Tag Archives: balance

Messages from Jeanne

#760 Angel & Devil

Leave a comment

Written by Jan Ketchel with a channeled message from Jeanne Ketchel.

There is such energy now, energy of change, disruption, and transformation, asking us all to go to higher levels of conscious awareness, as I interpret it. A lot of people are feeling it in their personal lives as well as in the world outside of them. Nature continues to show us just what it means to really change as well, as she erupts from deep within and creates whirlwinds of destruction from without. Nature is showing us that this is really a time of cataclysmic change, meaning, as I interpret it, that we must all really change now too.

In order to do what we’ve all been talking about, in order to fully embrace a new world order, we must all face our challenges head on, allowing ourselves to break with the old world order, in whatever way it takes, and start anew from totally different precepts, or no precepts at all.

This is my question for Jeanne today: I see so many people fearful, almost paranoid in the face of the truth of how things now stand on earth—with radiation embedding itself into the food chain as only one example. Our health and the world we live in are evermore compromised and what we have always trusted in is no really longer trustworthy or viable. How do we arrive, Jeanne, at a new understanding of ourselves so that we can face a totally new future without fear and paranoia?

This is how Jeanne responds:

My Dear Ones: I ask that you all begin anew from a place of calmness, that you start within your own body by listening more closely to the dire truths that you hear being spoken within the self. In order to do this, you must shut off the outside world in every sense. You must refuse to open the doors to paranoid fear and to the rabble from outside that is not truly in balance.

Take a minute to contemplate who you have been getting your information from. Question the truth behind the news organizations, the pundits, the truthsayers, the naysayers, and the soothsayers. Question, question, question EVERYTHING and then push it all aside. Know what is really being spread around the world as the truth of reality. Accept the bitterness of it, but do not attach to its taste in your mouth.

Accept that, indeed, the world is crumbling on many levels. From the highest peaks to the lowest valleys of the ocean floor you are being shown some rare truths. But do not attach to those truths as the only truths available because there are far greater truths, always accessible, that must be adhered to.

The far greater truths have we spoken of many times. They are the energetic truths of the power of all of mankind to effect change associated with the balance of nature.

Get in balance with Nature.

This means: get in balance with the forces of nature that are both calmly proceeding as normal, as well as the forces of nature that are shaking things up, coming with such powerful energy of change that you cannot help but take note.

This is what it means to get in balance: to accept both the good and the bad, the calm and the storm, the pure and the putrid, the beautiful and the ugly, the angel and the devil inside all of you—in your world, in all of energy, and in all of nature.

Can you accept that all of you are part of the world you live in, right down to the grittiest truth? Why do you turn away when I call you on this? Why do you turn from the hard facts of life that you are both angel and devil, that you are of the highest and the lowest, both enlightened being and ugly beast?

Not one of you will change, nor will your world, until you accept these truths. And you will not access such truths until you take the time to confront yourself with them. Take your lessons from outside, but do not attach to them on the outside before you attach to the same lessons on the inside. In order to get in balance with nature you must understand what nature is, both inside and outside. You must accept the disasters along with the enlightened potential in all of you.

You are all capable of rising up to a new level, but first you must go down into the depths of your soul and confront who you are.

You will not lose your fear of the world until you lose your fear of yourself. And once you sink your hands and teeth into your own fears and taste their bitter bite you will realize their significance in your personal life. Everyone must do this in order to change.

What are you afraid of? What do you run from every day? What do you turn from with such disgust and discomfort? What do you find most disagreeable and disturbing in others and in how the world operates? These are the things to face within. These are the guides to your unconscious self, to your secrets. Your fears, your sicknesses, your most painful thoughts and ideas of the self and others, your frustrations and despairs, are your most precious teachers.

The world is showing you that in order to really go to a new level—as Jan asks about today—in order to change the very foundations of life, you must face your most inner foundations and question what they have been built on. Do they truly hold up, or are you supporting an old world inside you? How can you expect the outer world to change if you do not change yourself?

This is the hard task at hand: Slowly and methodically dismantle the self. Pick through the ruins, take only that which is viable and real, and move on to new life basically foundationless, on the wings of your own cleared energy. You don’t really need more than that. Begin anew by becoming a new you. That is where you need to go…into a new you.

