Alchemical

Transformation

It was an early spring morning, the birds were singing, the air cool, and the trees were green with fresh buds. I was waiting by the side gate of a monastery for a Church Father who is known to me as Francis. My name is Yohann (Johann), which is more commonly known in your day as John. It is a dark time and much ignorance prevails in the world, so what I am doing must be kept secret. The authorities are in constant watch for heresies and other challenges to their power - even to the point of killing all who oppose them. So fearful are the people of the authority of the Church and those they employ in their court, that few would even consider countering them. Yet my life is not like the lives of many of those who cannot break out of the group mindset, or have the strength to stand on their own apart from the majority. My secret life is exploring the true teachings of the Master, our elder brother, while under the very nose of the Church.

After a short time the door was opened to my knocking, and my friend met me, inviting me to quickly come inside. We were heading down to the catacombs, where, in a secret meeting place, a select few had gathered to continue their lessons. We were studying all sorts of hidden knowledge which had been outlawed by the Church authorities, such as astrology, numerology, what would be considered a precursor to the tarot, a whole host variety of symbols, cosmological depictions, and special chants, hymns, and mnemonic sounds.
       

Sometimes during periods where this elect few were studying we would hear the sounds echoing down from the choir singing above in the church, which would have the effect of resonating with our spirit, while opening our minds to higher reality, allowing us to receive from the source of self. In addition, we would often partake of special substances to open up our lungs and breathing, enabling us to super-oxygenate our body, as oxygen is an important ingredient in opening the mind to inner enlightenment.

	When we didn't have to meet down in the secret places, we would use the light coming through the stained glass in the church to tantalize the mind, and when the choir wasn't singing, mystical chants would take their place on our lips. The churches were constructed in a way so that the energies of higher reality were able to be channeled within the structure, and into the people inside, especially to those who were able to open themselves to receiving it. The energies in the air of the churches were at times electric, and they felt energizing. The smells were soothing to the mind, calming it from the worries of the day.

The musical songs that Francis had written were special harmonic chords that were sung according to specific sequences - sopranos, baritones, tenors, and so forth, that generated frequencies which literally had the power to initiate the stages of opening the mind to higher reality, especially when viewed in combination with the stained glass, so that people were able to begin to receive impressions from their soul-self. In this respect, because of the nature of the presentation to the people, this musical interlude and cascade of light served a purpose that was virtually equivalent to the scriptures that were read in the churches. The organ music accompanying the voices and the vortex within the building all enhanced this experience. People would come from far and wide to witness the mystical nature of the church where Francis was, and come to hear the legendary music. In fact, in time, those in the Church became jealous of the fame of Francis's choir, and secretly plotted against him.

How do we come to know about our soul?

When I first met Father Francis he was already older, and I was yet young, but this was not the first time I had met this soul. There was an important aspect to our meeting that is necessary to understand from the soul perspective. The meeting between our two souls had been preordained prior to entering into that life, and when we were able to recognize one another, this opened up a soul reality that initiated the steps for transformation.

It is important to see that I did not live in the monastery environment, rather I lived in the world and possessed the things that those who live in the world have - a house, a wife and children (family), work to provide for them, and so forth. Everyday things are important because they provide us with the means by which we might grow and overcome the barriers that limit our mind from knowing the soul perspective. It is through everyday things - and what they represent within us that alchemical transformation occurs. By taking every event and situation in our life, raising it up and living to the highest degree possible, without compromising the truth, we are able to grow and expand our minds beyond its inherit limitations - this is what Father Francis did, and what he showed me was a fundamental truth.

All the teachings of a Church is merely a way of preparing a person to reach this stage of maturity. A stage where a person can begin to be drawn inward and onto the inner revelation that comes from knowing our True Self. This is called turning the scriptures within - applying the scriptures towards the inner realities, as our daily lives unfold. In my life with Father Francis, as I began seeking the Truth and putting it into practice in my life, changes began to occur. But I was not the only one.

Francis would spend time with a select few people as necessary and help bring them into spirit through such methods as the candle flame (or firebrand), which would be similar to regression techniques used today, but his methods were in much greater depth. With these connections, using the allegorical symbols in this world, and allowing a person to enter into a meditative state of mind, just like meditating to an open-pit fire, the mind can become free of the limitations of the body and guided into exploring the knowledge of the Soul-Self, gaining in perspective including past lives and even manifesting traits and qualities achieved or mastered in the past, moving them through the dimension of mind known as time, into the present. It was through such things that Father Francis was able to help awaken the few to the higher reality, and allow them to engage and interact with their own Soul-Self.

Another very important component to the holistic endeavour for alchemical transformation - burning the dross away in the fires of purification, and turning the lead in one's life into gold, is to actively strive to purify and consecrate all aspects of your life. Purification is another way to fulfill the Law, including the Royal Law (and the Divine Pattern), which as I previously mentioned during my life as a scribe to Jacob, and an Ebionite, includes living consecration in your lifestyle - to the best of your ability, like that of the Pattern as our elder brother Yeshua lived. The secret of Alchemical Transformation is in the Divine Feminine, which has the transformative power (the philosopher's stone) to alter the masculine lead into the refined gold, and when the masculine has been transformed, he in turn alters the feminine. However, the feminine can only reasonably perform this function if she maintains her purity - and so it can be said that man's most immediate saviour is woman. In the same way that the body can be perceived as feminine in relation to the (masculine) spirit, alchemical transformation comes from making the two into one flesh - which is the very nature of our soul.

Your physical body is the temple that must be made pure, and the mind is the active force by which to consecrate this temple within - that is made without hands. Such things as not partaking of dead flesh in your temple, and drinking pure water, are two vital ingredients. Although the time was a lot different then than today, and chemicals, pollutants, and other such environmental toxins were not nearly a problem, these too should be avoided to the best of one's ability in order to make the body-mind a fit vessel for the spirit to indwell. Making oneself pure would include freeing oneself from: addictions, blindly following traditions (ie: worshipping idols), chemical dependencies, and sexual promiscuity. This does not mean that sexual relations are wrong, rather, unless they are kept in a holy and sacred manner under the sacrament of marriage, they serve as a means to limit the mind from opening it to higher reality. Just as during the life of Wakita, I stated women are sacred, so too is sex sacred because it is an essential part of the Divine Pattern. Defilement of the body-temple comes from within, and whatever is put into this temple, if not done in a sacred manner, as a part of the Divine Pattern only brings outward defilement. Admittedly, often times these are not easy things to do, especially without the proper framework or support structure for doing so. Nevertheless, these sorts of things are essential concepts for purity.
 

In time, as I worked through the concepts as presented to me by Father Francis, and put them into practice in my life, as well as working with a select group of individuals, studying the cosmological symbols and inner realities as they relate to self, I began to be more and more receptive to the Truth, and the indwelling light that was opening my mind to higher reality. Occasionally Francis would ask me to perform tasks while he was busy with various other duties. And as the select group made advances, this knowledge began to be applied and carried out into the nearby surrounding communities, as this was the only way for us to work on bringing all aspects of self into Oneness.
 

It was another day and I was performing another task for my friend Father Francis. He had requested a certain berry that could be found in the wild. As I ventured out into the surrounding countryside, I used a mental calming technique to help direct my thoughts and open myself up to the direction to go where I might find these berries. With applying intuitive powers of mind I was able to receive a direction in which to go search. After a short search I found what I was looking for and once again I returned to the place where I could find my friend. He solemnly greeted me and taking the berries, added a known concoction of materials, which he began to apply into a paste. Then he asked me to follow him as we went to a quiet place below the church where I met a new face.

Francis took the paste and applied it to parts of the external body of this person and explained to me what he was doing with it - what the effect was. He explained to me how certain seekers required more extreme measures in order to break the hold the world had on their mind. Then, as he gave this person reassurances about what he was doing, he had the man breathe in deeply from his nostrils and told the man to let his body relax, as he fanned the vapor from the paste onto the man. Soon, Francis was guiding the man through his well known methods of fire and light to take the man into the journey of the deeper recesses of the mind. As I stood there watching these events unfold, I began to see shadowy forms around me, and my perception of the catacombs was altered. Francis's calm and even voice kept my sight on the man and the firebrand, but the shadows tugged at my mind. Francis explained to me that we were being drawn into the reality of this man, and those influences that were causing him to have such a difficult time from escaping this world. He said there is nothing to be fearful of, as long as we remained in the light of self.

Using his knowledge of the spiritual, Francis was able to guide and direct the consciousness of this man, out of the darkness that had captivated him, and on into higher realms, where he was able to be free of his earthly limitations. Then, as the man's consciousness was immersed in the light of his higher self, the man began to receive knowledge and learning unlike he had ever encountered before in his life.

Before too long, the man's consciousness again returned to his body and he awakened to this world, but this time it was different to him. The man was no longer affected by the many negative influences that had been possessing his body and mind, and he was free to once again live according to his will. The man gave thanks to Francis, who told him that thanks belonged to our Father. Francis then gave the man a stern warning: if the man did not from now on continue to live his life in a way that reflected the gift that he had been given - by keeping his vessel cleansed, following the teaching as given to him by the inner Light, then his fate would be worse than how he was before.

The man now said that he was having difficulty remembering all that he had seen and what had been imparted to him by the Light. Francis reassured the man that if he sought to live his life, seeking the highest ideal and living up to the Truth that comes from the one true source of Light, then his memory would be more and more restored and the inner Light that he had witnessed would become more and more a part of his mind and being. Then Francis gave the man a guideline of things to follow, and said that if he needed help or someone to discuss these things with that he could talk to me about them.
 

In time, as the core group of people was built up, we began to apply our spiritual knowledge within the nearby communities, and this in turn reflected upon internal changes within us - alchemical transformation of the lower body vessel. Although the threat and fear of the Church hung over our heads, we were not alone in our struggles. Within the Church structure was those who were sympathetic to our cause, and who themselves began to follow the teachings - they kept a watchful eye out for us, informing us of any "heresies" that might have reached the ears of those in the Church who were adamant on destroying anything resembling Truth.

In order to have a successful movement occur, you must not have any sectarian divisions. When people lose sight of who they truly are, desiring to possess what another has, then the movement defeats itself. Spirit is true to Spirit, and while that Spirit may take different forms and multiple views - such that the soul perspective appears different to different people, the Oneness of Spirit must be honored. In the same way that the body possesses many parts - organs, glands, etc., so too does Spirit act through various means and functions, yet the body is One body, and Spirit, in spite of its many aspects, works together as a Whole - as One Spirit.

When Spirit moves in the life of an individual, and that individual responds and begins to develop self, their soul-self gains from the experience, and in turn this draws a person closer to the divine - closer to God. The soul perspective is to have us understand our purpose and our place in life - to live the very best life that we can under the circumstances we are under. Souls such as Yeshua and those few who were his disciples, pursued Truth and the knowledge of the Soul for aeons - lifetimes of seeking - and so, Spirit charged them with the task of representing and defending the Truth, bringing this knowledge into this realm in a way that allowed others to gain and grow in their lives by following the teachings as given to them by Spirit.



I mentioned earlier that it is important to recognize the door of opportunity, such as when I recognized Francis as a man who was able to help me with my life. From the perspective of soul, being born into a life where opportunities are going to open up often requires making intuitive decisions, because while spiritual knowledge is withheld from a person, the greater gains, that are an important part of alchemical transformation, may be made. During a previous life that the souls of both Francis and myself lived as disciples of Yeshua, like other disciples, we intuitively recognized him (and he knew us). This recognition between Yeshua and disciples has happened many times over the centuries, as these souls came together in order to grow and develop with one another as a group.

When I lived as Jacob's scribe, it was predetermined that I would be involved in and around the movement of the first century with the writing of the New Covenant scriptures and being a part of the group whose purpose was to help bring the soul who lived as Yeshua to complete his final stage of the journey, returning (being born) into the kingdom and becoming One with God, as depicted by the baptism to the crucifixion.

When Yeshua finished his journey, he would not be born again into this world, having taken his physical body with him, because from a higher perspective of mind, the greater would suffer loss, and so he charged his disciple Jacob with the task of maintaining the tenets of TheWay, which he has been watching over for centuries - since the completion of Yeshua's journey. Yeshua knew who Jacob was in that life, and he visited him regularly to give Jacob the opportunity to begin the process of soul awakening during that life - which Jacob achieved.

For this reason we find recorded in the Gospel of Thomas scriptures the following, which is also reinforced in the Clementine Homilies: (12) The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you will depart from us. Who is to be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."

Yeshua would be unable to return to this realm because his disciples are now carrying on the work that he himself completed and perfected. The disciples are not trying to make this world into a veritable utopia, which can never happen (Luke 17:20-21), but are providing people a means by which the journey of the soul may progress in development, by creating the most opportunities for it to do so. The disciples are doing the work of the Father from life to life because they are the few who have the capacity, but also are given the foresight and vision to actively oppose the darkness and ignorance of this world by not allowing themselves to become seduced and burdened down by it.

As an Ebionite I lived my life as one who recognized the Master when he came for the Ebionite Elder named Matthew. During the first century, as Jacob's scribe I recognized his soul and so I did not turn away from him. As friend to Father Francis I again recognized the teachings when I saw them presented to me. In the next article I will discuss one of those lives where I lived as a beacon in the Church prior to its wholesale corruption.