Tag Archives: alignment

Chuck’s Place: Getting It Right Within The Self

Be the Rainmaker…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

Here is Jung’s favorite story, The Rainmaker. It was  told to him by his friend Richard Wilhelm, a theologian and missionary, who lived in China for 25 years and translated the I Ching:

In the ancient Chinese province of Kiaochou there was a drought so severe that many people and animals were dying. In despair, the citizens called for an old rainmaker, who lived in the mountains nearby. Richard Wilhelm saw how the rainmaker was brought into town in a sedan chair, a tiny little gray-bearded man. He asked to be left alone outside the town in a little hut, and after three days it rained, and even snowed!

Richard Wilhelm succeeded in being allowed to interview the old man and asked him how he made the rain. But he answered, “I haven’t made the rain, of course not.” And then, after a pause, he added, “You see it was like this – throughout the drought the whole of nature and all the men and women here were deeply disturbed. They were no longer in Tao. When I arrived here, I became also disturbed. It was so bad that it took me three days to bring myself again into order.” And then he added, with a smile, “Then naturally it rained.”

Toward the end of his life, Jung shared with Marie Louise von Franz, his chief collaborator, a spontaneous catastrophic vision of destruction of much of the world as we know it. It worried him greatly. We can understand why Jung so cherished the Rainmaker’s story. Humankind, he thought, still had the possibility of just sneaking around the corner of such devastating destruction, and the Rainmaker teaches how.

In our time, all of nature, including all of humankind, is deeply disturbed. The disturbance is infectious and cannot be avoided. Even the balanced Taoist priest who entered the infected province in his time could not escape infection. His infection was actually necessary for him to arrive at the ultimate cure.

The guidance here is to avoid the trap of blame of self and other. To be alive at this time is to be infected with extreme imbalance. The disorder, whatever its cause, can only be put right by action within the self; and nature, like the Rainmaker’s rain and snow, will respond accordingly to this individual gesture.

The Rainmaker’s first insistence is to be left alone within a hut. This guidance to withdraw is critical in our time as well, as the hypnotic suggestions of influencers—whether they be politicians, artificial intelligence or astral entities—seek to incessantly saturate the human subconscious mind with their intentions, whereby maintaining chaos.

Thus, though we cannot avoid infection, we can create a boundary around ourselves to ward off continued penetration by outside influence. Self-hypnosis that states such an intention can materialize such a boundary. Meditative practices to not attach to thoughts inhibit their impact upon the central nervous system.

Current immune research observes that inflammation is an immune response to viral infiltration that draws one inward, forming a boundary around outside interests, that enables energy to go inward, much like the solitary Rainmaker in his hut. Even friends and loved ones are withdrawn from, as libido is needed for the inner journey of self love.

Practically speaking this requires assuming sovereignty over the central nervous system. Victor Frankl demonstrated that one could even achieve calm while interned at Auschwitz. This was how he survived. When I project myself into Gaza right now, I breathe myself into calm. Alpha calm can be achieved through the breath: 8 counts in, hold 8, exhale 8, pause 4 and begin again, and again…

Proverbial to the Rainmaker’s inner journey is the duration of three days, after which the heavens released water to this world in cloudbursts of rain and snow. Three is the number symbolic of completion. Christ’s journey to resurrection came on the third day after his death.

Completion itself might be of much longer duration than three days. Carlos Castaneda advised us to take all the time we need, but also to hurry up, as old age is real in human form. He knew this intimately, as he died to human form shortly after delivering this guidance.

Christ spent those three days in hell. When we have steadied the central nervous system we are prepared for this deeper journey. This time period is symbolic of the night sea journey into the unconscious, where we retrieve our fragmented soul in our personal unconscious, as well as our ancestral soul in the collective unconscious. Only through such reclaiming and reordering of our wholeness can we align with our spiritual center and open the heavens.

Be so empowered. Every one of us who embarks on our inner healing journey is part of the collective savior of now. As the Rastafarians would say, and Bob Marley sings, “I ‘n’ I vibration yeah! Positive!”

One Love,
Chuck

Soulbyte for Monday November 6, 2023

-Illustration © 2023 Jan Ketchel

Life is a constant struggle to stay in balance, to align body, mind and spirit, and yet it does not have to be perceived as a struggle. How you view life is just as important as how difficult it really is. Perception is everything. With a positive attitude that sees life as an adventure, with natural ups and downs, that is leading you ever onward to wisdom and understanding, is a far better attitude than one that offers no insight or possibility of change. With an open heart, an open mind, and an open attitude, embrace life as the grand adventure that it really is. Make every day a day of adventure and learning, and embrace it with gratitude, kindness and love.

Sending you love,
The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Soulbyte for Thursday October 26, 2023

-Illustration © 2023 Jan Ketchel

Remain focused on the intent of your spirit. And what is that? It is to grow and evolve through life and interaction, through challenge and defeat, through joy and success. Each day is another opportunity for you and your spirit to grow, and through the challenges that arise, to advance, in both this world and the next. Your job is to stay aligned with that purpose, to learn that you are more than just a human physical being, and to try to remember why you are here. Let your spirit be your guide like never before. Accept this part of yourself, your infinite self, and know that you are always in good hands.

Sending you love,
The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Soulbyte for Wednesday September 27, 2023

-Illustration © 2023 Jan Ketchel

Though the wind blows in different directions each day the path of heart continues along its dedicated route. When the intent of the spirit is strong nothing, not even the strong winds of a hurricane, can stir it from its path. Hold steady through thick and thin, through the tough times and the easy times, through all kinds of turmoil. Weather through with the spirit in charge, the heart in synch and the whole self determined. There is nothing so rewarding as a goal achieved with body, mind and spirit in right alignment. A path of heart is just such a path.

Sending you love,
The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Soulbyte for Friday September 22, 2023

-Illustration © 2023 Jan Ketchel

A determined mind and a strong spirit, when put to the test, can achieve anything. Keep mind clear and focused and spirit fully intent and there’s no telling what you can do. With the two in alignment life’s purpose becomes clearer, life’s meaning becomes known, and life’s unfolding becomes magical. Get mind and spirit in alignment and see just how far you can go!

Sending you love,
The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne