Science and the logical mind will not allow any mythological elements to enter into a world view. Even though most scientists still believe in God8 the general tendency is to remove romantic notions which would contribute to the observations under consideration. This postion is tentative at least considering the Heisenberg Principle where even the act of observation changes the measurement of the observation. Yet even with all these considerations Heaven's Gate was ridiculed for its final act of leaving their containers.
The semiotical aspects to any past culture is difficult to ascertain simply because we were not there. However, even in a modern cultural milieu the writers of history, and purveyors of mass media taint and contort these semiotical aspects of culture. As times goes on these media archives, which are recorded on some storage device, will only reflect history for the rest of us as it was written. And without these irrational considerations, these mythological considerations, these romantic and poetic considerations history will have lost its credibility. Even today the great temple of Mithras9 has been ignored. Paganism and annimism are completely ignored. And now with Heaven's Gate so misconstrued there is the potential for the masses to be fearful of any religious beliefs outside the orthodoxy of the so called major religions.
The manner in which Heaven's Gate was portrayed had the potential of scaring people, frightening people, and alienating people from alternative views of expressing a spiritual path. It took the New Age into the dark ages of personal expression, and made it extremely difficult for the acceptance to explore non-traditional paths to the divine and sacred in the universe.
Very little has been written on the large scale social effects of Heaven's Gate. It cannot be ignored that there are deep psychological currents that need expression, and remain hidden from everyday life. The way our media is integrated into our lives we awake each day only to find something new and different to occupy our attention. That to my mind is not a normal and healthy way to process reality. Change is naturally inevitable, but long lasting truths and understanding come from integrating those emotive substrates of consciousness into mind and heart over a long period of time. A way of thinking which can empathize and understand a people, who challenge themselves, and us, to view our existence anew, takes patience and an act of courage.
If those Heaven's gate 39 people were to be found in a tomb in 100 years, untouched, as tombs are when you unearth them from a 1000 year slumber, what would be found would indeed puzzle the best of minds. Theirs was a quiet exit. There were no alarms set off, and all contingencies for looking after personal effects was considered. We, on the other hand, were given the macab, the horror, the strange, and the wierd to ponder. And if wierd and horrible are all people can gleen from Heaven's Gate, due to the power of the media, then history will be robbed of the sacred quest for an afterlife as expressed by only a few in the late 20th century. What ever happened to anthropology?
But, as mentioned before, Hale-Bopp has carried their souls into the vast reaches of space, and it is not so unusual to believe that when Hale-Bopp returns again in 2,400 years they will be the new gods that assist us to join in the majesty of the divine creation of the universe, and that will be the new spiritual unity the Earth will so sorely need given the direction and ignorance of how life is being treated by so many antiquated social systems.
Farfetched?
We all try to negotiate our agreements with the reality we interface with everyday. These subtle social normative issues get mirrored in fashion, arts, and even in the popular literature. We are constantly seeking cues to monitor the direction of our agreement with reality as well as with other people. Much of the way the modern world is constructed leaves only the dominance of the media as the primary exposure to these social signals of behavior. Unfortunately these signals are not intellectualy challenging, but are kept at a minimal level of provocative thought, introspective thought, or exploratory thought on how to see and interpret the universe. These issues, or reality constructions, are lost in a world of sports, entertainment and news.
Coupled with how little time is left in a day as a result of career development or just simple survival the media has become the major force in moulding popular opinion. It is , therefore, no surprise that the media reaction to Heaven's Gate was kept at the most minimal level of interpretation. Cult suicide dominated the mind set of the world. Divine choice was never a consideration. Facts on what was eaten before their eventful journey became better copy than how celestial phenomenon and spirituality were made supremely meaningful under the direction of Marshall Applewhite. Was Jim Baker of Heritage House the same kind of person? Peoples lifes savings were taken in the name of Jesus. But here again people did believe in the certainty of both Jim and Tammy Baker. When people act out of certainty the whole human organisim is driven by the power of thought. Religious thinking and divine thinking must be very close for both drive countless billions of people all over the planet to do things that indicate there is a higher order to earthly existence. God power is very infectous and there are many people and large organizations that use this power to control people. Heaven's Gate had the power of thought to guide 39 human souls into the tail of a comet.
