Find your way to inner peace and calm no matter what is going on outside of you. It’s the only way to stay stable and sane. It’s not selfish but necessary in times of turmoil. And yet, do not be so inward turned as to miss the important things in life, especially the call to make changes that are beneficial, to move on when necessary, and to grow beyond where you are now. For even in inward turning, changes are expected if the inner process is to have impact. Otherwise it’s just another cover for not doing what needs to be done, for not facing what must be faced, and that will benefit no one. The charge of life is always to grow and change. It’s what the world is doing all the time, especially in times of turmoil, pushing for change. Let the self be still but never asleep. Let the self be calm but never inert. Let the self be inward turned but stay alert and aware, and never stop growing. For growth is the creative urge in all of life and that’s exactly what’s called for now!
Sit calmly. Breathe. Let your mind be still. Let your body rest. Let your energy flow naturally throughout your body, bringing loving kindness to yourself. Let your brain be silent, your thoughts cease, your worries titrate down to nothing more than a simmering breeze. In this manner temper your suffering, reduce your anxiety, turn down your inner patter, your judgments, your condemnations of self and other. None of these things really exist; they are mere inventions of your mind seeking resolution, but you will not find resolution there. The mind is a dead end street. Instead let your spirit find you once again in the house of your physical body where it has been wandering and waiting. Let it greet you and take you down the streets of calmness, even as you become active again. Let yourself be whole in this way, in companionable silence within the quiet self!
Like all animals, humans sense the danger of our time. The collective diagnosis for our species at this moment in time is Acute Stress Disorder. Regardless of how relaxed our persona may appear, just beneath the surface lies a hair-trigger anticipatory fear. The world is indeed an extremely unstable place right now.
What power do we have?
See the self as a hologram of the entire world. Balancing the self contributes to balancing the whole world.
Accept that humans had to dream the dream we are living in right now. All options had to be tested. The current hypothesis: Can we really destroy ourselves? Answer the question individually. If you come to the conclusion that yes, it’s possible, but that Russian Roulette is of no interest to you, move on to a heart-centered vision instead.
Accept that everyone and everything you hate are you at some level. Find the hated in the self and love it. Thank the hated tyrants for illuminating the inner ones.
Thoughts have power. Thoughts are in the air we breathe. Think truthful, loving thoughts. Send them to the world in warm exhalation.
Embrace life. Our time in human form is limited. Keep the focus on the magic. Restore the innocence of childhood to the threatened adult self; it’s the only way to truly live.
Be in the Tao. Be with what is in detached calm. You know how to ride the vibration of change. Everyone rode that vibration into this life and will ride it again on the exit. No matter what happens consciousness can observe and flow into new life. Ask body and spirit to get calmer and walk beside the river of life together, knowing that you can handle everything that comes—even the shocks—by moving deeper into calm acquiescence to the flow of change. Trust the Tao.
Let the day be smooth and easy like a gentle breeze. Let your heart be calm. Let your breath be your guide to stillness as it takes you deeper and deeper into yourself and your life. Breathe. Just breathe.
We can create mandalas anywhere, to trace or walk, to calm or intend change… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
The borders of the world are swiftly evaporating as we swirl ever so rapidly into our One World family. This transformation has been heralded by the diaspora of formerly-cloistered knowledge and practices of the world’s most ancient spiritual traditions.
Tibet is a regular at the White House now, in the form of the Dalai Lama’s chats with the President. Mindfulness has infiltrated into the core of brain research at major universities and is at the heart of modern psychotherapeutic treatment. The technologies of the Upanishads and the wisdom of the ancient Hindus is available in most adult ed programs, and in storefronts in most cities in the world, in the form of yoga practice. The energetic medicine of the ancient Chinese, in the practice of acupuncture, is now covered under most health insurance plans. The knowledge and methods of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico are readily available, to anyone seeking to deepen their energetic evolution, through the published works of Carlos Castaneda.
The age of exclusive godly gurus and saviors is over, at least in projected form. Even the Catholic Pope admitted to his human frailty when having to prematurely retire. The Dalai Lama’s successor is dubious; Carlos Castaneda ended his shamanic line; India is steeped in desecration of the feminine, and China has forgotten the I Ching.
The legacy, the deepest gold of these ancient fading traditions, lies in their technologies, offering pathways to the soul. These methodologies, stripped of their proprietary and ritual wrappings are now available to anyone who chooses to engage in their practices. It is true that we still need teachers and guides as we experiment with these ancient practices. For instance, Kundalini, the powerful instinctive energy that lies coiled like a snake at the base of the spine in all of us, once activated, can wreak havoc with the central nervous system, such as triggering a physical recapitulation that may confusedly land one in the emergency room! It is wise to proceed with caution and seek out experienced guides and helpers for these practices.
But, by and large, our greatest guide is our own resonance. The teachers and teachings that are synchronistically drawn to us and resonate with our own energy are most likely to be trusted. We are all guided now by our own inner Naguals—the title afforded, in earlier times, to the leader of a shamanic party. No one else’s rules or resonances necessarily apply to our own journey. And that journey can take many different roads.
Many people value the concept of meditation. In fact, it’s at the top of many a New Year’s resolution scroll. Most, however, find its actual practice daunting or frustrating. When TM, Transcendental Meditation, was the rave in the 1970s, Dr. Herbert Benson, in his lab at Harvard, discovered the Relaxation Response, a simplified, demystified 10 minute practice that achieved the same physical and emotional benefits as the ancient esoteric mantras of TM. There are many simple roads to meditation, like washing the dishes with full mindful presence.
A calm walk on a simple path… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
The ancient Tibetans and Navaho Indians used sand paintings of mandalas to heal and commune with deep spiritual forces. Carl Jung had his patients paint mandalas to connect with the healing support of their own deep unconscious during analysis. When I seek such a connection, I will simply walk slowly in a circle, then in a square, touching four points of that circle. In this simple gesture the energetic pathways to the deeper self are opened. A calm walk on a simple labyrinth can facilitate a similar experience.
The other day, Jan offered a recorded hypnosis to easily shift awareness and access deep calm from the sacred within. Hypnosis is one of those ancient practices: “En arche en ho lógos (John 1:1);” “In the beginning was the word.” And with words we construct our worlds and commune with our deepest spiritual forces. When we choose our words wisely, the words we take in and the words we exhale can invite in benevolent and compassionate energies to support and guide our journeys. It’s all in the word. A simple calm word can change the structure of water and what it does to us; it can become healing balm.
Partake in the simply sacred with the guides and practices that resonate. Trust your inner Nagual. Peace.
