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The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 10, Verses 1 through 15 reads:
Initiation, Again
At this point, our story shifts gears. So far, our focus has been on Jesus. Now, he begins to send forth his own disciples-- even as John, who proceeded him. Notice that he gives them the words "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This shows us that the energy that was transmitted through John to Jesus is now being transmitted through Jesus to his followers.
Magic, Again
The followers of Jesus receive their power from him. What does he bid them to do? Heal the sick, cleans the lepers, cast out demons, raise the dead.
To say it another way: Physical healing, spiritual healing, and restoration to life.
And he gives them the command: Take nothing with you. Provide for others-- and you will be provided for. Whatever you give returns to you; whatever energy you participate in will manifest in your own life. How many times have we learned this principle? (In my own life, I frequently find myself saying, "How many times must I learn this principle before I put it into action?")
The Power of the Group
Notice that Jesus gathers 12 disciples together. He doesn't have a single apprentice; he regularly ministers to crowds. The metaphor he uses to describe his gathered followers is "the kingdom of Heaven." Jesus does not act alone, but in a group.
Whenever human beings gather together, a kind of group-mind is formed. In Occult Philosophy we call this an egregore. It is literally a kind of shared psyche. Its members experience shared thoughts and emotions, are inspired by the same images, and frequently share what are called "psychic experiences."
My wife and I frequently utter the same sentence at the same time. More frequently, one of us says something at the exact moment the other is thinking of it.
Now, most people experience this sort of thing in their own families-- even if they don't realize it. It's especially pronounced between husbands and wives, and between mothers and their children. But it occurs in groups of other kinds. Neighborhoods, towns, states and nations; sports teams, bowling clubs, churches and occult lodges all have egregores of their own. We participate in egregores whether we want to or not.
I recently spoke to a friend of mine who is an occultist, a Roman Catholic, and a gamer. She told me that her gaming group has been sharing collective dreams. And so she's begun ministering to some of the members of the group who are agnostics or atheists.
Her gaming group has become an egregore-- and, moreover, one with genuine psychic power. Note its characteristics:
1. A shared purpose;
2. Shared activity;
3. Shared imagery, (which, importantly, all the members actually enjoy);
4. Shared emotion;
5. Shared struggle.
These qualities also properly characterize a Christian church. A particular church is a united organization with a collective psyche. That collective psyche or egregore is shaped by shared activity in the form of the mass; shared imagery, in the forms of sacred images, music, and even scents in the form of incense; the many shared emotions of the liturgical cycle and the re-enactment of the Passion at the mass; and the shared struggle against sin.
To the extent that the modern church has abandoned these things is the extent to which it has failed in its mission, and accounts for plummeting levels of participation among Catholics. no imagery, no struggle, no community-- no egregore.
Or perhaps it's better to say that, rather than no egregore, there is an egregore of isolation and meaninglessness.
In earlier times, every town, region and country and even every tradesman's guild had both its own patron saint and its own guardian angel. As does every family. The invocation of the guardian angel and the patron saint is intended as a way to strengthen and bless the egregore with divine power and protection-- because without these things, an egregore can go bad.
Bad Egregores
Every family, every town, every nation has its own collective soul, and if that soul rejects God, which is to say Being, Order, and Goodness, it embraces the opposite of God, which is Evil, Chaos-- and Non-Being. "It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha" in such cases-- because to reject God is ultimately to reject existence itself.
We often find ourselves caught up in egregores that have gone bad-- whether it's our family or our town, our country or our political party. Even the egregore of a hobby or a music scene can reject God and embrace chaos and nonexistence. Under those circumstances it's necessary to remove ourselves from the influence of the egregore, lest we be carried along with it to destruction. But how do we do that? Jesus is about to tell us.
1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Initiation, Again
At this point, our story shifts gears. So far, our focus has been on Jesus. Now, he begins to send forth his own disciples-- even as John, who proceeded him. Notice that he gives them the words "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This shows us that the energy that was transmitted through John to Jesus is now being transmitted through Jesus to his followers.
Magic, Again
The followers of Jesus receive their power from him. What does he bid them to do? Heal the sick, cleans the lepers, cast out demons, raise the dead.
To say it another way: Physical healing, spiritual healing, and restoration to life.
And he gives them the command: Take nothing with you. Provide for others-- and you will be provided for. Whatever you give returns to you; whatever energy you participate in will manifest in your own life. How many times have we learned this principle? (In my own life, I frequently find myself saying, "How many times must I learn this principle before I put it into action?")
The Power of the Group
Notice that Jesus gathers 12 disciples together. He doesn't have a single apprentice; he regularly ministers to crowds. The metaphor he uses to describe his gathered followers is "the kingdom of Heaven." Jesus does not act alone, but in a group.
Whenever human beings gather together, a kind of group-mind is formed. In Occult Philosophy we call this an egregore. It is literally a kind of shared psyche. Its members experience shared thoughts and emotions, are inspired by the same images, and frequently share what are called "psychic experiences."
My wife and I frequently utter the same sentence at the same time. More frequently, one of us says something at the exact moment the other is thinking of it.
Now, most people experience this sort of thing in their own families-- even if they don't realize it. It's especially pronounced between husbands and wives, and between mothers and their children. But it occurs in groups of other kinds. Neighborhoods, towns, states and nations; sports teams, bowling clubs, churches and occult lodges all have egregores of their own. We participate in egregores whether we want to or not.
I recently spoke to a friend of mine who is an occultist, a Roman Catholic, and a gamer. She told me that her gaming group has been sharing collective dreams. And so she's begun ministering to some of the members of the group who are agnostics or atheists.
Her gaming group has become an egregore-- and, moreover, one with genuine psychic power. Note its characteristics:
1. A shared purpose;
2. Shared activity;
3. Shared imagery, (which, importantly, all the members actually enjoy);
4. Shared emotion;
5. Shared struggle.
These qualities also properly characterize a Christian church. A particular church is a united organization with a collective psyche. That collective psyche or egregore is shaped by shared activity in the form of the mass; shared imagery, in the forms of sacred images, music, and even scents in the form of incense; the many shared emotions of the liturgical cycle and the re-enactment of the Passion at the mass; and the shared struggle against sin.
To the extent that the modern church has abandoned these things is the extent to which it has failed in its mission, and accounts for plummeting levels of participation among Catholics. no imagery, no struggle, no community-- no egregore.
Or perhaps it's better to say that, rather than no egregore, there is an egregore of isolation and meaninglessness.
In earlier times, every town, region and country and even every tradesman's guild had both its own patron saint and its own guardian angel. As does every family. The invocation of the guardian angel and the patron saint is intended as a way to strengthen and bless the egregore with divine power and protection-- because without these things, an egregore can go bad.
Bad Egregores
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Every family, every town, every nation has its own collective soul, and if that soul rejects God, which is to say Being, Order, and Goodness, it embraces the opposite of God, which is Evil, Chaos-- and Non-Being. "It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha" in such cases-- because to reject God is ultimately to reject existence itself.
We often find ourselves caught up in egregores that have gone bad-- whether it's our family or our town, our country or our political party. Even the egregore of a hobby or a music scene can reject God and embrace chaos and nonexistence. Under those circumstances it's necessary to remove ourselves from the influence of the egregore, lest we be carried along with it to destruction. But how do we do that? Jesus is about to tell us.
