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Was Jesus a mystic?
MC for the May 11th PCEC
meeting at the Tavern by the Sea, Richard Silverberg, opens the meeting by
inviting newcomers to introduce themselves.
Was Jesus a mystic? Ren Lexander spoke to the Pattaya
City Expats Club on Sunday, May 11, on the topic of mysticism. His viewpoint
was that there is strong evidence that Jesus was a mystic. Ren Lexander is
the author of seven books, including: “Seduction by the Stars, An
Astrological Guide to Love, Lust and Intimate Relationships” (co-written
with a professional astrologer), “Eye of the Shadow” (novel published by
Penguin) that was short-listed for a Book of the Year award, and “The Secret
Meaning of Names.” For more information about Ren, visit his website
www.renlexander.com.
Ren Lexander explains
Mysticism to the PCEC and how it crosses many faiths.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “mysticism” as “a religious practice
based on the belief that knowledge of spiritual truth can be gained by
praying or thinking deeply.” That definition is a lot easier to follow than
the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s definition which is, “A
constellation of distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions,
traditions, and experiences aimed at human transformation, variously defined
in different traditions.” This latter definition, which Ren cited at the
start of his presentation and in his opinion is “pretty useless.”
He explained that mysticism is very inward looking; it aims to achieve inner
transformation. Further, mysticism cuts across faith-based religions and is
completely different from faith. Many of the major faiths have their own
mystics. Mysticism can involve visions, spiritual feelings and insights. Ren
said that mystics talk about a path culminating in the union of the soul
with “one,” with a cosmic spirit or even with God. Mystics believe that
there has to be more to life than what they are experiencing externally.
Open Forum MC Roy Albiston
invites questions from members and guests, about living in the ‘Land of
Surprises’.
Ren said that he was motivated to read past works about mysticism. The
Upanishads, a collection of texts that contain some of the central religious
concepts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, refer to “the self,” a tiny
spark inside each person that collectively forms a universal spark: Brahman.
The site http://www.hinduwebsite.com/ describes “Brahman” as “the
indescribable, inexhaustible, omniscient, omnipresent … eternal and absolute
principle who is without a beginning, without an end [and] who is hidden in
all.”
Plotinus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the third century, wrote about
the need for the soul to make its self pure. Meister Eckhart, a German
theologian, philosopher and mystic who lived from 1260 to 1327, wrote that
anything that was good can become better, and whatever may become better may
become best. Ren mentioned two books that influenced his thinking about
mysticism: “The Primal Scream,” by Arthur Janov; and “Bioenergetics,” by
Alexander Lowen.
Ren said that he views Jesus as a mystic in the same tradition as the others
even though the academic view of Jesus has always been - until the last 100
years at least - that he was an apocalyptic preacher. Ren noted that phrases
associated with Jesus - such as “Holy Spirit,” “baptism by the Holy Spirit”
and “the kingdom of God” - were actually first used by John the Baptist. The
“Holy Spirit,” Ren said, was what the mystics were talking about; and when
Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, he was talking about the “self.”
Following questions, MC
Richard Silverberg presented Ren with a Certificate of Appreciation as
thanks for his insightful presentation.
So was Jesus really a mystic? Ren said that his extensive
research on the topic turned up nothing specific. However, he said, he sees
plenty of mysticism surrounding Jesus, especially in The Beatitudes, a set
of teachings by Jesus that appear in the gospels of Luke and Matthew
(Matthew 5:3-12). Ren said that there are passages in The Beatitudes that
make no sense with respect to the external world, but to him make perfect
sense in the “inner world.” He cited several examples, including these two;
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” and “Blessed are
the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” Likewise, he specifically
pointed out that “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God”
reflects mysticism in that the mystics wrote about purification of the soul.
In response to a question about the sources he used for his research, Ren
said that of necessity, he was using sayings of Jesus that had been
translated by gospel writers. Although translators tend to instill their own
biases, Ren said he felt he was able to form a mystic interpretation of
Jesus’ teachings.
After the presentation, Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg brought
everyone up to date on upcoming events and then called on Roy Albiston to
conduct the always interesting and informative Open Forum; where question
are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the Pattaya City Expats Club and their many
activities, visit www.pcecclub.org.
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Pattaya Russians celebrate 69th Victory Day
Russians sing their national
anthem to celebrate the 69th anniversary of Victory Day.
Teerarak Suthathiwong
Pattaya-area Russians joined local politicians in celebrating the 69th
anniversary of Victory Day, the May 9, 1945 capitulation of Nazi Germany to the
Soviet Union in World War II.
Russian Orthodox Church Rev. Oleg Cherepanin from Bangkok helped organize the
May 9 event at the Cape Dara Resort attended by Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit
Ekasingh and Chonburi Provincial Police Maj. Gen. Khatcha Thatsart.
Victory Day marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the
“the Great Patriotic War” and was first celebrated in fifteen republics of the
Soviet Union, following the signing of the surrender document. The Soviet
government announced the event 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin. The
holiday became a holiday in 1965 in most of the Soviet Union.
A-One Royal Cruise donates funds to Nongprue Temple
Mitr and Wattana Rattanaopat
(seated, center) and family members held the ceremony to mark the 26th
anniversary of the A-One Royal Cruise Hotel.
Urasin Khantaraphan & Surasak Huasoon
The A-One Royal Cruise celebrated its 26th year of operation by donating funds
to the fire-damaged Nongprue Temple.
Mitr and Wattana Rattanaopat, founders of A-One Bangkok-Pattaya Hotels hosted a
May 7 Buddhist ceremony at the Beach Road hotel where son Somchai and staff
welcomed nine monks to receive alms and food offerings at the pool-side Cable
Grill Restaurant.
The staffers donated funds to the temple, which suffered 30 million in damage to
the sermon pavilion during a February fire.
The hotel chain was launched in 1988 and owns the A-One Royal Cruise, A-One
Pattaya Beach Resort and A-One Star Hotel. The Royal Cruise features two
buildings shaped like big cruise ships and 466 “cabins” with three sizes of
meeting rooms.
The A-One Pattaya Beach Resort opened in 2008 with 52 universal-access rooms
while the A-One Star is a 142-room budget hotel.
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Skål ends up all at sea
Tony Malhotra, President of Skål International and
Eastern Thailand welcomes Skålleagues and guests.
The Skål International Pattaya and East Thailand had their May meeting at the
Acqua Lounge Bar in the Mercure Hotel Pattaya. This meeting featured two
speakers who were very well experienced in the Pattaya Bay side of Fun City.
 One
of the guest speakers of the night, Scott Finsten, Harbour Master of the Ocean
Marina Yacht Club Pattaya shares his experiences.
Before the official welcome by President Tony Malhotra, the members and guests
mingled, while enjoying wines by Davide Contu Salis from G Four, the French
anise-flavored Ricard aperitif from Pernod Ricard Thailand, pastries courtesy of
Deli France and delicious finger food supplied by the Mercure.
The first speaker was well-known yachting scribe and long time competitor Peter
Cummins, who has the distinction (amongst other exploits on sea and shore) of
capsizing in the full view of the guests at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and
ruining the race of a former Commodore of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. Peter
also has in his yachting CV, the honor of racing against HM King Bhumibol
Adulyadej and spending 20 minutes with His Majesty and Queen Sirikit at their
summer palace at Hua Hin.
The second speaker was Scott Finsten, the Harbormaster at Ocean Marina. Scott
mentioned just how much activity there is on the water these days, both with
yacht owners and those who hire them and those others who are just “crew” for a
pleasant day’s sail. Scott exhorted everyone to explore the islands around
Pattaya Bay, some of which have excellent snorkeling to witness the beauty of
the coral reefs, and others having sparkling white sandy beaches, free from
wandering vendors trying to sell you everything you don’t need.
Well-known yachting scribe Peter Cummins says he has
the distinction (amongst other exploits on sea and shore) of capsizing in the
full view of the guests at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.
After the speeches, the members and guests migrated to the poolside restaurant
where the Mercure GM, the unstoppable Alex Chakrabarti, encouraged everyone to
sit back and enjoy themselves with the very delightful buffet items, complete
with four styles of French foie gras!
And as a finale, magician Bruce Bousquet entertained everyone with some
remarkable table magic.
The next Skål evening will be held towards the end of June, full details will be
published in the Pattaya Mail and on their facebook page
www.facebook.com/skalpattaya
(L to R) Peter Cummins, Special Correspondent of the
Pattaya Mail Media Group; Peter Malhotra, Managing Director of the Pattaya Mail
Media Group; Nittaya Patimasongkroh, Past President of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya;
Dr. Iain Corness; and Neil Maniquiz, Head of the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya
International Marketing Department.
(L to R) Robert John Lohrmann, General Manager of
the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya; Janya Rattanaliam, Deputy Head of
the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya International Marketing Department; Alex
Chakrabarti, General Manager of the Mercure Pattaya Hotel; Elfi Seitz, Executive
Editor of the Pattaya Blatt; and Rudolf Tröstler, General Manager of the Hilton
Pattaya.
(L to R) Cedric Lafargue, Assistant Director of Food
& Beverage, Mercure Pattaya Hotel; Lek; Wiparat PhuPhanpet, Sales Officer of the
G Four Co., Ltd.; and Davide Contu Salis, Sales and Marketing Executive of the G
Four Co., Ltd.
Host of the night, Alex Chakrabarti, General Manager
of the Mercure Pattaya Hotel lightens the mood with his welcome speech.
Peter Malhotra, Managing Director of the Pattaya
Mail Media Group gives an explanation and a brief history of Peter Cummins, one
of the guest speakers of the night.
(L to R) Scott Finsten, Harbour Master of the Ocean
Marina Yacht Club Pattaya; Alex Chakrabarti, General Manager of the Mercure
Pattaya Hotel; Neil Maniquiz, Head of the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya International
Marketing Department; Wiparat PhuPhanpet, Sales Officer of the G Four Co., Ltd.;
Robert John Lohrmann, General Manager of the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort
Pattaya and George Kenton, Executive Assistant Manager-Rooms of the Centara
Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya
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