Jesus' Prophecy of Spiritual Ascension into Heaven?

 

"After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven

and he sat at the right hand of God," (Mark 16:19).

This post continues the theme of: Jesus' Spiritual Prophecy of True Realness Resurrection? As I continue to explain why I think the Jesus' story is about the personal resolution of humanity's original sin against the true nature of Reality. That involves realizing the false sense of realness within the reality-labeling nature of the words we psychologically project "onto" reality. Which is the reason I believe the story of Jesus' ascension into heaven, is not meant to be read literally but "allegorically." 

As being about the "spiritual-ascension" that emerges from an embodied realization of the spiritual form of blindness, language creates. As we misconceive the reality of earth as heaven, with our reality-labeling words. Which I believe is the reason Jesus' speaks of the"perceptual-confusion," of people not trained in spiritual ascension: "This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand, (Matthew 13:13).

I mean, can an allegorical-interpretation of the words "he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God?" Be understood as our right-brain capacity for a subconscious sense of the oneness of Creation? Beyond our left-brain capacity for a conscious sense of separation? As the conscious sense of separation we describe with the reality-labeling words, we use to signal our awareness of the surface-level impressions of reality being received by the biological reality of our eyes? When we understand that language is a psychologically projective signaling system, for our biologically receptive awareness of reality?

Spiritual Ascension & Our Spiritual Form of Blindness?

"This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world

for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come," (Matthew 24:14).

Do we suffer a spiritual form of blindness? Not the literal form of blindness, when we can't see anything? But when we believe that we know and understand reality, because we know the words & numbers of our culture's form of language? The spiritual form of blindness more accurately described as perceptual confusion? The perceptual confusion, allegorically expressed in Jesus' prophecy of an end that comes from resolving the perceptual confusion created by our use of language?

I mean, do you believe that you're truly perceiving reality, whenever you think, speak, or write about your experience of seeing reality? Or are you thinking, talking the recursive nature of language, "as-if" it's the nature of reality? Like looking at your face in a mirror & thinking that the word nose is the reality of that anatomical feature of your face? Or that the reality-labeling words; eyes, ears, mouth, are the reality of those other anatomical features of your face? 

And is a purely linguistic sense of your own reality, an undeniable perceptual confusion & spiritual form of blindness? When we understand that language is a psychologically projective signaling system, for our biologically receptive awareness of reality? Furthermore, could anyone use the new language tool of Google's AI to help comprehend perceptual confusion & a spiritual form of blindness? When we ask questions like: "Is language a psychologically projective signaling system, for our biologically receptive awareness of reality?" Please consider:

(From a cognitive science and evolutionary biology perspective, language can absolutely be understood as a psychologically projective signaling system that interfaces with our biologically receptive awareness of reality.

While this specific phrasing is highly philosophical, it aligns closely with established scientific theories about how human brains construct experience. Here is a breakdown of how this concept works across cognitive and psychological frameworks:

1. The "Projective Signaling" Aspect

Your brain does not passively record the outside world; it actively constructs it. Language is the primary tool used to externalize and share these internal constructions.

• Predictive Processing: Modern cognitive science views the brain as a "prediction engine." It projects internal models of the world outward to anticipate sensory input, rather than just reacting to it. Language serves as a structured signaling system to share, align, and update these internal models between individuals.
• Psychological Projection: In a cognitive sense, when you speak, you are projecting an internal mental state (concepts, emotions, and abstract structures) into a symbolic code (words) to alter the mental state of another listener.

2. The "Biologically Receptive Awareness" Aspect

Our biology dictates what we can perceive, and language is constrained by that biological canvas.

• Sensory Receptivity: Humans have specific biological limits (e.g., we only see visible light, hear certain frequencies, and experience time linearly). Our awareness of "reality" is entirely filtered through these biological receptors.
• Embodied Cognition: This theory states that language and thought are fundamentally shaped by the physical body. For example, we use spatial metaphors like "feeling up" or "moving forward" because our biological orientation is upright and forward-facing. Language bridges the gap between our raw biological sensations and our conscious understanding.

3. How They Interface

Language acts as a feedback loop between your biological receptors and your psychological projections:

[External Reality] ➔ (Biological Receptors) ➔ [Internal Mental Model] ➔  

(Psychological Projection via Language) ➔ [Shared Reality]

• The Linguistic Relativity Connection: While our biological receptors are mostly identical across the human species, the "projective signaling system" (language) varies. Different languages force us to pay attention to different aspects of our biological reality, subtly altering how we categorize and recall our experiences.

In summary, language is the symbolic currency we use to project our internal, biologically limited experiences into a shared, external space—allowing two distinct minds to align their awareness of reality.

