Chuck's Blog

#634 Chuck’s Place: Don’t Ask

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Welcome to Chuck’s Place, where Chuck Ketchel expresses his thoughts, insights, and experiences! Many of the shamanic and psychological terms used in Chuck’s essays are defined in Tools & Definitions on our Psychotherapy website.

This morning I thought about someone whom I am deeply concerned about. I must be careful to remain present to the signs that direct me to act upon my concern. Were I to act impetuously upon my concern, versus reading the more objective signs placed before me, I would be addressing my needs and not truly the needs of the other. I had the opportunity to inquire about this person in conversation with another. Instead, I heeded an inner command: Don’t ask! The energy of my curiosity, with its myriad of thought associations, quickly dissipated. I moved on, stayed present, and wondered: What will the day bring?

The action, to not ask, is based on the intent to stay present, to trust the flow of energy, as it presents itself in the unfolding of the day, to highlight what is meaningful and most necessary for my attention. This is letting go of control. Asking takes me out of the flow. It would send me on an inner expedition, on roads of thought off the path of the greater energetic flow of the present moment. Furthermore, that detour activates a string of associative thoughts that generate images, feelings, and a slew of possibilities, all of which generate energy. When energy is generated in thought, about a person, it acts upon that person, like calling them on the phone.

This was why, for most of his adult life upon this earth, Carlos Castaneda was the ultimate trickster of anonymity. No one could get near him. No one ever really knew who he was, or where or when he was born. He, like the shamans of his line, positioned himself to be shielded from the energetic consequences of people’s thoughts about him by assuming personas that kept him illusive and untouchable. At a tensegrity workshop, I recall him sharing a story of going to a party where he was introduced to Carlos Castaneda. He joked that this Carlos Castaneda was playing Carlos Castaneda quite well. Obviously, the fact that Carlos was sharing this story to a large group of tensegrity practitioners showed a shift in his need to uphold total anonymity. In fact, he had become quite enamored with the use of the internet to communicate to the masses.

We live in a time where the sharing of personal information and staying connected at increasingly faster speeds dominates the world economy and networks of communication. The challenge of our time, as recipients of these energetic invitations, is to filter the superfluous and the predatory from the truly meaningful and energetically necessary. This is how we need to protect our energy in the modern world, as the shamans did through the use of anonymity in their time.

Of course, there are times when it is appropriate to ask. However, for me, this is when synchronicity places the issue before me in the present moment in a way that resonates; it becomes clear that it is time to act, to actively pursue the path of acting upon concern for another. This discernment filters out both my inner curiosity as well as the static of outer energetic invitations, the thoughts of others, which present but don’t require attachment.

By not asking, because it is not necessary to ask, I both maintain my energy to fund my awareness to stay present, as well as not burden another with the energy of my attention. To simply not ask is a highly pragmatic tool to conserve energy, remain present, and support the greater tool of detachment. So, try it, don’t ask! See what happens!

As always, should anyone wish to write or ask, I can be reached at: chuck@riverwalkerpress.com or feel free to post a comment.

Until we meet again,
Chuck

Jan's Blog

Go Where it Takes You

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As I work on my recapitulation book I find the following guidance from Jeanne, given to me in January of 2004. I think it jives nicely with the themes of the recent questions and answers.

At the time, I am struggling with old memories and trying to get to a calmer, more balanced place so that my daily life will flow more smoothly. I am divorced, living with my two children who are twelve and fifteen at the time and working as a freelance artist, muralist, and writer. I ask Jeanne for guidance on what to do and how to proceed. The answer is this: Let it all go.

And then what? I ask.

Nothing; you don’t have to do anything, just let it go, and go where it takes you. Let yourself be carried into that tunnel of ocean. (This refers to a recent dream where I had swum out into the ocean, representing all knowing, the universe, into perfect calm.)

Is it safe?

Of course it’s safe. It’s your destiny; it’s where you belong. Just go there; you’ll see.

How do I deal with this world, the bills to pay, the kids to raise?

It will all happen on its own, you just have to allow it. Let go. Go with the flow. Let yourself be taken on your journey. You are going there anyway. Make it easy on yourself by not fighting. You are going there anyway.

