Tag Archives: King David

Master the Field. Claim the Pearl. 

In my last post, Rethinking Nature in an Unnatural World, I began by saying that the essential Chinese I Ching, the Book of Change, reveals a priceless treasure, “akin to the biblical pearl without price.” 

Overnight, it came to me that I owe you a further explanation of what I mean. I’ve written about Natural Law and the Book of Change from many different angles. So today I revisited past blogs and made excerpts to offer you a more in-depth view of my meaning. 

Before I delve into that, however, let me first mention why the subject is extraordinarily timely. Astrologically, the United States is experiencing its Pluto return. It’s a big deal. Many astrologers are giving it attention. Because it affects not only the U.S. but the world, British astrologer Pam Gregory dedicated an entire video to the subject. 

This return means that, as a nation, Americans are being obliged to rethink who we are, what we truly value, and what we want our next cycle of history to look like. Upsetting political events are obliging citizens to revisit the Constitution and decide whether it’s worth upholding – not just giving it lip-service, but actually enforcing it – going forward. 

It’s time to revisit and welcome the “opportunity” to upgrade the beliefs of the founders. In the Common Sense Book of Change, I wrote: 

 THREE LEVELS OF LAW 

America’s Declaration of Independence names three kinds of law: the laws of man, of nature and nature’s God. The Book of Change is based on the laws of natural change. They emanate from and depend on divine law and serve as the rightful foundation of civil law.  

Clearly, laws legislated in ignorance of or in opposition to natural and divine law are not likely to work out well. Policy makers at all levels would do well to give this point careful thought. 

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine wrote about the relationship of divine, natural and human law in a way that inspired readers at the time of the American Revolution to fight for freedom from tyranny. Approaching natural law from the deeper understanding of the ancients could inspire a reinvention of democracy now. 

Sages say that freedom from tyranny begins with dispelling ignorance and overcoming toxic, negative emotions. Inalienable freedom starts with the self-awareness and self-mastery which can be gained by diligent use of the I Ching. 

Restoring common awareness of and effectiveness in harnessing/expressing the e=energy level of human potential would give a whole new meaning to the slogan “Power to the People.”

With that in mind, here are excerpts which explain the importance I place on the ancient understanding of Natural Law within the context of the quantum Life Wheel. Included is a more detailed description of the e=energy level that’s correlated with Natural Law. 

It’s worth your careful attention. 

From The Ultimate Gatekeeper: 

. . . . [The Book of Change] is a book that truly belongs to the world. It transcends, in its essence, the limitations of time and space. Used correctly, as intended, it leads the ordinary mind towards experiences of self-awareness and transformative transcendence.  

Over the years, I’ve grown absolutely certain that the worldwide leadership deficit (and related budget deficits) is explained by an underlying knowledge deficit. For lack of what The Book of Change has to offer, people everywhere remain perplexed as to how and why so much continues to go so horribly wrong, despite the best of intentions.  

Making this compendium of Natural Law — the premier leadership training and decision-making manual in China for thousands of years — widely accessible now is necessary in order to fill in this fatal knowledge gap.  

Mainstreaming this vitally important information is the first, necessary step towards the positive change which many call for, but remain unable to achieve. 

—- 

The extraordinary value of the I Ching is that it reveals the secrets of dynamic Natural Law. Working with its changes opens up personal access to the middle level of the Life Wheel, the “e = energy” layer of Einstein’s Unified Field Theory. 

This middle level of Natural Law serves as mediating, two-directional gatekeeper between the ever-changing surface rim and the universal, timeless center.

You can’t get from here to there and back again, except through the middle “energy” layer which, in Western thinking, is effectively taboo, buried deep within the inaccessible “unconscious.”  

To the extent that the Natural Law of energy dynamics remains a blind spot in the prevailing, linear and exclusively empirical paradigm, we are left powerless to move beyond the surface level of experience. 

To compound the loss, when stuck on the surface, the realm of light and conscience which rests beyond, on the far side of the dynamic energy level, remains functionally inaccessible.  

Only by becoming intelligently competent in managing the subtle energies of the middle level does it become possible for one to travel further inwards for the direct personal experience of not only Light but, even deeper still, its very Source.  

Unfortunately, the middle level is too often clogged with painful memories, negative emotions and repressed, socially taboo urges. It becomes a barrier to deeper knowing. 

For eight thousand years and counting, the Book of Change has served as an indispensable tool for resolving this dilemma. Used as intended, it can restore the unnecessarily “unconscious” to conscious awareness, reopening the levels of human potential so they can be aligned and unified.  

In this context, genuine survivors fit to prevail in today’s increasingly dangerous times aren’t those with the most material wealth, possessions or political power. They’re the ones who’ve successfully navigated the middle realm, reached the far shore of enlightenment and returned to the surface with their new information intact. 

Those who succeed in linking the levels of experience are genius-leaders in whatever fields they choose to engage. They’re the fortunate ones who have acquired the inner wealth necessary to both hear the still voice of conscience and act effectively on the guidance they receive. 

From The Middle E=Energy Level of the Life Wheel 

The middle level is the realm of less tangible but still measurable states of energy, including electricity. More subtly, it is the chi, ki or prana described by Chinese, Japanese and Indian traditions as the life force which animates all living beings. In Greek and Christian traditions it’s known as breath, the psyche. 

These subtle energies influence internal psychological states. As emotions, they drive external human behavior, which in turn affects social/political relationships. Knowledge of these dynamics is essential to personal survival. 

Effective leadership and the quality of life within organizations hinges on the quality of awareness brought to dynamics at this level. Some leaders understand energy dynamics at a gut level as a matter of common sense. However, systematic education would significantly improve results of the decision-making process. 

—— 

When sufficiently purified and mastered, disciplined and intelligently harnessed to positive goals, the middle level fuels what Anthony Robbins calls “unlimited power.”  

These subtle energies explain the possibility of seemingly impossible feats, including the miracles attributed to Moses and Jesus. 

——

In Life Wheel context, the “subtle” energy realm exists between the outer, surface level of matter and the deepest center of unchanging stillness.

As the functional link between extremes, both on the out-going and the in-going paths, it serves as the gatekeeper and mediator between the two.  

“You can’t get from here to there,” except through this middle level of experience.  Cluttering or denying access to it make connection with the Center difficult, at best. 

Historically, Asian cultures are more comfortable with this middle level. Asian healing practices including chi kung, tai chi and hatha yoga use exercise to intentionally circulate, balance, harness and direct subtle energies through the physical body. 

—- 

The middle level is also the repository of karmic information, where the history of past actions is kept, along with a record of debts to be repaid. It’s the repository of short and long-term memories. The composite of emotions — fears, desires and repressed tendencies — are stored here in what Western psychologies call the “unconscious.” It is the stuff of dreams — inspired visions, nightmares and everything in-between. 

The bardo, where (according to The Tibetan Book of the Dead) recently departed souls travel, is located within this level. Spirits, ghosts, leprechauns, demons or jinn acknowledged by various mystic traditions also reside there. From here, unseen hands from the “dark side of the force” reach out to derange the minds of power-hungry rulers and undermine political affairs. (It’s for this reason that disciplines for “cleaning out the swamp” precede introduction to advanced yogic practices.) 

So long as invisible energetic influences remain unaccounted for, the failings and depravities of human leaders remain mystifying. Conspiracy theorists can track the complicated networks of human crime on the surface. But to trace world domination plots back to their lair, one must look deeper. St. Paul described it in his letter to the Ephesians: 

6:12. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

—- 

When cluttered and undisciplined, the middle energy level is like a swamp full of alligators. 

Once the swamp is cleared out and the alligators are tamed, however, energetic potentials can be harnessed to worthy goals. They’re like the gas that fuels the car engine, or the pair of black and white horses that pulled Plato’s heaven-bound chariot.  

But easier said than done. The Quantum Paradigm validates experiences which report a dark side to the subtle realm, which the life traveler must be prepared to encounter and survive. Some describe it as “Chapel Perilous” or “the Hero’s Journey.” 

— 

Religionists, moralists and even poets like Edgar Alan Poe warn against exploring the middle realm, portraying it as dangerous, fearful or unclean. However, inhibiting awareness of the energy level cripples efforts to attain self-knowledge. In effect, it slams the lid on libido, the motivating life force.  

