The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle, Introduction |
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......THE ALPHA PASSAGE ......Beyond
the gate, THE INFLECTION POINT They say the sky is bigger in Colorado. It's true. The mountains produce this effect. They provide the otherwise featureless infinity of the sky with a scale, a sense of dimension not found on the flatlands. As my eyes followed the chain of massive peaks north along the Front Range, the mountains became invisible in the glare. I sighed. It was a gorgeous summer solstice in Colorado. The winds were soft, the skies clear as glass, and there were no signs of an incoming front. After a long winter's wait, finally, conditions were perfect to camp high in the mountains. I loaded the car with backpacking equipment and three enthusiastic golden retrievers. Threading my way along the dizzying gravel switchbacks that wound up the back side of the mountain, I arrived at the pass at 11,200 feet. Parking several hundred feet below the ridge, I hiked a steep trail through flowering alpine tundra to the very top of the divide and pitched the tent. The view was spectacular in the summer dusk. To the west, an array of mountain ranges receded blue into blue until the eye lost track, the mind unable to interpret the distances, the impossible perspective arrayed before it. To the east lay the cities of Boulder and Denver, their billion points of light gleaming in microscopic splendor, a vast sea of prairie rolling away behind them in the haze for hundreds of miles. Such is the vantage point of the Continental Divide. Here all precipitation landing on the eastern side of the ridge flows east to the tributaries of the Arkansas River and eventually makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. All precipitation falling on the western side of the ridge flows down to the Colorado River, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean. I needed water to prepare my camp food. The snow-covered cap of a small glacier lay only a few feet away. I scooped handfuls of granular summer snow into a pan and began to melt it with my propane stove. As I swirled the slurry gently, a few ounces suddenly sloshed over the rim and landed on a sharp piece of granite at my feet. As I continued to heat the remaining water, I contemplated the tiny rivulets that ran down the edges of the stone with fascination. In theory, the drops that landed on the eastern side of the rock would end up in the Atlantic Ocean, while the drops that landed on the other side would end up in the Pacific Ocean. Although hard to believe, the difference of a fraction of an inch here at the point of origin, would eventually result in the difference of an entire ocean - an entire world. It's funny, but that's how cause and effect is: The difference in one step, one choice, one word, one little thoughtform at the point of origin can make a literal world of difference as the flow sweeps us downstream, inexorably amplifying our intent. ***** Although you may not realize it, every moment of your life you are balanced on your own Continental Divide. Each second of your life, you walk along a precipitous ridge, a knife edge that divides your life into two entirely different potential dimensions. On one side lies the world you live in now, the world of ordinary struggle and uncertainty. On the other side, stretching away in all its majesty, lies the world of self-empowerment, the world of self-creation -- the dimension of the miraculous, where dreams unfold with perfect precision. On this side lies heaven. Each moment as you walk this ridge that is your life, you make a choice. Whether you are aware of it or not, each moment you choose to pour the water of your thoughts down one side or the other. You either choose to sow thoughts of uncertainty, conflict, and lack, or you choose to sow thoughts of fulfillment, happiness, and ease - visions of intentional, positive creation. In the most practical sense possible, you choose each second to either remain in the dimension of the ordinary or to enter the dimension of the miraculous. And, as you continue walking the razor's edge of your existence, the thoughts you sow flow down the sides of the great slopes of cause and effect, gaining momentum, snowballing, expanding, until they inevitably crest at the critical threshold of manifestation and become the personal reality you see around you.
THE ANCIENT MOTIF It makes a great story. In fact, it follows a motif used by storytellers for eons; a plot that reappears perennially and is found yet today in hit movies and best-selling books. It goes like this: There is strife, trouble, a great need. A secret document is found - it could be a treasure map, a lost formula or text, instructions for a special ritual, or perhaps directions to an ancient tomb laden with fabulous riches. The document is ancient, enigmatic, and mysterious. The message it carries is difficult to unravel, but is finally deciphered. Ultimately, as the story progresses, the directions within the document are followed, and a miraculous discovery is made. Great wealth or power or good fortune are finally achieved. The protagonist's problems are solved and everyone lives happily ever after. Like I say, it makes a great story. But when this motif actually unfolds before you in your life, it's even better. ***** What would you say if I were to tell you that I can show you a real secret document, a real treasure map? In keeping with the motif, this document is ancient -- hidden away for years. It is enigmatic and mysterious. It is a kind of map which, if followed carefully, will lead you to a great treasure, to a new world filled with incredible people, places, and things. It will lead to riches, real riches -- beyond your wildest dreams. As a reasonable person, you may question that such a document exists. You will say that finding such a document can't happen to real people living in the real world. In fact, if you did not express this kind of reasonable skepticism, I would be disappointed. For such a reaction is normal, the mark of someone who is thinking clearly. Nonetheless, as the book unfolds, I think you will find that the words do, in fact, reveal a real treasure -- the technique of miracles, the Philosopher's Stone, the catalyst sought throughout the ages that transmutes base into gold, darkness into light, and suffering into joy.
