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Chuck’s Place: Navigating Now With Fluidity & Resilience

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Don’t feed the flyers!
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

In his usual mischievous way, Carlos Castaneda would come into the gym every few hours and assess the energetic status of the thousand or so Tensegrity practitioners who’d been rigorously practicing the physical forms, called Magical Passes, we’d been taught. He’d then announce, “Not yet!” According to him we had yet to accrue enough energy to handle the impact of the special knowledge he was waiting to deliver.

Ultimately, having fully captivated our attention, he introduced a special topic, which the shamans labeled, the flyers. The flyers are inorganic beings; meaning, beings who have an energy body but lack a physical form. He stated that we are their prey, the food source for this species of being.

Flyers feed off the energy generated by impassioned human emotion, particularly the incoherent energy produced by intense anger, hate and sadness. Furthermore, flyers infiltrate our minds. They commandeer the thoughts of our internal dialogue, creating stories of us being offended, disregarded, and considered unworthy in our daily interactions. This intensifies the negative emotions that season our energy.

Of course, this is quite a grotesque characterization. Years later, I had the pleasure of a moment with Reni Murez, one of Carlos’s apprentices. She assured me that much in the shaman’s world was metaphor, not to be taken too literally. I pass this guidance along. Nonetheless, metaphor is used to illustrate  energetic facts.

The energetic fact is that thoughts, generated from within, or from an outside source, trigger powerful emotions that deplete our energy and weaken our spirit. It is also an energetic fact that some entities, human or otherwise, feed off the tortured emotional energy of others. Such is the heightened energetic reality of our time.

Clinically, the collective diagnosis of now is Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), reflecting the incessant traumatic bombardment of bombs and words that inflame and terrify the world daily. ASD rapidly turns into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the overriding diagnosis for our traumatized modern world.

In response to these diagnoses, the central nervous system, for the bulk of humanity, is fixated at the fight-flight-freeze mode. In this threatened survival state, the body floods with cortisol and adrenaline to cope with the ravages of overwhelming stress.

The side effect of this constant state of arousal is addiction to the very chemicals the body releases internally to cope with threat. This hyper alert state has become the desired state to feel safe, which results in a continuous cycle of generating fearful thoughts that trigger heightened emotions, which in turn release stress hormones to be prepared for largely imagined catastrophes.

Behaviorally, this leads to a strong attraction to activating news, outer events, and interactions that maintain a steady flow of the stress hormones we have become addicted to. The physical exhaustion of this constant state of arousal is overridden by the defensive energy released by the stress hormones that then weaken the immune system, making one more prone to disease. In addition, despite exhaustion, one is often riddled with poor sleep, as the mind is wary of releasing the defense of alert presence and relaxing instead into rejuvenating sleep.

The first step to energetic recovery is to acknowledge our chemical dependency upon stress hormones. With that, we must take responsibility for our own behaviors that ensure the delivery of our chemical fix. If we truly want the sobriety of calmness, we must be willing to change our thoughts and behaviors.

“I am safe in this moment,” is most likely an energetic fact. State it often, while allowing for a relaxing breath.

“I choose not to engage in confrontative interaction on social media, and that includes just reading it!” Why and how often do I seek out the current news? What is its impact upon my Central Nervous System?

“Am I willing to ask for help from the divine love and intelligence located in my subconscious mind?”

“Am I willing to imagine the calm I seek and allow myself to release to the joy of receiving it?”

“Am I willing to let go of control, trusting the higher power within myself to guide me to equanimity?”

“Am I willing to meditate?” When I meditate, I change my brainwaves, which allows me to sink my awareness into the limbic system of my brain, the touchpoint of the subtle body of my subconscious mind. With this direct access I can rewrite the ingrained habits and illnesses imprinted in my autonomic nervous system, turning off the embedded flyers, healing myself in a fundamental way.

“Am I willing to refuse to not be positive?” An internal dialogue of positive self-statements exchanges the release of stress hormones for the release of the emotionally regulating happy hormones of dopamine and serotonin. To be bathed in the calm of loving compassion is not addiction, it’s the ticket for navigating now with fluidity and resilience.

Thanks for everything,
Chuck

I offer a link to another meditation, this one only 35  minutes long! It’s a very powerful meditation to begin the day with, but can be listened to at any time. Enjoy!

Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Most Powerful Morning Meditation

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Gratitude Now!

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Turn thoughts to gratitude for a brand new attitude…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

The subconscious mind is the creative powerhouse at the core of our soul. It links with the limbic system in the brain, which houses our instinctual and emotional primal self. The subconscious is vastly influenced by the survival suggestions of this primal being, with self-preservation as its number one priority.

The ego is the conscious thinking part of the soul, that corresponds with the neocortex in the brain while we exist in human form. This analytical center provides us with the ability to exercise free will, even overriding the hardwired genetic programs of the limbic system. We are free, for example, to make decisions and take actions that the limbic system would have us avoid in order to remain safe.

The subconscious is also powerfully affected by the thinking suggestions of the ego, and, if impressed enough, may manifest them, despite the more conservative suggestions of the limbic system that run counter to the ego’s wishes. Emotion is the significant variable in the subconscious mind’s choice; what we put a lot of emotion into usually wins out.

The highly emotionally charged fight/flight/freeze reaction of the limbic system is its central program for self-preservation. When the subconscious mind manifests this natural reaction in the nervous system, the ego’s neocortex center is compromised. We simply can’t think rationally, as the subconscious sends all available energy to the body to fund survival.

The result of this fear-based internal environment is the flooding of the body with adrenaline and cortisol, which generates a hyper-alert physical and emotional state to fend off real or imagined attack. Without the ego’s ability to contribute alternative perspectives and suggestions that could release the perception of danger, the body remains captive to this ever-present threatened state.

Emotions of fear, anger and hate tend to be reinforced by triggered memories of prior threats or imagined potential threats, which the brain treats as real, intensifying the emotional panic. Fearful thoughts generate negative emotions, which trigger more fearful thoughts in an ever-escalating loop of deepening negativity.

In this low frequency state of negativity, the subconscious manifests a state of exhaustion and hopelessness, matching the suggestions of the activated limbic system. In order to shift from this disheartened state, the ego is tasked with exercising its will over the limbic system’s hardwired programs, introducing new suggestions to the subconscious mind.

The decision to breathe for several minutes to an 8-8-8 count and then a 8-16-8 count will begin to shift brainwaves away from an anxious beta mental state into a calmer alpha/theta state. From this calmer place we can state our desired intent, perhaps for a more peaceful inner, as well as outer, world.

This is the opportunity to raise the emotional vibration to the heights of gratitude, an extremely attractive vibe to the subconscious mind. Begin with deep appreciation first for the divine intelligence of the subconscious mind, which places itself at our creative disposal. Send love and gratitude toward every other part of All-That-Is because, regardless of circumstance, we are all in this together.

With deep gratitude and awe, imagine the manifestation of that which you seek as fully formed. This accomplished deed in the heart and mind causes the brain to form the neural circuits and release the appropriate hormones to match the body with the mind’s imagination. The subconscious further supports this transformation by attracting outer physical reality to it that matches its inner high vibration of loving gratitude.

In this time of pervasive outer negativity, no one can be stopped from an inner practice of deep gratitude that radiates and attracts a reality that matches its love and appreciation for all. Be the gratitude rainmaker whose solo practice releases a thunderstorm of love upon the world.

Gratitude Now!
Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Good & Bad Of Habit

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-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

From a biological point of view, a habit is a well-connected cluster of brain cells (neurons) that form a circuit that, when turned on, directs the body and mind to automatically behave in a certain way. Many habits are inherited through the arrangement of genes in our DNA, and many are formed epigenetically, as we learn new things post-birth.

A distinguishing characteristic of a habit is that it operates outside of consciousness. Our body is frequently prompted to perform habits while the attention of our conscious mind is far away, in thought. Think about driving and suddenly noticing that you have arrived at your destination with little memory of the journey.

Habits are housed in the subconscious mind, which pairs the suggestions it receives through sensory triggers with its storehouse of habitual responses. The subconscious largely runs all the systems of our body independently of our awareness.

Habits are the building blocks of our identity. When we awaken from our night sea journey of sleep, we are quickly swept away from dreamland and placed into the familiar story of who  we are in waking life. Thoughts of our upcoming day become the triggers of our mental habits that tell us who we are.

“What is the time? Oh, I always wake up late, I never give myself enough time (depressed feeling). I won’t have time to eat (sad). I’ll grab a coffee at the gas station because, of course, I didn’t fill up yesterday because I was lazy, as usual (defeated). Oh! I have that meeting today; I hate presenting (anxiety). I feel so judged by my peers, especially by her, Miss Perfect (failure). I hate this job, but I’m stuck (not good enough)…”

We think about 60,000 thoughts a day, 90% of which are habitual. This string of thought-triggers, that begins upon awakening, becomes a nonstop internal dialogue that solidifies our sense of who we are, providing us with our familiar identity. Whether we like ourselves or not, we find comfort in the secure grounding and dependability of our habitual definition and feeling of self.

