High Soul behind the mist, never doubt it… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
The settings and characters of dreams come from many dimensions of being, but it is one’s High SOUL, or High Self if you prefer, that brings the dream. We might become lucid and change the direction of a dream, but this is consciousness only responding to High SOUL’S challenge to move life in a new direction, not the ego originating its own dream.
If we are able to exercise faith by suspending judgment, and with great concentration, call upon High SOUL to respond to our request, we might indeed invoke a response from High SOUL in the most powerful of dream experiences. Nonetheless, the bringer of the requested dream remains the High SOUL.
Suspending judgment means suspending the dominance of the mental plane which tends to splinter our will. Thinking uses opposition and contrast to build its arguments and conclusions. Opposing thoughts inspire doubts, generating internal civil war. Civil war consumes the energy of the splintered mind, neutering the opportunity to reach the transpersonal dimension of being.
High SOUL resides in the transpersonal realm. To reach it we need focused energy intent on connection. Suspending judgment does not dismiss the value of rationality, it merely shelves it while it sets out to open to the possibility of direct communication with the Divine, that is its High SOUL.
Regardless of our ability to gather our energy for focused connection, High SOUL delivers us everyday its communications and blessings in the dreams it brings us. Even nightmares fit the bill!
To wake ourselves up from a nightmare is High SOUL seeing to our growth. To not attach to a nightmare is High SOUL teaching us to navigate. To be forewarned by a nightmare is High SOUL manifesting as guide.
Dreams of immoral delight are High SOUL revealing to us the depths of our shadow. Dreams with departed loved ones are High SOUL offering reunions and opportunities to complete karma. Dreams that suggest what the future might be are High SOUL pre-cognitively preparing us for the inevitable vicissitudes of life and death.
Dreams that reflect our highest conscious aspirations are High SOUL cheering us on to stay the course. Dreams that manifest our doubts are High SELF highlighting our hidden forebodings. Dreams out of body are High SELF allowing us to truly be more than our physical bodies.
Offer deep thanks and praise to High SOUL, bringer of dreams. Suspend judgment and give yourself permission to love and embrace your highest of all SOULMATES, High SOUL, bringer of dreams!
Elmer Green tells of his 1941 vision dream shortly after his marriage to Alyce. In the dream he opens a zipper bag and pulls out two gold sweaters, one for each of them, each with the purple colored number 47 sewn into them.
When he asks his Teacher the meaning of 47, he is told that 4 means squaring with 7, the number of Divine Law. To square with Divine Law is to become akarmic, where the personality “no longer generates effects in the world for its own personal reasons” ( From The Ozawkie Book of the Dead, by Elmer Green, p. 233.)
Jan reminds me that Jeanne died at 47. She indeed squared with her karma. Her guidance to this world is pure, reflecting the highest intent of SOUL.
The monk, Tsung Tsai, stares unblinkingly at the sorcerer, Mr. Lei, who in trance rings three bells for three non-stop hours. In the end, Mr. Lei stops, soaked in perspiration, and exits.
“Mr. Lei is finished” states Tsung Tsai. “He tries to chant me. Take my power… I am too strong for him. Simple monk have freedom. Freedom has power.” (From Bones of the Master, George Crane, p. 290.)
Simple monk has mastered detachment from the lower chakras, squaring with karma attached to the material world. Sorcerers are masters of control of the material world. They conjure, control, and delight in their ability to manipulate sentient life and the physical world.
The key to Tsung Tsai’s power is, like the Buddha, to stare unflinching at the delightful and fearful offings of Maya, refusing to gasp, grasp, or attach. In calm emptiness of desire, sorcery has no hook, one is freed to square with karma.
Have love and respect for the sorcerer. The sorcerer sacrifices its soul to challenge the warrior. Only through such challenges will warriors find their way on their path of heart.
The sorcerers in the temple challenged Christ to face his rage. Darth Vader challenged his son, Luke, to move beyond the dark side of the force through reaching the place of no pity: pure non-attachment. In non-attachment there is only allegiance to the truth and right action. In getting to non-attachment, the personal has been fully squared with.
We are living in a time of great sorcery, as spirits from all sides prepare for encounter. As the Gita counsels, all sides are necessary players in this cosmic war, this day, the day of the solstice, the longest day of the year.
The opportunity to square with Divine Law, to stare unflinchingly without gasping, grasping, or attaching is Tsung Tsai’s guidance. 47 is Jeanne’s guidance, who incidentally was born on June 21st.
In the light of day the solid world appears safely discernible. As darkness approaches the discernible melds into blackness. Anxious anticipation and fear replace confidence and security, as that which awaits in the darkness draws near.
“Go to the light” is the guidance of spiritual traditions. We turn on the lights to dominate the night, to safely traverse night’s feared demons. Home security systems promise protection from real or imagined demonic projections upon the darkness.
But what is the truth of those inner demonic projections, so frequently veiling the truth of the night? Jung appropriately named that disowned portion of the psyche, that which lives in the shadow. For Freud, the personal portion of the shadow was the sequestered human animal, whose sexual and aggressive politically incorrect impulses were relegated to wish fulfillment dreams.
Jung extended the reach of the shadow into all the unknown dimensions of self. Just the venture of letting go of ego control in the journey of sleep is a leap of faith. Who can guarantee that a night’s sleep will deliver them into life in a new day?
Dream is a natural entry point into the subtle spirit realm. As the body sleeps, the spirit naively launches into journeys in infinity. Will it safely return? Will its cord to the physical body remain intact?
What encounters will the spirit face beyond Freud’s wish fulfillments or repressed sins? Beyond the personal lies the collective, replete with entities unsettled and seeking. How will spirit handle these encounters? Will it be drawn into heavens of delight, or into hells of terror? These are the challenges of the journey of the dark night of the soul.
Beyond the collective lies the transpersonal, the light of the high SOUL. But the truth is that high SOUL is the Yin/Yang of white and black. In blackness is latent spirit. In light is spirit manifest. The light of the manifest requires shadow. Without contrast there is nonexistence.
To seek the safety of the light without owning one’s contrasting shadow ill prepares one for one’s true spiritual journey. One must reckon with and explore the fullness of one’s unknown self to avoid the trap of negative projection upon blackness, and the false security of clinging to the one-sidedness of the light.
All beings are black and white. To achieve the lightness of being needed for true ascension we must reconcile with, own, and treasure this wholeness. Without the darkness of the unknown our heaven in infinity would terminate in boredom. Without the light of consciousness to navigate the darkness we’d surely lose our way.
Inextricably united, may black and white journey in oneness into that good night.
Buddha sending out the right vibration… – Photo by Chuck Ketchel
At first glance, the title, Extraverted Meditation, would appear to be a contradiction in terms. Typically, extraversion is understood as an individual’s dominant orientation to focus on the outside world, particularly as pertains to relationships and the opinions of others. In contrast, meditation is generally viewed as an introverted practice that deeply withdraws from the sensations and influences of the outer world.
In Jung’s time, when East truly began to meet West, particularly as regards spiritual practice, he warned that the extraverted orientation of the Western psyche was ill-suited for rapid wholesale adoption of Eastern meditation practices. Nonetheless, as he himself encountered the depths of the collective unconscious, in the visions and active imagination he documents in The Red Book, he practiced yogic asanas to ground his ego.
In fact, despite the almost total focus on the brain of modern Western psychological research, the bottomline focus and interventions prescribed by most Western therapists come straight out of Tibetan mindfulness and Yogic meditation practices.
These are the assignments given to ego to still the central nervous system into a state of calm. Nonetheless, the reigning mantra and New Year’s resolution from most people is, “I have to get back to my meditation.”
The power of outer world events, particularly in the time we are in, is impossible and perhaps inadvisable to fully screen from one’s attention. This, coupled with the dominant extraverted orientation of Western civilization, undermines the coveted but under-practiced aspiration to meditate. How can the Western psyche, perhaps even the world psyche, adapt the powerfully beneficial practice of meditation in the flux of such an unsettled outer world?
The key, as in all meditation, is to begin with focus on the body. If the goal of meditation is detachment from the ill effects of outer world sensory impressions upon the sanctity of the self, the body can be seen as the central registry of all sensory inputs.
All of our senses receive input through the physical body. Our thoughts, with their associated emotions, register in the body as well. Thus, active inner attention to the body in outer activity and interaction is a valid playing field for meditation.
Place the index finger of one hand upon the wrist of the other hand. Keep awareness upon the index finger experiencing the sensations within itself as it meets the solid boundary of the wrist. Notice the vibration of touch.
Shift awareness exclusively to the wrist. Notice its sensations of being touched. Feel the vibration of being touched. Alternate awareness slowly from toucher to touched. Now, allow these two distinct perspectives of touch to merge into a single vibratory union of touch, union of self.
Carry awareness of body into the world. Open to an image in the media. Notice its vibration; study its energy. Shift awareness to the body. Notice its impact upon the heart, upon the muscles, upon the breath. With awareness, restore the body’s organs to calm. Release all clenching; intend deep peace. Embrace the integrity of self in calm vibration.
Return gaze to the outer image, notice its vibration, its intent. Return awareness to the body. Notice any impact of image upon inner vibration. Restore the integrity of calm vibration. Repeat dual attention until outer image is completely neutralized, your inner vibration a steady flame.
Interact with the world. Notice the impact on the body in encounter with other. Use awareness to calm the heart, unclench the muscles, and silence the mind. The mind is silenced with awareness focused on body sensation, intended to calm.
Notice the words, the emotional intensity, the intent of the other. See the vibration of the other’s motive. Notice the inner impact of that vibration upon one’s body. Choose to maintain one’s inner vibration of calm. Use the breath to steady the body. Use intent to maintain inner calm, with attention given to where the body feels impacted. Dissolve into love of the oneness of everything.
