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To the Dead Sea
and the Red Sea
By Kim Michaels
After two intense days in Jerusalem, we all felt we needed a change
of scenery, so we decided to seek the peace and quit of the countryside
by driving to the Dead Sea. On the map, this seems to be a straightforward
task, as there is a Highway 1 that goes from Tel Aviv, North of Jerusalem
and almost to the Jordanian border, where it runs into Highway 90
that goes North and South. Yet finding that Highway in real life is
an entirely different matter.
I asked at the hotel and was told to go through Jerusalem and then
I would run into Highway 1. Since this was clearly the shortest distance
between two points, I decided to follow it, although it was not a
straight line. Aside from the expected amount of traffic, everything
went fairly smoothly until we got to a point where we had to take
a left turn. There were three lanes, so I pull over in the left lane,
only to find that I cannot turn left from the left lane but only from
the middle lane. Apparently the left lane was reserved for buses and
they did not need to turn left at that intersection. I had never seen
that one before, so I had to go straight and then take a U-turn to
get back on the right road.
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The
dramatic West coast of the Dead Sea. |
After a long drive through
town, we get to the area where we need to go East to find Highway
1. The trouble is, there were absolutely no signs to Highway 1 or
the Dead Sea. At one point we drive over the Highway but can see no
ramps leading onto it. Fortunately, Helen spots an alternative route
on the map, and as we follow it, we end up in the biggest of the controversial
Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. We were no doubt meant to go
there, and shortly afterwards, we do find Highway 1, even though there
were still no signs. Once we are on the Highway, we do see a sign
to the Dead Sea, but by then it was of little use. I suspect the Israeli
authorities don’t want to make it easy to drive to the West bank,
because I don’t see any non-political reason for the absence of signs
or onramps.
As soon as we leave the city behind, it becomes clear that we are
in an entirely different area than anything we have seen before. West
of Jerusalem is an area with hills, and although they looked dry,
there was some vegetation on them, even trees in many places. East
of Jerusalem is the Judean desert, and it is far more dry, with grasses
that grow so far apart they have to communicate with short-wave radios.
And there is not a tree to be seen. The landscape is hilly and the
only sign of life were some mobile homes and some metal shacks that
were shelters for the vast herds of goats that roam the hillsides.
Below sea-level
After a short drive, you come to a big sign that marks sea level,
and then the road starts going steeply downhill. There are markers
for every 100 meters you go below sea level, until you go below 300
meters at the level of the Dead Sea itself. There cannot be many people
living in the area, but it was still patrolled by Israeli F-16 fighter
jets that flew below the tops of the hills. The Israelis are clearly
marking what they see as their territory.
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The
Dead Sea. Notice how the water level has receded and exposed
areas with no vegetation. |
As you go further East, the hills disappear and there is a huge valley
that has the River Jordan at the bottom. Well, I should say what is
left of the River Jordan, as most of the water is now being siphoned
off to irrigate the huge agricultural areas on both the Israeli/Palestinian
side and the Jordanian side. In fact, the water is now so low that
John the Baptist couldn’t have baptized Jesus with submersion—at least
not during the winter. There are huge date palm plantations and some
big areas with what looks like greenhouses but have shade cloth instead
of glass, in which are grown various kinds of vegetables.
We eventually found Highway 90 and drove South. It did not take long
before we caught the first glimpse of the Dead Sea. I knew it was
big, but I was still surprised at how vast it is—the other side being
barely visible in the haze. As we drove South, huge cliff walls appeared
to our right and it truly was an impressive landscape. We stopped
a couple of places and could clearly see that the water level had
retreated many meters. I had read that this is becoming an increasing
concern as there is so little water being added from the Jordan River.
Masada
After a while, we came to what we had planned to be our destination
for the day, namely the ancient Jewish rebel fortress of Masada. It
sits in a very dramatic location on top of a high cliff that overlooks
the Dead Sea. Before you can get to the fortress itself, you pass
through the visitor center, which is clearly built to impress with
an architecture that reminded me of the Ben Gurion Airport in grandeur.
It is obvious that with such an impressive and expensive building,
the State of Israel considers this a place of great importance. I
was soon to learn why.
