| 1948-01 | 3.40 |  | Truman | |
| 1948-02 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1948-03 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1948-04 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1948-05 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1948-06 | 3.60 | | Berlin airlift | |
| 1948-07 | 3.60 | | ||
| 1948-08 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1948-09 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1948-10 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1948-11 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1948-12 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1949-01 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1949-02 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1949-03 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1949-04 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1949-05 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1949-06 | 6.20 | | ||
| 1949-07 | 6.70 | | ||
| 1949-08 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1949-09 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1949-10 | 7.90 | | ||
| 1949-11 | 6.40 | | ||
| 1949-12 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1950-01 | 6.50 | | Min. Wage = $0.75 | |
| 1950-02 | 6.40 | | ||
| 1950-03 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1950-04 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1950-05 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1950-06 | 5.40 | | US Enters Korean War | |
| 1950-07 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1950-08 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1950-09 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1950-10 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1950-11 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1950-12 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1951-01 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1951-02 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1951-03 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1951-04 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1951-05 | 3.00 | | ||
| 1951-06 | 3.20 | | ||
| 1951-07 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1951-08 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1951-09 | 3.30 | | ||
| 1951-10 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1951-11 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1951-12 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1952-01 | 3.20 | | ||
| 1952-02 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1952-03 | 2.90 | | ||
| 1952-04 | 2.90 | | ||
| 1952-05 | 3.00 | | ||
| 1952-06 | 3.00 | | ||
| 1952-07 | 3.20 | | ||
| 1952-08 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1952-09 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1952-10 | 3.00 | | ||
| 1952-11 | 2.80 | | ||
| 1952-12 | 2.70 | | ||
| 1953-01 | 2.90 | | Eisenhower | |
| 1953-02 | 2.60 | | ||
| 1953-03 | 2.60 | | ||
| 1953-04 | 2.70 | | ||
| 1953-05 | 2.50 | | ||
| 1953-06 | 2.50 | | ||
| 1953-07 | 2.60 | | Korean War Armistice | |
| 1953-08 | 2.70 | | ||
| 1953-09 | 2.90 | | ||
| 1953-10 | 3.10 | | ||
| 1953-11 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1953-12 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1954-01 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1954-02 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1954-03 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1954-04 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1954-05 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1954-06 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1954-07 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1954-08 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1954-09 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1954-10 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1954-11 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1954-12 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1955-01 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1955-02 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1955-03 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1955-04 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1955-05 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1955-06 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1955-07 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1955-08 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1955-09 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1955-10 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1955-11 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1955-12 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1956-01 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1956-02 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1956-03 | 4.20 | | Min. Wage = $1 | |
| 1956-04 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1956-05 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1956-06 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1956-07 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1956-08 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1956-09 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1956-10 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1956-11 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1956-12 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1957-01 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1957-02 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1957-03 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1957-04 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1957-05 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1957-06 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1957-07 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1957-08 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1957-09 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1957-10 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1957-11 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1957-12 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1958-01 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1958-02 | 6.40 | | ||
| 1958-03 | 6.70 | | ||
| 1958-04 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1958-05 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1958-06 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1958-07 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1958-08 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1958-09 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1958-10 | 6.70 | | ||
| 1958-11 | 6.20 | | ||
| 1958-12 | 6.20 | | ||
| 1959-01 | 6.00 | | Alaska becomes 49th State | |
| 1959-02 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1959-03 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1959-04 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1959-05 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1959-06 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1959-07 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1959-08 | 5.20 | | Hawaii becomes 50th State | |
| 1959-09 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1959-10 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1959-11 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1959-12 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1960-01 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1960-02 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1960-03 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1960-04 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1960-05 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1960-06 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1960-07 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1960-08 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1960-09 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1960-10 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1960-11 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1960-12 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1961-01 | 6.60 | | Kennedy | Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba |
| 1961-02 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1961-03 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1961-04 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1961-05 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1961-06 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1961-07 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1961-08 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1961-09 | 6.70 | | Min. Wage = $1.15 | |
| 1961-10 | 6.50 | | ||
| 1961-11 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1961-12 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1962-01 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1962-02 | 5.50 | | Cuban Missile Crisis | |
| 1962-03 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1962-04 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1962-05 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1962-06 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1962-07 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1962-08 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1962-09 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1962-10 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1962-11 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1962-12 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1963-01 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1963-02 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1963-03 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1963-04 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1963-05 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1963-06 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1963-07 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1963-08 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1963-09 | 5.50 | | Min. Wage = $1.25 | |
| 1963-10 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1963-11 | 5.70 | | Johnson | |
| 1963-12 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1964-01 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1964-02 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1964-03 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1964-04 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1964-05 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1964-06 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1964-07 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1964-08 | 5.00 | | US Enters Vietnam War | |
| 1964-09 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1964-10 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1964-11 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1964-12 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1965-01 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1965-02 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1965-03 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1965-04 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1965-05 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1965-06 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1965-07 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1965-08 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1965-09 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1965-10 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1965-11 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1965-12 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1966-01 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1966-02 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1966-03 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1966-04 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1966-05 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1966-06 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1966-07 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1966-08 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1966-09 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1966-10 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1966-11 | 3.60 | | ||
| 1966-12 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-01 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1967-02 | 3.80 | | Min. Wage = $1.4 | |
| 1967-03 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-04 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-05 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-06 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1967-07 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-08 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-09 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1967-10 | 4.00 | | ||
| 1967-11 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1967-12 | 3.80 | | ||
| 1968-01 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1968-02 | 3.80 | | Min. Wage = $1.6 | |
| 1968-03 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1968-04 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1968-05 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1968-06 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1968-07 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1968-08 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1968-09 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1968-10 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1968-11 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1968-12 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1969-01 | 3.40 | | Nixon | |
| 1969-02 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1969-03 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1969-04 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1969-05 | 3.40 | | ||
| 1969-06 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1969-07 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1969-08 | 3.50 | | Tax Reform Act of 1969, dec. | |
| 1969-09 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1969-10 | 3.70 | | ||
| 1969-11 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1969-12 | 3.50 | | ||
| 1970-01 | 3.90 | | ||
| 1970-02 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1970-03 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1970-04 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1970-05 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1970-06 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1970-07 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1970-08 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1970-09 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1970-10 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1970-11 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1970-12 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1971-01 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1971-02 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1971-03 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1971-04 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1971-05 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1971-06 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1971-07 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1971-08 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1971-09 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1971-10 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1971-11 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1971-12 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1972-01 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1972-02 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1972-03 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1972-04 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1972-05 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1972-06 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1972-07 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1972-08 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1972-09 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1972-10 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1972-11 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1972-12 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1973-01 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1973-02 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1973-03 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1973-04 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1973-05 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1973-06 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1973-07 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1973-08 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1973-09 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1973-10 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1973-11 | 4.80 | | ||
| 1973-12 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1974-01 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1974-02 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1974-03 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1974-04 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1974-05 | 5.10 | | Min. Wage = $2 | |
| 1974-06 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1974-07 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1974-08 | 5.50 | | Ford | |
| 1974-09 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1974-10 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1974-11 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1974-12 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1975-01 | 8.10 | | Min. Wage = $2.1 | |
| 1975-02 | 8.10 | | ||
| 1975-03 | 8.60 | | ||
| 1975-04 | 8.80 | | US Exits Vietnam War | |
| 1975-05 | 9.00 | | ||
| 1975-06 | 8.80 | | ||
| 1975-07 | 8.60 | | ||
| 1975-08 | 8.40 | | ||
| 1975-09 | 8.40 | | ||
| 1975-10 | 8.40 | | ||
| 1975-11 | 8.30 | | ||
| 1975-12 | 8.20 | | ||
| 1976-01 | 7.90 | | Min. Wage = $2.3 | |
| 1976-02 | 7.70 | | ||
| 1976-03 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1976-04 | 7.70 | | ||
| 1976-05 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1976-06 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1976-07 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1976-08 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1976-09 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1976-10 | 7.70 | | ||
| 1976-11 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1976-12 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1977-01 | 7.50 | | Carter | |
| 1977-02 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1977-03 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1977-04 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1977-05 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1977-06 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1977-07 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1977-08 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1977-09 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1977-10 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1977-11 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1977-12 | 6.40 | | ||
