Soulbyte for Friday June 19, 2015

Be attentive to the self, even in the midst of attending to others. There is no sense in creating situations where your energy is compromised. A warrior’s main concern is always with energy, protecting it, maintaining it, and rejuvenating it.

You can only do so much for another being. A warrior knows this, and so a warrior gives unconditionally but never to depletion. A warrior is kind and loving, but a warrior needs nothing in return and so a warrior is free to return to the warrior’s work once obligations are met. A warrior’s life is concerned with gathering enough energy to do what comes next. So watch your energy at all times.

Soulbyte for Thursday June 18, 2015

A warrior remains focused no matter what occurs or interrupts. Others may not be so in-tune with what is truly right or truly practical and yet a warrior does not find fault or neglect in others but stays intent. Without judgment, a warrior always find a way to smooth through rough spots so that transitions may be uncomplicated events in their unfolding.

To be a warrior is to always walk a path of heart with love, kindness and compassion. No matter what arises in the scheme of things, a warrior knows that there is no other path that is truly right.

Chuck’s Place: Hillary, The Pope & Ken Wilber

Excavating the feminine... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Excavating the feminine…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Ken Wilber, one of the greatest philosophers of this century and one of the leading transpersonal theorists, reflected back in 1993: “And is not the alienation of women precisely parallel to the alienation of the body…and nature? And is not global alienation what we now see in the environmental crisis? Far from “saving” us, aren’t the Great Traditions the root of a crisis that very well might kill us?” *

The Great Traditions Wilber refers to are the world religions; Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. What Wilber points to is the negation of the feminine, at least in part, in all these religious traditions. Woman, body, nature, reflect matter and instinct. It is the degradation of the feminine that now threatens the survival of the planet, yet also points the way to its cure.

This week, on Thursday, Pope Francis is set to release his encyclical on climate change, which reportedly calls for an ethical and economic revolution to prevent catastrophic climactic destruction. Here, one of the Great Traditions is turning its attention to the Great Feminine, asking for the world spirit to humble itself to the true needs of the earth.

Senator Jim Inhofe, global warming denier, has already rebutted the Pope’s encyclical: “The Pope ought to stay with his job, and we’ll stay with ours.” Well, the Pope has already crossed over and asserted that resuscitating the feminine is the job of the Great Traditions and, in fact, everyone’s job. When the encyclical, leaked on Tuesday, is further unveiled, the Pope has arranged for three speakers to participate: a Vatican Cardinal, a Greek Orthodox Theologian, and an Atheist scientist. The Pope is elevating Mother Nature over even spiritual belief!

When I view the upcoming US Presidential race, I can’t help but be drawn to the possibility of a Hillary Clinton presidency. The truth is that Bernie Sanders is far more progressive and speaking the necessary truth. Hillary is still way too attached to Bill’s old world manipulative strategy that seeks to placate the wealthy and the powerful. But the truth also is that Hillary became New York’s Senator through a collective support for the degraded feminine subsequent to Bill’s faux pas a la Monica Lewinsky.

Hillary’s power grew as she proved her independent ability, nearly becoming President of the United States seven years ago. Although Obama won, he acknowledged Hillary’s abilities by appointing her Secretary of State, a position that she mastered despite the Republican attempt to make Benghazi a failure in her leadership. I could see a course of Hillary as President as representative of the transformative symbol of the healing of the feminine, just the thing that Ken Wilber hints at.

The work of nature... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
The work of nature…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

At present, Hillary is still quite tainted by the power of the manipulative masculine. She must undergo her own journey of feminine mystique, even while the world mirrors a similarly necessary transformative process. She, like the world, is a work in progress, only the “work” is more one of shedding third chakra control and allowing for heart-centered leadership instead.

In heart-centered leadership the feminine assumes its rightful throne, next to and in union with its masculine partner: action based on truth, nature’s truth. This is the necessary corrective implied by Ken Wilber back in 1993: action based on true need, not on power and greed.

Whether Hillary goes the distance is anyone’s guess. Whether the Pope’s encyclical will have the desired effect is also anyone’s guess. However, the elevation of and healing of the feminine is the winning ticket for world salvation—and we’re already well along in that race!

Hoping for the best results,
Chuck

* Quote from: Paths Beyond Ego, 1993, Ken Wilber contributor.

Soulbyte for Wednesday June 17, 2015

A warrior studies life from an energetic point of view, noticing the subtle nuances of what is right and appropriate, and so a warrior does not act impulsively but determines if, what and when action is appropriate. A warrior feels the energy of a situation to determine its value, and when a warrior does act it is without attachment or regret. A warrior simply does what is right.

Beyond reason lies energy and how energy operates in the universe may not be well understood. Often it is not even considered, but to a warrior energy is more important than reason. And so a warrior often bypasses reason and goes right to the heart of the matter, the knowing heart, to determine right action, because a warrior knows that the heart always knows what is right.

Soulbyte for Tuesday June 16, 2015

New beginnings open many doors. Many doors offer many opportunities. Opportunity is the gateway to choice. Choice is the catalyst to new experiences. New experiences gather energy. It is always the warrior’s intent to gather energy.

A warrior lives a changing life at all times, assured that each day is a new beginning, determined to approach its many doors of opportunity with eagerness, curiosity and intent.

Let today’s new beginning spark a warrior’s attitude in you that says, “I am open to enjoying and exploring all that life offers, for I am an eternally changing being!” That is how to live as a spiritual warrior intent upon a path of heart.

Chuck Ketchel, LCSWR