Saturday, January 29, 2022


FORGIVENESS

 

There are many reasons for giving and receiving forgiveness. These contrast with some popular dogmas and misconceptions such as;

 I don’t get mad I get even, forgiveness is being weak, I will never condone, reconcile, or forget ... etc. 

When there is a continual rerun of old tapes and stories we become and get stuck in our stories. This is counterproductive to spiritual transformation. Some of the biproducts of forgiveness are:

 

Compassion

“We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty” G.K. Chesterton

 

Redemption

“A person cannot find redemption until he sees the flaws in his soul and tries to efface them. Whoever shuts out the realization of his flaws is shutting out redemption. We can only be redeemed to the extent to which we see ourselves.” The Talmud

 

Karma can be mitigated through forgiveness. Karma is about the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. Forgiveness can help to erase some of those consequences.

 

“It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities...”
Soren Kierkegaard

 

Merit on a judgmental level is the balancing of evil and good deeds.
Merit is the credit we receive on the side of good.

This may occur due to an entire life of great piety or because of a single kind act, long forgotten, a generous giving of self that was prompted by the heart's compassion in response to someone's need or want.

 

Cleansing

“Iniquities are etched upon our bones such that traces remain even when God forgives. One must acknowledge and confess the wrongdoing to have the stain cleansed and the record removed.“ Ezekiel

 

Healing

When you no longer need to be right, the perfection of your soul will shine through.

 

Hope

“…What you give to if not received is still not lost. Not getting back what you give and or not having what you give being received – neither way is a waste or loss.” J. O’donahue


Return to the Higher Self or Soul. Sacredness.

The soul yearns to do the Creator’s will and clings to the body when all is well.
A body caught up in cravings and attached to sentient pleasures distances the soul.
The soul withdraws causing illness.
The body’s attachment needs to be broken so the soul (essence) can return to the body.

 

“From the sound of my sighing has my essence (soul) cleaved onto my flesh (body.)” King David the psalmist


"Do not weigh (judge.) A soul that weighs, suffers harm." 

The Talmud

 

Forgiveness is critical in allowing redemption from soul sickness or loss. "Sighing" refers to the equanimity attained when the soul cleaves to the body again. This is similar to the parable of the prodigal son or daughter returning in wholeness to the divine Father/Mother.

 

Return is the key … joyously turning from doubt, suspicion and indifference to trust, hope and love. Return is speaking of the soul's essence again lodging comfortably in the body.

 

No one is perfect. All of us are on a journey towards spiritual perfection and some of us are further back along the countless wheels of our lifetimes than others. 

 

“S/He who still harbors an evil inclination has a great advantage. He who has no evil inclination at all cannot give perfect service. What counts is to restrain the blaze in the hours of desire and let it flow into the hours of prayer and service.”  Talmud

 

“To confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light.” Carl Jung

 

“To listen a soul into disclosure and discovery is the
greatest service one human being can offer another.” 

Quaker saying

 

Contrition and redemption are always possible no matter how strong the ego, how unskillful monkey mind or how dark the shadow or the evil inclination. However, one has to be capable of seeing it and having the strong intention to do something about it. We need to forgive and be forgiven.

 

Without forgiveness it will be difficult to truly find the serenity we desire to go forward. Ancient wisdom has shown, and now neuroscience is proving, that forgiveness may be vitally important for the one doing the forgiving not just the one who is being forgiven. The effects of guilt and shame include; a decrease in self-motivation and control, being less accountable rather than accountable as well as depression and “dis”-ease (sickness within) which can cause disease or illness.

Forgiveness increases the immune system and our T cell counts. AIDS patients who forgave the person that transmitted the virus lived longer and had fewer complication than those who had not. Compassion also enhances immunity. Cynicism relates to judgment and the tendency to hold a grudge. Cynicism decreases our T cells and immune system. Guilt, shame and lack of self-forgiveness (self-condemnation) can increase pro-inflammatory factors leading to atherosclerosis, some auto-immune disorders and some cancers. Forgiveness of Self and others is healthful! 


Click play and ponder


 02_Sacredness.mp3

Sunday, January 23, 2022

 

THE SHADOW SIDES OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS' ARCHETYPES 

We will end this series with the Visionary Archetype

Free will is the cosmic law but our purpose is to arise from our fate (the cards we are dealt in life) into our destiny (our core or signature strength) with the help of rites of passage and the hero's journey to arrive as a Visionary. The visionary can be any of the other three archetypes, Healer, Teacher, Warrior but now in the Visionary phase of their career. It can also be the sage, priest, guru, artist, musician, shaman etc.

How do we know if we are in this vibration or if we have found a teacher who is supposed to be? 
 The Visionary Archetype:
Uses the power of imagination.
Embraces information and knowledge for the purpose of transformation.
Encompasses wisdom, heartfelt-ness, virtue and holiness with the help of information, knowledge and understanding.
Follows his/her intuition, knowing and seeing.
Common sense and wisdom, when necessary overrides conventional understandings ("rules are for fools.") 
Subordinates being obedient to being heart felt.
Emphasizes love over all else.

If the law does not serve love, do not serve the law.
The Ancestors 


  BEWARE AND BE WARY ...

“Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.” Nietz

Being aware of the lesson is different from learning it. Knowing the path is different from following it.

Facts of themselves are not the same as truth – they can be used to deceive or mislead. Many wrong conclusions are based on facts that are misused – sometimes with deliberate intent, sometimes out of prejudice, sometimes out of honest error.

What makes sense isn't always logical and what's logical doesn't always make sense.
The Ancestors

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted, counts." Einstein

If you say that there is much that you have never heard of, you should consider more importantly, how much there is that you have not encompassed.
The Ancestors

“People who lean on logic, philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind – imagination and intuition.” W.B. Yeats

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." The Buddha

“Wisdom is often at odds with accepted knowledge ... that experience itself is not necessarily the inner truth of the matter so one should test what one accepts with the measurements of love and compassion rather than the reality of mass appeal.”  Hillel

It's better to experience the learning than to learn the experience.

Anything or anybody who does not make you more of who you are, makes you less of of who you are.
The Ancestors 

Beware of following those who do not have full integrity and who teach and/or write books. 
“Do not consider it proof because it is written in books for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen.” Maimonides

"A sage on a stage rather than a guide on the side"

These may also be present:
Association with Persona-Ego-Power.
Charging a lot of money for their guidance.
Are attached to image and "stuff."
Are dogmatic and all knowing.
Do not like to be challenged.
Are manipulative. 

The byproducts of being in the Visionary vibration should be:
A coherent vibration.
Compassion, empathy and forgiveness.
Equanimity.
Humility and non duality. 
In the process of: Awakening - Being - Becoming.
Being congruent with meaning and their own destiny. 
Having gratitude and joy.

If the visionary does not embrace these qualities, we need to be careful of being polluted. Take what's needed, and leave the rest or read the book. If the behavior does not match the value of what is offered - once you have learned what you need to learn - walk away with gratitude and do not look back. Anyone who teaches something valuable should still be respected, at least for that.

We all have an inclination to do evil as well as one to do good.
We all have an ego and Monkey Mind (Narrow Mind) our habits, desires, compulsions and addictions. Their purpose is to keep us safe and help us find our way in the world. Narrow Mind relates to  emotion which is often unskillful.
The Ancestors

However, we also have Big Mind (Spacious Mind) which relates to feelings and our notions, concepts, ideals, ideas, discriminations, discernments and beliefs. Emotions are often fear based - feelings more love based.
Affecting everything inherent in us as well as outside of us are our guides as well as our tricksters. The tricksters will try to aggravate ego and Monkey Mind and inhibit Spacious Mind whereas our guides do the opposite. Unfortunately because tricksters manipulate and do not abide by the cosmic law of free will, they may appear to have an advantage. They play on our fears whereas our guides encourage love. Fortunately love is a more powerful force.
Depending on our intention, passion, will and resolve as well as our spiritual practice it is possible for those in the East to inherit one of the many Causal vibrations where reincarnation is a choice and not a mandate. If not we will earn one of the countless Astral realms that will fit to the vibration we have earned. Preferably it will lead to a reincarnation where we can begin our spiritual life again at a higher level.
Free will and our choices. rule and Karma is relentless controlling the wheel of samsara and the medicine wheel.


