Oneness

Oneness...

What is oneness? We like to say we are one and seem to work towards a common understanding of this ideology yet we are some how deflected onto paths that really misuse the term. Some of this misconception comes from a lack of scientific knowledge and this is a place where "belief and "Intention"* do more harm than good. Science is the study of something.... In order to understand "oneness" you have to see how all the seemly chaotic and swirling parts fit together. In the cacophony of bits there is a profoundly deep and eloquent net of patterns that weave together and create the core to true understanding of "oneness" To see this you have to expand your view and at the same time look at the smallest of bits and fibers that create the world around us.
In the sub atomic world there are tiny particles that occur in pairs and between these pairs of particles there is a tiny filament. These particles and filaments create the atoms which in turn create all of what we see. These particles are so small at this point in time we can not even see them. Theoretical physicists have been working on understanding this world and call this particular area of study "String Theory". At this point this is the closest theory we have to a unified understanding of how the universe works. It is a work in progress and as more minds focus on it and decipher the mysteries its has, we will make more progress in better utilizing the potential of the universe.
String Theory also holds the key to understanding other dimensions. The idea is that other dimensions are folded up onto the intersections of these filaments. This can give us a huge insight into how meditation or the shaman's journey might work. So if we ask the question where do we go when we dream? Perhaps we go deeper into the fabric of who we are. Now, if we apply this to idea "oneness" then it gives us an open door to peek into. Over time perhaps we will see how time and space are linked and modulated by ideas, creativity, thoughts, actions, choices....etc.... As the exploration of this theory continues we can discover more links to how the mind, body spirit work together in creating reality.
( I would like to caution using these terms as loosely as the term "Quantum". Quantum theory in brief is the study of very tiny packets of information called "quanta". These tiny packets of information behave in a particular and peculiar ways. This happens on the tiny scale at which they exist. It is only at the Plank scale these rules of Quantum theory apply. As scale/size grows these rules do not apply and the theory loses some of it ability to work on more complex forms. Because of this the Quantum theory has many gaps in how it can help us understand the universe. Unfortunately, the term "quantum" has been applied to all manner of healing, ideas, bad science and such..... in a way that the theory does not work.)

So where do all these particles, strings and dimensions lead us?
We are never separate form anything. In fact it is our conditioned mind that says we must become "one"... and this is a false idea. Its is designed to set you up to fail. It says chase after something and when you do you never see what you are. It requires we see ourselves as floating alone and isolated in the universe waiting for some cosmic awakening to occur. Which is New age rubbish that only helps to further control and manipulate those who are vulnerable.


* There is a saying, " Intentions pave the way to Hell.". I'm not sure who said it first yet it has a very profound meaning if you look at from the magical/spiritual view point. To intent is liken to "trying" it does not hold a commitment or conviction. For example: You can" try to stand up" or you can "stand up".They imply to very different things and you get to very different results. Jesus told the crippled man to "walk" he did not say "try to walk".
* "Belief" is a tool in the tool box of faith it helps the individual to get through a point in time when the mind can not see how it all comes together. In the mind the individual knows there will some kind of outcome yet they still struggle with their ability to "know" and feel comfortable with it.

Shamanism and the Cosmic Brillo Pad

Shamanism is a science. It works with the knowledge of the universe and manipulating seen and unseen forces. The ancestors of this tradition call such phenomena "Spirits" and spent many hours studying the forces at play in the world around them. Modern Shamans must do the same.

My resent research involves the theory of Strings, Branes and Multiple Dimensions. I am wanting to show the relationship between the visions of Shamans and their pathways into other realities and the folded up dimensions of strings and Branes that theoretical Physicists say are concealed in the tiniest of the tiniest below the sub-atomic scale.

Shamans often talk about passing through a "net" or field of threads as they move into another dimension.

Theoretical Physicists explain "strings" as filaments that are present between two sub-atomic particles. These strings stretch and relax in relation to the potential of a given substance. If we could see these strings it would look like a Brillo pad. Perhaps we could call it a "Cosmic" Brillo pad.... Now, These strings are key to understanding other dimensions. Where these filaments intersect are folded up dimensions. Physicists at this point are working with 11 dimensions. We live in 3 of "space" and one of "time"..... There 6 dimension folded up on the strings and the folding of these dimensions is another kind of "time".

(I would like to say at this point that I am writing this to a reading audience that might not have the vocabulary necessary to fully comprehend the science. I have keep it simple yet know that these principles are quite complex.)

When a Shaman takes a journey she/he moves with their consciousness into another reality. These other realities are inside ever particle of their being. To look at in another way.... If you become "Enlightened" you become aware or awake in all of of your realities through out time and space.... This would make you more solid, more present, more of the universe.... more alive.... more discerning.... etc... Master of the Universe?

"Oneness" takes on a new meaning when we look at from this perspective.

Gia Guilt

This will begin with a question. Why would the earth want to harm us for what we do?

I'm asking this because it has been bothering me for a while this strange ideology. I grew up Catholic. I know all about Catholic guilt and the oppressiveness of feeling less than love by "God" because well I have sinned in some way. Now, My spiritual path has moved from these beginnings. It has gone through many changes and phases yet its foundation is in finding "truths" and by that I mean ideas, laws and principles that are without doubt the threads that weave together the universe we live in. This journey has taken me from earth based Pagan beliefs to Buddhism, Shamanism, Hermetic Magic, Physics, Earth sciences, Mathematics, Biogeometry, Radiesthesia(vibrational dowsing, etc...

None of these systems if applied says we are bad and the earth will rise against us. Yet for some reason the superstition plaques even the most "open" of persons as they navigate their journey. The web is filled with channeled and written material about how we are seeing and feeling the wrath of the earth as we create bigger messes and dangerous technologies that are bent on destroying our true nature....

I hear some of my friends say they will not believe in a white bearded wrathful man called "God" who judges them and decides who goes to heaven and hell.... yet the same folks will completely accept the "Goddess" earth mother figure as judging us and creating weather patterns, earth quakes and all manner of natural disasters to punish us for what we are doing....

So, tell me what is the difference?

Now the planet we live on is an organism that functions because of complicated systems that promoted the evolution of life. Its been doing that for a very long time... humans have been around for a while and beliefs come and go based on our understanding of these relationships. We have created religions, civilizations, art, sciences, theories, and all manner of technologies from stone tools to cellphones. Everything we create has had an impact on our relationship to the planet. Some how no matter how we mess it up, create it, or exploit it, the planet still marches on... its not always a pretty process and we get ourselves into trouble with wars and incomplete knowledge about some our our creations yet we some how we resolve it.

Let me get back the the idea of guilt and the way we personify things that seem beyond our control. It seems the earth we live on is doing what it knows how to do... shifting continental plates, releasing magma, adjusting the weather to meet the chemical compositions that exist in our atmosphere, etc... We can spend time blaming corporations, individuals, Illuminati, governments, Churches, Religions each other, Gods, Goddesses etc... We can feel guilty that we are not "doing" enough or "caring" enough or "loving" enough yet this planet is all about evolution, adaptation, and creation... and WE are part of that brilliance, beauty, potential, and all of it. Guilt has no useful place if we really want to be part of this amazing experience.

=Love

There is so much being said about how "love" is the ultimate glue of the universe. If only we loved more or had more love it would be a better family, community, city, country, continent, world....and universe. It seems this equation falls short... or flat. We say we are doing our part yet the world seems less loving as populations grow and our demand on the resources of this planet are struggling to keep up. Maybe its time to look at the equation from a different perspective. Perhaps "love" is the by-product or the answer to the equation. We could start our equation with:
=Love

So, what of the infinite possibilities could bring us to that conclusion?

We could write:

Chaos=Love

Which sometimes is how it feels.... we stumble blindly along and *poof* we fall in love with some variable.... person, place or things. This kind of love is limited to our fickle ego and our emotional stability or lack of it.

So back to the beginning....
=Love

If we can go beyond love being something we become or need to get then it is a"Constant"... unchanged... happily permeating through out the universe... being itself.... something like the speed of light in our universe it is something we can measure other things against. We could also call this constant Divine... or God

So lets re-write the equation to look like this:

Love=

Now what forces or beliefs or practices can we juggle together to equate this constant force call love. Emotions are too unstable and tend to have a short lifespan yet their existence can have long ranging consequences.... similar to nuclear fall out.

One of the things about the universe we live in is that it has a certain kind of patterning that one could call "Beautiful".... and we know that looking at beautiful things creates a certain kind of respond that calms, inspires and soothes..... so, perhaps one of the parts of this equation is "Beauty"

We could write:

Love=Beauty

This seems incomplete. We need an action of some sort. Lets look at the creative process. Everything in the universe is in a state of creating itself or creating something else. Atoms create molecules.... molecules create things.... things create other things... on and so on.....

So let write our equation like this:

Love= Creating x Beauty

or.....


L(Dn)=Cn x Bn

L- Love
Dn-Divinity
Cn- infinite Creativity
Bn-infinite Beauty

Time.... it can take a bit.....

It took humans 500 years to figure out the circulatory system in the body. And over the course of those 500 years corpses and live humans bore the brunt of our scientific research. From the idea that the body was divided into “good” and “bad” humors and their imbalance caused illnesses. Then on to the idea that blood was digested food moving throughout the body. The misunderstanding became medicine of the times and leeches or other tools were used to bleed or restrict the flow of blood with dire consequences. The big breakthrough was the discovery of capillaries and it took a lot of seeming random discoveries and technologies over time to get there. I bring this up in order to illustrate the notion of research, discovery and the duration of journeying to a deeper understanding of something. To know something takes time, observation, patience, experiment, the willingness to make mistakes and great discoveries.

In the last 40 years of my life the telephone has changed. It has gone from hanging on the kitchen wall central to everyone and allowing for no privacy to something in your pocket that completely disregards privacy. Computers were large monsters that crunched equations at university campuses and now we can hold one in the palm of our hand. Photography was once dominated by light, film and the potions of developer, stop and fix baths. It now creates images in an instant with tiny pixels and software.

All this evolution in 40 years got me thinking about how we learn over time.

The ancient Egyptians were mud brick builders for a long time. And at some point they turned to building with stone. This was no small task and it took great effort to learn and acquire the skills to create giant works that we now visit as sacred sites. Yet it appears they grasped these skills in about 200 years and then perfected theses skills to create beautiful temples, pyramids and other wondrous things. Now, there are some who look at this and say it was impossible for them to have learned in such a short time these skills…. They must have had help from unseen forces or aliens or whatever. It fact we cannot replicate the engineering it took to move the large blocks of stone.

Yet if we think about it, if we focus our mind with a strong will we can do about anything. When President Kennedy started the space program he said we would have a man on the moon in 10 years… and we did. We have searched for an inoculation for Polio and Small pox and have succeeded in keeping these diseases from taking so many lives. We can now perform surgeries with minimal entry into the body.

Because of our understanding of the world we are moving into another wave or era. Some might call it the “Plastic” Age considering this is the material of the time and in keeping with the labeling such as Bronze Age or Industrial Age. Some might call it the “Technology” Age or if your of a darker more depressed mind set the Age of Destruction because we’re struggling with the by-products of our technology.

To give it some perspective… the ancient Egyptians had to figure out how to feed, water, remove human waste and manage millions of workers. It hasn’t changed much in fact it remain pretty much the same. We now have some different more enduring waste to figure out.

Have we become.....

Are we the ones?
We live in a body that is amazing! 30 trillion cells…. 90 trillion bits, parasites and flora combine to create an individual that can see, hear, taste, smell and touch the world around it with an awareness of doing such things. This makes us conscious! We are systems of extreme cooperation that must function to survive. This has taken billions of years to perfect…. And where it goes from here is up to our growing needs in navigating our environment.

Not to burst the bubble of my love-fest with the human being yet it has a few limitations. These are challenges that we are overcoming with the technology of the day. The question I asked myself several weeks ago was: Have we become what we are so hard looking to find and cannot see it? For instance, we long to communicate over thousands of miles to connect with loved ones, teachers… new information etc and now we can via the internet. Or, I can use my voice dial feature on my phone and simply speak someone’s name and I can have a conversation with someone halfway around the world. This happens because we have learned a few things about waves and wavelengths and how to put signals on these waves. Most of these waves we cannot perceive directly yet we can experience their ability to carry information form one receiver to another that transforms these signals in to light and sound which we can perceive with our senses. Magic… or so it seems.

Now, our ancestors observed the world and recognized that things happen and there was no perceivable phenomenon to connect cause with affect. They might have watched food cook in a pot over a fire yet their understanding of fire was one of a spirit, being or elemental. This fire gave a lot… heat… light… the ability to transform wood to ash… cook food… melt metal etc… They knew it had to be fed and need to have air in order to burn properly. Water destroyed it. Fire would destroy if it was not respected or managed properly. Fire was given names to show its power and properties. Fire became personified and deified.

This form of discovery is what our ancestors did with almost the entire nature world… Wind/air, Water/Rain/Oceans, Earth/Plants/Stones… etc…. and we haven't stopped since!!

Things began to change when we wanted to looked at smaller things and further out into the stars. Our eyes for all their beauty and complexity cannot see that far or that small… We humans are clever and imaginative so we create tools to do these things like microscopes and telescopes. And with this comes a new understanding of tiny things and the movement of stars and planets. All to the dismay of the church and less forward thinkers of the time. One of the greatest achievements of looking at tiny things is hygiene… We now know that viruses and bacteria can cause illnesses and the simple act of washing our hands can prevent so much sickness in the world. I’m sure all those who were bled to death in the era of “bad” humors are looking down on us and happy for the progress.

Now, back to the question: Have we become who we are looking for?
As humans we want to explore beyond what we seem to be. We look at the stars and dream of ways to visit or understand their movements. We want to be in several locations at once and be aware of all that is happening. we spend endless hours meditating and seeking ways to find our limits....
And over the last 50 years we have accomplished a lot in the area of long distance communication.
If you subscribe to the computer phone service Skype and you can use the video feature then you can be in one place and aware, communicating, and viewing another world at the same time you are at your computer sipping tea. Of course you are limited in your view by the ability of the equipment on both ends of the conversation. Is it not the same thing as remote viewing and taking a shamanic journey? The more you practice the better you get. And I’m sure with more research we will develop better gadgets to expand our perception of other places.
So, we are not limited by the limits of our bodies.... we create.... we imagine... we explore... we build....etc...

Another example would be, I use a satellite GPS to navigate from place to place. One day while I was looking at it I realized that I was watching myself in my car driving from above while I was driving my car in that moment. It’s a form of bi-locating. It’s a kind of being awake in reality and at the same time watching myself in my reality from a distance. We can now experience Lucid dreaming unfolding in real time… a dream within a dream?

When I was in my early shaman training I was taught to journey with my eyes open. I would stand in my New Haven apartment and shake my rattle focusing my attention about 18 inches from the tip of my nose. As I did this I began to experience my perception separating, one part stayed fixed on the focal point the other wandered to other realities. My teachers said I needed to learn how to be here and also somewhere else at the same time. The more I practiced the more I could expand my perceptions into multiple realities at the same time.

The cry of "fear" we hear with this thinking and developing is that because of all these gadgets and technologies that we are becoming less human. We have bad “B” movies, science fiction, Star Trek to thank for these fears and the seemingly persistent glitch humans have to resist change. These gadgets are our creations. They are based on our observations and understanding of the world around us. We create them because we want to solve problems. Some of these things have unexpected results and consequences yet we are always looking for a better solution. This is the flexibility and adaptability of the human being in all aspects.... Body, mind, and spirit.

We don’t call the runner who has two artificial legs and monster. We admire his ability to embrace the means to follow his dreams. The runner was able to see beyond his limits. We have scientists and researchers looking a materials and designs to build better artificial legs for all kinds of sports and day to day life to aid folks who need them.
Humans evolve. We are the most complex being on the planet. Designed to imagine and create. These “gifts” are the mark of a long evolutionary journey. We are not perfect yet we are progressive, curious, and adaptable. What we create is the means for us to explore ourselves and the world around us. What we glean from this knowledge can serve a greater purpose.

Applying Spiritual Principles for our contemprary world....

Spiritual intitation is the journey one takes to discover their interconnected awareness of who they are in the universe. It has its roots in the social and cultural traditions found all over the world. Each facilitating the path of the initiate as they grow to become a full member of the society and beyond. These many paths and traditions make for a large and diverse map to navigate the “self” to discovering one’s place in the universe.

One of the difficulties of spiritual development is initiation. These are the places where the “self” is ushered through a series of trials to emerge on the other side fully changed by the experience. These are sometimes called “Rites of Passage”. In certain cultures this involves the mutilation of the body or shedding of particular behaviors. It can also take the form of a quest or journey. What is most important is that the self/individual is forever changed by the experience.

As a teacher practicing and facilitating rites of passage, it has been challenging to develop a formula for the western spiritual mind set. Most seekers want to pay for the exchange of knowledge and avoid the deep and sometimes painful process of initiation. In the contemporary western world we have for the most part stopped honoring the points of change in the journey to develop the “self”. The rites of passage have been moved to the place of trivial or symbolic ritual. The result of this spiritual formula has caused more harm than good. When the self does not know where youth ends and adulthood begins they stay forever a child emotionally. When an adult who is emotionally immature seeks a partner they will choose based on their childish needs and not the needs of an adult seeking to share a life journey with another. These are a few examples and there is also the way this retards the mental and social growth of the individual as they wander through life. There is also the challenge of starting the “awakening” process later in life after one have raised the children and worked until retirement.

In the last few decades there have been movements to reclaim these rites yet they seem to fall short in nurturing a fully initiatory experience. In fact, some have the design of a fraternity or sorority hazing. This tends to move the individual to become a member of a group which has its benefits yet is not bringing the individual to an “awakening”.

There has also been the movement by individuals to seek other spiritual practices or cultural models in an attempt to bring the individual to deeper understanding of self. These would include Indigenous/Native Peoples practices, Eastern Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and more traditional/fundamental practices of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. What makes taking this path or journey challenging is the lack of the individuals socio-cultural up bringing in these traditions. Language, Cosmology, Science, Family ties, etc… are all things that must be mastered in a tradition if one is to glean the deeper substances of its teachings. Some succeed and some move from one tradition to the next never really finding the self. This can sometimes be seen as a way to hide or run from the self too.

From this understanding of how spiritual initiation has floundered we can begin to outline some principles that can become the structure for creating contemporary practices that are authentic to the time we live in and reflect the true nature of who we are.

To begin the journey of Initiation the community needs to recognize the need to create rites of passage that facilitate the individuals’ growth through life stages. These stages are in alignment with birth, childhood, youth, young adult, adulthood, marriage, child birth, elder wisdom, and death. These would have sub classifications such as Healer/Herbalist/Medicine, Artist/Craft/Trade, Sciences/Mathematics, Spiritual/Priest/Priestess, etc… which further enrich the individual to participate in the fabric of the community. True spiritual awakening happens when the awakened “self” is fully engaged in the richness of humanity and in serving the community.

The journey asks”Who am I?” and that takes one inside to find the self yet ultimately what one finds must have its place in the working of their community. If this does not occur then the individual becomes lost in the madness of isolation. Humans are social creatures. We need the interactions of our multi leveled language, Family, and community structures to fully feel loved and nourished.

The community must support the process of initiation from the start to finish. They are the container for the individual to safely become vulnerable in. They (the community) must know and believe that what is happening to the initiate(s) is a powerful and transformative experience that strengthens the overall dynamic of the community.

We live in a time of technologies, cell phones, computers and all manner of gadgets to help make our lives easier. Some have created amazing advances in how we do things and some have challenged the nature of our humanness. This technological world brings its challenges to spiritual development also. Most people spend their day isolated from others due to work, poor social structures, poverty, lack of family etc…

This new social order requires that a structure be put in place that mends the loss of the nurturing social community and begins to weave a future out of the pieces that are who we are today.

This post will be added to as time goes on.....

Wind Horse week

Then wind never stopped. Pulling. Pushing. Howling. Blowing always in a constant reminder of it mobility, clarity and strength. It took away the warmth and moisture. It brought the rain and fed the waves.... caressed us in the afternoon with warm fingers and carried our prayers. She sent the birds to bring us messages from our loved ones elsewhere... warmer and not so buffeted by the blustering element. The wind is a harsh and through teacher extracting our essence and brushing aside our illusion about self.