The Need to Burn the Carbon off the Pipes

I was lying in bed this morning when I heard an insistent tapping. I wasn’t inclined to get up just yet since I had been having another one of ‘those dreams’ which now I can’t remember. The tapping went on. I had put the dogs out a little after dawn and gone back to bed. I wondered if it was one of them although they’ve never shown that kind of initiative before. I got up and went into the kitchen because I saw nothing at the front door and there I saw a small bird with a yellow belly and gray black wings perched on a thin ledge at the bottom of the long window which comprises most of the door.

The bird was steadily tapping at the glass. I walked right up to the door and the bird kept tapping. I stood there for about ten seconds and then the bird flew away. It didn’t occur to me how strange it was that the bird did not fly away when I came up on it. I wasn’t really in my normal (grin) consciousness yet.

It seemed like the bird had been sent to tell me to get out of bed. The thing is that the night before I had told myself I was going to get up early because I had a lot errands to run in a certain time frame and a particular chore to accomplish before I left, including my morning cups of tea with the companionable American Spirit in attendance. I would probably have been pressed for time if I had not gotten up then. I had gone to bed pretty late the night before and then there’s always that hour when I lay awake doing the things I do on my way to the astral plane.

I don’t know if that bird was sent to wake me up but it certainly dovetailed with my plans and was right on the mark time wise. It was also out of character for the bird (I think) to be tapping at my window... and the fact that it didn’t fly away when I came up on it but just kept tapping for a few seconds... I don’t know.

I have a fascination with the Devic Realm and that is one of the reasons that I engage Lord Ganapati/Ganesh; the other is for the removal of obstacles to self-realization which is one of his particular forms of service to those who seek him out. It’s also said by those who are familiar with the tradition that he is the closest to us in terms of distance and approachability. This is important to me because we are in the Kali Yuga and a time of intense materialism. Spirituality is not as easy in these times as in others and that brings me to something I’ve wanted to talk about.

Before I embark on another travelogue, I need to proffer a disclaimer and to say that what I do with my life is my own business. People may have their opinions about how certain behavior might apply to them but, I am not them and they are not me. I do not encourage others to engage in the sort of things I do in this particular area. I should also say that such behavior on my part is rare. Well, it’s rare in comparison to what it used to be (grin).

It’s also a lot more selective and refined than it was. Still, it’s not my day to day thing and some portions of those practices I do recommend in a general way but not this one.

What I am talking about, if you haven’t already guessed, is the use of psychotropic substances. The only reason I am talking about them today is to clarify why someone would engage in this pursuit to begin with and I’ve got a very good reason for that.

Originally the timing of my life put me into a cultural period where this sort of thing was common. You have to add into this the extreme thirst that I had for the unseen worlds which impact upon the one we tend to think of as the real world, although it is no more real than the others and much less real than some.

Early on in my career I had an intense curiosity about the occult and Hermetic sciences. I even owned a book store which sold the texts and also allowed me to read them as well. It was called The Ajna Bookstore and it was in Woodstock, New York. I had this bookstore for several years and it was at this time that I joined The Builders of the Adytum and began to take their courses which went on for a couple of decades at least. When I met Guru Bawa he took these interests away from me ‘in a certain way’ but I have continued to glean knowledge from that area although it’s pretty much intuitive at this point.

Guru Bawa said that engaging in the use of these substances was a bad idea. Pretty much all teachers and traditions say this with the exception of Left Hand Tantra and the Shamanistic traditions. One could say that I was in and out of the former over the years and that it had a lot to do with the early Kali and Smashin Tara worship. You’ve got to be a particular, strange kind of a person to want to go into these areas and you have got to have some kind of previous Karmic associations and protections to go there as well. Anyone who has seen her as she is known to appear and who is not adapted or prepared for it would go mad and there’s no ifs ands or buts about it.

I used to take large amounts of psychedelics and go into graveyards at night for the opportunity. People who are not familiar with the Hindu traditions would look at this as an indication of insanity. I would insert here that one is unlikely to find the source without going mad in any case but that’s by the by. My path has been an uncommon one and there are people who did go mad trying to tag along, although- thankfully- they did recover. In the Hindu tradition neither hand of the Tantric paths is evil in and of itself. It is the intention of the practitioner who makes it so as is the case with anything. I was never looking for magical powers or material gain, only contact and revelation.

My reasons for engaging in psychotropic accessories in relation to my search can be understood by analogy perhaps. When you are trying to get your car out of a swamp it’s a good thing to have a motorized winch. If you are trying to fly it’s a good thing to have something that offsets gravity. If you are engaged in anything where there is a large degree of resistance then extra power can’t hurt.

