Chuck's Blog

#486 Bringing Home the Gold

Welcome to Chuck’s Place, where Chuck Ketchel expresses his thoughts, insights, and experiences!

Imagine going to a movie and staring at a blank screen. How can we know and experience a movie without a projector projecting a story? It is through the projection of our own story onto the screen of characters and elements of this world that we discover who we are and our reason for being here.

When Buddha attained enlightenment he learned how to turn off the projector. No easy task, as anyone who has attempted meditation knows. He discovered why we suffer. We suffer because we project. We cognitively and emotionally completely invest, or attach, to our stories as real and eternal. Ironically, we absolutely must do this in order to fully experience the story. Naturally, however, though we all deny it, in the final analysis, we must all retire our attachment to the story of our life, through old age, sickness, and death.

Of course, the paradox for Buddha was, in order to reach enlightenment, he first had to experience the deep sensuality of life in this world, illusion or not. It is the proving ground for advancement. If you try, as he did, to skip over the experience of sensuality, like the acetic, you simply attach to another illusion of life, feeling special and entitled to, though not worthy of, enlightenment.

The upshot: if you are in this world, you are here to live it fully before you can turn off the projector and advance. The great archetypes within us provide the story lines and energy for much of our lives. Despite the impersonal nature of the archetypes, we are driven to experience them personally before we can retire them or detach from being controlled by them. How many times are we driven to find nirvana in a romance, at any age? Perhaps it is necessary to spend countless lifetimes in pursuit of the “one,” finally experiencing the ecstatic bliss of merger with one’s soul mate before we are ready to truly retire that illusion.

And what does retirement mean? It means, fully realizing one’s own wholeness, bringing home the gold, standing comfortably, a solitary being, calm, fulfilled, ready for the next adventure, this time, beyond the illusion of eternal sameness, or the attachment to but one story.

The paradox remains. We must project to fully discover ourselves in projected form. Then we must, fully, bring home the gold. This is the crucifixion stage, as we contain the compulsion to project and give away our gold and truth, by shunning all the enticing movies presented for our delight and security. This is the path portrayed in two of my favorite movies, The Matrix and Little Buddha. (Non-projector that I am!)

As always, I am open to discussion or comment. Should anyone wish to write, I can be reached via email at: chuck@riverwalkerpress.com

Until we meet again,
Chuck

Messages from Jeanne

#485 Taps

Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Do you have some guidance for us today?

I offer these practices of balance and steadiness in order for you to continue evolving and progressing in your lives upon that earth. Begin each morning with ritual tapping.

1. Tap upon your head, opening your crown to guidance and awareness.

2. Tap upon your forehead for clarity of vision.

3. Tap upon your cheekbones for wisdom and vitality.

4. Tap upon your chin for energy.

5. Tap upon your throat for truth.

6. Tap upon your shoulders for stamina and balance.

7. Tap upon your heart center for self-love and inner guidance.

8. Tap upon your hips for the strength that is in you to come forth and guide you.

9. Tap upon your knees for swiftness and agility.

10. Tap upon your ankles for enabling the good energy of earth to flow unhindered into you.

11. Finish by tapping upon your hands for knowledge and creativity to guide you.

These practices will aid you in your growth, reminding you who you are, where you are going, but most of all, bringing forth your innate abilities, your connections within the self, and your interconnection to energy outside of you. Give your self permission to do this tiny and simple tapping practice each day, as part of your morning ritual. Slip it into your daily preparations. Even as you now prepare your self in other ways, so may this focus on the body self, the inner self, and the energy outside of you, offer you just enough grounding to align you in a positive and open manner.

This simple tapping practice, tapping once, twice, or thrice, as you choose, will stimulate your inner vision, wisdom, and creative powers and aid you as you make your decisions, find your way, and allow for interactions on all levels.

Do not be afraid to open the self in such a manner. It is so natural to be in alignment with the self, outer and inner energy combined, that eventually will you be asking your self how you ever got along without doing your morning tapping exercises.

I do not mean to burden you with yet another process, but you must admit that you do each need a grounding program that is simple and easy to do to send you off on your day. You might even offer your self this mantra as you do this exercise:

I tap myself awake.

I tap myself into awareness.

I tap myself into alignment.

I tap myself into the joy of life.

I tap myself into my body.

I align, and I am alive!

Thank you!

Messages from Jeanne

#484 In Walking Meditation Roam the Earth

Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Do you have a message for us today?

Now is a time of walking upon that earth, drawing forth its energy, asking it to aid you as you make your way. Now is a time of earth energy, of balancing and steadying, even as you may feel pulled in the opposite direction by the planets and the moon as they tug at you. Find your focus at your feet more often now, out of your thinking head, down into your faraway legs, and the protuberances you call toes. Even if you have lost your feet or your legs for some reason, so can you still receive the energy of this mothering time. Use your imagination. Use your intuitive inner self, and your innocent self to bid the energy of Mother Earth herself to enter your own energy path.

