Meditation – Theresa Crater

October 23, 2022October 23, 2022

Three Awakenings & Sacred France #1

Remember Holy Blood, Holy Grail? The book that revealed the sacred bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene? One of the authors was Sir Henry Lincoln who went on from this book to discover the secret geometry underlying the sacred sites in Cathar Country. His protégé, Allysha Lavino, unveiled the sacred grid in her novel The Heretic. Here’s what she has to say about my memoir Three Awakenings.

“Have you ever experienced a life-changing, soul-shaking, Divine encounter?

In the footsteps of The Heretic, my dear friend Theresa took me up on my invitation to ‘See for yourself…’

She traveled to the power sites in the Languedoc of Southwest France and experienced a profound awakening.

As she tapped into the land of the Cathars, she experienced the ancient Wisdom there.

AND SHE DISCOVERED A POWERFUL MESSAGE…

Now, she’s decided to share this life-changing adventure in a powerful and intimate memoir. (She even mentions me and Sir Henry in the book!)

As a visionary fiction author, Theresa Crater usually writes magical stories about ancient temples, lost civilizations, and secret societies.

Now she’s bearing her heart in a powerful and intimate memoir about deep awakenings and Divine enounters… including the powerful magic she experienced following in the footsteps of Lily in The Heretic!

Theresa has actually lived a pretty amazing life—diving deeply into ancient schools of meditation and traveling the world through mythic lands of legend.

And I’m so excited to learn about the personal stories that have made her such a powerhouse visionary!!

But the main reason I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this book is the way Theresa translates and transmits magic.”

I’m blushing for sure.

Discover what happened to me in France. Support the Kickstarter campaign to hep bring the book to life!

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.

August 19, 2017

Cambodia’s Celestial City

It was in 1860 that a group of Chinese and Siamese tour guides cut through the dense jungle to reveal the great edifice of Angkor Wat to French naturalist Henri Mouhot. Many say that Mouhot discovered this great former seat of the Khmer Empire, but the place had long been known by local groups.

Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s celestial city, built to reflect and make concrete the spiritual cosmos. Each temple is considered the home to the god it is dedicated to. The statues, lingams and other artifacts were imbued with the spiritual signature of that god or goddess. Humans go to these temples to align themselves with that particular energy. Why? To raise their consciousness. To achieve enlightenment.

The Khemitians (Egyptians) had similar rituals. Once a statue or other symbol was completed, the Neter or particular spiritual energy was evoked so that statue radiated the energy of that Neter. People would go and sing or meditate in a particular temple to align with that energy. Those of you who have been to Sekhmet’s shrine in Karnack know what I’m talking about. She’s there. She will interact with you. She will advise and admonish you. Most of all, she will love you more than you can imagine. But I digress.

Angkor Wat is built to reflect the Hindu cosmos. In the center of the universe stands Mount Mehru, the cosmic axis mundi. This is represented by a tower or prasat in each temple that enshrines the principle deity. And I’ll bet when we get there, we’ll find a central core to the whole complex that represents the One Consciousness from which all the deities spring. Then in each temple, following sacred geometry principles, are “subordinate” towers dedicated to the deity’s spouse or “vehicle.” The periphery of the temple is for objects and things associated with the liturgy or ritual performances.

Now before we get too excited about this apparent hierarchy, remember that in Hindu cosmology, the god is the form of spirit, while the goddess (spouse) is the energy that makes the form active. Thus, “vehicle.” (In Western metaphysics, the language is almost the opposite, with masculine being energy and feminine being form, but if you read carefully, the principle is exactly the same.) This is sometimes misunderstood as “subordinate” or lesser than. But this is really a matter of time. The form exists, then is multiplied and spread through the energy of the female. But spiritually, the two are equal. One cannot exist without the other. It is only when the manifest universe dissolves at the end of a huge cycle, represented by one breath of the Great Mother, that the two fold back into the One Consciousness.

The Khmer rulers would take statues and objects from the temples to align their rule with the cosmos. In ancient Khemit, statues of the Neters were paraded in the town to spread the energy.

The outskirts of the city near Angkor Wat are also full of spiritual artifacts. Water was very important to the civilization and Shiva lingams were placed in the waterways to energize it. Water running into the pyramids in Khemit was energized through the sun and crystals. This video shows the “River of a Thousand Lingas.”

In the 16^th century, the Theravadan Buddhists revitalized the site and are still active there today. Monks will lead us in a dawn chant on one of our days in Angkor Wat.

Our Cambodia Wisdom Tour is December 4th – 11th. I’m looking forward to exploring these temples and meditating in them. Sign up by the end of September.

July 4, 2017

Metaphysical Writer Alan Richardson

I know many of you like metaphysical and visionary fiction. In case you haven’t read him yet, here’s another writer for you: Alan Richardson. Richardson has published many books, both fiction and even more nonfiction.

I’ve just finished his latest novel, The Lightbearer, a tale of the ending of World War II and the Piscean Age, replete with modern figures who bear curious resemblances to mythical figures. Michael Horsett’s plane crashes, but his parachute catches him in a tree—hanging upside down with one leg crossed over another. Remind you of the Hanged Man? Plus his last name breaks down to Hor (Horus) and Sett (Set)—a combination of two Egyptian Gods. And a group of women recognize him as such. They have deep tantric plans for him—much to his delight. At first. You can play a game with this novel finding all the Tarot characters or pathways on the Tree of Life. Or just enjoy it. The novel is written in his characteristic witty, slightly irreverent, occasionally violent or shocking, but always revelatory style.

The bio I find most often for him is this one from Llewellyn’s website: “Alan Richardson was born in Northumberland, England, in 1951, and has been writing on the topic of magic for many years. He does not belong to any occult group or society, does not take pupils, and does not give lectures on any kind of initiation. He insists on holding down a full-time job in the real world like any other mortal. That, after all, is part and parcel of the real magical path. He is married with four children and lives very happily in a small village in the southwest of England.”

I’ve also read On Winsley Hill, the story of Rosie, a visionary who sees into the past and into the nature of standing stones and other sites. An American archaeologist finds her and uses her talents, awakening the Goddess who engages in a somewhat debased, but still effective reenactment of the old rites at the end of the novel.

Then there’s The Fat Git, a modern day slacker Merlin whose job is, as always, to protect the lands. But Vivienne distracts him while Mr. Vortig brings earthmovers in to demolish the sacred circle and build a monument to capitalism. Will Elaine and Yvonne wake him in time?

There are other novels that I haven’t read yet, but look forward to exploring, plus he’s written biographies of Dion Fortune, Aleister Crowley, Christine Hartley and William G. Gray along with books on magic. His Inner Guide to Egypt will intrigue many of you if you’re prepared to do a little meditation.

There’s an interesting interview with him from Skylight Press. Here’s his Amazon page for those who want to explore more.

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.

August 3, 2016

Unity Consciousness

In my novels, many of the characters experience altered or higher states of consciousness. I’ve based these experiences on the teachings of the Vedas and Western Metaphysics, but in truth, all the world’s traditions recognize these as our true human potential. Some say that living in enlightenment is our birthright.

In Under the Stone Paw, the experience of Unity comes at the end when all the crystal holders come together to perform their appointed task of opening the Hall of Records:

“Something coiled at the bottom of the Nile, down deep near Elephantine, woke and stretched its head. Power stirring from far south flowed down river, gathering force as it came. From Khnum’s island and the island of Bigga it flowed, from the root of physical form to the womb of the world, then to Kom Ombo where the great crocodile dove in and swam northward. The river of power rolled on through the great temple at Karnak, Dendara, Abydos and Edfu, the essence of each temple they’d visited joining the flow, braiding in its particular frequency, its special light. The vast flood reached Giza, the crown jewel in the spine of the Nile, and the Keepers were inundated. Just as a river surrenders to the sea, all their limitations simply washed away.”

Tahir describes the experience as Unity Consciousness. Unity is the seventh state of consciousness in the Vedic (Hindu) system. It is that state in which we experience that we are the One Consciousness that has created and makes up the universe and that everything and everyone else is too. We experience this directly, not intellectually, but literally—like you know you’re sitting in a chair or holding a phone in your hand right now.

“Tahir smiled. Now they knew. The quest was over. Every single human being was a living, breathing library of cosmic knowledge. All humanity would return to this high state of consciousness, this exquisite unity that could never be written down, that had to be experienced. Just as the first lines of the Tao said and the Rig Veda. Hadn’t all sages said this down through the ages?”

Even this description focuses on knowledge, while the actual experience is more a vast sea of eternal awareness that supports and upholds us.

How do we achieve Unity? Most of these sages recommend meditation. Daily practice of meditation in which you allow your consciousness to go from your regular, daily reality and settle into the One Consciousness that supports you and everything. Some people use sound or mantras. Some use their breath. Some use mindfulness. I think you must find the meditation that resonates with you. Since it is a natural state, once in a blue moon it just dawns on a few lucky folks.

Power places can help—places that have naturally high frequency because of their location on the planet. Perhaps because of crystal in the rock, water, and sunlight. Places where people have done spiritual ceremony for a long time. Just regularly turn inward without focusing on the content of thoughts, but your awareness itself. Don’t worry about how long it will take. The universe is a big place and there’s plenty of time.