Heaven's Gate is not the only group in California or the world to take independent action in honor of the divine. The Nation of Damur10 in Italy is a perfect example of independent action. As observers to these groups it is as if we embody the Heinsenberg principle of physics. We will never be able to see the reason behind the events in these groups as long as we are not certain as to what is going on inside the groups, as well as being able to interpret those events.
In 1994, in a small country town in Northern California, named Middletown, Ronald Lloyd Spencer officially changed his name to Sanat Maitreya Kumara, known as Lord of the World in the Alice Baily teachings.Spencer has used the title of (Tulku Karma Sonam Funtsok Rinpoche, The Buddha Maitreya, Babaji), (Tulku Je Tsong Khapa Galwya Rinpoche: Lama Dorje Buddha Maitreya Jesus Archangel Michael), and last but not least the American Buddha. Predominantly composed of women, there have been many a family member and loved ones that have seen the magnetism of his Dharma Center and Shambhalla Communications absorb the minds and hearts of these new devotees. And what does the Buddha Maitreya do in this center? One venture is the designing of Metatronic tools which are simple non-intrusive tools to be added to healing practices. According to their teachings this is a science of magnetic healing, and that level of healing works with the etheric body, and both analysis and diagnosis along with vibrational realignment is done at the level of the etheric body. Further, the science of Metatronics is a sacred science, a research of the seven sacred rays in creation, a witnessing of the influence of the One, or Logos. Buddha Maitreya's followers learn how Metatronic Tools can be built into a system for specific purposes, for example to replicate the energy of a crop circle. In this way, he claims, one can further develop one's natural ability as a geomancer, using the science of God to work with the etheric grid lines.
Click on Metatronic tool for larger image.
Much of this centers work combines esoteric teachings, Tibetan Buddhist teachings, and a heavy dose of new science whereby they use copper wire wraped around crystals, together with magnets placed in polarity, enabling, as the Buddha Maitreya says, to enable the full spectrum of rays to resonate interdimensionally through the crystal and be activated by the geometric forms of these Metronic devices. Using the esoteric laws of harmlessness, and the seven rays of consciousness the center conducts group Pujas. These group Puja sessions are a ceremony of Tibetan Singing Bowls, symbols as well as the inclusion of the Native American Drum.
There's is a very hypnotic trance like participation where all past karma is forgotten, including family and loved ones, and a deep prayer regime is set up to pray for the world soul. People become absolutlely entranced in this sort of combination of belief systems to the point that the rest of the world becomes less important. It is with this sort of mental manipulation and redirection of thought that social events such as Heaven's Gate stem from. In this case Buddha Maitreya's group preaches harmlessness, and for those that have seen their loved ones go into something like this confusion and fear usually sets in. It may be harmless for those that participate in Buddha Maitreya's teachings, but it is a very upsetting experience for those that must watch their loved ones become new devotees to a very esoteric organization.
So basically, this all translates into a person who is claiming to be enlightened, passed all karma, and is a teacher and physical incarnation of the universal return of the Maitreya. There are followers who make special instruments, based on the science of Metatron, and do magnetic healings, Pujas and pray for the world soul. The events all sound harmeless and the motto of the group is to be harmeless. And yet with all these spiritual guide posts there is also a blending of several spiritual disciplines varying from Alice Baily, Buddhism, and esoteric sciences which tap into many dimensions for guidance and spiritual sustenance.
There is a committment to these ideas from the followers based on the personal magnetism of the Maitreya. And even though there have been many Maitreyas sited in the world, this Maitreya is the physical emmanation of all the Maitreyas. He says. We will never know the inner workings of this group, nor the thousands of others that are trying to re-construct reality more suited to the exploration of the divine in nature, and the universe.
The best we can do is to better understand the events that are going on inside of our own minds, and realize there is a complexity in the organization of reality that requires not only compassion for other peoples reality construction, but a high degree of compassion for the self. We must construct a reality for ourselves that mirrors our own understanding of the universe. This is a personal quest, and perhaps one of the most important and difficult quests we must master in a life time.