Keep your eyes open, your mind open, your heart open. Be ready at all times to observe and interpret with that openness, no longer attaching to your old rules, ideas, teachings, but fully open to new concepts, ideas, and views.

You never know where you will go as you do this inner-world work, and that is the beauty of it and the true beauty of life…that you just never know anything. That is how you learn to truly flow with the energy of nature, never knowing anything, except the truth of your place in that great unknown.

You do belong exactly where you are now, but everything else is completely untrue, non-existent, a great illusion. All that truly exists is the unknown, and that is what you must prepare yourself for every day: to enter the great unknown.

You know how to get there. It’s what we talk about all the time. Do it! What are you waiting for?

Nothing is as it seems— begin there.

Thanks Jeanne!

Most humbly offered from out of the great unknown where I am nothing.
—Jan

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: A World Divided Cannot Stand

Leave a comment

On a deeper level, the birthers might have a point: Obama is a world citizen and leader, challenged, like Lincoln once was, to forge a union in a world torn apart by special interests.

Don Juan warned: “I am convinced that for man to survive now, his perception must change at its social base.” –From The Art of Dreaming

What don Juan meant was that we must arrive at the awareness that everything is an interconnected web of energy. Quantum physicists have arrived at this truth. Fritjof Capra writes in The Tao of Physics:

“In ordinary life, we are not aware of this unity of all things, but divide the world into separate objects and events. This division is, of course, useful and necessary to cope with our everyday environment, but it is not a fundamental feature of reality. It is an abstraction devised by our discriminating and categorizing intellect. To believe that our abstract concepts of separate ‘things’ and ‘events’ are realities of nature is an illusion…”

“At the atomic level, then, the solid material objects of classical physics dissolve into patterns of probabilities, and these patterns do not represent probabilities of things, but rather probabilities of interconnections. Quantum theory forces us to see the universe not as a collection of physical objects, but rather as a complicated web of relations between the various parts of a unified whole.”

The shamans and the physicists agree: we are all one. The survival of our interconnected, interdependent world requires that we achieve union and balance with all the parts of our one world, human and non-human. Our current world play pits our social perception of the world as separate, disconnected objects against this deeper perception of reality as an interconnected web of energy. As don Juan states, we must arrive at this deeper perception for our very survival.

In a world of separate objects, the industries of nuclear power, oil, and natural gas are free to take the position that incidents and policies in each of these industries have limited impact upon the world and should be unregulated and left alone. From this perception we are asked to believe that radiation in the oceans will not affect marine life, and certainly not human life. In the oil industry, despite dead sea turtles and dolphins showing up on our shores, it is argued that drilling is safe, and the moratorium on new drilling leases is now lifted. The natural gas industry is currently on the march to push for homegrown energy, despite the devastation to the environment and drinking water through hydraulic fracking as evidenced in Pennsylvania and brought to light in the movie Gasland. The moratorium on fracking in New York expires in June and that industry is emboldened now to start fracking in Upstate New York—in my own backyard!

Congress is stalled, as I write, over issues like eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency and clean air standards, an agency and laws seeking to set limits on destruction to health and the environment. This is the power and pressure of interests caught in an old world perception of separate objects, free to only consider themselves and their own needs and desires. The battle cry of these special interests is: “We must satisfy the demand!” The religious fervor of this dictum raises it to the level of the eleventh commandment.

But what does this dictum really mean? Is the suggestion that, since the modern world demands more and more energy to run, that we absolutely must, at all costs, meet this demand for our very survival? If my appetite demands more and more food, should I keep feeding it? And if I do, how will that affect my resources, the resources of my environment, and how will it affect my health? If a child demands more and more toys, should we simply supply them because they are demanded? Since when is demand synonymous with must-be-met?

If the human population’s energy appetite is outpacing its means and negatively impacting the health of the planet, perhaps it’s time to set some limits. Of course, behind feeding the demand is the true culprit: there’s big bucks to be made feeding the insatiable big baby with its voracious appetite. Is it not time to become adults and set some reasonable limits?

In comes Obama, chiding Congress to start behaving like grownups. Frankly, however, I see Obama as a work in progress. I think he has caved to the old world perception in granting new oil leases for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama has to go beyond the Clinton doctrine of compromise. You cannot compromise with evil.

The Republican party is now possessed with evil energy. Evil is an elemental energy and has its rightful place as part of our comprehensive whole, one world. Energetically dark and light energy are the building blocks of the universe, however, their influences and interactions must be in the proper balance. The value of the preponderance of evil energy in the Republican dominated Congress at this time is its insistence upon change. It presses Obama, with its destructive energy, into a firm and definite response. As the I Ching points out: “A compromise with evil is not possible; evil must under all circumstances be openly discredited.” –From The I Ching, translation by Richard Wilhelm, Hexagram #43

Obama and the Democratic response to absurd Republican separatist interests are finally discrediting the evil interests that are pushing their own agendas, i.e. the Koch brothers. Mother Nature herself is using her own evil energy to force needed change upon us all. Evil energy must be responded to–directly faced by taking right action–or it will continue to devastate and destroy to awaken us.

Lincoln suffered a similar fate as Obama. He attempted to compromise with the slave industry by first insisting that slavery could not be allowed in new territories or states, but could continue in states where it was already established. From today’s sensibilities this was an absurd attempt at compromise, but nonetheless, Lincoln offered it in an attempt to preserve the union, an old world order needing radical change. Ultimately, he was forced into civil war because, with the refusal to compromise, a divided house could no longer stand.

Like the slave industry of a foregone era, the Republicans of today will not compromise. It’s all or nothing. They are forcing Obama to evolve here, to take a stand behind right action. Nature is showing us that we have no other alternative to survive. As don Juan stated, survival depends on our changing our perception at its social base. The Republicans are helping Obama to arrive at this necessary place, which is crucial to our survival. Nature is showing us we have no time to waste because continued compromise just wastes valuable time and invites greater destruction.

We must stake our claim now in a world of interconnected, interdependent energy. In that new world, nuclear energy and fossil fuels must be abandoned. Energetic sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower must be turned to, as these are Mother Nature’s natural gifts to us that do no harm to her. We must become responsible adults, limit our appetites, and focus on real hunger and needs. Greed must be tempered, the big baby put to bed.

On a personal level we are charged with facing our own greed in the context of our own lives. We must each accept necessary, healthy limits, and shift to a life of balance where we consider all the parts of our interdependent selves. As well, we need to become astute participants in the true nature of reality, not just observers, because a genuine shift in our perception, at its social base, as don Juan insists, is now necessary. This is how we support our President. Let’s not leave him out there as the only one-world citizen.

Remembering when the sun revolved around our flat earth,
Chuck

If you wish to correspond, please feel free to post a comment below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page at: Riverwalker Press on facebook where we post daily comments, photos, and quotes.

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Asking for Guidance

Leave a comment

I dreamed all night about writing this blog, achieving many aha moments as ideas and thoughts came together, as I connected with the bigger picture of who I am, where I am, and what I have to face ahead of me. All of this converged into a big interconnected web of awareness that we are all facing the same issues, the same challenges, the same inner and outer dilemmas. And so it feels right that I explore some guidance I received earlier in the week, as I turned to the Tarot with some requests.

Request for guidance number one was as follows: Please may I pick the card that is most meaningful and important for me to receive on this day as I seek balance and calm knowing in my life. Please direct me to pick the card that is in alignment with my heart’s intent.

Here is the card I picked: The Magus

The Magus

I use the Tarot as a daily guide when I feel the need for clarity, if I am swimming in inner discourse that I cannot quiet, or if I just want to center myself. On Monday, when I sought advice from the Tarot I was mostly interested in grounding myself, in beginning my week fully present. The Magus or Magician “represents the universal principles of communication. The golden figure of Mercury, the winged messenger from Greek mythology, represents communication that is inspired, resilient, and well-timed,” Angeles Arrien writes in The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols. In addition, the Magician is surrounded by ten tools, each one of them representing a means of communication, suitable for different situations and contexts; the challenge is knowing which tool to use when.

I was immediately struck by this card showing up in my hands, for personal reasons, as well as for our times; for all of us. I have been personally challenged for the past ten years with using language and my personal abilities to communicate in many different ways in the world, to use communication in all of its many forms as a means of growth. On a universal level, I immediately noted that in the time we are in now communication is so easily accessible, we all have so many tools available to us, and lately we have been using them to great advantage. Take the revolutionary situations in the Middle East, largely orchestrated and carried out through the use of modern tools of communication: cell phones and facebook. The fact that we all have these tools puts us in a unique position but also a rather precarious one as well.

We must be more thoughtful than ever, I believe. We must be careful in how we express ourselves and selective in what we say. In order to fully embrace the meaning of the Magician in all of us, we must be in proper alignment with our times, the energy of Mercury that is flowing and firing through us all, asking us to change, to revolt, to grow now beyond any stage we have previously achieved, but it also asks us to do so from a new base, from the spiritually interconnected, heart-centered place we all have within. We all feel the energy of revolution and the speed with which things are happening, but we must stay in alignment with the far greater truth that this kind of energy can destroy us as well as evolve us.

We must be in balance—our timing must be right. Our sense of purpose must be clear and well thought out, from the proper perspective, in alignment with the greater interconnectedness of all things. This is what Chuck and I have been trying to write about in our blogs, what Jeanne conveys in her messages, that we are at a crucial time in the history of the world, that we have more tools available to us for communicating now than ever before, but we must use them wisely, for the right reasons, with commitment to endeavors that evolve us now to a place of understanding, kindness, compassion and love for all human beings and the planet as well.

This is what Arrien says as well: “The Magician organizes communication patterns by picking the appropriate tools or content and combines it will well-timed delivery. Blunt communication is communication which lacks correct timing. Confused communication is communication which lacks appropriate content, yet may be well-timed in delivery but poorly organized. The wizard-like quality of the Magician is to artfully combine good timing with clear content and appropriate context.” I believe this is the challenge for all of us now. The truth must be spoken, the revolutions must be waged, the world must change, but all of this must be done properly now. We may not have another chance to get it right.

My second request was for guidance related to all of us, especially the readers of these blogs. I asked for clarity on how what I personally write is being received and what I must be aware of as I continue to express myself in this very public forum. I asked that this guidance show me where we all are now, as we take in the truths of the world and as we grasp the deeper meaning. What must we be aware of next?

Here is the card I received: The Five of Wands: Strife

Strife

Strife, as Arrien writes, “is the symbol of the state of strife, anxiety or frustration. Anxiety is an energetic experience caused by holding back… It is the state of having abundant energy but not knowing what to do with that energy, or it’s a lot of energy that’s being contained or held back, which will produce anxiety or the state of strife… The astrological aspect that’s represented on this symbol is Saturn in Leo. Saturn is the planet of discipline, of knowing what your limits and boundaries are and being able to set limits and boundaries. Saturn is the planet that reminds us to do things step-by-step. Leo is the astrological sign of creative power that does not want to be limited, restricted or restrained, and desires full expression.”

So here I see the direct correlation to the Magician card in the energy that is now present, the energy that is revolutionary, in us all, asking to be expressed, allowed to live. Yet we are also held back by old patterns of behavior and what we have yet to face about ourselves, personally, as a nation and a world. We are asked to set limits, which in one sense can offer us the sobriety of thoughtfulness, leading to proper timing, yet also adds frustration to the mix. In holding back we build up anger and tension, which may block our availability to our true knowing, to awareness that is growth-oriented for all of us.

We must be careful as we go into the next five weeks and months, as we face our truths and the world’s truths, as we release old patterns of anxiety and frustration within ourselves and in the revolutions now taking place outside of us. In addition, our energy may get stuck in the frustration of this tension, which sets up the potential for problems and we must be aware that we can easily fall back into old patterns and old complacencies. Even while we bask in this energy, it may be difficult to fully access its power properly.

As Arrien writes: “Any holding back or self limitation will move you into that state in alchemy which was known as leaded consciousness. Leaded consciousness is symbolically represented by the greyed-over areas of this symbol. The lotus blossoms are grey, which means that in states of anxiety you have difficulty in opening or unfolding.”

“In the next five weeks or in the next five months would be a good time to move towards creative endeavors where you feel that you can express yourself fully instead of binding and restricting yourself in any way… This symbol reminds you that in the next five weeks or in the next five months, you are no longer willing to be the lineage bearer of family anxiety patterns.”

This then becomes the challenge to all of us, as the weeks and months unfold, to notice our old patterns of frustration and how we handle them. Are we going to truly change now, embracing this energy in a good and heart-centered manner, or are we going to let the old status quo return and bury us in our inner tensions? Are we truly ready to embrace the power of the energy of these times and change ourselves too, while we watch the rest of the world embrace it, dealing with the strife in all of us?

My third quest for advice revolved around how to deal with people in the world outside of me. How do I apply the energy of the Magus and the power of Strife properly, so that I do not fall into old patterns of personal behavior as regards the people I meet as I elect to change, to take this journey that the energy of this time I live in guides me to take? How do I deal with what comes at me as I seek to transform myself?

Here is the card I pulled this time: Ace of Wands

Ace of Wands

Arrien states: “The Ace of Wands is a symbol of spiritual self-realization, awakening, and is associated with the principle of truth and authenticity… the torch of fire, a symbol of the uncontainable life-force that’s within. The lightning bolts are a symbol of awakening to the spiritual truth and authenticity of who you are… you’ve awakened to the unconscious and irrepressible inherent Being within.”

This card, for me, wraps up the challenges suggested by the two previous cards: we must all stand in and speak our truths. We must be honest and authentic, upholding what we have learned about ourselves as we have journeyed through our lives. We must not hold back who we have evolved into. We know who we are now, and we must fully embrace and become that person. Especially, we must embrace the energy of our times to fully mature into who we have worked so hard to become, but we must balance that energy that wants to burst forth, and declare itself, with the pragmatism and sobriety of the great communicator that resides within us, our ancient spirit self, our knowing wisdom mind, as the Buddhists call it.

As the seers of ancient Mexico will remind us always: we are beings who are going to die, so the question to ask, as we face our death is: How do I want to live?

I feel that these three cards, The Magus, Strife, and The Ace of Wands offer us the balance and guidance we need now, for the times we live in. They offer sobering and at the same time invigorating guidance, encouraging us to stay connected to the energy of life, to plowing ahead, accepting and resolving what we have buried in our pasts that so frustrates and angers us, while we fully embrace our greater potential and our inherent truths. It is time, I believe, for all of us to become more than we have ever dared to become before, but we must do it right.

The tools of communication are not in question; the means are available to all of us. But what we say is of utmost importance, how we say it, and where we elect to speak our truths. We must, I believe, stay in our heart-centered truths, but at all times be mindful of where others are, of the impact our actions, thoughts, and language have. In the media now we hear and read such vitriolic and hateful language, strife between the talking heads, but does it really have any meaning? The same thing can be asked of the language of “the experts” regarding the nuclear disaster in Japan; are they speaking the real truth, or are they “greyed-over” platitudes in an attempt to keep the energy from fully empowering us all now?

We can use these examples by questioning our own speaking tongues, both in our inner world and in the outer world. Are we caught in old patterns of inner and outer strife, in lies that no longer serve us or the energy that is boiling inside us all? It is indeed time to revolt, but it must be done right, both within and without. And you know what, it can’t be stopped. We are in it, we are all responsible for the outcome, as Jeanne mentioned in the most recent message. So the question is, are we going to get it right this time? Everything is available to us, everything is in alignment, everything is already in action.

I awoke from a dream the other morning hearing this: “Yes, good, good,” I heard a voice saying. “You get it, you understand how energy works, you know what you are talking about, but now it is time to not only embrace it and to become it, but to go beyond it.” It’s time for all of us, and the entire world, to go beyond now.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page where we share pertinent quotes, photos, and comments, from us and others, at: Riverwalker Press on facebook.