Doing so doesn’t avoid dangers. It just banishes this level from conscious awareness. Relegated to the “unconscious” and rendered inaccessible, this part of inner experience festers, more dangerous than ever. Taboos on energy awareness backfires, resulting in mental illness, socially aberrant behavior, addictions and personal tragedy.  

Here are important questions to ponder. Why ban access to the levels of energy and light? Who stands to benefit? Who stands to lose?  

Jung’s observation bears repeating: 

Our time has committed a fatal error; we believe we can criticize the facts of religion intellectually. . . The gods have become diseases; Zeus no longer rules Olympus but rather the solar plexus, and produces curious specimens for the doctor’s consulting room, or disorders the brains of politicians and journalists who unwittingly let loose psychic epidemics on the world. 

Chinese sages, who trod lightly but surely in that middle realm, used the I Ching as their instruction manual. Recently, it’s been correctly called a “spiritual GPS.” Jung understood the potential good that could come from introducing this wisdom to the Western world, where it could be used as an instrument for making the unconscious again conscious, restoring intelligent competence at this level. 

From Paradigms Are a Matter of Life or Death 

Jordan B. Peterson has said, “The most important work that can be done is establishing the relationship between belief systems and the outcomes they generate.” 

I agree. 

It’s useless to tell people to follow their dreams, to be the best they can be, or that nothing is impossible when, in fact, they live in society that enforces a false, limiting paradigm. It’s like paddling upstream without oars in a leaky canoe. 

The only way out of this madness is to restore a complete and accurate paradigm, one that acknowledges the multi-dimensional quality of life – the inherent pattern of perfection – which is everyone’s inalienable birthright.  

— 

People who live in the poverty of a flattened, empirical science belief system are being told by their parents, educators and political leaders, in effect, that they don’t (and shouldn’t) fully exist. That only their physical appearance, social status and material possessions matter.

Wonder why suicide rates are so high? Or that marriages so often end in divorce, that respect for authority is at an all-time low, that government corruption is rampant, or that crime rates are through the roof? (Surely you can add to the list.) 

—- 

The biblical King David exemplifies acting from a complete and accurate paradigm. He acted fearlessly in trust that “God is with me.” With a single shot to the giant’s forehead (not coincidentally seat of the third eye), he brought the monster down.  

David “knew” exactly where to aim. His vision was clearly focused on his target (light). He had the vigor (energy) and physical strength (mass) as well as coordination (unity) to overcome the fearsome obstacle that threatened to annihilate him and enslave his people.  

Other biblical figures at critical points in their hero’s journey are helpful role models. Noah anticipated the flood. Joseph foresaw and prepared for a time of famine.  Moses protected the homes of the faithful when the Angel of Death swept over the Land of Egypt.  

Job is the example of steadfast faith, enduring to the end and being restored, even better than before. Here’s the secret to be gleaned from his story, illumined by the infinity symbol that links the levels of the Life Wheel.  

Job says, “The Lord giventh.” This is the outward, materializing movement from Center to surface of the Wheel.  

“And The Lord taketh away.” This is the receding path of return to Center.  

In all, “Blessed be the NAME of the Lord.” The Logos.  

—— 

Conclusion 

Resolving conflict necessarily occurs one person at a time, and from the inside out. For this reason, however complex and overwhelming world problems may seem, we each have the option and responsibility to improve that which is closest to home: ourselves. By reducing internal conflict within, each of us has the potential, if only in modest ways, to reduce the conflict without. . . . 

Patricia West is author of The Common Sense Book of Change and Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change. She’s currently working on The Phoenix Response: Dying To Be Reborn – in the Same Lifetime. 

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Leadership NOW

flock

In 1983, during “getting to know you” conversations with OA (the one we respectfully called Old Avatar), he offered a choice between two avenues of service. The first was to teach, encourage and, if necessary, provide assistance. The second was to protect the innocent and those in need – to have their backs in the ongoing, multidimensional war between good and evil.

The precise technical terms he used went over my head, but I got it that he was a “universal avatar.” This is just one of his universes. (Yes indeed. Truth is sometimes way stranger than fiction.) As such, he could instruct along whatever path we chose – be it teacher, healer or spiritual warrior. His spirit was so vast and all-encompassing that anyone who sincerely asked in their hearts for wisdom could tap into his universal mind.

This isn’t to say he was without his personal ways. Though displaying genius in everything he touched, he was modest and unassuming. And great fun. He had a knack for bringing out the best in people. For about ten years during the 1990s, he focused his computer skills into building a karaoke business. Using his sound systems, even the most shy and unskilled singer magically sounded like a rock star. He used music to build community. “Clapping 101.” Encourage and support your buddies!

At the same time, on a deeper level, OA was continuously broadcasting information in all directions, throughout all time and space. Anyone open to wisdom picked up on his “thoughts.” The proof was everywhere. To me, it seemed miraculous. When he needed a better, faster computer, for example, exactly what he had “in mind” would “suddenly” appear on the market.

Many of his ideas, word for word, started to echo in the teachings of popular thought leaders. Whoever heard and followed through on his messages, he accepted his family.

Kelley Howell is surely his sister. She produces meditative tapes and CDs true to his message. One is actually called The Secret Universal Mind Meditation. OA gave me this CD, encouraging me to benefit from its use. In the rough times since his passing, I return to it often.

Another Healing Meditation available on YouTube is “ highly recommended by doctors and offered to patients at America’s most prestigious cancer treatment hospitals.”

Here is its description on amazon.com:

. . . blissful states of reverie . . . enhance immune function and activate the body’s natural healing abilities. In this quantum state of renewal, your body triggers its own powerful bio-chemicals to heal illness and cure disease. [my emphasis]

She begins with these basic facts:

Fact 1: Your body can manufacture and administer the precise balance of neurochemicals that can reverse illness and cure disease. Your body possesses the innate capacity to heal itself.

Fact 2: Science has proven, beyond doubt, that the contents of our thoughts and emotions directly and immediately influence our biochemistry.

Fact 3: You can consciously influence and direct the body’s output of healthy chemical information through meditation and visualization techniques.

Howell works in a yin, relaxation mode. Dr. Joe Dispenza repeats the same healing message in more yang, energetic meditation CDs like Blessing the Energy Centers and Walking Meditation. Both approaches use advanced sound technologies, as did OA, to amplify the affect of their words.

Now, Dr. Joe Dispenza and Gregg Braden are two of OA’s true brothers. Both are reformulating the timeless teachings. as I have also been given to do, free of the alienating overlay of corrupted abuse. Each is expanding the meaning of “science” (which simply means “with knowledge”) to include the full spectrum of not only empirical methods but also the deeper, introspective ones.

Since OA’s recent passing, I’m just now getting acquainted their work. In astonishing, synchronistic ways, each has been creating public readiness for the complimentary work I bring to the table.

For example, in a conversation in London back in 2015, the two discussed leadership, healing and physics. They intended to “paint a holistic picture of the nature of human consciousness and the potential for development.”

Gregg Braden said:

Physicists throughout the world are struggling to build a new story of you, me, our creation and the beginning of our universe, because the old story is no longer working. Science has been struggling to come up with a Unified Field Theory.

And continued:

They cannot find that unified field because their thinking . . . is incomplete. The piece they’ve left out is consciousness. (37:20) Traditionally, scientists have been reluctant or resistant to include consciousness in the Unified Theory.

I’ve supplied that missing piece, placing the variables of Einstein’s theory within the concentric circles of the Life Wheel which has appeared in sacred art throughout the world for thousands of years. The result is the Unified Field Theory Einstein already had, but missed. It is consistent with the Yoga Sutras and the Old Testament as well as with quantum physics.

PPoC

Even more exciting, this static model can be activated and personalized in countless ways to picture the fractures and distortions we bring to our personal and organizational lives. Creating new Life Wheels becomes a means for designing a better future more in alignment with original wholeness.

I will use, as an example, Braden’s observation made early in the London discussion. As previously described in Rethinking LEADERSHIP:

Gregg Branden remarked that he finds the shift towards the quantum awareness needed to create a better future MOST in the general population. Where he sees it LEAST is in the leadership of our nations.

Now, why is this? It can be pictured in terms of fragmentation and distortions of the Life Wheel. As also mentioned in that post, world leaders focus primarily at the third, solar plexus level of consciousness. To the extent they are out of touch with higher levels – disrespect or even deny the existence of love or conscience – they (and the rest of us) are in deep trouble.

