Books...
One Solitary Life - Book 3:
The Christ Epoch
by Anthony J. Fisichella
(Release date: December 1st, 2008)
Did he really die for our sins or did he live to show us the “Way”?
Synopsis
In the ever recurring passage of the ages, as life, civilizations, cultures and humanity’s awareness have evolved, a message has been eternally whispered in man’s ear; a continuum of Divine Revelation has unfolded essential to the next pending chapter in the Book of Life and bearing a profound vision of mankind’s spiritual heritage. The message contained in this Ageless Wisdom has been one of promise and hope, of a future fulfillment and the possibility of attaining an ecstatic, unified state called Heaven, Nirvana, Mecca or Paradise awaiting mankind at the end of his journey. The Divine Knowledge (Gnosis) explored in the trilogy, One Solitary Life, embodies the coordinates of the path of man’s evolution toward divinity, leading to the attainment of man’s Spiritual Legacy; union with the Divine.
In the first two books of this trilogy we have explored our origins and the nature of the universe we share. Now we turn to the ultimate quest for the enlightened awareness of the Christ nature dormant within each of us. Using the New Testament as allegory for this quest we live the story of Jesus with him, examining the journey through his eyes. What is the meaning of the virgin birth and the visit of the three Magi? Why three temptations in the wilderness and what were the real tests involved? Why did Jesus bring Peter James and John with him to the mount of the Transfiguration? What were the underlying meanings of the mantras spoken on the cross? Did he really die for our sins, or live to show us the “way”? The answers will surprise you and they could transform the meaning of this scripture for all time in the hearts of men and women of faith everywhere.
“The Christ Epoch” is the quintessential exploration of the mystical Path of Light personified by Christ. It delves deep into the symbolic meanings of the events depicted in the gospel accounts of the New Testament, revealing the nature of the path before each human being and the perfected state of human consciousness.
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant
woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He
worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for
three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book.
He never held office. He never owned a home. He never went to
college. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two
hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of
the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no redentials
but himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked
power of His divine manhood. While He was still a young man the
tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him.
He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery
of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He
was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property
He had – His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and
laid in a borrowed grave.
Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone, and today He
is the centerpiece for much of the human race. All the armies
that have ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all
the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned,
put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as
powerfully as this “One Solitary Life.”
(Author Anonymous)
Overview
In the preceding books and chapters we have attempted a broad sweep of the metaphysical compass addressing concepts both empirical and esoteric. We’ve touched upon states of mind that create, influence and even control our perception of so-called reality. The compelling illusion of that which we call reality must be understood and penetrated if we are to liberate ourselves. We have digressed from our principal agenda when it seemed necessary, in order to properly set the stage for our ultimate drama, the Christ Epoch. Throughout we have flirted with and attempted to maintain something approximating a connecting thread of relevance with this lofty Cosmic Principle and Process. Now we must unfold His story, our story in all its splendor and significance.
The forms of the universe, from that of a microbe up to and including all celestial bodies in space and even beyond that to which we can testify and with which we can currently identify, are all expressions and extensions of a Divine Living Presence. Underlying all existence is the unity of this One Force, the One behind the many, beyond which is the Formless Unknown. Each form, therefore, is the manifested expression of an indwelling intelligence, “a boundless drop within a boundless Ocean” (The Prophet, Gibran), that employs the form for the purpose of propagating spiritual awakening of the indwelled life, and thus through it, the Whole.
When the consciousness behind or within the forms reaches a prerequisite, critical level of expansion, a new unique and distinct level of manifestation occurs and a threshold is crossed, so to speak, that leads to entry into a higher Kingdom of Nature. This of course is a higher reflection of that which has brought the previous Kingdoms into being. Each Kingdom is an expression of a state of conscious existence as opposed to a particular form. The forms are the outer expression of the indwelling life and consciousness. Steadily they have progressed from the inert consciousness and slow, laborious rhythm of the mineral Kingdom, revealing, as progress unfolded, more and more of the hidden Divine Nature. In man we see the additional added factor of self-consciousness. From subliminal, autonomic functioning of consciousness that we see evidenced in the lowest of the Kingdoms, through sentient sensitivity, up to the instinctual awareness of the animal Kingdom, we can see the unfolding of the faculties of consciousness. Then progress has given birth to the human Kingdom and in its highest members, we begin to see the faint dim signs of a higher Kingdom manifesting group consciousness and a disposition toward divinity; thus the birth of the Fifth Kingdom of Nature and its progeny, the Masters of Wisdom. Our principle focus, as we proceed, shall be the initiations into the new Kingdom as personified by Jesus and dramatized in the events of His life. In the early stages of development we speak of the awakening individual as an Aspirant – one who aspires toward a new and more spiritually oriented lifestyle, complete with revised attitude and value system. Actually, it is more than a change of lifestyle that is in question. It is the initial stage of a metamorphosis into a new state of existence that is at stake. As the level of Aspirant blends into that of Discipleship, yoga or union with the soul will become the focus of attention. With the intensification of the inner spiritual faculties, an acceleration of vibratory activity is experienced which puts the Aspirant en rapport with the higher frequencies of the soul realm. To become an Aspirant up-levels the game of life. The commitment that is the hallmark of the Disciple takes it to even loftier heights. The Accepted Disciple and Initiate attain levels of consciousness indescribable, only to be hinted at for the uninitiated. The central theme of this work is to expose the Process that raises the consciousness and nature of the evolving human soul from the Fourth into the Fifth Kingdom. This is no easy task. The stages (Initiations) of that Process, as dramatized and personified by Jesus, shall occupy our attention during the succeeding chapters. Think of what He went through. Ask yourself why he did so. See if you can come up with an answer that doesn’t simply parrot religious dogma.