| 1978-01 | 6.40 | | Min. Wage = $2.65 | |
| 1978-02 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1978-03 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1978-04 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1978-05 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1978-06 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1978-07 | 6.20 | | ||
| 1978-08 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1978-09 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1978-10 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1978-11 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1978-12 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1979-01 | 5.90 | | Min. Wage = $2.9 | |
| 1979-02 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1979-03 | 5.80 | | Three Mile Island meltdown | |
| 1979-04 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1979-05 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1979-06 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1979-07 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1979-08 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1979-09 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1979-10 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1979-11 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1979-12 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1980-01 | 6.30 | | Min. Wage = $3.1 | |
| 1980-02 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1980-03 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1980-04 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1980-05 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1980-06 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1980-07 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1980-08 | 7.70 | | ||
| 1980-09 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1980-10 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1980-11 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1980-12 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1981-01 | 7.50 | | Reagan | Min. Wage = $3.35 |
| 1981-02 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1981-03 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1981-04 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1981-05 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1981-06 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1981-07 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1981-08 | 7.40 | | Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, dec. | |
| 1981-09 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1981-10 | 7.90 | | ||
| 1981-11 | 8.30 | | ||
| 1981-12 | 8.50 | | ||
| 1982-01 | 8.60 | | ||
| 1982-02 | 8.90 | | ||
| 1982-03 | 9.00 | | ||
| 1982-04 | 9.30 | | ||
| 1982-05 | 9.40 | | ||
| 1982-06 | 9.60 | | ||
| 1982-07 | 9.80 | | ||
| 1982-08 | 9.80 | | ||
| 1982-09 | 10.10 | | ||
| 1982-10 | 10.40 | | ||
| 1982-11 | 10.80 | | ||
| 1982-12 | 10.80 | | ||
| 1983-01 | 10.40 | | ||
| 1983-02 | 10.40 | | ||
| 1983-03 | 10.30 | | ||
| 1983-04 | 10.20 | | ||
| 1983-05 | 10.10 | | ||
| 1983-06 | 10.10 | | ||
| 1983-07 | 9.40 | | ||
| 1983-08 | 9.50 | | ||
| 1983-09 | 9.20 | | ||
| 1983-10 | 8.80 | | US invades Grenada | |
| 1983-11 | 8.50 | | ||
| 1983-12 | 8.30 | | ||
| 1984-01 | 8.00 | | ||
| 1984-02 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1984-03 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1984-04 | 7.70 | | ||
| 1984-05 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1984-06 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1984-07 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1984-08 | 7.50 | | ||
| 1984-09 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1984-10 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1984-11 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1984-12 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1985-01 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1985-02 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1985-03 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1985-04 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1985-05 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1985-06 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1985-07 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1985-08 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1985-09 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1985-10 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1985-11 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1985-12 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1986-01 | 6.70 | | Shuttle Challenger Disaster | |
| 1986-02 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1986-03 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1986-04 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1986-05 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1986-06 | 7.20 | | ||
| 1986-07 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1986-08 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1986-09 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1986-10 | 7.00 | | The Tax Reform Act of 1986, dec. | |
| 1986-11 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1986-12 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1987-01 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1987-02 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1987-03 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1987-04 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1987-05 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1987-06 | 6.20 | | ||
| 1987-07 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1987-08 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1987-09 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1987-10 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1987-11 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1987-12 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1988-01 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1988-02 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1988-03 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1988-04 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1988-05 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1988-06 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1988-07 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1988-08 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1988-09 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1988-10 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1988-11 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1988-12 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1989-01 | 5.40 | | Bush, G.H.W. | |
| 1989-02 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1989-03 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1989-04 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1989-05 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1989-06 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1989-07 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1989-08 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1989-09 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1989-10 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1989-11 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1989-12 | 5.40 | | US Invades Panama | |
| 1990-01 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1990-02 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1990-03 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1990-04 | 5.40 | | Min. Wage = $3.8 | |
| 1990-05 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1990-06 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1990-07 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1990-08 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1990-09 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1990-10 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1990-11 | 6.20 | | Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990, inc. | |
| 1990-12 | 6.30 | | ||
| 1991-01 | 6.40 | | 1st Persian Gulf War | |
| 1991-02 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1991-03 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1991-04 | 6.70 | | Min. Wage = $4.25 | |
| 1991-05 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1991-06 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1991-07 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1991-08 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1991-09 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1991-10 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1991-11 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1991-12 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1992-01 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1992-02 | 7.40 | | US & Russian declare end of cold war | |
| 1992-03 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1992-04 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1992-05 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1992-06 | 7.80 | | ||
| 1992-07 | 7.70 | | ||
| 1992-08 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1992-09 | 7.60 | | ||
| 1992-10 | 7.30 | | ||
| 1992-11 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1992-12 | 7.40 | | ||
| 1993-01 | 7.30 | | Clinton | |
| 1993-02 | 7.10 | | World Trade Center Bombed | |
| 1993-03 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1993-04 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1993-05 | 7.10 | | ||
| 1993-06 | 7.00 | | ||
| 1993-07 | 6.90 | | ||
| 1993-08 | 6.80 | | Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993, inc. | |
| 1993-09 | 6.70 | | ||
| 1993-10 | 6.80 | | ||
| 1993-11 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1993-12 | 6.50 | | ||
| 1994-01 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1994-02 | 6.60 | | ||
| 1994-03 | 6.50 | | ||
| 1994-04 | 6.40 | | ||
| 1994-05 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1994-06 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1994-07 | 6.10 | | ||
| 1994-08 | 6.00 | | ||
| 1994-09 | 5.90 | | ||
| 1994-10 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1994-11 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1994-12 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1995-01 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1995-02 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1995-03 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1995-04 | 5.80 | | ||
| 1995-05 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1995-06 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1995-07 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1995-08 | 5.70 | | ||
| 1995-09 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1995-10 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1995-11 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1995-12 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1996-01 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1996-02 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1996-03 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1996-04 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1996-05 | 5.60 | | ||
| 1996-06 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1996-07 | 5.50 | | ||
| 1996-08 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1996-09 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1996-10 | 5.20 | | Min. Wage = $4.75 | |
| 1996-11 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1996-12 | 5.40 | | ||
| 1997-01 | 5.30 | | ||
| 1997-02 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1997-03 | 5.20 | | ||
| 1997-04 | 5.10 | | ||
| 1997-05 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1997-06 | 5.00 | | ||
| 1997-07 | 4.90 | | ||
| 1997-08 | 4.80 | | The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, dec. | |
| 1997-09 | 4.90 | | Min. Wage = $5.15 | |
| 1997-10 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1997-11 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1997-12 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1998-01 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1998-02 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1998-03 | 4.70 | | ||
| 1998-04 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1998-05 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1998-06 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1998-07 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1998-08 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1998-09 | 4.60 | | ||
| 1998-10 | 4.50 | | ||
| 1998-11 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1998-12 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1999-01 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1999-02 | 4.40 | | ||
| 1999-03 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1999-04 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1999-05 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1999-06 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1999-07 | 4.30 | | ||
| 1999-08 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1999-09 | 4.20 | | ||
| 1999-10 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1999-11 | 4.10 | | ||
| 1999-12 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-01 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-02 | 4.10 | | ||
| 2000-03 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-04 | 3.80 | | ||
| 2000-05 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-06 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-07 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-08 | 4.10 | | ||
| 2000-09 | 4.00 | | ||
| 2000-10 | 3.90 | | ||
| 2000-11 | 3.90 | | ||
| 2000-12 | 3.90 | | ||
| 2001-01 | 4.20 | | Bush, G.W. | |
| 2001-02 | 4.20 | | ||
| 2001-03 | 4.30 | | ||
| 2001-04 | 4.40 | | ||
| 2001-05 | 4.30 | | ||
| 2001-06 | 4.50 | | Tax Relief & Reconciliation Act of 2001, dec. | |
| 2001-07 | 4.60 | | ||
| 2001-08 | 4.90 | | ||
| 2001-09 | 5.00 | | 9/11 terrorist attack | |
| 2001-10 | 5.40 | | ||
| 2001-11 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2001-12 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2002-01 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2002-02 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2002-03 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2002-04 | 5.90 | | ||
| 2002-05 | 5.80 | | ||
| 2002-06 | 5.80 | | ||
| 2002-07 | 5.80 | | ||
| 2002-08 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2002-09 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2002-10 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2002-11 | 5.90 | | ||
| 2002-12 | 6.00 | | ||
| 2003-01 | 5.80 | | ||
| 2003-02 | 5.90 | | Shuttle Columbia Disaster | |
| 2003-03 | 5.80 | | US enters 2nd Gulf War | |
| 2003-04 | 6.00 | | ||
| 2003-05 | 6.10 | | Tax Relief & Reconciliation Act of 2003, dec. | |
| 2003-06 | 6.30 | | ||
| 2003-07 | 6.20 | | ||
| 2003-08 | 6.10 | | ||
| 2003-09 | 6.10 | | ||
| 2003-10 | 6.00 | | ||
| 2003-11 | 5.90 | | ||
| 2003-12 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2004-01 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2004-02 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2004-03 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2004-04 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2004-05 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2004-06 | 5.60 | | ||
| 2004-07 | 5.50 | | ||
| 2004-08 | 5.40 | | ||
| 2004-09 | 5.40 | | ||
| 2004-10 | 5.50 | | ||
| 2004-11 | 5.40 | | ||
| 2004-12 | 5.40 | | ||
| 2005-01 | 5.20 | | ||
| 2005-02 | 5.40 | | ||
| 2005-03 | 5.20 | | ||
| 2005-04 | 5.20 | | ||
| 2005-05 | 5.10 | | ||
| 2005-06 | 5.00 | | ||
| 2005-07 | 5.00 | | ||
| 2005-08 | 4.90 | | ||
| 2005-09 | 5.10 | | ||
| 2005-10 | 5.00 | | ||
| 2005-11 | 5.00 | | ||
| 2005-12 | 4.90 | | ||
| 2006-01 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2006-02 | 4.80 | | ||
| 2006-03 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2006-04 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2006-05 | 4.60 | | ||
| 2006-06 | 4.60 | | ||
| 2006-07 | 4.80 | | ||
| 2006-08 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2006-09 | 4.60 | | ||
| 2006-10 | 4.40 | | ||
| 2006-11 | 4.50 | | ||
| 2006-12 | 4.50 | | ||
| 2007-01 | 4.60 | | ||
| 2007-02 | 4.50 | | ||
| 2007-03 | 4.40 | | ||
| 2007-04 | 4.50 | | ||
| 2007-05 | 4.50 | | ||
| 2007-06 | 4.50 | | ||
| 2007-07 | 4.60 | | Min. Wage = $5.85 | |
| 2007-08 | 4.60 | | ||
| 2007-09 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2007-10 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2007-11 | 4.70 | | ||
| 2007-12 | 5.00 | | ||
| 2008-01 | 4.90 | | ||
| 2008-02 | 4.80 | | ||
| 2008-03 | 5.10 | | ||
| 2008-04 | 5.00 | | ||
| 2008-05 | 5.50 | | ||
| 2008-06 | 5.50 | | ||
| 2008-07 | 5.70 | | ||
| 2008-08 | 6.10 | | ||
| 2008-09 | 6.10 | | ||
| 2008-10 | 6.50 | | ||
| 2008-11 | 6.70 | | ||
| 2008-12 | 7.20 | | ||
| 2009-01 | 7.60 | |
# 1982 - 2000: Bull market. The Dow experiences its most spectacular rise in history. From a meager 777 on August 12, 1982, the index grows more than 1,500% to 11,722.98 (actual and theoretical intra-day highs of 11,750.28 and 11,908.50) by January 14, 2000, with the exception of a brief but severe downturn in the late 1980s.
# 2000 - present: Bear market. The Dow struggles with the 10,000 - 11,000 range for a year and then deteriorates into a panic atmosphere of severe declines punctuated by brief and violent rallies. The index hits a five-year closing low of 7,286.27 (actual and theoretical intra-day lows of 7,197.49 and 7,181.47 the following day), 38% below its highs, on October 9, 2002, before entering a cyclical bull market beginning in 2003. The nominal records of early 2000 stand until the fourth quarter of 2006. Although a Dow Theory case for the return to a secular bull market is made from concurrent record highs for the Industrials, Dow Jones Transportation Average, and the Dow Jones Utilities taking place on February 14, 2007 for the first time since March 17, 1998, the subsequent high above the 14,000 level, reached on October 9, 2007, does not substantially surpass the inflation-adjusted 2000 high. A renewed cyclical bear is recognized on July 2, 2008 when the Dow closes at 11,215.51, more than 20% below its record high, and accelerates by mid-September with a series of panics related to financial instability caused in part by the failure of the investment banking industry. The largest daily point loss (777+), largest daily point gain (936+) and largest intraday point swing (1,018+), along with the largest percentage gain since 1933 (11%) and largest percentage loss since 1987 (7.87%), all occur on or after September 29, 2008, plunging the index below the 10,000 level and its multi-decade upward trendline. As of February 19, 2009 the index sits just below the 7,500 level. Monday, February 23, 2009 the Dow closed at 7,114.78, falling to an 11-year low.
A KEY NOTE HERE- I predicted the largest point loss ever- The largest daily point loss (777+), go here http://daysofpeacehavecome.blogspot.com/2008/10/here-is-prediction-for-stock-market-for.html
Reporting from Washington -- It's official: This recession is the worst the United States has experienced in more than 25 years, the government said Friday. And it appears likely to get worse before it gets better.
WHY- I am a messenger of god- my duty began in the year 1982- I have completed my mission with words for humanity- my official disclosure came upon the completion of my scientific experiments to end the global energy crisis with no greenhouses gases-In conjunction my deeds towards HIV destruction via electromagnetic resonance and gravity manipulation. These are gifts for mankind to achieve global utopia. My initial video disclosure was on the date of Passover/Easter-april 1 2007 for the eastern orthodox church- and -another disclosure via video upon the date passover of Jewish holiday April 19/20 2008-
the economic downturn is your fault to date- man must become humble- let us see together how long this process takes:)-- February 23 2009.- I predict 1-300 years till the days of FAITH end for the children of god upon that planet named Earth- it is up to YOU.
- well done- a magnificent journey continues to implement our Fathers duty in heaven-REPENT- love your god with all your heart and soul and mind- for truth is- you begged to come here- enjoy it with honor- good luck:)
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Jewish Calendar Hebrew Year 5769---a man and a woman have a child- the child will marry another and have a child- and so forth- 5 generations per century may be said- THUS- 50 generations per millennium 1000 years- 100 generations since JESUS- another 200 generations since bread was broken and the mission begin via the covenant of 5762 yrs ago- 300 generations of families have lived loved and endure to master the earth for stability as the children of god have done well- let it continue in honor and the days of faith will end upon the days that come when ONE generation complete upon the entire earth is one family with LOVE. THY WILL BE DONE
solomon suleiman sami azar
born January 13- 1965
I am the messiah
it began with 300 tribes of the earth- 300 nations/teams/head of household- mother and father pair/ - one nation under god- all man is a brother and sister living hand in hand with all that have ever lived- "we come and go"- the children of infinity
There is a strange music in the names of Jewish months--Adar, Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, Tamuz, Av, Elul, Tishrey, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shvat, the words have an ancient sound, distinctly non-Hebrew. And in fact, they are not Hebrew but Babylonian, from the homeland of Abraham. Likewise, what we call "Hebrew letters" are Babylonian, too, picked up in the Babylonian exile; Jews in the days of the first Temple used a completely different alphabet.
Al- Hijaz, Homeland of Abraham and the Israeli prophets
An Arab’s geographical map for Abraham's journey
based on Arabia historical accounts
Tarik Ahmed, Ammar Rajab
Al-Tajdeed Cultural and Social Society
Kingdom of Bahrain
June 2006
WWW.Tajdeed.org
Second edition- July 2006
Note: This paper has been presented at the Second World Congress for Middle
Eastern Studies held at Amman- Jordon. It represents an abstract of a
comprehensive research work published by Al-Tajdeed Society in an Arabic
book of 550 pages, entitled "Neda' Al Surat- Kidnap of the Prophets
Geography". The book is readily available for downloading from the society's
website. Most of the Arabic originating references quoted in this paper are
currently unavailable in English; hence the relevant references are cited in the
original language only.
Abstract:
By the end of the last century, new stunning hypothesis emerged amongst theologians and
historians advocating that the prevailing common understanding of the Israeli prophets'
geographical homelands and journey routes were radically erroneous. The new hypothesis
suggests that Asir province (situated in the southern part of Al-Surat Mountains, stretching
alongside the western coastal border of Arabia, bounded between Yemen’s northern borders and
the holy city of Makkah) was indeed the actual geographical theater which accommodated most
of the Israeli prophets’ birthplaces, revelations, preaching, and burials. Subsequent research work
narrowed down the prophets lands to Makkah county situated within the Hijaz and Asir Surat
Mountains. This holy city emerged as the real and the only homeland of Abraham, Lot, Sara,
Hagar and Ishmael as revealed in this paper. This whole hypothesis stemmed from the
inconceivable inconsistencies in the biblical accounts of geographical landscapes traversed by the
prophets, besides the lack of any supporting archeological evidences to date either in Palestine,
Tajdeed@Tajdeed.org : هاتف: 17273787 فاكس: 17274787 ص.ب. 10493 مملكة البحرين اليريد الالكتروني
Syria, Iraq or Egypt. Interestingly enough, all the researchers who have concluded that south west
Arabia was the actual homeland of the Israeli prophets have reached their findings through
different research and analysis methodologies. This paper, however, seeks to address missing
elements that are needed to complement the ongoing research work in this field, namely:
1) None of the present research work conducted an in-depth analytical study in the ancient
Arabic historical literatures to provide Arabic historical evidences confirming that the
Israeli prophets were actually Arabic people who reside in Arabia.
2) None of the researchers has explained when and how the prophets' real whereabouts had
been shifted from their real geographical positions in Arabia towards the north and
systematically projected over another vast Arabian land stretching from the River
Euphrates in Iraq all the way to the River Nile in Egypt.
3) None of the researches so far has identified the entity that created the prevailing illusions
masking the real whereabouts of the Arabic Israeli prophets, nor clarified what their
motives were.
In addition to addressing the above issues, this paper concludes that Arabic historical literature do
contains substantial evidences indeed supporting the hypothesis in question. Moreover, it
presents a draft of a new geographical map illustrating Abraham’s journey based on ancient
Arabic accounts on these events, as an alternative to the controversial widespread biblical
geographical map printed on the back cover of contemporary published bibles.
Introduction:
In his book entitled "The Bible Came from Arabia" published in 1984, Kamal Al Salibi
caused a stir.
http://www.tajdeed.org/attachments/Al_Hijaz_Homeland_of_Abraham.pdf
THE FIRST CIVILIZATION
Mesopotamia is the land between the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, Bet Nahrein in the Ashurai language. This is the land where writing and numbers were invented six thousand years ago. It's where the Bible tells us God created the first man and the first woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden, or Paradise. Mesopotamia is the Greek name for this land. Alexander the Great died in Babylon three centuries before the time of Jesus. Alexander's empire crumbled after his death. The land of Mesopotamia became the battleground for many nations. The Arabs conquered Mesopotamia in the 7th Century AD, and they've occupied this Biblical land ever since. Although most of the original inhabitants of Mesopotamia have long migrated to other countries, there is a remnant of Ashurai and Chaldeans left in Mesopotamia, which has been renamed Iraq since the 1930s. Three thousand years ago, the Ashurai lands were in North Mesopotamia and the Chaldean lands were in South Mesopotamia. Nineveh in the North battled Babylon in the South for four thousand years, until there were no more men left to fight. Today, that seems mind boggling, but the sculptures depicting those battles and the records of those kings that ruled in the early millennia are still in the world museums. The war between the North and South has been going on for ten thousand years.
Every empire or super power experiences some sort of civil war that goes on forever. The US Civil War was the same eternal war, the North against the South, and we fight that war in every country where there is contention; it's always the North versus the South, ironically not so much the East versus the West. Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and everywhere that people fight against themselves, it's always the North versus the South. Maybe it has to do with the polarities of the North Pole and the South Pole, their destiny may be to attract and repel one another, the positive charge and the negative charge, the plus and the minus, the haves and the have-nots.
Finally out of the Dark Ages
| The Disciples New Testament has been completely translated and published. There's no more doubt as to which is the original and authentic Bible. Also, my translation of Genesis, the first Book of the Bible, is posted on this website for everyone to read. It's the first time that the Bible and modern science are reconciled. Atheists can no longer claim that there are inconsistencies in the Bible with respect to the creation of the universe, evolution, or any other theories that are known to science today or that will become known in the future. As I continue to translate the rest of the Scriptures, many historical events are being clarified. The prophesies of Revelation continue to be fulfilled. These are some of the issues that this website will attempt to explore. |
![[Tree of Life, British Museum]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vw9w2CGV5Dc-uYmQXi_9hEplMDezUsljqTGaRvH_l6OBqd6jHDBclC8eV7Gyw-co9Jw0ppv_PhODdos_iTZ51MFzZPWGAhfMPDJZxhzqTjY8qG=s0-d)
Rediscovering the Ancient Aramaic Scriptures
| My translations of the Scriptures are based on the Ancient Church of the East Bible, which was the first one recorded and preserved intact since the Apostolic Age. Although the religious establishment maintains that the New Testament was recorded first in Greek, my translation proves that the entire Scriptures were recorded first in the language they were conceived, the language Jesus Christ spoke, the Ancient Aramaic. All it takes is an unbiased reading of my translation to realize this. There are also extensive translator notes to prove this. Thousands of passages have been clarified. Major concepts have been restored for the first time. |
![[Louvre, winged lions of John's Revelation]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tCIVIWkKpk77wegPXuD65wMbDUSz8Ku4P1efCDUevW-eAPJMk7ATycM-uTZZfovuwD03wm1CSqr4jrKMOt06l9dOkjdKUSW0IN2Jy06c5dyUY-xQGn5g=s0-d)
| Revelation 4:6-8: And before his throne a sea of glass that resembles crystal and in the balance of the throne and around it and before it, four life forms, full of eyes in front and back of them. And the first life form resembles a lion and the second life form resembles a calf and the third life form has a face like a human being and the fourth life form resembles a flying eagle. And all four life forms, every one of them, have six wings around themselves and from inside, full of eyes, and they have no rest day and night from saying, "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God, Supreme over all. He who Becomes and He who Is and He who Comes." These three thousand year old sculptures that appeared in John's vision of Revelation, were excavated from ancient Ashur when the country was called Mesopotamia. They were brought to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, in the late 19th Century. My interest in the Bible was sparked when I visited the Louvre to shoot a documentary film on the history and the artifacts of Ashur, Nimrud and Nineveh. The history of the Bible came alive before my eyes that day. I will never forget it. These three cities in Mesopotamia, or Bet-Nahrein, were the capitals of the land that is known as the Cradle of Civilization. Together with Babylon and Sumer in the South of Mesopotamia, they are the lands where the history of the Old Testament began. It's where the Epics of Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood were recorded. These cities were the starting point in Abraham's journey to the land of Canaan and Egypt. It's were his children and grandchildren returned to write the history of their ancestors and the Scriptures as we know it today. This knowledge was lost for centuries, buried under the sand and rubble of conquering armies of the Greeks, Romans, Mongols and Arabs. The Crossroads of Civilization ran across the land of Mesopotamia, but the great cities of Ashur remained buried until the late part of the 19th Century. Now that the US has emerged as the sole super power in the world, and especially after the events of September 11th, there's an interest in civilization again, and a concern for its enemy, terrorism. The Ashurai had to deal with terrorism from the very start of their first settlements ten thousand years ago. |
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so drink deeply or never taste the Pierian spring -- Alexander Pope.
![[Shalmannesar III - British Museum]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vppeu-nYlWh2UK8sUA2CGZ8GLtLZ9Q7aub80kO-WZK1AA-EQrwqrVmPiyabrUYksoM-O9w7AxNkDm_TIBGKncZnzxri00xFiXko55X18qVX9Z6okuKZGhl=s0-d)
Every one of the five major religions of the world took one of the attributes of Ashur and rejected all the others. These attributes of Ashur -- or shall we say "God" as He is known in the English language -- have been all recorded in the Scriptures. There is God's love for humanity, sacrificing His only Son on behalf of the sins of His children. There is God's holiness, which is beyond compare, yet people strive for righteousness above everything else, in anticipation of being rewarded with an earthly kingdom and rule that will never be relinquished. There is the fear of God, the total submission of one's will to God's greater will and might. There is God's omniscience and His ever-present spirit that transcends every human soul, creature on earth and inanimate things also, in total harmony and at peace with all. There is the God who reincarnates every spirit and rewards every worthwhile soul forever with everlasting lives. In the Ancient Ashurai religion these attributes are not separate. In the British Museum the statue of King Shalmanessar the Third exhibits all the symbols of these religions, arrayed at the top of the relief and worn around the neck of this king who ruled at the time of Abraham three thousand years ago, demonstrating that the Ashurai religion encompassed all these attributes.
![[detail - statue of Shalmanessar 3rd]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uijw6_bPEtiangz8W8O7BpEiyToYNijRG-uFODHbknlc5i0BmF4f5wLnfdph_DnzTb6_9IV89yPm-Awt6rjVIhP4871Gk8usTQANYqkQRvjlYhbU62PAf5_LKAeO4=s0-d)
Now that's finally becoming known that the language of the Scriptures is the Ancient Aramaic, which evolved from Ashurit, it's finally possible to interpret the Scriptures correctly and reconcile the tenets of the five major religions: Western Christianity, Modern Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. It's now possible to return to one conception of what the Scriptures are all about.
The translation project posted on this website wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the freedom that the US provides for people to come here, live and learn. If the translation or the interpretation of Scriptures are restricted by a government or even by the churches, it wouldn't be possible for an individual to discover the discrepancies and falsifications of religious texts. If it weren't for the American libraries and schools, it would be difficult to do research. Everything I've discovered about the Scriptures has been achieved as a result of the freedom and opportunities available in the United States of America.
Enki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fertile Crescent myth series | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mesopotamian | |
| Levantine | |
| Arabian | |
| Mesopotamia | |
| Primordial beings | |
| The great gods | |
| Demigods & heroes | |
| Spirits & monsters | |
| Tales from Babylon | |
| 7 Gods who Decree | |
| 4 primary: | 3 sky: |
Enki (Sumerian: dEN.KI(G) U+12097;U+121A0 ����) was a deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology. He was originally chief god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and also to Hittite and Hurrian areas. He was the deity of crafts (gašam); water, seawater, and lakewater (a, aba, ab), intelligence (gestú, literally "ear") and creation (Nudimmud: nu, likeness, dim mud, make bear). He was assimilated to the zenith in the Sun's path at the winter solstice.[1] His sacred number name was "40".[2]
The exact meaning of his name is uncertain: the common translation is "Lord of the Earth": the Sumerian en is translated as a title equivalent to "lord"; it was originally a title given to the High Priest; ki means "earth"; but there are theories that ki in this name has another origin, possibly kig of unknown meaning, or kur meaning "mound". The name Ea is allegedly Hurrian in origin while others [3][4] claim that it is possibly of Semitic origin and may be a derivation from the West-Semitic root *hyy meaning "life" in this case used for "spring", "running water." In Sumerian E-A means "the house of water", and it has been suggested that this was originally the name for the shrine to the God at Eridu.
Contents |
Attributes
The main temple to Enki is called E-abzu, meaning "abzu temple" (also E-engura, meaning "house of the subterranean waters""), a ziggurat temple surrounded by Euphratean marshlands near the ancient Persian Gulf coastline at Eridu. He was the keeper of the divine powers called Me, the gifts of civilization. His image is a double-helix snake.
Considered the master shaper of the world, god of wisdom and of all magic, Enki was characterized as the lord of the Abzu (Apsu in Akkadian, perhaps equivalent of Greek abýssos, English "abyss"), the freshwater sea or groundwater located within the earth. In the later Babylonian epic Enûma Eliš, Abzu, the "begetter of the gods", is inert and sleepy but finds his peace disturbed by the younger gods so sets out to destroy them. His grandson Enki, chosen to represent the younger gods, puts a spell on Abzu "casting him into a deep sleep", thereby confining him deep underground. Enki subsequently sets up his home "in the depths of the Abzu." Enki thus takes on all of the functions of the Abzu, including his fertilizing powers as lord of the waters and lord of semen [5].
Early royal inscriptions from the third millennium BCE mention "the reeds of Enki". Reeds were an important local building material, used for baskets and containers, and collected outside the city walls, where the dead or sick were often carried. This links Enki to the Kur or underworld of Sumerian mythology. In another even older tradition, Nammu, the goddess of the primeval creative matter and the mother-goddess portrayed as having "given birth to the great gods," was the mother of Enki, and as the watery creative force, was said to preexist Ea-Enki. [6] Benito states "With Enki it is an interesting change of gender symbolism, the fertilizing agent is also water, Sumerian "a" which also means "semen". In one evocative passage in a Sumerian hymn, Enki stands at the empty riverbeds and fills them with his 'water'"[7]. This may be a reference to Enki's hieros gamos or sacred marriage with Ki/Ninhursag (the Earth) (see below).
His symbols included a goat and a fish, which later combined into a single beast, the goat Capricorn, recognized as the Zodiacal constellation Capricornus.
In Sumerian astronomy, Enki also represented the planet Mercury,[citation needed] known for its ability to shift rapidly, and its proximity to the Sun, Sumerian Utu, Akkadian Shamash, the god of Justice.
Restorer of balance
Enki was not perfect, as god of water he had a penchant for beer and as god of semen he had a string of incestuous affairs. In the epic Enki and Ninhursag, he and his consort Ninhursag had a daughter Ninsar. When Ninhursag left him he came upon Ninsar (Lady Greenery) and then had intercourse with her. Ninhursa then gave birth to Ninkurra (Lady Fruitfulness or Lady Pasture).
A second time, he had intercourse with Ninkurra, who gave birth to Uttu (weaver or spider).
A third time Enki succumbs to temptation, and attempts seduction of Uttu. Upset about Enki's reputation, Uttu consults Ninhursag, who, upset at the promiscuous nature of her spouse, advises Uttu to avoid the riverbanks. In another version of this myth Ninhursag takes Enki's semen from Uttu's womb and plants it in the earth where seven plants rapidly germinate. With his two-faced servant and steward Isimud, Enki finds the plants and immediately starts consuming their fruit. Consuming his own semen he falls pregnant (ill with swellings) in his jaw, his teeth, his mouth, his throat, his limbs and his rib. The gods are at a loss to know what to do, as Enki lacks a womb with which to give birth, until Ninhursag's sacred fox fetches the goddess.
Ninhursag relents and takes Enki's Ab (water, or semen) into her body, and gives birth to gods of healing of each part of the body. The last one, Ninti (Lady Rib), is also a pun on Lady Life, a title of Ninhursag herself. The story symbolically reflects the way in which life is brought forth through the addition of water to the land, and once it grows, water is required to bring plants to fruit. It also counsels balance and responsibility, nothing to excess.
Ninti, is given the title of the mother of all living, and was a title given to the later Hurrian goddess Kheba. This is also the title given to Eve, the Hebrew Kavvah, the Aramaic Hawwah, who was supposedly made from the rib of Adam, in a strange reflection of the Sumerian myth.
Confuser of languages
In the Sumerian epic entitled Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, in a speech of Enmerkar, an incantation is pronounced that has a mythical introduction. Kramer's translation is as follows[8]:
Once upon a time there was no snake, there was no scorpion,
There was no hyena, there was no lion,
There was no wild dog, no wolf,
There was no fear, no terror,
Man had no rival.
In those days, the lands of Subur (and) Hamazi,
Harmony-tongued Sumer, the great land of the decrees of princeship,
Uri, the land having all that is appropriate,
The land Martu, resting in security,
The whole universe, the people in unison
To Enlil in one tongue [spoke].
(Then) Enki, the lord of abundance (whose) commands are trustworthy,
The lord of wisdom, who understands the land,
The leader of the gods,
Endowed with wisdom, the lord of Eridu
Changed the speech in their mouths, [brought] contention into it,
Into the speech of man that (until then) had been one.
Champion of humankind
According to Sumerian mythology, Enki also assisted humanity to survive the Deluge designed to kill them. In the Legend of Atrahasis, Enlil, the king of the gods, sets out to eliminate humanity, whose noise of them mating is offensive to his ears. He successively sends drought, famine, and plague to eliminate humanity, but Enki thwarts his half-brother's plans by teaching Atrahasis irrigation, granaries and medicine. Humans again proliferate a fourth time. Enraged Enlil, convenes a Council of Deities and gets them to promise not to tell humankind that he plans their total annihilation. Enki, does not tell Atrahasis, but tells of Enlil's plan to the walls of Atrahasis' (a.k.a. Noah) reed hut, thus covertly rescuing the man Atrahasis, or Ziusudra by either instructing him to build some kind of a boat for his family, or by bringing him into the heavens in a magic boat. After the seven day Deluge, the flood hero, Utnapishtim, Atrahasis, or Ziusudra frees a swallow, a raven, and a dove in an effort to find if the flood waters have receded. On the boat landing, a sacrifice is organized to the gods. Enlil is angry his will has been thwarted yet again, and Enki is named as the culprit. As the god of what we would call ecology, Enki explains that Enlil is unfair to punish the guiltless Atrahasis for the sins of his fellows, and secures a promise that the gods will not eliminate humankind if they practice birth control and live within the means of the natural world. The threat is made, however, that if humans do not honor their side of the covenant the gods will be free to wreak havoc once again. This is apparently the oldest surviving Middle Eastern Deluge myths.
Enki and Inanna
In his connections with Inanna Enki shows other aspects of his ll non-Patriarchal nature. The myth Enki and Inanna[9][10] tells the story of the young goddess of the É-anna temple of Uruk, who visits the senior god of Eridu, and is entertained by him in a feast. The seductive god plies her with beer, and the young goddess maintains her virtue, whilst Enki proceeds to get drunk. In generosity he gives her all the gifts of his Me, the gifts of civilized life. Next morning, with a hangover, he asks his servant Isimud for his Me, only to be informed that he has given them to Inanna. Upset at his actions, he sends Galla demons to recover them. Inanna escapes her pursuers and arrives safely back at the quay at Uruk. Enki realizes that he has been tricked in his hubris and accepts a peace treaty forever with Uruk.
Politically, this myth would seem to indicate events of an early period when political authority passed from Enki's city of Eridu to Inanna's city of Uruk.
In the myth of Inanna's descent,[10] Inanna, in order to console her grieving sister Ereshkigal, who is mourning the death of her husband Gugalana (gu, bull, gal, big, ana, sky/heaven), slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu, sets out to visit her sister. She tells her servant Ninshubur (Lady Evening), a reference to Inanna's role as the evening star, that if she does not return in three days, to get help from her father Anu, Enlil, king of the gods, or Enki. When she does not return, Ninshubur approaches Anu only to be told that he understands that his daughter is strong and can take care of herself. Enlil tells Ninshubur he is much too busy running the cosmos. Enki immediately expresses concern and dispatches his Galla demons, Galaturra or Kurgarra, sexless beings created from the dirt from beneath the god's finger-nails, to recover the young goddess. These beings may be the origin of the Greco-Roman Galli, androgynous beings of the third sex, similar to the American Indian berdache, who played an important part in early religious ritual.[11]
In the story Inanna and Shukaletuda,[12] Shukaletuda, the gardener, set by Enki to care for the date palm he had created, finds Inanna sleeping under the palm tree and rapes the goddess in her sleep. Awaking, she discovers that she has been violated and seeks to punish the miscreant. Shukaletuda seeks protection from Enki, whom Bottero[13] believes to be his father. In classic Enkian fashion, the father advises Shukaletuda to hide in the city where Inanna will not be able to find him. Enki, as the protector of whomever comes to seek his help, and as the empowerer of Inanna, here challenges the young impetuous goddess to control her anger so as to be better able to function as a great judge.
Eventually, after cooling her anger, she too seeks the help of Enki, as spokesperson of the "assembly of the gods", the Igigi and the Anunnaki. After she presents her case, Enki sees that justice needs to be done and promises help, delivering knowledge of where the miscreant is hiding.
Portrayal
Enki was considered a god of life and replenishment, and was often depicted with two streams of water emanating from his shoulders, one the Tigris, the other the Euphrates. Alongside him were trees symbolizing the male and female aspects of nature, each holding the male and female aspects of the 'Life Essence', which he, as apparent alchemist of the gods, would masterfully mix to create several beings that would live upon the face of the earth.
In character Enki is not a jester or trickster god, he is never a cheat, and although fooled, he is not a fool. Enki uses his magic for the good of others when called upon to help either a god, a goddess or a human. Enki is always true to his own essence as a masculine nurturer. He is fundamentally a trouble-shooter god, and avoids or disarms those who bring conflict and death to the world. He is the mediator whose compassion and sense of humor breaks and disarms the wrath of his stern half-brother, Enlil, king of the gods. He is the Challenger who tests the limits of Inanna in the myth Enki and Inanna and the Me and then concedes graciously his defeat by the young goddess of Love and War, by strengthening the bonds between Eridu and her city of Uruk. So he becomes the Empowerer of Inanna.
The essay on "Enki: the Fresh Waters Lord, Master of all Crafts, Magick and Wisdom"[14] states of Enki that he is—
- "The most complete and modern mirror of masculine wholeness in Mesopotamia and world religion. His values and attributes are timeless, and it is not surprising to see that He is one of the most beloved gods of Mesopotamia. How can He be so whole? Because in Him the passionate and joyous Lover, the Mystic, the Strategist, the Sorcerer, the Divine Manager, the Keeper of World Order and Rescuer of Humankind and Gods alike are all One.
- Enki is ... the gallant, impetuous, energetic Lord of Wisdom, the Seeker after truth, and Master Adept in sorcery, enchantment and seduction."[15]
The Lord's Prayer
Explained by Emmet Fox (1886-1951)
The Lord's Prayer is the most important of al the Christian documents. It was carefully constructed by Jesus with certain very clear ends in view. That is why, of all his teachings, it is by far the best known, and the most often quoted. It is, indeed, the one common denominator of all the Christian churches. Every one of them, without exception, uses the Lord's Prayer; it is perhaps the only ground upon which they all meet. Every Christian child is taught the Lord's Prayer, and any Christian who prays at all says it almost every day. Its actual use probably exceeds that of all other prayers put together. Undoubtedly everyone who is seeking to follow along the Way that Jesus led, should make a point of using the Lord's Prayer, and using it intelligently, every day.
In order to do this, we should understand that the Prayer is a carefully constructed organic whole. Many people rattle through it like parrots, forgetful of the warning that Jesus gave us against vain, reptetions, and, of course, no one derives any rpofit from that sort of thing.
The Great Prayer is a compact formula for the development of the soul. It is designed with the utmost care for the specific purpose; so that those who use it regularly, with understanding, will experience a real change of soul. The only progress is this change, which is what the Bible calls being born again. It is the change of soul that matters. The mere acquistion of fresh knowledge received intellectually makes no change in the soul. The Lord's Prayer is especially designed to bring this change about, and when it is regularly used it invariably does so.
The more one analyzes the Lord's Prayer, the more wonderful is its construction seen to be. It meets everyone's need just at his own level. It not only provides a rapid spiritual development for those who are sufficient advanced to be ready, but in its superficial meaning it supplies the more simpleminded and even the more materially-minded people with just what they need at the moment, if they use the Prayer sincerely.
The greatest of all prayers was designed with still another purpose in view, quite as important as either of the others. Jesus foresaw that, as centuries went by, his simple, primitive teaching would gradually become overlain by all sorts of external things which really have nothing whatever to do with it. He foresaw that men who had never known him, relying, quite sincerely, no doubt, upon their own limited intellects, would build up theologies and doctrinal systems, obscuring the direct simplicity of the spiritual message, and actually erecting a wall between God and man. He designed his Prayer in such a way that it would pass safely through those ages without being tampered with. He arranged it with consummate skill, so that it could not be twisted or distorted, or adapted to any man-made system; so that, in fact, it would carry the whole Christ Message wthin itm and yet not have any thinn on the surface to attract the attention of the restless, managing type of person. So it has turned out that, through all the changes and chances of Christian history, this Prayer has come through to us uncorrupted and unspoiled.
The first thing that we notice is that the Prayer naturallly falls into seven clauses. This is very characteristic of the Oriental tradition. Seven symbolizes individual soul, just as the number twelve in the same convention stands for corporate completeness. In practical use, we often find an eighth clause added - "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory" - but this, though in itself an excellent affirmation, is not really a part of the Prayer. The seven clauses are put together with the utmost care, in perfect order and sequence, and they contain everything that is necessary for the nourishment of the soul. Let us consider the first clause:
Our Father
This simple statement in itself constitutes a definite and complete system of theology. It fixes clearly and distinctly the nature and character of God. It sums up the Truth of Being. It tells all that man needs to know about God, and about himself, and about his neighbor. Anything that is added to this can only be by way of commentary, and is more likely than not to complicate and obscure the true meaning of the text. Oliver Wendell Holmes said: "My religion is summed up in the first two words of the Lord's Prayer," and most of us will find ourselves in full agreement with him.
Notice the simple, clear-cut, definite statement - "Our Father." In this clause Jesus lays down once and for all that the relationship between God and man is that of father and child. This cuts out any possibility that the Diety could be the relentless and cruel tyrant that is often pictured by theology. Jesus says definitely that the relationship is that of parent and child; not an Oriental despot dealing with grovelling slaves, but parent and child. Now we all know perfectly well that men and women, however short they may fall in other respects, nearly always do the best they can for their children. Unfortunately, cruel and wicked parents are to be found, but they are so exceptional as to make a paragraph for the newspapers. The vast majority of men and women are at their best in dealing with their children. Speaking of the same truth elsewhere, Jesus said: "If you, who are so full of evil, nevertheless do your best for your children, how much more so will God, who is altogether good, do for you"; and so he begins his Prayer by establishing the character of God as that of the perfect Father dealing with His children.
Note that this clause which fixes the nature of God at the same time fixes the nature of man, because if man is the offspring of God, he must partake of the nature of God, since the nature of the offspring is invariably similar to that of the parent. It is a cosmic law that like begets like. It is not possible that a rosebush should produce lilies, or that a cow should give birth to a colt. The offspring is and must be of the same nature as the parent; and so, since God is Divine Spirit, man must essentially be Divine Spirit too, whatever appearances may say to the contrary.
Let us pause here for a moment and try to realize what a tremendous step forward we have taken in appreciating the teaching of Jesus on this point. Do you not see that at a single blow it swept away nintey-nine percent of all the old theology, with its avenging God, its chosen and favorite individuals, its eternal hell fire, and all the other horrible paraphernalia of man's diseased and terrified imagination. God exists - and the Eternal, All-Powerful, All-Present God is the loving Father of mankind.
