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