the seven faces of God

[ArmsMerchant]

"if you don't make yourself equal to God, you can't perceive God." -- anonymous third-century Christian heretic

It has been noted here numerous times that we have different perceptions of God. We create our own reality--as the Veda puts it, "We are not in the world, the world is in us." Same thing with God.

Deepak Chopra posits that there are seven faces, or levels of God. If your God is first-level, you will not communicate well with someone whose God is seventh-level, for instance. Since God is infinite, he/she/it/them/whatever can manifest to us with equal validity at any level, depending on our own level of spiritual development--no one is any "better' than any other.

Level one -- God the protector --this is best recognized as the God of the Old Testament, the God which AF ( I think) and I both reject. This god is vengeful, capricious, quick to anger, jealous, judgemental, unfathomable and (sometimes) merciful.

Level two -- God the almighty --this is, I think, the God of Catholicism in general and the Jesuits in particular, being soverign, omnipotent, just, the answerer of prayers, impartial, rational, organized into rules.

Level three -- God of Peace -- This God is maybe a little more Hindu than Christian--as an Indian guru once said "You believe that you were created to serve God, but in the end you may discover tha God was created to serve you." This god is detached, calm, offering consolation, undemanding, conciliatory, silent, meditative.

Level four -- God the redeemer -- this God leans more toward the pagan conception of Goddess, having strong qualities we typically associate with the feminine. This God is understanding, tolerant, forgiving, nonjudgemental, inclusive and accepting.

Level five -- God the creator --One finds this god when intuition becomes so powerful that it must manifest physically. This is the level at which shamans and psychics typically work. This god is of unlimited creative potential, has control over space and time, abundant, open, generous, willing to be known, and
inspired.

Level six -- god of miracles -- This is the level of some saints, among the dozens of whom who could levitate, be in two places at once, emit light from their bodies at prayer, and do healings. This god is transformative, mystical, enlightened, beyond all causes, existing, magical, healing--an alchemist. Words can only convey a hint of this Being.

Level seven -- the god of pure being. This is the god who can only be experienced by going beyond experience. This God is unborn, undying, unchanging, umoving, unmanifest, immeasurable, invisible, intangible and infinite. This is the god spoken of by Sufi and Hindu sages. As Rumi wrote "There is someone who looks after us/ From behind the curtain./In truth we are not here/This is our shadow."

[Railroad Opticon]

That feels like it has some basis.

[Xerxes35]

Originally Posted by ArmsMerchant

"if you don't make yourself equal to God, you can't perceive God." -- anonymous third-century Christian heretic

It has been noted here numerous times that we have different perceptions of God. We create our own reality--as the Veda puts it, "We are not in the world, the world is in us." Same thing with God.

Deepak Chopra posits that there are seven faces, or levels of God. If your God is first-level, you will not communicate well with someone whose God is seventh-level, for instance. Since God is infinite, he/she/it/them/whatever can manifest to us with equal validity at any level, depending on our own level of spiritual development--no one is any "better' than any other.

Level one -- God the protector --this is best recognized as the God of the Old Testament, the God which AF ( I think) and I both reject. This god is vengeful, capricious, quick to anger, jealous, judgemental, unfathomable and (sometimes) merciful.

Level two -- God the almighty --this is, I think, the God of Catholicism in general and the Jesuits in particular, being soverign, omnipotent, just, the answerer of prayers, impartial, rational, organized into rules.

Level three -- God of Peace -- This God is maybe a little more Hindu than Christian--as an Indian guru once said "You believe that you were created to serve God, but in the end you may discover tha God was created to serve you." This god is detached, calm, offering consolation, undemanding, conciliatory, silent, meditative.

Level four -- God the redeemer -- this God leans more toward the pagan conception of Goddess, having strong qualities we typically associate with the feminine. This God is understanding, tolerant, forgiving, nonjudgemental, inclusive and accepting.

Level five -- God the creator --One finds this god when intuition becomes so powerful that it must manifest physically. This is the level at which shamans and psychics typically work. This god is of unlimited creative potential, has control over space and time, abundant, open, generous, willing to be known, and
inspired.

Level six -- god of miracles -- This is the level of some saints, among the dozens of whom who could levitate, be in two places at once, emit light from their bodies at prayer, and do healings. This god is transformative, mystical, enlightened, beyond all causes, existing, magical, healing--an alchemist. Words can only convey a hint of this Being.

Level seven -- the god of pure being. This is the god who can only be experienced by going beyond experience. This God is unborn, undying, unchanging, umoving, unmanifest, immeasurable, invisible, intangible and infinite. This is the god spoken of by Sufi and Hindu sages. As Rumi wrote "There is someone who looks after us/ From behind the curtain./In truth we are not here/This is our shadow."

And can you demonstrate this with any evidence? You certainly would win the nobel prize if you can.

[-ScreamingElectron-]

AM was not the originator of the idea, or so I read in his post.

But you also have to see that, even with solid proof, people would ignore it.

This doesn't seem to be a scientific fact, it is not a compound with a definate atomic weight.

I see some truth in the classification, There is rarely a single god who pools from all the elevels, or even two.

Now fo a asshole/religion classification table!

[Masero]

Why couldn't your God be a collection of all seven, just at different times in your walk of faith?

I think we too often try to humanize God or put him in a box. I'm quite sure that God is above human logic and classification, and ultimately above our ability to understand him completely.

[Whore of God]

Originally Posted by ArmsMerchant

"if you don't make yourself equal to God, you can't perceive God." -- anonymous third-century Christian heretic

It has been noted here numerous times that we have different perceptions of God. We create our own reality--as the Veda puts it, "We are not in the world, the world is in us." Same thing with God.

Deepak Chopra posits that there are seven faces, or levels of God. If your God is first-level, you will not communicate well with someone whose God is seventh-level, for instance. Since God is infinite, he/she/it/them/whatever can manifest to us with equal validity at any level, depending on our own level of spiritual development--no one is any "better' than any other.

Level one -- God the protector --this is best recognized as the God of the Old Testament, the God which AF ( I think) and I both reject. This god is vengeful, capricious, quick to anger, jealous, judgemental, unfathomable and (sometimes) merciful.

Level two -- God the almighty --this is, I think, the God of Catholicism in general and the Jesuits in particular, being soverign, omnipotent, just, the answerer of prayers, impartial, rational, organized into rules.

Level three -- God of Peace -- This God is maybe a little more Hindu than Christian--as an Indian guru once said "You believe that you were created to serve God, but in the end you may discover tha God was created to serve you." This god is detached, calm, offering consolation, undemanding, conciliatory, silent, meditative.

Level four -- God the redeemer -- this God leans more toward the pagan conception of Goddess, having strong qualities we typically associate with the feminine. This God is understanding, tolerant, forgiving, nonjudgemental, inclusive and accepting.

Level five -- God the creator --One finds this god when intuition becomes so powerful that it must manifest physically. This is the level at which shamans and psychics typically work. This god is of unlimited creative potential, has control over space and time, abundant, open, generous, willing to be known, and
inspired.

Level six -- god of miracles -- This is the level of some saints, among the dozens of whom who could levitate, be in two places at once, emit light from their bodies at prayer, and do healings. This god is transformative, mystical, enlightened, beyond all causes, existing, magical, healing--an alchemist. Words can only convey a hint of this Being.

Level seven -- the god of pure being. This is the god who can only be experienced by going beyond experience. This God is unborn, undying, unchanging, umoving, unmanifest, immeasurable, invisible, intangible and infinite. This is the god spoken of by Sufi and Hindu sages. As Rumi wrote "There is someone who looks after us/ From behind the curtain./In truth we are not here/This is our shadow."

Personally I would switch around level three and level four. Level 5 shamanic stuff is all in their minds. They alter their own consciousness, brainwave patterns and neurochemistry through drugs, sonic driving etc. until they start to see the Spirit World. From my perspective, they are percieving illusiary beings because of their altered states of consciousness - a disruption in their normal brain chemistry. But even "normal" reality is illusiary, at least to Buddhists and myself.

As you said in quoting the Veda, "We are not in the world, the world is in us." Whatever you percieve/think/feel, is effectively your reality. There's an old buddhist story about a monkey trapped in a house... it's a great analogy for this. in your thread 'What is meditation?' I mentioned a book, Cutting through Spiritual Materialism. If you ever get a hold of it, read the section about the monkey.

on that note, Level 7 sounds like buddhist descriptions of enlightenment

[Hexadecimal]

AM, have you read anything on how long it typically takes a person to be lifted from hell to the seventh heaven?

I've only been in the seventh heaven once while alive, and I held command over the wind (it stopped upon the instant telling it so, and began upon the instant telling it so) until I shrunk back to a lower heaven. That was the moment I quit seeing NDEs as hallucinations and spirituality as nonsense. Nature obeyed...for no understood reason.

[kurdt318]

I'd say the majority of the time, at his current point in my life, I range between a level 3 and a 4. I've also experienced levels 2,5 and 7.

[Bukujutsu]

Originally Posted by Hexadecimal

AM, have you read anything on how long it typically takes a person to be lifted from hell to the seventh heaven?

I've only been in the seventh heaven once while alive, and I held command over the wind (it stopped upon the instant telling it so, and began upon the instant telling it so) until I shrunk back to a lower heaven. That was the moment I quit seeing NDEs as hallucinations and spirituality as nonsense. Nature obeyed...for no understood reason.

lol +2

[godfather89]

Originally Posted by ArmsMerchant

"if you don't make yourself equal to God, you can't perceive God." -- anonymous third-century Christian heretic

It has been noted here numerous times that we have different perceptions of God. We create our own reality--as the Veda puts it, "We are not in the world, the world is in us." Same thing with God.

Deepak Chopra posits that there are seven faces, or levels of God. If your God is first-level, you will not communicate well with someone whose God is seventh-level, for instance. Since God is infinite, he/she/it/them/whatever can manifest to us with equal validity at any level, depending on our own level of spiritual development--no one is any "better' than any other.

The third century heretic was indeed a Gnostic. The belief that you are a part of God and yet God transcends you. Panentheism is being stated here. But this heretic does not equate your ego with trying to make yourself equal with God, for that can never be... at least initially.

The idea is similar to Gnosticism that there are three levels to a human being: Carnal (Hylic), Psychic (The Soul or Psyche or Psychology), and Spiritual (Pneumatic). This here is similar to our connection of how we perceive God and ourselves. Most are Pre-dominantly Psychic. It should be noted that in this Gnostic view you are all three yet one is more pre-dominant in you.