Interview

Counter-Initiation 

Definition: This concept refers to a counterfeit spirituality that mimics true tradition but directs the soul away from God, operating as a "great conspiracy theory" that embraces all others. Historical Context: Originally developed by the French metaphysician René Guénon, particularly in his book The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, this idea is used by Upton to analyze modern phenomena like the UFO movement and centers of global power.

The Greater Jihad 

Definition: This term denotes the internal spiritual battle against the nafs (the lower soul or ego) to subdue its impulses and clear the heart for the contemplation of God. Historical Context: The concept originates from a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, who told warriors returning from a physical battle that they were moving from the "lesser jihad" to the "greater jihad" against the soul.

The Covenants of the Prophet 

Definition: These are treaties and documents issued by the Prophet Muhammad that grant protection, religious freedom, and support to Christian and other non-Muslim communities. Historical Context: Although historically based on documents like the Ashtiname granted to St. Catherine's Monastery, Upton and Dr. John Andrew Morrow revived this initiative between 2013 and 2020 as a counter-narrative to the rise of ISIS.

The Transcendent Unity of Religions 

Definition: This doctrine posits that while the external forms (exoterism) of revealed religions are unique and distinct, their inner esoteric cores converge toward a single, absolute truth. Historical Context: This is the central tenet of the Traditionalist (or Perennialist) school, articulated by figures like Frithjof Schuon to oppose both religious exclusivity and the "shapeless mishmash" of liberal ecumenism.

The Human Form 

Definition: The human being is viewed as the central, comprehensive manifestation of God on earth, containing the reflection of all Divine names, which makes the preservation of human integrity a spiritual imperative. Historical Context: Rooted in Islamic theology where Adam is the viceregent of God who taught the angels the names of things, this concept is currently used by Upton to argue against transhumanism and alien hybridization narratives.

UFOs as Jinn 

Definition: The UFO phenomenon is interpreted not as extraterrestrial technology, but as the manifestation of the Jinn, a class of interdimensional beings capable of shapeshifting and interacting with the physical world. Historical Context: While the Jinn are an ancient pre-Islamic and Islamic concept of invisible beings created from smokeless fire, Upton applies this cosmology to explain the deceptive and paranormal aspects of modern alien encounters.

The Great Wall (Etheric Barrier) 

Definition: This refers to a protective energy barrier separating the physical world from the subtle or psychic realm, which is currently cracking to allow "infra-psychic" forces to invade the material plane. Historical Context: René Guénon adapted this concept from the Quranic story of Dhul-Qarnayn building a wall against Gog and Magog to describe the spiritual degeneration of the latter days.

Antinomianism 

Definition: This is the belief that a spiritual elite or "elect" transcends moral and religious law, often justifying behavior that violates established orthodoxies. Historical Context: Upton utilizes this term to critique the later behavior of his former intellectual mentor, Frithjof Schuon, who claimed adherence to Sharia law while engaging in practices like sacred nudity that contradicted it.

The Nafs (Soul/Self) 

Definition: In Sufi psychology, this is the self-identity or soul that progresses through stages of development, from commanding evil to self-accusation, and finally to a state of peace and submission to God. Historical Context: This anthropology is derived from the Quran and elaborated upon by Sufi masters to explain the obstacles preventing the heart from reflecting the Divine.

Fana and Baqa 

Definition: These twin concepts describe the annihilation of the limited ego (Fana) and the subsequent subsistence of the soul in the presence of God (Baqa). Historical Context: These are classical Sufi terms describing the ultimate goal of the spiritual path, where the individual identity is extinguished to reveal the Divine presence.

Traditionalist Metaphysics 

Definition: This is a systematic science of the "Real" that maps the hierarchy of being (ontology) and the method of knowing it (epistemology), positing an Absolute reality from which all else descends. Historical Context: Drawing on the Scholastic definition of science found in Thomas Aquinas and Eastern traditions, this approach counters modern academic philosophy by linking intellectual knowledge directly to spiritual realization.

The System of Antichrist 

Definition: This concept identifies the collective ego of humanity, driven by fear and the desire to escape consequences, as a force that will manifest as a deceptive savior figure or system in the end times. Historical Context: Upton draws upon Christian and Islamic eschatology regarding the "Deceiver" (Al-Dajjal) to diagnose modern geopolitical and technological trends.

Psychic vs. Spiritual 

Definition: A crucial distinction is made between the psychic realm (subjective, imaginal, intermediate) and the spiritual realm (objective, Divine, absolute), noting that confusing the two leads to deception. Historical Context: This distinction was emphasized by René Guénon to differentiate true mysticism from the phenomena-chasing of spiritualism and the occult movements of his time.

The Alien Disclosure Deception 

Definition: This theory posits that a faction of the global elite is utilizing the demonic/Jinn phenomenon of UFOs to engineer a new, anti-religious, transhumanist religion to unify humanity under a false banner. Historical Context: Upton links this idea to statements by figures like General Douglas MacArthur and transhumanist William Sims Bainbridge regarding the utility of a "space religion" to supersede traditional faiths.

The Breaking of Habits 

Definition: Miracles and paranormal events are described not as violations of natural law, but as disruptions in the habitual patterns of God’s continuous creation. Historical Context: This perspective is rooted in the Islamic theological view (occasionalism) that God is the only actor and what we call "natural law" is simply His habitual way of acting.

