Even as you turn inward and seek balance and peace within, turn also outward and observe nature all around you, its proclivities, its tendencies, and its ingrained behaviors. Patterns galore exist in nature, just as they do in human nature, repetitive and predictable. But just as there is the unpredictable in human behavior so is there the unpredictable in nature. Learn the signs of coming unpredictable events in nature so that you may be alert to them in human behavior as well. Premonitions and intuitions are equally as guiding as what you see with your own eyes. Become an astute student of nature so that you may become master of your own human self, and not only understand yourself better but the greater way of the world and where it is headed as well. In alignment with nature, perfect your natural inner guidance, the source of your own true knowledge, foresight, and wisdom, your spirit within that knows all. As within, so without.
Let your heart remain large and receptive, openly optimistic, even though there is much to be concerned about, for an open and receptive heart is a heart full of hope that all will be well, that the changes now current will bring forth that which has been hidden, and that new forces will join together to turn the tides in a new direction. What seems impossible is possible when there is no doubt, when the heart is in alignment with spirit and the cosmos, and when the positive has been enacted for the good of all. In alignment with all of that, everything IS possible.
Pay attention to your body, from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, to the head and brain full of ideas, to your belly full of fears, to your arms and hands that do, to your legs and feet that are either reluctant or eager, to your inner systems that pump life into you and keep you alive, that keep your body functioning so that life may proceed. Treat this mass of yourself well so that it may treat you well, so that your spirit may reside in a house of calmness and unspoiled beauty. When your body suffers so does your spirit. Keep both of them happy and healthy, in alignment with nature and the bounty provided. Even in times of hardship and stress, it is these two companions, body and spirit, that deserve your utmost attention so that they may remain in tune, in alignment, and fully functioning in a healthy manner upon your path of heart. Their intent is your intent. Their life is your life. Their importance is your uppermost importance too. Everything else pales in comparison. Without one there is no other. Be well.
Align and re-align constantly with your path of heart, putting one foot in front of the other, one day and one moment at a time. Constantly shift yourself back to your heart’s intent, especially when drawn away, when tempted or pulled by ideas conjured by the mind. Let go of unreasonable thoughts and stick with the path that makes you feel good, inside and out, the path of true inner spirit. Remain curious at all times to what the world offers, and with steadiness accept your place in it. With loving kindness and with the intent of a warrior, remain in alignment even when there is no end in sight. A warrior never gives up; there is too much at stake. That too is the warrior’s way.
Repetition is a law of nature, but like the serpent we can shed our skin… and break away, renewed. – Photo by Jan Ketchel
Human beings are receptors. Human beings are natural hypnotic subjects. Suggestions rule our lives. Suggestions are intents that, if we attach to them, become our destiny.
The optimal relationship with intent is consciousness, to be in command of what one intends.
Many suggestions have become independent entities, programs that we inherit that determine our biology. The modern exploration of transgender beings speaks to the deepest reality that even these programs may indeed be altered.
Many programs have proven useful to human evolution. Our bodily systems operate efficiently due to their automatic execution. We breathe automatically. We can consciously influence our breathing, but we don’t need consciousness to breathe.
Beneath consciousness is the subconscious. The subconscious is the receptive center of all human beings. The subconscious does not think, it obeys commands. Like the Earth itself, the subconscious receives the seeds of suggestion and manifests them into life.
Our lives are truly lives of trance; determined by the automatic programs we have inherited as well as by the internalized programs we have been socialized by. Religious systems embrace practices to optimize suggestions to the subconscious to orient it to the intent of Spirit.
The Jew, at all comings and goings, touches the Mezuzah to orient to God’s will. The Catholic dips the fingers in the holy water and makes the sign of the cross to invoke purification of one’s link to God, as well as his protection. The Moslem call to prayer is the call to orient toward God’s salvation. The Buddhist turns the prayer wheel to stay on point to one’s spiritual advancement in the release of karma.
The key to all these practices is repetitive action, to reinforce commands and suggestions to the subconscious, to stay oriented to the ultimate Spirit, in whatever form it is dressed. Religious traditions provide a bulwark against the power of instinct, which manifests inherited programs, as well as toward the power of ego, with its tendency toward narcissistic commands.
The spirit currently dominating our time is one of dissolution. The complete interruption to modern humanity’s way of life is profound. Both the ancient Hindus and Toltecs point to now as the completion of a long cycle of time. Completion requires breakdown in preparation for new life.
The I Ching, perhaps the greatest embodiment of the cycle of time, states that the power of the cycle to play itself out is nearly incontrovertible, however, there exists the very real possibility that history needn’t repeat itself. However, for this to happen, consciousness must assume full responsibility for its link to intent.
How can this happen? Repetition. Consciously, perseveringly, without begging or marketplace motive, state your intent. Think to your heart’s delight, but don’t try to reason your way to intent. Intend by intending, over and over again. Finally, have no attachment to the outcome. Attachment makes it a business arrangement. Keep your link to intent pure.
Shamans, like many religious traditions, encourage that one keep one’s intent oriented to one’s Spirit. Ultimate Spirit is love, the glue that adheres everything together in its wholeness. To align with that Spirit might indeed create the possibility for overcoming the usual course of human history, in this most extraordinary time of dissolution.
Incessantly intend, with consciousness, and see what happens!
