Where is God? “He’s in your heart” responded a high-ranking official at the Vatican. “No he isn’t I don’t have a heart.” replied David Lonebear Sanipass, a Mi’kmaq Native American Elder who attended the parliament of world religions representing 39 different longhouses and over 300,000 Native Americans.

The two men look taken back and confused, David continued, “they said that Christianity destroyed Native American spirituality, no it didn’t, you just murdered 200,000 of us.”

At this point in the conversation, I took a step back feeling uncomfortable with the line of questioning. David had stopped two men and had started asking some pretty tough questions. I was curious why he said 200,000 because the number of Native people killed in the name of religion and conquest is in the millions. The men continued talking for a few moments discussing some hard questions facing all religions in what I can only deduce was an attempt by David to have the Vatican representatives think globally rather than secular.

In September of this year, I attended the parliament of world religions with Native American spiritual representative of the Mi’kmaq peoples. I would like to state clearly that it is not my intention to offend or put any belief, group of people or person down. I do not claim to know anything, this is written from a standpoint of being a spiritual truth seeker my entire life and trying to understand the world of spirit, religion, life and the nature of GOD. I commend anyone who is a seeker and looking to make a spiritual connection. This is simply written from the perspective of my own experiences and research in religion, spiritual seeking, and understanding.

The parliament of world religions had over 200 different, unique and distinct recognized religious faiths. As I walked around talking with people and listening to talks I began to consider what it would be like for a person seeking GOD or a child who didn’t have any previous knowledge of religion. How would they feel? What would they think? How would they know which faith was the right one?

Who is GOD? Webster’s dictionary defines God in the following way;

1. the supreme or ultimate reality: such as

a: The Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe

b. Christian Science: the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit: infinite Mind

2: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship specifically: one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality Greek gods of love and war

3: a person or thing of supreme value

4: a powerful ruler

Next, let’s define Religion:

Latin: Religare: to bind

Religio: obligation, bond, reverence

Religion: Life under monastic vows

1a: The state of a religious

b (1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural

(2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3: archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Finally, let’s define “Church.”

Church

Ecclesia (or Ekklesia) in Christian theology means both: a particular body of faithful people, and the whole body of the faithful. Latin ecclesia, from Greek ekklesia had an original meaning of “assembly, congregation, council”, literally “convocation”.

b. A public place of divine worship.

All of the above definitions are very important to consider and understand if we are to look at the world, religion, spiritual faiths with a new level of honesty so we can advance our understanding of spirit and end religious conflicts and the war on this planet.

Religions, ideologies, churches, faiths, and groups of people have a capacity to do great good and help a person navigate life is a set of tools and a moral compass. They also have the same ability to wage war and create a sense of spiritual stagnation keeping one from ever advancing their knowledge past a certain point because a representative of some kind must bestow their power onto you or with a promise of an afterlife and various other techniques.

There is a very important distinction to be made on what is considered religion and spiritual ideology. These are simply generalities observed;

Religion is more or less has a set of rules, do’s and don’t, protocols for knowing God, living a righteous life. They also have rewards and consequences for good and bad behavior. Normally other religions, viewpoints, or spiritual practices are seen as “misguided or wrong.” and will not lead to inevitable salvation. Examples Christianity, Catholicism, Muslim, etc

Spiritual Ideology: Seek to know God, spirit, and self-understanding. Protocols are suggestions and not rule sets. No specific consequences or rewards for positive or negative behavior, simply an experience or evolution of self/spirit. Other viewpoints, beliefs, and religious practices are fine and also can lead a person to God.

When researching different religions, you begin to see a common template. The 200 religions agree that God is unknowable, unimaginable, and incomprehensible. Because of this truth and fact that God cannot be proven scientifically, the followers must exercise faith in their practice. This template, for example, was followed by L Ron Hubbard who was a failed science fiction writer. He adapted the formula you’re about to learn in a unique way to create a religion that is now worth almost 2 Billion dollars! He was quoted as saying, “You don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.” I can’t confirm if this quote is true but I found this talk by L. Ron Hubbards great, grandson Jamie DeWolf to be interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciupsqkLLkQ

The first part of the formula for creating a religion is the acceptance that GOD is unknowable. Next comes your master, prophet ascended master, or teacher. It is my belief that most of these masters did walk the earth, whether it was Nakayama Miki, Auguste Comte, Ellen G White, John Smith, or the more well known Jesus Christ, Buddha, Muhammed, Zoraster, Confucius or the countless others. You must start your religion with someone who has either spoken directly to God, represents God or has ascended to a level of consciousness beyond everyday man. This is where we start to get into some murky waters because many of these masters are real, legit and left the planet with profound guidelines for life. Other so-called teachers are quite suspect. Learning to tell the difference takes a level of spiritual acuity developed through research and your own understand and spiritual practices. In the book, The Bhagavad Gita: According to Parmahansa Yogananda, he shares the story of a local spiritual teacher who while in the middle of a sermon to his followers began to hear the voice of God. He stopped the sermon to tell his followers that God was directing him somewhere and had to leave at once. The teacher began to walk into the forest with his followers close behind, eventually “God” directed the teacher to a tree and instructed him to dig. The man did as “God” instructed and to his surprise and the amazement of the followers the teacher unearthed spiritual texts. The man presented these texts to the people and solidified himself and his teachings, which can now be “rightly” called a true religion and himself as an ascended master. Story sound familiar (Mormon)? What the followers did not know is that the teacher wrote all of those texts and buried them under that tree a few years previous and waited until the right time to execute his plan.

The next step in creating a religion is to give a set of protocols for living a good, spiritual or righteous life. When you research the religions of the world you’ll find that most of them are very similar, some are almost the exact same and if you were to swap the ascended master or prophet you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. It is also important to note that all religions contain some universal truths that anyone can get behind. They all hold some great and universal teachings but they may not give their followers the entire story.

There is a formula in hypnosis called the 80/20 rule. You give a person 80% truthful statements and then 20% commands, directions or lies. Since most of what you received was the truth an individual is extremely likely to simply go along with the last 20%, whatever the direction maybe. Religion uses this same principle, as does the media, government and major news sources.

Some religions then go on to explain the afterlife where there comes a great reward or a severe punishment. It is at this point we enter the realm of man. If Jesus were here today, walked the earth, visited the churches I do not believe many would understand his teachings. The churches and temples would be cleared and leaders renounced as Jesus did when he walked the earth.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”Matthew 23:13

If he were to create miracles, preach peace for all, and unconditional love, the second after his death men and women would seek power and distort the message, which is exactly what happened. Most Christians and Catholics do not know the Bible was created by the council of Nicaea, which was organized by Constantine in 325 AD. The Bible was created to help unify the spiritual beliefs in Rome at that time and gain more control over its people and kingdoms. The Bible was not created to empower the people to have a deeper connection with God, life and the creator. This was the work of man, not Jesus. Many scholars are aware that there are missing books in the Bible, in which the Vatican has some safely secured in their library, which is obviously inaccessible by the public.

This article isn’t about making any religion, person or practice wrong or right, or choosing sides. This is about the pursuit of Truth with a capital “T”. It is about gaining real understanding, gnosis, and connection with God within ourselves and being honest with the information we have available to us.

Beyond religion, we can look at spiritual ideologies. This way of spreading spiritual knowledge is similar to religion but with important distinctions. This is where Confucianism, Buddhism, and others do not condemn another way of being and they do not have an ultimate consequence for not abiding by “God’s rule.”  Those teachings are enforced by ordinary men, with ordinary understandings, who hold power by wearing a particular outfit, robe, hat or spiritual accessory. However, even with groups and beliefs that lean toward a spiritual philosophy or ideology they too can rigid and strict fragments.

When people are seeking a spiritual connection and find a religion often they are attracted to the resonance and power of the community. It is going to a place where the people have similar values, they are not alone and religions have provided a great deal of healing and service to communities around the world. It is time we use knowledge, history, truth and divine principles set by these masters to take the next step and be aware of any falsehood’s and misrepresentations.

The difference between religion and a spiritual ideology can be understood by sharing the story of when I visited Nepal to learn and meditate with Tibetan monks. A few years ago in my spiritual search for enlightenment, I decided to learn from Tibetan monks because to me they were the closest thing to enlightened beings I was aware of. I did not realize Tibet was and still is occupied by China, so I ended up in Nepal where I studied, meditated and learned from Buddhist monks for 6 weeks while teaching an English class to kids and having conversations with older monks in the afternoon. This was a very beautiful experience and each monk I encountered had the same humility, authenticity, and integrity. They thought deeply on the questions I had asked and no one had the exact same answer, they had no problem saying they didn’t have the answer to the question. There was no flash, scripture or posturing, just honest human to human interaction with grace, beauty, humility, compassion, and understanding.

A few months later when I was in China training with 34th generation Shaolin masters. China is also a Buddhist country and when I began to speak with a young 20 something year old translator about Buddhism, God and religious philosophy I was disheartened to know that somehow the Buddhist way of life was night and day different from what I had just learned in Nepal from the monks. The government which is a massive institution took hold of the religious institution of Buddhism, modified it as they wished and used it as a weapon. I have heard before that there is nothing more dangerous than a “virus of the mind” and this is something where I deeply agree. On one hand, the exact philosophy and ideology that had kindness and compassion as its core teaching were manipulated by man into something else. This is an example of taking a spiritual ideology and transforming it into a religion.

