THE MAGICAL POWER OF NATURE #5
THE ELEMENTS
AIR IS IN THE EAST
WILD BEINGS
MICHAEL
Loving kindness, inspiration, new beginnings (the snake shedding its skin.)
AIR IS THE SUBSTRATE FOR INCENSE AND SOUND
The incense offering and sacred sound are the most potent antidotes
against dark forces - both within and without.
Incense and the right sound both have very high vibrations and help to activate
the higher chakras through the Air Element.
Smudging is likened
to a “spiritual shower” and possibly also an air purifier.
Smudging can cause spiritual balance, healing, is emotionally cleansing and
has been shown to be antimicrobial (temples burning incense in India.)
There are dark forces both within us and dysfunctional people
around that affect us
but also trickster spirits in the 'Field' that enjoy interfering with our activities.
Intrusive energies and spirits cannot abide the high vibration
of incense and sound.
Sound shatters and crumbles barriers to the mind and heart.
Sound speaks to one’s vibration.
One of the best ways to cleanse and clear
oneself and of dark forces within and without is with sound.
Trickster are forced to leave because the intensity of the vibration is
offensive to their dark vibration.
Smudging can also call our spirit guides to assist us if we ask to receive.
It is important to chant before making an incense offering,
For the power of song to draw forth the soul of the plant.
“Every single wisdom in the world has a particular chant,
a particular melody
and when you chant that specific melody it will draw forth theparticular wisdom to which it is attached.” Nachmon of Breslav
In indigenous cultures smudging when associated with chanting
is believed to unlock the 'spirits' of various plant allies
to restore balance and harmony.
Ayahuasca shamans sing Icaros to fortify the effect ot the entheogen.
Without the sacred sound the plant spirit cannot fully have its magical effect.
Astral projection, out-of-body experiences,
Near Death Experiences and rituals using entheogens can be heralded
by inner sounds such as buzzing or humming.
The hum of bees was not only sacred to many ancient wisdoms
but was also encountered
by them and many other spiritual traditions during
altered states of consciousness as a buzz or a roar.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead, recounts that after the soul of the deceased
separates from the physical body, there may be
a buzzing, a roaring, a thundering or a whistling.
We need to use scent and sound
(also the sounds of nature, the mantra of the bush)
for our protection, healing and equanimity.
They also help prevent negative force interfering with our spiritual
transformation.
Aromatic plants alone are also protective - if when dried
they can be used as incense they have additional power.
Wheat grass, sage and cedar are particularly powerful.
Rosemarie, lavender etc
can be cooked to protect us within if done with right intention.
Pythagoras could hear the music of the spheres, that of
the planets and stars rotating and orbiting.
The Chaldeans, the San Bushmen, the Celts' (Oran Mor) could
could also hear the music of the spheres.
Many believed that "in the beginning was the Word",
but the word actually may have occurred as sound or song.
The Creator may have sung or sounded the universe into existence.
Words alone are less complex than sacred sound.
The science of Cymatics has shown that words, vowels
and music generate shape.
Sound may have a lot to do with the sacred geometry
created in nature seen in pentagons, hexagons, circles and spirals.
The plethora of sounds residing in nature can help to meditate us;
the song of birds,
the buzzing of bees, the gurgling of a river, the wind in the trees.
Sacred music, Badjans, Kirtans, crystal bowls, Tibetan gongs,
a didgeridoo, a flute etc all can create inner and outer harmony
and coherence when in a group - the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
The fifth chakra is how we express our creativity in the world
but also is responsible for speech, song, whistling and music through wind instruments.
The sixth chakra which helps us contact information from the 'Field'
is just above the nostrils where the Sun (Pingala) and Moon (Ida)
channels terminate.
There are said to be 72,000 Nadis or energy channels (? similar to
acupuncture meridians) that converge on the seven chakras. There are three
main energy channels ascending the spinal column;
the Central,
the Sun, Hot, Expansive more Masculine, Cognitive channel (Pingala) -
also linked re to a Sympathetic stress response
and the Moon, Cool, Receptive, more Feminine, intuitive channel (Ida) -
linked to a Parasympathetic, relaxation response.
Alternative nostril Pranayama was designed to help us balance these two channels.
When they are in perfect harmony energy can move into the seventh Crown chakra
(1000 Petalled Lotus) to create
Unity Consciousness or the Oneness Experience where
duality fades into oneness. This occurs when the
Knower, the Known and the Process of Knowing fuse into one thing and there
is a feeling of bliss. The closest things to this in Western thought is Maslow's
Peak Experience eg. when you become the dance, the orgasm, the birth of a child
or the music.
It frequently occurs in nature when the Knower (you), the Known - say a rainbow
and in the Process of you Knowing the rainbow - you become the rainbow.
