Category Archives: Jan’s Blog

Welcome!

Currently, I put most of my energy into the weekly channeled messages, the daily Soulbytes, and the completion of The Recapitulation Diaries. An occasional blog does still get written when the creative urge strikes. Archived here are the blogs I wrote for many years about inner life and outer life, inner nature and outer nature. Perhaps my writings on life, as I see it and experience it, may offer you some small insight or different perspective as you take your own journey.

With gratitude for all that life teaches me, I share my experiences.

Jan Ketchel

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: The Times They are A-Changin’

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Dear Readers and Fellow Journeyers,

It feels only right, in light of the situation that continues to unfold in Japan, that we continue reflecting and searching for meaning regarding the natural events that have rocked the world over the past week. I just cannot return to the personal or domestic at this point, it just feels wrong, the energy needed instead for the bigger picture of what is happening on the other side of the world, affecting us all.

I may be psychic, an open channel, but Chuck is the real visionary. He has the gift of far-sighted intuition that often astounds me. When he says we should do something or prepare for something I take note, because he’s mostly right. I would like to say that he’s always right, but that feels too burdensome a pronouncement to put on anyone. But to prove the point, he has been saying, for many years, that things would come to a head, that what we do politically, environmentally, energetically, and personally make a world of difference and that our dependence on the world’s natural resources would backfire on us, our technological age would become the end of the world as we know it. He never says this in a negative light, but always as a positive and much needed shift, in a shamanic sense, which is that we are setting ourselves up for just the right shift to a new awareness.

You may say, yeah, well a lot of people say that, but not in the way that Chuck says it. He knows something else, the bigger picture always before him, while I tend to focus on the details of the moment. I feel lucky that I too have access to that bigger picture in my channeling with Jeanne, she too offering far-sighted and far-reaching insight in alignment with some of the astounding proclamations that I hear coming from Chuck. The two of them still work in synchronistic ways and if you know them now or knew them as a couple in this world you are not surprised.

When we first began publicly sending out the messages from Jeanne in 2006, first via email and then later on the website, there were still several journals of unpublished material. The content of some of those early messages has stayed with us, warnings of changes in the world, largely based on man’s disregard for nature and his tendency to greed and overconsumption. Today, I post one of those early messages because it is so pertinent to what is happening in Japan at this very moment, a warning almost of this happening. Jeanne says that even our generation, her generation, will feel the impact of change and indeed she is right. The message is long, but I encourage you to read on:

Here is the message, channeled on September 13, 2006, that we find so important to publish now, in light of the continually unfolding situation in Japan.

As usual, I connected to her via a question: Dear Jeanne, Do you have messages for us today?

This is her response:

Contemplate the vicissitudes of the nation. Mark your calendars and circulate the unwanted news that I profess to have access to. The times they are a-changin’! Do not retreat from this job I give you. Do not fail in our intent, which is to bring to all who are ready, the first signs of truth regarding the ways of the government of America and the natural consequences of untapped greed.

Mother Nature revolts. This will happen before, after, and during any other manmade revolts. This will be the ultimate factor, the deciding factor in any other action taken. Mother Nature will wage the war that will end all wars and turn the world into a quieter, calmer place, because there will be no energy or ego enough to continue battling with others. There will be a time of destruction, partly man’s fault, partly instigated by the reaction of the earth to that which man has promulgated upon her surface. This will lead to a calming down of all tensions upon that earth and a forced new world will be in order.

There will be no reason for man to have the power he now affords and awards himself. His state now is of possessive greed and this is an overtaking action, a self-professed assigning of elite power that will bring him down, in the end, to his knees. No man is born to take such a role. That role has been engineered and constructed by man’s tremendous ego, unleashed, uncontrolled, and unable to maintain balance. This ego, grown large and out of shape, no longer holds compassion, kindness, or love at its core, but has pushed aside those basic human attributes and instead taken on the cloak of outrageous greed.

There is no dragging off of this cloak. There is only the dismantling that can happen through natural consequences. So powerful has man become in his own eyes, that he does not intend to allow another man to cut down his sturdy legs and, thus, his attitude perpetuates the intensity of war and greed.

The only thing capable of decapitating and dethroning man is his inherent Mother: the Earth, the Moon, the Stars, and the configurations of the heavens which house all stories, told and untold. Here lies all truth, waiting for the grand moment of coincident, when alignment will impact everything, as man now knows it.

It is not that far off. The many who prophesy and who believe that this is caused by a punitive god do not have all the facts straight. There is much that is involved, both on earth and in the heavens, where outer space is a vast other world, full of life, potential, and energy, constantly gathering to enact needed change.

The synchronistic placement of many things, in order for a great change to take place, is paramount. This cannot be wished for, nor can it be exactly predicted by anyone on earth, for there are many things involved that man alone cannot bear to bring together, either in his mind nor does he dare to impose it upon the decent people of the earth.

What things? I asked.

There are rumblings deep inside the earth, affected not only by their own environment but also by the pulls outside the atmosphere. There are great shifts taking place inside, while outside the magnetic fields are drawing together in a focused alignment that will pull up from inside the earth the energy that has been waiting a long time to be unleashed.

There are gravitational pulls, magnetic and otherwise, that affect all of this, both between planets and between all that exists on earth. There is constant tension and if this tension is disturbed or thrown off balance then there is reason for disaster. During earthquakes there is this confrontation, this tension between the inner earth and the outer space atmosphere where some of the heaviest pulls exist.

This sort of tug-of-war goes on continually, causing flooding and shifting of the waters upon the earth, as well as in the geothermal aspects of the earth’s interior. This man cannot correct or predict, if he does not begin to understand energy outside of object. As long as man continues to think that energy can only be created by an object, he will not be able to fathom how such large and devastating disasters may happen.

There exist vast pools of energy, not at all attached to objects, though at one time it was. Energy does not die, but continues to live and to travel, to be a part of the “forces of nature,” as it is generally called. The forces of nature are however, simply direct spirit energies on a mission, forcibly enacting change with the help of gravitational and other magnetic energies not yet fathomed by man.

[I believe, in that last paragraph, that Jeanne is speaking about evolving human energy, once in the physical, object world, now in infinity, continuing to evolve and impact us here on earth, as she herself does, especially through these channelings.]

There are scientists who have encountered energies and phenomena they cannot understand and often this has caused retreat, rather than further exploration. However, there are many who understand the vast connection between all that exists, beyond known study, and beyond accepted reason. There are the few daring ones who, if paid attention to, could offer incredible insight.

Our mission is part of this great energy that desires change and we are aligned in aligning and preparing those upon the earth who choose to engage us for knowledge of what is imminent.

How imminent? I asked.

Changes can occur at any time, even in your life times, this generation’s, even the one that I was of that grows old now, even that generation will witness incredible changes on the earth’s surface and in the people who inhabit it. It will not be long before it seems that destruction is everywhere, as bits of earth disappear into the sea. And the population will readjust, and a better balance will be created in order for the plentifulness of the earth to be available, according to the original plan, nature providing all.

Until these times of hardship arrive, ready yourself with simplicity. Ready your children to lead lives of compassion and world interest, rather than fear and self-interest. Prepare for changes, but stay balanced and steady and one with the earth and you will have less of a problem adjusting to a new world.

The great electronic revolution interferes with the energy between magnetic poles, slicing through the direct lines of energy that are necessary aspects of life on earth. This has impact on people, directly, though it is not a physical impact, it is an energetic impact, causing disruption and heightened activity that does not allow for the usual connection that leads to calm.

Heightened energy is debilitating and causes many problems, both in an individual and in societies where, if allowed to progress, will create mini-catastrophes merely because of clashes that are better left avoided, but have become unavoidable.

Even as sound reverberates, so does the energy coming from each person on earth reverberate. As the energy of people continues to be disrupted it, in turn, becomes disruptive. With enough of this heightened and drastically off-kilter energy bumping into similar energy there is the tension of sparking to occur. When this happens, whether on a person-to-person level or an energetic level outside the earth’s atmosphere, there is change enacted elsewhere by the simple fact of reverberation.

Clashes are not accidental. There are no accidents. The way things are now going upon the earth are not accidents—this is certain. All is connected. Keep this in mind. What happens one place affects what happens in another place. Everything affects everything else.

Do you have any other messages for today? I asked.

That’s enough. I sense your need to stop. So be it, we will continue tomorrow, but watch my words, as they have great meaning. You are not a scientist, Jan, and this is far beyond your normal activity with me. I know you prefer messages that you can fathom, but I also know I can challenge you and that you will translate my meaning well. We can continue to explain all of this at another time.

My main message of today is to exhibit how all energies effect everything, both that which is directly in its path— resulting in clashes occurring—as well as all other energy in the world, even energy existing independent of objects, as in infinity.

There does not need to be an energy source defined, as such, because energy exists because it is endless, never began, never ends, it simply is.

Remember this as you go about your day, as you meet and encounter the variety of energies that exist on earth’s plane and as you feel and intuit energy all around you. It can be pretty thrilling to understand this and to feel it in your own life.

—End of Channeled Message—

Okay, so if you’ve gotten this far you can see why we felt it was pertinent and important to put this previously unpublished message out at this time. I hope it gives something else to focus on, to help shift away from fear and worry, but also to bring focus on the truth of our times, that they are indeed challenging us to not turn away, to not avoid or pretend that we are not affected by what is happening in Japan, because we are all affected by it, whether we choose to accept that notion or not. Indeed, the times they are a-changin’ as Bob Dylan, that other prophet, that other visionary like Chuck, once wrote. Such visionaries go quietly about their work, but now is really the time to pay attention to what they have been saying all along, because now is the time of real change for us all. There is no stopping it, as Chuck says.

Thanks for listening to us. May you all take the meaning of these messages into your hearts and find the personal meaning in all of this doom and gloom, finding how you can change your own world so you can make a difference to the greater world. We are all being asked to sacrifice something now, to simplify, to return to nature. Mother Earth asks this of us.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page where we share pertinent quotes, photos, and comments, from us and others, at: Riverwalker Press on facebook.

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Crow Energy

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I set my intent a long time ago to become psychically aware, not to become a psychic per se, but to become aware of the signs and synchronicities in my life that were showing me things I might not have noticed without this intent uppermost in my process of transformation. Today, I write about the significance of the crow as a sign of this intent manifesting in the world. As Jeanne mentions in her message on Monday, we must use the outer world to the fullest in order to grow, and I have found this to be one of the truest statements and especially useful in doing inner work.

In his book Animal Speak, Ted Andrews says this about the crow:

“The first noticeable characteristic about this bird is its striking black color. Sometimes it will have hints of deep blue and purple on the feathers as well. Black is the color of creation. It is the womb out of which the new is born. It is also the color of the night. Black is the maternal color and thus the black night gives birth to a new day. Although the crow is a diurnal or daytime bird, it reminds us that magic and creation are potentials very much alive during the day. The crow, because of its color, was a common symbol in medieval alchemy. It represented “nigredo,” the initial state of substance—unformed but full of potential.”

As I wrote about last week, in recounting our experiences with the death of our dog in On the Wings of the Crow, a crow made repeated passes over the house, a sign I noted as the energy of our dog moving on to new life, the transformation from one state of being to another. Had I not been deeply immersed in the process of my original intent—to become more aware—I might have missed the opportunity to round out the experiences of that day in such a satisfying and transformational manner.

The crow has continued to show itself. In fact, in our rural neighborhood, crows are some of our most vocal neighbors, posting themselves as sentinels for other crows and birds, but for their human neighbors as well. I have learned to pay attention to the noisy crows. More often than not, if I hear a racket of crow energy I can be pretty sure that something of interest is happening in nature. If I am alert, I know I will be treated to a little magic. Paying attention to the crows has become one of my personal educational processes as I seek to train my awareness, so it was not unusual for me to take note of the cawing crow outside the window on the day of Spunky’s death.

It was lovely to have the warmer weather over the weekend, rainy though it was. The twenty-four inches of snow still covering the ground, having accumulated since last December 26th, melted away as we watched the winter weary lawn reappear and the first green tips of the daffodils peak up from the cold ground, letting us know that spring was not far off. It was drizzling a little on Saturday, though warm enough to be outside for a nice long walk, but then, on Sunday, it rained—torrentially. The wind blew all day and all night, and then the rain changed to freezing rain and then it started to snow. In the middle of the night I heard the loud cracks of branches breaking in nearby trees and ice crystals pelting against the windows. Up at five-thirty we were astounded to see the ground covered, blanketed in snow again, our hopes of an early spring dashed.