People who operate primarily at the third energy center level, especially when they live an unexamined life plagued by unresolved personal issues, dominate the leadership field. Narcissism is being pinpointed by an increasing number of observers as a growing epidemic, particularly in the political area. This is probably another way of describing distorted third chaka dominance.

I pictured fractures between outer and inner life, appearances, emotions and capacity for introspection in a 2014 post, How Bad People Become Leaders. It was written in response to this question:

It seems many leadership models characterize leadership as a universal good . . [but] it’s hard to give much credence to any model that can’t explain how ‘bad people’ become leaders. What thoughts do you have on this?

I responded:

A “scientific” leadership selection process takes into account only that which is measurable, for example academic IQ. Intangibles like the presence or absence of cultivated Emotional Intelligence (street smarts) fly under the radar, as do ethical intelligence, creativity and a capacity for visionary insight.

Further:

When selectors judge only by appearances, it’s easy to deceive them. As Lincoln said, “You can fool all of the people some of some of the time, and some of the people all of the time.” Those are pretty good odds for an ambitious con artist.

I offered a picture of levels out of synch:

In a second variation, all levels of the Wheel are operational, but they operate intermittently and out of synch, each disassociated from the others. The smallest circle which represents Conscience floats outside, detached from daily experience.

Stress

On one side of the continuum, this is the picture of a hypocrite, a person who operates on one standard with close family, but on another with strangers or at work. It represents someone who presents one image to the public, but acts quite differently when others aren’t looking.

Hitler is a familiar example on the far opposite extreme. This is the picture of evil, meaning anti-life: intentionally shattering and fragmenting the creative pattern. In Positive Paradigm context, the intentions and actions of any person (or group) that destroys its own and/or threatens to annihilate enemy groups, devoid of respect for the inherent sanctity of life, are defined as evil.

The empirical science paradigm has no language or structure for recognizing such malfunctions. In contrast, the Unified Field Theory’s Life Wheel can diagnose inner dynamics. Use it to identify “bad people” and prevent them from being given leadership roles.

Put the other way, this holistic model of human potential gives us the means to understand the possibility of and therefore recreate today, the leadership ideal of Plato’s philosopher king, or to train the healer-warrior-king in-one embodied in the Old Testament’s King David.

hand up

Both Joe Dispenza and Gregg Braden contrast the old, dysfunctional competition model of leadership with the cooperative model of the future . . . our hope for survival.

At that same 2015 conference, Dr. Joe said:

We have to go after this change in the world from a different level of mind. We have to really begin to unify and the ingredient that creates that UNITY is these elevated emotions called care and kindness and love and cooperation and WHOLENESS. These are the things we should be cultivating on a moment-to-moment basis.

There you go. Heal fractures. Restore wholeness to our personal Life Wheels.

He continued:

If you begin to tap into your own potential, into your own resources, it’s going to diminish your need for things external to you. Now all of the sudden, companies and organizations that are looking for consumerism – that’s how they make a profit – are no longer going to get what they need because you’re less controlled or seduced by the conditions in your environment.

I understand that what’s coming down the pike is that there will be some chaos. But I’m also really excited. And I think that all of us on some level have negotiated to be here.

I also believe on another level that in my experience of witnessing common people doing the uncommon, of healing themselves and changing their lives and creating miraculous experiences, that we all have the resources and the ability to do that.

I’ll let OA have the last word on that one. I think he would say, “We’ll see.” Because the hidden elephant in the room, which neither of OA’s brothers-in-spirit address is the ongoing, multidimensional war between good and evil. They have chosen the easier of his two avenues of service.

Few indeed have the courage and will to embrace the second, more difficult option. BUT, as OA warned, in addition to cooperation and healing, in balance, we urgently need spiritual warriors competent to protect us as we advance into the better future that his brothers envision.

Angel Calling

What about Love?

Love is the heart of life. Naturally, life-long, I’ve sought to understand what on earth (and in heaven) the love-word means.

I’ve already posted earlier thoughts. For example, in Rethinking LOVE I wrote:

Love is the ultimate mystery. It sparks and keeps the life process going, more to be accepted and honored than psychoanalyzed. Plato described seven stages of love. Each is a rung on an evolutionary ladder which leads from a child’s love for parents, to erotic love, to friendship, and eventually the pinnacle of divine connection. These seven stages correlate exactly with the seven energy centers of yoga anatomy.

In I Want To Know What Love IS (& Isn’t), I wrote:

There was a time when, wherever I’d go, the popular Foreigner tune “I Want To Know What Love Is” was playing in the background. I shopped to it at Woodman’s grocery store. At Gold’s gym, I showered and dressed to the sound of the same music. While I waited in line at the local Subway for my six inch sandwich on honey-oat bread with tuna, provolone cheese and veggies . . . again, the same song.

I wanna know what love is.
I want you to show me.
I wanna feel what love is.
I know you can show me.

If it wasn’t that, then it was the Jennings/Winwood song, “Higher Love.”

Think about it: There must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above.
Without it, life is wasted time.
Worlds are turning and we’re just hanging on.

We walk blind, we try to see,
Falling behind in what could be.

I took it as a cosmic hint. Pay attention to this universal need, and the ways we sing about our searchings.

Attempting to comprehend how people can possibly apply the same love-word to such a broad range of contradictory behaviors, I located what I’ve experienced within the spectrum of energy centers. Plugged in to the Life Wheel of Einstein’s intuited Unified Field Theory, with the crowning pinnacle being Divine Connection (Higher Love), it looks like this:

 

LoveLadder.sized

You might find it useful to know a bit about the personal experiences that led to this understanding. I count five significant love relationships, each a stepping stone to the next.

First there was Beecher. I was a high school senior. He had already graduated college as a physics major and worked at a prestigious research firm. He had plenty of money to spend on fun dates, a fancy sports car, and a suave manner about him. He found me fascinating, which I found flattering. Near the end of the school year, after I’d already been accepted at Oberlin, the college of my dreams, he asked me to marry him. I didn’t need time to think about it. I told him flat out never to ask again. I had an inner sense of destiny — of an as-yet unknown calling. Forfeiting college for an early marriage wasn’t it. That was easy.

Within the Life Wheel, this experience fell on the positive side, primarily on the material level. Kindness and consideration were present, though not its focus. Encouragement was lacking, nor did I feel protected. The possibility of higher love never occurred to either of us.

Second was David. From the start, I was stuck on his name. My hero grandfather, beloved younger brother and two cousins were all named David. It was the name of my idealized biblical figure, King David, who combined the aspects of healer-warrior-king all-in-one.

This David, a dazzlingly gifted pianist and conductor, came into my life during my Freshman year at Oberlin. He was a blond, lion-maned, flamboyant Leo. I was his compliment, a gentle and quiet brunette — a Jungian “dark” Leo. We set each other off like fire-works. He courted me with red roses, music and poetry. We adored each other.

Sadly, he was damaged by childhood abuse, seemingly beyond repair. I met him at the time of a prior girlfriend’s horrifically hurtful suicide. Then a scheming female got her hooks into him. She seduced him into a marriage which he instantly regretted. But I would not take him back.

There was an element of fate at work. Even after college, David kept reappearing. He instinctively found ways to locate me, and always at a vulnerable time of transition.

I agonized on and off again through many twists and turns over the span of more than twenty years. Only through repeated self-analysis did I come to recognize the power he held over me, the lessons to be learned, and finally get free for good. In essence, I had projected all my gifts onto him. The lesson was to take back my power, and however modestly, own in myself the virtues I saw in him.

Within the Life Wheel, despite its emotional highs, this experience fit predominantly on the left, negative side — a mix of romance, sentimentality and violent possessiveness.

Third was George. He came into my life after David’s marriage. It was a rebound swing to the opposite extreme. He was balding, bland, and boring. He offered stability. Although we talked about love and marriage, there was no spark. The major up-side for me was that his presence in my life kept my parents off my back. They liked him.

It ended when I was awarded a NDEA Title III Fellowship to complete a Ph.D. in English Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I phoned him up with the news, ecstatic. He broke up with me on the spot, saying it meant I was smarter than him, which he couldn’t bear. After initial shock came relief. No great loss.

Within the Life Wheel, security-based love was focused on the material outermost rim though, to his credit, he was always kind to me.

The greatest disappointment from George-time came from a conversation with Mom a few months after the break-up. She commented that she hadn’t heard much about him lately. I told her why. She actually sneered. “Good for him,” she said. “Serves you right.”

