Christodinism - Aug 4006

2006

THE COSMOS

We believe in the existence of the Cosmos – the ground of being – a fabric of vibrating energies in boundless space – a fabric being woven each moment through infinite time.

We believe in Life – the creative feeling spirit which chooses its own actions and influences the weaving of the Cosmic fabric.

Weird – is our path through life. Each moment Weird is spun out of what was there before, influenced by our creative will.

Orlog – the primal law of the Cosmos, the law of cause and effect, the reality principle. By extension perhaps it can refer to the character of the world, the nature of things, the grain of life. We can maybe talk about the Orlog of a particular entity – whether a physical object or a living creature. The Orlog of a person includes his physical character, his human nature, his temperament, his personality.

Life-Energy – Life is the flow of Life-Energy. Good-flow is what we feel is purpose, joy and happiness. Lack of flow is experienced as frustration, emptiness or depression. Where a source of energy tries to set up patterns within us which are out of harmony with the character of our own soul then this is felt as distress or pain.

Cosmic Value and anti-Value – Where a piece of the cosmic fabric receives life-energies which are in harmony with its nature, then it vibrates freely. This is felt subjectively as joy and happiness and is an absolute Good. Where a piece of the cosmic fabric receives energies which do not fit its nature then this is felt subjectively as distress or pain and is an absolute Bad.

Creature – A piece of the cosmic fabric can come under the sole control of a single entity or process with the cosmic fabric it controls being the ‘soul’ of the creature – and enabling it to influence its physical surroundings.

OUR BEHAVIOUR

Humans are creatures with the potental ability to understand the operation of the Cosmos and to influence it deliberately for Good or Bad. They are thus moral beings with a Cosmic duty to pay attention to the effects of their actions – whether they tend to increase or decrease cosmic value.

Deeds (Karma) – Deeds are our actions. They are the results of bringing our energies to bear upon the world thus effecting its future course. Our individual Deeds can be evaluated for whether they are Good or Bad. Both the intentions behind the deeds and their actual effects can be considered. The cumulative Deeds of a person can be evaluated to determine that person’s Deed Worth. When the combined deedworth of a population is high then life gets better. When combined deedworth is low then society degenerates.

Darma – the moral path, the Good Way. Darma is the way that we should behave. Darma is related to Orlog for the way we should behave with a thing depends intrinsically on the nature of the thing.

Arta – is a principle of good relations between things. Arta is the principle that the energy something receives should be right and fitting for it.

Holarta – is the principle that the Holos or Whole-Life should receive what is good for them. (When the principle of Holarta is put into practice you get a state of Holartia)

Artadarma – is a way of behaving which seeks to relate to others according to the principle of Arta.

Holartadarma - is a way of behaving which is conscious of the needs of all creatures and seeks to bring about the situation where they all receive what are good and appropriate for them.

OUR SIGHT

A part of us is our Sight. Our Sight is our perception of ourselves and the world around us. Our natural tendency is to consider that our Sight and the Reality it seeks to reflect are one and the same thing. Yet this is not the case for our Sight is a part of us while Reality encompasses all things. What we See may not match up at all with what is Reality, and never can what we See reflect all of that Reality.

THE DIVINE

The Divine is a bridge between us and the underlying nature of the world we live in. The Divine is a part of our Sight, but also comes out of Reality.

We seek to pattern our Divine Sight so that we may grasp hold of the nature of Reality.

We call Mazda what it is that supports the flourishing of life..

We call Satan what it is that goes against the flourishing of life.

Mazda and Satan are bound to each other, but distinct. One does not come out of the other, yet one cannot exist without the other.

All life is with Mazda. No life is with Satan. However what is life and with Mazda may not be fully complete and perfect with Mazda, but may come in part either small or large under Satan.

Human minds cannot comprehend Mazda in its totality, so they imagine one or more persons who stand for Mazda in their Sight. There is no single way to imagine Mazda, but it can be better to imagine Mazda in some ways than others:-

First Mazda created Woden, to be a Father to Man, to teach him of Orlog and the nature of reality, and to encourage him to develop in good ways and to increase cosmic value.