But what about making decisions?

The end result will be the same.

And what is that?

You have to go there. You have to trust and allow yourself to go.

As usual she gave me enough encouragement to keep going, but I still had to do the work and get myself there. And I can certainly say that I’m very happy I did!

Have a great weekend! And keep flowing and daring to go where you have to go.
-Jan

Messages from Jeanne

#633 Help is Available to Take Over the Wheel of Your Ship

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Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
I enjoyed working with your guidance the other day, learning to flow with what comes. I discovered that my own agenda is often based on wanting to be in control, as much as it is focused on the practical. By acquiescing to the inevitable interruptions and digressions I was able to have a fairly easily flowing day without the normal tension and stress that accompany the fact that things are not going my way. I noticed that balance comes automatically when I can accept that life may not go as I had planned and in being more open to the flow of it. I guess I get afraid of the possibility that life will overwhelm, that in acquiescence comes surrender of a sort and the feeling of being on the brink arises, of having to decide between being in command and being controlled by the commanding, demanding situations that arise and getting swept up in loss of control. This is still a question of balance but, as I allow myself to acquiesce to the flow of life, I realize more thoroughly that we are not really in control, even though we may think we are. Can you comment on this? Who is really in control of our lives?

Well, My Dear Jan, you ask quite a big question that is not easily answered by a simple statement of fact, for in each of your lives does the position shift as often as the day shifts into night; at least this is what should happen. Your journey through life guides you to experience control and no control, to experience being guided and being let loose. It allows for many experiences in order that you might begin to put together the pieces of who you are in the pure light of truth. Your journey allows for this possibility to gain clarity, even as it allows for the possibility of control and the possibility of acquiescence to other guidance.

Aside from who is in control, you see, is the greater question of whether or not you can allow your self to acquiesce to a constantly changing journey so that your own position as captain of your ship may shift to other positions, equally valuable. In allowing for your status as commander-in-chief to be usurped by another inner commander and other support, as you experience other aspects of your ship’s necessities, you afford your self new perspectives and gain new abilities that will aid you greatly on your journey. You see?

In allowing the self to acquiesce to your journey you actually learn valuable skills and gain in many areas of life so that you become a well-rounded and compassionate individual. It is not wrong to lose control, to go over to another side of the self, for to experience all that you are presented with in a lifetime is quite an experience, each acquiescence potentially leading to further growth.

If you understand life as a journey, if you can accept that there are hidden aspects of the self, and that you each have a dark side, then your fulfillment of life will be greatly aided. Yet the challenge is not only to acknowledge your many-faceted self, both light and dark, known and unknown, but to take such knowledge to new levels of depth of understanding as you progress through life.

As you speak of this, I think of myself as previously needing to be in total control of every moment of my day, of every movement almost, in an effort to remain constantly protected, though I did not know what I had to fear. I became an automaton almost, neurotically controlling and demanding allegiance to my agenda, though underneath I was constantly wondering what was wrong with me and aware that I was seeking something else. I cannot now imagine that I would even be alive if I had stayed that way. There came a point where I had to let something break down and through in order to shift out of my iron-fisted position of being in command at all costs. Is this what you are talking about?

Yes, I am talking about letting go of fears in order to find out who you truly have the potential to become.

I see, as another example in my life, my own mother who has refused all calls to go innerly, who remains brutally in control late into her eighties. I could have stayed that way myself and I feel such deep compassion for her as I observe the position she is in, holding on with such fierceness to her old agenda. How do we begin to crack the veneer and allow ourselves to find the means to shift to the true inner journey?

As you know, it takes great courage and one must be ready to take the journey. Using the analogy of the captain of the ship, I suggest the first step may be to acknowledge that you are supported, that help is available in the universe, outside of you and in your inner universe as well. Begin with learning and understanding that this is true in each of your lives, My Dear Readers. Each one of you has plenty of help to support and guide you through change. Help is available to take over the wheel of your ship should you wish to go down into the hold and study your cargo, more deeply inspecting what it is that you carry.

Begin also with allowing the self to be loved from without and from within, even though you do not clearly see or understand how this could be possible. Allow the self to be cared for tenderly by the energy that abounds. Begin with self-love and self-appreciation for your daring and bravery to begin an exploration of the inner self on many levels, previously locked and kept at bay.

