I wrote the essay below some years ago. Today I see it as part of the key to my relationship to the 2012 mystery. I have found an interpretation of the galactic alignment as relating to the Mayan idea of having no head, as shown in some of their carvings. That image pertains to the ego self being eclipsed and the God consciousness shining through. Today, some call that "non-dual awareness." My work on the emerging crisis in boundaries and its effects suggests that as boundaries continue to dissolve, the psychic effect will be to create a tendency for non-dual awareness to erupt spontaneously in people, for some feeling like enlightenment, for others like depersonalization.
It's Hard to Be the Only One Who Knows
In a dream, as I gaze at my reflection in a mirror I am twice amazed. First, I see that I have no head. I am holding my severed head about chest high in my hands. Second, I am amazed that even without a head I can see quite well. I stare even more intently into the mirror, marvelling and attempting to understand this mystery.
I had this dream many years ago and have been spellbound by it ever since. I once read a book on Buddhism that suggested that the experience of enlightenment might be simulated by imaging seeing the world while having no head. The head restricts consciousness to within an enclosed identity. By replacing the restrictive head with the entire world, consciousness is liberated and de-localized. The exercise symbolizes opening the shell of the ego boundary to allow one to become one with all of life.
I encountered further understanding of my dream at the ballcourt of the Mayan ruin of Chichen Itza. On the wall of the stadium is the carved image of a decapitated ball player. Out of his neck portal gushes the world tree, which branches and flowers as seven kundalini serpents, pouring life out into the world. The image suggests that if we surrender ourselves to the game of life, sacrificing our own personal identity to the play itself, we can be channels of profound creativity.
These ponderous thoughts were but dim intuitions until I read the book The shaman's secret: The lost resurrection teachings of the ancient Maya (Bantam Books). The author, Douglas Gillette, a theologian, had written an earlier book, King, warrior, magician lover, exploring the archetypal symbols of the spiritual masculine. He now brings his well developed gifts of symbolic interpretation to the Mayan world. Much progress has been made in deciphering the Mayan heiroglyphs. Drawing upon both Jungian techniques and comparative religion, Gillette is able to reveal the meanings of these intriuging carvings and paintings in a manner not possible before. The result is a stunning revelation of a worldview of "terrible beauty."
We are prone to dismiss or reject the Maya as teachers because of their blood sacrifices. We learn in this book, however, that there are many exact correlations between the Mayan world and the worldview we associate with Edgar Cayce's esoteric vision of a mystical Christianity. We are also reminded of the extensive bloodletting symbolism and magical blood practices in the Christian myth. The Mayan world, however, includes a more candid embrace of the darker aspects--suffering, cruelty, and death--in a brave, and, according to Gillette, successful attempt to use these demons to liberate consciousness.
"In ancient Maya belief, we are all called upon by the gods to become one with them and live forever. In the simplest and the most dramatic happenings of our lives the Lords of the Otherworld are giving us opportunities to create resurrection events for ourselves. But, according to the Maya, we must engage our own hidden depths in order to succeed. Those hidden depths embrace a universe filled with terrible beauty and divine power, and one that is vitally, miraculously, and ecstatically alive."
The goal is to become a companion to the creator god. To be such a companion to the divine requires the heart-challenging task of being both transparent to the transpersonal and yet an individual who provides the knowledgeable and conscious reflection that companionship requires.
In my dream I remove my head and allow my mind to become transparet to the transpersonal. Yet still I have my personal awareness--I can see what is happening. Thus the event has me for a witness. In the Mayan world, this witnessing is an important aspect of their resposibility to to the Creator.
The Mayans believed that there were four worlds before them. Each was destroyed by Creator because the people could not say the prayers correctly. Only when the people correctly acknowledge in their awareness the presence of Creator does that Creator God fully exist in a conscious state of being. The Mayans realized that God is dependent upon the people for its conscious existence. The Creator God created the people for companionship to give God this special dimension of being.
It is hard to be the only one who knows. Sharing an experience with a companion relieves a burden of loneliness. A companion who relects our experience back to us births our experience outward into the world. It makes us seem more real to ourselves. We can relax and grant greater reality to the world itself. We want to return the favor.
