The Energy of Love; the Invisible Field

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!

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!

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................

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!" 

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! 

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!

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.

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'!

'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"! 

"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.

"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!

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!

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 )!

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!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

Finding Joy in Your Darkness

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 suspicion 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!"

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!

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. 

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'!

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?"

"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?"

On a more personal note; as some of my readers are probably aware, my 'vehicle' is afflicted with a disease ( dis-ease ) called 'Freidrich's Ataxia'. 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 neuropathy in my feet & lower legs, if that gives any bit of a clue!

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. 

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! 

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'!

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.

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!

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!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

"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'.

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. 

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"!

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.

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! 

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!

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. 

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!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

Beyond the Binary

From 'The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition ( 1970-1979 )', a Physical Binary is "a binary star whose components are bound by mutual gravitational attraction and orbit a common center of mass".

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.  

According to this article from The National Center for Transgender Equality, "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".

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! 

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. 

Most, if not all available dictionaries agree, in other words, with Collins Dictionary 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!

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'!"

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!"

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!

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. 

"I guess you could almost call ME 'nonbinary'! 

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.............

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!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles

"Greater Works"; Grasping Infinity

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [ works ] than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

Jesus - John 4:12 ( NKJV )

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.

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!

"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.

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!

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!

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!

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!" 

( This is also why Science & Technology can never be our Savior; They rely on the Mind/Brain! )

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!

In the Christian Mindset, which is what I was raised with, the very idea that we, as mere human beings, could do "greater works" 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!

Namaste' & Blessed Be

Sage Charles

To Stand Again; the Resurrection of the Christ

"She is risen"

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 ( anastasis ) 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...................

Known as 'Holy Week', this week includes, starting tomorrow, 'Ash Wednesday', 'Maundy Thursday' & '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 'the third day'.  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?!

"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 still looking for THEIR Messiah! 

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 'Kundalini Rising'; 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!

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! 

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'!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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?" 

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.

"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!

As We rise to the occasion, let's just hope that this time, the Divine Masculine will be satisfied to fight by Her side!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles 

This Current Experience

 "It's electrifyin'!"

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'!

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!

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'!

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!"

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! 

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!

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.

According to this published article from the University of Maine, "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." "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...................."

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!

"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'! 

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! 

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'!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!

Sage Charles