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The Esoteric Side Of The Founding
Of America
Understanding the spiritual roots
of the Founders of the United States
TO DISCOVER our spiritual roots, we as Americans need not go elsewhere
to find inspiration. As is true of any nation or culture, our
spiritual roots can be found right here in our back yard. As most
of us have already discovered, here in American soil are the deep
roots of the Native American tradition with its love and respect
for the earth and all living things. Yet how many of us are also
aware of the spiritual leanings of none other than our Founding
Fathers?
To get an indication of the spiritual and mystic awareness of
our Founders, we need look no further than our own one dollar
bill. Here we find, of all things, a pyramid with the All- Seeing
Eye of God above it and the latin words Annuit Coeptis - "He (God)
favors our undertakings", and the words Novus Ordo Sec/orum -
""New order of the ages". This symbol is the reverse side of the
Great Seal of the United States. The first Congress appointed
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin to design this
Seal, and major revisions were added by Charles Thomson and William
Barton. The symbolism of both sides of the Seal is very powerful,
and is a microcosm of our nation - a reflection of the Spirit
of America.
The eagle on the front side represents spiritual vision, as the
eagle is the only creature which looks directly into the sun.
The eagle was also sacred to the Native Americans, as a messenger
to the Great Spirit. The eagle depicted is also a bald eagle,
symbolizing the top of the head being open to receive the Spirit,
just like the monks of the middle ages shaved the tops of their
heads for the same reason. The eagle on the seal holds both arrows
and olive branch in his talons, but he faces the olive branch,
breaking with traditional heraldry, which usually has the characters
facing to their left, not to the right, as the eagle does. The
olive branch of course represents peace. E Pluribus Unum - out
of many, one - represents not only the unified states with one
government, but more profoundly, the One Life, the Divine Presence
which pervades all life and creates unity in diversity.
The reverse of the Seal displays the All-Seeing Eye of God, long
used as a symbol by the brotherhood of Freemasonry. The Eye of
God, symbolizing spiritual vision and purpose, is being placed
above the four-sided pyramid of materialistic life. This is an
important key to solving our national problems. It suggests that
without Divine guidance, we lose our vision, and are lost in materialistic
endeavors, struggling in an uphill battle.
 If this sounds
intriguing, perhaps it might also be well to ponder a few other
things that aren't found in a standard American history text:
George Washington (right) believed he was often guided by "the
Invisible Hand" of Divine Providence, and it is claimed that he
was directed as to where to move his troops to outsmart the British.
He was often called "clairvoyant" because he could seemingly look
into the future and predict forthcoming events with amazing accuracy.
According to a story in the National Tribune, based on the report
of Anthony Sherman, who was with Washington at Valley Forge where
the incident occurred, Washington had a vision of an Angelic presence,
who showed him three great crises of the Republic - The American
Revolution, The Civil War, and a third, yet to come.
[1] John Adams' family were members of a sect of English Druids,
called the Dragon sect, who left England to escape persecution.
The Dragons were a small group of freethinkers and visionaries
which included Sir Walter Raleigh and John Dee (who was court
astrologer for Queen Elizabeth). The Dragons sought to revive
the ancient wisdom and the way of living more in harmony with
the earth of the megalithic peoples of southwestern England thousands
of years earlier.
[2] Jefferson, Washington, Franklin and fifty-one other signers
of the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons.
[3] Ben Franklin was Provincial Grand Master of the Philadelphia
Masonic Lodge, and assisted in the initiation of Voltaire into
the Lodge of the Nine Sisters in Paris, the lodge where Jefferson
was said to be initiated.
[4] Washington was initiated into the Masonic Lodge of Fredericksburg,
Virginia, and was presented with a Masonic Apron of the Holy Royal
Arch Degree by General Lafayette, another Mason.
[5] Today, the Masons seem to have become mainly a businessman's
club, but in the 18th century, Masonry was very powerful, both
spiritually and politically, and most of the best minds of Europe
and America were Masons. It was dedicated to developing the perfected
human, and promoting the virtues of good citizenry, philanthropy,
liberty, and brotherhood. It also supported the concept of a government
built on consciousness, wisdom and knowledge harmonized with law.
It was long a cherished dream of the initiates of the secret societies
of Europe, and of the Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century.
These spiritual principles of government were brought to America
by the European brotherhoods of Freemasons, who established a
network of lodges in the new colonies, and catalyzed the founding
of America as a new nation. According to historian Bernard Fay,
"Masonry alone undertook to lay the foundation for national unity
in America." The Masons were the only group in America highly
organized enough to plan a revolution. By the oath of secrecy
in the lodges, a brotherhood dedicated to the principles of liberty,
equality, and fraternity developed. Many of the Committees of
Correspondence which planned the Revolution were composed almost
exclusively of Masons.
[6] There were over 1,000 Masons in Boston at the time of the
Revolution, and the Green Dragon Tavern, where the first "Antient"
lodge of Freemasons was organized, was called by Daniel Webster,
"the headquarters of the Revolution."
[7] The Boston Tea Party is believed to be the work of Masons
during a break for refreshment of the regularly constituted meeting
of St. Andrew's Lodge.
[8] Paul Revere began his famous ride after he left an adjourned
meeting of a Masonic lodge.
