Spirit – Theresa Crater

April 1, 2018April 1, 2018

Just Who is this Wu Hsin?

As many of you know, I like to post a little quote from a mystical text most mornings. It’s become a part of my spiritual practice. I find them uplifting, inspiring, sometimes puzzling. A while back, I worked my way through all my Rumi books, then Hafiz. I gave Psalms a try, but found them a bit too dour. I went back to Rumi for a while, but I was casting about.

My friend Tom Kroupa, who is a life-long meditator just as I am, suggested I give Wu Hsin a try. He had posted a few quotes from Wu Hsin that had knocked my socks off, so I bought the compilation of his books translated by Roy Melvyn, The Lost Writings of Wu Hsin: Pointers to Non-Duality in Five Volumes. I’m currently working my way through the first volume, titled most appropriately “Aphorisms for Thirsty Fish.”

Melvyn tells us in his introduction that Wu Hsin was born in Meng in the state of Song during the Warring States Period (403-221 BCE). There is a bit of debate that he might have been born in the State of Chen in a territory of Chu because he was said to have fished in the Pu River. Melvyn reports that the more one knows about Chu’s Daoist culture, the more likely it seems he might have grown up here.

During this period, the ruling house of Zhou was weak and there was more chaos in China. This gave rise to what is called “the hundred schools,” which is exactly as it sounds: many schools of thought about how to regain harmony, both external and internal.

The major movements were the Confucius school and the followers of Mozi. Confucius was born about a hundred years before Wu Hsin. A third movement born from the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) most strongly reflects Wu Hsin’s style. Daoists took their sitting meditation practice from his work.

Melvyn talks about three major points that were important to Wu Hsin. The first is that “when one ceases to resist What-Is and becomes more in harmony with It, one attains a state of Ming, or clear seeing.” Sounds like what the Vedas would call Cosmic Consciousness. In Ming, our action becomes “wei wu wei, or action without action (non-forcing).” In other words, our actions are in harmony with the universal intelligence.

The second point concerns the deepening of Ming. Wu Hsin calls this “the opening of the great gate.” In this state of consciousness, we realize there is “no one doing anything and that there is only the One doing everything” through the diversity of creation. Sounds a bit like Unity Consciousness.

The third level of understanding is that our perception of ourselves as separate is an illusion created by the mind. The end of this division is the return to happiness. We see ourselves as just one more object in the diversity of creation from the source, universal consciousness.

The teachings are all similar around the world, but use the language of their specific culture and time. As Rumi says, “The lamps are different, but the light is the same.”

Wu Hsin’s philosophy grew into Ch’an Buddhism in China or Zen in Japan. Ah, Zen. Now that told me a lot about what I was reading. Wu Hsin is not as poetic as the Sufi masters I’ve been quoting, but he certainly speaks to me. Melvyn says that Wu Hsin saw words as an impediment to spiritual understanding, so brevity was an important part of his style. He saw words as pointers that should be repeated until the words faded into the background and understanding grew. Not repeated as a mantra, but read a little bit at a time each day. That’s what I’m doing on my personal Facebook page. Join me for a bit of Zen, or Wu Hsin, in the mornings.

November 27, 2016

Justice and Mercy: Finding the Balance

The recent US election results have created a storm of reaction, ranging from let’s revolt, even violently, to let’s all be kind to each other and hope nothing bad happens. These are two expressions of the two spiritual forces of Justice and Mercy. Two unbalanced expressions.

On the Kabalistic Tree of Life, Justice and Mercy are represented by the polarities of Geburah and Chesed, on opposite sides of the tree at what would be shoulder-level on a human. These spheres are high on the tree, above Tipareth at the heart, the place that represents the enlightened and sacrificed God, so you can see that the energies are big and cosmic, and balancing them can be a challenge for us mortals.

Geburah is often represented by the sword, sometimes the flail in Egypt, while Chesed by the shepherd’s crook. Geburah is Cosmic Justice, creating boundaries and limitations, restraint, passing fair judgment. It is the sphere of might and strength, giving us the ability to tear down old patterns that don’t work anymore and rebuild something that is more functional.

Chesed is grace, benevolence, and compassion. Chesed is the wise and good leader, the desire to embrace all of creation in loving kindness. It is the comforter, the restorative, the silver lining. It is the boundless outpouring of Divine Love.

The mistake spiritual people make is thinking we should always go with the crook. We should be the kind shepherd who gently guides the sheep who are straying, that we should always give mercy, understand extenuating circumstances, give people the benefit of the doubt. If it doesn’t work, we chastise ourselves that we are not merciful enough, that we should curb our anger, that we should act like Buddha or Jesus. But remember Psalm 23, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” These are images of Geburah first and Chesed second. The two go together.

Think of William Blake’s two poems that are about a similar balance–“The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” After the sweet lamb, he writes about the tyger, and asks the ultimate question: “Did He who made the Lamb make thee?” Of course the answer is yes.

But Chesed can become imbalanced just as Geburah can. Justice is imbalanced when it is too harsh or done for personal gain. Imbalanced Geburah is violence for its own sake, punishing too much, choking off the life force, limiting for personal gain rather than correction.

Too much Mercy can lead to an imbalance as easily as too much Justice. Mercy is imbalanced when it is emotional weakness, gullibility, giving to someone who is manipulative or exploitative. We see bullying but we’re afraid to confront it, so we don’t speak up. Or “Johnny, this is the tenth time you haven’t cleaned your room, but I know you don’t feel like it, and last time your foot was hurt, and the time before you had homework, so I’ll overlook it. Again.” Johnny ain’t never going to clean his room this way, right? Johnny needs some discipline. That’s where Justice comes in.

Do we beat Johnny? Do we ridicule him? Do we throw him out of the house so he’ll learn his lesson? No. That’s imbalanced Justice. We set limits and boundaries. We create consequences. We help him learn by using balanced discipline. Good Geburah is just this. Balanced discipline.

Our own behavior trying to be merciful in the face of bullies and tyrants can take a toll not just on our health, but on society. Even the world if you live in the country that has as much power as the US does at the moment. When we’re constantly stuffing our feelings, trying our best to act in a certain way to assuage the bully, to point out that, for example, industrial waste is killing the animals and perhaps the corporation might feel compassion and act responsibly pretty please, do you have much chance of success? Most likely not.

Yes, but we’re supposed to always be positive, to always be nice, to always act with compassion, never to be violent. Right?

I’ve discussed this idea in another post. Acting enlightened is not the path to enlightenment. An enlightened person is constantly in touch with that One Consciousness and acts under the guidance of cosmic law. Because they directly experience that we are all immortal, that everything is the One, they don’t feel restricted by what is happening here in the created world. Yet, do they always act nonviolently? Do they always appease?

No. Jesus kicked butt in the temple and threw out the money lenders. Did he act against cosmic law? No.

Arjuna is frozen at the start of a battle in The Bhagavad Gita. Should he fight and incur karma? Or should he sit the battle out and allow his family and friends to be slaughtered, thus incurring karma? He turns to his chariot driver, Lord Krishna, for advice.

Krishna’s advice? “Established in Being, perform action.” That means, gain enlightenment. Establish your consciousness in the One, and from that cosmic perspective, perform action that will be in harmony with creation. In the end, Arjuna does go into battle, because going into battle is the right thing to do in those circumstances.

What about us poor slobs who aren’t quite established in Being yet? Do we get to sit on the sidelines and meditate, not acting since we might make a mistake?

No, we do not. We act. We set limits. We do what will bring society back toward balance. We study Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.’s techniques of nonviolent action. We do our best.

It’s OK to feel angry. To feel depressed. To feel desperate. But we do need to act. We might make mistakes doing it, but we can learn from them. And when we go home from the march or hang up from the call to our congressman, we meditate. We do ritual. We move closer and closer to becoming established in Being.

Best of luck out there, kindred. We’ve got quite a job ahead of us.

August 31, 2016

Knowledge is Structured in Consciousness

Now we come to an interesting aspect of states of consciousness. I talked about the seven states of consciousness in an earlier blog and described the subjective experience of each (to some degree). For example, while we’re sleeping, we have no conscious experience at all (unless you watch yourself sleep, which is a whole other topic). Dreaming is similar to waking, except one world is more symbolic while the other we experience as consensus reality. Reality is different in different states of consciousness.

But how can that be?

People say “we’re all one,” which is true. But do we always experience that? It’s the direct experience that’s important, not the intellectual understanding. Or people say, “All is illusion” (see Brahman Consciousness below). The Rosicrucians and other mystics such as quantum physicists tell us that everything is vibration.

So, if everything is simply vibration, everything is one, and all is illusion, then we can stand in front of a car going 60 mph and not get hurt, right? The car is vibration. The body is vibration. The two could blend. We’re all one anyway. You’d be fine. Right?

Depends on which “you” you’re talking about.

In waking state, that car is solid and so is that body you’re inhabiting. The car will win. Your immortal self will be fine, but you’ll need a new vehicle/body. But you knew that already.

