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Freedom and Energy – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary concludes her comments on the Mystic Message, posted her yesterday, by stating:
Freedom and energy – intimately connected and your choice!
We are always about choice! That’s the great thing about being human, and as I wrote last week in remembering what the 4th of July celebration is all about, it is our freedom to choose that makes us unique; unique as Americans in this 21st Century and unique as human beings on this planet, Earth. We are free to choose to remain just as we are, whether that’s “stuck” in some place of comfort and security or launching on yet another adventure to see how far the next road takes us. We can choose to remain complacent or we can screw up our courage and take a new path, set our sights on a new vision.
Rosemary and I will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of our marriage on July 22nd. Just the other day, July 9th, we remembered our first meeting…40 years ago! I haven’t consulted Rosemary yet; we actually renew our commitment to “another year” on our anniversary. But I already know what my answer to the question is! After 40 years of adventure why would I choose to get off the road and settle for the easy track?
I know I have the energy. And I know I have my purpose still challenging me to “get on with it!” Hey, I am building more Qi every day, breathing life and vitality into my Tan T’ien, balancing my chakras, keeping fit and healthy for the continuing journey ahead!
And well you may wonder about all of this! If you’ve been following Rosemary and/or me for any length of time you know the depth of understanding she offers. If you read this blog, her weekly newsletter, published for over four years now without missing a beat, you know the richness of her material, the serious commitment she has to her purpose and the vibrant community she and I are building. You may even have a taste of her sources, The Source, the incredible reach she has to the many dimensions she hears, sees and senses with all of her being. The clarity of her access and the purity of her channel are unquestioned.
I choose to remain on this path with Rosemary, this highway of adventure in all realms of our existence, from the simple physical life on Earth to the travels through multiple dimensions to other worlds where we encounter other beings, angels, guides, loved ones who have died, both recently and long ago. No door seems to be closed to her loving curiosity and her gentle questions. Teachers come to her to guide both her and all of humanity, those with the openness to listen, to be with her as she seeks.
You too may choose this experience. It takes an open mind, curiosity and even a little courage to seek out what Rosemary can reveal. Some people have come to her with doubt, trepidation, even undisguised skepticism. None have left without receiving confirmation that Rosemary offers wisdom, comfort, guidance and insight from The Other Side.
I am not writing this post as an ad for Rosemary, but as a tribute to our decades together and the wisdom she has brought to me. I have received many messages over the years through Rosemary from what we call The Other Side. This is our simplified name for the many dimensions Rosemary reaches. It is as if the normal three or four dimensions we live in melt before her “gaze” and the past, future, extra-terrestrial, angelic realms, and the after-life open to her. She not only brings guidance and wisdom through from these extra-dimensional “places”, she even dialogs with guides and answers questions participants in her conversations bring.
Events with Rosemary are educational, enlightening, transformative and even fun. We laugh with loved ones who have passed but are having a grand time on the other side. We marvel at some of the advice from historical figures. We wonder at the teachings of future beings as they reveal how important our lives now are to them, then!
And now you have a choice! You too can participate in a Conversation with The Other Side with Rosemary as she shares messages specifically for you brought to you by your guides, your angels, your loved ones who have crossed over. It is as easy as dialing a phone or clicking a link on your computer. If you are lucky enough to be in the Annapolis, Maryland area you can even attend in person!
Your next opportunity is Saturday, July 13 at 7:00 pm Eastern time. And this is the bargain of a life-time at $55 for the entire event, two hours of teaching with personal messages for everyone.
But don’t wait too long. Limited space is available; everyone gets a message so only 12 people attend.
And in case you wonder how all this works, we have posted sample messages on Rosemary’s website; these were messages for me channeled through Rosemary at our last event in June. You can watch Rosemary in action here.
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 13, 7:00 pm Eastern. It’s your choice, if you have the energy!
PS: Ready to register? Click Here
Cancer New Moon I Ching Divination
The New Moon in Cancer was Monday morning, 3:15 am Eastern Daylight Time on July 8, 2013. And as I like to do, I cast a Gua, an I Ching hexagram (6-line figure) to determine what the energies will be like during this next moon cycle, for the next 29 or so days. (The next Full Moon is on July 22nd, at 2:16 pm; and the Leo New Moon is on August 6th, at 5:52 pm).
