The Relationship between Ego and Soul

Some of you may be asking yourselves, "If our Soul contains a Plan for this 'lifetime' in this human body, in the four-dimensional world we call Earth, then why don't we hear it--why isn't this Plan laid out in our minds from the beginning of this life?"
     The answer is:  It is, only it's hidden; it's veiled. The Lower Mind of the human Personality has to work in order to open the curtains to reveal the information of The Plan that is stored in the Higher Mind of the Soul.

Your Spiritual Self has ensouled the bodymind you currently occupy with very defined goals for your experience and potential growth. Your Spiritual Self has also worked out commitments to or "contracts" with other souls with whom you are interacting with the intention of helping each other achieve exposure to self-prescribed experiences that can then offer learning and growth opportunities. The human form you chose comes with certain conditions and rules as does the Earth Plane in which human beings travel. One of those conditions is that as the Spirit ensouls the human form it finds itself 'veiled' from certain spiritual information. This arrangement was created partly to help one remain committed to the often overwhelming and certainly challenging rules and limitations that come with the human Earth experience. Were we to arrive in the human host with full spiritual awareness we might find ourselves unwittingly using our Higher Creative Minds to perform acts that don't really conform to or honor and respect the conditions we've all co-created for the precise kinds of experiential learning we desire.
     The freshly 'humanified' Soul is, as you might imagine, quite unused to and frustrated by the extremely confining and limited capabilities of its new human form. This is why there is the rather prolonged infancy and childhood stage of human development. It allows the Soul time to get used to the confines and limitations of the human body and the Earth Plane. It allows the Divine Life Force the opportunity of acquiring the skills necessary for survival, negotiation, and independence in its four-dimensional form.
     The first seven years in a human form are spent acclimating to the physical, emotional and mental restrictions of the Earth experience. This is the period in which we try to gain mastery of some basic skills like body control, emotional range, mental directivity, and language--or, if this is not possible, as is the case in a developmentally impaired child, to seed if we can acquire the skills necessary to convince another to take care of us--to help provide for our needs and desires for as long is possible.
     The next seven years are spent learning how to control and exploit certain specific sub-skills in order to create independence. At this time the human is learning how to purposely manipulate his or her environment according to the skills being modeled by his family, friends and society. It is also important during this period of development to learn how to maneuver successfully within relationships as well as to discover and explore the talents and strengths and likes and dislikes that are uniquely theirs. This is also a crucial period in the development of the Personality's relationship to the Soul. As the Personality begins to master some of the tricks for survival and independence on Earth--and within human society--patterns begin to form--patterns that seem to 'work.' And yet there remains a great deal of flexibility, a great agility, room for experimentation; the patterns have not become so familiar, so ingrained as to become set, solid and inflexible. The Personality's identification with familiar patterns has not become so comfortable as to become self-identifying; that is, the Ego has not yet formed, the Voice of the Soul is still clearly recognizable within the conscious mind of the developing human.
     Once the Personality becomes comfortable enough in its patterns that it begins to self-identify with those patterns it begins to construct its Ego. Self-identification with an Ego is what presents barriers to Soul information. Until about age eight, the Personality can still be quite open to Soul information. The establishment of an Ego is what causes the Personality to become more closed off to Soul information. Part of the reason that this happens is due to the 'trap' that we in the Spirit World created in order to test ourselves. The 'test' of whether or not we can recognize and learn to control the Ego is one of the major obstacles--and achievements, if accomplished--of the Earth School experience. Society and pre-established societal patterns are another part of the 'test' that we must learn to recognize for the illusion that they are and then to overcome--and learn to use for our Soul's own benefit and growth.
     The 21st century modern world does very little to support a child's openness to his or her Inner Voice, to his or her Soul information. By the time the child enters society at about age five or six (school age), the values, beliefs and mores of human society have already been exerting quite some influence on them. Earth-, anthropoid-centric and consumer-capitalist information is quite ubiquitous and relentless. Couple this with the incessant threats of isolation, separation, provisional and conditional acceptance and/or approval, and it is no wonder that the child becomes distracted and even disconnected from it's Soul's Song of Beauty, Truth, Peace, Oneness, and Love. The pressures coming from outside the individual to comply, conform, obey, fear and fit in are inexorable. With this kind of "noise" bombarding the child from all sides, at all hours, it is likely that the child will continue to build constructs of belief and behavior that deepen his or her immersion into the Illusion of Separation--which then distances that individual further from the Soul's information and Plan.
     Fortunately, if the Soul doesn't like the direction the Ego is taking, it will let you know. Over time the web of four-dimensional human life with its Ego construct can lead to a downward spiral deep into the thickest regions of the Illusion of Separation. It can even take you to a place in which you lose all sight of the fact that it is only a game, that it is only an Illusion--to a place in which you forget that you have power, that you have choice--to a place in which all patterns and tendencies seem to both reinforce and speed along despair, relinquishment, despondence, self-destruction until finally we do: we self-destruct. We either hit rock bottom or we die--both of which can serve to 'kill' or 'end' or crack the shell of Illusion and allow a remembering of the Light that is our True Self. The true test of the human experience, and the true achievement that the Soul hopes to gain from volunteering to enter into the emotional tar pit of the human Earth experience, is in being able to remain, remember, or re-gain access to the Voice of the Soul--to be able to recognize the Ego and human world for the illusions that they are--and then to re-learn how to use the human bodymind as it was intended: as a vehicle for developmentally nutritive Soul 'food.'
     Remember, the bodymind is created as a vehicle, as a tool, for the Soul. Throughout the human life span the bodymind exhibits many diverse signs to alert the human Mind to the inhibited soul life that the Ego is causing. If Soul information or the flow of Universal Life Force is being impeded or denied in any way, the bodymind will indicate this in the form of "alarms," that is, in the form of dis-ease. Each symptom of dis-ease, whether mental, emotional, or physical, is like a "check engine" light. The further you drive your vehicle before attending to the problem, the more serious the short- and long-term effects can be to the overall health and operational capacity of your vehicle. The problem is, the throw away-consumer-capitalist society in which we live no longer values or even recognizes the preventive health care measures required to maintain a healthy, openly flowing vessel of Universal Life Force. Most every habit or pattern to which we are coerced into adopting nurtures dis-ease, disintegration and Separation. A person has to work very hard--against the grain--in order to attain a strong, healthy bodymind. This is no easy task.
     Once the Personality has yielded to the numbing barrage of information bombarding it from parents, friends, social constructs, the entertainment and advertising industry, the media, schools, and from environmental hazards like EMFs, and air, water and food-borne toxins, once the Ego has been constructed and reinforced by years of incessant human song, the "song" of the Soul may be barely audible. But it is there. It is always there. It cannot be killed. When the bodymind dies, the Soul merely finds itself back in some version of the Spirit World. The Plan will be reviewed and revised for the next adventure.
     In order to survive and negotiate confidently through the Earth School experience, the Soul has to commit to "playing by the rules"--that is, playing by the rules as provided by the Earth Plane's four dimensional experience. As it learns to survive, and, later, to successfully negotiate through the first and second levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ("Physiological" and "Safety"), layers of patterns of thought and behavior form which meld together in a tapestry of layers of "constructs" or "fabric" or programs. These patterns of thought and behavior--which are unique to each individual--are displayed in the formation of the Personality and, later, the Ego.
      The Personality and Ego are necessary for survival in the human body and for success in the Earth School plane of relationship experiences. According to the Plan that your Soul and its Spirit Guides and Counsellors have helped to devise for you while on this excursion to Earth, the Personality and Ego are intended to eventually become servants of the Soul--as tools for the successful realization of the Plan. Problems arise when the Ego gets stuck or trapped into believing that the 'reality' in which it lives (the human bodymind, the four-dimensional Earth plane) is the true reality. Part of the reason this happens is that the time modern humans use in order to "achieve" independence, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency has been drawn out far longer than it was ever intended--or than is necessary. Traditionally and biologically, the average human is ready to begin taking on independent self-sufficiency skills and making valuable contributions to its society at the age of seven. In the last century we have drawn this out to about age 16 and, in a lot of cases (such as, those programmed into believing that college degrees are necessary to higher success) up to an age somewhere into the mid-twenties. That means that fully one-fourth to one-third of the human lifespan is spent imprisoned within the patterns and attitudes of 'childhood.' Is it any wonder, then, that dependencies, entitlements, lack of creativity and self-initiative, and escapist addictions are carried forward into the rest of life?
     This delay in the taking on of independent, self-reliant, and self-sufficient skills, responsibilities  and behaviors causes a layering and thickening of the weave of the tapestry of Ego/Personality. This in turn makes it much more difficult to deconstruct, to unravel, to allow the 'light' of Spirit to filter into the dark and more inaccessible depths of the Personality, for the 'voice' and energy of the Soul to make its way into the Ego consciousness. Without a strong presence of the Voice of the Soul, without the reminder of the Plan to reach the Ego/Personality, the latter is afforded even more time to continue building its form. The thicker the layers, the tighter the weave, the more the Ego becomes set in its ways, the more resistant it becomes to change. With the reduced capacity to receive and run the life-giving flow of the Universal Life Force, without an active recognition of the flow of Rays 1, 2, and 3--that is, the flow of Active Intelligence, Love and Wisdom, and Will and Power--the human bodymind becomes more susceptible to dis-ease. The flow of The Universal Life Force, of the Spiritual 'blood,' is essential for the overall health of any creation of Divinity--despite the fact that 'chi' or 'prana' is always present in some small degree, no matter the circumstances or perception. But the more the Soul devolves into the Illusion of Separation--the farther the Soul wanders into the murky muck of human and Earth illusions--the more prone it is to allow Ego to get lost, to gain ascendence, to think it is alone and on its own--to get caught in patterns of egoism, of self-pity, victimhood, depression and despair. The further the Spark of Divine Consciousness is emerged and encased in the tar of the human experience, the more difficult becomes the challenge of control and perspective much less extrication and Spiritual ascendance.
     I believe that this pattern of extended childhood was co-created expressly for the purpose of testing our Selves. The plethora of debilitating and degenerative diseases offered the Soul within the Earth School human experience in this 21st Century along with the amazing number of 'light' workers trying to help jog individuals' Inner Knowledge and Inner Wisdom have all been put in place as a kind of 'final exam' for the Earth School class of so-called homo sapiens sapiens. Have these billions of Souls who have chosen to come to the Earth Plane with such confidence and reckless abandon come with all of the tools and strength they'll need to 'pass' this exam? Did they know how much Knowledge, Love, and Will Power they were going to need in order to have a chance to rise above the trappings of this extractive, destructive, distractive, addictive society? I wonder. I hope so.
     If we allow the voices of others--if we allow all the four-dimensional information that is bombarding our human bodyminds the attention it demands, if we allow all this information to distract us, to monopolize our attention, if we allow ourselves to come under the spell and influence of these informations, we will probably end up giving our power away to them. By allowing this world to monopolize your attention, your power and your conscious mind, you have little room for the beacon of True Self, True Purpose, and Spiritual Perspective to come through. And, unfortunately, once those patterns of allowing the outside world, the outside voices and the outside powers to control you have become ingrained we tend to become even more susceptible to giving away our power and control to things like the media, domineering people in our lives, fantasy and escapism, food, sex, tobacco, television and the Internet, alcohol, drugs, illness, victimhood, unhealthy, out-of-balance relationships, and self-destructive psychoses.
     Unfortunately, the paradigms of the modern world do very little to nurture, much less support, spirituality and individualism. Were this not the case, the second period of human development, ages 8-14, would see a lot more freedoms, creativity, experimentation, imagination, and, yes, even failure. As it is, the pressures to conform and be like everyone else force children and their imaginations to walk a very 'safe' and narrow line.
     Our Spiritual Essence is not constructed this way. Quite the opposite: freedom of choice and full responsibility and consequences are unconditionally present to each and every Soul. But then, the choices we make can never threaten the immortality of our Life Force, the inseverability of our connection with our Divine Source, or our eventual dispersion of the Illusion of Separation and re-union with the Consciousness of The Oneness of our Divine Essence.
     Our Spiritual Form works with its Council of Wise Elders, our Spirit Guides and our Soul Community in planning out role playing exercises within denser, more limiting constructs of consciousness. It is through these excursions into denser vibratory realms that we test our selves. The recovery or reacquisition of Higher Mind functioning--that is, of thinking and acting from the Greatest Flow of Rays 1, 2, and 3--is quite difficult in the dense realms such as that of the Earth Plane. In order to be able to take form and function appropriate to the density of the Earth Plane we must slow down the vibratory frequencies of our Life Force to such a degree that we function from an initial state of relative ignorance and disability when compared to the expanded and free flow of our spirit forms. As we get used to the rules and conditions of our new human bodies and the Earth environment we sometimes "get used to" the ignorance and limited flow of The Universal Life Force. This can be further solidified by the trappings of patterns which reinforce the belief that the human/Earth experience is true "reality." Habits and addictions which can mesmerize and distract us from 'hearing' our inner voice and healthy longings--situations and patterns in which we get used to giving our power away to others, to what we are told, are outside influences. If you really step back and look at this paradigm you can see that our core being, our True Self, requires none of the objects, patterns, beliefs that we are told that we "need" or that we "should want" in order to "fit in" or "be successful."

     Your job is to open yourself up to the Voice of your Divine Essence, to become re-acquainted with the Spark of your Universal Life Force. It's there. It's in your intuition, in your gut reactions. It's in your highest, most loving, trusting, altruistic thoughts. It's singing to you in the Beauty of everything in and around you, in your happiest, most contended, peaceful moments.
     If "All disease is the result of inhibited Soul life" as Master Djwhal Khul said through author/medium Alice Bailey, then our job is to figure out how to live life with uninhibited Soul flow.



   
   

"Depression"

"Depression." What a lovely word we have here. A situation or place in which something is pressed down. Depression. It is a word that we formerly used to describe 'a low point' in things like map-making, meteorology, or economics. Now it seems to have been assimilated into our vernacular to describe a low point in one's psychological/emotional travels. Unfortunately, the word "depression" has become so freely used that it has now crossed over into that pool of words that people mired in victimhood mentality bandied about as if it gives the owner a "Get out of Life card." It is interesting that people somehow are allowing themselves to become convinced that the human experience is supposed to be a flat line--that highs and lows along the way are "mistakes," or "bad," or "wrong." Here's a reminder, people:  The human experience is supposed to be a roller coaster ride; there are no mistakes, bad or wrong events. Everything happens for a reason and everything that happens to you you yourself have attracted to your self for the reason of waking up to a new version of your self. The mire and tar of the human experience has been chosen for you by you for the expressed reason of its difficulty, its challenges, the 'test' provided by its deep immersion into the Illusion of Separation. Many Souls, I think, were totally unprepared for the darkly hypnotic sway of the deepest regions of the Illusion of Separation; many souls get so wrapped up in the perceived 'reality' of their human situations that they become lost and then find it exceedingly difficult to extricate themselves from the Illusion even after they've cast aside their four-dimensional human vehicle!
     Look at some examples of the trappings of the deepest regions of the Illusion of Separation--of which "depression" is one. If you're not happy because you're not always "having fun," you can get some "certified" "expert" to diagnose you as "depressed"--and even give you bodymind-altering drugs to prove that you're "sick"! And then, Yippee! You've got your get-out-of-work-free ticket--your excuse to never be fully responsible for anything you ever do, your excuse to never have to fully contribute to anything--including family, relationships, work, play, or life. The "depression" label is your excuse to be able to give up, to get out, to avoid having to do anything, whenever you want, for the rest of your life. You can just say, "I'm depressed" (as if it's your new name or identity) or "it's my depression" (as if it's your new best friend), and Wham! you're out of having to be expected to fully or effectively participate in anything you don't want to.
     What a great invention! What a great tool for the the powers-that-be who would like us to be numb, powerless, and self-defeated so that they can have their way in the world. And there are so many other words, names, labels, diseases, diagnoses, and designations that give a person that "excuse-me-from-having-to-do-that" card.
     Excuses. A human can think--can actually come to believe--that being the 'victim' of some horrible condition gives them an excuse to not have to be responsible for his or her own actions, responsibilities and life. Under the mantle of victimhood a person can deflect any blame or responsibility from them self, can walk through life blaming others entirely for all of his or her failings and shortcomings. Better still for the powers-that-be--since blaming others isolates one from them--victimhood mentality gives power away to someone or some thing outside, thus rendering the individual less powerful, more defensive, and, thus, more likely to live in relative isolation and less likely to engage in group activities (the kind of activities that are necessary for the few in power to be challenged and/or toppled).

Question: What is it about victimhood that we find so attractive?

Answer:  We've been conditioned--(which is just a nice way of saying "unknowingly brainwashed")--to feel entitled to--to be addicted to--our leisure, our entertainment, our playtime, our "me"-time--to want to try to get out of responsibility, to try to short cut work or anything that might cut into our comfort and conveniences. Victimhood allows us to passive-aggressively make "rational" excuses for not wanting to participate in some responsible act or activity. It gives us an excuse for never becoming, being or achieving what we set out to--to never realizing the power, creativity, values, morals, ethics, and behaviors that are natural to and inherent in all human beings.

The very fabric of our taker/consumer/throw-away society is dependent upon us "losing ourselves," that is, losing our center, giving our power away--permanently--to so-called "authorities," "experts" and other influences outside of ourselves. When this happens--when we have become off-centered--we are very easy to manipulate, very easy to herd around (like good sheep). The pathway for the accomplishment of this is very clever. Schools, the media, and our government have become masters of teaching us that we are not and can never be an authority, an expert, or in control of anything (unless, of course, we play their game by their rules). With our selves off-center we are no longer able to use our own natural internal compass. We become reliant, even dependent, on the external "authorities," "experts," and "powers" for our thoughts, feelings and actions--we need to be told what to do, say, think, and feel. The pain of guilt and provisional self-esteem seeks relief, release, and/or medication, thus the attraction to addictive things--substances, behaviors, thoughts, and activities.
     Depression is a natural outcome of this having to live constantly out of one's center. If one's center becomes replaced by one (or a few) things repetitiously, then we have the start of an addiction. When that repeated behavior becomes consuming of our time, attentions and thoughts--to the distraction and negation of healthy relationships with family, friends, work, health, money, routines, and self--then we have a full blown addiction. One can become addicted to victimhood, illness, athletics, electronics, television, the Internet, drugs (prescriptive or illegal), alcohol, eating, sex, fantasizing/daydreaming, planning, arguing, reading, writing, music, sleeping, meditating, arguing, being late, victimhood, or any escapist or pain-relieving/distracting pursuit.

Now you've heard me say time and time again that there is no "right" or "wrong," no "good" or "evil," no "better" or "worse," and I mean that. Using the Illusion of Separation and the Illusion of Need to their fullest are brilliant and effective ways of traveling through the Earth School experience. And there is, as I've also said many times, growth potential in the use of Pain and Suffering. But--I will caution you--growth is only possible if you're able to use Pain and Suffering as a tool in the goal of recognizing and re-connecting with your True Self, your Spiritual Essence, your God-ness. If your dive into the deepest emotional depths so clouds your 'vision' from being able to see anything Spiritual or Divine in your experience then you are less likely to make any progress in that 'place'--which, again, is fine: You'll have plenty of other chances to try again. But, again, I seriously doubt whether your Oversoul, Soul Council and Spirit Community planned for you to dive so deep and then get lost, get stuck and stay there. The Plan always revolves around how can we use this human experience to rediscover our True Divinity so that we can learn to control and manipulate our Earth circumstances, so that we can bring forth the more expanded flow of Higher Knowledge, Love, Will and Power, so that we can activate our individual Plan.
     Journeyman Paul does not want to be further restricted, confined and ignorant than he already is when 'powered down' into denser realms of experience; he wants me, Drew Fisher, to be a vehicle for success in realizing the goals of the Plan that he and his 'team' came up with before committing to another Earth School adventure.
     Every soul goes into the lower vibrational experiences with the desire to be able use these adventures to learn, grow, and progress on its journey of Return to Source, on its quest to re-member and rejoin its Divine Consciousness. Though there is no hurry or any time limit or any grade system coming from the Spirit World, there is a process of review and assessment that each soul goes through. There are discussions of 'success' and 'progress.' There are role-playing, gaming, and planning sessions for other investments in which success might be more probable. There are also, however, incarnations that we plan with the expressed purpose of being difficult because we want a challenge, we want to test ourselves, we want to see if we are capable of rising above the challenges of difficulty, we want--even feel that we need--to experience failure and/or Pain and Suffering. Sometimes this is because we feel we deserve it, that we've "earned" this as a kind of "punishment."
     In spite of the reasons that may have led to our we finding ourselves in a tar pit of suffering, victimhood, depression and hopelessness, I am here to remind you that you are always, always in choice--that you are never without the tools or rights to choose something different than what you've been choosing. No matter how small that different choice may be, it can be the one and only step that is needed to break the patterns of pain, suffering, depression, and despair that you feel are beyond your control. I will argue till my dying breath that even the most disease-riddled, despondent, downtrodden person always has the ability to choose a different choice--to break established patterns, to try another method, a different thought, to turn in a different direction, to look up instead of down, to pay attention to something different than their usual patterns--and that s/he then has that same right, privilege and ability in the next instant, and the next and the next, until new patterns can be developed to take the place of old ones. But, it takes work! It takes strength, concentration, fortitude, and will--all of which are present in each and every one of us--all of which are integral parts of our True Selves, all of which are natural to the Divine Essence from which we draw every breath, every thought, every heartbeat, every smile, every tear.

    I will also remind you that all disease is the result of inhibited soul life, that is, if your Ego/Personality has built up such strong walls and patterns that it is deaf or blind to the Voice of the Soul then your bodymind is going to begin to show this retardation and restriction of Flow. When the voice of the Soul is denied or ignored and the Ego/Personality is in rebellion, then the bodymind--the tool of both--will be the battle ground that displays the war between the two. If the Ego/Personality persists in its resistance the Flow of Spiritual Life Force will find itself further and further cut off from the atoms, molecule, cells, organs and systems of the bodymind. Eventually this inhibited or restricted flow will result in mental, emotional or even physical disease and even death. When the confining walls and structures of the stubborn Ego/Personality are broken down and the Voice of the Soul--the Flow of the Universal Life Force--is open, then the atoms, molecules, cells, organs and systems of the bodymind hum with the Joy of Unity and Love.
     Eventually even the Soul decides to shed the very limiting and taxing constructs of the bodymind in order to return to some of the freedoms and perspectives of its current Spiritual Evolution, but until that time is decided, the human bodymind can become a very effective and useful tool for the flow through and sharing of Love, Light, Joy, Beauty, Wisdom, Gratitude, laughter, and comradery. Depression is a construct of the Ego/Personality in which the Illusions of Separation and Need are taken to their darkest depths. The answers, the solutions, the healing, the "way out," the cure, the "Return," is all within you--within each and every one of us; the 'problems' are but illusions that we have co-created and bought into--that we have allowed ourselves to become familiar, comfortable and attached to--to the detriment of our Soul's Plan and the flow of Universal Life Force that is our True and Real Self. The key is to stop looking 'outside' of our selves for answers, guidance, information, even support and to turn--to-return to looking and 'listening' within for our own voice--the voice of our own Truth, our own intuition, our own Source of Infinite Wisdom. The answers are not outside us. The problems and patterns to which we've become overly attached are 'out there.' The answers come from within us, from a higher source, from our Higher Source, from the Divine Essence that is our True Self. Throw away illusions if they are not serving you! Try letting go of the Ego, the Personality, the belief systems that you've become so attached to--try stepping outside of those very limiting, very isolating systems and constructs and allow yourself to be, to become, to change, to try, to choose differently, to run, to fly, to dream, to fantasize, to allow yourself change and experiment, to fill yourself with visions and examples and versions of who you might be, of who you might become, of who you want to be--of the strong, powerful, joyful, loved and loving, activated and fulfilled, fully realized person that you think you can be--that you know you can be--that you are deep inside you. Let the real you--the one you've been hiding or repressing or ignoring--out! Let love flow! Take responsibility and then take credit! Forgive and then forget! Detach and leave it behind! Remove or resist the tendency to form expectations for expectation will only--can only--lead to disappointment and frustration. Expectations can never be met unless it is the expectation that everything unfolds exactly as it is meant to and exactly in the way that will best serve the growing potential of the people touched by that thing or event. Expectations are but rigid attempts at trying to manipulate or control the future--which we will eventually recognize is a huge waste of both energy and time.
     Let life flow. Detach. You've learned all of the skills necessary to survive and even thrive while in your human bodymind while traveling on planet Earth. It's your choice: will your travels and experiences be exciting adventures or will they be terrifying nightmares of pain and suffering, alienation and isolation, failure and loss. The choice is yours and yours alone. So choose. Now choose again. And again. . . .  