Scientology is a recognized religion that essentially uses the same techniques combined with marketing and personality tests. Curious about what all the hype was about I entered a Scientology information centre and went through the process. They onboard you with a standard N.L.P personal assessment sheet and from there you are offered some personal development material based on your personality type. Essentially It’s a fantastic personal development system, added with community, and religious tools of conformity and “binding.” and shaming to create a system uniquely it’s own. That being said I am not knocking Scientology or Scientologists, you can learn a great deal from their material, grow spiritually, and have an inspiring community that supports you. However, I want to go into the depths, origins, motives, and full picture.

So what are religion and spirituality really? What are we seeking really?

When seeking the truth, God, and a spiritual way of life earnestly it can be challenging and confusing. If you were born in Scotland you are most likely a Catholic and believe whatever your culture impressed upon you. If you were born in Afghanistan you are most likely a Muslim. Are these individuals or entire countries wrong or right? Or is it something different? It is only a few decades ago that you would have no choice but to believe what you were told by your parents, culture and authority figures. You couldn’t take some time to do some research and look into your beliefs, history, and origins of your religion but now you can. The sad truth is that most don’t and it’s understandable because if everyone around you believes a certain thing you don’t want to ostracize yourself from your peer group and family.

The most beautiful thing about religion and faith is community and its people. It is about the common good, coming together, being of service and seeking knowledge and understanding beyond the material realm into something greater. Religious communities all over the world have done incredible good for the planet and now it is time for the next step. To go even further as a global society.

There is an old saying that knowledge is power and another that says there should be the separation of church and state.  We are at an interesting point in human evolution and planetary civilization. If we seek understanding in one another no matter the background, belief, God, or practice we have the potential to create a world of peace. That should be humanity’s ultimate goal. Even with this great potential we still have people who are being manipulated using ancient techniques that still work today. These people deserve an opportunity to find the truth within themselves and have the veil that has been put upon them lifted. Adopting a spiritual ideology over a rigid religion allows what feels like more spiritual freedom and truth. It honours an individuals path, understanding and right to find their own connection.

Religious Black Magic

Black magic has traditionally been referred to as the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. With respect to the left-hand path and right-hand path dichotomy, black magic is the malicious, left-hand counterpart of the benevolent white magic.

Black magic is creating an illusion, magic trick or deception that you claim to be real and authentic to deliberately manipulate or control people.

An example of this would be if I said that I could hear spirits and it was the word of God coming through me and I used that illusion to take your money and give you hope. A clearer example is around faith healing and those who claim to be able to heal you through the power of God which is still prevalent in the United States. The truth with a capital “T” is that they cannot heal you and in fact they are using black magic to manipulate you, take your money and keep you at a certain level of consciousness and spiritual understanding. One famous example of this is Peter Popoff who ironically went to jail and is still operating today.

You can also see the work of Darren Brown who had a bit of a moral and ethical crisis while filming his documentary “Miracles for Sale” in which he creates a faith healer and exposes several scams or examples of “black magic.” Darren felt bad because people really believed this ideas and people and did not want to destroy their belief because they were good people.

Clip:

Full Documentary: https://www.documentarystorm.com/derren-brown-miracles-for-sale/

There are a few pioneers helping lift the veil of manipulation, illusion and black magic including James Randi who helped the world realize the truth about conman Uri Gellar, Peter Popoff, and others. You can see his work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ZWaS_FjNU

People who seek God are usually seeking the truth and spiritual knowledge. If we have people dressed up pretending to know the answers and people believe it vehemently, what does one do if they see beyond the veil to the next step? Maybe it is simply to offer the next step and allow anyone with eyes to see the opportunity to see behind the curtain. Taking that step can require a tremendous amount of courage because you will be stepping into the unknown and going against everything you were taught to believe.

Spiritual con’s and black magic exist today. At the parliament of world religions 2019, there was a group representing guru Nithyananda. There are 3 young girls that claim to have the ability to have x-ray vision because their third eye has been activated by the guru. While walking around the parliament David noticed the girls. He approached them and asked if it was ok to do a magic trick and they agreed. He pulled out a coin from his pocket and started to do sleight of hand magic when he was finished he asked the girls to guess which hand the coin was in and all 3 girls had to agree on which hand the coin had been placed. On the first attempt all three girls guessed wrong. David started to do sleight of hand again and at this point, I should have started to film the events but I felt extremely uncomfortable because I knew what he was doing. The entourage around the girls were visibly disturbed at what was taking place because they clearly know what they are all a part of. I tried to relieve the tension of one of the mother’s and myself by making some small talk, she kept her eyes on David. By this time the coin was in a new hand, and he asked the 3 girls to guess and to agree with which hand the coin was in. Once again all 3 girls collectively guessed wrong.  The girls smiled and were shocked and amused because that’s what magic does and they are still young girls, everyone likes magic. David gave them once last chance and once again the girls all came to an agreement and guessed wrong for the final time.

