Mary Magdalene and Consciousness Evolution

February 2, 2024 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Please enjoy this FREE recording of my presentation to the Co-Creator’s Convergence community on 2/1/2024:

The Practice of Peace

November 5, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

We find ourselves at a fragile time in our human history where violence and hatred seems to be more palpable and troubling. Please enjoy this FREE recording of the weekly spiritual service that I provide for the Order of the Magdalene Membership Community.

To learn more about our membership community and services provided there, please go HERE.

When There’s Nothing Left To Do

October 17, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

But wait, watch, and pray.

We stand at a precipice. The predictions have been made. The foretelling offered. We prophets have shared what we see and spoken what we’ve heard.

The world as we have known it is coming to an end.

We’ve known this. We’ve warned of it. We’ve offered ways in which we might avoid the violent destruction and collapse of all that we have known. Yet the world has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye.

The world as we have known it is coming to an end.

The hierarchical, patriarchal systems that have defined our way of life for the past many thousands of years are imploding upon themselves. Established on the foundation of fear, power, oppression, manipulation and control, they have proven themselves to be unsustainable. In their attempts to maintain their power, they are taking the world with them. Innocent lives are being lost. Civilizations destroyed. Environments decimated – all for the sake of the selfish and greedy few.

Those who claim the loudest to be the strongest are the greatest offenders. Their fall will be the most painful….but not until “they” have claimed millions of innocent lives.

The world as we have known it is coming to and end.

And there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. We’ve given our warnings. We’ve offered solutions and ways to repair our dying world. And no one has listened.

Instead, the proof of our words are coming to roost. Patriarchal institutions collapsing around us: government, education, healthcare, corporations, banking, stock markets, housing, – everything built on fear, power, oppression, and control – falling down around us.

To the prophets and healers among us: We’ve done our jobs. We’ve spoken what we’ve heard and shared what we have seen – and for the most part we’ve been ignored. Invisible. Now, there is nothing more for us to do. We cannot stop the runaway train of collapse. Now, there is nothing left to do but wait, watch, and pray (however you understand that term).

AND take care of ourselves by getting out of the way. The world as we have known it is coming to an end, but we are not called to go down with it. Instead, we will watch, observe, and SURVIVE so that we might be a part of building that something new that has been waiting in the wings for the dying world to be done with its dying.

We are also called to REMEMBER. To remember what got humanity here in the first place so this never, ever, has to happen again.

Copyright Lauri Ann Lumby http://www.lauriannlumby.com

The End of the Guru Age

September 14, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / 1 Comment

For the past 5000-10000 years (since the advent of hierarchy), we have been conditioned to believe that there is some outside force who:

Is the source of Truth (universal Truth and our own truth).
Is the cause and source of salvation.

Every tradition has its own names for these outside perceived authorities: guru, priest, savior, psychic, etc. For all these years, people have sought after these outside perceived authorities for guidance and direction in their lives, hoping for them to tell them what to do and how to live their lives. During this time, people have also sought after those who others have told them will save them (from whatever it is they need saving). For thousands of years, people have given their money, their soul, their devotion, and their worship to these outside perceived saviors when all along they have within them the vehicle and knowledge for their own salvation.

There is no one outside of us who can save us! Period!

Jesus knew this. The Buddha knew this. Indigenous teachers knew this. And yet humanity has taken and twisted their messages in such a way as to further condition society’s addiction to outside saviors.

Jesus did not come to save us in the way we’ve been taught! He was not some divine sacrifice for humanity’s “sins.” (In the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Jesus is quoted as saying, “There is no sin.”) Jesus never said that we had to proclaim him our personal Lord and Savior in order to be saved. These are the hierarchy’s words used to enforce humanity’s obedience to the religion they created in Jesus’ name.

Instead, Jesus taught his companions how to access and take root in the salvation that was already present within them. He showed them how to unhinge from the hierarchical conditioning under which they had been enslaved. He supported them in finding the source of their own inner truth and to understand that this source (which Jesus called Love) is God within them.