The good news, from a neurological point of view, is neuroplasticity, the capacity of the brain to establish new neural networks, and consequently, new habits. New thoughts can be consciously chosen, which, when repetitively stated and imbued with imagination and emotion, provoke the subconscious to manifest a new identity and a new physical reality.  (See link below.)

The brain treats our thoughts as actual reality. When we imagine something in our minds, the brain creates new circuits of neurons and chemical reactions that build new physical structures and emotions in the body, in accordance with the model we mentally create. When the mind rehearses its desired future, the brain builds the structures to make it physically happen.

The challenge to suggesting new thoughts to the subconscious, as Dr. Joe Dispenza points out, is that we must allow ourselves to be uncomfortable with change. Our attachment to the comfort of our familiar, known, habitual self generates defenses to protect its prior habitually-established neurocircuitry.

Subjectively, this is experienced as doubt and lack of faith in the ability to truly transform the self, mentally and physically. The tendency is to continue to place emphasis on the known, reinforcing the hegemony of the old circuitry. As Christ pointed out, without faith there are no miracles. He was not talking about faith in him but faith in the ability of the self to truly transform. That’s the suggestion necessary to get the attention of the subconscious.

The nuts and bolts of transformation is rote practice, continued over time. Say something enough times with passion, while imagining it, and it will come to pass. That’s exactly how the inner dialogue already works: we become what we think. If we take conscious control of directing our thoughts, we change our brain and we change who we are.

The challenge is both perseverance and a willingness to live in the discomfort of a fluid rather than a fixed identity. To grow, in its fullest potentiality, is to arrive at the perspective of all that is, better known as, the ultimate experience of cosmic oneness.

At the gross motor level of the physical body, the shamans of ancient Mexico used not-doings to break the fixation of habitual behavior, awakening consciousness to be able to choose new behaviors. A not-doing might be to change your bedtime every night or to wear mismatched socks during the day. Spontaneous decisions, like breaking into singing and dancing or choosing a different turn while driving, disrupt habit and awaken consciousness.

Life in Earth School paradoxically requires us to establish a uniformity of identity through a habitual self to feel safe and grounded, yet it also insists that we constantly break old habits of self in order to grow.

Life in Graduate Earth School asks us to wake up and be the rising sun each morning, like the phoenix burning off the habitual self of just yesterday, as we journey further into the adventure and discomfort of the unknown in a new day.

Nothing can ever stay the same. Habits are all temporary perches from which to observe and discover infinity. Enjoy them, learn from them, but don’t get too attached, as more of infinity awaits!

Not Doing,
Chuck

Sharing a good meditation to support a changing self, created by Dr. Joe Dispenza. I suggest listening to it in its entirety, many times, for the fullest experience.
You are the Placebo-Guided Meditation

Soulbytes

Soulbyte for Tuesday September 24, 2024

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-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

Strong intentions or mantras repeated numerous times throughout the day, like prayers, have a profound effect upon the human body, mind and spirit. Healings take place, shifts occur, and magic happens. Don’t be afraid to implement such practices. Don’t be afraid of change. There is only good to come of it all, especially the unexpected, the unimagined, the unforeseen good that is perfect for you. Trust yourself, your ability to enact change, and trust the Universe as it supports and guides you. Expect good and good will come.

Sending you love,
The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Royal Spheres Of The One Mind

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The Royal Couple…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

The mind is a subtle body that creates, runs, and maintains the physical body. A cord, similar to an umbilical cord, connects these two bodies while we are physically alive. When that cord eventually breaks, the physical body dies, while the mind, in its soul body, moves off to life in a  subtle dimension of reality.

The mind is a singular organ with two significant spheres, one conscious and the other subconscious. The conscious sphere is the King who chooses the blueprint for life in this world. The King is a ruling dominant of the mind, as reflected in the attitudes, beliefs, and thoughts one imbues one’s attention with and that determine the course of one’s life.

The subconscious sphere is the Queen, who creates life through her access to divine substance and intelligence, in accordance with the dictates of heredity and consciousness, which constantly provide her with guiding suggestions. The Queen is the ruling dominant of the mind that manifests new life.

