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Chuck’s Place: Refine the Divine

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All is divine…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

The central question of our time is the future of our world. We are at an obvious transition point, as we grapple with a virus that has fundamentally challenged every aspect of the way we live. Though there be a wide range of opinion on how to proceed, the challenge to every individual’s core sense of security is undeniable.

When I was a young boy, I badly bungled my attempts to memorize my catechism, nearly costing me entree into sacramental rites. However, one thing I never got wrong: God is everywhere and everything. There is nothing that exists that is not God.

From this perspective, everything that exists, from virus to world leaders, are part of that same Oneness often referred to as God. If we accept the notion that we are all part of the divine, we should consider checking our projective tendency to vilify and demonize any part of our collective Oneness.

On the other hand, the current state of our world is such that there are such divisive and opposing viewpoints that, for either side, there is great difficulty seeing the divinity in the other. Perhaps a perspective that views the world as needing to dance through an extreme cosmic upheaval, and remain standing at the end, can free us from our hatred and depression.

Indeed, if my catechism was correct, we are, as a world, suffering one of the infinite permutations of possibility that exists in the infinite journey we are all on. From the place of equanimity, let us not wish it away or dismiss it but instead, live it fully.

The Hindu holy book, known as The Bhagavad Gita, addresses the dilemma the world currently grapples with. In this epic, a war between royals in the same family is being fought. Arjuna, fighter for one side is counseled by, Krishna, a Hindu equivalent to Christ, who tells him he must fight to fulfill his warrior duty to uphold the cosmic law of selfless action. 

Selfless action means acting without attachment to gain or outcome, simply doing what one feels is right. From that perspective all players have the duty to live out their individual truths. The outcome of such a play is in no way guaranteed, other than it reflects the full meeting of these felt truths.

Truths that are actually veiled distortions inevitably peel away, as they cannot be sustained by the greater truth, which must, of necessity, emerge as the true victor. In this process, the divine is refined and purified. On a pragmatic level, balance is restored to the world, as it finds secure footing.

That which peels away in this molting process must be thoroughly valued  as warriors critical to evolution. We don’t always get to play the hero, but without the antagonist there is no story. For evolution to proceed that which once held the truth must surrender to tomorrow’s new reality.

Thus, Love the ‘Other’ as Thyself. Like Arjuna, play your part, no attachment to the outcome other than that it be the greater truth, for now. Appreciate all that lifts us beyond inertia, as collectively we refine our shared Divinity.

Love,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Soul of Desire

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Soul rising…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Without desire human reproduction would lose its potency; there would be no future generation. At a fundamental level, desire is the vehicle of the High Soul’s intent for human life to continue and evolve.

The human ego possesses the consciousness to act from its own free will. The ego, with this freedom, enjoys its ability to take control over its inherent archetypal promptings, employing its instinctive energies as it sees fit.

Thus, for example, the ego can break ranks with the archetypes governing sexual behavior, in an exploitative way. This is what gives rise to sexual abuse, where the ego chooses to deviate from the inherent rules of sexual behavior, an example of which would be ignoring the incest taboo.

The ego is also freed to engage in sexual relations at any time of month, breaking ranks with the archetypal programs that control hormonal activation of desire at fertile times only. Individuals can create hormonal releases and bodily changes that activate desire through their own mind’s conjuring of fantasy.

Senior citizens can engage in sexual activity without any support from instinctual urging, simply through the spiritual refinement of love for their partner. When does one ever see senior citizen animals engage in sexual behavior?

Freud called the energy of desire libido. Besides supplying the energy for sexual functioning, Freud declared that sublimated libido provided the energy for creativity, and civilization itself.

Yogic science calls the energy of desire kundalini. Kundalini energy rests at the base of the spine. From there, it rises to innervate the ascending chakras, throughout an individual’s lifetime. Spiritual aspirants often close the door to the second chakra, the sexual center, to pressure kundalini to rise through the chakras with the goal of enlightenment.

Shamans call the energy of desire dreaming energy. For shamans, reaching the energy body with lucidity and control are the requirements to explore life beyond the physical body while in human form.

While not explicitly prohibiting sexual activity, shamans encourage their apprentices to accumulate their sexual energy in order to accrue the sum of energy necessary to explore infinity. All religious traditions similarly place a premium on regulating sexual energy for spiritual advancement.

The soul of sexual desire insures our birth as human beings, which then initiates a developmental journey that introduces us to sexual desire, as well as the ability to have power over, and desire for, objects of the material world. For many, this might represent the fullness of life.

For others, that soul journey might rise to the spiritual dimension of love for all interdependent beings, as well as union with the High Soul in infinity.

It could be argued that desire is the High Soul’s vehicle for the ego to ultimately reach love, which is the operating principle of the next stage of human evolution. Beyond the battlefield of now is love, the inevitable victor.

The world will only survive and thrive when it rises to the heart center, where love alone governs human behavior. That journey is fraught with a labyrinth of perils and illusions, but traversing it successfully is the key to the kingdom, both here on Earth and beyond.

For certain, the journey of desire, regardless of its current fixation, is indeed, a journey of soul.

With love for all,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Snow — the Truth Congealed

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Congealed truth…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Water, in its highest aspect is a symbol of our high Soul, the ultimate source of who we really are. Water symbolizes ultimate unity. Lacking in differentiated parts, the river flows in its wholeness: the Tao.

At the level of everyday consciousness, the world is perceived in a highly differentiated way that separates, classifies, and organizes energy into distinct objects that enable an individual to navigate life in a material world.

This perspective has the side effect of obscuring or downright blinding us to our underlying interdependence and oneness and also sends us into deep opposition within ourselves and with our many neighbors.

When snow appears in a dream, it represents the Truth from the high Soul being transmitted to the plane of everyday consciousness in the form of water, congealed. This intervention from the high Soul freezes water into snow, as we are not ready to grasp its full message at our current level of consciousness; we need to first melt the snow.

Melting the snow begins with the recognition that its appearance in the dream is significant. To contemplate its meaning initiates the melting process. It is likely that the message will not be revealed in an immediate eureka moment, though indeed that is possible.

Contemplation has its own limits, as it issues from the mental plane, which tends to think in terms of opposites and differentiated parts. However, reliving vs merely thinking about a dream can give rise to spontaneous associations that begin to decipher the message from the high Soul. In this way, contemplation makes space for direct communication, as well as intuition.

To fully melt the snow, one must enter into communion with the greater unity of the high Soul. From one perspective this means fully owning every aspect of the dream as part of one’s wholeness. Regardless of who the characters are in the dream, their drama, at a certain level, is one’s own drama.

What distinguishes this perspective from narcissism is its willingness to permit a fuller knowing of self, particularly aspects that function autonomously in the darkness of the shadow. Rather than dismiss the existence of other, this approach promotes solidarity with other in a greater acceptance of the universality of all human experience. In contrast, in narcissism, one is the only one who exists; there simply is no other.

Taking a walk in the snow in last night’s dream, I unknowingly found myself nearly falling off a precipice. Time became elongated. I had full clarity that my balance had shifted beyond the tipping point; indeed it seemed I was about to fall. In deep slow motion, I next experienced a counter energy that gently reversed my body movement like a rubber Gumby, as my feet remained planted on the ground. Balance was restored.

This dream speaks to many dimensions of my being, but at the most universal—that of the high Soul—it follows up the message of last week’s blog, The Turning Point. Here the turning point becomes the tipping point, the point of apparent no return. And yet, despite the inevitability of deep crash, balance was restored.

The message from the highest center of unity suggests that though the current Earth drama may go so far as to throw it out of its normal elliptical revolution, a return to balance is possible. Regardless of the deeply exaggerated precipitous ledge we find our world currently in we will swing back.

With this knowing, seek refuge in the heart center, the Truth center that melts all the congealed snow.

Warmly,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Turning Point

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No Pipeline!

On Sunday, The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a project that threatened the sanctity of life on Roberts Mountain, was cancelled by its sponsoring companies. The impact of the coronavirus creating a world energy glut laid bare the truth that the cost of fracking and transporting natural gas via the pipeline was a financial absurdity. Even the recent Supreme Court decision to remove all regulatory roadblocks to the pipeline could not justify this 8 billion dollar project to its investors.

In our joy, Jan and I clearly realized that the world is now in the time of the Turning Point, hexagram number 24 in the I Ching. The corporate  decision was announced between thunderstorms. The Turning Point is composed of thunder beneath the Earth. Five Yin lines rest upon a Yang line at the bottom of the hexagram. The energy of new life is stirring in the Earth, and the heart. The Turning Point is the first substantial sign of long-awaited change; may it be handled with care. Here are the I Ching’s cautionary guidelines, interpreted from and with my personal insights:

Nine in the first place: To stray from the truth of the heart in small digressions is natural, however, be sure to turn around before a habit is formed. If one is enlightened of one’s illusion, shift position and embrace the truth. No shame is attached to abandoning that which does not serve the high Soul or the common good.

Six in the second place: Here the ego is encouraged to quietly subordinate itself to the truth of the heart, the intent of the high Soul. “Quiet”, writes Aurobindo (Powers Within, p. 120), “is a condition in which there is no restlessness or disturbance.” Ego is deeply calm when it acts upon its true vocation, the intent of its high Soul. Meditative practice that masters the automatic reactions of the autonomic nervous system can support this relationship.

Six in the third place: Here we encounter the Sisyphus of constantly doing that which I would not. These are the reversals of good resolutions brought on by the desire body’s influence upon a receptive ego. Ultimately, this is not a disaster; one simply will have to do it over again until one gets it right.