Perhaps if you were in the state of Brahman Consciousness, a step higher than Unity, you’d be OK because you could manipulate physical form, tune the two vibrations so they’d be harmonious, and wa la. Still all intact. Brahman Consciousness is when we realize (experientially, not intellectually) that there never really was a manifestation. That everything is simply waves of consciousness in one big ocean. Hafiz puts it this way: “There are some who can visit that Luminous Sphere that reveals this life never was. The truth of that experience is reserved for so very few.”

Why is this important? Because it is vital to our growth that we honor our own experience. We can realize that we are immortal beings untouched by pain in that higher state, but pain is real here in this manifest world. (Yeah, I know. There’s not really a manifestation, but gee, it feels real to me right now. Knowledge is different in different states of consciousness.) So denying our pain—not allowing ourselves to experience it—delays our growth. It creates blocks to experiencing all of our consciousness.

My partner is fond of quoting his Egyptian/Khemitian teacher: “There is no separation. There is no (individual) soul, so who reincarnates?” That’s true. In a certain state of consciousness. But I am not directly experiencing that state. Yet.

In order to experience it and not just think about it, I need to meditate. To clear out the blocks in my system that dull my perception of that big Self. Otherwise, I could lie in the hammock and know that I am That already (which is true) so why bother?

Maharishi used to say it’s like the difference between thinking about traveling to Paris and being in Paris. You can buy a beret, get some French wine, purchase a great baguette, put up pictures of the Eiffel Tower in your work cubicle, study the language, and watch French movies. Or you can get in a plane and go to Paris. Is there a difference? I think so.

Knowledge is structured in Consciousness. Go to Paris. Don’t just think about it.

August 17, 2016

The Seven States of Consciousness

The Vedas teach there are seven states of consciousness and we are equipped to experience them all. They each have their own subjective and objective reality.

Waking State. Yeah, that’s just your ordinary being awake and experiencing the world in your daily life. The brain is in mostly Beta waves, and your vital signs are those that the doctor measures when you go for your check up.
Sleeping State. We don’t really experience sleep. We know we were asleep when we wake up and feel refreshed. Sleep is like the night janitor, cleaning up the day’s stress. The brain moves from theta to delta waves and our metabolism drops. You can tell someone’s asleep often by their deep, slow breathing.
Dreaming State. We experience dreams. They’re much like waking state, only it’s not “real” in the sense that we ordinarily use the word. There are various theories about the meaning of dreams, but we do know they are necessary. If people don’t dream, they go a little nuts after a while. (Remember that Star Trek episode where dreams were suppressed on the ship?) This state is sometimes called REM sleep, during which we experience rapid eye movements, our muscles sometimes twitch, and our breathing becomes more shallow and rapid. Brain waves during dreaming are similar to waking.

Now it gets more interesting.

Rear View of Two Buddhist Monks in Orange Robes Sitting on a Tiled Floor

Transcendental State. This is a state of consciousness that is most often experienced during mediation and sometimes in the quiet of nature or listening to certain types of music. This is an experience of the root of consciousness, the universal mind that forms the basis of all consciousness. Indeed, all existence. It is experienced as deep, silent awareness. Wakefulness without an object of perception. The self is resting in the Self. Physiologically, we experience the deepest rest in this state. The breath and heart rate slow dramatically. For example, in this research oxygen consumption drops 15.5 percent during meditation vs 3.5 percent during regular rest. The brain experiences an unprecedented coherent state, with both sides of the brain operating together in alpha waves, which indicate relaxation. Check out this video of brain waves during TM, a popular meditation.
Cosmic Consciousness. Here’s where we combine Waking with the Transcendental State. Yeah, sounds like a contradiction, but if we continue to experience the Transcendent, the brain and body and mind like it so much that they learn how to balance the two together. Here our sense of who we are shifts from the small self we ordinarily have experienced up to now to Universal Consciousness. But we don’t lose who we are. It’s like our personality is floating in a boat in a big sea of universal awareness. Physiological research is just beginning. Preliminary results show increased theta/alpha activity with eyes open, more frontal coherence and increased cortical participation in normal activity, and increased theta/alpha and decreased muscle tension during sleep.
God Consciousness. This is the state in which the person begins to directly perceive more and more subtle levels of the world surrounding them. This is where those abilities our superheroes have reside. Well, maybe not all of them, but common experiences might include clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc. It’s called “God” Consciousness because this is where the creator gods are said to reside in the Vedas—at the most subtle level of creation. We are supposed to be able to perceive them directly in this state. I don’t know if there is any physiological research about this state—just writings from people (rishis or seers) who have experienced it.
Unity Consciousness. In Unity, not only do we experience the Self as Universal Consciousness, we perceive everything and everyone else as that also. Yet we don’t lose the ability to function in the “real” world. Again, I’m not aware of any scientific studies of this state—just writings from the rishis. This progression of consciousness is described in the Vedas as, “I am That (Cosmic Consciousness), Thou art That (God Consciousness, all this is That (Unity Consciousness).”

