Working with Spirit Guides

“I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while; in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.”– Don Juan, Journey To Ixtlan

Insight

Get over the fretting, stewing, self-recrimination, and worry about the right and wrong way of doing and act until it is right for you – intuit your way and honor your path of knowing. Each is unique and that is the problem with trying to fit in. Each is a wonder in being.

Engage the magic you were born with and witness the magic all around you.

Become intentional in your thinking. Thoughts are fuel. Free your mind of unnecessary flotsam. Feed your soul. What you invest in with obsessive thought manifests in physical reality. An ailment, a blessing. Your thought. Your result. You are more powerful than you know.

“To worry is to become accessible, unwittingly accessible. And once you worry you cling to anything out of desperation; and once you cling you are bound to get exhausted or to exhaust whoever or whatever you are clinging to.” – Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan

A half-hearted effort

As mentioned in a previous post, I was guided to read Journey to Ixtlan, a book I didn’t have in my Castaneda collection.

At first glance, I bookmarked some highlights, beginning with: Losing Self-importance. In that section, don Juan tells Carlos to get over his belief that he is the primary being, and above all else in his world.

“As long as you feel that you are the most important thing in the world you cannot really appreciate the world around you. You are like a horse with blinders, all you see is yourself apart from everything else.” p. 42

I had some other matters that were more pressing at that time, so I tabled the book and left it at that. It didn’t help that the old bias against Castaneda had crept in. Did he make it all up? His detractors thought so.

• “There has been a great deal of debate as to whether the book represents a genuine ethnographic description of real events and experiences, or whether it is simply a work of imaginative fiction. Nevertheless, and regardless of its veracity, the influence of the book on subsequent anthropologists was enormous and inspired many to follow similar courses of ethnographic field- work in other societies.” Source – Jack Hunter, Anthropology and the Supernatural: From Spirits to Consciousness, EdgeScience #10 March 2012.
• Questioned about “discrepancies in his account of his life”, he responded, “To ask me to verify my life by giving you my statistics … is like using science to validate sorcery. It robs the world of its magic and makes milestones out of us all.”  Source.

Take 2 – a prod and a second attempt

My nightlights are extremely active [Spring], underscoring an increase in spirit energy, and nudging me to revisit the material. When I did my daily check-in (meditation), I got a direct prompt.

“Do not ask any more questions until you have finished the book.”

The problem was in my ability to connect to the story. Castaneda seemed arrogant and disrespectful of the man he supposedly wanted to learn from. His only interest was in scoring a high. What was I supposed to learn from this book?

Rinse and repeat – the student gets it

Having a better understanding, given the benefit of an overview as I write this now, I see the mirror. It was the same issue Carlos was confronting – and returning to throughout the entire book: self-importance.

I had stopped reading before the teaching could be integrated and assimilated. I didn’t get it until I realized I was learning along with Carlos, going through the motions, pondering, protesting, judging, posturing, whining, getting frustrated with delays, avoidance, and the interjection of seeming minutia … checking out … and checking in.

And then the thump on the noggin’… It’s the journey… not the destination.

In the immersion with the lessons – magic happens. Carlos is the vehicle carrying the message forward. In allowing himself to accept the rules the shaman lays out, don Juan commands and orchestrates the scene to create a shift in awareness and in presence, revealing another dimension of reality. No blocks. No words. No explanation. The wall disappears and a door opens. Transformation.

The reader who participates in the journey undergoes that same change.

In my hurry to know the answer, I jumped to a conclusion and stopped reading the book. Revisiting the book, and allowing myself to become invested in the process part of the journey, I gradually became immersed in the story. It took me by surprise to find Carlos in a situation that is very similar to a personal encounter I had with a supernatural entity.

It is the second time (decades apart) I have found a reference to one of his supernatural encounters that mirrors an event in my reality.

What did I learn from this book? The answer is more than I can put into words. I experienced a definite shift. It happened when I decided to apply myself and step into the role of student so that I could learn from the teacher. Just as don Juan instructs, I had to stop the world.

It dawned on me that – once again, I had underestimated the power of the story and the teachings of Castaneda’s don Juan.

