The Sound of Silence
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
“The sound is the source of all manifestation … The knower of the mystery of sound knows the mystery of the whole universe.”
“Learn to listen to the voice within yourself.”
“In the beginning was OM …”
“For in the beginning of the times so did we all share in the Holy Stream of Sound that gave birth to all creation.”
“The kingdom of heaven is within you.”
“The Tao is the source of all things … existed before heaven and earth … eternal … pervades everywhere…”
“May the force be with you.”
The Greek philosopher/mathematician Pythagoras called it “Music of the Spheres”, another Greek philosopher Heraclitus called it “Logos” (which means both sound and word), the Bible calls it “The Word” and “Voice of Many Waters”, the Upanishads call it “Shabda Brahman” (the cosmic sound of Lord Brahma), the Vedas call it “Anahad” (unlimited tone), the Sufis call it “Saute Surmad” (the tone that fills the cosmos), the Sikhs call it “Nam” or “Naam” (name or spiritual sound), and the Hindus also call it “AUM” and the Buddhists “OM”. Some Native American traditions call it “Song of the Creator”, in reference to the force that created life and sustains the universe.
Elevator Love
“And when Love speaks, the voices of all the gods make heaven drowsy with its harmony.” — William Shakespeare
I recently drove to Texas from California, and a week later, back again. On my trip back I stopped for a few days at a place I consider ‘very special.’ It is a place especially built to enhance active meditative experience. This time around I did indeed experience something very special, something I can barely put into words here.
I have been to this place many times before over the past almost two decades, and I have had many different types of experiences. But nothing like I recently encountered, and in fact, am still trying to comprehend.
In a past blog entry I wrote about the different types of love, silver love being the loftiest. Well, one of the most compelling experiences I recently had relates to this subject. Yet how do we speak of love without getting a bit romantic, mushy, or starry-eyed about it? Well, not so fast. For the way I truly want to communicate this to you is more in a way of comprehension, not romanticism. Is that clear at all? So, let me attempt to clarify.
Every once in a while one of the things that happens to me in meditation, especially a deep one, is what comes to me are pieces of information that I am not readily able to comprehend. It’s like someone speaking to me in a foreign language backwards. But usually it comes to me like when you download an online zipped file to your computer. You first have to download it properly, then you have to unzip it, and then use the proper application so you can interpret it and get any use out of it. Well, sometimes it seems it happens about like that. Except …
Psychopomp Anyone? (Part 2)
“You must free yourself. The magic is within you.”– Bruce K. Avenell
During the process of grieving the loss of someone close to us, many times the lost energy tie we have with them is what we are feeling gone. Of course, we have strong feelings for them, but also the loss of shared exchange energy is what we are feeling. Sometimes this may be an energy co-dependency break off we are responding to, and this is what we have to deal with. However, if you have been doing something to regularly replenish your own inner energy supply, such as a system of meditation, then this should serve as a buffer against such a shock on your energy system. This is another reason that both you, as a person who will eventually cross over, and this person you are grieving, should have been striving to sustain your own energy supply independently of each other.
Other negative situations can make the transition to the other side very difficult. People who were so wrapped up in their earthly possessions may not realize they have died or don’t want to accept the fact, and refuse to pass on. Or others may become disoriented and have trouble making the transition, getting lost in the astral dream worlds. Either person may remain attached to a familiar place, such as a house they once inhabited, or become negative nuisances to those left behind, actually ‘haunting’ these areas. Not letting go like this may cause one to appear as some kind of spirit, apparition, ghost or phantom. Or if a person died of a violent or quick death, they may remain in the general vicinity of the incident, not knowing what to do. Such stranded entities usually have a detrimental effect on the physical people they hang around, often attaching themselves to them. This can result in the energy being sucked right out of them, possibly causing physical, emotional, mental and spiritual problems over time. Before you become enamored with the idea that your relative or friend may still be hanging out with you from the other side, consider the possible negative consequences for both of you.
Psychopomp Anyone? (Part 1)
“When one door closes, another opens…but often, we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which is opened before us.” — Helen Keller
In one of my meditations of just under 10 years ago, a very strange thing did indeed happen. At that point I had been doing this meditation scene for over 30 years, and nothing quite like this had ever occurred before. After I had been into the meditation for only about fifteen minutes and just started to actually get somewhere, suddenly a woman was right there jutting her face in mine. Now I don’t mean physically, but at some spirit level. She presented herself in a way that it appeared she was involved with some kind of voodoo or black magic.
Immediately I was jolted back some, totally unprepared for this. But I kept my composure, as I wanted to keep the contact going, this being such a very curious thing. She was obviously quite irritated with me about something. As the contact progressed and we “discussed” this concern she had, I began to get a picture of what was happening.
Anyway, this is the story. Turns out, as she says, that she is a psychopomp. A what, you ask? Exactly. I had the same reaction. For a few moments in the early part of this contact I started to wonder if all this was the result of something I had ingested the night before and this was just a total hallucination. But I went ahead and decided to see this thing through.
CA or TX?
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” — Jack Kerouc
I have traveled in most of the states in America. I have lived in seven states, but mostly in just two of them. Texas and California. I have gone to college in both states. I have been married in both states. And I have two sons. One born in Texas. The other in California. I have made a film in California, and have plans to make another in Texas.
I grew up physically in Texas, and spiritually in California. Yes, I began my spiritual search in Texas, and continued it in California. In those early years when living in Texas, I used to travel to Mt. Shasta in northern California every summer. Eventually I moved to California, but have moved back and forth between them a number of times. Ever the wanderer, I guess I am a traveler at heart. How difficult that has been on my family (all of them?) I can only imagine. It seems to be my nature. So, what does this have to do with anything?
Well, I feel I have a pretty decent grip on what it is like to be, experience, and live among both Texans and Californians. But over the years I have perceived a bit of competition among the two states and their people. I’m not sure it is a bad thing, but what is is the unhealthy stereotypes many in each state has about the other. Why do I even care? Well, at first I found it somewhat amusing, but lately it just seems like unhealthy perceptions. And plus, it feels like watching your parents fight. You can see and understand what each one is saying about the other, but neither of them is listening to what the other is saying. A big of self-righteous pride on both sides. And I think that is where some of this stems from.