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Alchemy?
Rosemary and I are moving into the “scurry” phase of life getting ready to travel for the next 10 days. We are going west first for a workshop for “holistic practitioners” to gain traction in the market place. Since I left the field of marketing in the corporate world more than two years ago I have learned a great deal about how to market in the new world of Web 2.0 and all that goes with it. One of the purposes in my retirement was to devote full time to getting the word out about Rosemary and her gifts. And I’ve been scrambling ever since. I frequently tell people “I don’t know how I ever found time for a 9 to 5 job before retiring!
From the west we are heading all the way east for some family time and to plan a wedding for some very dear friends of ours. So, if you notice a day or two of missing blog posts you’ll know why. (I thought another thing I had retired from was frequent travel! I retired from an airline communications company for which travel was second nature. That nature seems to have followed me into retirement.)
I am the blessed and frequent recipient of Rosemary’s gifts! Last night she hosted “Conversations with The Other Side,” one of her regular events where participants get messages from The Other Side – from loved ones who have crossed over, angels, guides and spirit guides. It is always a good time with some laughter, some tears, and deep wisdom.
And true to form I did receive some fascinating messages last evening concluding with a visit by a “wizard from the middle ages”! And, yes, historic personalities, real and legendary, do show up from time to time; we also had John Adams make an appearance last night. The message from my wizard guide was to take a close look at alchemy; to “tune into the teachings of alchemy at the very deepest levels. Understanding of alchemy, about what we can do with ourselves, is becoming more and more needed on the planet because the whole evolution of human consciousness is relying on alchemical shifts within human beings. That’s how the energy shift is going to happen.”
OK, then! No problem here; I’ll get right on it! Seriously we do have several books on alchemy which I’ll be taking with me as I travel. And I do have a background, my first degree, in chemistry (not sure if this gives me a head start or not!).
Actually the real head start I have is a book I’ve been reading by Joseph Donlan: “Ordaining Reality.” (It’s now actually three books, the unabridged version and two abridged versions for people who want to get right to the meat.) Mr. Donlan states his purpose behind the books “is to explain the underlying laws of nature supporting the theory that positive thinking produces positive results. This knowledge will significantly enhance your ability to bring about desired changes in your life.” And if I hear my “wizard guide” correctly, alchemy can be used to bring about these desired changes. What I’m thinking is Mr. Donlan’s book is about the underpinnings of alchemy.
One of Rosemary’s favorite expressions is: “change your mind, change your life, change the world.” And I’ve seen this work time and again. Mr. Donlan’s work explains why this is so. Clearly there are alchemical processes at work here, and I’ll do a lot of further reading to not only discover these processes, but put them to work in my life and let you know how to activate them in yours!
At this point you may be wondering what this has to do with “The Goddess.”My message from “my wizard” was to investigate alchemy not for curiosity’s sake or for the academic enjoyment of the pursuit of knowledge. He said I need to help people “understand how alchemy happens in the 21st century – how people can get rid of the lower vibration of lead and turn it into the higher vibration of gold.” This is the ascendant story all over again; this is Inanna, born a Moon Goddess, descending to Earth to bless her people with growth, descending to the lower world to appease the Goddess Ereshkigal, rising again to reestablish her rightful place and ascending to the upper world again in her cycle of birth, life, death and new life. Lead vibration to gold vibration is part of this cycle. The golden grain from the fertile Earth is part of this cycle. The moon phases and Sun seasons are part of this cycle. My adventures into alchemy parallel my adventures with The Goddess.
Stay tuned for my further adventures!
A New Storm; A New Book
Yes, I do live in Colorado. And at this time of year anything can happen, even well into Spring. So, we are expecting snow tonight and all day tomorrow, with winds, with falling temperatures, a regular “winter storm watch.” Oh, and there’s a “100%” chance of this happening! Fortunately I just received a new book to get me through the snow-bound stage (which will probably only last a few hours tomorrow!).
One of the good things about this blog is it gained the attention of Joseph Gelfer who is doing some really interesting work down in the Melbourne, Australia in the field of masculine spirituality. I just received his book, Numen, Old Men Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy. He warned in one of his comments to me that he takes apart the whole, so called “mythopoetic men’s movement” of which I’ve felt some kinship and even participated in from time to time. So, I am not surprised and full of anticipation to read his second chapter titled: “The Mythopoetic Movement: Getting it Wrong from the Start.”