As you walk upon that earth remind your self often to bind your awareness to that of the ground upon which you tread. Allow earth energy to siphon into you through your feet, using your innocence to accept this gift. In walking meditation roam the earth over the next few days, grounding your self upon its supple back, but also receiving its bounty of energetic balance.

It is blossoming time, a time of awakening and renewal, a time of rejuvenation and return to life. Accept such energy as your own and do not leave it to nature alone. Man must accept that he too lives and dies many slumbering deaths upon that earth, and is offered the same opportunity to birth again as the months do change and shift is called for.

Now is changing and shifting time. Do not be afraid to partake in the energy of such a time. You are offered the opportunity to participate in new life and, in practical terms, that means that new energy is available to you. As dense and heavy as you may feel in your body after a long winter’s slumber, so is there plenty of energy available to each of you. You may feel the vibration of it in your own body during quiet walking meditation upon that earth. You may feel it when you least expect it. Or you may simply know it by the lightness in your heart.

Do not dismiss this energy as being unavailable to you, for it exists, and is available to all who ask for it. That remains the key to receiving, and the key to accepting the gifts that are readily available. You receive by asking, and you accept by your innocence asking you, the adult in the world, to step aside for a moment and allow for energetic resonance to become a part of your life.

The greatest gifts do not come unbidden. They come when innocently asked for. Use your time of new life to seek new life for the self. Use your body for walking and, in each step you take, ask for energy, for guidance, for clarity, for awareness, for compassion for self and others; ask for love to fill you and love to flow out of you; ask for the breath of self-love to inhabit you and guide you on your journey.

Now is a time of great shift, as I have spoken of, but your continuing journey requires that you participate in the energy that is available during this time of shift. Today, I offer you a means of beginning your journey anew, with fresh steps, new prayers of reception, and new balance, in order to remain open and ready for what life is asking of you right now. Live as if you mean it. Live as if you have but one day, for that is all you really ever have, one day of life at a time.

Accept the gifts of the earth and trust the innocence of your inner self as you walk with truth in your heart, compassion on your sleeve, and energy seeping into your feet. The energy of earth is pure, and you are worthy of its bounty. Give your self this gift of balance and alignment with nature, as it struggles to remain vibrant and alive each day, one day at a time. This is the way to live.

Messages from Jeanne

#483 A Time of Inner Resurrection and Rebuilding

Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Do you have a message for us today?

My Dear Ones, this is test-taking time. You are being questioned as to your commitment to maturity, growth, and balanced awareness upon that earth. Your conscious awareness of the interconnectedness of all things and the meaningfulness of that which comes to you are being shown, as you go about your lives. Are you aware? Are you alert? Are you paying attention to the questions you are being asked? Are you finding your answers within?

Guide your self from within. As much as you seek guidance from outside of you, so is this a time of inner resurrection and rebuilding, based on the truths of the inner you now being shown to you from without. Guide your self to acceptance of these truths, for they reveal your innermost needs and desires, which are often not allowed expression and often not acceptable to even you, the bearer of such truths.

What is your innermost desire at this moment? Guide your self to find what this is, now, during this time of turmoil and calamity, even as the time of clearing and removal of old debris is also sought and presented. Find your inner steady and balanced self, even while you weep for your lost selves and others in your lives. This is a time of great shift and transformation, and although such shift may be presented in an abrupt and even violent manner, so has it been long in the making.

Your place now is as an evolving being, and this must be your anchor. Though you may wish to float upon the waters of remorse or regret, do not swallow your bitter tears nor walk in darkness through this time, for the light is upon you now, guiding you, and showing you the truths and desires of the innermost self.

Accept the tests being given and, as this day does unfold, look for your truths as they are further revealed. Answer your questions from your innermost core, your quiet self, as they are laid bare at your feet. Pick them up, your treasures, and keep them known to you, safe in your keeping, aware of them at all times.

During such a time as this, when change is forced upon you or thrown at you, so must you remind your self often that you are:

• an evolving being,

• an eternal seeker of truth,

• a self-guided motivator, and

• a strong, connected-to-all-things being who knows that only truth matters.

Stand in your truth, bitter and lonely though it may feel. You now have access to your innermost self, the tender and innocent self who wishes to live in the world. This truthful self asks that you allow it to come out and be resident beside you now, as you live your life more fully present, more fully trusting, and more fully alive than ever before. This innocence asks for light, air, and evolutionary partnership. It asks to be present as you take your tests each day and find your way, not alone at all, but, ultimately, whole, fulfilled, and stronger, as you align with your true self, seeking steady spiritual connection within, as well as without.

Each day, as you pass your tests, you bid goodbye to an old world, and each day as you awaken, you greet your self in a new world. Each day you enter a new world, do you see?

Chuck's Blog

#482 Chuck’s Place: Discovering My Energy Body-A Good Friday Remembered

Welcome to Chuck’s Place, where Chuck Ketchel expresses his thoughts, insights, and experiences!

When I was a young boy I wrestled deeply with believing in the existence of God. I tried diligently to be perfect, walking only in straight lines, like a soldier, making perfect right angle turns. The nuns insisted that I memorize the catechism word for word; that was all that was required to receive the sacrament to commune directly with God. I was a miserable failure at both straight lines and memorization, but the deeper problem for me was the shameful fact that I had no faith; I simply couldn’t accept that God existed based on belief alone. I recall the shame and anxiety I felt revealing this “sin” to my younger sister, whom I swore to secrecy; surely I was damned. Everyone believes, why can’t I? My deepest truth was revealed to my young self: I am not a believer! I am a failed Christian.

Finally, I decided to confront God, if there was one, directly. Looking back, I see my younger self discovering scientific method. I set up my hypothesis: if God could show me tangible evidence that he existed then I could believe in him. For my experiment I chose Good Friday, an established holy day where something big supposedly happened, that is, Christ’s crucifixion. I proposed to God that if it were true that Christ died on this day that he send me a sign to verify the exact moment of Christ’s death. I left the specific sign in God’s hands, only requiring that it be abundantly noticeable to me. With that proposition established, I prepared for sleep, incessantly repeating the Hail Mary, with the intent that my request be granted.

Some time in the middle of the night I was awoken, my body completely paralyzed, I couldn’t even open my eyes. My ears were filled with the buzzing sound of a million crickets as I experienced myself transforming into pure vibration. The intensity deepened to the point that I was sure my consciousness, my very self, would soon disintegrate and I would be completely swallowed up in the vibrations. I steadied myself, trying desperately to hold on to awareness, as I felt myself slipping away. Suddenly, it dawned on me: God has spoken! This was the moment of Christ’s death. Gradually my awareness returned to my body as the vibrations subsided. I knew that if I opened my eyes and looked at the clock I would know the exact time of Christ’s death. I was far too terrified to even blink an eye or move a muscle. I was simply thankful that I was alive, that I hadn’t disintegrated into sheer energy. This was my awakening; I discovered that direct experience was my one true religion. Christianity was simply the metaphor that opened the door to direct energetic experience of infinity. Through the years, I have discovered many useful metaphors and many useful methods.

This experiment became my first experience of life beyond the human form, the rational world of solid objects. No wonder we cling so tightly to that world, where everything is solid and knowable, relegating the proposition of spirit to believing or not believing. Entering the world of energetic experience brings us into a new world where nothing is solid and knowable, and we must learn how to steady ourselves to explore this new reality. It amazes me how simple it is to enter the experience of the greater reality of who we are and what we are capable of. It is our birthright, our innate potential to experience ourselves as energy and explore infinity now, as energetic beings. All we need to do is set that intent and ask for it, sincerely and innocently. Truthfully, what we need most is a little daring, and nerves of steel, to step out into the unknown.

The impact of our habitual patterns, accumulated through the years, creates a thick bark around our energetic selves, which can be challenging to penetrate. Herein lies the value of establishing some kind of practice to reach our energy bodies. My younger self discovered the value of repetitive prayer, coupled with intent. Dreaming is a natural time when we slip into our energy bodies. Again, using our intent, we can cultivate our dreaming attention to explore the world out of body. In the shaman’s world, practices such as Tensegrity break through the crust of habitual patterns to redistribute vital energy, improving physical prowess and the ability to reach the energy body. Practices such as yoga and meditation also open the pathway to one’s energetic essence.

It is important to remember that the method itself is really not that important, they are all equal, it’s simply a matter of finding the right fit, or what personally resonates. The ability to reach one’s energy body is innate. All you need to do is intend it, innocently, and hold that intent with gentle persistence. All the methods to aid this process, discovered by spiritual masters and codified through various spiritual traditions, can be helpful to aid one in cutting through the thick bark, which shrouds the energetic essence. However, attachment to a master or a tradition can just as easily contribute to the bark, if one is not careful. Once a practice becomes a habit, a must-do, the execution of which determines our judgment of ourselves, it gets absorbed by and reinforces our cognitive structure of everyday rational life, rather than helping us cut through it. If the method we choose becomes “the method,” again, it simply thickens the bark as we become trapped in the competitiveness of everyday life. If we project our sought after energetic potential onto our teachers, or spiritual traditions, we become trapped in hierarchy and hero worship, further alienating ourselves from our innate potential.

It’s challenging to not take our habits with us as we embark on a spiritual path to reach our energetic selves. Remember, everything you need you already have. You needn’t look outside for the answer, or the way. I suggest simply intending to discover your energetic self. See what happens!

As always, I am open to discussion or comment. Should anyone wish to write, I can be reached via email at: chuck@riverwalkerpress.com

Although I did not return to the discussion of projection, as promised, I will most likely pick up where I left off in next week’s blog, discussing positive projection. Unless something else comes to my attention.

Until we meet again,
Chuck

Chuck Ketchel, LCSWR