I follow a way. Doesn’t this make me a wayist in the lineage of mystery schools.
As I wondered about Jesus skills, I grew as a mystic. Any spiritual genius like Jesus needs tools and disciplines.
Following imagination and heart I’ve explored alternate histories for both Jesus and his followers, knowing how often we do not get the real story. http://www3.nd.edu/~jneyrey1/secrecy.html.
In the process I revised my theology to hold Mary Magdalene at the center of the wisdom lineage of Jesus. I discovered her liturgies are alive and well tended by followers, one of whom works down the street from me at Sagrada Bookstore.
I came across other Wayists who from the beginning of Jesus teachings named themselves thus. http://wayism.org/learning-about-wayist-spirituality/spirituality-articles-for-students/understanding-christian-scripture/537-mari-of-magadha-mary-magdalene-wrote-the-fourth-gospel,
The lines between faith traditions blur when we track mystery. Exposed to more and more sacred texts and spiritual traditions I see a common thread.
“Wayism is essentially an inter-faith dialogue that acknowledges most religions as valid expressions, and professes the existence of a ‘golden thread’, a single truth, weaved through most religions and whatever outside of that thread of truth are superfluous additions. Lately (in the past millennium) a mystic Islamic path was allowed into the Wayist fold. Wayists maintain a collection of Scripture sometimes referred to as The Eastern Bible or the Wayist Bible. This collection is dynamic in the sense that Traditions add their particular books but the foundation always include at least the following books: Bhagavad Gita, Tao Teh Ching, Acts of Yesu, Acts of Thomas, Book of Thomas, Book of Wisdom. Some Wayist Bibles include the Lotus Sutra and Avalokitesvara sutras or Upanishads. Due to continued religious intolerance and violence in the Srinagar / Kashmir area various institutions associated with the international Wayist movement relocated to Europe and North America during the past few years.
Do you wonder like I do Why Control Spiritual Knowledge? I am interested in unlocking the body wisdom of mysticism at a time when spirituality is coming of age. But in the past….
Is secrecy a matter of political power? Those who wield spiritual authority have been known to start revolutions. Or is it a matter of keeping alive forms of consciousness that are needed but whose time has not yet come? Or is there another reason mystic tools are kept secret?
“Mystical knowledge refers to the private, ineffable and non-verbal communication (i.e., the vision quest); it always remains secret.
“Theological” knowledge is a kind of “deep knowledge that penetrates below the surface,” thus providing mythical frameworks of interpretation or rationales for perception and action; novelist Tony Hillerman has gained special access to this through informers.
“Liturgical” knowledge refers to the correct manner of conducting ceremonies and rituals, i.e., dances and chants, or simply about “behavior” within the group.
“Dogma” refers to a superficial form of knowledge about the group; it involves a rote form of learning and represents the official “received” views of the group (128). “Participatory” knowledge represents a miscellaneous category for the various pieces of information that low level performers and spectators have (e.g., liturgical participation in a language foreign to those attending).
Certain people know more than others, because information is controlled so that certain people know more than others. Those most “in the know” with knowledge of the core myths and rituals rank highest.
Those with specialized knowledge of this or that item belong in the middle, while others who know little or understand superficially are ranked lowest.”