Chuck’s Place: Trial by Fire

By fire…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Trial is ordeal. Fire is passion! Trial by Fire is enduring the ordeal of passion, a deeply challenging encounter, the encounter of now.

Human passion emanates from the root of our instinctual animal being. When activated our faces redden, our voices growl and howl, our bodies thrash and react involuntarily, seized by the heat of passion. Like flames in a fire, passion flails recklessly.

One step above this hot core of our fiery roots are emotions, which, though flushed with the fire of passion, are somewhat tamed by our ego as they churn in the furnace of our solar plexus. These are the more manageable emotions of anger, frustration, desire, craving, competitiveness, and narcissism.

Finally, at the mental region of the civilized self, are feelings, which have rationally transformed the fire at the root into energetic units of valuation. Here we have our feeling judgments: I like, want, need, am attracted to, am saddened by, repulsed by, made happy by, etc. These rational feelings bear little resemblance or relationship to their passionate roots.

Jung observed that the Christian era, which correlated with the Piscean Age of the past 2000 years, contributed greatly to the advancement of this mental plane in humanity, however, this at the expense of its connection with its earthly passions, which became the province of the rejected devil. Though this internal civil war was won at the spirit mental plane its resulting hegemony is wearing thin upon its devils below.

That brings us to today, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, where those rejected devils have risen up in uncontrollable flames of passion as they sweep the Earth in actual fires, political uprisings, wars on social media, conflict in human relationships, and warring splits within the human psyche. From the outermost perspective the Earth itself has become an alchemical retort with fire its catalyzing agent, as all warring opposites are pitted against each other in a Trial by Fire indeed.

This appears to be the first spiritual challenge of the Aquarian Age: to take on the reconciliation of its formerly disowned passions, at its human animal core, with its high reaching values generated from its abstract mental plane. Apparently, the main technology of the Christian era, keeping separate the animal and mental selves, with the mental plane maintaining superiority, can no longer contain the needs of the self, or the world, as both push for a more comprehensive wholeness.

The unleashing of previously contained fiery passions upon the world stage, with wild abandon and without regret, is the approach stoked by those most in charge of world policy today. Many in the world populace now model this unleashing of fiery passion without restraint upon any who would oppose their positions. This Trial by Fire is producing many casualties. Justified or not, the fact is that these flames are  rapidly burning down the foundation of modern civilization.

All must be where they are in the trial. For many participating in the fiery war of words, the outside world becomes the furnace of their transformative process. No one can be convinced to give up what they are attached to. When we argue and fight, our passions embody us, often at great cost to our energy reserves and inner balance. These battles are renewed in seemingly inexhaustible intensity as the world fights itself on social media.

Nonetheless, detachment is not a choice, it must be achieved. One method is through sheer exhaustion where passion exhausts the body and psyche and survival forces us to ultimately let go. Though  a costly energetic approach, many are convinced that outer protest and confrontation are critical to change.

For those more innerly inclined, the furnace of transformation is the hologram of the self, which makes its worldly contribution through the axiom, as within so without.

To contain within the self all the warring passions of animal and spirit in a heated process—that looks not outside the self for the relief of blame—is a formidable furnace of transformation. Therapy is one such vessel for this process as we confront and own all that we are—passion and spirit—in a journey whose destination is greater wholeness vs. greater domination. As with the outer playing field, the inner playing field must itself arrive at a true place of detachment where truth prevails, special interests burned through.

Trial by Fire is where we are. Know that there is always sanctuary in the human heart. All must have their safe place to release and rejuvenate. Love is the  most inclusive respite, as love can even love the part of the self that hates, but we must burn through much before we can truly inhabit it.

Nonetheless, heart-centered breathing heals the wounds and calms the nerves. Take advantage of it.

From the heart,

Chuck

Soulbyte for Wednesday February 28, 2018

Hold yourself accountable for what you do to yourself, for your own moods and feelings, and for the problems you encounter as you seek to navigate the world. Get yourself in good alignment within the self. Get mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually balanced so that you may feel good and at ease in your body. When you are at one with yourself, the world will be at one with you. As within, so without.

-From the Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Soulbyte for Tuesday February 27, 2018

Who will bring peace to the world now? It must come from everyone, for all of you are part of the great movement of change and transition now underway. Keep peace in your heart, kindness on your tongue, and goodness at your fingertips even as you do the hard work of revealing the brutal truth, within and without. Let good be the most important force, with love and kindness its supporting energies. For without these sturdy attributes no solid base will be constructed. All must partake in creating a new reality now. Do it right. Do it well. Do it with love.

-From the Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Soulbyte for Monday February 26, 2018

Maintain self-awareness. Notice when your body is trying to signal to you that it needs something, that it doesn’t want something, that it is time to pull inward and take care of the self. Get to know how your body speaks to you so that you may also know how your spirit speaks to you. Hone your self-awareness so that you may fully know yourself, body and spirit. In this manner find your balance, within and without.

-From the Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

PS: Raspy voice this morning suggests that I not do an audio channeling as is my normal Monday morning routine. Next channeled “Message from Jeanne” will be next Monday!

Soulbyte for Friday February 23, 2018

Anger is deadly fire. Fear is encapsulated emotion. Anger and fear together create a boiling cauldron out of which is sure to burst a storm of deadly, all-consuming fury. Work with your own anger to resolve it. Let your own fear become known and dismantle it. This is the work to be done so that your own cauldron may be a gently simmering pot of all that you are, all ingredients known, selected for their nurturing qualities, in proper proportions and cooked to perfection. Go inward and do the work of the self in these times of outer turmoil. It is what is needed now.

-From the Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne