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: The Good & Bad Of Habit

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-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

From a biological point of view, a habit is a well-connected cluster of brain cells (neurons) that form a circuit that, when turned on, directs the body and mind to automatically behave in a certain way. Many habits are inherited through the arrangement of genes in our DNA, and many are formed epigenetically, as we learn new things post-birth.

A distinguishing characteristic of a habit is that it operates outside of consciousness. Our body is frequently prompted to perform habits while the attention of our conscious mind is far away, in thought. Think about driving and suddenly noticing that you have arrived at your destination with little memory of the journey.

Habits are housed in the subconscious mind, which pairs the suggestions it receives through sensory triggers with its storehouse of habitual responses. The subconscious largely runs all the systems of our body independently of our awareness.

Habits are the building blocks of our identity. When we awaken from our night sea journey of sleep, we are quickly swept away from dreamland and placed into the familiar story of who  we are in waking life. Thoughts of our upcoming day become the triggers of our mental habits that tell us who we are.

“What is the time? Oh, I always wake up late, I never give myself enough time (depressed feeling). I won’t have time to eat (sad). I’ll grab a coffee at the gas station because, of course, I didn’t fill up yesterday because I was lazy, as usual (defeated). Oh! I have that meeting today; I hate presenting (anxiety). I feel so judged by my peers, especially by her, Miss Perfect (failure). I hate this job, but I’m stuck (not good enough)…”

We think about 60,000 thoughts a day, 90% of which are habitual. This string of thought-triggers, that begins upon awakening, becomes a nonstop internal dialogue that solidifies our sense of who we are, providing us with our familiar identity. Whether we like ourselves or not, we find comfort in the secure grounding and dependability of our habitual definition and feeling of self.

The good news, from a neurological point of view, is neuroplasticity, the capacity of the brain to establish new neural networks, and consequently, new habits. New thoughts can be consciously chosen, which, when repetitively stated and imbued with imagination and emotion, provoke the subconscious to manifest a new identity and a new physical reality.  (See link below.)

The brain treats our thoughts as actual reality. When we imagine something in our minds, the brain creates new circuits of neurons and chemical reactions that build new physical structures and emotions in the body, in accordance with the model we mentally create. When the mind rehearses its desired future, the brain builds the structures to make it physically happen.

The challenge to suggesting new thoughts to the subconscious, as Dr. Joe Dispenza points out, is that we must allow ourselves to be uncomfortable with change. Our attachment to the comfort of our familiar, known, habitual self generates defenses to protect its prior habitually-established neurocircuitry.

Subjectively, this is experienced as doubt and lack of faith in the ability to truly transform the self, mentally and physically. The tendency is to continue to place emphasis on the known, reinforcing the hegemony of the old circuitry. As Christ pointed out, without faith there are no miracles. He was not talking about faith in him but faith in the ability of the self to truly transform. That’s the suggestion necessary to get the attention of the subconscious.

The nuts and bolts of transformation is rote practice, continued over time. Say something enough times with passion, while imagining it, and it will come to pass. That’s exactly how the inner dialogue already works: we become what we think. If we take conscious control of directing our thoughts, we change our brain and we change who we are.

The challenge is both perseverance and a willingness to live in the discomfort of a fluid rather than a fixed identity. To grow, in its fullest potentiality, is to arrive at the perspective of all that is, better known as, the ultimate experience of cosmic oneness.

At the gross motor level of the physical body, the shamans of ancient Mexico used not-doings to break the fixation of habitual behavior, awakening consciousness to be able to choose new behaviors. A not-doing might be to change your bedtime every night or to wear mismatched socks during the day. Spontaneous decisions, like breaking into singing and dancing or choosing a different turn while driving, disrupt habit and awaken consciousness.

Life in Earth School paradoxically requires us to establish a uniformity of identity through a habitual self to feel safe and grounded, yet it also insists that we constantly break old habits of self in order to grow.

Life in Graduate Earth School asks us to wake up and be the rising sun each morning, like the phoenix burning off the habitual self of just yesterday, as we journey further into the adventure and discomfort of the unknown in a new day.

Nothing can ever stay the same. Habits are all temporary perches from which to observe and discover infinity. Enjoy them, learn from them, but don’t get too attached, as more of infinity awaits!

Not Doing,
Chuck

Sharing a good meditation to support a changing self, created by Dr. Joe Dispenza. I suggest listening to it in its entirety, many times, for the fullest experience.
You are the Placebo-Guided Meditation

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Rising Above The Negative Swing Of The Pendulum

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Love, it’s a choice…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

All of life swings back and forth, like a pendulum. Civilizations rise and fall, moods run high and then swing equidistantly low, the tide goes out and returns with equal force. This is the law of rhythm, with its inevitable cycles, as well as the law of cause and effect that insists that every action be compensated with an equal and opposite reaction.

Although we cannot stop the multitude of storms that affect our lives, we can position ourselves to neutralize their impact upon us. On the physical plane, the decision to evacuate from a coming hurricane removes us from immediate danger.

On the mental plane, reaching the place of radical acceptance for all-that-is can largely mitigate the impact of negative emotional storms upon our lives. To accomplish this, the shamans of ancient Mexico teach us to suspend judgment.

To suspend judgment means to not take offense, even when someone very intentionally targets us. Here, we seek no solace and waste no energy in excusing the offender because of some tragedy or misfortune in their lives that may have caused their actions. We fully accept the possible coldblooded intent of their behavior. We don’t seek to find forgiveness. If we are not offended there is nothing to forgive.

Shamans view all encounters in the all-that-is of human life as opportunities to hone their energy for life beyond human form, on the subtler planes of infinity. Souls that are burdened with resentments are too weighed down for subtle flight and must first take up residence in dream bardos, where they learn to lighten their load by truly letting go of all earthly strings of resentment.

Shamans use the fact that any moment could be their last in human form to arrive at an equanimous attitude of presence to every experience in life. Easy to say, but while in human form we are subjected to very powerful emotions that would have us fully drive the pendulum’s potent swing of anger right back into the heart of our offender. How do we rise above such an instinctive reaction?

My High Self immediately responded to this question by singing to me its own version of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love : “Bring me to Higher Ground!”, with the chorus belting it out louder and louder. The message, immediately channeled from my High Self, was to sing, with passion, this suggestion to my subconscious mind.

The actual lyric is, “Bring me a higher love!” My High Self ingeniously delivered two messages to catch my attention and answer my query: To rise above an instinctive reaction, going to a higher ground, and to raise my vibration to the spiritual level of non-attachment, to the place of higher love.

When we raise our consciousness to the positive vibration of love we avoid the impact of the pendulum’s swing to the negative pole of hatred. We let that negative swing pass by, refusing to participate in its call for vengeance. We neutralize the consuming impact of negativity upon our raised ego state. Of course, we might need to take firm action, but it won’t be emotionally driven from negativity, but rather from the clarity of objectivity.

This exercise of the will, to shift its fixation from the negative to the positive poll, is accomplished, in this instance, by singing, with powerful emotional exuberance, the suggestion to the subconscious mind to manifest a landing on the higher ground of love.

Once the subconscious receives the suggestion, we experience calm and clarity, as we employ our intuition and reason to guide us to action. All we truly need is love.

Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Focus On The Opposite

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Vibrate peace…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

We find that there is a person we just can’t stand. The mere mention of their name arouses feelings of hatred and utter disgust. Such is the experience of many in these extremely polarized times in which we live.

Therapeutically, there is value in assessing whether this gripping emotional experience is a function of a psychological defense, whereby the unconscious projects an unwanted part of ourself onto the personality of another person, relieving us of owning this unacceptable part of ourself.

We then vicariously continue to live, yet not own, that part of ourself through our obsession with, and hatred of, this other character. To introspectively investigate such vicarious aspects of self is called shadow work, which results in the retrieval of, and reconciliation with, rejected parts of the personality.

As valuable as owning one’s projections might be, we often remain extremely doubtful that our emotional reaction is rooted in a shadow projection from ourselves. We remain utterly unconvinced of our part in the problem, and remain gripped by hatred for this ‘evil’ person. Another approach to relief from this rigid fixation is to transmute one’s feeling state through the use of the Hermetic Law of Vibration.  

This law of vibration states that everything that exists is in motion, generating a vibration. Physical matter is vibratory energy densely packed into solid form, obviously moving at a very slow rate of vibration. Subtle mental energy states of our being—such as that of our soul, or energy body—move at a very rapid rate of vibration, which accounts for the ability to swiftly move through physical walls when out of body.