If you would meditate upon this acct, until you had some degree of understanding of what it really means, most of your difficulties and physical ailments would disappear, for they are rooted and grounded in fear. The underlying cause of all trouble is fear. If only you could realize to some extent that Omnipotent Wisdom is your living, loving Father, most of your fears would go. If you could realize it completely, every negative thing in your life would vanish away, and you would demonstrate perfection in every phase. Now you see the object that Jesus had in mind when he placed this clause first.
Next we see that the Prayer says, not "My Father," but "Our Father," and this indicates, beyond the possibility of mistake, the truth of the brotherhood of man. It forces upon our attention at the very beginning the fact that ll men are indeed brethren, the children of one Father; and that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither chose nor unchosen," because all men are brethen. Here Jesus in making his second point, ends all the tiresome nonsense about a "chosen race,: about the spiritual superiority of an one group of human beings over any other group. He cuts away the illusion that the members of any nation, or race, or territority, or group, or class, or color, are, in the sight of God, superior to any other group. A belief in the superiority of one's own particular group, or "herd," as the psychologists call it, is an illusion to which mankind is very prone, but in the teaching of Jesus it has no place. He teaches that the thing that places a man is the spiritual condition of his own individual soul, and that as long as he is upon the spiritual path it makes no difference whatever to what group he belongs or does not belong.
The final point is the implied command that we are to pray not only for ourselves but for all mankind. Every student of Truth should hold the thought of the Truth of Being for the whole human race for a least a moment each day, since none of us lives to himself nor ies to himself; for indeed we are all truly - an in a much more literal sense than people are aware - limbs of on Body.
Now we begin to see how very much more than appears on the surface is contained in thos simple words "Our Father." Simple - one might almost say innocent - as they look, Jesus has concealed within them a spiritual explosive that will ultimately destroy every man-made system that holds the human race in bondage.
Which Art In Heaven
Having clearly established the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, Jesus next goes on to enlarge upon the nature of God, and to describe the fundamental facts of existence. Having shown that God and man are parent and child, he goes on to delineate the function of each in the grand scheme of things. He explains that it is the nature of God to be in heaven, and of man to be on earth, because God is Cause, and man is manifestation. Cause cannot be expression, and expression cannot be cause, and we must be careful not to confuse the two things. Here heaven stands for God or Cause, because in religious phraseology heaven is the term for the Presence of God. In metaphysics it is called the Absolute, because it is the realm of Pure Unconditioned Being, of archetypal ideas. The word "earth" means manifestation, and man's function is to manifest or express God, or Cause. In other words, God is the Infinite and Perfect Cause of all things; but Cause has to be expressed, and God expresses Himself by means of man. Man's destiny is to express God in all sorts of glorius and wonderful ways. Some of this expression we see as his surroundings; first his physical body, which is really only the most intimate part of his embodiment; then his home; his work; his recreation; in short, his whole expression. To express means to press outwards, or bring into sight that which already exists implicity. Every feature of your life is really a manifestation or expression of something in your soul.
Some of these points may seem at first to be a little abstract; but since it is misunderstandings about the relationship of God and man that lead to all our difficulties, it is worth any amount of trouble to correctly understand that relationship. Trying to have manifestation without Cause is atheism and materialism, and we know where they lead. Trying to have Cause without manifestation leads man to suppose himself to be a personal God, and this commonly ends in megalomania and a kind of paralysis of expression.
The important thing to realize is that God is in heaven and man on earth, and that each has his own role in the scheme of things. Although they are One, they are not one-and-the-same. Jesus establishes this point carefully when he says, "Our Father which art in heaven.
Hallowed Be Thy Name
In the Bible, as elsewhere, the "name" of anything means the essential nature or character of that thing, and so, when we are told what the name of God is, we are told what His nature is, and His name or nature, Jesus says, is "hallowed." Now what does the word "hallowed" mean? Well, if you trace the derivation back into Old English, you will discover a most extraordinarily interesting and significant fact. The word "hallowed" has the same meaning as "holy, ", "whole," "wholesome," and "heal," or "healed"; so we see that the nature of God is not merely worthy of our veneration, but is complete and perfect - altogether good. Some very remarkable consequences follow from this. We have agreed that an effect must be similar in its nature to its cause, and so, because the nature of God is hallowed, everything that follows from that Cause must be hallowed or perfect too. Just as a rosebush cannot produce lilies, so God cannot cause or send anything but perfect good. As the Bible says, "The same fountain cannot send forth both sweet and bitter water." From this it follows that God cannot, as people sometimes think, send sickness or trouble, or accidents - much less death - for these things are unlike His nature. "Hallowed be thy name" means "Thy nature is altogether good and Thou art the author only of perfect good." Of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.If you think that God has sent any of your difficulties to you, for no matter how good a reason, you are giving power to your troubles, and this makes it very difficult to get rid of them.
Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will Be Done In Earth As It Is In Heaven
Man being manifestation or expression of God has a limitless destiny before him. His work is to express, in concrete definite form, the abstract ideas with which God furnishes him, and in order to do this, he must have creative power. If he did not have creative power, he would be merely a machine through which God worked - an automaton. But man is not an automaton; he is an individualized consciousness. God individualizes Himself in an infinite number of distinct focal points of consciousness, each one quite different; and therefore each one is a distinct way of knowing the universe, each a distinct experience. Notice carefully that the word "individual" means undivided. The consciousness of each one is distinct from God and from all others, and yet none are separated. How can this be? How can two things be one, and yet not one and the same? The answer is that in matter, which is finite, they cannot; but in Spirit, which is infinite, they can. With our present limited, three-dimensional consciousness, we cannot see this; but intuitively we can understand it through prayer. If God did not individualize Himself, there would be only one experience; as it is, there are as many universes as there are individuals to form them through thinking."Thy kingdom come" means that it is our duty to be ever occupied in helping to establish; the Kingdom of God on earth. That is to say, our work is to bring more upon this plane. That is what we are here for. The old saying, "God has a plan for every man, and he has on for you," is quite correct. God has glorious and wonderful plans for every one of us; He has planned a splendid career, full of interest, life, and joy, for each, and if our lives are dull, or restricted, or squalid, that is not his fault, but ours.
If only you will find out the thing God intends you to do, and will do it, you wil find that all doors will open to you; all obstacles in your path will melt away; you will be acclaimed a brilliant success; you will be most liberally rewared from the monetary point of view; and you will be gloriously happy.
There is a true place in life for each one of us, upon the attainment of which we shall be completely happy, and perfectly secure. On the other hand, until we do find our true place we never shall be either happy or secure, not matter what other things we may have. Our true place is the one place where we can bring the Kingdom of God inot manifestation, and truly say, "Thy kingdom cometh."
We have seen that man too often chooses to use his free will in a negative way. He allows himself to think wrongly, selfishly, and this wrong thinking brings upon him all his troubles. Instead of understanding that it is his essential nature to express God, to be ever about his Father's business, he tries to set up upon his own account. All our troubles arise from just this folly. We abuse our free will, trying to work apart from God; and the very natural result is all the sickness, poverty, sin, trouble, and death that we find on the physical plane. We must never for a moment try to live for ouselves, or make plans or arrangements without reference to God, or suppose that we can be either happy or successful if we are seeking any other end than to do His Will. Whatever our desire may be, whether it be something concerning our daily work, or our duty at home, our relations with our fellowman, or private plans for the employment of our own time, if we seek to serve self instead of God, we are ordering trouble, disappointment, and unhappiness, notwithstanding what the evidence to the contrary may seem to be. Whereas, if we choose what, through prayer, we know to be His Will, then we are insuring for ourselves ultimate success, freedom, and joy, however much self-sacrifice and self-discipline it may involve at the moment.
Our business is to bring our whole nature as fast as we can into conformity with the Will of God, by constant prayer and unceasing, though unanxious, watching. "Our wills are ours to make them Thine."
"In His Will is our peace," said Dante, and the Divine Comdey is really a study in fundamental states of consciousness, the Inferno representing the state of the soul that is endeavoring to live without God, the Paradise representing the state of the soul that has achieved its conscious unity with the Divine Will, and the Purgatorio the condition of the soul that is struggling to pass from the one state to the other. It was this sublime conflict of the soul which wrung from the heart of the great Augustine the cry "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they repose in Thee."
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Because we are the children of a loving Father, we are entitled to expect that God will provide us fully with everything we need. Children naturally and spontaneously look to their human parents to supply all their wants, and in the same way we should look to God to supply ours. If we do so, in faith and understanding, we shall never look in vain.It is the Will of God that we should all lead healthy, happy lives, full of joyous experience; that we should develop freely and steadily, day by day and week by week, as our pathways unfold more and more unto the perfect day. To this end we require such things as food, clothing, shelter, means of travel, books, and so on; above all, we require freedom; and in the Prayer all these things are included under the heading of bread. Bread, that is to say, means not merely food in general, but all things that man requires for a healthy, happy, free, and harmonious life. But in order to obtain these things, we have to claim them, not necessarily in detail, but we have to claim them, and, we have to recognize God and God alone as the Source and fountainhead of all our good. Lack of any kind is always traceable to the fact that we have been seeking our supply from some secondary source, instead of from God HImself, the Author and Giver of life.
People think of their supply as coming from certain investments, or from a business, or from an employer, perhaps; whereas these are merely the channels through which it comes, God being the Source. The number of possible channels is infinite, the Source is One. The particular channel through which you are getting your supply is quite likely to change, because change is the Cosmic Law for manifestation. Stagnation is really death; but as long as you realize that the Source of your supply is the one unchangeable Spirit, all is well. The fading out of one channel will be but the signal for the opening of another. If, on the other hand, like most people, you regard the particular channel as being the source, then when that channel fails, as it is very likely to do, you are left stranded, because you believe that the source has dried up - and for practical purposes, on the physical plane, things are a we believe them to be.
A man, for instance, thinks of his employment as the source of his income, and for some reason he loses it. His employer goes out of business, or cuts down the staff, or they have a falling out. Now, because he believes that his position is the source of his income, the loss of the position naturally means the loss of the income, and so he has to start looking about for another job, and perhaps has to look a long time, meanwhile finding himself without apparent supply. If such a man had realized, through regular daily Treatment, that God was his supply, and his job only the particular channel through which it came, then upon the closing of that channel, he would have found another, and probably a better one, opening immediately. If his belief had been in God as his supply, then since God cannot change or fail, or fade out, his supply would have come from somewhere, and would have formed its own channel in whatever was the easiest way.