We live in very materialistic times and that means that there is a blanket of heavy darkness over one’s mind and emotions. If your focus is on material things then you probably don’t notice the oppressive weight of their presence in the environment. You might notice that you get weary on the way. You might notice the difficulties of moving through compressed space and you might notice that the more conveniences that appear and the more time saving devices that are around that the faster time goes by. But probably you don’t notice these things and probably you don’t associate them with materialism.

Materialism clogs a person’s pipes. It dims the sight and it fragments the will. It does all kinds of things. Most people are completely reliant on this and desire it too. They like that cushioning thing that civilization brings to their soft forms. Some of us don’t and the time when you really notice the force of materialism is when you try to get out of it. The effort needed to escape is pretty extreme as well as constant.

So you might say that I’m weak, or in a hurry. You might say that I’m insane and inconsistent and I won’t argue with any of that. It doesn’t change anything anyway. But every now and then I need to burn the carbon off of my pipes and I need a reminder of what it is I’m looking for. Of course, I can’t stay there and I know this. I just want to check in; touch base, re-inspire myself to a greater effort for when I’m back in la vie ordinaire. You may not even consider such a thing and that’s fine. I happen to know that there are more ways up this mountain than you can imagine. It’s not the way you pick that matters. All that matters is whether you are determined enough and have no inclination to stop or turn back... no matter what.

I’ve been moving around in these mysterious landscapes for years and I share a kinship with Terrence McKenna and a number of other people and we’re somewhat unique in our ability to navigate this territory, just as you may be at something I have no ability for whatsoever. No matter what the general rule may be there are always special cases and you either find out or you die trying. Some routes are safer but they’re longer; just like shortcuts in relation to the other highways. It’s not that I believe in shortcuts or even that I think I’m taking one. It’s just how it sorted out for me.

The key to anything is one’s sincerity of purpose. God knows what I’m up to and I think he/she’s even glad that I would go through the trouble and risk certain consequences just to talk to him/her. That’s what it comes down to. I just find all of this... this monument to crap and bad taste to be a little too much to bear and this is how I make it bearable for me. I take little spiritual vacations to check in on where I’m bound. It eases the pain of being here. I make no excuses and offer no apologies and I strongly recommend that everyone find a less dramatic course but this is just how it is for me... by way of answering questions that I sometimes get and... responding to critics who have zero experience of anything I’m talking about here but who, for reasons unfathomable to me... know all about it.

Anyway... probably not what you were expecting but I will make sure to put something else up here real soon so you don’t feel like I left you wanting.

You’re not going to believe this. Just as I finished this there came another bird at the window. I heard the tapping and went into the kitchen but it was gone. I saw it flying away. Then another bird appeared while I was standing there and tapped twice (just like the one who departed) and then this bird also left. I noticed it had a black stripe down the middle of its yellow belly. What was strange before has now become uncanny. There’s probably some rational explanation for this but... you can imagine my state of wonderment at the moment.

Visible sings: ♫ Everlasting Love ♫
'Everlasting Love' is track no. 2 of 10 on Visible's 2006 album 'Songwriter'
Lyrics (pops up)

We Are Dreaming we are Alive

There’s something I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time and I think it keys right into why we should be unfailingly positive in the face of these ‘interesting times’. This body that houses us here is a coffin and we are asleep inside of it. We wake up when we die and... I should add that some of us wake up inside this coffin before we die.

Because we have a body, we are dreaming. We are asleep and we are dreaming the dreams of flesh. A part of us knows that we are dreaming and in some cases it struggles to wake us up. Only death- of some kind- can awaken us. Once one is awakened that person begins to walk in an opposite direction to the world and attention is needed not to run into the sleepwalkers you are moving through.

The medium of understanding for the sleepwalkers are the senses. The senses are like five horses hitched to a chariot or carriage. We hold the reins in our hands but because we are dreaming we are not paying attention to where we are going and this is how our vehicle comes to go off the road so often and this is what causes nightmares. In life, which is not life, you probably call these nightmares something else because when you are dreaming, one thing is certain; no one will admit that they are dreaming. They insist they are wide awake.

Someone asked me about ‘the one mind’. This person had the idea that the one mind is insane because of the state of the world we live in. My first thought was that this person doesn’t understand the nature of the one mind. The one mind is like an ocean which is inhabited by billions of fish. We... via our assumption of a separated, personal mind swim around in this ocean with the idea that we are independent of it. However, if you pull any of us out of the water we will die. It is true that whole schools of fish can go insane. It is true that portions of the ocean can become polluted by the bad behavior of some of the fish or because of some accident which is usually the result of some ignorant action on the part of one or more of the fish. But;

Even if the whole ocean became polluted and all of the fish died, the ocean would still be there, hosting whatever life forms remained to live in the murk. We come and go in the one mind but the one mind remains. We come and go for the same reason we go to sleep and wake up again each morning. Because we imagine ourselves to be separated from the one, we also separate the world outside of us in a variety of ways and we measure its progression with something called ‘time’.

Let us think of ourselves as one of many types of light bulbs or light fixtures. There are a great many varieties. Let us think of electricity as the force of the one mind that lights us up and animates us. Electricity is a single force yet it has a wide span of applications. It can cool and heat. It can do all kinds of things. I understand that we have yet to develop the technology to be able to capture the force of a single lightning bolt. Perhaps I am wrong but... imagine how many lightning bolts there are. Consider that this electricity penetrates the furthest regions of this incomprehensibly vast universe, composes it and is also apart from it as well and you get some idea... maybe... of the power and presence of this one mind.

They say matter cannot be created or destroyed. You might consider, in this context, the difference between kinetic and potential energy and if you get the point you will see proof positive that we don’t actually die... we go somewhere else ...we turn into something else but... we don’t die. We just change. If you could change whenever needed in every circumstance required you would find, as the Bible says that, “some will not taste death.”

The problem with dreaming is that you are contained within the dream and so, everything outside of the dream seems to be a dream when, in some cases it is more real than anything the dream contains. It takes constant and persistent effort to wake up. It is the rare individual for whom this is the most compelling of needs. A master once gave an example to a student who asked him how much intensity one should put into striving for realization. The master said that he should submerge himself in water and hold his breath and that when he could not hold it any longer that this was the state he should be in regarding realization.

It has been said by many teachers in many times and places that the purpose of physical incarnation is spiritual progress. Although there are places where one can reincarnate outside of the physical, such as the Amitabha Buddha’s Western Pure Land, our spiritual progress takes place here because this is where the circuits get wired for the electricity to flow in the direction of intention. You don’t go anywhere that you are not already at and Heaven begins where your feet touch the ground. What you achieve here is where you are when you go.

You must accomplish it here. If you understood what was involved in dying and being born over and over, I assure you that you would have no other thoughts on your mind but self-realization. We are all of us, to different degrees, living in a hallucination. The power of Maya and the dream-web is very great; the greater the materialism of the age the greater the power.

Everything is actually backwards and upside down from the way we understand it. When a baby is born it sees things upside down and this is one of the difficulties it has to surmount in learning to walk. All of us learned to walk and it was a great accomplishment. We learned a language and all sorts of things more rapidly than we do now and this is something we should consider because we have lost something. This is another meaning that can be attributed to what Christ said about how we must become as a little child to enter the kingdom of Heaven.

In Heaven we are impersonal. There is no striving against each other there and that is what makes it Heaven... along with a few other benefits. Hell is the isolation of the self in a fire of unfulfilled desire. That lake of fire is a lake of desire and it is also the magnet that draws you once again into physical form.

There is nothing important here. Saving your life is not important. It doesn’t even belong to you and you can’t save it anyway. The person you are isn’t even real because of the identification with personality as the enduring entity. The personality is a stained glass window through which the light shines. It is the house and not the life within. Our concern for survival here is as ludicrous as our vanity in our relentlessly aging appearance. We see signs all the time that there is more to life than the pursuit of the senses and the appetite but we can’t seem to make the connection. It’s all coincidence but... coincidence is merely the moments when we are spotting the consistency in the marvelous tapestry of life.

Find some kind of practice and engage it. Let it be what you do when you are doing everything else. In some traditions they suggest offering everything you do to the divine. Others suggest operating as if you were the divine in everything you do. Some suggest practicing the presence of God and some suggest engaging in unceasing prayer. There’s a ‘real’ system for everyone and you won’t discover anything more important in this dreaming life than what that system will introduce you to. Remember what Paramahansa Yogananda said. “If you don’t look for God in the springtime of your life, he won’t be there in the winter.”

Visible sings: ♫ I Am Alive ♫
'I Am Alive' is track no. 8 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Almost A Capella'
Lyrics (pops up)

The Age of Aquarius is on the Doorstep

Greetings dear friends; I’ve been thinking about the most recent postings here and elsewhere, as well as my personal journey of the last several months and considering how often things are so different than what we expect. We get up each day to face whatever the world has in store for us. It is usually based on what we already have in mind, even when we don’t know what that is.

Perhaps I should have expected a certain amount of fallout from various quarters when I started talking about Karma and Reincarnation but... I didn’t. Perhaps I should have expected a truly rough ride when I got down here in August; given that I expected quite the opposite but... I didn’t. Thinking about it this morning leads me to believe that very little of what I know -which is very little to begin with- is of much use in calculating anything beforehand. It seems like what really assists me in everything I encounter is something that resides within me and which responds through me and never seems to access anything that I might have reached for on my own.

I’ve talked about cycles now and then... here and at the other locations and ...it seems to me that cycles are also a large part of Karma and Reincarnation. This should be obvious but for some reason, the obvious often escapes me, like when I am staring right at the thing I’m looking for and once or twice... was actually holding it in my hand. It’s the old, ‘glasses on the forehead, where’s my hat?’ trick. I suppose that’s why humility and the softer features of our nature play such a part in our ability to understand what’s going on.

You hear a lot about how the illuminati, or whoever they are, are promoting homosexuality and engineering the breakup of the family unit and I can see this to some degree... although this is no judgment on any particular lifestyle. As I said, we all get to be all of it on our way to becoming one with it ‘again’. However, there’s more. There’s always more, which is what makes it unwise to assume we know. We only know portions of it at any time and on those rare occasions when we grasp a greater amount than we are accustomed to we often find we have nothing intelligible to say.

In relation to this and to our softer side, we have to keep in mind that the Aquarian Age, only recently, officially began. One of the things that is happening is the feminization of certain aspects of the mental and emotional bodies. This is playing a part in terms of acting out in certain ways. The true intention of this is an awakening of those higher feminine powers in all of us. Intuition is one of them. It is because of the outpouring from the vase held by the figure of Aquarius that goddess worship has come to the west. It was why all that long hair was flowing a few decades ago as a precursor to the most sensitive among us. Resistance to it is the source of the aggressive, testosterone syndrome that we are seeing in these times with all the people wearing their paranoid, war hats.

If you are wondering why so many strange and difficult things are happening it is because of the turning of the age. Mostly it is because we are ‘reacting’ en masse in the wrong way to the sublimating influences being awakened within us. The first reaction to the appearance of things we do not understand is fear. For those few who have moved beyond this visceral knee-jerk, it is curiosity and wonder.

Only a handful of us, relatively speaking, are ahead of the curve and enjoying- and sometimes suffering from as well- the budding fruit of a new world which has all the potentials of the new worlds discovered by the explorers of yore.

In the summer when I became 21, I met a man on a beach in California. He was unlike anyone I had met before or seen since. He looked like one of those porcelain figurines of Asian sages although he was brimming and youthful. I had no idea what age he might be. He held his hands a certain way and I thought, at the time, that he was crippled (grin). I later realized that it was an aspect of the mudras that you see in the Hindu posters. I hadn’t seen any of those yet and it wasn’t until I saw a statue of a sitting Buddha in an antique store window in Palm Springs that it dawned on me.

Several months later, I was in a cabin in the woods in Virginia and something happened to me that shook the foundation of my being and has been with me since. I discuss some parts of it here and also here in a six part ‘travelogue’ about my life. After that event I was holding my hands as he did and the whole experience was so powerful that I trembled for nearly 3 years. Over the years, I have disguised this feature because it can look strange and I realize this is what we do when we conceal our true nature. Just the other day it occurred to me what this whole process meant but I’m not going to talk about that and give my critics yet more fuel. This happened because a poster asked me if I had considered something and it was a trigger for following illumination.

We are all going through many things connected to this dawning age but we do not attribute these changes to that because we are looking outward at the world instead of inwardly at ourselves. What is happening is not chaotic or uncertain. It is definite and intentional and it can lift you up and it can crush you also; depending on your relationship to it... whether you resist or surrender.

In my own case, I tried to bury what happened to me and be a part of some kind of a life and I failed miserably at it. Even though I wandered in darkness and took extreme measures to hide the implications of what happened from myself and others, I knew it wasn’t over, just as I know that the next stage is very close now. This is why I contracted with one of the best astrologers on the planet last fall to make me a progressed chart and interpretation. Usually I don’t bother with these things but, as with most things in my life, it took on a life of its own and occurred. He confirmed just what I expected in general and sometimes specific terms.

Each of us is on the verge of similar things and I know that many readers here feel this. Unfortunately, many of us are looking at what we don’t understand with apprehension. This is not the relationship you want. If anything, you should be more like a child on the night before Christmas and this is regardless of what temporary appearances you might encounter or what trials you might endure. Very, very good things are on the horizon along with their counterparts. You might say that everything is on the horizon and everyone is going to get something according to who they are and what they are doing.

I’ve noted an increase in people of the Christian faith remonstrating with me over what I say. I catch a lot of criticism over what they call ‘that elephant god thing'. It's emblematic of the usual Christian intolerance, of everything not contained in their dogma, to behave this way. The regular reader knows that I’ve said very little about that and only in passing. I have a particular relationship with that aspect at this time, only for the removal of my obstacles to self-realization, which is the task he performs ...and for certain introductions to the Devic Realm which have to do with my work.

I have certainly spoken of and quoted Jesus Christ here with far more consistency. What we know of Christianity is passing too. In present time it has very little to do with the author and a lot more to do with the ordinary egos need to control itself and it’s surroundings by hammering scripture into the mix as a self-defense against their fear of the unknown.

I’ve noted that a number of people have taken my musings on Karma and Reincarnation out of context or made assumptions about what I meant which were not intended by me at all. These subjects are so intricate it is almost impossible to talk about them. My intention was to get us talking about them and through the interplay, I thought much might be revealed. Certainly more would be revealed this way than what I might be capable of alone. You can take it to the bank that I don’t know. Most of what I say just pours out and often I don’t know what’s there until I go over it afterwards. If there is a fault in anything that I have said it is because I don’t channel what I get with the best precision. I’m still learning as far as that goes.

I have no idea why I wrote what I did today or whether the parts come together or not. The point has always been to provoke people to think and engage... respond... so that I and all of the rest of us might be improved by the interaction of the sum total of all of us. Well... I may have had more to say but I will save it for the comments because I see that I’m at that point (and a little past) where I usually stop. Don’t be afraid of what’s coming. Properly received it will transform your life.

Visible sings: ♫ It's Changing ♫
'It's Changing' is track no. 5 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Color Ball'
Lyrics (pops up)

Karma, the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Talking about Karma seems to have brought up a lot of different commentary along with some amusing moments. So we’re going to talk a little more about Karma today and see if we can’t find a wider perspective to replace our narrow subjective takes and possibly rise above what we wish things were and try to find some kind of a comfort zone in the way things are; keeping in mind that the way things ‘really’ are may also be something we are missing. The way things are is not necessarily the way things are.

Today I went into town on some business with my trusty companion, Poncho Moonlight in the passenger seat. He doesn’t wear his seat belt, I do. Coming into town, I saw a dog walking by the side of the road. I had seen this same dog a few days earlier and noted how gaunt she was; ribs clearly defined and looking beaten and bedraggled. I wanted to stop and feed her but the circumstances weren’t good. First of all, I had to get somewhere within a pressing time frame and the location of the dog, for pulling over and attending to it, was not good.

Afterwards, I discovered, since things went far more smoothly than they usually do down here, that I would have had the time. I thought about the dog now and then and today, there she was in another inconvenient place. I was approaching the roundabout into town so I pulled into the V between where cars enter and come off at the direction I was coming from. This is one of the cool things about Italy. People park anywhere they want to. You have to see it to believe it. The Italians aren’t like everybody else; sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes not so much; like when you’re trying to take care of some kind of official business.

I crossed the street and poured out some food for the dog in a driveway while she watched me. It seemed like she’d had pups recently because her dugs were hanging down or... she just may have had so many that that is where they were now. She was skeletal but also of that breed that tends toward thin anyway but... this dog was in bad shape no matter how you parse it. I left what would be a normal portion for a dog of that size and that was all that was in the bag anyway. I thought of getting the other bag out and leaving more but... I operate nearly all of the time off of intuition and so... off I went. As I passed that place on my return I saw that the dog was gone and half of the food was still there.

Perhaps the dog is dying. She didn’t look good. You couldn’t get much lower than this dog in the pecking order. Here is this member of the Devic Realm, a noble friend to humanity, with centuries beyond remembering of tradition and history reduced to terrible circumstance. No one is going to adopt this dog. I’m not the dog wrangler that Susanne is so I don’t have her deft touch with these creatures. Should I have tried to put her in my car and take her home? Can I take all these dogs, that I see wandering the streets, back to my house? You can see a variety of karmas here.

This dog has no friends, nowhere to stay and gets mounted by anyone who wants to every time she goes into heat. Here in Italy, as in Spain and certain other locations, people will take a pet for the summer and then just turn it loose on the streets when the season ends. Sometimes they just don’t want their dog anymore. I guess there are a lot of reasons with zero moral justification. I can’t imagine the mindset that would take in an animal that depends on you for everything and who gives unreservedly in return... I just can’t imagine abandoning a responsibility taken for another living thing with such a callous disregard.

I can’t imagine raping a child. I can’t imagine gunning down women and children. I can’t imagine trafficking in human beings. I can’t imagine defrauding people or beating my consort. I can’t imagine starting wars for economic profit. There are a lot of things that I just wouldn’t do but the same cannot be said for everyone.

Yes... there are people who do hideous things. Some of them do it out of ignorance and there are some who do it, knowing full well that it is wrong -and who do it for the sheer joy of doing evil. Yes... there are creatures like this. It has been said that, “what goes around comes around”. It can also be said that we come around too. We come around and around and around for as long as the need may be.

