Tag Archives: Tao

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Chuck’s Place: Right Mind Over Matter

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Nature reclaims matter…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

The body says, “I’m tired.”  The mind pushes sleep away, and carries on. This simple example illustrates the core training of life in human form: the ability of mind, which is spirit, to shape the physical world of matter, with intent for the greater good.

At present, our world, wherever you look, is of two minds. The lines are fairly evenly divided. Take, for instance, the issue of vaccination. One worldview credits vaccination with a decline in infection. The other worldview disavows the need for vaccination to avert infection.

Rather than argue the merits or deficits of either view, I draw attention to the phenomenon of mind over matter, activated in both views. Mind is generating both one’s beliefs and intentions. Matter is the body. How will the body respond to the mind’s intent?

The placebo effect is the universally accepted phenomenon of mind impacting matter. Many a disease has been cured because of the power of one’s belief in the treatment, even if the treatment was nothing but a sugar pill. Of course, if one’s belief shifts so does the magical effect of the placebo. Wise to have beliefs grounded in truth.

Hypnosis is another well-documented case of mind over matter. Mind, with a clear intention suggested to it in trance, will manifest in the body of matter its entranced command at the appointed time and circumstance. Again, however, though a subject might temporarily manifest suggested behaviors, if the suggestions don’t resonate with one’s deepest truth, they won’t have duration.

Matter is the material of all nature. The minds of humans are free to manipulate and transform nature for food, shelter, recreation, travel and industry. Matter is pliable and compliant, but if nature’s laws are not respected in human design, nature’s compensation will ultimately prevail.

Take the rising ocean on the coast of Florida, with condominiums constructed on reclaimed wetland. Apparently, nature is reclaiming her wetland, unwilling to support the human intent that imposed its will upon it.

We are currently experiencing the intent of conflicting mental belief systems attempting to market radically different constructions of reality.  These belief systems strengthen their appeal to citizens through well-funded messaging strategies, seeking to find resonance in the minds of consumers.

The world is being asked to choose between alternative realities. Whichever version gains majority consensus will become the mainstream reality, whose intent is materialized in the thoughts and policies that govern that reality.

However, as we see with the fallen condominium, only materializations that are in accord with the laws of nature will ultimately prevail. Nature always compensates for human deceit and error. This is the essence of the Tao: all actions, however extreme, will be brought into balance with equally extreme counteractions. Actions founded on balance stay in balance.

When mind acts upon matter from the place of truth, matter is firm and long-lasting. When mind acts deceitfully upon matter, meteoric rise leads to devastating descent.

Our major opportunity, while residents in this Earth plane of physical matter, is to learn how to live by truth. We are treated to the solid manifestation of our mental intents in the physical world and in our physical bodies. With this observable feedback we learn and grow.

Through mastering right action in physical form, we are best prepared to be truthful spirit beings, capable of navigating the more subtle challenges of energetic life, and remain in balance.

To be able to align mind with truth will lead to a more fulfilling and meaningful life, and best prepare one to advance into the more subtle challenges of life beyond the physical body.

May we all arrive at right mind over matter.

Embracing right mind,

Chuck

NOTE: Chuck’s next blog arrives 7/20/21

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Quake Beneath the Mountain

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Open mouthed Kali dragon stirring the world…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

It was Sunday morning. As I read to Jan, from Carlos Castaneda’s foreword to The Sorcerer’s Crossing, the Earth suddenly moved like a wave beneath us. Moments later, in a  more pronounced tremor, the Earth shook again.

The paragraph I was reading at the moment of tremor focused on how humans share an interpretation system that generates a solid agreed upon reality. This interpretation is not the only true reality, but in order to perceive beyond it one must gather energy.

Simultaneously, I have been immersed in Niels Bohr’s conviction that physical reality only exists when humans observe it. Therefore, ‘true’ reality exists at a level beyond the human perceptual program. Like the shamans of Carlos Castaneda’s lineage, physicists are confronted with two realities, one solid and one energetic.

My other current preoccupation has been Muktananda’s  counsel to “Give up all desires. If something comes, let it come; if something goes, let it go.” (Secret of the Siddhas, p. XV) This powerfully simplistic Taoist guidance from an Indian Swami is at the core of all spiritual traditions: reign in the ego, stay mindfully present, and let go when it’s time to let go.

On Saturday, Donald Trump issued executive orders that challenge the balance of power among the branches of government. From a synchronistic perspective these actions send tremors through the interpretation of the Constitution, the foundation of American democracy. Such challenges may generate a whole new interpretation of reality.

