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.

Readers of Infinity: Lose The Mind

Here is a channeled message from Jeanne and Jan to begin the New Year, as we go through this time of transition and great potential for change. Time to take control of the self in a new way!

Even though the world may be reflecting something else, remain aware of the self at all times… - Photo by Chuck Ketchel
Even though the world may be reflecting something else,
remain aware of the self at all times…
– Photo by Chuck Ketchel

Be aware now of every step you take. Assert consciousness as your main motivator, as your main discipline and intention, as you go about your everyday lives. It is only in being consciously aware of the physical self at all times that one will grow with awareness.

Awareness involves not only asserting intention and discipline, but making a concerted effort to start a new practice. Begin this practice simply, by constantly bringing attention to the present, to your place in the world at each moment of life. Ask the self to remain aware and cognizant of what is truly happening, of what you are supposed to learn, and of where you are to go next.

Awareness requires maintaining alertness to the conditions of the self at all times, not in judgment, but only in asking the self to remain fluid at all times, knowing that this fluid self is the true self. Physically this means consideration of your inner state of being, bringing the self to calmness and balance within, while simultaneously attending to the physical self in appearance, composure, and mental attitude—in how you present yourself to the world.

Be guided by your inner knowing that the self in the world is comprised of physical self and spiritual self. The mental self is an aberration, not necessarily evolutionary, except in how you are able to control it. The mental self is the cause of much anxiety and trouble. Thinking that one is this way or that, in settling upon judgments and critiques of the self, one limits the capacity of the self to evolve. However, the physical self and the spiritual self, once the mental self is removed, will be freed to travel onward together in a new way.

For this time of transition that you now live through, I suggest deep work be accomplished on freeing the physical/spiritual self of the confines of the mind, what I call the mental self. In truth, this mental self is extremely limiting, though it also has great capacity to grasp and understand, and this is necessary for a greater understanding of how the physical and spiritual selves unite and work in tandem.

In order to free the mental self to be available for greater exploration, and so that it may work alongside the physical/spiritual selves, one must prepare the mind by first getting to know this mental self far more intimately and deeply. One must become aware of how it works; its machinations, its tricks, and its habits that you so easily latch onto, but that do not help the physical/spiritual selves to align and evolve. So, set the intent, as I mentioned, to remain consciously aware of how tricky this mental self can become. How it will make you think and believe things about the self that are limiting—making you conceive of the self as this or that—when in reality you are a physical and spiritual being largely captivated by the machinations of the mind, this mental self.

Free the self from the machinations of the mind… - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Free the self from the machinations of the mind…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Study this mental self. Set the intent to continually question it, especially as to what it tells you about the self. Especially question the negative thoughts, the inflated thoughts, the big baby thoughts, the hateful and disgusting thoughts. You are not your thoughts, unless you allow them to control you! And so, I say: It’s time to free the self of the controlling mind. In order to do that you must get to know it VERY well! As your process proceeds, take over your mind. Allow it to be controlled by you, by your physical/spiritual self. Replace the old mental self, with a new mental self, by embedding new thoughts and positive information that is truthful and engaging of the true self, in alignment with the life you live, the life you have the potential for, and the life your physical/spiritual self so clearly desires.

In other words, get REAL with the self in all aspects of life. A transition time means that you have the opportunity for great strides to be made and that you can actually take advantage of this time to advance the self. You will not be held back by nature, as nature is in alignment with this transition too!

In order to get the self in alignment with this advancing energy, remind the self constantly to pay attention to each step you take, each thought you generate, and also of what is happening inside your physical body. You may not know it, but your physical body alone has far greater capacity to guide you through life than your mind. So pay attention to it!

Your New Year’s resolution should be this: I intend conscious awareness of self at all times, in all situations outside of the self, without distraction from the old mental self. I will pay attention to the body self and bring it into alignment with the spiritual self, the knowing self, which I will now free from bondage by letting go of the old mind speak.

This is what you are all charged with now: to free the true self to live more fully by shedding the old machinations of the mind—resentments, regrets, habits, and behaviors alike—as you learn to embrace a new mind and a new physical/spiritual self in alignment with each other and the world around you. You will discover that the world is waiting for this.

Just as nature knows exactly what to do every minute of every day, so do you. In physical/spiritual alignment you will be more flowing. Like nature, you will know how to be, act, and react. You will progress through your life without the constant barrage of input from the mind, which, as I said, is mostly limiting, negative, and unempowering. Until you free yourself of it, it will hold you back from your true self and your true potential to fully live.

Become like nature. Even in confinement it knows how to grow upwards and blossom! - Photo by Chuck Ketchel
Become like nature.
Even in confinement it knows how to grow upwards and blossom!
– Photo by Chuck Ketchel

Lose your mind in a new way. Consciously dismiss its old speak and open up to new waves of body thought, as well as new insights from the spiritual, knowing self. In removing the blockages of the old mental self, there is potential for new energetic information from the physical/spiritual self to flow into the self, resulting in better alignment and balance.

Do not be afraid of this new way of living and attending to business upon that earth. In this new practice of conscious body awareness, you will discover your true potential, and you will be less afraid to more fully become the physical/spiritual self that you truly are.

And so, I end with this final missive: Only in releasing the relentless grip of the mind will you and all of mankind evolve. Free the self, one step at a time, to accept a new way of thinking, acting, and being in the world. It’s not really that hard. Once you begin, you’ll find yourself accepted and received in the world differently, for you will be like nature itself, more flowing, naturally in alignment, within yourself and within the world.

If you truly desire to make an impact in your own life, in your body self, and in the world around you, the first step is to change the self in this natural way. With practice and discipline you will achieve your goals. Pay attention to your body. That’s where to begin!

Happy New Year and Happy Travels as you begin the next adventure of your life!

Chuck Ketchel, LCSWR