Supernatural beings – Rolling Thunder

The wonderful synchronicity in Journey to Ixtlan is an event Carlos relates that involves an encounter with a supernatural being similar to that with which I have had a prior encounter. For real.

Once again, a thing he reveals, is a thing that would seem to be a fictional creation to those who could not fathom the existence [including me] without benefit of having a direct encounter. A shamanic encounter.

That it also happened as I was exploring the life of Native American Shaman Rolling Thunder is no coincidence. I engaged his spirit when he appeared on the trail in the form of a Rattle Snake in the very same park as the encounter with the wind entity I am referring to in this post.

Speaking about him another time – clear day, no rain -we heard thunder roll in the background.

• Rolling Thunder on his healing abilities. “I believe the healing force contains the strength of the Creator–or Great Spirit–as well as the energy of the thunder and the lightning and that of all living beings. I sometimes also ask the stars or the sun to help me, or I may call on the great medicine men and tribal chiefs of the past.” – Mother Earth News.
• About Rolling Thunder – Society for Shamanic Practice. Link.
• Stanley Krippner discusses his experience with Rolling Thunder – Video with Jeffrey Mishlove.
• My interview with Stanley Krippner. The Shamanic Powers of Rolling Thunder: As Experienced by Alberto Villoldo, John Perry Barlow, Larry Dossey, and Others. by Sidian Morning Star Jones  (Editor), Stanley Krippner (Editor)

Beyond description – the Encounter

Castaneda relates an encounter described by don Juan as a wind spirit. A paranormal entity. I’ve had a similar encounter.

Andy and I were walking the dogs at a local park when we noticed what looked like a whirlwind of dust swirling through the pasture and along side the path. We watched and remarked on how unusual it was to be so close to such an amazing dust devil.

And then it did something totally unexpected. The whirlwind changed direction. It paralleled us and then maneuvered itself so that it would intersect with us.

Mesmerized, we slowed as it came out of the pasture and onto the paved trail, pausing directly in front of us and then surging forward to engage and hold us and our two dogs for a brief moment at the center of that swirling energy tornado.

That action made it clear – what we thought was a dust devil was something more. We were allowed to witness the actions of an intelligent entity. After passing us, the dust devil/tornado left the paved trail, swirling through the pasture and into the trees, navigating an unseen path, tossing up leaves in the wake. We observed it for several more minutes before moving on.

Intelligent design.

Being caught up in the wind was invigorating. I kept repeating, ‘Thank you’ – over and over – as the wind rushed wildly around me. Andy had a similar response. Unexpected and amazing. What a rush!

I wonder what it learned from us.

“We have to balance the lineality of the known universe with the nonlineality of the unknown universe.” – Carlos Castaneda

Beyond the physical – Robert Monroe

Working and communicating on the spirit plane. Another vantage point from those who took notes and left their study guides. Two examples.

Robert Monroe – Opening communication with Spirit.
Description: In this unedited audio transmission, witness the profound exploration about the awareness of true reality with Code name: ROMC and Robert Monroe.
1. Sample: (13:45) Soul evolution and reality
• ROMC: Souls create thought forms that distract them from their true nature.
• ROMC: Souls on Earth are trapped in false thought forms created by man, leading to a disconnection from true nature of reality.
• To break free, souls must get in touch with their higher self and pure levels of thought, which carry a powerful energy that can create unusual circumstances and give complete control over one’s soul universe.
• ROMC explains how false realities are created and how they affect souls.

2. Explorer 03: (42:14) – Consciousness and New Technology. A physicist Explorer, TCA [Tom Campbell], discusses the human relationship with higher consciousness and the opportunities for learning; ways to develop new technology.
– Extended discussion of Uri Geller, his abilities and the contacts who work with him. [Ex: Metal obeys the desires of the individual and restructures itself.]

Capturing the Rapture in the moment

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth | Ep. 1: ‘The Hero’s Adventure’, YouTube. Also available on Billy Moyers’ site: “Released shortly after Campbell’s death on October 30, 1987, The Power of Myth was one of the most popular TV series in the history of public television, and continues to inspire new audiences.(1988)”

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That’s what it’s all finally about.” –Joseph Campbell