Transmutation News March 2003
In mid-February I returned from teaching in Costa Rica. I had never visited Costa Rica before. It is a beautiful country with the most nurturing spirit. Through teaching, journeying, hiking in the rain forest, swimming in absolutely pristine rivers I was able to allow myself to fully immerse in oneness with nature. There was no news of the world or phone calls to distract me. It was a real gift during these troubled times to be so nurtured and in touch with remembering the harmony with nature we all came here to experience. The omens the spirit of the land shared were full of messages of support for the work. I returned home feeling very full.
Of course, the challenges of living in our world today immediately hit as I entered back into the U.S.
As I have been doing my morning transfiguration meditations I have found an increasing amount of anxiety in the core of my being over George Bush proceeding ahead with plans of war despite international government and public opinion. (As I write the Transmutation News a few weeks before it appears on this web page the current news around the war might change as you read this.)
My anxiety was keeping me from reaching that divine, peaceful state that I know is needed to create a healing vibration for the planet. I started to think about Jack Schwarz who I have written about in my book and past Transmutation News. He was able to find that place of pure union with God as the Nazis during the war were torturing him. I was admiring his ability to do in such a crises. Sometimes in a crisis something else takes over and we can tap into powers that are usually hidden beneath our egoic sense of separation. But still I found his ability to stay focused as a reminder of what is possible.
I know many of you probably feel fear and anger about the possible consequences of political decisions being made on our behalf. This is when the spiritual work we do counts. It is easy to do our spiritual work when things are going right in our lives. As I have written many times the spirits keep reminding me, "Don't forget in the darkness what you learned in the light."
Some of you might be staying very focused with your spiritual work. Some of you might be giving up saying it is too hard or you can't maintain your focus. And some of you might get lost in the what's the use. These are natural feelings and all part of being on a spiritual path. The egoic part of us still moves toward separation. The key is allowing our own spiritual self, our divinity, which understands the bigger picture and knows the solutions to take over. This takes surrendering to our own higher power as well as the powers that be around us. Our egoic barriers need to let down for this to happen. This happens naturally in a crisis and is part of the initiation process. For we are all being initiated right now into a new way of being.
Neil Douglas-Klotz wrote a wonderful book The Hidden Gospel. Dr. Klotz translated the bible from Aramaic into English. The literal translation of the word alchemy from Aramaic is, "work that is done with and through the dense darkness inside". This is really the work we are all doing right now isn't it?
I acknowledge it is hard work and doesn't always have the ecstatic effects as when we are in a state of peace. But I want to support you in keeping up your efforts for the rewards for yourself and helping midwife a change in consciousness are great. But we have to let go of the outcome of when this change happens. We need to just keep with the process knowing in our hearts and in our spirit the end result.
It has been quite amazing to watch as communities gather around the world to voice their opinion of the proposed war. It is important for this to continue, as I wrote in last month's Transmutation News it will be communities that gather which will bring about change.
As we focus on the political situation it is important to keep tending our earth garden. Keep up the spiritual work you are doing for the environment.
In this regard this month we will be honoring the change in seasons. March 20 marks the spring equinox. Spring is the time for planting and nurturing the seeds we wish to see grow into healthy plants. We can work with this on all levels of being.
We will work with ceremony and ritual for our work this month. Performing a ceremony is a way of opening the lines of communication between you and the creative forces. When we perform a ceremony we state our intention of what we are asking for to the universe so that our creation might be physically manifested.
Ritual is a way of grounding behaviors. For example, by going outside everyday and giving thanks for your life and the life of all living beings is a way of grounding a behavior of appreciation.
For our ceremony on the spring equinox I would ask you to do some journeying/meditating on what seeds you would like to plant for our earth garden. For example, do you want to plant seeds of peace, love, unity that will grow into a plant which manifests these energies in the world.
Get clear on your intention of the energies you want to plant and watch grow. Use the principles of intention + love (coming from a place of heart) + harmony (harmony within creates harmony without) + concentration + focus (we must keep our concentration and focus strong for the principle of manifestation to occur) + union (remember we are one with the web of life and the seeds we plant affect all life on earth) + imagination (we need to dream a new world and consciousness into existence).
Once you are clear on your intention find some seeds that you can go into nature and plant into the earth stating what you are growing during this fertile time. You can do this on your own or in a group you are working with. Support from a group can magnify the power of our spiritual work.
As many people do not have groups that they can work with, let's set an intention as a community on the spring equinox to support energetically with open hearts the seeds of love, hope, and inspiration that thousands are planting around the world.