These are some suggestions for extraverted meditation. Allow every moment, whether innerly or outerly focused, to become a meditative opportunity. Gradually expand the oneness of self with the oneness of everything. “Got to keep those vibrations, vibrations a happening to me…”
Good good good, good vibrations!
Chuck
Check out Brian Wilson’s live enhanced Good Vibrations from his album Smile. Notice the South African insert.
Stay focused on the truth of the light… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
Worry issues from the mind, located in the astral body, in the form of a thought, wrapped in emotion, that is transmitted to the central nervous system of the physical body, which then activates a biological response for action. This often results in the sensorial experience of shallow breath and racing pulse, the very definition of anxiety.
The genesis of a thought that first attracts the attention of the mind, the mental component of the astral body, has multiple points of origin. Thoughts are independent energetic units that roam the universe in search of receptive minds willing to seed their potential. Human beings are natural storytellers, always in search of a fertile thought.
Thoughts can also be self generated by the mind itself, particularly in individuals who live mostly in their minds, largely dissociated from their physical bodies as they navigate life in abstract thought.
Thoughts can also issue from the largely subconscious section of the mind in the regions beneath consciousness. These include the rejected parts of self, what Jung called the shadow, as well as the preprogrammed archetypes that run the programs of the physical body.
The subconscious also houses the history of all human experience, what is esoterically called the Akashic library, what Jung called the shared collective unconscious of humankind. Psychics, like Edgar Cayce, tap this source of knowledge in trance in search of healing prescriptions for the afflicted.
At the superconscious level, thoughts issue from the transcendental realm of the high SOUL, wisdom and guidance offered, generated through the solicitation of consciousness seeking truth.
When a thought is presented to, or generated by, the mind, a decision is made whether to focus continued attention upon the thought or to dismiss it from further consideration. Generally, the thought arrives with enough of an energetic charge to attract attention. That charge is a feeling; the thought might be pleasing or potentially frightening.
If consciousness chooses to attach its continued concentration upon the thought, it gains in emotional momentum, as a potential drama begins to formulate in the mind. This abstract astral body play attracts a physical audience, as emotions activate chemical processes in the body that take on physical form. These can include tightening of muscles, racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, headache, etc.
Subjectively, these sensations are experienced as a myriad of feelings and emotions that gain in intensity as the mind continues to allow the drama to deepen its plot. The worry of many a sleepless night is a function of this runaway train of thought and emotion, as it writes its story on the astral plane and engages the body as its captive audience.
The crux of worry is attachment. The core goal of all meditation is non-attachment to thought, a formidable goal given the attractive power of thoughts, incessantly seeking a home through grabbing the mind’s attention.
The time we live in is rampant with thoughts of all persuasions, crudely pressing to infiltrate our minds. How challenging to avoid these thoughts that so quickly activate intense emotions. Emotions are the energizers of action. Calls to action abound, constantly bombarding the mind’s autonomy.
The most rudimentary action one can take to free oneself from such influence is to limit exposure to the marketplace of thoughts that seek every avenue to attach to one’s mind. For instance, limiting one’s exposure to news and social media.
Of course, to be oblivious to the events of the world is not recommended, however, regulating exposure time can stop the development of unnecessary pictures that merely drain vital energy. Furthermore, through saving one’s attentive energy from outer influence, one is available to guidance that is always synchronistically available but rarely received, as all energy is monopolized by abstract possibilities.
Synchronicity is guidance from the superconscious, the fourth dimension of the high SOUL. Reading this energy from infinity, in all of nature, often presents a perspective of such depth that the mind and emotion of the astral body sends deeply calming impulses to the physical body. The nightmare of thought is branded illusion, as one is enveloped by love and awe.
Trust deepens in the guidance of the light of the high SOUL, as synchronicity is recognized as the true harbinger of the truth. Even without any knowledge of outside events, synchronicity will safely and appropriately guide action.
If thoughts, like weeds, manage to find their way into the mind’s garden, weeding involves refusal to nourish the unwanted intruder. This calls upon the discipline of shifting one’s attention away from the developing plot. Thoughts require the active participation of the mind’s attention to continue to write their lines. Unattended thoughts either wither and die or leave, seeking new takers to feed their hunger for life.
One shift could be to focus one’s astral attention on the physical body, with the intent of deep relaxation and calming suggestions. The body is largely governed by its astral body partner’s suggestions. Positive affirmations result in physical calm.
Another practical shift is to walk in a different direction, literally changing one’s physical posture and direction. The mental focus accompanying the shift is the repeated mantra, NO WORRY.
Take command of the mind’s capacity for attention. Consider orienting that attention to the communications of the high SOUL, passing on its directives to the physical body. And, if you happen to get caught in a worry, no worry. Shift, find the light, and follow it.