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

References: The Tarot cards I use and that are pictured in this blog are Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot Deck and the book referenced is The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols, by Angeles Arrien. Both are available through our Store.

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Tsunami—Nature’s Molting

Leave a comment

War

News of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 came to Huashan with the monthly supplies. The students who had gone down for provisions had rushed back up the mountain with the report that Japan had swept across the Marco Polo Bridge outside of Beijing, overrun the iron- and coal-rich northern mountains of Shaanxi Province, and had begun a second drive from Tianjin toward Nanjing…

The exceptionally gruesome stories of the fighting and atrocities shocked everyone, including Saihung… Every priest, acolyte, and student had a different opinion…

A large number of Taoists advocated noninvolvement in the war. They insisted that they as ascetics, “people-who-had-left-their-families,” should not return to worldly affairs and break the purity they had so long cultivated. The world was a place of war, deceit, dishonesty, money, killing, politics, and danger.

Patriotic Taoists disagreed, saying that if China was overrun or destroyed, ascetics would have no place to practice their arts… Renunciates or not, they were needed by their country and people.

These are the words I was reading in The Wandering Taoist last Friday when I paused, put down my book, and picked up the news of the tsunami attacking Japan. The synchronicity of aggression by Japan and upon Japan, at that moment, for me, was unshakeable. But what did it mean, what was I being shown?

The meaning became clearer as I contemplated the context of the Sino-Japanese War for the Taoist monks who had left the world and now, high in the mountain retreat of Huashan Monastery, were forced to struggle with deciding what should be the correct action in the face of this worldly aggression.

The Taoist sages knew that this world is but one illusion—they need not attach—and yet many of these highly evolved martial artist monks felt compelled to come down from their mountain and meet aggression with aggression.

Later, as I pondered the deeper meaning and response to the tsunami in Japan, I consulted The I Ching, perhaps the wisest and most immediately useful of Taoist texts. I received Hexagram #49: Ko/Revolution (Molting) with moving lines in the third and sixth places.

The original sense of this hexagram refers to the changes to an animal’s pelt or skin in the course of the year: the molting process. This is a natural event. This is nature’s transforming work, effecting necessary changes to accommodate shifting environmental conditions. Later interpretations of this hexagram extended its meaning to include revolutions that effect necessary changes in governance. Hence, the hexagram represents a change in nature and a change in governance.

These indeed are the attributes of now: the tsunami strike (nature) generating a revolution to overthrow the governing principles of our world. We see this reverberating in the many revolutions taking place throughout the Middle East, heralding a change in governance, while the molting action of nature is destroying a nuclear energy and containment system, which the earth deems destructive to its health and future evolution. Nature’s action and revolution are messages for the entire world, not just Japan and the Middle East. We are all pressured now, through this molting action, to realign governance in accord with nature. Revolution challenges an ideology of greed that refuses to consider balance and the needs of all of nature, human and nonhuman alike.

The moving line in the third place states: “When change is necessary, there are two mistakes to be avoided. One lies in excessive haste and ruthlessness, which bring disaster. The other lies in excessive hesitation and conservatism, which are also dangerous.”

We are challenged here to pause and reflect upon the deep meanings and truths that are being revealed, as well as the lies that are being promulgated, about nuclear power specifically, and then to act decisively. If we contemplate what gives rise to a world that accepts the need to contain highly radioactive materials for hundreds of thousands of years we will arrive at the understanding that at the root of it is a governing belief that unlimited growth is a necessity for the human species. This self-serving principle forces our species to detach from balance and instead exploit and threaten all that nature provides for the survival of all things. Precipitous actions focused on immediate containment and greater securing of a system of deriving energy destructive to life, without a deeper appreciation of the need for a major shift in how we derive energy, would be as futile as monks deciding on bloodshed as the proper action, but in essence just attaching to a different narrow illusion.

The moving line in the sixth place states: “You are reserved and withdrawn. Because of your quiet and uncomplicated philosophy of life, the effect on you of the great changes that are occurring throughout the world will be small and insignificant.”

What does this mean? Stand in the truth. The great changes happening in the world are inevitable. The ego of man will stand unrelentingly firm until nature completely levels it and restores it to humility where it assumes the proper relation to the Tao, or the course of nature. I emphasize here that it is out of our hands now; nature will have its way. This is necessary because man’s ego refused to acquiesce to a governance that respected natural balance and the interconnectedness of all things. In the meantime, we must spare ourselves great energy expenditure fighting that which only the heavy artillery of nature will level.

This was the lesson to the Taoist priests, who ultimately returned to their temples having learned the futility of bloodshed. With this lesson, it was time to take on the true demon on a level playing field, that is, to go within and lift the veil of illusion within the self.

We are all interconnected. What happens without happens within. We are all confronted with a tsunami right now, within ourselves, blowing the lid off truths turned toxic in their nuclear containment within the self. Our personal energy sources, the illusions we uphold to fuel our lives are being exposed now with unrelenting force. Can we face these truths within that we see mirrored and revealed without? What truths are being revealed now that demand changes in the governance of ourselves and our relationships? Are we willing to make major changes in our lives to achieve true alignment? These are the opportunities we are personally being presented with to change the course of our lives, which in turn reverberate into a changed life on this planet.

The future hexagram that emerges from the changes in revolution is #25: Innocence. In innocence we are presented with the image of thunder beneath heaven. When movement (thunder) follows the law of heaven, man is innocent and without guile. Here we have the strong suggestion that the outcome of revolution be a governance that acts in accordance with the Tao, that is, an ego that humbles itself and serves the true needs of the self—the rule of heaven—acting from a place of pure innocence versus tainted egoistic greed. This is the place of humility where man assumes the proper attitude within the interconnectedness of all things. In this paradigm, energy is derived from doing that which is right, working with versus exploiting nature, deriving energy from sources in concert with nature, accepting limitation, versus unlimited energy at all costs.

In summary, my reading of the Taoist response to Japan’s attacks, synchronized with the tsunami in Japan and the reading of The I Ching, all point to lethal power overthrowing the world as we have known it. Japan is simply the latest country to experience the molting of our planet. Think back to 2004, to the tsunami in Indonesia, as well as the recent debacle in the Gulf of Mexico. As well, let us not get distracted by the significance of relief efforts and restoration to normalcy. Victims of these disasters are warriors heralding a new world. Don’t let sadness and grief distract us from the real message: these are necessary encounters with nature’s imperative; everything is changing now on a dramatic worldwide scale.

There is need for revolution, and nature is providing it. Understanding the true nature of this occurrence can bring us to a place of calm and simplicity. We arrive at this place through acquiescing to the deeper truth of fundamental change that we are in the midst of; we can’t stop it. We must align our intent with nature’s intent and remain calm in knowing that what is happening is right. This is not passive surrender. This is the proper position of the ego that supports the truth. Take action within the self and outside the self that aligns with the Tao of nature, because the world, as we have known it, is undergoing major change now, fortunately, heralded by nature itself. No longer is man’s greed going to be allowed to dominate the planet.

Don’t waste energy in psychotic arguments. Embrace the real truth, within and without, without blame, and move toward a life of simplicity that takes only what is necessary and respects the needs of everything else. This is the way of the Tao.

If you wish to correspond, please feel free to post a comment below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page at: Riverwalker Press on facebook.

I am nothing,
Chuck

References: The Wandering Taoist, Deng Ming-Dao, p. 186; The I Ching, Richard Wilhelm translation, p. 189-192; I Ching, Sam Reifler, p. 220.

Buddha in the Midst of the Mist: Sitting in Calmness
Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Balance, Restless Dog & Broken Buddha

Leave a comment

Last week I wrote about balance being important during a recapitulation process, but maintaining balance is of course important at all times. By balance I mean everything from keeping the body and mind healthy with good eating, sleeping, exercise, and stimulating mental activity, to living a thoughtful, compassionate, loving, aware existence in the world, as well as finding a spiritual practice that personally resonates and allows for exploration of the inner self.

