The Ten Commandments is one of the most well-known and most misunderstood documents in the Western world.  Given to the wizard Moses, leader of the Hebrew Nation, some 3000 years ago, it has been turned from a message of positive affirmation of Truth and example of Creative Power through Spirit into an instrument which has, along with the rest of the Bible, been used to subjugate the spirit of Man and enslave him to the whims of those in power.  With the advent of the Ascension of Humanity upon us, this must change.  The true nature of Spirit still remains in the heart of the Ten Commandments, even through the outer form has been twisted to hide and pervert its inner message.  It is time to reexamine these commandments in light of the new era of Ascension and enlightenment.

1.    (OLD)  I, the Lord, am your God.  You shall not have other gods besides me.

       (NEW) I am Spirit; I am All That Is.  Nothing exists that is not part of Me, and nothing that is not part of me can exist.  Nothing can be higher or lower than Me; I am the sum total, and product, and range of All That Is.
 
Interpretation:  The older phrasing of this commandment was wrongfully twisted to appear that a single entity, rather than the One Life, was "Lord over Everything."  When considering the feudal structure of the Dark Ages with the "Divine Right of Kingship" assumption of the monarch, in which the ruler was considered to be an avatar of God, it can well be understood why this verse was so rewritten.  Who would dare to question the divine right of the avatar of God, since no other Gods other than he and his avatar could exist?  Thus, no one would question the actions of the King or rise up against him, since he and God were equal.

What this commandment truly sought to represent was an affirmation of Spirit as the One Life; that all of Creation is of this One Life, and that nothing higher nor lower could exist.  Because we are of Spirit, we too are Divine, and no other gods can exist before us, or any other being of Spirit.  It is not a commandment of denial and subjugation, but one destined to awaken all of Humanity to the knowledge of its own Divinity and of claiming its birthright.  Placing anything external to your Divine Self in greater power is to deny yourself your personal connection to the One Life, the source of all Love and Creative Power, and thus to deny your Divinity and your birthright.
 

2.    (OLD)  You shall not carve idols for yourself in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth, you shall not bow down before them or worship them.

       (NEW)  In your hearts and minds are the only temples of the Wisdom and of the Divine Plan, for they are the only vessels capable of rendering conscious creation with it.  Do not build edifices on earth to this Wisdom and worship it mindlessly; nor make a cult of personality out of the channels and messengers of the Wisdom.  Work with the Plan as it manifests within your own hearts and minds, and not as interpreted by an external source.
 
Interpretation:  The Master Jesus, Lord of the 6th Ray of Devotion to the Ideal, became incarnate to bring a message of Love and an infusion of Soul-nature into the existing power structures and religions of his day.  Although much of his message was recorded, it was not heeded, and rather than interpreting the Wisdom of the words he channeled from the Christ spirit in nature of co-creation within the Divine Plan, Humanity made of the man, the persona Jesus, a cult figure to be mindlessly worshipped in the religion known as Christianity.  Christianity is not alone in its cult-worship of the graven image of the channel of its Wisdom, however.  Islam venerates Mohammed rather than work with the Wisdom he channeled, and Buddhism which venerates the Buddha Siddhartha rather than heed the wisdom he brought in.  Many other examples abound; as many examples as there are religions.  Even the entity Kryon, here in our own era to facilitate the Ascension process, clearly states for us not to build churches in his name; yet there are those here in the United States who right now are in the process of doing that very thing.

When a thought-form is reduced to a cult of a persona, its Wisdom is crystallized and entrapped, and the ensouling essence of that wisdom retracts its energies and leaves lest it too be entrapped, leaving nothing but an outer shell of mindless worship and devotion to a graven image; a dead being incapable of power or of creative expression.  To work consciously with the message given within the Heart and the Mind, rather than venerate its vessel of expression, is to grant oneself the power of co-creation within that Wisdom.
 

3.    (OLD)  You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.

       (NEW)  Let your actions and deeds be that whereby you prove yourself, and not by your words.  Do not validate your actions in the name of anything external to yourself and your divine source.
 
 Interpretation:  "The Bible says...", "The Koran says...", "The Tao Te Ching says...", "The Havamal says...", "Robert's Rules of Order says...", "Strunk and White says...", -- how often do we hear ourselves and others justifying their actions in the name of some external authority or crystallized source of knowledge?  Our actions and creations, if co-created in Divine Will and Intent with Spirit, should be able to speak for themselves.  Nothing else needs to be justified.  There is no need to make oaths, since Divine Will and Intent speaks for itself.

(P.S.  For those of you who have been told this is the "Do not 'cuss'" injunction, forget it.  I imagine that Spirit itself does some fine cussing from time to time, especially when dealing with some of the fixes we get into!)
 
 
4.    (OLD)  Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

       (NEW)  Remember to make regular contact with Spirit as well as with Matter in whichever manner you so choose.  Do not let the obstacles and desires of the dense plane deter you from your Service.
 
Interpretation:  Spirit needs us as much as we need Spirit.  We are the vessels through which Spirit weaves Creation.  If there is no communication between vessel and Spirit, nothing can be accomplished.  This communication needs to be regular; as regular as your breathing or your heartbeat.  You don't need to go to a "special place" like a church (which exists more for social and political reasons than for enlightenment ones) or to a Sacred Grove, or anywhere else, to be able to communicate with Spirit.  Even the supermarket aisle or your car in rush-hour traffic is suitable (and in the latter case, may be vital!)  Don't let anyone tell you that you can't talk to Spirit or get answers or ideas at any time or any place, day or night.  Like your corner 7-11, Spirit is open, 24-7.  This is another way of looking at the Christian concept of "Pray without ceasing"... being in complete conversational flow with Spirit.

Regarding communication with Spirit:  This communication needs to be proactive; poised and ready to ask questions and receive answers and inspiration.  Drop the mindless chanting of mantras and litanies and begging for forgiveness for sins that you never even committed and abasing yourself as "dirt under Spirit's shoe."  This does no one any good, yourself or Spirit, and it is certainly not in accordance with Divine Will and Intent.  There is nothing sadder than seeing people who have been indoctrinated with the idea that the only time they can contact Spirit meaningfully is at a certain hour of the morning on one day of the week in a particular building, and that you have to be dressed in confining, uncomfortable clothes to do it.  Spirit doesn't care if make contact while you're naked.  After all, that's how you came into this world.  Also, in communicating with spirit, drop the "Gimme gimme gimme" aspect of praying and concentrate on giving and receiving as a two-directional flow.  You'll see that miracles indeed will occur, and your life will become more meaningful and productive.
 
 
5.    (OLD)  Honor your father and your mother.

       (NEW)  Remember to honor both Spirit and Matter equally, for both are opposites of the same manifestation.  Spirit is the highest vibratory frequency of Matter, and Matter is the lowest vibratory frequency of Spirit.  Value them equally as one, so that they may be in perfect balance and harmony.
 
Interpretation:  The older form of this commandment is one of the ones most highly abused in the subjugation of humanity.  No matter what "Mom and Dad" do to us, we have to honor them, is the implication of this commandment.  How do children handle it when Mom, on an alcoholic rampage, beats them nearly senseless in rage, or when Dad lustfully violates his daughter, in light of this injunction?  Even in less extreme examples, how can negative, manipulative, or destructive behavior on the part of either parent towards the child be justified as meriting "honor"?  This commandment was so worded in the days when children were considered "chattel"; property of the parents, and on the same standing as the livestock.

Because in Spirit all are brothers, with no one higher or lower than the others, the illusion of the Parent-Child relationship is a third-dimensional physical dense construct developed solely for the enabling of lesson.  This illusory relationship is not the target of this commandment.  "Father" and "Mother" are metaphors for "Spirit" and "Matter."  This wording was used first as a veiling of the Wisdom from the Dark Ones, and later as a manipulatory tool by the power elite of society.  Spirit and Matter are opposite poles of the same expression.

In order for a particular effect to be made manifest, Spirit and Matter have to be balanced in the proper proportions (and that's not always 50-50).  The problem is that, in the last Solar incarnations, Matter was given predominance in attention; and in this Solar incarnation, Spirit was to have had predominance (except that it hasn't quite worked out that way...yet).  "Predominance" means in proportion, not in importance, although the injunction was misinterpreted to mean importance rather than proportion.  Thus, you have the denial of the venial and the carnal by the Church, cults which participated in asceticism and mortification of the flesh, denial of the sexual function, etc., for the past 2000 years, because of the interpretation that Matter was less important than Spirit (instead of Matter being given equal importance but lesser PROPORTION in the manifestations during this age).  Because of this denial of Matter, we now are facing the destruction of species on the Earth, the depletion of its natural resources, and the widespread poverty, disease, and famine that only 2000 years of mortification and denial can explain.

Honor both Spirit and Matter equally.  Without one, the other cannot exist, and without them, we as consciousness cannot exist.
 
 
6.    (OLD)  You shall not kill.

       (NEW)  Honor all life, both tangible and intangible.  Do not engage in purposeless destruction, in the deprivation of life, thought, hope, joy, or any other expression of Spirit.
 
Interpretation:  Many have interpreted this to mean "Do not kill another person or being," and have been partially correct in doing so.  However, there are far-reaching implications inherent in this injunction.  

Many people who profess to be vegetarians point to this commandment as justification (See number 3 above!) for their particular lifestyle, and condemnation of the rest of humanity who are carnivorous, for "killing" animals.  Sorry, but did "You shall not kill" exclude plant life from that injunction?  Are plants non-living, or lesser than animals?  (Actually, evolutionary-wise, plants are higher on the evolutionary scale than either animals or humans, in that they are much better at expressing diversity through form.  Ponder on this!)

If everything is comprised of Spirit, and therefore infused with life, then how can one eat to survive and not kill?  Even vitamins are of Spirit, and are thereby living.  This is obviously a moot point.  Because dense manifestation is illusory (albeit real for the sake of lesson), destruction of forms of some sort must occur in order for dense manifestations to continue.  The point is, there is a purpose and balance to everything.  Some expressions of spirit, such as certain plants and animals, manifest with the purpose of providing food to others, and in so doing, share in their evolutionary process and increase the power of Spirit.  It's a willing agreement made in Divine Will and Intent, and it exists to keep species and kingdoms of forms in interaction with each other, so that an understanding of the totality of the One Life may be reached.

Purposeless destruction, on the other hand, is destruction of forms from the aspect of the separative will, without Divine Will or Intent, serving no greater purpose for so doing.  It is hilarious to note that so many of the so-called "Pro-Lifers" who have dedicated themselves to protecting unborn babies would not stop at murdering those who provide abortions.  (Doesn't "Pro-Life" mean "For Life"?)   Or, better yet, the concept of the Jihad or Crusade, the "Holy War" ... killing others in the name of Spirit.  (Most likely because of going against the 2nd commandment).  Even the statement in the Bible about Mankind being given "dominion over the earth" has been used to justify the wholesale slaughter of entire species of animals and plants without a backward glance, not to mention the democide of races and cultures of humans.

There are other ways of "killing" something than physically destroying it, though.

For every parent who has destroyed his or her child's imagination or faith and trust in the world because of their own fears and projections, for every wagging tongue that has destroyed an innocent's reputation, for every cruel word or carping criticism that has stripped someone of part of their self-esteem, for every taunt and jibe that has destroyed an expression of Spirit within someone, purposeless destruction has occurred.

Maybe we need to be more careful about what comes out of our mouths, rather than what goes into them.
 

7.    (OLD)  You shall not commit adultery.

       (NEW)  Do not engage in weakening any expression or manifestation of Spirit, no matter which form it takes.  Rather, strengthen the ties and manifestations of Spirit, and in so doing increase the power of Spirit.
 
Interpretation:  Hands down, this is the most misunderstood commandment out of the Ten.  Ask anyone on the street even roughly schooled in Biblical lore what this means, and 9 out of 10 times the answer will be, "Screwing around on your wife/husband" or "Going to bed with someone else's spouse."

Well, that is a form of adultery, but it's certainly not the only, nor the most important, form of it.  Examine the verb "to adulterate", from which comes the noun "adultery".  To adulterate means to weaken; to make lower in quality by adding inferior, impure, or improper materials, or by the infusion of foreign agents into a substance.  Alcohol, for instance, is adulterated when mixed with water.  The water weakens the potency of the alcohol.

Certainly, if a union of two persons is made in Spirit, the unwanted intrusion of a third person in the densest sense, that of physical (sexual) union, will adulterate the original union (unless such an arrangement is approved of by all parties, in which a new union is then made).  This is the classic sense of adultery; weakening the bonds of marriage by having sexual relations with someone else outside the marriage.  However, the classic interpretation also was made when wives were considered "chattel" by their husbands, much like the children were, and thus lacking in any rights whatsoever.  Notice that the original interpretation of adultery precluded any mention of the husband's taking concubines, which Mosaic Law has no problem in sanctioning.  It was the wife who committed adultery by "sleeping around" on her husband.  Notice no mention of the other offending male party is made in this charge.

Forget about sexual relations, though, for the time being.  What about the mother-in-law who constantly criticizes her daughter's husband to her face, or the best friend who spreads gossip about their friend's spouse's possible infidelities, creating doubt in the mind of his/her friend?  What of the meddlesome family member who takes joy at setting other family members at each other and then sitting back gleefully to watch the ensuing ruckus?  Well, they're committing adultery.  Not classic adultery, but adultery all the same, in that they're weakening the bonds of love, trust, and commitment made in Spirit.

Adultery is one of the oldest methods of manipulation and backhanded strategy.  It's called "Divide and conquer", in which bonds between people are weakened by those seeking to manipulate them so that they can be pitted against each other and thus make it easier for the offending party to gain the upper hand in the situation; usually one of manipulation and control.

To strengthen the bonds of Spirit, on the other hand, is to strengthen the bonds of all humanity and Life, and thus to strengthen your own.  In other words, to come into your own power, support the power and majesty in others as well.
 

8.    (OLD)  You shall not steal.

       (NEW)  Appropriate for yourself nothing that is not yours by Divine Right from Spirit, be it dense manifestation or non-dense energy.

Interpretation:  This is another seemingly self-explanatory commandment that is a lot deeper than at first thought.  Quite rightly, one should not take for oneself what belongs to another (a concept which will be addressed again in number 10 below).  However, in the sense of Spirit, this injunction means, "Do not appropriate another's just due of Spirit for oneself."  Don't steal another person's spiritual power or energy.

We've all been around those people who seem to live off of other people's energy.  Like psychic vampires, they drain you just being around you.  Some of this is unconscious and is the result of living in a victim mentality in dysfunctional relationships, but quite often it is willful and malicious appropriation of Divine Energy from an external source rather than one's own equipment.  Constant carping and criticism also can drain people of morale and energy.  (See number 6 above).

The willful misappropriation of energy from a source other than your connection to the One Life is literally the definition of "Black Magic."  It is unnecessary and purposeless, and eventually results in the defeat of the one misappropriating the energy.  All people, being of Spirit, have direct access to the One Life and the Creative Love force.  There is no need to siphon it off of others.  Conversely, by strengthening one's own character and personal Will and aligning it with Divine Will and Intent, one can escape the "victim" role of being the one from whom energy is taken.
 

9.    (OLD)  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

       (NEW)  Do not engage in lying and oathbreaking, especially at the expense of another.  Become a perfect expression of Truth, that you may be a channel and vessel of Light to others.

In pre-Christian Germany and Scandinavia, one of the blackest crimes a person could commit was lying or oathbreaking; punishable by massive fines, becoming an outcast, or, in the most serious situations, by hanging.  One's word was one's bond; the Word being the physical dense manifestation of the Will of Spirit.  If one could not be believed, according to the ancient Norse, one was no longer "human."  Shakespeare's character Iago in "Othello" best represents this in its vilest form:  the willful deceit of Othello that resulted in his killing his innocent wife, then himself, on the basis of Iago's lies about Desdemona's infidelity.  The character "Wormtongue" (aptly named) personifies this as well in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  Of all the characters in fiction, the one who lies against others is always portrayed as the blackest of villains.

What then, of those who lie against Spirit?  The "false prophets" (or Profits, should I say?) who pretend to lead people to enlightenment, but instead lead them into falsehoods and confusion, destroying their hope and faith in Spirit and in Life while lining their pockets at their follower's expense?  "By their deeds shall you know them," said the Master Jesus, and also, "Whosoever leads these (little ones) astray, it would be better for them that a millstone were hung around their necks, and that they were drowned in the depths of the sea."  (For a wizard, Jesus didn't mince words.)

Keep your words and deeds in accordance with the Divine Plan and in Divine Will and Intent, for they are the expressions of Spirit into the world of Form.
 

10.   (OLD)  You shall not covet your neighbor's house.  You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox, nor ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.

       (NEW)  Do not desire gain for yourself at the expense of another.  All are equal in the sight of Spirit, and all gifts are obtained equally from Spirit.  Look to Spirit for that which you need, not from the deprivation of others.

Interpretation:  In spite of the rather sexist phrasing of the original commandment (which undoubtedly was rewritten, since Spirit recognizes both genders as valid expressions of Form), this injunction was aimed at those who believe that the physical dense, the Finite, was the "be-all, end-all" of Life and the Universe.  In short, given a finite set of scarce resources, the only way I can increase is if someone else decreases.  In such a world, the "Win-Lose" zero-sum game scenario holds full sway.  The only way I can get ahead is to take "it" from someone who has "it."  This is best summed up in the Yuppies' Motto:  "He who dies with the most toys, wins."

The nature of Greed, and coveting what others have, stems from this erroneous assumption that the physical dense is "all that is."  Those who recognize Spirit as Infinite, with Infinite resource, realize the futility of such motives as greed and jealousy of others.  All gifts come from Spirit, and those who align themselves in Divine Will and Intent with Spirit, receive their blessings directly from the source.  There is no need to covet what others have, since you can have that too, and even more...and better, customized for your needs and lessons rather than someone else's.

It is frustrating to see those who, out of their greedy and covetous nature, grasp and steal from others what they think they can't obtain by any other means, and appear to succeed at doing so.  Understand that such "success" is illusory, and that in the long run, their actions will bring them no joy or peace, and will eventually hasten their own loss and destruction.  That which is put out, returns to its source.
  
 

Even in light of the new interpretations of the Ten Commandments, one still supercedes all of them, and makes them merely academic by comparison.  This is the commandment given by the Christ Spirit to humanity: 

Love One Another as I have Loved You.

When it comes down to it, there is very little left to say, after that.