It was for this that Jesus was killed. He spoke Truth to power, questioning the status quo, and challenging the culture of codependency that had been fostered by the self-appointed religious and political authorities who benefitted from those who feared them.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus, and others like him, presented a new (original) example of personally responsibility to our own Truth and to the Source of salvation within us. Today, we find ourselves at the threshold of the world they envisioned and where the fruits of their labors are finding their fulfillment. Here we are being given a profound choice: we can continue to remain enslaved by the guru mindset where our salvation and the path of our truth are only accessible through some outside perceived authority, or we can enter into the new world where we are our own guru – knowing that the Source of Truth is within us, and that this is the true path to salvation.

In other words: stop throwing your money and obedience to some external source of Truth and learn how to find the answers within.

Just Trying to Survive the Apocalypse

August 16, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / 1 Comment

There’s a meme that’s been making its way around social media that speaks volumes to where many of us are finding ourselves at this point in our apocalyptic journey. The meme goes like this:

For real though! This is exactly what it’s come down to. As the world around us is imploding upon itself, we have two choices – get destroyed by the implosion or find a way to survive. Not really by my own choice, it seems I’m trying to survive! I know many of you might say the same. It’s not that we want to die, it’s that we don’t want to live in the world as it is and where it seems to be going. Not ones to go down with a sinking ship, we’re either swimming as fast as we can, or more likely, just treading water as we’ve used up every last resource trying to change an unchangeable tide. Or even more likely, no longer treading water even, just hanging out in survival float (dead man’s float) while we watch the whole world around us losing its damn mind.

The world in which is are living is insane. I don’t need to list all the symptoms of this insanity. All we have to do is turn to the news headlines and listen for the truth beyond the words. The house of cards that became the so-called “United States of America” (ie, new Roman Empire) is in full-fledged collapse, as is every other institution built on fear, power, oppression, and control. When the highest court in the land is shown to be corrupt at its core and its judgements bought and paid for, we know we are nearing the end.

Whether we are clinging to what we have known and continuing to believe the lies we’ve been told or praying for a hasty death so we can get on with building something new, we are experiencing the pain of an empire in its collapse. For me, two symptoms of that pain have been the wholesale collapse of a 30-year mission, and a cost of living increase from an over-inflated rental housing market (in a town with a median annual income of $30,000, apartments should not be $1500 – $3500 per month!). Even with the “family discount,” my rental costs are more than 50% of my income (on a good day!).

I’m not alone in this. Everyone but the 1% are suffering. (Even the 1% would admit they’re suffering if they were paying attention for what is coming for them! Soon it will be more than just orcas. Mother Nature is clear – She’s had enough!).

In the face of impending collapse, there is really nothing we can do but wait and watch. It will do us no good to try to reform the existing systems or hope they will finally see the light of day and reform themselves. The system itself was built on shaky ground with questionable motives. In this I’m reminded of a line from a song: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” Perhaps this is the final lesson of the American experiment – only after losing everything will we finally come to know freedom.

Independence??? Day

July 3, 2023June 29, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / 1 Comment

Why I Can No Longer Celebrate Independence Day

On July 4^th, we commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the day when the US citizens declared their freedom from British rule. For the past 247 years, we have celebrated this as the day of our “freedom” and have marked this day with fireworks, parades, carnivals, and backyard parties. We have celebrated July 4^th as if we truly are free and as if the freedoms meant for some mean freedom for all.

But the sad truth of history is that the freedoms declared in the Declaration of Independence and later set forth in our Constitution, were only intended for a few. From day one of our nation, women and people of color were not given the same freedoms as the men who demanded them. While some of this has changed in the past 247 years, and the freedoms given to U.S. citizens have expanded to include women (in some cases) and people of color (in fewer cases), there are still citizens of our nation and those who are seeking the freedoms we seem to guarantee who are not and may never be free.

Until the freedoms the United States seems to espouse are guaranteed and protected for all, I will not and cannot celebrate Independence Day.

Until the rights of some become the rights for all, we are not truly free!

Until women can walk the street without fear of being raped, we are not free.
Until black men can leave a place of business without being murdered, we are not free.
Until we have eliminated homelessness and hunger in our nation, we are not free.
Until a quality education is guaranteed and funded for all, we are not free.
Until access to medical care is guaranteed and isn’t a financial burden on those who are already struggling, we are not free.
Until women and children can feel safe in their homes, we are not free.
Until the justice system is fair and equitable, we are not free.
Until reform over incarceration becomes the norm, we are not free.
Until obstacles to voting are eliminated, we are not free.
Until we come up with REAL solutions to poverty, we are not free.
Until government corruption is eliminated, we are not free.
Until people can seek freedom in our nation without fear of reprisal, we are not free.
Until diversity is not only honored but celebrated, we are not free.
Until racism, police brutality, sexism, genderism, and religious intolerance are eliminated from our nation, we are not free.

For centuries, our nation has touted the glories of freedom, in a nation where millions are not truly free. Until all are truly free, I will not be celebrating Independence Day. Instead, I will be setting this day aside for prayer and for advocating on behalf of those who are not yet free.

The Courage to Wake Up!

June 22, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

This week, I was reminded of the price of waking up and why most of the population works really hard at defending their right to stay asleep. The answer in short is because if we wake up….we are obligated to do something about the pain, hardship, disorder, violence, fear and hatred in our world. In waking up we become personally responsible for making different choices in our lives. modeling these choices for others and if we are so-called, being a force for positive change.

If we stay asleep, however, we don’t have to do a thing. Instead, we get to remain in the mindless patterns of familiarity that define our lives. We get to remain in the status quo that gives us the illusion of safety and security….only because it is known, not necessarily because it is safe or secure. We don’t have to rock the boat, risk rejection or condemnation, or even respond to another person’s pain. We get to avoid responsibility, falsely believing that it is someone else’s job, or hoping that if we ignore it long enough, it will simply go away. The problem is it doesn’t go away. As the Buddhists know:

What you resist will persist.

The more we resist it, the harder the problem works to be known, usually by coming out sideways in horrible acts with devastating effects.

This is what happened in the Church (and continues to happen). This is why the sex abuse scandal erupted the way it did. For centuries, the Church looked away as their priests were sexually abusing children and taking advantage of other vulnerable populations, silently hoping it would go away (or worse, priding themselves in their power and their right to have control over others). In this, they have never had to take responsibility for what CAUSED the sex abuse scandal in the first place – the demonization of the body, sexuality, and the Holy Feminine, an institution built of fear, power and control, guided by the Unholy Masculine. And finally…..systems that continue to attract and keep underdeveloped men in the priesthood. The Church needs to wake up…..but they are highly invested in status quo, in their power and wealth and if they actually took responsibility for all that needs to be changed….they risk losing all of this. What they don’t know is that there is so much more to be gained, if they could only risk being Christ-like – putting the authentic teachings of Jesus to work and being the force of change Jesus calls us to be.

What is true of the Church is also true of every other institution that has its roots in a patriarchal, hierarchical model, based in fear, power and control. Government. Education. Healthcare. Psychology. Academia. Banking. Corporations. Commerce. Etc. Etc. Etc. The longer they avoid their own disease, their own shadow, the more it will be coming out sideways. Pretend it’s not there, and then we don’t have to do anything about it. Change is hard. We don’t know how to support change. Change scares us. So, we keep our heads in the sand hoping it will go away on its own or that someone else will clean up the mess.

The longer we look away, however, the larger the pile of debris becomes, and the harder the truth works at being known, being seen and being addressed. As we look away hoping things will go away on their own – our planet is being destroyed, millions of people are living under the constant threat of war, millions are now homeless refugees, people are getting sicker. Joblessness and underemployment are at an all-time high. Corruption rules our government and corporations, and our children are dying. None of this will change. In fact, it will only continue to get worse the more we choose to stay asleep. And for the 99%, this is what they will continue to choose.

The good news is that it only takes a pebble to start an avalanche. As the power of the 1% has ruled our world, it is THE OTHER 1% who have the power to change it.