Once again I armed myself with my trusty snow shovel and headed out late in the day on Monday, after a full day’s work, to clear what snow remained on the driveway and pathways. It was still cold, only the top layer of snow had melted during the day and I was left to remove the thick layer of ice I had heard falling through most of the night. I was not feeling especially happy about undertaking this task yet again, now getting quite tiresome after a full winter of weekly snowstorms. But the sun was shining and when I looked up into the branches of the oaks and maples the late afternoon light coming through their ice-covered branches was beautiful against the still blue sky. Squinting into the light, the glistening branches turned into thin fingers of refracted light and rainbows of color danced before my eyes, and this lightened my mood considerably and the work wasn’t so hard after all.

A big black crow flew overhead, cawing loudly, as I shoveled and I noted its presence and once again thought of our dog Spunky and an incident that happened just a few days after her passing. I had gone to the woodpile to get a load of wood for the woodstove. Stepping out the basement door I heard something scrambling on the other side of the woodpile, out of sight. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it sounded big. I thought an animal was most likely rooting through the compost pile, taking frozen bits of food scraps, scrounging for something edible. I surmised it had been a hard winter for the animals with the thick frozen snow cover and so I did not want to disturb whatever might be feasting on whatever our frozen scraps could offer.

I quietly crept up to the woodpile, but whatever it was must have heard me coming, for I heard a quick scurrying. Not knowing what to expect, a little wary, I waited to see what might appear. Suddenly, I heard a heavy shuffling and a loud bark, as a large crow spread its heavy wings, staggered off the compost pile, and flew into a nearby tree. It landed on a branch, turned and looked back at me, cawing loudly, almost barking, its body bobbing up and down, looking and acting very much like a dog vigorously barking an excited greeting.

“Oh! Hello there, Spunky!” I said, without hesitation. “Nice to see you again. I see that you are well.” The crow responded with more happy barking caws as it watched me load up my wood sack with logs and, as I turned and headed back into the house, I noted that one of Spunky’s favorite little outings was to sneak off to munch at the fresh compost, rotting banana peels one of her favorite treats.

As I shoveled the driveway, I noted again the large crow, and acknowledged its presence as that of the energy of Spunky: energy transformed, still viable, still present, still seeking connection. I also noted that I no longer feel doubt creeping into my experiences as I did in the past. For the longest time doubt was the greatest petty tyrant and I was forced to deal with it again and again. In my interactions with Jeanne, in my personal encounters with phenomena of energy and magic, it would immediately sweep in and hurry me back to the world of solid reality, asking me to test my experiences against the rational mind, what the seers of ancient Mexico call the foreign installation. It took a long time and many battles against the foreign installation, against the world of solid objects, before I was able to suspend judgment and fully release my attachment to an old perception of reality and fully embrace a different reality, different means of perception, and finally to release myself from my ego’s embarrassment and dismay at the birthing of my psychic abilities.

Now however, after having dealt doubt so many deadly blows, it rarely creeps up on me. Now freed of its heavy depressing cloak of reality I can fully enjoy the magic of the world I elect to live in, the world of all nature. I can look into the magic of light dancing through the ice-covered branches of the trees and hear the barking crow and connect to the energy of all things, myself included.

Every time I go outside now there seems to be one large black crow calling more loudly than the others. I greet its energy and thank it for showing me once again that my intent to notice is working for me, my desire to understand the interconnectedness of all things is being given priority within that intent and that desire, and I thank my innocent self for taking the journey that has allowed me to get to this place. For I feel free now, open to life in a very different way. Without the petty tyrant of doubt I am indeed free to experience the magic, but I am also free to keep taking it one step further, into deeper awareness.

Open to learning more about how the world of energy works, I look forward to each moment of each day, taking note of what I read, what I hear and see, and how in alignment with nature I am becoming. In noting how synchronicity works, in paying attention to what comes to greet me, I continue training my awareness, my psychic abilities; the ability inherent in all of us.

I take the sign of the crow as meaningful and I listen to what it has to tell me. As Ted Andrews also writes about the crow:

“Wherever crows are, there is magic. They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength. They remind us to look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life. They are messengers calling to us about the creation and magic that is alive within our world everyday and available to us.”