Six in the fourth place: Stay connected to your inner truth. We are surrounded by contrary views and the opinions of others. The power of true connection with one’s high Soul is the only friend one will ever need. There is no need to prove anything to anyone, proof rests in the knowing heart.

Six in the fifth place: Assume responsibility for manifesting your high Soul’s intent for your life. This requires deep self examination and honesty on the part of the ego. Admitting and relinquishing one’s attachment to illusions frees tremendous energy for one’s true mission, the intent of the high Soul.

Six at the top: Beware of blind obstinacy, it leads to misfortune. Refusal to answer the call of the high Soul ensnares one in an ever-deepening rift from right action; a slippery slope into the abyss. Mortality has its limits.

In summary, the time of the Turning Point is most auspicious. The underlying burst of energy to initiate change has arrived. However, as the guidance emphasizes, much effort in shaping needed change rests in the hands of the ego, which must first and foremost wrestle with its humanness.

Humanness is often governed by the inherent archetypes, the ruling parents. We are all children of those archetypes, charged with transcending their governance through arriving at right action, rooted in the truth of the heart center.

Nature is providing us with the thunder, let’s use it wisely.

At the Turning Point,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Endurance

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Kundalini energy rising…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

I would be neglectful indeed, in my duty as a licensed psychotherapist, were I not to validate the obvious current world predicament: walking the razor’s edge of latent collective psychosis. I would also be neglectful in my duty as a transpersonal psychotherapist were I not to share my vision of the multidimensional drama that veils our vision, just as the sands of the Sahara now blanket the world. Beyond the veil of ignorance coated by those desert sands lies the path of heart, the path of our redemption.

Psychosis, in modern psychological nomenclature, depicts a mental state where the ego, as the central governing force of the personality, sinks into the abyss of unconscious forces, as the personality becomes a rudderless ship taken over by the turbulent forces of nature. That violent nature, generally subdued by the matador, is overrun by the bull, the ultimate surge of a bull market, an inflation that refuses to yield to the axiom: what goes up must come down.

In earlier times, when modern psychology was expressed in spiritual terms, our current situation would be understood as the activation of the gods, what we now term the archetypes, competing with their enormous instinctual energies, in a game of chess with humans as their channeled pawns.

From a transpersonal perspective, the war we are in is ego vs archetype. When archetype possesses ego we risk psychosis. Ego’s challenge in such an onslaught, is to endure. To endure is to resist the enticing power and energy of the archetypes, the fine print of which is a truly Mephistophelian contract: total possession, loss of soul, slavery to the activated archetype.

Archetypes are spirit entities that program a species, the deeply subconscious patterns that rule instinctual life. They enjoyed total domination for millennia until the birth of human consciousness, an event that introduced the possibility of refusing or manipulating the emotional intensity and compulsion of instinct.

This power wrestled from the archetypes upset their balance and control over human life. Suppression and repression of instinct renders archetypes dormant but not dead. Jung wrote often, before the outbreak of WWII, that Wotan, the restless wanderer god of pagan origin, was stirring from the primordial depths, seizing control of the collective German psyche.

Inspiration from the archetypes seeks outlet in human life and is channeled, by human egos, in highly emotional spirited messages. The power and energy of these spirit forces are contagious, stirring frenzy in the masses. Their identifying mark is their disdain for reason, the human ego prison guard of instinctual energies. There is no reasoning with an archetype, instinct alone prevails.

Endurance is the capacity of the ego to weather the storms of passion without falling prey to possession. From a chakra perspective this is accomplished by containing the kundalini energy, the energy of the archetypes, forcing it to rise to the level of the heart chakra.

Pragmatically, this means refusing to engage the emotions of anger and sadness that feed the archetypes. Instead, go inward and exert calm over the excited kundalini emotion that begs outlet in excited action. Calm the autonomic nervous system with its typically unregulated dominance over the body. Send its energy through the breath to the cool respite of the heart chakra.

The heart chakra is the direct link to the Buddhic plane, the home of truth, love, and compassion. Kundalini at the level of the heart acquiesces to serve the High SOUL, as the true guide to right action. The pressure of world survival now is to rise to the level of action in conformance with true need over subjective want, it’s that simple.

All humans of all political persuasions are subject to this rising tide of kundalini energy seeking refuge in planetary survival. May the eyes of the masked and the unmasked meet in loving embrace.

From a transpersonal perspective, our current brush with psychosis is really our collective walking along the razor’s edge above the abyss, as we seek the solidity of higher ground.

Humanity is charged with raising the spiritual level of the planet beyond the blind control of the archetypes. The heart center is our destiny. May we endure this grueling transformation fueled with love for all. All for one, one for all.

With loving endurance,

Chuck