Do not be afraid, because no matter where you go, no matter what you discover, help is available. Begin with that.

Thank you. Perhaps we’ll follow up on this next week.

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Flowing

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Here is the first recitation of my own experiences as I attempt to learn from Jeanne’s guidance. May it be helpful.

As I was typing yesterday’s Message #632 from Jeanne I decided to track my experiences of the day to see if I could successfully, and with intent, follow her instructions to flow with what the day brought. Here is a log of what transpired as I attempted to stay focused on flowing.

The day began as usual at 5:20 AM with our old dog waking us for her morning walk. Usually we are ready to hop out of bed with her and begin the day. Both Chuck and I had anticipated that we would awaken fully refreshed from a good night’s sleep, like the morning before, but the first words out of Chuck’s mouth were: “I feel like I got run over by a truck!” and I felt the same way. Though we had slept well we woke in muffled energy almost as dark as the still lingering night. As Chuck got ready to take Spunky on her walk I dragged myself out of bed and did my own early morning chores, making the coffee, feeding the cats, turning up the pellet stove in one room and feeding the wood stove that heats most of the rest of the house during the cold winter months. When Chuck and Spunky returned from their walk we did a most unusual thing and returned to bed. This presented us with all kinds of dilemmas, not only throwing us off our routine, but affecting everything else that I had intended for the day.

My intention for the day was to wake as usual, have our coffee together, do my Wednesday channeling, see Chuck off to the office, post the message from Jeanne, get in a good hour of yoga practice and spend most of the rest of the day working on the book I am writing about recapitulation before heading in to the office for sessions later in the day. This is not what happened.

We dozed in bed for an extra hour. After Chuck left the house at 8:30 I am left feeling frustrated and a little anxious about sticking to my pre-planned agenda for the day. I end up doing my channeling several hours later than normal. At this time of year we have our college aged children home on winter break. Usually they stay up very late and sleep most of the day so I am afforded quiet mornings for my work with Jeanne. However, this morning my son is still awake downstairs after having stayed up all night and my daughter is sick upstairs, coughing and running to the bathroom a lot. I sequester myself in my room and in spite of ambient noise from above and below I get a good message from Jeanne. I spend the next hour typing, coding, and carefully proofreading it before posting it on the website. I have been besieged with computer problems lately and failing internet connections and my attempts to post the message are repeatedly thwarted. I get increasingly agitated and frustrated by the failure of these technical aspects until I recall Jeanne’s instructions to flow with what the day brings. I begin to release the frustrations of the day as I open up to the realization that this is going to be a very different day from what I had planned. I finally resolve the issue with the internet connection and post the message, but it is now much later in the morning, I haven’t done my yoga, and now my son is playing a video game that is booming through the floor. After I ask him to lower the volume I jot a few notes down for this log.

Oh yeah, the night before as I was going to bed I found that I had lost an earring, which really bothered me because it was a pair that I was enjoying wearing lately, so my intent was to look for that earring during the day. (I do not lose earrings, so this is unusual. I have only lost an earring once since I got my ears pierced when I was ten.) I use my psychic abilities to determine where it might be. I clearly see it lying outside on the ground, face up, by the woodpile, but I don’t go outside to see if I am correct. I am too uncertain of my abilities to test it this soon. Instead, I decide to keep an eye out for it throughout the day.

I am so put off by the morning’s events that I have to center myself and re-envision how my day will go. I decide that even a little bit of yoga will do me good, so finally, with the sun pouring in the windows and Spunky asleep on the floor next to me, I get in a good twenty minutes of yoga, magical passes, and breathing exercises followed by five minutes of meditation. I keep my eyes closed during most of it to block out the world and keep my focus inward, attempting to detach from the frustration over the lateness of the day. However, by the end of it I have become obsessed with keeping this log, my mind whirling with whether or not this is really right and what I actually want to say. I command myself to let it go. It’s not important, just flow with the day. The old doggie shakes violently in her sleep, eyes half open. I am afraid she is dying, but then she lets out a big sigh and opens her eyes and looks at me and I clearly understand her saying: “No, not yet, Jan” and she falls back asleep. I feel good after my yoga practice, more centered, and innerly calm. I take that for what it is, a nice gift, even though it was not as long or deep as I had wanted.