For this divination I use the yarrow stalk method and I use Toaist Master Alfred Huang’s The Complete I Ching to help me with the interpretation of the Gua.
The divination on Monday yielded a complicated picture: the numbers I cast, from initial (bottom) to top were 6, 9, 8, 8, 8, 9. The hexagram this generates is pictured here:
The initial 6, and the two nines at positions two and six are all changing lines. This indicates a lot of change coming during the month – great potential for transformation. Master Huang’s advice when given three changing lines is to read the middle line only to simply the interpretation. The initial gua then is Meng which Master Huang translates as “Childhood.” The interpretation of this initial hexagram indicates the month begins with the innocence of childhood. Wisdom is covered or hidden and needs to mature. There is good energy in youth; strong energy to gain and grow in insight and ultimately wisdom. The image of the gua is of water flowing out of a mountain, or a fresh spring. There is vitality in this initial hexagram.
Then the second 9 (middle changing line), a weak yang line become a yin line. This generates a new, accomplished gua composed of five yin lines and a yang line at position six. The accomplished gua is pictured here as Bo, “Falling Away”:
The image of this hexagram is Mountain over Earth and represents a top-heavy, unstable and unsustainable situation. Energies may be fluctuating later in the month.
The key here then is to shore up the erosion and regain some stability. Support will be required; be prepared to ask for help.
Another key is to trust in the transforming energies. We’ve known for some time now that 2013 is a year for great transformation. And the only way forward toward transformation is through the gateway of change, of instability. Awareness and preparation of our energies here is vital to moving through the transformation process as smoothly as possible.
The bottom line for me is to be prepared for the coming changes and also, going back to the “innocence of youth”, trust in the outcome.
PS: Here is another form of divination, and a great way to prepare of coming changes! Rosemary’s next Conversation with The Other Side is scheduled for this Saturday, July 13. It promises to be another wonderful evening. For a sample of the depth and detail of the messages you can expect to hear, she has posted some samples on her website: Sample Messages. Go to the link to hear and see how this works and how you can benefit with messages from The Other Side! Attendance is easy from any where in the world! Get the details here
I Ching Gua for the New Moon in Gemini
It is my Mom’s birthday today; June 10, 1924. She would have been 89 had she lived beyond 83 years. She was a Gemini. My natal moon is in Gemini, always a sweet relationship having a moon in mother’s sun sign.
We had a New Moon in Gemini on June 8 at 11:58 am Eastern time. And with the New Moon I like to cast an I Ching Gua to get a sense of the energies for the upcoming moonth, the next 29 days or so. The initial Gua this moonth is Lü which means fulfillment according to Alfred Huang in his The Complete I Ching. This Gua is related to shoes and walking. For me it means “stepping out” into one’s duty, calling, purpose. And in a large way I have begun to step out. I’m off to a really good start with my two Qigong classes which I kicked off in the past week. I don’t have large groups yet, but they are already growing and the paying participants are more than covering my costs. I’m happy with these results. I also related in posts last week that I am no longer hiding my talents and my accumulated skills and wisdom. Now is a good time to move firmly into action, fulfillment and purpose.
How are you stepping out into your purpose? The energies of this moonth will support you as you do, especially during the first part of the period.
Note that the fifth line of the initial Gua is a changing line: the nine, yang line, changes to a yin line. This creates the approached Gua: Kui, which 
means Diversity according to Master Huang. This change impacts the energies and brings a cautionary note with it: the fifth position in the Gua is a yang position, which is proper, strong; its change to a yin line may bring adversity: being steadfast and holding to purpose rigidly can lead to adversity.
That said, in diversity there can be great harmony with the proper attitude. Find common ground on the big things and all the little differences will blend and disappear. In diversity there can be great strength.
How do you handle diversity in your life? Do you resist change? Do you back down from confrontation?
So as the moonth unfolds watch for the shifts from “fulfillment” to “diversity.” This may mean a strong purposeful beginning to the moonth with a gradual shift as the energies change to scatter that directed energy and bring about diversity. And as this happens watch for the opportunities for harmony, the strengths in diversity rather than the oppositions. Hold to an attitude of cooperation and resist the temptation for stubborn resistance. There will always be differences as long as there are two or more humans involved in any issue. Blend the small differences because they are inconsequential; harmonize the major differences and gain strength from the symphony of ideas!