THE HIDDEN MONOLITH In the late Stanley Kubrick's landmark movie, 2001, explorers on the dark side of the moon find an enigmatic black monolith buried curiously beneath the surface. Eventually, this mysterious object turns out to be a door, a stargate leading to a higher dimension. The unspoken implication is that the featureless rectangle was placed on the moon -- rather than Earth -- deliberately, so that it could not be found by human beings until we had reached a sufficiently advanced state of evolution, until we were able to handle the power contained within. Obviously, the monolith is a metaphor, a symbol that represents higher knowledge, knowledge that leads to an entirely new realm of wisdom and light. It is a very appropriate metaphor as well, for as the world now actually enters the year 2001, we are each finding our own monoliths, our own stargates that will enable us to enter new dimensions of understanding and personal power. The powerful document revealed in this book - a text I call the "Alpha Passage" -- has been just such a gate for me. As you study it carefully and follow its directions, I feel certain it will become just such a gate for you as well. It is entirely possible that this passage has been encrypted for much the same reason the monolith was hidden in the movie. If made too obvious, it would have fallen into your hands too early to be properly appreciated and put to practical use. It seems entirely possible that Spirit wanted to ensure that you would find the technique now, when your state of evolution has reached a sufficiently advanced level.
THE ALPHA PASSAGE The Alpha Passage was hidden in such an obvious place, that it has been overlooked. It lies within a well-known section of the gospel of Matthew. There, the author of the original composition has embedded a subtext within the subtleties of the ancient and extraordinarily complex words of the original Greek. In this subtext, the technique of miracles is laid out in twelve steps, twelve conditions. When these twelve conditions are activated, they act as a kind of door which opens into the dimension of the miraculous. Using standard reference books, this book will show you word for word how the technique has been encoded within the original text. You may be surprised to learn that you are already working with many of these conditions and are familiar with the concepts behind them. Once you see them laid out all together in an organized fashion, you will finally be able to put all the pieces together. Once assembled, these conditions form a kind of engine with twelve cylinders. When all twelve cylinders fire together, the power they generate is beyond comprehension. It is a power that can change your life so drastically that you cannot - in your current state of evolution - imagine the universe that will open for you. You will see that you have the power to manifest heaven in your life here and now.
THE NEANDERTHAL ECLIPSE Miracles are poorly understood. Often we think of them as events in which the laws of the universe, the laws of cause and effect, are somehow circumvented. A miracle occurs when something "impossible" happens. We believe this about miraculous events only because we fail to understand the processes of cause and effect that enable them. We are very much like Neanderthals observing an eclipse. Because we lack the proper knowledge, we rationalize what we observe in peculiar, supernatural terms when, in fact, what transpires has an entirely natural explanation. Consider: If we did not understand the genetic and molecular fundamentals of life, we would think the simple germination of a seed was somehow supernatural as well. But we understand that for a seed to germinate, certain conditions must be present: A viable seed, moisture, warmth, soil, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, trace elements, alternating darkness and light, the proper pH, and time. When all of the conditions are established simultaneously, the cellular machinery of the dormant seed is activated; it begins to absorb and organize the raw materials around it, and growth occurs. In time, as the conditions are maintained, the seedling matures into an enormous tree which bears tremendous quantities of fruit. The process is a "miracle" certainly, yet it follows natural sequences of cause and effect.
THE DEMONSTRATION AND THE DEMONSTRATOR Several years ago I began studying the account of the miracle of the loaves and fishes in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 14:13-23). Scholars have long suspected there was something unique about the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Of all the miracles attributed to the man known in the Bible as Jesus of Nazareth, this is the only one included in all four gospels. Further, it is a miracle that Jesus, as the demonstrator, performed not once, but twice -- on another occasion four thousand people were fed in much the same manner (Matt. 15:32-39). It was as if the demonstrator of the miracle was saying "Watch carefully and make no mistake. I will show this carefully for all to see, and repeat it -- so that you will see how to do this for yourselves." And would we not expect this? The demonstrator, and others like him, have always said that others "would do even greater things." Is it not logical that a master miracle worker would not only perform the miracle, but also show us how to do it ourselves? Every wise person knows that it is good to feed a hungry person a fish, but far better to show the person how to fish. Would we not expect to find a lesson somewhere in the teachings that gives specific instructions for the technique of manifestation that is demonstrated so well on this and other occasions? With this in mind, I looked hard at the words in Matthew's account and thought about them for days. But as I studied the miracle carefully, I found few clues as to the method behind the miracle. The standard King James Version seems little more than a sketchy description: 13 When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: And when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. 14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. 15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, "This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals." 16 But Jesus said unto them, "THEY NEED NOT DEPART; GIVE YE THEM TO EAT." 17 And they say unto him, "We have here but five loaves, and two fishes." 18 He said, "BRING THEM HITHER TO ME." 19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and were filled: And they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. 21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. 22 And straightaway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Pouring over these words, I felt as though I had reached a barrier. Nothing conclusive was gained. Then came my big break: In a final attempt to glean all possible information contained within the text, I began to translate the passage for myself using the original Greek words which the author of Matthew used to craft the manuscript. It was a fascinating and somewhat frustrating process, for Greek does not translate readily into English. In fact, it would be accurate to say that translating Greek is a rather tricky and difficult matter, requiring careful attention to detail, as well as deference and respect for the original author's intent. Greek is a particularly deep and complex language. It is the language of one of the most sophisticated cultures in history, a language developed and used by philosophical geniuses like Plato and Socrates and Aristotle. It is the language of an ancient civilization -- and a way of thinking -- separated from us in time by thousands of years. The words of this ancient language can contain multiple layers of highly subtle innuendo. Even trained scholars struggle over translation details. To better grasp this critical point, consider the first phrase in the first sentence of the Gospel of John, which is traditionally translated, "In the beginning was the Word...." If you research this phrase, you will find that the original Greek says "In the beginning was the logos." Although traditional translations such as the King James Version contain no hint whatsoever of the depth of the term logos, a quick look at a standard Greek to English dictionary -- such as the one found in Strong's Concordance -- reveals the following. logos, log'-os; from 3004; something said (including the thought); by impl. a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extens. a computation; spec. (with the art. in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):-account, cause, communication, x concerning, doctrine, fame, x have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say (-ing), shew, x speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work. It is interesting to note that the term "word" is listed at the very end of this maze of complex information, almost as an afterthought. And yet for reasons that are entirely unclear, medieval scholars somehow deemed it appropriate to "simplify" translation to this single term. Now, as confusing and ambiguous as the information in Strong's Concordance may be, things only become more complicated with deeper study. If you look up the term logos in Eliade's Encyclopedia of Religion and Philosophy you will find that there are a full twelve pages on this term. At its most superficial level, logos can refer to a spoken or written word. But more importantly, logos refers to that which gives rise to words, which is, of course, thought. Further, logos can refer to the creative cause-and-effect relationship between thoughts and words, and more generally, to the creative power of thoughts to manifest events and circumstances. Thus, the phrase in John could be better translated, "In the beginning was a thought with powerful potential, a creative intent that ultimately gave rise to the entire universe." Logos was a critical philosophical term used six hundred years before the advent of Christianity by the philosopher Heraclitis. Heraclitis believed that all that manifested in the universe was the direct result of interactions between the great opposites, light and dark, male and female, hot and cold - an ideology strikingly similar to Taoism. The way in which Heraclitis defined logos was incorporated into the substrate of the Greek language. Subsequent use of this term was never completely free of his influence. John almost certainly knew this when writing his gospel. But in the standard Biblical translation, you have been told only that logos means "word." Can you begin to see how much you might be missing as you read other passages in standard translations? As you will find in the pages that follow, the same depth applies to many of the terms Matthew used to write the Alpha Passage. As we dissect and study these terms carefully in the following pages, I am confident you will agree that the Alpha Passage contains a wealth of information on the actual technique used to set up and enact the miracle. This is information that is highly practical, information that you can begin to use now to enact your own miracle and enter the dimension of heaven. Dr. Michael, Michael The Twelve Conditions page 1 |
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