The Universal Life Force

     Throughout the 1980s I had been dabbling with various forms of Yoga, Tai Chi, QiGong and other modalities of bodymind health maintenance classes when I encountered an organization called the Yogic Science Research Foundation. This organization had been started in East Lansing, Michigan, by a man who was of Indian birth but who was now living in the USA as a chemistry professor at Michigan State University, Amar Gupta. Amar claimed to have been "a student of Mohandis Ghandi" as a child (whatever that means). Based on his Ghandian training he practiced Yoga daily in public, leading or, if you must, "teaching" all who chose to join him for free. According to Amar's understanding, Yoga came from the Universe for free and therefore should be given back for free. Amar believed that it was the individual's karmic gift--even obligation--to give back to the Universe. The classes--multiple classes, offered at multiple locations, every day of the week--were free! No money was ever exchanged. And yet they were the best Yoga classes I've ever experienced--as much for the relaxed and elastic spirit within the classroom as for the unbound patience and willingness that the teachers had for taking the time to field and thoroughly answer every question asked. And were they unable to answer a particular question they were quite willing to refer the class member to appropriate resources or they might even seek further clarification for themselves and then bring their findings back to the next class. Another interesting aspect of the Yogic Science Research Foundation Yoga classes was the kind of unspoken gift or obligation that an avid or frequent attendee of classes would someday begin a ministry of his or her own in that s/he would eventually become one of the volunteer teachers. This was never exacted as payment or forced from someone and yet the individuals who came to YSRF classes as shy, awkward, ignorant neophytes quite often and surprisingly stepped forward of their own burgeoning confidence to try out leading classes. I think it was the relaxed format and confidence-building results the students discovered with their commitment to yoga that spurred them on.
     In 1989 I took advantage of an offer to attend a Level I workshop for Reiki. Though modern Reiki practitioners would consider Reiki to be the act of passive--or, for some, an active--transmission of an increased flow of The Universal Life Force or "chi" to a recipient as directed by a practitioner, the word "Reiki" derives its meaning from two Japanese words, "rei" and "ki." The former means, "spirit, miraculous, divine" and the latter, "gas, vital energy, breath of life, consciousness." Together they are taken to mean, "mysterious atmosphere." The word seems to derive from the Chinese loanword língqì 靈氣, meaning "supernatural influence." Still, most modern practitioners will tell you that Reiki means "Universal Life Force" or "directed flow of The Universal Life Force."
     Reiki is a healing art based on the information given to the world by Japanese monk Mikao Usui (1865-1926). Dr. Usui claimed that he had received this information during meditation. He also claimed that this information was based upon writings and practices that had been known and used in the Tibetan world for centuries before he ever encountered them. He also chose to accept this information with an understanding that it was "given" to him so that he could then pass it on to others--that he was intended as a messenger not just a receptacle or repository; he viewed the "gift" as part of a sacred obligation and responsibility he had to share it with the world, sharing that he thought that he was but a conduit for this information to be passed on to the world.
     As the story goes, Dr. Usui first "received" this ancient form of spiritual healing during meditation--through his Crown Chakra. At first he practiced Reiki on others for free. He would have been happy to continue doing so because he truly believed that that which already belongs to the Universe should be given back to the Universe. But, he found that people did not value the treatments and information as much as he hoped while he was giving it away for free, and they did not seek out more treatments or practice or share the information and practices with others as he had hoped. So, he reluctantly experimented with charging payment for his services. Under this paradigm Dr. Usui found much better follow-through or compliance from his clients and students. People took the treatments and information much more seriously and were much more prone to hold the effects and lessons of the treatments as well as share their stories with others when they had to pay for it.
     My personal Reiki teacher was three generations removed from Dr. Usui. Her teacher, Virginia Samdahl, was the first Occidental Reiki Master trained by Hawayo Takata, who was the person singularly responsible for bringing Reiki to the West from the Usui School. It must be noted, however, that the form of Reiki that Dr. Takata brought to North America was a simplified, more physically-directed form than that of Dr. Usui's original much more spiritually-focused form. The more watered-down form that Dr. Takata brought to America had been developed within Dr. Usui's school, with the expressed permission of Dr. Usui, by Chujiro Hayashi (1880 - 1940), who was Dr. Takata's teacher. When I took Reiki attunements in 1989-90, it was a requirement that the Level I training workshop cost $200, Level II attunement cost $500, and Level III or Master Level training cost $10,000.
     You saw that right: $10,000. Again, these rates were established in accordance with Dr. Usui's findings that the more one had to pay for the training the better valued and more seriously used would be that information. Also, at that time the attunements and information could only be received in workshops separated by significant gaps of time with the idea that the recipient would have time to practice and get familiar with the techniques and information. Sadly, this value system has been weakened greatly as has the sacrosanctity of the forms and information passed on. Reiki Levels I through III can now be "received" in a single weekend workshop for a small fraction of the original costs. It can even be purchased online in video form for the whopping price of $97 or learned from a book for free! (neither of which I understand because of the fact that the student would then be missing the essential attunement rituals in which the teacher/master passes on the symbols of increased "access" and "flow" by imbedding them within the Unconscious).
     Why modern, westernized man requires an energy exchange on the physical, material plane may be a little bit clearer to the reader or listener of this podcast series--and, after all, material things like food or money are but denser forms of energy than services or ideas. Still, the way mankind has deepened and intensified its entrapment within the illusion of the physical/material world is something I hope to raise awareness of. The elevated levels of pain and suffering that will be offered us while on planet Earth during the next few years can be minimized or at least diminished through an increased understanding of and detachment from the illusions that come with Earth School experience. As global climate change creates an escalating number and severity of disasters in the coming years which then cause the partial and complete collapse of food systems and societal patterns, the ability to be able to step back and observe, even to laugh, will be quite healing, I assure you. The attainment of a certain spiritual perspective can enable one to grow more aware, more detached and less self-identifying with the confining rules and limitations of the illusion of physical Earth plane reality.
     The Universal Life Force, chi ki, qi, prana, the Æther, bioenergy, cosmoplasma, Love, Will, Divine Consciousness, the Higgs-Boson particle, or God--what ever you choose to call it, it is in everything, it provides form and life energy for every single thing, every single concept in the Cosmos. Even the underlying substrata supporting or in which all things float and travel, even Dark Matter and anti-matter, even feelings and abstracts are imbued with, given form by, this "substance" that is The Universal Life Force. The reason I know this, the reason I cannot believe or accept any other version of this scenario is that I know that the Divine Consciousness, the Creator Energy, God, must be everything or else S/He is limited and therefore less than everything and therefore not possibly God. God cannot be anything less than everything. Otherwise S/He could not be the Creator or creative Force, the Will and Life Force.
     To imagine or envision a Creation that is not the 'work' of a Creative Force or a Creative Will and Creative Imagination is simply inconceivable to me. And to imagine that S/He is one of a multitude of Gods only begs the question of Who or What created the Gods. Who or What is The Cause of The Cause? Or, better yet, Who is the Causeless One that existed before the Causes were created?
     What can we imagine? What are the limits of the imagination? We humans are only limited by our imaginations. The Higher Mind of our Unconscious offers a still broader realm of possibilities for the creative imagination but it, too, is still limited in that it is at least a step away from its True Source, the God Consciousness from which it came; it is limited by the veil of The Illusion of Separation that it has agreed to participate in. But I am here to remind you: the belief that you are separate from your Divine Source, that you do not have constant and immediate access to your own Divinty, is an illusion. And living within this illusion--choosing to remain loyal to this illusion--is extremely limiting to your true potential.
    If you can think it--Spark of The Divine that you are--if you can imagine it, then it can be real--then it is real--even if only on the relatively small scale of limited human comprehension or Lower Mind. Energy follows thought. You are, after all, a co-creator with God because of the God-ness in and moving through you. The same is true for everyone, and every thing, because every single thing in Creation--imagined or "real" (and from a certain perspective, I will remind you, there is no difference)--every single thing in Creation is imbued or animated by the God-Force--is only possible because of the imaginative, Loving, Force of Divine Creative Consciousness. As I said, even so-called "space"--that vacuum of supposed 'nothingness' in which all things 'float' or 'swim'--is a 'thing.' Even the barely imaginable 'substances' that are called Dark Matter, anti-matter, or quanta--which are supposedly just 'pieces' of energy or light but which neither have space, weight or location, have only 'probability'--all of these 'things' are things! Therefore, they all exist as part of Creation--of God's creation, of our Creation--just as much as we or that tree or that star or that car. We create things that fit our theories--our imagined versions of 'reality'--in order to help validate and 'prove' our latest versions. But think of how those theories or versions of 'reality' have shifted, changed, expanded over the history of human existence. And yet have any of our theories or versions of 'reality' changed one iota the spiritual backdrop to this supposed 'reality'? No. Creation is in constant change, is, in fact, unable to stay fixed or constant because of our daily inputs, because of the infinite versions, the infinite variations, and infinite possibilities coming out of the flow of Active Intelligence, Loving Guidance, and Sacred Will Power. The Universal Life Force.        

Let It Begin Here: Basic Tenets of Mine

Life is beautiful. 

At least, that's what I think--that's what I know. But "life," as I speak of it here, is not, in my experience, the birth-infancy-childhood-adolescence-career/partnering/parenting-grandparenting-aging-decline & death scenario most of you are associating with it. Human, biological life is only a small part of that which I refer. The "life" I speak of is different; it is bigger. 

Much bigger.

I have a body and five sense which I use to negotiate through "physical" space, however, I am not my body.

I have feelings and emotions which I use to negotiate within the Earthbound human experience, however, I am not my emotions.
I have a mind and an intellect which I use to try to make sense of my Earth experience, however, I am neither my thoughts or intellect.  

I am a Center of Self-consciousness, an individuated Spark of The Divine, a Wave in The Great Ocean of Cosmic Creation, The Infinite Sea of Truth, Beauty, Joy, and Love. 

I believe that, as a Center of Self-consciousness (or "soul"), I have chosen--and choose over and over in every moment--to participate--of my own free Will, while fully embracing my understanding of the Divine Plan--in the experience-oriented "games" of "Creation," "life and death," "space and time," and "physical" "reality." At the same time I am aware that all of these are, in fact, fabrications:  illusions created (with my active participation) for entertainment and the accumulation of (hopefully) awareness-expanding experience.

I believe that, as a Center of Self-consciousness, as a Spark of The Divine, as a Wave in The Great Ocean of Cosmic Creation, I am eternal and that, as an eternal part of The Divine Consciousness, I am without beginning or end, that I am never separated or separate from my Divine Source.

I believe that each and every thing, each and every human being, organ tissue, cell, molecule, atom or subatomic particle, that each and every rock, mountain, cloud, planet star, galaxy, universe or cosmos, that each and every emotion, experience and thought has its own consciousness, its own spark of The Divine which imbues, occupies, uses, coordinates, organizes, ensouls, enshrouds that entity, group or system.

I believe that the human experience in which we choose to participate on this small blue planet is akin to a classroom experience--thus you will hear me use the term "Earth School."

I believe that each of us has chosen the planetary circumstances into which we were born, that we have planned for the experiences we encounter--that we attract these people, places, events and experiences to us precisely for the purpose of yielding opportunities for the learning of Self-prescribed lessons.

I believe that in The Realm from which we come there is no such thing as "right" or "wrong," "good" or "evil," "better" or "worse," "black" or "white," "yin" or "yang," that The Realm of Divine Consciousness from which we arise is one of Oneness, of complete Unity, and, therefore, unattached to the isolating effects of naming, defining, separating, and categorization practiced in dualism.

I believe that the world of dualities is a fabrication, an illusory world that we have chosen to participate in, that we are, in fact, co-creators of this version of "reality" (for it would not/could not exist if there were not souls willing to participate in it), that a dualistic world of implicate and explicate, subjective and objective, "this" and "that" is created precisely for the experiential games associated with objectified, limited, and choice-filled "life."

I believe that when we choose to participate in the physical, emotional, or even mental planes of potential experience we also choose to play according to the rules and restrictions that we our Selves have created, ordained and agreed to but that we are never separate or separated from our True Selves, our True Nature, our True Consciousness, that we are free to, at any time, access the consciousness, awareness, and perspective of our True Selves. Or not. (There is no right or wrong way to participate in the Earth School experience.)   

I believe that we use our experiences, awarenesses and lessons from participation in "denser" realities dimensions (like the Earth Plane) to re-acquaint and re-access and re-activate the expression of our own greatest and latest versions of our highest perceptions of Truth, Beauty, Joy, and Love.

I believe that we choose and/or attract (an often unconscious level of choosing based upon  established patterns of familiarity and comfort) all of the aspects, conditions and circumstances of our Earth lives--that these actors, settings, events, and experiences have all been chosen in order to help realize a Self-prescribed path for specific and general learning, expansion and development (in that goal to become more aware and familiar with our True Nature--which is always being expressed through our latest and greatest versions of who we think we are).

I believe that after "life" (the Earth School version or otherwise) we review our previous lives, assess and critique the patterns we've accumulated, evaluate our "progress," and then plan the next "life" adventure with certain general and specific goals and objectives in mind.

I believe that our souls work with and make plans with a familiar but fluctuating group of other souls--a "family" or "class" or "team" of mutually loving, supportive and goal-oriented Self-conscious entities.

I believe that in Earth School we most typically get caught thinking that we are supposed to learn through pain and suffering but that we can, at any time, choose to learn instead through Joy and Happiness.

I believe that Love is the underlying, ever-present, in-between matrix, force, "aether" that fills all space, supports all life and consciousness, animates all Creation.

I believe that there are no coincidences, that everything--everything--happens for a reason.

I believe that no belief is final, that all beliefs are mutable, relative to one's current state of ignorance and limited understanding, ever transcendable, and that one is never finished growing or evolving.  

This doesn't change the fact that I believe Life is Beautiful.

Art as a Teacher

We have all heard the saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." I would like to posit here for you that we are all drawn to those experiences, sources, relationships, and information forms that we are ready for--and that those forms of information are all your 'teachers.' In fact, I would like to remind you that you, yourself, have played a primary role in the planning of your adventures, in the creation of the conditions and circumstances that you believe will most benefit you and your soul's evolution. Those things most useful for your growth at this moment, the information most appropriate to your current ability to comprehend, are the things that you, the 'student,' is calling forth. Also, these things are present and available to you, in many forms, at each and every moment.
     Like food, the events and information flowing to and around you offer your soul the nourishment that it craves. Like food, we can get stuck in patterns of what we choose to eat because of familiarity and comfort. Our 21st Century social conditioning and media brainwashing cause us to allow constructs of fear or anxiety to form patterns in our thinking and behavior to which we become overly attached. Yes, they can serve us on many levels, but, ultimately, how they might best serve us is when we are able to recognize them for the patterns of restriction and limitation--or dis-ease--that they are causing. Then we can figure out how to rise above them, throw them off, and choose new patterns less closed off, more open to a greater flow of the great life force that is coming from our True Self, our Divine Essence. So, yeah:  Try new things. 'Eat' and 'drink' while trusting your gut, trusting your intuition--which is the voice of your Higher Self. Ingest with the attitude that whatever you choose to interact with is intended to be useful for your highest good and for the highest good of the Cosmos.
     "When the Personality is ready, the Soul will appear." Except that the Personality, or Ego, is being bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information coming from "outside" and for some time has quite a bit of trouble figuring out which information to trust, which information is in actual fact life-giving 'soul food.' The Personality/Ego can put up quite some resistance to letting go of its comfortable patterns and familiar habits. And yet, the Soul is not expecting huge or immediate change. As a matter of fact, the Soul understands that it is most often the case that the Personality is only able to "try new things" a little at a time. As it is difficult going from a meat and potatoes diet to that of meat and dairy-free vegan or gluten free or even a spicey Asian diet, so, too, is the sudden and radical change of information 'food' for the Personality. And yet, it does happen, it is possible.
     I remember as a young adult I was exposed to some fairly unusual and mind-opening information which was being presented to me through the written form in some books. While I was ready for some of the information to which I was being exposed, my comprehension of the wisdoms conveyed through these books was quite limited. And yet, apparently, I must have recognized at some very deep level that these books offered some very profound and very healthy nourishment for I have continued to return to those books over the past thirty years (both in their actual physical form but also through my memory of their information) with each revisitation providing me with lessons and understanding at far deeper levels.
     A particular form of literature and film that I was strongly attracted to in my twenties and thirties was fiction containing what I call "messianic" characters. Time and time again I found myself buying books or going to movies which displayed a character that provoked in his or her surroundings and within me, the audience, a kind of elevated spirit, an increased courage and empathy for life, love or wisdom. Somehow, these fictional messiahs caused everyone and everything around them to rise or expand in their spiritual awareness and moral principles. Some examples from my own personal encounters include:  Prince Myshkin in Dostoevky's novel The Idiot, Levin in Tolsoy's Anna Karenina, Siddhartha in Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name, Michael Valentine Smith from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in A Strange Land, Judas in Nikos Kazantakis' The Last Tempation of Christ, Donald Shimoda from Richard Bach's Illusions, Paul Atreides from Frank Herbert's Dune series, and even Amory Blaine from F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise. In film I connected with Peter Sellers' character "Chauncey Gardner" from Being There, Rutger Hauer's "Roy" from the sci-fi classic, Blade Runner, Robert Sean Leonard's "Neil" from Dead Poets Society, Christian Slater's character, "Mark," in Pump Up The Volume, Marlon Brando's "Colonel Kurtz" from Apocalypse Now, and Peter Finch's "Howard Beale" in Network--to name a few. I believe that it was my contact with these characters that awakened within me my own "elevated spirit" which then motivated me to dig deeper into the world of esoteric art and symbolism, to make lifestyle choices that were less-than mainstream, and, eventually, to open the flow of my own creative juices (in such forms as writing, music, parenting, and the healing arts). I also believe that the inspiration I received--and here I mean quite literally "inspiration," for the effect of engaging with these particular art forms breathed into me an expanded flow of spiritual energy which then awakened an awareness of and craving for more spiritual information--I believe that the inspiration I received from these creative forms enticed me into seeking out "live" action among and "live" interaction with other humans. I had come to recognize that it is my most comfortable nature to be alone, to live in isolation from the "dangers" of "real life"--to live safely in a cocoon with the stimuli of other human beings' art and creative work to feed me. This is all well and good--there is no right or wrong way to live life on the Earth Plane--and I know I have lived many lives in solitary or monastic life styles--which is why these patterns are so comfortable to me--but something about my confrontation with the art of others kept prodding me to wake up and do something scary--go out into the world. I was able to learn to recognize that it is among my fellow humans, out in the full elements of the Earth School experience, where my most valuable lessons were to be found. It's hard. It's tough work. But it is so rewarding.
     Choosing to live a life vicariously through the artistic expression of others is an understandable and, I admit, viable alternative to the "real thing." But, you still have to eat; you still have to take care of your body, pay bills, and earn the money to pay those bills. Perhaps something will come out of it. Like Walter Mitty, we can live a very vibrant and satisfying life within the free space of a fertile imagination. There is no right or wrong way. Remember, these human lives we live are in fact illusions, constructs we have helped to create, our own movies or plays in which we are actors and, if we choose, writers and directors. With this in mind, who is to say which kind of experience, which kind of information is more valuable for the soul's journey, the imagined or vicarious or the supposed "real"? The advantage art has over real life experience is that it is considered like a highlight reel and therefore full of more compacted "peak" experiences, whereas the "real life" journey we experience in our day to day life is drawn out with those same peak experiences occurring less frequently and much further apart. Also, vicarious living never requires you to own your experiences, you do not have to admit responsibility for the choices made which lead to the sequence of events and their consequences, so it is much easier and "safer." The key to acquiring satisfaction in the "real life" choices, as I've figured it out, so far, is to cultivate perspectives from which one can choose to interpret as many of the "normal" or mundane experiences with the same value and intensity of joy or awe as those artistically created gem. This can be accomplished by living in gratitude, living more fully present, learning to appreciate the 'bigness' of the little things.
     I am reminded for the umpteenth time of a character I ran across in some novel I read 30 years ago or so. It was an elderly professor of some sort living in communist Hungary--in Buda-Pest, to be precise. This quiet, unassuming man was recognized for his expertise on many things, but more he was sought after for his stories and descriptions of some of the most wondrous art, architecture and natural beauty from around the globe. He knew buildings, cities, maps, natural and man-made wonders intimately. You name it and he could talk about it with great intimacy. And yet, when push came to shove, this demure old man had to admit that he had never left his home town--had, in fact, rarely left the comfortable confines of his small apartment. he had never set foot in any of the museums, great monuments or hallowed grounds that he could describe with such clarity and with such glowing fondness. he claimed that all the traveling he'd ever done--that he had ver needed to do--he had done through the thousands of books he had read. In using the writings of others in combination with his own fertile imagination he had gained the profoundly detailed and 'living' intimacy that so many knew him to share.
     This character, from a book, was trying to convince me that all the learning one might ever hope to acquire can be done without ever leaving one's own home or local library! This idea has obviously had a tremendous effect on me--has continued to burn inside me throughout my life. The conundrum posed here is, as it turns out, a central lesson, a key lesson, to my own path of growth and expansion. To break free of those safe, comfortable, familiar patterns in order to take risks, to have to confront my own ability or inability to handle the barrage of information coming at me every time I leave my home turf. It's daunting, challenging, scary, yet so rewarding! There is so much to be learned about oneself in 'conflict', that is, when having to face minute -to minute decisions. When caught in Ego Personality thinking one will most likely react from past established patterns of behavior. By breathing fully, by detaching from expectations and outcomes, by allowing oneself to feel and experience each every moment--and then to choose to interpret these "risky" "scary" encounters with the "real world" with the perspective of information, of 'food', to be used--or not used--for your health, sustenance, and growth--then can one let go of fear and begin to rust and enjoy the moment, enjoy the stimulus, value and find gratitude for the gift that is this moment, that is the many forms of information available to you--available for you to use as 'food' for your ever-growing ever-expanding concept of Who You Really Are and Who You Want to Be. This is part of what makes Life so Beautiful--of what makes Life such a great choice, what makes the human experience such an amazing vehicle, what makes the Earth School such an exciting playground!
     Lest you think that I am diminishing or denouncing the value of art and imagination as unequal 'food' for soul growth, I will add that I know that artful expression and free and active imagination are  quite useful as tools in the 'real world'. Art is provocative and evocative in ways similar to that of subjective activity. It's similar to if you were to take a divergent trip using another person's vehicle. The vehicle may not be yours and may be somewhat unfamiliar or different, and the ride may be intense and much more like a rollercoaster because the plan has been set up by someone else, but the way in which you experience, interpret and use the information gained from the experience can most certainly be as valuable as your own vehicle's experiences. The roller coaster ride is just a bit more controlled and prescribed. Your personal journey will be much more exciting if only for the fact that you can turn in any direction at any time that you choose knowing full well that whatever is ahead of you--or behind you--is yours and all yours to use in any way that you wish. And the more open you become to the ego-less flow of Universal energy and spiritual perspective the better able you will be to handle any and all encounters you draw to your Self. With spiritual flow comes openness and detachment. With spiritual perspective comes recognition of the Divinity inspiring every one and everything "outside" us--the same Divinity that flows through us, that is our True Nature, that is our common Home.
   

The Soul Family, Part 2

The concept of the "Soul Family" is one that you've heard in bits and pieces during the course of my podcast series. There is a lot of information one can glean on the topic from books written by Alice Bailey, C.W. Leadbeater, H.P. Blavatsky, Annie Besant, Elisabeth Haich, Cyril Scott, Brian Weiss, Roger Woolger, and Alan Hopking. However, the best anecdotal evidence you will come across will be found in publications by Michael Newton, Sylvia Brown and Susan Wisehart. The information these three offer has been derived from thousands of hours of recorded hypnotherapy "past" and "life-between-life" sessions with hundreds of patients over many years.
     While I am extremely grateful to all of these writers for the roles they've played in helping me to bring this information to my consciousness, it has really been my own personal experiences with past lives and life-between-life scenarios that has been the most powerful teacher of all. I have been privileged to have had encounters with "other versions" of my Self through meditation, hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis sessions, shamanic journeying sessions, intuitional resonance to information coming into my conscious mind from books and psychic or astrological readings, trusting the intuitive impressions I receive while doing my hands on 'healing' work, and even through the medium of dreams and dream interpretation. What I have come to understand is that Journeyman Paul--my 'oversoul'--has led me to these encounters expressly for the purpose of exposing me, Drew Fisher, to information that would, hopefully, awaken an interest in and, eventually, a belief, trust, and confidence in the reality of the Soul and the Spirit World.
     The myriad glimpses into other versions of Journeyman Paul that I have had have made vivid, lasting, and ever-accessible impressions on my Drew Fisher consciousness. These impressions have, then, I believe, allowed me deeper access to the wealth of knowledge, wisdom and power that is available to me in my Unconscious. I also find myself deeply fortified by the incontrovertible knowledge my first-hand experiences have provided in support of the existence of a Spiritual World; knowing that these many, many souls are behind me--that so many loving beings are working with me, working for me, in my efforts to use this Earth School experience for the progress, evolution and advancement of my Soul--has comforted me beyond any ability I have to express.
     While I believe that the Spirit World is 'constructed' differently for each of us--that we each have our own singular version of the Spirit World as befitting the state of mind we are in at any particular moment--which can be greatly influenced by the state of mind we may bring back with us from a recent excursion into an Earth School type of experience--I also believe that the forms that we use in the creation of our own view of the Spirit World are very individualistic and highly malleable--that they are not permanent structures, that they can shift or change in an instant with even the slightest change in perspective and certainly with the changes that are effected by growth. My encounters with the Spirit World have shown me this.
     As Journeyman Paul, I have fabricated wildly variant forms and worlds that have served me for my transitions from the Earth School experience to Spirit World 'reality.' This is due to the process one must go through in order to re-adjust to the Spirit World. When we come out of the very limited and myopic perspective of a dense world like Earth School, we need some time. At first the feelings of leaving the human body are so liberating, so invigorating as one sheds the incredible weight and incredibly restrictive layers of what we thought were our 'beliefs,' 'habits,' 'values,' and, heaviest of all, 'memories.' It feels so wonderful that you cannot help but want to fly. And you do!
     Then you are flooded with the feeling that you are expanding, that you are filling up--re-filling--with energy, with strength, with the Light and Love and Fuel that is the Universal Life Source. This might take some time. (Though 'time' does not really exist in the Spirit World. All possibilities and all variations are equally present, equally viable, equally useful, and equally accessible--at the same time. The construct of linear time passage does in fact help the 'recovering human' for the time it takes to fully shed all of the illusions and constructs we used while in the human body.)
     During this period of recovery and 'healing,' the transitioning Soul takes some time to review the recent incarnated life--to review it from the perspective of Spirit and Spiritual Law. This can provide some rather shocking and upsetting 'news' to the Soul as it is confronted--sometimes for the first time--with the Truth and reality of the the constructs and habits that the Ego/Personality became attached. Sometimes we are confronted with the fact that we have carried the same patterns over several incarnations with little or no progress. Sometimes the many layers of illusion created by the Ego can be quite difficult to peel away.
     The event of being confronted with the reality of how little we accomplished in our venture into denser 'realities' can slow our transition back to Spirit Consciousness. The realization that the Plan, that the many goals and desired accomplishments we had hoped to accomplish, was not quite realized can be debilitating, even devastating. This is where the Soul might choose to create a place or period for reflection--a 'limbo' or 'purgatory'--for trying to come to terms with the disappointing news--for processing and healing. Some Souls even require intensive or extensive counseling or 'therapy' in order to fully process and extricate themselves from the emotions that might arise from being faced with the 'Truth' and 'Realities' of the life just lived. With remnants, with lingering attachments to Ego and emotion, we may find that even our interactions with other Souls are tainted or negated for a time. Thus the periods of self-imposed isolation or the guided therapy.
     But, eventually we heal. We recover. We get past the shock, guilt, remorse, and low Self-esteem. Ultimately, we re-member to stop self-identifying with the actions, patterns and 'failures' of those fabricated lives. And then, once we are able to return to the perspective of Spirit Consciousness, we can remember that we are on a Path of Evolution.
     Eventually, we are reunited with the community of Souls with whom we have interacted and 'played' over and over. Among this group of familiar 'classmates,' guides and counsellors, we all have an Inner Circle that is made up of our most trusted and beloved companions and guides--Souls that with whom we have worked quite intimately over the course of many forays into the denser realms of experience. While these Souls may join together and 'travel' together for a long time, the constitution of this Inner Circle or Soul Family is adaptable; its membership can change. An Intimate Soul may out-grow his Family or it may find another Circle with which it would like to work for a time and thus choose to move out of your Inner Circle. This takes place with the most generous and tender support, love, and understanding.
     Sometimes it is truly in our best interest to join another group. New group dynamics might be necessary for the acceleration of our growth and progress, or for getting out of "stuck" patterns that might be limiting our personal progress (or that of the Family). This does not mean that we would not 'see' or interact or play roles with soul contracts with each other in other incarnations. It just means that we are seeking variety and different dynamics--which can, of course, be healthy. You see, even though in Spirit Form we are unfettered with the rules and constructs of the denser realms, we do still all have 'traits' and 'tendencies' which we could still call 'personality.' And our mingling and colluding with the same Souls over and over will tend to feed or draw out certain aspects of our Selves more than others. This is only natural within any aspect of a Creation in which we think of ourselves as Self-identifying individuals. We have, after all, made the choice and commitment to participate in the Illusion of Separation.
     The typical community of Souls that one might work with on a regular yet rotating basis usually numbers somewhere around 100. My personal count for Journeyman Paul's Soul Community is 89. The number of Souls participating in one's Inner Circle can range anywhere from around six to 12 to 20! The members of one's Council of Wise Elders is usually three.
     A Soul Family will usually consist of one or more 'guides,' that is, Souls who have attained a somewhat more advanced perspective of Self, Creation, and God. Your Soul Family will also contain a few Souls who are at a similar stage in development as you. You may find one or more Soul Family members who are quite different than you--who have chosen to inspire you or mentor you with pursuits that are quite different and/or more advanced than you and who do not often participate in the denser realms except from 'outside' (or 'inside').
     One of my six Soul Family members is a 'Guide.' She is an entity who calls herself "Malayna." Her 'job' is to watch, support, and guide Souls both in the Spirit World and in their forays into denser realms of experience. Malena or a form of Malena is usually present to meet me or guide me or watch me when I leave an Earth School experience. She is an immensely loving, supportive, understanding and giving being. She is also stern and firm when I need it. While her presence is always supportive, she is not an enabler; she is firm to call me on places, beliefs or patterns to which I have become overly attached. My progress is her primary concern and, unfortunately, I have gotten overly comfortable with several patterns that she has tried to help me confront and detach from, namely, my tendency to choose 'loner' or isolationist life patterns due to the self-pity and low self-worth that I have attached myself to. Perhaps this is why I've been told that practicing "gentleness"--especially gentleness with and for my Self--is the number one priority I'm supposed to try to practice while in this Drew Fisher incarnation.
     Another member of Journeyman Paul's Innermost Circle is the Soul currently incarnated as my wife, Toril. I feel quite privileged to know that Toril is Journeyman Paul's Other Half, his Twin Flame, his Universal Twin. Toril and Paul were 'born' into Creation together during the First Individuation. When God created this world of Duality it became a condition that the Divine Spark in each of Her Participants would agree to work from the perspective of the Illusion of Separation, that is, from an illusory perspective that we are outside of and separate from God even though this is, in fact, a lie. God-ness is our True Essence. It always was and always will be.
     Toril and Paul are the outcomes of this agreement to participate in the process of Creating the Illusion of Separation. We were 'born' as one, yet in (separate) forms, as representatives of the Great Plan, the Idea of Duality. We are polar opposites, negative and positive, yin and yang, female and male. From the same seed pod we entered into a 'World' of Form created through a 'stepping down' in vibration to that of a slightly slower, denser level than that of our Divine Origin.
     Though every Soul participating in the Realm of Creation, in the Illusion of Separation, is born with a Polar Twin, not every Soul chooses to work with their Twin. Toril and Paul have chosen to work separately on many occasions. We have also chosen to work together on many occasions. As described in Episode 14: "The Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek," we know that our 'play time' together in these current incarnations on Earth were hard fought--that we were required to earn our time together in this, Toril's last Earth incarnation.
     We also know that there were not many Earth excursions in which we had easy paths. More often Toril and Paul created Life Plans spattered with many obstacles to scenarios of blissful love because we knew that our greatest potentialities for growth and progress lay in paths of in which we are forced to struggle with the Illusion of Separation. This is, in fact, a mirror and metaphor for the very journey that all Souls are on ever since they were birthed into Creation, into the world of Dualities, into the Illusion of Separation:  We are trying to re-gain total and eternal immersion with the God-Consciousness; using the Illusion of Separation, we are creating scenario after scenario which help us to first progress as far away from god-Consciousness as possible in order to then try to figure out how to undo the shackles of illusory perspectives, so that we can rediscover our God-ness and Wholeness. It is through testing ourselves with these 'deep sea dives' into the murkiest 'matter,' the densest pressures, the slowest vibrational confines, that we can rise up to our greatest achievements.
     Another member of Journeyman Paul's Soul Family is currently incarnated on Earth as my daughter, Madeline. Madeline and Paul have, I know, played other lifetimes as partners, lovers, as well as other blood relatives. This helps to explain our incredibly close bond.
     My other daughter from this incarnation as Drew Fisher, Hannah, is noncommittal as to whether or not she is in Journeyman Paul's Soul Family. "Maybe," she says to me as she usually floats above the rest of us like an angel. Perhaps she has been in Paul's Soul Family and is moving into another; perhaps she is testing the waters, thinking about joining us. My intuition thinks the former is more likely as the Angel Hannah recently informed me that she and Paul had twice been born into Earth incarnations as twins and that we had also often played important roles as adversaries for one another.
    Mimi and Kevin--the same Mimi and Kevin of podcast Episode 21--presented themselves as two more members of Journeyman Paul's most intimate circle of Souls in a recent LBL session.
     There is also a 'giant' of a male soul who, until recently, has usually remained rather silent, distant, and noncommital in my 'meetings' with Journeyman Paul's Soul Family. I know that he watches and 'walks' with me but that he is also very involved in many other important jobs in the spirit world. I call him Peter because he told me that he is playing a supportive role in the current life of my brother of that name. When Peter has chosen to interact with me, he offers incredibly loaded yet Self-empowering tidbits using very dramatic scenes and forms to do so. I always find the gift of his attentions to be quite overwhelming, humbling, and emotional. He tends to give me "things" that contain layers upon layers of latent meaning and symbolism--and which serve to spur me on--no, which demand of me that I seek deeper, bigger, stronger, more powerful and more active and outgoing versions of my Self to bring to the World.
       One aspect of the Soul Family concept might be difficult to comprehend. That is the fact that we each have our own Soul Family each made up of its own distinctly different members. For example, Toril's Soul Family contains only two other members common to Journeyman Paul's Family. Hannah and Madeline each have their own Soul Families of which Paul may or may not be a member. Also, the listener may have noticed that Journeyman Paul's Innermost Circle does not contain any of Drew Fisher's family of origin blood relatives. Not my mother, not my father, not any of my brothers, not any of my grand parents--though all of these were present as Souls in that greater community of 89 that I mentioned before--and would consider that all of these contributed greatly, lovingly, and positively to my life as Drew Fisher. Neither is the mother of my daughters in this Earth incarnation present in Journeyman Paul's Soul Family--nor any of the deep profound loves I had in this life (aside from Mimi and Toril, of course). My point is: When it comes to the make up of your Soul Family, don't get attached to your expectations. In fact, it may serve you better to expect the unexpected!
     The Soul Family is that small, intimate group of souls that works together to best support an individual Soul's progress and growth. I imagine that the Soul Families are 'governed' or counseled--and perhaps even brought together--by that individual's Soul Council or Council of Wise Elders as The Councils are really the true guides for overseeing whatever it takes to provide the best service and support for the advancement and progress of a particular individual soul. Everyone has their own individual Path in the effort to try to "break the spell" of the Illusion of Separation--to get back to total and complete immersion and re-union with the Unified Field Consciousness, with the Divine Source, with our God-ness. The Soul Family and the Council of Wise Elders are part of the team that is trying to help each individual soul achieve evolution and re-unification successfully.