That relationship didn’t even register on the chart. Though she went through the motions, her heart wasn’t in it. Was her harshness a factor in my father’s suicide? I was only six at the time, so only God knows for sure. My ultimate solution to that loss: turning to God, as Christ did, as my true Father.

Fourth was Swami Rama. The training in yoga science and philosophy was invaluable. However, he wasn’t what he seemed. The world saw a highly accomplished performer. But behind the mask of a celibate holy man. he was a serial rapist, financial con artist and ruthless deceiver — living proof of the maxim, “The larger front, the larger back.” For too long, he got away with abusing energy sciences to exploit unsuspecting students. Bottom line: I learned valuable, undoubtedly necessary life lessons and was then released to move on.

Where would I place this experience within the Life Wheel? Despite the swami’s seductive promises of love and help, it registered exclusively on the left-hand side, fluctuating between lust, domination, lies and oppression.

Fifth. By comparison, earlier relationships heightened my appreciation of OA. No status and adventure. No flaming, heart-breaking romance. No social stability. No two-faced “spirituality.” He was the real deal. Magical – full of healing, wisdom, wacky humor and an incredible, unearthly sweetness. He too loved God as his Father and, like the good angels, acknowledged Christ as his lord and master.

OA breathed a natural genius into whatever he touched. Some praised his incredible memory, but I suspect he was dipping into akashic records with the same intelligence he applied to physical computers, instantly retrieving whatever information he called forth. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel that such a soul ever walked this earth, much less that I was allowed the opportunity to make his last days easier.

His influence spanned the entire field, on the right-hand, positive side of the Life Wheel. As I told Old Avatar, in him I’d won the lottery of life. He knew and showed us what Higher Love IS.

Angel Calling

 

Knowledge, Information & Genius

e = mc2

Where did Einstein’s famous formula e = mc2 come from?

He freely admitted it wasn’t the everyday, rational mind. It came to him unexpectedly, in a moment of revere. He was inspired.

So, what is inspiration? And can the rest of us tap into that level of awareness? If so, how?

Break the word down into its parts. In-spire. Surely breathing in and spiraling upwards has something to do with it.

Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural offers practical, science-based methods for tapping in to inspiration. With breathing and meditative practices based Einstein’s vision of quantum reality, he teaches students how to access the field of energy and information. When scientists began studying the sub-atomic world, he says:

They found that atoms, the building blocks of everything in the physical universe, are made up of a nucleus surrounded by a large field containing one or more electrons. This field is so large in comparison with the tiny electrons that it appears to be 99.99999999999 percent empty space.

But, he continues,

The space isn’t actually empty. It’s made up of a vast array of energetic frequencies that make up an invisible, interconnected field of information. . . So everything in our known universe, although it may appear to be solid, is actually 99.99999999999 percent energy or information. {my emphasis}

Now, wrap your head around that one for a minute. The awesome implications packed into this statement have been left pretty much up to our imagination.

Let’s explore. (Please stay with me to the end. I guarantee it’s worth it.)

I want to know, What kinds of information? Where does it come from? What is its source? How are we able to receive and then transform it into language and understanding?

Leaving these questions aside, Dr. Joe directs his attention towards meditative practices designed to raise and transform energy. The purpose is get tangible results that change the future.

I’ve watched numerous of the fascinating testimonials available on Youtube. Students of all ages, genders and many nationalities tell emotional stories of life-changing healings experienced during his week-long workshops. Their reports fill in some of the blanks, answering some of my questions.

More than once, participants described the presence of angels actively participating in miraculous healings. The comment was made that Dr. Joe’s work is making waves “out there,” creating interest and attention from the “higher ups.”

My understanding is that angels serve as messengers. Various on-line dictionaries I checked are more specific. An angel is a “spiritual being superior to humans in power and intelligence.” Angels, they say, act as messengers from God to men, or as agents who carry out His will.

It would seem that the vast amount of information moving about in the quantum field gets channeled or directed, if you will, via intelligent non-physical beings attracted by our desires, prayers, or conscious intention. The ordinary mind images this transfer of information in terms of the familiar– radiant beings with wings.

I’m not too keen on the theology side of this. But the messenger idea seems right. Einstein was visited by an angel who heard his prayers and supplied answers to passionately asked questions during a quiet moment when he was open to receive them.

Angel Calling

Now. Do you believe in angels?

I do.

I didn’t always.

Even into my middle twenties, I didn’t believe in God, much less angels. I didn’t disbelieve. I simply had no direct experience. Nor did it seem to matter much. I was satisfied to live by the old saying, “The reward for a good life is a good life.”

I was trusting and fearless back then, probably more than was wise. As a violinist, I traveled alone to classes and concerts throughout the United States and Europe. It was quite the adventure! Wherever I went, people always appeared to supply the directions, assistance and company I needed to get where I was going safely and enjoyably.

Later, when I later told OA (the one we respectfully called Old Avatar), about these adventures, he smacked his forehead in disbelief. “Your guardian angels were working overtime,” he said.

Though I remembered his words, the implications didn’t register right away. I didn’t take him literally, nor did I ask what he meant.

Today, looking back, I’m sure that during the years when I didn’t know better, my guardian angels used the I Ching, the Chinese Book of Change, to get through to me. What I called intuitive knowing received during quiet-time readings got me safely through the dangerous, hard times. Angelic help came to me in the familiar form I respectfully accepted. (Being free of human ego issues, they’re not interested in receiving credit, only in helping as they’re allowed.) I have no doubt angels communicate through whatever means they can to reach us . . . the Bible, teachers, adventure movies, nature walks . . whatever grabs our willing, open attention.

angel-sized

Now, can we assume, as I did, that the invisible agents supplying information are friendly? That was certainly my early experience.

In fact, once I started reading the Bible, I posted Psalm 91, attributed to my healer-warrior-king ideal, King David, in my notebooks, over my work desk and on the wall by the drawing table to imprint his powerfully protective words indelibly in my mind. Angels are integral to his reality:

9. Because thou has made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation;

10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

But OA, my warrior-teacher-best friend, gave me stern caution, reminding me of the flip side possibilities:

11. Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians

The war in heaven playing out, fractile-like, on Earth, was intensely real to him. His connection with Jesus the Christ was profoundly deep, personal and direct. OA confirmed the biblical account of a rebellious faction that refused to acknowledge Christ’s rulership over the angels. Given this division, we can’t safely assume angels are friendly. There are also demons.

Surely the angels attracted to Dr. Joe’s healing sessions love Christ. And healing is central to his legacy. During his life time, Christ drove demons out of afflicted humans to heal them of disease:

18. And they that were vexed with unclean spirits . . . were healed.

19. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. Luke 6

Dr. Joe speaks to a broad, international audience, many of whom work in the medical field. Most are unfamiliar, as I long was, with the experience of angels. So, prudently, he speaks about accessing information available in the quantum field without using the “angel” word. Students also speak in terms borrowed from literature and psychology.

For example, Norbert, who attended a workshop in Berlin, wanted to get free of violent, uncontrollable behavior that dismayed and embarrassed him. Sometimes, he said, he was a nice, kind person. Other times, he was consumed with rage. Referring to Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, he described himself as a Jekyll and Hyde. Snarling, he bared his teeth. It was scary.

But in working to increase self-awareness, he identified an early experience that had been distorted and magnified into a gigantic, tumor-like trauma which generated unbearable feelings of unworthiness and vengefulness. Releasing misinformation and childish emotions from his quantum field restored peace and unity to his life.

Zadkiel - sized

In less optimal situations, when angels and guides present themselves, OA told me to ask, “Whom do you serve?” If they don’t answer saying “Christ,” if they shrink from that name, then you know they aren’t good guys. Without hesitation, send them packing on their way. Command them, “Get thee behind me.” Walk away and don’t look back.

Michael - sized

In conclusion, I’ll offer four brief points to round out the subject of “knowledge and information.”

First, many whose loved ones have crossed over receive comforting information or even warnings from them. This experience confirms traditional beliefs that after separating from the physical shell, soul essence continues to exist in the quantum field. (Think of Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoppi Goldberg in the 1990 movie Ghost).

One Dispenza student testified that she came to his workshop to open her mind. Unable to communicate with her deceased husband, she dearly wanted make contact. Eventually, she was joyfully able to establish a loving, supportive connection.

I know this to be a very real possibility. OA recently returned home to work directly with his “drinking buddies,” the archangels. From the far side, he continues his work, making just a little bit more time for those committed to completing the work on this side. He’s present with me in all I do, most especially in the writing.