It has been said by some number of people far wiser than I that a human birth is a very special thing. It is a remarkable opportunity and it doesn’t happen often. You would do well to tremble as you read those words. You would do well to strive hard for all your days remaining. You would do well to do good at every opportunity and to repent and ask for forgiveness when you find that you are in error. You would do well to put away your pride in yourselves and your vain and insignificant accomplishments. You would do well not to imagine that you know anything at all.

Where is it that you think you are? What are this planet and this form in which you move? This planet is a planet of elements constantly at war with each other... within you and without you. This is a place of atonement and the key to understanding Job One is at-one-ment. Hidden within the language are a great many answers. Hidden within you are all the answers. If you do not seek you will not find.

Let us look at that Tibetan wheel again. This world is an intermediary zone between the worlds below and the worlds above. This is not the only world by any stretch so why is it that we think we are going to find justice and comprehension when we never can see any more than one loop of the Mobius Strip?

There is a reason that ‘understanding’ is among the most priceless of spiritual gifts. How does one come by understanding? One gains understanding through surrender only. Until we can surrender what we think we know, it is all we will know -and that is a mortal darkness, lit with false light, illuminating illusionary forms. We wander blind in disorderly dreams. We act without comprehending. We speak without understanding.

There are no accidents and that is karma too. Consider those who do such terrible harm. Should there be no recompense for this? That is the purpose of reincarnation which is eternally linked to karma. They are magnetized to each other. No one gets away with anything.

I felt so very bad for that dog but I know nothing of the circumstances. I do not know who that dog was or why it was there. I know what I felt and I thank god that I can feel as I do. Look around your world and tell me what you see in this immense and seething cauldron of suffering. What goes up must come down. It is better to stay small and be satisfied with a little than spend a lifetime acquiring useless things that will remain on your departure and ...depart you will. This is one of the most peculiar mysteries to me that people do not recognize that they will lose everything except the progress made within.

Where do your treasures lie? Upon that hangs your destiny and fate; according to that so is your karma. The queen upon the throne may awaken to find herself a sidewalk whore. The billionaire may wake up chained to a galley. It is all important what we do from this moment and in each succeeding one. We should be filled with gratitude at every opportunity to be of service. Our intentions guide the way. There is far less said here than what is implied.

Visible sings: ♫ I Don't Love You Anymore ♫
'I Don't Love You Anymore' is track no. 3 of 10 on Visible's eponymous
'Les Visible' Music Album
Lyrics (pops up)

Our Karma and this Difficult World

Sometimes one’s spiritual nature is like a rushing river and sometimes it is an underground stream. When the latter is extant then the Visible Origami side of things seems to suffer accordingly as I’m more concerned with getting my life in balance than I am with actually being balanced and having something to say as a result. It’s been a smooth and successful day so I’ll take a chance and see if I have anything to say.

I don’t usually respond to the comments at any of the blogs. I’ve already said what I have to say in the post and because it can get really complicated doing so for a variety of reasons and I must have some background in this sort of thing that makes me stay away. However, I do read all of the comments and often take the inspiration for future posts from them. One thing I notice is trends. Certain types of respondents will appear and sometimes I can see that several anonymous posters are the same person.

I notice that a pretty large majority have the opinion that we’re all screwed. Some say we all deserve what’s coming; even though no one knows what’s coming. Some are armed and ready to do battle and some fully expect to be wiped out or locked up. Personally, I don’t feel any of these things. For me, as I have said many times before, everything is under control... right up to the tremble in every leaf and the movements of creatures too tiny to see. There’s a conscious force working through everything, even the rocks. It is an evolutionary spiral that sees into an unimaginable future and to our dualized minds that perceive things in a relative way, we just don’t get it.

This is the wisdom that is at the heart of Zen; mystical Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism and the real yogic mindset. They’re all the same. They all stress oneness with something incomprehensible. They all indicate that a union occurs and that the opposites which bewilder us merge into a single state of being and perceiving... of the knower and the known.

Some sort of mystical tranquility occurs and the world, with all of its pleasures and torments no longer concerns us. I’ve noticed this in the bonafide masters that I have encountered. Let me say that I have encountered more who were bogus than bonafide. In the company of the real ones the influence of the world and its powers of attraction are vastly diminished and often seen for what they are, when your sympathetic strings are humming to the master’s notes.

I will tell you a secret that you may, perhaps, think you already know. The thought that we know this is the main hindrance to its manifestation. Real masters are in control of themselves because they have completely surrendered the will to control. As one becomes more in control of themselves, the world around them submits as well because the entire manifest world is a projection of the mind. You are either in continuous surrender to the single governing force or, you are serving the shadow master.

Whatever happens to us in life is directly connected to this feature. The present world has the appearance of great uncertainty to it because it is in a state of great transformation due to a cyclic recurrence. However... as certain as your karma makes the conditions you encounter unavoidable... this world is always uncertain. You can experience horrendous circumstances in wonderful periods of time with a sense of stability and well being all around you. Distracted by your concerns about some coming doom you can step right in front of a bus so... where’s the difference? You’re gone one way or another. Being here is all about understanding who you are and why you are. Your environment and all of the things swirling around you because they are swirling in your mind are of only secondary consideration because the former has everything to do with the latter.

Someone at another blog said that Karma looks like just another face of evil because of something to do with puppies being boiled. It appears that many of us do not understand what Karma is. There are certain words associated with Karma; action, deeds, work, consequences of previous actions. There is a Tibetan mandala called, The Wheel of Existence. Sometimes it is called, “The Wheel of Life”. You might want to study this for awhile. It explains everything. It is up to you where you are headed and what you encounter.

Some of us become very discouraged because what we are seeking we cannot find 'here'. For most people the problem is getting their hands on it because it can be found here. Too often we look at certain difficulties that we have ‘here’ in the worst possible way. It is a tremendous blessing to be dissatisfied with this world. To be able to see through the veils at this time is a sign of very good karma indeed. However we may suffer here, it does not go on forever and we are burning up our karma as we go. In some ways you could say that karma is the measure of our own personal blindness.

Many people today do not believe that there is a conscious creator that contains and fills us and composes everything we encounter. Far too many others believe in a God who could not possibly exist and they attribute the most ridiculous things to this God of theirs. Religions are a guide but they do not and could not contain even a tiny portion of what the pervading consciousness is. No one has or ever will comprehend this. It is foolish to try. We can make certain assumptions and we can certainly search for and engage those wiser than ourselves.

I make it a point to say that I don’t know. I would not want to give the impression that I do. However... there are some things that I have experienced many, many times and one of these things is the presence of this consciousness of which I am speaking. I have personally seen manifestations of Hindu deities. I have seen holographic Buddha’s sitting within the foliage and flowers and I have seen serpents moving in and through everything. I have seen a fiery hieroglyphic writing imprinted in every form I was looking at and I understood that this was the vibrational integrity or ‘word’ that gave this object- composed of the same basic matter as is everything in creation- it’s individual being.

I have had these experiences over the course of decades; hundreds and hundreds of times, thousands of times, I am not keeping count. My point is... something is there. It is real. I am listing only a very few of the things I have encountered. My personal karma has made it impossible for me to stay very long at any time in any of these places but knowing they are there is all the impetus I need to keep reminding myself that this is not the real world and that attachment to this world is the root cause of suffering.

When it comes to a good manner in which to deal with your karma, the words of Jesus Christ are hard to improve on. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Love your enemy.” “If a man asks for your cloak, give him your hat as well” That last one isn’t correct but you get the idea. This is the mindset needed and anyone who tries it for a little while will see how difficult it appears to be and how quickly people will abandon it upon the appearance of provocation.

Things can change in an instant. All that is needed is for us to change ourselves. It is the repetition of outworn patterns of behavior that subject us to the wheel of our individual torment. We have to let go. We have no choice. We are not lost or screwed unless we lose ourselves in this world or screw ourselves and even that won’t last forever either. Sooner or later everyone comes to a place of understanding. For those who strive, results come quickly. As the Bhagavad-Gita says... “Success is speedy for the energetic.”

Visible sings: ♫ Then You Let Go ♫
Lyrics (pops up)

Everything out of Control is Under Control

What I am going to say you have probably heard before in different ways. How I am going to discuss applying it may not have been said before or certainly not as often. Of course... there’s nothing new and the only thing different in what I am going to say is that I am saying it now, at this time and because the holes in my flute are as unique to me as the holes in your own and the common force of sounds is going to say the same thing with different colors and tones.

We are all flutes with uniquely placed holes that make the music of our individual selves. Some of us naturally harmonize with others and a few have the capacity to bring others into harmony with something greater and which they are already in harmony with. Most people are dissonant and striving for harmony even though the drive of their self-interest consistently drives them away. Tribal cultures have a natural gift for this harmony and in some ways will always be superior to the industrialized world no matter how many toys and convenience items may proliferate.