Robert Bly, Michael Meade, Robert Moore and several others were at the forefront of this movement beginning in the mid-80s. I’ve been in workshops and read much material from these three men in particular and have enjoyed what they offer. In his preface Joseph writes: “I had a deep, intuitive feeling that I could identify a masculine spirituality that did not perpetuate patriarchy and homophobia…” Yes, exactly what I am looking for and what I am working to reveal in these random posts on “men and the Goddess.” During his research for his book Joseph discovers an underlying patriarchy within the men’s movement; he states: “All but a few…who articulated a ‘masculine spirituality’ were actually articulating a patriarchal spirituality.”
Yes, I can see that to an extent. And I did read critical reviews and commentary on the mythopoetic movement at the time of its zenith that stated much the same thing, that patriarchy was alive and well within the movement. But, for me at least, it was a beginning. And there was much good work done by some within the movement. I have moved on. Many have. And I hope that this new book by Joseph Gelfer helps advance this whole notion of masculine spirituality. I will keep you informed of my progress as I move through his research and findings.
Meanwhile I have been working for “the goddess.” Yes, I have revamped Rosemary’s website with a modest update to include a new video of her describing what she does. The site flows a bit better now, but stay tuned for a major overhaul in late spring as I shift her to a WordPress hosted website. Check out the video at www.rosemarybredeson.com. And, for goddess sake, if you haven’t subscribed to her FREE weekly ‘ezine’ Wisdom Connections, each issue of which contains a new message from The Divine Feminine on how to live more consciously, do so when you visit the site.
Do you have a connection to the Goddess?
Balance – Can you find that still point within?
Happy Spring! On Saturday, locally at 11:32 am, we officially greeted Spring’s arrival. And while your weather may not have been appropriate for this season of growth and greening, at least here in the northern hemisphere, it was nevertheless a point of balance for everyone everywhere. The equinoxes are celebrated as a time of year of equal light and dark. The Sun is up for very close to 12 hours and it is down for 12 hours. For example Sunrise on Saturday here in Colorado occurred at 7:04 am and Sunset was at 7:11 pm. Balance.
How do you define balance? And here I’m asking about your sense of balance as an individual moving through your life on Planet Earth. Of course there are many kinds of balance: balancing while riding a bicycle, balancing on one foot in a yoga asana, balancing a diet, a check-book, balancing times of work and play, activity and rest. These are all examples of physical balance. There is also balance to be found in emotions: balancing joy and sorrow for example; and balancing of mental activity: right and left brain balancing, creativity with logic; and there is spiritual balancing to consider: balancing an understanding of self and Self, sensing the presence of God and Goddess, masculine and feminine energies within.
The balancing of day and night amplifes this sense of balance in our lives at this equinox time. It is a good time to examine all these areas of balance to determine if there might be some shifting to do. Balance is not a static or rigid sense of maintaining a status quo of some sort. There is an essential dynamic to balance. When riding a bike subtle shifts in the body are required to maintain balance; and, of course, forward motion greatly adds to the balancing act. All balancing acts require adjustments and tests to find and maintain the balance point.
Spiritual balance can be found, tested and adjusted on the inside. There is a still-point within where the breath eases, where the mind quiets, where emotions become submerged; this is a fulcrum of balance. Some people feel this in their heart-center, the fourth chakra, middle most of the seven. Some people find it in their dantien, especially the lower dantien in martial arts applications. It is in this inner balance point where God meets Goddess, where self meets Self, where the natural world meets emptiness, where no-thing meets the All. This is a highly dynamic center, full of life and change. But it is is a quiet place and the changes are subtle.
When we find this place of balance inside ourselves all other parts of our lives come into balance. Stress eases, ease strengthens, heaviness lightens, lightness deepens, masculinity softens, softness toughens, roughness smooths, smoothness texturizes. The polar energies swirl about one another, as in the Tai Chi symbol: yin swimming into yang, yang spiraling around yin; dark to light, light to dark dynamically balanced, ever changing, always the same, never static, spiraling upward.
Enjoy these days of balance subtly moving toward lengthening days and the coming solstice. And sense that still point within, your fulcrum about which your entire life can be balanced.
Inner Work using Divination
As predicted we got our five inches of snow; it is still coming down as I write! And by equinox time tomorrow, 11:32 am locally, we will see the Sun and experience the light for half the day; and then we’ll have half a day of night: equal parts light and dark to balance our inner and outer natures.
