A Monument to Mummified Cats and Meditation of Sexual Ecstacy

Supreme Court to consider Ten Commandments vs. 'Seven Aphorisms'
Must a city park that displays one monument also permit others'?

U.S. appeals court in Denver extended this free-speech rule to cover the monuments, statues and displays in a public park. It ruled in favor of a religious group called Summum, which says it wants to erect its "Seven Aphorisms of Summum" next to the Ten Commandments in Pioneer Park in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

...

"We're delighted that the Supreme Court agreed to take this critical case," said a statement by Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the conservative American Center for Law and Justice, which filed an appeal for Pleasant Grove.

I read Steve Benen's This Week in God regularly, and found out about this at his blog today. This is going to be interesting. There could not be a group more perfectly suited to make this point. It reminds me of how perfect Larry Flynt was to make the point he made.

Because if the First Amendment will protect a... What did Grutman call me? A scumbag. A scumbag like me... then it'll protect all of you.

-Larry Flynt

Larry Flynt's not a scumbag, and neither are the Summumians. Both just represent extremes, extremes that illustrate points that need illustrating.

We've all heard about this before, the weird "religion" that wants to put up their seven commandments monument next to a 10 Commandments monument in some little bible thumper town. They're into meditation and yoga and mummification and orgies and ... they started in the 70's when their leader, Corky somebody, got a message from aliens... or something.

I had some fun brushing up on Summum, and their beliefs, practices and services. I thought I'd share some of the interesting things I found.

Seven Summum Aphorisms

The first set of stone tablets was not inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Rather, they contained aphorisms of a Higher Law that held very profound and deep meanings. During his life, Moses had been initiated into an understanding of the inner, esoteric source of these aphorisms -- aphorisms that outlined principles underlying Creation and all of nature.

When Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the first set of tablets containing the aphorisms, he observed the immature behavior and attitude of the Israelites. Moses realized they were incapable of understanding the principles of Creation and were in no way ready for them. So Moses destroyed the stone tablets and revealed the aphorisms to a select few. 3

Moses returned to Mount Sinai and received a second set of tablets, tablets inscribed with lower laws that were more readily and easily understood by the Israelites. Upon those tablets were inscribed the Ten Commandments, basic laws that would provide a means for the Israelites to guide and develop themselves.

(emphasis added)

So not only did the 7 Principles come before the 10 Commandments, but they represent a Higher Law. The 10 Commandments are just some lower, basic laws meant to keep the savage Christian hordes from hatcheting each other to death en masse before they got a chance to "develop".

They weren't ready for the true enlightenment of the 7 Aphorisms.

Love it!

"The Principles of knowing Creation are seven; those who know these possess the Magic Key to whose touch all locked doors open to Creation." -- Summum

The seven great Summum Principles upon which the Summum Philosophy is based are as follows:

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF PSYCHOKINESIS

"SUMMUM is MIND, thought; the universe is a mental creation."

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE

"As above, so below; as below, so above."

3. THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION

"Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF OPPOSITION

"Everything is dual; everything has an opposing point; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes bond; all truths are but partial truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."

5. THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM

"Everything flows out and in; everything has its season; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing expresses itself in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates."

6. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

"Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is just a name for Law not recognized; there are many fields of causation, but nothing escapes the Law of Destiny."

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER

"Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all levels."

I guess that's what the monument will say. Sounds reasonable to me. Nothing offensive or obscene about any of that. Their founder and leader Corky Ra died recently. His following included hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Why is their speech (in their ability to erect monuments) less free than any Christian group?

Inside a bronze-colored pyramid off Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City, Corky Ra, the founder of the homegrown spiritual group, Summum, is reportedly submerged in a vat of mummification fluids.

The man who was born Claude "Corky" Rex Nowell and raised in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died at the end of January, said a Summum official. He was 63.

Summum, a Latin term meaning "the sum total of all creation," made national headlines Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from the city of Pleasant Grove, which wants to block Summum from displaying its own monument beside the Ten Commandments in a municipal park. That monument, if erected, would include Summum's seven guiding principles.