In precisely the same way the proprietor of a business may find himself obliged to close down for some cause outside of his control; or one whose income is dependent upon stocks or bond may suddenly find that source dried up, owing to unexpected happenings on the stock market, or to som catastrophe to a factory or mine. If he regards the business or the investment as his source of supply, he will believe his source to have collapsed, and will in consequence be left stranded; whereas, if his reliance is upon God, he will be comparatively indifferent to the channel and so that channel will be easily supplanted by a new one. In short, we have to train ourselves to look to God, Cause, for all that we need, and then the channel, which is entirely a secondary matter, will take care of itself.
In its inner and most important meaning, our daily bread signifies the realization of the Presence of God - an actual sense that God exists not merely in a nominal way, but as the great reality; the sense that He is present with us; and the feeing that because He is God, all-good, all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving, we have nothing to fear; that we can rely upon Him to take every care of use; that He will supply all that we need to have; teach us all that we need to know; and guide our steps so that we shall not make mistakes. This is Emanuel, or God with us; and remember that it absolutely means some degree of actual realization, that is to say, some experience in consciousness, and not just a theoretical recognition of the fact; not simply talking about God, however beautifully one may talk, or thinking about Him; but some degree of actual experience. We must begin by thinking about God, but this should lead to the realization which is the daily bread or manna. That is the gist of the whole matter. Realization, which is experience, is the thing that counts. It is realization which marks the progress of the soul. It is realization which guarantees the demonstration. It is realization, as distinct from mere theorizing and fine words, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. This is the Bread of LIfe, the hidden mann, and when one has that, he has all things in deed and in truth. Jesus several times refers to this experience as bread because it is the nourishment of the soul, just as physical food is the nourishment of the physical body. Supplied with this food, the soul grows and waxes strong, gradually developing to adult stature. Without it, she, being deprived of her essential nourishment, is naturally stunted and crippled.
The common mistake, of course, is to suppose that a formal recognition of God is sufficient, or that talking about Divine things, perhaps talking very poetically, is the same as possessing them; but this is exactly on a par with supposing that looking at a tray of food, or discussing the chemical composition of sundry foodstuffs, is the same things as actually eating a meal. It is this mistake which is responsible for the fact that people sometimes pray for a thing for years without any tangible result. If prayer is a force at all, it cannot be possible to pray without something happening.
A realization cannot be obtained to order; it must come spontaneously as the result of regular daily prayer. To seek realization by will power is the surest way to miss it. Pray regularly and quietly - remember that in all mental work, effort or strain defeats itself - then presently, perhaps when you least expect it, like a thief in the night, the realization will come. Meanwhile it is well to know that all sorts of practical difficulties can be overcome by sincere prayer, without any realization at all. Good workers have said that they have had some of their best demonstrations without any realization worth speaking about; but while it is, of course, a wonderful bon to surmount such particular difficulties, we do not achieve the sense of security and well-being to which we are entitled until we have experienced realization.
Another reason why the food or bread symbol for the experience of the Presence of God is such a telling one is that the act of eating food is essentially a thing that must be done for oneself. No one can assimilate food for another. One may hire servants to do all sorts of other things for him; but there is on thing that one must positively do for himself, and that is to eat his own food. In the same way, the realization of the Presence of God is a thing that no one else can have for us. We can and should help one another in the overcoming of specific difficulties - "Bear ye one another's burdens" - but the realization (or making real) of the Presence of God, the "substance" and "evidence," can, in the nature of things, be had only at firsthand.
In speaking of the "bread of life, Emanuel," Jesus call it our daily bread. The reason for this is very fundamental - our contact with God must be a living one. It is our momentary attitude to God which governs our being. "Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation." The most futile thing in the world is to seek to live upon a past realization. The thing that means spiritual life to you is your realization of God here and now.
Today's realization, no matter how feeble and poor it may seem, has a million times more power to help you than the most vivid realization of yesterday. Be thankful for yesterday's experience, knowing that it is with your forever in the change of conciousness which it has brought about, but do not lean upon it for a single moment for the need of today. Divine Spirit is, and changes not with the ebb and flow of human apprehension. The manna, in the desert is the Old Testament prototype of this. The people wandering in the wilderness were told that they would be supplied with manna from heaven every day, each one always recieving abundant for his needs, but they were on no account to try to save it up for the morrow. They were on no account to endeavor to live upon yesterday's food, and when, notwithstanding the rule, some of them did try to do so, the result was pestilence or death.
So it is with us. When we seek to live upon yesterday's realization, we are actually seeking to live in the past, and to live in the past is death. The art of life is to livein the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God Himself. the best way to prepare for tomorrow is to make today all that it should be.
Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Them That Trespass Against Us
This clause is the turning point of the Prayer. It is the strategic key to the whole Treatment. Let us notice here that Jesus has so arranged this marvelous Prayer that it covers the entire ground of the unfoldment of our souls completely, and in the most concise and telling way. It omits nothing that is essential for our salvation, and yet, so compact is it that there is not a thought or a word too much. Every idea fits into its place with perfect harmony and in perfect sequence. Anything more would be redundance, anything less would be incompleteness, and at this point it takes up the critical factor of forgiveness.Having told us what God is, what man is, how the universe works, how we are to do our own work - the salvation of humanity and of our own souls - he then explains what our true nourishment or supply is, and the way in which we can obtain it; and now he comes to the forgiveness of sins.
The forgiveness of sins is the central problem of life. Sin is a sense of separateness from God, and is the major tragedy of human experience. It is, of course, rooted in selfishness. It is essentially an attempt to gain some supposed good to which we are not entitled in justice. It is a sense of isolated, self-regarding, personal existence, whereas the Truth of Being is that all is One. Our true selves are at one with God, undivided from Him, expressing His ideas, witnessing to His nature - the dynamic Thinking of that Mind. Because we are all one with the great Whole of which we are spiritually a part, it follows that we are one with all men. Just because in Him we live and move and have our being, we are, in the absolute sense, all essentially one.
Evil, sin, the fall of man, in fact, is esentially the attempt to negative this Truth in our thoughts. We try to live apart from God. We try to do without Him. We act as though we had life of our own; as separate minds; as though we could have plans and purposes and interests separate from His. All this, if it were true, would mean that existence is not one and harmonious, but a chaos of competition and strife. It would mean that we are quite separate from our fellow man and could injure him, rob him, or hurt him, or even destroy him, without any damage to ourselves, and, in fact, that the more we took from other people the more we would have for ourselves. It would mean that the more we considered our own interests, and the more indifferent we were to the welfare of others, the better off we would be. Of course it would then follow naturally that it would pay other to treat us in the same way, and that accordingly we might expect many of them to do so. Now it this were true, it would mean that the whole universe is only a jungle, and that sooner or later it must destroy itself by its own inherent weakeness and anarchy. But, of course, it is not true, and therein lies the joy of live.
Undoubtedly, may people do act as though they believed it to be true, and a great many more, who would be dreadfully shocked if brought face-to-face with that proposition in cold blood, have, nevertheless, a vague feeling that such must be very much the way things are, even though they, themselves, are personally above consciously acting in accordance with such a notion. Now this is the real basis of sin, of resentment, of condemnation, of jealousy, of remorse, and all the evil brood that walk that path.
This belief in independent and separate existence is the arch sin, and now, before we can progress any further, we have to take the knife to this evil thing and cut it out once and for all. Jesus knew this, and with this definite end in view he inserted at this critical point a carefully prepared statement that would compass our end and his, without the shadow of a possibility of miscarrying. He inserted what is nothing less than a trip clause. He drafted a declaration which would force us, without any conceivable possibility of escape, evasion, mental reservation, or subterfuge of any kind, to execute the great sacrament of forgiveness in all its fullness and far-reaching power.
As we repeat the Great Prayer intelligently, considering and meaning what we say, we are suddenly, so to speak, caught up off our feet and grasped as though in a vise, so that we must face this problem - and there is no escape. We must positively and definitely extend forgiveness to everyone to whom it is possible that we can owe forgiveness, namely, to anyone who we think can have injured us in any way. Jesus leaves no room for any possible glossing of this fundamental thing. He has constructed his Prayer with more skill than any lawyer displayed in the casting of a deed. He has so contrived it that once our attention has been drawn to this matter, we are inevitably obligated either to forgive our enemies in sincerity and truth, or never again to repeat that prayer. It is safe to say that no one who reads this with understanding will ever again be able to use the Lord's Prayer unless and until he has forgiven. Should you now attempt to repeat it without forgiving, it can safely be predicted that you will not be able to finish it. This great central clause will stick in your throat.
Notice that Jesus does not say, "Forgive me my trespasses and I will try to forgive others," or "I will see if it can be done," or "I will forgive generally, with certain exceptions." He obliges us to declare that we have actually forgiven, and forgiven all, and he makes our claim to our own forgiveness to depend upon that. Who is there who has grace enough to say his prayers at all, who does not long for the forgiveness or cancellation of his own mistakes and faults. Who would be so insane as to endeavor to seek the Kingdom of God without desiring to be relieved of his own sense of guilt. No one, we may believe. And so we see that we are trapped in the inescapable position that we cannot demand our own release before we have released our brother.
The forgiveness of others is the vestibule of Heaven, and Jesus knew it, and has led us to the door. You must forgive everyone who has ever hurt you if you want to be forgiven yourself; that is the long and the short of it. You have to get rid of all resentment and condemnation of others, and, not least, of self-condemnation and remorse. You have to forgive others, and having discontinued your own mistakes, you have to accept the forgiveness of God for them too, or you cannot make any progress. You have to forgive yourself, but you cannot forgive yourself sincerely until you have forgiven others first. Having forgiven others, you must be prepared to forgive yourself too, for to refuse to forgive oneself is only spiritual pride. "And by that sin fell the angels." We cannot make this point too clear to ourselves; we have got to forgive. There are few people in the world who have not at some time or other been hurt, really hurt, by someone else; or been disappointed, or injured, or deceived, or misled. Such things sink into the memory where they usually cause inflamed and festering wounds, and there is only one remedy - they are to be plucked out and thrown away. And the one and only way to do that is by forgiveness.
