WHAT SOUTHERN AFRICAN WISDOMS HAVE TO OFFER THE WEST #7
More advanced levels of spiritual expertise and paranormal phenomena.
This is also called PSI and refers to the unknown factors found in extrasensory experiences The term comes from the Greek letter ψ (psi), which is the first letter of the Greek word psyche, meaning "mind" or "soul".
The Oneness Experience or Unity Consciousness
This occurs in Yoga when the
Knower, the Known and the Experience of Knowing
fuse and become one thing. You may be looking at a rainbow and the Knower - that's you, the rainbow - the Known - and in the process of the experience you become the rainbow.
Also, when the dancer becomes the dance.
Maslow described this as a Peak Experience.
This is Bunnell's description of his experience on entering Yosemite valley. He was one of a party of Whites that were to first see the stunning beauty of the valley.
“Haze hung over the valley, light as gossamer and clouds partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision increased the awe with which I beheld it and as I looked a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being and I found my eyes in tears with emotion.” Dr. L. Bunnell
These phenomena are not rare but brief and often trivialized, rationalized or invalidated by ourselves or others. They are sacred and only to be shared with the right kind of person. They have the potential to change the way that we think.
It is called Unity Consciousness or the Oneness Experience in Eastern traditions and Union or Unity with the Divine in Kabbalah.
Telepathy.
Precognition.
The three "Clairs" - Clair-voyance (seeing what seeing eyes cannot,) Clair-audience (hearing what hearing ears cannot hear,) Clair-sentience (feeling what the five senses cannot feel.) Many of us have
clair-sentience which is our early warning system and should never be ignored.
Distant Viewing, Diagnosis and Healing.
Distant or Remote Viewing has been researched by both Stanford University and the C.I.A. and found to be evidential. There are numerous double blind trials that show Distant Healing or prayers for healing work. Placebo has been discounted because the healers do not know the patients they are healing and the patients do not know this process has been invoked.
If Distant Healing works it make sense that Distant Diagnosis does so too. There are many practitioners - shamans, psychics, medical intuitive etc. who have these abilities.
It is sobering to realize that if distant healing works so also does distant hexing. The Field is democratic and value neutral.
Telekinesis.
This is the ability to move objects through intention, for instance a water-diviner. The diviner and the stick or instrument s/he uses has no power. The power is resident in the spirit force directing the object. The same is true for the divination bones (and may be for other divining techniques.) The diviner is the messenger who sets the specific intention with permission (because of the cosmic law of free will.) The message itself comes from spirit - the diviner is the messenger.
In all these PSI phenomena ancestors or guides are often the mediators in some mysterious way although there others who can directly "see."
Many scientists refuse to concede that such phenomena are real. Hence, they try and find names for something they cannot explain. Here are a few modern terms for these mystical occurrences.
Medical Intuitive, Remote Viewing, Energy Medicine, Physiological Arousal, Cathartic Conversion Experience, Distant Mental Influence on biological systems…
Similarly when the medical profession does not understand the cause of the disease they use the word Idiopathic. It also sounds profound but may be subtly saying we are idiots when it comes to trying to explaining this.
Shape Shifting and Animal Whispering
Shape shifting seems to be a far-fetched possibility even to those of us who know about the paranormal. It seems more likely that shape shifting can occur in deep trance in the mind's eye of the practitioner and possibly could also be induced in those who are doing the observing.
Imagining a shaman transforming into a lion, however, is a bit of a stretch. I believe it can be real but have no personal evidence that this is so. I did once meet a San elder who was a lion shaman but he was dying of Tuberculosis and no longer shape-shifted.
The Ancestors endorse that true shape shifting is possible, as did Malidoma Some' in a conversation I once had with him.
The dark side of shape shifting also exists especially in Navaho tradition with the so called "Skin Walkers" and represents the antithesis of Navajo cultural values. They are seen as witches, sorcerers and evil - performing harmful ceremonies and black magic - a perversion of the healing abilities of the medicine men and women who heal.
These teachings may support the possibility of shape shifting..
“All humans are endowed with the attributes of animals.” Cordova
We are all one though not the same.
We are all connected, some of all in each. All are spirit manifestations and exist in one another.
“Earth am I, air am I, water, fire and spirit am I. Earth are you, air are you, water, fire and spirit are you…"
Celtic proverb
We are all made of the same elements and we will all return - dust to dust, ashes to ashes.
To experience the wild beings, you must dance with them.
On my many visits to the San, I did witness their incredible ability to mimic a particular animal's behavior which is key to shape shifting and "becoming" the animal.
I have seen a Bushman "put on animal mind" and "dance," behave, imitate and move exactly like an ostrich. After a minute he seemed to become an ostrich but I still knew he was a human
When they hunt they say;
"We put on animal mind and see how they are moving."
Numerous rock art figures (rendered after the event) show the trance dancer beginning to attain an animal like form. This is called a Therianthrope - part animal - part human.
In this figure the cord above the head is about the "rope" to God or the silver cord described by Solomon in Ecclesiastes that ensures that when the dancer leaves his body he can get back to it because of this cord.
It is likely the San could not have been such successful hunters when countering a huge animal with primitive weapons unless they had paranormal powers. The smaller animals were trapped. With larger animals (even a giraffe) they had small bows and unfeathered but perfectly balanced arrows tipped with poison and could get extremely close to the animal which required a profound zen like ability.
If they had not had the trance dance to tell them where to hunt and the ability to put on animal mind to assist their unparalleled tracking abilities they probably could not have survived.
This short link to the movie The Great Dance done by the Fosters brothers (Craig Foster also did My Octopus teacher) is worth watching.
There is a longer version on You Tube which I highly recommend.
For some it may not be appropriate and its best they do not watch the end of either.
We should all remember that we all have Bushmen D.N.A. within us. This is video is a testament to who we once were. This hunt is not savage but an ancient sacred task, part of a people who were once pure made in the image of the Divine. They are trying to hang onto that purity in the face of the dark side of Western civilization but it is disappearing like it has for so many indigenous peoples.
The force of the primal manifest as love is the glory of God.
Click on the link and have look at our past.