How do you get there? In my opinion, meditate regularly and relax. Find the meditation that really works for you. You can meditate anywhere. Live your life, deal with whatever arises, and it will come.

September 26, 2015

“Who Am I to Pray for Him?”

Pope Francis keeps asking everyone he meets to pray for him. He asks throngs of people, all the attendees of his mass at Madison Square Garden, powerful leaders, rich people, and poor people. And many have the same reaction that soon-to-be-ex Speaker of the House John Boehner had. “Who am I to pray for him?”

Now that’s a question worth pondering. This is a reversal of the usual, because throngs come to the pope asking for spiritual intervention, for their babies to be blessed, for their lame to walk, for their sick to be healed. But what does this pope do? He asks for us to pray for him. “I need it,” he says.

This is the most powerful message that Pope Francis is spreading during his visit to the U.S. Sure, it’s great that he talks about saving the Earth, helping people who don’t have enough resources to eat or have a place to live, and talking about loving each other instead of separating ourselves by country, race, gender, etc. We need to take action in all these areas. We are at a crisis point for humanity. But “pray for me” is the most powerful request because Pope Francis is challenging us, urging us, to own our spiritual agency.

The church of the past projected a role for the congregants as children. The leaders were our fathers and occasionally mothers who knew better and took care of us. We came to them for help, for confession, for prayer. Much of the reformation of Christianity in the West has been about taking some power back. My ancestors, the Moravians, taught the peasants to read so they could have direct access to the scriptures and not have to rely solely on what they were taught by the priests. Luther nailed his ideas on the church door, taking back more power, starting a lively conversation about the nature of divinity, the nature of Christ, the nature of human beings.

We’ve been growing up over the centuries, and now this pope is handing the power to each and every one of us. He is inviting us to become equals in spirit. Not necessarily in knowledge. Theologians know a lot about the history of spirituality, religion, etc. Not all of us need to know every nook and cranny of each religion to be effective spiritual beings. But Pope Francis is inviting us to become co-creators of the universe along with God. His request “pray for me” tells us that prayer is a tool to create change. Some traditions say the angels cannot intervene in earth’s goings on without our consent. We have to ask for help. Prayer is one of the tools to accomplish this.

What kind of prayer? How do I pray? Does prayer work? All these are good questions and there are many opinions out there. But they’re questions for another blog or your own research. The point is we are capable of making a difference in the world, a positive difference, a powerful difference.

“Become who you were born to be,” says Lord Elrond to Aragorn.

“Use the Force, Luke,” says Obi-Wan Kenobi .

“Pray for me,” says Pope Francis.

“Who am I to pray for him?” many of us ask. Indeed, who are we? It’s time to find out.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/sep/25/pope-francis-blesses-united-nations-staff-new-york-video

October 25, 2013

The Star Family Now Available

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A secret spiritual group

A recurring dream

A 400-hunderd year old ritual must be completed before it is too late

Jane Frey inherits a Gothic mansion filled with unexpected treasures. A prophecy claims it hides an important artifact – the key to an energy grid laid down by the Founding Fathers themselves. Whoever controls this grid controls the very centers of world power. Except Jane has no idea what they’re looking for.

“The Star Family . . . explores the esoteric aspects of a progressive Protestant sect called the Moravian Brethren and weaves their history into a fascinating piece of speculative fiction. What if the Moravians had continued to observe some of their controversial practices in secret? What if their rites and music have played a role in withstanding the malignant forces that threaten to overwhelm modern society? What if one woman who discovers her true ancestry could oppose dominion of darkness through music and erotic spirituality? What if a town in North Carolina holds the key to bringing harmony to the world? Readers who enjoyed The Historian and The DaVinci Code will enjoy The Star Family.”

Dr. Craig Atwood, Moravian College, Director of the Center for Moravian Studies

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Signed copies $22.00. Send an email to the author at theresacrater@comcast.net

May 25, 2013

The Serapeum

On our tour to Egypt in April, I was finally able to visit the Serapeum, and Oh My God!

We walked down steps into the ground, then down some more. We turned left next to a large box and walked down to a corridor filled with niches. I turned left and went to the first one. That’s when the visions began.