Have a beautiful Moonth!
PS: Qigong continues this evening, Monday, June 10 at 7:00 pm. If you are in the area of Annapolis/Severna Park, Maryland, please join me: Details here.
Butterfly Maiden
When I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin we used to plant corn when the oak leaves were as big as squirrel ears. I loved this way of letting nature guide the farming cycles. Nature knows more about how to grow things than we will ever know with all our weather predicting technology and modern methods. This reminds me that we are patiently waiting for the first delivery of spring harvest from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm here in Maryland. But with the cool, wet spring things are late and we are probably still a couple of weeks away from first delivery. For a farmer from Wisconsin there should be no surprise here!
I wrote this thinking about corn planting and growing – the old-fashioned way! And I hope Butterfly Maiden is watching over our CSA vegetables!
Butterfly Maiden
The corn is planted;
The spring rains have come.
The holy ground is rich;
The loam warms the seed.
Soon there will be a splitting;
Soon the full moon will shine.
Soon the earth will feed that seed;
Soon the sprout will reach for sun.
Moon watches through the night;
Moon wanes through a fortnight.
Moon withers toward rising sun;
Moon winks out as the sprout sees dawn.
Butterfly Maiden sheds her cocoon;
Butterfly Maiden warms in the sun.
Butterfly Maiden grins at the grinning moon;
Butterfly Maiden guards growing corn.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: Qigong starts this evening, Monday, June 3 at 7:00 pm. If you are in the area of Annapolis/Severna Park please join me: Details here.
Walking Through Doorways
It’s been a busy week! Walking through doorways of opportunity can occupy a lot of time. But when opportunities show up we have to respond or be left behind, at least as far as The Divine Feminine are concerned (ref: yesterday’s post).
My first door opened when I got serious about Qigong. I’ve blogged about this, my experience with Bridget Hughes for well over a year now, then my work with her teacher, Jeff Primack, culminating in certification to teach Qigong, and then launching my first two classes which begin next week. This is exciting enough! And yes, there is a bit of fear surrounding this; who am I to think I can teach Qigong! Well, I walked through the flaming doorway of opportunity, changed my mind about my ability (a long time ago I was an effective teacher of math and science) and announced my classes! I even have people signing up!
It seems that once opportunities show up and we say “yes” other opportunities follow. Last week I posted a recording of my message from The Other Side (post link). The main part of that message was from a Shaman Guide who basically told me to “access the shamanic world” more often. Well, I have followed this advice and have taken several journeys over the past week. And I have received guidance that with no uncertainty holds open a doorway of opportunity to get out there and do for others what I have been able to do for a few and have been hiding from for years now.
It is not cool to claim to be a Shaman. In the world of Shamanic Healing using traditional indigenous technologies that are millennia old, people don’t choose to be shamans, and when they are chosen they don’t necessarily walk around with a shaman’s badge pinned to their robes. If I feel a bit trepidatious about my Qigong classes imagine how I feel about this guidance to work with people using shamanic approaches to healing! This work is not for the faint of heart. I have a lot of training and I have a lot of warning that this is no easy path to follow.
But sometimes these doorways of opportunity, no matter how high the flames lick the posts, are easier to walk through than resist. And with that I revised my business card format and they just arrived fresh from the printer. Here it is:
And the byline, “Shaman of the Heart,” is not a label I choose for myself. A dear friend, mentor and teacher, Baeth Davis, called me this a couple of years ago. That’s a long story but the short version is I have all loops for fingerprints which means I am in the School of Love, my Lessons are about Love and my Purpose is Love; hence the title!
I am standing in this burning doorway ready to leap through. I trust there is someone on the other side who has a hand outstretched to me to welcome me and perhaps even to reassure me. But this time of opportunity is not waiting for me. It is waiting for no one of us.
Are you ready to step or leap through that doorway of your opportunity? Do it; join me!
Sunday’s Poem: Mothers
In honor of all Mothers everywhere; where would we be without you?
Mothers
Where would we be without them?
The Universe is mostly “dark” matter.
Mother.
The Taoists have it right:
The dark is the womb;
The dark is the source
Of all the Suns!
