Welcome and thanks for your interest in the Church of Dheghemy! So far I have no followers, but I'm trying to fix that situation. :) Dheghemy is a new religion that emphazises collective effort and cooperation along with a more realistic and less dogmatic view of that phenomena which has remained scientifically unexplainable to man's scientific method. I believe that some things are simply unexplainable through reason and that we have to use intuition, or man's "left brain", to look for answers to the mysteries of the universe. Here you will find no God to fear or swear fealty to nor any fiery hell for unbelievers.
Dheghemy is essentially the result of wide reading and piecing together what I see as a cosmic puzzle; it would be hard to credit each philosopher and researcher who has contributed. The person interested in further research is encouraged to consult the works of the British mystic Colin Wilson, especially The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries (1988) and Unsolved Mysteries Past and Present (1992).
Remember that like all new religions this one is still in the process of evolving; hopefully this process will never end and the religion will continue to change with the people who believe in it.
The list below is my basic belief system; I'll add a fancy welcome page and other such stuff once I get around to it.
The word comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "dhghem" meaning "earth". So the word "Dheghemy" could mean "the belief of the earth".
There are eight universes or "states of being" of which the Earth, the life upon it, and all contained in its universe is level one. The goal of the qi (pronounced "key"), which is the being essence of all beings in each universe, is to reach the final (eighth) universe, which is Nirvana, where qi lives in a timeless paradise and gradually fades back into spacetime having completed its journey. In the even numbered universes time has "no forward motion" as Tom Lethbridge, the man who discovered the states of being, said. This means that physical bodies do not exist in these universes.
In each universe each qi must go through multiple existences or "lives" before the qi becomes enlightened enough to move on to the next level. These lives can be as animals or sentient beings such as humans. There is no limit to the number of lives each qi has to go through, therefore the time spent in a certain universe by different qis can vary dramatically.
The qi itself is similar to what other religions call "spirit" but it is not solely immaterial; it has a material side as well in the odd numbered universes where a physical body is required. It can remain suspended as an immaterial form in between different lives or levels, thus is a "ghost" created, although some manifestations called "ghosts" are simply recordings of past events preserved on the spacetime matrix ready to be replayed for those "tuned in to the right frequency".
Tom Lethbridge discovered that the eight levels of being could be detected through the use of a "pendulum", similar to the pendulum on a clock. This particular pendulum is a weight tied to the end of a long rope wound around a spool. Each material has a "vibration rate" (due to the vortex spin of its atoms) that can be rendered as the length of the rope when the vibration is detected. (The pendulum will spin in a circle.) This universe ends at 40 inches of the length of the rope from the weight to the spool, other universes can be detected past 40 inches but they always have a boundary between them at 40 inches.
To maintain correctness of the vibration of the qi and avoid illness which can delay movement between different lives and universes, one must be sure to maintain the purity of the body because this affects qi. Anything that disrupts qi must be avoided. This includes: tattoos, jewelry made of precious metals (a watch made of plastic and/or nonprecious metals is permissible), body piercing, and clothing made of synthetic fibers. Also a strict diet must be followed, basically a merging of Mormon and Jewish dietary laws. Forbidden are: tobacco, alcohol, drugs (except those prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist), pork, shellfish. Also other foods must follow Jewish kosher law as much as possible. Eating food that is not kosher but not specifically prohibited is permissible when a kosher alternative is not available.
One must live by the Four Truths and the Four Duties.
The Four Truths are:
Doing good actions and living by the laws is the way to make sure that the time spent on each level is short and is the way to make the speediest journey to Nirvana.
There is a "hidden directorate" that controls the universes. On Earth, this directorate is represented by Abraham, Jesus (Yeshua) and Muhammad. It is known that the affairs of earthlings are still run by the descendants of Jesus; called Merovingians and centered in France, they are protected by an army called the Priory of Sion. The three people mentioned above were Masters-ones who have reached Nirvana but who have chosen to return to lower levels of being to help others.
There is no single being that can be considered "god" as most religions see him.
The religious holidays are centered in the Holy Season from November 26 to January 1. November 26 and 27 is Shavot, the Celebration of Harvest and of the Founding. The Winter Penitence is between December 25 and January 1. On December 25 a great meal is eaten (as on Shavot) and small gifts are given. Then from December 26 to 31 is the Penitence when one must fast during the day and eat lightly at night. This is a time for repentance of wrongdoing over the past year and to set things right which have been wronged. On January 1 a great meal is eaten to end the Penitence and to celebrate the New Year.
Any person or group who tries to use the Theories and Laws for malevolent purposes shall be declared Unclean and shall be removed from the List of practicing groups. The List shall be kept by an elected List Keeper.
A person is considered an adult when they go through puberty. At this time they can engage in any relation or activity permitted to adults.
There is no formal covenant of marriage, since marriages tend not to last very long and breaking off a covenant which one believes is holy can be psychologically damaging. If a couple wishes to be legally married in order to enjoy legal benefits of marriage, they should go to a local secular authority (such as a judge) to become officially married under local law.
At death a body is cleaned with soap and water to erase the accumulated wrongdoing of their life and is then buried in the ground (cremation is forbidden). All members of a mourning party must help to lower the casket into the ground in some way and then join together in shoveling dirt on top of it.
Either when one has converted during adulthood or is 13 years old he/she is to be anointed with the shofar, a ram's horn containing vegetable oil.
Each collective will be listed in the List when it has reached eight members. The collectives will be designated by a random eight digit number (and no I haven't constructed the device yet).