Emotions, energy in motion, have their own vibratory states. When we feel hatred, we are heavy of mood and emit a low vibratory state that alienates others and depresses our own energy state. When we feel love, our mood is light and welcoming, positively impacting those around us and invigorating our own creative juices.

Clearly, emotions are part of a continuum of vibratory energy, with love and hate at polar opposite coordinates on the same scale of emotion. If we can shift our position from the negative point of hate to the positive position of love, we can experience a positive vibration that transforms our internal experience and impacts the outer world as well.

To facilitate this transmutation of emotion, we begin by engaging the will of our conscious ego to fixate its attention upon the desired emotion. Where we place our attention is the vibration of what we will become. To disengage from hate, we intentionally focus on the opposite, love, which builds the suggestion to the subconscious mind to manifest a changed experience within and without.

The components of this suggestion include thought, emotion and imagination. Thought is directive intention. In the case of the hated person we begin by stating, “I have compassion for __________.”  It does not matter that you begin by not believing or feeling this emotion. You are fixating your intent upon generating this vibratory experience. State this phrase frequently, incessantly.

Next engage your imagination. Visualize this person as part of the All of Creation, who is struggling to grow to a higher vibration, the destiny of all life. Know that however stuck and misguided they may be, they have the capacity for positive change. Telepathically transmit this vote of confidence as a suggestion to their subconscious mind.

Within your own imagination, visualize them as a totally transformed, positive being. Feel their joy at having achieved such a positive transformation. Visualize their changed impact upon the world from such a positive perch.

Embellish your mental movie and thoughts with a strong desire for major transformation. Feel empathy for a fellow flawed human. Feel excitement for their unfolding enlightenment and freedom from the bondage of negativity. Express gratitude for the power of the infinite intelligence and divine substance of the subconscious mind to materialize such a positive vibration, within the self and the world.

Exercise the will vigilantly to firmly plant this suggestion in the subconscious mind. Let go with the absolute certainty that the divine powers within will attract the necessary material to manifest this intent. Be patient but persistent in stating, feeling, and imagining this intent.

Success is guaranteed. Feel the lightness and warmth of your own changed emotional state. You have transmuted yourself from that hating person to a being of light and love, radiating positivity for the higher vibration of the greater good. The world is a better place.

Thank you,
Chuck 

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: Still The Wheel Of Waking Worry Mind

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We are in a new Eon...Aeon is the twentieth card of the major arcana in Aleister Crowley’s Thoth tarot deck. In traditional tarot decks the twentieth card is named The Last Judgment. Crowley, however, changed its title to Aeon, representing a new beginning versus the end of the world. The destruction of now is the impact of labor pains, the precursors to new life, not the final judgment and end of the world.

The new eon is that of Horus, Egyptian son of the Goddess Isis and the God Osiris. Horus ushers in a time of greater consciousness and spiritual awakening, a step beyond the dogma and drama of the patriarchal Abrahamic religions. The eon of Horus represents humanity’s gradual withdrawal of the projection of divine power onto deities, as it awakens to, and becomes responsible for, its own divine power.

The eon of Horus parallels the astrological eon of the Age of Aquarius with its emphasis upon consciousness beyond narcissism. This is the perspective of an interconnected we, as opposed to everything being just about me. Aquarius, the water bearer, from the mental plane of thought, waters the Earth, nurturing it with healthy solutions and community spirit.

The downside of these shifting eons is the duration of their destructive labor. We could be looking at 500 years of Dark Ages, not terribly comforting to our current generation. However, as Crowley suggests, “today we have brighter torches and torch bearers.”

I submit that many of us alive today are here to provide that bright light, as we move rapidly through these dark times and pass on that torch to the future of the human dream.

Our greatest power in this Horus/Aquarian eon lies in the actualization of our divine powers of conscious suggestion and subconscious manifestation, in the service of the greater good. The first step in consciously engaging in this divine process is to still the ever-turning wheel of waking worry mind.

Since the subconscious mind is deeply engaged in supporting the activities of daily life, we first disengage from physical activity to free up subconscious attention. I suggest the use of autogenic phrases, repeated quickly and redundantly for several minutes.

The subconscious, which totally dominates physical functioning, responds to these commands by literally putting the body to sleep. Mentally we enter a hypnagogic state, the intermediary state between awake and sleeping consciousness. To arrive there, state these commands several times without pause:

“Feet relax, ankles relax, calf muscles relax, thighs relax, pelvis relax, stomach relax, chest relax, shoulders relax, arms relax, fingers relax, sacrum relax, back relax, neck relax, head relax, face relax.” Repeat several times until drowsy. 

Now, having arrived in the hypnagogic state, shift to mental focus. State a simple, prepared suggestion to the subconscious mind, such as: “Peace of mind is mine, thank you.”

Say this out loud, or quietly inside the mind with accompanying lip-syncing, for at least 5 minutes. The subconscious absorbs this intention and prepares this mental template for physical manifestation.

Finally, imagine someone of significance to you congratulating you, shaking your hand and hugging you for your achievement of deep inner peace. Feel the joy and calm of such deep inner peace. This mental completion in the imagination will be matched by the subconscious, in its own time, with its creation in physical form.

Perform this practice 3 times per day. Persevere with this practice and see what happens, sooner than you think!

This practice produces the fuel for the sacred eternal flame of conscious truth, as we endure the labor of new and glorious life.

Let not the flame die out,
Chuck

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Ego’s Journey To Discover Its Divinity

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From our ego center we design our own destiny…
-Artwork © 2024 Jan Ketchel

With the acquisition of consciousness the human species evolved beyond its instinctually bound animal compatriots. Consciousness provides us with the divine prerogative to design and manifest our own destiny.

The ego is the center of consciousness in a human being. With its powers of thought and free will, the ego is our sovereign leader who directs the course of our lives.

The ego is of divine origin. Its parents are the masculine and feminine sides of its immortal soul that sent it off to live a finite life, attached to a human form. World mythology, fairytales, and actual human history are replete with stories of orphaned royal infants raised by humble citizens or protective animals. Unaware of their royal origin, these children ultimately mature into adults who discover and exercise their innate divine powers.

Examples include, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, King Arthur, Oedipus, Romulus and Remus, Superman, Moses and Jesus. The same archetypal theme of the hero’s journey pervades all of these stories.

The journey is one of taking on the adventure of a human life, with all its trials and tribulations, and ultimately entering the abyss of the unknown self, where they retrieve their true royal birthright and come into conscious possession of their divine powers.

This archetypal theme of the hero’s journey of self-discovery, in its life in human form, is shared by all human beings. We are all born in a blank slate mental state, surrounded by a wall of amnesia that blocks out knowledge of our true divine inheritance.

Were we to have known of our actual immortal status, we would have been deprived of the ability to truly experience a finite human life. Souls attracted to Earth School to further their growth enter a finite life in space and time, where they are unknowingly raised and socialized by their mortal adoptive parents.

The ego secretly always harbors an underlying feeling of inadequacy, rooted in being forced to live and master a life in an alien form, in an alien world. Is it any wonder that the ego becomes obsessed with the need for attention and validation of its self-importance, as a central pursuit in this life? Self-importance is the natural compensation for a deep sense of inadequacy, the true mental status of all of humanity.

Ironically, the ego’s obsession with self-importance, that steals the lion’s share of its energy and attention throughout its life, unknowingly engages its innate divine powers in perpetuating a life of inadequacy. The thoughts and beliefs we emphasize create the circumstances within our lives that reflect those thoughts.

The conscious mind of the ego is the architect that engages the infinite intelligence and divine building substance of the subconscious mind to manifest its will. There is no such thing as predetermination. What we emphasize in our thoughts is our destiny.

What we tell ourselves we are is what we magically become. These are our divine powers: thought and the ability to physically manifest those thoughts. Our current eon is challenging us to wake up to our unconscious use of these powers and to shift to consciously choosing  thoughts of right action.

Regardless of our values, it is the thoughts we are drawn to and emphasize that are manifested. Thus, if we are preoccupied with fascination and rage toward political figures, we are in fact inadvertently pledging our energy toward the realization of their dream.

Waking up to our innate royal privilege also requires that we become responsible rulers. If we saturate our minds with thoughts and feelings of love, compassion, right action, forgiveness, and abundance we are certain to manifest these physical conditions in our lives, individually and globally.

The ego of our time must die to its obsession with self-importance, as it assumes, with divine confidence, its ability to manifest a positively evolved self and world. The current eon requires us to claim our divine powers and exercise them in the service of truth.

What we give our attention to, consciously or unconsciously, is our real vote.

Attend wisely and responsibly, 
Chuck