tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25309123851815169662024-02-19T02:49:47.843-06:00Skai JourneyThe Infinite JourneyMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-53818658198033527722023-02-21T15:08:00.005-06:002023-02-21T15:20:38.644-06:00Is-Ness Book Release<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3pMB1pqJXp2yZxOywppHVPVDdvj4CaICBqQ0qB7SSR3Cuwzw97ri1p_HDMbZYImsXphQ47bEXcARV-xI9gKc8z7x8Rex8tEo9REwiV5y1yI9j7pndPR-DZ0LgLT6Y2co1bymd1_N8ufux_3LZvfk-F7k1aDNSB2FSENICrpfbuCfJPNHOKRY7CtI/s4000/Ebook%20is%20ne....%203d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="4000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3pMB1pqJXp2yZxOywppHVPVDdvj4CaICBqQ0qB7SSR3Cuwzw97ri1p_HDMbZYImsXphQ47bEXcARV-xI9gKc8z7x8Rex8tEo9REwiV5y1yI9j7pndPR-DZ0LgLT6Y2co1bymd1_N8ufux_3LZvfk-F7k1aDNSB2FSENICrpfbuCfJPNHOKRY7CtI/s320/Ebook%20is%20ne....%203d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> After more than a decade of work, I've released my first book, Is-Ness, Science, Consciousness, Spirit under my writer name Michael Koyoti.<p></p><p>This book explores many of the subjects covered in this blog over the past decade. I expect to release "Chronicles of Monkey Man" as a fiction follow on to this book over the next year.</p><p>Please visit my author's <a href="http://www.michaelkoyoti.com" target="_blank">webs</a><a href="http://www.michaelkoyoti.com" target="_blank">ite</a> for book updates, blog and future podcasts.</p><p>The book can be purchased in print and e-book formats on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW2RKDJ4" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Michael<br /></p>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-53924443761235189852019-09-07T15:01:00.000-05:002019-09-07T15:24:54.244-05:00The Journey Continues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i><b>So we begin again because the Journey never ends...</b></i></div>
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I've remained silent for several dark years. My children have been unleashed into the world, both amazing human beings, perhaps because of me , perhaps in spite of me, perhaps some of both. Amazing just the same. This new freedom has transformed the landscape on this Journey.</div>
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As with any Spirit Journey, I continue to face my inner and external demons as a warrior. I have confronted my predatory tendencies towards others with humility. I have slammed into to the reaches of many dead ends, confirming that I must abandon my old concept of who I am and what my purpose is in this world. It has turned me inside out and burned away any remnants of my past self. All that is left is the Journey and I am the nomadic journeyer. The choices on this Infinite Journey have narrowed. </div>
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In retrospect, I have witnessed the lives of many who have reached a pinnacle of notoriety for their spiritual leadership and reputation fall precipitously. Examples range from self proclaimed Spiritual Masters to Western Yogis. Once they reach a pinnacle, it is only a matter of time before they to crash and burn. Their downfall comes in many forms. Some, consumed by ego, loose their followers only to be replaced by the next pop-culture guru to arrive on the scene. I've seen degrading health result in miserable and early deaths. I've observed organizations dissolve from sheer egoism, some rebranded in desperate attempts to remain viable as their influence diminishes.</div>
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My long silence has not meant that my Journey was suspended. Quite to the contrary. Since my last post, I entered a very narrow and demanding stretch on the Infinite Journey. I witnessed my youngest son face death for the second time in his 19 years of existence - paralyzed and unable to speak. His sheer will force brought him back to health. My oldest son, who was forced into special education class in middle school, now a PHD candidate in Mathematics. </div>
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I watched helplessly as last of my wealth withered into oblivion. I gave up all but the most essential possessions, and embarked on a new leg of my Infinite Journey. Not without denial and futile efforts to regain what reputation I had lost.</div>
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I remain grateful. Grateful that I kept my heart as the center guide on this Journey. The mind is too deceiving to be trusted. I too could have held on longer to achieve new heights as a spiritual guide or startup executive, only to crash and burn as I have seen happen to so many others - far too many to list here.</div>
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Gratitude! My thoughts continually return to Monkey Man's first <a href="http://skaijourney.blogspot.com/2012/09/gratitude.html">post</a> on this Skaijourney Blog. Rushing to the tree top at dawn to marvel at the sunrise. Not because of its beauty, but because of its stark reminder at how fragile and precious life is:</div>
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"<b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As
the horizon begins to brighten, I sit. Like a child, seeing the sun
rise from the darkness for the very first time, I await - To relish this
event in awe and astonishment. </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am but a small Monkey in the Spirit Forest. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">I live on an insignificant rock - chasing a </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fiery ball of gas as it is hurled</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> through</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b> the vast and seemingly infinite vacuum of space</b>."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">I now walk this path seeking every reminder of the improbability of my existence. The fact that we exist is miracle enough to inspire us through even the darkest days on the Infinite Journey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">I am pleased to say, that Journey continues, and I continue on it with gratitude! </span></div>
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Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-53682145559468505622015-03-28T10:24:00.001-05:002015-03-28T10:24:40.469-05:00Shadow Compass<br />
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I embrace my shadow. It's very presence is cast when I stand in the light. It conceals itself only when I stray into darkness. It is the compass on my spirit journey. It offers wisdom, teaching me to face fear, mortality and death. Shadow is to light, like death is to life - neither can exist without the other. <br />
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Creation exists in the balance of opposites. Divine love shines equally upon scorpions and swans. My shadow's presence teaches me to love all of Creation unconditionally. My shadow is my guide and compass. <br />
<br />Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-12472853005695082202014-12-13T11:58:00.000-06:002014-12-13T14:42:52.989-06:0021 Breaths<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2E2Y7X1ZV2IJ1iJ3NelsTS1Dui5JWqR1e95hu6K2xjMa2MC23hLSUUyofINZhVaK6Y0eJRdbaOZjdwNApuDUI4pV7Jk8uFF-GbdVRKVWS_cJDGJoH0F8kfPnZlDekL-cMIq3yTq7Bopw/s1600/NA+Indian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2E2Y7X1ZV2IJ1iJ3NelsTS1Dui5JWqR1e95hu6K2xjMa2MC23hLSUUyofINZhVaK6Y0eJRdbaOZjdwNApuDUI4pV7Jk8uFF-GbdVRKVWS_cJDGJoH0F8kfPnZlDekL-cMIq3yTq7Bopw/s1600/NA+Indian.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
I breathe seven breaths, inhaling the essence of Grandmother Earth. It fills my heart and mingles with my essence. I exhale the our combined essence back to Grandmother Earth.<br />
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I breathe seven more. I inhale the essence of my heart centre and extend it through my body towards the Heavens. It mingles with the essence of Grandfather Sky. As I exhale, our combined essence descends and fills my heart centre.<br />
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Seven more breaths. I inhale Earth up through my heart and extend to Sky. I exhale from Sky through my heart to Earth. My consciousness is unique in the Universe. I am part of the flow - A child of Earth and Heaven.<br />
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I extend my hands out to my sides, feeling my heart beat pulsing through my fingers. I reach out to my Ancestors and Descendants. I am a continuum of wisdom, connecting the wisdom of the past into the future.<br />
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With gratitude, I AM!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-76209539217317822152014-10-07T13:51:00.003-05:002014-10-07T13:53:28.707-05:00Cry Of Humanity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxhyZa7CpRgfp7sWNusFRzyHjtKKX8h2LvYsxSgAxbY9C1Vmfkh9DutxKR-2V_HSUBdS3sJGzI487dMgqVQbKikVF5M3EJe74FSMuQhffOVRmpMnZ5xyyBLD2QCq0YUu2nmBo_X1M6HjS/s1600/monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxhyZa7CpRgfp7sWNusFRzyHjtKKX8h2LvYsxSgAxbY9C1Vmfkh9DutxKR-2V_HSUBdS3sJGzI487dMgqVQbKikVF5M3EJe74FSMuQhffOVRmpMnZ5xyyBLD2QCq0YUu2nmBo_X1M6HjS/s1600/monkey.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>Hearing cries of humans, I have traveled out of the Spirit Forest to discover its source. I wandered dusty, barren roads, destroyed bridges - Created, destroyed and abandoned by men. I took refuge on roof tops in villages and cities. From the sparse city treetops, I observed humans rain down hurt with fire and metal from the skies. The voices of death and condemnation are heard from leaders of humanity- Leaders of countries, leaders of religions. Self proclaimed spirit leaders spread fear only to grasp power and submission from the masses. Religions declare war in the name of their manifestation of God. Men steal land, claiming its wealth and enslaving its inhabitants - all in the name of god, country, righteousness. This treachery makes its way to the Spirit Forest. Its creatures tremble at the advance. I come as their emissary, compelled to find the source and reason with its nature.<br />
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From the Spirit Forest comes nourishment for all creatures, humans alike. Why has Creation has not condemned such a destructive race? - So easily done, Life on our planet - So fragile. Our magnificent Sun need only to stir slightly in our planet's direction. The heavens need only rain tears of ice and fire. The belly of the earth need only purge smoke and burning rock into a darkening sky. So many swords pointed at humanity! Yet it proceeds on a path of its own self destruction, yet is spared destruction.<br />
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With monkey curiosity, I explore a public square. A child plays there. Her laugh is magic. She smiles like the rays of sun. Her pale eyes glitter like stars. She hands me an offering of fruit as I dance in the light of her presence. Without a touch, I feel her affection, her innocence, her love. She is surrounded by treachery, suspicion and hate - Yet, she pours love to a small monkey in the market, unnoticed by adult humans. I bow to her. She bows to me.<br />
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Creation has led me to the the source of Humanity's light. It has revealed the spark that withholds destruction. I return to my treetop home, retracing the path of destruction and death. I find my familiar treetop perch, where the leaves rustle in the cool evening breeze. I have seen the wisdom of Creation in the eyes of a child and await its unfolding.<br />
<br />Monkey Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505643286571723432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-82457407892014341762013-12-30T10:49:00.001-06:002013-12-30T10:49:31.484-06:00Spirit Forest Invaders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Humans have invaded the Spirit Forest.
They come masquerading as anointed ones. They bring throngs of
mindless disciples in their wake. How they can witness this magical
place, yet yearn for something else, is an inexplicable mystery –
But, to defile its perfect balance, destroy its magical creatures and
tear down ancient trees that knew our ancestors, this has brought
about such tremendous disturbance. It draws the attention of Mother
Spirit.</div>
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They've pumped lifeblood from Mother
earth, burning it in machines. Mother's burning blood billows from an
open wound in the canopy and settles as dark clouds in the lowlands.
Enchanted creatures silently endure the stench and sounds of ignorant
Humans. In the distance, empty songs are heard praising this
destruction, in the name of Creator.
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Dusk light shines through the the thick
smoke of our Mother's burning blood. Gray dust settles on the
forest leaves. A human made spire rises above the forest canopy,
reaching out like a selfish child to steal candy from heaven.
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In the darkened forest, light glows in
the distance where the Humans have settled. Sounds of foolish
laughter and humming motors echo. The Spirit Forest's magical
creatures sleep with one eye open - Maintaining their distance so as
to remain invisible.</div>
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The Invaders are too noisy to hear the chorus
of singing butterflies or the songs of young peacocks in the wind.
Hey will likely never witness the majesty of the giant night moth, as it
sails through the dark forest, weaving between glowing mushrooms,
settling on each night flower it passes. They suffer and
die from diseases whose cure has been driven into hiding. They cling
to their limited knowledge with scientific arrogance.</div>
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Yet.... The Spirit Forest thrives. It
pours forth unconditional love upon these invaders like a mother
loves her wayward child. The Forest's power overwhelms their actions. The
Great Spirits of the Forest could descend upon them like angry
dragons, destroying all they have created in a flash, But Mother Spirit nourishes and embraces all life that enters.</div>
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As misguided masses await fulfillment
from empty promises, their leaders huddle to gloat
over their achievements. The Spirit Forest remains patient for their
awakening. Balance resumes as the forest adjusts to the disruption.