We can ground the behavior of tending our garden through a ritual. Go to a plant store and buy a small pot, soil, and some herb seeds to plant. Parsley is a great herb to grow as it is hardy and sprouts pretty quickly. But you can plant anything you want.
Plant the seeds with intention and love and wanting to tend the earth garden we live in. Nurture your plant over time. Be in appreciation for all the elements that go into tending the garden, our lives.
The soil gives nutrients to the plant. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2. This is carried through the air to our plants. We are connected to all of life through our breath. As we breathe in we breathe in what other life forms breathe out. As we breathe out we share our life force with all living beings. As you breathe in and out in your house your plant will be connected to you.
Water nurtures the life of your plant and also brings nutrients which will affect its state of health and well being. The rays of the sun are needed for the energy of life. And of course all life needs love so communicate with your plant love and appreciation and watch it grow.
By taking care of your plant you start to ground the behavior of what is needed to tend this earth garden and the garden of our lives. Please plant your seeds and start nurturing your plant on the spring equinox.
Both the ceremony and ritual I am suggesting here you can do with your children.
Please remember to send in any stories you can inspire us with about communities gathering together to transform our world. Please see February Transmutation News for more on this if you have not read it. We need to support and inspire each other right now.
I thank those of you who have been generous with sending me stories about bringing spiritual practices to children. Again my request for these case studies is on my February Transmutation News and I am still looking for more.
Here is a poem that Stephen Alish-TaSen sent in to be shared with you:
HOLY LAND
SPEAK TO ME MOTHER OF THIS HOLYLAND
AMID SACRED COLORS OF RED
SPIRES AND SPIRALS
SHAPES SHIFTING TO WEATHERED FACES OF STONE
FOOTPRINTS VANISHED IN THE SANDS OF TIME
THE CARESS OF A GENTLE BREEZE
WHIFFS OF CEDAR BURNING REVIVE ANCIENT MEMORIES OF
ANCESTRAL SPIRITS DEPICTED ON RED STONE WALLS
RAVENS CALL ECHOING HIGH OVERHEAD:
"HEED YOUR CREATOR'S CALL!"
WE ARE
ONE BODY, MIND, AND SOUL
AS ONE INTEGRATED WHOLE
AND SO
THE SPIRT OF THE LAND, SHE SPEAKS!
This was written in Sedona, Arizona and copyrighted in 1994 by Stephen Alish-TaSen steveat1@juno.com. Permission is granted to reproduce with appropriate credit given to the author.
Two books that I highly recommend you look at are:
The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus by Neil Douglas-Klotz. This book was published by Quest Books and is easy to order. Dr. Klotz's translation of the bible from Aramaic to English shows how much Jesus said that is what we are practicing with the Medicine for the Earth work.
And a manuscript I wrote about months ago has now been published. The book is Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism by Gershon Winkler. This book is published by North Atlantic Books.
Gershon Winkler also reads and understands Aramaic. He has been going back into the old texts and through translating the Aramaic into English shows that ancient Jewish tradition teaches about the Four Directions and the medicine attributes of animals, plants, and minerals. The earth is sacred and all beings, including the stars and the planets, are imbued with divine consciousness.
I was entranced when I originally read the manuscript on how much shamanic practices are part of the ancient Judaic texts. This book has been highly inspirational to me.
In reading both of these brilliant books we can really see how much of the original teaching of the ancient texts were lost when the Aramaic was translated into Greek and then into English. It is time for us to see that all spiritual traditions honored the earth and the oneness of the web of life. The principle of separation was never part of what the ancients tried to pass down to us. It's time for us to learn the original messages that act as clues and support for us as we heal ourselves, the planet, and the web of life.
March 16 is the full moon. Please remember we have two meditations to do this month. We keep weaving a human web of light throughout the planet as we tap into our own divinity and light and shine that light together. If you have been working with the process of transfiguration, please transfigure as you do this. Transfiguration will magnify the work we do together.
If you are new to this web page and need directions for the transfiguration process please look at the July 2002 Transmutation News.
Last month, on the full moon, we started a meditation for support for the women and children of the world who are being so negatively impacted by the toxic chemicals in our earth, water, and air. Let's continue our meditations for this on March 16. And please try to get out to the public the work we are doing on the full moon. Unless we get public awareness to the problem we cannot get help from communities for solutions.
Please remember to keep feeding the heart of love, harmony, unity, peace, inspiration, and hope. Let's keep this heart stronger than the heart of fear, separation, and anger. As a community we can support a change in ourselves, which ultimately will be reflected back to us by the world and environment we live in.
And remember the Aramaic phrase, "abraq ad habra" which we knew as kids as abracadabra. It means, "I will create as I speak". Stay conscious of the words you use in your daily life.
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