To be clear, the three girls who claim to have x-ray vision, to be able to see using their third eye, that has the ability to see through paper, and into bodies which was activated by Nithyananda were unable to figure out which hand the coin was in three times in a row.

The girls smiled, laughed and looked astonished, David thanked them and we all walked away. I said to David, “You did that to let them all know that you know what they were doing didn’t you?” he replied, “yes.”

David Lonebear Sanipass is a Mi’kmaq elder, scientist, mathematician, engineer, star teachings archivist, flute maker, and magician. He is also the spiritual representative of over 300,000 Native American people and holds the knowledge of an oral history that goes back more than 20,000 years. It is because of this responsibility the next day we decided to approach the group to see if we could find the truth about the children’s abilities and what this group was doing at the parliament of world religions.

The group rounds people up for an incredible demonstration where the girls all put on blindfolds and are able to read paper, know peoples histories and other astounding feats. As the 3 girls demonstrate these magical spiritual powers they let you know that you can do the same thing if you simply go to India and get a touch by their powerful Guru, which can cost between $5,000-$10,000 dollars per level with 4 levels available on their website. I heard they can cost up to $20,000. If that feels expensive you don’t need to worry because the website provides plenty of videos, marketing, and literature to help you “overcome your money insecurity and blocks” and bless your passage to the inner awakening journey.

It is possible that Nithyanada has these abilities and that so do these young girls. It is also possible that if you go through the course and pay them the staggering amount of money required you too will have your third eye activated. It is also reasonable to see this from another perspective and consider they are using the same black magic Peter Popoff used to manipulate thousands, Uri Gellar used to become famous, and Vyacheslav Bronnikov is currently using now http://www.bronnikovmethod.com/ that has been exposed by magician Darren brown in his documentary “The Man with the X-Ray Eyes” to make millions of  dollars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZso1gpMRmA

It seems to me that we are lost in the dark. We are in the spiritual dark ages. I imagine an E.T race coming to earth and attending the parliament of world religions with me, or an indigenous tribe that lives off the land and having to express to them that this is humanities best offering on spiritual truth, God and a way to live life. I mean this in the sense that there was very little unity, understanding, and collaboration between leaders. The dogma’s, practices and rituals seemed endless and how would one find clarity and truth amidst all the posturing, sales and outfits?

Religions all hold some truth but the reality is that in a way some religions are still using black magic to manipulate groups of people. Christopher Hitchens did not have a problem with calling out the problems directly and it’s interesting that religions seem to get a pass from society to not be called out on mistruths, misconducts, and crimes? Millions of people in history have been murdered in the name of God. Countless crimes covered up by the wall of an institution not to mention the millions of dollars acquired and distributed to a few leaders that use a form of the unknown, black magic, mysticism and fear to influence the minds and spirits of people.

There were many beautiful and inspiring talks and leaders at the parliament this year. Many different cultures came together peacefully to try and gain an even deeper understanding of themselves, their faith, and God. David Lonebear spoke several times and he always reminded us that there is nothing between you and the creator. You do not need a spiritual broker to gain entrance to heaven. The native American people and its culture have been strategically and systematically decimated by both church and state. Their way of life, teachings and culture still exist today and it pre-dates the oldest religions by thousands of years. Their histories actually included those masters and the formation of those religions.

Who is God?

What is Spirit?

What is Religion?

How do live a good life?

These are all fundamental questions that each of us must answer for ourselves. It is my belief that God is within each of us and all things. We do not require religion, ceremony or master to be spiritual, worthy or enter the kingdom of heaven. If you are a part of a religion you can also find God in that way also but do your research. It seems as though man has used knowledge and manipulation to control the general population for generations all over the world.

When we seek God, spirituality and a good life within ourselves and make our own self the guided and the disciple we begin to live in spirit. We become our own masters and develop a personal connection with the unknowable.

We all have this gift and this right.

If you want to dive deeper you can listen to Christopher Hitchens and other debates.

 

Go Within. Go Beyond!
Namaste,
Matt Belair
Twitter: @matt_belair
Instagram: @zenathlete and @mattbelair
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