Tag Archives: spiritual growth

Chuck’s Place: Synchronicity, The Soul’s Messenger

Molting gutter snake…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

In a dream, I was beside a lake at night, sandwiched among a pile of undulating bodies, tracking an elusive sensation in my body. Suddenly, Jan awakens me; it’s 4:15 am, already late to rise.

I abruptly stand up. My body suddenly begins to seize into a full body cramp. Unable to stand erect, I carefully hobble out to the living room couch. As the seizure continues to threaten to go into a full-blown convulsion, I question whether my energy body, in its abrupt return to the physical body, from the dream, has docked awkwardly, impacting both my muscular and skeletal structures.

Next, I reflect on the dream experience itself, recognizing the purposive action of a contraction-like movement in the dream, suggesting a birthing experience. I know from personal experience that all dreams, however painful or frightening, are promptings from the High Soul for movement and change, in the physical waking dimension of life, that are in alignment with its higher truth.

This was not some kind of physical recapitulation of a suppressed bodily memory. This was a High Soul energetic chiropractic adjustment that had to be completed in the awakened physical body. My fear dropped away and I wondered, in awe, what new life was struggling to take form in my body as I entered the light of day.

With this growth-oriented perspective, I was able to be receptive to the physically challenging experience as it led me into new knowledge and consolidation of mind, body, and spirit self. This is the process of inner alchemy, as the body becomes the retort through which soulful transformation is achieved.

The shamans of ancient Mexico discovered that all energetic intent is embodied in the routines of physical postures and movements we subconsciously repeat each day. Changes in movements and postures open one to whole new worlds of possibility. Frequently, those shamans would be instructed, in dreaming, in new sets of physical movements, which they called magical passes. They then practiced these passes in waking life to bring intended change into their lives.

The synchronicity of my dream body’s and physically awakening body’s experience was my High Soul’s message crossing between the unseen dimensions of my whole Self. The message was non-verbal; like a new magical pass, the message of change was quite physical.

Synchronicity had already provided a startling sign the prior day. A black snake’s head hanging from the gutter above the front door greeted us as we arrived back home after our daily climb up and down Robert’s Mountain. We suspected that the snake was shedding its skin, as we have often found discarded snakeskins in the gutters. I too was soon to begin the painful process of molting.

At the level of the High Soul is the dimension of our experience at the transpersonal level of existence. This is, literally, the subatomic Soul level of existence, where everything that is, is interconnected as an ever-undulating wholeness of energy. All of us, everything, exist as one; nothing is exempt from this wholeness, this oneness. This is our life at the High Soul level of infinity.

Closer to home is the dimension of a circumscribed life in a physical body, where the interconnected energy of infinity is perceived as a discreet world of separate solid objects. This is the life of the soul, sequestered to the perception of ego consciousness, constructing the familiar dimension of everyday life in time and space.

The transpersonal dimension is light as a wave, as energy. The ego dimension is light as a particle, as solid. These two dimensions operate quite independently of each other, yet they do interact in the freedom of the dream space, where they share with each other both their wisdom and their experiences. High Soul has the broadest view, but ego soul contributes to High Soul’s knowledge through its own experiments in physical form.

I realize that my High Soul needed a willing partner, in its ego soul, to acquiesce to the molting and realignment that would allow for new discoveries in physical life experience, which are crucial to the High Soul’s growth and movement in infinity. Teaching and learning are a two-way street between the human and the divine. The particle and the wave are equal though opposite sides of the same coin.

I have come to realize that everything that occurs in waking life is meaningfully connected. From this perspective, the transpersonal knowing of the High Soul is channeled through the receptive ego, as it attends to the sensations of the world around it in waking life. Nature constantly provides signs and agreements to our cognitive meanderings as we navigate our days. This is synchronicity, the soul’s messenger, bridging the dimensions of Self.

To benefit from the High Soul’s messages from infinity, one must indeed suspend the judgment of an overly rational particle prejudiced ego, appreciating the promptings of the energetic High Soul.  As well, one must live a grounded life in the physical body and participate in the fulfillment of the physical life they are also in.

