Chuck’s Place: Following The Metaphysical Thread

I took a journey through a transpersonal realm and emerged anew! - Photo by Jan Ketchel
I took a journey through a transpersonal realm and emerged anew!
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

I took a deep journey in my physical body, one of whole-body ecstatic movement and release. At a certain point, I became the observer as well as the experiencer—a being in two places at once. As the intensity of rhythmic movement overtook my body, I found myself in the midst of the labor of my own birth, discovering newfound freedom.

After this experience, I noticed the immediate onset of intestinal cramping. The cramping continued throughout the night and into the next day, powerfully dominating my experience. My discomfort was so great that I found respite only in crawling into the fetal pose and breathing deeply, where I finally found astonishing relief.

As the day wore on, my mind got more and more involved. “This must be a stomach virus,” it said. “It’s going around. Or perhaps it’s food poisoning.” Before I knew it, I was googling “irritable bowel syndrome”—the symptoms of which fit perfectly. At that point, my mind began to imprison me in the narrow corridor of rational explanations. I decided, however, to suspend these judgments, as I saw how any one of them would lock me into a known world where I would acquiesce to protocol by constructing a diagnosis and treatment plan, a solid world to frame and resolve my experience in.

I chose instead to stay with the metaphysical thread of a birthing experience that begged for new mastery through a recapitulation process. I know that as a fetus in utero, and at birth, I was impacted by violence. In fact, physical violence to my mother caused my premature birth. What came to me during my experience was the call to ride the waves of the contractions and, in conscious awareness, safely bring my body to shore, to, in fact, re-experience my birth. I did just that, riding the waves all day long, and when night came and I got into bed I set the intent to push my body through the final waves of the process. Incessantly stating my intent to calmly heal and relax, I breathed deeply and, before long, the contractions, most amazingly, subsided.

I was then able to sleep, perhaps for a half hour at a time. I’d awaken and repeat my mantra and deep breathing. Countless times throughout the night I did this and found relief. Eventually, I noticed that I’d awaken in a calm state with no need to restate my intent; the intent having taken over. By morning I was completely healed, delivered by my own intent and acquiescence to the process.

We live in a transpersonal reality, that is, many dimensions or worlds simultaneously. In one world, had I entered it, I suffered food poisoning and could have been treated appropriately. In another world, I suffered the collective stomach flu and could have equally been healed with several days of rest. In another world, I lived through and mastered the trauma of my own birth as I entered this life.

Most instructive to me in this experience was the deeper significance of Carlos Castaneda’s oft-repeated maxim, “Suspend judgment.” With judgments we create constructs, the walls of the world we live in, an all-encompassing world with its own set of rules. When we are able to suspend judgment, however, we can follow the metaphysical thread of an experience into transpersonal worlds, where anything truly is possible!

All things are possible,
Chuck

A Day in a Life: Of Blue Jays, Dreams & Resolutions

What's the story Mr. Jay? - Photo by Jan Ketchel
What’s the story Mr. Jay?
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Why are there so many blue jays in my yard? I ask this question because it’s true; the jays have taken over! I study them as they come to feed on the seeds I’ve put out. If I don’t get there early enough they knock impatiently on the window, suggesting that I hurry up and feed them! Their coloring is a combination of blue, gray, white and black. They have come to teach me something, I surmise.

Along with the usual New Year’s resolution to do more yoga and meditation, to eat healthier, to cut back on what I know is not good for me, I have set the intent to become a better dreamer, to train myself to be aware while I dream, and to discover what the shamans and Buddhists, and many others mean when they say that all worlds are one, whether we are awake or dreaming. I’ve had plenty of experiences of this concept, but I’m interested in going more deeply into the true meaning of reality while I’m asleep and my energy body is active. So far, I’ve had some pretty cool dreaming experiences, which I won’t go into here, but suffice it to say, my intent is working.

If I am to use my dreams to evolve beyond this reality, as is my underlying intent, I must learn how to remain fully aware as I dream. This is all in preparation for the time of my death when I intend to seamlessly pass through the bardos and achieve life beyond human form. At least that’s my intent. As far as I know, this is what we are all challenged with, to find a means of not having to reincarnate in human form more than we absolutely have to. If I can do this, I feel that I will have not only accomplished my own personal soul intent, but that I will free up space on earth for others to live more comfortably. We all know that the earth is overpopulated and overtaxed. I don’t really want to come back again, knowing that I could possibly have done more to free myself of this realm, and this realm of me! Now, back to the blue jays.

