This is my first video – the next one will be about Odin, and is in the works.
Vast numbers of megalithic sites across the ancient world align to the sun at the solstices and equinoxes, including Stonehenge, the Great Sphinx of Egypt, the statues of Easter Island, the temple at Angkor Wat, and Machu Picchu in Peru. And so many chief ancient deities were symbolized by the sun and revered as sun gods, including Viracocha and Osiris. Even today billions of people still celebrate the solstice. In this video, I give an overview of how a global lost ancient civilization of pyramid and megalith builders practiced a religion of the sun, which became the basis of many of today’s religions.
References
This video is based on 7 years of my and my husband Mark’s research into ancient sites, texts, and traditions, and also my husband Mark’s rediscovering how the religion of the sun was practiced.
I know this post is kinda old and the comment section here hasn’t been active for years…but I sought to share something that I’ve discovered recently which may offer another missing piece of the puzzle that bridges the East and the West. I’m not sure where should I put this information so I will just share it here. I’ve been looking into some jade artifacts that were discovered in China dated back to really ancient times. Here are some of the articles I found about them in English,
https://www.worldhistory.org/image/7342/hongshan-jade-dragon/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-mysterious-jade-dragon-artifact-at-a-5000-year-old-tomb-in-china-180985288/
https://english.news.cn/20240922/54b3ccc6f26c47a085e766cd4781e33b/c.html
Notice that the jade dragons featured here are curled up in a C-shape,some even have their heads and tails almost touching each other. I didn’t know why the jade dragons are curled up like this at first, and mainstream researchers do not have a widely accepted explanation on the possible meaning of these C-shaped dragons. It wasn’t until I came across the symbol known as Ouroboros in Western alchemy, which is essentially a snake biting its own tail, that I realized this could be a symbol of some profound meaning that is universal. Similar to the jade dragons found in China, the Ouroboros is interpreted in a variety of ways. Ranging from symbolizing the cyclical nature of existence to representing the dualistic aspects of it. So this symbol may have a similar meaning to that of the yin and yang, only with a different way of representing it. I do find it intriguing that similar symbols like these have been discovered in both the East and the West, and it really makes you wonder about ancient mysteries. There’s even an interesting story about a chemist who discovered the structure of a benzene molecule as a hexagonal shape composed of six carbon atoms after having a dream about the Ouroboros. Dreams, which are experiences in the astral realm, is another topic on its own. There is a lot that could be said about these symbols, and it’s amazing when you think about how ancient they may be(the Ouroboros was first known in Ancient Egypt, and the jade dragons mentioned found in China are pretty old too(somewhere around 5000 years)😯
Wonderful Emily!
I’ve looked into the Hongshan ‘Zhulong’ (pig-dragon) a lot. So named because the head used for this mythical animal on these jade pendants looks like that of a pig (or at that time boar.)
I also felt straightaway that it carried a deep spiritual meaning. What exactly? – has proven more elusive and intriguing, but a few top options come very close I believe.
The Ourobos cyclical infinity meaning could be one. However the zhulong jade form seemed to have evolved from the earlier jue slit ring (an earing, earliest known earing btw.) Which is like an little bi disc or hoop, but with sawed cut to break the circle.
To this form the head of an animal was added, turning it into a dragon.
With what intended meaning?
Similar to earlier graves where stones shaped in serpent form had a boar head added at the top. A Dragon.
So if one of the Hongshan priests was wearing that on their chest. What did that imply? Were they “dragons”, denoting a certain level of spiritual advancement?
Another suggestion. The later C-shaped ones definitely have a boar face and serpent-like body. However if you study the earlier zhulongs closely, actually many of those heads are not really boar-like.
When I showed some images of these jades to my brother his first reaction was “Ha! Embryos”. I hadn’t seen it from that biological perspective.
If they intended to depict embryonic forms of animals, what would that mean – in the spiritual sense?
Chasing the root of the source of life? Mysteries of birth? Spiritual birth? To become eternally youthful?
For me this was exhilarating. Because I felt they were combining elements from the natural world but were pointing to something else. Of a spiritual nature, inner, esoteric. Entirely enticing and intriguing.
I could share a lot more. But I was wondering Emily how difficult is it for you to get to good quality sources/material on these subjects.
I’ve often ran into the language barrier. But on the other hand access in the west to academic material is pretty good (after searching a lot to get a view of the field) and I’ve been lucky to find a few good authors/archaeologists who published on this in English. 🙇♂️ but in China it might be more difficult to reach to that?
I know that for the Hongshan culture a good main archaeologist is Guo Dashun.
Hi Akira,
Thank you for sharing your finding about the jade dragons of Hongshan! I haven’t looked into information regarding this piece of artifact in detail,since I haven’t got the time to do so. But what you found about the theories of what the jade dragons might represent are indeed very interesting. Maybe I should look into it more. I think the thing with me sharing my findings is indeed that many information I found aren’t available in English, and just the enormous amount of info and subjects that could be discussed also makes it hard for me to put all of them together in an organized manner(as I have said before) And because of the limited amount of time that I have personally I can’t look into every single subject in detail, so what I found are every bits and pieces of information here and there. And also there are some stuffs that I myself may not understand well enough, like just a while ago I was reading about Chinese Taoist alchemy and I got myself lost in the complicated explanations of some esoteric practices, it can be hard for me to talk about them because I don’t even understand them well enough myself. I’ve also found that there are still some folk practitioners who work with certain materials in the physical world. Those are a whole field of study on their own, and due to the fact that they have been largely discredited as pseudoscience, I don’t think enough mainstream studies have been done on them. I believe similar practices in many different parts of the world are not given enough attention by the mainstream due to them being labeled as superstitions or pseudoscience, and I’m still trying to learn about them and understand them myself. I have only looked into the jade dragons of Hongshan somewhat briefly, that’s probably why I couldn’t share more about them than what I already have. I believe if I really delved deeper into them I would find more interesting information;)
I think I should be spending more time on researching than I what I’m doing now,but a lot of the times things in the material world just gets in the way:( I used to do more of the researches regarding ancient history a while ago,but now I’m doing less of that. I think there is a personal struggle that I’ve always had with balancing the things of the otherworldly and the worldly, I try to do my best but I guess sometimes the physical world can just get it the way. It maybe because of something that I have to do for my job, or that I’m just being attracted to certain temptations in the material existence that I would just do those things instead to get sensory pleasure(I guess I should really limit myself on the latter:( ) I have been trying to minimise my screentime before bed and trying to do more introspection so that I could be better off to sleep and possibly having clearer dream experiences. I changed the lightings in my room and limiting my screentime at night as some here recommended, and I have seen an effect in that with my sleep… But still there is a kind of struggle between going into things in the worldly and the otherworldly… Sometimes things just come up that may distract one from focusing on the spiritual, and I feel that I can get myself carried away by that kinda easily… I’ve known this when I’m in the astral realm, but I guess it seems like it’s true in the physical world too. In my dreams sometimes I want to meet the Golden Sun Bird or some other spiritual beings, although I know that’s what I wanna do in the dream and I know how to stay lucid but then some other things may appear like an ice cream truck or a really nice-looking house that may distract me from what I intend to do. I may just follow these things instead and forget what I wanted to do with the dream experience (maybe even after reminding myself many times prior to sleep!) And it’s a similar situation with my everyday life in the physical. I tell myself to do research on certain topics but I may just end up doing something else that is only for the pleasure of this world instead.
Hey Emily,
I think it is great that you can see this connection between the happenings in your dreams and the choices you are making in the physical world. Now its the time for action! 💪
I am also finding that this attraction of the different material “pleasures” or “interests” is always there, and even though I have already renounced many, there are still many left. It seems to be a continuous work, with more and more subtle attachments and fascinations revealing themselves, or the new ones appearing that I have never indulged before, but suddenly there is this new thing, and I get completely immersed in it.
But as you have found out, the dreams tend to show the real truth of our inner world, whether we admit it or not…
Oh my goodness Emily! – you describe the exact same predicament that I/we face each day. The battle between consciousness/willpower/spirit and that of lower inner drives or impulses or egos.
These lower inner drives certainly come with their own mindset, their own plans, ideas, temptations, etc.
They bring daily battles and not all of them won either!
And there are times when it seems so hard, it all seems to be a huge mountain. There are even days when I think of giving up. And, it is in those moments that I catch myself and realise that I have a ‘monkey on my back’. What I mean is – it is those thoughts/emotions/actions that creep in (innocently like) that want me to give up or not persist or abandon hope, etc that catch my attention the most. It is these little ‘temptations’ that become my anchor points, my reality check, my reminder, to deal with the ‘temptation’ as best I can in that moment and to get on with my day as aware as I can – to keep at it.
It is easy to get caught up in the day and forget my/our focus – it happens often – but, remembering to come back, is just as important and potent.
I agree with Lucia when she mentions “it is a continuous work, with more and more subtle attractions and fascinations revealing themselves”.
Our dreams become a barometer – a reference point for us to work from. Keep at it…as best you can.
I take strength and hope from this community who encourages each of us to keep striving for a better version of ‘us’. I hope you find it useful too.
Don’t be too hard on yourself! I know it can be frustrating when you want to change and be different, think of it like bringing light into the darkness, rather than forcing the darkness out. For example, for quite a while I was having issues with procrastination, where I’d get distracted and sidetracked by watching YouTube videos, so I made a deal with myself. If I wanted to do something other than what I was working on, I was allowed to do “nothing”. That is, I could just sit, without distractions, and without the need to do something. Basically meditation, but not so formal. This created “inner space” that helped me see why I was getting distracted, which in my case was related to anxiety and fear that I wasn’t equal to the task at hand. Being able to see what was behind it with compassion and curiosity allowed me to free myself, whereas if I’d just forced it I would probably continue doubting myself. Now when I’m afraid the first thing I do is acknowledge it “ah, this task scares me because I don’t think I can do it”, and then I can see why I want to avoid it, and then I can ask my divine mother for help with the ego. The other thing that helped me was installing a screen time limiting app, because part of my problem was literally addiction. In one case I “relapsed” and was being hard on myself, and was shown in a dream that it’s ok, that it’s something normal for addicts to go through.
It’s a great thing to recognize what it is you want to become, just make sure you approach it with compassion for yourself, as if you were your own friend or child.
Thanks for sharing Julian, the computer work is definitely a tough one. So many distractions available, plus the overall drainage it causes, as well as the physical harm to the eyes and spine…
I have had my share of troubles with this too, and I like the “quiet sitting” remedy for the distractive temptations, will try this out!
“Its something normal for addicts to go through” – ha ha, quite sobering, isn’t it?
Haha, good one 😂
12 step programs to overcome addictions are actually pretty profound, it’s like a miniature simplified inner work, involving relying on the divine, helping others , self-knowledge.
After years of doing computer work, I became very weak physically, and decided to make a change and become stronger. Couple nights ago I was asking how to heal my neck, which is always uncomfortable (I’m always cracking it, not good, I know), and I got the answer: strengthen it. I’ve been doing it a few days and it’s already helping. It’s amazing how getting stronger can make aches and pains disappear, improved posture, and there’s a whole bunch of scientific benefits.
Yeah, I have become very weak physically too, and have been “cracking” my back for decades! Eventually, it all culminated in a “herniated disc” in the lower part of my spine last year, and those were the worst pains I have ever experienced in my life! At one point, I thought to myself: “Ok, I am going to faint now” – like my consciousness had had enough and wanted to leave… Fortunately, at that point the pains started subsiding, and I managed to survive it somehow. I am now in a healing phase, which is very slow (apparently lasts around half a year, and even more if the wrong moves are made). I have found a series of special strengthening exercises for this, which I practice every morning, and a nice by-product of these has been also some reduction of the “unnecessary mass” in other part of my body. 😀
Mark’s mention of the fit extraterrestrials in the OOBE book came quite handy for me too, as I have never exercised my whole life (didn’t have to, or so I thought), but now I see, especially with age, that this is going to be a necessity, not just for looking good, but mostly for health and strength.
Oh boy! Once again. some parallels…I sympathise with you guys!
Aches and pains – definitely my dilemma too. And, the ageing factor also.
I’ve had to incorporate gentle movement and exercises into my day to help the body do it’s thing – ie, reduce built up tension in the neck (Julian, I do find cracking helps but I’ve been told to avoid it and rely on stretches instead), back issues as well (Lucia, like you, I’ve had to deal with bouts of strong pain from strained muscles which have taken quite a while to improve).
A number of years ago I made being fit and healthy a priority and am glad I haven’t left it until now as things for sure get harder physically as we age (but like most things it’s better late than never!). I find it helps to do exercise you enjoy doing no matter what that is, so you’re at least doing something and actually look forward to it, and can always do more if you’re able (strength, cardio, etc., etc.).
I badly strained my neck/shoulder about 15 years ago and the doctor mentioned posture and strengthening those muscles. Now I rarely get neck or back pain even though I’m on the computer for large portions of the day and also do heavy lifting now and then.
Hi Emily,
I agree fully with Julian’s beautiful advice.
I’ve been working myself to a military standard my whole life. Too much. The ‘have to’ can come to trap oneself. Can cut oneself off from nourishment, which makes you feel you ‘have to’ x even more. The weight so heavy that we lean to entertainments, but that weakens our spiritual interest, and again makes us feel we ‘have to’ even more, beating ourselves up. And sometimes in reality not being productive, thinking about it rather than doing.
Another way might be to let go of the ‘have to’, then allow ourselves peace, enjoying a spiritual activity ‘for us’, rest — really enjoy it. This might take some time, to really feel at rest. To allow it. Our psyche clear for a while, to enjoy awareness again, nothing else needed.
And from there do activities out of a gentle love, just one or two, no pressure. Again just enjoying those activities. And slowly build and keep going. We might even be more productive.
Maybe one challenge is that allowing ourselves to let go of the ‘have to’. Sometimes life forces us to.
Of course once we’ve let go inwardly, it is important to decide for activity, fruitful activity. Because unfortunately the defacto direction of our subconscious when not being spiritually active is that we go down, get low and impure. Life is incredbly serious, beyond what people can think, beyond even what I used to know. Our eternal self would want us to do what we should be doing right now, so let’s do it with love (towards ourselves and others).
In terms of research, I hear you. ☝🏻 Sounds like there is a challenge to get to the finds, a combination of external challenges, but also internal.
I’ve got quite a few specific questions within my research that I could use help with.., maybe I can post them here in case there are people up for the challenge.
In general on earth we are spiritually entrapped, so rare is the opportunity for someone to connect to the divine properly, I feel in modern China it’s even more limited. I would love to contribute to opening that in some way in a future through the Religion of the Sun.
Loved Julian’s advice too! @Emily, these devices are sooo addictive. I’ve struggled with them a lot, I do, there was a time when I could trade in my smart phone for an old school brick one and did because I was so sick of myself and seeing other people getting so addicted. I think about doing that again but come up with so many reasons why it’s impossible! It’s probably not, but I have only one friend I can think of who lives fully app-free! Mad really, we all coped without them fifteen years ago. I’ve listened to countless hours (on YouTube ironically) about why they’re so bad, especially for the brain development of children. Thing is, even as adults, we have the same pathways to addiction and I think we need to understand that they have been developed with the specific purpose to hook and keep our attention. Even having your phone in your sight will reduce your ability to concentrate! It’s a real difficult thing for everyone these days and it’s quite a mental fight, which is mad, but it is! I think it’s just something we now have to admit is a part of a struggle for awareness in the modern world and establish some healthy habits and boundaries but realise how pernicious it is … good luck!
Your comment here is very insightful, Akira. I would like to share a little bit of context with you to ask you some questions. In the past months for the first time in my life, I experienced a period of discipline in which I was living my days according to a plan that I made that would help me achieve astral projection, to be more focused and balanced throughout the da,y and addressing my responsibilities in life to the best of my ability. Through this period something strange happened in that although I had in mind the astral projection goal it started to not be as important, instead what became of utmost importance was just being in the present moment feeling the love of God in the present moment. Everything became kind of secondary because I just wanted to be still, I did have guiding dreams regularly and because of that centeredness it was easier to apply the hints in a continuous manner, it felt like the 24 hours of the day were a continuous stream of experience. These past months have been a struggle to get back to the routine with all the resistance, fascinations, changes, etc., and although I know I have already achieved states of stillness, the one in October of last year being the strongest, going down always makes me feel like I don’t really know how to get back up, back to the center. It’s ironic because I know the things that worked in the past but there’s the struggle to apply myself that is not so obvious as to what’s really going on. Maybe this is all a part of getting to know myself more, getting to know more aspects of my subconscious.
Is there a chance that we receive a sort of reward from spiritual beings in the form of spiritual experience at times after a period of struggle to get to the light?
How do you manage to get up from a period of being down, what is your mindset or workarounds?
What do you think it’s important to keep in mind and heart when realizing one is in the middle of such a battle to not despair?
Any input from anyone’s experience is much welcome
Hi Marco, life is full of ups and downs, so I find it helpful to remember things won’t be smooth sailing all the time. Actually in more recent years I’ve mostly settled on a mindset that life is all work and struggle. There is some benefit to that outlook, as you don’t get overly disappointed. Then when things are going well for a time you can appreciate things more.
From my experience, yes I believe there is a reward from above when we go through periods of struggle, if we overcome what we need to. The key is to keep going. It may be one day, or it may be months, or even years. Certain things may be overcome, but other things not. Ultimately we get what we deserve and what we need for learning and moving forward.
I’ve also found it best to not be too hard on myself. I’ve had a tendency to get down and depressed when struggling internally but am slowly realizing that doesn’t really help the situation much. We’re always going to make mistakes and do the wrong things. I think the important thing is to just never give up completely. There will always be setbacks. Just keep going one day at a time and trying to improve bit by bit.
Then we can look back and see we actually have changed and learned, and as long as we’re making some progress over time (even if very long stretches of time in some cases), that’s surely good.
I suppose if there’s one one-size-fits-all approach, it would be self knowledge, and being curious about what’s making you feel a particular way. I think a lot about what Lara wrote a few months ago, about the importance of not deceiving oneself.
It’s hard to know what the best thing to do is, without knowing the cause. That said, I always find it useful to clean the space I’m in physically. Another strategy I’ve used is to choose “less bad” options. For example, I might feel like reading a novel is a waste of time, but it’s a better waste of time than doomscrolling TikTok ;) Physical movement, getting out of the house and running errands, situations where you interact with people, being in nature, would all likely be even better “less bad” options.
Wishing you much insight!
Hi Marco, I have often found that things happen for a reason. Sometimes we are placed in a completely new environment best suited for our learning, as a continuation of something we are uncovering. If we are always in a recognizable environment, what is there to learn? Are we to remain in kindergarten forever only to be the best in class?
I also echo Jon’s comment to not be too hard on ourselves and pick ourselves up again however we know we can. Much better to change the approach to learning new things than keep wallowing. As hard as it sounds, I have found it to be a vital skill to learn how to get back into the swing of things and adapt with a good spirit and ignore the psychological traps of doing well vs badly. Ultimately I have found it to be a game of learning. I really enjoyed the last chapters of the Astral Book regarding the misconceptions of astral projection experiences, something I will always keep close to heart.
I think you being ‘on the case’ is a great sign already Marco, I appreciate it, as I’m also always trying to find my way again and again.
That period where practicing in your life went so well sounds wonderful and radiant (like the sunny weather here today.)
Perhaps a help was given for some time (by your spiritual father perhaps) to make you see what it can feel like and what you can be like, a daily life with order and a divine peacefulness within.
And indeed maybe now you have to figure out how to get there again? To see the things that prevent us from a daily inner work like you described. I’d certainly want to get back to that.
“Why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up”
How to get up? I noticed there’s a lot that could be said if I start to consider that.
In general for me I did apply that principle of doing what I knew I should do, even if I my mood didn’t feel like it. As I learned about from Mark. About entropy, to counter it with activity. Manage one activity strong like that (within and externally). And then the next as well. Then it would start to raise my inner level.
But like you said, the weight on us can be so heavy, come from a great momentum. From memory, they say we have around 80.000 thoughts a day, and tomorrow like 90% of the thoughts we have will be the same ones. In our brain if we’ve fed certain neurological pathways for years, they’re almost automatically the go-to. Same for the emotions in our belly. The egos want their food.
To change that would take work. I’ve noticed how a thought of worry can then ‘zhoom’, strike one of those pathways in my emotions in my stomach area. The thought is weak, but the emotion strong. From then on it can feed in the background and I can feel heavy after for long periods. And such ways can become chronic and that’s dangerous.
Not to get too deep into details of self-study. Only to say if we’re in a low state, a lot has probably happened already.
Another thing I’ve seen in myself. We all have this ‘program’ within that pushes our person to reach success in our ‘human animal life’ (out of danger, to status, career, procreation etc.). It’s interesting though if we choose to go for awakening, that same program might task itself with awakening as its goal. But its ways (and goals) are different.