Then Mazda created Thor to be an example and help to Man. Thor was good in his spirit, but he had limited vision. He was most concerned for himself and what was near to him, and less for what was distant. Thus some things Thor did had bad consequences, without him caring or knowing.

Then Mazda created Loki to be far-seeing, so that he might be a steward of the world. Loki was very clever, but he did not love others as himself. Loki found that he could shut himself to suffering and then manipulate others to serve his own ends. Also Loki was able to trick Thor and get him to help him in his work. Because he was so clever and heartless Loki was a great danger to the welfare of creation. However there was no one to stand up to him.

Then Mazda created Balder to be both far-seeing and compassionate. Balder loved all creatures and sought what was best for all.

Woden the Father saw that Balder was good and obedient to his will, and that he should rule the world. Thus he named him Christodin which means Chosen by Woden.

When Loki heard, he was furious and vowed that he would battle through the ages to defeat Christodin and kill him so that he might become ruler of the world unimpeded.

Satan saw that Loki would be a great use to him, and Loki saw that Satan would be of use to him, so the two went into partnership together.

Next Mazda created four archangels to be of help to Christodin and Thor:

These were Orodin or First Woden who was filled with wisdom and became the Archangel of Air. FreyIng who was filled with good energy to provide for creation and became the Archangel of Fire. Frigga who was made a nurturer of creation and became the Archangel of Earth. Tew who was made a guard over creation and became the Archangel of Water.

In time Mazda also created other angels to assist the archangels. Some of these angels lived always in the heavens, while some were made flesh on earth.

Three important angels for Anglo-Saxons are:

The Angel of Saint Zoroaster, the teacher of righteousness.
The Angel of King Alfred the Great.
The Angel of Lady Elswith his wife.

MAZDA AND SATAN

We believe that we as human embodied souls have a choice as to whether to act in ways which are Right with Mazda or which are not, and thus are in the interests of Satan . They have a choice whether to act for the general flourishing of life or to act in a way which distorts or diminishes life.

To be right with Mazda it is best to have a guide. Woden the Father, and Christodin the Son are one in their will and either may be a good guide. Woden the Father teaches by instruction while Christodin teaches by example. Thor can also be a good guide when he is a companion of Christodin. If he is alone and free then he may be a good guide but he will not be a perfect one. If he is under the influence of Loki then he will be a bad guide.

Some well-wishing people seek to use Loki as a guide while saying they can avoid becoming a pawn of Satan. (i.e. they seek to use occult knowledge and manipulate others but to a good end). The most common advice to them is that if they open themselves to Loki then his spirit will fill them up and corrupt their good intentions and they will end up doing evil.

GOOD AND BAD DOMINIONS

We believe that the nature of the world changes depending on whether those who have power over others act in a way which is Right with Mazda or if they do not.

If the powerful emulate Christodin then we have Christarchy. If they emulate Loki then we have Lokiarchy.

Christarchy is a Good Dominion – a place of Holartia – where all creatures receive that which is good and fitting for them.

Lokiarchy is a Bad Dominion where only a few people shape the world – and the rest are slaves to their will.

It is the aim of Christodinists to act according to the will of Woden and the example of Christodin – and help bring about Christarchy. This process of bringing about Christarchy is known as christogenesis.

It is possible for people to also emulate Thor. If everybody emulated Thor then we would have a state of natural existence – where the strong would flourish and the weak would be diminished. This might lead in time to a ‘Fairly Good Dominion’ – as the different forces at work came into balance. However if any humans living on the earth decided to follow Loki then they could upset the balance and use their superior sight to take the rest into captivity.

Miscellaneous Concepts of Human Nature and Life

Sight – Sight is a person’s internal representation of their environment. Often we assume that our Sight is one with Reality – but in fact Sight is just an Illusion – our personal mental construct which may not reflect what is real at all.

Temperament – A person’s largely inbuilt disposition to respond quickly or slowly or with greater or lesser energy to things that happen to them.

Character – A person’s disposition to act in a particular way in a particular circumstance. A person’s character develops in response to the situations in which they put in life. By consciously shaping a person’s situations it is possible to shape their growth and thus the development of their character. Traditionally in cultured societies the development of good character has been a conscious goal of child-rearing practice.

Enclosure – A piece of the cosmos which is enclosed by a boundary so that there is limited transmission of life-energy across the boundary. In this situation it may be moral to consider the situation within the enclosure on its own without consideration of what is happening outside.

Holos - the ‘whole-life’ or combined souls or flows of life-energies with an enclosure. The Holos of a place or community is made up of all the individual creatures who are involved in that place and their interests. Saying something is ‘Good for the Holos’ is the same as saying it is ‘for the common good’.

At times we must consider the whole of the planet Earth as a single enclosure and talk about the ‘Holos of the Earth’. However because of the sheer numbers of creatures and their different characters it can be difficult for people to grasp the whole picture and to act in the common good. Thus it is likely to be beneficial to create many different enclosures across the Earth so that in each one the population is both smaller and more homogenous. Traditionally the smallest level of people-enclosure for community living had about 50 members.

Frith – the network of relationships between people. Developing good frith is about building good personal bonds so that life-energies may flow through the souls involved – one rebounding off the other- to the mutual benefit.

THE FOUR PILLARS

The Four Pillars are perhaps the most important guides to following the Darma in Christodinism.

The four pillars can be named according to the four elements of Air, Fire, Earth and Water, or the more descriptive terms of Clear Sight, Right Concern, Self Rule and Good Deeds.

Air Pillar – Clear Sight : This pillar is concerned with a person developing their Sight of the world so that it matches Reality. A person needs to first learn the distinction between Sight and Reality and then become more conscious of the processes that lead to the formation of Sight. Those with the necessary capability should seek to develop their conscious critical faculties to the maximum so that they can see through all the possible pitfalls which normally lead people astray and are able to build the best model of the world that they can based on the evidence available to them. This is a process that has been called enlightenment or intellectual maturity. The most capable free-thinking people will seek to develop their own Sight independently – taking what they hear from others with a pinch of salt. However the majority of people will not get far unaided but will learn most things from a good teacher. Nevertheless they still need to develop their faculty to tell a wise and benevolent teacher from a misguided or treacherous one.

Water Pillar – Right Concern : This pillar concerns the energies you bring to bear upon the world. Right Concern includes Right Focus. You should seek to pay most attention to the things which are most important for you to attend to. Right Concern also includes Right Attitude. You should seek to develop the emotional stances to things in the environment which are the most appropriate. Developing Right Concern depends crucially on first developing Clear Sight. However Right Concern goes beyond intellectual understanding to your deeply-felt emotional orientation to the world.

Earth Pillar – Self Rule : This pillars concerns the whole of one’s natural organic life and growth. Its descriptive name highlights that one can only grow if one has a place, an enclosure, over which one has unimpeded control. Only if you are master of your own house are you free to do what you wish within it. Only if you have time of your own have you a chance to decide what you would like to do with it. Important in this pillar is the concept of the ‘Integrity’ (of an enclosure) – the condition under which life-processes can unfold naturally without being interfered with from the outside.

Fire Pillar – Good Deeds: This pillar is concerned with moral action. Your Deeds are the influence you have on the world – and as a human being you have the ability to see life from outside yourself – including from the perspective of the Holos of an enclosure – and thus you have the ability to consciously try and shape the world for the common good so that all life have the conditions in which they might flourish.

RELIGIOUS TEXTS

We consider the text known as the Songs of Zoroaster or Gathas as forming part of the founding texts of Christodinism.

We also wish to develop new texts in the form of written short stories of relevance to our times which help to develop religious insight among those who hear them – and thus carry Christodinist teaching to a wide audience.

PRACTICES

The three recognised categories of Christodinist activity are: Autarchism (Thoric Living), Christic Yoga and Christic Service.

AUTARCHISM: Living and Growing in a state of freedom.

Autarchism means self-rule, but it covers everything to do with normal living. The term highlights that it is only possible to live and grow if one has a degree of freedom to think, speak and behave without outside interference. The term also assumes the idea that people need to inter-relate with other people in order to fully be alive, and gain what they need. Thus in practice Autarchism is especially concerned with how it is possible to get people to co-operate in creating their lives together, and how they might gain sufficient resources and separation from outside pressures to be able to shape their collective lives to suit what is good for them.

Much can be said about Autarchism – but here we just touch on some ideas for social organisation.

Chapters - Study Group / Fellowship Group / House Fellowship - Church

A Chapter is a Company concerned to spread Christodinism. A Chapter should seek to gain recruits for Christodinism – and getting them involved in an introductory form of Christyoga. A chapter may run Christyoga study groups. When there are sufficient people interested they could be formed into House Fellowships. If there is more than one House Fellowship and outside conditions permit then they may be associated together within a Church. A Church which grows much larger than 50 members should consider splitting into separate branches.

Church - Village - Clan

A successful church should encourage its members to build community together by engaging in joint activities and projects beyond the religious. Such a community we are calling a Village. A Village should seek its Autarchy as far as conditions permit. A village would seek to provide opportunities for social contact among its members, and encourage the provision of mutual aid. A village might consider its food procurement and storage process collectively and might have its own communal premises.

Several villages sharing things in common may seek to combine together as a clan. A Clan may seek to ensure that Christodinists have sufficient political influence that they are able to engage in their chosen way of life. A Clan might seek a degree of economic autarchy – looking to provide a proportion of its own food and other basic necessities. It might organise its own newspaper or newsvideo production.

CHRISTIC YOGA: Connecting (yoking) yourself to Christodin

Common Christyoga: The most basic form of Christyoga accessible to everyone. Includes praying, ritual and story-reading.

Buddhist Christyoga: (Personal Enlightenment) Some should seek an introspective path in which they come to know themselves better through paying conscious attention to the processes of the mind. This is the domain well covered by some religious schools especially the ‘Eastern’ ones – such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The technique of Psychoanalysis and its many offshoots also are based on the same principle. A Warning - Eastern schools may teach detachment from reality as a good in itself (indeed they may not acknowledge the existence of Reality). For Christodinists the purpose of Enlightenment is not to detach from Reality but to engage with it to better effect. A Christodinist is seeking align his mind with the mind of Christodin so that they can perform His will more faithfully.

Truthseeking Christyoga: Truthseekers are seeking to understand the nature of reality Truthseekers should use both an abstract analytical approach seeking to understand recurring patterns of Orlog and a more wordly approach which seeks to pinpoint how the Deeds of different agencies lead to the effects that we see.

CHRISTIC SERVICE: Doing the work of Christodin

This can cover anything where you are going beyond what you would naturally do for yourself (or others you feel are one with yourself). Christic service is about helping your fellow man beyond the call of nature.

We identify four areas of service:
Public Service – Doing the normal work of a society
Charity – Helping those in need.
Mission – Spreading religious understanding and practice.
Crusade – Acting against criminal power or other satanic process

SONGS OF ZOROASTER - Song 4

1. O ye, mindful to learn, I proclaim to you this message,
Unheard as yet by those who are destroying the
civilization of the Righteous,
with evil ways of the Spirit of Untruth,
The message, most welcome to Thy followers
dedicated to Thee, O Woden!

2. As you realize not the eternal truths,
and recognize not the better life,
I come to you all to guide you in the right selection
between the two sides
That we may thence live in accordance with Truth and Right.

3. Tell me, O Woden -
That which Thou shalt bestow by Thy Spirit and Fire,
The blessing Thou shalt assign through Truth for
those acting with discernment,
The Holy Law for their enlightenment.
Give it in Thy own inspired word
That I may thereby bring its realization to all.

4. As you hear our prayer, O Lord,
Give us the Truth,
Give us the help of the Divine Spirits,
Give us the blessing of Armaity,
the Spirit of Benevolence,
And through the work of the Best Mind,
give us the mighty Dominion,
That we may overcome, thereby,
the Evil Spirit of Untruth.

5. Declare to me, what Thou hast, through Right,
appointed for me as the better portion;
Teach me, with the help of the Good Mind,
to know and realize my state,
And apprise me, O Holy Woden, of all things that
are to be and not to be.

6. His is indeed the Best State who declares truly
the message of holy wisdom:
The message of the perfection of being and rightful immortality,
Of Woden's Kingdom which ever flourishes through the Good Mind.

7. He who in the First Beginning thus thought:
Let the glorious heavens be clothed in light;
He by His supreme understanding created the
principles of Truth and Light;
Enabling mortals thereby to maintain the Good Mind.
O Wise Lord, O ever-the-same Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit
make these realms flourish.

8. Not only did I conceive of Thee, O Woden
As the very First and the Last,
As the Father of the Good Mind,
As the veritable Creator of Truth and Right.
As the Lord Judge of our actions in life, I beheld these with my very eyes!

9. Thine was Armaity, the Spirit of Benevolence,
Thine was the Wisdom which created Life,
Thine was the Divine Spirit which established choice
Between the diligent protector of creation, and
the not diligent.

10. Of these two, did Creation choose the diligent
cattle-tending protector.
As a righteous master and one possessing the Good Mind.
The deceiving idler, the non-protector, has no share
in the Holy Message.

11. By Thy perfect Intelligence, O Woden
Thou didst first create us having bodies and
spiritual consciences,
And by Thy Thought gave our selves the power of
thought, word, and deed.
Thus leaving us free to choose our faith at our own will.

12. He lifts up his voice, be he the speaker of truth or
the speaker of falsehood,
He who knows and he who knows not,
Each according to his heart and mind,
May Armaity appeal to the spirits wavering in doubt.

13. Doctrines and deeds, clearly manifest or dimly recognized,
Those which impose great penance for a trifling offense;
These all, through Thy Truth, do not escape Thy perceptive vision.

14. This I ask Thee, Lord!
Of the events happening, and the events to happen,
What requitals, in accord with their deeds, are
appointed for the truthful righteous, and
what for the lying sinners?

15. This I ask Thee, Lord!
What is the penance ordained for one who seeks to
achieve sovereignty for the Liar;
For one of evil deeds who seeks not his living
without harm to the flock of the shepherd;
And of the good who listen not to the voice of Untruth?

16. And this I ask Thee, O Holy Woden!
The truthful righteous striving to establish the dominion
That will further the well-being of his house,
his province, and his country,
How shall his spirit be like unto Thee?
When shall he be worthy of Thee?
What actions of his shall be most acceptable to Thee?

17. Let him that knows, tell him that would know,
which of the creeds is better,
The belief of the righteous or of the liar?
Let not the unenlightened deceive any more!
Be Thou to us, O Holy Woden, the bestower of Good Thought.

18. Then let none give ear to the words of the evil liar,
The liar bringing woe and destruction to house and
clan, to the province and the land.
Resist him, then, with force.

19. Listen unto the teller of Truth, a healer of existence,
Listen unto him who thinks of Righteousness,
Listen unto him the enlightened and the knowing,
Who, standing before Thy holy Fire,
with his powerful words and flowing tongue,
Reveals the truth to the contending sides.

20. The follower of the righteous shall attain the Abode of Light;
But he who deceived the good and the righteous,
For him shall the future be long life of misery and
darkness, woe and despair,
O ye of evil lives! Your own deeds will lead you to
this dark existence.

21. To him, who is Thy true friend in spirit and in
action, O Holy Woden!
To him shalt Thou give the perfection of integrity
and immortality;
To him shalt Thou give perpetual communion with
Truth and the Holy Dominion,
And to him shalt Thou give the sustaining power of
the Good Mind.

22. Clear is this all, to the man of wisdom,
as to one who thinks with care:
He who upholds Truth with all the might of his power,
He who upholds Truth the utmost in his word and deed,
He, indeed, is Thy most valued helper, O Woden Lord!

Back