GEMS FROM MY FAMILY
WE MUST KNOW OURSELVES
I realised from a very early age that everything we see, touch, feel and experience is transitory. Our youth will fade. Our possessions will come and go. Even the "good times with good friends" become only memories. Marriages and unions end either in divorce or death, leaving one spouse alone. The only lasting things are what we truly cultivate with ourselves and it is for that reason we should know ourselves and what we are cultivating within.
In this hectic paced society where people fly from work to home to the X-Box or computer to dashing out with friends, how many truly "know" who they are? From my point of view, those engaged in the constant running and doing seem to be avoiding facing perhaps what they they truly are within.
Setting time aside is not an easy task in this world. It was much easier for our forebears who performed mindless tasks which kept the body moving but let the mind free to think. Today, we should work to set aside time to pause, reflect, contemplate and meditate on what we are cultivating within ourselves.
Are we performing deeds in order to win acclaim and to shore up our ego or are we doing them out of conviction for what we believe? Do we support honest action only as far as it does not conflict with our desires, wants and wishes or do we hold fast to being true? Do we proclaim peace while sowing the seeds of dissension whereas we can take center stage or are we genuinely seeking peace?
It all boils down to a series of questions. What are our motives? What are our intentions? What is it that drives us? Everyone on this globe should look deeply within to find out. The answers may be quite surprising if we are truly honest with ourselves.
If we choose to be self deceptive as to what we are within and that is a very real choice, then how can we say that we are "walking a path" of any type? What we are doing is only using a smoke screen both for ourselves and subsequently, to others. Eventually, no matter what we may say or what alliances and friends we curry, our own action will belie us. The facts of what we are in truth within, will manifest in the exterior no matter how hard we try to excuse, explain, justify, approve of or seek others approval of those things we do.
In Hermeticism there is an adage "As within, so with out". There is also the Greek phrase "Gnothi Seauton" or know thyself. Now, from my standpoint as a psychic, how can I draw information from the nether realms and how can I get reliable information from spirits and spirit communication if , indeed, I am not in true communication with myself? The fact is that it all begins and ends within the core of our very being whether we are psychic or not and irregardless of our path whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduim, Buddhism, Wicca, Paganism or any belief structure.
The interesting thing, though, is that we are not chained to what we are within whether it be predominately positive or predominately negative. Unlike many animals, we can change the interior. It takes diligence, awareness, work, vigilance and, above all, self knowledge that we do not fall into the trap we seek to avoid namely, self deception for like an alcoholic who may "fall off the wagon", we too can slip back into the old habits with the result being worse than we were before.
We must, as stated in the title, know ourselves if we desire to cultivate things beneficial and postive. We should also rely on true friends. These are not the ones who curry our favor and smile at our jokes and call us a " good ol' Joe", but someone who is honest with us and cares enough about our well being to speak boldly. That is the mark of a true friend and it is work on our part to listen and, perhaps, let our own concepts of ourselves be dashed a bit. This is doubly true if we are failing to look deep with in and content ourselves with a surface awareness of our real self.
So, the phrase "WE MUST KNOW OURSELVES" carries with it some very deep implications. It is a constant work before each of us, yet " that worth having is worth working for". Are we up to the challenge? Are we strong for the work deep within or are we like those that guide our society would have us be... surface and shallow? It is our choice and we will reap the results of our decision.
Peace and Blessings
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT? TEACH ME!"
Since that time, I have thought, meditated and contemplated on that scenario. Other similar things have been done in the intervening years. How was it done? One thing I was then and now fully aware of is that I of myself did not accomplish it. It has been and will always be my belief that I am but a conduit for what may be called The Divine.
In the previous writing, there was a discussion of the need to know ourselves. Many faiths will inform us that within us exists a Divine spark that connects us to that which is Divine by whatever term we call IT.. God, Great Spirit or Divinity. No amount of external workings connect us to IT. We connect with IT only from within. That which is without is only empty ritual and actions unless it is internalized. The question then raises it's head, which has the greater impact the ritual within that connects to the Divine and though unseen elicts manifestation or is the seen ritual of whatever faith from Christianity to Wicca and Paganry?