For me, balance means all of these things and much more. I’m in balance when I have time for creative work and meditation, even if only for a few minutes during especially busy or stressful times. I’m in balance when I cook, delighting in preparing even the simplest meal with fresh ingredients, and being offered the opportunity to share it in the presence of good company. I’m in balance when I take a few minutes to walk the dog or stroll down the road on a sunny afternoon taking in what nature offers. I’m in balance when I’m focused on a task or project. I’m in balance when I do inner work, attending to what arises during the day to puzzle or challenge me. I’m in balance when I write this blog. However, I awoke feeling very out of balance this morning and with absolutely no idea what I would write about today.

The dog was restless all night. We wondered if she was perhaps letting us know that her time here is almost done. She’s old. Her legs are bad. She’s deaf. When she sits outside in the yard the vultures begin to circle overhead. We’ve been noticing this phenomenon for weeks now, their keen senses of smell and sight picking up on the vulnerabilities of an old animal who would be unable, at this stage of life, to survive out in the wild. During the night I heard the coyotes howling several times and I wondered if she heard them too, calling her to the next world, come to accompany her spirit on its next journey. I worried about letting her out during the night, though she insisted, knowing that they were out there on the prowl.

She has a tendency to wander off. Early this morning I let her out for the millionth time since the night began and went into the kitchen to put the coffee on. Most of the time she goes outside and just stands motionless or wanders around marking her territory then heads back to the front door to be let back in, it’s a predictable routine. This time when I went to let her back in, she was nowhere in sight. Pulling on my rubber boots I went outside to look for her, noticing that the night sky with its brilliant spread of gleaming stars was beginning to cloud over. I saw her heading toward the neighbor’s open garage and set off at a jog, hoping to head her off before they discovered me standing between their cars in my pajamas. Before I could catch her she darted inside. Embarrassed, I darted in after her and coming up behind grabbed her by the thick mane around her shoulders, surprising her. She whipped around and stared at me, as if to say, “What the heck!? What are you doing?” Which is what I said to her.

Stubbornly, almost digging her heels in, she reluctantly allowed me to push, drag, and shove her back into the house. A little while later, Chuck had left for the office and she needed to go out again. By this time I was beginning to feel extremely frustrated, more out of balance at each scratch at the door signaling her desire to go out. This time I put a leash on her and took her for a walk. Upon returning to the house she refused to come back inside with me, though it was beginning to rain. I left her sitting outside, her leash looped around the neck of the stone Buddha we have sitting in front of our entryway. That ought to keep her safe, I thought.

Every few minutes I checked on her. Like the Buddha she sat quietly, sedately, the grand dame, the queen surveying her land, seemingly contented. All of a sudden she got up and before I could get to her she had dragged the heavy stone Buddha off the step. It fell, smashing its head into the step below, severing it from the body. The dog stood there, unaware of what had just happened. I grabbed the leash before she could do anymore damage and just stood there looking down at the beloved Buddha, the calm sentinel marking our door for so many years, now broken.

The Buddha has always been a symbol of balance to me, serene and calm, he sits unmoving, nothing bothers him and now he’s lost his head! “What does this mean?” I moaned, absolutely regretting the moment I had decided he was strong enough to keep our big dog from wandering. What does it mean indeed? I placed the head back onto the shoulders, where it now sits quite comfortably again. You would never know it was broken simply by looking at it.

I pondered the meaning of the Buddha losing its head. Suddenly I saw the significance of it: he doesn’t need his head! In other words, the Buddha is not the Buddha because of his head. He is the Buddha because he practiced losing his head, by sitting in stillness, detaching from the foibles of the conjuring mind. The Buddha is the symbol of mindlessness, empty head, having finally achieved ultimate clarity, enlightenment, and freedom from the temptations, frustrations, and restless activities of this world.

I must face my own attachment to this beautiful stone Buddha. Though the Buddha has lost his head I must not weep. I must be as contented as Buddha. Even now, with head severed by restless dog, he sits perfectly still, keeping watch over our front yard, still presenting me with the utter calmness of balance that I seek. Or perhaps now truly symbolizing what it means to maintain balance in life, that no matter what comes along to interrupt the flow of our lives or knock our heads off we must learn to anchor ourselves in the inner peacefulness and joy of just being.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below.

Sending you all love, good wishes, and balance.
Jan