May these guests some day fathom the forces that were brought forth to
accommodate their destructive presence. </div>
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Monkey Man </div>
Monkey Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505643286571723432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-28166679807734164832013-12-29T16:41:00.002-06:002013-12-29T16:41:11.425-06:00Spirit Secrets Continued: Spirit Elements<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>The attempt below to describe the
Soul, Spirit and their manifestation in Reality is Theory. Its based
on observations, visions, and teachings from guides that I have met
along the way. This is my “Theory to date”. It is evolved out of
teaching from Shaman, Yogic, Gnostic Christian, and Sufi traditions
that I have been exposed to. For a Theory to be practical, it must be
subjected to testing and experimentation. I publish this in order for
others to test it against their direct experience. </i>
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<b>Spirit Elements</b></div>
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At the core of our being is <i><b>Singularity</b></i>
or <i><b>Soul.</b></i> It is pure existence. It is consciousness
without thought, without judgment. Our spiritual, mental and
physical manifestations take form like the celestial clouds of matter
and electromagnetic forces swirling around the center of a galaxy.
Our Soul- Singularity exists in a unique position in Time and Space.
No two Singularities can exist from the same perspective. Yet, all
Singularities interconnect to the same, One Singularity where all
Creation originates.</div>
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Our existence in Creation manifests as
Spirit/Thought/Physicality with Soul at its center. We assume unique
characteristics from multitudes of possible elemental combinations
derived from the four <b>Elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water).
</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">These Elements have powerful
symbolic significance with respect to Spirit, Mind and Body. In the physical realm, they correlate to the</span> states of matter; <i><b>Solid,
Liquid, Gas and Plasma.</b></i></div>
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As in the world of chemistry, each of
the Four Elements can assume innumerable characteristics within
themselves on all three planes (Spirit,Mind,Physical), making endless
possible combinations and elemental reactions. This is attributable
to the diversity and uniqueness of each of us on each of our planes
of existence.</div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
Thinking, Living, Spirit Beings, our relationship with Creation is
series of interactions with other Spirit/Mind/Physical entities.
These interactions can be complementary, neutral or harmful to us.</span></span>
We continue to exist as long as sufficient boundaries are established
to insure that any harmful interactions do not destroy us.
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Since ancient times, Shamanic
traditions have described the Medicine Wheel as a symbol of an
individual or tribal existence. Ceremonies establish the Wheel's
existence and its orientation with all directions. Then the
Individual or Tribe invites in elements and spirit guides that offer
guidance, strength and sustenance.
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This tradition exists in literally
every culture around the world. It is a powerful symbol of our “Inner
Circle “ of our existence. It proclaims a protective boundary from
external elemental “Spirits”. External spirits and elements that are “invited”
in, are carefully selected to nourish, protect and guide us on our
individual and collective Journey.</div>
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On the physical plane, our body's skin
acts as the boundary of our physical self. Our blood flows to nourish
the cells contained therein and provide defenses against foreign
diseases. Yet, to survive, we breathe air and take in food to nourish
and sustain ourselves.
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This is true on the Mental and
Spiritual planes as well. It is true with every relationship within
the Manifest world on every plane of existence. We cannot exist in a
vacuum. We must interact with Creation to survive and thrive.
However, without clear boundaries and clear discrimination with
regards to WHAT we interact with, negative or destructive
relationships occur that can weaken or destroy us.
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Our <i><b>Spiritual Journey IS a
Relationship with Creator</b></i>. On this Journey we have reactions
and interactions with external <i><b>Elemental Entities </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">within
Creation. </span></span> These reactions occur on the Physical,
Thought and Spirit planes. As we become more intentional about our
Journey, we become conscious of the resulting dangers and rewards
from our interactions. We learn to take more risks to expose
ourselves to more interactions. As a result we either benefit or
suffer.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In spite of the fact that Humanity has
the propensity to eat food that is poison, pollute the air and water
with elements that do not sustain life, and embrace Political,
Religious and Spiritual teachings devised to invade our <i><b>Spirit
Boundaries</b></i> making us weak and subservient to their
hierarchies - We manage to survive.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Creation protects life in spite of
these destructive intentions. The power that existed at the moment
of Creation and exploded from the first Singularity, established a
powerful and miraculous <i><b>LifeForce</b></i><b>. </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
</span><i><b>LifeForce </b></i>reverberates in everything. It
reverberates in every particle, in every heart beat, in every breath
It is the source of every thought and feeling. It's power is the
reason that we continue to exist, in spite of the odds. Our very
<i><b>Existence,</b></i> is our birthright, given by Creator at the
moment of Creation, to <i><b>Thrive </b></i>and embrace our<i><b>
Journey</b></i>!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While we've created so many
distractions that would seem to drain our <i><b>LifeForce </b></i>and
cause our ultimate destruction, <i><b>True Spirituality, </b></i>in
the purest and most ancient sense, has always existed in plain sight.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b>True Spirituality</b></i>
reinforces rather than destroys <i><b>Spirit Boundaries</b></i>.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>True
Spirituality</b></span></i> IS our direct relationship with Creation
and its multitude of entities and elements.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b>True Spirituality</b></i> places
the <i><b>Infinite Journey </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">at
our feet to embark upon at every instance of time. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While this is a <i><b>Personal Journey</b></i>,
it is also a <i><b>Collective Journey</b></i>, where all that is
manifest in Creation reacts and interacts physically, mentally and
spiritually. All share a common connection to the Singularity which
began as One, and, at the instant of Creation, replicated countless
copies of itself across all Universes. Each Singularity experiences
Creation from its unique perspective. Each performs in a precarious
and miraculous <i><b>Dance of Life, </b></i>where elements collide,
combine, react, create and destroy. It is the Dance of <i><b>Is-Ness.
</b></i>It
is a Dance where each, in its own unique way, dances as <b>One</b>!</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-6665768247803334402013-10-14T11:14:00.001-05:002013-10-14T11:20:24.191-05:00Message From The Spirit ForestIts inhabitants attacked, but not broken,<br />
The Spirit Forest dispatches an invisible emissary<br />
Concealed in storms manifest by men<br />
Which tear into continents without mercy <br />
Unnoticed by a world consumed with itself<br />
<br />
Its stillness of spirit resides in destructive spiral cores<br />
Vacuum manifesting destruction<br />
Invisible in the aftermath <br />
Drifting silently to unsuspecting kingdoms<br />
And slipping unnoticed into inner sanctums<br />
<br />
News of its arrival will be silence<br />
Yet its presence will blare like a thousand falcon cries <br />
Self proclaimed Masters will see their end<br />
Unsuspecting loyalists cling to crumbling palace walls<br />
Brightness shines on Darkness<br />
Dark inhabitants, their true form revealed, scatter<br />
<br />
What has been proclaimed as Bright will reveal its Darkness.<br />
...And those imprisoned in Darkness will shine like Morning Stars<br />
<br />
<br />
Monkey ManMonkey Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505643286571723432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-38099542391840070922013-08-11T01:55:00.001-05:002013-08-25T16:22:37.305-05:00A Long Walk After Tea<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Born human –
A child filled with spirit and wonder. Memories of the land where I
was born, but a vague echo. I remember blue sky. Green forests
extending to horizons. Exotic animals, both amusing and fearsome. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">I grew to
adulthood. A life filled with greyness, sprinkled with disjoint
flashes of inspiration. When inspired, my heart sang songs. This
confused and intrigued those around me. I created contraptions that
attracted attention and power. I was invited live in lofty places,
with powerful people, where I fell out of grace when my songs and
contraptions ceased to be useful.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">I was sent into
exile, chased by a flurry of shadow demons to a tower in a barren
land. I spent mornings sipping tea. I had a vision between sips. Time
was lost, the tea grew cold. The vision lingered - the very void of soul. I saw singularity. I saw
here-ness and now-ness. It was zero and infinity. No movement, no
color. Greyness became a brilliant endless landscape. Inspiration
became the signposts on an endless Journey.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">With a sip of tea,
I resumed Journey that I thought I had forgotten...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">This Journey led me
to a treacherous trail where neither demons nor saints dare venture.
It is a mountainous, razor edge path. An abyss on each side. A lone
Owl rules the skies in the darkness and guides me to mountain
pools where sustenance can be had.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">For more than
decade I persevered on this journey. It has led me to a cliff,
extended in both directions to infinity. Water falls into a
torrential river far below. Before me, a sea of green forest extends from
horizon to horizon. Exotic animals call in the distance. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">With no choice but
the one before me, I leap into the thrashing waters below... </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Hot air ascended
from foot to head</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Like the breath of a lion about to devour its
prey.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Interrupted by a jarring sensation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Swallowed by frigid waters.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Descending into a
torrential abyss.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Suspended for an
instant in frozen silence. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Searing lungs,
pounding heart.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Flung to the
surface in a violent explosion of hissing of water.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Gasping and dragged
helplessly by an angry river.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Beaten by rocks.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Bleeding and
broken. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Drifting to a
resting spot at the forest edge... </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Vision blurred,
body broken, I lay in a calm pool at the forest edge. An unseen monkey laughs as he leaps from tree to tree. I lay
shaking on the forest floor. Emotions explode. I laugh, with
tears of sadness. I cry to Creator in anger. Escaping eternal barrenness, I lay naked and vulnerable, surrounded by abundance and danger</span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">I seek shelter from predators in the forest. Monkey continues to laugh,
invisible in the looming darkness of nightfall. Overwhelmed with exhaustion, I drift
into unconsciousness. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">I regain consciousness to the eyes of
Monkey staring into mine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">A reflection of Monkey reflected in Monkey's eyes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">A reflection of myself, looking at my own
reflection in a forest pool,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">Looking at the reflection of myself in the reflection of my eyes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">I AM Monkey.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">With consciousness regained from my dream of being human, I recall my visions between sips of tea. It beckoned from the Spirit Forest.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;">I leap to the
treetops to feel the moist morning breeze and welcome the sun. I sing
a song of joy to all of Creation. The creatures Spirit Forest sing back. My
Journey continues.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Ubuntu;"><b>Monkey Man </b></span></div>
Monkey Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505643286571723432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-64709310596209636472012-09-15T10:43:00.000-05:002012-09-15T14:05:07.049-05:00Destruction and Renewal<br />
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<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the darkness of nightfall, violent storms unleashed themselves upon the Spirit Forest. Torrents of rain flooded the earth beneath the trees. Violent winds test weakness in the forest canopy, tearing away all things unable to withstand its force. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the havoc and darkness, predators joined me in the trees. Among them, my Panther sister and her young family. While they are welcome here, as a precaution, I ascend to higher and more delicate branches in the trees which would not withstand physical mass of my guests. In the dark chaos, with eyes open to each other, we wait for the storm to pass. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I feel no fear for the glowing eyes in the darkness. They know me as the Spirit Monkey in the trees. I am lighter then they are, more nimble on my paws. They respect my lack of fear and my purpose. I respect their role in the balance of Creation. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When my body becomes old and broken and is no longer needed, I will gladly sacrifice it to my Panther sister so that she might nourish herself and her young. For now, they enjoy the poems that I sing to the forest from the treetops. She would not silence my voice. In fact, she protects my voice from lesser predators in the Shadows. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the dawn light, the storm has subsided. Vultures are perched high up in the trees with their wings wide open, waiting patiently for moist breezes to dry their feathers. The Panther and her entourage who took refuge in my home, offer me a farewell glance and descend to resume their predatory duties on the forest floor. Clouds and the treetops gently grace each other like a lover strokes the hair of his beloved.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The devastation has caused so much fear in the uninspired residents of the Spirit Forest. Their fear is like the weakness in the forest canopy. Just as weak branches in the trees are removed by the torment of the night time storm, creatures weakened by fear will be exposed to the predators in the Shadows. They too will be culled from the forest herd. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Those who band together in fear only delay their ultimate demise. Their numbers are difficult to hide, and attract the attention of the predators of the Shadows. The weakest, or noisiest in their group are sacrificed, allowing others to live in fear for another day, but most will find a similar end in the jaws of a predator.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">All play a part. The broken branches nourish the soil in the forest floor. The fear ridden creatures nourish my Panther sister and her family. What remains, is cleaned by the vultures whose wings are now dry and circle high above the treetops. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Even in the aftermath of destruction, the awesome balance of Creation is evident. There is no creature, no rock, no tree, that does not play an essential role in the eternal dance of life. Out of destruction comes renewal. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I smell cool air, cleansed and renewed by the violent storm. It fills my lungs and lifts my Spirit. With this air filling my lungs, I sing a song in praise of Creator. It reverberates in the Spirit Forest. My Panther sister responds in the distance with a grateful growl. </span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Monkey Man</span></div>
Monkey Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505643286571723432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-72817446672700001782012-09-03T11:34:00.000-05:002019-09-07T14:50:17.260-05:00Gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Introducing Monkey Man as Guest Blogger</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>I have made a place for Monkey Man to be a co-writer on SkaiJourney. He is more prolific than I and writes from a perspective that I believe has significance to those embracing their IS-Ness on their Infinite Journey.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>-Michael</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>GRATITUDE AT DAWN</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">From my resting place in the treetops of the Spirit Forest, I am awakened by the song of a </span>peacock <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">down below. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The morning mists have descended, partially obscuring what is left of the night time stars. They make my</span> face feel moist and refreshed, forming dew droplets on my fur. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking into the expanse of the heavens I see the horizon glowing a faint grey. I sit in anticipation of our star, which will soon rise above us.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Birds fly overhead, disturbed by the hint of a predator below. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I hear a panther respond with a growl not far from my tree perch, giving the creatures of the Spirit Forest one last warning of her hungry advance.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am surrounded by danger. The harsh vacuum of space above me, the stealthy predator beneath me, making life seem so improbable - Yet, Creator has made a place for me in the Spirit Forest - A place where I can thrive in the awesome splendor of Creation. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Predators,<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> drought and scarcity, all impose struggles that hinder my survival. Yet every moment my heart still beats, Creator has permitted me to exist another day in the majestic expanse of Creation. With every breath, my existence is blessed. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the horizon begins to brighten, I sit. Like a child, seeing the sun rise from the darkness for the very first time, I await - To relish this event in awe and astonishment. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am but a small Monkey in the Spirit Forest. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">I live on an insignificant rock - chasing a </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fiery ball of gas as it is hurled</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> through</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"> the vast and seemingly infinite vacuum of space.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gratitude fills my heart. I play such a small and insignificant role in this celestial dance, yet I am blessed with my very existence. I am full of gratitude to be part of this dance. I am grateful to simply BE!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monkey Man</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
Monkey Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505643286571723432noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-53728690890198332402011-06-21T22:28:00.003-05:002011-11-21T12:44:46.535-06:00Spirit Secrets<div style="font: 10.0px 'Hoefler Text'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Updated on November 20, 2011: Added Chapter 3 - Establishing Our Inner Circle</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Introduction</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I have come full circle - Inspired in adolescence, disillusioned in youth - I have been an aspirant and a warrior... I've heard secrets whispered in board rooms and meditation halls. I've engaged in battle with demons of spirit and flesh. I've been betrayed by those closest to me - Spirit injured but not broken, I persevered.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Eventually one comes to understand that secrets kept are not worth knowing, Truth - neither found or sought. The Journey simply IS... </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Side tracked by the sideshows on the Journey, I have returned from whence I came, to my inspired adolescence. With no time for anger or vengeance, I stand with a journey before me and the mystery that engulfs it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What follows is what has been reveled on this unfolding and ongoing Journey. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chapter One: The Journey IS</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The human spirit comprises of many unique and complementary elements; m</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">asculine, feminine, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">fire, water, air, earth - all integrated to exist and manifest within the Universe in which we exist. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The human soul, however, exists as a singularity. It exists in a single instance in time/space. It is animated by a unique and many faceted Spirit which draws from and resonates with external elements within our surrounding environment and universe. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a healthy and balanced existence, our inner Spirit elements resonate in harmony with external environment and gain sustenance and power from them.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When aspects of spirit become silenced or distracted, the spirit becomes unbalanced and fragmented. The soul feels unprotected and out of balance. It goes into a slumber and seeks out external spirit elements to stabilize, control or even replace the fragmented Spirit in order to regain its awakened state. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The intrusion of foreign spirit elements create further turmoil within the Soul as it does not satisfy or sufficiently replace the missing Spirit fragment. This fragmentation of Spirit is the source of addictions, mental imbalance, compulsions and pretty much all that ails humanity. It creates lost souls - souls entrapped in a futile effort to gain balance through taking on external and disassociated spirit elements. These souls suffer from a thirst that can never be quenched.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Humanity, since ancient times, naturally adopted rituals and spiritual practices that unite the spirit and fulfill the soul, fostering an inner state that is in harmony with Creation. Ancient communities performed rituals and practices that unified the collective spirit. Many of these traditions exist today, but are diluted by humanity's innate sense of inadequacy and overpowering external forces that reinforce this inadequacy. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Retrieving ones Spirit Fragments and regaining harmony within the Soul is easily achieved. It requires, however, that one discard all thoughts of spiritual inadequacy. It requires that one embrace an un-ending and Infinite Journey and expect nothing. It is a state in which one feels the infinite and unconditional love that seems to exist everywhere. Its achieved simply by embracing ones humanity. It requires one to make every moment, every breath a sacred gift.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While Saints and Sages claim achieving their elusive nirvana requires lifetimes of suffering and sacrifice, they in fact distract Humanity from its Journey. This is because there is nothing to achieve, there is only the Journey that unfolds before us.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chapter Two: Good Fences - Good Neighbors</span></b> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">We are created whole at birth. Our soul exists as a singular instance in time and space. It mirrors the singularity in which Creator manifested our universe. It is Zero divided by the un-manifest potential, Infinity - which is the infinite source that sustains Creation. As such, the soul connects to the infinite. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">Our spirit, which animates us, exists with all the essentials to establish and maintain our soul/singularity in this existence. Spirit establishes the boundaries of our soul. Without this boundary, we would cease to exist.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">As life pulsates through our very being, so does it pulsate around us. Humanity imposes itself upon us. From the moment of birth the process of defining our boundaries begins. Life is a process where we choose either to seek external forces that resonate with our spirit within, or allow external spirit elements into our inner circle to influence, tamper with, or even replace the Spirit that our soul chose to align with at the moment of our birth. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">While all life is connected to the same Creator/Source, our Soul is a singularity, an individuality. Before it experiences its own individual Journey. This Journey is both unique to our Soul, yet infinite and therefore part of the collective experience or Journey.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">Key to this life’s Journey is to establish and define the boundaries of our existence as a position of strength. We learn to interact with God’s Creation and in doing so, gain knowledge, strength and experiences that ultimately become part of the universal experience. When the boundaries of our Soul/Spirit are weak or compromised, we become something other than unique selves.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">The universe around us is teaming with life. It is natural for our boundaries to be challenged. All disease, be it Physical, psychological or spiritual is a result of some foreign element violating our boundaries. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">The Journey that lays before us, requires that we establish a firm boundary that protects our being. This enables us to experience the Journey and gain strength from our interactions with the Universe. When boundaries are violated, dysfunction and disease are manifested. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall”, ends with the phrase “Good fences make good neighbors”. This poem plainly and innocently describes the “Dance Of Life”. In this dance, our boundaries and the boundaries of others are defined, maintained and challenged as we interact with our "neighbors". Our Journey is interrupted when the boundaries of our Spirit/Soul are not in tact, and when we interfere with the boundaries of others, we interrupt their Journey.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1">To embark on this Infinite Journey we must not only establish the “fences” that encompass our Soul, but must also respect the “fences” of others if we are to interact on the path that lays ahead of us. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Chapter 3: Establishing Our Inner Circle</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My oldest child was born to a mother who lived in a disturbed psychological and spiritual state. Her own personal boundaries were severely compromised at an early age resulting in the development of a disorder clinically referred to as a Borderline Personality Disorder. The “borderline” that the clinical psychologists refer to is the fine line between normalcy and schizophrenia, however, the name is fitting as the source of this disorder comes from the tampering of our physical, mental and spiritual boundaries in our early childhood. The moment our first child was born, in true “borderline” character, his mother refused to hold him. The nurse, confused by this behavior, handed my 3 minute old son to me and left us alone to go ponder the disturbing event that had just happened. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What should have been a traumatic and uncomfortable moment for me and my son was instantly transformed into a timeless state of magic. My son, now minutes old, opened his eyes and looked into mine. Still connected to the primal singularity of creation out of which he came, I stared into an infinite expanse. I took him to the window and we looked out on the world together. I experienced, for a moment, his experience of the world. I experienced a world from the point of a soul, that was very clear about the boundaries of his existence - where his existence ended, and where the outside world began. It was a wondrous moment that transcended time. In that moment I had the privilege of experiencing the world from a newborn's perspective. Much to his mother's dismay, even as a newborn infant, he would cry in her arms and cease to cry when handed to me. His instincts would prove prophetic as her abusive behavior towards him and his little brother escalated, culminating in a series of events that nearly took their young lives from them at the hand of their own mother.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This experience taught me the power that we are born into this world with. I learned that, at the moment of birth, we are more inherently aware of our physical, mental, and spiritual boundaries then at any other time of our existence. Our soul, which exists as a singularity or singular point in Time/Space, is powerfully aware, uncluttered by self consciousness or any sense of limitation. The world we experience is wide open to opportunities. We are born intuitively aware of our existence or “Is-Ness”. Every moment we experience and learn from stimulus on all levels of the Creation that we exist in and that exists in us!</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In this state we are able to rapidly advance on all levels . We learn and grow from external stimulus. We learn to trust and embrace familiar protective forces, mother, father, family, home, and in that trusted environment we are able to embark on our life’s journey through direct experience. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Injuries and mistakes incurred along the way become important lessons that enable us to expand our experiences safely the next time we are confronted with similar circumstances. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Creator and creation provide us with this “Inner Circle” the moment we are born. Humanity has survived due to this powerful force that naturally engulfs us. In an ideal world, a child’s inner circle begins with it’s physicality, psychological and spiritual boundaries of experience. It extends to its maternal and paternal influences. As a child grows, it learns how to trust and extend its circle to include its tribe/community - every step expanding awareness into the infinite expanse of the universal experience. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All this, however is based on the very foundation that we learn at birth. At birth we are the most cognizant of our singularity - our singular existence in space and time. We inherently know our boundaries, where we begin and where the outside world exists in reference to us. We are inherently “wired” to learn external forces that resonate with our spirit and strengthen us, and those forces that harm or weaken us. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is all well and good, but for the constant assault put upon us at birth to tear down our personal “inner circle” boundaries, and question our inner voice. The day we are born, the world that we are born in attacks the integrity of our Inner Circle. We are told that we were born in Sin - that we are vulnerable, damaged and in need of purification ceremonies and guidance. Our natural and inherent ability to learn from an protected but expanding Inner Circle, is replaced with an imposed structure of indoctrination intended to make us subservient to a social structure that insists that we are worthless fodder who must succumb to Kings, Gurus and Gods to be purified. We are taught to pursue access elusive goal, nirvana, heaven through subservience to a higher master. In other words, are indoctrinated from the day we are born to born with a slave mentality. In this process our inner circle, which is powerful at the moment of birth, is torn down and replaced by a higher authority - government, church, guru, etc..</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">By the time we become adults, our inherent sense of “Is-Ness” has been so compromised - our personal inner circle boundaries are so shattered, that we exist completely exposed to physical, mental and spiritual assaults from the world around us. We respond to this exposure in many ways. We can shut down into a shell that prevents us from experiencing the wonderment of the world and live an uninspired and paranoid life. Alternatively some of us seek solace and security by completely surrendering our selves to enslavement to a causes bigger than ourselves be it political, religious, intellectual or spiritual. This is not to say that being protective of ones self or participating in bigger causes in the world are bad, but taking these behaviors to extreme levels, more often than not are a result of a reaction to feeing disconnected to our soul/singularity. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The process of recovering from this disconnect involves re-establishing our existence in Time and Space. Connecting oneself in Time is simple if only one can embrace the thought that linear time exists only due to our minds inability to fathom the quantum aspect of reality - e.g. that all time and every possible outcome exists concurrently. <b> </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">With this thought, one has access to all the wisdom at this very moment that one would have in every possible quantum outcome in the future. Beyond that, one is inter-connected to all the wisdom of their ancestors and decedents in this very instant. As a newborn, we are connected to this timeless reality. In our adult life, we are subsequently taught to immediately forget this. The only step required to regain what was lost, however, is to re-institute that thought. With this thought, there is no Master to serve. Mastery exists for us to embrace with every instant. We must only embrace our humanity for what it is Now!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">With that said, the next important step to re-establishing one’s Inner Circle is to connect with one’s physical location in Space. We are children of the Heavens and Earth. Embracing our consciousness as it exists in relation to Heaven and Earth is the same as embracing the singularity form which all Creation pours from. We are a mirror of that miraculous singularity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our Shaman ancestors created ceremonies that establish an Inner Circle or Medicine Wheel. The symbol for such as Circle is formed around a cross, which symbolizes our presence in the fabric of Ether or Space/Time. At the intersection of this cross, at it's center is our singularity, our singular existence at the intersection of Time and Space. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOJJ90T7ppu50_e7icWpIcumuwYjFrO1sDW7dL94qglkkC0FrNTgjMTi4ONuSLul-gYRSZucKtyU1Kw2VuifaZYzjx3sA9hTBnP-LI-E5VNC_WigqmdZ9JkbIS3ELnJ_x0VIc5gFObjA/s1600/Medicine+Wheel+Cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOJJ90T7ppu50_e7icWpIcumuwYjFrO1sDW7dL94qglkkC0FrNTgjMTi4ONuSLul-gYRSZucKtyU1Kw2VuifaZYzjx3sA9hTBnP-LI-E5VNC_WigqmdZ9JkbIS3ELnJ_x0VIc5gFObjA/s200/Medicine+Wheel+Cross.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Medicine Wheel: Intersection of </span></b><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It can be said that this Medicine Wheel exists within our physical body. It exists at the intersection of the yogic Chakra system, which extends along the base of the spine, and the horizontal chakra system that extends from finger tip to finger tip. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The intersection of these are at what is traditionally referred to in the yogic tradition as the Heart Chakra. In practically every spiritual and religious system, the center, heart chakra is deemed as the seat of the soul. It symbolically if not physically represents our singularity, our central point of existence where we manifest our Creation and exist in Creation as a small mirror of Creation itself.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjozRqEPgZmxE95lSd2io6CCrpzvT-lyDPWYp-IUCIJMqYt-4I-gF2u4KxSowUn4sj5J1AehbKhPmYjX6kzXeTC5urMy9e3q7ULJXL04-eKkGgkxbRpAMxlIN-KUegk3SO8ECBZkULwpI/s1600/Inner+Medicine+Wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjozRqEPgZmxE95lSd2io6CCrpzvT-lyDPWYp-IUCIJMqYt-4I-gF2u4KxSowUn4sj5J1AehbKhPmYjX6kzXeTC5urMy9e3q7ULJXL04-eKkGgkxbRpAMxlIN-KUegk3SO8ECBZkULwpI/s320/Inner+Medicine+Wheel.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Inner Medicine Wheel:</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Intersecting at the Heart Chakra</span></b></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Journey which we embarked up on at birth, to experience this Creation and Co-Create within it, resumes the instant we embrace our Heart Center, our Soul/Singularity. With that embrace, we can again, re-establish the boundaries of our existence. We can proceed to experience the world as a coherent being, in sync with Creation and Creator. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is not a process that requires years of practice to master. It is a thought that occurs in an instant. The moment we embrace it, we establish our inner Medicine Wheel, our Inner Circle and resume the Journey that we were lured away from as we handed our power over to external influences. With this thought, we learn to be compassionate to ourselves. We embrace every moment and experience, every success and mistake, as experiences and adventures on an Infinite Journey.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The most challenging aspect of this instantaneous transformation that we have available to us, is embracing our imperfections and humanity. We’ve been taught to doubt ourselves. We’ve learned to re-live our past mistakes in our heads to reinforce our inner sense of inadequacy. This is the most challenging force that we confront at every moment on our Infinite Journey. It assaults our Inner Circle every moment. Embracing our IS-Ness is the only means to addressing this assault upon our Inner Circle. This requires our embracing our Humanity with all our imperfections. This requires that we become observers and not be re-traumatized by our past errors. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As we establish our IS-Ness, our Inner Circle as an ongoing process, we can begin to heal form the hurt and trauma inflicted upon us by our torn boundaries. This healing process is ongoing. Many hucksters would have us believe that if we serve them our pain will subside and we will achieve perfection. The fact is, just as when one exercises, muscles are torn down and regenerate to be stronger, our experience in the world causes injury. The resulting healing or re-generation restores us to be stronger than before.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When we re-establish our Inner Circle, Embrace our Is-Ness or Humanity and the Infinite Journey that we have embarked upon, we resume our ability to re-generate from our wounds and exist in an ever expanding awareness of the Creation we live in. There is no beginning, and no end. There is no goal or mastery. All there “IS”, is our existence at this very instant on our Infinite Journey, along with all the possibilities that have been and will be!</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Chapter 4: Our Inner Spirit Elements</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Chapter 5: Seeking Protection and Guidance</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Chapter 6: Embracing Humanity</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Chapter 7: The Infinite Journey</b></span></div>
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</span></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-75604919462133181822011-03-06T09:21:00.002-06:002011-03-06T09:33:29.980-06:00The Path of IS: Humanity At The Crossroads<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQHWQlPEzJEIQvp_ipPREoG-jej7A2PuLjzoCoyluABQkCf8Hj7wO291ms5c8Wz7nYyfY_xUci0XXgW6FUZR8w57z5lpldH7f2LBD-otaT8pYGfTjyj_CmPI1d7cVn_RiUq2BKmFqUcY/s1600/spiral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQHWQlPEzJEIQvp_ipPREoG-jej7A2PuLjzoCoyluABQkCf8Hj7wO291ms5c8Wz7nYyfY_xUci0XXgW6FUZR8w57z5lpldH7f2LBD-otaT8pYGfTjyj_CmPI1d7cVn_RiUq2BKmFqUcY/s200/spiral.jpg" width="188" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"The goal is to not have one. </span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is better to live ones life </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">cherishing every moment - </span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Treat every breath as a gift,</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Embrace existence itself.</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The journey is never ending. </span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Embrace the moment and let the Journey be the goal. "</span></span></span></b></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Humanity has been bred to be slaves. We’ve been genetically and socially manipulated to accept the myth of human inadequacy. We have been bred to be subservient to a King, a Nation, a God, a Demon - something, anything but rely on our own ability to manifest the very existence we participate in. </div><br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We have been trained to accept our fall from Eden, our premature entry into the realm of divine consciousness where we envision Creator as something separate from ourselves. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It really is a simple matter of accepting our own divinity - Embrace the Creator that exists within us - Embrace our place in Creation - Embrace the Creator that IS us.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The role of humanity is at a crossroads. Two paths lay before us:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">1.Continuing our slave-human legacy, begging for mercy and a handout from a spiritual Hierarch in exchange for our subservience.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">2. Embracing our part in Creation itself and embarking on the Infinite Journey - Participating in the manifestation that is our universe.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The fist path prolongs our enslavement and insures the continued degradation of the human condition. It likely leads us to the ultimate demise of humanity itself.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The second path has always existed for us. It leads us on a Journey beyond words. It is time to dispense with our fear of death, and embrace our very existence - our IS-Ness.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We not only are born of Earth, but of the dust and ash of the heavens. We have been forged by the celestial fire of the stars. We are, and always have been children of both Heaven and Earth. Our place in Creation already IS!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
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</span></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-74860367630213941752010-12-05T16:30:00.000-06:002012-11-05T12:30:15.206-06:00MANIFESTATION OF SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES<b>MANIFESTATION OF THE COLLECTIVE MIND</b><br />
We live in a reality that is manifested by our very thoughts. Our collective minds have gathered around a common perspective of Time/Space, establishing a shared reference within the fabric of Ether. Beyond this thought construct, lies an infinite expanse that mind cannot comprehend. Within this construct, however, we share a common reference of Time/Space and share physical and mental laws and limitations.<br />
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The Collective Mind imposes a powerful boundary that limits the Individual Mind from venturing into the un-imaginable and potentially mind-shattering realm of the Infinite. Beyond the Collective Reality, the laws and rules that we have manifested do not apply.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhQ06bepDTlFq64bUTDZ2ll9zZHMNxozfW_y3KEjE3zvaDdY8DTt6g80Pqk3uobx3hpFoE-lSQwE9xuLTbDFEFyDe1u4jgQu3lyOLnzF_MuReSg0lc-4xJcYadoAW74nCuRPnSRM0gdo/s1600/Collective+Reality.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhQ06bepDTlFq64bUTDZ2ll9zZHMNxozfW_y3KEjE3zvaDdY8DTt6g80Pqk3uobx3hpFoE-lSQwE9xuLTbDFEFyDe1u4jgQu3lyOLnzF_MuReSg0lc-4xJcYadoAW74nCuRPnSRM0gdo/s320/Collective+Reality.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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When the Individual Mind suspends belief in the Collective Reality, it is able to experience the impossibilities that lie beyond. A mind altered by drug-induced hallucinations, sleep deprivation, dreams or mental instability, can stumble into a realm that appears very real, yet defies the constraints of the Collective Reality. The Individual Mind can also suspend belief through various mind-distracting practices, like meditation or sensory deprivation and have similar experiences. The influence of another Individual mind can also cause in the suspension of belief in another individual mind resulting in experiences outside the realm of the Collective Reality.<br />
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Regardless of the method, when an Individual is able to suspend belief in the Collective Reality, any experiences or resulting capabilities that defy the perceived boundaries of Time/Space are immediately discounted by the “rational mind”. These experiences are written off as coincidence, mass hypnosis, illusion, insanity or worse. When the rational mind takes over the experiences cease to occur.<br />
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We exist in a web of entanglements that lie within an infinite expanse. We each experience an individual and shared journey in that infinite expanse. Any experiences of this Infinite Journey are filtered through our collective and individual manifestation. It is possible to remain so entangled in our manifestation that we cannot even acknowledge the possibility of an Infinite Journey, let alone experience it.<br />
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In other words:<br />
<ol>
<li>Our mind manifests the reality and associated limitations in which we exist</li>
<li>Our individual and collective manifestation exists within an infinite expanse</li>
<li> Every individual is on an Infinite Journey that is experienced through or limited by our individual/collective manifestation.</li>
</ol>
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<b>SPIRITUAL HIERARCHIES AND THE COLLECTIVE MIND</b><br />
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Spiritual and Religious Hierarchs use techniques that confuse or divert the individual mind from the Collective Reality, causing momentary suspension of belief. This results in experiences that defy the collective manifestation. Hierarchs reinforce the individual’s belief of inadequacy in order to establish dependency on the Hierarch for these experiences. It is an ancient technique and few who are capable of this can resist the temptation to claim their supremacy for bringing about these experiences<br />
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But it does not end there…<br />
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To create a Spiritual or Religious Hierarchy, the Hierarch focuses the minds of their converts to create an Alternate Reality - an Alternate Reality that overlaps the already established Collective Reality. This new reality conveniently revolves around the manifestation of Hierarch as the supreme sovereign. They create a trusted Inner Circle that reinforces the Alternate Reality.<br />
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Any thoughts of the Infinite Journey are obliterated. The Individual is instructed to accept the Hierarch’s manifestation as their own. They forgo any pursuit of an Infinite Journey in lieu of achieving some elusive goal established within the Alternate Reality.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksNu-s1rGbjMFfgINdh0W-mFcLfgFiYT_6g_dQlNl6vIigXEYLcyOQ9AbcxxqPofBwvAWq6KQoVeoX-WOji3siqqoIvSvI3mGRQs_HDdWFZ0VFEktaZmNrkSgosgXoUHP2axLjTcdg0g/s1600/Alternate+Reality.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksNu-s1rGbjMFfgINdh0W-mFcLfgFiYT_6g_dQlNl6vIigXEYLcyOQ9AbcxxqPofBwvAWq6KQoVeoX-WOji3siqqoIvSvI3mGRQs_HDdWFZ0VFEktaZmNrkSgosgXoUHP2axLjTcdg0g/s320/Alternate+Reality.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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This overlapping Alternate Reality sets up a parallel existence for those who participate in it. It is very real - with its own levels of achievement, always around some ultimate goal, only accessible to those who totally surrender to the Hierarch and his/her Alternate Reality.<br />
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Individuals who succumb to this new reality experience a sense of empowerment. They are part of something that extends beyond the Collective Reality. Any sense of inadequacy in the Collective Reality is replaced by the dependency on the Hierarch and his/her Alternate Reality. Participants in the Hierarchy cling to their new reality with a fervor that can be unsettling to those observing it from the outside. This is how Cults are formed.<br />
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The process of indoctrination into a Spiritual Hierarchy is as follows:<br />
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1) The Individual experiences nothing beyond the Collective Reality and either believes nothing lies beyond it or accepts that they are incapable of experiencing it on their own.<br />
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2) Through the association with a Spiritual Hierarch, the Individual has experiences that defy the rational mind.<br />
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3) The Spiritual Hierarch claims responsibility for the Individual’s new experience.<br />
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4) The Spiritual Hierarch reinforces the Individuals sense of spiritual inadequacy and offers guidance to overcome it.<br />
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5) The Disciple surrenders their thought power to The Spiritual Hierarch who uses it to continually manifest an Alternate Reality<br />
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6) The Disciple embraces the Alternate Reality and replaces the Collective Reality with it<br />
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7) The Disciple becomes enslaved to a new collective manifestation, but one that revolves around a Spiritual Hierarch.<br />
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There is speculation that some Hierarchs are sincere and truly have the best interests in mind for their disciples at heart. It is more likely that these Hierarchs are so entangled in their own Alternate Reality that they are unaware of the damage they have done. It is my belief that ANY Spiritual Hierarchy that claims to have a defined goal and insists that the Individual must become dependent upon the Hierarch and Hierarchy, only results in a new set of entanglements. The Infinite Journey is replaced by a finite goal that serves the Hierarch and his/her Inner Circle and Successors.<br />
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THE LIFE CYCLE OF ALTERNATE REALITIES</b><br />
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Alternate Realities have shown some longevity, but none can outlive the primary Collective Reality that they overlap. They begin with the inception by a spiritually adept Individual seeking greatness, however, in order to build their Hierarchy, they require an Inner Circle and a series of successors. It is the very Inner Circle that sustains the Hierarchy, which ultimately destroys it. Dissention within the Inner Circle creates fragmentation of the Alternate Reality. The collective manifestation becomes weakened and the power-seeking members of the Inner Circle loose power over the masses. The Alternate Reality dwindles and once forgotten, ceases to exist.<br />
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This life cycle can be said to have five stages<br />
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1) Inception<br />
2) Establishment of Inner Circle<br />
3) Dissention within the Inner Circle<br />
4) Fragmentation<br />
5) Dissolution<br />
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Religions, spiritual organizations, even political movements all appear to follow this life cycle.<br />
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<b>THE INFINITE JOURNEY OF THE INDIVIDUAL</b><br />
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Some spiritually inspired Individuals do not seek greatness or choose to create a hierarchy around themselves. They silently proceed on their respective Infinite Journey, occasionally inspiring other individuals to peek outside their own manifestation and into the Infinite. This powerful and silent thread weaves throughout the history of humanity and influences every age, every religion and every spiritual movement.<br />
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These Individuals generally remain nameless, choosing not to participate in the enslavement of the masses or creation of Alternate Realities. They instead inspire others, one by one, without asking for anything in return or attracting attention to themselves. These inspired Individuals are everywhere and exist in all time.<br />
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Those who seek out such Individuals for guidance are rarely successful. This is not due to their being unworthy. What limits seekers is the very belief that they are not worthy of experiencing the Infinite on their own and must seek guidance. Once a seeker realizes that they themselves are whom they seek, they begin to receive the infinite bounty that exists beyond our Collective Reality and the Infinite Journey commences. The Individual embraces their existence for what it IS without the need to manifest anything to justify their Is-Ness.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-89066845274917863972010-06-12T13:13:00.002-05:002012-11-05T12:29:28.521-06:00Spiritual Materialism<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XYEHY9xrvdoK-LZLG-NFLngJ4MtQB3j7UOPkW4ECJtoCqhTIUqYyWNTegXhnew5VXG5pmI4Uk2JJdUCJ04GpUwA29WXaoafV0-3laSlz_17tQ_a0cO6QA0XHHKZ18dzjFcwQit2XQw0/s1600/BuffaloGold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XYEHY9xrvdoK-LZLG-NFLngJ4MtQB3j7UOPkW4ECJtoCqhTIUqYyWNTegXhnew5VXG5pmI4Uk2JJdUCJ04GpUwA29WXaoafV0-3laSlz_17tQ_a0cO6QA0XHHKZ18dzjFcwQit2XQw0/s200/BuffaloGold.jpg" width="200" /></a>The physical reality we perceive has its foundation on emptiness or void. Science provides some validation of this in claiming that our universe has a significant component that is empty and never changing - the void of space, the singularity. Out of this void exists an ever changing creation. Atomic particles are in fact vibrations churning in an empty void of space. In this process, matter and energy exist. We perceive this matter/energy individually and collectively to be our world, our universe, our existence.<br />
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A similar thing exists in the realm of the spirit and mind. A stillness or never changing aspect exists, over which churns a constantly changing and evolving series of thoughts, emotions and memories. Many of us are entrenched in this existence and choose not see the void. <br />
Some of us perceive the void in our existence and experience depression or struggle to grasp the meaning of life. Fewer still simply embrace the experience for what it IS. <br />
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Is it possible that our physical existence is in fact a holographic illusion that resides in an empty void? Does all that we achieve and suffer cease to exist for us when we die? Regardless of the answer, while we are alive, this existence is everything to us - it IS what it IS. We can choose to live in it or create an illusion to avoid seeing it for what it IS. <br />
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One's Spiritual Journey could be said to be the interaction of our internal spiritual existence with our external universe. We can choose to experience reality and interact with it directly. Alternatively, through the power of will and deception, we can create our own reality. We can bring others into our sphere or influence to experience it with us and establish a collective perception of reality, or possibly even a collective illusion.<br />
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It could be said that we are all on an Infinite Journey, or at least that Journey lays before us if we choose to embrace it. We can either invent a reality for ourselves or choose to experience it for what it IS. The latter requires that we proceed on the Journey experiencing the universe for exactly what it is, without embellishments, without fantasy, without creating myths about what it might be or where it comes from.<br />
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It is the experience of the mundane nature of reality that compels us to embrace the void and embark on the Infinite Journey rather than stay static in a self or collectively created illusion. It is from this perspective that one can experience the true wonderment of creation and embrace infinite nature of our journey - to experience a Creation that continually blossoms, dies and blossoms again in the stillness of the void.<br />
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When one proceeds on this Journey of light, one must also embrace the shadow that falls on the path. One must either choose to embrace the void, embrace the emptiness, or live in fear and trepidation of it. A common experience for Infinite Journeyers is confronting the mundane experiences of depression, disillusion and emptiness. It becomes essential for the Journeyer to cease creating false realities or fantasies.<br />
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Unfortunately the creation of fantasy and illusion is a common trait of practitioners of religions and spirituality. This "Spiritual Materialism" is infinitely more deceptive than abject worldly materialism. At least worldly materialism is based on what we all commonly experience with our collective physical senses. Spiritual Materialism is based on faith in myths and concepts that cannot perceived directly. It is fueled by the same desires that cause one to covet material things - the desire for power, the desire to be important, self gratification. It is very often driven by fear of the void, emptiness or feelings of meaninglessness.<br />
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Spiritual Materialism allows one to justify actions and behavior that otherwise cannot be justified or excused. It spawns wars, destroys families, causes dishonesty and deception. It can be used to justify the abuse or taking the life of another human being.<br />
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Spiritual Materalism is often practiced by spiritual trainers, masters, self proclaimed saints or gurus in their promotion of goal based spiritual practices. They claim to have achieved great spiritual conditions and offer their disciples the hope of achieving the same.<br />
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An analogy might be that of a car mechanic who claims to have created the most advanced automobile and insists that all should entrust him to make their cars equally advanced. Like the car mechanic and his customers, neither the guru nor the disciple spends much time embarking on any journey of their own. Instead they pontificate endlessly about achieving spiritual perfection and speculate whose spiritual condition is the highest. Money and souls are exchanged for the privilege of achieving great spiritual heights. Meanwhile the Infinite Journey awaits as they covet and worship the Guru's spiritual condition wishing it was their own.<br />
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Automobile owners have the choice of having a pristine automobile on display in a covered garage for all to see. Alternatively they could risk getting their precious car dented or dirty and embark on a fabulous road trip to see the wonders of the world.<br />
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Similarly, our spirit/soul has the choice of remaining stationary to achieve what is perceived as a perfect spiritual condition as opposed to actually embarking on the Infinite Journey. While the Soul on the Infinite Journey might not appear to be the most pristine or impressive to the outside observer, it is on the Journey none the less.<br />
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Comparing higher or lower spiritual conditions is on par with judging whether the the music of a virtuoso musician, in all its technical splendor, is more moving to the Soul than a simple folk melody played by an uneducated musician. The Soul is moved by the music, not the technical prowess of the musician. The folk musician, having experienced life's journey more completely might just convey more than the virtuoso whose lived a sheltered life and only knows their instrument and nothing else.<br />
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This Journey begins when one chooses to see the world around them for what it is, not what they want it to be. On this Journey one experiences how one's actions impacts the world around them. This ever unfolding interaction between the Soul and the universe is in fact the Infinite Journey. It is not based on illusion or myth, but on experience and interaction. It is neither higher, lower, more evolved or less evolved. It simply IS.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-90282368910743098362009-12-09T00:48:00.035-06:002009-12-09T13:29:08.518-06:00IS-Ness: An Alternative Spiritual View<span style="font-family: arial;">The human mind naturally organizes random and infinite aspects </span><span style="font-family: arial;">of reality into patterns and structures that it can grasp and manipulate. Collectively, we have created a linear timeline to chronicle our existence relative to each other and the universe we exist in. Infinity and nothingness are difficult things for the mind</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> fathom. Many Spiritual traditions preach the ideals of In</span><span style="font-family: arial;">finity, yet still cling to linear and hierarchical concepts that entrap the masses </span><span style="font-family: arial;">in a web of spiritual inadequacy. Spiritual goals and achievements are fabricated so that some sense of progress on a spiritual/religious path can be established.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Given that I have forsaken the concept of a goal based</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> path and have</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> embraced the Infinite Journey, I have been forced to adopt a different view of things based on nearly 3 decades of experience in the Yogic, Sufi, Mystical Christian and Shamanic traditions. Like any intellectual pursuit in the realm of spirituality, my personal view is limited by my own human mind’s inability describe the Infinite Experience - so suffice it to say it i</span><span style="font-family: arial;">s an evolving </span><span style="font-family: arial;">an</span><span style="font-family: arial;">d limited description that I have formulated on my personal and inexplicable Infinite Journey. While it is yet another attempt create an organized spiritual view of something that is inherently inconceivable, I have found it extremely helpful and have chosen to share it here for others to benefit from.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Trapped In Linear Time and Spiritual Hierarchies</span><br />
Western religions established the concept of Heaven and Hell </span><span style="font-family: arial;">as consequences or rewards for our actions. Heaven is achieved when one lives their linear existence within the pre-defined rules of engagement. Hell is where we are sent to suffer for our sins. This very black and white reward/punishment view describes a conscious G</span><span style="font-family: arial;">od that judges and extracts revenge for disobedience. It becomes a tool to subjugate the masses and</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> control their behavior through a collective sense of human inadequacy.<br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Eastern religions more often than not refer to a spiritual hierarchy as well. In the Yogic Tradition, chakras are described as a linear progression extending from the base to the crown. In this linear approach to the spiritual journey, the disciple must master each</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> c</span><span style="font-family: arial;">hakra in succession in order to obtain the wisdom and rewards of the next. Nirvana or self realization is the end goal and occurs when one opens the last and final crown chakra or some similar thing</span><span style="font-family: arial;">.<br />
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Master/Disciple traditions insist that spiritual humility can only be achieved when one submits to a more evolved human master. The aspirant's ego is subdued into a sense of inadequacy, reinforcing the concept that they are separate from the Creator and cannot experience the Divine directly.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Fostering human inadequacy in a disciple creates dependence on another, allegedly more evolved being in order to climb some illusory spiritual ladder to achieve some mythical spiritual goal. If we </span><span style="font-family: arial;">accept that by our very existence, our life itself, we have embarked on an Infinite Journey, such hierarchies, goals, spiritual levels, are merely more creations o</span><span style="font-family: arial;">f our own mind that only serve to distract us on the Journey.<br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Singularities, The Soul And The Medicine Wheel</span><br />
Physicists and Spiritualists alike have occasionally agreed on</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> a</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> common view that our universe was created from a singularity. From this primordial singularity all creation was stirred and spiraled outwards to create the universe. New singularities with their own creation story are formed, like echoes or reflections from the primordial singularity. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">It could be said that our very existence is also a mirror of creation. At our center is the singularity, our soul which exists as a singular point in time and space. Our spirit is the manifestation that forms around this center or singul</span><span style="font-family: arial;">arity. Spiraling energy from our center/singularity </span><span style="font-family: arial;">manifests consciousness and action.</span><br />
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The fabric of creation, often referred to by scientists and spir</span><span style="font-family: arial;">itualists as Ether, is established by the existence of Space and Time which extend from the center/singularity like the cross in a shamanic Medicine Wheel.</span><br />
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Directions of Up/Down (SPACE) and future/past (TIME</span><span style="font-family: arial;">), are often referred to as directions in traditional Shamanism. An alternate view would be that these are in fact as</span><span style="font-family: arial;">pe</span><span style="font-family: arial;">cts of Ether where the Time and </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Space create the fabric for creation. These four “etheric directions” establish the cross in the medicine wheel.<br />
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPXFm8H35wYJBrOVckqGT7MQZYgicgb_C4gWjquco07w1tsO4wqmgllqir3QUUUk4yAFw4lmp3E31qW5QD_M1mqbwE9RjyeYzkFH55gELeWJ1SSkuUzJ21pzGCjGwGV8mWOYEWHOMRI0/s1600-h/Medicine+Wheel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"> </a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 1: medicine wheel</span></span><br />
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Superimposed upon this Wheel in the four corners, are the four directions which directly relate to the traditional Shamanic directions in the Medicine Wheel.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Heart Based Medicine Wheel</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
The heart chakra or center in yogic tradition can be viewed as the center of a Medicine Wheel that exists within our very being. This chakra can be viewed in the shamanic sense as the center or singularity of our existence. It mirrors the singularity out of which all creation was formed. It links the infinite with our instance in time and space, it is the seat of the Soul or “Is-ness” - our essence of being. Soul is the passenger on the infinite journey. Soul is connected to and transcends the wisdom past and future. It transcends space. Soul is the point from which our co-creation emanates. It can be associated </span><span style="font-family: arial;">with our unconscious mind.<br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Some Sufi's have made reference to 9 heart based sub-chakras. Each is said to exhibit unique characteristics of the human persona. These in fact form a Medicine Wheel like structure in the heart, beginning with the center, the four points in the Time/Space cross, and four directions/elements. Figure 2. below illustrates these heart sub chakras as a Medicine Wheel.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5NkE9_-Tgu3CPEX5EnEP8uBS39Dx_6VFWAYhSb_ZJrWBWaeL8MCBqGQK6X0EZ6u6fm5a9oIMFnF4XqGiRqE8g_zRpSvYMaD4yd0gP-pSzWxw8zWu5weAqgh1ce7gIlcc3pLo22w64UI/s1600-h/Heart-Medicine+Wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5NkE9_-Tgu3CPEX5EnEP8uBS39Dx_6VFWAYhSb_ZJrWBWaeL8MCBqGQK6X0EZ6u6fm5a9oIMFnF4XqGiRqE8g_zRpSvYMaD4yd0gP-pSzWxw8zWu5weAqgh1ce7gIlcc3pLo22w64UI/s320/Heart-Medicine+Wheel.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 2.</span><br />
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The center/heart point is intersected by a line that connects it</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> with two points, above and below it, located on the chest. They correspond with the thymus gland and solar plexus. Two more points are in line with the heart on the horizontal axis located on either side of the heart point. The vertical points can be associated with Space, the upper associated with the traditional medicine wheel direction of up or Sky. The lower point associates with the direction of down or Planet Earth. </span><br />
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We are children of both the stars and of Earth and these two points are nodes where the flow of energy from Earth and Sky intersect and reflect the heart point just above and below the heart chakra.<br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The horizontal flow can be associated with Time. The Right node or point can be associated with the traditional medicine wheel aspect of ances</span><span style="font-family: arial;">tors. It represents our connection to the wisdom of our past ancestry and genetic heritage. The left point can be associated with the future or our relationship with the wisdom of the future. This time “energy” so to speak, flows from both directions and intersects in the Heart/Singularit</span><span style="font-family: arial;">y. The two points are nodes or reflections of the Heart Chakra as a result of this flow of time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">While references of these two points exist in some Sufi literature, their exact location seem to be guarded as a secret. Perhaps this is because they empower the individual with wisdom beyond time. When one can connect directly with wisdom beyond time, dependence on a spiritual hierarchy to experience the Journey for us is no longer necessary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">References to this wisdom beyond time exist in the Christian tradition, referred to as the "Holy Spirit". It was this very empowerment of all humanity taught by Jesus to the unwashed masses that caused such a threat to political and religious hierarchies of the day and resulted in his torture and execution.<br />
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The “cross” established in the heart with the intersection of the Space and Time establishes the fabric of ether where spirit, mind and body manifest. This can be thought of as the Medicine Wheel of the heart. Again the Christian tradition makes reference to the existence of a "Cross In the Heart". I do not find this to be a coincidence at all. Its even more interesting that when Catholics cross themselves, they utter the words "Holy Spirit" when making the horizontal portion of the cross over the heart.<br />
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The four corners of this heart centered Medicine Wheel represent the four directions, and associated four elements. This is where aspects of our Spirit manifests. Sub-Chakra’s associated with each element/direction each have their own characteristics that make up our conscious self and result in our on manifestations.<br />
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We as products of creation are mirrors of the repeating pattern of Singularity/Ether/Manifestation. The </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Heart Chakra, can be though of as the Center or Singularity. It is the seat of the Soul or unconscious self. It is the intersection of the fabric Time and Space with our singular existence or "Is-ness".<br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meditation On The Heart Medicine Wheel</span></span><br />
Lets discard the traditional order of the Medicine Wheel as well as the linear progression of Chakras. Instead, lets embrace the center or heart chakra as a place of balance or inactivity- like the calm center of the hurricane with the manifestation of Spirit swirling around it.<br />
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Begin by embracing the presence of the Sky Spirit, as it flows from the heavens and resonates at the upper heart point located at the location of the thymus gland. Acknowledge the flow connecting the stars and galaxies of space from above into the this upper heart point. This flow is cancelled at the heart chakra, and re-establishes itself as it flows downward into Planet Earth. We are children of the stars, formed by dust and gasses from galaxies, and forged by the fire of suns. We embrace and honor this reality as it manifests within our Core.<br />
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We then embrace the presence of our planetary energy as it flows from below and resonates in the lower heart sub-chakra located at the solar plexus. We honor this flow of planetary energy as it moves upwards, negating at the heart chakra, then re-establishing itself as it flows upwards to the heavens. The flows of Sky and Planet intermingle as we embrace our connection to Space. By honoring the intermingling of Planetary and Cosmic energies, we acknowledge that we are children of Earth just as we are children of the cosmos. Our very DNA is forged from the elements of our planet. It is part of us and we are part of it.<br />
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We become mindful of the center or Heart Chakra as the singularity. It is a place where perfect balance exists, no thought, emotion or activity - complete calmness, only Being or Is-Ness exists there.<br />
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Next we welcome the presence of the spirits of our ancestors. In doing so, we acknowledge the flow of energy from our right, entering under the right arm, just parallel to the heart, and resonating at the sub-chakra just to the right of the heart. The wisdom of our past, our ancestry, saints flow in us and through us. It exists in our very DNA. We are part of it and it is part of us.<br />
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We then welcome the presence of the spirits of the future. Our own future wisdom, the wisdom of Angels, our progeny, all flows through us and in us. Time is not linear, and we can access this wisdom at this very instance in time just as we access the wisdom of the past. We envision this energy flowing from the left entering under the left under arm parallel to the Heart Chakra, and resonating at the sub-chakra just to the left of the heart. The flows of the past and future timelines intermingle, canceling each other out at the center/Heart Chakra and resuming on the other side.</span><br />
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Again we are mindful of the Heart Chakra, being the place of calm balance. A conundrum exists here. We are both created from this flow of the fabric of Ether - Time and Space, yet we are creators of it. We are Creator. Creator is us!<br />
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From the center there flows a spiral that connects the lower and upper Yogic Chakras. This spiral links throat chakra with it’s corollary navel chakra, the third eye with the sex chakra, the crown with the base chakra. This system of chakras are not linear, but in fact reflections of the each other on either side of our Singularity. They are neither higher or lower, but simply the manifestation of our existence on the physical and cosmic planes.<br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydRTiQVBONln6Y6Pl449MR7Xetvox22VjoN5z1YC6oYKCXyxh6Fihrj29S389s88p_kx0AvB-yvoRBjwAQ4hVXuXX9ZOSLFqw08Wr8p6NtZz-niWjWaDw3Ay67xbL8CbOLILK34hyphenhyphenUCY/s1600-h/Vertical+Field.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413132913538994002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydRTiQVBONln6Y6Pl449MR7Xetvox22VjoN5z1YC6oYKCXyxh6Fihrj29S389s88p_kx0AvB-yvoRBjwAQ4hVXuXX9ZOSLFqw08Wr8p6NtZz-niWjWaDw3Ay67xbL8CbOLILK34hyphenhyphenUCY/s400/Vertical+Field.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 326px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 3.</span></span><br />
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Likewise, similar chakras exist extending horizontally on the Time plane of Ether. Like the Yogic Chakras, there are three chakras on either side of the Center. From the heart we visualize two sets of three concentric circles connecting the correlating points on each side, connecting the heart to chakras in the elbows, wrists and finger tips.<br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJ_iVdZQLvs7ole6PU6WeHCJtjdT5pgC3d-FjTC5-6Y1Y2lKQtCZu_wVoAIwjLwsXmkGPpDII4g7LlSw5T5hkwTWkSnhYuaIJrGHY217gnBy6GFWK7JOexo6xaETfqMPmY5brQaSh38E/s1600-h/Horizontal+Field.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413133355695561266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJ_iVdZQLvs7ole6PU6WeHCJtjdT5pgC3d-FjTC5-6Y1Y2lKQtCZu_wVoAIwjLwsXmkGPpDII4g7LlSw5T5hkwTWkSnhYuaIJrGHY217gnBy6GFWK7JOexo6xaETfqMPmY5brQaSh38E/s400/Horizontal+Field.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 327px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 4.</span></span><br />
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With this meditation we establish the inner Medicine Wheel, linking our Center to all chakras and sub-chakras. We establish our selves in Creation and the Creator in ourselves. By this meditation we empower our very existence as divine manifestation.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meditations On The Four Directions and Elements</span></span><br />
Soul recovery is something often referred to in the Shamanic tradition as a method of healing and restoring balance. The soul, however is never actually lost. It always remains our singular instance in time and space. It cannot be lost our found, but simply “IS”.<br />
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It is our many faceted spirit, that becomes fragmented as its various aspects become distracted by stimulus, distractions, attractions and what not. If we are to acknowledge any inadequacy, it might be that our manifestation of Spirit has become distracted and fragmented and needs to be re-aligned and brought into harmony. This can be done simply and consistently. It is not a spiritual practice that is mastered, but instead is an affirmation that brings our Spirt into harmony.<br />
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With the prior meditation we acknowledged our existence or our “IS-ness” by honoring our Heart Centered Medicine Wheel. With this established, we can begin to bring the various manifestations of our spirit into harmony, restore balance, and provide a coherent environment for the soul to thrive and proceed on its Infinite Journey. We do this, in the traditional Shamanic sense by welcoming the four directions and their associated elemental, animistic and human aspects. In this case however, the Medicine Wheel is not something external that we stand in. We are the Medicine Wheel!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Direction of East/Element of Air</span><br />
We begin by honoring the direction of the East and its associated element of Air. It resonates at the sub chakra in the upper right from the heart. Here the spirit of light and abundance reside. We can associate an animal spirit such as the eagle to this direction. We welcome the wisdom, guidance and protection of these spirit guides and by honoring their various characteristics we are in harmony with them.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 5.</span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Direction of South/Element of Fire</span><br />
Next we honor the direction of the South and its associated element of Fire. It resonates at the sub chakra in the upper left from the heart. Here the spirit of the divine female exists. We can associate an animal spirit such as the coyote with this direction. We welcome the wisdom, guidance and protection of these spirit guides and by honoring their various characteristics we are in harmony with them.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 6.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Direction of West/Element of Water</span><br />
Next we honor the direction of the West and its associated element of Water. It resonates at the sub chakra in the lower right from the heart. Here the spirit of the the shadow or unseen world exists. We can associate an animal spirit such as the tortoise with this direction. We welcome the wisdom, guidance and protection of these spirit guides and by honoring their various characteristics we are in harmony with them.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 7.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Direction of North/Element of Earth</span><br />
Next we honor the direction of the North and its associated element of Earth. It resonates at the sub chakra in the lower left from the heart. Here the spirit of the the divine male energy exists. We can associate an animal spirit such as the buffalo with this direction. We welcome the wisdom, guidance and protection of these spirit guides and by honoring their various characteristics we are in harmony with them.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 8.</span></span><br />
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Each sub point associated with the four directions and elements also mirrors their own smaller Etheric Medicine Wheel with spiraling energy from the center. With this meditation and visualization we acknowledge without doubt that our spirit is now in harmony. We envision each direction/element within us as a vibrant spinning entity of its own, guiding us on our Infinite Journey.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Figure 9.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Conclusion</span><br />
There are both collective and individual combinations of directions with elements, and associated spirit guides. Each individual must find the combination that resonates with their own Spirit. There is no right or wrong answer here. Directions and elements, their locations and characteristics can change or vary from person to person. What is important is to open oneself to the guidance and wisdom that Creation provides and establish harmony with it.<br />
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There is no achievement or mastery in these meditations. These meditations are merely affirmations used on our Infinite Journey. Embarking on the Journey is what is important. “Being” or better yet, “Is-Ness” is the constant companion on this Journey. One need not seek out guidance out of a sense of inadequacy, but instead open the heart to the guidance and wisdom that already exists within Creation that resonates within oneself. In this way, true humility is maintained without fostering spiritual inadequacy. There is no goal or hierarchy to feel separate from. We embrace and honor our Infinite Journey and the wisdom gained from it. We are not inferior to the the spirit guides that assist us along Journey. They are part of our own creation, and are Creation itself as are we.<br />
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</span>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-70636402330815319242008-10-25T12:08:00.016-05:002008-10-25T13:42:28.763-05:00The Law of Creation<a style="font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmPLieG7Uv0tk53mcyHIi7ZAR8M7jU8HGKHDEgef-vcIGzDt7X6V_hNaYngObydz4aFw-XDCLX5-G_gagkiZJlAzydU9kcz9ggckemmJ84Yk3zcGC_itfhM6KIystDb6cIdOoNGUORg8/s1600-h/DancingDude.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 424px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmPLieG7Uv0tk53mcyHIi7ZAR8M7jU8HGKHDEgef-vcIGzDt7X6V_hNaYngObydz4aFw-XDCLX5-G_gagkiZJlAzydU9kcz9ggckemmJ84Yk3zcGC_itfhM6KIystDb6cIdOoNGUORg8/s320/DancingDude.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261140179045550498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Creation</span><br />At the moment of creation the Creator/Primordial Singularity transformed into an infinitely expanding sea of energy. Vibrating from the moment of creation, energy organized into living matter, forming new singularities capable of new creation. This process of unfolding transforms into life that creates new life, linked inextricably to the Creator by the vibration emanating from the instant of creation.<br /><br />We are made of spirit, energy and matter, spawned from the Primordial Singularity. We are singularities, responsible for our own creation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Co-Creation</span><br />We are not self contained creators however. We do not create our reality in a vacuum. The source of our spirit-energy is not us, but around us. The initial gift of life, the primordial spirit-energy, comes from the Creator. We all share this common gift, however, we also rely on energy co-created by others for sustenance. We evolve through co-creation, which happens when we acknowledge the link our spirit-energy has with that of the Creator and Co-Creators and truly surrender to the creation process.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Co-Dependency</span><br />Sprit-energy is organized into inter-linked singularities with a diverse set of motivations to create. These spiritual motivations range from passive, cooperative to power seeking.<br /><br />Self serving, power seeking sprits exploit the willingness of passive spirits to steal their spirit-energy in order to expand their influence upon the co-creation process. This aspect of creation law, insures that inactive co-creators are subsumed by active ones in a co-dependent cycle of creation and re-creation.<br /><br />Such co-dependent spirit-energy relationships create an unbalance in the universe. Just as the Creator, as a sole singularity was compelled to spawn the creation, exploding into an expanding creation of many, any attempt by creative elements to merge into one singularity will also eventually result in destruction and re-distribution of energy. This satisfies the law of creation as it results in the process of re-creation. All that have merged into the singularity are destroyed, returned to an elemental state and scattered across time-space to form new organized pockets of creation. This cycle occurs again and again as spirit-energy power continues to revolve around an unsustainable, unbalanced cycle of dependency. This is the law of creation and re-creation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inter-Dependency</span><br />Spiritual Sovereignty is the sustainable process of co-creation. To remain sustainable, it requires balance. This balance requires that spirit-energy singularities continue to create, at the same time respecting an nurturing the creation of other singularities. No singularity can exist without creating. Likewise, no singularity that swallows up others to amass power and creation autonomy, can be sustained without eventual destruction. Most importantly, no singularity can be sustained without depending on spirit-energy from outside itself.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sustainability</span><br />We as spirit-energy beings are linked and live by the laws of creation. At one end of the spectrum, we must create or be swallowed up by other creation forces. The law of creation insures this. At the other end of the spectrum, when we fail to maintain balance through co-creation, and choose to swallow up and control others, our creation will ultimately be destroyed to release creative energies to reorganize into sustainable sprit-energy. These aspects of creation and sustainability exist on all levels of existence.<br /><br />When spiritual guidance devolves into a co-dependent relationship, it creates an imbalance in creation. Sustainable spirituality requires two things:<br /><br />1. Co-Creators surrender to their natural requirement to create<br />2. Co-Creators seek sustainable relationships with the Creator and its co-creators.<br /><br />At the universal level, balance is always maintained. At the human level however, tragic consequences occur when an individual relinquishes their responsibility to create and surrenders their essence to other creation forces. The tragedy grows exponentially, when others choose to exploit passive spirits to create a power base to fuel their own personal creation. There is no sustainable version of such co-dependencies. There is no benign version of co-dependent master/disciple relationships that doesn't ultimately result in the destruction of both the master and disciple. Demanding that the masses surrender to a singular human being, creates an unsustainable spirit-energy creation. We can see this law of creation playing itself out with our world economic banking system where so many surrendered the responsibility of wealth creation to a few, and the few created unsustainable banking structures. The natural result is total destruction and redistribution of wealth.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Surrender</span><br /><br />True surrender comes when co-creators surrender to the process of co-creation. The concept of surrender is perverted by those who insist that we surrender our god given ability to create to another in exchange for salvation, security, or the common good. This, by any other name is slavery. It always results in its own destruction in order to renew the creation process.<br /><br />Before our eyes we can see spiritual, religious, political, and economic structures created and destroyed just as we see co-dependent relationships in our individual lives result in destruction. It is the duty of all sentient human beings to surrender to the creation process. In doing so we must be responsible for our own creation, and sustain it by respecting the boundaries of of other co-creators and fostering sustainable inter-dependencies. Spirituality is supposed to be the process of learning these interdependencies, yet so often, spiritual and religious organizations are created that demand the total surrender of individual creative energy. We must first address our spiritual sickness and co-dependencies within ourselves before we can ever expect the world around us to evolve into a more sustainable environment.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-22549065532398826282008-04-14T08:03:00.024-05:002008-12-11T11:49:22.557-06:00Defending Spiritual Sovereignty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruxRqNmE_hzCOX1Uy0bxIsC1GnnPXgxf7p6vZ3gxYxBd2UZT8T60QbLk58DGXLHiZRsLSt4tNXnemOBaaRVetFaj7LQuAfLqICZJrPn1GzYn5ewBrnErzoZoRc9MyIhtWuNz1CiPrfoM/s1600-h/eagle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruxRqNmE_hzCOX1Uy0bxIsC1GnnPXgxf7p6vZ3gxYxBd2UZT8T60QbLk58DGXLHiZRsLSt4tNXnemOBaaRVetFaj7LQuAfLqICZJrPn1GzYn5ewBrnErzoZoRc9MyIhtWuNz1CiPrfoM/s320/eagle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189093394066040514" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >"When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. ."</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span> -<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Tecumseh<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>All attempts at political liberty throughout history have proven unsustainable. Political freedom is squandered as the people relinquish personal freedoms to those whom they have entrusted as their leaders. Few leaders resist the intoxication of power that is offered up freely, and it is not long before the masses become complacent as their spirits were further enslaved. This is fundamentally a spiritual not political inadequacy of the masses. People whose spirits are not inherently free, cannot sustain a free political structure. Our lack of spiritual sovereignty and resulting lack of liberty are evidenced by the spiritual paths we choose to adopt.<br /><br />Religious hierarchies demand the trust and unquestioned obedience of its followers in order to sustain the religious legacy established by the religion's founder. Such hierarchies, which generally start as benevolent, evolve to tyranny in short order.<br /><br />Spiritual seekers confuse the guidance offered by gurus and teachers as an invitation to forego the responsibility of spiritual sovereignty. Deceptive spiritual hucksters demand unquestioned obedience of their disciples, making them spiritual slaves. Some blatantly demand the enslavement of their disciples in exchange for spiritual freedom that will be awarded to them at some point in the future. This dangerous twisting of the truth is every bit as insidious as a democratically elected leader insisting that fascism will set the population free.<br /><br />With few exceptions spiritual sovereignty seems reserved to spiritual leaders and is not presented as a possibility for the masses. The same reality is manifested in our political and cultural realms. These leaders, whether political, religious or spiritual, dangle the concept of liberation or freedom as the reward for compliance. The reality is that spiritual and political liberty is a birth right and responsibility, not an achievement or goal. This is a fundamental truth in all levels of existence.<br /><br />Politicians promise liberty as the reward for giving up our liberties and fighting wars. Religious leaders promise the liberty of heaven as a reward for compliance and blind faith. Spiritual leaders promise liberation as a spiritual achievement in exchange for giving up ones spiritual sovereignty to the leader.<br /><br />The absurd and deceitful hawking of liberty as a commodity and reward has successfully convinced the masses in all cultures that they can achieve this trinket by essentially giving up ones personal sovereignty and relinquishing their personal responsibility for their existence to more qualified individuals.<br /><br />I believe that liberty is not an achievement at all, but something that one maintains by preserving ones own inner sovereignty. Liberation in the spiritual sense is in fact only a sign post on an infinite journey. My personal experience has shown that spiritual liberation is a recurring theme throughout ones journey and not an actual achievement in and of itself.<br /><br />Sustaining a sovereign spirit is not trivial. One must be willing to suffer casualties and bloodshed to maintain spiritual sovereignty. True worldly freedom and liberty is only possible if we strive to upkeep our sovereignty as individuals in all manners, both spiritual, cultural, and political. Giving our spiritual sovereignty up to a guru, politician or religious leader only perpetuates spiritual slavery, and hence material slavery proliferates. Accepting guidance and help is very different from giving up ones sovereignty, but far too many are willing to give a helping hand if only we relinquish our responsibility for our own sovereignty. We as political and spiritual beings seem all to willing to take this apparently easy path.<br /><br />It is our duty to help others. It is also clear that those being helped who yearn to be free must be willing to bear the burden of maintaining their own sovereignty. They must be willing to defend it in the spiritual and worldly realms. This path is narrow and not for the faint of heart.<br /><br />The USA was founded on principles of personal sovereignty and liberty. Hidden in plain sight was our Native American brothers and sisters, who had lived as a sovereign people for centuries before the western Europeans arrived. Our experiment in liberty failed because we did not bear the burden of responsibility as sovereign people or respect the sovereignty of others. We enslaved Africans and stole the land and freedoms from the Native Americans and ignored their wisdom. This is not the behavior of a true sovereign people who honor and love liberty, but of a spiritually enslaved people intoxicated with the lust for power and the property of others.<br /><br />Two thousand years ago, Jesus of Nazareth taught a message of spiritual sovereignty and the personal responsibility required to sustain it. His principles of compassion, charity and brotherly love, are the cornerstones for respecting the sovereignty of others. He challenged the religious and political hierarchies without a sword or threats of revolution, but with words that proclaimed that the souls of the masses to be free. He shed his own blood defending the sovereignty of all humans in the eyes of God. This fact has been twisted by the Christian hierarchy and transformed into a guilt ridden belief that Jesus died for our sins, when in fact he sacrificed himself for an even greater cause, the individual sovereignty of all humanity. His efforts were indeed for the purpose of setting all humanity free, but not, I believe in the way it has been twisted by a self serving religious hierarchy. He also taught that with our new freedom, comes the responsibility to honor the freedom and sovereignty of others. This is the guiding principle for liberty to persist in a culture of diverse but sovereign individuals.<br /><br />These concepts of spiritual liberty and sovereignty are not only lost in Christianity, but are scarce in any religious or spiritual texts and belief systems made available to the masses. Native American culture and spirituality seems to be one of the few other examples where individual sovereignty is honored and fostered. Sadly many Native Americans became complacent to the encroaching western culture and as a result, their spiritual and cultural sovereignty was overwhelmed by the deceptive and self serving European invaders.<br /><br />The USA was intended to be a nation of sovereign people. True sovereignty, however, must begin with the spirit. Liberty or liberation is not a goal, but a right that must be vigorously maintained and defended through personal responsibility for ones own sovereignty and the respect of the sovereignty of others. With so many spiritual paths leading to enslavement and submission, guidance to achieve this in worldly matters seems unlikely unless we adopt and enforce the concepts of sovereignty in spiritual matters. While Jesus took the bold initiative to make these principles known to the masses and provide a template for it to be sustained, true spiritual sovereignty can only be achieved one heart at a time.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-63196532738927095532007-07-13T09:33:00.000-05:002008-12-11T11:49:22.717-06:00Jesus in the Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzmdaSCwMW5dyHRfdocdPP9hVgS6y3nqOuOjF8Yb_5OhDxq5oVohq8_3EIZPBAEdW-mVZxiYzlSFE_voS1-IumJO3kB61ID58DTgSBfRkwiRuTSYpOcOa2G6N-MvBltC59XgYQsruvog/s1600-h/Eden.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzmdaSCwMW5dyHRfdocdPP9hVgS6y3nqOuOjF8Yb_5OhDxq5oVohq8_3EIZPBAEdW-mVZxiYzlSFE_voS1-IumJO3kB61ID58DTgSBfRkwiRuTSYpOcOa2G6N-MvBltC59XgYQsruvog/s320/Eden.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086689916303716546" border="0" /></a><br />Traveling in Denmark in my late teens, I met an Indian guru there. I wondered how I could have possibly ended up in Denmark to start my spiritual journey, but this was how it began. I found a postcard of the statue of Hans Christian Anderson and mailed it to my friends with the quote: “What is the sound of one Hans Klapping?”. Now, nearly 3 decades later, I am out of silly questions. The crazier the experiences, the more it all makes sense.<br /><br />This group of people from around the world that I met in Denmark were not unlike myself - loosely affiliated around a simple spiritual path apparently unfettered by any particular religion. Over the next decade I would witness the group fall gradually into <a href="http://innercircleofsrcm.blogspot.com/">cult like behavior</a> as it started to adopt religious or faith based characteristics and shun the experiential aspects of a spiritual path. For me it was like watching hundreds of years of the early Christian church slowly loose its purity and innocence, only this was over a period of two or three years.<br /><br />When I left this budding cult, I was able to begin to re-familiarize myself with Christianity, far better prepared to see through the centuries of myth creation, selective scripture transposing, land and power grabbing, and dilution of the basic message, as I had seen it all in this organization I had just left.<br /><br />My 13 year old son recently pointed out the most basic distillation of Christianity in the popular book “Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, it went something like this:<br /><br />“two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change”<br /><br />There’s plenty of deception in all formal, organized religions. Some need the community and support, some choose to be secular humanists, some choose to forsake all religion and take the elitist, pure spirituality approach.<br /><br />As I explore Christianity in my own experience, I am also genetically inclined to explore my Native American heritage as well. To mix things up further, I discovered leaving the cult, that the spiritual practice I did for over 10 years was far closer to Sufism, than traditional Raja Yoga - which caused a 3 year stint exploring the Sufi connection to my cult past to learn if there was anything there for me to latch onto.<br /><br />Despite what the Catholic Church would have us believe, Jesus was a mystic, visited at birth by a group of Magi mystics who followed the stars to find him. His ministry began with a water purification ritual performed by a man whose description fits that of a Shaman, living in the desert on honey and locusts, performing purification rituals with water and proclaiming the coming of a prophet who would purify humanity with the holy spirit and fire. After Jesus’ purification ritual, he was thrust into the wilderness on nothing less than a spirit quest where he was tempted by evil spirits and ministered to by angelic spirit guides. When he returned he had transformed into a healer and prophet and spent 3 years traveling the land teaching, healing and performing amazing feats. In the <a href="http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/bulletin/articles/ashton.html">2002-03 Harvard Divinity Bulletin, John Aston</a> describes Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness as nothing less than a Spirit quest and the biblical description of his healing strikingly similar to the healing traditions of the shamans of North America and Eastern Europe.<br /><br />This all culminated in a blood sacrifice to purify all of humanity. The subsequent act of resurrection was described as proof of eternal life. The ascension was described to indicate a world beyond this one...<br /><br />So why does the Church water down these few mystical facts, in a manner that disconnects them from any mystical traditions? Yet, at the same time, Christianity grew mainly because it adopted other traditions to gain popularity with the cultures being recruited.<br /><br />I personally believe that, while the missionaries may have believed that they were using a manipulative recruiting technique to grow their numbers, the truth is that Christianity does have its roots in the ancient Pagan and Shaman traditions, whose rituals Christianity adopted in during its aggressive recruiting campaigns in Europe and Latin America.<br /><br />My cult experience taught me why a religious organizations seek exclusivity by distancing themselves from their history and origins. What I find astonishing about Christianity, is that over the centuries, it adopted traditions, apparently in a haphazard manner, from the very mystical roots it had attempted to erase in its early years.<br /><br />I suspect this occurred because the message was so simple, it became a sponge, attracting the very aspects that resonated with it in the cultures it was introduced to. This in spite of the more or less malicious intentions of many of the missionaries involved in cramming the message down the troats of the natives.<br /><br />As I explored the Magi history, I find a mystical community that seems to be embraced by or adopt literally every religion throughout history. Sufism, while associated with Islam, resulted from a group of mystics, living in the days of Mohammed, that were embraced by that religion. There are Sufis in India who are Hindu, and a growing community of Sufis who claim to be affiliated with Christianity. In fact, Sufism can be linked to the same mystical tradition as the Magi, that links Judaism, Christianity, and likely has links to ancient Vedic traditions. According to<a href="http://www.farvardyn.com/shelagh.php"> Shelagh McKenna,</a> the Magi likely were involved in the early formation of the Christian Church. McKenna also indicates that the Druidic Priests who converted to Christianity also had their roots in the Magi tradition. The old testament book of Daniel, describes the life of a Chaldean Magi who translated the dreams of kings yet maintained his purity in spite of temptations of wealth and privilege. He survided banishment to the den of lions. Somehow, the Magi are rarely mentioned again until baby Jesus is visited by three of them, then conveniently forgotten again in the scriptures.<br /><br />There is one clear message in this whole mixed up journey, Religion is simply a shell. It is a structure where a community can exist, and interact with the world. The real journey occurs in spite of any organized religion. Jesus, being who he was, transitioned humanity from a spiritual journey reserved only to the priest class, carefully bred from bloodlines of biblical kings, to a path available for all humanity, regardless of bloodlines.<br /><br />Shamanism, to me appears to be a tradition that attempts to reclaim what was lost in Eden, when humanity was banished from the garden. It seeks to reconnect humanity with the wisdom of earth that was lost when humanity chose not to live in harmony with the garden. The Mystical traditions of the Yogis, Magi, Sufis, etc., is the same journey only internalized, as one seeks to connect with God on a personal internal level, by connecting with the “internal garden”. That both traditions seem to be present in the history of Christianity is likely not a coincidence.<br /><br />Decades after my silly question in Denmark when I began this journey, and a twisted path leading me here, this patchwork of traditions and beliefs that I have absorbed appear less random that I had ever would have expected.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2530912385181516966.post-86940957687527879272007-07-02T09:48:00.002-05:002009-12-11T11:05:49.369-06:00Guadalupe Fragments<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv93EI2Z-Xl5RU1LwFLzTXHUwXsBrU_zBSmuCvLvskFCY_Iy3eH5HGjkehReISgylXMbbhjyoh-28ype4xVlE-otQEkedd82zwC_AGUM585WMXyefIo1CHzVww8KQl4eIeFENLQxgjDJA/s1600-h/GuadalupeFragments.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082611980890779858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv93EI2Z-Xl5RU1LwFLzTXHUwXsBrU_zBSmuCvLvskFCY_Iy3eH5HGjkehReISgylXMbbhjyoh-28ype4xVlE-otQEkedd82zwC_AGUM585WMXyefIo1CHzVww8KQl4eIeFENLQxgjDJA/s320/GuadalupeFragments.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a><br />
Wife thought it would be a good thing to feed our two sons insecticide if I decided to leave her. She decided to take some herself so that she might avoid the consequences. She decided to use her money to purchase curses from black magicians so that I would be haunted in the death of my family, cursed to the end of my days. She did not succeed in her attempt to wipe out my family with mosqito poison, but I contemplate often about the curses and their impact on me and the boys.<br />
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After over a decade of trying to find spirituality, career success and marital bliss, I thought it would be a good idea to pursue happiness without her, by seeking financial freedom and young women as a single dad, rather than persist in a household full of hate, resentment and child abuse. My thinking was that I would be a better dad if I truly pursued my dreams, than to stay bound to a woman who hated me, and everything about me, yet would not let go as she relished controlling what she hated. My thinking was that with the money we were about to make, she could take half, and go find happiness - as she clearly wasn’t happy with me. I thought wrong. Happiness was not her thing. Controlling her world was. She found satisfaction in owning what she hated, and she hated a lot.<br />
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Still, I did not want my two sons to grow up seeing me become less and less of a man under a mother who loved to control what she despised, and she indeed despised me, and motherhood, and resented her half breed sons. Decades of deceiving the outer world that things were OK in our household came to an end. Paying lawyers to conceal her shoplifting arrests from her employers, hearing of her constant distain for westerners whom she pretended to like in public, constant reminders that no matter how successful I became, I was a looser, a dirty American, just like the rest, not worthy to be associated with her pristine Indian heritage.<br />
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It became like a bad smell in the house. You don’t notice it if you live in it - but I started to travel on business for days on end. The smell became obvious upon returning. On one such trip my oldest son, 4 years old at the time, ran out of the house and jumped into the trunk of the airport taxi. “Take me with you, I won’t be any trouble, don’t leave me here”, he said. Somehow, the truth of this was lost by my stupidity.<br />
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I then spent a summer working in the attic on my next big project, that would ultimately buy the freedom of myself and my sons. I heard the abuse in the house below me - was shocked to see her mother standing idly as it all happened, even participating. Evening dinners were not complete without one or the other of them stuffing food in the boys mouths while restrained in a chair with a belt. Vomit was a common occurrence at dinner. I once tried to show mother and daughter that children must find eating enjoyable. I made a plate of carrots, tomatoes and cheese in the shape of happy faces. The boys ate happily. I was never allowed to try that again.<br />
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Freedom for me and the boys came at a cost. My accountant would say that after taxes, legal costs for divorce and her criminal defense, lost income, the financial cost was in excess of $2 million dollars. By my accounts, it cost us the entire $1.8M that we earned in 2000, but I happily paid this for our freedom and future happiness. The real costs were far more insidious, however. Mom lost her freedom and rights to being a mother. A corrupt court system willingly exposed the boys to death, blindly fixated on extracting our wealth and putting it in the hands of the lawyers that got the judges their jobs. The boys and I lost any sense of trust for mother hood or women in spite of our love for all that they represent.<br />
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We lost our privacy, as witch doctors cursed us, money was spent on a smear campaign. Big black ex-military meat head lawyer stalked and threatened me regularly in court and on the street. Feeding the press whatever information he could make up to make me look like shit - going so far as to strangle me in the elevator in my office building when I caught him inquiring as to how he might get access to the trash so he could dig for some dirt on me.<br />
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Guadalupe fragments were the saddest symbol of our tragedy. I bought our freedom in the form of a house that we could restart our lives in without bad memories. The boys and their nanny started finding pieces of a clay relief of Our Lady of Guadalupe. They were scattered through out our yard.<br />
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While in recovery, their ex-mom called her black magician from her hospital room, out of ear shot from the police stationed outside her room, but within earshot of the suicide watch volunteer. Her inquiry about how the curse was proceeding, managed to get into the court testimony. The press left that one out of the newspapers, instead, focusing on a man who decided to leave his allegedly devoted wife for younger women. Clearly a rich, spoiled ass like myself needed to be flogged in the public square of bad Texas journalism.<br />
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How symbolic this curse was! The Mother of God, shattered in pieces and strewn about our yard. Mixed in with rocks and earth, treated like dirt itself. All but one piece was recovered. Surely this one piece sits in the workshop of a black magician, like a voodoo doll, they can burn and torment this piece of clay to torture our motherless family.<br />
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Putting the pieces together, she lay in the garden with her missing piece for years as we languished in our loss and pain and I was drawn closer to the Christianity I experienced in my youth.<br />
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One sad afternoon, I was reading on the internet. Somehow something about broken statues being considered “the abode of demons” came to me. I realized the curse sat right there at my feet in the garden. I picked up the pieces and glued them together, making a cement replacement part for the missing piece. We painted the relief, had it blessed by a priest and hung it over our doorway.<br />
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This didn’t end the suffering, but the healing was able to start. I suspect that even curses have their place in God's creation. I am what I am because of these events. I am grateful for the lessons they taught me. I am stronger and believe that the boys are stronger as a result of what did not kill them.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237566493637840986noreply@blogger.com2