The active side of the Hindu Divine Mother is Mahakali, the dominant force of the world cycle we are presently in, kali-yuga. It is the tachycardia in her heart that rumbles beneath the Earth. It is she that hastens the changes rapidly unfolding before us, as we are challenged to reconstitute ourselves, and our world.

The image of a quake beneath the mountain constructs hexagram #27, Providing Nourishment, in the I Ching. The image is built with a solid line at the top and bottom with four broken  lines in the middle, suggesting an open mouth between upper and lower lips; hence the association with nourishment.

The quake below is action, contrasted with the utter stillness of the mountain above. Steadiness is recommended in the place of tremor. For Muktananda, desire would be the energy of tremor. His guidance would be to store one’s energy vs egoistic attachment and reactivity.

The I Ching recommends that one observe appropriate measure with all activities of the mouth: “For tranquility keep the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and keep the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure.” (I Ching, Wilhelm edition p. 108)

The time of Providing Nourishment depicts God as coming forth with an arousing force that is brought to perfection in the keeping still of the mountain. This is the energy of spring, which brings forth new life.

With the breakdown of a uniform interpretation of reality all around the world, powerful forces have an opportunity for life. Steadiness of the individual is highly recommended to withstand the tremors of a  broken reality, but also to encounter the energetic reality that lies beneath our solid world of interpretive reality. That reality for physicists is the oneness of everything, as an interconnected energetic whole.

Like the mountain, store your energy; the path to new life. Care for the Spirit with careful words. Care for the body with temperate food and drink. Let desire be elevated to the intent for the greater good for all. Greet all that comes with equanimity. Release all that goes with loving kindness.

In stillness,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Snow — the Truth Congealed

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Congealed truth…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Water, in its highest aspect is a symbol of our high Soul, the ultimate source of who we really are. Water symbolizes ultimate unity. Lacking in differentiated parts, the river flows in its wholeness: the Tao.

At the level of everyday consciousness, the world is perceived in a highly differentiated way that separates, classifies, and organizes energy into distinct objects that enable an individual to navigate life in a material world.

This perspective has the side effect of obscuring or downright blinding us to our underlying interdependence and oneness and also sends us into deep opposition within ourselves and with our many neighbors.

When snow appears in a dream, it represents the Truth from the high Soul being transmitted to the plane of everyday consciousness in the form of water, congealed. This intervention from the high Soul freezes water into snow, as we are not ready to grasp its full message at our current level of consciousness; we need to first melt the snow.

Melting the snow begins with the recognition that its appearance in the dream is significant. To contemplate its meaning initiates the melting process. It is likely that the message will not be revealed in an immediate eureka moment, though indeed that is possible.

Contemplation has its own limits, as it issues from the mental plane, which tends to think in terms of opposites and differentiated parts. However, reliving vs merely thinking about a dream can give rise to spontaneous associations that begin to decipher the message from the high Soul. In this way, contemplation makes space for direct communication, as well as intuition.

To fully melt the snow, one must enter into communion with the greater unity of the high Soul. From one perspective this means fully owning every aspect of the dream as part of one’s wholeness. Regardless of who the characters are in the dream, their drama, at a certain level, is one’s own drama.

What distinguishes this perspective from narcissism is its willingness to permit a fuller knowing of self, particularly aspects that function autonomously in the darkness of the shadow. Rather than dismiss the existence of other, this approach promotes solidarity with other in a greater acceptance of the universality of all human experience. In contrast, in narcissism, one is the only one who exists; there simply is no other.

Taking a walk in the snow in last night’s dream, I unknowingly found myself nearly falling off a precipice. Time became elongated. I had full clarity that my balance had shifted beyond the tipping point; indeed it seemed I was about to fall. In deep slow motion, I next experienced a counter energy that gently reversed my body movement like a rubber Gumby, as my feet remained planted on the ground. Balance was restored.

This dream speaks to many dimensions of my being, but at the most universal—that of the high Soul—it follows up the message of last week’s blog, The Turning Point. Here the turning point becomes the tipping point, the point of apparent no return. And yet, despite the inevitability of deep crash, balance was restored.

The message from the highest center of unity suggests that though the current Earth drama may go so far as to throw it out of its normal elliptical revolution, a return to balance is possible. Regardless of the deeply exaggerated precipitous ledge we find our world currently in we will swing back.

With this knowing, seek refuge in the heart center, the Truth center that melts all the congealed snow.