[9]  Francis
Bacon (right), the "Father of Modern Science" and another mason,
was a member of the company which founded Virginia and the Carolinas.
Bacon worked through carefully chosen representatives in America
and through the Masonic lodges to help prepare the ground in the
early years for a new government in America. From behind the scenes
he initiated and guided the plan for America to be the testing
ground for these spiritual principles of government - for America
to be the "new order of the ages", Novus Ordo Seclorum, on our
Great Seal. Bacon referred to America as "the new Atlantis" in
his book by that name, and envisioned an ideal society which he
hoped would develop in America. For America was a new nation being
born, a fertile ground for these ideals, without the prejudices
and crystallized patterns of Europe. It was a nation where the
Divine principles of freedom and equality would be officially
proclaimed for the first time anywhere in the world, and where
"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" for all people would
be anchored on earth.
Bacon was honored in 1910 by Newfoundland on their tricentennial
commemorative stamp as "The Guiding Spirit in colonization schemes."
But most Americans have little awareness of the major role he
played in preparing the soil for the new American experiment in
government, and few know of his profoundly spiritual role and
his work with the esoteric brotherhoods of Europe and America.
There were many other important spiritual influences in colonial
America. Most of the earliest communities of settlers based their
lives on Divine guidance. The first colonies were settled by religious
groups, many of them following beliefs that emphasized a personal
relationship with God, like the German Pietists, and so were persecuted
by the established churches in Europe. The first Pilgrim colonists
saw their settlement as the "City on the Hill" - as a model of
a God-centered life, for later settlers to imitate. Whenever there
was a crisis, like an attack or a famine, they would declare a
day of fasting and prayer to ask God to show them where they had
gone wrong and so invited disaster.
 William
Penn (right), a Quaker, established the state of Pennsylvania
as what he called, "A Holy Experiment" to put the kingdom of God
into actual operation in the world. The Experiment was an affirmation
of the Divine Light in every person, whatever their religion or
race, which allowed all people to live in peace. Religious freedom
and equality of the races and sexes were espoused by the Quakers
since their first arrival in America. The "Long Peace" endured
in Pennsylvania for the life of the "Holy Experiment"; for over
70 years there was no hostility between the colonists and Indians.
Many of the social and political innovations introduced by Penn
and the Quakers became prototypes of American institutions: religious
freedom, "open door" policy of immigration, homesteading of free
land, elected representative government, and public education.
[10] Experimentation and innovation are intrinsic to America.
Her beginnings as a nation were very radical and innovative -
declaring her independence from Britain and proclaiming the equality
of all men - when the rest of the world was bound by rigid class
systems and serfdom. Because she is still young, flexible and
changing, America's task spiritually is to pioneer new ideas and
ground them in experience. The distortion of this can be seen
today as the spreading of new fads like blue jeans or Coke around
the world. But besides the gross commercialism of America, there
are also more positive ideas and projects being pioneered by modern
visionaries. Thousands of new communities and centers have been
growing up all over America in the last 15 years - groups like
the Abode in New York, Sirius in Massachusetts, Lama in New Mexico,
Ananda in California and Chinook in Washington. And like many
of the original colonists and the Founding Fathers, these new
communities also have their roots in a spiritual approach to life.
These modern "colonists" may be the seeds of a new nation and
a new culture, on a higher turn of the spiral than the original
colonists of 300 years ago.
In the midst of the crisis and pessimism in the world, these new
colonists bring hope for the future - a positive vision for humanity
of a more workable society. In some ways, each new community today
can be seen as a kind of new "masonic lodge", where deep bonds
of brother/sisterhood are developed and members are helped in
their spiritual growth. Although there is not the uniformity of
rule and ritual, nor the secrecy of the lodges of 200 years ago,
there is a common essence and a sense of unity among these diverse
new communities. Community members visit and correspond with members
of other communities, sharing ideas and projects, and regional
networks are developing. Modern versions of the Committees of
Correspondence of Revolutionary times are springing up all across
the country as these communities network with each other. But
unlike the revolutionary purpose of the 18th century Committees
of Correspondence, those of today have an evolutionary purpose
instead: helping people transform their inner selves first, that
humanity may evolve as a race.
As people experience wisdom and peace within themselves, they
can then build the institutions and structures of a new America
from a firmer foundation. Instead of just rebelling against tyranny
from an outside source, they are endeavoring to remove the roots
of tyranny in themselves first, so that they don't perpetuate
the cycle of tyranny. And this in itself will greatly aid the
evolution of humanity and the establishment of more just and humane
societies.
The Hopi Indians have a legend that says they were to look to
the East for the return of their lost white brother, who had gone
to another land to develop, record, and invent things. This lost
white brother would bring the missing stone tablet to compliment
the one the Hopis already had. The Hopi's tablet can be seen symbolically
as the energy of the heart - the sense of oneness with all life
and with the Great Spirit. The complement to this is the energy
of the mind, and this is what the white man has brought to America.
The heart and the mind are the two symbolic stone tablets that
must be reunited if America is to express her true spirit, to
be balanced and be whole.
Explore the Hopi Prophecy and Sacred Stone Tablets. Hopi
Prophecy Rock
Hopi
Prophecy Overview
Islanders of Tristan da Cunha
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