Where would we be without Earth?
She is mostly feminine water.
Mother.
The Evolutionists have it right:
The Water is the womb;
The Water is the source
Of all Sons!
Where would we be without Eve?
She is mostly womanly love.
Mother.
The Biblists have it wrong:
Her love is the womb;
Her love is the source
Of All – not the fall!
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
What Is Your Spiritual Practice? –Richard’s Commentary
We just got back from our local Spiritual Exploration Group here in Maryland. This is a monthly meeting of like-minded folks who we bring together to discuss spiritual topics of many colors. Our mantra is we get together for Discussion, not Dogma.
Tonight’s topic was Prayer. And we explored the many dimensions of what this means for people both as a word and as a practice. We began with our childhood remembrances of what prayer meant to us and our experience of prayer. We considered the Wikipedia definition:
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication.
And we discussed where we are now with prayer as a way of “connecting” to something greater than ourselves but that we find inside ourselves. We spoke of prayer as a way of generating and offering our energy for positive connection and transformation, or “lifting to a higher vibrational frequency.”
We even discussed the possible existence of “dark prayer” – negatively focused energy to counter the evolutionary path of human consciousness; and we wondered if prayer can be judged in this way if it is truly a “deliberate communication with a deity”! Is a negative prayer even a true prayer?
I bring this up because prayer is certainly a spiritual practice. For me the word sometimes has a negative impact because it is overloaded with memories of childhood when reciting the “Lord’s Prayer” seemed so rote and lifeless. As a young child required to memorize the prayer I wasn’t even clear on the meanings of the words.
Then it hit me! I, with 46-thousand of my closest friends, am tuning into Deva Premal & Miten every day to chant ancient verses from Holy Scriptures. They are offering a 21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey that began April 23. Today is Day-10. (You can sign up for this free daily practice here: Deva & Premal. And you can catch up because all of the chants they have shared so far are still posted.
So, I sit, eyes closed, each morning in a very open and loving state to chant, often Sanskrit, words I am not familiar with, over and over in a “rote-like” way. How is this so different from my childhood experience of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in a rote-like way?
OK, here’s the thing about that: I am in an altered state when I chant “Om Shanti Om” 108 times. I move into that state of true inner peace invoked by this mantra. I remember where my mind was when I “prayed” the Lord’s prayer as a kid – anywhere but on “Our Father”! I wasn’t seeking to develop “rapport” with “Him”; but with these mantras I am seeking to develop a rapport with the energies invoked by their vibrations, their words composed of sacred syllables, the transcendent quality of the constructs and how they sound when chanted, whispered, or just thought and felt as they vibrate through my being.
One of my Spiritual Practices is to chant. I have learned a number of chants from different traditions using languages from Sanskrit to Navaho. I have been ritually initiated into several. And they all transport me to another “place” where I can transcend this physical dimension of time, space and my body and commune with Spirit. And for me this is the best form of prayer to which I can aspire.
If you are at all interested in chanting and mantra meditation as a form of prayer I invite you with all my good wishes to tune in to Deva Premal & Miten. Here’s the link again:
21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey
All blessings!
MONDAY’S POEM: Celebrate Emptiness
Because some days are just like this:
Celebrate Emptiness
Celebrate Emptiness as
The beginning of Fullness.
Inside of grief is always
Room for praise.
Buddha taught Shariputra
“Form is no other than emptiness.”
This completely relieves
Misfortune and pain.
When down there is always up.
When empty, only a filling.
Let the empty cup of grief be filled
With the joyous song of praise.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
The Door to All Beginnings
Yesterday I posted my commentary on Rosemary’s post about surprises. We seem to be in the midst of many surprises as we move well into 2013. Whether the subject is politics, global affairs, earth changes, violence, economics, and the rest of the lengthy list, every area of life seems to be popping with surprises.
And then there is the astrology and my friend, Chris Largent’s musing about the dissolution of “consensus reality”!
Holding all of this in mind I turn easily to the Master, Lao-Tzu, and the First Chapter of the Taoteching:
The way that becomes a way
is not the Immortal Way
the name that becomes a name
is not the Immortal Name
the maiden of Heaven and Earth has no name
the mother of all things has a name
thus in innocence we see the beginning
in passion we see the end
two different names
for one and the same
the one we call dark
the dark beyond dark
the door to all beginnings
from the translation by Red Pine
Every surprise is a door to a new beginning. Every shift is an opportunity for transformation. And this is the story we are now writing for ourselves. This is the reformation of reality we are all forming from the dissolution of the old consensus reality.
It’s an open door; a dark door. There are unknowns and unknowables on the other side. It will take courage to walk through into that darkness. And many of us are ready and willing. We are the light-workers. We carry our inner light through and into that dark, unknowable territory to create the new reality. This is our mission; this is our time.
Where is this door? It’s on the inside. The opening is right in the center of our hearts. Each and every light-worker knows this; has known this from the beginning. And we all have a sense that we are moving into this time to step through the opening door.
Imagine if our new reality is formed by the consensus of light-workers! Can you see the vision; can you hear the music; can you smell the flowers; can you taste the delights; can you feel the soft breeze of the freshest of air sooth your delicate body; can you imagine such a new reality? This is the Tao. It is there, just beyond the door. Yes, it’s “dark beyond dark” through that door. But it’s the door to “all beginnings”! Let’s walk through it, hand-in-hand with courage and a true vision for the New Reality!
Self-Forgiveness as a form of Self-Love
In yesterday’s post I responded to Rosemary’s exploration about Self-Love – how it feels. And I touched on forgiveness as a way of letting go, freeing oneself of bonds that constrict one’s growth and interfere with Self-Love which in turn interferes with one’s ability to love at all!
Then it hits; the lesson! It seems that as soon as I begin to think deeply about something I get hit with the exact lesson to drive home the understanding! Yesterday we were under time-pressure to finalize Rosemary’s class for that evening, to put together the presentation and collect all the materials. Then the printer indicated low ink supply, so it was off to Staples for more. But here’s the thing: we had received a big discount offer in the mail earlier in the week; I planned to use it for more ink. The discount could only be used online but I did not get a chance to get the order placed. And now we needed ink immediately. I stormed out of the house, hair on fire with the time-crunch foremost in my mind, and raced off to get the additional supplies. Then to compound an already harried day, I left material behind when we raced off to the class. More rushing, now we are late, more storming around!
It’s tough to reach into Self for some Love under these circumstances! It can only start with forgiveness!
The lessons here are multi-layered but the main one is Self-forgiveness. I had intended to order the ink. But the week was busy and it didn’t get done. As it turned out I didn’t even need the ink yet; the printer only sent me a warning. Everything turned out fine, the class was a great success and my hair didn’t really catch on fire! And now I even have a story to base this post on!
I am calm now. And I did learn something today, again, that’s very important: every moment is a learning experience, or at least an opportunity. If we pause in the moment and ask: “What is this?” even in the midst of the chaos and flaming hair, then we can begin the learning process. If we get angry, impatient, frustrated, and harried there is no room for learning, and likely, no peace, no calm, no Love! But it is not an easy practice to stop in the midst of the chaos, deadlines, time-constraints and frustrating interruptions to ask: “What is this?” Yet, this is the lesson and this is why we are here!
And at the end of the day I even have to look back and forgive myself for not only my impatience and anger, but the failed practice! It just keeps on compounding!
But isn’t this what “practice” is all about? If it is no longer practice, then we would not need to be here. Our purpose will have been fulfilled.
For now I’m just going to keep on practicing. Self-forgiveness is a very big and necessary action for those of us with a lot of Wood Element in our make-up. This is a reference to the main element type, of five, that I resonate with from Dr. Charles Moss’ work: Power of the Five Elements. I am nearly finished with the book, a fantastic reference for anyone interested in Chinese Medicine, the Tao, acupuncture and health. (I will review the book here once I have finished my detailed read of it.) Here is just a sample of why this book is helping with my practice:
“Forgiveness and patience, the Virtues associated with the Wood Type, come from the vision and insight of the Wood energy. These Virtues can neutralize frustration, anger, impatience, and hostility (the toxic emotions and actions of the poorly adapted Wood Type) and create a path back to adaptation.”
My practice continues to transform the toxic emotions into these Virtues, to create a path to adaptation, or what Dr. Moss calls “knowing how to be.”
Men and The Goddess 