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Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: When the Time is Right!

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Today, I present the next two steps in learning to be a shaman that I learned last fall from dreaming with the women sorceresses of don Juan’s group. As I mentioned in my first blog regarding this process, I had been re-reading the books of Taisha Abelar and Florinda Donner Grau when I decided to do some experimenting at night, wondering if I could, by setting my intent, contact the women sorceresses of that group in dreaming. Over the course of a few weeks, I did, indeed, succeed in receiving, through what I consider to be dream channelings, a pragmatic set of practices. Each night I placed the heavy dreaming pillow that Jeanne had gotten at a Tensegrity workshop on my lower abdomen and asked to be taken on a learning journey. After reading Chuck’s essay on The Womb I realize that I was offering myself the opportunity to access the “knowing” that he wrote about, the knowing that all women naturally have. Here is the 5th step, as I dreamed it during the night of October 24, 2009 and as I wrote in automatic writing in my journal:

I am an old woman bored with the excuses of others, unimpressed by laziness or other reasons for non-doing. I listen patiently and I cause SHIFT. I shift the atmosphere with a FLICK! I conjure up a storm to shake them awake.

I wrote this in my journal the following morning: When I wake up from this dream, having written the above during the night, I am aware that holding back and non-doing are important, until it is the right time to shift, then take quick action and SHIFT! This is the fifth step in the shamanic process. (End of journal entry.)

With a busy day of travel ahead of us I was unable to write more at the time, but I do remember processing this with Chuck as we drove. I was struck by the utter boredom that came over me in the dream as I listened to the empty excuses that people were giving for not evolving or changing. At the same time I knew that non-doing, not attaching, was also key, that being patient was proper because we will all have to shift at some point, whether by personal choice or for reasons that are totally out of our control. In the dream I am an old woman, and I seem to have some power, like nature itself. As an old sorceress I know it is not my place to force shift, until the time is right.

In this dream, I learned that by staying in a place of non-doing and detachment, patiently observing and waiting, we place ourselves in alignment with the flow of nature. There comes a point when we know it is time to shift. That moment is as instinctual as breathing. If we are in the right alignment, aware and in balance, then we are able to enact the necessary shift for ourselves. Otherwise the shift will be forced on us. In the dream, I knew the exact moment when this was right, it was time, and I took quick action, without hesitation, because I instinctually knew it was right. I was like nature in the dream, actively creating a shift with a swift flick of my hand, shouting: SHIFT! The process of non-doing, in this case, is actually achieving the place of no pity, the term from the shaman’s world, that Chuck has also written about. By non-doing, by withholding reaction and being patient and detached, by watching and waiting, I achieved this point of no pity, which also allowed me, in the dream, to know when the moment of shift had arrived. As a follow-up to this shamanic teaching dream, I dreamed the following the next night:

I dream about my mother, bored, boring, complacent, living in a nursing home, having resorted to childish behaviors, reverting to an infantile existence. I have no attachment to her. I am completely detached, merely an observer standing in her room at the nursing home. I turn from her lying in her bed and look out a large picture window overlooking ancient water gardens. There are many shallow pools and ornately carved fountains, sculptures, and benches surrounded by stone walls and walkways. I calmly enjoy the beauty of it as I talk to one of my brothers about the fact that I cannot help my mother. No matter what I offer her, no matter how many attempts I make to give her evolutionary life, she continually chooses infancy. (End of dream.)

I am struck by this dream underscoring the lessons of the night before, the place of no pity, of non-doing, and of detachment, but in this case leading to knowing that I cannot force a shift on a person who does not choose to evolve. By nature and her own choices a shift occurred in a person who was once an adult, but who now (at least in the dream) is living out her final years as an infant in a nursing home. In these two dreams, my instinctual knowing, stirred by dreaming with the women shamans, is in play. By remaining in alignment and flowing with the moment, with nature, I am fully aware of appropriate action.

After this dream, I fell asleep again and dreamed another shamanic practice. I swam up into consciousness briefly and noted: Remember what transpires in dreaming. When I woke up in the morning, I knew that this was the sixth step in learning to become a shaman and I knew this meant: remember what happens in dreaming life and in waking life, because you cannot always be sure which is the dream.

I humbly offer my dreaming experiences as examples of the power of intent. During the weeks I dreamed with the women shamans I received answers in fairly straightforward and easily decipherable language, and I am amazed, as I read back over the pages of my journal, how the process unfolded. I admit, I do trust the process of setting intents. If I am consistent I get results; partly, I think, because I trust that I will be responded to in some fashion. If I allow myself to trust; innocently but without attachment to the outcome, as the shamans say, the response I get will be the right one. I seek to keep my intent pure and good, to keep it evolutionary, without either negative or positive overtones, without hints of doubt, and I am consistent in repeating my intent daily until I get results. As a result of this practice, I do believe we can all, men and women, access the natural power within us to learn what it means to truly evolve.

I am struck, again, by the synchronicity of what I am writing about, what Chuck chooses to write about and how Jeanne’s weekly messages all seem to align. On Monday, Jeanne spoke about remaining aware of how shift happens, of the role of nature, and of your own energy. Honestly, we really don’t plan these things!

Keep dreaming!
Love,
Jan

Messages from Jeanne

#680 Stay Grounded in Inner Energy Today

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Jan Ketchel channeling Jeanne Marie Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
What is the most pertinent message you have for us on this day?

I have spoken lately of paying attention to nature, of understanding how change happens, and of connecting to nature during times of change, for nature not only reflects the energy of change but embodies it as well. Today it is likely that greater moments of awareness and subsequent shifts will be noted and achieved. This awareness and shift will be both personal and impersonal, but the important factor is to not only notice what is happening around you, and inside you, but to use it for growth.

Today is a good day to learn something new about the self. As you are confronted by the energy outside of you, find out how it is really affecting the energy inside of you. Is your personal energy out of synch with the outer energy? Is your personal energy in its own shift, needing something that only you can provide? Is the outer energy pushing you in this direction of shift, aiding you in your endeavors, or is it disrupting your personal progress? Is the energy of today to be engaged in, or is it to be detached from? Such questions as these require contemplation at all times, however, I underscore that the energy of now is quite volatile, quite aggressive and demanding. But even such energy can be tamed and utilized for personal growth, though it takes a keen sense of self, of where you are now, and what you need, in order to not get swept up in the vastness of the energy as it comes into your world. The vastness of the energy refers to its widespread power to override all other energy, even that of concerted efforts to change.

Pay attention, during such times, to the energy of self and to what it truly needs right now, rather than attaching to the energy of others or the possibilities that abound outside of you, offering to sweep you up in what appears to be quite vital and invigorating energy. Do not be fooled into something that does not truly resonate with self.

This is a day to stay grounded in the needs of the self, to be reflective and thoughtful about the inner energy that has been pushing you in a new direction for a long time. This may be the day you have long awaited, the day of finality of intent, setting you more firmly on your new path. Use the energy of now wisely by determining your true commitment to the inner desires. Are you ready to firmly commit to the new path that has been revealed over the past few months? Have you received enough reasons, enough encouragement, enough signs that it is indeed the path you need to be on? Are you ready to set your feet down more firmly upon this new path and take the journey that you already know lies waiting for you to more fully embrace, engage in, and own as your own true journey, regardless of what you may be drawn to outside of you?

You see, that is the dilemma that must always be encountered and resolved, the inner and outer conflict. Who among you does not struggle with the self, the conflicted self? It is human nature to struggle, but even so, a choice must be made as to which path will be taken as paths appear, as decisions arise, as life unfolds.

Who are you now and who do you desire to be? How are you being guided, at this moment in time, to choose the path of growth and progress toward a more united self? What choice, made today, even at this very moment, will bring you closer to the self you truly resonate with and desire to cultivate? Where is the true energy of self?

It is the energy of self that you seek to recognize, know, and remain attached to now, while the outer energy presents you with all kinds of opportunities. Sit quietly with the self and ask for guidance on what to do next. From this place of inner calm, turning your back on the energy knocking on your door, may you hear the quiet answer you truly need right now.

Messages from Jeanne

#674 Three Levels of Detachment Reaction

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Jan Ketchel channeling Jeanne Marie Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Today, I ask for guidance for all your readers, those we know and those we don’t know, for those who are near and those who are far, for anyone who might happen to stray upon our work in the course of searching for meaning in life. What message do you offer all of us, as we continue our journeys upon this earth?

My Dearest Ones, do not hesitate to fully embrace who you are, the inner you but also the outer you. The life long process to achieve balance and depth must include both aspects of self. To reject one aspect of self over another is to invite derision and conflict into the journey. The process of inner work involves enough conflict and derision without projecting and rejecting parts of the self. The greater process is one of acceptance, mergence, and wholeness. The ultimate journey upon that earth is one of acquiescence, for you cannot stop life’s unfolding. You cannot call a halt to the facts of your being, of your physical self or your conscious engagement in the world, but you can gain inner peace, balance, and reach a depth of study of self that will lead to detachment, acceptance and acquiescence.

If you consider the facts of your life, you will admit that they happened. Can you deny that you were born and have lived, thus far, all that you have lived? You also cannot deny that you will continue to have the process of life unfolding in your future. In some form or another your life will unfold. You will wake up each day and be presented with who you are, what you have done, and what you will do next. You will either find your process acceptable or you will fight it. Those are the two basic choices you are presented with as each day unfolds.

Your decision to fight your life process will present you with certain challenges, and your decision to accept it will present you with another set of challenges, even though the circumstances of your life will be the same. You see what I am getting at? Your life will unfold as it will. It will be the same whether you fight it or accept it, but you are fully in charge of how you decide to meet it. Do you choose to meet your next day with anger, regret, hostility, or sadness, or other such debilitating energy drains? Or do you elect to accept, learn, and move on with a new attitude about the self, firmly accepting of your inner process to lead you beyond the immediate reactions you have to your self and the events in your life?

Wow, I guess I find that statement somewhat judgmental on your part, as well as challenging, Jeanne. We have to experience all those debilitating energy drains too, don’t we?

Yes, my Dear One. As you know I have said many times that one must be where one must be, but today, I am asking you to challenge the self to try something different in order to push the limits of your abilities, to go beyond the normal process that may have become stagnant. So bear with me as we proceed on this unfolding process. Okay?

Yes, I acquiesce to this unfolding process. Keep going with your message.

You see, what I challenge you with today is to go beyond your immediate reactions to the self and others, to your circumstances and your current position in life and to accept that this is life unfolding, to accept that you cannot stop what has happened, but you can change how you react. And this is an evolutionary growth step.

To take a step forward it is often quite reasonable to first take a step back from the self, to step aside and view the self as an unfamiliar object. If you can allow the self to do this, I ask that you stand aside and look over at that self you are at this moment and note your immediate reactions. What do you feel, see, interpret, as you honestly look at the self? What are your first impressions? Write them down in one column labeled: First Level Reactions.

Next, I request that you calm your self with some heart-centered breathing. Take a few minutes to do some calming breaths and then look at the self standing over there from this softer heart-centered place. In a column titled Second Level Reactions jot down what you notice about that self now, allowing your detached heart-centered self to truthfully note feelings, reactions and truths.

Now, I ask you to go another level into the self and into detachment for self at the same time. Going deeper into calm heart-centered breathing ask the self what is needed to move beyond this moment. Ask the inner self to ask that self standing over there to tell you what you truly need in order to become acceptable so that you may choose to react to life differently. Write down what you hear being spoken in a third column called: Deeper Level Reactions.

These three columns of words are your truths of this moment, of this day, of this time in your life. They may be different tomorrow or in the future, but for this moment they are the truths of the self. Now comes the challenging part. As you look at the truths of self that you have written down, I ask that you do not attach to them as either good or bad, but simply accept them. These are things that are true, and truths are just that: the truth.

To process these truths, to accept them without judgment and without attachment, one must now decide what comes next. What must you do to change something that is keeping you from enjoying your life? What must you do to accept that truth that bothers you so much? What must you do so that your reactions to the truths of the self may be no reaction at all, except: Yes, it is so. This is my truth. I accept these facts of self without attachment to emotional reactions such as anger, sadness, regret, self-pity or horror. I accept these aspects of self.

The next step is to send out a request, an intent for help and guidance in one form or another, perhaps in this prayer: And now I desire change. I ask: Please allow me to take my journey each day, allowing me to accept who I am, and help me to challenge myself to change. Help me to detach from the old, having fully accepted the old me, knowing that in order to grow I must change. This I desire.

By setting the self on a daily path of change, with acceptance and acquiescence as part of the plan of attack, you will, undoubtedly My Dears, discover that you are fully equipped, within the self, to learn self-detachment, self-acceptance, and to teach the self how to move beyond the old self who holds you from your promise. And what is your promise? It is fully acquiescing to the fact that you are a being comprised of energy. You are deeper and more daring than you know. Until you detach from the old ideas of self, and dare to interact with the inevitable truths of the self, you will only brush up against the true promise you hold within.

Today, I dare you all, My Dear Readers, to stand apart from who you think you are. Gain a little perspective, then gain a little detachment, then gain a little insight to take you on the next step with a different attitude about the self, remaining fully aware of all that you are. You are you, and that is the truth. But now, what are you going to do with your self? You can’t stay there, can you?

Is there something still missing? That is what you seek. What is missing from your process that has not allowed you to fully embrace your wholeness, your compassionate, true self? What is keeping you from moving, every day, toward discovering your true promise?

NOTE: At three in the morning I heard two owls calling to each other. The call of the barred owl is quite distinct, eerily haunting and magical at the same time, visceral and grittily predatory while at the same time stirringly beautiful. Whenever I hear the owl calling I always feel the presence of the dark side and the light side at the same time. The call of the owl always makes me wonder: What is to come? From Animal Speak Ted Andrews writes that the owl presents us with the mystery of magic, omens, silent wisdom and vision at night. Owl symbolizes the feminine, the moon, the night. It is associated with healing, fertility, seduction. It is the bird of magic and darkness, prophecy and wisdom. Owl is able to extract secrets. With its acute vision and hearing it is related to seeing the truth. Owls have secret knowledge to share: they get to the truth. As I read through the interpretations of Owl in Animal Speak I saw the synchronicity of my nighttime visitor and Jeanne’s message today. She is asking us to be our own Owl, to use owl medicine, so to speak, to reach into our deeper darker selves and, using our clairvoyance and truth-seeking detached selves, reveal our truths and work with them. Look into our souls and face our truths. This is our challenge this week and we have the energy of Owl accompanying us. -Jan

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Being-in-Dreaming

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Back in October and November 2009 I began re-reading the works of Florinda Donner Grau and Taisha Abelar, two of the women sorcerers who learned from the same line of shamans as Carlos Castaneda. The women were taught primarily by the women shamans or sorceresses of don Juan’s lineage, while Carlos was taught primarily by the male shamans, though not exclusively. I have wanted to go back to my experiences of last fall because I had some very interesting dream channelings while in the midst of reading about these women. Today, I begin passing along some of those experiences. As I re-read my dreaming experiences I found them fascinating all over again and I hope you too will find something of significance. I also think that some of these experiences tie in with Chuck’s blog regarding becoming a warrior.

On October 14, 2009 I wrote the following in my journal: Yesterday, while reading Being-in-Dreaming by Florinda Donner Grau, I came upon a passage where her dream teacher tells her that all women must turn back into the cage that is inside them to fully discover who they are. I was struck by this mention of the inner cage because Jeanne used it as a metaphor for doing inner work in her message on Monday October 12, 2009: Why Must You Return to Your Cage. As I read this book I am also struck by how familiar what I am reading is and how much sense it makes to me at this time in my life. I have been a dreamer all my life and, as Jeanne always says and did in that Monday message, the challenge is to be a dreamer with awareness. Last night I dreamed of hiking along a crowded path and it seems related to this reading I have been doing, that I am coming out of the crowd now and going in a new direction, on my own. I am fascinated by this process. (End of journal entry.)

Later that day, in the same book, I read about don Juan telling Florinda (though she is not aware of who he is) that the crows flying overhead were a good omen, and to see them as a promise that they would meet again. He described the crows flying as like a painting in the sky (p. 65). The very next day a blue jay appears to me. At first, I assume he is admiring his own reflection in the glass sliding door, but then, as he flies up to the window a second and then a third time, as if to be sure I notice, and as he spreads his wings before me and hovers there for what seems like a long time, I am reminded of what I had recently read. I take it as an omen. In Ted Andrews book Animal Speak I read that the blue jay represents the choice of being a dabbler in the world of spirit and magic or of fully going for it and embracing it and becoming it. I am often afraid of what I will encounter when I channel, fearing that I will fail or that nothing will come, though in the end I do plunge boldly ahead, even though I may be uncertain. Fully becoming and embracing this new me has been a struggle. As I leave behind the old me I must encounter my fears. At the same time, I do not want to be a dabbler. I understood that the blue jay was challenging me to be bold and to love my spiritually evolving self.

At this point, I knew that I had to find a way into the shaman’s world. Instinctively, I knew that I had been in it for a very long time, but that it was time to be in it with greater awareness. A couple of days later I finished reading Being-in-Dreaming and decided to experiment with dreaming. That night, as I lay down to sleep, I took a small round flat dreaming bag, a heavy bean bag type leather pillow about three inches in diameter that Jeanne had gotten at a Tensegrity workshop, and placed it on my lower abdomen, over my uterus. The female shamans say that a woman’s energy is in her womb and that this is dreaming energy. The pillow/bag is an anchor and may also stimulate dreaming, as I see it. My intent was to call the women shamans to me, to have an experience of them, to learn something from them. I had a few dreams right away. I was aware that I was quickly in and out of dreams and that they were different somehow from other dreams.

The next night, I went to sleep with the same intent, to learn something from the women sorceresses and I had this dream: I am at a spa, a place of healing. Part of the healing treatment is sitting in huge hot tubs, old-fashioned concrete slab tubs. I take off my clothes to get into the tub that has been prepared for me when I look around and recognize other people, including a big heavy-set man, a very enthusiastic, good natured, happy man with a lot of energy who I do not know personally but I have seen him around. When this man comes into the room I pull a towel over me because I am naked. My dreaming self does not give a hoot, but my awake dreaming self cares very much. My daughter is also there. She is talking with this man and then I see her going off with him. In the dream I make no judgments about this, but my awake self in the dream wonders what he wants with her, a young girl. When he leaves with my daughter I get into the hot tub to soak. There are other women in the room also soaking in their own individual tubs. It is very calming. My dreaming self makes note of my daughter walking off with the large man towering over her. There is no fear on her part and my dreaming self does not attach, but my awake dreaming self conjures up scenarios and suspicions. I am of two minds. My dreaming detached self has absolutely no attachment to it, not even that it is okay; it just takes note, without opinion. My awake dreaming self immediately gets suspicious and fearful that the guy is up to no good.

When I woke up I was immediately struck by the fact that I had both aspects of mind in the same dream: the conjuring mind and the totally detached mind. They were present in my two selves: my dreaming nonjudgmental detached self and my judgmental attached fearful self. I realized that I was being given a lesson in learning the distinct difference between the knowing mind, the inner knowing self, and the rational, conjuring mind, the ego self. In the dream my inner knowing mind was utterly calm, flowing, accepting and fully acquiescing to everything that unfolded, without attachment or judgment. The conjuring mind, on the other hand, was totally attached, assessing, creating scenarios, busy, preoccupied with imagining all sorts of things. The inner knowing had absolutely no attachment; it was simply present, observant yet knowing that what is simply is.

Upon awakening, I realized that fully experiencing the difference between these two minds was the first lesson in understanding the shaman’s world. In the late afternoon that same day a swarm of wasps hung over the front yard, dancing, twirling, tiny buzzing ballerinas, their legs dangling as they calmly swirled in the sunlight beneath the pine trees. I was struck by their beauty and mass of calm energy, lightly present, barely making a stir. The next morning a flock of large blackbirds flitted about in the same place, holding together in a wave of busy movement, noisy, pecking in the leaves on the ground, chirping loudly, clumsy compared to the wasps, and as they took flight with a sharp loud motion they became a dark angle, a shadow painting whirring in one sweep across the sky, perhaps a sign of more to come as don Juan had suggested to Florinda. At the same time I wondered if perhaps those two sights represented the two minds: the calm and quietly flowing wasps as the detached knowing mind, and the loud blackbirds as the attached conjuring mind. As I write this today, I am also struck by the distinct energy of each of these, the feminine energy of the wasps and the masculine energy of the blackbirds, two energies that we each have inside us. We are encouraged to access and utilize these energies, both by the shamans and by doing deep inner work in Jungian psychotherapy.

As the blackbirds flew off, I sat and ate my breakfast feeling happy and contented, knowing that I was ready to more fully enter the shaman’s world. I had set my intent to take up the challenge of the blue jay and now I knew that, in my dreams, I would be shown what that meant. As I proceeded with this process of dreaming intent in the weeks to follow I received some interesting guidance from the women sorceresses, which I will write more about next time. In the meantime, enjoy the spring, look for signs, ask for help and do the inner work. Oh, and of course: DREAM!
Love,
Jan

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Messages from Jeanne

#672 The Ultimate Goal

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Jan Ketchel channeling Jeanne Marie Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Here we are, it’s Monday again, and a new work week begins. As I sit and feel the energy of today I find that I don’t have any specific questions for you, but I wonder: Do you care to offer us a spring message of guidance?

My Dear One, and All My Readers, do not forget, as you feel and test the energy outside of you, to also feel the unique inner energy that describes who you are, your constant hum of self, which nestles deep inside awaiting visitation. I suggest that this week ahead of you is ideal for gaining inner clarity, inner resolution, and inner calm, and it is ideal energy for taking action based on this inner connection. Inner self must now be acknowledged more fully. Inner self must be given the respect deserved, so hard earned and eagerly awaiting recognition. Inner self speaks words of wisdom. And that is what you must now connect to.

In quiet reserve will your inner hearing and speaking become more pronounced, but it is your outer self who must make the decisions to act, to listen, and to decide that, yes, inner self, you are absolutely right! I am in alignment with you. I dare to act on what you say, for I know, wholeheartedly, that you speak words of truth.

So, set an intent this week, My Dear Ones, to meet in a quiet spot; your inner self and your outer self sitting together in order to make a decision that will propel you both forward. For you know, deep inside, that this is what you need right now. You are at a point of great decision regarding something in your life, something that you both fear and desire, and that something is CHANGE.

Change arrives in many forms. It may be large and looming or small and subtle. It may frighten you because you see it so clearly or it may not even affect you consciously because you have no inkling of it. Yet in both instances you feel restless, uncertain, and obviously desirable of SOMETHING. What is the SOMETHING that has arisen in your life, My Dear Ones? What looms or approaches? What seeks your attention? What comes quietly to ask you to help it emerge from out of you, the same way the flowers and greenery in nature burst forth from the spring ground? What inside you is asking for release? For that is the energy you are now confronted with: the energy of release.

How do you choose to walk upon that earth knowing that SOMETHING desires release? I suggest that some deep inner quiet is going to be most necessary as you move forward in your lives. I suggest that only in finding the inner voice, the deeper self, will you find the answers you seek. You may look outside of you for signs that you are making the right choices, but allow those outer signs to truly reflect your inner self and not the desires of the outer self.

And how will you know what is right? The desires of the inner self will challenge you. They will ask you to break out of your shells, away from your old habits and expectations, to truly embrace a new you. This new you will ask you to stand in solitary repose upon your quiet spot and to feel your independence, your free spirit self, your inner self yearning for freedom. This inner self will ask you to be daring, to be brave, to push aside your fears and to know that whatever decisions and choices for change that you make in your life will be right for you to make, because the inner spirit knows that you will only make the choices that you need to make. But it will leave it up to you to figure out why you are making the choices you are deciding are most right for you to make now, at this current time.

Be advised that no decision is permanent, for if you are looking for permanence then you are not ready for true change. For true change means that everything is in constant flux and evolution, even you, My Dears. Can you accept that your decisions will open new doors in the weeks ahead? Can you enter a world of change and be accepting of what is to come? Can you allow your self to be open and daring, aligned with inner spirit, even though you are afraid?

In conclusion, I suggest that you take in the energy of change in heart-centered breathing, in quiet self-reverie. And, in inner calmness, give the two selves —the inner self and the ego self— some time together so that a consensus may be achieved, so that energies may align for the ultimate goal: CHANGE.