The visitor center has a nice central hall with a model of the entire
fortress complex, which is quite extensive. The fortress was begun
and largely built by King Herod, who wanted a country retreat in a
defensible position in case he had to hide from a revolt (when you
suppress your own people, you have to have an exit strategy). He built
a palace into the cliff on the northern side of the plateau and a
fortress wall all the way around the top, although the East side is
a 3-400 meter vertical rock face. The fortress became famous because
it was used by Jewish rebels seeking to hide from the Romans during
the uprising that led to the destruction of the second temple around
70 AD. Many of the rebels from Jerusalem withdrew and were pursued
by the Roman army through the desert. They ended up in Masada, and
the Romans then lay siege to the fortress in the year 72.
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The
Masada plateau seen from the valley. |
In 73 the Romans had built
a large earthen ramp that was approaching the vulnerable gate in the
West side of the fortress wall. As it became clear to the leaders
of the rebels that the Romans would break through their defenses the
next day, their leader, Eleazar ben Yai’r gave a stirring speech in
which he said that suicide was preferable to slavery under the Romans.
The inhabitants then decided that each man should kill his own wife
and children by cutting their throats so they would bleed to death.
The men then met in a central location, divided themselves into groups
and cast lots as to who was to slit the throats of the rest of the
members in his group before killing himself. Before doing this, they
had set fire to the entire structure so as to leave nothing to the
Romans.
In this way, 960 men, woman and children perished before the Romans
arrived the next morning. Apparently two – the only two sane – women
hid in a cistern with their five children and survived, so they could
tell the Romans what had happened, including a word-for-word account
of the leader’s speech. This speech is printed in the official brochure
for Masada that you receive with your ticket, so again this is something
the Israeli state finds important.
As you go in, you pass through a small movie theater where you see
a film about the events. It compares Hollywood’s version – an epic
movie with Peter O’Toole as the Roman general – to the so-called real
events. And it places emphasis on the fact that the Romans had great
admiration for their enemies, who had shown such bravery instead of
submitting to certain defeat. It also contained some subtle hints
as to the importance of Masada for the modern Israeli state (More
on this shortly.). The movie was narrated by a person from whom I
personally would not have bought a used car, and it had the distinct
vibration of a propaganda movie. It actually reminded me of some of
the Nazi propaganda movies I have seen in historical programs on television.
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The
cable cars going to and from the plateau meet in the middle. |
After the movie, we waited
for a few minutes for the cable car that takes you to the top. There
is a footpath that winds up the mountain, but given that the temperature
was over 30˚ Celsius and the sun was right on the path, we opted for
the high-tech solution. It was a very impressive ride. I could look
out the open front window and see straight down. To one side was a
very impressive view of the Dead Sea and to the other a spectacular
view of a narrow canyon with sharp contrast between sunny areas and
areas of deep shadow. Halfway, we met the other car going down and
the total ride was probably around 2 km.
Once at the top, the first
thing that hit us was the heat. I had expected it to be cooler, partly
because of the 3-400 m higher elevation and partly because I expected
there to be a breeze at the top. Yet there was no wind at all and
the temperature was even a bit higher than down below. The ruins of
the fortress are quite impressive and the area is vast. Quite a feat
to build a wall around the entire plateau, although my practical mind
had to wonder why they built a wall on the East side, as there is
a vertical wall that is over 300 m tall.
There were lots of people and very few shady spots. We hadn’t realized
that there was no place to buy drinks, but there were a couple of
drinking fountains with lukewarm water. Jesus would have spewed it
out of his mouth, but I managed to drink it.
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Dramatic
view on the way to the top. |
On the West side was the
earthen ramp that the Romans had built. A guide said the Romans had
used Jewish slaves and that is why the rebels had not shot them with
bows and arrows. And while that sounded logical, I have later read
that the rebels were actually at war with the mainstream Jews and
had been run out of Jerusalem. In fact, it sounds like the rebels
were out of touch with the majority of the population, and that they
created the revolt against the will of the people, thus causing the
population to suffer from the Roman crackdown. So based on that it
seems unlikely that they would not have shot the slaves.
In any case, the ramp was built and the rebels decided on their macabre
suicide. I had seen a documentary about Masada many years ago and
had a strange feeling about it back then. But when I was actually
there, I sensed the energies that are still hanging over the place
(or were before I used the scepter) and it suddenly came together
for me.
The hidden energies behind Masada
First of all, the entire idea of mass suicide seems abhorrent to me,
especially since it involved women and children—who obviously did
not choose to commit suicide and in many cases – certainly with the
children – had no choice in the matter. Thus, it really wasn’t a suicide.
It was a small group of men who decided to murder their own wives
and children and then that small group of men killed themselves.
As I read the speech of the leader, I sensed a distinct vibration
of pride. It became clear to me that the real motivation on the part
of the few leaders was to set a monument for themselves that would
go down in history. They were rebels. They had rebelled against Rome
in the hope of being the ones who defeated the Romans and restored
Israel to its rightful place as God’s kingdom on earth. Yet their
own people had rejected them, and they were now on the brink of loosing
the final battle and going down into obscurity. Yet by committing
a last act that was so unprecedented and so shocking, they hoped to
set a monument for themselves and secure a place in history. And it
worked.
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Some
of the ruins on Masada. |
Yet why did it work? For
centuries, Masada was a bunch of forgotten ruins. Then in the late
1960s and -70s certain Israeli groups rediscovered Masdada and started
making it a focus for youth group excursions. This, of course, was
right at the time of the 6-day war that expanded Israel by occupying
the West Bank and other territories yet also created an ongoing conflict
between Israel and its neighbors, a conflict that is still unresolved
and that could – at any time – result in another war. After it was
first discovered, Masada gradually became more officially recognized
until the government built the huge visitor center and turned it into
a major tourist attraction as well as a national symbol.
Why has Masada – an insane act by a group of rebels that were out
of touch with the majority of the population – become a symbol for
the Israeli state’s struggle for survival? The message that is being
sent is that the State of Israel is facing the same choice today as
that faced by the rebels, namely between freedom and slavery. And
just as then, the Israeli people – especially the young soldiers –
should be willing to make the same sacrifice as the rebels did at
Masada. Not that the state is encouraging people to commit suicide
directly, but they are clearly promoting the attitude that dying for
your country – even in a desperate and suicidal war – is the honorable
thing to do for Israeli youth.
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The
earthen ramp that gave the Romans access to the plateau. |
When I realized this, what suddenly flashed in my mind was something
I had read several times before coming to Israel, namely that the
Israeli prime minister had said – several times – that Israel reserves
the right to defend itself with any means possible. This struck me
as quite a bizarre statement from the leader of a democratic nation,
especially since this nation has 80-100 nuclear weapons. It it bizarre
to me because one of the cornerstones of democracy is that it is supposed
to be better than a totalitarian state. And the hallmark of a totalitarian
state is that it has no respect for human rights because it is based
on a “the ends can justify the means” philosophy.
A democracy replaced that
ethic with the concept of human rights that the state cannot override.
So here is the prime minister of Israel advocating an approach that
is very similar to the ethic of all totalitarian states. He is essentially
saying that the survival of the STATE of Israel – which is NOT the
same as the Jewish people, although perhaps not many see that in Israel
– can justify the use of any means, including nuclear weapons used
against a country with no nuclear weapons. The scary things is that
this leaves a lot of elbow room for fanaticism and paranoia. How will
the Israeli leaders define a situation that to them justifies the
use of nuclear weapons? It could be simply a matter of how threatened
a handful of people feel. If they feared that Iran was about to develop
a nuclear weapon, would they use a few of their own to bomb Iranian
nuclear sites? This would likely trigger a war with Arab states, but
if they think a war is coming anyway, perhaps it is better to fight
it while only Israel has nuclear weapons?
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Remnants
of the palace built by King Herod. |
I know you can argue about this, but what I sensed on the Masada site
was an energy with no respect for human life, an energy that its willing
to go to any extreme in order to attain its objective. No amount of
human suffering is too much, no sacrifice – by the people – is to
great to secure the historical goals of the leaders who see themselves
as being of extreme importance. I could literally sense how the beasts
behind this energy are working to create a situation where Israel
will initiate a nuclear ragnarok in the Middle East—and potentially
trigger World War III as what these forces would consider an extra
bonus. It would not surprise me in the least that some of the very
souls who precipitated Masada are now in embodiment as some of the
more militant Israeli leaders—and they haven’t changed a bit.