Glossary of key terms

Traditionalist Metaphysics & Philosophy

• Tradition (with a capital T): The basic truth of God, His relationship to the universe, and the human being's relationship to the Divine and the cosmic order, which has always been known by the human race since its beginning.
• Anti-Tradition: A worldview characterized by materialism and secularism that rejects "hocus pocus" in favor of a "nuts and bolts" scientific reality; historically associated with the 19th century.
• Pseudo-Initiation: A "fantasy religion" or spiritual movement, such as much of the New Age, which lacks a connection to a true revealed tradition but is generally harmless compared to counter-initiation.
• Counter-Initiation: Described as "the big conspiracy theory that embraces all others," this is a counterfeit spirituality that mimics true tradition but directs the soul away from God, moving from the periphery of occult societies into centers of global power.
• Perennialism: The belief that the truth of God and the universe has always been known and transmitted through the human race, sometimes openly and sometimes clandestinely, appearing in our time as the esoteric cores of major world religions.
• The Transcendent Unity of Religions: The doctrine that while the external forms (exoterism) of religions are unique and distinct, their inner, esoteric cores converge toward a single, absolute truth, uniting in God rather than in a worldly amalgamation.
• Metaphysics: Defined by Upton as a systematic way of knowing (epistemology) combined with a recognition of the structure of reality (ontology), tested by an experimental method (the spiritual/moral life).
• Ontology: The science of being and the structure of reality, arranged in a hierarchy from the material to the subtle, psychic, celestial, and finally to Absolute Being.
• Epistemology: The science of knowing; in metaphysics, it refers to how one realizes and understands the hierarchy of being through contemplation and spiritual practice.
• Antinomianism: The belief that members of a spiritual elect or "higher caste" are beyond moral or religious law; Upton uses this to critique the later behaviors of Frithjof Schuon.
• Syncretism: The mixing of different religious traditions or doctrines in a way that compromises their integrity; Upton contrasts "promiscuous" ecumenism with the respectful distinctness required in Traditionalism.

Sufi & Islamic Terminology

• Nafs (The Soul/Self): The self-identity or ego that creates turbulence and distraction, preventing the heart from contemplating God; it must be educated and pacified.
  • Nafs al-ammara (Commanding Self): The soul dominated by impulse and desire. ID (or Base Ego)
  • Nafs al-lawwama (Accusing Self): The level of the troubled conscience that struggles against its own imperfections. Super Ego
  • Nafs al-mutma'inna (Self at Peace): The pacified soul that submits to God's will and becomes a mirror for the Divine. Ego (Better term is Eu-Ego)
• Al-Qalb (The Heart): The center of the human being where the essential attention focus (Locus); it is the "city" where the battle between the spirit (Ruh, superego) and the ego (Nafs, base ego/ID) takes place, and the only vessel capable of containing God (Eu-Ego). 
• The Greater Jihad: Based on a Hadith of the Prophet, this is the internal spiritual war against the soul (nafs) to subdue it, distinguished from the "lesser jihad" of physical warfare.
• Fana: The annihilation of the limited, self-referential ego or identity in the presence of God.
• Baqa: Subsistence in God; the state remaining after annihilation where the individual acts as a pure reflection or presence of the Divine.
• Dhikr (Invocation/Remembrance): The central practice of Sufism involving the continuous remembrance of God, often through the repetition of His name, to maintain awareness of His presence.
• Barakah: Spiritual grace or influence.
• Sharia: The religious law and moral framework of Islam; Upton argues that true esoterism must remain grounded in this exoteric framework.
• Tanzil vs. Tasbih: Tanzil refers to God's absolute transcendence and unknowability (incomparability), while Tasbih refers to His similarity or comparability to His creation.

Cosmology, Paranormal, and Entities

• Jinn: A class of beings created from "smokeless fire" (subtle energy) that occupy a realm between humans and angels; they are shapeshifters capable of interacting with the physical world and include both faithful believers and demons.
• The Great Wall (Etheric Barrier): A protective energetic barrier separating the physical world from the subtle/psychic world (associated with the Quranic figure Dhul-Qarnayn). Upton posits this wall is currently "cracking," allowing infra-psychic forces to invade the physical plane.
• Alam al-Mithal (Imaginal Plane): A layer of reality where spiritual meanings are dramatized as images; it serves as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds.
• UFO Phenomenon: Interpreted by Upton not as extraterrestrial technology, but as a manifestation of the Jinn/demonic forces utilized by human power structures to engineer a new, anti-religious belief system.
• The Breaking of Habits: The Islamic theological definition of a miracle; since God is the only true actor, a miracle is simply a disruption in the habitual patterns of His creation rather than a violation of natural law.
• Metempsychosis/Transmigration: Accepted by René Guénon instead of literal reincarnation; it refers to the passing of psychic residues or memories from a deceased person to a living one, or the movement of the soul through various states of being, rather than the return of a specific "person" to a new human body.

Social Criticism & Eschatology

• Apocalypse: Literally "unveiling" or revelation; the time when the collective karma and hidden realities of the human race come to the surface, and idols (false absolutes) are overthrown.
• The System of Antichrist: The manifestation of the collective human ego, driven by fear and the desire to escape consequences, which seeks a deceptive savior or system to solve human problems without God.
• The Human Form: The central, comprehensive manifestation of God on earth, reflecting all Divine names. Upton argues that preserving the integrity of the human form against transhumanism and genetic modification is a primary spiritual duty of the end times.
• Alien Disclosure Deception: The theory that global elites are using the UFO/Jinn phenomenon to create a unified, Luciferian, technocratic religion to supersede traditional faiths.
• Kali Yuga: The Hindu term for the "Dark Age" or the final phase of the cycle of manifestation, characterized by the solidification of the material world and the loss of spiritual knowledge.
• Covenants of the Prophet: Historically documented treaties issued by the Prophet Muhammad granting protection and rights to Christian and other non-Muslim communities, which Upton and Dr. John Andrew Morrow revived to counter the narrative of ISIS.