Of Serpents and Doves

“Behold I send you out as sheep amongst wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves . (Matthew 10.16)

In this well known quotation from the Christian tradition we are given the best of advice. Like the disciples, we can benefit our lives by attempting to follow it because in  that simple statement lays the key to healthy management of our outer life.

Those two qualities mentioned – wisdom and harmlessness- form the two pillars of a gateway leading to control of the personality.
The injunction here is the Delphic one: Know Thyself. This is the wisdom which we normally associate with old age and a degree of life experience. Yet we are encouraged to actively pursue it as a way of life. It is the kind of wisdom that allows us to see the qualities and attributes of our being exactly as they are.

There is real virtue in taking that first step of standing to one side as the observer of our own activity and asking: What does this action I am taking say about who I am? Who am I and why do these thought arise in my mind? What is the source of this feeling?

In all wisdom traditions the student is advised to take stock of himself first and foremost. He is asked to hold a mirror before him and see there both his virtues and his vices with an unflinching eye.
Why so?
The reason is that fundamental occult truth that what one perceives and experiences in life reflects that which is within.
It follows then that if we are to improve our life and the quality of our experiences we must work first to know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the inner ground of our being.


The second aspect here is harmlessness. The dove is used to symbolise this quality because of its association with peacefulness and love.
This is not the passivity of a person lacking self assertion. Being harmless is more the power of a non-combatant life.
It means to do no harm to one’s own life as well as to do no harm to others.

Being able to navigate this ethical minefield brings us full circle – back to wisdom. For how can we know what action or omission is the harmless one if we lack understanding of who we really are?

In the West we have historically abrogated the responsibility for self control and self knowledge to Church, State and the prevailing cultural paradigm. The trouble with that approach is that it substitutes blind allegiance for authentic expression. Invariably this climate produces a conflict of duty within us.

Does the pursuit of wealth, for example, really satisfy our search for meaning?

If the hand of Fate should sweep our material wealth away over night would we be less worthy because of that event?

How are we to solve those incessant ethical issues which require us to “trade off” duty to provide and duty to ourselves in this materialistic culture?

Only by going within. Only by taking back responsibility, by taking the time to reflect, by seeking out what is meaningful and right for our Selves. Only then are we equipped to navigate those choices.

Ultimately these two pillars of wisdom and harmlessness call us through to the place where our activity reflects our inner values, for there we stand in our own Light.

Working with Fear of Change

Statice - Sea Lavender

I have been picking Statice this morning. Their vibrant flowers with a papery texture are called ever-lasting because they hold their colour and shape when dry. These plants of the Limonium family are Homestead favourites. 

While I tied the bunches to hang for drying my mind was playing around the fact that Statice is now an obsolete name in the botanical world. Pity, because the word reflects the plant's properties.

The static state is one of equilibrium, of statis, of standing still. It is a balance point, sure, and a place of rest - but without energetic flow. Inevitably pressure builds until this point of equilibrium tips over into activity once more.

This wave of ebb and flow with a pause between is the natural pattern of life. 

Change and transformation is the way of the world. So why do we resist it so?

Because of Fear.

Fear is inherent in our personality make-up and we each experience it as personal and real. For some it shows up in headaches, tummy upsets or extreme fatigue. Our minds may run riot with thoughts of disaster and our emotions be swept into a state of panic at the mere suggestion of facing the new or unknown. Sound familiar?

In occult terms this is an interplay between the personality will and the will of the soul - the higher self. Soul intends to experience and learn by means of this form life, yet the form itself, managed by the personality is programmed to resist. This is human nature.

Driving head on at fear is not the best or safest way to approach the situation. It may work short term but it reacts on physical body leading to later illness and emotional upset.

The mental approach- attempting to rationalise the situation- only creates a powerful cloud of thought around the issue, which magnifies the problem. Meanwhile fear is blocking us from participating freely in life. So what can we do?

Try this different approach:

 

Take yourself to a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for the next 10 minutes or so.

1. Breathe, deeply and calmly so that the body is reassured and begins to stabilise. Close your eyes.

2. Keep breathing to allow time for the emotions to settle a little more. Do your best to stop the mind from running around the fear.

There is plenty of time, so take as long as you need to let those symptoms ease.

3. Close your eyes and imagine your whole body, skin and all, radiant with light, as bright as the sun on a clear day. Pretend that you really are this glowing being of light.

4. Holding that picture, imagine a spotlight has appeared an arm's length above your head. See the strong beam of white light the spotlight is beaming down at the top of your head.

5. Feel the stream of light flow into your body, filling you with a sense of pure light, of pure love.

6. Turn your face up to this soul light, knowing you are being flooded with soul strength and wisdom. Know that you are safe now. Know that in this peaceful moment all is well. Know that the soul will guide you safely through whatever you are called to face. Realise that the soul has all the experience and wisdom you need and it is always there, part of who you are.

7. Open your eyes. Say aloud in a loving way, as if speaking to a small child "In this place where we are all is well."

Return to your normal activity now, immediately taking one small action towards doing what is feared. Let your intuition guide you to what that action may be. You will get a hunch - Trust it. That hunch will be your soul will guiding you through this necessary experience.

With practice you will be able to call up the light at will whenever you sense yourself diving into a personality response based on fear. The more often this visualisation is used the more powerful it becomes because you are building a highway of connection to your Soul.

Go in Love and Light

Big Assumptions

Last weekend I attended a family wedding. This happy gathering of friends and family brought people of all ages together to celebrate a commitment to relationship. Watching the guests interact I found myself thinking of Don Miguel Ruiz’s classic book of Toltec wisdom The Four Agreements.

His suggestion to Make No Assumptions is a powerful teaching.

It covers so much more than the common sense management of our own affairs based on conscious choices. He is pointing too at the cultural structures in which we live and the unexamined decisions we make which spring from a prevailing social climate. Too often we act with a herd mentality, blindly following this unacknowledged cultural bias. This leads us to activity and conclusions which drown out authentic interactions and the soul’s song with it.

These false assumptions are obvious at a big gathering, but they are constant in our every-day lives too, colouring our choices in ways which are reductive and stultifying. For example, is the future something to be feared? Can a product such as insurance buy you peace of mind? What does society mean by the word “Safe”?

Is it only safe to live when every possible risk and contingency is covered? Is that living?

When guests gathered for dinner I found myself next to a lovely person. C spoke of her adult children with great affection. She described her experience of flying with her newly licensed son, piloting a tiny plane. Her courage was in recognising that demonstrating trust in her son and his ability outweighed her very real fear of the risks of flying. Her intuitive perception of the real value in the situation sounded her soul note clear and strong.

In different circumstances her intuition might have advised her differently. It is a moment by moment procedure this. It is not a choice made on blanket assumptions such as “Sixty year old woman ought not risk their lives in small planes. It is not ..(insert judgement or duty- such as safe, dignified, responsible, in fact whatever restraint society deems might apply)”

There are many such defining moments in every average day. It is, however, only possible to perceive those moments when we are present, living as if it was our last day, with an attitude that every moment counts. Then we are there – present- to intuitively recognise the opportunity for the soul’s note to sound.

This approach seems like a tall order as compared to the way we are raised, but with willingness and heart engagement it comes naturally.

This is living as opposed to existing in a bubble of assumptions.

What did you say?

The purpose of speech is to clothe our thoughts in language and make them available to others.

Yes I am stating the obvious there.

Only consider: sound creates.

What effects are your thoughts and speech having on you now?  Do you know?

What does your inner, self-talk say?

What do your spoken patterns of speech say about who you are?

When a thought is embodied - sounded -by means of language it is energised and activated to bring about the effects of that thought.

Sometimes it is safer to choose silence.

This is particularly the case with self-talk. The constant stream of inner speech is repetitive and powerful.  Where we put our energy is where growth comes. So, if we are focused on unsatisfactory conditions, on grievances, on ill health our thoughts will be of those things. If we passively allow those unhealthy thoughts to sound in our minds we create yet more of those undesirable conditions.

Unmonitored self talk often speaks in phrases which undermine a healthy perception of Self: “I’m so clumsy”, “How could I be so stupid.” Such seemingly trivial speech patterns send out a thought form which is potent and self destructive.

The same power is active in the conversations we have with others around us.

Gossip and critical words concerning others create a powerful energetic field around the speaker, magnetically attracting to them more critical, destructive thought matter.

Over time this makes the speaker increasingly negative in outlook and subject to difficulty in their outer life.

We attract only what we are, after all.

We can make a conscious choice to opt out of gossip and negative chatter.

Try using humour to turn the conversation to more general, happier topics. Laughter is the best way to lift your energy, so steer away from dissecting the latest disaster stories from the media too.

A second powerful step to improving our conditions is to take control of the self-talk tapes.

When you hear a negative phrase in your head such as “I am stupid” -stop. Affirm clearly and forcefully “Cancel”. Repeat a positive replacement, using emotion, such as “I am intelligent and capable.”

The fast track to managing self talk is meditation. Investigate and find the approach that appeals to you. A morning and evening meditation of only 10 minutes or so does much to bring a clear, calm focus to the mind. In just a few months of practise you will find the mental noise drops away. Your tension and stress levels will fall away too, as you will no longer be wearing yourself out with thoughtless sound creation.

Before you know it, you will be sounding and feeling healthier by far. All the best.