“It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution.” – Joseph Addison
Fallen human consciousness rejects messengers of truth in the present and reveres the same in retrospect, albeit on their own terms. Whenever and wherever the veil of human arrogance or ignorance is pierced, persecution immediately follows. The light of truth is a direct threat to the darkness of falsehood.
The truth sits above religion and science. Both attempt to comprehend the truth, but the truth cannot be fully encompassed by the human mind. Our minds and hearts are designed to translate the invisible power of love through the pattern of the truth into the visible expression of life.
Humanity has the potential in this sense to connect that which is above, metaphorically-speaking to that which is below. When this is the case, “heaven and earth,” as the Christians say, are one. Put differently, the hermetic principle “as above, so below” proves true whenever and wherever the mediating link between man and his divine essence is in operation. This is not a privilege accorded to a few, it is the central purpose of everyone on earth.
Man’s dissociation from the truth is the direct result of a struggle for control over the truth, the attempt to arrogate unto himself the knowledge of all truth. Having fallen from his rightful place of dominion, he desperately seeks to dominate the world around him to appease the sense of insecurity, discomfort and impotency that accompany the guilt and shame of being out of position.
Persecution is a fear-based reaction held by those who are afraid to be found out of place. It is an aggressive and violent defensive tactic that temporarily alleviates the sense of shame just as an analgesic dulls pain. The problem is that such an approach offers only temporary relief. The sensation of shame eventually returns and it is the early phases of the returning twinges of guilt and shame that the rationalizations flood in.
Fallen human consciousness loves to rationalize the rejection of perfection. They scramble to find sufficiently convincing excuses to escape the responsibility of living in the light of truth. They find ways to accept what they once rejected, albeit, as I mentioned above, on their own terms. Some of the most fantastic delusions under which man operates spring from this deadly cause.
Gregory Hake 
We are all being asked the question will we be true to the truth of love in expression or not? Your post brings to remembrance the reason for our being. I count it a privilege to say yes to this question letting my living align in the patterns of perfection.
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Until there are those found who will bless, rather than curse, those others who represent the ight of truth, we will have the deteriorating condition we have in human consciousness and in the surrounding environment. “As above, so below.”
To love the light and to turn to it, regardless of what it may reveal about us, to hunger and thirst for what is real and right and true, to pursue that regardless of the personal consequences…here is the beginning point, for any who take this attitude, of a new heaven and a new earth.
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This post elegantly describes the most central issue that we as a species must understand and address. Looking back at history, the pattern of rejection is scratched deeply into the record. We are then told that the damage and the mars are to be celebrated, and that the rejected person was right all along. You see the pattern in the big things and in the small, in any area where a person is able to make the truth accessible.
I will not be a person who rejects the people right now who are revealing the truth. They are here, and they are generally vilified (as they always are). To be able to achieve this goal, I must be aligned with the truth myself. I understand that moment to moment perfection is not only a possibility, it is our main responsibility. But to have it, you must understand the mechanisms of the truth and be dedicated to letting go of things that do not align with it. This is necessary, and I will be a person who has no need for the shame of being out of place, because I will not be out of place.
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The individual who functions under the guise of forceful control does not take too kindly to challenging beliefs. The artificial reality that’s always created when truth is compromised in one’s living, has been heavily invested in and for most people even when recognition of error hits them still stubbornly refuse to accept the truth. I follow the pattern you outline and can see the struggle to deal with the guilt and shame leads the mind away from reason into a state of making excuses. This always harms however pleasant the outcome is made to be.
Whole sciences and religions thus turn political instead of being a means to freedom. This also happens in smaller nuclei such as families, and the seed of shame will always seek the light of truth for the love that made us can never fully be denied. These institutions need not necessarily be totally destroyed if we can simply come to our knees, metaphorically, and honor truth. Though the facsimiles we’ve fashioned that we’ve invested our life force into make the world what is today, no amount of human effort can sustain a surreal state and real problems and conflicts will always be evident. If that is present, that should be enough to question the accuracy of our beliefs.
In my opinion, you are raising the most important points anyone could ever consider. Our beliefs are wedded to many assumptions and rationalizations, as have been proven throughout history. Why should we fear challenges to our paradigms? If true, they will always stand and things can only go right, not only for yourself, but for everyone – that’s how important each person is in the larger vision of the world.
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I’ve read many explanations of why mankind has consistently demonstrated this proclivity to persecute one another but this makes sense. Shame is a powerful motivator and the underlying pervasive feeling of being out of place can become overwhelming. In retrospect, seeing how in many cases the proletariat is incited by a few, with a clear cut mission to silence the one; I see what is being manipulated in them, it’s their shame. Read the Bible or historical accounts of many scientists and philosophers and it’s continually repeated. It takes thinking for yourself, courage and discipline to apply it but starting to live without the cloak of shame is to understand freedom. Thanks Gregg.
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I would like to share a simple Zen Buddhist ritual, which is called the Bell Chant. This chant is accompanied by bells and is repeated at sunrise each morning. This is only part of it: “Listening to the bell, I feel the afflfictions in me begin to be solved. My mind is calm; my body relaxed. A smile is born on my lips. Following the sound of the bell, my breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness. In the garden of my heart the flowers of peace bloom beautifully.” Peace, if only we could find this inside of ourselves and be willing to freely give it to all beings, would melt the hardness of our hearts and would free us from the affliction of judgement and hatred. May all beings find Peace.
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Piercing post! I enjoyed the many layers of your writing.
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Me, too.
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