Once again, they are trying to create a false choice between freedom
and a suicidal war. Yet is that the only choice? The rebels at Masada
were not truly fighting for freedom, certainly not for the freedom
of the general population that they looked down upon and with whom
they had fought. So what universal cause were they fighting for? Likewise,
is the current struggle of the State of Israel truly a fight for freedom?
Or is it precipitated by the complete unwillingness of a small group
of Israeli leaders to be flexible and negotiate with the rest of the
world towards a peaceful solution that can secure basic human rights
for both Jews and Palestinians? It is clear to me that the world wants
a peaceful solution, but that the Israeli government has consistently
resisted it by being inflexible on key issues, such as the latest
refusal to stop new settlements in occupied areas. I have to seriously
ask myself if these leaders truly are willing to negotiate or if they
would prefer to see a massive war in the Middle East. I can tell you
that the energies I felt were not those of true peacemakers.
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The
visitor center. It is obviously built to impress, which underscores
the importance of Masada as a
symbol for the State of Israel. |
I also had to reflect on
the nature of the way the people at Masada carried out their so-called
suicide. Each man went to his private dwelling and slid the throats
of his wife and children—of any age. The men then met, divided themselves
into groups and each group cast lots. The one who lost then slid the
throats of the rest of the people in the group before killing himself.
To me this is simply so bizarre that I can hardly find words. It seems
to be a scheme designed to extract the maximum amount of light from
all of the people involved. How would you have felt while you were
slitting the throats of your own wife and children and watching them
bleed to death over several minutes?
I even thought about the obvious alternative. The place sits on top
of a cliff and there is a 300 m drop on the East side. So, simply
line up all the people on the wall. Then the leaders set forth an
example by jumping off first, and the rest can then jump or not jump
as they decide individually. Yet if something like this had been done,
a considerable amount of people might not have jumped, and that would
have diminished the shock effect. For maximum effect, EVERYONE had
to die, and to me that clearly demonstrates that there were some pretty
sick minds behind the entire event. They simply wanted to leave a
monument to themselves in history, and that is nothing but pride that
has crossed the line to insanity. I tell you, it was an evil energy,
and I felt a great relief when I had used the scepter to clear it.
I truly felt that the masters wanted this record cleared.
To the Red Sea
After we took the cable car down from the plateau, we were hot and
thirsty, and the visitor center had a great gift shop where they sold
freshly pressed orange juice. What a life-saver! We now faced the
choice to either go back the same way or to go South and find another
way back. The latter was longer, but we would see something different.
Sandy then suggested that we drive all the way to the southern city
of Eilat, which is on the shores of the Red Sea. She had been there
when she was a student spending a summer at an archeological dig.
We realized that was a good idea as we would then end up traversing
(during the entire trip) almost the entire country from South to North.
Also, Eilat is the base chakra of Israel, plus we would be closer
to the Arab peninsula and Egypt.
Before we left the Red Sea behind, we passed by an area with huge
hotels on the shore, obviously created for people who came for the
healing properties of the mineral-rich mud that is supposed to be
good for skin diseases. We also passed an enormous salt factory, much
bigger and with more pipes than an oil refinery. On the southern end
of the Red Sea is an area with salt pillars, and lo and behold one
of them is named as being the one created when Lot’s wife looked back.
Supposedly, it is handed down from ancient times that this is the
area of Sodom and Gomorra and that this particular pillar – which
is 3 times taller than a human being – is the actual remnants of Mrs.
Lot. How they determined that this was the actual one among hundreds
of others is a mystery to me.
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Sunset
at the Red Sea. |
However, an even greater
mystery is that they have not found any ruins of ancient cities in
the area. Given that we today know that the Dead Sea has been dead
since far before Biblical times, one must wonder why anyone would
build not one, but two cities in such an inhospitable area. It reminded
me of the Via Dolorosa, where they obviously picked a route and then
claimed it to be the actual one. It once again shows how the mentality
in the Middle East – not just among Jews – is one of being very attached
to land. History and tradition very much revolves around specific
locations on a map.