I wish I could go through it niche by niche and describe every world and every operator, but I can’t remember it that clearly. But I saw the attendants in mostly every niche and images, colors and feelings of the worlds that niche connected to. The attendants reached out and touched me with their scepters. Some on the third eye, some on the shoulder. Others nodded an acknowledgement of me. Others made hand gestures or motioned for me to come inside.

The boxes were filled with liquid light. They were transport devices to other worlds. I asked how they worked, and the third or so guardian told me, “They work much like the crystal you described in your book.” The person lays in them and is transported to the place this niche connects to. Just sort of dissolved into energy. In others, I saw people turning into Neters. In some, people were healed.

Some were solar worlds, filled with light and gold and sun. Others had many colors. Some were night worlds. These began toward the end of the corridor and mostly on the other side. Some were very green and filled with plants. Some desert and sand. Some were water worlds. In one of the night worlds, the guardian came forward to greet me and a big black Jaguar came out and licked my face.

There were 27 in the hallway. Later I realized that’s how many letters there are in the Hebrew alphabet. Then I went down the hallway that intersected them, sort of like an H, but not even. The boxes were being made or repaired on that side. Stephen went further and said there was a workshop back there. He says there’s a door blocking another tunnel and there are more—who knows how many.

I went back and that’s when I counted them. At first, I counted the box without a lid next to the door. If there are more, I’m curious how they are grouped. In certain numbers or what?

I’d like to go there with a master toner and see what happens, or do what my friend Jeanne suggested and each of us sit in one and tone. Holy cow. I can feel the place turning on just thinking about that.

When we left, the vendors were waiting just outside the door. A Neter-like being, at least seven feet tall if not more, walked out with me. The vendor said to us, “Five dollars American” and I completely cracked up, imagining if this Neter were really there fully in our dimension, him looking at some chronometer on his wrist and thinking, “Blast, I’m in the wrong year.”

When I was in the Serapeum, I thought I was seeing other worlds, other planets that make up our stellar family. But later I thought perhaps they were dimensions. Perhaps it’s not a matter of time—that in the distant past we used this place in this way, but a matter of layers—that in some higher frequency we still use this place as a transportation and healing nexus.

In either case, I want to visit the Serapeum again.

May 6, 2013

Sekhmet, Coming to Balance

On this trip, seeing Sekhmet was the day I shed the world. She is one of my reliable spiritual connections. She always sets me straight.

When Stephen and I first got into a relationship, he used to give me Sekhmet presents. A wall hanging, a picture—that kind of thing. I used to think it was sweet because he loved Sekhmet. That was until I met her. Then I understood.

We were walking to her shrine in Karnak in silence. Hakim kept shushing the guard. Then it happened. The vision began with me walking out from the shrine, but a different me. A me from the way past. This me said, “Welcome home.” And the whole temple burst into color and bloom. Fountains played in the recesses. Birds sang and splashed. A line of priestesses carried platters of fruit and flowers to her, chanting beautiful weaves of harmony. I wept the whole way there. Hakim protected me from intrusion. When I went in to see her, she was not stone. She was a living, breathing presence. She looked down through several dimensions at us. Pure compassion. She knew what it was like to live in this time. She whispered encouragement, healing, pure love. There was more.

On my next trip to Sekhmet, I wondered what I would experience. The first time is often the most powerful. She looked down at me again, and this time she had a simple message. “You need to play more.” She took me to a cave with a spring, a green bank outside. My sister priestesses and I swam and rested, enjoying her comforting presence. I can’t remember what she said on my third visit, but I always leave in peace, my consciousness cleansed, my frequency vibrating high.

This time on the boat my little crystal skull I’d brought along yelled at me that it wanted to come too. I almost missed the bus tearing through my luggage to find it. After all, it hadn’t said a word to me in a year in a half. When we arrived at Karnack, we split into two groups. We went to the open air museum, toned with Gary Evans in a granite room, looked at hieroglyphs and inscribed Neters with Stephen and Patricia. The guard indulged us.

Then we walked toward her shrine. The other group met us on their way out. My friend Jeanne had been weeping. Someone approached her to see what was wrong, but she caught my eye. I nodded my head. She nodded hers. And we hugged, sister priestesses celebrating our return to Mother Sekhmet.

She had already come to me with a vision while we toned. When I came in she whispered to me about what she’d shown me, then released me to watch her come to the others in the group. Some cried or closed their eyes and listened or came up to touch her and had a hard time letting go. We toned. One woman slipped behind her and wept healing tears. Nothing was wrong. Everything is right when we visit Sekhmet.