“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~ Thích Nhất Hạnh
For many of us, breathing is just an automatic function to exist. What we don’t realise is that breathing in a constricted manner from the chest, also known as shallow breathing, can increase our stress and anxiety levels.
The true nature of breath does not only lie in the fact that it’s responsible for life, but also, that it defines the quality of our life.
David Coutler in the book, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga said, “the breath is the link between mind and body, and that if we can control our breath, we can control every aspect of our being.”
But adults often lose touch with their natural flow of breath, thus limiting the functions of a diaphragm and reducing air supply in the lowest part of the lungs.
The irony is that a flat stomach is appreciated in today’s world, but the significance of the right way of breathing is ignored.
More so, the daily stress and tension due to work, family, competition etc., increases the chances of shallow breathing by manifolds. How do we breakthrough from this cyclical pattern of shallow breathing leading to tension and vice-a-versa?
A full breath that allows deeper transfusion of oxygen in the body and even deeper exhalation for removal of the toxins out of the system, seems to be the key in this situation.
Here are some simple breathing exercises to improve your mental and emotional state, and help you to manage stress and anxiety.
Supine Abdominal Breathing
This breathing exercise will be helpful to determine the way you breath – chest or abdominal. Come in corpse posture, place your left hand on the center of the abdomen,and the right hand on the chest.
You can also fold your legs, if needed, to support your back further. Now, take normal breaths and watch which hand is moving towards the ceiling and which hand is more stationary.
If your left hand is moving continuously while the right hand is stationary (or moving very less), then you are on the right track. On the other hand, if it is the other way round, you are breathing in a constricted manner.
Nevertheless, the situation can be rectified by simply trying to breathe from the abdomen, where the left hand is moving up and down, and right is stationary. The inhalation requires less effort and the exhalation is relaxed and fluid.
Stay in this posture with closed eyes for a few minutes and just focus on the breath. This is bound to stimulate the autonomous system, slowing the heart and lowering your blood pressure.
Furthermore, it will reduce stress and anxiety immediately, leaving you calmer and relaxed. Trying to sleep while practicing supine abdominal breathing, is yet another way to incorporate the practice of ideal breathing habits in our daily lives.
Sandbag breathing
The dome-shaped muscles underneath the rib cage, Diaphragm, plays a significant role in breathing efficiently. But to experience the movement of the diaphragm can be a bit tricky.
Lie in corpse position and place a prop like sandbag, book or block, weighing 3 to 15 pounds on the diaphragm. Ensure that the chest is not moving and the weight of the prop is light enough to easily push the stomach towards the ceiling while inhaling.
You will notice the extra effort required in inhalation and a more controlled exhalation. In addition to allowing the practitioner to get in touch with the functioning of the diaphragm and generating a greater sense of the organ, this exercise also strengthens the muscles.
Keep observing the natural flow of the breath and slip into deep relaxation. Ensure that the prop is going up with the motion of the diaphragm and not by protruding the belly out.
When extra weight is put on the diaphragm, it pushes the abdominal wall further inside. Sarah Novtony and Len Kravitz, PH.D. in the article The Science of Breathing, said “investigations have demonstrated that slow breathing & pranayama breathing techniques activate the parasympathetic (inhibitory) nervous system, thus slowing certain physiological processes down that may be functioning too fast or conflicting with the homeostasis of the cells (Jerath et al., 2006).”
Upright Elliptical Breathing
“Breath is the king of mind.” ~ B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga
While we are sitting and breathing, the two most vital points in the cycle of breath is the transition between inhalation and exhalation, and the other between exhalation and inhalation.
This is the time when the breath is more likely to become uneven. A complete breath is one where the abdomen rises on the inhale and merges with the fall in the act of exhalation and rises back up without any pause.
Imagine a Ferris wheel, notice the movement, the start and end of the loop is difficult to gauge. It only stops or jerks when someone has to get off. Consider your breathing to be like the movement of this Ferris feel.
The inhalation will merge with exhalation and vice-a-versa, making a circular pattern. When we keep imagining the movement, it would be easier to follow this pattern while breathing. As the wheel goes up, inhale, and as it comes down, exhale. Continue this for at least 5 to 7 minutes, or more if possible. What we want from relaxed breathing is no jerks, just a sensation that you are making a transition both ways.