South of the Dead Sea we entered the Sinai desert, and it truly is
a desert. There were some old, rusty pieces of artillery sitting along
the road, probably from the 6-day war in 1967. We saw a couple of
camel herds, but there were also huge areas with no vegetation at
all. It took us almost three hours to get to Eilat, which turned out
to be a resort city centered around a group of huge hotels directly
on the beach.
I was looking for a quiet place to take a dictation, and I saw a sign
for a bird refuge. Yet it turned out there were neither birds nor
refuge but only a very bad dirt road that took us next to the Jordanian
border crossing. So we went down to the beach and since we couldn’t
find a quiet place, I realized the dictation would have to wait until
the drive home. We spent a half hour on the beach as the sun was setting
and it was a very beautiful view of the Red Sea. Also nice to relax
after a long drive. After getting some food, we started the five-hour
drive home.
Moses’ dictation
The dictation started a half-hour drive north of Eilat, as we drove
through the Sinai desert in the same locations as the israelites are
likely to have traveled. It was a very powerful dictation, and during
it I kept having inner visions of the Israelites and their trek. I
could clearly feel how Lord Ling was speaking directly to the very
people he had led and also to the consciousness of wrestling with
God. I felt how his light was directed specifically at people and
the mindset in the Middle East, not only among Jews but also among
Arabs. He also addressed the consciousness of all religious people
and the tendency to take scriptures literally instead of taking responsibility
for going beyond the outer words and reaching the Living God that
he had found on the mountain.
There was something about that dictation that was very powerful, and
especially in the end, where he said:
And yet my beloved,
I feel that with these latest teachings given through this messenger
over these last couple of years – the teachings on the duality consciousness,
the teachings of the dramas and this release that I have given –
I feel that I can now take leave of this planet fully and finally.
And therefore move on, on that cosmic journey toward the final destination
of the White Cube. The White Cube where you sit and do not look
into the world of form, but you turn the other way and look out
into the Pure Being of the Living God, the Living Presence of God.
And so, this will indeed be the final release from the Ascended
Master Moses, the Ascended Master Lord Ling – whatever you may want
to call me – for it is of no consequence to me, as I take my leave
of this planet and the lifestreams upon it, wishing you God-speed
but having no attachment whatsoever.
And thus, this is indeed—this is my final gift, as whether you will
believe it or not, the Ascended Master Moses, the Ascended Master
Lord Ling, from this moment, is no more, for I AM MORE!
It was beautiful to experience
the expanded perspective compared to how we normally look at things
from our vantage point on Earth. I felt the immense contrast between
the Middle Eastern mindset that I had encountered in the previous
days and the expanded, cosmic perspective of an ascended master. And
it was truly moving to feel how he literally looked from the Earth
into the ascending spirals of God’s consciousness. As he talked about
the White Cube, I was taken back to my own experience of being in
the Central Sun, and it helped me see beyond the mindset of the Middle
East as well as my own reaction to it.
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The
Sinai desert. Not a place I would want to wander around in for
forty years. |
In the previous days, I
had started to build up this sense that people in the Middle East
really needed to change their approach, but feeling Lord Ling’s consciousness
gave me the sense that despite all the outer tension, people here
are still simply people who are stuck in a certain state of consciousness.
The Summit said that many of the people in the Middle East are laggard
evolutions that embodied here after they had helped blow up the planet
Maldek that is now the Asteroid belt. Yet I sensed that regardless
of their history, they are simply self-aware beings stuck in a certain
state of consciousness.
I began to realize that it simply isn’t my role in this life to address
or challenge their consciousness. Nor is it my role to change them.
I need to let my light shine and remember the Buddha’s concept that
“Some will understand.” And I felt that as Lord Ling had left behind
the Middle East consciousness, I could do the same. Which means I
could let go of any attachment to changing other people, even any
desire to prevent a war in the Middle East.
Even since childhood I have been concerned about a war in the area
and have been holding the vision that it would not happen. Yet I started
to surrender even that desire in total respect for the outplaying
of the Law of Free Will. If the people in this area need the experience
of a major war in order to get out of the mindset in which they are
stuck, why should I hold the vision that it will not happen? Let the
Law work itself out and let them reap as they have sown. It was a
release for me of a tension that I have carried for many years.
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Copyright
© 2009 by Kim Michaels |