It is now after noon. I reload the wood stove and turn my focus to eating something and getting some work done on my book. I let the dog out and keep one eye on her to make sure she doesn’t cross the road and go off into the field on the other side. She is deaf and senile and if she wanders away she can’t hear me calling. Her arthritis is so bad now though that she doesn’t wander much beyond the front door. I watch her plop down in the snow and let her stay outside enjoying the coolness from below and the warmth from the sun above.

One of our cats is chronically ill and my son comes up to tell me that she has vomited on the floor downstairs again. I finish my lunch and put off work on my book to take care of the mess. While I am down there I spend some time talking with my son and then decide to clean the litter boxes as well. I let the dog back in and wash up the pile of dishes that has accumulated in the kitchen sink. By this time I am resolved to just flowing with the day, there is not much else to do, and I keep reminding myself of Jeanne’s message to let life unfold as it will. I feel like I am doing a pretty good job of that, no longer attached to the frustrations of the earlier part of the day, not resentful at all. I am actually getting more curious as the day goes on, eager to see what transpires.

Finally, I sit down at the computer and work on my book for an hour, then take the dog for her afternoon walk, talk to my daughter for a while, and talk to Chuck’s daughter on the phone who calls to discuss plans for working with a new company down in North Carolina. As I am getting in enough wood to last through the night and into the early morning I find my earring by the wood pile, exactly where I had envisioned it earlier in the day. (I must be psychic!) I have another hour to spare so I work on my book before I head off to the office.

This may not seem like a very exciting day, but what was I learning and being shown? First, I take note of the fact that I lost an earring, a most unusual event for me. In retrospect, I see this as the first sign that things are not going to go according to plan. Waking up groggy and feeling like I had not slept well, when I had in fact slept quite soundly made me think that the energy had shifted and it would not be like the day before, which had flowed very smoothly. I posed my question to Jeanne around retaining balance because I was already feeling off balance, though I was, at that time, still attempting to salvage my preset intentions. By eventually acquiescing to what the day presented me with I did, in fact, get quite a bit of what I had originally intended accomplished, albeit not in the order or amount as previously planned. I did get to do yoga, I did get to work on my book, I got to spend some time chatting with each of the kids, and I got my household chores done. On top of it, I was shown that I can trust my psychic abilities and I didn’t feel rushed once I allowed myself to detach from my original plans and just flow.

In the end, it was a pretty satisfactory day. Once again I am reminded of how insightful Jeanne’s guidance is and I am also reminded of her very early guidance to me, as she would often repeat: “Just trust me, Jan, everything will be fine, everything will work out, don’t worry, you will be fine.” These were some of the most soothing and prophetic words I ever heard, and they still are.

Funnily enough, as I write this up today, I am once again faced with having to acquiesce to the flow of what the day brings. In spite of my original intentions to get this posted early this morning, I have had to get beyond my frustrations of the day, releasing my control of events, and just go with the flow. So here you have my first posting in a new blog, a day in my life as I attempt to follow and learn from Jeanne’s guidance.

I hope this has been helpful! I look forward to writing again soon.
Go with the flow!
Jan

Messages from Jeanne

#632 Life Gives You What You Need!

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Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Can you talk about the inner process today? Specifically, I am feeling a great desire to go much deeper into my inner work and practices, yet I find the perfect balance between Self and the demands of others and the outer world allusive. Often the best intentions seem to dissipate as reality takes over. I am thankful for the few quiet moments I am allotted, but I’m left feeling frustrated and yearning for more. I know this is a universal struggle and one that you have addressed before. Today, I ask for some guidance for all of us around our attempts and resolutions to gain a better balance between our inner worlds and our outer worlds, between our most sincere intentions to change and grow and the conflicts that arise as we wake up each day to new challenges. I would like to flow through my day without feeling resentful or like a failure for not accomplishing what I have set out to do.

