A Kansas State of Mind

I was on a video conference call this afternoon with a powerful group of shamans, and we were investigating the source of anxiety we all had been feeling this past few weeks. I had been pointing out the irony of my "Going Home to Kansas" project and how I still felt estranged from my home, despite physically being a few hundred yards from where I came into this incarnation. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind battered at my front door, loud enough to be heard by the others on the call, and immediately one of the group declared, "The wind recognizes you!" The wind suddenly died down as if to say, "Yes! I do recognize you."

A sort of inner bell sounded deep in my psyche, and I immediately recognized how the land, the weather, the air had been greeting me since I arrived in my new house. This was a breakthrough for me, because I have tended to live my life as if someone else was living it--separated from my true origins, a sort of fugitive on the run from a life I've never known. The wind reminded me of this, as though it had been tracking me the entire 66 years I'd been away from this land.

My intent for moving my body from the warm and sunny climes of Southern California to the pronounced seasonal climate of Southern Kansas was completely metaphorical. Something or someone was nudging me in a deep and poignant way to return to my roots--return to a place where I truly felt "homeness". What I mean by "homeness" is that deep, core feeling that everything is good, all needs are cared for, and where I am loved and cherished, and am in full touch with my universal power and infiniteness of being.

We began to discuss what a false dichotomy it is to separate the self as spirit, or consciousness, from physical experience and the body. The non-dualistic truth is that there is no separation between spiritual and physical. In fact, this false separation could be considered one of the oldest divide-and-conquer tricks perpetrated by the Controllers in the master-slave power games.

By observing Self as consciousness throughout matter, it puts us in a powerful creative position. There is no uncertainty about what is going to be reflected back to us--we are just BEING, and the swirling of physical matter we call the perception of life is merely responding to that being. When there is a false sense of separation, we develop anxieties about what "The Other" is going to "do" to us. We get all caught up in the victimization drama of being separated from our own creations. The Universe then begins to respond to our victimization, and down the rabbit hole we go, hands wringing, and sweat pouring.

By simply being fully assured of being, we find ourselves out ahead of life. We see our experience as truly and simply following our lead. There is no confusion about this as there was before. I've written about how Don Genaro taught Carlos Castaneda that the shaman (or Nagual in Toltec parlance) remains "in front of" life--able to see its approach clearly and completely. He can do this because he is completely at home in his being, undistracted by unpredictable uncertainties. He is undistracted because he perceives from a place of clear-eyed truth about who he is, and what he is being.

Appropriate to the Land of Oz here in Kansas, as the good witch Glenda advised Dorothy, "You've had the way to get home all along. Just click those heels of your ruby slippers together three times, and say, 'There's no place like home... There's no place like home... There's no place like home.'" We say that because Home is the ultimate and powerful state of being that has always been available to us, no matter what rabbit holes we wander down, or what victimized dramas we make so serious. Home is always within us. Hey, I can see Emerald City from here!

Why Do Resolutions Fail?

I'm tempted every year at this time to go on a rant about "New Year's Resolutions", and this year I think it's time to burst the bubble of control many of us believe we have that would make us believe we can "keep" those resolutions made.

One of my beloved mentors was ranting the other day about "Vision Boards". She noticed that every year the boards were pretty much the same--the pictures of the lavish mansion, the perfect body, the epic love affair, the wedding ring... And after eight years, none of her "visions" for the future had come true.

She believes the reason for this is that envisioning a "goal" or a desire is not about the simple exercise of imagination. It's, instead, all about ENERGY. So now, my friend creates an "Energy Board" to remind her of that fact.

All things are possible in this universe. ALL things are possible. This is first premise that must be embraced before any "visioning" can become a reality. We so often, right off the bat, disallow certain possibilities because we've chosen to make it so. "I'm never going to have a lot of money." "I'm always going to be fat." "I'm never going to find that perfect love", etc. etc. Now, all these conclusions are underlying all the desires to the contrary. So when you make a vision board, you immediately collide with the reality of your conclusions. And the visioning becomes wistful daydreaming that overlays what you know to be true about life--these things are just not possible.

These "realities" that you know to be true, are actually arbitrary choices that have been made and reinforced through experience. These "realities" become a point of view about life, and limit what is possible for you, this Infinite Being.

First, it's not about "control". There is no such thing as "controlling your life". We believe we have control because we can make some predictions about what is going to happen based on specific actions we take: I'm controlling my life by getting up every day at 7AM, doing my workout, then driving to work. I'm in control. This is an illusion. What is happening here is that you are simply following along a certain pattern of energy that you chose in the past.

This is an important distinction. You choose a certain energy that then expresses itself as your life. You are not "controlling" anything. You are choosing energies, and what unfolds as a result of those choices is what you think you are controlling.

In a sense, choice could be considered control, but if anything it's the ONLY control you have, and it completely eclipses any abilities you may think you have to "make things happen." This is why there is "failure". Failure is a conflict one has with the energies they've chosen. I failed to be a success at my job because what it would take to succeed at that job goes against all the choices I've made to the contrary.

The beautiful thing about this conundrum is that you have a choice. You can choose your way out of a bad situation, bad feelings, a bad life. The key is to continue to choose what it is you truly desire, and this requires honest assessments. What makes me feel really light, excited, inspired and lifted up? Well, go that way!

"Following The Energy" is an ancient operating mode of shamans. They choose a desired energy they want to have in their life, and then follow it through time by continuing to choose it and doing actions that resonate with that energy. This is powerful because it breaks open newer and greater possibilities that they continue to choose and act within that energy.

Rather than make "resolutions", choose an energy you would really like to have and feel in your life, and then as the possibilities and opportunities present themselves, simply re-choose and act. It's the truest way to actualize any desire, and will ensure you have a fabulous 2017!