In my last post, I explored the possibility that Moses’ transcendent experience found in The Pearl of Great Price (the Burning Bush?) was through the assistance of psychedelic medicine.
I want to continue that exploration in this post.
Moses, after many hours, comes down from his transcendent state and has the epiphany that man is nothing. After this epiphany, something fascinating happens: he hears a voice.
And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
Who is this Satan? The literal translation of Satan is the “disturber” or in Hebrew, the “adversary.” It is no mere coincidence that after Moses experienced God – and the dissolution of his Ego – that the Adversary would manifest. Why is it no mere coincidence? Because the Adversary is the Ego!
. . . one must learn . . . between intentional and unintentional contents of the mind. The former are derived from the ego personality; the latter, however, arise from a source that is not identical with the ego, but is its “other side”. ~Carl Jung; Man and His symbols; P. 22.
Even the enlightened person remains what he is, and is never more than his own limited ego before the One who dwells within him, whose form has no knowable boundaries, who encompasses him on all sides, fathomless as the abysms of the earth and vast as the sky ~Carl Jung; Book of Job; Para. 758
Moses recognizes that this Adversary does not possess anything worth worshipping. No glory. No light. No transfiguration required. The only thing the Ego does is attempt to get Moses – and each of us – to identify with it; to worship it. Moses proceeds to battle his Ego and commands it to depart. He refuses to go back to the Natural Man, the enemy of God.
It is not an easy thing to do. It caused Moses to fear and to see the bitterness of hell. As Satan, Ego, departs it caused Moses to perceive the Earth shake. It is indeed an Earth-shaking experience!
So crucify the ego, before it’s far too late
And leave behind this place so negative and blind and cynical
And you will come to find that we are all one mind
And capable of all that’s imagined and unconceivable
So let the light touch you,
let the Words spill through,
And let them pass right through
Bringing out our hope and reason
(Reflection, Tool)
Journey To Reimagination 