According to the Mayans, the Creator God created the world through a process of self-sacrifice (symbolized by self decapitation). To become companions to God, we are asked to similarly perform this self-sacrifice in order to bring God into conscious existence in this God created world. Gillette describes in detail how this service to God was the Mayan's "ressurection machine," giving their souls immortal bodies that defeat the illusion of death. Our creative self-sacrifice bestows an immortality upon us, and resurrects us as co-creators of the world.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Are You Participating in the Translucent Revolution?
I’m not sure if you are old enough to remember, but back in 1980, there was quite a fuss when Marilyn Ferguson came out with her book The Aquarian Conspiracy. It was an exciting event to find tangible evidence of something many of us suspected: we were not alone in our new way of thinking! The book surveyed the many recent developments in research, theories, education, therapies, and other domains of activity that were expressive of the “new paradigm.” Ferguson actually named the shift and helped us focus on what was happening. She called it the shift from separation to interconnectedness. I know that many folks on the A.R.E. community were thrilled with her analysis, for it echoed a fundamental principle in the Edgar Cayce material.
The choice of the word “conspiracy” was also of interest, as it suggested that something larger than any one individual was at work. It suggested the potential of creating a new culture, not simply a new way of thinking, but a new way of being together, working together, something that could replace the entrenched establishment, which certainly had the upper hand, as in the conspiratorial phrase, “the old boys’ network.” Her survey of the findings of “new science” in so many different fields of study seemed to provide the necessary credentials to make the new paradigm not merely wishful thinking but enlightened and rational. The only excuse for not being part of the conspiracy, it seemed from her encyclopedic documentation, was ignorance.
Now, some twenty five years later, there’s a new book out, written with the same kind of excitement, the same kind of suggestion that the tide is turning, the same kind of invitation to be a part of something big. It is The translucent revolution: How people just like you are waking up and changing the world (New World Library). The author, Arjuna Ardagh, is someone I had never heard of before (nor had I heard of Ferguson when her book was published). The book says he has practiced meditation and yoga since a teenager and has a large following through his “Living Essence Training,” which I hadn’t heard of either. Nevertheless the book is a credible analysis of his survey of hundreds of people who have gone beyond worshipping the new paradigm and are now living it and making a difference in the world as a result. The essential advance of this book over Ferguson’s is that while she was focused on the evidence substantiating a conspiracy to think in a new way, Ardagh’s book is about the effects of applying the awakening.
The book begins by giving some stories of ordinary people who have had some type of peak experience that exemplify what he means by “translucent.” It reflects a state of consciousness in which the ego no longer blocks the higher consciousness from shining through. Higher awareness is not always present in these folks; they don’t go around in a state of bliss, but the awareness of oneness has become enough of a reality that their egos are no longer the director of their lives, but a servant of practical spirituality. As your read his descriptions of such folk, you may very likely find yourself to be among them.
The author notes surprise that his survey revealed that it is not mainly in offshoots of Eastern religion that he has found the translucents (as it may have been years ago), but in various self-help groups, cchurches, various volunteer organizations, and in many schools and businesses.
What happens when people experience themselves as connected with others rather than separate? Doing for others becomes the same as doing for oneself. Altruism loses its meaning for these people, because they don’t see it as sacrificing of oneself for someone else, but simply as sharing the abundance. Volunteerism is common among these folk, not because they aim to “do good,” but because it feels good to share and it comes naturally. Patience comes easily because being in the “flow,” being in harmony with how things naturally unfold, feels better than trying to assert oneself against “what is.” Yet there is an active allegiance to being a servant of an emerging world of peace and love.
When people experience themselves more as eternal consciousness than as a mortal “thing,” there is less of a need to be in control of their lives and they accept change as the status quo. There is less emphasis upon belief systems—something that people often use to achieve a sense of mastery over the great mystery of life, and something that often divides people. Instead translucents are more interested in experiencing heart connections with others and enjoying empathizing with various points of view. There is an openness, an acceptance, even a humor, about being imperfect, not out of a religious conviction of human’s being a “fallen” species, but rather because it just doesn’t matter than much. What matters is what we can accomplish when we cooperate, a sentiment shared by many of us—a fact that supports the good news this book so well documents.