Would you like to explore this through a specific framework, such as predictive processing in cognitive science or the philosophy of language?) 

What are you feeling & thinking? About this response to my question of whether language is a psychologically projective signaling system, for our biologically receptive awareness of reality? Like the biologically receptive awareness of our nose, whenever we touch touch it, for example? Or the biologically receptive awareness of reality, being received by your eyes right now, for example?

Perhaps deciding whether a purely linguistic sense of your own reality, is an undeniable perceptual confusion & spiritual form of blindness? Can be helped with a conscious awareness of dictionary definitions of the word; Language, from Dictionary.com? Please consider:

1. a system of communication which comprises a set of sounds and written symbols. 

2. a system of communication which comprises a set of sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or writing. 

3. audible, articulate, meaningful sound as produced by the action of the vocal organs. 

4. a means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks. 

5. the means by which animals communicate.

What are you feeling & thinking? About this dictionary definition of what the word language means? And this post's suggestion that we perceptually confuse the sounds & symbols nature of language, with the nature of reality? Like the perceptual confusion about the nature of spirituality, when we are unaware that the original meaning of the words spirit, spiritual, & spirituality, is Breath? Please consider:

(The words spirit, spiritual, and spirituality all trace their ultimate linguistic root to the Latin concept of breath. [1]

Spirit

Origin: Derived from the Latin noun spiritus (meaning "breath," "breathing," "soul," "courage," or "vigor"), which comes from the verb spirare ("to breathe"). [1, 2]
Historical path: It entered Middle English during the 13th century via the Old French words espirit or esprit. [1, 2]
Biblical context: In early Christian translations (like the Latin Vulgate), spiritus was used to translate the Greek pneuma ("breath" or "wind") and the Hebrew ruach ("breath" or "wind"), connecting physical breathing to a divine, animating life force. [1, 2]

Spiritual

Origin: Formed from the adjective spiritualis, meaning "pertaining to spirit" or "of or pertaining to breath/wind". It is a direct derivative of the root word spiritus. [1, 2]
Historical path: It appeared in English around 1300, borrowed via Old French (spirituel) or adapted directly from Medieval Latin ecclesiastical use to mean "of or concerning the spirit or the church". (An older Old English native equivalent was godcundlic). [1]

Spirituality

Origin: Derived from the Late Latin noun spiritualitas (nominative spiritualitatem), built upon the adjective spiritualis.
Historical path: It entered Middle English and Anglo-French in the late 14th century as spiritualite, originally meaning "immateriality" or "church property/the clergy". The modern psychological and religious meaning—the "quality or state of being spiritual"—did not fully emerge in general usage until around 1500 and later.) A Google AI Overview

What are you feeling & thinking? About whether the above explanations' can be understood in the context of Jesus' prophecy of spiritual ascension into heaven? As the reality of heaven being received by the biological reality of your eyes, for example? And the possibility that Jesus' spiritual teachings were never about a supernatural heaven that exists somewhere outside the cosmic reality of space-time? But the reality of earth as heaven, when we resolve the perceptual confusion inherent in language?

And what the current understanding of the experience of spiritual ascension?  Please consider this response to a Google AI question, "what is spiritual ascension?"

(Spiritual ascension is the inner journey of waking up to your true self and expanding your awareness beyond old habits and the ego. Rather than a physical trip to the sky, it is a personal shift in how you experience life. [1, 2, 3]

Core Concepts of Ascension

Expansion: Opening your mind to higher awareness and a deep sense of unity with everything.
Embodiment: Grounding your spiritual lessons into your daily physical life and actions.
Transformation: Moving away from living on autopilot and taking responsibility for your personal growth. [1, 2, 3]

Common Signs of Ascension

Letting Go: Dropping old attachments, toxic patterns, and the need for constant validation.
Heightened Intuition: Feeling a stronger inner voice and noticing more coincidences or synchronicities.
Inner Peace: Experiencing deeper empathy, self-compassion, and quiet calm amid life changes. [1]

Community Perspectives

Most users on Reddit r/awakened agree that spiritual ascension involves realizing that your reality is an internal projection and using emotional challenges as tools to grow into compassion rather than judgment.)

What do you think? About this explanation of spiritual ascension? In the context of my suggestion that the story of Jesus' ascension into heaven, is not meant to be read literally but "allegorically?" As being about the "spiritual-ascension" that emerges from an embodied realization of a spiritual form of blindness, involving language? As we misconceive the reality of earth as heaven, with the judgmental nature of our reality-labeling words? 