I’ve been writing about inner work lately. I’ve cited several methods I have used with varying success to get in touch with the inner being, to process loss and grief, to get in touch with our spiritual bodies and minds, to get in touch with Self. And in clearing up one of my piles of papers yesterday I found a single typed sheet, isolated, waiting for me. I glanced at it before pitching it in the recycle bin and read a few lines. This sounds interesting, I wonder who wrote it; maybe I should set it aside to read later.
I read this note today; I had written it, who knows when, I discovered about half-way through the piece. It was a response I had written, perhaps 10 years ago, to a “shusta card” drawing I had done. Shusta cards are a deck used for divination that I was trained in some time in the 90s. I haven’t used them in years. I have used other cards on occasion. Divination cards are very useful as a means to communicate with our higher consciousness, the Self. One year I drew a card from three different decks each morning and wrote in a journal what I interpreted the cards to mean. It is fascinating to go back and read that journal now.
With that as introduction I offer this “reading” of self, and Self, for your consideration, not only as the message for today as we approach equinox, but as a method you can use to get in touch with your higher Self:
“I can not hope to serve others successfully unless I am serving myself to a point where it becomes clear I am host to God/Goddess, a point where wholeness is growing inside. Then there will be a platform from which to serve.
“Now my Shusta cards from this morning become clearer. Destiny, Self, Unconditional Love. Of course, I have a destiny which is unalterable and set in motion from the beginning of time. I know that, and hard as it is, I accept that, at least intellectually. It is harder to accept it emotionally, but once it is admitted, life becomes easier to bear. Acceptance of this condition is a step on the path to wholeness. Let the moment unfold as it will. I can’t change it. The minute details may alter but the overall pattern of my existence is set, so let it be.
“Self within the established pattern – what does that mean? Is there a self within the motions of the plan that has any importance? Perhaps only in the context of the Self can the self be considered significant. Everything needs context. The Self has its context in Oneness, the Unity of All, the Way/Tao, the Am that I am. I am that Oneness, that Oneness am I. In the great beingness, isness, suchness, I am, the Self. From this one point derives all existence. The self is the conscious level of the Self. It is awake, aware, and built to serve the Self. It gets in its own way a lot. It second guesses everything. It thinks way too much. Out of this thinking derives worry, guilt, and many other destructive emotions. The shadow emerges from the self. The Self has no shadow, can not be split or divided onto itSelf, because it is only the Self. Consciousness of the Self is the only path of salvation for the self. Dwelling in the Self is the source of hope. Awareness of the Self is the platform for wholeness, and service. All derives from the Self; the first derivative (dS) is the self. The only purpose, meaning is to be aware of the Self, to serve the Self, to reflect the Self in the outer realm of existence.
“Unconditional love is what the Self has for the self. The Self knows what the self has to endure; the entire plan is available to the Self, nothing is hidden. From this knowledge derives love. Self-love of self is the dynamo of the universe, of all creation. The Self is Love. Suchness, beingness is love; love is suchness. There is an identity here which is the key. Unconditional love is the root, the central core of the All. Yes, even the most dark and evil corner of all creation has love at its center. It couldn’t exist without love; nothing can exist without love. Love Is. If this is true, then the only possible response to everything is love. How can it be otherwise. Love can only generate love. See the love in all things and you become love. The self becomes the Self. And emptiness engulfs the self in an ecstatic state of bliss.”
I got all that from three little cards. It’s a good meditation to consider as we move to the balance of the Spring Equinox and into the new year of growth and activity.
Using divination cards is a wonderful way to get in touch with Self. Have any of you had good experiences with cards?
Men and Spirituality
Yes, it was a beautiful spring 70 degree day in Colorado. Yes, we are expecting somewhere up to 5 inches of snow between tonight and tomorrow night. And on the first day of Spring…yes, more snow likely. But that’s just fine with me because it is watering the yard – for free – thank you, Mother!
I just bought a book by Matthew Fox: The Hidden Spirituality of Men. I’ve enjoyed Fox’s work and have participated in workshops and circle dances for peace with him. He has done so much to steer the spiritual ship of humanity in a more reasoned and less hysterical/blind belief direction over the past 20+ years. It’s hard to believe his Original Blessing was published in 1983! I have not read his more recent works so I am looking forward to reconnecting with him, especially around the issue of men and spirituality. In the preface to this current work, he provides a couple dozen reasons he believes men’s spirituality remains hidden. I’m sure you can come up with a list that parallels Fox’s; the reasons range from insecurity to lack of training and vocabulary to the usual masculine cliches. And it’s a good list. But it strikes me that it is a list of passive traits; it’s a list of excuses we have made up and hide behind. And there is an active item that is not on Fox’s list: I think our culture, our society, what my teacher, Martín Prechtel, would call “the empire”, wants to repress spirituality in men, especially when we are at war, even a made up war – the so called “global war on terror.” (And we always seem to be at war, or preparing for war – hence the enormous defense budget we pay for every year.) Now, I’m not interested here in conspiracy theories or hypothesizing deliberate propaganda campaigns to keep men from expressing ourselves in spiritual terms. But I do think there is a decided and purposeful lack of encouragement for men to get deeply in touch with our spirituality.
In any case I am very much looking forward to reading this book. To a large extent Fox’s subject is why I am writing this blog. If he provides a way forward so men do begin to reveal their ‘hidden spirituality” I will recommend it highly!
Meanwhile, I believe there is much evidence out there that men are becoming more forthcoming about their spiritual lives. I am encouraged by two very recent examples from my own life:
I hope you all read my blog on Monday when I posted an essay on the Harbingers of Spring by Don Ellis. These are words from a man who is very much in touch with his spirituality. He writes “If I could choose to live again the Springtime of my life, I would again choose to live it where the meadow lark announces the season of reawakening.” Eloquent words spoken from the heart.
And yesterday I was with a friend and shared with him a dream I have to circumambulate the sacred mountain in western Tibet, Mt. Kailash. This is a pilgrimage of many faiths, especially for Buddhists and Hindus. The mountain is considered the “navel of the earth” or the Axis Mundi. It has never been climbed; that is not allowed. It is walked around; the trek takes days and the high-point of the walk is crossing Drolma La Pass at 18,000 feet. I first read of this pilgrimage in Circling the Sacred Mountain by Robert Thurman and Tad Wise, a lovely book of spiritual teachings by Thurman and an entertaining travelogue by Wise. And as soon as I finished the book I wanted to set out! I am now, if I’m lucky, two years away from this dream. But I digress! After sharing my dream with my friend I later have dinner with him and his wife. In addition to the lovely dinner I am given a gift bag, complete with a beautiful picture of Mt. Kailash, Tibetan incense and prayer flags. He said he wanted to energize my dream! I don’t call that “hidden” spirituality.
I am encouraged. And I write to be even more encouraging. It is time for men to express their feelings, their joy and grief, their spiritual insights. How do you express your spirituality? And if you don’t, now is the time to start. Respond here with your thoughts, dreams, fears, and insights. It is a safe place! Blessings for your journey around “the sacred mountain.”
The Wildness of Spring
As predicted it is in the mid-50s today and going to the mid-60s for St Patty’s day here in Colorado. Mother earth will be wearing some green tomorrow along with all the Irish and pseudo-Irish like me. Hey, I figure I’m half Norwegian and I know there was a lot of mixing back in the Viking day; I’m certain to have some of the “raiding blood” in my veins along with some of the Celtic from the Emerald Isle. Anyway, that’s my story and I”m sticking to it!
Did you feel the impact of the dying Moon yesterday and the zap of the new? She was reborn out of the heart of the Sun at 3:01 pm MDT. I felt her birth pangs pretty strongly with a restless night and wild and crazy dreams. I’m glad I’m through that one more time and can get on with all the excitement the waxing Moon will bring.
Speaking of wild, Don’s essay on his harbingers of Spring yesterday included a call from the wilder side. I must be feeling that call as well; every place I look and word I read has some reference to wildness too often buried and ignored in the overly domesticated world we now live in. Of course, this is a choice we make. We can stay safe and snug in our artificial world of light and sound, a tasteless and scentless environment of air-conditioned tameness, or we can join Don on a hike, whether in Colorado on the Section16/Palmer Trail or wherever you live. The wild is never that far away that we can’t choose to join and run with it. A deer in our yard this morning seemed to want to come right up on the deck and join us; maybe the wild are hearing the call of the tame!
I’m reading a collection of William Stafford poems selected and introduced by Robert Bly: “The Darkness Around Us Is Deep.” Just the title says a lot. I found this remark by Bly on the subject of domestication and wildness particularly apropos: “The artist owes language to the human community but owes his or her breathing body to the animal community. Every poem we write, every day we live, we think about what we owe to each. By knowing what to take from the world of culture and what to give back, what to take from the world of animals and what to give back, we become adults.” And this applies to more than artists, poets. We all have breathing bodies; we are closer to the wild things “out there” than we might sometimes wish to think! When do we free ourselves to “walk on the wild side”? It is good to stop talking and start walking!
Or, as Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ in “Women Who Run With the Wolves” writes: “Go back and stand under that one red flower and walk straight ahead for that last hard mile. Go up and knock on the old weathered door. Climb up to the cave. Crawl through the window of a dream. Sift the desert and see what you find. It is the only work we have to do. You wish psychoanalytical advice? Go gather bones.” She is referring here to plumbing the depths of the psyche – exactly where the wild things run. And what better way to do this than in the depths of the physical as well!
Gaia, Mother Earth, is a wild Goddess. She is fiercely protective of her children, all whom she bears. Read what She did to Uranus, Father Sky, through Cronos and his adamantine blade when she learned Uranus was hiding away her offspring!
It’s a beautiful day here in Colorado. What are you doing today to get in touch with the wildness in you? Whatever it is, be careful out there!
Spring is just around the corner; not that we are anxious!
Our “little or no accumulation” of snow yesterday amounted to three inches! It is melting quickly today and tomorrow will be in the 60s. I love this time of year with fickle weather, unexpected returns to winter and wonderful hints of Spring. Newness is in the air and everywhere I look.
Today we have a new moon bringing in a fresh look to the evening skies and the energy of the planet. It’s a great time to let go of old stuff, whatever that is. The old moon is taking its last breath and will sweep away any of the “clutter” that might be holding you back. And on Saturday as the Sun moves into Aries to begin the new astrological year, Spring rolls in with it. The Vernal Equinox on Saturday is the day of balance between light and dark. It is this balance that is required in everything. If we are to bring in new then old must be chucked.
Persephone is the Greek Goddess of Spring. She’s the Goddess captured by Haides and abducted to the Underworld to be his wife. She was rescued but still had to spend some of her time with Haides. She returned from her Underworld sojourn in Spring and brought with her fresh growth and new beginnings. She returned to Haides for the balance of her time in the fall as growth ended in withering and death. Persephone’s story reminds me of Inanna’s which is much older and the likely basis for the Greek stories.
So, we look for Persephone’s return! I saw my first Robin last week no doubt looking for sluggish, still nearly frozen worms. In telling this story at our Sunday Celebration yesterday I reminded Don of his story on his harbingers of spring. It is so good I am including it here for your enjoyment:
Harbingers of Spring
The return of the robin, businesslike in his red vest industriously extracting earthworms from the front lawn, is a sign of Spring so enshrined in American art and literature that it is almost a cliché. So, too, is the first crocus, small and delicate in the garden testing the cold air and the lingering snow as it reaches up, opening itself to the sunshine of the lengthening days. Despite the overused words and oft reproduced images recapitulating these annual events, the events themselves are new and fresh each year. For many, they herald not only the biological reawakening of a new growing season but also a personal emotional revitalization.
For much of the time when I was growing up in the 1940’s and 50’s, the only water we had fell from the sky or was hauled from a spring in jugs and cans. And, even after we got water from a pipeline, our attempts to grow a garden or a lawn met with limited success. So, the harbingers of Spring which touched my youthful soul (and still touch me the most deeply) were different, wilder, more robust.
Spring was heralded, not by the robin, but by the meadow lark standing erect on a fence post, yellow bib bared to the world, loudly trilling a crisp melodious flute like greeting to all, as I passed on my walk to school. Rather than the smooth petite crocus of the garden, I saw the floral face of Spring in the larger, hairy, almost disheveled, yet delicately beautiful pasque flower.
If I could choose to live again the Springtime of my life, I would again choose to live it where the meadow lark announces the season of reawakening.
Perhaps that is one reason I am passionate preserving those wild places where our increasingly urbanized and regulated community can reconnect with the meadow lark and the pasque flower, the dynamic order of nature in contrast to the designed and manicured order of the city.
Walk the Section 16 trail connect with the pasque flowers.
We are at the beginning of a new season!
Don Ellis
Thanks, Don!
What are your harbingers for this wonderful season of newness and growth?
Please enjoy!