Be open to the magic, and without doubt embrace your own psychic abilities; take note of what life presents, and without fear embrace the energy of interconnectedness.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page at: Riverwalker Press on facebook. And you might also note the synchronicity of the quote for the day on our facebook page that Chuck selected, quite in alignment with what I have written about today, unbeknownst to both of us. Synchronicity in action!

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

NOTE: Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, and many other books of interest are available for purchase through our STORE.

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: On the Wings of the Crow

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I dreamed all night, chasing after a fearful Spunky the dog, as she fled from room to room, terrified, unable to settle down. I agonized over her process, as I followed after, wanting her to have calm contentment, to be given respect and quiet, but there was too much stress around her and in my dream she just could not settle down. Then, I heard a voice say: Don’t worry, you’ve all done this so many times before, over many lifetimes, you just have to remember. Now, as I dreamed through the rest of the night, still following our dog from room to room, this voiceover continued to speak the same sentence until I woke in the morning with it still ringing in my ears.

The next day was the day we had arranged for the vet to come to the house to euthanize Spunky. She was in her eighteenth year and by the beginning of the week we saw the clear signs that her end was near. She became increasingly incontinent and could not get up by herself. Once up it was agonizing to watch her try to lie back down as she circled and circled and then slowly plunked to the floor with a deep groan. We saw her fear of falling on the ice and snow escalate as she refused to go outside, standing at the door and then turning away. We dealt with the soiling and daily cleaning of her bedding, giving what little we could to this most noble soul in her final days. And finally, as she slept in deep comalike states for most of the day, we acquiesced to the truth of her journey’s end here on earth. It was not fair to keep her in this world any longer. She was in pain, and her quality of life was greatly compromised. We noticed that her nose was still in good form though; sniffing out tempting odors from the kitchen still her greatest pleasure.

In contrast to my busy night of dream worry, the day dawned quiet and calm. Spunky, fully aware of the significance of the day, as she had been all week it seemed, continued to let us know, by her deteriorating condition, that we were making the right decision for her. We were determined that her last day with us, and her passing, be as stress-free as possible under the circumstances, and this became the central intent of the day.

The information I had received in my dream the night before stayed with me from the moment I woke up. I knew it was significant, though I had yet to fully grasp its meaning. Don’t worry, you’ve all done this so many times before, over many lifetimes, you just have to remember. I told Chuck about my night of dreams with Spunky, about my worry that she would be frightened and anxious. We had already decided which room we wanted her last moments to be lived in, but after my dreams I decided that we should prepare appropriate bedding throughout the house and let her choose where she wished to recline. With that in mind we spent the morning hours quietly making preparations while she slept in our bedroom.

Spunky was Chuck and Jeanne’s dog, and their children’s pet, before she came into my life. In my imagination I see her following Jeanne around as she tended to follow me around, sitting at my feet while I worked, her herding instinct keeping track of all activity, making sure everyone was in view. The first time I met her I was sitting on a small wicker sofa in the sunroom when Spunky wandered over to me. Jumping up, she squeezed her big body next to me on the tiny sofa and lay down, gently putting her head in my lap. Chuck, greatly surprised, exclaimed: “She’s never done that—not to anyone!” We sat like that for a long time, quietly taking in each other’s calm energy. I felt completely welcomed and clearly accepted by this big dog, totally compatible.

Chuck’s daughter, away at school and unable to be here with Spunky on her last day, had sent us an email to read to her dear doggie, thanking her for the long life they had experienced together as sisters and best friends. As Chuck sat next to her and read Erica’s words, Spunky put out her paw, laying it on the printed sheet of paper, acknowledging the sweet truths and, then, when she had heard enough, she shifted away, grunted, as if to say, “Stop now, I’m done.” This was also Spunky, as unsentimental as they come; she’d heard enough. She was always open to a good cuddle but she’d just as easily push you away when she was done. This is what we felt she was telling us now, I’m done with this life; let me be free to go on. I feel privileged to have shared many experiences with Spunky, and to have known this most amazing dog.

The vet was due to come in the afternoon. We lit candles and sat down in the living room, where I had set up a nice bed for Spunky, just where we wanted her to lie, beneath the Buddha, but it was still going to be her choice. It was then we heard her trying to get up in the other room. Of course it was her nose that roused her, as we had just made some lunch. We helped her up and watched as she hobbled out to the living room, ready for a tasty treat. It was then that she saw the comfy bed I had prepared for her, actually in one of her favorite spots and, just as we would have wished, she went right over to it and lay down.

Chuck and I sat down again, ate our lunch, intending to sit with Spunky over the next hour as we waited for the vet. Sadness began to seep into the room as we reminisced about her. I picked up a book to read and Chuck, feeling restless and in need of some guidance, got up and went into the other room in search of reading material. He came back with The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying in hand. He said his hands just reached for it, his intent to shift the mood guiding him. Opening the book at random, he began to read about bringing appropriate energy to the bedside of the dying. He read that for life to go on without attachment, it is best not to bring sorrow and tears to the bedside of the dying, only joy and good thoughts for a calm journey of awareness, so that the dying one does not feel drawn to stay connected to anything on earth, thus interfering with their journey. This was just what we needed. It gave us the appropriate attitude, exactly the shift we needed to bring us to clear knowing of what we wanted for this lovely dog. We wanted her to be set free to go on her own journey. We did not feel it was appropriate to be sad for her. Her life had been long and fulfilling and we could not hold her back from the next leg of it. It was not our place to feel sadness, only joy and release felt right.

Once again, the voice from my dream came to mind. Don’t worry, you’ve all done this so many times before, over many lifetimes, you just have to remember. Now this phrase made sense to me. As we sat there peacefully, with a very calm and contented dog, I noticed her glancing at us every now and then, as if to say: “Yes, this is right, this is how it should be.” And I felt as if I had done this many times before, indeed, sat by a dying one, knowing exactly what they needed. The fact that Chuck let himself be led to that specific book was part of this knowing. We just had to remember, which was exactly the feeling we had as soon as he read aloud the words that were so appropriate. Oh, yes, that is how we are supposed to act on this most momentous day. We are merely here to assist the dying one with our good thoughts. We are here to send her on her joyous journey. Now we were at peace, all three of us, as we sat together and waited.

When the vet arrived Spunky greeted her with two loud barks. Her back legs now useless, unable to get up, she lay her head back down and waited. It was time and she was ready. Our hands on her at the last moment, I felt her energy leave so easily, so lightly. She was gone with a poof of happy release, without sentiment, off on her journey.

Afterwards, as Chuck and I sat in the empty living room, we felt her absence, but at the same time that her life had been fulfilled. We knew she did not need to hold onto anything here, it was as it should be. Again I was struck that we did indeed know this to be true, and that it was true for all of us. Our time was done when it was done; it was fulfilled. Don’t worry, you’ve all done this so many times before, over many lifetimes, you just have to remember.

I suddenly heard the loud cawing of a crow. It was so loud that I got up and went to the window. And there I saw a giant blue-black crow, sweeping back and forth across the front yard, over the roof of the house and back over the yard again, cawing ever louder. “She’s off on her journey,” I said, as the crow swept past the window one last time, its feathers shiny, glistening in the sunlight. It flew directly south, taking Spunky’s energy. On the wings of the crow, she continues her journey.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below.

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: The Observer

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Take note: The Observer is always present. It’s clear that we all have one. But how do we access this most pragmatic and sage voice of wisdom? I like to call this aspect of the psyche the Ancient Spirit Self, but for today I will stick with the term Observer.

Lately, in dream work, I have noticed this Observer most clearly. Having set my intent to access this aspect of self over the past few weeks—writing about it on the website and meditating into quiet specifically to access it—its voice has grown more pronounced. That is how intent works. I bow to intent today in writing about my experiences of the Observer.

Last week, I wrote about two dreams I had in Dreaming Intent. I noted during those dreams that I was both Participant and Observer and since then I have been aware that I am always both Participant and Observe while I dream. Even in waking life we are Participant and Observer, though perhaps it is easier to experience these two sides of the self in dreaming. With our busy minds and the difficulty we have in shutting down our thoughts, the dreaming world might be a good place to begin experiencing the Observer and note the difference between this voice and other voices, such as those related to the ego, the voice that speaks most loudly as we navigate the everyday world.

We all dream and I suggest that in dreaming we all clearly experience ourselves as Participant and Observer. Think about it. Recall a recent or old dream and note from what perspective the dream was viewed. Most likely, even though while deeply immersed in the dream there was another aspect of awareness that was present, as if directing the action or watching from afar. This is the Observer.

For instance, while dreaming recently, I clearly heard my Observer self telling me to wake up and write the dream down. “You know you’ll forget it, or you just won’t get it right if you don’t wake up now and write this down,” it said to me, rather sternly. I rather reluctantly got myself up to a sitting position, reached for my notebook and pen, which I keep open and ready beside the bed, and, in a half-awake state, in the dark, I wrote out the experience of the dream.

In the morning, my first thought was that I would most likely have to elaborate on what I had written, sure that I had not captured the essence of the dream during my bumbling state in the night. But, when I took a look at what I had written in the dark of the night, I saw that I had most clearly captured the dream, that I did not have to elaborate or alter a single word that my Observer had instructed me to write down.

This fascinated me on two levels. First, I noted how my ego jumped right in with its judgments, sure that I could not have captured the full essence of the dream. But when I read what I had written, I pointedly asked my ego to step down and be humble, to not be so quick to jump to conclusions. Second, I was fascinated by the language that flowed out of me in that dream state. I decided that I must learn to trust the Observer more often. I liked the tone of this Observer. It had simply and truthfully captured the dream. I note that the Observer, present in both my dream state and in my half-awake state, was the voice of truth, of reason—the one who knows all—and when I listen to it, I see that it does, in fact, get things right.

It is humbling and almost frightening to note that we all have this voice of reason within us. We all have the potential to get our lives in order, to live as ancient spiritual beings, and yet we relinquish this most central aspect of ourselves as we navigate the world from our participant selves, our egos, thinking that they have all the answers. I find this pretty scary while at the same time I note that it is how we must live in this world. We must build our egos to the point where they can topple without our attaching to them, without our needing them anymore. They will always rise up again and again to test us, to challenge our Observer-Who-Knows-All, seeking to thwart our true need for this aspect of self to live more fully. The ego is there to both draw us from this inner aspect of self, and challenge us to more fully embrace it.

In our dream world we have the opportunity to more fully connect with this Observer self, to understand how it directs us to not only observe and take note of the truth, but how it pushes us to act, as it did in my dream, asking me to: “wake up you sleepyhead and write this down!” In gently nudging us awake, night after night, it asks us to remember its voice, its sober and truthful tone, its pragmatic and knowing insinuation that we are fully capable of hearing and acting on its directives. We just have to train ourselves to do so.

As I mentioned above, we are both Participant and Observer in dreaming and in waking life. Personally, I intend to keep studying this inner and outer phenomenon. I intend to be more alert to myself in both roles. When am I Participant and when am I Observer? Am I indeed both at the same time, all the time? Can I switch over to Observer, ancient spirit self, volitionally in waking life, even when I am not meditating? Yes, I believe it is possible. And to do that, I must remind myself constantly to stay present in the moment.

I know—and perhaps it is my Observer telling me this—that if I constantly remind myself to stay in the moment that I will more fully access this aspect of self. So, I elect to challenge myself this week to more fully stay in the moment. That is the intent I set, with the added intent of being able to hear the clear voice of the Observer, as clearly as I heard it in my dream.

I ask that my Observer wake me up throughout my day and tell me what I need to know. This is my intent. Why not try it too, and then let’s see what happens!

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below.

Thanks for reading and passing these blogs on to others! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: Dreaming Intent

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To follow up on Jeanne’s message of the other day, Navigating the Mystical, I decided to practice intent last night. Right before falling asleep, when I was already drowsy, I set this intent: I intend to know the moment I am falling asleep and remain aware of dropping into a dream. I want to know the moment this is happening and retain the experience. Immediately, I closed my eyes and was aware of literally feeling like I was dropping into a dream.

This is what I experienced: I felt as if I were more than one being or awareness. I was the dreamer in the dream and a dreaming observer as well. I saw my own hand reach out from the left, palm open and facing upward. “Oh look, there’s my hand,” my dreaming self thought. Then almost immediately another hand appeared on the right holding a red flower in its palm, as if showing it to me or offering it to me. I felt I should look at it closely. My dream observer, aware of also being the owner of the hand said, “Oh, look at that, two hands, and look at that beautiful flower.” At the same time, my awareness as the dreamer in the dream concentrated on looking closely at the flower. It was as if I were looking through a microscope at this close up scene of the two hands, and I was both inside the scene with awareness and I was also the outer observer looking through the microscope. I woke up immediately and thought: “It worked! My intent worked!”

