Happy Easter Higherside Chatters! A most appropriate show for today:

When we examine sacred sites scattered around the world, oral traditions passed down through generations and disjointed clues of our fragmented history buried by organized religion, the path to reconnect the dots seems daunting. And without the proper context, putting our past into perspective can appear impossible. Luckily, today's guest, Freddy Silva, has spent his years studying a cornucopia of esoteric traditions from ancient societies ranging from extinct systems of knowledge and initiation rituals to Jesus and crop circles. Silva has written several books including, "The Divine Blueprint" and "First Templar Nation", to help bestow "ancient wisdom for modern times.

2:32 Although many of us are aware that the Catholic Church has spent it's existence absorbing the traditions of ancient Gnostics and mystic tribes, while simultaneously trying to eliminate their influence and integrate their world view into the broader populous, many of us may have missed signs highlighting their campaign aimed at hijacking and redefining the term "resurrection". Greg and Freddy kick things off by discussing elements of the Catholic faith, that without the original, mythical context, seem to be a bit nonsensical. Freddy explains how through his years of travel and research, the common thread of the raising rituals continued to appear throughout various cultures of the world. Silva also breaks down the term "Living Resurrection", mentioned in the banned Gospels of Philip and Thomas, and how it may in fact actually be a metaphor for an important ancient ritual initiation pre-dating the birth of Jesus, that was later perverted by the Catholic Church for nefarious purposes and crafted into what is now known as the Resurrection of Christ.

9:27 After providing a bit of background on the beginnings of this ancient ritual, Freddy elaborates on how this ritual differs from modern-day Shaman experiences with Ayahuasca. Silva explains how weekend retreats in the Amazon are feeble attempts to mimic a robust lost tradition that would commonly span over the course of three years and consisted of intense preparations by the initiates for a voluntary near death experience. Silva also differentiates the experience of Shamanism and the ancient art of the Living Resurrection, Shamanism used drugs to induce a state, whereas the ancient Resurrection ritual was the state itself.

14:20 Greg and Freddy discuss the specifics around the initiation process, the elements that intensify the experience,