Foster and Little (the founders of the School of Lost Borders) taught that the remedy for a stuck direction can sometimes be found in the opposite direction.
Someone stuck in the archetype of the Wounded Child of the South (summer) should look to the North, to the energy of the Warrior, Adult or Leader. 
The Adolescent stuck in the dark night of the soul in the West should look to the place of new beginnings, vision and the inspiration of the East (spring.) This is where some sort of initiation or rite of passage is worthwhile in the presence of a wise elder or crone.
The stuck Adult or Warrior of the North (the winter of our discontent) should look to the childlike eros of the South and lighten up to find joy in the Inner Child.
The Visionary who is stuck in the East may have to look to the West - the dark night of the soul - and another "vision quest." Ego may have shape shifted in an insidious and sneaky way so as not to be obvious. This may lead the Visionary to be intolerant and judgmental and in need of a "tune up."

Click and play

Saturday, January 15, 2022

 THE SHADOW SIDES OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS' ARCHETYPES 


The Warrior or Leader in the North


This is a critical stage before the Visionary phase of the Four Directions. All four archetypes can manifest here - but hopefully in the form of a spiritual warrior. Many leader, warriors "fall" to their shadow side while in the North. Even if there is a visionary direction it can also be toxic,  narcissistic or even socio-pathological. 
The fallen leader or "guru" may have had these tendencies described from the childhood and more than likely his  upbringing had something to do with it. Their enhanced shadow will follow them throughout the medicine wheel and all the directions unless it is dealt with. However, there are some that are just born with more evil inclinations than good ones, inherently, or relating to their karma.
Alternatively the "inclination to do good" is overcome by temptation and power which reinforce and enhance the  inclination to do evil or shadow that we all have. 

The Ancestors

"See yourself in others then whom can you hurt, what harm can you do." Dammapada

"The fundamental  delusion of humanity is to suppose, I am here and you are out there." Roshi

We are all one though not the same.

"We all inter-are." Thich Nhat Hanh

"We are only a person only through other persons." 
 Bishop Tutu


The Adult-Warrior of the North is the head of the entire system. If the chief of the "tribe" is toxic, all four directions will suffer as his/her shadow falls over the tribe and the environment. Hence s/he should strive to lead as a
spirit warrior with the vision and wisdom of the "White Buffalo." 
The warrior prepares the tribe to conserve and survive the "winter" or the bad times which is the season of the north. This is the direction of the 3rd "power" chakra which will need to be in touch with the upper chakras. 
Sadly there is a paucity of spirit warriors in charge at every level today; government, politics, business etc. 
The leader who has power should also be held to the highest not the lowest standard. 
"To those whom much is given, much is expected."


"Power corrupts, and complete power corrupts completely!" John Dalberg Acton

"Greed is not stilled by money, any more that thirst by salt water." Plato

The Shadow side of the Warrior or Leader 
may manifest as follows:

Lacks respect and disempowers others.
Talks his walk rather than the reverse,
Authoritarian, speaks about right and wrong, good and bad and is self righteous rather than effective.
Does not speak truth to power.
Projects his own wounds and his shadow onto others.
 Judges others without any introspective awarenesses. 
Claims that the end justifies the means. 

On the other hand the principles below are being embraced by conscious leaders.  S/he understands that happy workers and a good work environment are actually profitable and ...



Sadly - only when it has been proved to be more financially profitable than the alternative - will things change.
When we see these characteristics it is best we move away so as not to be polluted. 
We may have limited capacities to do anything about this on a more global scale but it is best to maintain equanimity with spiritual practice, focus on the inward journey to the Self and find joy in hidden recesses. We are blessed with the gift of a sentient body and we are here to enjoy it responsibly. 
We should not be despondent. We need to remember this dynamic has been going on since the beginning of time but in the grand spectrum of things it is just a tiny blimp on the spectrum of time and of the immensity of the universe. At  the end of the day, karma is relentless. 
The Zohar states we are only living in a 1% reality. We need to try and make touch with the other 99% and prepare for when we will be able to see much more of it. Akiva taught that this world is just an antechamber to prepare for the one to come. 