And so, I have daily come into alignment with the shift that occurred upon sudden reentry into the physical from dreaming, molting from an old ego stance into the new adjustment that was afforded me by the collision of worlds—my High Soul having instructed my ego to get into a new alignment that benefits both.

Get grounded, suspend judgment, open to the awe of possibility, and begin to dialogue with your own High Soul. It communicates everywhere, in every pulse of nature and the planet, within and without.

Forever molting,

Chuck

Chuck’s Place: Befriend the Jackal

Befriend the Jackal…
– Artwork © 2022 Jan Ketchel

In Egyptian mythology, Anubis, the guardian of souls and lord of the underworld, appears with a human body topped with a jackal’s head. The jackal, in physical reality, is an earthbound wild dog who, like a vulture in the sky, feeds off the flesh of the dead. This is the likely root of Anubis’ symbolic and solemn association with death.

The jackal, in the tripartite human being dimensions of mind, body and spirit, is the physical body, the mortal component of this human trinity.  The physical body is also the subconscious dimension of the human being. The subconscious houses the raw materials of all that we are, as well as all that we have ever been.

When the superconscious dimension of our Spirit decides to incarnate in human form for a particular mission of self-actualization in time and space, it must forget its immortal existence to accomplish its goal. If we were to be born with a distinct knowledge of our soulful existence beyond death, it would trump the experience of mortality, which is crucial to creating the necessary growth environment, or experimental/experiential conditions that our Spirit requires to advance its mission.

The jackal, as accomplice to Spirit’s intent, is the  guardian of Spirit knowledge housed in the shadowland of the subconscious and stored in the human body. The paradox of this contract is that the jackal becomes Spirit’s greatest opponent in life. While Spirit seeks the spiritualization of our sojourn as material, mortal beings, jackal seeks to consume all of our spiritual stirrings that threaten to bring into the light of consciousness the truth of our hidden potential and immortality. The psychological tool to keep things hidden is suppression.

The jackal accomplishes its mission through preoccupying us with concerns of physical survival. We become obsessed with our income and resources to assure food and shelter. Our preoccupation with creature comforts renders us inert, as we sink into the malaise of semi-conscious existence. Ultimately, these obsessions evoke anxiety and fear and breed selfishness.

The world is currently caught in such a survivalist drama, as fears of scarcity fuel war and hate of neighbor. These fixations lack the deeper spiritual knowing of interconnected life beyond mortal existence. The challenge for the world now is to ascend to this spiritualized position of love and care for all of life. This is indeed the Great Spirit’s intent for the entire human race in its current incarnation: to ascend to love amidst threat to mortality. But how to accomplish this?

The shamans of ancient Mexico reminded themselves each day that they were “a being who is going to die” to counter the jackal’s distracting efforts to mire their Spirits in materialism. With death as one’s adviser, one is mindfully present, with Spirit, to the opportunity for fulfillment in each mortal moment.

Between the superconscious domain of Spirit and the subconscious domain of the jackal—the body—is the mind. The mind is actually another orphaned dimension of Spirit, known as the ego. Like the body, the mind is a victim of brainwashing, that is, amnesia of its true origin: Spirit.

However, despite its ignorance, ego stumbled upon the tree of knowledge and free will. On the downside of this discovery is ego frequently colluding with the jackal, advancing its power aims and survivalist agendas. On the upside, ego has the potential to calm the jackal, whereby opening the channel to Spirit’s guidance and resource in its Earthly mission.

When ego chooses to meditate, it calms the body with positive suggestions, which in turn provide reassurance. This is where ego learns voluntary control over the jackal’s autonomic nervous system. When the jackal gets anxious, the ego can lead it to the calmness of its safe place. Once the jackal feels safe, and sees that its true physical needs are being met, it allows its hidden treasures to come into the light of consciousness.

This allows ego to recapitulate the repressed traumas of this life, or the issues of past lives, previously hidden and stored in the dark storage of the physical body. This allows access to one’s true karma, one’s mission in this life, allowing it to be revealed and fulfilled. Ultimately, this spiritualization process allows for the full merger of mind, body, and Spirit in love, the collective Spirit intent for the lifetime we are all in.

Interestingly, it is Anubis who presents the human heart to Ra at the time of human passing, as the actions of one’s just-lived life are weighed and future karma assigned.

We begin our journey of spiritual return through befriending the jackal, who in turn opens the door to the gems of our true heritage, presenting materials for advancement. And, ultimately, as our worthy opponent through life, the jackal returns us, upon passing, to our full-fledged Spirit in infinity.

Loving the jackal,

Chuck

Chuck’s Place: Truckin’

When there are no blockages, all roads lead to the heart center…
– Artwork © 2022 Jan Ketchel

When I look out at the world, I see reflections of the human Body and Spirit. The Taoist guidance—as within, so without—guides my perspective.  Synchronicity, the meaningful co-occurrence of events, supports the parallel interpretation of world events and events within the individual.

Oceans, rivers, and roads are the Earth’s circulatory system. Vessels and trucks are the carriers of the world’s supplies, distributing, where needed, the nutrients and material building blocks for modern civilization. These are equivalent to the red blood cell truckers of the human circulatory system.

Recent truck blockades have interfered with the normal free flow of the world’s supply chain. What might this blockage reflect in the human body and psyche?

The adrenal glands are the body’s first and primary centers of response to real or perceived threats to survival. Typically, the hormone adrenalin is secreted by the adrenal glands to increase blood circulation to the muscles in order to respond to a perceived threat via flight, fight, or freeze.

This survival response, when maintained over time in a constant state of readiness and vigilance, creates an over-concentration of blood flow to the muscles, cutting off the supply of vital nutrients to other organs and cells in the body. This blockage in the supply chain can lead to vascular collapse as the roads to these other vital centers are blocked.

The human mind is intimately implicated in this toxic predicament. The survival response itself is an inherited instinctual reflex habit stored in the subconscious. This program is triggered both in response to actual sensory stimuli that communicate real danger, as well as imagined danger that might be generated from one’s internal dialogue.

The subconscious does not discriminate between real and imagined danger; it responds equally to each. Thus, the thoughts and stories that we attach to in active thinking directly contribute to roadblocks in our circulatory system, which both overstimulate the musculature into constant rigidity and deprive the rest of the body of nutrients and avenues for waste management.

The ability of the mind to release itself from the toxicity created by negative thinking is fundamental to adrenal care and smooth sailing throughout the circulatory system. To this end, the I Ching recommends that, rather than battle negativity directly, to instead make energetic progress in the generation of positive thought and action.

Practically speaking, this could mean feeling compassion for one voicing pessimism, hatred, and blame. For myself, I seek to find within my own self the qualities of the one who so offends or threatens me outwardly. I then appreciate that internal part of myself that holds that same point of view. This defuses inner turmoil and often broadens my perspective. Outwardly, I send love to the other that they might find calm and resolution as well.

Physical action also provides a release of energy prompted by adrenalin, as well as through deep breathing, where fresh oxygen binds with adrenalin, reducing its presence in the musculature.

Listening to heartfelt music can also shift one’s emotional landscape, as feelings of love, awe, and reverence begin to circulate throughout one’s being. As well, devotional actions of mantra, prayer, and intent guide the subconscious to call off the adrenal troops and return to calm.

I appreciate the image the truckers have provided as a diagnostic x-ray of the blockage in our current human predicament. I encourage that we all find our way to the positivity of compassion, love, and gratitude that we might find ourselves, flowingly, on the road again.

Grateful,

Chuck

Soulbyte for Thursday December 24, 2020

Respect and appreciate all aspects of the self, just as you seek to respect and appreciate all aspects of others, for everyone contributes something to the mix—everyone is a teacher and everyone has the possibility to evolve, even the seemingly least likely. It is the law of karma that each being has work to do in a lifetime related to the growth of the spirit. Help the self find the means to spiritually grow and evolve and allow others to do the same. Spiritual growth and evolution are the greatest gifts you could give yourself and the greatest gifts you could allow others access to as well, even those who appear to be the least spiritual, for indeed, that is the goal of all beings now in physical form. Respect and appreciate all of that and let love guide the way.

Sending you all love,

The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne