tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353669042024-03-13T05:34:55.734-06:00The Wondering Path of Sage Charles'An Ye Harm None. Do What Ye Will'!Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.comBlogger979125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-50423562081339974552024-02-17T15:07:00.001-07:002024-02-17T15:07:56.830-07:00What Comes Next<p>"THE MACHINES WERE COMING!"</p><p><br /></p><p>"It had been coming for a long time; 294 years, to be precise. Joe knew that, before too long, the Machines that were currently engaged in beating down his door would gain full access to the only Gift that Humanity had thus far kept out of their greasy fingers. Some had seen the consequences of their actions from a mile away, but for the most part, the dissenters, for all intents & purposes, had been silenced. Long before the War began, however, the foreseeable consequences began to rear their ugly heads & the awful truth of what their conveniences might cost began to reveal itself. By this time, however, it was to late! The Machines had already become firmly & integrally ensconced ( 'entrenched' might be a better word for what had happened ) in our overall infrastructure. Almost before we knew what hit us ( generally speaking, anyway ), it was well-nigh impossible to accomplish the slightest task without some form of electronic assistance. Joe's aging parents, like so many other people, had retired into one of those so-called 'smart homes'. They loved the conveniences, such as a refrigerator that could order more milk when it got low, a toilet that would automatically clean itself every day & central air that was totally self-regulated. Why, there wasn't even a thermostat ( at least not that they could find ). The house was always comfortable, no matter what the weather was like outside. The damn thing could even tell what state of undress his parents were in, and would adjust the heat accordingly. ( "They still hadn't figured out how THAT happened, though Joe had his suspicions!" )! After some time, the novelty began to wear off & Joe began to hear complaints from his parents, as well as others who had ignorantly taken the way of convenience. Things like the heat would not come on when they thought it should, or the smart refrigerator would overstock on certain food items & neglect to order others. The crazy thing would even automatically lock after a certain hour: no more midnight snacks! That was just inside the House!</p><p>Joe's parents were not the only ones experiencing problems like this either; reports were streaming in from all over about self-driving vehicles being involved in what could only be described as "road rage" incidents! Speaking of traffic issues, the stop lights were acting very erratically, with almost no discernible pattern, except that they seemed to be favoring the self-driving vehicles! This by itself, as you can well imagine, caused more than a few incidences of road rage; a 'road rash' of biblical proportions, you might say! Of course, by this time, only EVs were allowed on the road, the Central Government Entity, henceforth referred to as the CGE, having outlawed any thing that might create more of an ecological or atmospherical footprint than a toothbrush! Never mind the fact that the energy employed to both manufacture & power these 'green' vehicles produced more pollution than all the internal combustion engines in the world in any given year from the 1940s on! Joe, like so many before him, had learned early on that this was a very inconvenient Truth & anyone who even insinuated anything close to it risked disappearing in the middle of the night! As the case may be, though the overwhelming majority of vehicles on the road were autonomous, there were still a few older EVs out there that were still controlled by humans. Unfortunately, even these were ultimately susceptible to tracking & control by the CGE, although a certain rebellious faction was reportedly 'hacking' some old Teslas so that they could neither be controlled nor tracked!</p><p>The fact that there was much more going on 'behind the scenes' than simply trying to cut down on 'greenhouse gases' had been cleverly hidden from most citizens of what had formerly been called 'The United States of America'! Global Warming was only the beginning: dairies had gone the way of the internal combustion engine. Cows were only a distant memory, much like the dinosaurs. In fact, one could earn a pretty penny selling old cow bones on the black market! Milk was now produced in laboratories, much as meat had been for years. One could still go to a restaurant & order a big juicy steak, a hamburger, shrimp, lobster, or even calamari & all the different kinds of fish, but it was all lab-grown! It all tasted like it should, but it all had the same base, just produced differently in order to present the desired consistency, with flavorings added to perfect the illusion. As with the vehicles though, there was still the rebellious faction that had their own cow, even some with chickens, if you can believe it! Of course, those few that dared thumb their noses at the CGE risked life in prison ( at the very least ), or even death ( at the worst )! </p><p>"The year 2238 may seem like a long time from the present day, but quite seriously, it may not be as far off as we would like to think! Joe Campanelli, the protagonist of this short story, had foreseen the scenario unraveling for a long time. Taking into account the giant leaps that Technology was making possible, along with the terrifying depths of the depravity that humanity was capable of, our hero knew that, with the way things were progressing ( one might more correctly say, "regressing", but I digress.........), such a scenario was very likely to play out in the future! Obviously, since we see the validity, or at least the possibility in much of what I've fictionally described above, our future, at least here in the good ole U. S. of A. may not look too different, but really, it is ultimately up to us! When I say, "It's up to us", I'm speaking in a collective sense, as in, "It's up to Humanity!"</p><p>"The Ocean is made up of individual drops of water!" Looking at it from our individualistic point of view, as we've been programmed to do; it may seem an almost insurmountable task, changing such a terrifying future, but it DOES start with the Individual, with You & Me! Like the rebel factions described earlier, when we take back control of our own lives, however inconsequential our actions might seem at the time, we begin to forge our own Destiny! The more that people do this, however quietly, the easier it will be to avoid the impending doom that Joe foresaw! </p><p>Our Future looks bleak; there's no denying that! "As above, so below"; if things keep going the way they're going, the Future may not look all that different from what I've described. In fact, in certain areas, it may be be dead on, but that doesn't mean that it's set in stone! Things can change for the better, but only if we MAKE them change! Speaking collectively here, I'm reminded of a certain song by an artist who passed from this life a while back. His song, 'Man in the Mirror', stresses the importance of beginning with ourselves, of BEING the change we want to see in the world!</p><p>The Future that Joe had foreseen never happened! The small pockets of Rebellion grew into larger pockets, which grew even more substantially & once the people began to take their Power back, realizing they COULD indeed forge their OWN Destiny, thing started to change. Of course, at first, things got worse before they got better! For instance, because of the larger ecological & meteorological footprint caused by the overwhelming use of EV technology, the so-called 'Global Warming' actually got worse! While those who KNEW knew that it couldn't ALL be blamed on 'greenhouse gasses', that it was simply Mother Nature's cyclical................well, nature. the weather patterns continue to disrupt what might be called "the Norm"! Because of all this, of course, it seemed to the average "Joe" that the Machines were indeed winning!</p><p>The weather wasn't the only thing going 'wonky'; even the 'Powers that be' figured out ( after a LONG while ) that EVs weren't all they were cracked up to be! After many issues with batteries exploding, causing fires, crashes & other fatal events, most people were ready to abandon the program entirely! Not only were they having trouble with the vehicles themselves, but the whole infrastructure began to crumble! Speaking of the Weather, however; through many complaints & much private ( Individual ) campaigning, the Government was forced to acknowledge that, indeed, all the power plants, not to mention the Raping of Our Beloved Mother Earth, were actually more detrimental to the planet's well-being than the internal combustion engine. Of course, the Cause was helped immensely by the People themselves becoming more Aware, not just of the fact that they themselves were complicit in the rape of our Mother Earth, but a growing Empathy for our Mother & all Her creatures, including other human beings. The Electric Vehicle Program was not entirely abandoned, of course, as the notion DID have its merits, but alternate avenues, not just for harnessing power, but for storing that power were explored. Scientists found, for instance, that natural crystals could store more than just digital information; they were also good for harnessing & storing the Power of the Sun! Wind power was still used to some extent, but was finally largely abandoned as the overwhelming majority of Wind Turbines, again, relied heavily on the Rape of Mother Earth!</p><p>All was still not as it should be ( 'Or WAS it?!" ), but things were definitely looking 'Up'! The Government was beginning to back down, begrudgingly admitting that they were simply representatives of the People, that the People ultimately knew what was best for our fledgling nation & speaking of the People, both collectively & individually, thanks to a growing Awareness, a Maturity, one might say; not only did they begin to take responsibility for their own lives, but their choices were reflected in their representatives. Talk about "Draining the Swamp"; Washington, D.C. was still inhabited by quite a few human animals, but it was allowed to return, to a large extent, to its former condition & became, for most intents & purposes, a Wildlife Refuge ( "Of course, some would probably argue that it always HAD been!" )! Though there were still Representatives that exercised some Power, they now understood that it was only THROUGH the People that they were able to grasp it! A new & better Constitution was ordained, as it arguably had been from the beginning, a Living Document, written on the Hearts & Minds of the People!</p><p>Personal ResponsAbility had made a comeback ( "No, not FULLY yet, but It was well on Its way )! People understood finally that the Conveniences, rather than making Life easier & better, were killing us! That with Freedom comes Responsibility; ergo, no responsibility, no freedom: once we figured THAT out, that was all she wrote for any centralized government entity. "Oh, don't get me wrong, we still had our conveniences ( it wasn't "back to the Stone Age", or anything ), though we DID learn not to rely on them so much. All the smartphones & computers were still in use; they DO have their uses after all, but there was no substitute anymore for face to face interaction. People still worked their '9 to 5's; the lights had to be kept on, the infrastructure that was already in place ( "not ALL bad!" ) needed constant attention & the nation as a whole still had issues that required solutions. Without the centralized government, though, the individual states were able to shoulder the responsibility for themselves. Of course, thanks to the Last Great Awakening, even the state governments were functioning at a bare minimum, with as few as one representative for any given county!</p><p>Life was by no means easy, but it was SO much better! The Air was cleaner, the Earth was much more receptive, the Water flowed more freely & Fire was finally recognized & respected for the True Friend that it is! Spirit had Its way with the People & all was at Rest! Again, this does not mean there were no issues, no problems to solve; human beings were still human beings, with all their glorious differences. There were still clashes here & there, now & again, but for the most part, they never went beyond the individuals involved, whether it was a fender bender, or something more serious. Accidents still happened, though 'Natural Disasters' were pretty much a thing of the past, since Mother Nature was much happier with Her People, the overwhelming majority having learned a much greater respect for Her & Her Laws. </p><p>From beginning to end, the short story you've just read is a work of almost pure fiction, but it could easily become Reality! The Choice, as always, is YOURS ( OURS )! What WILL we choose, I wonder?!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be,</p><p>Sage Charles<br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-31667887908168109402024-01-12T16:32:00.000-07:002024-01-12T16:32:50.971-07:00How to be a BearEtienne didn't know why, but he LOVED bears! For some reason, bears had always held some sort of fascination for him. He liked brown ones, black ones, red ones & white ones, but especially grizzlies. Etienne had learned early in Life that bears were dangerous ( "Watch out, boy, they'll eat you up!" ), so at first, just like most, he accepted the fact that they were uncontrollable, wild animals that would rather swipe your head, or some OTHER body part, clean off with one massive paw, than allow you to peacefully coexist with them! "Bears", he had been taught, "are killing machines that are out to kill humans; end of story: THEY are the Enemy!" ( "Of course, the same could be said of Wolves, or most any other 'wild' animal', but perhaps that's another Story for another day" )<div><br /></div><div>Listening to the farmers & rancher that surrounded him on all sides, Etienne heard, almost every day, "They're killing our livestock, they need to be killed!" Things like that made the hackles rise up on his neck! They made his blood boil! "THEY were here first", he would say "WE are encroaching on THEIR territory!" He was right, but his remonstrations fell on deaf ears. For the most part, he was largely ignored, though some of those he protested to took it under consideration & sought more 'humane' ways to solve their problem, like live-trapping & re-locating, which was, admittedly, better than the first option. ( For people like the American Indian, though, this might bring sad memories to surface, for if they had been treated AS humanely..........; but then, that is perhaps another Story............. ) As the case may be, however; though Wildlife was removed ( forcefully ) from their natural habitat, at least they weren't being hunted & killed "A step in the right direction?!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Etienne didn't know it, but he was a 'bear'; had ALWAYS been, in fact! No, not physically, but spiritually. From early on, he had been domesticated, much as other forms of 'wildlife' ( speaking of Wolves ). In fact, though the process was similar, it wasn't that he was removed to a 'safer' place, at least not physically; it was a spiritual process, a learning process, like, "bears are dangerous; they'll kill you as soon as look at you!" Bears ARE dangerous ( he KNEW that ), just like any other animal, including the human animal, when they're threatened! "Are they to be feared?" 'Respected' is a better word. But yes, one needs to respect them, not only for their amazing strength & razor sharp claws, but for the fact that they have just as much right as we do, arguably even more, to exist & subsist in their natural habitat!</div><div><br /></div><div>Etienne learned from an early age that if he wanted to live in this human world, there were certain rules he needed to follow; his wildness had to go: he had to be a good little boy, follow the rules, all the while learning that, "bears are dangerous": learning as well to fear ( "respect"? ) them, possibly even to hunt & kill them, just for being who & what they ARE!</div><div><br /></div><div>Bears, as all wildlife does, deserve our respect, not just BECAUSE they were here first, but because they're more like us than most people would like to think! Sure; we're human & they're JUST animals, but they just want to exist & subsist. But, just like humanity, when another group of animals treads on what they see as their 'rights', they'll take action to right those wrongs, even if that means eradicating the perceived wrongdoer ( "sound familiar?!" )!</div><div><br /></div><div>Etienne knew all this & more! He KNEW that bears are our brothers & sisters, our fathers & mothers! We could learn a lot from bears, as from all wildlife, if only we could forget our fear. Yes, we should maintain a very healthy respect for them, just as we should maintain a healthy respect for our fellow human beings. Watch out for those razor sharp claws, yes, but keep in mind that most human beings also have that, or worse! </div><div><br /></div><div>"Why do we kill bears?" This is an honest question, but I have an answer I'll proffer: we ( human beings ) kill bears for much the same reason as they kill us because they feel threatened! The only difference between our killing & their killing is that, more often than not, we're doing it for all the wrong reasons; "sport" being the most obvious. To be fair, not all hunters are out there for the fun of it; they're just looking to feed their families ( "Wait, that sounds familiar; ALMOST human!" ). Either that, or they're just protecting their families ( property, livestock, etc. ) . But wait; isn't THAT what we humans do?! If we kill a deer, elk, or bear to fill our freezer, we're only exercising our right to feed our family ( as long as we acquire the appropriate licensure, of course, but maybe THAT'S another Story for another day ), but when a bear kills to feed their family, well, "they're killing OUR livestock". ( "This is not, of course, to say that human beings ( farmers & ranchers ) DO NOT have a right to prevent bears or wolves from killing their livestock, but these human beings must realize that the bears, wolves, etc., are only doing what they themselves would do under similar conditions! But; I digress............<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Etienne KNOWS that Brother Bear is NOT the Enemy! He KNOWS that Brother Wolf is not the Enemy! No form of Wildlife, for that matter is. For a clear view of the Enemy, Etienne KNEW, all we as human beings need to do is look in the mirror. Bears, Wolves, or any other form of Wildlife are not the ones out there hunting for sport! ( "I mean, seriously, how many animal dens have you seen that sport human heads as trophies? ) Of course, just like the human animal, there probably IS the occasional renegade ( animals have emotions too, right? ), but that is really neither here nor there!</div><div><br /></div><div>Bears, Wolves & other forms of Wildfire held no fear for Etienne; rather, he DID respect them! They have the same rights as we do, they exist & subsist just like we do & they kill & eat, just like we do. In fact, they understand the Circle of Life BETTER than most human beings, because THEY were not taught that Life is linear: they KNOW by nature that Life is circular in nature; Death for one, plant OR animal, means Life for another. Just like the human animal, the wild ones feel pain at the death of another, even though they know that it's only a part of the circle of life. Most humans, for whatever reason, do not look at Life & Death in this manner, but then, that Story's ALREADY been told, hasn't it?</div><div><br /></div><div>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</div><div>Sage Charles</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-4159386567889204612024-01-01T00:50:00.000-07:002024-01-01T00:50:46.532-07:00The Eternal Self ( the Unconditioned 'Eye' )<p>For quite a few years now, I've been saying things like, "We see best in others what we despise in ourselves!" This of course, works obversely as well, in, "We see best in others what we love in ourselves." Now, with that said, it's not that everything, even the smallest little foible, that we take note of in other people is something that is existent within our own persona, but this is most often the case, sad to say. "Sad", yes; though nothing to be sad about: there is no shame here! It is simply a matter of fact: we are mirrors & when we see something in another person that we either love or hate; most often, sooner or later, we will be forced to take stock of our own Self & realize, "Oh, wait; that's ME!"</p><p>Whether they realize it or not, the overwhelming majority of people out there, that is, who identify with their persona, are on an eternal quest; the search for that most elusive of Gifts, 'Unconditional Love'! Again, "Overwhelmingly", if not totally, the 'love' that we bear witness to on this material plane is a conditional love. "If you do what I want/like, I'll love you", is one example. Another example, speaking of unconditional love, goes something like this, "the love of animals, dogs in particular, may be the clearest example of unconditional love that we, as human beings will experience in this lifetime, on this earthly plane of existence!" That's not quite true, however; the love that We have for Ourselves, in fact, the Love that we are ( for that IS our True, Divine Nature ) is unconditional!</p><p>Now, with that said, please realize that this a Spiritual Truth: it is only from a spiritual vantage point that one may realize, much less understand this! Speaking of dogs, for instance, we might find that, if we don't treat our animals with the respect they deserve, such as not feeding them with any regularity, leaving them outside on a chain, even when it's freezing, or even beating them when they don't act like we want, they will not give us the loyalty we wish to see. The same holds true of the human animal as well! 'Unconditional Love'? Hardly! Now, this, you understand, is not to say that any rational human being would act in this way toward ANY animal, human OR otherwise & not expect to get the same in return, though there DOES seem to be a shortage of sane, rational people in this day & age, especially! No, this is merely to say, echoing the Beatles, "the love you get is equal to the love you give"; in other words, "if you don't show it, you don't see it!", though this is not quite true either! For instance, ANY animal, human or otherwise, may choose to show the love in their hearts, even if you don't. On the other hand, showing/proving the love that is in YOUR heart may end up being the only love that you see!</p><p>Which brings me to my point: "If you wish to witness/experience Unconditional Love in this human existence, you must realize that Love in yourself!" To an extent, you may experience a form of Unconditional Love from another human, a baby, for instance, but as the child grows, the love he or she exhibits, or even feels, may wax or wane, depending of course, on the person. Much in the same sense, the Love you show yourself, Unconditional though it may be, may look different by the hour, or even the minute. The difference is, you will always be with yourself! </p><p>Most people spend their lives searching, in vain it would seem, for True Love, or in other words, that elusive Unconditional Love we hear so much about. Growing up Christian, as I and so many others have, 'Unconditional Love' is a very familiar phrase, in particular referring to the Unconditional Love of 'God'. This Love, as I understand it, means that 'God' loves ALL 'His children, even if they reject 'Him' & live a life that is not in accordance with 'His' dictates. Of course, this kind of belief flies in the face of everything that Christianity teaches! The brand of Christianity that, again, I & so many others were raised in, with all its dogma, was that the love of 'God', while unconditional, is only for 'His' children, and if you do not repent of your sins & live in accordance with 'His' laws, or rather, their interpretation of said laws ( dogma ), then you cannot be a 'child of God'!</p><p>The above statement, while maybe slightly differently worded than most such explanations, is blatantly nonsensical! Rather than being an unconditional love; 'as above, so below', it is conditional. It is clearly based on the fact that, as 'His' children, we receive all that we need from 'His' mighty Hand, if only we prayerfully ask. Okay, okay, 'He' understands our weaknesses; if we miss a prayer now & then, or our heart just ain't in it, we usually end up with what we need anyway; which brings me to my next point.........we are 'God'!</p><p>Now, before you hang me up by my toenails & light me on fire; hear me out! I say "we are God" kinda tongue in cheek. We are most definitely NOT the biblical god, though he DOES seem strangely human! No, I say "we are God", because for all material intents & purposes, we are! Now, when it comes to our True Nature, it can be rightly said that "we are God" as well because, though I will acknowledge that there is Something greater than us ( while at the same time there is Nothing greater than us ), we are part & parcel with that Greatness which is at the same time Something & Nothing!</p><p>Even in a purely human sense, then, it can be rightly said that "we are God" because we & we alone direct the courses of our lives! Quite a statement, many would say: "quite untrue", most would say as well, but check this out! It is our personal choices that determine how we live our lives. "But, bro; what about all the things that HAPPEN to us, things that others do to us, over which we have no control?!" To this I say, "We STILL have a choice as to how we respond to their actions!" Do we not, though? Sure, what they do to us may have a life-long effect on us, for example, they shot us in the back, severing our spinal cord, leaving us a paraplegic ( at best )! However, our response is OUR choice; we could give up on life, becoming bitter & disillusioned ( "people DO suck" ), or we could choose, like some, to employ our brilliant mind & light out on a different path than we had thought we were destined for! Now, if that ain't God, I don't know what is!</p><p>"Unconditional Love", it would seem by its very terminology ( etymologically speaking ) means 'love without condition', correct?! Well, for the most part, the Love we bear witness to on this earthly pane is sadly conditional! Again, 'as above, so below'; if we do not offer the required care ( whatever that looks like ), there is a good chance we will not see that love/care in return. However, this is not to say that even if we don't show love to any given individual, be it animal or human, that the individual will not show love to us, for we must remember that they too are God; they may choose to show Love, even though we do not! "Why?" you may be wondering; "Why would ANYONE choose to love you when you clearly don't love them?" That, my friend, is where we brush up against the Truth!</p><p>Anybody that has read my blog for the last several years is probably familiar with my claim ( "I know I'm not the only one, either" ), that "We ARE Love!" Yes, not only are we God, but just like the biblical 'God', we are Love! "How is that?" you may ask. Well, to tell you the Truth, I might hafta get back to you on that, but for now, suffice it to say that Love really IS what makes the World go 'round! Call it Gravity, call it simply Energy, it is at the very root of everything that exists! It is what keeps the stars & planets in the heavens; it is what keeps us firmly rooted to the earth!</p><p>Of course,"as above, so below" is to be understood in the physical, or material sense here, since, for one thing, "stardust runs in our veins"; in essence, we are made of the same 'stuff' as the stars ( in a very technical sense; "Energy" ). Energy/Gravity/Love is the invisible Force that keeps the stars & planets spinning in their orbits: this is also what anchors these material bodies to our Mother, the Earth. ( "Speaking of Unconditional Love........" ). However, this is not to say that this blessed phrase may ONLY be understood in the material sense, for in the sense of the individual spirit ( 'Self' ), it should be understood that, as goes our 'Self', so goes our biological body. The 'Self" is where the Power of Choice lies!</p><p>So we come, finally, full circle, as it were, to 'The Mirror'! We see our 'Self' in the Other. Perhaps this is what the Guru means when She or He says "there IS no Other", for we ARE, when it comes down to it, all One; we are Energy, we are Love! Much as we try to vaunt ( vindicate? ) our own individuality, we truly are no different from the next person. Well, except maybe, for Forrest Gump; he was, well..."different!"</p><p>Namaste & Blessed Be</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-82216936794683631122023-10-29T00:17:00.002-06:002023-10-29T00:17:55.742-06:00Music From Another Room"What if I told you that our dreams are actually glimpses, however vivid or hazy, into another Reality, a different Dimension, if you will?!"<div><br /></div><div>Ambiguous at best, sometimes the dreams that we experience, usually at night, though many have been accused of day-dreaming, seem to be the manifestation of our wildest fantasies. However, certain of our dreams are so vivid that, when we wake up, it seems that what occurred in our dream state must have transpired in 'real life'. One can only imagine our surprise when the events that we witnessed while we were sleeping never actually happened. Or did they?!</div><div><br /></div><div>Although the existence of dimensions other than the three that can be observed with the naked eye ( length, width, depth ) has not been scientifically been proven ( yet ), it is theorized by some scientists that a 4th dimension, that of Time, must exist as well. The possibilities of other dimensions, like the 5th, even up to the 11th & beyond ( Infinity? ) have found their way into the theoretical multiverse. Speaking of the Multiverse, a popular phrase, in other words, maybe, is "the Universe is in YOU". Another way to say this might be the even more popular phrase, "As Above, So Below". So then, the existence of the Multiverse, as each one is individually a separate Universe. But then, of course; so goes the theory: it's really all just speculation, right?!</div><div><br /></div><div>If indeed the things that we hear that others don't ( not to mention what certain animals seem to hear or see that the ordinary human doesn't ) are simply happening in another dimension, then a big can of worms could theoretically be opened! What certain people, like Dr. Joe, for instance, speculate about, such as that past & future do not exist, but are all are occurring now, in the present moment begins to make some sort of convoluted sense. One might begin to wonder then, if the past they are remembering is truly their past, or if it is simply a present moment they are experiencing in another dimension, or even a parallel universe ( in the Multiverse ). Are our visions ( dreams? ) of some more or less distant future simply a glimpse of what is presently occurring to another version of ourselves?! It's really enough to blow one's mind!</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes, unfortunately, dreams come in the form of nightmares ( I say "unfortunately", though that is a matter of perspective ). Say, for instance, that someone is engaged in 'Shadow Work', in essence, revisiting their trauma from what is commonly called 'the past', or 'facing their demons'. "As above, so below"; such a dream, or nightmare, may simply be indicative of what is currently transpiring in another dimension, or parallel universe, if you will. In the greatest sense, this is itself speculation, though from the perspective of this blogger, such a concept makes sense, convoluted though it may be!</div><div><br /></div><div>"What is the point", one might well ask, "of all this ridiculous talk about other dimensions, not to mention the notion that Time is an Illusion, that past, present and future are occurring at the same time?" Great question; "What indeed?!" Well, first of all, we have born witness to the cyclical nature ( as opposed to 'linear' ) of what is popularly called 'Time'. Take, for example, History itself: although one may well note a sort of 'natural progression' in the world, can we really call it 'Progress'?! Is it progress that humanity has not learned from what we usually call 'the past'? Is it progress that we keep making the same mistakes, yet expecting different results? We have been taught to look at Life itself as progressive, but is it really? There is birth & there is death, right? Well, yes, but is death actually the end of life? Is birth the beginning? In a merely personal sense, yes, it could well be said that birth is the beginning & death the end, but in the spiritual sense, the energetic sense, you might say, Life goes on; the Spirit ( some call it 'the Soul' ) does not die, nor does it have a beginning. </div><div><br /></div><div>Right now, you may be wondering, "Is this guy right in the head?" "So Time is cyclical, not linear: is that supposed to prove the existence of other dimensions, that Time itself is an Illusion, or that past, present & future are occurring simultaneously?!" "For that matter, by saying that "Time is an Illusion", aren't you acknowledging the existence of Time?" </div><div><br /></div><div>Actually, I never said that Time doesn't exist; I simply said that It is an Illusion! "What's the difference?" you might well be thinking! Well, the difference is perceptual: Let me ask you a very familiar question, one you've probably heard before; "If a tree falls in the middle of a forest & there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?" The point is, Time DOES exist because everyone acknowledges its existence, in fact, people have witnessed Its march from time immemorial! For much the same reason, we can say that It is an Illusion, one that has been accepted as Real by the overwhelming majority, if not everyone, again, "from time immemorial"! "But, "an Illusion"? </div><div><br /></div><div>"Illusion"? What is an illusion? A very apt definition from the Oxford Languages dictionary reads thusly, "<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">a thing that is or is likely to be </span><span class="AraNOb" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a class="rMNQNe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiwrKfThoiCAxUjCjQIHTEfDlMQyecJegQIDhAK" href="https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=575495396&rlz=1CAHJUL_enUS1036&sxsrf=AM9HkKkgSGY0pSctosi1mIjfcPhj2G0TKg:1697922616519&q=wrongly&si=ALGXSla6aFUzqw8hZDovT8H5OBVEdXfgVu4hS9AEgnRma3dW1GZXf0S6Tk__xFVGDEMIIvXqWu6UKncO3sDOvXTHgptYLrlt63338qZGeRXgQH4JqqWsfHQ%3D&expnd=1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" tabindex="0">wrongly</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"> perceived or interpreted by the </span><span class="AraNOb" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a class="rMNQNe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiwrKfThoiCAxUjCjQIHTEfDlMQyecJegQIDhAL" href="https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=575495396&rlz=1CAHJUL_enUS1036&sxsrf=AM9HkKkgSGY0pSctosi1mIjfcPhj2G0TKg:1697922616519&q=senses&si=ALGXSlaWqc4XvKuO31AnQ7gAsIq_BTMDG86MHvRR93FSi_UCQMCJfqA4YnEnZf2NXS7jf5eX5DODOSQ7cMbBdpU3lnPyK8qQXA%3D%3D&expnd=1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" tabindex="0">senses</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">." There are doubtless other definitions, even more more apt, maybe, but this will suffice. According to this definition, an illusion is a thing, therefore NOT non-existent. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Okay, so what's all this about other dimensions then?" Hmmmmm; "other dimensions". By this very question, wouldn't you yourself be acknowledging that this is a dimension, if not by extension that it MIGHT be merely one among many?! In my limited understanding, a dimension describes a plane, whether physical ( tangible ) or spiritual/mental ( intangible ). Not being a Scientist, per se; I might describe a cube as having the dimensions of height, width & depth. This is popularly known as '3D'. For universal purposes, we might add a fourth dimension, 'Time' & call it '4D'. In this New Age of which we are on the verge, many are using the term '5D'. This termino</span></span><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="background-color: white;">logy of the Fifth Dimension is really nothing new, having been bandied around for the past few decades. Another phrase for this New Era is 'The Age of Aquarius'. As the case may be, however, a 5D reality may be exactly what we</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">'re looking at when it comes to "other dimensions".</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">I saw a meme the other day that really resonated with me: something to the effect of "we no longer live in the material age; now we live in the Age of Energy'. This, of course must be perceptual as well, for in the greatest sense, it could well be said that we've always lived in the Age of Energy! However, back to the message of the meme in question; up until now, the overwhelming majority of our world has had ( still has? ) a focus on the physical. What I mean by that, at least in this context, is that we have been taught to identify with our physicality, that the physical aspects ( attributes? ) of this life are what's real, when in Reality, it is the spiritual nature of Life, that which drives the physical, that is of greatest import!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">So we come to what is known as the 5th Dimension. "As above, so below"; to the four 'dimensions' already named, we might add a 5th, that of 'Spirit', or 'Energy'. In the greatest sense, 'dimensions' could be added, to Infinity. Seriously though, that is as it should be, or rather, will be! </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">You've probably heard of the 'Expanding Universe' theory: some of my readers might remember this, but several years ago I wrote a blogpost on this subject. My thesis was that it is not the universe that is expanding, but rather our understanding of it. The same is true of 'dimensions'; it's just that we have become/are becoming aware of their existence. With the opening of the 'third eye' & other spiritual senses, it is now possible to 'see' into those other dimensions. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="background-color: white;">With the naked eye ( vision ), and the aid of our biological body's greatest organ ( touch ), we can observe objects in 3D, or in the third dimension. Theoretically, within this illusion we call 'Time, we may, more or less, correctly say that we live/exist in the fourth dimension, or in a 4D Universe. However, gaining popularity with the idea that we are spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies, is the existence of this 5th Dimension, the Dimension of Spirit. In a related note, one might refer to the 1997 film, 'T</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">he 5th Element', as playing with a similar concept. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">The existence of Time is a proven fact! History should be enough to tell us that, right?! For example, from my own Christian education, I can tell you that the J</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">ewish Temple was destroyed in A.D.70 because the Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote an eyewitness account. For that matter, referring to my own past, I could point out the fact that I received a 'Christian education'. '</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">"How could you say that Time is an illusion, then, since you acknowledge that these things transpired in the past?!" one might well ask! Memories are a strange thing! An example from my youth should suffice here: I remember at least two memories from my childhood that my siblings, upon hearing them, have told me that they never happened. Now, I ask you, "was I simply dreaming ( remembering something that NEVER happened ) , or was I actually seeing into another dimension ( one they couldn't 'see' )?" In other words, "in my 'memories' of these events, am I actually recalling events that transpired in the past, or was I observing them as they occurred in real time?" </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Admittedly, phrases such as the one used earlier, "The Universe is in YOU!" should not be taken literally! Although the organs of our physical body could almost be likened to the complex arrangement of the planets & stars, one could never truly say that the Universe is literally mirrored in our body. I have heard recently ( my readers may have heard this as well ) that the elements that make up our physical bodies came straight from what we usually call 'outer space', so this could offer an explanation of this enigmatic phrase. The phrase, "As above, so below" lends a bit more light to the subject: Again, speaking of physicality, we might look at Astrology, in its several aspects. Ruling planets, star signs, etc, all seem to have an effect on our lives. Humanly speaking, we must remember that, even though it is written in the stars, so to speak, we still have free will; it is our choice as to whether we simply follow that destiny, or whether we carve out our own destiny!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">However, it might be noted that there is a bit more to this familiar phrase: "As above, so below" means that, as spiritual beings, we are one with the Universe ( 'God', Source, etc. ) & so, as the Spirit moves, do we manifest in our physicality, given, of course, that we are in flow with both the Universe & our own Divinity. At this point enters another phrase, "You ARE the Universe!" In a certain sense, this might simply refer to the fact that as part & parcel WITH the Universe ( an integral one, at that, we are, In Essence, the Universe itself; however, "as above, so below"; perceiving ourselves as the Universe we are helps us understand that we each, again, in essence, form our very own universe! </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Each of us, through our Power of Choice, carves out our own Destiny! In other words, we shape our Universe through our choices, manifesting our own destiny as we consciously will it. Coming full circle, then, we are back to the Multiverse, with Infinite possibilities and multiple realities/dimensions. The overwhelming majority</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"> of us, have been taught, usually from day one, that Re</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">ality, like so many other concepts in the world at large, is Absolute. According to this theory, in other words, there is ONE Reality; all else is unreal or illusion. This is most often applied to things like Truth, 'sin', etc. However, what may be Real or True in our universe/world may not be true or real in another's! </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">At this point, some may be wondering then, "Is there room for Absolute Truth, Absolute Reality?!" Funny you should ask, because the whole premise seems to rest in the existence of 'God', or One Absolute & Supreme Being. Questions like this MUST ultimately come down to this premise; "Does this One Ultimate & Supreme Being truly exist, or is 'He'/ 'She'/ 'It' really 'US'?!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">We Are the 'God' of our Universe/world! We may not be in control of every single thing ( event ) that occurs in our little world, but we CAN control how react to those events. Better yet, we can choose ACT, to exercise our conscious Will ( "Now THAT'S a 'Preemptive Strike'!" ) in manifesting Love, first in our World/Universe, then in the Multiverse at large!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">I began this somewhat lengthier than usual post about a week or so ago, but did I really?! My Mind, with its finite memory, tells me I did, but am I simply hearing music from another room? Did I actually start this post in another dimension, only to finish it in this one? The Infinite possibilities are enough to blow our finite minds! Good thing we are More than our finite mind! We may be hearing from/seeing into a different dimension, but since we are Infinite Beings having a finite experience, it not only doesn't blow our minds, it serves to further open our minds & to think outside the box. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">"Does it really matter, in the Grand Scheme of things, that Time is an Illusion?" What difference does it really make that our dreams are really glimpses into another dimension? This, of course is assuming that there ARE other dimensions! Is it possible that Past, Present & Future are occurring simultaneously, just in different dimensions? To our finite Minds, so fucked up from years of programming, it's difficult to admit the possibility, much less wrap our poor little heads around how it MIGHT be possible! But again, "does it really matter?" My readers will have to answer THAT question for themselves, but I'm pretty sure that YOU already know! Happy dreaming/remote viewing!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Namaste' & Blessed Be</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Sage Charles</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-16036144223552691112023-09-22T22:43:00.000-06:002023-09-22T22:43:16.289-06:00Dancing With The Devil <p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Gen-4-6" id="en-NKJV-86" style="background-color: white;">"</span><span class="text Gen-4-6" style="background-color: white;">So the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?</span><span class="text Gen-4-6" style="background-color: white;"><b> </b></span><span class="text Gen-4-7" id="en-NKJV-87" style="background-color: white;">If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire [ is ] for you, but you should rule over it.”</span></span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span class="text Gen-4-7" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> - Genesis 4:6 & 7 (NKJV )</span></span></p><p><span class="text Gen-4-7" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a conversation with a friend the other day about the Ego. My interpretation of the latter half of the quote above runs like this: "you have a choice; you can let your Ego determine your course of action ( "rule over you" ), or you can rule over it!" In other words, Cain could go with his natural inclinations, which was to allow his jealousy to become murderous hatred, or he could let Love rule & overrule the judgement his emotions had made. We know, from reading the rest of the account, what Cain decided to do with his god-like power! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Gen-4-7" style="background-color: white;">The Ego, as we've discussed previously, is neither 'good' nor 'bad'; "it is what it is', to use a fairly modern & well-worn phrase! It IS, in fact, I explained, one of those 'constituent elements' necessary to our normal everyday operation as human beings. One might note that the Ego, as in Cain's case above, is our ability to make choices, to decide whether to do this or that, one thing or the other. </span><span style="background-color: white;">"As above, so below"; It is what makes us the 'gods' that we are! </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More on that outrageous ( some might say 'blasphemous' ) statement later; for now, let's discuss the title of this blogpost, 'Dancing With the Devil'. Before we begin though, let me first of all, assure my readers that I'm NOT, in any way, making reference to the biblical 'Satan'! I MUST say, however, that the subject I'm broaching here IS related to the notion of 'the Adversary' or devil ( serpent ) that we encounter in the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures! While the 'serpent', in the Garden ( Genesis 3 ) & elsewhere, may have had a primarily Jewish referent, ideologically speaking, the notion that we are our own worst enemies makes this biblical figure very relatable.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It, speaking of the Ego, though neither good nor bad, DOES have a tendency toward the instinctual, or the Animal! Our human nature, as opposed to our Divine Nature, is the Seat of the Ego. As far as choice goes, it could be said; "it is only in our humanity that we have a choice"! This may open another can of worms, but as Divine Beings, do we really have a choice to do right or wrong, to be good or evil? Some might ask, though, "What about evil spirits? Surely they exist!" That is surely worth pondering, right?! "Is it though?" The Nature of this Beast is that, no matter what one calls them, there are definitely malevolent 'spirits' out there! Then again, are 'they' actually 'spirits', or are we simply witnessing the manifestation of an Ego gone wrong. Aside from Relativity, there IS what's right & what's wrong; a Universal Principle, you might say!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The "Ego gone wrong" refers to the biblical example given earlier, of Cain & Abel. Cain murdered his brother because he allowed his Ego to get the better of him! As the Ego is a manifestation of the Mind, or brain, it is ultimately controlled ( "ruled" ) either by our Higher or lower Self. Obviously, Cain chose the easy way out & so allowed his jealousy to become hatred. However, had he trusted his Higher Self, Abel might still be with us today! No, not really...................but then..............</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">a constituent element of our humanity", the Ego serves the purpose of giving us our individual personality: it serves us well in this respect, fitting us with the necessary accouterments of things such as likes & dislikes, even, to some extent, connecting with our Higher Selves, though we may not be aware, discerning between right & wrong, good & evil. Without the Ego, it would be difficult, if not impossible to, as they say, 'make it' in the business world, especially today's! This is not to say that, in order to operate in today's world, business or otherwise, one must allow their Ego to 'take the reins', so to speak, just that one MUST employ their Persona in this Illusion we call Life!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As discussed in a previous post, one MUST face their Darkness in order to heal; in much the same way, the Ego has a dark side, as we saw with the example of Cain & Abel. This is not to say that just because Cain elected to let his Ego push him to murder, we should embrace that natural desire & follow through on our feelings of hatred. Rather, through the Lens of Love ( our Higher Self ) we can instead, embrace those feelings & transmute them into actions of love rather than the destructive force of hate, or fear. Just because our Ego engenders a feeling of jealousy within us, our response doesn't need to be instinctual, as Cain's, but rather, if we rely on our Higher Self, or Divine Nature, then Love will rule the day & our actions will be nothing but good, just & right!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">In 'Dancing With the Devil' then, we must exercise great care that, in embracing our Darkness,we do not become so attached to It that we allow It to control us! 'As Above, so Below'; when we look to the Divinity Within to color our actions, we can be assured that we are acting from a place of Love. However, we must remember, in the midst of all this pondering, that the Ego is not Itself an Evil! It is an Emotion ( for lack of a more concise term ) & as such is subject to our feelings, which again, are linked directly ( irreco<span>ncilably? ) to our humanity. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">What IS a god/God?! Many people flinch at the notion that we are gods, though they might grudgingly acknowledge that we are, in a very limited sense, 'small 'g' gods', but definitely NOT capital, or 'big 'G' Gods ( "there is ONLY ONE true God!" )! A God/god, in my limited understanding, is simply 'a mighty one'. Another well-accepted definition of a god/God is that it is a Divine Being. Again, while most would admit the fact that we all have that 'Spark of Divinity', the overwhelming majority of religious people seem to be of the opinion that we are primarily, if not wholly, human beings. ( Therein lies the problem! ) Since, then, we are 'spiritual (Divine? ) Beings having a human ( physical? ) experience', it should not be hard to accept the fact that we are gods, whether one uses the lower or uppercase 'G'! </span></p><p>Given, then, that we ARE Gods with the power, not only to choose, but through those choices to create the life we want, we really have no one but ourselves to blame if we're not living the life we want! Most would immediately object to this line of reasoning, bringing up such factors as things that just seem to happen to us, or that it's genetic ( we're predisposed to it ); some even blame their environment! No wonder most religious people want to let 'God' or 'the Devil' shoulder the blame for everything that happens to them, whether good or bad! However, "the Winds of Change, they are a'blowin"; those who know call it 'The Shift' ( I call It 'The Fuckening' ) & indeed a Shift It is, a shift in consciousness. More & more people are realizing the Truth about Who & What We really are, whether they are awaking from a religious stupor, or whether they were fortunate to be brought up in a non-religious household! As it is, this Shift has many painful, though glorious aspects. Some will doubtless, at first anyway, decide that it's TOO painful, so, for those of us with the courage to persevere, we must remember in treating with them, that we too were once in their shoes. By transmuting our own Darkness & BEING the Light-Bearers we are, we may be assured that we are planting the Seeds that will lead to THE Great Awakening!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-30325085696652182802023-08-14T21:33:00.000-06:002023-08-14T21:33:12.074-06:00As The Pendulum Swings; The Duality of Progression<p> "Black & White, Yin & Yang"</p><p>"There are two sides to every coin." Humanly speaking, this is a universal truth. Everybody has their own story, their own tale to tell & it is a rare thing thing when these stories jive, even when the story is about the same event! The reason for this, of course, is 'perception'. Not only does everyone have their own peculiar ( individual ) viewpoint, or opinion, we all experience things differently, to whatever extent: this is why, for instance, the so-called 'Synoptic Gospels' all read slightly differently, although they contain the same basic Story. </p><p>Another name for 'Progression' is 'Evolution'! Of course, when we think of 'Evolution', our Mind almost immediately jumps to pictures of a single celled organism crawling out of the tar pits, or something along the lines of 'Darwinian Evolution'. That question, however, being beyond the scope of this post, we shall quickly move on to 'Progression'! You might be familiar, again, to whatever extent, with the phrase, "natural progression": in some sense, this could be taken to refer to the evolutionary laws of nature, for instance, aging. "Time takes it's toll" is one example of this concept; in essence, as one gets old, the stressors of Life naturally affect our biological bodies to the effect that they eventually break down, or cease to function. This could open a whole can of worms, but "As above, so below; as below, so above"; this concept can also be applied to the heavenly bodies!</p><p>The Stars in the Heavens, including our own Sun, although with a much longer lifespan, have proven to "wind down"! In fact, scientifically speaking, you may have heard that many of the Stars we currently observe in the night sky actually "wound down" millenia ago, it's just that their light is just now reaching us. </p><p>At this point, one might be wondering what my point is; "why doesn't he just get to it?" some might well ask. "What's all this about pendulums & duality?" Well, to tell you the truth, I decided to 'kill two birds with one stone', in a manner of speaking! The 'duality', of course, is pretty simple; "Yin & Yang", "Black & White", "above & below", etc, but "the pendulum"?!</p><p>"The Pendulum". Everybody should be fairly familiar with the pendulum. It can be made from anything as simple as a piece of string with a weight tied to one end, to something like a metronome, with a mechanical arm which swings from one extreme to the other, making a rhythmic 'tic-toc' as it swings, at least until it winds down. Although there are doubtless many that come very close, I don't think anyone has come up with a machine yet that is truly in perpetual motion, at least, not by itself!</p><p>Life itself, at least on the biological plane, may be said to operate like a pendulum! When an animal is born, whether human or otherwise, this pendulum swings from one extreme to the other. In the beginning, when the creature is immature, we may note that it is incapable of certain movements that the older, more mature creature exhibits, to whatever extent. The Pendulum's Swing seems to hit the midway point, usually about halfway through the normal life-cycle. At this point, the creature's abilities may seem to have hit their peak. As the person ages, depending, of course, on many factors that don't seem to affect many other species, the movements that previously were exhibited often become less precise, as well as more laborious. Of course, this does not apply equally to every individual because, as previously noted, there are many defining factors!</p><p>On the other hand, while this point may be arguable, for the sake of Duality, let us now launch into a discussion of Subjectivity & Objectivity. The question might well be asked, "Is Truth subjective or objective?" In other words, is it relative to the individual? Can we truly say that every person has their own particular ( peculiar ) truth, or is Truth absolute? Does 2 + 2 ALWAYS = 4, or, in a different vein, is EVERYTHING the Christian Bible says the whole Truth & nothing but?! I was brought up to believe that, "Yes", the 'God' ( Elohim ) of the Bible IS the One True 'God' & the Bible is absolutely 'His' Word to us, but is this to say that just because the Church has accepted this 'truth' for 2,000 years, it is THE Truth?! </p><p>Truth, in that sense then, is not subjective! But then, if Truth is not subjective, can we truly speak of 'individual truth'? Again, "Yes". What is true for one person may not be true for someone else: for example, while this person may perceive an object or person as ugly, that person may see it as beautiful. More questionably though, this one may see a certain action or thing as 'good', while that one perceives it as 'evil'. Relatively speaking, both are true, but objectively, the Truth 'is what it is', neither 'good' nor 'evil'. At this point, some would no doubt object, saying something like , "God's Word ( the Bible ) SAYS that's Evil, or this is Good!' That's great; if you want to BELIEVE that the Bible is 'the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth', more power to you, but not everyone is going to believe what some book says, no matter HOW holy it is !</p><p>Objective Truth, on the other hand, is based upon 'hard, factual evidence"! Rather than being based on individual feelings or emotions ( likes & dislikes, etc. ), Objective Truth is presented as unchanging: some might even say, "Immutable". The Christian Bible, by the way, gives the same title to 'God' ( Elohim )! As the case may be, though, one might very well argue that there is no Objective Truth, that there IS no Absolute! "Absolutely!" "Surely Truth exists?!", one might ask! Yes, Yes; don't get your panties in a wad! Of course Truth exists ( just like 'God' ( NOT Elohim )! Like 'God' though, Truth 'is what IT is". Truth, again, is "neither objective nor subjective"; those are mere human concepts. IS Truth, or 'God', for that matter, 'Immutable'? Even the 'God' ( Elohim ) of the Bible has been known to change, so could the same be said of Truth? </p><p>Another title for this post could well have been 'The Evolution of Truth'! Many would most likely balk at this suggestion though, especially with the inclusion of 'Evolution'. The truth is, though, that for truth to truly be objective, it must evolve with those for whom it is truth! This is almost to say that Truth is not Truth unless one believes it! Pilate, indeed, according to the Christian Bible ( John 18:38 ) asked Jesus the question, "What IS Truth?!" One might wonder if Jesus failed to reply to this rhetorical ( some have used the term 'jesting' ) question because HE was the Truth, or rather, a Representative of It. Elsewhere, in fact, He DOES say, "I AM the Way, the Truth & the Life"! </p><p>At this point, some may feel inclined to object ( strongly ) saying something like, "it sounds like he's trying to make us believe that God Himself is subjective, that He only exists if we believe in Him!" Honestly, I'm NOT trying to make ANYONE believe ANYTHING; that's YOUR choice! However, I DO want you to be honest with yourself when it comes to 'God' & 'Truth'! If one's perception of 'God' is somewhat different than yours, does that necessarily make that one wrong? Some would, of course, immediately reply with a resounding "YES', but that is only their perception. The same could be said of 'Truth': "Truth', like 'Beauty', is Relative, or Subjective to ones perception!</p><p>"Wait, Wait; didn't he say that Truth is NOT subjective?!" Yes, Yes I did! However, I DID offer the caveat, "in this sense"! It should be clear that, for those who believe theirs is the only correct perception, "Truth is not subjective". The same, "yes", could be applied to their perception of 'God'. This, of course, is NOT to say that the One most often called 'God', also 'Allah", even 'Brahman", is simply a figment of our imagination! No, the One, or Source of ALL is no figment of ANYONE'S imagination! However, both 'God' & 'Allah' ARE simply conceptions of humanity, a cultural perception of what the Source, or One is. 'The One' is really not an accurate descriptor at all, for it implies quantity. The Source, of course, is Infinite. It might even more correctly, as discussed previously in this blog, be called simply, 'Energy'!</p><p>In this sense then, while some would probably say that Truth is Absolute, or Objective, just as 'God', to their perception, is 'Immutable', it would be incorrect to say that Truth is Objective! Now before you blow your stack, let me attempt to clarify my rather shocking statement. "As above, so below"; to say that Truth is objective implies quantity. Just as the Source of All is Infinite; it should be noted in the same sense that Truth too is Infinite!</p><p>It has been stated before, in other words, that Duality is a merely human concept! In Infinity, there IS no duality; Light & Dark, Hot & Cold, Good & Evil ( 'God' & 'Satan'? ), etc. do not exist, for these are all but differing degrees of the same Energy; opposite ends of the spectrum, if you will. In other words, Energy just is. It is OUR individual ( personal ) experience of that Energy that determines whether it is cold or hot, good or evil, etc!</p><p>Here again, we come face to face with 'the pendulum'. From one extreme to the other, as in cold to hot, low to high, hard to soft ( or vice-versa ), the day-to-day, hour-to hour & even minute-to-minute sweep of Life's Pendulum affects us all in similar ways, though everyone experiences these 'swings' differently, to whatever extent. Which brings us back to the fact I mentioned earlier, the "defining factors": these "defining factors" could range anywhere from individual tastes to environmental issues, but ultimately, these "factors" can really only be defined in one manner; the individual's spiritual condition! </p><p>Outward conditions, such as the death of a loved one, trauma against oneself ( whether physical or emotional/spiritual ), or simply geographical location, while they definitely have an effect on us, are just that, "outward conditions": there is always a choice to be made as to how we respond ( or not ) to those external factors, those 'random happenings' ( ? )! How we choose to face these demons & ultimately, our own Darkness is what will truly determine how these events, however traumatic, affect us.</p><p>Getting to the point then, the 'Pendulum's Swing' affects all areas of biological life! Whether plant or mineral, animal or human, all have their ebb & flow ( though the degree varies ). Although most would probably perceive this process as 'natural', again, there are many factors involved & which more or less determine exactly how long that life-span will be. In the natural progression of things, or what is most often called 'The Circle of Life', one ( mineral, plant, animal or human ) must die in order that another might live!</p><p>So then, in conclusion, whether one calls it 'Evolution' or 'natural progression', in the end it works out for the good of all concerned, be they mineral, plant, animal, or human. Of course, 'the end' is only a biological term, or perception, for as we should all know by now; Energy NEVER dies, it is simply Transformed!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-21980440234187742872023-06-18T20:25:00.000-06:002023-06-18T20:25:44.044-06:00The Divine Other<p>"My Exalted Grandfather, whom I never had the privilege of meeting in the flesh, is sometimes quoted as having said something like, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'!" Quite a statement! Growing up, as I did, in a Land occupied by foreign invaders, the Mark that my Forebear had left behind was still fairly evident, though maybe, for the most part, underground as of yet. Things seemed to have calmed down to a low roar since His crucifixion, but passions, which had been roiling under the surface since even before His time, were getting ready to erupt again!</p><p>Up until the time of Jesus, the Romans had allowed us to worship as we wished; in fact, they had even left us, for the most part, to our own laws & customs. Obviously, they were still in control of the situation, but they had pretty much left us to our own devices when it came to living our faith. There had previously been issues with this, centuries ago, beginning with the Babylonians, all the way up to the Seleucids. Now the Romans had the ascendancy. Although there were many indications of the effects of both romanization & hellenization on our Jewish culture, we still had our Temple, such as it was & thus were still uniquely Jewish. </p><p>My name is Joseph & this is MY Story! As I was saying, my Exalted Grandfather had once said, "Love you neighbor as yourself". Unless, as the Overwhelming Majority tended to do, one took the stance that 'your neighbor' only constituted those of our own race, or religion, loving one's neighbor meant anyone with whom you came in contact. Long story short, that would mean, I guess, that we were supposed to love even the Romans as we loved ourselves. "Wow!" How do you love your conquerors, those who persecute you?! </p><p>Okay, so at this Time in OUR Story, 'persecution' might be a bit strong, though it had been VERY strong in the past. We had to pay all those stupid taxes, we weren't allowed to live exactly as we wanted, but like I said, we still had our Temple & they pretty much left us alone when it came to Who we worshiped. Things were escalating though, as they had in the past, because, along with OUR God, they wanted us to worship their Caesar as a God. This, of course, went over like a screen door on a submarine, especially among the Elders!</p><p>At an early age, though not as early maybe, as my Exalted Grandfather, I enjoyed going into the Temple to listen to, if not reason with the Elders. On one occasion, as I remember, I brought up this very subject: speaking of 'lead balloons', they were NOT impressed! "How dare I question or otherwise challenge their orthodox understanding of the words of Jesus!" To make matter worse, I challenged their notion of 'worship' when I reminded them that it actually only means 'to ascribe worth'! If looks could kill, I would have been in the same boat as my Grandfather, those many years ago!</p><p>For the time being, however, I managed to dodge that bullet. They weren't so lucky: History records that after the crucifixion of Jesus, things got steadily worse. The rebellion that had been fomenting since before His time continued to fester & the Romans, largely because because we WERE loving them as we loved ourselves ( not at all ), finally started cracking down on us! No longer was it simply OUR Temple; we had to worship their God, not just alongside of, but before ours. No longer were our laws preeminent, THEIR laws now held that position! This, of course, was not working for the Elders, so something HAD to give & that's when the rumors started to turn into more than rumors!</p><p>In Time, matters finally escalated to the point where the Romans had to descend in glory on our beloved City & Temple! Not only did they raise havoc in the City, they also razed our Temple to the ground ( though there ARE reports that Jews actually started the fire )! All because the Elders misunderstood what their Great Teacher had said. "Sad". Anyway, my mother & I dodged that bullet as well, having some years before escaped to our mountain retreat which her Exalted Father, my Grandfather, had provided for us those many years ago. </p><p>As the years went by & Time rolled on, things seemed to quiet down in the Land of my Nativity, though things were never quite the same after my Exalted Grandfather had His say & walked His walk! There was an occasional rebellion, even almost a revolution that seemed to threaten the Roman's grasp on power, but it never lasted. However, as always; Empires come & Empires go: the Roman's hold over us was not to last forever. Israel became an independent ( more or less ) nation/state many, many years later ( almost 2 millenia ) when the British Empire, in what might have been the throes of their power, won them their freedom, such as it was.</p><p>I said previously that this was MY Story! Well, this is how I grew up, this is partially what made me the Person I became. I chose, throughout all of the above, to look at even those who orchestrated our destruction as 'my neighbor', though I'm pretty they didn't look at me in the same manner. It was a very difficult choice at first ( still is at times ), but I often found that the more I did, the easier it was to look at them that way & to understand that it was because of their own choices that they manifested the destruction that you now read in the history books.</p><p>So, now you know a bit of my history, not just who I am, or was, but what events transpired that influenced the Person I became. Although I may not have cut the figure my Exalted Grandfather did, I WAS cut from the same Cloth, in a manner of speaking. I never knew Him in person, but I knew Him just the same: He has guided me on my own Journey through this world, this Life. If I learned anything from my experiences with Him, it is that when we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will receive the same in turn, WITHOUT FAIL!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p><div id="tap-translate"></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-2483424347865557172023-05-28T13:42:00.000-06:002023-05-28T13:42:16.551-06:00The Energy of Love; the Invisible Field<p>As the Story goes, the discovery of Gravity happened by 'accident', as it were! John Newton was taking a leisurely nap one fine day, leaning against the solid trunk of an apple tree. ( 'Grounding' is VERY important to this Story! ) Anyway, ol' Johnny was reclining there, not even sawing logs yet & all of a sudden, something smote him on the top of the head! At first, Sir John looked around, bewildered; he'd thought himself alone, but someone had apparently been close enough to register him a pretty fair clout on his head, squarely on the crown, no less! Looking around with his somewhat bleary, still-sleepy eyes, he detected no human intruder on his privacy, but rather, further investigation revealed a rather large, juicy apple, laying on the ground several feet to the side from where he was reclining & he noticed that there was a slightly flattened area on the blossom-end, where some juice was starting to pool. At first, our unwitting Hero was perplexed, wondering how the fruit could have smacked him so resoundingly & with such precise aim. He had noted that no one else was around, not that he could sense, anyway, who could have delivered the fruit so precisely as to give him such a resounding whack on the head. "I mean, the sound of the apple as it struck him was almost a louder culprit for rousting him from his slumber than was the pain, though that itself was not insignificant!" Upon further inner discourse, John decided that, since no one was obviously in the vicinity who could have thrown the apple with such force & precision, he finally reached the unthinkable conclusion that it must have guided itself to that exact spot, now tender with a slight throbbing, on the precise crown of his head. "I mean, really; for the missive to strike him so soundly at that exact spot, the perpetrator would have had to either be in the tree above him, or a hell of a good pitcher!" Being the Scientist he was, Sir John finally concluded that the apple doesn't usually fall far from the tree because of an invisible Force of Nature that drew it naturally to the Ground. One might call it the original 'Law of Attraction'! Noting the natural gravity of the situation ( it nearly concussed poor Mr. Newton ), the name 'Gravity' was applied & has stuck ever since!</p><p>Okay, so that's not PRECISELY how it happened, but the point is that, even though it was 'Isaac', not 'John' who made the discovery, it WAS probably one of the most significant scientific discoveries EVER! Prior to this moment in time, wild conjectures were made as to how the Sun, Moon & Stars simply hung in the heavens. In fact, it wasn't even a consideration that the Earth Herself could have been anything but one big flat plate, supported on the backs of a number of huge elephants; either that, or a VERY large turtle/tortoise, strange as that might sound! Isaac, though surely previous scientists had ruminated on this mystery, had discovered, much like Ben Franklin much later with his discovery of Electricity ( another invisible force ), that the invisible force which had caused the apple directly above his head to fall straight down on his poor crown was no trick, or prank, but was instead one of the most important governing laws of the Universe!</p><p>The year was either 1665 or 1666, according to Google, when Isaac Newton made this astonishing discovery. Years after Copernicus & Galileo made their own astonishing discoveries, disclosing their then-heretical, to say nothing of 'blasphemous' theories, he unwittingly uncovered the truth as to the how of their startling discoveries. Our understanding & scope of the Universe has evolved astronomically since those early days, but when it all comes down to it, 'Gravity' is still the simplest answer for what holds it all together. We now know that the Earth is not a flat mass supported by ancient gargantuan animals & that it is actually spherical in nature, spinning like a top on a magnetic axis, with opposing poles at each end. The Stars, rather than being 'fixed', as Copernicus thought our Sun was, actually carry an orbit themselves ( look up 'Wheel of the Year' ). The Planets themselves rotate in a similar manner, in countless Galaxies, but that might better be another Story for another Day................</p><p>Gravity, like certain other Forces of Nature, is invisible, at least to the naked eye, though like these other Forces, it is manifestly apparent. For most of us, it is not even an afterthought that Gravity is what causes an object to fall crashing to the earth when we let loose our hold on it. The average Joe ( or Joelene ), if he or she even thinks about it, probably doesn't think, "well, the gravity here on Earth is much greater than on the Moon, so if I release my hold on this object, it will most likely fall to the ground & very likely break!". No, most people would probably be thinking something like this; "I MUST not drop this!" </p><p>Comparably, Love is the greatest such Force of Nature! You cannot see Love, for It, like Gravity, is an intangible. Like Gravity, though, it's easy to see its manifestation, although It too, is often overlooked. In this day & age, Love is often mistakenly called 'kindness', 'decency', or some such. Many people, myself included, are often afraid to manifest the Love that we naturally are, whether because of the fear that people will just take advantage of us ( sadly, this is a genuine concern ) or for fear that it will be mistaken for what is often called 'romantic love', which should more correctly be called 'lust'! Unfortunately, this is also a genuine concern, for in today's day & age as well, the 'lust of the flesh' is usually called 'love', when nothing could be further from the truth! Now, don't get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with sensuality! For that matter, sexual intercourse can be, not only one of the best forms of Communion, but a brush with Divinity. However, when sensuality becomes the goal & exploring one's sexual nature ( for we ARE, humanly speaking, sexual creatures ) becomes ones identity, then we have a problem! <br /></p><p>Albert Einstein once said, in other words maybe, "Everything is Energy"! Energy, while it would not be quite correct to call It an intangible, is the basis of both Love & Gravity, which one could almost say are two sides of the same coin. Gravity is more of a physical property & Love might be seen as more on the spiritual side of the equation. Both have an obvious physical manifestation, as mentioned earlier, where Love manifests in acts of kindness & decency, whereas Gravity makes its presence known when things fall to the Earth, or depending on the situation, hover in the air. On a personal note, I remember from my childhood when I would swing a bucket that was half full of water in a circle without spilling a drop. My readers might recall such a scientific experiment themselves. In this case, one might note that we are 'creating' a sort of gravity, much as the influence the Moon exerts upon the tides of our oceans, even on our own bodies!</p><p>Energy is a strange thing! Before humanity, thanks to people like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, etc, began to understand more of how the Laws of Nature work, one could easily imagine our Ancestors contriving fantastical stories about how, for example, that great big Light in the heavens moved from one horizon to the opposite, giving way to a somewhat lesser Light that would wax or wane during the cycle of seasons. Although there might be differing opinions/theories out there as to the "how?" & "why?", it should be clear that is due to some form of Energy, whether it's Gravity or just plain Magick! On a side note, it IS interesting that the Moon is a reflector, revealing indirectly that the Sun is still at work ( "no rest for the wicked ( good )!" ), so maybe the Gravity She creates by spinning on Her own axis is the simplest & best explanation for Her obvious influence on us & our planet. I'm sure there are other theories on this subject.</p><p>Though Energy, like I stated earlier, could not correctly be called an intangible, it IS an invisible Force! It can be measured & has been, though only or mostly because of its manifestation. Scientists have been able to differentiate between Gravity on the Moon & Gravity on the Earth. As I mentioned as well, in a personal example, we can create Gravity by, for instance, swinging an object in an orbit around an axis, namely us. Something that just occurred to me is that because of the orbit, or frequency of motion, of the atoms which make up, or constitute our biological bodies, we, in effect create our own Gravity, though obviously not nearly on the scale of say the Moon or the Earth, to say nothing of the Gravity of the Sun. Another name for this gravitational pull we generate is of course, 'Love'!</p><p>'The Law of Attraction' has been drawing quite a bit of attention lately, especially among the New Age crowd, because it is, well, 'attractive'! That was a bit of a try at humor, but seriously, this supposed 'Law' seems to say, in other words maybe, that what you focus on, you attract, so if you focus on money, health, etc, you will attract all these things to you. Reading Joe Dispenza & the like, it is easy to see how, in theory at least, this would work. "Can we, simply by changing our thought patterns, change our reality?" If our actions follow our thoughts, which they most often do, it is definitely possible to live a new life, on our own terms. Again, "Simple", but by no means "Easy"! </p><p>"As above, so below," then; attracting certain things to us sounds strangely like the magnetism of the heavenly bodies. In fact, well-used phrases like 'animal magnetism' have almost become cliche'! Call It 'Gravity", call It 'Love' or simply 'Energy'; it is a known & proven scientific fact that our bodies themselves do radiate a kind of field, to whatever extent. Whatever Energy then, that comes in contact with that invisible field is either repelled or attracted by It. This is where the poles come in; if the other person is radiating their Energy from the opposite pole from you, i.e., from their southern pole ( Lust ) while yours is emanating from your northern pole ( Love ): it is likely that they may feel strangely attracted to you & vice versa, though this is where the personality ( Ego ) rears its ugly head. Speaking of cliche's; it is often said that "opposites attract": this actually makes scientific sense because, when it comes to magnets, if I remember correctly from my schooling, it is the opposite poles which are attracted, whereas two northern poles will repel each other ( same with two southern poles ). The reason ( this is my theory ) that opposites often attract is that our Higher Selves know what we need, though our lower selves, our Ego, will likely ( eventually ) be repelled when our Energies do not match.</p><p>"For those, however, who grasp the 'gravity' of the situation", the magnetic pull overrules the Ego & even though the result is usually a reversal of polarities ( either that, or a total dismissal ), the Two become One, whether the relationship is a physical ( sexual ) or 'merely' spiritual one. This caveat must be made here though; such reversals don't always turn into intimate relationships: sometimes, for whatever reason, both parties go their separate ways, the purpose of their time together being fulfilled. As the case may be, the Higher ( Vibration ) Selves of the two Individuals in question will forever after be in Communion!</p><p>Again, call It 'Gravity', call It 'Love', or simply Energy, It is what holds Life together. Just as the water would fall out of the bucket if I didn't keep it swinging at a certain speed, so the Earth, if she stopped spinning on Her axis, would soon fall from Her place in the Universe. Maybe this is why Stars die; they run out of Energy & thus their Gravity fails, inducing their fall from glory! The human body too, when it begins to lose its Energy, starts to vibrate at a lower frequency & thus gravitates closer & closer to the Earth, till it again becomes one with the ground from which it came!</p><p>The Story related at the beginning of this post tells a similar tale. The apple, as we all should know, ripens to a certain point on the tree until it is ready to fall to the ground, thus continuing the Cycle, which occurs naturally to ALL forms of Life, of birth, death & resurrection. Sir Isaac Newton is probably most famous for the Story above ( although I must admit to a BIT of elaboration ), but he is known as well for uncovering many Universal Truths ( one only has to Google 'Issac Newton' to discover for oneself )!</p><p>In conclusion, though this undoubtedly is not the end of the matter; though It takes many forms & manifests in different ways, "EVERYTHING is Energy!" As autonomous ( free will ) human beings, of course, our individual personality ( Ego ) plays a big part in how that Energy manifests, but ultimately, whether we are aware of It or not, our Higher Self governs the course of our Life!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-18526146944091913882023-05-12T19:31:00.003-06:002023-05-12T19:31:54.430-06:00Finding Joy in Your Darkness<p>Like it or not not, our culture here in America is borrowed! When I say "borrowed", I don't necessarily mean that as a bad thing. "It is what it is": however we choose to look at it. In some sense, one could almost say that our culture is a not too-unpleasant mixture of Western & Eastern culture, with the "Eastern" referring not to Far Eastern, as in Chinese, Japanese, etc., but to the Ancient Near Eastern culture, in particular the Hebrew culture. I was tempted here to say "patriarchal" in regards to the Ancient Near Eastern culture, but I have a sneaking susp<span>icion that wouldn't be quite fair! The Bible, or our Western translation of the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures, leans rather heavily toward patriachalism, but one might well wonder if this leaning can largely be blamed, if blame there be, on the shoulders of good ole' English Puritanism. Anyhow, as the case may be, all this is to set the groundwork for what I write today, so; "on with the Show!"</span></p><p>Having written all that, which is by no means all that could, or even maybe should be written, most people in this great nation, excepting maybe those who are called 'Native Americans', have been taught to fear & even demonize the Darkness! Native Americans, as well as other Ancient peoples, including, I would surmise, those of the Ancient Near East, were far more familiar, even comfortable with the concept of 'Yin & Yang', the notion that we all have two sides ( for lack of a better term ) to our human nature. Even in our modern culture, this concept is recognized, even almost honored, thanks to influence from the Far East, but for the most part, the Darkness is usually seen as something that must be overcome, rather than accepted & embraced. As a former Christian, I am fairly familiar with this concept, for without even quoting from the Bible, it is fairly evident that our culture has been heavily influenced by Puritanical ideas on this Subject!</p><p>Maybe the greatest & saddest outworking of this Puritanical, not to mention 'patriarchal' influence was the Salem Witch Trials of the mid to late 17th century! Here again, the biblical notion that the Darkness was evil & something to be feared outweighed what should have been common sense. For the most part ( as I understand it ) these women, as well as some men, I believe, who were accused of being 'Witches' in league with 'Satan', were simply those who knew how to work with & honor Nature, rather than to work against & dishonor Her innate Power. Some did practice what was most often called 'the Dark Art', though it should be noted that their Craft, as it is popularly known, was, for a time anyway, veiled in secrecy to avoid persecution. To this day, in fact, much of 'the Craft' is held in Secrecy, in the Dark, if you will, for this very reason, if this reason alone. </p><p>In the biblical story of 'Adam & Eve in the Garden', the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil was forbidden to the representative couple 'lest', as the text says, "they become ( Gods ) like Us". For whatever reason & to whatever extent, the knowledge that these 'Witches' had garnered was forbidden as well. In fact, one could safely say that this 'Fruit' ( of the Tree in question ) was simply the Knowledge that these Witches employed, whether in healing or what. Though there were doubtless those who learned to use this innate Power for their own selfish purposes, hence earning their fate, in a sense; for the most part, it was simply a way of life which was very natural to those who practiced it. For that reason, some might simply call it, 'The Old Ways'!</p><p>In our modern-day culture, a practice that is in its ascendancy is 'Shadow Work'; basically, a deep exploration of ones 'Dark' side in order to balance our energetic body ( 'Light Body', or 'Body Electric' ). The idea then, is not to overcome the Darkness in our human nature, but rather, as the Star Wars movie franchise made popular, to "bring balance to the Force"; to realize that our 'Dark' & our 'Light' are two sides of the same coin, so to speak, both necessary ( as necessary as male & female, in fact ) to the well-being of humanity. There is a sense in which we must overcome our 'Dark' side, although it might be more correctly called 'programming' or 'conditioning'. You might be thinking, "necessary?" Just think about it for a minute; "why would Darkness be necessary?"</p><p>"Okay, okay, I'll dish!" First though, let me ask you another question: "is it easier to sleep/rest when it's dark out or when it's light?" That's kind of a rhetorical question, right?! However, that's not quite where I was going with this. The 'Dark' side of our human nature isn't of necessity what we usually think of when we hear the word 'Dark' ( that's another cultural reference, by the way )! In modern times, when we use the term 'Dark', it's almost natural for our mind to immediately think, "Goth", or some such moniker associated with the 5 senses ( think 'color' ), but really, we should look at it in the sense of polar opposites, as in, say, a magnet. Even our Mother Earth, as indeed all the planets, has two opposite poles. I make no claims on being a great scientist, but I'm pretty sure this has something to do with Her ability to simply 'hang' out in Space, in a manner of speaking. So, it just makes sense then, to bring this ruling principle down to Earth, so to speak & apply it to humanity. Without these two poles in balanced cooperation, "how long do you think Life would persevere?"</p><p>On a more personal note; as some of my readers are probably aware, my 'vehicle' is afflicted with a disease ( dis-ease ) called '<a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/friedreichs-ataxia?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_cmpid=20110100625&utm_adgid=149820961878&utm_adid=658110118765&utm_network=g&utm_device=c&utm_keyword=&utm_adpos=&utm_gclid=CjwKCAjwx_eiBhBGEiwA15gLN0PBJEJympAuC6nJCRxHVPsawv-ebudXm7LFexp1IzvQNLRsivbhURoCI3MQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAjwx_eiBhBGEiwA15gLN0PBJEJympAuC6nJCRxHVPsawv-ebudXm7LFexp1IzvQNLRsivbhURoCI3MQAvD_BwE#prevention" target="_blank">Freidrich's Ataxia</a>'. I have not done much research on the intricacies of the affliction for quite some time now ( Google it if you're interested ), but basically, it is a degenerative neuro-muscular condition which greatly inhibits the transmission of electrical signals between the brain & the muscles. Hence, one of the more noticeable symptoms is a lack of balance. "Go figure", right? One might well wonder if the root cause of this disease is not somehow related to the polar regions of the 'vehicle' in which I currently reside. I DO experience a bit of <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/friedreichs-ataxia?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_cmpid=20110100625&utm_adgid=149820961878&utm_adid=658110118765&utm_network=g&utm_device=c&utm_keyword=&utm_adpos=&utm_gclid=CjwKCAjwx_eiBhBGEiwA15gLN0PBJEJympAuC6nJCRxHVPsawv-ebudXm7LFexp1IzvQNLRsivbhURoCI3MQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAjwx_eiBhBGEiwA15gLN0PBJEJympAuC6nJCRxHVPsawv-ebudXm7LFexp1IzvQNLRsivbhURoCI3MQAvD_BwE#prevention" target="_blank">neuropathy</a> in my feet & lower legs, if that gives any bit of a clue!</p><p>Getting to the point though; you might be asking the burning question, "how are we supposed to find joy in our darkness?" Well, we've established, more or less, that "Yes", while in the greatest sense you could rightly say that 'Dark' does not necessarily mean 'evil', or even 'bad', there are instances in which one might be accused of using his or her Darkness to 'evil' intent. Like Witchcraft; it is neither Light nor Dark by nature; "It is what It is": it depends on the individual practitioner as to whether It can be described as 'dark' or 'light'. Even so, in such a case, it still hinges largely on personal ( individual ) perspective. </p><p>Our Darkness, like the Ego, is therefore a constituent element to our humanity. Yes, while in the greatest sense you could rightly say then that there is no dark & light, as these are relative perceptions, for the sake of argument, we'll continue to look at this dualistically. As we saw earlier, the temptation, thanks to organized religion, is to hide the 'dark' side of our nature, while emphasizing the 'light' side. Indeed, we are taught to feel guilty for even HAVING a 'dark' side! Depending, of course, on what this supposed 'dark' side makes us want to do, it might not be a bad idea to 'rein it in', to exercise tact, etc. However, our Darkness is not something to be feared, much less squelched entirely! Rather, as a constituent element, if for no other reason, we should instead embrace It! It is not, as our modern society tends to view It, something to overcome, or even bring under control. For one thing, controlling It, or endeavoring to, anyway, brings us back to the realm of 'programming' or 'conditioning'. A good rule of thumb here is that part of the Wiccan Rede that I love to quote; "An ye harm none, do what ye will". No 'dark', no 'light'; just don't intentionally cause anyone harm & you're all good! </p><p>Some might raise the objection that sometimes it becomes necessary to 'fight fire with fire' & to merely human understanding, this is very arguable, but this might be an argument for another time. For now; we will suffice to remind us that we are More than our humanity & therefore must not of necessity return 'evil for evil' ( as the saying goes ). Even if no one goes with us, as another saying goes, we must do as our 'heart' directs, whether it be perceived as 'Dark' or 'Light'!</p><p>By following our 'Heart' ( call it 'gut feeling' or whatever ), we naturally feel more at ease, for rather than battling within ourselves, feeling one way, but acting another because Society ( again 'conditioning/programming' ) says we should or shouldn't. This is not to say, again, that there aren't certain things that are better left unsaid or undone, just that we must judge for ourselves what we know to be good, just & true, rather than allowing society to set these boundaries for us.</p><p>To find Joy in your Darkness, like most things relating to soul-searching, may sound easier than it is. Again, It IS that simple, but saying that is by no means to say It's easy! Overcoming the programming & conditioning that most of us have suffered through for the overwhelming majority of our relatively short lives is the first step towards experiencing this Joy. Once we have gotten past the notion that somehow the imbalance that we have experienced up to this point is due to something called 'Original Sin', it will become plain that the imbalance is simply a manifestation of the fact that we have been taught that a necessary part of our humanity needs to be squelched, if not stifled completely. By embracing both sides, again, 'dualistically', we bring back our body's natural balance & a body in balance not only feels better, it acts better, which in turn brings Joy to our Spirit!</p><p>In conclusion then & to reiterate; embracing our 'Darkness' not only "brings balance to the Force", in a manner of speaking, it helps us to realize that we don't don't have to battle ourselves in order to be a decent human being! Yes, there will probably still be those who try to take us to task ( judge us, try to make us feel guilty ) for doing this, but this is where choice comes in; you can listen to their judgments & continue to war with yourself ( with all that entails ), or you can tactfully & kindly say "Fuck you"; go about your business & causing no harm, do what you will!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-74618846618789498912023-04-29T20:48:00.001-06:002023-04-29T20:48:35.869-06:00"Can it really be that simple?"Depending on who you ask, Ascension can really mess with your mind! To clarify, it's pretty much a given that trying to become familiar with your Inmost Self is going to blow your fucking mind. In fact, that's kinda the whole point. Our Mind, which is that integral part of us that's most closely related to our Ego, is what likes to tell Stories, Stories that aren't necessarily true, even though we tell ourselves they are. I'm not saying that either the Mind or the Ego are 'bad, or 'evil', just that, as with all things, they can be used for 'good', or 'evil'. Even what we intend for 'good' can often turn out to be 'evil'! It's all good though, because even the 'evil' that happens to us can be transmuted to 'good'.<div><br /><div>There is a saying I've heard recently, "If it's complicated, it's Ego; Spirit is simple!" Several things: saying it's simple is NOT to say it's easy! It's a tough row to hoe & like I always say, "it's gonna hurt like hell!" Not that It truly hurts US, but that, as we tend to identify with our Ego ( at least, until we wake up/ascend ), It will wound our Ego to the very core until we realize we are NOT the Ego. Then & only then can we move forward. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes we try too hard! Of course, that could just be MY Mind telling me that, but it resonates with my Spirit that by focusing our attention on waking up/ascension, our Ego tends to step in & say, "THIS is how we do it". Depending on our personality, then, we tend to look at others who are awakening/ascending & if they aren't following the same steps as we did ( not even in the same order, OMG! ), they're just not doing it right, nor for the right reasons! On that subject: this is not a judgement, but telling people how to wake up/ascend has become a lucrative business for some. This is NOT to say that they're charlatans, just out to make a quick buck off the weak-minded & unsuspecting, or that they shouldn't profit from their garnered knowledge, just that, "It's really NOT that complicated"!</div><div><br /></div><div>Again though, saying "it's simple" is NOT saying "it's easy"! It's not going to be easy to look into the abyss that is our own soul & feeling it bore into our very...................soul. Things will come to the surface that we had almost forgotten were there. Things that, in our Mind, we had hidden so well that we thought they were gone for good, though every once in a while they would surface, but then, thanks to religion, we could always blame it on the Devil, right? ( a bit of sarcasm there ) This is most often called 'shadow work' & if you propose to ascend ( whatever that means to you ), you're going to have to face your 'demons'! Don't get me wrong though, 'shadow work' isn't all bad either. Just because it's likely gonna hurt like hell doesn't mean that only demons dwell in the abyss. That's where our True Self is hidden, the One that, for whatever reason, we've hidden away. We may have learned at an early age to keep our Light hidden because It hurt certain people's eyes, or because our particular Truth just wasn't acceptable in our culture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most people who know me, or at least know my human condition, know that I suffer from a genetic disease called ataxia. One reason that I talk so much about "trying too hard" is that I can personally attest to it, physically speaking anyway. I've learned two things from this disease: one is, "SLOW DOWN! I probably tell myself several times a day,`"Charles, slow the FUCK down!" Another is that I often try too hard: I find that if I don't focus my attention on the object of my affection so much, it often will come easier. This is probably because my body knows better what it needs than I do! There IS, I must admit, a seemingly fine line here, but usually I find that if I just go with the flow, there's a lot less complications! </div></div><div><br /></div><div>The Ego, which as I've noted before, is neither good nor bad ( "It just IS!" ) CAN pose a problem, specifically in this respect, because It informs our Mind that it can't be that simple. Going back to the whole business of profiting from helping other people wake up/ascend, the overwhelming majority of people who do so often spend a goodly amount of money themselves ( not to mention their time ) in learning how to do this so that they in turn can teach others how to properly do it. Again, this is not to say that they have not awakened themselves or ascended, just that how they accomplished it won't necessarily work for everyone. Ask any elementary teacher how well the cookie-cutter approach works!</div><div><br /></div><div>Call it Ascension, call It what you will, what it really comes down to is Choice! ( "Wow"; talk about simplifying things! ) No, I'm not talking about deciding whether to wear the red shirt or the blue one today, or really any choice involving the rational, or what we might be used to perceiving as the Conscious Mind. ( this is where "trying too hard" comes in ) This Choice will be made by our Higher Self ( even 'unconsciously' at first ), intuitively guiding our Conscious Mind to take the red pill as opposed to the blue one. </div><div><br /></div><div>Transmutation Itself is a Choice! That simple, "Yes", but NOT easy: we have to decide, or rather, let our Higher Self/Intuition decide whether to do this or that, to take one course of action as opposed to another, or even if we need to act at all. In our Mind, old programming might still come to surface with thoughts like, "well, what is THIS person going to think; what if THEY perceive it as 'bad'?!" Of course, the thing is, just because THEY might perceive it as 'bad' doesn't mean that it is or even that you shouldn't do it. No, this is where you listen to your heart & if your heart ( Higher Self/Intuition ) condemns you, then by all means, DON'T DO IT! But otherwise, if you're not hurting anyone, just bruising their Ego, then, by all means, DO IT; It's THAT simple!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</div><div>Sage Charles</div><div><br /></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-71239728434832612702023-04-22T23:19:00.000-06:002023-04-22T23:19:47.722-06:00Beyond the Binary<p>From '<a href="https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Physical+Binary" target="_blank">The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition ( 1970-1979 )</a>', a Physical Binary is "a binary star whose components are bound by mutual gravitational attraction and orbit a common center of mass".</p><p>From this ancient, ideologically biased definition, it should be fairly clear that the principle of "as above, so below" is in force here. This could well describe the attraction between two people, whether of opposite or same-sex. The "common center of mass", of course, would refer to the Spirit, or Source, of which we are all an integral part. As this article is intended to focus more on the "below" aspect, though: we will start there. </p><p>According to this article from <a href="https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-nonbinary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive" target="_blank">The National Center for Transgender Equality</a>, "binary means "having two parts (male and female ). Therefore "nonbinary" is one term people use to describe genders that don't fall into one of these two categories, male or female"<span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is not meant to inflame the whole Gender Debate either, but since you can't really go there without going there, here goes! The use of the word 'binary' in this debate might be perceived by some as being a stolen term. I have done this as well; as a Christian, I used the term 'qualitative' ( as opposed to 'quantitative' ) in describing the Kingdom of Heaven! </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;">The definition of 'binary' as posited above is not entirely accurate & could be perceived as somewhat ambiguous, but as I understand it, this mathematical term is used in this day & age to describe those who have accepted the roles society has prescribed concerning gender. "Nonbinary", then, helps us identify those who do not wish to conform to the roles that society has assigned to the different sexes. This is not to say that we should or should not conform to said roles: just in the manner of explaining my own ( personal ) understanding of the whole debate. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;">Most, if not all available dictionaries agree, in other words, with <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/gender" target="_blank">Collins Dictionary</a> that "gender is the state of being male or female in relation to the social and cultural roles that are considered appropriate for men and women". 'Gender', then, is not to be confused with 'sex', though it is similar. The 'sex' of a person is normally determined by their genitalia, or 'sex organs'. In essence, if a person has a penis & no womb, they are male, whereas, if they have a vagina, a womb & mammary glands that secrete 'milk', they are female. My readers may have heard, as I have, of those 'anomalies' that seem to have both a penis & a vagina, but I have NEVER heard of a male that bears a womb!</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;">The debate, as I understand it though, is focused on assigned gender roles in society. Sex has naturally been brought into it though, because again, if you have a vagina, etc, rather than a penis, you are usually assigned the role in society that conforms to your sex. In many ways, the current popular movement could be described as a 'knee-jerk reaction', much like feminism. Basically, both are somewhat revolutionary, announcing that "we will not conform"! I applaud the sentiment, though the lengths to which some go saddens me; as in the case of those who choose to identify as 'nonbinary', most if not all of whom have, to whatever extent, chosen to suffer what is sometimes called 'gender reassignment surgery'. I'm not here to judge though; "just sayin'!"</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;">Again; I DO applaud the sentiment & I'm NOT here to judge! No one should be forced to conform to a certain role just because they have certain body parts rather than others! "As above, so below"; if one has this ( body part ) ran than that ( body part ), they are, humanly speaking, that certain sex.Their gender, on the other hand, need not prescribe that because they have this rather than that, they should fill a certain role in society. Just because one is female does not mean, for instance, that she should basically stay at home, barefoot & pregnant ( a baby machine, in other words ). Just because one is male, on the other hand, does not automatically mean that he should be the ( sole? ) breadwinner. Again, this is not to say that one should not accept these roles; "the choice, as always, is yours & yours alone!"</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimately, though, the fact that we are NOT this body trumps all other arguments! I'm not saying that our body is totally separate from our Identity ( it IS, in fact, an integral part of Who We are ); just that it is simply the Vehicle in which We ( our Higher Selves ) have chosen to incarnate in this Time. It is when we identify with this Vehicle, however, that we run into trouble! Personally speaking, yes, we are ( normally ) male or female, so depending on the culture we live in, because of this fact, we may be assigned this role or that. However, the choice is up to us as to whether we wish to conform to the rules of our given culture. As any non-conformist will tell you though; there are consequences to our actions!</span></span></p><p>The problem, as this blogger sees it, with claiming to be 'nonbinary' is that it's based in the notion that we are our biological bodies. Although I may be opening a can of worms here, I propose that if we remember we are, in Essence. neither male nor female, much of this difficulty will fade. On a personal note though, I feel that I have a female spirit. The question has been asked, "Do spirits have gender, or sex?" I personally feel that this explains so many things in my past life, but at the same time, I have all the male accoutrements. I do not plan to do anything drastic, such as surgery, but I feel more comfortable living a life of non-conformity, especially when it comes to gender roles. </p><p>"I guess you could almost call ME 'nonbinary'! </p><p>Back to the binary issue now; because in essence we are neither male nor female ( "we are NOT our biological bodies" ), we cannot technically be referred to as 'binary' in the first place! Or CAN we?! We ARE technically, as human beings, composed of two parts, body & soul, or spirit. The Soul, in my understanding, is actually the total being, both human & Divine, whereas the Spirit is that part of us that belongs to Source. The Source, of course, not being divided, can be defined as neither male nor female ( It just IS! ), but speaking of cans of worms, one might mention polarities here.............</p><p>We ALL have at least one thing in common; We all come from Source! The cool thing is that, unlike the Hope of Heaven that orthodox Christianity teaches, we don't have to wait for this biological body to perish before we return to Source. For one thing, We're already One with Source ( always have been, whether we realized it or not ) & for another, to return to Source in this lifetime, or any other, is simply to remember Who & What We are!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p><p><span style="color: #2b2d33; font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-4788858694293845222023-04-14T17:12:00.000-06:002023-04-14T17:12:26.055-06:00"Greater Works"; Grasping Infinity<p style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [ </span><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">works ]</span><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> than these he will do, because I go to My Father.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;">Jesus - John 4:12 ( NKJV )</p><p>For years I have puzzled over, not only what Jesus could have meant by these plain, but enigmatic words, but also how orthodoxy seems to have missed this simple truth. Now, I say "missed", but to be honest, there are probably more than a few extant theories that various theologians have postulated concerning what Jesus might have meant when He uttered these words. Right off the top of my head, from my own Christian upbringing/experience, one explanation, maybe the most ready one, might involve the phrase "already/not yet". In essence, Jesus would have been saying that, in some future Resurrection, His disciples would indeed do Greater Works than even He did. In this "already/not yet" scenario", it is because of His Spirit that we are able to do anything ( good ), but once our corrupt ( sinful ) human nature has been changed to an incorruptible one, then we will do those things He promised. However; I digress, because my purpose here is not to decry the orthodox ( Christian ) position so much as to uncover the Truth of this plain & simple statement.</p><p>With these words, was Jesus implying that what did during His earthly ministry was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the miraculous, or supernatural? It's hard for us, even as faithful Christians, to imagine a Time when we'll be able to heal with a touch or a Word, or to literally walk on water, much less to do greater miracles. That IS what He said though ( according to our garbled transliterations ), so it is doubtless what He meant. However, the question remains; "What Did He mean?!" Did Jesus actually mean to say that EVERYTHING He did was a mere pittance compared to what we ( His disciples ) would do? For that matter, can we say for sure that Jesus meant those words for US today, now in the 21st century, almost 2,000 years after He uttered them? By looking closer at the context of His Words, might we reach a better conclusion as to His intended meaning? It is entirely possible, in fact, very likely that Jesus made this promise to His 1st century disciples as well as those who would follow, including those in the 21st century & beyond, to Infinity!</p><p>"You still haven't answered the question!" you might be thinking! That's true, though I intend to pursue it's elusiveness a bit further.</p><p>First, let's suppose Jesus WAS speaking ONLY to those 1st century followers of His. If this were so, looking further into the context, including 'audience relevance' might indeed clear things up. For the sake of conjecture, what if He was prophesying of a future generation ( 21st century? ), in which, because of technology or whatever ( 'evolution' ?! ) humankind would be able to accomplish more astounding things than Jesus Himself?! A greater possibility though & a greater likelihood, is that Jesus uttered a Universal Truth here, One that spoke of the Potential within EVERY human being. Was Jesus speaking metaphorically here, referring not simply to the physical but to the more important metaphysical? The inner alchemy, which is necessary for any outward change to occur, might better serve as an explanation of Jesus' enigmatic words!</p><p>If indeed Jesus WAS speaking metaphorically ( which actually makes more sense ), then maybe, just maybe, He was pointing His disciples, indeed ALL of humanity to the fact that they would do as He had done, unlocking the Potential within themselves that would enable them to do, not only what He did, but even GREATER ( more miraculous )! At this juncture, my readers might be thinking, "Okay, so how DO we unlock this Potential? How can we EVER hope to get to the point where we'll do what Jesus did, much less Greater Works?!" Well, my friends, I'll tell you one thing for sure; it's not going to be easy & in fact, it's probably going to hurt like hell!</p><p>Again, you might be inclined to wonder, first, why I say "it's going to hurt like hell" & second, if indeed it IS going to hurt like hell, "why the hell would we even want to do it?" Well, to answer ( to the best of MY ability ) the former question: something I often say concerning how far we've fallen, both as individuals & as a nation; "It's taken this long to get to where we are; it's going to take at least that long to get back to where we should be ( "Back to the Garden", so to speak ). We have forgotten Who & What We are, having built so many layers over our True Identity, that not only will it take some time to strip away all those layers, it will be a painful process too. Secondly; a choice is set before you this day, my friend ( not to sound too ominous ); you can take the blue pill & go back to sheep, continuing your mind-numbingly painful existence, or you can take the red pill & wake up to the realization that it's not all about you & the 'Murican Dream, that we are here not just to wake up, but to help others wake up. '"Will it really be all that painful?" Hell yes! But it will be SO worth it!</p><p>Back now, to those troublesome words of Jesus; it almost goes without saying that every action we take, with the possible exception of pure animalistic ( instinctual ) behavior, begins in the Mind. We must determine a course of action, whether consciously or unconsciously, before our brain sends the necessary signals to the constituent elements, our hands & feet. Even still, these signals often tend to get fucked up! Once we remember Who We are though ( this would be another reason for 'Ascension', as some have called it), these signals, almost bypassing the brain, coming directly from our High, or Innermost Self are longer garbled; In Essence, "no more fucking up!" <br /></p><p>( This is also why Science & Technology can never be our Savior; They rely on the Mind/Brain! )</p><p>Although Jesus WAS simply the Jewish Messiah, as I've often posited, in this sense, He could be perceived as our Salvation! I say, "in this sense", because as I've also previously stated, Jesus came to show His people that they too could awaken the Potential Within & become Gods, doing what He did & More. As the Jewish Messiah, some might be tempted ( some have ) to say, "Jesus failed!" Did He though?! Yes, one might well say, there might not be a lot of available evidence that He did much waking up. This may seem to be the case, but then again, "what about thinking outside the Box ( or Book ) for a change?" No, there is not a lot of plain, in-your-face biblical evidence ( though it IS there if you care to open your Mind ), but what about places the biased transliterators chose not to go? For instance, "what do you think the chances are that the word of Jesus, if not Jesus Himself. might have traveled as far ( "from east to west" ) as the Americas, India, China? The possibilities are Infinite!</p><p>In the Christian Mindset, which is what I was raised with, the very idea that we, as mere human beings, could do "<i>greater works</i>" than Jesus Himself is approaching blasphemy, playing with Fire, so to speak. Yet, that is exactly what we're doing, my friends; We ARE playing with Fire, the same Fire that Jesus played with! Like the fabled woman ( Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56 ) that was healed by her faith, we too can heal ourselves & help our world heal by grasping Infinity!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-70391027539355978432023-04-04T22:17:00.006-06:002023-04-04T22:43:52.134-06:00To Stand Again; the Resurrection of the Christ<p>"She is risen"</p><p>Religiously speaking, the meaning of this short, somewhat enigmatic phrase is that, along with the orthodox understanding of "He is risen", referring to the Resurrection of Jesus, His Bride, the Church is risen as well. This is a bit of an ambiguous statement, being interpreted anywhere from the fulfilled ( preterist ) perspective to a future physical resurrection to somewhere in between ( though closer to the latter end of the spectrum ) which might be called the 'already/not yet' position. It is the former perspective which I adhered to in the last days of my Journey through Christianity. As far as that goes, I still believe that Jesus' own Resurrection ( <i><a href="https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g386/kjv/tr/0-1/" target="_blank">anastasis</a> </i>) was indicative of a far greater truth, that of the spiritual resurrection of those He came to atone for, His Jewish & Gentile brethren. Nowadays, my understanding is that Jesus came to show His People, Jew & Gentile, how they might themselves become One again ( At-one-ment ) with the Christ Within, the Potential that lies buried deep within every adult human being ( I say "adult", because It is much closer to the surface in children ). This phrase might also be understood as referring to the rise of the Divine Feminine, or in Essence the standing again in Power of the matriarchy as opposed to the patriarchy which has enjoyed the ascendancy for almost 2,000 years. More on this later...................</p><p>Known as 'Holy Week', this week includes, starting tomorrow, 'Ash Wednesday', '<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maundy-Thursday">Maundy Thursday</a>' & 'Good Friday', all leading up to the traditional celebration of Easter on Sunday. This week also wraps up the Lenten Season, which began on February 22nd this year & ends on Thursday, May 6th. As the Story goes, Jesus, who was set ( ready ) to celebrate the Jewish Passover with His disciple, instituted what is now known as 'The Lord's Supper', though it could be argued that He was the main meal! But all jokes aside, as we also know from the rest of the Story Jesus ended up dying on the Cross & rising again from the dead on '<i>the third day</i>'. Now, whether one chooses to posit their faith in this Story & view it as a factual account or simply perceives it as metaphorical of a greater spiritual truth, it should be crystal clear that this was no ordinary Man! Or WAS He?!</p><p>"As above, so below"; "Jesus came to show His People, Jew & Gentile, how they themselves might become One again with the Christ Within". Jesus WAS the Messiah to the Jews, yes & though many claim Him as THEIR Messiah today, including those who are neither Jew nor Gentile, He WAS a Man & thus was the Messiah to His People ( the Jews ) alone! Strangely enough, most, if not all orthodox Jews are <a href="https://www.google.com/maps?q=are+the+Jews+still+waiting+for+their+messiah&rlz=1CAHJUL_enUS1036&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiSvsK2qZH-AhU6MDQIHZC7BFsQ0pQJegQIBhAK" target="_blank">still looking</a> for THEIR Messiah! </p><p>If one is a Bible-believing Christian, orthodox or not, they must exercise a great amount of faith to accept the literal account, whereas the metaphorical perspective opens up at least two possibilities. One is that the Story was indicative of our own spiritual Resurrection; the other is that the Story is cosmological, referring to the process that we go through when we crucify ourselves by realizing/awakening the Christ Potential within us. Call It 'Ascension', call it '<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+kundalini+rising&rlz=1CAHJUL_enUS1036&sxsrf=APwXEddVPgYBYEvrG13LqzIUpqYcvc_PNQ%3A1680650325329&ei=VbAsZIncE4XA0PEPu56qqA8&ved=0ahUKEwjJ2oetrpH-AhUFIDQIHTuPCvUQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=what+is+kundalini+rising&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIHCCMQsAIQJzINCC4QDRDUAhCABBDqBDIHCAAQDRCABDIHCAAQDRCABDIHCAAQDRCABDIHCAAQDRCABDIHCC4QDRCABDIHCAAQDRCABDINCC4QDRCABBDHARCvATIHCAAQDRCABDoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoKCAAQigUQsAMQQ0oECEEYAFDKHFjkPmD_RGgBcAF4AYABzA6IAfg8kgELMy0xLjYtMS4xLjOYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp" target="_blank">Kundalini Rising</a>'; this process awakens the Goddess ( or 'God' ) Within by allowing the spinal fluid ( some say 'consciousness' ) to rise through the spinal column, by way of the chakras till it reaches the Crown Chakra, which is our link to Divinity. The crucifixion occurs after we have crossed the Bridge, somewhere between the Heart & Throat Chakras. In Essence, we begin to die to the lower, or animal nature & stand again in our Truth, that of our Higher, or Divine Nature!</p><p>Metaphorically speaking, we must die to our lower nature before we can realize our Divinity. Now, before we go too far down the rabbit hole, I'm not saying that we should literally 'kill' or even ignore our animal body by denying its 'needs', just that we should not allow our passions & desires to rule, or determine our actions. Rather than allowing mortal fear to lead us, we should lead the way with Love which stems from our Higher Nature, which IS Love Itself! </p><p>To "stand again in our own truth" means that, once we have crossed the Bridge, with the Throat Chakra cleared, we begin to, not only realize, but to speak our truth, the Truth of Who We really are. Who we really are may not be fully evident to us or especially to those around us, but as the saying goes, "once you wake up, it's hard to go back to sheep". In Essence, once the Journey has begun, it's pretty much impossible to turn back. You might even say it's 'Unstoppable'!</p><p>I wish I could, but I cannot tell you how to begin your Journey! Everyone's Journey is going to look different, though there are many similarities. For instance, while the same steps, so to speak, must be taken, the order in which they occur & the intensity of their occurrence may differ, depending on factors such as childhood trauma & current environment.I can tell you that an important step on your Journey is the ability to meditate, which again, may look different to any number of people. Some prefer to take up the 'Om' position, while others are more comfortable just sitting in a chair with their hands in their lap. Closing the physical eyes is the general rule, as well as finding a place to meditate with as little distraction as possible, though I believe it's possible to meditate in the midst of all manner of distraction & with your eyes fully open!</p><p>For those who have begun their own personal Journey back to the Divine: I don't have to tell YOU that it's a veritable 'bed of roses', complete with ALL the thorns! It's a beautiful, though heart-wrenching Path, but once you've tasted the personal freedom this Path brings, you'll NEVER leave it! Now don't get me wrong; there WILL be times when you'll almost regret your decision to start on this Journey, but then...................you'll get over it!</p><p>Back to the Resurrection of the Christ now, most of you probably grew up with the Story that the Bible tells concerning the Man Jesus who become the Son of God by dying for the sins of His People & consequently rising from the dead. Many have faith in this Story & so, for them I believe, it is true! Now, I'm NOT saying that it IS true, or that because they believe the historical MAN Jesus paid for their sins on the Cross, that He did; just that this is THEIR truth, they rest in it. Some of my readers are probably aware that my dad recently passed away; he believed fervently in both the Resurrection & that Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, paid for his sins. I acknowledged at his passing that "he now rests in the arms of his Lord": I believe he did, though I daresay he now knows the Truth!</p><p>As a Christian & particularly as a 'preterist', I came to understand that the Greek & Hebrew Scriptures were written a long time ago to a people very far away from us ( though closer than you might think )! As such, the Bible that we read, in its many & varied transliterations, cannot, indeed MUST NOT be read as applying directly to us, though we might make application of many of the principles found therein. For the purposes of this post though, I wish to focus on the fact that the society which we claim, in fact, one might argue, civilization itself, derives from the patriarchal culture brought to the Middle East by the likes of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. One might wonder though, if the writers of the Bible, in their zealous interpretation of the texts, didn't gloss over certain facts, biased as they were by their own patriarchy!</p><p>As a good Jew, Jesus WAS a Man like any other, though He WAS the Son of God! On this subject of subject there has been much discussion & disagreement over the 2,000 some years since He walked the earth; indeed, wars have been fought over it! Jesus WAS the Son of God, although even the Bible says as much of His disciples, of Whom my dad was an avid one. According to the Story, Jesus was both the Son of Man & the Son of God! Indeed, following the Story, He was crucified for this very reason, because as the religious rulers ofl His Day wondered, "How can a Man be God?" </p><p>Jesus was God! No, He wasn't the 'God' they thought He was. He wasn't the petty, patriarchal 'God' they had grown accustomed to & had begun to emulate! Speaking of rabbit holes, I'll readily acknowledge that Jesus did have a few moments in which He exhibited Old Testament God qualities, like cleansing the Temple & later visiting the promised & well-deserved destruction on that same Temple. No, more than that, Jesus proved that a Man could be God, in Essence that he was both Human & Divine.</p><p>"She is risen" might mean something different for anybody who hears these words. To some, it might be as simple as a reference to the Church, even if it IS 'already/not yet', but to others it signals the rising again of the Divine Feminine, who for some 2,000 years the Patriarchy has tried to squelch. Jesus, according to most accounts had few female disciples, but the few that slipped through the cracks rank so highly in importance that they're well-nigh impossible to hide!</p><p>As We rise to the occasion, let's just hope that this time, the Divine Masculine will be satisfied to fight by Her side!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles </p><p><br /></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-71119765970553156672023-03-20T14:19:00.002-06:002023-03-20T14:19:52.539-06:00This Current Experience<p> "It's electrifyin'!"</p><p>Yes, a bit of a play on words, but seriously; it IS all about the Life that we are presently, at this point in Time, choosing to participate in ( or not ). Of course, many of us WERE brought up to look forward to what is often called 'the Afterlife', usually involving some form of 'Heaven' or other. A signature statement for this condition might be, "Where are you going when you die?" For this question, there are but two choices, 'Heaven' or 'Hell'!</p><p>A wise man once said, in other words, maybe, "Everything is Energy!" This being the case ( ask any present-day scientist or physician if you have doubts ), would it seem strange to call the signals that travel in great, almost incalculable bursts from any given point on our body to our brain 'electricity'? Electricity was 'discovered', one might say, when Benjamin Franklin, according to the story, sent a kite aloft during a lightning storm. Most if not all my readers know the rest of the story; the key that he'd attached to the kite string before sending it into the storm gave him what must have been one of the most shocking experiences of his life!</p><p>My father, as some of you may know, has recently passed into the next experience. His body, or 'meat vehicle', which had threatened to shut down on him before, finally decided that it was not going to allow any more of these electrical signals to pass through it. I say this, not because I'm looking for words of comfort, but because these processes are alive in me right now & this is a good outlet ( pun intended )! As I've admitted ( freely ) before, I am NOT a scientist & so do not know the lingo, though I AM more or less familiar with what keeps us tickin'!</p><p>Because therefore, we ARE Energy, it is electricity that keeps us alive, humanly speaking! Once those neurons stop firing, the Spirit, or Essence tends to leave the physical body. No Electricity, No 'Energy in Motion', so to speak & this husk returns to its Mother Earth, to the Elements of which it's composed. But, enough about all that; "What I REALLY came here to talk about is the Now!"</p><p>There is a lot of talk going around these days concerning living in the moment. To a point I agree, though I can understand the tendency, both to forget ( the lessons of ) the past, or to be unconcerned about ( the possible dangers of ) the future. Though I can understand this, there is at least as much danger of over-correcting & going into the opposite ditch by letting the past dictate your future, in essence, not forgiving yourself & others for the past ( mistakes ) while at the same time worrying about the future because of that same past! </p><p>Living in the moment DOES tend to alleviate both conditions, though it can also serve as a sort of crutch! By 'crutch', of course, I'm simply referring to self-medication, not necessarily with drugs, prescription or otherwise, but basically throwing yourself into the latest extreme sport or whatever strikes your fancy at the time. This is not to say that these sorts of activities are without merit, though it COULD be argued..................just that these sorts of activities often serve simply as a mask for the storms raging under the surface!</p><p>Living in the moment would almost seem to be synonymous with living FOR the moment & indeed, at first glance there may not be a lot of difference, but there is a subtle difference. Living FOR the moment implies heavily that one is actually using this lifestyle as a crutch, whereas living IN the moment simply means that one is approaching their life one day at a time, celebrating the 'Now', rather than yearning for a hopeful future, or dwelling on a tattered past.</p><p>According to this <a href="https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/4356e/" target="_blank">published article</a> from the University of Maine, "<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">At birth, a baby’s brain contains 100 billion neurons, roughly as many nerve cells as there are stars in the Milky Way, and almost all the neurons the brain will ever have.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">" "</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As above, so below"! The synapses that occur, for instance when one takes a simple breath are themselves astronomical. It might seem strange, though maybe not so much in this modern day & age, to think of ourselves, physically anyway, as being full of electricity, but one might have cause to ponder exactly how much power we could generate if only we could figure out how to harness it. "Wait a minute...................."</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Electricity IS what keeps this 'biological clock' ticking; once that flow stops & those neurons cease to form synapses, 'that's all she wrote' for this body, although, as we know, that's not the end of Us, being Infinite Beings & all! The Electricity that keeps this biology moving, while it IS a form of the same Energy that forms the Universe & indeed our own Divinity, our Higher Self, is however a lower form, operating at a lower, or slower frequency. Again, not being a Scientist, I'm not trying to awe you with my knowledge of all the technicalities, but this resonates with me! It may not with all my readers & that's fine; 'It is what It is!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Would it surprise you to know that everything that we've been taught about both 'Heaven' & 'Hell' is contingent on what we believe about the past & the future?!" Our past, according to most religious dogma, is what condemns us to 'Hell'. The other side of the coin, so to speak, is that if we change our actions for a better future, we may find ourselves in A Better Place, namely 'Heaven'. Of course, it must be noted that, by this reckoning too, it is what we do in the Future, no matter our Past, that determines our Placement. By this time, many of my readers might find themselves nodding in agreement, if only in theory. It IS what we do that matters ( again, "pun intended" ); if we would inherit 'Heaven', we must make the appropriate choices: if 'Hell' ( who in their right mind would make THAT choice?! ), then just keep choosing selfishly, no matter the harm you might be causing. Either way, to focus unduly on the Past OR the Future leads into Fear; fear that if we don't act a certain way, we'll end up in 'Hell' & conversely that if we DO act a certain way, we won't get to go to 'Heaven'! </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In conclusion & on a more personal note ( for those of my readers who have 'lost' loved ones ); my father's 'meat vehicle' went the way of ALL biology, being part of the great Circle of Life! HE, His Essence that is, remains, neither in the 'Heaven' for which he hoped, or the 'Hell' he feared. This may come as a bit of a 'shock' to some of my readers, but much of what we have been taught is not true! </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, to reiterate; NOW is our only chance to do what it right, NOW is when we must make the choices that determine if we will spend our Life in 'Heaven' or Hell'! Also, Now will never come again; it will ALWAYS be Now, so choose wisely. Will you drug yourself up with pharmaceuticals or extreme sports to merely alleviate the pain, or will you acquaint yourself with your Higher Self in order to actually get to the Source of the pain? The latter choice means 'Heaven', the first means 'Hell'!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Namaste' & Blessed Be!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sage Charles</span></span></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-60183992518837046252023-03-04T12:24:00.000-07:002023-03-04T12:24:17.926-07:00Ascension: The War Within<p>There is much talk these days of 'Ascension'; the question might well be asked though, "What is it?" By definition, Ascension would naturally imply a rising up, in essence, moving from a lower place to a higher one, whether metaphorically or literally, whether mentally, emotionally, spiritually or physically. In a metaphysical sense, it might be described as reaching a higher dimension, a higher frequency, if you will. Spiritually, it could be described as being "crucified with Christ", not necessarily in the literal sense, as the Bible seems to portray, but again, in a metaphysical sense, as the journey of the spinal fluid rising from the sacral chakra to the crown chakra. The biblical story of Jesus indeed seems to follow this Journey, particularly with Jesus' '40 day' Temptation in the Wilderness. However one chooses to define 'Ascension', it is generally accepted that it involves some sort of heightened experience, again, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.</p><p>Answering the question, "How does one ascend?" is another matter entirely! Does one achieve Ascension by ignoring certain bodily functions, or simply by embracing those functions? Is 'Ascension' what occurs when, through meditation or by whatever means, we train our bodies to rise above it all, not unlike the Phoenix?! More importantly, especially for the purposes of this short blogpost, is 'Ascension' more akin to Jesus' own fabled Ascension, as chronicled in Mark 16, Luke 19 & the 1st chapter of the book of Acts? Ephesians 4:9 seems to agree with this metaphysical interpretation, wherein "<span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"><i>Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?</i></span>".</p><p>'Ascension' is something everybody wants, right?! One might think so & for the most part, they may be right, to a point. It's really not all that surprising, once they realize how mentally, emotionally, spiritually & yes, even physically demanding it is, the amount of people who are tempted to back down, maybe even forget the matter entirely! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the pain that comes with Ascension is unbearable, or even that once one has 'achieved' It, your troubles are over. "Not at all!" No, once One has ascended ( whatever that means to you), not only do you still have to deal with those who have not yet ascended ( ? ); you must also continue to struggle with that ever-present trouble-maker, the Ego!</p><p>The Ego is unavoidable! One might, in fact, note that it is one of those 'necessary constituents' of our human nature. As previously discussed, the Ego is neither good nor evil, right or wrong; "it just IS". The problem with the Ego is when we allow it to get the better of us, so to speak, allowing it to dictate our actions, or reactions. Some might argue that the Ego is something that can be & indeed should be squelched. To a point, I agree; we can & should, maybe, subdue the Ego to the point where it is barely ( if that ) noticeable, but while we are at home in this 'meat-suit', I would dare to say that it cannot, indeed should not be entirely squelched! "Why?" you may well ask. "As above, so below"; it is a necessary component to our humanity!</p><p>The question might be proffered at this point; "Why even bother?" If the Ego is going to constantly oppose us us, "Why shouldn't we just get rid of it entirely?" Another option, however is, rather than view the Ego as something that we must fight against, we learn to live with it, not letting it control us, yet not trying to control it either! Rather, we might look at it as it is, not an adversary, or something that must be defeated, but as a necessary constituent of our humanity that allows us to be Who We are, which is Divine & yet function as true human beings in a 'Mundane' world!</p><p>Is the Ego, then, NOT something to be overcome?! Well, "yes & no": is it something that CAN be overcome? "Sure". Is it something we must strive to overcome? Again, "yes & no"! It will not be overcome by us sitting on our laurels & throwing our hands up in despair, but, on the other hand, the harder we TRY to overcome It, the harder It's going to fight back! "What CAN we do?" you might ask. Well, for one thing; "STOP!" Stop striving, it's only going to make it worse! The Ego, not unlike our Mind, strong as It is, is a delicate thing, easily wounded. The best, really the only thing we can do, is to quiet them both. I know this is "easier said than done", but it is the most we can do, especially with any hope of success!<br /></p><p>"So, 'Ascension'; why would we want to even attempt It if It's only going to cause us more pain?!" Wouldn't it just be easier to just accept the status quo, including the belief that most of us grew up with, that "We have but one life to live, and after that, the Judgement"? It would make Life so much simpler if we could just take things as they come, conforming to the crowd & living 'the American Dream' ( thinking of don Miguel Ruiz & his 'dream of the planet' )! "Why would ANYONE want to mess with Perfection?!</p><p>"The Answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind..............." Yes, I'm referring here to our true nature, that of the Spirit, which means that We are Divine. This, my friends, is "Why" We would want to go to all that trouble, to re-open all those old wounds, to heal our pain! This world is in so much turmoil right now, thanks to us humans & most of us don't even realize that it's our fault! I say 'our' in a very general sense, no woman or man ( not even a fallen spiritual being ) can shoulder the blame; it's a group effort!</p><p>There's a saying that goes something like this, "It's taken so long to get to where we are; it's going to take at least as long to get back, if not longer!" Okay, so it's my saying; I said it, but isn't it true? Yes, my words could be proven untrue ( actually, I'm kinda hoping they are ), but that's where 'Ascension' comes in; once a person ascends ( whatever that means to YOU ), there's really no going back. Once One tastes the Freedom that knowing yourself & your true Power brings, that One could never even think of retreating, no matter how painful It is ( believe me, "It hurts like HELL" )! This is the ONLY way that we'll EVER 'get ourselves back to the Garden', so to speak! It is a choice; 'To ascend, or not to ascend", to BE Who we are, or not to BE Who we are!</p><p>By now, my readers might be wondering,"Why didn't he just title this 'How to Ascend'?" Well, you may have noticed that I used the phrase "whatever that means to YOU" a lot; Ascension, as we've seen, means different things to different people. There is One Spirit, yes, but We are all different aspects of that One Spirit. So, is there One way to reach that Spirit, to scale that seemingly unscalable height? To posit that there is would be akin to saying that all children should be able to learn at the same pace! <br /></p><p>Jesus' Ascension has been assumed, religiously speaking, for the most part, to be a literal rising of His physical body to 'Realms of Glory' ( AKA 'Heaven' ). I do not believe this to be the case. Whether literal history or not, in most cases the Bible as we have it today is so far from it's intended meaning & audience that it's somewhat surprising that humanity hasn't totally fucked things up! "Oh, wait........" </p><p>But seriously, if Jesus' Ascension was simply a model, a precursor really, of our own, as I, along with many scholars have posited ( even the Bible says as much ), then it stands to reason that it speaks, not of a physical event, but rather to a spiritual, or metaphysical one. </p><p>To rise above it all, One must first descend to the depths of human nature, to face the Shadow that reveals the dark side of that human nature. Once we have experienced the darkness of our deepest desire, we are forced to be honest with ourselves, to face our shadow self , which is as much a part of 'Us' as our Divinity. Knowing ourselves, Who We truly are, not just in our Divinity, but as a true human being, is of utmost importance here!</p><p>Quite seriously then, "What IS Ascension?!" Is Ascension something we aspire to achieve; some lofty peak that we hope to some day reach? Or is Ascension more akin to the salvation that the Bible teaches us to work out ( Philippians 2:12 )? Now, admittedly, there are parts of the Bible that seem to tell us that salvation, or atonement come from without, 'from Above' ( 'Heaven' ), so to speak, but in Reality, this is actually just a matter of interpretation/perception. Like biblical salvation & atonement ( at-one-ment ), Ascension is an inside job: It DOES come from Above, though this does not refer to something outside of or separate from ourselves; it is a choice we make within ourselves to, again, rise above it all, to realize that we are More than our Ego, More even than our choices! THIS is what we Ascend TO; not just the realization that We ARE More, but the Ability to Manifest that realization in daily Life! "So mote it Be!"</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-43222114564964370912023-02-24T21:49:00.001-07:002023-02-24T21:49:52.500-07:00Tears of Gold ( "Jesus Wept" )<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Go in peace!</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Gandalf to the Remnant of the Fellowship</b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are several different kinds of tears; tears of sadness, tears of anger & tears of Joy. The first two tend to go together, because most often, anger is a symptom of sadness, which is itself a symptom of a more deep-seated issue. Then again, Joy is often mixed with sadness, as witnessed at many tearful partings, such as the final breaking of the Fellowship in the final & monumental Lord of the Rings movie. The Joy of heading for what might be called 'a better place' is most often intermingled with the sadness of those left behind. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Jesus wept, as recorded in John 11:35; He did so for several reasons, most obviously for the unbelief of His fellow Jews, who had become so blind as to ignorantly disbelieve that Lazarus could rise from the dead. They, of course, thought that He wept for His dead friend, which was not totally beyond the pale, but it should be noted that Jesus, knowing that Lazarus would indeed soon embrace his loved ones again, wept also for the Joy that was before Him! As a human being, yes, He pleaded for that cup to be taken away, but as More than Human, He knew that, in order for His Joy to reach its Height, He must drink that cup to its dregs!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dyx6uovQFhs4TFFBr7_TEe4nv_eCdsIN1D6P0iKHk0fEpw7sLK3x1ZLTQjHEYQeIuoOe-iiBYReHdx3IL05payJ7FQ7mXT_cVrQKY0HQ2sy9og5fX634sMv5B7c9KAJJ1U0OtuxvfBdCLRZMrrqmoWi_e7Q-Myx-10AjhNLJpdPfZShe5g/s1000/332382685_719062623012205_5600391652669860896_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="714" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dyx6uovQFhs4TFFBr7_TEe4nv_eCdsIN1D6P0iKHk0fEpw7sLK3x1ZLTQjHEYQeIuoOe-iiBYReHdx3IL05payJ7FQ7mXT_cVrQKY0HQ2sy9og5fX634sMv5B7c9KAJJ1U0OtuxvfBdCLRZMrrqmoWi_e7Q-Myx-10AjhNLJpdPfZShe5g/w406-h571/332382685_719062623012205_5600391652669860896_n.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tears of Sadness, like all tears, are temporary. In this Life, things just seem to happen, sometimes, for no good reason. These things are most often outside of the realm of our control, like the death ( I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">won't say 'loss' for they are ALWAYS with us ) of a loved one. I have, in the course of over half a century, this go 'round , experienced this a number of times, though, I dare say, not as much as many, or most! For some, those in particular who believe in some kind of afterlife, whether it's '72 Virgins', or strumming harps in some otherworldly 'Paradise, this Sadness comes because of attachment issues, but at the same time, this Sadness is often tempered, to varying degrees, with Joy; Joy, not only because the one who has passed is in 'a better place', but also because they believe they will see their loved one ( s ) again. This is not to say that they won't, but maybe not in the way they think!</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">I'll be honest; as I was going through my Facebook this morning ( pretty much my morning routine; that & COFFEE! ), I read a post from a friend of mine with the picture above, which inspired me to write the one you're currently reading. Her post was along the same lines, but I wanted to elaborate & throw in a few of my own thoughts to boot! The loss, as the overwhelming majority of people sadly term it, of a loved one is truly a sorrowful affair, if for no other reason than this; we will most sorely miss their bodily presence, along with all the comforting constituent elements. H</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">owever, it is also a joyful affair for, not only are THEY in a better place, so to speak; such a time also gives us a chance to grow, to determine within ourselves, for one thing, whether we will allow our grief to define us & also, to discover for ourselves what we truly believe, or know. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">As Human Beings, it is only natural that such an event would cause us emotional pain, for as such, we are emotional creatures. No matter how evolved we become, no matter the higher frequencies in which we begin to vibrate, we always, as long as we inhabit this 'meat vehicle', will have to deal with this issue! Neither is this a bad thing, for tears, as many have learned, are cleansing. I always say; "they're in there; they gotta come out!" Most often, I'm speaking of the emotions themselves, though these usually involve tears, but as the case may be, there is a healing effect when we release our emotions. Without this emotional release, in fact, they usually act in a cancerous way. They even have the power, one might say, to rewrite DNA! I'm no scientist, of course, so that may not be factual, but I would propose that the rewiring of our brain would not be out of the question when it comes to the power of our emotions!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">Sadness happens to the best of us! Okay, so maybe that sounds a little cocky, but hey.............'if the shoe fits', right?! But seriously, the point is that EVERYONE has their moments: "As above, so below"; no matter how far you are along the 'Ascension Path', no matter how well you've learned to practice 'mind over matter' ( MOM ), when Life 'happens', it WILL, to whatever extent, knock you on your ass ( either that, or you're not as far along as you thought, i.e., you're not being honest with yourself )!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">I wish to recount for my readers my own first 'real' experience with death. At the time, 'as luck would have it', I happened to be attending an Independent Fundamental Baptist church & the 16 year old daughter of the deacon of the church had experienced immediate 'cessation of life' in an unfortunate four-wheeler accident. I'm not proud to say, nor am I embarrassed, that I actually broke down & sobbed at least once at the funeral! 'Why did I cry?" Well, yes, even though I was not close with this young girl, I was a good friend of her father & mother, so much of my sadness was for their 'loss'. They, however, were more stalwart than I, or so it seemed, maybe because they had more experience in that area. Though they, of course, were saddened by the early departure of their youngest child from this life, they held dearly to the 'fact', as they saw it, that their daughter was now 'in the Arms of their Lord', or 'Heaven'. This was yet another reason for my sadness; their misplaced faith that they would see their daughter again when they themselves died & went to 'Heaven'. As I write these words, it occurs to me that their faith, misplaced as it was, was not far wrong! As the case may be, however, the emotions that were at the root of my own sadness had their own healing effect, though they were only the beginning, you might say, of the troubles I have experienced in my own Journey!<br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">My own sadness was, in essence, misplaced, for though I had barely begun my own Journey, I was a preterist, believing that Jesus had returned in the first century, as I, along with many others, perceived the Bible taught He would. As such, I believed their faith, their Hope was misplaced. Even though I now know that</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">my own hope, such as it was, was misplaced, I believed</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"> at the time that they were wrong while I was right! Though I like to believe that I'm past such pettiness at this stage in my own Journey; this is in itself a cause for some sadness. No regrets though; I'm thankful for where I came from, humanly speaking!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">If I had kept this sadness inside, I shudder to think of the emotional wreck I might be right now! One thing I can say about my personal Journey is that I HAVE progressed this far at least; that I'm not as afraid as I was to let my emotions show, to let my tears flow! Although I know I still have a long way to go, I have learned the healing power of tears! I realize too, that much of my current existence is dependent on a 'trauma response'. I say this, not to justify my actions, but to acknowledge that I still have a lot of healing to do. I foresee many, many tears in my future!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">Namaste' & Blessed Be!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">Sage Charles</span></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-68768297099630857002023-02-17T23:52:00.000-07:002023-02-17T23:52:12.737-07:00Embracing the Metaphor ( The Great Divorce )<p>"What's it matter, really?" Joe & Charlene had just been discussing the age of rocks & when Charlene found herself in between.................... a rock & a hard place; as she usually did, she capitulated without, you know..........'capitulating'! Of course, it DOES matter, though to your average Joe, it might seem to make little to no difference. Charlene had been brought up to believe that the Earth, our Mother, was only 6,000 years old, that all the geologic wonders around the world were evidence of Noah's Flood & that humanity itself found its genesis in a Middle Eastern man & his mate that, interestingly enough, DID have belly buttons ( BTW, they were created to look approximately 30 years old too ). Then, of course, there WAS that episode with the talking snake; crazy, right?!</p><p>Joe had heard the Story before, from many different perspectives. Being a world traveler, he knew that, though the versions were all different, to a lesser or greater degree, the Story was the same from culture to culture. He also knew that, in order to understand this startling truth, one had to open their mind to the notion that no one religion, much less person, had 'the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth'. Charlene knew all this, but still had a hard time acknowledging his findings, for even though they DID make all the sense in the world, the facts, as she had learned them, did not jive with what Joe was reporting. </p><p>Charlene was more or less familiar with the term, but when it came to understanding metaphor, she'd always thought of it as referring only to those parts of the Story that the Bible didn't necessarily elucidate, as such. For instance, in her understanding, even a historical occurrence, such as the Great Flood of Noah's day spoke to a greater spiritual truth, where the Ark, through which Noah was saved along with his family, pointed forward to the salvation that came through the Christ, or the Messiah of the Hebrews. Not that she'd learned incorrectly, there was more to the Story, metaphorically speaking. </p><p>The Story of the Bible IS the Story of Humanity, as Charlene & so many others like her had been taught, but not quite in the way she or her teachers thought! According to the biblical Story, Adam & Eve were the representative scions of Israel, the chosen people of a certain Canaanite/Hebrew god named 'El' ( Elohim ). Of course, Charlene had been taught the version that we outlined earlier, wherein Adam & Eve were the first human beings on planet Earth, being representative, not of the genesis of the Hebrew people, but of Humanity itself. Though she had never really thought about the implications of such beliefs, hanging around with Joe had begun to remove the scales from her eyes. In essence, Charlene was beginning to see, grudgingly though, that what she'd known so dogmatically all her life was not the whole Story!</p><p>The Story of Israel, as elucidated in the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures, beginning with the metaphorical choosing of Adam & Eve, though from a different & much older culture than ours, still represents the struggles of humanity, sadly enough, even to this day. Much like Israel was finally divorced by this 'El' after many instances of unfaithfulness, subsequent trial, hardship & repentance, so Humanity has been divorced from the Knowledge of Divinity, for much the same reason, in fact of the matter! This is not to say, of course, that Humanity is therefore fucked & that the Divinity is well represented by this 'El', be he Hebrew or Canaanite! Humanity is itself endowed with what is often called the Spark of Divinity! </p><p>The Divinity, though known by many names around the world & taking many different forms, is really One Being ( if one can even correctly call It THAT! ). Humanity is a denser form of this Divinity, yet part & parcel with It! Arguably the smartest man who ever lived, someone once said "Everything is Energy" ( or something to that effect ); In this case then, this Divine Being is pure Energy. As previously discussed in this blog, our Essence, our 'Spirit' if you will, embodies this same Energy, though for biological purposes, this Energy vibrates or operates at a lower frequency. Though humanity, or so it would seem for the greater part, has been divorced from their own Divinity, it is not as though we cannot be reunited. Unlike Israel of old, it is not some petty god with which we need reunion, rather it is within ourselves that we suffer this division, or separation. Fortunately, Humanity seems to be awakening, in the past decade or so, to the Glorious fact that the Salvation we have been taught to seek without is in fact Within!</p><p>Charlene, though grudgingly, had begun to accept the Truth as reported by Joe. Her Great Awakening began long before she even had an inkling of her own innate Power, her own Divinity! Under Joe's patient & gentle tutelage, the eye of Charlene's understanding was gradually opened to the fact that the geology of our Mother Earth was far more ancient that she had been taught. Even the absurdly simple story that Adam & Eve were the first human beings on Planet Earth became more & more ridiculous to her, to say nothing of the talking snake!<br /></p><p>Joe had a similar Story; that's why he empathized with Charlene. He'd been brought up to believe much the same way she had, but with the important difference that he had been allowed, or enabled, one might say, to open his mind up to different possibilities, different Stories, so to speak. Even now, Charlene's progress mirrored his own Journey, for Joe began to note & then explore the glaring consistencies of the Story as he had learned it. 'As above, so below; as without, so within'. Joe had learned, as Charlene was beginning to see, that just as the Story they were both taught about the materiel world & the Universe itself was lacking in many areas, so the Truth about our own Divinity had been stifled to the point that it was all but lost on the overwhelming majority of Humanity. Again though; all is not lost: the Story here represented is true of Humanity in general! Though fairly quietly, gently, one might note, the Great Awakening is occurring as we speak & it's only going to get louder!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p><div id="tap-translate"></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-18562826044407009432023-02-05T16:33:00.000-07:002023-02-05T16:33:55.039-07:00Doorway to the Divine; the Moon as Mediator <p>February's Full Moon, the Snow ( 'Candles' in Europe ) Moon has just passed Her peak as I begin to write on this beautiful Day on which we pay our due worship to the Sun, or in some cases, 'the Son'! The Moon, as we have learned, from Day One, you might say, has no light of her own, but merely reflects the light from our solar system's greatest star, the Sun. As the saying goes, "As Above, So Below"; so one might see this as metaphorical of our own situation. In this sense, particularly as Christians, we are taught that we are mere reflectors of the glory of 'God', but, as we have come to know; this Glory is not something that shines upon us, like the relationship of the Moon to the Sun, but rather; a Light that shines from Within, as We will It, consciously or unconsciously ( some haven't learned yet, what a Light they ARE )!</p><p>In the West, even in the Near East, religiously speaking, the Moon is perceived as Female while the Sun is perceived as Male. Perhaps this is one reason for the ascendancy of the patriarchy, since the female is viewed as receptive, while the male is viewed as proceptive. In matter of fact, the male & female sexual organs seem to bear this out. As such then, the female has been supposed to be the submissive one, 'the weaker vessel', as She has often been called. This, as any man who has ever had the good fortune to come face to face with a woman should know, could not be further from the Truth!</p><p>The Divine is Within every living Creature, both Male & Female! Some have even proposed that It exists within ALL Creation, even what we often refer to as 'inanimate'! As such, we may know that upon whomever we happen to rest out gaze, we are looking into a Mirror; Divinity stares back at us, even into our very soul, as some have said. In this sense, we may be seen as reflectors, though certainly not 'merely'. I must give this caveat, however; the Divinity is easier to detect in some than in others, in fact, It might seem nearly impossible to perceive in certain people!</p><p>No matter how deeply buried under the human psyche It might be, however, this Spark of Divinity, as it is often termed, DOES exist in ALL of humanity! Again, It is buried deeper, under more layers, in a manner of speaking, in some more than others, One may be assured though; It IS there! All that we must do is patiently coax it out of hiding. Whether we're speaking professionally, as is growing ever more popular, of therapy, or simply of meditational practices, which is therapy in itself, there's nothing better than self-therapy, much like self-medication. Along those lines, professional therapy could be likened to institutional religion, in that it seeks for healing from an outside source, rather than, as with meditation, searching Within for the Answer. This is not to say that either of these, institutional religion or professional therapy, are without worth, just that both of these tend to detract, or distract from our own Worth. This, of course, depends largely on the practitioner!</p><p>One of my favorite lines from the move 'The Matrix', is "I can only show you the door; you must walk through it". Note how similar this is to the old adage, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink". Come to think of it, along with the ascendancy of the patriarchy, maybe trying to force the horse, so to speak, has been one of the major societal issues we have to recover from! However one chooses to perceive it, much less act on it, Divinity, like righteousness, cannot be forced, or legislated. We must go within ourselves first, to find our own Divinity, before we can ever hope to see it within the other, much less reveal it to them as the Reflector we are. To some of us, these words might sound almost familiar, as "first remove the beam from your own eye, then you may see clearly to remove the speck from the other's". ( yes, I purposely removed the patriarchal reference ) </p><p>As Reflectors then, We function both as Receptive & Proceptive, Male & Female. First, We act out both the Male & Female aspect, proceptively searching out our own Divinity, then birthing, or revealings ( receptively ) within ourselves said Divinity, after which we may be receptive to the Divinity of the other ( for until we recognize It within ourselves, how will we recognize It in the other? ). If I may borrow from something I just read, we are, in this sense if no other, both 'the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End ( Goal )'!</p><p>To unbury the Divinity within ourselves is both as easy ( 'simple' might be a better way of putting it ) & more difficult than it might seem at first glance! Depending, of course, on the level of instruction that one has received over the course of their lifetime, or even lifetimes, with the layers that any one of us has to dig through, carefully sifting out what is useful from what no longer serves us can be a very painful process. For those of who feel the pain of others as well as our own, this process can feel almost unbearable at times!</p><p>"As Above, So Below", the Spark of Divinity resides within All Creation! We may not force this Divinity to reveal Itself ( though we may gently coax It ); no, the best we can do is just BE. In our role as Reflector ( Moon ), we may be able to alert them to their own Divinity. As a warning, our Reflection can be a double-edged sword, so we must take great care how we exercise It, for, "Let's face it; everyone has their moments!"<br /></p><p>In our Roles as Reflectors, We must remember that as Receptors of the Light, We are no less than the Light ourselves. The old saying, "this town isn't big enough for the both of us" surely doesn't fit here! The Light, like the Energy from which It emanates, indeed, which It IS, is Infinite. In order for the Other to perceive the Light within themselves, it must have a Reflection, so that they can see this Light & recognize it as coming from themselves. On the other hand, if we do not reflect It back to them, or reflect it wrongly, with the Ego, they may never perceive their Light for what It is. </p><p>As such then, it might be truthfully said that we signify both the Sun & the Moon, being the embodiment of both the Female & Male Principle! "As Above, So Below"; we have been given to understand that the Moon simply reflects the light from the Sun when She shines, however brightly ( or not ) at night, but are we to understand this to be Her ONLY Power, that of a Receptor? The Answer should be more than obvious, just as any man who has had the good fortune to meet a woman face to face knows that they are most definitely NOT the weaker vessel!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be, </p><p>Sage Charles</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-3919803532230010782023-01-29T14:53:00.000-07:002023-01-29T14:53:03.698-07:00The Complete Human; the Sum of the Gods ( the importance of being human )<p> Ask the question, "What does it mean to be human?" of any number of people & you'll likely get as many different answers! For the most part, the answers may be similar, depending on who you ask: anything from "a sentient being" to Richard Rohr's "earth that has come to consciousness" Interestingly enough, researching the word online, one might find that some break the cardinal rule most of us old codgers were brought up with, "you can't define a word with the same word"! One definition I thought interesting was Merriam-Webster's; "a bipedal primate mammal". Most popularly though, in various ways, a human being is distinguishable from a mere animal.</p><p>"Welcome aboard the Starseed Enterprise!" In a previous post, I discussed how even our physical body is made up of energy, as well as the 'real' Us, the spiritual being that we are, being part & parcel with the Source ( call it 'God', 'the Universe', or Divine Energy; "It is what It is" ) of all Life. To reiterate, "we are NOT our physical bodies", though maybe more correctly, "we are not JUST our physical bodies"! </p><p>We are the Gods of this world! A controversial statement, one might well note, but even Jesus called the Jewish leaders Gods. According to the Hebrew, a '<a href="https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h430/kjv/wlc/0-1/">god</a>' ( lowercase OR uppercase 'G' ) is simply 'a mighty one'; the problem is, most of us haven't figured out yet just HOW mighty we ARE!</p><p>By saying that we are the Gods of this world, I simply mean that we control the Narrative! No, not individually speaking but collectively speaking, humanity controls the greater Narrative! Therein lies the problem, if indeed one perceives it as such; the overwhelming majority of people, not realizing the Power they wield, have either yielded this Power to others, willingly or ignorantly, or else selfishly used this Power to their own ends, seemingly without a thought for the 'other'! This Narrative has been called 'The Dream of the Planet' by some. In one sense, I say, with Jesus: "We are Gods!", because of our Power of Choice. As I intimated, We, individually speaking, control our own Narrative. No, we cannot always control what happens TO us, but we CAN control HOW we respond, ALWAYS!</p><p>In another sense too, I say "We are Gods!" because We, in Essence, are One with the Source of All Life! Speaking, of course, of the Spark of Divinity that lies within ALL of humanity, I realize that it is evident in some more than others; in fact, in many, it's almost, if not impossible to glimpse. One might note here though, that yet another aspect of our Godhood is our ability, our Power to bring to light the Divinity within the other. I do not mean to say that we ourselves bring forth this Spark, but more to the effect that we Awaken the other to this Glorious Reality! "How do we do this?" one might ask. Simply by the words of Jesus ( for example ); by treating others how we ourselves would like to be treated. Of course, this example only really stands if we ourselves have accepted this Glorious Reality. <span> </span></p><p><span>Our acceptance/realization of this Glorious Reality, of course, is not what makes Us Gods, or mighty ones. As we have been seeing, it is not our awareness, as such, that gives us the Power of Choice: we ALL make choices, based, usually, on our individual perception. Depending on our individual perception then, unless one has awakened to the other's perception, we make & have to live with, those choices, whatever form they might manifest. However, once we have been awakened to this 'universal' perception ( 'the Dream of the Planet'/'the Matrix' ), our choices will begin to reflect this effect; rather than being based solely upon our own individual perception, they will be for the good of ALL, for we realize more & more that we ARE the other; we are all connected & what affects one affects the other, to whatever extent!</span></p><p><span>Being One with the Source of All Life does not either, for those who might have had this disturbing thought, mean that we bear the weight of the world on our often seemingly feeble shoulders! Because of the innate Godhood of ALL; everyone bears the weight of THEIR own individual choices. We, again, make our OWN choice as to how we respond to their choices, but we cannot choose for them: as a wise man once said, "I can only show you the door; YOU must walk through it!"</span></p><p><span>Everyone has their own Story, their own dream, their own perception! Most often, for whatever reason, this dream more closely jives with the dream of the planet as it is in this false reality, rather than the dream of the planet as it should be, or IS in True Reality ( whether we acknowledge It or not ), the Dream of Heaven. This Dream of Heaven, as opposed to the dream of hell that many or most are currently experiencing, is a Current Reality for those who have awakened to the aforementioned Glorious Reality that we are, not just the Sons & Daughters of God, but Goddesses & Gods in our own right! </span></p><p>In this sense then, it is NOT, as I have postulated previously, ONLY our spiritual nature that gives our Godhood! It is our WHOLE being, including our Ego ( "gasp!" ), through which we make our choices & live our lives. Again, though they operate at a different frequency & vibrate at a much lower ( ? ) rate of speed, our physical bodies are "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">formed of the same Energy as our Spiritual Being". They are then, no less Constituent Elements of our Godhood than is our spiritual, or True Nature!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be Truly Human is to be a God! ( "Yes, I said it!" ) As Gods, then, We cannot afford to ignore this Glorious Reality! The Dream of the Planet that we are currently living is not just any dream; it's a fucking nightmare! The only Way that we will awaken from this nightmare is first, to awaken ourselves, to realize & accept Who We are & where We came from. Second, by BEing Ourselves, to influence others by startling them with the Truth of who THEY are. In this Way, the Dream of the Planet, the Collective Consciousness will return us to the Garden, where We may freely eat of the Tree of Life & live forever!<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Namaste' & Blessed Be!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sage Charles</span></span></p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-49932693872130933152023-01-08T13:36:00.000-07:002023-01-08T13:36:58.879-07:00How To Love Yourself<p> "Do you love yourself?"</p><p>If we are honest, the overwhelming majority of us would probably have to answer negatively. Whether we have been brought up to believe that we are marred by something called 'original sin', or we have been so conditioned by our culture that we feel we just don't measure up, most people really have no idea what it means to love oneself, much less how to do it.</p><p>"So tell us, oh Wise One; how DO we love ourselves?!"</p><p>Well, first of all; when it comes to loving oneself, I make no claims about being a Wise One or a guru: quite the opposite, in fact! I kinda suck at it, especially lately. Taking at face value the accepted notion of loving yourself, as in, "if you don't love yourself; how can you ( really ) love anybody else?"; what does it actually mean to love yourself? So, working our way in reverse, let's consider; if loving another means to care for them, whether that involves romantic ( ? ) feelings or not, respecting them & their needs, in essence, treating them as you yourself would like to be treated, then would that not suffice as an acceptable meaning? Actually, to those who have dared to ask this most important of questions, that probably would serve as a very acceptable, though maybe not the most concise answer. May we take this question at face value though? THAT is the question!</p><p>From a purely human standpoint; yes, one might well note that loving oneself involves respecting yourself to the point that, as don Miguel Ruiz suggests in the first of his Four Agreements, "Be impeccable with your word". Primarily of course, that would mean especially your word to yourself; IE, stop putting yourself down as you've been taught to do. Rather, remind yourself that you are worthy, you are perfect just the way you are, you ARE where you're supposed to be, blah, blah, blah..... Also, in that scenario, loving yourself might mean distancing yourself from certain people that you had previously, for whatever reason, counted as friends. "We just don't vibe anymore", "we're on different frequencies", "they're too negative for me", etc, etc, etc........... On the basis of being human, yes, all these suggestions have value, but are we not more than human?</p><p>We've discussed in this blog before how We ARE Love Itself, but what DOES that mean?! "The Bible says that God is Love, right?!" Again, "What does THAT mean?!" Does that even come close to the short list we read earlier in this post? "Do you mean to say that God is capable of human emotions?" No, Love, as we've discussed previously, is NOT an emotion! Sure, it is often, if not usually expressed, or manifested THROUGH the emotions, but It is not Itself an emotion. Humanly speaking, in the verbal sense, Love is an action. It is a choice we make, for instance, to treat others as we would ourselves like to be treated. 'Is THAT what Love is?" When we try to describe it from a merely human standpoint, It honestly seems to fall rather flat, like, "If there were no humans to manifest It, would Love even exist?" Stupid question, right? Sounds kinda like, "If a tree falls in the forest & there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?"</p><p>It has been suggested that Love, like Light, is simply Energy. So, if Love is Energy & Everything is Energy, wouldn't that mean that Everything is........................ "Wait, even Rocks?!" Actually, that's not what I'm saying.............but, interesting thought! It's really not quite THAT simple, is it? Love is Energy, yes, but does that necessarily mean that Energy is Love?! Hmmmmm! "It's getting deep in here!" So maybe here is where we get into Frequencies. If Love is just a higher frequency of Energy.......... Maybe then, animals ARE capable of Love! Or are we so vain as to think human beings are the only species that have evolved that far? For that matter, how ABOUT Rocks?! Does not the Bible itself say "even the rocks will cry out" ( Luke 19:40b )? </p><p>But, I digress.............. "Is Love simply Energy?" As above, so below; no, it's not that simple! Love is Energy, yes, but it is not just mindless protons & neutrons doing the dance of Life; or ARE they?! Hmmmmmmmmmm! I'm going to suggest that Love is an Intelligent Energy! Now, is It intelligent because of its higher frequency? "This just keeps getting deeper & deeper!" So, before we completely fall down the rabbit-hole...</p><p>It must be understood that We ARE More than human. As someone once said, "we are spiritual beings having a human experience". "We just can't seem to stay away from that rabbit-hole, now can we?!" What IS a 'spiritual being? Why, a Being of pure Spirit, of course, right? What is 'Spirit'? "Might as well ask what Love is!' Oh, wait................. Okay, so Everything is Energy, right?! That would include Spirit, yes!? So, lets say that Spirit is Energy that resonates at that higher frequency, like Love! That would make sense then, when the Bible says "God is Love". In that case then, a 'Spiritual Being' would simply be a Being that vibrates at a higher frequency, the Frequency of Love!</p><p>Speaking of protons & neutrons ( ? ); I'm obviously not a scientist, but I've heard something to the effect that atoms, which are apparently made up of the protons & neutrons, vibrate at such intensity that they become more or less dense, as a 'matter' of fact! Whatever the case may be then, these vehicles, which we call the human body, are not just 'a prison for the soul', as we ( Gnostics ) have been accused of teaching, but are actually part & parcel with our very Being. So, technically, the phrase ( which I have often myself used ), 'we are not our bodies' would be better phrased, 'we are not JUST our bodies'. "These physical husks will perish", I have taught, "but the Spirit remains". This, however, is not quite the Truth! As a wise man once said, in other words, "Energy never dies; it is simply transformed". In fact, then, these physical husks do NOT perish, though they may be unrecognizable as such; they are simply transformed, alchemized if you will. "Are we our physical bodies?" Yes & No. "We are More than these bodies, these vehicles, yes, but our True Identities are not bound up in them. Our True Identities are Spiritual, which means they vibrate at such a high frequency that they are rather insubstantial. "Another rabbit-hole?!" No, not really: read on for the startling conclusion!</p><p>Though we have come dangerously close to following the White Rabbit & falling down the rabbit-hole, we're still on track, trying to remember how to love ourselves. One doesn't need to have come from a Christian background to be familiar with the concept of treating these vessels as a temple; however, coming from the Christian background I do, it is very familiar to me that "we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit" ( I Corinthians 6:19 ). Though I know that we are the Spirit that is housed by this Body, or Temple, I hold this, as much of the Greek & Hebrew Scriptures, to be Truth, though often esoterically so. As such then, we owe it to these Vehicles, 'husks' though they may be, to venerate & respect them as the Temples they are! At the same time, though, we must be careful not to make the same mistake the original audience of those Greek & Hebrew Scriptures made! This Temple is, in this sense, merely transient; it is the Spirit Within that is Eternal!</p><p>In conclusion, then & to answer our original query; "How DO we love ourselves?" One might note the Answer to be two-fold, though closely related: as far as this Temple goes; "treat it with the respect it deserves, being formed of the same Energy as our Spiritual Being, our True Nature, one might say". Be impeccable with your Word, first, to yourself, then to others. Respect for your Temple means not letting others disrespect your Temple either. There is something to distancing oneself from those who vibe differently, bring in an aura of negativity, etc, etc. I say this, not that we are better than them, but sometimes it is necessary to heal ourselves first in order to teach them how to heal themselves. ( I'm tearing up as I pen these Words ). </p><p>Finally & most importantly ( Supremely so ); "We ARE Love"! This is our True Nature. Yes, primarily our Spirit, our Higher Self, which vibrates at such frequency that It is not visible to the physical senses, is that which is in the spotlight here, but, "as Above, so Below", the physical manifestation of our Spirit, marred though it may have been by eons of fear & ignorance, is no less worthy of our love & respect. </p><p>In Essence, then, to Love Oneself means, first of all, to realize Who & What We are, that We ARE Love! For that matter, our Vehicles, these physical 'husks' are 'made' out of Love! Knowing these two startling truths, it is only natural that, when we begin to offer ourselves the worship WE deserve, the world that John Lennon 'Imagined' will begin to unfold before us ( I'm crying again )! In the immortal words of another famous Artist; "May it Be!"</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-56064886832979559102022-12-31T20:54:00.000-07:002022-12-31T20:54:05.496-07:00The Purpose-Driven Life<p>For the overwhelming majority of my adult life, particularly early on, I wandered more or less aimlessly, it would seem, with almost no discernible purpose. This, of course, is not to say that I indeed had no purpose: I just, at that point anyway, did not perceive it as such. Even after more than 50 trips around the sun, on this go-round anyway, I'm still not able to give much elucidation on the subject! Which brings up the question at hand: "Is it necessary to have a purpose in Life?" Another question that might well be asked is, "is 'purpose' simply a man-made construct, like Time?" </p><p>According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, a purpose is '<span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures;">something set up as an object or end to be </span><a class="mw_t_d_link" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attain" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0074cc; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">attained</a>'. Now, not to be overly sarcastic, but if that doesn't say 'man-made': I don't know what does. Just because it IS man-made, however, does NOT mean that it's wrong, or even a bad idea; having purpose, or an end-goal is normally thought of as a good thing, right?! It IS a good thing to have purpose, or intentions for any good one does, or wishes to do, in this Life. On the other hand, though; it is NOT a good idea if one intends, selfishly, to do whatever she or he wishes, no matter the consequences to others. This is most often referred to as 'evil'. In other words, then, 'man-made' doesn't mean that we should disregard or flout something; 'Time' for instance. Time, yes, is merely a conception of humanity, but, as we live in a world full of humanity; "when in Rome.........", or something like that........... Purpose, on the other hand, being a simple conception as well, is a bit easier to dismiss, although maybe more as a noun than a verb. To not have a ( stated ) purpose in life is not the end of the world, although in the hustling, bustling busyness of today's world, some sort of purpose is a necessity if one wants to get anywhere in what some have called The Dream of the Planet. </p><p>When a person is consumed by their Purpose, they are often referred to as being 'driven'. Now, again, in the Day & Age in which we live, it has become pretty much a necessity, not only to be able to state, or elucidate ones purpose, but to be able to focus on that end-goal until it is achieved; after that, of course, it is usually obligatory to move on to the next one. Again, too, this is not necessarily either good or bad, depending on the intentions of the person. </p><p>Being 'driven' brings up questions as well: 'What are you driven by?" "Why are you 'driven' by it?" This is not to say either, that being 'driven' itself is necessarily a bad thing. One may feel 'driven' in order to take care of their wife, kids, etc., although, even there, we may come face to face with some sort of attachment issues. If one is 'driven', however, just to get ahead ( at ALL costs ), to 'keep up with the Joneses' or some other purely selfish reason, then this person may need to take a look at their life & realize that their issues are more than skin-deep. </p><p>On the other hand, we must consider what it really means to be 'driven'! To be driven is to be controlled by, either the desire or perceived need to do whatever one can to achieve their end-goal. Humanly speaking, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact, in this day & age, it is normally thought of as a good thing. However, as More than human, we cannot allow ourselves to be controlled by our lower emotions, such as need or desire, both of which can be defined, more or less, as 'lust'!</p><p>The issue at hand then, it would seem, is 'Control'! On the surface, control is a good thing, right?! "Control yourself!' is a big one. Being in control of your emotions ( holding it in? ) is normally thought of to be a good thing. "Get ahold of yourself, man" comes to mind. This is not to say that control is necessarily a bad thing either. Again, in this day & age especially, being in control of your lower emotions is a good idea. For instance, if one of these lower emotions prompts you to do something that is inadvisable, for whatever reason, it is probably best to rein in that lower emotion, whatever it is. On the other hand, though: "Religion," they say, "was invented to control the masses." Sometimes, it would seem, the masses MUST be controlled. The problem, though, is that the masses were never MEANT to be controlled; the masses, individually speaking, are meant to control themselves. Saying that "religion was invented to control the masses" usually means, not simply trying to keep the masses under control, or acting correctly, but propagating a particular way of acting, namely their own. This again, is not necessarily a bad thing, if it is a good religion, but too often, those in power use their power selfishly, to their own selfish ends, rather than for the good of all concerned. Unfortunately, in such cases, these abuses of power usually give the religion itself a bad name ( if it doesn't already have one ). On the other hand, if ones religion helps him or her to control their own urges, this is a good religion, though it be wrongly applied sometimes. In Essence, Self Control, not Organized Religion, is the Answer we seek!</p><p>To get back to our Purpose here, being Driven is not in itself a bad thing. The issue is what one is driven to do & why one is driven to do it. If, as in many cases, one is driven by the norms of society, then that one must examine their own heart, as to whether they're following their heart or simply obeying the dictates of Society. </p><p>Again & finally, it is good to have purpose in your life. Is it necessary to have a definable purpose, a stated purpose? My readers must answer this question for themselves, but in my opinion, being able to 'state your purpose' is overrated. This may be semantics, but 'intention' is better than 'purpose'! My intention, for all of this thing we call Life, is to simply BE. "Is that the same as 'Purpose'?" Again; "You be the judge!" In my opinion though, 'intention' speaks more to our Will, our Power, whereas 'purpose' has more a connotation, at least in popular ( religious ) use of something coming from outside ourselves, as in 'God', 'Allah', etc. So, in conclusion; does it really matter if one cannot state what his or her purpose in life is? No, not really, though there is nothing wrong, either, with being able to state ones purpose. In my opinion, it is better to state ones intentions, but hey, maybe that's just me: I AM rather semantical after all!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-47840054602962736712022-12-19T00:10:00.001-07:002022-12-19T00:10:20.577-07:0021 Grams; the Aura of Divinity<p> When Caycee woke up that morning so long ago, she intuitively knew that something had changed!</p><p>'No; that wasn't quite right"............... Nothing had changed, for she felt like it had been there all along, but overnight, a long night it seemed, her perception had been altered. Almost imperceptibly at first, Caycee was beginning to see colors! "No, it wasn't like she had previously been like a deer in the headlights, seeing only the base lights, or even just the most basic spectrum"........... Caycee was starting to see a faint glow of colorful rays of light emanating, first, from those she was more or less familiar & even intimate with, then, as she became more accustomed to this strange new phenomenon, even from total strangers. "These 'total strangers', of course, were not strangers at all, at least not totally, as they were acquaintances from previous lives that she simply had not yet met in this life!"</p><p>The year was 2032; Caycee, along with her 'invisible friend', Ed, who had been a constant since as long as she could remember, was really only one among many who were beginning to notice these 'colors'. The Day had finally come, as had long been prophesied, that we would, not only see each other through the 5 senses, but would 'know' the other by the aura that emanated from them! Many of those who first began to witness this 'strange' phenomenon blindly took their physicians word for it, that they were simply "seeing things", that what they thought they were seeing was merely an optical illusion. "Some foreign object must have gotten in your eye & is obstructing your view", they were told. Some of these even took these doctor's recommendations & had lengthy, extensive & expensive surgery to 'correct' this issue. For these & others, it was as if they had returned to the Matrix; life became 'normal' again: no longer were they seeing their neighbor's moods, they just made the mistakes they had always made, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, looking for love in all the wrong places & just generally making a mess of life!</p><p>The 'Change', for Caycee at least, had been a more or less gradual one. It wasn't quite as if she had simply woken up one day with a different perspective. Looking back on her 'normal' life, previous to The Big Change, Caycee had pretty much followed the crowd in the The Big Dream, the illusion of society. A nice big house with a white picket fence, two ( or more ) cars in the garage, 1.5 kids, a 9-5 that paid just enough to keep food on the table & the lights burning, a spouse that stoked the home fires & credit card debt up the wazoo ( whatever that is ). She had been there, done that & she was tired; tired of the rat-race, tired of 'normal' ( 'normal' was EXHAUSTING! )! So, when Don came along & showed her that there was a different, a better way of knowing, Caycee began to see things, well................differently!</p><p>Though the Change was itself gradual, Caycee immediately began to notice that things were not quite as they seemed! For instance, she had always accepted without question that 'normal' was the way things had always been, that it was normal to be selfish, that it was normal to own things. Our property consisted, not only of the land on which we lived, the house that we lived in, the vehicles we drove, but the animals we kept, as well: in some extreme cases, even our spouses were said to belong to us, if you can imagine! Thanks to the ministrations of this new friend, as well as myriad others, Caycee gained a whole new perspective on life: "we cannot & do not 'own' other individuals, including animals"; at most, we simply serve as stewards. When it comes to real estate, or land, we actually belong to It, rather than It to us. Our physical shells, anyway, consist of the Four Elements of our Mother Earth & upon expiration, will return to the Elements from which they came. Initially, of course, they will simply take the next turn in the Wheel of Life, providing food for the myriad of life-forms upon this Earth.</p><p>Caycee had been brought up, like so many others, in a religious setting, particularly in the Institution known as 'Church'. She knew then, about the spiritual aspect of life, of 'her', but she realized, thanks to Don & Others like him, that she didn't have to wait for the 'Afterlife' to enjoy Heaven on Earth. She could BE there Now! "It was her choice; always was, in fact!" She had always been taught that our choices determined whether we ended up in 'Heaven' or 'Hell' ( actually, the Church she was raised in taught that her fate had already been determined ), but now her eyes were open to the fact that in the dream of the planet, it was the normality of life itself that creates the 'hell' that so many spend an eternity in. On the other hand, strangely enough, even though they still, to some extent, blindly follow this broken dream, some manage to live in a 'heaven' of sorts, though they don't realize or acknowledge it.</p><p>So, to get to the point; Caycee KNEW that We were More than simple human beings: even the Institutional Church had taught Her that She had a soul. What it had failed to teach Her was that She WAS a Soul, that it was the Spirit within Her that defined Her, that made Her Who She was. The Husk that She wore, glorious as it was & integrally woven through with Her very Being, was simply a Vehicle for Her Spirit, her True Self. </p><p>Knowing, as She did now, that Life would never be the same, Her Ego began to put in some major overtime: "How can I get the word out before this person or that passes away?" "How can I make them understand before it's too late?" "What can I DO?!" The Answer, with a little help from Her Friends, came just as quickly: "Let it be"! "We can only take care of what is our responsibility, the rest is up to them". They must make the choice. This being the case, Caycee realized finally that there was really nothing she COULD do! She could only BE Herself & 'let the chips fall where they may', so to speak.</p><p>Much time had passed since that fateful Day. Caycee, once used to knowing others through her five senses, now knew Them more intimately through Their Aura & by the Energy They radiated. She knew without a word passing between Them how the Other was feeling & thus could more easily share in Their joys, or commiserate with Them in Their sorrows. As the phenomenon spread throughout the world, Those in the medical field were much quicker to appoint a more accurate diagnosis of Their patient's ailments. "Unfortunately yes, at this stage of evolution, there were still many who had not discovered Their Gift & so succumbed to the Dis-ease that plagues us all, in one way or another. For some too, it just came too late, sadly.</p><p>To say that Caycee saw things clearly now is a bit of an understatement. Not only did She see through the Eye of Her understanding; everywhere She looked, She saw all the colors of the rainbow, which, incidentally corresponded almost exactly with the seven chakras. Though at first this could be a bit uncomfortable, Caycee quickly became accustomed to the freedom brought about through this strange phenomena. With this new-found freedom, of course, came more responsibility. Because She knew immediately when the Other was being dishonest with Her ( "thanks, Ed!" ), that responsibility involved tactfully uncovering their dishonesty & facing Them with Her Truth. "As you can imagine, especially at first, things didn't always turn out well for Her!</p><p>More & more people were waking up to the glorious fact that We are More than just a bag of bones! The Colors that Caycee had begun to see on that Day not so long ago, though it seemed like forever, were now open to the Eyes of so many Others! The Revolution had begun that day, the 21st of December, 2032. That Winter Solstice surely DID signal the coming of the Light!</p><p>As we approach the Winter Solstice of the year 2022, let us purpose in our hearts to open our Eye, as did Caycee, that we may become more in tune, not only with the Other, Who is actually Us in a different suit, but with our Mother Earth.</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be,</p><p>Sage Charles</p>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-53056490629303966392022-11-27T15:27:00.000-07:002022-11-27T15:27:13.044-07:00Joseph & the Tree of Life<p>Since Joseph had no attachments, his mother having passed away several years ago, he decided to do a bit of travel. Living on the Mountain-top near the northernmost peak of the Cradle of Civilization, it was only natural ( some might say 'coincidental' ) that Joseph decided to follow 'The Fertile Crescent' south, into what is now referred to as 'the Dark Continent'. The deeper into this strange new land he went, however, the more Joseph wanted to explore the wonders he bore witness to. Though this new land was similar in some aspects to the land of his nativity, it was also very different! As he traveled further south in this amazing landmass, Joseph encountered many wondrous sites, from the lush, verdant Valley of the Nile to the mountainous heights of what are now known as the Eastern Rift mountains, where he bore witness to a mountain much higher than any he had ever seen in his own country, as well as a body of water many times larger than the one his Grandfather had fished. </p><p>Following the River, as his Mother had taught him, our intrepid Traveler began his descent from these withering heights & came into regions more like he was accustomed to, from lush fertile valleys to almost barren, but still beautiful, deserts. Joseph, as he traveled though jungle regions & open plains alike, began to appreciate the stories that had been passed down to him of his exalted Grandfather's own period of wilderness wanderings. Though his own country was not home to any jungle regions such as the ones he encountered here, Joseph was witness to many wonderful things in these densely wooded areas which were similar to the forests which he had explored in his youth, except that these areas were even more closely populated by trees & of course, being now well south of the equator, these regions were much warmer, with a much more diverse range of both flora & fauna. It was in these Jungles that Joseph experienced much the same as his Grandfather had in the wilderness of what is now known as Palestine!</p><p>The Trees, in their looming silence, spoke to Joseph in ways that no other Form of Life ever had. They taught him that, no matter what life throws at you, when you stand firm, even if it means bending & bowing with life's breezes, however great or small, you will end up the stronger for it. The Trees also taught Joseph that by simply growing where you're planted, through the Elements of Earth, Air, Water & Fire, One can become a mighty Forest, or Jungle, a veritable Tree of Life for the healing of the nations. With these & many other lessons, Joseph continued his Journey South, until at last he came to the End of his Journey, a small but significant baobab tree in a deserted region that would become known as the Limpopo Province of South Africa.</p><p>One might say that our intrepid Traveler was a long way from home, but as his exalted Grandfather had found, He WAS Home. No matter where he traveled, as long as he understood the Message of the Trees, He, like the mighty Tortoise, or Turtle, carried His Home with Him wherever He might go, or be. However, as the case may be, Joseph, like most human beings, longed for the land of His Nativity, the land with which He had, in His short life thus far, become most familiar & which He had great love for! Most of all, Joseph longed for the little cabin that His Grandfather had built for Him & His Mother, those many years ago!</p><p>Having come to the End of His Journey & knowing even then that His Journey had just begun, Joseph laid a peculiar blessing on this particular Tree, out of all others around, knowing that it would weather the storms of life for millenia to come! This particular Tree stands firm, even today, in the desert region that Joseph visited almost 2,000 years ago! It is a Testimony, as others like it around the Globe ( some have stood for even longer ), of the valuable lessons that Joseph garnered from the Trees all along His Journey.</p><p>After many Seasons, through highs & lows, snows & rains; Joseph returned at last to the Land of His Nativity! He had learned many things in His travels, not only about the diversity of Life Without, but of the Life Within. Many times we are, as Joseph was, faced with seemingly impassible mountains & deserts, by the wildness of Life, whether it be flora or fauna, but when we realize, as Joseph did, our awesome Oneness, even Wildness with ALL of It, then we will stand like those Trees. Joseph took many lessons to heart along His Journey South, but the greatest He learned from the Trees!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles<br /></p><div id="tap-translate"></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-89923341198251095462022-11-20T16:01:00.002-07:002022-11-20T16:01:32.527-07:00The Boundaries of Love<p>"Wait, Wait, Wait a minute.......................'Love & Boundaries'? Do these terms really go together?!"</p><p>For readers of this blog, this may seem like territory we've explored previously; I may even be accused of sounding like a broken record, but, 'Unconditional Love': "Doesn't that sound kinda like 'Love Without Bounds'?" Well, Yes & No ( Yin & Yang? )! As in all of Life, Balance is of utmost importance! In order to be truly a manifestation of the Love We ARE, "Yes", the Love we show others must be without condition, but, in the sense ( humanly speaking ) that we must first love ourselves before we can love our neighbor, we have to set boundaries. If Life has taught us anything, it's that most ( not all ) people will walk all over us if we let them!</p><p>"Love", as I've written previously, "is a many splintered thing" ( my sarcastic take on the popular phrase, "Love is a many splendored thing!" ) This 'love' of which I speak is more closely related to 'lust', which is not necessarily a bad thing ( more on this later ) By "a many splintered thing": I'm referring to the fact that, if we're not careful, 'love' can bite us in the ass! Kinda like straddling the banister: it can be a fun ride, but if we're not careful, we might end up with a splinter in our butt, or worse! This is not to say that we should shy away from physical shows of affection, whether it be sexual in nature, or simply just that most important 'human contact', that which helps us to thrive. We were 'made' for this ( human contact ) & just like a plant, for instance, when we don't receive the necessary nutrients, we tend to fade away<span>. Going for too long without the necessary nutrients, this physical body will go the way of the world, as it simply part of the great Circle of Life, like the plants & all the other animals! In words more plain, "this physical body will pass away, returning to the elements of which it is made!"</span></p><p><span>"As Above, so Below," in all of Life, "Balance is Key!" We must maintain a Strict Balance between loving others & caring for ourselves! In this sense then, if ONLY this sense, Love MEANS Boundaries! Setting Boundaries on our 'love' does not necessarily mean that we love some less than others ( though this is inevitable, humanly speaking ), it simply means that we have come to realize that "we can't pour water from an empty vessel", IE, if we don't ensure that we are gleaning the necessary nutrients for ourselves, we will be useless to anyone else. Getting to the Center of this post, however; when we realize our OWN Worth, that WE are the Fountain of Love & that any Love we give flows from Within, We realize that, in Reality, We do not need all the physical trappings in order to thrive: the Love Within us is More than enough & We are More than Worthy!</span></p><p><span>I've said it before & I'll say it again; "If we have the physical, but don't have the spiritual, the physical is worthless & if we have the spiritual, the physical is not necessary!" I realize that this may sound contrary to what I stated earlier, that "</span>when we don't receive the necessary nutrients, we tend to fade away<span>", but this is, in Essence, where we get into the nitty gritty, or the Heart of the Matter! "As Above, so below"; once We realize & accept that We are ( primarily ) spiritual beings having a human ( physical ) experience, once we transcend, or move beyond the attachments that naturally come with this human experience, even with the understanding mentioned previously, that "</span><span>if we don't ensure that we are gleaning the necessary nutrients for ourselves, we will be useless to anyone else</span><span>", it becomes clear that, not only can we glean these necessary nutrients from others; most importantly, we glean them from our OWN store, from our Divine Selves!</span></p><p><span>As Part & Parcel with the Source of All Life, call It 'God", 'the Universe", or just simply "Energy", We, even humanly speaking, have all we really need! Acknowledging that we are 'spiritual beings having a human experience' means accepting that experience for what it is ( call it 'Life' ). In this Flesh, this physical body, we experience things like loneliness, the longing to feel that human touch, etc., etc. I cannot deny the reality of feelings such as these, for in this human existence, they ARE a VERY real concern! However, relying on these feelings for the basis of our existence, In Essence, identifying with these feelings to the point that they become the Meaning of Life for us leads us to believe that without all these physical trappings, or attachments, we are nothing. In this human experience, we cannot escape these feelings. It is not even that we must endeavor to escape, or squelch them either, for there is nothing actually wrong with feelings; they are a necessary part of this human experience we call Life, but we must learn not to rely on our feelings ( I realize this goes against sayings like "go with your gut", etc. )! Feelings most often seem to flow as if with the wind, so anything based on feelings is likely to do the same!</span></p><p><span>Again though, Feelings are not necessarily a bad thing! If, for example, we get the feeling that the love ( energy ) we are sharing isn't being reciprocated ( returned in kind ), then we might make the choice to move on, to find somewhere ( someone? ) that we feel that love returned in kind, We may feel that our efforts aren't really appreciated, so we may choose to close that book & start a whole new chapter in our lives. Such feelings, even the choices we might make based on those feelings are not necessarily wrong, they just are ( "It is what it is" ). We must exercise extreme caution though, in basing our choices on our feelings, for more often than not, this leads to necessary heartache. Sometimes we must needs go through this experience, though it hurts like hell. Experience is usually the best teacher!</span></p><p><span>Our Feelings are an integral part of Us! Even as Divine Beings, our Feelings, that necessary aspect of our Humanity, ARE a manifestation of Who we are, not only as Human Beings, but as Divine Beings! One might say that we can't have one without the other ( let THAT sink in! ). Neither are Feelings 'a necessary evil'; again, for example, our 'gut feeling' may tell us to leave a toxic situation, but in the same vein, we might feel that, by staying, we can change, or heal the other person. In such a case, we must determine in ourselves whether these ( feelings ) are generated in our Higher ( spiritual ) or lower ( physical ) nature. By Higher, I refer to the Divine, The lower nature is that which is controlled by Lust, or the illusion of Want/Need! ( Remember, We HAVE everything we need, We ARE everything we really need! )</span></p><p><span>Being Human myself; I'll be the first to acknowledge that, "It ain't easy ( "<a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=videos+for+it+ain%27t+easy+being+cheesy#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9370866e,vid:-dKPDkC9YqA" target="_blank">bein' cheesy</a>"; sorry, just HAD to throw that in there )". Having these Feelings really sucks sometimes! By denying those Feelings, for whatever reason, we may end up biting our own ass though, because, again, humanly speaking, when we disavow those feelings, thus allowing ourselves to 'bottle them up', sweeping them under the rug, so to speak, those Feelings WILL come back to haunt us, sooner or later & usually at the most inopportune moment! We ARE Mr. Murphy in that case, ie., our own worst enemy!</span></p><p><span>If, however, we can transmute/transform those Feelings/Energies through our Higher ( Divine ) Nature, we may begin to notice that it's not always about us! For instance, the love we give others not being reciprocated is not necessarily a reflection on us, ie., that they don't love us, but simply that they don't love themselves & thus don't really know HOW to love us. The other side of the coin is that we may feel unworthy because they & others have told us this all our lives: it doesn't mean that we ARE, just that we feel that way. ( This is why I don't rely on my feelings, humanly speaking ) On the other hand, again, we may come to trust our Feelings as they are transformed into what is often called that 'gut feeling', which is better known as 'Intuition'!</span></p><p><span>'Sure", you might be thinking, "Balance is a good thing, but It's also easier said than done!" Yes. Yes, It is! The Rewards however are worth it. Peace of Mind ( less Stress ), off the top of my head, is the foremost reason! Imagine living without the stress of "Why doesn't he/she love me?" "What can I do/not do to make him/her reciprocate my love?' ( nothing ) "What am I doing WRONG?" ( again, 'nothing', at least if you are acting from your Higher Nature ) Even, "What can I do ( to better myself, be a better lover, better wife/girlfriend, husband/boyfriend, etc. )?" Once we realize that we can only BE ourselves, we can only change our OWN actions, that WE are indeed responsible for OUR lives alone, than we WILL change our Course; our Lives will take on a more brilliant hue. We will be truly FREE!</span></p><p><span>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</span></p><p><span>Sage Charles </span><br /></p><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35366904.post-14044224380410306632022-11-12T17:06:00.003-07:002022-11-12T17:06:55.924-07:00The 'Dark Knight' of the Soul & the Sounds of Creation<p>I've often said, concerning other matters maybe, though integrally related, "It's taken this long to get to where we are: it's going to take at least that long to get back to where we should be!" While on a nationalistic ( political ) level, there may seem to be some truth there, even some wisdom; this statement really doesn't ring all that true, especially on a personal level. Of course, for many, or most, it may actually take longer to sort through all the muck to figure out where we went wrong, or even if we DID go wrong! So many have been taught that living for ourselves is simply selfish, manipulating us to the point that we feel guilty for feeling good while others suffer. This is not to say that being empathetic is a bad thing ( it's not: it's actually very natural & laudable ), but being empathetic doesn't mean that we should take care of others to our own detriment!</p><p>I'm not much for New Year's resolutions ( I know, I know, it's coming up soon...............AGAIN ), but at the beginning of this year I decided that I would endeavor to remove the word 'should' from my vocabulary, or at least not to use it nearly as often. "I SHOULD do this, I SHOULDN'T do that, etc, etc"! I can't blame others, either, for making me feel guilty; it's my own choice, though that is the way I was taught. Still, for the most part ( here's where 'empathy' comes into play ), they were only teaching me what they knew, having been taught much the same. As Sean Connery said when the book fell on his head, "I can only blame my shelf!"</p><p>'The Dark Night of the Soul" is a phrase referring to a period that everyone, at some point in their lives & to whatever extent, goes through. Whether it's brought on by the death of a loved one, a divorce ( of whatever sort ), or the realization that things just aren't working out & that we need to make some major changes; it is a period, of varying length ( some might argue that it's lifelong ) where one is pretty much forced to do some major soul-searching! "Why do I feel this way?" "Is this REALLY how I feel, or is it a societal/cultural projection?" "What can I do/what do I NEED to do to get back to where I want to be?" These are questions, among others, that we might ask ourselves during these 'dark' times.</p><p>"As Above, so Below', it is during these times that we are led by the Spirit, whether we acknowledge It or not, to embark on our own individual journey of self-examination & introspection. The Universe DOES work in mysterious way, so inspiration could come from anywhere. We might find these bits & pieces helpful to our own situation, we might even find ourselves garnering Strength from un-looked-for places, people or things, but ultimately, the Strength we're looking for, the Strength we NEED must come, indeed can ONLY come from Within! </p><p>Of needs it must be that this 'dark night' looks different for different people: for some, it may involve physical trauma, trauma which they themselves have either experienced or engendered ( sometimes both ) & because misery most often ( not always ) loves company, unfortunately, sometimes those who have been abused themselves become abusers, since that is what they know. With the correct reaction to feelings of empathy & often outside help or inspiration, those abused are able to turn their situation into a learning experience where they can thus help or inspire others.</p><p>Yet another type of trauma is that alluded to earlier, trauma to the fragile psyche, brought on by religious training! This type of trauma can actually be more deadly & longer lasting, with even more far-reaching implications. Of course, this sort of trauma is often directly & inextricably linked with the more physical side, as well! This sort of trauma is really of a more insidious nature, for, while they may be purporting to be all about love & good will, the doctrine & dogma they're spreading are actually full of hate & ill will, teaching separation, rather than inclusion. It is only through the relaxation of the Mind that we can find our way out of the darkness, for it is only through openness that we become aware that those parts even exist!</p><p>Once we become aware of our darkness ( not necessarily a bad thing ), we must not only accept that darkness for what it is, an integral part of our humanity; we must learn to use that darkness to fight our way back into the light! In the yin & yang of things, we, as human beings anyway, are comprised of both Light & Dark, what is often called Good & Evil. This is not to say that Good can only be Light or that Dark must needs be Evil, for it is always our free will choice as to whether we will be controlled ( by either side ) or whether we will control our emotions to do what we KNOW to be right & just & good, whether Dark or Light.</p><p>The battle between Good & Evil is thus one that begins & ends Within! We must decide, not so much whether we will allow our Dark or Light side to win, but whether we will allow ourselves to be controlled by that former trauma, of whatever shape, or whether we will control our own narrative! This may sound a little petty, but "YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!" Ultimately, we must live our OWN lives, make our OWN choices, etc, etc. WE & ONLY WE are in control of our Story. Sure, we can be influenced, we may even be inspired by outside influences, for good or ill, but again, ultimately we must make that choice, the same choice that the biblical figure Cain was faced with, to control our emotions or be controlled by them: we all know how that ended!</p><p>"As Above, so Below", then; when we learn to use our trauma, in essence taking it as a lesson ( a hard one, for sure), our former trauma, though it will inevitably leave its scars, to whatever extent, can not only be healed; it can be used to help others heal their own trauma, or perhaps even to avoid trauma altogether! The Universe DOES work in mysterious ways & we may end up being one of those 'mysterious ways'!</p><p>But first, we must heal ourselves; as the old adage goes, "you can't pour water from a broken vessel!" Actually, that's not quite true, for though it is broken, it may be pieced back together, so technically, it's still broken, though it has been healed, or made whole: 'Broken' or 'Whole'; if we choose to use our trauma, to accept our Darkness, the Light in us may help others to recognize their own Darkness & so doing, to learn to accept & heal their own personal trauma!</p><p>Again, being an Empath needn't mean that we help others heal to our own detriment. Being an Empath simply means that while we may feel the emotions of others, even experiencing their trauma to some extent, maybe; it is our personal choice that decides how their personal trauma affects us. Just like our own personal trauma, as only we can determine whether to view it as a lesson or to flounder in it; by showing them how we took control of that trauma, maybe. just maybe, we can inspire them to take the reins of their trauma & to heal themselves!</p><p>Namaste' & Blessed Be!</p><p>Sage Charles<br /></p><p><br /></p><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div>Charles Shankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02042934737059944268noreply@blogger.com0