Skáldskapr: Path to Coexistence. Ódinn by many names.

Today we look at the path to coexistence that has eluded the mainstream, organized monotheistic religion throughout their existence. When we lift the veil of secrecy that the main practices have always maintained and look at organized religions throughout the world, we will begin to see many similarities emerge. At the risk of condemning anyone, I must point out that it is only a select few that are less innocent in their endeavor to enforce their choices on others. The idea that the monotheistic churches refer to their deity as God, and have developed many names for it. I am further convinced that the practice of referring to the deity came down to individual tastes with a bit of conditional programming thrown in for good measure. Let us seek that knowledge and wisdom that we may understand.

Hail Ó∂inn, Lord of Asgard, Warrior and wanderer, valiant and wise, You to whom all the gods of Asgard look, Sky Father on the eight-legged steed, You who traded an eye for wisdom and ruled a turbulent realm, Give us the wisdom to accept the twists and turns of Fate even as you surrendered yourself to the mercies of the Norns. Protect us, All-Father, from what harm may come to us. Lead us through the wilderness and bring us safely to that great hall that you reserve only for the brave of spirit. Ó∂inn, we come to you today to seek your wisdom and guidance. We ask that you bestow upon those here the wisdom about the subject in which we speak. Be with them as they go forth and live their lives. Let us sip the cup of Ó∂rerir to bestow the wisdom of Kvasir. We ask for guidance, that you be with us and guide us through the challenges that Hel lay before us. Help us to recognize Loki as he attempts to deceives us our true path. Hail Ó∂inn!!

If there is one thing I have learned after three decades of in-depth researching the topic, is that humankind has yet to gain an understanding of the mystic powers within the natural world. This single factor has allowed men and women to exploit the general population more than any other. Because of the misunderstanding of the natural mystic powers, these charlatans have successfully avoided detection for thousands of years. A simple understanding that the wanderings of Ódinn may have led to the masses knowing his identity, yet calling him by other names is one of those things that gets revealed. While there existed deity representations prior to Ódinn, they were still crossing over from the animal worship the migrated out of Africa tens of thousands of years before humans began to seek a higher power to understand the natural world around them.

As I traveled to Jǫtunheimr (land of the giants), they told me of the days before Ódinn and his brothers killed Ymir to form the world. They taught me of the idea behind the god-like life form named Ymir. As Ymir was the fist being to be, they spoke of the existence of many giants, who before the wall was built around Midgard, would travel to that realm and be seen by the humans of that time. They spoke of being called gods, and being worshipped by the humans of that time. They were the gods until the Gods of Asgard banished them, and built the giant wall from Ymir’s eyebrows.

As I traveled to Svartálfar and spoke with the dwarves, they taught me of the balance needed by those who became gods. They taught me that the best weapons were those who had perfect balance. They show me the blades they had forged, but warned me, that without the wisdom of their use, they would cause more damage to the warrior than his opponent. They taught me the skill of traversing the BiFrost to travel between realms quickly. They also helped my skills at retaining those events I witnessed while traveling across the BiFrost, to allow me to pass on this wisdom to those who sought me out.

As I witnessed throughout the many realms, many different communities witnessed the destructive giants before the wall was built. They also witnessed the banishment by Ódinn and the other Æsirians. To those witnesses, Ódinn was seen in many different forms, causing these different societies to see him differently, and name him regionally. The river of poison awaits those who exploited the differences for their own greed. By attempting to intercede between the humans and Ódinn, they have now discovered that it was an eternally, horrible plan.

The early humans not knowing any better, determined names that fir their language and regional understanding. Names like:

  • Yahweh
  • Elohim
  • El Shaddai
  • Adonai
  • Elyon 
  • Jehovah
  • El Roi
  • Buddha
  • Confucius
  • Etc

The list goes on and on, however, ultimately it all comes down to one god who traveled throughout the realms garnering wisdom beyond any other life form, before or since. The legends speak of Ódinn volunteering his eye for a drink from the fountain of wisdom, and being pierced with his own spear to travel the realms to garner the experiences. In many of the modern religious worships and associated doctrine, we find redundant uses of these stories that these mainstream social experiments attempt to capture for their own interpretation and usages.

Whether you are in agreement with the wisdom or not, the fact that you are free to make that decision. In the same way Ódinn forged his own destiny, we too are the masters of our own journey. I have only to prove myself to Ódinn, and my woman, no one else matters. This wisdom is imparted to me to pass to my fellow humankind. Ultimately, the concept of coexistence has never been a part of organized monotheism, although originally the Jewish people’s practicing Judaism attempted to keep the practice within their peoples. The Christian and Muslim practitioners were not as collaborative and forced many to endure the “adopt or die” method of deployment. For those of you who have never studied theology, there has always been conflict surrounding the monotheistic beliefs, ever since their creation. At a minimum a conflict existed between the beliefs of one group against another, at most, wars for hundreds of years, essentially sentencing hundreds of thousands to death.

While all religious practices speak of peaceful coexistence, that discussion point is fundamentally flawed. The structure was quickly put in place, rising quickly to monarchies throughout the known world to ensure total oppression of the other practices. In example after example we see both the Christian and Muslim practitioners killing thousands of people who didn’t believe in their control mechanisms, typically being sanctioned by these organizations. The history books are filled with this conform or die type of deployment, leading to many to blame radicalism. Radicalism is the natural byproduct of a concept that is driven “to be right”.  By making every effort to crush any opposition, radicalism was born of necessity, and is alive and well throughout the world today.

Up until the current day, differences within religion are typically shunned and/or blatantly attacked. Going backwards from today, we find the accepted idea of good versus evil, bad versus good dictating a societal condition that outcasts any who don’t subscribe to the common practice. If you are different, you need to be “saved”. This is the idea behind the global indoctrination that has led to our current condition. I draw attention to the indigenous peoples of North America. Their decimation and cultural destruction was “almost” celebrated during the peak of the oppression, and individuals designated as “missionaries” are (even today) sent all over the world in an attempt to convert or outcast individuals not currently subscribed to their ideology.

The question I always ask is “do you really believe?” I’ve spoken with thousands of people who don’t really believe in any of this “hocus pocus”, and many of those are simply rebelling against their parents enforcement of monotheistic practices. Others, simply go “because they always have.” Some actually attend as a form of socializing, and nothing to do with the underlining theology. However, in some cases these might be the same people who condemn me to their version of Hel. This is the coexistence piece I want to express here today.

By condemning anyone for a different deity worship belief is to intentionally cause an indelible rift between peoples. This is where society begins to come apart, as acceptance and tolerance for individuals form of worship and their theological beliefs is a cornerstone to who we are as human beings. While the settlers who left England in search of freedom to worship as they wanted, they promptly shut down the future generations by forcing the conform or die practice that they escaped.

So, lets talk about the real idea of coexistence. Let’s talk about the beauty contained within the differences between us. I rely on the all-father Ó∂inn to guide me and grant me wisdom to live an honorable life. What is the fundamental differences between me calling the all-father Ó∂inn, and you calling him Yahweh? None. Ultimately, they are the same God, are they not? Do they not oversee our lives and provide conditions that materialize in our lifetimes that lead us to an honorable life? What really is the point of mocking, or undermining someone else’s belief in their deity? We may worship differently, we may have different stories to tell, ultimately we all have to write our own tapestry.

People have told me that coexistence is a sign of weakness, and that it sets us up for assimilation into something else if we don’t fight for our beliefs, however I question then, how strong is your belief that someone or something could change your mind, even by force? I know my all-father Ó∂inn is all powerful and has proven himself over and over in battles throughout the nine realms. Am I worried that another God may replace him, no. Am I concerned that the repeated requests by individuals around me to find this God called Yahweh will “wear me down to just acceptance”? No. If you don’t have enough faith in your God or Gods, then chances are you probably need to see where your heart really lines up with your beliefs. If you are incapable of accepting the idea that I believe very differently than you do, then you have a problem, not I. Our coexistence shouldn’t be contingent on whether I believe the same way you do, as it is our differences that make us greater than either of us alone. 

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