SIXTH BLOG ON THE FOUR BEINGS, THE ELEMENTS 
& THE HERO/INE'S JOURNEY



Since we, the Talking Beings," are one of the Four Beings I thought I would talk about our own role in our relationship with and to the others. One of our jobs when we come into this world is to help heal the planet. We all, mostly, have a bias as to which of these Beings we have the most affinity. Each of us has a special gift to share and a unique archetype - the basic four are; Healer, Teacher, Warrior and Hero/ine/Visionary. These can take many forms in our complicated world. In indigenous societies they were always simple, well defined and distinct. The Healer today can be a musician or comedian, the visionary a composer or even a comedian in a deeper sense.

The Hero/ine's journey in the past had always been very much of an initiatory nature bound experience e.g. the Vision Quest of the Native Americans or similar experiences of enlightened beings like Moses, Jesus and the Buddha where in the wilderness they faced a dark night of the soul before attaining their respective visions.

According to Campbell and Van Gennep there are three stages to the journey. The experience requires humility, letting go of any attachment to a fixed idea of what might happen, keeping it simple, having an inner intention and some meditative technique of going "inward" and avoiding time restraints as much as practicable.

 Separation is when we separate from what is familiar, often against the urgings of our peers and loved ones who maybe at a deep level know they should be doing something outrageously meaningful too. Fear usually comes up during this phase and in the archetypal paradigm the hero/ine is given an instrument of power - in the old days, say a sword. Today it is more likely to be inspiration of some sort or another from a teacher, a book or a journey. 

Separation is about surrender and letting go of complacency, the comfortable and the familiar,

The next phase is Threshold where the Hero faces his or her inner and outer fears and demons and often encounters a dark night of the soul. Again fear is a component of this phase and a "grail," aha experience or an inner knowing of what to do in the world occurs.

Threshold is about attaining one's own inner vision.

Finally in  Incorporation the hero returns to bestow the benefits of this transformation on any or many of the Four Beings and their respective elements with the new vision. Incorporation is about giving back or paying forward without attachment to outcome or material gain.

"Give up owning things and being somebody - quit existing." Rumi

This final step is critical. In both Separation and Incorporation there is danger of the "Fall;" either in not heeding the call for drastic change or losing the insight obtained in Threshold.

The after affects of the journey often include a feeling of well being and congruence, aliveness, well-being, less fear, empowerment, appreciation of the importance of solitude and spiritual practice and a realization that this may have been a turning point in her or his life.

Avoiding the fall requires walking the talk and not talking too much about the "walk." On return one should speak of context but not content since folks may want to invalidate your inner experience. It never pays to take what has happened and put it on the mantel piece for everyone to see. Focus on needs and not wants  - the most critical need being to hold the vision and act it out with the help of a dedicated spiritual practice. If one cannot change what one does, he or she should at least change the way in which it is done. For most of us this requires keeping one's day job to pay the rent and acting out the vision at the same time - if necessary without renumeration. Group synergism helps if one can find like minded supporters or seekers.

The hero/ines journey is one of losing the old self so one can advance to something new where we can be of service. It is usually a primal nature bound experience if planned but can be unplanned. For instance overcoming a deadly illness or a near death experience and returning with the gifts it provided to help others. 

Nature can provide many metaphors to draw upon to make drastic changes and one may be lucky enough to have connections with Growing Beings and visitations by Wild Beings or Power Animals in awake or dream time. The process requires peeling away the layers of the old you, keeping what is useful and holding a vision of what the new you can be.

Next week we will talk of some other details of the journey.

Click on the link to highlight and play.

_-_MP3s/01_Let_the_Days_Go_By.mp3

MORE ON PLANT POWER 

AND THE GROWING BEINGS

Plants have the amazing ability to help us heal and be whole, apart from their aesthetic nature and beauty or their part in giving us  transcendent pleasure by their "Soft Fascinations."

When we relate to plants and try to connect with their meaning and personality and how they might heal us it helps to be in an altered state of consciousness with some form of inner technique. If we  have that intention and are in a light alfa state the plant is more likely to impart its wisdom. Nature can also "meditate us" especially if we connect to the other Soft Fascinations around us; the sounds and mantra of the bush (of water running or the wind in the trees,) aromas, scents, sunsets, sunrises, the daily, monthly and even seasonal changes and fluxes. Some shamans will pay attention to plants during a full or new moon as well as the season and harvest them then for healing. We can entrain our rhythms to nature the longer we immerse ourselves in her energy and the less "stuff" we have between us and the Earth Mother. We can even follow the Bushman lifestyle of sleeping on the ground around a fire and walking barefoot.

When we do this we can discover a little of the mystery and the fact that ...

