More on Ouroboros

What I have called the Ouroboros is called the electromagnetic spectrum by science, the Wheel of Time
and the Eagle's emanations by Castaneda, the Rainbow Serpent by Australian aborigines, etc.

When I have described it, it's easier to start from the very small and see how things dream larger
communities together which then become new levels of dreaming/consciousness/awareness.
But this direction shows how we are dreamed.

I must emphasize that when we wake up and see the connectedness and our place in it as human beings
specifically, but as the whole spectrum as well - that all these tiny things exist within you - then you
can be a realized dreamer. You can change the unconscious direction of the flow of the river,
the arrow of time. You can dream your DNA and put to use the so-called "junk" DNA. This is how we heal.
By consciously dreaming with the unconscious (below your conscious awareness) autonomic nervous system, a part of which is called the sympathetic nervous system (Exactly! Sympathy. Dreaming) and another part called the enteric nervous system: http://www.psyking.net/id36.htm.
Do you see the relation - the gut, the dan tien, Castaneda's area of the will, sympathy, dreaming...

So, we are being dreamed, and we are also the dreamer, and we are the dream.
Wise Hermes made a point to say "As above so below, as below so above." It is a two way street:

That which is below is like that which is above, that which is above is like that which is below, to do the miracles of one only thing. And as all things have been arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.

But until we see the Oneness, the traffic goes mostly one way - we are being dreamt by our genes
and our environment. You can wait for your genes to "adapt", or you can be an adept at dreaming. :)

Castaneda has some applicable teachings:

"When I talk about time, I am not referring to something which is measured by the movement of a clock. Time is the essence of attention; the Eagle's emanations are made out of time; and properly, when one enters into any aspect of the other self, one is becoming acquainted with time.
The wheel of time is like a state of heightened awareness which is part of the other self, as the left side awareness is part of the self of everyday life. It can physically be described as a tunnel of infinite length and width; a tunnel with reflective furrows. Every furrow is infinite, and there are infinite numbers of them. Living creatures are compulsorily made, by the force of life, to gaze into one furrow. To gaze into it means to be trapped by it, to live that furrow.
Will belongs to the wheel of time. It is something like the runner of a vine, or an intangible tentacle which all of us possess. A warrior's final aim is to learn to focus it on the wheel of time in order to make it turn. Warriors who have succeeded in turning the wheel of time can gaze into any furrow and draw from it whatever they desire. To be trapped compulsorily in one furrow of time entails seeing the images of that furrow only as they recede. To be free from the spellbinding force of those grooves means that one can look in either direction, as images recede or as they approach."


Consider also influence and effluence. As sleepers, we are influences by the stars, the fates,
the Matrix, other sleepers... everything! Because we are at the bottom rung of Jacob's ladder - the EM spectrum, and "higher" frequencies rule "lower" ones as a rule. This what Paracelsus
points to when he says "a strong will subdues a weaker will." The strongest force known to 
science is called the strong force. It holds the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus
of an atom. The weakest force is gravity which acts on galaxies, planets, holds objects to 
the earth. So you can see we are speaking about opposite ends of the spectrum:

The strong subdues the weak. The extremely small dream the large. This is the the rule for unawakened beings, but not the entire truth. When we see the Oneness and can change the direction of the arrow of time, we can dream the gods, the stars, the fates, the Kingdom of Heaven! This relates to Gnostic freedom from heimarmene.

more on mirror awareness

Mirror shares the same root as miracle:
mid-12c., from O.Fr. miracle, from L. miraculum "object of wonder" (in Church L., "marvelous event caused by God"), from mirari "to wonder at," from mirus "wonderful," from*smeiros, from PIE *(s)mei- "to smile, be astonished" (cf. Skt. smerah "smiling," Gk. meidan "to smile," O.C.S. smejo "to laugh;" see smile).

Other words from this root are mire, admire, mirabile, mirage, mirth...

Reflect:
early 15c., "to divert, to turn aside, deflect," from O.Fr. reflecter (14c.), from L. reflectere (see reflection). Of mirrors or polished surfaces, to shine back light rays or images, 1520s; meaning "to turn one's thoughts back on" is c.1600. 

