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Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Soul of Winter

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Heading into the light…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Today marks the first day of rising above our deepest darkness. With the completion of the passage through the Winter Solstice we begin the daily incremental lengthening of the light. Despite the barrenness of winter, the light will continue to support us .

Light is the essence of pure Spirit, which is our Source, without body. Before we arrive at this ultimate destination, Spirit is housed within the various soul bodies we inhabit, beginning with the densest, the physical body. Thus our soul resides within the physical body for the duration of our earthly tour, generally only sneaking out in our nightly dreams in infinity.

When we depart this dimension of life our Spirit moves on, housed in the soul body, also called the astral or energy body. We remain in that body until we have fully squared with the issues of the physical life we just lived. This region is variously called limbo, purgatory, or bardo states.

Upon release of these denser attachments, the Spirit rises into finer soul body states, as it proceeds on its definitive journey toward its Source. This progression toward the final merger with Spirit, in pure loving light, is wholly dependent upon the release and fulfillment of issues encountered in the denser regions of soul existence.

Winter is the densest season of the earthly cycle. Matter becomes thick, rigid and immobile. In human winter we experience depression, disconnection, and alienation from the light of Spirit. Some people sit beneath or wear light boxes to reconnect to their Spirit, as they rise above their heavy mood into the lightness of being.

Religious traditions, from pagan through Christian, celebrate the Solstice with the birth of the light, a connection to Spirit in the dark night of the soul of winter. Regardless of one’s weighted emotional state, hope is kindled in that which only increases the Spirit in the light.

The human body is innervated with energetic connections to all its finer soul body states through the seven chakras. Chakras one through four—which include the perineum, the reproductive organs, the solar plexus and the heart—deal specifically with life in the physical world, which covers survival, relationship, emotion, and ego concerns.

Thus the densest issues in human life are encountered in these chakra areas. The work of these chakras is in the challenges of physical life, as  experienced through developmental processes that render one progressively capable of autonomy, self sufficiency, and love.

Thus, for instance, the solar plexus serves as the birthplace of the ego that becomes a willful human being with intense emotion. Though largely steeped in dense narcissism at its earliest stage, it must be refined in the furnace of the solar plexus to rise to the lightness of the heart chakra, where it first encounters Spirit and the possibility of true love of another.

The heart actually presents its own furnace of transformation, as love must suffer its own journey from naive innocence to mature innocence in the vicissitudes of fantasy and relationship. Before refined love can rise to the higher Spirit chakras it must release the density of pain and blame.

Many a denser emotion is clamped down upon in the throat chakra. Such stuck energy is sent back down to the heart and solar plexus for further processing before its refined energy can comfortably pass through the throat chakra to the third eye and crown chakras above.

Thus, in human life, much time is necessarily spent in the lower chakras, working on and resolving core issues. In this respect, much of human life, regardless of actual season, can feel like the dead of winter. No blame here; it’s our karma, our core reason for choosing the life we are in—to come to Earth School to refine and rise above a specific issue.

The soul of winter reminds us that at anytime of year, at anytime in life, we do have access to our highest level of Spirit, that burns bright regardless of the darkness of our mood. The light of day, the stars and moon of night, the mere clicking on of a light, are all instant connections to this Source in light.

Inwardly, ask for help and guidance from all the light beings who watch over you and await your call. Ask and you shall receive. Just be mindful that ego must surrender to the Tao of Spirit, that has its own knowing way to truly answer our call!

Honoring the Soul of Winter, with love to all!

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Emotion, Thought & Chakra

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The intricacies of reflection and refinement…
– Photo by Chuck Ketchel

Emotion and thought are often experienced as polar opposites, warring Titans vehemently struggling for supremacy in human life. This is often illustrated in standoffs between thinking people devoid of emotion versus emotional people devoid of thought.

Interestingly, in both Hindu and channelled descriptions of the multiple bodies that comprise the full human form, which includes the physical, etheric, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, the mental body is depicted at a finer or higher level than the emotional body, as one moves up toward the coveted spiritual dimension.

At first glance this would appear to cement the argument that thought is of superior value to emotion. However, if one observes such a clash of ‘opposites,’ in the form of an argument, one will be struck at how powerful emotion accompanies the ‘thinking type’ in their defensive argument as to the superiority of pure reason, as well as the amount of mental programs that defend the ‘feeling type,’ who digs in firmly behind the value of pure emotion.

Thought that lacks distilled feeling is not grounded or related to real life. This is like intellectual philosophy that dismisses spirituality on purely rational, non-experiential grounds. Intense emotion, driven by unprocessed experience or unreflected thought, overwhelms the circuitry of the central nervous system and also precludes spiritual advancement. To arrive on the spiritual plane, one must refine both emotion and thought, as they become companions on the journey toward wholeness.

Emotion is an energy that comes into prominence at the level of the solar plexus in the human body. This is the coming of age chakra for the ego, which establishes its separate sense of self by creating a moat out of defense mechanisms. Projection is prominent: It’s your fault, not mine. Denial is clear: I didn’t do it. Grandiosity fuels the ego’s narcissism at this early stage, as it takes its first solo steps on the human stage.

Tremendous emotional energy attaches itself to these defensive structures as one vehemently protects the sanctity of the ego. The ego, thus empowered, feels the necessary strength to hold its own as a separate being. As well, the will is established as the ego develops the ability to achieve and create, channeling its energy toward the satisfaction of its own goals and desires.

For emotion to rise to the level of the heart chakra one must first burn off the impurities of unregulated emotion. Rages, tantrums, and moods are heavily laden with disappointments stemming from the ego fixated at the early stage of narcissistic entitlement. This ego must first go through the refining process of controlling its outbursts and safely releasing its emotions. This develops a rudimentary respect for acceptance of the needs of others.

Arriving at the heart chakra with this control, one is impacted by the call to greater connection with self and others. This also manifests as the concretization of the spiritual drive, perhaps in the seeking of relationship or discovering of one’s soulmate. Both ecstatic and sad emotions accompany this pursuit of wholeness through relationship.

The distillation of emotion at the heart chakra—that arrives at pure love for everything and everyone, including oneself—allows this emotion to smoothly proceed to the throat and third eye chakras, the home of the mental body. If the throat becomes constricted as emotion rises, that emotion must return to the heart and solar plexus chakras to process what it is attached to. Until it is released, love cannot rise above its fixation.

Thoughts issuing from the mental body chakras, imbued with love, will act from right action and for the greater good of the interdependent whole, within and without. Thoughts lacking love are either dissociated from the human form or may be serving the wants of emotion at the level of the solar plexus that have circumvented the heart.

To develop the mental body, the home of thought, one must learn control of thought. Here meditation practices can help one develop the ability to control the randomness of thought and the ability to focus attention. Thought, like emotion, is a powerful energy, that must be regulated to journey into the spiritual dimension.

The spirit requires truth and total transparency to navigate freely. Uncontrolled thought lacks the steadiness and sobriety to ground one in spiritual discovery. Unbridled emotion is likely to waylay one in bardos of discontent or illusory worlds on one’s spiritual journey. These are the fantasy worlds that accompany elevated emotional states that end in empty imaginings.

Refined thought and emotion are able to merge at the spiritual dimension, the crown chakra, as one ventures into greater connection and discovery within and beyond the human form. Thought and emotion at this level are hardly warring Titans but true loving companions on their journey in infinity.

Sending loving thoughts,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Finding Harmonious Balance

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Homeostasis!
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

All systems seek homeostasis. There are countless permutations of homeostasis. For instance, if one part of a system rises to an extreme, other parts of the system compensate by moving to the opposite extreme to restore balance. A system of extremes, though a volatile and unstable balance, nonetheless can take possession of the world, as well as the human personality, with dire consequences.

Democratic governments have evolved systems of checks and balances to ensure stability of governance. Elected representatives bring their varied, opposing beliefs and individualistic concerns to their meeting halls and, ideally, attempt to harmonize their decisions for the greater good. Often, however, special interests seek to stockpile power to advance their agenda unsullied by a democratic process, which generally requires compromise.

Some issues, such as a threat to national security, evoke a primal unity that can advance a generalized acceptance of war. This falls under the category of nationalism.

The world is dangerously close to such an eventuality, particularly in a time of deluge of fake news, geared toward advancing special interests, especially for those who advocate war to eliminate unwanted parts of the world system.

These are like the times in world history where a savior is sought to bring a peaceful reconciliation of opposites and restoration of world stability. In modern terms, the world seeks a mature adult leader to restore order.

In the human personality, the adult self is the “savior” charged with bringing sustainable homeostasis within the system of the human psyche.

The adult self is the conscious president of the personality. The chakras of the human energy system are the major energy centers of the personality that reflect different needs within the self. Thus, for instance, the first chakra is the representative of core security and safety. The second chakra is concerned with procreation and continuance of the species. The third chakra is concerned with the power of individual needs and wants, the true coming of age of the human ego.

The fourth chakra is the meeting place of the spiritual self, where the individualistic ego is introduced to the truth of its place in the larger interconnected system of the greater self. The heart chakra teaches the ego right action for the needs of the greater whole.

The final three chakras are greater refinements of awakening to the transpersonal dimension of being and to life beyond the physical self.

The adult self is charged with managing the needs of the total self in space time, that is, daily human life. The adult self must bring to the meeting room the unique concerns of all the representatives of the various chakras. Decisions must be made, and checks and balances employed, to insure good management of energetic resources in the behavioral fulfillment of everyday life.

Unfortunately, the adult self must undergo much maturation before it arrives at the adult ability to govern for the greater good of the personality. Here, checks and balances appear in the form of psychosomatic symptoms, emotional and cognitive reactions, as well as dream experiences and synchronistic manifestations that bring influence upon the homeostatic balance of the personality.

A basic example: at the core chakra level, we must eat to survive. The second chakra, with its primal concern of mating, might negate the need to eat in order to attract a mate. The third chakra, in a state of grandiose entitlement, might insist upon unlimited treats. The fourth chakra might give the message that food is necessary in moderation, and hold out that a true mate would be attracted to a person who lovingly cares for the true needs of the whole body.

An immature adult self might find itself easy prey to the special interests of one or another chakra, resulting in either under or over eating. An adult self that has undergone the trials of the lower chakras, and reached the heart chakra, would be able to avail itself of the wisdom offered at the heart chakra. This would mean eating an enjoyable, moderate, truly needed meal.

Again, all systems must achieve homeostasis. Homeostasis could actually look like an indulgent attitude, compensated by severe somatic and emotional symptoms. The goal is to achieve harmonious homeostasis, which provides enduring sustainability. All individuals have the opportunity to be saviors of themselves, in their intent of achieving mature adulthood.

Let us intend that world leadership follow this example.

Pursuing the path to heart,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Kundalini Rising

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We are in the time of the great healing crisis…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Tragic, the burning of Notre Dame. It takes us to the heart and the intent to rebuild. The energy, contained for centuries in this monolithic structure of Catholicism, has been released and will be reformed in its reconstruction.

Pope Benedict spoke from retirement last week, proclaiming, in a letter, the source of sexual abuse in the Church to be linked to the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the free love of the 1960’s. His prescription for reformation is in keeping with similar calls throughout the world for conservatism as the solution.

His letter reflects, at the highest level, the schism within the Church. Pope Benedict reflects the power of control at the third chakra, will. Pope Francis calls for love at the fourth chakra, all-encompassing. The mounting energy of this schism can be depicted as kundalini energy rising and bursting forth, in flames, in the split between these two chakras.

In America, the same schism is being exploited and the fires stoked. Some hold to the true spirit of the American Dream, the heart chakra. Others hold that that dream is over, that America is full, back to an old conservatism, the third chakra. The same schism confronts Israel. And though Netanyahu emerges victorious, Beresheet crashed into the moon.

At the deepest level, all these local tragedies are signs of the earth’s healing crisis. That crisis is the earth’s reformation, as the farmers of the Midwest can well attest. Healing will require rising to the objective truth of what is needed to survive at a fully interconnected level, beyond all special interests.

Consider Katie Bouman’s modest contribution to the algorithm that made possible the first viewing of a black hole. The key was to bring all telescopes on the earth together as one. The ability to merge the data as one produced the light of consciousness that takes us deeper into the mystery of us all.

The fires rage and the destruction is painful. Nonetheless, the healing crisis, well underway, portends new life, on more solid ground.

Present,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Facing Now

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Time for your two selves to sit down and have a chat?
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

On March 24, 1995, Tony Schwartz phoned Elmer Green to share his frustration that his recently reviewed book, What Really Matters (1995), which chronicled the development of the New Age spiritual movement in America, had sold so few copies. This despite favorable reviews in The New York Times and Fortune, and an upcoming guest appearance on PBS’s Charlie Rose.

When I went on to research Tony Schwartz, I discovered that he was the ghost writer for Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal (1987), the hugely successful, number one bestseller that first made Donald Trump a household name.

The coincidence and cognitive dissonance of Tony Schwartz, who has gone on to be one of the most successful proponents of New Age energetics, as applied to the workplace, being the same Tony Schwartz who first launched Donald Trump, is too compelling to ignore. Regardless of the findings of the Mueller report, Donald Trump was being groomed to become president by the forces of destiny, decades ago, as the prerequisite to the real launching of the Age of Aquarius.