One of the keys to a greater harmony in life and in purpose is in gaining the understanding that all religions are based on the same thing. The great Hindi saint Ramakrishna entered into every one of the major religions and experienced enlightenment in each of them and declared that they are all the same. Our greatest stumbling block is in the mind’s disposition to seeing the world external as a duality play. We see differences. We see differences in religious beliefs and we see differences in each other. We see all manner of differences but everything is made out of the same thing in terms of what we call matter and everything is interpenetrated by the same thing which we call consciousness. The consciousness and the matter are the same thing as well but in another aspect. You could think of kinetic and potential energy as a good example of this.

Most of us that come here are aware of what is being said. We know these things are most likely true. We know they are far more likely to be true that what the world tells us is real. Because we are not rooted in the one we are constantly shifted about through magnetic attraction. We have hopes for everything we encounter but in every case our hope fails. This is because the basic intention of life is to lead us back to the source. Everything that happens to us is geared to this destiny and for each of us it is a matter of how great our capacity is for suffering that determines how long we endure it.

So... no doubt you have heard all of this before but I want to add something else to the mix here because of the confusing appearances and relentless apprehensions that define this time in which we live. A number of people have written me and asked what they can do about their lives. They want to know if they are safe where they are. They want to know where they can move to and some of you are already in the process of moving somewhere else. That is how intense the moment appears to us.

The truth is that no one needs to go anywhere at all and, at the same time, some will go because there are features of their personal destiny that are complicit in motivating them away... away toward something, somewhere.

It is important to realize that this thing we call God, or by whatever name we address it, regardless of the characteristics and qualities we attribute to it, is much more than we will ever understand or comprehend. No one has ever fully understood or comprehended. It isn’t important anyway. What is important is to realize that it is alive inside of us and that we would have no life without it. You might think of the Sun as a good example for this. Knowing it is there is one thing and knowing that it is conscious of you is another. It knows more about you than you know. It is disposed to act in your behalf if you can get out of your own way. It is important to remember that we... our personality and force of self interest are our greatest stumbling blocks.

It has been said that the devil is the way the wicked see God. It can also be said that fear is nothing more than an awareness of our separation from the one. Some of us can sit with tigers and wild beasts of all types without any danger. Most of us cannot. This same applies to times of turmoil and the various dangers that surround us in our nations and cultures when people are made afraid of their situation and of each other.

Make no mistake, at this time some very deluded people are at the helm of the ship of the world. They are no less under the control of this one force than we are but there is a cosmic play at work in which these characters are acting out a moral lesson for the benefit of all who have the wit to see it. This same force has control of their destiny and your destiny as well. If you cannot trust this to be true then fear will be your companion. We make the constant mistake of assuming that the world and its array of intimidating images have a power apart from the one power. It is also under control. Everything is under control of the one and outworking toward a specific end.

You cannot run and hide anywhere. This does not mean that you should not seek more pleasant surrounding if you are moved to do so. It is just that you can’t go anywhere that this thing will not accompany you and already be there when you arrive. The key is to spend this time surrendering and reaching for this thing to the exclusion of all other concerns because there is no other concern. A great separating out is taking place and many might well miss the aperture as it opens because of the distractions that surround them.

You are not going to be lost and left adrift because you have family; children, pets, seeming obligations and the like. You are where you are supposed to be and if you will work at being open to the inner voice you will be led at all times. The voices outside of you and the voice within you are saying different things. Trust but verify in all cases as has been suggested by others in times before. It is important to remember that as portions of the world around us are being destroyed and transformed that something else is rising to replace them.

You have, at all times, the power and protection of the one 'always' available to you. It is always on tap. It has guided you when you had no knowledge of guides. It has looked out for you when you could not look out for yourself. Today you read what is being said here as you also read other things and none of this is accidental. A much greater portion of the world is watching TV and being told what to think by those who do not have their best interests at heart. The big dogs in the yard are dividing the spoils. They are confident in their positions and powers and they are completely blind to the fact that they are only actors in a movie where the director is on set. They will lose everything that they think they possess. Do not grant them any symbolic power in your mind. They have only the power over you that you grant them.

I know that you have heard this all before. We have to be careful not to gloss over what we think we already know because we don’t actually know anything. When our focus begins to shift it can be a scary thing and so we must have faith in our protector and act according to what we know are, “the better angels of our nature.” We came into being from an unknown place and we are headed there again on the spiral of our reaching upward toward the bright rooms of our true home. We do not live here. We are only passing through. Give great attention to the small things and handle the large ones with a light touch.

It has been said many ways, in many times that ...we are loved more than we know and certainly more than we are capable of loving in return. It has been said that if we take one step toward the divine that it will take ten steps toward us. We need to reassure ourselves and that can only happen by gaining and practicing faith, determination and certitude. You are in good hands if you want to be or... you can let self-interest lead the way.

Visible sings: ♫ Love is Bound ♫
'Love is Bound' is track no. 12 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Almost A Capella'
Lyrics (pops up)