You know who you are. Thank you for being awake and thank you for being willing to listen to the voice of your soul – a voice crying out in the wilderness speaking to sand, perhaps….but you are listening. We are listening. The OTHER 1% are awake. We are listening. We are taking personal responsibility and we are working for change.

We are the pebble that starts the avalanche….

and the time for the avalanche is NOW!

Deservedness is an Ego Trap

June 7, 2023June 6, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

All of my adult life I’d had to endure the platitudes of both the capitalistic and new age/new thought/prosperity gospel/life-coach agendas that base their philosophies on the foundation of the perception of deservedness. Mantras like:

You deserve to get paid what you’re worth.
You deserve the things you want.
You deserve to enjoy luxuries.
You deserve what makes you feel good.
You deserve to be recognized for your work and your contributions.
You deserve the house and car of your dreams.
You deserve that Chanel suit or Vuitton bag.
You deserve to be rewarded for how hard you work.

Except for the rights beautifully outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which many would argue we don’t deserve), we don’t deserve shit!

Deservedness, by its definition, is a system of reward (or punishment). For our purposes here, deservedness implies reward proportionate to contribution or work. In and of itself, the idea of deservedness looks benign enough. Work=reward.

In practice, however, the reward is determined by the presiding power system.

The Church, as one such power system, for example has created elaborate formulas for determining reward (or punishment) based on someone’s virtuous acts, or lack thereof. Employers determine wage equal to time put in, further based on supply of workers vs. demand, the perceived value (determined by the power system) of the service provided, and increasingly based on how much of their annual revenue has to go to stockholders and CEO’s.

It could be argued that every single one of these formulas is arbitrary based on the whims of a greedy and power-driven culture. A perfect example of the arbitrariness of the system is a retail clerk at Walgreens making $8.50 per hour with zero benefits while their CEO makes $28million a year plus full benefits. How is it that the person on the ground selling the products Walgreens profits from deserves less than the CEO whose primary job is to wine and dine stockholders? In my mind, NO ONE deserves $28mil a year, or perhaps it’s the retail clerk who deserves that salary and not the CEO! No one said, however, that I comprehend or even subscribe to the rules of capitalism.

Neither do I ascribe to the ego-based, white privilege inspired philosophies of the New Age/New Thought/Prosperity Gospel/Life Coach communities. To suggest that people are paid proportionate to their work or their perceived gifts betrays ignorance based in privilege. To further suggest that our thoughts dictate the circumstances of our lives reveals the arrogance of one who believes they alone have the power to determine the movement of their lives, including (especially) how much money they have and how they DESERVE to use it. When I look at the success (as defined by capitalism) of those in these communities, what I mostly see is pure, dumb luck – or straight up privilege. It’s easier to become successful in a white, male, dominant capitalistic system when you look the part, obey the rules of that system, and have had the privilege of that system paving your path. Some among these communities bypass accusations of privilege by claiming that what they have is a blessing given to them by God. “God loves them so much that God gave them…..”

God has absolutely NOTHING to do with what one does or does not have. To claim otherwise is a direct insult to every single person struggling in our world just to survive.

What we have or do not have are simply functions of the human experiment. Whether what we have (as defined by the power system) is more or less has absolutely nothing to do with deservedness. When we have more than what we need for basic survival, what we choose to do with that excess is wholly and completely up to us. If we decide to spend that excess on a Chanel suit, it’s because we wanted it, not because we deserve it. Arguing deservedness over the choices we make in regard to our excess resources, is just another way human beings justify their unconscious shame in doing for themselves while others are going without. When we are at peace with the choices we make around the use of our resources, there is no reason to protest or justify our deservedness because we know that at the end of the day, we don’t deserve shit!

Divinely Ordained

May 26, 2023 / Lauri Ann Lumby / 1 Comment

The other night I was gifted with a timely dream that provided both a reminder and an invitation.

