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MONDAY’S POEM: Merkaba
This past Friday I wrote about my experiences with the Merkaba. Several of you liked it; thank you! I also wrote the following shortly after that experience. (I’m being bold again!)
Merkaba
Spinning wonder grounding deep,
Drill to Mother’s heart and weep.
Spinning wonder lifting high,
Reach for Father’s heart, Sun’s sky.
Spinning arms of three cast out,
Spread to all directions, past doubt.
Spinning arms of three time-mind,
Then, when, ego, id so blind.
Spinning top, counter-revolving,
Balance on point, search for solving.
Spinning wheel, follow the clock,
Don’t stop now, avoid the shock.
Axis Mundi and far beyond,
Offer yourself as the magic wand.
Tilt and turn, point and learn,
Spiral through evolution’s burn.

©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
The Merkaba in My Life
OK, so here I am being bold, even audacious! What in the world is a Merkaba? I first encountered the Merkaba as a focal object for meditation at Rosemary’s seminary 20 years ago. At that time I could visualize it but it didn’t call to me. I was recently reminded of the Merkaba when I read Drunvalo Melchizedek’s latest book: The Mayan Ouroboros. The Merkaba is mentioned briefly, almost in passing, but it struck a chord with me me this time. So, I looked more deeply into this geometric form that some say holds the shape of the Human Lightbody. I’ve pictured it here but it is difficult to capture the dynamics of the crystalline model.
In essence the Merkaba is a pair of interlocked and spinning tetrahedrons. That part of this picture is more or less how I visualize this object within me. As I “see” it the lower tetrahedron spins counter-clockwise and the upper clockwise. There is incredible speed involved; some say they spin at the speed of light. There is tremendous energy with beams shooting below and above the pyramids.
With practice I can now visualize this Merkaba (my Merkaba) at will. It offers me a quick way to balance, to catch myself and reframe a moment or a situation. It is a grounding force as well as an uplifting one. I can especially tap into this spinning form when I am practicing qigong. It seems to fit particularly well with the movement for the wood element, the so-called “standing at stake” position or what I prefer to think of as hugging a tree. Recently, as I was finishing my 6th repetition of the 5-Element Form when I face in the direction of the Sun or Heaven, I was visualizing holding a Buddhic Column rather than a tree. It was a powerful meditation; here’s the description I wrote in my journal:
While I was holding the Buddhic Column, the Merkaba became prominent in my meditation. I seemed to merge with the Buddhic Column; I was no longer holding it but standing within it. It seemed to have expanded to engulf me. I felt light, lifted and I could both feel and see the light all around me. As the Merkaba spun I seemed to drill myself – my energy core – right down into the Earth. I felt her pain. I sent healing energy through my core. It was like I was an energy rod bringing light from above down into the heart of Mother Earth. The continuing trend was this downward spiral. There was a gravitational pull on me that felt more like a loving embrace than anything of a grabbing or greedy nature.
Toward the end of my meditation I was also lifted upward. The Sun’s gravity lifted me; I felt taller and my arms, still holding on to a part of the column, were lifted. This felt like a freeing force and my arms flew upward in a gesture of surrender and release.
And I popped out of my meditation. The Merkaba spun on, a constant light energy that animates. But my conscious awareness of it slipped to the background, merging with my unconscious, but only just beneath the surface. I have a sense I can call up to consciousness this energy pattern anytime I need to emphasize my lightbody in the physical plane. There is a magic power here that I need to protect and also practice for the good of all.
Well, there you have it. Audacious, right?
How are you being audacious in your transformation? This is the year, this is the time! We are all Lightbodies, called to be Light-Workers!
MONDAY’S POEM: Hindrance
Yesterday, Sunday, at 2:20 am, Eastern time, the moon was new and brought in the Chinese New Year, the year of the Water Snake. And as I always practice, I cast an I Ching Gua to check the energies for the upcoming four weeks, until the next new moon. I cast this 6-line diagram:
This Gua pictures Heaven (the top three solid lines) over Earth (the bottom three broken lines). It is one of the key Gua and at first sight seems auspicious. But it comes with a warning; its name, Pi means “hindrance.” At first I was disappointed. But as I read about this diagram further I took heart. The Chinese have a saying about this Gua and its opposite, Earth over Heaven, or Tai in Chinese, which means “advance.” The saying, poem really, is “Pi ji Tai lai” which means: “Out of the depths of misfortune comes bliss. At the end of hindrance appears advance.”
So, the meaning I take for this divination is to remain patient in all situations. And maybe this month is still about introspection. We are still in winter, afterall, a time for rest and rejuvenation, waiting for the return of the Sun and new birth!
And to further explore my understanding of this I Ching reading for this next “moonth” I wrote the following:
Hindrance
Heaven departs
Leaving Spirit distant
And still.
Earth recedes
Falling away to be
Alone.
But watch, be still.
Extremes reach their ends,
Hindrance yields to advance.
And the Earth turns.
Heaven returns.
Spirit remains unchanged.

©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Monkey-Mind (What Is This? – An Example) Deep Peace
OK, so I referred to this Korean Koan in my post yesterday, February 7, and as things go I had the opportunity to use it today. As it always does, it worked out very well; so, I thought it would be a good thing to share, to let you know how to apply it in a real situation and how it turns out.
I was writing my pages this morning, my “Morning Pages” – one of my practices taken from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. And I found myself completely awash, all over the place. Now, this is OK; these Morning Pages are suppose to be a “dumping ground” – a way to clear the mind of all the clutter so there is room for creative insights, so we can hear the muse, right? Well, today I seemed much more scattered than usual. I drifted around and wrote about fragments of thoughts that crossed my mind. This does happen to me from time to time. I even get blocked and then just write nonsense to get through the three pages. But today I didn’t like the feeling I was getting, and then I asked:
What is this? And so it began:
What is this?
It is monkey-mind that chatters away on endless loops of to-dos, to-worries, with no to-bes.
What is this?
The complexities of modern life.
What is this?
Life in the 21st Century.
What is this?
Now.
What is this?
Breath, Singing Bowls, Sleeping Dog, Rest.
What is this?
Deep settling.
What is this?
No-thing. Stillness
And this is deep peace.
Ahhh… And from there I was able to get back to my pages and wrote a very nice final third page. It was a deep exploration of our “spinning Universe” in all of its wonder and extraordinary quantum behavior.
And then, I asked: What is this?
Life.
What is this?
Consciousness.
What is this?
Love.
What is this?
The only “thing” left at the end, at the beginning.
What is this?
Love is the Alpha and the Omega. It transcends consciousness. It births consciousness so it can reflect on Love.
What is this, this it?
Call it what you will: God/Goddess, Mother/Father, Source, Alpha/Omega, All/No-thing, Tao.
I like Tao.
Next time you get stuck give this koan a try. See what answer you get!