Enthused by this experience I decided to try again. This time, I set a new intent, which was: I intend to see everything in my dream with crystal clarity. Again I felt myself dropping into dreamland. This time I landed in a small rowboat. I appeared to be on an arctic lake formed by a melting glacier. It reminded me of hiking up Svart Isen, a huge glacier in Norway that I once tramped up and had a most amazing experience on, as I watched and heard the rumblings and shiftings of this massive ice flow, its colors almost Caribbean blues, a contrast that, at the time, I found remarkable. There on top of the northern world were the same intense blues of the waters of the Caribbean Sea; fascinating.

Anyway, in my dream, I am in this tiny boat floating without oars into the center of this huge glacier. Everything is crystal clear! The word “Crystalline” was repeating throughout the dream experience, in a sort of voiceover, though I knew it was my own voice. I floated further into the glacier and was soon surrounded on all sides by this crystalline world of ice. It was not blue as in my experience in real life, but absolutely “crystal clear,” just as I had set in my intent.

Again, I woke up out of this experience quite fascinated by the literal quality of my dreaming self and the response of the universe, as it so nicely allowed me to have these experiences. This reminded me of what Jeanne had said in the message on Monday, that you must remain aware of how your intentions or requests are answered, that they may not be as clear or straightforward as you desire. However, I thought my dream experience was humorously playing right into my intent to have an experience of crystal clarity. It literally gave me an experience of just that!

I find this process fascinating, the way the psyche and the universe, the dreaming body and awareness, do work hand in hand. I got what I asked for! In this case, I received several gifts: proof that intent does indeed work because I fell into a dream, I retained the dream experience, and I got crystal clarity, all the things I desired. And, in addition, my intent from the first experience “to remember” carried over into the second experience, thus showing that intent, once set, is planted for future use.

Perhaps my recitations on these experiences may add to your own personal incentive to try dreaming intent or any other intent. As subtle as these experiences may seem, they were in fact just what I asked for and I felt quite satisfied with the night’s work. The rest of the dream night proceeded from there. As I fell back to sleep the third time, I simply set my intent to keep going along the same lines. As I went deeper into sleep and dreaming, the word “crystalline” kept popping up, my awareness reminding me to look closely, very clearly at my dream world, which I was aware of doing.

See if this conversation that Carlos Castaneda had with don Juan, from pages 22 and 23 in The Art of Dreaming makes any sense in how dreaming intent works:

Don Juan explained that there are entrances and exits in the energy flow of the universe and that, in the specific case of dreaming, there are seven entrances, experienced as obstacles, which sorcerers call the seven gates of dreaming.

“The first gate is a threshold we must cross by becoming aware of a particular sensation before deep sleep,” he said. “A sensation which is like a pleasant heaviness that doesn’t let us open our eyes. We reach that gate the instant we become aware that we’re falling asleep, suspended in darkness and heaviness.”

“How do I become aware that I am falling asleep? Are there any steps to follow?”

“No. There are no steps to follow. One just intends to become aware of falling asleep.”

“But how does one intend to become aware of it?”

“Intent or intending is something very difficult to talk about. I or anyone else would sound idiotic trying to explain it. Bear that in mind when you hear what I have to say next: sorcerers intend anything they set themselves to intend, simply by intending it.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, don Juan.”

“Pay close attention. Someday it’ll be your turn to explain. The statement seems nonsensical because you are not putting it in the proper context. Like any rational man, you think that understanding is exclusively the realm of our reason, of our mind.”

“For sorcerers, because the statement I made pertains to intent and intending, understanding it pertains to the realm of energy. Sorcerers believe that if one would intend that statement for the energy body, the energy body would understand it in terms entirely different from those of the mind. The trick is to reach the energy body. For that you need energy.”

Intend by intending? Find the energy body? Does it all sound too idiotic, as don Juan suggests? So what, just try it, set your dreaming intent and see what happens. These are the means to beginning a process of navigating the mystical, as Jeanne suggested. It works. Good luck and good dreaming!

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below.

Thanks for reading! Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan