Category Archives: Chuck’s Blog

Welcome to Chuck’s Place! This is where Chuck Ketchel, LCSW-R, expresses his thoughts, insights, and experiences! Currently, Chuck posts an essay once a week, currently on Tuesdays, along the lines of inner work, psychotherapy, Jungian thought and analysis, shamanism, alchemy, politics, or any theme that makes itself known to him as the most important topic of the week. Many of the shamanic and psychological terms used in Chuck’s essays are defined in Tools & Definitions on our Psychotherapy page.

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: MirrorIng, The Heart of Connection

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Mirroring in nature…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

We can use words to communicate, but connection requires more than words. Connection is meeting in pure transparency.

The intimacy of meeting so directly can be overpowering. The removal of boundaries, at that level, recalls a state of union and oneness that long preceded the notion of a separate self.

The terror of loss of self in such encounters generates ambivalence. Though we might seek the closeness of connection, we seek refuge in the protection of small talk, roles, and prefabricated expectations and interactions. Why do we find it so necessary to hide?

Carlos Castaneda was emphatic that we should avoid looking into the mirror; at most, a brief unfocused gaze for shaving or combing of the hair. For the shamans of his lineage, looking in the mirror results in the fixation of attention upon self-reflection, what the psychotherapist of today calls narcissistic preoccupation with the self.

The more we focus upon the presentation of the self, the more we become alienated from our true selves. The more we stare at our reflection, the more Bobby the Flyer takes command, and we find more and more fault with ourselves, which leads to a state of narcissistic loathing. Why then do we hide? Because we are so damned unacceptable!

Loathing the self is then compensated for by the insatiable attention we seek for our outer presentation of self, what Jung called the persona, or the mask we wear. Regardless of how much attention it receives, it is never enough to erase the underlying belief of unworthiness of the true underlying self.

Mirroring, in the modern psychological sense, happens between two people, not one person viewing their own appearance in the mirror. To mirror with another is to feel, know, and be with the truth of one’s own and the other’s experience in the moment. A meeting of the eyes in that moment reflects an unmistakable acknowledgement of a shared experience.

Mirroring requires no words, though words might be exchanged. Words are not necessary because the knowing of the meeting has already been validated through the mirroring effect. Meetings of this kind crack the mirror of fixation upon self-reflection. Meeting in transparency, with nothing hidden, transcends judgments of self and other.

Mirroring actually requires no special skill. In fact, shamans suggest that we all have access to the direct knowledge experience of mirroring. Direct knowledge is knowledge unfiltered by the mental processing and judging of the mind’s internal dialogue.

The key to direct knowledge is inner silence, a state of mindful presence that shuts down the mental process, that is, thinking. Devoid of thinking we are treated to the experience of what is, unbiased by interpretation.

Connecting at the heart level is mirroring at the level of truth. Of course, this can be experienced as extremely romantic, where “hearts meet as one.” Romance is highly sought after for this mirroring experience of transparent meeting.

Unfortunately, romance soon becomes overwhelmed with archetypal expectations of each other, which quickly engages the judging mind. This closes down the purity of the mirroring channel between partners, who then become utter strangers. The mirroring of romance is co-opted by nature’s underlying intent to simply continue the species, not deepen spiritual connection.

Romance is a limited subset though valuable experience of mirroring. That is, while it lasts. Mirroring is possible in all human and non-human interactions. Mirroring frequently happens between humans and animals, or humans and plants. Mirroring is the basis of successful early parenting. Mirroring is the essence of true bonding.

Mirroring is the active relational tool for the current and coming evolutionary advance of the human species. It springs from the heart because the heart brings us to the true interconnected oneness of everything, which is the active principle in mirroring.

Relax the mind, suspend judgment, and mirror. See what happens!

Mirroring,

Chuck 


Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: To Not Be Offended

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Don’t let obstructions get in your way, just let it flow…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

The ruling intent of this time is to offend. Energetically, it’s a brilliant system to galvanize and employ human energy to achieve its goals. Indeed, it’s as Machiavellian as the human battery pods of The Matrix. How do we not give away our energy by becoming offended?

There is a distinction between being impacted and being offended. Offensive words generate deeds that definitely impact. The reality of impact should be acknowledged to the self and trusted others.

However, to be offended by a malicious act is a one-way ticket to the black hole of defeatism. In defeatism we lose our vital energy to the oppressor. The Shamans of Ancient Mexico observed that the greatest tyrant of them all had taken up residence in the human psyche.

Carol Tiggs, the Nagual Woman of Carlos Castaneda’s lineage, called that tyrant Bobby the Flyer. Bobby is the self-condemning voice in every human being that sentences us to that black hole of utter defeat. Bobby uses our incessant internal dialogue to keep us unworthy, stuck in our internal prison of inadequacy.

How many times a day do we hear the following words, inside our heads: “I’m bad.” “I’m inadequate.” “I’ll never be able to…”  Or, “I don’t deserve.” The internal dialogue’s commentary on outer events is equally incessantly judging: “They treat me unfairly.” “I don’t matter.” Or “they look better, younger, thinner, more stylish, or, they’re more articulate…than me.”

Thus, outer offense mirrors the inner offense of Bobby the Flyer. Internally, the impact of attaching to offense is to define the boundary of the self with the belief that nothing will ever change. This overarching negative belief keeps our spirit in check.

To free the spirit we must free it from offense. A preponderance of offensive words are being personally intended now. How can we then say that it isn’t personal, when it clearly is? Everything is designed to personally impact and it does; it hurts. Hurt is hurt, but it’s not offense.

Offense is an abstract, subjective interpretation. When Victor Frankl was denied his most basic of human rights, he chose not to be offended by his oppressors. Instead he chose to save his energy, to place his attention on positive thoughts and memories that could sustain him. And he survived where many died, depleted of their vital energy by the black hole of defeatism.

In the martial art of Aikido, much attention is placed on the imbalanced energy of the oncoming attacker and how to strategically receive it. No attention is wasted on being offended by one’s attacker. To be offended is to lose focus, which could be fatal. Martial artists and shamans alike know the value of losing any attachment to self-importance if one is to hone abilities and preserve energy.

Self-importance should not be confused with self-worthiness. Unseat Bobby the Flyer. With meditation or magical passes learn to silence the internal dialogue. Assert your basic worthiness to the self, but don’t get caught in needing others to validate it. That’s a sure ticket to the black hole of defeatism.

Ironically, the biggest petty tyrant of our times is daring us to not be offended by him; it may be the only way to actually defeat him! Beyond that, he offers us the exercise of truly learning to preserve our energy for the deeply challenging times now unfolding upon this planet.

May we all have compassion for all beings.

Without offense,

Chuck

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Chuck’s Place: Kundalini Rising

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We are in the time of the great healing crisis…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Tragic, the burning of Notre Dame. It takes us to the heart and the intent to rebuild. The energy, contained for centuries in this monolithic structure of Catholicism, has been released and will be reformed in its reconstruction.

Pope Benedict spoke from retirement last week, proclaiming, in a letter, the source of sexual abuse in the Church to be linked to the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the free love of the 1960’s. His prescription for reformation is in keeping with similar calls throughout the world for conservatism as the solution.

His letter reflects, at the highest level, the schism within the Church. Pope Benedict reflects the power of control at the third chakra, will. Pope Francis calls for love at the fourth chakra, all-encompassing. The mounting energy of this schism can be depicted as kundalini energy rising and bursting forth, in flames, in the split between these two chakras.

In America, the same schism is being exploited and the fires stoked. Some hold to the true spirit of the American Dream, the heart chakra. Others hold that that dream is over, that America is full, back to an old conservatism, the third chakra. The same schism confronts Israel. And though Netanyahu emerges victorious, Beresheet crashed into the moon.

At the deepest level, all these local tragedies are signs of the earth’s healing crisis. That crisis is the earth’s reformation, as the farmers of the Midwest can well attest. Healing will require rising to the objective truth of what is needed to survive at a fully interconnected level, beyond all special interests.

Consider Katie Bouman’s modest contribution to the algorithm that made possible the first viewing of a black hole. The key was to bring all telescopes on the earth together as one. The ability to merge the data as one produced the light of consciousness that takes us deeper into the mystery of us all.

The fires rage and the destruction is painful. Nonetheless, the healing crisis, well underway, portends new life, on more solid ground.

Present,

Chuck

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Chuck’s Place: Tossing of the Ring

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Like rippling rings on water, let your love flow…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Noticed, subliminally, that the ring on my pinky was quite loose, barely stayed on. A brief thought process to safely tuck it in my pocket was dismissed. Upon returning home, I discovered that the ring was gone. I was stunned but soon calmed, as I realized we, my ring and I, had made this agreement earlier in the day. I was alerted to its readiness to jump; it had given me one last obvious warning. I had given it the green light and it had chosen to launch.

The ring is composed of two thick golden entwined threads, a couple’s infinite love woven into a healing path, a sealed strand of intent ready for life. It had adorned my finger for 45 years. Though coveted, it expressed its intent to move freely in the world now. I release you, dear ring, so imbued with love, to bring your magic wherever you land.

Realized later that the day the ring sprang free, April 6th, was exactly one year to the day of our initiation at The Monroe Institute’s Gateway Voyage, where Jan and I abruptly moved into new life. Found out, as well, that our nearest neighbor, Elizabeth, had launched on her definitive journey into infinity that same day, having physically died in Los Angeles. Truly, this was a day of profound shift.

The spreading of love is indeed the karma of what is happening now, the work to be done. That which has fragmented must come back together. We must be patient in the knowing that change is constant. Disintegration, however vast, is the precursor to integration. Love is the energy of healing and union.

Spend not time judging the self, judgment is too divisive. Seek only clarity and truth. From the heart center ask the self the question, “does this old decision hold up now?” And if the answer is that it’s time to shift, walk in a new direction. Quietly, light as a feather, attract no attention, simply move on, filled to the brim with love.

To get to the truth of the heart, we must reach a profound state of relaxation. Allow each inward breath to reach every cell of the body. With the exhalation, ask every cell to profoundly release. Hold that level of relaxation as you begin the next inhalation, then release even deeper on the out breath. After some time, the body will become calm and receptive, the mind will have dropped its prejudices, and the truth of the heart will be ready to be heard.

Doubt is the third chakra’s devil’s advocate. Allow it to make its case, but recognize its narcissism. With calm, speak the truth. If unduly influenced by its call to arms or self-serving ploys, then reenter the matrix for another round of groundhog day. When the cycle completes, you’ll have accrued greater knowledge. And with it, what will you choose next time around?

The world populace oscillates now between its separate wants and true collective needs. Only love can settle the score, because it transcends the one-sidedness of separateness.

Toss the ring of what you hold dear into the ring of greater good. Let  love grow in every interaction, in every thought and action. Let’s see what happens!

With love,

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Traumatic Initiation

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Stumped between worlds…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Trauma is a rupture to the security of the known. The sublime effect of trauma is to involuntarily usher one into the transpersonal dimension of the High SOUL. PTSD is the condition of being caught between the everyday world of the known and this deeper transpersonal dimension of being.

Recapitulation is an ego-Soul retrieval practice that reconstitutes the fullness of the self that was fragmented by trauma, curing the condition of PTSD. For many, recapitulation also refines one’s psychic ability to travel in and communicate with the transpersonal realm. Many psychic channels trace their awakened abilities to the blunt force of a traumatic incident.

Thus, trauma can be seen as the ego-Soul’s involuntary initiation into the fuller dimension and abilities of its High SOUL. As with all initiations the experience is shattering and dangerous, and not everyone returns safely. Modern clinical methods like EMDR and SE (Sensory Experience) can also facilitate the ego-Soul’s resolution of its forced traumatic shamanic journey.

The world is currently experiencing blunt force trauma on many fronts. The impacts of global warming upon the body of Gaia are evident almost daily. The fires in California, the floods in the midwest, the Typhoon last week in Mozambique are but a handful of the most recent physical traumas on Earth. The great human migratory movements throughout the world now largely reflect these environmental impacts.

Human beings are the cortex of the living planetary being of Gaia, and as a whole are expressing the polarized symptoms of instability so familiar to an individual in the grip of PTSD. Thus, we see a compromised collective human ego-Soul grappling with survival, as its known world continues to shatter.

The latent impact of the Earth crises of now is a collective shamanic journey for the human ego-Soul. Though the side effects of bipolar and psychotic extremes are evident, many are adjusting to the evolutionary shifts on the near horizon. The almost complete lack of privacy, the transparency of now, though invasive and almost out of control, are actually signs of a coming higher level of consciousness; that is, humans communicating telepathically, with total transparency, in a world with nothing to hide.

Humans have no choice but to reach this level of truthfulness to be able to function sanely as the cortex of Gaia. Seen from this perspective, the trauma of now is actually a planetary birth trauma, where both the Earth and human consciousness are being reformatted for evolutionary salvation.

It was the conclusion of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico, in the person of the Nagual Don Juan Matus, that this energetic evolution was the only direction for humankind and for the survival of the Earth dream.

As individuals, we are all empowered to be midwives to a smooth evolutionary transition by facing the truths of our individual lives. Firstly, practice self-regulation, in some form of meditation or body practice, to achieve volitional control over the emotional terrors of the limbic system that react to the shocks of now. Stay calm, limit exposure to extremist rhetoric.

Keep thoughts positive and loving. Love is the most powerful and all-inclusive energy. It’s free. Bombard the world with loving kindness!

Hold onto the perspective that all the destruction of now is part of a major birth and an evolutionary initiation into a more loving, transparent, well-balanced world. Hold tightly to this knowing, protecting it like a candle in the innermost sanctum of the heart, amidst the violent storms of negativity blowing across the world. Know that it is simply another contraction in this amazing birth we are all participants in.

Regulating,

Chuck