Warmly,

Chuck

Soulbytes

Soulbyte for Monday January 27, 2020

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Keep your mind still and your heart steady no matter what comes to shake you. All change is part of the flow of life, birth and death alike, change that is seemingly joyous and change that is seemingly sad. Feel your joy, feel your sadness, but keep your mind still and your heart steady so that you do not become lost in either your joy or your sorrow, for that would allow change too much power, and you do not ever want to give up your power. Hold your power firm in knowing that all change is life naturally unfolding, leading things forward, one day and one step at a time.

Sending you love,

The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Stalking the Ego in the New Era

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We are in the dawning of a New Era…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

An animal stalks its prey, waiting patiently, instinctively knowing the best moment to strike. Shamans regularly stalk a new identity, when the time has come for them to transform and move on into new life. In this New Era we find ourselves in, we must all stalk a new identity.

To stalk, we must first turn to the ego’s behavior and study its habitual patterns in order to know which to strike to ensure survival in this New Era. Stalking requires pragmatic objectivity to be effective. Belief systems that superimpose their interpretations upon reality miss the mark of what truly is. To stalk is to be a true scientist.

The salient quality of ego is its decision making capability. Though all species may be said to make decisions, only humans have the ability to act contrary to their instinctive programs. Humans, therefore, have functioned as the deliberative brain of planet Earth, altering instinctive programs at will. As a result, Planet Earth has entered into a period of revolt; in striking out the ruling human ego she stalks her own new identity.

We watch, every day, as Planet Earth continues her drastic transformation; evident currently in the fires of Australia, earthquakes in Puerto Rico, volcano in the Philippines, and tornadoes and early summer in different parts of mainland America.

If we stalk the governing ego of the world at present, in human form, what is revealed is an inflated sense of self-importance that blatantly denies the reality of climate change, and is focused on the total exploitation of the Earth, for the material gain of itself. This ego stance is intent upon completely imposing its will upon the Earth, positioning itself as the master of all of nature.

How can such a ruling attitude adapt to the multitude of changes happening daily before our eyes? At best, we might call it a valiant attempt to hold onto the dominating feature of the old era, in what we might characterize as, “ego’s last stand.” But, like buildings being toppled by earthquakes, this exaggerated attitude will, of necessity, collapse amidst the growing imperative of Earth’s transformation.

Ego, as the active side of decision making, is critical to survival in this New Era. However, ego must align itself with the true needs of the self, and the planet. This requires a perspective that considers the interdependent relationship of all things, what could be called the energetic oneness of everything.

The byproduct of this oneness, the glue that holds it all together, is love. Thus, for ego to align itself lovingly with the interconnected oneness of everything would be the correct attitude to stalk, as we inevitably go with the flow of the changes of this New Era.

Our New Era is replete with violation. Violation is the catalyst that opens the portal to new worlds. Trauma survivors and shamans alike know the transporting effect of violation ushering in unknown worlds.

What was once the restricted province of shamans and unwitting victims is now the everyday reality for the entire human race: violation and entry into new worlds of possibility. Blame for  violation, at this stage, cannot contain the deeper truth, that we are all part of a collective shamanic journey now, our evolutionary destiny. We are not victims but adventurers forging a new path in a New Era.

Clearly, it is nature herself leading the charge of violation in this New Era, as Planet Earth reshapes herself. Current human ego decision making, at the highest levels, reflects nature’s ruthlessness. But here the analogy ends. Ruthlessness rooted in narcissistic injury is isolated and immature. Only ego, in the service of the greater good, can safely navigate this New Era we are in. Only ego in alignment with what is truly right for all can lead us safely forward.

As individuals, we are being asked to stalk our personal ego’s attitudes, decisions, and actions to determine their true intent. Is my ego aligned with interconnected reality and the greater good? On the local level of everyday life, in the body, is my ego in alignment with the true needs of the self? Does my ego cater to the special interest groups within the self that demand habits that undermine the health of the self?

The New Era we have entered requires a consensus reality to fortify its stability. That consensus reality is built upon a mass of individuals upholding a heart-centered loving foundation for ego to act from. This begins with stalking the ego in one’s everyday life, and striking from its repertoire self-centered thoughts, decisions, and behaviors.

The cumulative effect of a mass collective intent, lovingly bent upon the greater good, will be to arrive at the right attitude with which to live and lead this deeply reconfigured Planet Earth of the New Era. Make your own worthy contribution by first and foremost stalking your own ego, lovingly.

Stalking,

Chuck