In the dream, I was preparing to co-preside with two other priests of a different church. Both had already donned their traditional vestments. Not one to go for traditional, I was pulling on a long, black, cardigan made of light weight spandex/cotton. After pulling on the robe, I looked into the mirror and saw that my robe had changed and I was now wearing the garb of the ancient high priests. My first thoughts were of the High Priests of the Jewish tradition, but the robes seemed to predate even those. As I gazed into the mirror, I heard the following words:

“High Priest according to the Order of Melchizedek.”

The Order of Melchizedek is mentioned three times in scripture:

Genesis 14: 17-20:

Melchizedek, the king of Salem, offered bread and wine. As a priest of God Most High,he blessed Abram with these words,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of the heavens and the earth.
And blessed be God Most High
    who has delivered your enemy into your hands.”

Then Abram gave him a tithe of all he had taken.

Psalm 110: 3-4

Yours is royal dignity in the day of your birth;
    in holy splendor, before the daystar,
    like the dew, I have begotten you.”^[e]
The Lord has sworn,
    and he will not retract his oath:
“You are a priest forever^[f]
    according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 7: 1-3

This Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, met Abraham as he was returning from his defeat of the kings, and he blessed him. Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. His name first means “king of righteousness,” and then “king of Salem,” that is, “king of peace.” Without father, or mother, or genealogy, and without beginning of days or end of life, thus bearing a resemblance to the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

The Order of Melchizedek is considered a primordial priesthood, one that predates Judaism, and therefore Christianity, and is a priesthood available to anyone who is thusly ordained. Unlike the modern expressions of priesthood that requires a specific kind of formation, along with a formal ordination ceremony through which one human imparts the ordination onto another (as in Catholic Bishops ordaining Catholic priests), the priesthood in the Order of Melchizedek is divinely ordained. As such, the Order of Melchizedek transcends religion, dogma, doctrine, and belief. Instead, it is an inner calling, revealed over time to those so-called. While formation may establish the foundation upon which this calling may take root, that formation will be unique to each individual and may come formally through an outside guide, or inwardly through our own awakening and depth work.

For several years, I have been aware of this calling. I have even developed a training program according to my own desire to be formed in and live out this calling. I was simply led to the resources and tools, embarked upon the study and embodiment myself, and then put it into a form that could be undertaken by others. Even so, I’m still not sure what it means to be a high priest according to the Order of Melchizedek!

The timing of this dream is interesting as I find myself at a crossroads of sorts. I’m not alone in this crossroads as I am aware of many who are facing a similar point of no return. The lives we have lived and known for the past fifteen or more years are coming to an end. Those things that have provided a source of income, supporting (in many cases BARELY) our livelihoods are coming to a natural conclusion. In this, I currently find myself standing in the middle of a completely blank slate. It seems all I’ve known and all the ways I’ve provided for myself and my family have come to an end, and there is absolutely nothing on the horizon. To say I’m at peace with this crossroads would be a lie. It’s terrifying! In my best moments I can relax into trust. In my worst moments I feel lost, forsaken, and defeated.

Enter the dream. What does it mean? What is it heralding, acknowledging, affirming? When I enter deep reflection, I see two things: 1) The conclusion of my 3d mission. 2) Me standing in the 5d world with no idea of what I’m supposed to do or how I’m supposed to be in this new world. This is obviously related to an earlier post about adapting to a new way of being.

Is the High Priesthood according to the Order of Melchizedek the new way of being? What does that even mean?

What I do know is what it DOES NOT mean! The priesthood that I have felt inwardly calling to me has absolutely nothing to do with what we have known and experienced as priesthood. My priesthood has nothing to do with hierarchy, power, or privilege. My priesthood is not one of separation where the priest is set apart as special or better. My priesthood doesn’t require special robes, prescribed scriptures, ritual, a name, or even a building. My priesthood would be free of anything that creates and thrives in separation. Instead, my priesthood would be more of a heterarchy (involve relations of interdependence) – an interdependent collaboration of service to one another, each using their own unique gifts for the sake of their own fulfillment and in service to the betterment of the world.

But how does one live that out? How does one make that happen? As the dream seems to suggest, it’s already happened and is happening. The dream acknowledged the priesthood I have been given and have already been living out. Maybe that was all the dream was saying:

See. This is who you are. Own it.