Unity, Yechidah, the Zero point, the point of origin, Nothing!

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Creating my world

#creation

The realisation that we can (re-)create our own world, that we have the ability to influence our own environment, is revelatory. That is the freedom we all seek. The unfortunate consequence of that realisation is that I have to take responsibility for my actions. I can no longer ignore the effect of my actions on others, nor my emotions or even my thoughts.

Although the tribal directive tells us that we should all live the world within a certain framework, and that it is impossible to live without that framework, and be happy, or fulfilled or go to heaven otherwise. The next step is to realise that you are an individual within the group mind.

Starting off as kids, where we are taught to accept the edicts handed down to us from above, whether it is by our parents, our teachers, or by any other adults. Thus we are born into a world controlled by those who have authority over us. Then we grow up, to be surrounded by those who now have the authority to demand our compliance, often in the name of God and his minions, adhering to the framework within which we are allowed to function.

It ends up with a desire to escape that web of constraints. The only way to do that is to become an authority oneself.

Surrounded by the ultimate cage, the one that is defined by God, and then handed down to us by man, we often forget that this is just a human interpretation of the Will of the God, the Unknowable. It is fortified by the mythos that surrounds the enlightened ones like Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, to name a few. For though human like us, they are assumed to have a special relationship with the Divine.

There are two attitudes that emerge from this.

The first is that they are better, or different, than us. They are “special”. This attitude fortifies the division between us—that there are those who are “special” and different, and thus deserve their differing status is life – the aristocracy, the wealthy, kings or presidents, and even the prophets. This is often referred to as the “golden shadow”.

Whereas the “(dark) shadows” consist of self-doubt, guilt, and the other shadows that prevent us from realising our full potential, there is also the golden shadow, which, by living in another person’s “golden shadow”, you believe that you are less than that person and can never achieve what he or she achieved. This is another, more subtle, way of saying to yourself that you are less than…

Then there is the more enlightened view, which states that if they are indeed human, then they are much the same as any of us. Thus, any and all of us, have the potential to become enlightened like any of them were, for each one of us, too, carry that divine spark.

Returning to the framework, it is an incredible testament to the creativity that we can achieve and accomplish so much within this limited structure. For, as we stated, this structure, was handed down to us in another human – and thus limited - form. However, if the underlying framework is Divine, that is, part of the Infinite One that is all we know and more, then the framework is essentially infinite in all directions, therefore there are unexplored sets of possibilities available that we can manifest by accessing the creative urge that lurks within.

As a human being, we are the Divine in human form, with human constraints. Look at the “human” as constrained expressions of our true being, the Divine we experience as the infinite side of our being. We can tell the difference between the two, by becoming aware of whether we are expressing the infinite side of our beings, or whether we are coming from the finite, human aspect thereof. The words that I associate with limited are fearful, believing in the manifest, thus restricting our infinite potential. The ones that emerge with the infinite Divine are loving kindness, mercy, balance, honour, etc. From here we ascend to the next level, which can only be expressed through our love of God, the Divine Creator, and through our gratitude for His Love.

The age of enlightenment will emerge once we realise that we are all divine. In fact, everything is divine, for everything comes from the Creator, Blessed be his Name, and everything contains an iota of His Energy. In fact, no atom could exist without His Hand in it. No molecule can form without His Blessing. The conclusion of the conscious person is that if you cannot see the Divine in something, it is only because of your blindness and fear, your unwillingness to be grateful for the Love of the Energy that Created us all.

Freedom of Choice

#exc/judaica

That is the paradoxical and Divine essence of our existence… the freedom (and burden) of choice, for the human experience is ordained, and inevitable, but the spiritual experience is optional.

This is now the place of choice. The place of transformation. The existential fork in the road. Which way will you turn? It is not a place of up or down, in or out, but one of whether you choose to make your God finite or infinite. Your cosmology based on an infinite idea, or a finite one. Your choice.

G-d is the exclusive source of life; hence life, by definition, is connection with G-d. A "life" of disconnection from G-d is pseudo-life — a life devoid of all but its most superficial illusory shell.

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Pagan Belief

paganism  

1. spiritual beliefs and practices other than one of the main world religions, specifically a non-Christian or pre-Christian religion.
   a. the spiritual beliefs and practices of ancient polytheistic religions.
   b. the beliefs and practices of contemporary religions or spiritual movements based on ancient paganism.
2. a modern religious movement incorporating beliefs or practices from outside the main world religions, especially nature worship.

A pagan belief is not to associate the Creator G!d with our world or the objects and manifestations thereof, but to believe and relate to (any of) them as actual god(s). It also does not believe in an omnipotent G!d. It is possible for a person (or persons) to achieve incredible things and have great influence upon us, b ut that is not sufficient to make them a god, though they could be thought of as G!d’s hand having been laid upon them. What the consequences of having multiple gods ruling over the world around them might mean to them will be culturally based (and biased), dependent on their beliefs.

However, we would be silly to denigrate our ancestors, and believe that they did not have as clear a view of the spiritual universe and its makeup as we do today. An article in Britannica on Providence Theology has something to say on the topic, showing that the belief in the Divine hand that rules us all was not absent in the pagan belief system.

…arbitrariness of the gods of paganism exist for the most part only in the imagination of those Christian theologians who attempted to denigrate the pagan religions.

There is only One Creator, G!d, even though, precisely because He is One, It seems to be made up of parts. However, each part, and part of parts, can only be It. That we are part of Creation means that we are It (in It, of It).

A mystic may say something like: “I am having an experience of separateness”. I say, that is what I am—an experience of separateness. Thus i am Creation itself, being that Creation itself is an event of separation—within Infinite Oneness.

This separation is being finite in an Infinity. It is a magical, inexplicable, and rather mysterious process of the finite being of infinity. I like to say that it takes an infinite amount of effort to produce any finite. It would be a process of the infinite restriction (of Itself) by an infinite amount to become finite. And it manifests this process endlessly as a part of Itself.

Yet infinity is a concept, an idea, that can only be born from a finite part that, although experiencing itself and the world as finite, has realised that it is encased in, or stems from, an infinite environment. Only through realising finiteness (finity) can you begin to perceive infinity. With that awareness comes the deep realisation that we are separate from the Infinite that surrounds us. That is the darkness of our despair.

In mathematics, one extends a function called the Zeta function so that a series, like $1+2+3+4\dots$, of numbers which would normally diverge, eventually attaining “infinity”, converges instead to a certain number. That is not what is noteworthy though. The noteworthy action is, as the article below puts it, “making this new function produce finite values (when normally it would be divergent, producing infinite values) involves subtracting another divergent sum, so that the infinity from the first divergent sum minus the infinity from the second divergent sum end up as something finite.”

This is just something to think about in relation to what I stated above: that it takes an infinite amount of energy to produce a finite being. Or, the only way you can affect infinity is with infinity.

Warning: contains mathematics!
Zeta Function $\zeta \blacktriangledown$

For those who might be willing and able to read an interesting article on the topic, namely Infinity or -1/12? by David Berman and Marianne Freiberger.

The Riemann zeta function, denoted by $\zeta(z)$, is an important function in mathematics, particularly in number theory. It is an analytic function initially defined as an infinite series:

$\zeta(z) = 1 + 2^{-z} + 3^{-z} + 4^{-z} + …$

where $Re(z) > 1$. This series converges locally uniformly, and thus $\zeta(z)$ is analytic in the domain $C$ with $Re(z) > 1$.

Using some high-powered mathematics (known as complex analysis) there is a way of extending the definition of the Euler zeta function to numbers $x$ less than or equal to 1 in a way that gives you finite values. In other words, there is a way of defining a new function, call it $\zeta (x)$, so that for $x>1$,

$\zeta(x) = \sum_{n=1}^{\infty} {\textstyle \frac{1}{n^x}} = 1+\frac{1}{2^x}+\frac{1}{3^x}+\frac{1}{4^x}...,$

and for $x\leq 1$ the function $\zeta (x)$ has well-defined, finite values. This method of extension is called analytic continuation and the new function you get is called the Riemann zeta function, after the 19th century mathematician Bernhard Riemann. Making this new function give you finite values for $x \leq -1$ involves cleverly subtracting another divergent sum, so that the infinity from the first divergent sum minus the infinity from the second divergent sum gives you something finite, producing a whole field of mathematics called transfinite arithmetic.