Through self knowledge and work, we therefore gain that connection to the Greater Power that exists with out and are allowed to let It operate through us. My great-aunt used three words once to stop the profuse bleeding of my feet after I had walked accidentally on broken soda pop bottles. This was done at a distance as a cousin and my eldest brother carried me some half mile away. Through quiet contemplation, meditation and reflection she was able to connect with a Superior Force that operated through her to save a life, namely my own for I would surely had bled to death.
In the Bible, it is stated that if "you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move a mountain". Faith is internal, never external. The external, physical means absolutely nothing in terms of spirit, spirituality, psychism and ability. The physical things are only vehicles through a plane of existance and nothing more. The more we accept this as a truth within and deeply within, the more we draw closer to that Divine spark.
If we through self knowledge draw close to the Divine, nothing is outside the realm of possibility. If we internalize our faith, then the Divine can be operative and we become the conduit of that operation. Hence, as I have said to many over the years, "I am a whistle for the wind... and the wind sometimes does not blow." Perhaps what I seek is not in my best interest or the best interest of others despite what I may "think" and "believe" to be the case. Perhaps my mind set is off. Whatever the case, I always am aware of when the Powers That Be are operative and when they are not.
"How did you (I ) do that?" is , then a question that does not have an easy answer. It is not in lighting candles mixed with mumbled phrases. It is not in proscribed actions that may appear outlandish. It comes with self knowledge and introspection. In the previous writing I quoted the phrase " as with in so with out". That which is within or the internal can have a real and dramatic bearing on the physical realms we inhabit.
"Teach me!" Becomes also a difficult matter. How can I teach a concept that has to be so ingrained as to be a part of our being? The desire and strength must be there before anything can be done. More over, it has to be the desire to touch the Divine within, not to wield some supposed authority on the exterior plane. If it is permitted, it is done so by the Divne's approval. If the desire is to inflate the ego, gain acclaim, make a name and " be someone", then I fear the results will be rather disappointing.
I enjoy what a friend once called it. The term was "magical schizophrenia." It is the ability to function in the physical realm of existance, while maintaining a grasp on that which connects us to the Divine within and slipping into a mindset which allows that connection to out flow. It is the result not of days, weeks or even months of meditation, contemplation, introspection and cultivation of higher principles and aspects, but years. If someone can commit to that, then it can be taught. " How did you do that? Teach me!" I will willingly do if the individual will willingly and deeply seek to make a connection to the Divine within.
Peace and Blessings
FIVE BASIC LESSONS FROM MY HERITAGE
LESSONS FROM MY FAMILYAs one having been taught in their youth, there were many lessons to be gleaned. Often, these were simple things imparted by being around older ones. It was not a formal teaching, but wisdom imparted through living and interaction.
LESSON 1: NEVER BE TOO BUSY TO LISTEN
Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, there were not as many distractions as exist today. Yet, even then there were a plethora of diversions. Television was coming into it's own across the nation with sharper and clearer images. Radios blared music from the new FM radio fequency which was much clearer than the previous AM. For a youth in that time, it could be very busy.
The admonition was, though, that we should never become too busy to listen and hear the unseen world when it speaks. Whether it is through the spirit of one who had passed or perhaps through one entity that had never known human life. Take time to hear and listen. Let the unseen break through the veil to us.
In school both as a youth and teen, i was often caught "day dreaming". It wasn't that I was not paying attention as my excellent grades clearly showed. Rather, the unseen realms broke through often to impart information to me. Even today, whether at home and at times my work place, the spirits break through.
The counsel was also to put the spirit to the test. As Tressie said "Not all spirits are good ones." With time, we "feel" which spirits are imparting valuable information and which are not. Which ones are seeking to help and which ones are seeking to impede. Which ones will protect and which ones will harm. Just as we identify people by not only their physical traits, but also by their actions, the same is true of the unseen realm. Each has a psychic "fingerprint" as it were which we recognize.