The conscious sphere works with the subconscious sphere when it is awake. The subconscious never sleeps. When the conscious sphere  sleeps, the subconscious continues to monitor and address the needs of the physical body. These two spheres of the mind, though distinct, are deeply intertwined royal partners.

The physical brain, with its nervous system, provides the conscious sphere with the sensory data gathered through its five physical senses, allowing it  to choose behaviors that address its physical needs. Thus, if one senses cold through the sense of touch, they may decide to put on a sweater.

The subconscious sphere of mind also receives sensory data from the brain, which it automatically responds to via the association of sensory experience with reactive suggestions from innate instincts of survival and growth. Instincts are powerful programs of habitual response to address sensory activation and mental thought. If, for example, one hears a noise and imagines an intruder, a fear response and mobilization for physical action and survival will result.

The conscious sphere of mind constantly presents its own suggestions to the subconscious, who then manifests them through its total control of the physical body. Thus, if one tells the heart to reduce its rate of heartbeat, the subconscious slows it down.

Suggestions from both the conscious sphere of mind and the instincts, stored in the subconscious, influence the actions of the subconscious in accordance with the law of attraction. That law operates via like attracting like. The subconscious attracts divine substance to it as it fashions, in physical form, the energetic intent of consciousness.

The shamans of ancient Mexico called this divine substance and intelligence the energy of intent. This independent magical energy permeates the universe and is the energy behind all of creation. The subconscious mind has access to this divine energy of intent, which it calls upon to both run the body and manifest, in physical form, the suggestions it accepts.

The conscious mind has its own relationship with intent through its ability to intend its intentions to the subconscious mind via suggestion.  Like the subconscious mind, the energy of intent neither reasons nor moralizes, it creates what it intends to create.

The subconscious, with its access to the energy of intent, can thus create a reality that serves the whims of narcissism as equally as intentions presented for the greater good. A heartfelt conscious master of intent would thus choose to exercise their divine freedom of will for the intent of the greater good of self and other.

Consciousness also has the Knightly duty to protect its Queen, the subconscious sphere of the mind. Concretely, this can mean choosing to not expose itself to the content of the negativity influencers on social media, who seek to implant their suggestions into the subconscious minds of listeners and readers.

The subconscious does not rationally reflect upon the rightness of the suggestions presented to it, it is solely the irrational center of creation. The subconscious depends completely upon the conscious sphere to discern right action.

The conscious sphere of mind is also charged to face its own fears and negative beliefs which might be secretly undermining its own intentions for change in accordance with the greater good. For example, a hidden fear of scarcity might result in the subconscious being attracted to purchase less healthy but cheaper food to save money, whereby compromising its intent for perfect health.

Consciousness must monitor its use of words, as it is words that become the flesh. I’ll never be able to have that, is a powerful suggestion to the subconscious that will be manifested as scarcity and poverty. The antidote: immediately change all negatives into positives. In this instance, never have that becomes a definite, I have that!

The declarative, I have that, rests upon the conviction of the conscious sphere that it has successfully planted the seed of its intent into the fertile soil of subconscious substance. The law of growth insists that that seed will physically manifest through the energy of intent in the subconscious sphere of the mind. The conscious sphere waters its seed through its certainty that the full maturation of its seed of intent is a physical fact, in definite progress.

During the watering of the seed of intent, the affirmation, I have that, is repeated often in the conscious mind, together with a powerful exercise of the imagination that visualizes that in one’s possession, as one passionately feels one’s desire and joy at its realization. The conscious sphere must choose to engage in this practice frequently, to both impress the subconscious with its intent, as well as to become a habit of mind and, eventually, a new reality.

Consciousness, with its royal prerogative to choose, must also acquiesce to the divine prerogative of the subconscious to attract the necessary events to realize the given intent, in accordance with its own methods, and in its own time.

The mind is ultimately a royal partnership, of interdependence and deep love and respect, between the conscious and subconscious spheres of the mind. Without the conscious mind’s reasoning powers and discernment of right action, the subconscious mind is prey to create all manner of unsavory suggestions. Likewise, without a positive working relationship with the subconscious, the conscious sphere cannot realize the fulfillment of its true desires, and potential, while in physical form.

As with all intimate relationships, the relationship between the conscious and subconscious spheres of mind requires focused attention, appreciation, and mutual respect, to grow and become all that one unified mind can be while attached to life in physical form.

Mindfully,
Chuck