Second, don’t worship angels. That is a mistake. They are only messengers. Suffice it to say here that they aren’t the source of information or blessings, just conduits. We can thank them for their service with gratitude. But they’re not to be defied.

Third, Dr. Joe speaks to a general audience, many of whom work within the medical field and are unfamiliar, as I long was, with the existence of angels. So he speaks and writes in terms of the familiar. However, others teachers doing similar work are in a position to be more up front about their contact with healing angels. Two shining examples are Melanie Tonia Evans and Sarah Hall.

Melanie Tonia Evans has done a remarkable job of working with empaths. She’s a close associate of Dr. Christiane Northrup, but her specific mission is to heal and empower victims of narcissistic abuse. In addition to offering many insightful Youtube videos, she offers a complete course called the Narcissistic Abuse Recover Program (NARP) and membership in her Thriver Community. She speaks freely of receiving divine inspiration from her inner core, and refers to the healing presence of angels throughout her work modules. Thousands world-wide offer high praise for her compassionate, life-saving work.

For those already engaged in spiritual practices and comfortable with angel work, Youtube videos offered by Sarah Hall are powerfully helpful. In them, she recommends routine practices of energetic self-maintenance. These include chakra cleansing, cord cutting, and shielding. With these in mind, I recommend Meditation for Self Love, Psychic Protection with Archangel Michael, and Meditation for Healing with Archangel Raphael.

Fourth, although the two words Knowledge and Information are often paired, technically, they aren’t the same. The differences are important. Knowledge is acquired externally, from the outside world. It fits within the outermost rim — material facts layer of the multi-dimensional Life Wheel. Knowing (information) is internally received. It comes from and resides deeper within the Energy and Light levels of the Life Wheel.

When our energy centers (chakras) are aligned and balanced, it becomes possible to transform intuitive non-verbal knowing received in silence into language — articulate knowledge. This ability is called Genius. Einstein had occasional flashes of this gift.

If you’d like to know more, I wrote a guest article on the difference . Here’s a snippet from it:

Inspired authors are well aware of the important difference between Knowledge and Knowing.

Knowledge most often comes from daily experience, and is subject to change.

Growing up, we first gain what we know about the world from parents or guardians. Later, school teachers, neighbors and peers are added to the knowledge mix. Books and media are also important influences. In combination, these forces solidify to form a mental box of ‘cultural conditioning.’

Knowing, on the other hand, comes from an inner connection with the Universal Source (call it by whatever name – or no name – works best for you).

Knowing can be experienced as intuition, guidance, or conscience. It is a close cousin to the common sense or gut feelings which instinctively warn us to think twice about information supplied by expert authorities. Fluid thinking outside the box comes from the perspective of inner knowing.

book header bird

I hope you’ve found this helpful. At least, let it plant a seed in your mind, making you more open to and aware of what’s possible when you dare to enter the quantum field of reality.

Critical Mass

debate sized

Three separate threads weaving in escalating intensity over the past weeks are resolving now, forming a fabric greater than the individual parts.

Here I’ll briefly describe the parts and how each illumines the others.

First, throughout, I was listening along with the one respectfully called Old Avatar to YouTube videos published by KrisAnne Hall and her husband/co-host, Pastor J.C. Hall at Liberty First University. (I would prefer Truth First, but that’s just me.)

In any case, their mission is to educate Americans about the Constitution. In the process, they analyze current events by that standard. How true are the actions of government officials, elected or appointed, to the Constitution they’re sworn to uphold?

Not a pretty picture.

Increasingly curious, OA went to original sources for first hand answers. First he read a through a collection of the Federalist Papers written in support of ratifying the Constitution.

Critical thinker that he is, OA was impressed, but also found flaws in their reasoning. He wanted to know what arguments were made by the Anti-Federalists – those who opposed ratification. So we found two volumes which present both sides of the coin, pro and con, side by side – not exactly easy reading : )

Book on Debate

“Some say God smiled on the Founders. Ratification was a miracle,” he winked.

“How is that,” I asked. “Were the Founders were so flawed that coming to agreement seemed impossible?”

“Something like,” he answered. “You know,” he added. “You’re the one who’s so interested in intentional communities. That’s what creating the Union was about. On a large scale.”

“Wow! I never thought of it that way before. But you’re right!”

OA is a man of few words. Usually, he keeps opinions to himself. But recently he took exception to a program where the Halls, outraged, exposed a pattern of abuse by federal officials. Members of both parties systematically steal tax payer monies, living like royalty, impoverishing those they only claim to serve.

“This was exactly what the Anti-Federalists foresaw,” he pointed out. According to them, it was only a matter of time until the country would come full circle, back to the critical mass of power abuse which drove colonists to separate from England. Back to another revolt.

“Why not contact the Halls,” I asked. “Ask them to comment on the Anti-Federalist papers and their concerns.” He declined, doubting they are ready to admit we’ve arrived at that point.

A second thread, over the past week-end, was the converging holidays of Easter and Passover. Passover marks the exodus of slaves from Egypt. (“Set my people free.”) Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, freeing humans from the heavy burden of past sin. Both holidays repeat the pattern of yearning for freedom from oppression — a pattern of sacrifices made to throw off the yoke of enslavement, whether internal or  external.

These same yearnings were reflected in the passionate forces that drove the debate over the Constitution’s ratification.

At one point, looking up from his book, OA commented, “This speech was really dramatic.” He continued, “The founders were totally committed – emotionally, financially. They put everything on the line. They knew how high the stakes were. They were willing to sacrifice everything to prevent falling back into the same mistakes that drove them to leave Europe, to create a form of government that would not drag their heirs down back into the same pit.”

He shook his head. “They were idealists,” he said. “Optimists.”

The ratification went forward only because Anti-Federalist fears were respected by adding the Bill of Rights.”

“What happened,” I asked. “What went wrong?”

“People got lazy. It is impossible to live continuously on the razor’s edge, perpetually alert and on the lookout for danger. They went back to their ordinary lives. They got immersed in farming, running businesses and raising families.”

“They let things slide,” I said. “It’s an I Ching thing. The zenith of achievement doesn’t last forever. Success has to be maintained with constant vigilance and adjustments. Over time things naturally degenerate. No legislation can prevent unraveling. The cause is deeper. Metaphysical.”

“The Founders knew that,” he responded.

“But people got stupid,” he continued. “This has been a problem from the beginning of time. Even Samuel Adams, who was supposed to be this great defender of liberty. He got stupid. He listened to his wife yapping in his ear. To protect his pride, prevent others from accomplishing what he failed to do, he passed detrimental laws against negotiating with foreign nations that have not to this day been repealed. He lost perspective. He got caught up in the illusion of his own self-importance.”

“Yes.”

And then the third strand. We have followed the Parkland shooting and its aftermath, getting increasingly more suspicious. It looks more and more like a set up.

The shooting itself was long foreseen: eminently and egregiously preventable. From start to finish, response by law enforcement was botched beyond belief. The protests which followed have played out like a badly written grade-B movie, tailored to extremists’ ends, designed to escalate public opinion towards critical mass.

David Hogg, a self-proclaimed student representative, is remarkably uneducated either by schooling or experience. He is illiterate, unable to navigate the basics of English grammar. He demonstrates ZERO understanding of the history behind the hard-won Bill of Rights. Nor does he have a clue about the critical difference between a democracy and a republic. (He asserts, “Our parents don’t know how to use a f***ing democracy.”)

Substituting posturing and self-righteous self-pity for genuine passion, DH projects an intensity of rage and hatred that triggers equal animosity in return. Tweets pun on the animal connotations of his last name (“media hog,” “piglet,” etc.).

And then, there’s the irony of his first name, David, a personal hero of mine. Nor was the biblical comparison lost on mainstream media. “David Hogg Took On His Own Media Goliath,” reads one headline.

But the original David fought in the Name of the Lord. This pawn of Soros-driven media is the antithesis of the biblical King David.

For example, DH declared all-out war on Laura Ingraham, vengefully demanding that her advertisers jump ship. (How is this for disrespecting First Amendments rights, much less the Second?) He along with far-left supporters were all too quick in the attempt to ruin someone who simply happened to disagree with him.

Yet in the same breath, he had the gall to turn around and claim the higher ground of civility.

Ben Shapiro rightly nailed this blatant hypocrisy. “You don’t get to play the LOVE THY NEIGHBOR Card.” DH pretending to represent Christ’s new law is obscene.

The timing of the shooting aftermath resonated with holy week themes. Notably, Laura Ingraham picked up on Easter implications. At the start of her week vacation, she tweeted out Psalm 143, a Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies, reminding her followers of the true David, forefather of Christ.

For thy name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In thy righteousness bring me out of trouble!

Even the KrisAnne Hall and her husband at Liberty University picked up on the irony. They commented that David Hogg, a puppet of anti-constitutional forces, is “driving his generation over a precipice.”

Phoenix - sized

So. Where does all this leave us now? In the cycles of history, are we again reaching the point of critical mass? Historians repeatedly point out similarities between the fall of the Roman Empire and the current state of the U.S. Stefan Molyneux recently described an End of the Empire.

Those on the far-left would have us believe that the U.S. Constitution is an outdated document, along with the faith of the Founders who debated it with such fierce passion.

But I would answer, The American Constitution along with its Bill of Rights represent a passion for Freedom and yes, Truth, far deeper than any historical event or physical political document. Even if  today’s brainwashed, woefully misled youth have forgotten its origins and timeless significance, the ultimate concerns of mankind, remain constant and valid — what psychologists call “archetypal.” It is the underlying belief in the “American dream” of freedom — not just material wealth –which has inspired sincere aspirants from every nation to relinquish their past in the quest for a better life. (Dinesh d’Souza’s story comes to mind.)

I think about the I Ching view of the hope which remains latent even in degeneration. Just as Christ appeared at the nadir of an earlier cycle, ushering in a ray of hope, the vigilant today will recognize the seeds of possibility present, however dormant, in current ugly times.

IC 49

In this context, foresight and preparing are essential to deciding the direction of long-term outcomes. (Remember Joseph in Egypt storing grain during times of plenty, anticipating future famine.)

Further, recognizing what America’s great constitutional debate has to teach us now about immediate dangers might be helpful in building future alternative communities.

“Is it time to think about a Fresh Start,” I asked OA. “After critical mass, will we begin another cycle and rebuild even better?” He answered with a silent shrug, seeming to imply, “Too early to tell. The jury is still out. Depends on . . .”

Technically, I suppose, each and every day offers us the opportunity for a fresh start. . . . one individual at a time. It’s a matter of personal choice.

So here is the immediate question. What is YOUR choice, today?

Angel Calling

Hidden in Plain Sight

yoga image

Here, Yoda’s words of warning are wise, but by no means complete.

Pride, for example, is left out of the mix. So are ignorance and insecurity.

As to the cause and effects of suffering, I couldn’t tell you. It seems to me a bit like the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Maybe they’re interactive, lined up like a wall of domino pieces.

In any case, we’re still stuck with the question of how to get clear of the whole mess, much less avoid it in the first place. Self-improvement teachers have a variety of different answers to offer.

But ideologues take a different tack. “Life is inherently unfair,” they argue. Placing the blame, for them, is easy: “Human systems are a fault.” Their solution? Easy. “Smash them.”

Never mind the inevitable consequences of playing out anger and hate: still more suffering. As the song goes, “’Once the rockets go up, who cares where they come down? That’s not my department,’ says Werner von Braun.”

But today I’m focused on the biblical view of suffering.

Solomon summed it up. “To everything there is a season.” The pairs of opposites – gain and loss, pain and pleasure – are natural parts of life. Over the long term, they pretty much balance out.

Now, it’s easy to love life and believe in God when things are going your way. It’s when things get rough that trust, faith and commitments are put to the test. The proof of sincerity is steadfastness during the rough times.

The Book of Job is a story of steadfast faith. Hidden in plain sight, it echoes the key to overcoming suffering found throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Summing up my understanding of the story, the most righteous of men, Job, was equally prosperous in the world. But little by little, his assets failed, hitting ever closer and closer to home. In the balance, the greater the gifts the greater the opposite and equal responsibilities and related tests.

During this tail spin, he groans in misery. But never gives up the faith.

He dialogues with wordy critics who question the grounds of his faith. Misfortune, they say, is a sign that God has abandoned him, if there were such an entity to begin with. (Temptations of the ideologue are nothing new.)

Job’s steadfast response, as materials goods, family and finally physically health fall away is this:

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Long story short, for holding fast to faith, in God’s time, Job is restored. Health, family and goods are returned to him in even greater measure than before.

What is that Name of the Lord??? This is important. For Job is not the only one who calls on the name in trouble. David called upon this name in facing Goliath. It is key in Psalm 91, the warrior’s psalm. The Lord’s Prayer given by Christ as the right way to pray also invokes that name. It is a mystery well worth seeking to its heart.

The boy David draws his courage from the name in facing the monster Goliath:

Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (1 Samuel 17:45)

From Psalm 91: 14-15

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

And the Lord’s Prayer given by Christ begins:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Now, that name is a sacred vehicle. It carries the faithful, quite literally, from surface through the trials and tests of the middle realm safe home. .. . and back again. Christ, like Job, traveled and returned to example the way open to all of us with the steadfast love, trust and faith to face up when called to sacrifice and answer, Thy will be done.

It looks like this:

JOB

Now there’s even more to the mystery. The letters the spell out Christ’s name and those of the Father’s are identical, except for one additional letter placed in the center:

The Hebrew letter Shin represents the ‘eternal flame’ and ‘root of fire’ . Inserted in the middle of the name for God, it gives us the Hebrew name for Jesus–YHSVH (Yod Hey Shin Vav Hey) –commonly pronounced “Yesh-u-ah”.

Saving the Best

Here’s a confirmation, from the December 3 page of Jesus Calling.

When you find yourself in the thick of battle, call upon My Name: “Jesus help me!” In that instant, the battle becomes Mine; your role is simply to trust Me as I fight for you.

My Name, properly used, has unlimited Power to bless and protect.

Angel Calling

If these words resonate with you, please share them to magnify the effect.

Be a Warrior, NOT a Monster

Here I must make an exception to my usual rule, “Take the best. Leave the rest.”

As a reminder, here’s the Take the Best standard:

In reading opinion and even “how to” pieces, I recommend the 30/70 principle. With careful attention and a little bit of luck, it’s possible to extract the 30-percent value from the 70-percent rubbish in which its embedded.

At Oberlin, where I had the good fortune to attend college, this process was described in agricultural terms: “sifting and winnowing.” Founders probably had a biblical allusion in mind: the end-time sorting of wheat from chaff.

Were it not so over-used, “discrimination” in its original meaning would be another way to put it.

From Rethinking Survival:

I’ve come to recognize that it’s ideas — usually unconsciously held in the form of automatic-pilot, programmed assumptions — which drive decisions, actions and ultimately, survival options. Even with the best of intentions, people who operate on incomplete, inaccurate and conflicting beliefs undo themselves and harm others .. .

Sadly, I now recognize that Jordan B. Peterson is no exception. On one point in particular, he is dead and dangerously WRONG!

He claims that everyone is a potential monster. Each of us, in certain circumstances, would behave no differently than sadistic Nazi prison guards.

Here, briefly, is how he arrived at that conclusion. He recognized that potential in himself. In reading Jung, he came to mistakenly equate the experience of evil impulses with the “unconscious” shadow side of the human psyche. Ergo, since we all are in part unconscious, we are all in part evil.

Now, his experience of cruel impulses and his buying into Jung’s confusions about the “shadow” are his own personal problems.

I draw the line, however, when he uses his bully pulpit as professor and now media rock star to mislead sincere young people (primarily men). Like the Evil Emperor, he is seducing potential heroes like Luke Skywaker to the dark side of the force.

He asserts as if undeniable fact that we are all intrinsically capable of evil. To deny the dark, shadow, evil side of oneself is self-deception. It is foolish and naive – the mark of victims.

This assumption is so repugnant to me that I asked for OA’s opinion. He shook his head, No. Sadistic Nazi guards, he said, were the ones who as young boys tore the wings off flies and tortured their pet dogs. To the contrary, for example, forensic researchers who studied the remains of America’s Civil War battlefields found that frequently, dead soldiers carried fully loaded weapons on their bodies. Killing a fellow human being was apparently so unacceptable that they preferred to go down without firing a shot. That’s closer to the “norm.”

Yet Dr. Peterson insists on instructing students that they must accept and integrate into their personalities evil (a.k.a. the shadow dark side) as part of their essence. I say, NO! Light is our true and universal essence. To repeat from Be an Instrument of Light:

God is not and could not possibly be dead.

Being made in the image of God,

YOU are the living proof of God’s existence.

The truth cannot be altered. Each of us is the embodied form of a musical instrument. Even if, for any multitude of reasons, your light is switched off right now, you still have the innate potential to conduct electricity (energy, prana, chi) that in turn transforms into light.

The problem lies in the abuse of God-given Free Will. Perversions of our essential nature – including gratuitous cruelty – are the cumulative result of bad decisions made over a very long period of time.

Dr. Peterson’s way to prevent acting out evil is to “tell the truth.” But what does he mean by truth? Does it mean point an accusatory finger outwards towards others to expose their faults? Exposing problems within human institutions?

Or does he point the finger inwards towards his own (and by extension, everyone’s) limitations? Admitting fears, rage, resentments and malevolent intentions driven by envy and greed is NOT divine Truth – certainly not the truth intended when Christ said, I am the Truth and the Way. Far from it.

OA calls identifying with personal limitations “Honest Bullshit.” The Herculean solution is to clean out the Aegean horse stables – releasing negativity to restore underlying, fundamental, universal Truth. Clean out the inner emotional swamp. Just as sculptors chip away at a block of stone to reveal the figure hidden within it, so true teachers show us how to shed human dross and release inborn greatness.

This admittedly “hyper-verbal” professor is fiercely passionate, apparently sincere and highly entertaining in the delivery of false ideas. His personal magnetism – his manly panache – distracts away from critical analysis.

Here’s why I make my exception to the Take the Best rule. While I appreciate the value of Dr. Peterson’s  work, this one point is too dangerous to give a pass. It’s one thing to admit his potential for malevolence. That’s between him and God.

It’s quite another to thing say that, by extension, because he has cruel tendencies, EVERYONE does. That cruelty is innate — part of our essence. DEAD WRONG. Worse, he says we should actually cultivate it in ourselves as if owing it is the only way to recognize it and thereby prevent being victimized. “Be the baddest ass on the block to scare off wanna-be bullies.”

Dr. Peterson holds Disney’s Simba, the Lion King, up as an example to follow. Simba grows into a King, all right. King of the beasts. But there’s much much more to humans than that bestial component! Worse, he repeatedly states that you must develop your inner monster – your inner psychopath – grow TEETH, as if two wrongs make a right. NOOOOO. Two wrongs do not make a right. To the contrary, they magnify and compound the depths of evil.

Quite simply, Jung was probably advising us to make the unconscious conscious. Fine. Granted. But this process has nothing to do with mistakenly integrating hidden demons into our personality. Nor does it sanction acting them out. I doubt this Dr. Peterson’s intention. But it’s too easy, out of context, to misconstrue his meaning.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I think what Dr. Peterson intends to recommend is that we become WARRIORS. Fierce. Competent. Able to protect ourselves and others from seductive evil.

That I can identify with and wholeheartedly recommend. In fact, it’s a frequent theme.

OA . . . described the necessary role of a “righteous warrior,” one who has the back of true peace makers. A farmer plows his field, plants and harvests his crops. He teaches his children, loves his family, and mends his fences. Day in and out, he does whatever it takes to support those he loves. And when an enemy approaches his gate, he defends them with his life. It’s all woven into the single fabric of life.

And what protections against monstrousness does a righteous warrior bring to the ongoing battles of daily life? The weapons of light – the equivalent of Luke Skywalker’s light saber, designed to defeat darkness. Members of every American military branch know this. They choose wisely, every day, living by scripture, making incrementally correct choices in every area of their lives.

They live, for example, by Psalm 91, Psalm 144, and Ephesians 6: 10-18.

The opening verse of Psalm 91 offers a radically different understanding of “the shadow.” It is worth your careful thought:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

The opening verse of Psalm 144 is also an eye-opener:

Blessed be the Lord my strength

which teacheth my hands to war,

and my fingers to fight:

Warriors for countless generations have suited up for battle in the full armor of God described in Ephesians.

righteous warrior

 

11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15.  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16.  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18.  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints . .

This is the tradition which Jesus, as a practicing Jew who kept the sabbath, told us he came to fulfill.

Now, Dr. Peterson is rightly obsessed with how to stop genocides from recurring. Hitler, Stalin and Mao might well be precursors of far worse in the works. He’s got the problem right. But solutions remain where they have been since the times of Moses and later, King David:

Dr. Peterson is looking to Abraham right now, possibly because he was the progenitor of three major religions currently engaged in mutual self-destruction.

But I’m more interested in King David, who, like Christ was born in Bethlehem, and who as young shepherd was anointed by the prophet Samuel as future king. The point in time that’s appropriate to us now, I think, is the confrontation between the boy David and the giant Goliath. Today, this might represent individuals of good will in the face of impending totalitarian global government.

What’s important here is that David exemplifies acting from a complete and accurate paradigm. He acted fearlessly on the belief that “God is with me.” With a single shot to the center of the giant’s forehead (not coincidentally seat of the third eye), he brought the monster down.

David trusted that he was not alone. He “knew” exactly where to aim. His vision was clearly focused on his target (light). He had the vigor (energy) and physical strength (mass) as well as coordination (unity) to overcome the fearsome obstacle that threatened to annihilate him and enslave his people.

It is surely no accident that Patton, the general who stopped Hitler, quoted scriptures like a bishop, knew Shakespeare’s verse by heart.

To repeat,

What’s needed now, OA told me, isn’t pacifists. Trying to reason with an evil enemy is like pissing on a forest fire. What we need now is a generation of warrior monks. Though they serve wisely, with peace in their hearts, at the same time they’re ever alert – competent to protect against intruders, whatever the level.

OA continued, People misconstrue the words, “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” No fault or prohibition is implied. A soldier who fights for a living hopes to retire and die in bed. A righteous warrior, however, fights the good fight right up to the last breath. It isn’t a reproach to say he’ll die by the sword. Standing firm in his truth even to the very end earns him an honorable and worthy death.

Phoenix - sized

Here’s a hint. Though not an excuse, Dr. Peterson’s metaphysical /logical insufficiencies are the symptomatic, even  inevitable result of operating from an incomplete, flat and linear false paradigm. It is highly unlikely he would make the same recommendations if he were better in-formed. Were he operating from the complete Life Wheel, he would better understand where Truth resides, what unconscious shadows are about, and how monsters are made.

He owes it to himself, his beloved family, and the countless fans who hang on his every word to get it right.

Angel Calling

 

 

 

Paradigms Are a Matter of Life or Death

Jordan B. Peterson, psychologist, truth-sayer and rock star of recent months, said that the most important work that can be done is establishing the relationship between belief systems and the outcomes they generate. I agree.

BECAUSE:

It doesn’t help to tell people to follow their dreams, to be the best they can be, or that nothing is impossible with the right attitude. When they live in societies that enforce limiting, false beliefs, they are (so to speak) paddling upstream in a leaky canoe without oars.

If you thinking you can wish on a star and get what you want, whenever you want it, with no concept of history, you’re in for a rude shock or two. Easy times are over.

If you think it’s possible to eliminate irrational hatreds and eradicate self-serving prejudice with logic and love alone, you’ll have as much success as a man pissing on a forest fire.

Here are (just a few) examples of disastrous results that flow from static, incomplete and incorrect paradigms:

People who live in the poverty of a flattened, empirical science belief system are being told, in effect, by their parents, educators and political leaders that they don’t (and shouldn’t) exist. That only their physical appearance, social status and material possessions matter. Wonder why suicide rates are so high? Or that respect for authority is at an all time low? Or that government corruption is rampant? Or that underworld violence is escalating over the top? (Surely you can add to the list.)

Deny inner emotional levels of the Life Wheel. Suffocate innate impulses to play and seek adventure. Ridicule innermost intimations of immorality and highest aspirations. Starve people of meaning and joy in the name of duty and obligations to serve the collective. That’s the sure recipe for destruction of highest magnitude. It begins one destroyed individual at a time. And ends with the collapse of whole civilizations.

The only way out of this madness is to restore a complete and accurate paradigm. Acknowledge the multi-dimensional quality of life – the inherent pattern of perfection – which is everyone’s inalienable birthright.

Further, the Life Wheel doubles as a time clock. You need to know not only who you are, but where you stand. The precise point in the cycles of history you’re in right now tells you the specific dangers and opportunities open to you NOW.

For example, the biblical stories which Dr. Peterson recommends as Maps of Meaning show repeating cycles of events. Which of these stories apply to us NOW? More specifically, which point in time within those stories is relevant?

Dr. Peterson is looking to Abraham right now, possibly because he was the progenitor of three major religions currently engaged in mutual self-destruction.

But I’m more interested in King David, who, like Christ, was born in Bethlehem, and who as a young shepherd was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be future king. The point in time that’s appropriate to us now, I think, is the confrontation between the boy David and the giant Goliath. Today, this might represent individuals of good will in the face of impending totalitarian global government.

What’s important here is that David exemplifies acting from a complete and accurate paradigm. He acted fearlessly on the belief that “God is with me.” With a single shot to the center of the giant’s forehead (not coincidentally seat of the third eye), he brought the monster down.

David trusted that he was not alone. He “knew” exactly where to aim. His vision was clearly focused on his target (light). He had the vigor (energy) and physical strength (mass) as well as coordination (unity) to overcome the fearsome obstacle that threatened to annihilate him and enslave his people.

There are other biblical figures who at critical points in their cyclical (hero’s journey) experience, are being picked up upon as useful role models. One is Noah anticipating the flood. Another is Joseph at the time he foresaw and was allowed to prepare for times of famine.

There’s Moses at the critical time when the Angel of Death upon the Land of Egypt passed over the homes of the faithful.

And then there’s Job, the model of faith enduring to the end and being restored, even better than before. The phoenix image.

Here’s the secret to be gleaned from this story, illumined by the infinity symbol that links the levels of the Life Wheel. Job says, “The Lord giventh.” This is the outward, materializing movement from center to surface of the Wheel. “And The Lord taketh away.” This is the receding path of return to center. In all, “Blessed be the NAME of the Lord.” The Logos. Think Indy Jones in the Grail movie, the Last Crusade. The receding steps leading to treasure are marked with the Hebrew letters that spell out the Name of God. The creative Name. Remember his “Leap of Faith.”

Also remember that he’s not the only one seeking the Grail . . . power-hungry Nazis are close on his heels, seeking immortality not for love of human/divine fathers, but for the fatherland.

Phoenix - sized

The 11th hour we’re now approaching was foreseen in 1998. I continue to write in this mode, most currently in As Conflict Escalates, What Can Be Done Now? Here is summary and conclusion:

In the past, monasteries arose as islands of hospitality, learning and civility during Europe and Asia’s so-called dark ages. Once again, as another dark age looms on the horizon, intentional communities dedicated to preserving the essential teachings will naturally arise. My best hope is that future leaders will meet the responsibility of shaping hopeful new beginnings; that they will succeed in transmitting the wisdom of the ancients to future generations along side the complimentary technical know-how of today’s sciences.

In the Positive Paradigm reality map, future educators have a versatile self-awareness tool with which to teach the basics of leading an integrated, self-responsible life. Building on the seven basic axioms which flow from it, tomorrow’s leaders have a viable model upon which to structure healthy social organizations.

Conclusion

Resolving conflict necessarily occurs one person at a time, and from the inside out. For this reason, however complex and overwhelming world problems may seem, we each have the option and responsibility to improve that which is closest to home: ourselves. By reducing internal conflict within, each of us has the potential, if only in modest ways, to reduce the conflict without. . . .

Angel Calling

THOU SHALT NOT MURDER

 

10 commandments

A friend recently drew sharp attention to a little known mistranslation with enormous cultural implications.

Like most pacifist vegetarians of my generation, I grew up taking a misleading translation of the Old Testament sixth commandment quite literally. “Thou shalt not kill.”

Currently, however, the generally accepted wording is, “Thou Shalt Not Murder.” World of difference.

Murder is a very specific type of killing, defined as unlawful killing committed with malice aforethought, anti-social behavior often associated with other crimes like robbery and political intrigue. Murder is synonymous with assassination and extermination on the one hand, but also with mutilation or mangling.

At the very least, there are two outstanding differences between an across-the-board prohibition on murder versus a blanket prohibition on all killing whatsoever, whensoever, whysoever.

First, according to I Ching wisdom, mirrored by King Solomon’s famous words in Ecclesiastes, there is a time and place for every purpose under Heaven. Within the cyclical laws of nature and nature’s God, purposeful killing is intrinsic to life’s rhythm.

ecclesiastes

Second, if one is prohibited from killing regardless of context, this prohibition, in extreme circumstances, is misconstrued as a guilt-inducing, paralyzing, self-defeating command: “Thou shalt not protect thyself.”

Further, examples of murder are less obvious that one might first think. There are many more forms and levels of crime than those acknowledged by legal systems designed to protect human life and property.

As psychologist Erik Erikson, quoted by Jonathan Kozol in Death at an Early Age, wrote:

Some day, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well-considered, and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit; for such mutilation undercuts the life principle of trust.

To this point, in Rethinking CRIME I wrote:

Those who dismiss, demean or control children with fear condemn them to empty lives of masked conformity on the material surface of the Life Wheel. Instilling extreme ideas about death, as if it were either a reward or ultimate punishment, one’s only hope or worst enemy, results in living inappropriate to reality.

To take another tack, I’ve more than once observed that the people who on the surface of the Life Wheel give the appearance of being the most conformist, are at deeper levels, the least so. They simply have the most to hide.

Conversely, those who may not be so strict in social correctness have less to hide. Often, they live more faithful to the heart of human kindness. In fact, this is the consistent pattern.

The Laws of Nature explain this consistent inconsistency. Consistent with I Ching wisdom, Michio Kushi lists “Twelve Principles of Order in the Universe.” They include:

1. Everything is a differentiation of ONE Infinity.

2. Everything changes.

3. All antagonisms are complementary.

4. There is nothing identical.

5. What has a front has a back.

6. The bigger the front, the bigger the back.

The dynamics of this natural law explain why what appears so on the surface inevitably has a shadow, complimentary opposite side lurking beneath. Those who know them best find the nicest people can be shockingly cruel.

The most seemingly non-violent – apparently squeamish and helpless when it comes to physical self-defense – can be extraordinarily violent in non-physical ways – ruthless when it comes to money matters or partisan politics.

The bravest and most accomplished of performers, if naive about the ways of the financial world, can be undone by a ruthless agent and end up ruined.

Herein lies the stuff of human tragedy. As the Greeks understood, a hero’s greatest strength, untempered, becomes (ironically) the cause of his downfall.

These dynamics repeat on every scale of magnitude. We find them in operation within the family, played out in communities, corporations and nations. In some cases, murder is a question of degree. How different is it from character assassination, for example? Or invalidating others. Or wearing them down, depleting their energies and resources.

People who pride themselves on being powerful in terms of economic and social resources adopt extreme yang lifestyles. This includes using the force of personality and, in extremes, physical violence, to get what they want.

In contrast, those who lack external, material resources take refuge in extreme yin strategies. They too maneuver to get what they want, just in more subtle ways, including psychological warfare. They are just as violent. Just in ways and on levels hidden from most of us.

A current example is a politician who as an outsider, superficially seemed the most liberal and egalitarian. Once inside, however, the opposite side came forward. Outward appearances belied the character of a despot with no qualms about lavishly squandering tax dollars to fund an extravagantly opulent lifestyle.

Hence the virtue of a middle path, free of extremes in any direction. The ideal of health, on every scale of magnitude, is balanced strength on all levels rather than imbalances – excesses on one level masking deficiencies at another.

Understanding the levels and layers of life and the dynamic interplay amongst them is critical to social and economic survival. Adhering to that deepest, infinite core from which integrity, balance and wisdom flow remains the key to ultimate survival.

Especially in troubled times such as these, I think back on the Psalms of King David, equal parts musician, warrior and ruler. In all aspects of his reign, he survived by allowing his life to be ruled by that ONE Infinity acknowledged throughout time as the bedrock of life.

Although in family affairs and matters of state, he suffered dearly from the inconsistencies of human behavior, he inevitably found the safe way through trouble.

David-sized

Thus in Psalm 27 he sang:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2  When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

3  Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

4  One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

5  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

In all, the survival path is marked by adherence to the Law. Conversely, it requires avoidance of that which is unlawful. This includes both refraining from acting unlawfully — violating the laws of nature and nature’s God —  and protecting oneself and those one loves from unlawful behavior perpetrated by others.

Therefore, thou shalt not murder. By extension, thou shalt not murder the language, rendering the God-fearing defenseless before enemies and foes.

victory-sized