My Dear Readers, this is not only a process of balance but an equal process of attachment and detachment that Jan seeks guidance on. It is not an easy task that you set your self, for I know that your world is comprised of many necessities, distractions, desires, and yearnings. I also know that part of your process must be allowing your self to have whatever experience you have each day, regardless of your desires, for only in being open to that which comes unexpectedly will you indeed learn what it means to flow in your life. Say that you set an intent for your day to be solitary and without outside interference, yet you are immediately bombarded with outer demands and the energy of others needing attention, whether people or things. This is a call to shift for the moment, to in fact flow with what is being presented to you. If you fight it you will only gain in resentful frustration. But if you allow your present intentions to take a back seat while you take the other fork in the road you will learn much more than if you had taken that solitary road. You see, life gives you what you need.

Your intent to gain balance, to grow, to further develop your inner practices, if set with pure desire, is already embedded in your psyche, and by default in the universal intent. In other words, if you are ready for such a journey you will be awarded all the opportunities and tools you need to take that journey. It just might not happen as you wish. In fact, if you look back on your life, when has anything unfolded exactly and as smoothly as you wished? Though you may prefer a seamless and calm existence, it is not usually how the universe offers you your challenges, though it has been known to comply when the occasion is right.

For instance, once your intentions are set, I recommend that you be open to what comes in your day to greet you. Push aside interruptions and conflicts by asking the self to accept that this is what you need at this very moment and, even though it is not as you had planned, accept that it is going to show you something important about the self. In this manner you are learning a vital step in the process of attachment and detachment, in what it means to set an intent and then let it go, knowing full well that it is already on its way, giving you exactly what you need. Does this make sense?

Yes, it does. Even though it is often hard to give up the desire to have it go my way, I do understand the importance of learning to flow with what comes.

In learning to flow with what awaits you each morning as you open the door to what life offers, you will find that your physical body will begin to release its expectations, tensions, and even ailments that may be present as a result of your need to control your inner world, your outer environment, and even the process of your psyche. Your best intentions must be set free, let out the door, in order for them to return to you bearing their learning tools.

So, for today, I suggest that you take this first test in learning to flow by setting your intentions within and then releasing them without, setting them free by asking the universe to hear you and to show you what you need in order to gain progress in your inner work and practices. You may be quite surprised to find that your inner work is going to be done totally outside of you one day and totally inside of you on another day. But keep in mind that no matter what appears as your lesson plan for the day that it is going to be exactly what you need at that moment.

If you can allow for such a process you will be well on the way to gaining the balance you seek. You will learn how to flow in your life. Your physical and mental bodies will begin to release their hold on old habits and your psyche will find resonance in whatever is presented to you because it will recognize that it is what is best for your growth. Can you flow with that?

Yes, I think so. It seems that if I allow myself to let go of expectations, of a mental construct of expectations, that I am often quite surprised by the outcome as regards a certain situation or process. If I allow myself to have no expectations then I am more open and end up feeling freer.

That is the process that I speak of as I invite you to set your intent free and release it from your incessant mind control. By releasing your intent you free your mind and body, without expectation, to experience the flow of your day and, ultimately, your life, in a mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual way. This is what you seek, though you may not quite speak of it in such terms, but all of you seek total release from the confines of life as it had been conjured.

It is time to unconjure yourselves from such restrictions placed on you by your self, your world, your intentions, your desires, and release everything to the universal intent, already working diligently on your behalf, though you may not be seeing it in quite this way. You may be seeing the flow of your life as interruptive and challenging or frustrating when, in fact, it is perfectly in alignment with the intent of your spiritual self to grow. This is the main challenge for all of you to eventually discover: What is the intent of your spirit?

Thank you for this guidance.

May you all find the soft self inside who will allow you to trust the process of your life and, without fear, allow you to let go, allow you to face the flow of your day, accepting that it is as it should be. What are you supposed to learn today? That is your greatest challenge, even greater than your challenge to stay in balance. Get it?

Yes, I get it.

NOTE: I set a new intent for the day: I intend to keep a log of my experiences today and I will report back with a posting tomorrow morning as to what I have personally learned as I attempt to do as Jeanne suggests and release my intentions and just flow with what the day brings. It is already not as I expected!
-Jan

Chuck Ketchel, LCSWR