Healing with The Cosmic Rays

If you listened to podcast Episode 16: "Love and The Cosmic Rays" you will have heard my introduction to The Cosmic Rays of Life Force, and specifically the Three Primary Rays:  Ray 1, the Ray of Will and Power and Sacrifice, Ray 2, the Ray of Love and Wisdom, and Ray 3, the Ray of Active Intelligence, Knowledge and Information. You may remember that I also mentioned in that podcast that there were many more Rays permeating and enriching all of Creation as well as the human experience. Rays 4 through 12 are especially applicable to the human experience, but, for the purposes of today's information, we will be working with Rays One through Seven.
     As promised in this Episode's title, today I'm going to present some very practical ways that you can use the basic Cosmic Rays. What I'm saying is that the Seven Rays can actually be used--that you can learn to work with the energies of each of the Rays--and that everybody can do it, everybody has access and the ability.
     The Seven Rays can be used for your own healing and they can be learned to orchestrate change, to help facilitate the discovery and letting go of congested, restricted flow of energy. As a matter of fact, all pain and suffering, all dis-ease, is the result of congested, restricted flow of energy--of inhibited Soul Life. As I mentioned in previous podcasts, the Soul is trying to come shining through in order to realize some of the higher goals for growth and evolution that it had set forth in the plan it created before entering your human bodymind, but the conditions and restrictions that come with accepting a "mission" in the human condition must first be overcome, must be discovered as the constructs--for being the 'illusions' that they are--before one can rise above and tap into the Soul information coming from your Higher Mind. It's tough. It is not easy. It is not meant to be.
     The years we spend getting used to the human and Earth School experience and their rules result in the creation of a Personality. A Personality has a point of view, an Ego. It is a complicated and thickly woven tapestry of patterns which finds comfort and pride in the constructs it has worked so hard to fabricate.
     The Ego becomes attached to its familiar patterns. It learns to identify with the 'tapestry' that has provided it with success in traveling through the murky tar pits of human. Sometimes the attachment becomes quite strong, which can make the job of letting go difficult. Still, the Soul is quite persistent. It's commitment to its mission is unwavering; its energy never stops sending its insistent signal, "Remember what we came here for. Remember what we came here for..." just as our Divine Source never stops circulating to and through us its energy of Life-Force, the life-giving energy of the the Cosmic Rays.
     If a Personality/Ego becomes too stubborn or recalcitrant and fails to give up its control, then that individual may leave its human vehicle without ever having really addressed much less tackled the issues and lessons that the Soul had planned for it. And this is fine. The Soul will simply retreat into the Spirit World where it will spend time in review and reflection, assessing its gains and 'failures,' while at the same time re-energizing. Then it will decide on its next goals, on whether or not it wants to make another 'dive' into Earth School, and, if it does decide to return to the human experience, what it will do differently in order to try to ensure a higher potential for success.
     Learning to use the Rays can help you to speed along this process, for, in the very act of using the Rays you are giving power to the Spiritual World, in the act of trying to actively direct the Universal Life Force, you are admitting at least the chance that there exists a power or force that is above, within or outside you--a force that is not taught in publicly-endorsed or publicly-sanctioned institutions (except for the fact that the energy of the Cosmic Rays is one and the same with that of prayer--which is, after all, simply directed thought--and remember:  thought is the Creative Force, Energy follows Thought, God is Higher Mind). In attempting to use or in learning to direct energy using Higher Mind you are negating all the conditioning and structures of the Ego--you are, in fact, acknowledging and endorsing the placebo effect, you are tapping into the potential of psychosomatic phenomena, you are giving power to your imagination (which has the word "mage" in it, thus acknowledging the Inner Wise Self and "magic" that can come from that Source). When taking the time and making the effort to use the Cosmic Rays, to use your creative forces, to use your imagination, you are "awakening"--or asking for the increased flow of--your Soul information--the information that your Soul knows and understands the best. With an increased flow of Soul information, of creativity, imagination, and Universal Life Force, you are bringing into your being a warmth that begins to thaw, soften and, eventually, wash away the thick 'tar' that surrounds or cakes your True Essence, the "multi-faceted diamond" that resides inside the constructs of your Personality/Ego. The more you ask, the more you trust, the more you believe, the more you 'feel' the effects of the increased flow of Universal Life Force, the more you will find yourself able to rise above, to step 'outside' of, the thick constraints of the physical, emotional and mental forms that you created for your use. Then, you will find that the human bodymind that You occupy will be able to become Your servant--that your human vehicle will be able to be the agent for the Soul to fulfill the goals it made when it formed its plan to invest itself in the Earth School experience.
    So, what do you think? Are ready and willing to try to give the Cosmic Rays a chance? Are you ready for a little exercise? The first thing we need to do is make some mental acknowledgement that whatever you are about to attempt is being done for the Highest Good of You and the Cosmos--that your Ego is not getting in the way and trying to manipulate energy for its own power or benefit (which will tap into another lesser powered and more benign form of Energy anyway). Then you need to become trusting of the fact that you have a a point from which you can direct this Higher Form of Energy. You can use your Mind to learn to direct Energy from any place on your body or from any point in the Cosmos (as our Higher Mind is not bound to the reference point of the human bodymind that it is using and can, therefore, take on a perspective of awareness from any point in the Imagination), but I like to have people try to use a place between the eyebrows, just above the nose, to try to 'imagine' a initiatory place of force. Some use the thought of either the pituitary or pineal glands to reference this place in the human anatomy. I feel it precisely in a place that is just inside the frontal bone between the eyebrows (even with my unibrow) about two centimeters above the nose bones. Some people will have you call this place the Third Eye others the Ajna. I'm not sure which it really is but I have also found that I can imagine and feel this force coming from many other places on my body. However, I think that by using this place in the head, above and between the eyes, you are 'forcing' the Ego/Personality to give credit and power to a "higher" power, that you are in effect reducing the effects that Ego could have on the outcome due to such limiting behaviors as doubt, distrust, and desire. Because you are using a 'place' that doesn't really exist in the human system of information called the anatomy, you are again giving power, control and affirmation to a part of you, a part of Creation, that is outside of your empirical senses and scientifically biased lower mind and thereby again giving more energy and acknowledgement to the unmeasurable Universal Life Force.
     Anyway. Let's get back to the exercise. To enhance your chances for success in the exercise, find a quiet comfortable place to rest your body. Closing your eyes will probably greatly enhance your ability to 'feel' the effects of this exercise. Do a body check--try to sense where in your body there exists pain, discomfort or tension. Once you've found a spot--one that you'd like to try to 'treat'--try directing with your mind, from your Ajna, a paintbrush or a beam or whatever tool or form you would like to imagine being directed from your Third Eye with the intentions for the "Highest Good"--imagine that paintbrush applying the healing paint of Universal Life Force, of chi, ki, prana, or medicine--whatever you choose--to that area that you've chosen. Feel free to play around with the paintbrush--with the type of paintbrush you choose to use--even with the colors of 'paint' that you choose to apply. Try long strokes, broad strokes, thin strokes, pokes and dots, circles and spirals, aggressive or gentle and slow--anything you can imagine. See if you can feel--and here I really mean feel--an effect of your ministrations--see if you can feel it in your pain levels, in your temperature, in the 'colors' you 'see' with your eyes closed. See if you can sense a change in the thickness or stickiness of the energy in the area you are stroking.
     Next try asking for specific Rays or specific colors to be your choice of 'paint' that you are working with. As you call for different Rays see if you can see or feel a difference in the effect or with how deeply or thinly each ray 'connects' or resonates with the pain and congestion in the site you have chose to give your attentions to. You will probably find that one or a few Rays are more effective in the area and that others feel less effective.
     Ray 7 is the governing Ray of the Basic Center (also called the Root Chakra). Ray 7 is the Ray of Organization, Ceremonial Order and Ritual. It is the Ray which links spirit and matter and it works through law, organization and ritual. Man's basic biological and physiological needs or "deficiencies"--including the need for air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, and sleep--are managed and coordinated here. Psychologically, Ray 7 imbues one with a delight in order and perfection of form. For the purposes of our exercise, it will usually be most effective with boney tissues, with urinary tract issues. Emotionally, Ray 7 will provide help in quieting Fear and in boosting Courage. Mentally, Ray 7 will help with strengthening your commitment to your human body, to the human experience, and to the Earth School experience. But this experiment is really meant to provide you with and experience that you can feel on a very real, very physical level. That is why I've asked you to choose a site on which to focus that is experiencing some pain or discomfort.
      Ray 5 is the governing Ray of the Sacral Center. Ray 5 is the Ray of Concrete Knowledge and Science. On the physical level, it is the governing Ray over the pelvis and legs, our reproductive organs and our sense of groundedness. Emotionally it is where we learn to create and deal with our most significant and primary relationships: our relationship with our parents, children, siblings and other blood relatives, as well as husband-wives and other significant others. It is also the place from which we create and derive foundational strength in our relationships with money, property, home, our bodies and our selves. So, in the context of this exercise, should your target site of pain or discomfort be in the legs or lower body (such as menstrual or intestinal cramps), then you may find Ray Five to be quite effective.    

     Ray 6 is the governing Ray of the Solar Plexus Center. It is the Ray of Devotion and Idealism. On the physical level it energizes and coordinates the organs in the upper abdomen, specifically, the digestive system. Like the physical digestive system, the Solar Plexus is the Center where we 'digest' all information that we choose to 'ingest' (i.e. give attention to) in order to figure out what is nourishing and what is excrement (that is, unusable [at this time]) to our Selves. This is the Center of our Self-awarenss and Self-definition. The saying, "You are what you eat" is quite fitting for this center's activities--on not only the physical but also the emotional, mental and Ego/Personality levels.  If you have stomach, intestinal, gall bladder or low back problems you might find the application of Ray 6 'paint' to be effective. When directed at the pancreas, blood sugar issues can also be helped with this Ray, though the actual food you are ingesting will probably be a much greater determiner of these issues.

     Ray 2 is the governing Ray of the heart Center and, therefore, of the heart, lungs, diaphragm, thymus gland the circulatory system. Because of the crucial role that blood has in providing life-giving nourishment to every individual cell in the body, you may find that Ray 2 is very effective in helping to treat any issue in the physical body. All healing requires enhanced blood flow both to and from the injured, damaged or congested area. Muscle issues are especially receptive to Ray 2 inputs. The Heart Center is also where our Self is able to look up to find its purpose--to come up with ways to develop and use its talents and strengths.

    The Throat Center is governed by Ray 3, the Ray of Active Intelligence. Through the Throat Center Ray 3 coordinates activity in the thyroid and parathyroid glands, windpipe and bronchial passageways, the arms, the entire lymphatic system as well as to the voice and hearing. The Throat Center is very much in tune with our human mental capacities and creativity. It plays a great role in helping the soul to express itself and its Truth, its highest expression of its greatest version of itself and its gifts and talents as well as its latest understanding of its purpose or mission to the world. The lymphatic system is quite critical to the body mind's process of clearing away used waste materials, of cleansing each and every cell from the debris created by its own work, thus, you will probably find that using Ray 3 will have a powerful effect with working toward healing any injured site. An open, active throat center will also promote healthy use of language to both hear and speak your Truth.

     Ray 4, the Ray of Harmony through Conflict, is the governing Ray of the Ajna or forehead center. Issues with the sinuses, eyes, brain hemispheres, hypothalamus and pituitary gland can be effected when using Ray 4. It is also the Ray of the fascia and dural tissues. The Ajna helps to provide a balanced, 'rainbow' distribution of flow of the Universal Life Force to all of the lower five "Earth" chakras. 

     The Crown Center or First Chakra is governed by Ray 1, the Ray of Will and Power, Will-power, and the Ray of Sacrifice, that is, of making everything sacred and holy. You may find Ray 1 useful in every treatment in that it will provide a boost of energy, of will-power, of 'gasoline' to the injured or congested area. Ray 1 will also be useful in the treatment of issues in which a person gets "stuck" in the "fight or flight" mode of response--like with sleep disorders, hyperactivity and learning issues, migraines, as well as with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and the like.

     Headaches are usually quite responsive to the uses of Rays 2 (for improved blood circulation and reduced muscle tension), Rays 3 (for better lymph flow and the tension lymph congestion can cause in muscles and interstitial spaces), Ray 1 (for improved flow of regenerative and relaxation juices in the vagus nerve and the nervous system as a whole), Ray 4 (another head center, it can help to improve the flow of the energy of Soul information into the human psyche/Personality as well as deal with hormonal issues).

     When working with the Rays you can also think of them, if you wish, using the colors of the rainbow. You may find that using Violet, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet-White, Pink-White, Gold-White and others to be quite effective--without even knowing about any corresponding connections or association to the Seven Rays. Repeat this exercise anytime you find yourself sitting quietly--even watching television. The more you experiment with using the Universal Life Force, the more you are going to encourage its flow and, of course, the more progress you will make on the road to breaking down the limiting constructs of the stubborn Ego, the more progress you will make in actualizing the Plan that will put you on the path to allowing the Love, Wisdom and Will of the Soul to come shining through.