"We are here to help others. What on earth others are here for I do not know." Arden

Click play and ponder

  




Sunday, January 9, 2022



 THE SHADOW SIDES OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS' 
ARCHETYPES 

Before talking about the archetypes of the Four Directions, it's worth mentioning that some of you may want to add a plant, a special tree, a mineral, a semiprecious stone or any other power object that may speak to you in that particular direction. Any or all of the Four Beings of nature can also help support you in the vibration of that direction.  
In Isaiah's vision; the North is the place of the Growing Beings (water element,) the West the Still Beings (earth element,) the South the Talkings Beings (one could look to a inspirational ancestor or figure - past or present,) and the East, the Wild Beings which we have already included.

The Wounded Child and Healer Archetype of the South
(with apologies to the psychotherapists among you.)


The South is colored red here because it represents summer. The first chakra is our survival chakra and a secure upbringing is critical in childhood. Attachment theory helps  explain where problems begin in the 
severely wounded child of the south. 
A child who cannot be sufficiently embraced by a caregiver may suffer psychological harm especially since the child is in "survival" 1st chakra mode during the first few years of life.

"Attachment theory states that a strong emotional and physical attachment to at least one primary caregiver is critical to personal development in early life."

 Secure children feel "seen, secure, soothed and safe"
and that their caregivers always have their backs. They will also feel free to explore their environment safely. 

The "Insecure Avoidant" child 
can result from an inattentive, neglected childhood causing low self-esteem. They are classically devoid of emotion, detached, independent and live mainly in a physical reality. 

The "Insecure Ambivalent or Resistant" child 
who has a fickle, ambivalent caregiver may learn not to rely on their attentions. This child may become needy and fears to explore the environment. They may withdraw from relationships and intimacy because they cannot trust any attention received as being reliable. They often are needful of validation and admiration. 

More subtle and common, however, is the 
"Wounded Child of the South" 
who had attentive parents but never received 
Unconditional Love. 
 Once the wounded one later on in life understands the dynamics and heals them they usually already have compassion, and will develop the skills to help others. 

These children usually have even overly attentive parents 
who are achievement and goal oriented, rather than being interested in wholeness and happiness
e.g. The child who comes home with excellent grades and gets constant accolades and "love" but only conditioned on their efforts. This can be burdensome to their equanimity.

They will often tend to be attached to;
Perfection rather than excellence.
Knowledge rather than wisdom and have "the need to know."
Are more interested in intensity and another's persona rather than love.
Since the parents are often performance oriented, some children - if they fail - could develop a victim mentality especially if they have a sibling who receives more "love" because of a greater competence.
Those who are empathetic and heart felt, if they become healers,  sometimes absorb too much of their client's hurtful burdens. 


The Shadow of the Teacher Archetype of the West

These four basic archetypes were present in indigenous communities when life was hard but more simple. These communities also had rites of passage to help the youth through the West which is often the dark night of the soul 
(black in color.) The season is fall - the time for "hibernation," introspection and going inward. Hormones are raging (second chakra) and emotions are hard to handle. The adolescent often is confused as to who s/he is and where he may be going. Gangs and other toxic initiations are examples of a pathological initiation process gone terribly wrong.
The basic principle of the rite of passage was for the elders to take the adolescent away from the parents - in the case of a girl, at menarche, to be guided by the crones but not the mother, and in the case of a son, the elders but not the father. 

It is not so much that the wounded adolescent becomes a teacher but rather s/he needs skilled teacher/s or elder/s to guide them to the north. If the teacher has a lot of wisdom s/he may even be able to guide the adolescent through the North (the Adult) to the East (the Visionary) and to their destiny. This is the ultimate purpose of a rite of passage for the adolescent. The journey and the proceeds or grail of the initiation or vision quest are validated and expanded by the elders of the tribe to help guide them to their destiny.


This Shadow side of the Teacher archetype that will affect the adolescent may be;
Attachment to outcome and control.
All knowing rather than open to ideas.
Detached and aloof from the student or initiate.
Uses judgment rather than discernment.
Criticises rather than being supportive.
Curriculum oriented instead of learning based.
Emotional and reactive rather than patient. 
Often a disciplinarian who is punitive rather than corrective while still being encouraging.