The choice of the word “conspiracy” was also of interest, as it suggested that something larger than any one individual was at work. It suggested the potential of creating a new culture, not simply a new way of thinking, but a new way of being together, working together, something that could replace the entrenched establishment, which certainly had the upper hand, as in the conspiratorial phrase, “the old boys’ network.” Her survey of the findings of “new science” in so many different fields of study seemed to provide the necessary credentials to make the new paradigm not merely wishful thinking but enlightened and rational. The only excuse for not being part of the conspiracy, it seemed from her encyclopedic documentation, was ignorance.
Now, some twenty five years later, there’s a new book out, written with the same kind of excitement, the same kind of suggestion that the tide is turning, the same kind of invitation to be a part of something big. It is The translucent revolution: How people just like you are waking up and changing the world (New World Library). The author, Arjuna Ardagh, is someone I had never heard of before (nor had I heard of Ferguson when her book was published). The book says he has practiced meditation and yoga since a teenager and has a large following through his “Living Essence Training,” which I hadn’t heard of either. Nevertheless the book is a credible analysis of his survey of hundreds of people who have gone beyond worshipping the new paradigm and are now living it and making a difference in the world as a result. The essential advance of this book over Ferguson’s is that while she was focused on the evidence substantiating a conspiracy to think in a new way, Ardagh’s book is about the effects of applying the awakening.
The book begins by giving some stories of ordinary people who have had some type of peak experience that exemplify what he means by “translucent.” It reflects a state of consciousness in which the ego no longer blocks the higher consciousness from shining through. Higher awareness is not always present in these folks; they don’t go around in a state of bliss, but the awareness of oneness has become enough of a reality that their egos are no longer the director of their lives, but a servant of practical spirituality. As your read his descriptions of such folk, you may very likely find yourself to be among them.
The author notes surprise that his survey revealed that it is not mainly in offshoots of Eastern religion that he has found the translucents (as it may have been years ago), but in various self-help groups, cchurches, various volunteer organizations, and in many schools and businesses.
What happens when people experience themselves as connected with others rather than separate? Doing for others becomes the same as doing for oneself. Altruism loses its meaning for these people, because they don’t see it as sacrificing of oneself for someone else, but simply as sharing the abundance. Volunteerism is common among these folk, not because they aim to “do good,” but because it feels good to share and it comes naturally. Patience comes easily because being in the “flow,” being in harmony with how things naturally unfold, feels better than trying to assert oneself against “what is.” Yet there is an active allegiance to being a servant of an emerging world of peace and love.
When people experience themselves more as eternal consciousness than as a mortal “thing,” there is less of a need to be in control of their lives and they accept change as the status quo. There is less emphasis upon belief systems—something that people often use to achieve a sense of mastery over the great mystery of life, and something that often divides people. Instead translucents are more interested in experiencing heart connections with others and enjoying empathizing with various points of view. There is an openness, an acceptance, even a humor, about being imperfect, not out of a religious conviction of human’s being a “fallen” species, but rather because it just doesn’t matter than much. What matters is what we can accomplish when we cooperate, a sentiment shared by many of us—a fact that supports the good news this book so well documents.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
New Developments in the Future of Consciousness
Hi folks!
As the year turns to its newing, I'm getting ready to renew our sharing on the topic of the future of consciousness. I've uncovered some new (to me) material that has allowed me to envision with greater clarity my own vision of what's coming, and how it relates to 2012. I'll be sharing those ideas here in the near future. I'll be reviewing what we've done and where I see this collaboration heading, and I'll have an update on the anthology that so many of you have contributed to and which continues to grow. More later. I'd like to hear from any of you regarding your thoughts on the topic and our collaboration.
Sending you wishes for a Happy New Year!
Henry
As the year turns to its newing, I'm getting ready to renew our sharing on the topic of the future of consciousness. I've uncovered some new (to me) material that has allowed me to envision with greater clarity my own vision of what's coming, and how it relates to 2012. I'll be sharing those ideas here in the near future. I'll be reviewing what we've done and where I see this collaboration heading, and I'll have an update on the anthology that so many of you have contributed to and which continues to grow. More later. I'd like to hear from any of you regarding your thoughts on the topic and our collaboration.
Sending you wishes for a Happy New Year!
Henry
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