All posts by Chuck

Chuck’s Place: No One Knows

No one knows…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

In 1892, Thomson Jay Hudson discovered a truth that, when it is fully realized, will change the course of human evolution and civilization. Hudson discovered, through his own exhaustive experiments, that anonymously intending the healing of another person results in the genuine healing of that person.*

The technology for this healing is the use of a healing suggestion directed to the subconscious of an afflicted person while they sleep. Sleep is a state of consciousness where the subconscious mind is freed from managing waking life in the physical body and, hence, is most pristinely accessible to the field of suggestion.

The healing agent must also be in a deeply relaxed, trancelike state, where telepathy can easily make the communicative link to the subconscious mind of the person to be healed. The catch is that the receiver of the healing intention must not know that such a healing effort is being made on their behalf.

To truly be effective, healing requires the complete cancellation of self-importance on the part of the healer. No one will ever know the source of the healing suggestion. There is no money to be made in this form of healing.

On 1/19/24 The Washington Post had a feature article on a new technology that could potentially cure tinnitus. In truth, the article and research itself appear to be largely derived from the producers of the healing devices. This is influencer journalism, hardly befitting The Washington Post’s prestigious legacy of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s Watergate investigation.

Most interesting was the reporting of the research and treatment outcomes, which have not yet advanced enough to be certain that the positive results could not be attributable to merely placebo. Once again, science so automatically delegitimizes the potential healing power of suggestion.

A placebo reaction is the concrete physical proof of the power of a suggestion to heal. If it is determined in this case that belief alone in the power of the device to heal resulted in placebo success, it validates the use of suggestion to heal.

Science dismisses placebo because it denies the existence of the mind as a subtle soul body, separate from the physical brain, that has tremendous power to impact the state of the body. The medical label for such a mysterious cure is the pedestrian phrase: spontaneous remission.

Of course, it is entirely possible that the devices themselves may be determined to be the healing agent. Yet, I can’t escape the possibility that scientific validation merely fortifies and raises the level of  acceptance of a healing device, which becomes a powerful collective suggestion that enables a placebo cure. Perhaps all healing is, ultimately, placebo.

Aside from the materialist bias of science at present, the truth is that there is no money to be made by science, the medical profession, or industry, if healing can be affected by the power of suggestion alone. Imagine a future world where the powers of personal healing are truly awakened in the minds of all human beings. How empowering and Marxist can it get!

Of course, if it’s as simple to heal as Hudson suggests, why aren’t we there? Firstly, and a major reason why healing intentions must remain hidden, is that the knowing of them attracts the vengeance of the rational mind of self and others, whose hegemony over human life at present casts doubt and negative suggestions upon the power of healing suggestion. Such thoughts interfere with and weaken the otherwise potent healing messages presented to the subconscious mind.

To be clear, nobody can actually heal another person. Everyone has control of their own subconscious mind, which will decide what suggestions it will fulfill. The power of a healer lies in their power to present to the subconscious mind of themselves, or another, and have entertained, a healing suggestion.

There is no doubt that there are powerful hypnotists who are impacting the subconscious minds of the masses on our present world stage. However, regardless of their persuasiveness, it is ultimately up to all individuals to wake up and assume responsibility for their own entrancement. Take back your own power of suggestion to change the self, and change the world.

It is true that the ancient indigenous shamanic practices assigned the shaman the task of dropping into the underworld and retrieving the soul of the afflicted to generate healing. However, Carlos Castaneda realized that modern shamans are teachers who should empower all to take their own soul retrieval journeys. These are the healings that result in lasting transformation. No one can grow for us. We live in a time where all must wake up to the power and responsibility to direct their own healing potential for the greater good.

Furthermore, physical illnesses are often actually employed by a person’s High Self as a means to awaken them to the necessity of major changes in their life, to advance their true fulfillment. In these cases, healing suggestions taken up by the subconscious mind will likely result in healing of limited duration, as the more deeply needed change has not occurred and a return of the illness is needed to restore the path to that deeper cure.

The other major factor that inhibits healing is blocking beliefs. This is particularly the case with autosuggestion, where the conscious mind is aware of the healing suggestion to the subconscious and can inflict its rational shadow to oppose it. Beyond rationality are all sorts of beliefs around unworthiness, or the dangers of change, that can intrude upon the effectiveness of a healing suggestion.

One approach to overcome such a conundrum is to dissociate from the rational mind, and blocking beliefs, to allow a suggestion to the subconscious to be enacted. For many, this may be the power of a psychedelic substance that, once ingested, whisks the mind beyond its rational boundaries into the transpersonal realms of experience.

Robert Monroe suggests a gentler form of dissociation to reach the transpersonal. He tells people, as they deepen their relaxation, to put their rational mind and blocking beliefs into a sealed box that they will then retrieve after their journey. Freed of the weight of those blocks one can travel to the higher planes of emotional, mental and spiritual existence.

Blocking beliefs and rationality can also be allowed to remain while healing suggestions are incessantly and rotely repeated. It is not necessary for the conscious mind to believe in a suggestion; its job is to impress, via saturation, the subconscious to the point that it takes up its imperative.

What is required of the conscious mind is to have the faith that, despite all its doubts and blocks, anything is possible, and to perseveringly repeat the healing suggestions. The caveat is to not attach to the outcome.

Healing is a mysterious journey that requires us to let go of control and track the path presented in response to our healing suggestion. Sometimes that path might deepen the illness through a healing crisis that results in major transformation. Sometimes that path leads to death’s door, a healing that requires the ultimate transformation beyond human form.

Though we share our lives with others at various levels of transparency and intimacy, when it comes to healing suggestions there is great benefit to keeping the existence of those suggestions to oneself. Avoiding the trappings of self-importance, as well as the adverse suggestions of others, gives one’s suggestions optimal opportunity for an audience with the subconscious mind, the one part of the self that truly does have the power to heal.

No one knows,
Chuck

*The Law of Psychic Phenomena, Thomson Jay Hudson

Chuck’s Place: Sense And Circumstance

We are multidimensional energetic beings…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

We are multidimensional beings. At the purely physical level of existence, we perceive our world through the five senses of our physical body.

Our ego, though actually a Spirit consciousness separate from the physical body, is largely identified with the body’s sensory inputs and the physical body itself.

Sensory data provide the building blocks and proving ground for the rational mind’s determination of what is real. Scientific method insists upon physical outcomes to substantiate truth and determine fact. If you can’t see, hear, touch, taste or smell it, it simply doesn’t exist.

Desire operates at another plane of existence. Although within a certain range it reflects the instincts and needs of the physical self, it can extend beyond the physical into emotional experiences, such as love and contentment.

Desire is also associated with the imagination, which, independent of physical reality, constructs illusions and dreams, alternative realities that preoccupy us, in addition to the desires of daily life in a physical body.

At the mental plane of existence, we can enjoy a level of detachment from the limits of both the physical senses and desire. The mind is freed to abstraction where it can study, analyze and play with the facts and illusions of both physical and nonphysical reality, as it seeks to understand the deeper principles of reality.

At the intuitive level of reality, the mind becomes a receiver rather than a doer. Thoughts, visions and circumstances reveal truths directly, without the necessity of thinking. At this level, ego accepts the existence of a Higher Self that knows and has wisdom that can deeply guide the self. This is the level where the ego truly transcends its narcissistic worldview, as it recognizes and has experiences with a being greater than itself.

The intuitive level also has access to our Soul’s more comprehensive journey through eternity. This includes past lives and an understanding of the karmic intent of its current incarnation in physical form.

These various dimensions of being are simultaneously present in every moment, though our consciousness may be largely limited to one dimension, as the other dimensions function without awareness and attention. These various dimensions of self generally interact and challenge each other at subconscious levels of existence. This is the stuff of dreams, which, through analysis, can shed great light upon the fuller state of the self.

Waking dreams are the circumstances of our daily lives. At the physical dimension, we understand outer events as the consequence of our physical actions. Thus, if I were to trip over a branch and fall, I would understand it as a failure to see the fallen branch on the path I walked.

At the desire dimension, I might judge the fall to be a confirmation of my unworthiness to be loved, or even to take up space in the physical world. In this instance, my imagination has spun an illusory story that constantly casts its shadow upon the physical events I encounter.

At the mental level, I might conclude that, yes, my attention was drawn inward and I did not see the branch, but, additionally, it might shed light upon the negative belief of the desire body and its impact upon my ability to be mindfully present. Understanding would also extend to the prejudice of the desire body and how it obscures interpretation of circumstances.

At the intuitive level, I might grasp the action of the High Self to distract my attention from the branch, causing me to fall, so that I might wake up to the veil and spiritual block generated from my frustrated desire body.

From this intuitive perspective, I feel gratitude and love for the support I am provided in all circumstances to go deeper into the truth of my Soul’s eternal journey. The shamans of ancient Mexico recommend highly that we suspend all judgments to arrive at the clarity and breadth of the intuitive dimension.

When I focus my awareness on the circumstances of the world at this time, I am impacted at all the dimensions of my being. At the physical dimension, I cannot deny the threat not only to democracy but to civilization itself, in addition to the fragile state of health of our planetary being, Mother Earth herself.

This perspective generates fear and sets up a conflict for me. As a therapist, I should do no harm by not sharing my apocalyptic forebodings. And yet, am I not remiss in my duty to validate to those who ask about the true state of things?

At the level of desire, I am well aware of the power of suggestion and its ability to attract the circumstances of its intent. From this level, I encourage the use of intent, in alignment with the greater good, to heal and change the world. I also strongly encourage that a healing intent be offered privately, canceling out the negative attractive power of self-importance.

At the mental level, I can take in the physical facts of climate change, as well as the season of Kali Yuga, a time when human civilization must live through a disintegrative state of possession by its collective shadow in order to not only survive but to also advance its evolution. This perspective affords me great detachment and objectivity.

From the intuitive dimension, I see the interconnectedness of all circumstances with equanimity. I feel blessed that my soul incarnated in human form at this magical time, as we collectively have the opportunity to intend a future that transcends the potential karma of current world circumstance.

Join that intent without announcing it. Send that suggestion to the world’s subconscious. See what happens.

With sense and circumstance,
Chuck

Chuck’s Place: It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

While fears inhabit Spirit waits…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

The word habit derives from the Latin word habitus, which means clothing or outer attire. In fact, the clerical attire of monks and nuns are actually called habits. Habit is thus a persona, which actually covers the real person. We are not our habits.

And yet, the word inhabit insists that to live in, or occupy a space, one must inhabit it. When a Spirit takes on life in human form, it must conform to the habits of that form.

At a core level, habits are instincts and archetypes that govern life in human form. These limitations control the expression of the life essence of Spirit while it resides in human form, but does not reflect the fullness of Spirit.

The shamans of ancient Mexico discovered that humans were not limited to one habitual form. Their version of shapeshifting involves the embodiment of a set of habits unique to another species. They utilize the practice of specific physical movements, called magical passes, and dreaming to accomplish these shifts. Some shamanic groups use power plants or psychedelics to facilitate these alternative perceptual experiences.

The shamans of ancient Mexico also emphasize the practice of recapitulation, or life review, to free oneself of habits that have crusted over one’s core identity and embedded it in a negative belief system. When we face our most feared issues, our energy is liberated from the constriction of defensive behaviors, allowing us to explore new possibilities of being.

The channel, Monitor, has suggested that the original intention was for the human body to live healthily until the human Spirit, that took up residence in it, had fulfilled its purpose in coming into human form. When, however, fears are suppressed and locked into body armor, the  vitality of the physical body is overtaxed, shortening its duration and ability to serve Spirit’s intent.

Humankind has currently inhabited many fears that result in belief systems that expect illness. It doesn’t have to be this way. If we truly neutralize our fears, our life essence is freed to exercise its creative potential and create the life we intended when we first inhabited human form.

The shamans of ancient Mexico fully accepted that they were beings who would ultimately die. They also discovered that they could fulfill their intention for life in human form and simply burn from within when it was time for Spirit to move on. The implication, beyond this metaphor, is that, freed of our fears, we can exercise tremendous control over the course of our living and dying.

The best preventive for illness is to create the life that aligns with our Soul’s intent. Of course, sometimes illness is integral to our Earth School tour, to advance the growth of our Soul. However, very often, illness is the byproduct of stuck fear.

Release of habits of fear redefine the human body and unleash the creative human Spirit. That’s the way it truly can be.

Rejuvenated,
Chuck 

Chuck’s Place: Retrograde in the Chaos of Creation

Practice patient introspection during Mercury Retrograde…
-Artwork © 2023 Jan Ketchel

The shadow of Mercury in retrograde hovers over this current holiday season,  between December 13, 2023 and January 1, 2024. Mercury is the planet of communication, hence miscommunications, poor communications, confused messages and misunderstandings in relationships are likely.

These events can cause frustration, anxiety and brain fog that can also disrupt communications within the self. On the first day of this current Mercury retrograde, I had three clients oversleep and nearly miss their appointments! Don’t take it personally, it’s in the stars!

During a Mercury retrograde, the technological instruments of communication, like cell phones, computers and printers, can also experience disruptions and breakdowns. In fact, all technological instruments and physical objects are vulnerable to breakdown.

The trickster quality of Mercury in retrograde counsels one to exercise caution and prudence when making important decisions, or entering into contracts, during this period. In effect, Mercury retrograde disrupts the homeostasis of habitual or planned life with objective occurrences that can, on a dime, create a traffic jam that precludes a coveted gathering.

The best guidance is to recognize the objective nature of the energetic impact of this astrological event; meaning, don’t be so quick to blame or take things personally, and surrender with patience to all things. They will ultimately pass.

If it’s not the time to greatly accomplish things outwardly, or in relationship, it is however the perfect opportunity to go inward and examine the thoughts, feelings and memories that are triggered by association to outer mishaps.

The other morning, I pulled the Tarot card of Ruin, the 10 of Swords. This card highlights mental states of despair, helplessness and hopelessness. It easily projects itself into matter and can generate first chakra fears of financial or relational collapse.

Guidance is to reflect upon old fears of ruin lurking in the shadow, which may be associatively activated by this current Mercury retrograde. From this reflective place of recapitulation, the opportunity presents itself to fully release and deactivate the energetic impact of old fears. This is the growth opportunity offered in a time of Mercury retrograde, which is particularly well-timed, as we clean house and prepare for New Life in the New Year.

New life is indeed the chaos of creation. Chaos is creative energy taking form in a new pattern of life. The I Ching represents this birthing process as the third hexagram, Difficulty at the Beginning. Amidst thunder and rain, the air is filled with teeming, chaotic profusion, as new life struggles to break through the earth’s surface.

Old life, where we’ve lived, has been dominated by repetitive, habitual patterns of behavior. When people set intentions for the New Year they conceive the intent for change in new, uncharted patterns of living.

The time of Mercury retrograde disrupts the trance of familiar life, as  the ground is prepared to nurture new life. Creative energy is freed from stuck places during Mercury retrograde, as it gathers around and prepares to serve new creative intentions.

Many a myth depicts this struggle for new life. The Titan god of time, Cronus, ate his children at birth to secure his continued rule. The subconscious mind is like Cronus, as it rules our lifetime with established archetypal patterns of behavior that can snuff out the spark of our new, conscious intentions.

It was the trickery of Rhea, Cronus’ wife, who gave her husband a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes to eat, instead of baby Zeus, that brought the change that gave birth to the rule of the Olympian gods.

For humans, the employment of trickery that will break through to new life consists in maintaining the faith of unbending intent, as suggestions are repeated to the subconscious mind that will eventually supplant the rule of habitual patterns.

When we light a candle on New Year’s Eve, we ignite the light of consciousness and affirm our intentions to expand beyond the dominance of purely instinctive reactions to life.

With the support of Mercury retrograde energy this year, already jarring us from the trance of the predictable, we are empowered to take life creatively in a whole new direction. May that be a direction that serves the greater good of all.

Peace on Earth,
Chuck

Chuck’s Place: You Never Disappoint Your Soul

The wisdom of many lives…
-Artwork © 2023 Jan Ketchel

The question arises: “Who is the You, that never disappoints your Soul?” That you is your personality. And what is the personality?

The personality is a combination of the ego self, which is largely identified with life in the physical body; the subconscious mind, which stores the wisdom of many lives lived; and the High Self, which supports the intention for growth in this life.

The Soul itself is the subtle body that has spawned many lives and many personalities. Each of these has collectively gathered experience and knowledge that contributes to the Soul’s growth. Those prior lives are all connected to the subconscious mind and are reflected, as well, in various ego states and characteristics of the physical body.

The personality’s life in a physical body is the Soul’s investing of its energy in the quest for growth. For growth to happen, the personality must have the free will to set up its own experiments and make its own discoveries in the life it is in, all of which ultimately contribute to the growth of the Soul.

The Soul grows through life experience, not through a personality seeking refuge in simply being good, whereby suppressing into its shadow the fuller spectrum of life’s desires.  Although, even such an attempt at a virtuous life is a life of experience that benefits the Soul.

In this case, the Soul discovers that such a one-sided life creates the karmic necessity of another life  that can more fully experience the shadow held in abeyance. The Soul does not judge any life to have been a wasted or failed life. All experience is golden and treated with equanimity by the Soul.

Critical judgment issues from the personality. Perhaps its value is to create a restlessness that spurs the personality to stay on point with its core mission in this life.

The ego, however, with its limited knowledge of, and limited connection to, the subtler dimensions of its being, as well as its reason for being in this life, tends to overly judge itself in the context of its achievements and failures in this life. It lacks the richer perspective of its Soul, which appreciates equally all experiences in life.

Growth for the personality requires the maturation of its judging function. The shamans of ancient Mexico were particularly helpful in this respect, in their dictum to suspend judgment. They discovered that self-criticism had the effect of immobilizing one’s vital energy, which is  essential to achieve expanded awareness.

It’s not that shamans don’t face the truth of their actions and their consequences; they are in fact ruthlessly insistent upon facing the truth. However, shamans do not define themselves as failures, or as good or bad people. They acknowledge their faults and mistakes and make adjustments in their life to avoid repetition. Or they continue to repeat the same behaviors, accepting the need to finish with a “bad” behavior so that they can then be freed to move on.

Shamans laugh at themselves and are in awe of their blind spots and sheer stupidity. Shamanic wisdom knows that the key to spiritual advancement is complete acceptance of self in every action, thought, and feeling experienced through an entire life. How can we advance to new life if we cannot fully accept ourselves and our entire lives lived?

That acceptance must equally extend to every person who has harmed us in our life. Refusal to accept anything that has happened to us will automatically generate a seed of karma that will attempt acceptance again in another life. Refusal to accept freezes our energy and blocks our advance.

To advance we must free ourselves of any notion of victimhood. Although we may have been victimized, the key is not to freeze ourselves in the self-definition of victim. Acceptance requires full mastery of every fact of our life, however tragic. The Soul does not judge. The Soul values every experience equally. May the personality be guided by this wisdom.

Carl Jung established that there are two ego functions that judge in order to navigate this life: thinking and feeling. Thinking employs the rational mind, and logic, to determine the truth. Feeling uses feelings to actively determine the worth of something. Both of these functions support the ego’s understanding and valuing of life experience.

To exercise these evaluative functions is necessary to navigate life with objectivity. But the emphasis in these functions is to understand and make decisions, not to condemn and define the self with judgments of  inferiority, inadequacy, and unworthiness.

The Soul is never disappointed with us. Can we internalize this insinuation from above, and rise to the level of never being disappointed in ourselves and others? This erases no facts or responsibility but does advance us fully in love, through total acceptance of everything.

From a path of heart,
Chuck