What I want to highlight from that is it can put one in a sort of tunnel-vision work, pushing us through activities unplesantly, locked into the miserable feeling that awakening is somewhere impossibly far off.
But the way you describe Marco is much better. Working from that awareness, guarding that.
Then again to see deep caverns we need get dragged deep to bring them up, and much of my life has been like that tbh. That’s where we learn.
One thing of course, to actually be rid of ego states, with the help of our mother goddess will create more of that stillness and clarity.
Hey Marco,
Your experience of a continuous stream of feeling in the moment and God’s love sounds amazing and very special :) I’ve had glimpses/moments of that feeling here and there which have been life-changing, though I guess truly transcendental experiences are the exception rather than the norm in everyday life. In case you are feeling disappointed that you can’t get that feeling back, rest assured that it’s still possible to be happy even without perfect discipline or awareness :)
In difficult times, like people have said, the main thing is to keep going and do your best, remember that it won’t be forever, and not be too hard on yourself. I’ve usually always found that once I’ve made it through to the other side, I’ve grown as a person, and value what I learned from it. Prayer is always a good idea.
Some things I’ve found that lift me up, in no particular order, include seeking out and connecting with good-hearted people whether they’re family, friends, work colleagues, online etc. Being able to see the humour in things can lighten up a situation, bring laughter, and sometimes brings a different perspective. Unburdening myself of unrealistic expectations. If you like animals then caring for them is really rewarding, even just something simple like leaving water for birds outside. Appreciating the little things that are good in the world and in life, like kindnesses shown to us, the awe of nature, and things of beauty.
Priya, it’s really nice to read your ‘everyday’ advice, of seeking out good-hearted people and doing little things for those living beings all around us. I think sometimes I can try too hard to escape the world, rather than connecting to the good things around me. It’s easy to wish we lived somewhere among angels, but actually we can try to bring angelic qualities to our own patch of chaos, or see the goodness shining in normal people’s lives. Just wanted to say thanks, your words really resonated with me. :-)
Hi Lucia & Others,
I think it’s definitely true that dreams are reflections of our inner world. Through my personal experiences with dreams I can tell that dreams can be manifestations of what maybe going within my mind,and to a huge degree be impacted by the subconscious. There are also times when I would sincerely seek spiritual knowledge or guidance, through contacts with spiritual beings like the Golden Sun Bird,that I would be able to learn from my dream experiences. I think I am able to differentiate between what is most likely a result of my own mental influences and what could be hints being put forward by spiritual beings to perhaps guide me,but I’m not always engaged with seeking higher spiritual wisdom. I may choose to follow what my lower drives tell me to,instead of where the spiritual road signs may point. It is a struggle that I have always dealt with,and I try my best to keep myself on the right track, for the lack of a better way to describe it. And about screens,I think they can really be a quite huge distraction, especially these days with so many smart devices, they offer so many entertainments and it can easily get someone hooked to them without thinking much. I don’t know if it’s possible to live without these devices completely in this day and age,but I try my best to limit the time I spend on them, especially in the hours before I go to sleep. I do sometimes click on YouTube videos about relaxing music and calming mantras,I think they can help me wind down. I also watch YouTube videos on spirituality sometimes, and I think that can be a convenient way for me to learn. I’ve been watching a series of videos by a Youtuber named Spirit Science called the Christ Series, it talks about an alternative understanding of Jesus and his teachings that is different from what most Christians today believe. And I found that pretty interesting,you could look it up on YouTube. Those videos are made in a sort of cartoonish manner but I think they are really informative. I have unsubcribed from many channels that make contents which fuel my lower drives, I’ve also cancelled my memberships on platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video,where I would just be watching random shows on there. It saves me money in the physical but also does me a favor spiritually. I try to get rid of unnecessary distractions as much as possible,so I guess there are some efforts that I have been putting into this. I guess it’s a personal struggle for everyone, but it’s also part of a journey that those who are inspired to explore the spiritual take…
Keep at it Emily – small steps, small changes, every day, bit by bit.
It all adds up to the bigger picture of who you’re working towards in a spiritual sense.
And, we’re all here sharing or insights and comments in a helpful/encouraging way…
One interesting bit of continuity as well.
The later Shang culture (c. 1600 BC-1050 BC) also had access to actual Hongshan zhulong jades (dating to 2000 years before them!) So just as today we might be collecting antique precious objects, they too seemed to already appreciate those religious artifacts. They also produced their own mimicked versions out of jade. Found alongside each other in royal burials.
Shang example
, and another.
In the first known Chinese writing, Shang’s oracle bone script, the glyph used for dragon is likely based on the Zhulong jade type form’s legacy. Historical forms of character for dragon . Historical forms of character for dragon,
Interesingly it’s got a ‘crown’ on its head. That, I believe, comes from a head piece and what used to be a depiction of a feathered headdress.
It has made its way down, I believe, to the current character for long . 龍
Oh wow!
Mind boggling – yet again, more similarities with other cultures, artifacts and their possible significance or symbolism for the people of the day.
I think it’s different for each one of us ,depending on where we are on our soul journey. For me, when I’m down I have to use enormous force to push myself up again and in doing that I become stronger and so doing the work throughout the day becomes as a normal way of being. There’s not this feeling of ‘I have to this’ it just follows naturally.
If I’m really struggling for a longer time I make a priority to just be in my body rather than mind. To feel what’s the body doing and in that way somehow the mind follows. Also reminding myself of what’s really important. Getting fascinated or building up the strength in each moment, the strength that leads to love. As you say, Marco, to feel that love from God.
There’s definitely a reward at the end of any struggle I found. Even if I just keep on trying and nothing seems to be getting me back to the center, that activity alone is enough to get that reward.
I think it also depends on where you want to be internally. Are you OK with – just be a bit aware and in peace or do you want to explore the depths of possibilities that we can travel to.? The goal seems to determine the severity and intensity of activity.
Beautiful video and quite moving. I teared up when you said the last line of the video, “…and here at Sakro Sawel, we’re reviving it.” I hope that I can help revive this ancient way as well. There are so many incredible traditions and practices that are being revived and practiced today. I had had the good fortune of being a part of several revival ceremonies around the world and it is truly humbling to be able to practice in this way. I hope that the work you are doing can assist all the these communities in their revival efforts.
I wanted give my impressions on a work called ‘The Golden Bough: A study in Magic and Religion’ by anthropologist James G. Frazer (19th/early 20th century) in relation to its possible usefulness for research into the ancient religion of the sun.
A little summary: In the book the author gathers many traditions, rituals and stories of ‘magic’ practice and religions of the past. Relating descriptions of observations of these, comparing and finding the common themes in them and endeavouring to explain their meanings which have become obscured over time.
Pros:
A massive amount of descriptions is given for different ‘magic’ (pagan, religious, superstitions) practices around the world. Many of which have earlier links to the religion of the sun. Especially the many accounts of festivities across Europe, some still celebrated in the early 19th century, tracing back to old pagan ones are interesting to learn more about.
Frazer does a pretty good job at explaining many intriguing symbols and the meaning of activities employed in the rituals. (Like on tree worship, fire festivals, ancient myths, ‘sympathetic’ magic, a plethora of superstitious beliefs and more. See list here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/)
He attempted to discover the meaning of the elements in these practices as well as overarching themes. A main theme he encountered was of “… the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the Earth. He died at the harvest and was reincarnated in the spring. Frazer claims that this legend of rebirth is central to almost all of the world’s mythologies.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough#Summary)
Cons:
Again there’s an impressively extensive range (700+ pages) of descriptions of different magic and religious practices across the world. But it’s based mainly on the written accounts of others’ observations that the author read. As one critic mentioned: Lienhardt himself dismissed Frazer’s interpretations of primitive religion as “little more than plausible constructs of [Frazer’s] own Victorian rationalism.” (from wikipedia article on The Golden Bough)
As the author himself writes he viewed, or had the theory, that human belief moves from the stage of magic, onto religion and then onto science. This view also shapes the way his study is approached in the book. But this paradigm or view, which like some have mentioned is a bit like placing the theory of evolution onto human belief, has been demonstrated to not hold up (even at the time of publication) and has since been superseded by many fields of research.
In my view, and as is evidenced and explained in Mark and Lara’s work, there were influences of high and advanced true spiritual knowledge in the past in different cultures/places/times. Unfortunately, if I look at the annual festivals for example, over time many declined in different ways. Also some tribes, groups etc. around the globe are completely separated from this and have constructed their own local beliefs or superstitions.
To mix remaining elements of genuine ancient spiritual knowledge, together with declined ritual practices and festivities, along with things altogether separate from a divine origin— and then bunch that together into “magic” undermines the genuine higher spiritual knowledge originally present and makes the hope for a correct spiritual picture of the original divine knowledge bound to be flawed.
To conclude:
The many, many, accounts from the book of religious/magic practice are educational to hear about, might well supply good references to further leads, show the widespread influence of the religion of the sun in so many places, plus the author’s own insights on the accounts often take the understanding of them further. Despite this, on the whole, for the purpose of adding to the knowledge of original solar practice it left me quite mixed. This is due to the materials used (light and dark, pristine/original and declined) being mixed, the author also presenting it so and consequently this is passed onto the reader.
It makes me see the value of someone (Mark) putting the pieces of original pure solar practice together based on spiritual experience.
So I wouldn’t recommend the book in its entirety. But it remains insightful and it could be useful for certain purposes (when wanting to read accounts of the last remnants of European annual festivities for example, or other specific subjects) and in the digital age access to it is free and searching through it easy.
It’s available here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/
Thanks Akira. Yes, it’s a pity that genuine spiritual practices and principles become mixed with degenerated ones in time. Then the combination of these is presented as an accurate depiction of those past eras.
So we are very fortunate to have this site, which gives a much truer picture of humanity’s spiritual past and current potential.
Thanks for your thoughts Akira.
This is why I appreciate Lara and Mark’s work so much. They cut through the cruft of opinion and half-truths to clearly lay out, in an easy to read way, the authentic Spiritual Path and the origins of the Wisdom Bringers.
Having had the good fortune to have found these teachings I can now see and understand (some of) the morass of information out there and how they all have a little bit of the truth contained within. The unfortunate aspect is that people, in general, are content with believing in opinions. Wouldn’t it be wonderful though if more people were able to read spiritual texts and gain the inspiration and guidance from them? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more people could live authentic transcendent lives?
Thanks for raising this Akira,
Does Frazer write about Australian Aborigines?
Hi Martin,
Yes Frazer does mention the Australian Aborigines at least a few dozen times in that book.
But it seems he mainly relates accounts and descriptions of their superstitious-like beliefs and practices, ‘magical thinking’ as some in anthropology would call it. For example:
“The aborigines of South-eastern Australia believe that a man may be injured by burying sharp fragments of quartz, glass, and so forth in the mark made by his reclining body; the magical virtue of these sharp things enters his body and causes those acute pains…” ~ The Golden Bough, Chapter 3, §3.
Rather than evidence (as far as I can see from briefly having a look) which links the known ‘modern’ practices of the indigenous back to an ancient solar source. If such links can even be deduced still from remnant modern traditions that is? Which I don’t personally know since I haven’t researched it.
If you want you can have a more proper look at his many mentions quite easily. The book is available for free download at gutenberg.org for example. Then a ‘ctrl+f’ search in the document can do wonders :-)
Thanks Akira,
The example you give of ‘magical thinking’ is exactly the kind of thing I came accross a lot when reading up on Aboriginal anthropolgy and psychology.
There are references to sun worship in some modern Aboriginal art that suggests that in the past there was a deeper knowledge within the culture.
In 1965, Charles Mountford, a well known anthropologist wrote:
‘The Aboriginies are not interested, as we are, in the episodes of the past. The important things to them are the cycles of life; the development of the individual from infancy to old age; the progress of the initiates from ignorance to knowledge; the rounds of the seasons and the movements of the heavenley bodies’
There are also many references floating around to ‘Stone Culture’ introduced by ‘beings from the North’. In his book: Australian Totemism; G Roheim partly traces early Aboriginal stone culture and wrote:
‘Having traced the central Australian culture back to New Guinea, we may ask whether we are not dealing with an early branch of that great migration which evidently introduced certain forms of stone culture into the pacific; the starting points of this stone-culture is ascribed to sky beings’
As for the modern art I’ve been looking at it is obviously influenced with sun worship with obvious references to the sun, stars and their spiritual relevance. However, one would need to know what to look for.
Lara,
When looking into your comment on how many of the sites align with one another, I found some articles describing this information in more detail, such as this one from Graham Hancock, which highlights some very interesting inter-site geometrical relationships:
https://grahamhancock.com/geographic-geometric-relationships-alisonj/
This is amazing!!
What an interesting video covering such important topics as the origin of life and the history of humanity!
Thank you and I look forward to the next one :-)
Thank you Lara for making this video and starting this series. The information in it is just so amazing and really makes me look at Earth’s history with new eyes, and bring a wonder and hope about the potential now.
Really liked the music as well, well done! With a seriousness but also wonder, a traditional sound yet also modern synthesized touch.
I know very little about Odin, but would love to know more, so looking forward to the next video.
Thank you!
I think that it’s a monumental initiative you and Mark took, to revive the religion of the sun in this age. It’s beyond comprehension for me how big this is and I wish wholeheartedly to be successful. Unity is most needed in our times and fights against what opposes it.
That video was a great introduction. I’m looking forward to what is next.
Thank you Lara for the video and transcript, as well as for your efforts to revive the Religion of the Sun. I feel very fortunate to be able to practice this religion, and to have some understanding of its real purpose. I look forward to the next video.
Thank you, Lara, for the transcription. It was very helpful for me to understand the video and all these valuable information about the pure religion of ancient times that it was common in so many areas on earth far away from each other.
It is also awesome that there is this site of Sakro Sawel with the purpose to reveal the lost religious history of the humanity and many details about the path to the final liberation and how the ancient practitioners understand and celebrated the religion of the Sun.
Thanks to everyone involved in producing this informative video, in easy to comprehend English.
May this video spread far and wide so those searching can find it…!
Amazing past history of the wold! Looking forward to the next video.
Great to have a transcript to read over again. The video was a really wonderful introduction to this site and I’m so looking forward to the next video.
So appreciative of all this new information.
Great website and excellent video overview and introduction to the religion of the sun. There is so much to learn about our ancient spiritual past – incredible mysteries out there just waiting to be unraveled. The challenge has been to able to decipher the facts from fiction. Having a website like this helps us gain a better understanding of and access to the truth about ourselves and why we are here. I can’t wait to see what’s to come next!
Great video – really well done. Very inspiring to have that overview and to have it all laid out like that. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you for uploading the transcript, it’s very helpful.
It’s amazing how ancient this knowledge and spiritual tradition is — I always felt that there was something more to the myths and legends that have been passed down through different cultures and yet share so many similarities wherever you look in the world. The question of “Why do different traditions share very similar stories?” never felt like it was sufficiently answered by chalking it up to coincidence or a penchant for making up the same kinds of tall tales. I’m really looking forward to understanding better how these ancient mysterious sites, stories, and people are linked to the religion of the sun and what our link is to it all today.
Just looking at the monuments — some of them were built so exquisitely so as to withstand the passing of thousands of years, and here we are thousands of years later — it would be amazing to be able to really perceive at a deep spiritual level the messages that ancient people went to so much trouble to preserve for us now.
Thank you so much, Lara and Mark!
Amazing video!
I was watching it for the second time, with my laptop close to my apartment window on the 25th floor and, for a while, I was staring at the city down there when I felt a strange sensation kind of showing me how far we are from those golden times, and I sort of missed those times of old so badly, even though I have no memories of living them.
Once more, thank you!