While they sit and scarf down the seeds I’ve put out, I study their coloring and the way their wings lie enfolded across their backs. When in repose, an intricate pattern appears, so beautiful that I am reminded of stained glass windows. As soon as they spread their wings and fly, solid bars of color appear and the intricate pattern disappears. Okay, this, I see, is what I am being shown, what I must learn something from.

Ted Andrews, in his book Animal Speak, says that the blue jay “has the ability to link the heavens and earth, to access each for greater power.” The jay represents both heaven and earth, the white of the heavens and the dark of the earth separated by the blue of the sky. The gray perhaps represents the veils that keep us from fully knowing and experiencing our full potential, to be both of the heavens and the earth, aware in dreaming and while awake. The colors also represent our light and dark sides, what we show about ourselves and what we keep hidden, to both ourselves and others. Andrews also notes that the jay is a little tricky in that it can be a bit of a dabbler. It shows us our potential, but if we are to gain mastery and fully utilize all that we are capable of we must grapple with this side of ourselves. I see how my New Year’s resolution, to train my dreaming intent could be a challenge if I don’t stick with it, but I have no intent of dabbling.

I notice that when in repose—in dreaming, as I see it—the blue jay’s colors are all present, though the pattern of them is quite different from when they are actively flying—going about in their everyday reality, as I see it. We all wear certain stripes and patterns. We are perceived and perceive of ourselves in a certain way. But in actuality, all that we are is present in us at any given moment. When we dream, I surmise, everything that we are in waking life is also present. Likewise, in waking reality, all that we are when we dream is present as well.

Will I remain aware when I enter the bardos? - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Will I remain aware when I enter the bardos?
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

It’s easy to assign to our dreaming selves some of our more challenging possibilities; the ability to fly or shape shift, to instantaneously be in one place or a thousand miles away. But, if we keep in mind that all that we are, all of our potential, is present in us at all times—like the colors of the blue jay—we might just be able to appreciate what our dreaming self is trying to teach us about the oneness of worlds, the fluidity of our energetic selves, and the fact that all realities, dreaming and awake, are equal and the same, just formatted a little differently. Whether we are in stained glass pattern or striped pattern, it doesn’t matter, we’re all composed of the same substance, and that is energy.

I watch the blue jays fly back and forth, feeding on the seeds and then flying into the trees or off to have an adventure in the world. They drop to the earth with ease; they fly to the heavens with ease. This is what we are challenged to do in our lives, to be fully energetically present in our daily lives, finding the means to realize our fullest potential at all times, all parts of us assimilated and in alignment with the fact that we too can fly. At night when we spread our wings, disrupting the usual patterns of who we are on a daily basis, we earn our energetic stripes as we fly through our dreams.

And so, if we can just remember that we are energetic beings all the time and not only while we dream, we are well on the way to achieving what the Buddhists call enlightenment, freedom from samsara, the suffering of being in human form. With intent, we can gain mastery to fly seamlessly, and with awareness, between heaven and earth, just like the blue jay!

Happy dreaming!
Jan

Readers of Infinity: As Ocean

Here is a channeled message from Jeanne and Jan to start off a new week!

Study what lies on your shore… - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Study what lies on your shore…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

As the waves of the ocean wash upon the shores so may you live your lives. Envision first gentle waves, the waves of childhood and youth, the waves of learning how to be in the world, the waves of knowledge and potential emerging out of the greater potential of nature from which you all come.

Sometimes the waves of the ocean are fierce and forceful, and sometimes it is appropriate for human beings to also be as forceful as nature. At times, it is necessary to barrel ahead, to push forward into life with liberty and freedom.

All must find their way through life, letting the energy of nature full expression and release. In order to progress in life one must allow nature to play its part—nature inside of you in relation to nature outside of you—if one is to evolve. Eventually new energy comes, the waves of moderation and progress, the waves of maturity.

Look upon the self as like the ocean. Study what that might mean for the self individually. Look at what lies in your deep. Look at what rides your surface. Look at what churns in your foam. Look at what crashes upon your shores. Look at what brings you to your true self.

As ocean, so are you like a force of nature, boundless yet contained, free yet controlled by other forces of nature, allowed expression and release yet also within the self complete with no need to expand too far. As ocean you are powerful, yet you are also gentle and calm. As ocean you are fruitful and bountiful, yet you must also preserve and care for that which you are.

As ocean, you are one with all of the energies of nature. You are nature itself. Remember this always: You are nature itself.

Allow the natural flow of you, as ocean and as nature itself, to guide you more fully through this phase of your life. What stage are you at now? And why must you be here? Learn from the self every day, so that you may achieve a new phase. That is what life is all about, constantly changing like the ocean. That is you!

A Day in a Life: Have A Healthy New Year!

Real food from the garden… - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Real food from the garden…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Those seven words form the basis of Michael Pollan’s little book, Food Rules. It’s one of my favorite books about a simple fact of life, that we all must eat. However, something about this basic fact of life has gone seriously awry in our Western culture. Our Western diet is killing us.

I’ve been on the search for the perfect diet since I was about fifteen. Seeking individuation, refusing to eat what my mother put on the table became a means of rebellion. No compensation was ever made for my dietary decisions. The fact that I would not eat the lamb that came from my grandfather’s herd of sheep because I knew some of those sheep intimately was ignored. I’ve been a vegetarian, a vegan, a macrobiotic, and for a time ate only raw foods. Now I eat just about everything, in moderation, though I’ve learned to listen to my body, as it tells me very clearly what to avoid. As Pollan states in his book: “…nutrition science, is to put it charitably, a very young science. It’s still trying to figure out exactly what happens in your body when you sip a soda, or what is going on deep in the soul of a carrot to make it so good for you, or why in the world you have so many neurons—brains cells!—in your stomach of all places.”

Studies of how the human body reacts to trauma reveal the presence of these brain cells as well, as during trauma the brain is the last part of the body to receive the message that something is happening. If we start paying attention to the messages from our stomach-brain we might just survive. Chuck wrote in his blog the other day about the serious state of the earth due to our modern world’s dependence on petroleum. We’ve destroyed the environment, and continue to do so, even though we are fully aware of our gross neglect. Greed is more powerful than truth. Greed is also inextricably linked to our Western diet—corporations are growing fat while our bodies are suffering. We take pills to correct what our diet has done to us, and somebody else makes a lot of money in that area too.

We’ve stopped thinking for ourselves. We aren’t using our brains or our stomach-brains. I laugh at the sign in the vegetable section of the grocery store that proudly states: Our organic produce is grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical additives! That simple statement clearly states the other truth, that what is not organic is grown with pesticides, herbicides and chemical additives.

A lot of people start off the New Year with the classic resolution to lose weight and get fit. In order to really do so we have to change not only our diets but how we think about food and how we treat the environment—the health of our planet is just as important as the health of our bodies. There’s a lot of information out there about food and diet, but as Pollan suggests, the science of nutrition is very young. I propose that no one really knows what they’re talking about. We’ve made some serious blunders, a lot of them connected to money. Crisco, corn syrup, and margarine have destroyed our bodies, but fattened a lot of wallets.

Fermenting beverages… - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Fermenting beverages…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

We must learn to go easy on our bodies, to not overtax or wear them out. It’s our vehicle through life, but a lot of people treat their cars better than they treat themselves. We must learn to love ourselves as much as we love material things; treat our bodies kindly by eating real food. “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t,” Pollan states. Wise words. Something to think about as we head into this New Year with our resolutions to get fit and healthy. Time to listen to our other brain perhaps?

Here are some basic food rules from Pollan: Eat fresh food. Eat leaves. Eat wild foods and plants. Stick to the small fish; herring, sardines and anchovies. (They can’t be farmed and their oils are good for us.) Eat animal food that is free range, raised without hormones, antibiotics, and chemicals. Eat fermented foods. Buy as much local and in-season as possible; this cuts down on the amount of petroleum products that are needed to get things into the stores from great distances but is far fresher and more nutritional as well. Plan to start a garden this spring. It’s healthy in more ways than one!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year,
Jan

Chuck’s Place: Death Defiers & The Future Of Our World

Life is naturally cyclical… - Photo by Chuck Ketchel
Life is naturally cyclical…
– Photo by Chuck Ketchel

Death defiers are beings that defy the organic cycle of birth to death. On the eve of a New Year, I explore their relevance to the future of life on our planet.

Rather than submit to the mandatory end of life in organic form, death defiers are able to transform themselves into some sustained organic form, or create a parasitic relation with other organic life, to continue to live.

The shamanic line of Carlos Castaneda came under the influence of such a death defier, a shaman that had lived in ancient times and continued life in organic form into the modern age. This being had been able to journey and live in transpersonal realms—out-of-body, where time could be elongated—that provided the energy to continue life in human form. Ultimately, this death defier intruded upon the lineage of Carlos Castaneda’s shamanic line, forming a pact with each new generation of shamans, giving knowledge of how to access these transpersonal realms in exchange for some of the shaman’s energy, enabling the death defier to continue his/her life in human form. I say his/her because this death defier had learned how to fully shapeshift into male or female form.

The completion of Carlos Castaneda’s shamanic line was the merger of his and Carol Tigg’s energy with the death defier’s energy. They became an energetic entity, delivering their gifts of knowledge to the world, as far as I know, to this day. The guiding energy of this combined entity, I believe, is love. I believe that the ancient practice of recapitulation that I have been guided to bring to my healing practice as a psychotherapist is a reflection of this energetic, loving intent.

I recently came across an account of a shamanic journey cited in Stanislav Grof’s book, The Adventure of Self-Discovery, of a different kind of death defier—the one that hangs ominously over the fate of the modern world: Petroleum. I quote this account, a dire warning, in its entirety, for the reader’s deep reflection:

Time to leave it in the earth! - Photo by Chuck Ketchel
Time to leave it in the earth!
– Photo by Chuck Ketchel

“The atmosphere was dark, heavy, and ominous. It seemed to be toxic and poisonous in a chemical sense, but also dangerous and evil in the metaphysical sense. I realized I was becoming PETROLEUM, filling enormously large cavities in the interior of the earth. I was flooded with fascinating insights combining chemistry, geology, biology, psychology, mythology, economy, and politics.”

“I understood that petroleum—immense deposits of mineralized fat of biological origin—had escaped the mandatory cycle of death and birth that the world of living matter is subjected to. (My emphasis.) However, the element of death was not completely avoided, it was only delayed. The destructive plutonic potential of death continues to exist in petroleum in a latent form that waits for its opportunity as a monstrous time-bomb.”

“While experiencing what I felt was consciousness of petroleum, I saw the death associated with it manifesting as killing based on greed and lust of those who seek the astronomical profits that it offers. I witnessed scenes of political intrigues and economic shenanigans motivated by oil money. It was not difficult to follow the chains of events to a future world war for the dwindling resources of a substance that has become vital for the survival and prosperity of all the industrialized countries.”

“It became clear to me that it is essential for the future of the planet to reorient the economic life to solar energy and other renewable resources. The linear policy of fossil fuels that plunders the limited existing reserves and turns them into toxic waste and pollution is obviously fundamentally wrong, being totally incompatible with the cosmic order that is cyclical. While the exploitation of fossil fuels is understandable in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, its continuation once its fatal trajectory was recognized seemed suicidal and criminal.”

“In a long series of hideous and most unpleasant experiences, I was taken through states of consciousness related to the chemical industry based on petroleum. Using the name of the famous German chemical combinate, I referred to these experiences as the IG Farben consciousness. It was an infinite sequence of states of mind that had the quality of anilin dyes, organic solvents, herbicides, pesticides, and toxic gases.”

“Beside the experiences related to these various industrial poisons per se, I also identified with the states of consciousness associated with the exposure of different life forms to the petroleum products. I became every Jew who died in the Nazi gas chambers, every sprayed ant and cockroach, every fly caught in the sticky goo of the fly-traps, and every plant dying under the influence of herbicides. And beyond all that lurked the highly possible future of all of life on the planet—death by industrial pollution.”

“It was an incredible lesson. I emerged from the session with a deep ecological awareness and a clear sense as to which direction the economic and political development has to take should life on the planet survive.”

Seek out alternatives… - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Seek out alternatives…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

It seems we as a planet are challenged by the legacy and vying for control of two ancient death defiers, the outcome of which will determine the fate of our consensual reality. However, we are not hopeless victims of this ancient rivalry, although we are indeed living out this vision. It is in our hands to align our consciousness and intent with transcendent love, relegating the last of the petroleum reserves to their chosen resting place, deep in the earth, as we thank them, like all the dark sorcerers, for their monumental challenges that are so necessary for our own evolutionary advancement.

Happy New Year and go green! Every little bit counts!
Chuck

Quote from: The Adventure of Self-Discovery, Stanislav Grof, M.D., State University of New York Press 1988, pp. 64-5.

Chuck Ketchel, LCSWR