The Ancestors

Plants can be a medium for a message to our spirit guides and the spirit world for a request for a specific intention, for instance protection or asking for a dream. Our guides live in a non local space time reality - there is no time across the veil and they live in the present moment. For them free will is always in the present moment. They are also bound by the cosmic law of free will, so we MUST ask to receive! The request, because of free will, should be very specific. We cant ask them to help us with our life - they need to know exactly how. Sadly the trickster spirits or dark forces because of their "criminal" like intent do not have to abide by this law and may appear to have free reign but we are always protected by our guides, angels and the Great Spirit if we have trust and integrity.

The Ancestors 

A ritual with a plant is a container and is a powerful way of connecting and making a request. My sense is that prayer works but if its wrapped in the container of a ritual it works more efficiently. The spirit world responds favorably to strong intention, passion and will. The more creative the ritual and the clearer they are about what we want, the better they will respond. A ritual also has a stronger impact on our conscious and subconscious minds. It can make an indelible impression. 

Our main requests are for calling, cleansing, protection and requesting a dream for a specific question.

The Ancestors

The spirit world responds to Intention, Attention (to detail,) Action and Affirmation. Affirmation is key because they are living in the moment and because of free will they need to know if you still want it, next week, next month...? We must sustain and maintain the intention. Its ok if the details vary slightly if the basic intention remains - there is no objection to fine tuning. This is why guided imagery and imagination especially when sensory driven (because feeling deeply to them means passion) can accompany the ritual.

Cou'e who was one of the first to draw our attention to the power of the subconscious had the mantra; 

"every day in every way I am getting better and better at ..." because the subconscious needs to be constantly reminded as do our guides need the affirmation. It works both ways.

So how do the plants "work?" They work through placebo, distant healing, often but not powerfully through their pharmacology and no doubt through the consciousness or "spirit" of the plant itself as a container for a request to our guides. Placebo, unlike what medical science tells us, can go well beyond 30% especially in a ritual given by a charismatic shaman where it may be as high as 80%. We are now learning the same thing with psychotropic medicines for instance SSRI drugs for depression work 80% of the time but so does placebo and psychotherapy.

There are numerous double blind studies showing that distant healing or prayer works. In comparable groups of sick patients randomized to get standard care alone versus standard care plus distant healing (they did not know they were getting this, did not know the healers and the healers did not know them) - the studies showed significantly better results with the group that got both standard treatment and distant  healing.

A ritual with a plant with our request is a prayer to the spirit world for help and is tantamount to the same thing.

We should be conscious when we harvest a plant; make a request for their help, show gratitude and take only as much as we need without harming the plant. Indigenous plants are protected so if we want to use these we should buy them or grow them.

There are many alien plants or "weeds" which being pioneer plants that can survive almost anything and are very powerful so we should look for these. In our habitat in Santa Barbara for e.g. plants like morning glory, thistles (maybe for protection because they are prickly,) mustard, oxalis and many others. The spirit world is not fussy about what we use as long as its given with strong intention and preferably for the good of another or for our own good but so that we can better help others. They may not respond to a request for a want rather than a need. Asking for a new Porsche through a ritual would not impress them.

Click on the link to highlight then play

(Re the soft fascinations)

Those interested in "Wilderness Rapture" can check the website and download the pdf summary of the book

Inner Passages Outer Journeys. 

There is also more information on the site on The Inward Bound experience which can be like a mini samadhi, peak experience or  a prolonged alfa state of equanimity and harmony in nature. When in this state connecting with plants becomes a default.

 07 Through the valleys.mp3

MORE ON THE WATER ELEMENT, 

THE GROWING BEINGS

 & PLANT MEDICINE POWER

The Growing Beings depend on healthy Earth and Water elements to thrive.

The Ancestors remind us that all Four Beings used to be able to communicate with one another and stress that ...

     

Trees (research done with Birch and Douglas fir) communicate with  each other through mycelia networks above and especially below ground.  (Paul Stamets and others.) Trees of all varieties benefit but more especially those from the same "tribe." Legacy trees or the wise elders are the most powerful communicators and help sustain forest life. The trees receive water and elements from hollow mycelial tubes which surround their roots which in return receive energy from the sugar of the trees' photosynthesis. Clear cutting eliminates this communication and mitigates against any concept we may have of healthy ecosystem. 

Bees glean powerful antivirals from mycelia and mushrooms growing in the scratches in the bark from bear claws. 

Bees are said by many cultures to be very powerful spiritually. The Celts say that if you want to hear what the Ancestors have to say  go and ask the bees. The San Bushmen of the Kalahari also relate bees to the Ancestors as in this Bushman rock painting where a shaman approaching the bees seems to be making an offering. The bee is also a key feature in the Bushman creation story.

Many seekers describe a hum or buzzing like that of bees when in altered states of consciousness, Near Death  and other transcendent experiences.

When "listening" to Growing Beings it is worth attending to their designs and patterns such as a circle, spiral or even a hexagon as well as if bees (or even butterflies) are attracted to the plants for their nectar which becomes the life force of the hive. The bee hive manifests Divine intelligence in perfect harmony in action, much like a healthy forest ecosystem.

For instance if one looks carefully at this plant of power to the Native Americans - Peyote - one can see a semblance of a hexagon in the grooves. The hexagon is also the symbol of the heart chakra signifying it can help us open this challenging chakra. These are examples of sacred geometry in the plants kingdom.

Cross section of San Pedro cactus which contains mescaline - most are also hexagonal

Cross section of Ayahuasca which contains D.M.T. also demonstrating the hexagon

Ayahuasca grows as a liana often spiraling much like the sun and moon channels of the chakra system or like the Cadueceus

Even though entheogens (Ayahuasca, San Pedro cactus, Peyote) can lead to transcendental experiences, as Westerners we have to be very careful and respectful when using them. They should only be taken in sacred space with an experienced mentor who can protect the participants and the sacred space. 

The use of entheogens continues to increase amongst Westerners.

Huston Smith reminds us when talking about his own experiences with mind altering plants, that when 

"one has opened the door we do not have to keep on knocking." 

The inner work still needs to be done after the door has opened. 

In the Americas indigenous peoples depend on these entheogens for healing and wholeness whereas we Westerners may want to consider ourselves occasional visitors to this powerful experience when we have a special request, even though; 

"you dont always get what you want but if you try you might get what you need." 

The Rolling Stones.

We should also pay attention to colors, smells and even tastes  which can alert us to the nature, personality and character of the plants. However, because of look alike plants we must be very carefully of tasting! Fennel in its dormant winter state can look very much like poison hemlock, so do not taste the seeds!

Red - universally - is a warning color and we should be wary of the the color red in some plants e.g. in poison oak leaves and the stems of the deadly castor plant depicted below. Due to danger often being inherent in this color many cultures use a red plant or object for protection for instance a red string worn around one's wrist.

Red stems of the castor plant

Aroma is a good indication that we are dealing with a plant of power such as; lavender, rosemarie, juniper, cedar and sages. This is the more so if when burnt they release incense. They can be used for calling spirit guides and also for protection. Certain plants are used by indigenous peoples to promote dreams and their shamans for curing and healing.

When it comes to listening we need to sit down in silence, alone, and relate to the plant - Talking Being to Growing Being and see what the particular plant means to us for healing and wholeness. This requires an inner attention, an almost meditative state, doing it for its own sake with no other agenda and leaving behind cognitive function and "the need to know" things like its latin name, genus, biochemistry etc. Remembering that we are all one though not the same and we should be respectful in harvesting and ask permission or show gratitude in some way.

Click on the link to highlight and then play.

These are the names of some of the plants of power, in Spanish or Chumash, in the Central California coastal region of Santa Barbara County.

-_MP3s/10_Medicine_Song.mp3

THIS IS THE FIFTH BLOG ON THE FOUR ELEMENTS AND BEINGS

All the Beings are made of the same "stuff' - we are all stardust but each Being has a different purpose and vibration and is animated by a different "Wind" or breath.

As above so below, as is the microcosm so is the macrocosm, as is the DNA molecule so is the human body. Leaving the Four Directions behind for now ... 

Just as DNA forms a spiral, so do the sun and moon channels spiral up the central channel in chakra energy anatomy. The spiral is an ancient archetypal figure - it has no bottom or top and can also represent infinity.

As the vibration increases from earth to water, water to fire, fire to air and air to ether so does the vibration change as we travel upward through our chakras (as well as it does with the various Beings of the Four Directions.) 

THE STILL BEINGS AND EARTH ELEMENT

The value of the elements to the talking beings can best be appreciated by understanding how they can help us. 

The earth and the Still Beings (also stars and planets) can not only ground us but provide precious and semi-precious objects not just for consumerism but for meaning especially when it comes to crystals and spiritually charged gem stones. Various metals can also have different vibrations and meanings. We must find those properties some may have for our own individual wholeness and healing. Gold and silver were admired for spiritual reasons but now have become more identified with wealth, power and ego. 
Silver is a powerful antibacterial and is still used in burns today. Holy water was stored in silver containers as was milk to prevent it from going sour.  Silver has also been used to protect, and counter dark forces. The moon energy of silver can be said to represent the yoga moon, feminine, blue, cool, restrictive channel spiraling up the spine. It can open the sixth chakra or Third Eye of intuition. Silver settings for precious and semiprecious stones can enhance their power.
Gold on the other hand has the sun, masculine, red, hot, expansive energy of the sun channel and is said to help open the Crown chakra. The Anunakim or fallen angels came down to earth not only to consort with women but to find and mine gold. The Bahai faith has many meanings for the spiritual effects of gold. Monoatomic gold is said to have mysterious properties.
The Still Beings in Kabbalah represent the West, the bear and the archangel Gabriel who represents strength and courage but also maybe the grounding effect of the earth element.
The San Bushmen hunter gatherers of the Kalahari are intimately connected with all the elements and their Beings. They sleep on the earth (around the fire for protection) connecting with it on many levels with their digging sticks which provide more than 60% of their food. This they find mostly as roots and tubers deep underground where they have enough water to sustain themselves. All these connections help them glean intuitive wisdom beyond their five senses which they need to survive in a hostile environment.

THE GROWING BEINGS AND WATER ELEMENT

Water is the element of the Growing Beings of the North and can cleanse and purify especially when converted to steam. Water is an amazing shape shifter. 
Check out also the miracles (PROVEN by the Vatican Medical Commission) of spontaneous remissions of incurable diseases at Lourdes by devotees bathing in her waters. There are other places where powerful healing waters are encountered.

The Growing Beings apart from providing food, shelter and tools have been a source of powerful allopathic medicine for eons; digitalis (foxglove,) curare, morphine and opiates, cocaine (local anesthetic and hemostatic) no longer used because of abuse, periwinkle  (chemotherapy - vincristine and vinblastine) and I could go on... Indigenous peoples could also not have survived  without their many medicinal and spiritual benefits.

The spiritual merits of plants are grossly underestimated because of Western cognitive beliefs which maintain that if you cannot show a proven benefit it cannot exist. 
Even Einstein said; 
"not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts." 
Anything with aroma can protect and call spirit guides especially if the scent is enhanced when burnt as incense.  A red colored plant can protect - red is the universal color of protection in many spiritual belief systems. 

THE FIRE ELEMENT

Fire is the element of the Talking Beings in the South, maybe because just as fire can inspire and transform, it can also destroy. Of all the Beings we are the most destructive. It is also the element of the third "power" chakra in the solar plexus below the rib cage or the way we make our way in the world regarding our survival needs. However, too frequently this occurs at the expense of the survival of the other three Beings.

The Native American sweat lodge incorporates all of the elemental, "Being" and directional ingredients for a powerful spiritual experience. 
Fire is used to transform water into steam by pouring it onto red hot rocks (Still Beings) as well as transforming aromatic spiritual plants (Growing Beings) into incense. There is also the Coherent ("Maharishi") effect of the participators, meditating, praying and chanting together associate with heat driven purification. The Wild Beings are represented as power animals and are spiritually present as are the Talking Ancestors.

THE AIR ELEMENT

Air is the element of the wild beings of the East. When we go above the diaphragm we leave behind our survival needs below when we open the fourth heart chakra of love represented by the air element. This is the most difficult chakra to manage and is the gateway to the higher chakras above; fifth - creative expression, sixth (Third eye) - our intuitive and paranormal abilities and Crown (seventh) - our connection with the God head, ether or AYIN Nothingness, the cosmos and the breath of the Creator. 
Hence the power of pranayama that can be a driving force in moving energy from the lower three survival chakras into the four higher ones above the diaphragm.

Air, the highest vibration, is the element of the Wild beings who are doing exactly what the Creator planned for them, unlike most of us. Credo Mutwa, the powerful Zulu seer states that the birds or winged beings have the highest vibration of all maybe because they have mastered the air element and also sing and chant to "enchant" the planet and other Beings. 

Sacred sound, song, chanting, gongs, drums, rattles, Tibetan and crystal bowls etc as well as incense which have extremely high 

(or low vibrations depending on their nature and our intention e.g.  some rap, heavy metal...) 

can greatly assist us in our healing, wholeness and meditative practices.

Possibly we do too much damage as a whole to earn the air vibration unless we choose to do so through spiritual transformation. 
The elements, their chakras and their affects are represented below.

If we extrapolate these principles to the Caduceus of healing we also can appreciate its literal replication of the chakras, the Kundalini serpent like feminine power and the wings of the transcendent Crown.
Perfected or enlightened beings have mastered even the ether vibration of Nothingness and the Crown and can recognize the Creator's breath within us. 
Kabir says; 
"What is God, the breath within the breath."

Tap to highlight the link and then play to meditate on these sacred structures.

-_MP3s/01_Waters.mp3

Next week we will focus on plant power.