Interesting insight David. Sometimes when being outside in nature and aware, with the energy of life being able to reach me and ‘hit me’, it shows itself to be such a contrast to the normal, mechanical, in front of screen city living many people find themselves in externally and inwardly. I really hope this bringing forth of the Religion of the Sun will allow people to start connecting to live around and themselves again. It is such a waste, and so serious, to let our lives slip by without it.
I believe that great is the need and yearning for it in some people and the world today, so accordingly great is the potential as well. Really looking forward to seeing the light emerge, develop, grow, blossom and reach out!
I’m very excited for what’s to come from this gradual revival of the religion of the sun and also deepening my own understanding of it. I’m happy to imagine the kind of unity and perhaps brotherhood that once existed amongst the human race. Would be amazing and all kinds of beautiful to have that again. Thank you, Lara, for your dedicated work. Wonderful video!
Thank you very much Lara for the transcript of the video, it helped me understand right the information I couldn’t only with listening to it. A wonderful video, with incredible timeless information about the world and our life, the end was profoundly inspiring and touched me deeply.. Thank you so much for this!
What a wonderful website and such incredible information in that first video, can’t wait to see this site develop more.
Amazing video. Thanks Lara. Looking forward to the Odin one.
All the best with this new website. Beautiful name.
Thanks Lara, I’m still buzzing from your video. The information from Mark’s spiritual experiences and your amazing and dedicated research has brought new hope for many of us who are truly searching to find their way home.
A big thank you to Mark, Lara and the team.
I’m glad you said it that way John about finding the way home. I feel the same way and also agree that it has rekindled a hope to find that path.
Totally agree, John and Craig.
This information is truly fascinating, so interesting.
I really like how you link the great sites, well-known today to all, and how some of these actually link to each other across continents! I had seen this kind
of information before but it was without this context of the religion of the Sun, so I was not too sure on its legitimacy.
I am very grateful to have access to this information and the wisdom behind these monuments that tell us to look up and look within.
THANK YOU for all your efforts to revive this ancient practice. It makes you feel that we are all truly one and the practices carried out by ancients of long ago are still and can be refreshed and made applicable today.
Lara thankyou for sharing such a great explanation of the sun religion and it’s history on our planet.
As you have mentioned there is so much compelling evidence of the religion of the sun and it’s magnificent accomplishments. After all the destruction and persecution of this ancient wisdom, I am very grateful to have access to this timeless knowledge. Thankyou!
The Vedic and Hindu histories record that there was once just one religion practiced across the earth, which was in the times of the Golden Age. It is amazing that the religion of the Golden Age has made a return in these times of the Kali Yuga, and like you say, after so much destruction, which in so many ways, continues even as we write. It looks like enough has survived though, and that the darkness hasn’t been able to stop this light from shining forth now and from re-emerging.
To think, that that same thread has weaved its way into the present. Precious times we live in.
Thank you Lara. It really is a profound and shaking thing to realise – that there is a fragment of this spiritual teaching from a Golden Age surviving now on Earth, now when it’s in such a desperate time of darkness.
The video is wonderful, a really powerful message clearly given. I really like the symbolism of the sun woven in to the background and what you’re wearing. Wishing you and everyone working on the Sakro Sawel project all the strength in reviving the ancient religion of the sun!
That is an amazing thought and really puts the religion of the sun into perspective!
This is so profound to think about. Despite the great passage of time, so great that such events are only known in myths, we’re now, in this day and age, able to tap into the religion of the sun. Wow…
Thank you Lara and everyone else behind the scenes in making this new website possible. I’m eager to learn more and see this knowledge become more widespread (once again)!
Thank you Lara for this reminder. It makes sense to me that in the more advanced times/yugas, so many branches of religion and resulting conflicts between them would not be necessary. How amazing that this light of the Golden ages now shines on us in all this darkness. I hope many can take advantage of it…
Thanks so much Lara for all your work and dedication to making available to us all!
I appreciate the way you deliver it to make it accessible to all yet so interesting and compelling.
What a fantastic article, and look forward to more! I would like to know more ways of bringing the Light into my everyday life,as what you’ve described here really touches a deep ‘nerve’ within me.
Thanks for sharing the video and transcript – so much interesting information. I’m really looking forward to future videos in this series!
Hi Lara,
First of all, many thanks for the transcript of the video, I found it very helpful to be able to read your words. I really appreciate how clear and straight forward this information is presented, and what a beautiful website! I really look forward to explore, learn and take part in this revival of the religion of the sun.
In your blog, what really touched me too is the realization, that from all of these ancient sites, the religion of the sun, at one point, united people across the world, no matter their locations or origins. They each were able to celebrate the sun in accordance of their culture and express it in their language, as well as through arts showing how universal this knowledge is. And it makes sense, as the children of the Sun, the light can be found within everyone.
Thank you for bringing forward all of this information.
I also got a sense of unity that we have lost. A union with the divine brings unity between us. I think that is such a strong message and the absence of this amazing religion of the sun highlights the fragmented nature of our human race as we have been divided without this knowledge and practice as a human race.
Thank you Lara for this incredible website, beautiful, inspiring and exciting video. I hope so many people will find this message and feel that yearning of wanting to go home.
What you’ve written rings so true to me, Juno. Thanks for expressing that sentiment. I wish so much for that unity as well and hope to see it growing as this site develops.