Of course, nothing in all the world is easier than to forgive people who have not hurt us very much. Nothing is easier than to rise above the thought of a trifliing loss. Anybody will be willing to do this, but what the Law of Being requires of us is that we forgive not only these trifles, but the very things that are so hard to forgive that at first it seems impossible to do it at all. The despairing heart cries, "It is too much to ask. That thing meant too much to me. It is impossible. I cannot forgive." But the Lord's Prayer makes our own forgiveness from God, which means our escape from guilt and limitation, dependant upon just this very thing. There is no escape from this, and so forgiveness there must be, no matter how deeply we may have been injured, or how terribly we have suffered. It must be done.
If your prayers are not being answered, search your consciousness and see if there is not someone whom you have yet to forgive. Find out if there is not some old thing about which you are very resentful. Search and see if you are not really holding a grudge (it may be camouflaged in some self-righteous way) against some individual, or some body of people, a nation, a race, a social class, some religious movement or which you disapprove perhaps, a political party, or whatnot. If you are doing so, then you have an act of forgiveness to perform, and when this is done, you will probably make your demonstration. If you cannot forgive at present, you will have to wait for your demonstration until you can, and you will have to postpone finishing your recital of the Lord's Prayer too, or involve yourself in the position that you do not desire the forgiveness of God.
Setting other free means setting yourself free, because resentment is really a form of attachment. It is a Cosmic Truth that it takes two to make a prisoner; the prisoner - and a gaoler. There is no such thing as being a prisoner on one's own account. Every prisoner must have a gaoler, and the gaoler is as much a prisoner as his charge. When you hold resentment against anyone, you are bound to that person by a cosmic link, a real, though mental chain. You are tied by a cosmic tie to the thing that you hate. The one person perhaps in the whole world whom you most dislike is the very one to whom you are attaching yourself by a hook that is stronger than steel. Is this what you wish? Is this the condition in which you desire to go on living? Remember, you belong to the thing with which you are linked in thought, and at some time or other, if that tie endures, the object of your resentment will be drawn again into your life, perhaps to work further havoc. Do you think that you can afford this? Of course, no on can afford such a thing; and so the way is clear. You must cut all such ties, by a clear and spiritual act of forgiveness. You must loose him and let him go. By forgiveness you set yourself free; you save your soul. And because the law of love works alike for one and all, you help to save his soul too, making it just so much easier for him to become what he ought to be.
But how, in the name of all that is wise and good, is the magic act of forgiveness to be accomplished, when we have been so deeply injured that, though we have long wished with all our hearts that we could forgive, we have nevertheless found it impossible; when we have tried and tried to forgive, but have found the task beyond us.
The technique of forgiveness is simple enough, and not very difficult to manage when you understand how. The only thing that is essential is willingness to forgive. Provided you desire to forgive the offender, the greater part of the work is already done. People have always made such a bogey of forgiveness because they have been under the erroneous impression that to forgive a person means that you have to compel yourself to like him. Happily this is by no means the case - we are not called upon to like anyone whom we do not find ourselves liking spontaneously, and, indeed, it is quite impossible to like people to order. You can no more like to order than you can hold the winds in your fist, and if you endeavor to coerce yourself into doing so, you will finish by disliking or hating the offender more than ever. People use to think that when someone had hurt them very much, it was their duty, as good Christians, to pump up, as it were, a feeling of liking for him; and since such a thing is utterly impossible, they suffered a great deal of distress, and ended, necessarily, with failure, and a resulting sense of sinfulness. We are not obliged to like anyone; but we are under a binding obligation to love everyone, love, or charity as the Bible calls it, meaning a vivid sense of impersonal good will. This has nothing directly to do with the feelings though it is always followed, sooner or later, by a wonderful feeling of peace and happiness.
The method of forgiving is this: Get by yourself and become quiet. Repeat any prayer or treatment that appeals to you, or read a chapter of the Bible. Then quietly say, "I fully and freely forgive X (mentioning the name of the offender); I loose him and let him go. I completely forgive the whole business in question. As far as I'm concerned, it is finished forever. I cast the burden or resentment upon the Christ within me. He is free now, and I am free too. I wish him well in every phase of his life. The incident is finished. The Christ Truth has set us both free. I thank God." Then get up and go about your business. On no account repeat this act of forgiveness, because you have done it once and for all, and to do it a second time would be tacitly to repudiate your own work. Afterward, whenever the memory of the offender of the offense happens to come into your mind, bless the delinquent briefly and dismiss the thought. Do this, however many times the thought may come back. After a few days it will return less and less often, until you forget it altogether. Then perhaps after an interval, shorter or longer, the old trouble may come back to memory once more, but you will find that now all betterness and resentment have disappeared, and you are both free with the perfect freedom of the children of God. Your forgiveness is complete. You will experience a wonderul joy in the realization of the demonstration.
Everybody should practice general forgiveness every day as a matter of course. When you say your daily prayers, issue a general amnesty, forgiving everyone who may have injured you in any way, and on no account particularize. Simply say, "I freely fogive everyone." Then in the course of the day, should the thought or grievance or resentment come up, bless the offender briefly and dismiss the thought.
The result of this policy will be that very soon you will find yourself cleared of all resentment and condemnation, and the effect upon your happiness, your bodily health, and your general life will be nothing less than revolutionary.
Lead Us Not Into Temptation But Deliver Us From Evil
This clause has probably caused more difficulty than any other part of the Prayer. For many earnest people it has been a veritable stumbling block. They feel, and rightly, that God could not lead anyone into temptation or into evil in any circumstances, and so these words do not ring true.For this reason, a number of attempts have been made to recast the wording. People have felt that Jesus could not have said what he is represented to have said, and so they look about for some phrasing which they think would be more in accordance with the general tone of his teaching. Heroic efforts have been made to wrest the Greek original into something different. All this, however, is unnecessary. The Prayer in the form in which we have it in English gives us a perfectly correct sense of the true inner meaning. Remember that the Lord's Prayer covers the whole of the spiritual life. Condensed though the form is, it is nevertheless a complete manual for the development of the soul, and Jesus knew only too well the subtle perils and difficulties that can and do beset the soul when once the preliminary stages of spiritual unfoldment have been passed. Because those who are yet at a comparatively early stage of development do not experience such difficulties, they are apt to jump to the conclusion that this clause is unnecessary; but such is not the case.
The facts are these - the more you pray, the more time you spend in meditation and spiritual treatment, the more sensitive you become. And if you spend a great deal of time working on your soul in the right way, you will become very sensitive. This is excellent; but like everything in the universe, it works both ways. The more sensitive and spiritual you become, the more powerful and effective are your prayers, you do better healing, and you advance rapidly. But, for the same reason, you also become susceptible to forms of temptation that simply do not beset those at an earlier stage. You will also find that for ordinary faults, even things that many men and women in the world would consider to be trifling, you will be sharply punished, and this is well, because it keeps you up to the mark. The seemingly minor transgressions, the "little foxes that spoil the vines," would fritter away our spiritual power if not promptly dealt with.
No one at this level will be tempted to pick a pocket, or burgle a house; this does not by any means imply that one will not have difficulties, and because of their subtlety, even greater difficulties to meet.
As we advance, new and powerful temptations await us on the path, ever ready to hurl us down if we are not watchful - temptations to work for self-glory, and self-aggrandizement instead of for God; for personal honors and distinctions, even for material gain; temptations to allow personal preferences to hold sway in our counsels when it is a sacred duty to deal with all men in perfect impartiality. Above and beyond all other sins the deadly sins of spiritual prid, truly, "the last infirmity of noble mind," lurks on this road. Many fine souls who have triumphantly surmounted all other testing have lapsed into a condition of superiority and self-righteousness that has fallen like a curtain of steel between them and God. Great knowledge brings great repsonsibility. Great responsibility betrayed brings terrible punishment in its train. Noblesse oblige is preeminently true in spiritual things. One's knowledge of the Truth, however little it may be, is a sacred trust for humanity that must not be violated. While we should never make the mistake of casting our pearls before swine, nor urge the Truth in quarters where it is not welcome, yet we must do all that we wisely can to speard the true knowledge of God among mankind, that not one of "these little ones" may go hungry through our selfishness or our neglect. "Feed my lambs, feed my sheep."
The old occult writers were so vividly sensible of these dangers that, with their instinct for dramatization, they spoke of the soul as being challenged by various tests as it traversed the upward road. It was as though the traveler were halted at various gates or turnpike bars, and tested by some ordeal to determine whether he were ready to advance any further. If he succeeded in passing the test, they said, he was allowed to continue upon his way with the blessing of the challenger. If, however, he failed to survive the ordeal, he was forbidden to proceed.
Now, some less experienced souls, eager for rapid advancement, have rashly desired to be subjected immediately to all kinds of test, and have even looked about, seeking for difficulties to overcome; as though one's own personality did not already present quite enough material for any one man or woman to deal with. Forgetting the lessons of our Lord's own ordeal in the wilderness, forgetting the injunction "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God," they have virtually done this very thing, with sad results. And so Jesus has inserted this clause, in which we pray that we may not have to meet anything that is too much for us at present level of our understanding. And, if we are wise, and work daily, as we should, for wisdom, understanding, purity, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we never shall find ourselves in any difficulty for which we have not the understanding necessary to clear ourselves. Nothing shall by any means hur you. Behold I am with you always.
Thine Is The Kingdom And The Power And The Glory For Ever And Ever
This is a wonderful gnomic saying summing up the essential truth of the Omnipresence and the Allness of God. It means that God is indeed All in All, the doer, the doing, and the deed, and one can say also the spectator. The Kingdom in this sense means all creation on every plane, for that is the Presence of God - God as manifestation or expression.The Power, of course, is the Power of God. We know that God is the only power, and so, when we work, as when we pray, it is really God doing it by means of us. Just as the pianist produces his music by mean of, or through his fingers, so may mankind be thought of as the fingers of God. His is the Power. If, when you are praying, you hold the though that it is really God who is working through you, your prayers will gain immeasurably in efficiency. Say, "God is inspiring me." If, when you have any ordinary thing to do, you hold the thought, "Divine Intelligence is working through me now," you will perform the most difficult tasks with astonishing success.
The wondrous change that comes over us as we gradually realize what the Omnipresence of God really means, transfigures every phase of our lives, turning sorrow into joy, age into youth, and dullness into light and life. This is the glory - and the glory which comes to us is, of course, God's too. And the bliss we know in that experience is still God Himself, who is knowing that bliss through us.