And in the context of spiritual ascension and a spiritual form of blindness, that is simply our limited awareness of reality, beyond the imaginatively judgmental nature of language. I mean, imaginatively judgmental in the way we look at the objects we are aware of through the biological nature of our eyesight. And imaginatively think of the words we learned to associate with so many differing objects. 

Yet with no felt-sense awareness of the fact that our thought-words, as the signaling system of language, are actually electrochemical signals traveling between networks of neurons within our brain. Even if we have a thought-sense awareness of this reality through the learned words of neuroscience. Or asked our favorite large language model AI tool "what is the reality of our thought-words inside our brain?" Please consider:

(The reality of our thought-words inside our brain is that they are physical, biological events—specifically, complex patterns of electrical signals and chemical releases that mimic the act of physical speaking. [1, 2]

When you "hear" an internal monologue, your brain is essentially performing a simulated version of overt speech. [1]

The Mechanics: How Thought-Words Exist

From a neurological standpoint, your inner voice is remarkably similar to your outer voice:

• The "Efference Copy" Simulation: When you intend to speak out loud, your brain's motor cortex sends a command to your vocal cords. Simultaneously, it generates a copy of this signal—called an efference copy—and sends it to your auditory cortex. This predicts what your voice will sound like. When you think in words, your brain runs this exact simulation but halts the physical command before it reaches your mouth. [1, 2]
• Neural Mirroring: Brain scans reveal that when you think in words, the same language centers used for physical speech—such as Broca's area (speech production) and Wernicke's area (speech comprehension)—light up. [1, 2]
• The Neurochemical Reality: Thought-words are not floating abstract concepts. Recent research has shown that processing words—even silently—triggers split-second, valence-specific variations of neurotransmitters in the thalamus and cortex, directly modulating your brain chemistry based on the emotional weight of the words. [1]

The Scale: Does Everyone Think This Way?

While it feels like a universal human experience, thinking strictly in words is not reality for everyone. Neuroscientists and psychologists categorize inner experiences into distinct groups: [1]

Mode of Thought	Estimated Population	What the Reality Looks Like
Inner Speaking	~30% – 50%	A consistent internal narrative or dialogue using words, pitch, and timbre.
Inner Seeing / Visual	~30%	Mental movies, images, and spatial arrangements with few or no words.
Unsymbolized Thinking	Varies	Direct awareness of a concept or intention without words or images.
Anendophasia	~5% – 10%	The complete or near-complete absence of an inner voice; thoughts are purely structural or visual.

How Thought-Words Alter Your Physical Reality

Because your brain acts as a prediction engine, it treats internal words as real data. This has measurable consequences on your biology: [1, 2]

• Gene Expression & Stress: Sustained thought-words alter your anatomy. Focusing heavily on threatening or negative words triggers the amygdala, flooding your system with stress hormones. Conversely, focusing on positive words stimulates frontal lobe activity, eventually altering areas like the parietal lobe, which shifts your literal perception of yourself and your surroundings. [1, 2]
• Body Budgeting: Your brain uses thoughts to manage your body’s metabolic resources. A harsh or stressful internal script acts exactly like a physical threat, raising your heart rate and shifting blood pressure. [1]

Ultimately, your thought-words are a controlled hallucination—a biological prediction mechanism designed to help you navigate, plan, and survive the physical world.)

What are you feeling & thinking? About this response to a question about the reality of our "thought-words" in the context of this subheading sections words: Spiritual Ascension & Our Spiritual Form of Blindness? And my suggestion about the imaginatively judgmental way we use language? In the context of the above agreement: "that spiritual ascension involves realizing that your reality is an internal projection and using emotional challenges as tools to grow into compassion rather than judgment?"

Like the emotional challenge of feeling the way, the subconsciously orchestrated and functionally automatic nature of human behavior. Combines with the recursive (this word goes with that word) nature of language, to make us humans feel like we are more conscious of reality, than we actually are? 

Or the emotional challenge of thinking that Jesus' story of ascension, is actually a prophecy of the personal nature of the experience of ascension, involved in a felt-sense, embodied realization that our earth is the objective reality of heaven? Please consider this response to a question for Google's large language model AI: "is it reasonable to suggest that earth is the reality of Biblical idea of heaven, given the vastness of a cosmic environment, that is overwhelmingly hostile to existence of life?"

(Whether it is reasonable to view Earth as the "Biblical heaven" depends entirely on whether you are looking at it through a scientific, philosophical perspective or a traditional theological lens.

From a cosmic and statistical standpoint, your observation is highly logical. However, from a biblical and theological standpoint, the two concepts remain distinct.