It doesn't help that our educational system stresses results rather than learning and many teachers would like to be different but cannot. Finland supposedly has the best, most effective eduction system and their principles are somewhat alarming to us in the U.S.A. The children do not get homework and so have more time to play. They are not tested because testing is thought to be valid for only one type of learning. They learn to think and explore and love learning, not be burdened by it. Finland's main premise is in having happy children by allowing them to be children. Andre Agassi, the brilliant tennis player, admitted to hating tennis because of his overambitious father. The same can occur from a teacher or parent who is after grades rather than learning and knowledge. 

The wounded child or adolescent often adopts a similar attitude later in life when s/he moves into whatever archetype or profession they choose to be. We are not only victims of our circumstances but also manifest them on others later in life. 
Unless recognized and healed these "shadows" can follow any of the above through all of the four directions. They can be corrected in adulthood or preferably even sooner.

Click, play and meditate 




 

Saturday, January 1, 2022

 

 

THE FOUR DIRECTIONS 

 HOW THEY CAN HELP THE HERO/INE'S JOURNEY & FINDING OUR DESTINY  #1 

Happy New Year

(From a friend in South Africa.)


 

Maybe a good power animal for 2022

"So the young man went North seeking the “Singing Stone.” After many adventures he arrived in the North and found his grandfather sitting upon a stone waiting for him. The Singing Stone is not to the North said the grandfather, it is to the South. So he journeyed South and after many adventures he found a dragonfly. The Singing Stone is not to the South sang the dragonfly it is to the West. So he journeyed West and found a mouse. The mouse answered the Singing Stone is not to the West it is to the East. So he journeyed East and after many adventures he arrived at a strange camp. He headed towards the camp but pulled up short when he saw the paintings and signs on the lodges were foreign. He decided to go ahead in spite of the “Bow of Tension Pulled within Him.” Finally he reached the circle of lodges. Then his sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunts and all his relatives came out to greet him saying, welcome to our Counsel Fire Singing Stone." H. Storm


 Van Gennep described initiation rituals in indigenous peoples as having the three stages we have discussed; Separation, Threshold and Incorporation. This kind of initiation was always done in wilderness for obvious reasons.  As Luther Standing Bear said; "It was only when the white man came that wilderness existed." Wilderness was an essential catalyst for the Native American vision quest.

We, however, need to seek out nature and try to go primal as much as possible for our encounters. Here we often experience a sense of duality - wilderness is out there and we are here. We are not that comfortable with the idea and have to make some serious preparation for the journey. When we change that duality and encounter our original, indigenous or primal nature  separated from Western conditioning, we often find ourselves to be closer to who we truly are. 

Rites of passage sadly have fallen by the wayside in modern societies but are being slowly reintroduced. These rites were arduous and their intension was to help groom the adolescent  or adult into their respective archetype for sake of the tribe. 
Sadly with a 50% divorce rate, a single parent's upbringing, and no meaningful rite of passage, the primal urges of the modern adolescent may be unfulfilled. We need to take steps to fill the gap in some way with a rite of passage or some form of initiation, even for adults who have missed that opportunity. It does not have to be done in pure wilderness but nature has unfathomable power and is a room with many doors and windows for you to open and help with your transformation.

Although the Four or Six directions are not unique to the Native Americans, the Medicine Wheel with its directions   for initiation are. This is a sensitive subject to the indigenous peoples of north America who have been so compromised by caucasians when they find us adopting their culture to help with our own initiations. If done with integrity, sensitivity and respect for its origins this seems reasonable, though it may not be to its founders. 

Descriptions vary among the various tribes and I have adopted these principles combined with understandings from Kabbalah for my own. This can be regarded as a template possibly for you to design your own according to the principles and energies you feel to be right for your individual process. There are no rules here except having gratitude for their origins.

The four basic archetypes can be inserted into the Medicine  Wheel's directions to assist you in your journey. The different tribes have their own varying descriptions of how to work with the wheel, so the principles are not cut in stone.