LESSON 2: BE A GOOD CONDUIT
My greataunt and mother likened "power" to water which had to be piped in. A leaky pipe would cause a disruption and if not repaired, would eventually break entirely. Disruption could be caused by lack of concentration and diversion as well as a lack of ethics and values system. Granted, that term was not used but it amounted to the same concept.
If we were dishonest, cheats, deceivers, self centered and the like, would the powers that we funnel treat us any better than we treated others? Generally not was the impression I was left with. "Birds of a feather flock together" is an American adage often used both in relation to the physical realms as well as the psychic ones.
I was encouraged to look at myself and see where the "leaks" existed and to work to stop them up. In a manner of speaking, I was taught to "know thyself" or "gnothi seauton". It is only through self knowledge that we can get a clear view of our motives and drives whether base or honorable. So greatly was this impressed on me that one day talking with my mother inthe 90s about her eventual death, I told her how I would handle it and she replied "that's to be seen". After her death, when she came to visit, I told her it happened as I said it would. We may be surprised by others but our own thoughts and feelings should never surprise us.
LESSON 3: NATURE IS OUR TEACHER
One of the things I was taught was to go to the woods and choose a place that spoke to me. It had to exude power for me. Since all people are different, what exuded power for me might not for another, usually it did though. It was the instruction to go and just be. Listen to the song of the wind and to the spoken words of the various animals. Do not admire it. Do not adore it. Rather, be one with it.
This concept I have later read in various books describing the Native American belief. It helped me to communicate with animals and actually ask them to obtain information for me. It can be done and is wholly reliable. I have done it many times.
I remember being told that all trees have a purpose in the woods and no tree ever tried to be like another. Even the various elms, maples and beeches had each one a distinction about them, an individuality. Psychism and power is individual and unique to the human agent. No two are alike. There may be similarities, but no two are alike. Being so unique, we also become responsible on how we utilize those abilities.
LESSON 4: DO NOT DESPISE GIFTS
In the late 80s, I was visiting my mother at a home where she was a cre giver. I walked past a maple bough, stopped . I walked back, proceeded forward again and then turned around once more. My morther watched this from the porch. When I finally approached her, she asked why I had done all the pacing. "That stick was speaking to me". She looked at me sternly and said, "You've been told if something speaks to you, to pick it up." That bough became a walking stick/staff that I used for almost 20 years before in frustration I boke it over my knee, which I fully regretted afterwards. This year, the same thing happened at the Great Circle Earthwork, except this time it was a piece of cherry wood, which is very unusual. When things in nature speak to us in this manner, they are gifts from the unseen realms.
There is of course a difference between a gift and a desire or want. We may read that turquoise is beneficial for thus and so, hence our desire to obtain it grows and we "imagine" it speaks to us. What I am speaking of here is a bolt from the blue that causes us to pick something up. If it is an item for sale, often it will be at a very low price. If it is purely from nature, then it will be wholly free.
If we begin to despise these free gifts, then the spirits will cease to assist us. We are nothing of ourselves and are reliant on a good many things exterior to ourselves, Were we so powerful, why do we need warm clothes in the winter? We should control the weather or at least our reaction to it! No, we are reliant on both things seen and unseen whether we wish to admit it or not. If we choose not to admit it, refer to lesson 2. We are not the all in all.
LESSON 5: GIVE BACK
The powers we have are on loan only. We must give back just as we are granted the ability. Giving back is more than being a humanitarian. It requires we deal honestly, justly, truthfully with ourselves and others. By doing this, we honor the unseen ones by whose hands we are given ability.
Sometimes, this may take the form of actual offerings. I have given silver many times to rivers and streams in both Ohio and Florida as I was taught to do. It showed honor and the fact that we are not wholly reliant on the wealth determined by society. This is not to excuse frivolity. If I was destitute, the Powers That Be would hardly demand that I throw an ounce of silver into a rushing stream. There must be sensibility.
By far, tho, it is the former rather than the latter that pays tribute to the unseen. We see how this creates an eternal circle from lesson 2. If we are cultivating what we should, the repayment will be easy and the more the circle turns, the greater are the blessings. If we are a weak conduit bent on selfish gain, acclaim, imagined power and fame then the circle erodes as does it's effects.