Here is a breakdown of how this idea aligns and clashes with different perspectives:

🪐 The Cosmic Perspective: Why Your Suggestion Makes Sense

From a secular or philosophical viewpoint, your argument is incredibly strong.

• The Cosmic Oasis: The universe is billions of light-years of near-vacuum, extreme radiation, and boiling or freezing temperatures. Against this backdrop of overwhelming hostility, Earth is an anomaly of perfect conditions—liquid water, a protective atmosphere, and a thriving biosphere.
• A Functional Paradise: Compared to the lifeless voids of space or the hellish surfaces of Venus and Mars, Earth already possesses the exact qualities of a paradise: it perfectly sustains, nurtures, and celebrates life. In a literal cosmic sense, this is the closest thing to a "heaven" that science has ever observed.

📜 The Theological Perspective: Where It Differs

In mainstream Judeo-Christian theology, Earth and Heaven are distinct, though their relationship is more nuanced than most people realize.

• Heaven as God's Dimension: In the Bible, heaven is not primarily a physical location in outer space; it is the realm of God’s immediate presence. While Earth is subject to decay, suffering, and death, the biblical Heaven is defined by the complete absence of these flaws.
• The "New Earth" Concept: Your idea actually aligns closely with biblical prophecy regarding the end of times. The Book of Revelation does not end with humans living in the clouds. Instead, it describes a "New Heaven and a New Earth" where the heavenly city descends to Earth. In this theological framework, Earth is not Heaven yet, but it is destined to be redeemed and merged with Heaven, making the physical world the ultimate eternal home for humanity.

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Direct Comparison

Concept	The Cosmic Reality (Earth)	The Biblical Heaven
Environment	A rare, fragile oasis surrounded by a hostile cosmic void.	A perfect spiritual realm unaffected by physical decay or danger.
Condition	Beautiful but flawed (marked by suffering, disasters, and mortality).	Flawless (characterized by eternal peace, joy, and the presence of God).
Role of Humanity	Earth is our current, immediate home that we must protect.	Heaven is often viewed as a temporary dwelling before the physical resurrection.

Are you interested in exploring specific biblical texts that talk about the physical Earth becoming a paradise, or would you prefer to look deeper into the astrophysical probabilities of finding another Earth-like planet?)

What are you feeling & thinking about this response? Personally it reminds me of blog posts I wrote back in 2022: The Sentient (feeling) Experience of Heaven. As well as: A Perceptual Wisdom Revolution. In which I wrote:

While during the dawn birth of a day conceived as Thursday and numbered 21/07/2022, two calendar months on from landing in Athens, Greece at approximately 7AM. A further realization dawned within my skull as I flattened 3 images into one with my laptop’s image manipulation software. Three photos of the sun above the horizon at Bondi Beach, Australia that compliment the smartphone video question I asked Facebook friends from Diani Beach, Kenya, just yesterday.

“Where is Heaven?” "If not right here on earth then where within this universe would heaven be?" A video prompted by these self-cross-examination questions, “What am I?” ― “Am I the Cosmos become Conscious?” ― “What is Heaven & Hell?” ― “What is Humanity?” “Why does consensus-reality rule my conscious mind?” ― “If the Bible expresses the history of humanity in allegories and metaphors, who wrote it and what sense of reality informs it?” “What was the inspiration behind gold topped Pyramid and Obelisk structures in Egypt and ancient sayings and stories about creation?”

Questions that cause me to wonder what creation is and examine my relationship with it, and whether I’ve been following a timeless path in my search for the meaning and purpose of life. Since the days of my youth, I have often noticed how sun rays appear through clouds and fan out in triangular, pyramid-like fashion and wondered if this was the natural inspiration for pyramid fashioned structures in the ancient world. So it was no surprise to notice inside Hoffmeier’s book, the passages about the pyramid-like rays of the sun and Akhenaten’s “horizon of the Aten” inspiration for a religious revolution.

And as I finish this post, continuing this series theme of good news that can be preached to the whole world. About the "reality-wise" meaning of Jesus' words "and then the end will come?" Through a conscious realization about our personal experience of perceptual confusion? Enabling an increasingly urgent need to balance humanity's biologically receptive & psychologically projective, experience of consciousness. So that the prophecies of the end of our species perceptual-confusion, may come to world-wide fruition.

I can only hope that I've provided some useful food for thought and body-wise contemplation, about the historical purpose of the Jesus' story. As a practical spiritual prophecy of the personal experience of a perceptual-ascension into, the reality of earth as heaven? Please let me know what you feel and think about this blog post, in the historical context of truth, goodness, & beauty.

Best wishes,

David Bates.

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