An astute person might notice that our ability to reflect has become a reflex; i.e. automatic, unconscious.

Recall the chapter "Breaking the Mirror of Self-reflection" in Power of Silence by Castaneda.

" A sorcerers' increased energy, derived from the curtailment of their self-reflection, allows 
their senses a greater range of perception. The only worthwhile course of action, whether for 
sorcerers or average men, is to restrict our involvement with our self-image. What a nagual 
aims at with his apprentices is the shattering of their mirror of self-reflection.

Each of us has a different degree of attachment to his self-reflection. And that attachment is 
felt as need. It is possible for sorcerers, or average men, to need no one, to get peace, 
harmony, laughter, knowledge, directly from the spirit--to need no intermediaries. For you 
and for me, its different. I'm your intermediary and my teacher was mine. Intermediaries, 
besides providing a minimal chance--the awareness of intent --help shatter peoples mirrors 
of self-reflection."

I have discussed the importance of words and the green language. Perhaps one can now imagine that
those who have had knowledge of the mirror nature of the Universe have encoded that knowledge in
language. Ancient languages were often written from right to left. Da Vinci used mirror writing.
Others hid words or phrases in words that can be read differently backwards (anadrome) or words read
the same forwards or backwards (palindromes) and words read the same upside-down (ambigrams)...

Infinity is the mirror/reflection of Nothing/the Void

8/infinity = 0 and its reflection 0


The right side of your body is connected to the left side of your brain, and vice-versa.
Do you think some wires got crossed, or do you see a mirror involved, a dimensional twist?

This is a dissection of the brain stem, the mediator between brain and body.
Do you see the grid/net marked "Decussation of superior peduncle" and the second
Decussation below it? And between them runs the RAS - the reticular activating system,
which is responsible for sleep-wake transitions.
Can you imagine how the two grids/nets act as filters for the above and below; and how
our somatic mind and our thinking mind contribute different qualities to the dream?

See my related post on "the net" at Alchemy Forums:
http://forum.alchemyforums.com/showthread.php?1987-The-net&p=12911#post12911

Communication - Part 4

Communication is happening all the time, whether you intend it or not.
Being aware of what is being communicated determines the quality of life.
We are communicating with Spirit all the time - two ways (sending and receiving) - we are constantly
announcing to Spirit who we are (by our actions) and Spirit is constantly affirming who we say we are.
(I recall a catchy phrase often used by some extra-terrestrial 'walk-ins' - "The Universe constantly
rearranges Itself to accommodate your picture of reality.")
So if you don't like what you see, what the Universe is telling you, you have to look at what you
are telling the Universe.

We are communicating with the air around us constantly, inhaling and exhaling. Do you know how to
interpret this communication? Do you know how to enhance it?

We are receiving impulses through the 5 senses almost constantly, but we almost never listen, not
to mention a 6th sense.

When we eat food, do we remember to savor? Do you talk with the spirit of the cocoa plant
when you take a bite of chocolate? What more does the coffee bean have to tell? Do you listen
to the nicotiana spirit as you take your cigarette break? Are you even aware that communication
is happening? Do you realise what more can be known when you truly enter communion with life?

What isn't communication? When does this not apply?
Communication is the acknowledgement of Oneness in our dream of separation.
It is a Holy ceremony/sacrament.

Ouroboros as described by Castaneda

I have no arguments with this description - it is just as I experience the Ouroboros:

"For the shamans of ancient Mexico, time was something like a thought; a thought thought by something unrealizable in its magnitude. The logical argument for them was that man, being part of that thought which was thought by forces inconceivable to his mentality, still retained a small percentage of that thought; a percentage which under certain circumstances of extraordinary discipline could be redeemed. 
Space was, for those shamans, an abstract realm of activity. They called it infinity, and referred to it as the sum total of all the endeavors of living creatures. Space was, for them, more accessible, something almost down-to-earth. It was as if they had a bigger percentage in the abstract formulation of space. According to the versions given by don Juan, the shamans of ancient Mexico never regarded time and space as obscure abstracts the way we do. For them, both time and space, although incomprehensible in their formulations, were an integral part of man. 
Those shamans had another cognitive unit called the wheel of time. The way they explained the wheel of time was to say that time was like a tunnel of infinite length and width, a tunnel with reflective furrows. Every furrow was infinite, and there were infinite numbers of them. Living creatures were compulsorily made, by the force of life, to gaze into one furrow. To gaze into one furrow alone meant to be trapped by it; to live that furrow. 
A warrior's final aim is to focus, through an act of profound discipline, his unwavering attention on the wheel of time in order to make it turn. Warriors who have succeeded in turning the wheel of time can gaze into any furrow and draw from it whatever they desire. To be free from the spellbinding force of gazing into only one of those furrows means that warriors can look in either direction: as time retreats or as it advances on them. 
Viewed in this manner, the wheel of time is an overpowering influence which reaches through the life of the warrior and beyond, as is the case with the quotations of this book. They seem to be strung together by a coil that has a life of its own. That coil, explained by the cognition of shamans, is the wheel of time."

Grace

I recently said, "There is a moment where imagination becomes vision, where thinking becomes seeing, where binary mind becomes analogical, and the dream takes on a life of its own. Depending on how much one knows Oneness, this can be seen as a communication between two, or one."


What is that moment? It is a moment that "you" can't do, can't make happen.
It's directly related the uncertainty principle. :)
You can increase the odds of it happening, but when, and whether, it happens, "you" are not the doer.


We are talking about Grace. 
May I define that moment as the meeting place or bridal chamber of the finite and the infinite,
the microcosm and the macrocosm, influence and effluence.


To "increase the odds" is a matter of alignment. As far as doing goes, we can only prepare the vessel/field to be a fit receiver for that which we desire to attract.
Then we have to not-do. 
If "you" sit in front of the Christ-mass-Tree all night waiting for "Santa", you'll end up with no gifts. :) 
You can't keep digging up the seed to see if it is sprouting. 
The caterpillar has to surrender/die for the butterfly to be born.


You have to allow Grace. 
It's a mysterious relationship - difficult to describe.


see my post on the two attentions
http://serpentrioarquila.blogspot.com/2010/12/two-attentions.html

From the Father to his son...

I notice this phrase, not only in alchemy but in many mystical traditions.
Like one interpretation of Kabbalah is "to receive".
One gets the idea that these are things past on by word of mouth, from a
father to his son, from a master to his disciple, a teacher to student.
Sometimes it is emphasized that these things are never written down.

Today when I saw this phrase in the title of an alchemical tract, I saw something new.
I usually interpreted it as the teacher's writing to be read by the student.
But today the student and teacher were one. That is, I was looking at the recorded
[record (v.) - early 13c., "to get by heart," from O.Fr. recorder "repeat, recite, report," from L. recordari "remember, call to mind," from re- "restore" (see re-) + cor (gen. cordis) "heart" (as the metaphoric seat of memory, cf. learn by heart); see heart. Meaning "set down in writing" first attested c.1300; that of "put sound or pictures on disks, tape, etc." is from 1892.]
event or communication between a man and his God.

In other words, this phrase and the reception alluded to are not necessarily describing the communication
between two human beings, but often between God and self/heart, the Holy Guardian Angel and man, or
whatever words you choose to describe your connection with Divinity, the One Mind, etc...

This also relates to the practice of an initiate to ascribe or author his own work under the name of some
divinity, such as Hermes, Jesus, etc. They are having a vision, experiencing a connection, and being the
receiver and transmitter of the message simultaneously.

I do this myself sometimes. A simple form in which this occurs is that I'll be imagining writing a blog to
share with you guys, or having a conversation with a friend, or sometimes sitting in an audience of a
Mystery School, or talking with an Initiate, or meeting in Invisible College...
There is a moment where imagination becomes vision, where thinking becomes seeing, where binary mind
becomes analogical, and the dream takes on a life of its own. Depending on how much one knows Oneness,
this can be seen as a communication between two, or one. For me, more and more I see the Oneness - that
I am teaching myself - connecting to the Infinite, accessing subconscious DNA memory, etc... Sometimes
I am floored/amazed by my knowledge. I feel I'm such a different person than I used to be - so much has
changed, and yet so little.

Here's a thought/vision that may connect you to Oneness:
A tree lets fall many seeds and these become new trees - NEW but not SEPARATE.
The mind imagines separation. Well, it's separate and it isn't. I'll leave it at that.
In the same way, if you are alive today, which you are if you're reading this, you are the seedlings of
generations. Your DNA knows what everyone before you knew. And not only linearly - not limited to
your family tree, which alone is IMMENSE. But DNA is plants and animals too. This is why you can become
a tree or a crow or whatever, shamanically.

So your personal knowledge is however large or small...
Your family tree is larger...
Organic life is larger still...
And the Oneness goes even further - DNA is made of molecules, atoms, light...
Light is information. All these stages of manifestation are information. You can access it because IT IS YOU.
You are a manifestation of Ouroboros, One the All.
A specific manifestation, but also generically and wholistically unspecified,
depending on your focus/Intent/emphasis/identity/dreaming.

Communication - Part 3 merges with Dreaming - Part 2

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/language/whorf.html

I hope you had time to read the above link page.
So, as you can see, our vocabulary is inextricably combined with our dreaming reality.

Consider:
1. John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
2. Genesis 2:19 - "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
3. Mark 16:17 - "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues..."
4. Green language/the Language of the Birds, hieroglyphics, mathematics is a language, geometry...
5. Why did people like Paracelsus, Gurdjieff, Rabelais, Lewis Carroll, Jonathan Swift, etc... invent
words instead of using ones we are already familiar with?
6. "The idea that language is a necessary component of subjective consciousness and more abstract forms of thinking has been gaining acceptance in recent years, with proponents such as Andy Clark, Daniel Dennett, William H. Calvin, Merlin Donald, John Limber, Howard Margolis, Peter Carruthers, and Jose Luis Bermudez."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism_(psychology)
7. "By cognition, it is meant the processes responsible for the awareness of everyday life, processes which
include memory, experience, perception, and the expert use of any given syntax."
http://books.google.com/books?id=_3vfmEwoO1AC&pg=PR13&lpg=PR13&dq=castaneda+syntax&source=bl&ots=Bi3AC-ufhT&sig=Zs-qiqU7dob8fQaGlANmac9sRAQ&hl=en&ei=YmMkTaK5OIK6sAPR3_2WAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false
8. Heka
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/articles/ancient_egypt/heka_-_magic_or_meaningful_speech.asp
9. Gestalt - A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic entities that creates a unified concept, configuration or pattern which is greater than the sum of its parts (of a character, personality, or being).
10. NLP - "Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a name that encompasses the three most influential components involved in producing human experience: neurology, language and programming. The neurological system regulates how our bodies function, language determines how we interface and communicate with other people and our programming determines the kinds of models of the world we create. Neuro-Linguistic Programming describes the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro) and language (linguistic) and how their interplay effects our body and behavior (programming)."
In the practice of NLP, you become aware of a persons language and how it relates to their
mode of apprehending the world - whether they are predominantly visual, auditory or kinesthetic. You can then match their mode in order to communicate better and create rapport. There's a lot of things to be gleaned from NLP - too much to say here.


I could go on, but my point is to bring your attention to the the connection between the way we think, 
the words we use and the reality we experience. You've probably noticed that the more you evolve the 
more aware you become and this awareness extends to the words you choose to represent your self and 
your ideas. Our level of intimacy with ourselves and others grows reciprocally and adjacent to our ability 
to communicate (Mercury).

On Dreaming

Look around. Take notice. We are surrounded by dreams.
Every thing you see exist because it was dreamed/imagined first.
Don't just agree with me. Participate. Make sure you are convinced.
Search the items of your surroundings... can you find one that was not first dreamed?
Most of the items we encounter are the dreams of mankind... the computer, the house,
cars and roads, buildings, appliances, tools, dinnerware, books... etc.
Some things we encounter are "natural"... rocks, trees, birds, clouds...
these are not the dreams of mankind, but of something else.

To quote Paracelsus:
"Man is a materialised thought; he is what he wills. To change his nature from the mortal to the immortal state he must change his material mode of thinking, and even rise above the sphere of thought. He must cease to hold fast in his thoughts to that which is illusory and perishing, and hold on to that which is eternal. The visible universe is a thought of the eternal mind thrown into objectivity by its will, and crystallised into matter by its power. Look at the everlasting stars; look at the indestructible mountain-peaks. They are the thoughts of the universal mind, and they will remain as long as the thoughts of that mind do not change. If we could hold on to a thought we would be able to create. But who but the enlightened, who live above the region of mentality in the kingdom of spirit, can hold on to a thought? Are not the illusions of the senses continually destroying that which we attempt to create? Men do not think what they choose, but that which comes into their mind. If they could control the action of their mind by rising above it, they would be able to control their own nature and the nature by which their forms are surrounded."


Do you see that if you want to change your reality, you must dream it first?
So what is this dreaming? Well, everything is dreaming. But there are levels...

Einstein - "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that created them."

Paracelsus - "A strong will subdues a weaker one, and therefore the first necessary condition for the purpose of producing magic effects is the development of the will." 

Consider this, not as man versus man, but as internal:
For example, "wanting" is a mode of dreaming, but it is a "weaker will" than Intent.
Wanting is the dream/Intent of not having, of lack - therefore it manifests lack and not
the thing you are wanting.
Thinking is also a far weaker will than dreaming/Intent.
Imagination is another word used, but this, too, spans various degrees of will.
For example, daydreaming is a weaker will than conscious visualisation.


As with alchemy, this is very difficult to communicate to those who don't already know.
So let's take a look at the qualities associated with proper dreaming. What first comes
to mind is the work of Emile Coue who investigated the subconscious and is accredited
with the discovery of positive affirmation. There are (simplified) three rules to apply:


1. the affirmation/dream must be positive. That is, you don't want to affirm/dream 
something like "I do not want to have nightmares", but rather "my dreams are safe and 
beautiful". The point is, the word "not" has no meaning to the subconscious. All it knows is
you are intending nightmares; you are thinking about them, fearing them, disliking them,
not wanting them... all this feeds the nightmare reality with your energy/attention.
2. the affirmation/dream must be present tense. That is, don't affirm/dream/intend
"I will be healthy". All the subconsious knows from this is that you are not healthy NOW,
and it will manifest that reality. Keep it present: "I am healthy". I'm going to bend this
rule a little bit and also offer "I have always been healthy." Observe how each feels.
3. The third "P" is keep it personal. That is, invest your energy - this dream must have
meaning to you, even if you've seen that nothing means anything! :) If you want to undream,
eliminate meaning, if you want to dream, introduce meaning.


What else? Surely you've heard of the power of belief, but this word must be investigated.
What commonly passes as belief is a "weaker will" than knowing/dreaming/Intent. The
same enquiry must be made about faith and trust. Hope, wish, faith, trust, belief... don't
they imply something outside of you, some dependancy on some greater power. Well, this
is true and untrue - outside of your ego/personality, but not outside of your divinity. So we
see that the power/degree of dreaming is related to how you identify yourself, and if you're
not identified with the Divinity, your dreaming will be a "weaker will". The greatest
dreaming comes from your experience of Oneness/connectedness - Ouroboros, "One, the All". On the other hand, "little old you" asking "big Old God" works very poorly unless one
feels a connection. So one can't really define these words as they have different intensities
according to the operator and her self-knowledge. So please inquire into this.


