"For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death." - Gospel of Thomas
"I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end." - Kahlil Gibran
Proverbs 8:22-27 is exactly my Experience of 1973, as is Chapter IV of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Creation and Its Cause.
Both are reproduced below from the original texts in which I first excitingly discovered them.
It is this about which I have been writing for more than 47 years, seeking answers as to what it was that I saw take place before there was an "Existence." I saw it all begin exactly this way, then posed the first of the Eternal Questions: "Who am I?" It's kind of like that song: "I wonder. I wonder. I wonder. But do I really want to know?"
This painting, The Ancient of Days (1794) by William Blake (1757-1827), is his illustration of Proverbs 8:22-27. It represents "the first emanation of the true but hidden and nameless God."
PROVERBS 8:22-27 (New American Standard Bible)
22"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23"From everlasting, I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24"When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
25"Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;
26"While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
27"When He established the heavens, I was there. . .
The Mighty Living One (Cosmic Person), Alone in the Void Before it Had All Begun
BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
Chapter IV—The Creation and Its Cause
This painting, The Ancient of Days (1794) by William Blake (1757-1827), is his illustration of Proverbs 8:22-27. It represents "the first emanation of the true but hidden and nameless God."
PROVERBS 8:22-27 (New American Standard Bible)
22"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23"From everlasting, I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24"When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
25"Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;
26"While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
27"When He established the heavens, I was there. . .
The Mighty Living One (Cosmic Person), Alone in the Void Before it Had All Begun
BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD
Chapter IV—The Creation and Its Cause
1. In the beginning, this universe was the self (Viraj) alone, in the shape of a person. He reflected and saw nothing else but His Self. He first said: "I am He." Therefore He came to be known by the name I (Aham). Hence, even now, when a person is addressed, he first says: "It is I," and then says whatever other names he may have. And because He, before (Purva) the whole group of aspirants, burnt (aushat) all evils, therefore He is called Purusha. He who knows this verily burns up him who wishes to be Viraj in advance of him.
2. He was afraid. Therefore people still are afraid when alone. He thought: "Since there is nothing else but Myself, what am I afraid of?" Thereupon His fears were gone; for what was there to fear? Assuredly, it is from a second entity that fear arises.
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