The Concept:
The contention of the author is that there is an accumulated “wisdom of the ages,” which is the basis of the world’s religions. It has been referred to variously as the “Perennial Philosophy” (Aldous Huxley), or the “Secret Doctrine” (H. P. Blavatsky), and shall hereinafter be referred to as the “Ageless Wisdom,”. Simply stated, the purpose of human existence is to provide a medium for the awakening and expansion of the human soul through “self devised and self induced methods,” leading toan expanded state of consciousness, termed enlightenment or illumination, embodied and personified by Jesus, among others, leading to entry into a unique state of existence entitled the “Kingdom.”
This ageless wisdom is the connective tissue that binds us and guides us upon our journey of awakening. We will explore the esoteric reality that is the soul of the exoteric world of apparently separate forms. Understand the principles that are featured within the kingdoms of nature (mineral, plant, animal and human) and follow the pattern as it outlines the stages (initiations) of the next kingdom to be birthed within the cave of the human heart. All things are expressions of the expanding consciousness of the “One Solitary Life” that binds them. Life is a journey of awakening which we all share and in which we must partake. This is the tale of "One Solitary Life" – a mystical tale of all evolving life.
This is also to be a mystical biography of a man called Jesus – it is, correspondingly, an allegorical statement of a seemingly inexplicable Cosmic Process. This is the Life of Jesus – it is also a transcendental drama portraying the ineffable Grand Design of the Universe and mankind’s ultimate purpose and legacy. Essentially, this is a pilgrimage into the mystical and the miraculous. We are to undertake the journey of man’s evolution toward divinity.
Warning! The Christ you will meet within these pages may not be the one you anticipate. Two thousand years ago most of the community into which the Christ Consciousness surfaced anticipated a very different Being than the one they encountered as they trod the roads and byways of Judea. That confusion of identity set the tone for the surfacing Christian ideology and underscored much of the religious confusion in the world for centuries to come.
The Goals of these Books
After many years of study, I have concluded that the Christianity of the early centuries, and what we now know as modern Christian theology, are two entirely different things. Today’s commonly accepted ideologies and personal prejudices are held in high esteem in contrast to a sincere quest for truth and an understanding of the pristine teachings of the Christ. Religious truth is said to be the goal, and yet many end up settling for religious error for fear of having no religion at all. We have detoured so far from spiritual truth that religious leaders not only dispute, but hate each other. Truth is not a luxury. It is not merely a good idea to be taken casually. We are willing to accept the crudest and most incongruous of superstitions rather than admit that our envisioned ideal is non-existent or somehow faulty. Some of us even prefer the security of known misery, to the breathtaking trepidation of mounting unfamiliar spiritual heights. We have a choice between truth and empirical comfort and repose. Mankind tends to oscillate between these two states never acknowledging you can’t have both. Mohammed commented, “There are two things which I abhor; the learned in his infidelities and the fool in his devotions.”
We face a challenge, here and now, as we toil with the demands of life twenty centuries after Jesus lived. The Christ we are to explore in this text is not merely a person, but an embodied Ideal, the abstract idea of the Infinite Divinity incarnate within, not only Jesus, but all mankind. He was, and still is, for humanity, a point of reference by which we may set our spiritual compass, a literal “reference Being,” if you will, having set the standard, the benchmark of human development for ages to come. This is His true value to humanity, for we may mark our growth by the yardstick He embodied. He is the point where all evolution stands awaiting the next great transformation. He embodies the status where the whole universe must arrive as the spokes of the wheel must join at the hub. In Him the whole Cosmos is summed up. Moreover, He is a living bridge, spanning the chasm between the worlds of personal human development and the heavenly realms of the enlightened soul.
Beware, with this work I will be asking you to look past the biography of Jesus’ life into the allegorical implications of that life. We are to look beyond Jesus to the mission He initiated, the Process He represented and the relevance of that “Process” as it impacts upon our individual lives, and the promise of a resplendent future He embodied for each and all. I hope to reveal a face of Christ not seen, as yet, by most Christians. Likely, this Christ will wear many faces. Some you will recognize, some you may not. If you look close enough you may even discover your own.
This Christ will likely differ from the God/man you were introduced to in your religious observances. He may challenge your established belief systems. He may not even be “Christian.” He may, indeed, make you uncomfortably anxious. That is the inescapable consequence of delving beyond the traditional and surrendering the illusion of certainty imposed upon us by our religious beliefs. We are to risk losing the comfort of the familiar. The mystic Jacob Bohme warns; “In the long run it is far more dangerous to adhere to illusion than to face what the actual fact is.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Chapter One……..The Storybook of the heavens
- Chapter Two……..Over The Rainbow: The Plan & The Path
- Chapter Three… The First Initiation; the Birth
- Chapter Five….. The Third Initiation; the Transfiguration
- Chapter Four….. The Second Initiation; the Baptism
- Chapter Six……. The Fourth Initiation; the Crucifixion
- Chapter Seven… The Fifth Initiation The Ascension
- Chapter Eight..… Jesus; a Reprise
- Chapter Nine……Epilogue
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