This concept below is based loosely on Foster and Little and the School for Lost Borders and Kabbalah with help from Angeles Arrien when it comes to the archetypes. I have also introduced a chakra and used the elements that coincide with that chakra and the increasing vibration 
we should attain as we travel along the medicine wheel from child, to adolescent, to adult and to visionary.
I have omitted power animals which are for you to choose depending on what ecosystem you best relate to. Commonly the bear is in the West - the Fall since this is the time for bear to hibernate and "go inwards." In some Native American tradition the white buffalo - the spirit animal of mastery - is in the North. A raptor; eagle or condor with their site and insight is often in the East but these are predators and some may prefer a more spiritual rather than a warrior energy for the East such as a water bird like a heron or an animal like a giraffe who "can see above others." 

Each direction in the figure also has an :

 AGE GROUP, COLOR, ELEMENT, a dominant CHAKRA, ARCHETYPE, SEASON, ARCHANGEL and a POWER ANIMAL 

The power animal may be the one you need for your growth which may differ from the one you actually want it to be. For instance if one needs more humility, a mouse may appear rather than a bald eagle. An ant colony that presents itself may indicate one needs to be more industrious and communal in one's endeavors.

The Medicine Wheel applies especially to the seasons in the Northern hemisphere but can be adapted.

The colors below are arbitrary.

We travel from the South of the Child, Summer (red), Element (Earth), Chakra (1st), Archetype (Healer), Archangel (Rafael).

To the West, Adolescent, Fall (black), Water, 2nd Chakra, Teacher, Gabriel

To the North, Winter (blue), Fire, 3rd Chakra, Adult-Warrior-Leader, Uriel

And eventually to the East the place of Vision, the Hero and one's Destiny, Spring (magenta), Air or Ether (higher, Chakras 4-7), Visionary, Michael

The arrow from the East back to the South indicates the necessity of being born reborn again and again to repeat the medicine wheel. Whether this happens will depend on how we have done with our karma.
Uriel is the archangel of mystery, light, illumination. Gabriel of strength and courage. Rafael of healing and cleansing. Michael of love and inspiration. They can be called on by anyone at any time for support.
There are two more directions. Isaiah the prophet had a vision about the six directions millennia ago. In Kabbalah, down is the bear, up the panther or leopard. The west is the buffalo or ox, the North the Eagle, the East the lion and the South the human. Hence Rafael, who is there for our healing. The archetype of the South is the Healer because the wounded child of the south often needs a healer or heals self and later becomes a healer.
The teacher archetype of the West is the teacher - required to help guide the adolescent to the North and eventually even to the East. Hormones are raging and s/he is in danger of getting lost without the elder-teacher who will help them manage the 2nd Chakra.
The 3rd Chakra of the North is the power chakra of the Adult-Leader-Warrior who to be effective should already be looking to the East of the Hero and Incorporation and what s/he can bring back to the tribe or community. In other words a Spiritual Warrior.
The Visionary-Hero in line with his or her true destiny can manifest in any of the archetypes. However, the individual is now different bringing the "grail" or core strength back for the sake of others. 
"Before enlightenment chop wood carry water.
After enlightenment chop wood carry water." Zen saying
The visionary can also be a Sage, Priest, Healer, Shaman, Mystic, Artist, Musician etc. The four upper chakras are more a part of the Visionary direction though they operate in the other directions as well depending on the vibration. The ether element would relate to the 7th chakra in the East and the highest vibration (? the "true" wisdom teacher rather than the fallen guru who pretends to be the visionary in spite of the fact he has submitted to his shadow.) he four yoga archetypes; Bhakti, Jnana, Karma and Raja actualize here as well.
We should also be aware of the shadow side of each direction in relationship to its age group, its chakra or chakras and their archetypes and how these may affect us later in life. These will be covered in upcoming blogs.

The child needs a loving attentive parent or caregiver. 
The adolescent needs a wise elder/s to guide them skillfully to the adult in the north. 
The adult will need good roll models to help them in the warrior phase of their lives 
The visionary will need wisdom teachers with integrity.

Isaiah's vision of the directions as per the Ancestors. Although Uriel is in the North, Gabriel in the West, Rafael in the South and Michael in the East they are always with us  and move together with whatever direction we face. Hence Uriel is always in front, Gabriel on the left, Rafael behind and Michael to our right. We need to ask to receive because of free will.
Click and play for the directions and also for the Four Beings of Nature