I haven't nearly covered all that I want to. Part 2 will soon follow.
Reflections on The Sermon on the Mount also reveal alot about proper dreaming and intent:
http://www.biblepath.com/beatitudes.html

Paracelsus, the Advaitist

Advaita is another word for nonduality. It means "not two".
Of late, I have been really admiring the works of Paracelsus. I can see in his writings,
more than others, the connection and blending of the material art with the theurgy (literally, "Divine work", but used as a synonym for magic - that is, the influence of the Operator on the Great Work).
A perusal of his terms will show the magnitude of his Genius, incorporating the above and the below.
http://www.american-buddha.com/cult.paracelsusfranz2.2.htm

Here are some wonderful quotes attributed to Paracelsus:

"There is no god, no saint, and no power in which we can put any confidence, faith, or trust for the purpose of our salvation, except the power of divine wisdom acting within ourselves. Only when man realises the presence of God within himself will he begin his infinite life, and step from the realm of evanescent illusions into that of permanent truth. The realisation of eternal truth is caused by the 'Holy Ghost,' this being the light of self-knowledge, the spirit of truth. No man can create within himself that light, nor drag the spirit of truth down to his level, nor push himself by his own will into that light; he can only wait in peace until that spirit descends and becomes manifest in his soul. Thus the acquisition of wisdom consists in passively receiving the light from above, and in actively resisting the influences from below which hinder its manifestation."

"God cannot become manifested in man as long as there exists in him the delusion of "self," because that "self" is a limited thing, which cannot grasp the infinite indivisible reality. For this reason "love" -- that is to say, the abandonment of "self" -- is the beginning of wisdom. This doctrine, however, is generally misunderstood. It does not teach that I should merely desire nothing for myself; but it teaches that there should be no conception of "I" in my mind that loves or desires anything. Only when that illusion of "self" has disappeared from my Heart and mind, and my consciousness arisen to that state in which there will be no "I," then will not I  be the doer of works, but the spirit of wisdom will perform its wonders through my instrumentality."

"In this also exists the difference between divine love and 'altruism.' Altruistically inclined persons are usually not selfish, but possessed by the idea of 'self.' Not from God, but from their own illusion of selfhood, are their works emanating. They are themselves the doers of their works, and are proud of their own goodness and wisdom; but their good works, being the product of an illusion, are illusive, and therefore impermanent. The altruistic humanitarian sees in other human beings his brothers and sisters; but God, dwelling in the soul of the wise, sees in every vehicle of life and in every creature His own divine self."

"A man must above all be in possession of that faculty which is called Intuition, and which cannot be acquired by blindly following the footsteps of another. He must be able to see his own way. What others may teach you may assist you in your search for knowledge, but you should be able to think for yourself, and not cling to the coat-tail of any authority, no matter how big-sounding the title of the latter may be."

Love - Part 2

Being in love is its own reward.
Stop and really think about that...

If you are skilled in the art of (self) observation, you'll notice that
reciprocation is not necessary. In fact, it is the expectation of return that kills love -
the thinking, comparing, weighing, keeping accounts - these eclipse the love in your
own heart by looking for it outside of you.

But notice when you've ever fallen in love, even before having your first conversation
with said lover, is this feeling not the same as the feeling of love a month or a year into
the relationship (and hopefully 10, 20, 50 years into the relationship!).
And you haven't even spoken! Truly you are the source of love - why would you ever
fear losing it?

Love is truly about unity/Oneness, not two-ness (separation).
The two are one, the lover and the beloved, the male and the female,
enfolded in one unified androgynous (andras - man, gyne - woman)
hermaphrodite (from L. hermaphroditus, from Gk. Hermaphroditos (L. Hermaphroditus), 
son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who, in Ovid, was loved by the nymph Salmacis so ardently 
that she prayed for complete union with him and as a result they were united bodily, 
combining male and female characteristics.) being.


This love is the love of creation - when the Void became self-aware, it impregnated itself,
it expanded, and that expansion is the relationship between the unmanifest and the manifest,
male and female, darkness and light... etc. This same happens in you... you are created in
God's image. When you are self-aware, you are pregnant with love/light/life, and the 
relationship between inner and outer is one of love, one of fulfillment.
The Gnostics recognized this divine dichotomy by calling the Void Pleroma, which
means "fullness". And the Taoists call it "emptiness" :) 
Same thing - divine AndroGyne.


Alchemy is a lot like love... if it isn't found within you, you won't find it without.
How would you recognize it if it isn't you? Once found within, you have the Midas touch,
and all your seeking will be transmuted into dreaming... the Labors of Hercules will
become "woman's work and child's play".


I am in love with you.
Serpentrio Arquila