Mummification. It's a service offered by Summum. For $71,000 you can arrange to have your body shipped to them and mummified when the time comes. Your loved ones will receive a custom sarcophagus or "mummiform" that can be as simple or elaborate as you chose. Inside will be you, mummified. See Mummification of Transference for details.

No human has taken advantage of their service yet, but people have had their pets... done:

Spiritual Will, Arrangement Form, and Donation (pdf forms)

A Spiritual Will, Mummification Arrangement Form, and Donation must be received by Summum before you send your pet to us.

It will be necessary for you to draft a Spiritual Will for your pet. Click here for instructions on preparing a Spiritual Will.

Fill out and sign two (2) copies of the Pet Mummification/Transference Arrangement Form.

Contact Summum to verify the cost. You may make your donation by credit card, personal check, money order, or cashiers check.

Send the Spiritual Will, Agreement, and Donation by next day delivery to Summum. Once we receive everything, we will review it to make sure things are in order. Then we will have you transport your pet to us.

Prepare the Animal
(pdf brochure)

1. Obtain a watertight container such as a cooler large enough to hold your pet lying on a bed of ice.

2. If the animal is dirty, please wash and clean him.

3. Place your pet in a plastic bag.

4. Fill the container with as much ice as possible but leave enough room so that you can place your pet on top of the ice. Do not use dry ice.

5. Place a towel on top of the ice and lay your pet on top of the towel. Then cover your pet with another towel.

6. Close the container securely.

7. As an alternative, until it comes time for transport, you may keep the animal in a refrigerator if possible and appropriate. We do not recommend freezing the animal as freezing breaks down tissue cells.

Yes. If one group believes their 10 Commandments should be displayed in the public square, another group should have the same right, even if they mummify cats for a living. Even if they believe that "all progression and evolution is effected through sexual ecstasy":

Ancient & Modern
Religious Sexual Teachings

The origins of the world's fertility rites evolved out of an ancient knowledge that combined meditation with sexuality to commune with the Divine.

For "Man and Woman are
that they may have Joy."
-- Summum

It is a philosophy that addresses sexuality in an intelligent, open, and responsible manner. One that encourages healthy sexual relationships rather than promotes guilt about sexuality. One that says it's ok to masturbate and that oral sex can be wonderful. One that accepts homosexuality as well as heterosexuality.

No guilt about sexuality. Talk about Aphorism # 4, THE PRINCIPLE OF OPPOSITION:

"Everything is dual; everything has an opposing point; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes bond; all truths are but partial truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."

One of the methods of meditation we promote is the Meditation of Sexual Ecstasy.

Summum ... maintains that everything is an effect of this grand copulation. As such, Summum treats sexuality as a divine and integral part of spiritual evolution and defines "ecstasy" as "the state of union with God." The teachings surrounding this meditation are that all progression and evolution is effected through sexual ecstasy. From the smallest subatomic particle to the highest forms of life, every element, at its level of consciousness, experiences sexual ecstasy in its bond-making and bond-breaking. This meditation, along with the other meditations taught at Summum, awakens you to your spirit. Awakening you to your spirit is what Summum considers to be genuine religion.

So they've got something better than the 10 Commandments, the 7 Aphorisms. The 7 Aphorisms came first, they represent higher law, and they hold the true keys to the universe. And they mummify cats. And they get a little freaky wid it.

No religion has any more right than this one to place their monument in the public square. No religion could more perfectly illustrate this point than Summum. I say give them their monument or take yours down.

From This Week in God:

Local officials in this case want to allow the Ten Commandments (which they like) to be promoted on public property, but want to reject the “Seven Aphorisms of Summum” (which they don’t like). When officials say they support more public endorsement of religion, they mean their religion.

Here’s the funny part: Pleasant Grove is getting legal assistance from TV preacher Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice.

Yes, the legal group that brags about its efforts to get state-sponsored religion on public property is helping a local government keep a religious group from erecting a religious monument.