Destiny insists that we reconcile our nature and our spirit selves for evolution to proceed now. Tony Schwartz reveals this polarity within himself in his 1995 call to Elmer Green. His outrage at his poor book sales, and his attachment to self-importance reflect his bottom-line-self, growling from his solar plexus chakra, saying, “what about me!?” On the other hand, the book he wrote speaks to the emergence of the New Age, reflecting a view from his heart chakra self, where the self-serving ego of the solar plexus chakra acquiesces to synchronicity and the importance of interconnected energy, versus self-importance and the will.

The fact that Tony Schwartz bemoans his role in Donald Trump’s rise in his 2016 statement on Good Morning America, where he characterizes his ghostwriting of Art of the Deal, as putting “lipstick on a pig,” suggests to me that he misses the true significance of his contradictory actions. All humans have two selves that must be reconciled with to advance both themselves and the human race.

To project the evil squarely upon a president, who may have stolen an election (even if it is true), is to dissociate from one’s own shadow self, which, as is evident in the Tony Schwartz example, continues to impact one’s life, albeit unconsciously.

The self of the first three chakras is embodied in the caricature of Donald Trump, and we all have that self. The first chakra is all about the wall and core safety. Do I have enough to survive? How much of our lives is spent on this obsession?

Birthright and entitlement spring from this chakra. Did I get the attention, resources, and security promised by the ruling archetypes of family? Have I settled with my core disappointments and resentments, or do I secretly harbor acrid bitterness and jealousy? Why do I really have to share? The bottom line is everything. “I’m all for spiritual enlightenment, just as long as I get my piece of the action,” is the perspective of this chakra.

The second chakra is truly the scourge of humankind. As a therapist of some 35 years, I know for certain that child sexual abuse is a hidden industry in all communities, at all socioeconomic levels of society. It’s an ancient shadow industry that reflects humankind’s inability to face the true depths of its animal sexual nature and, with the turning of a blind eye, relegates the instinct to target the most innocent and vulnerable.

The notion that human beings have mastered and integrated their sexual selves is absurd. Many ‘solve’ the issue of sexuality through dissociation from and repression of their sexual selves. This, of course, only empowers the collective dissociated instinct that flourishes in human trafficking and the hidden corners of spiritual traditions.

Even those moderately engaged with their sexual selves have to question how much of their sex lives are commandeered by manipulation, avoidance, obligation, personal gain, control, or simply a focus on personal desire. How much of the fullness of sexual desire is integrated with true love and meeting of another? To reach this level of refinement, sexual connection must travel to the heart center, where the egg of narcissism is cracked open to reveal the other.

The third chakra is all about personal power, as the ego comes into its own.  At this locale, the ego is all about Me. I want, I need, I deserve, I desire. These are the ego’s marching orders. It’s about agency and will, deeply colored by desire steeped in narcissism. The emboldened ego serves the desires of the physical plane, be they sexual or material. The tendency is to overindulge all the appetites and be granted attention for one’s specialness.

Though many may have settled for a codependent solution here, the shadow of that dissociated will-to-power fuels the energy of a Me First president, regardless of how deeply he may be consciously disavowed.

These concrete, primal, instinctual footings of the first three chakras are the basement foundation of our spiritual being, which resides in the heart chakra. Material accumulation, carnal desire, and personal power are the building block challenges through which our soul must pass. Though we may stalk the higher values of energetic interdependence and love for all beings, at the heart chakra, if we haven’t grappled with and made peace with our own first three chakras, our experience there will be overshadowed by unrequited need.

A well-seasoned warrior is one who has faced the power of the kundalini energy of the instinctual self within, and raises it for further refinement in love, compassion, truth, and right action of the heart chakra. Arrival at this heart-centered place marks the integration of the two selves, that which is needed for evolution to proceed now. As destiny is boldly reflecting to us now, we must cross the divide from the full experience of the lower chakras to the heart chakra for evolution to proceed.

The transformation of our political landscape, that which rules the world, is directly linked to each of us, as we face the fullness of our own natures. Soulful introspection into the truth of our inner opposition, as well as a sacrificial attitude that brings moderation to the heart, as well as acquiescence to the true leadership of the High SOUL, are the keys to this transition. This is our golden opportunity to face, now, with strong foundation, and launch ourselves into the spiritual potential of a truly enlightened New Age.

To be alive in such times as these is the envy of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico, who treasured the opportunity for spiritual advancement as they faced the tyranny of the invading Conquistadores. Nothing tempers the spirit more than to shake loose the bindings of self-importance, that which is needed to cleanly arrive at the sobriety of the heart chakra. Owning the tyranny of narcissism, both within and as reflected without, is to find the ark to begin the journey across the great chasm of self-reflection to SOUL purpose.

Taking the journey,

Chuck