The pattern of the normal breath is elliptical and not circular, but for a beginner, this exercise proves to be very helpful, relaxing the mind instantly. The idea is to create a sense of flow, the rest would fall into place gradually.
The compulsive chest breathers would often find themselves exhaling less and breathing in more, for the simple reason that they will always be short of breath. So they would want to hold on to inhalation all the more. The same attitude is also reflected in their life, where they lack the ability to let go.
A sure shot and the simplest way to have a good quality breath is to breathe in a 2:1 ratio, i.e. exhalation will be twice in comparison to inhalation. A three second inhalation would require a six second exhalation. Remember not to overdo things as it can be harmful and will aggravate your stress levels. Some of the other ways to practice relaxed breathing are: Bellows breath and Alternate Nostril Breathing.
Breath is the most important requirement for us to be alive. Therefore bad breathing habits, even though go on for 24 hours, can be changed for good.
“Their persuasion is not based on birth, for birth is not a descriptive mark of voluntary associations, but on their zeal for virtue and desire to promote brotherly love.” ~ Philo of Alexandria
After the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered near Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank Jerusalem between 1946 and 1956, there emerged a whole wealth of information on the religious beliefs of Second Temple Judaism, and in particular of the Essene Community where Jesus was said to have studied.
The community of the Essenes was thought to have been a self sufficient community of scholars studying the ancient mysteries and advancing their knowledge through prayer, communal living and studying under teachers from all over the world.
The diversity of thought alive in the Essene community welcomed all religions and meant the community – located around caves and within the hostile landscape of rock and sand – mostly operated under a veil of secrecy.
Travelers and seekers were supposedly welcome but had to undergo a trial period; a three year probation, adhering to the rules of the community and respecting those who were resident there.
Each student was said to have had a colour signifying their level of knowledge and the degree to which they had been initiated into the mysteries, learning astronomy, alchemy and other wisdoms.
The general feel of the community was thought to be monastic and disciplined; members shared possessions, food and duties and aided each other in reaching the heights of spiritual satisfaction; working, praying and studying alongside one another.
The Essenes taught light and a strict code of peace, and it was perhaps this that attracted Jesus to them. They also believed in the equality of the sexes and in devoting themselves to welcoming in those in need, running a self sufficient hospital in the grounds.
Jesus came at a time when he hadn’t yet become enlightened or reached the point of teaching himself, but joined with his friend John (later John the Baptist), learning all he could from the masters and studying hard.
John was the playful fiery one, and Jesus the contemplative quiet one who already seemed to know so much. It’s unknown exactly how he came a cross the community or how far into his studies that he went, but it’s thought that he later returned to teach for himself bringing many disciples and followers with him.
https://youtu.be/hhbZaURbuxk
Jesus and the Essenes practiced vegetarianism and refrained from sacrificing animals as was the custom at the time, instead honouring the divine through song, mindful action and speech. They met together with the intention to create a peaceful way of life, making the three way act of self reflection, reflection with a mate or partner and reflection with the community equally sacred.
In modern terms, with off-grid communities springing up all over the place revealing this to be nothing new, the Essene community seems like nothing out of the ordinary. Yet at the time, with the Roman Empire ruling with an iron fist bringing status and slavery to all communities, practicing free speech was seen as a risky business and so places like the Essene community acted like refuges for the vulnerable or rebellious.
The Dead Sea scrolls and the writings of Pliny the Elder (killed in the volcanic eruption at Pompeii) assert that the Essenes were incredibly rebellious, operating without currency, not marrying or remaining celibate and living in voluntary poverty in order to devote themselves to their worship.
Some believe that the Dead Sea Scrolls are in fact the Essene’s library and their goal was to preserve the teachings of Moses in its purest form. They also had a sacred relationship to angels and forbade the expression of anger, preferring debate and mindful discussion. Their community operated as a mini democracy where status and rank, though depicted by the colour of their level, respected each member of their community equally.
Despite theories of there being one community located near to where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, one documentation by Josephus states that there was not one city but ‘large numbers in every town.’ They may have lived in temple precincts or communities within the cities, although the main location archaeologists return to time and time again is the settlement at Qumran; a plateau in the Judean desert where ruins still stand.
The Essenes also believed in reincarnation or at least in the retrieval of their souls when their mortal bodies had passed away. An integral part of their daily routine included submerging themselves fully in water and they had a sophisticated pipe and catchment system considering they were a way in from the coast. There have been some links made between the Essenes and the Kabbalistic tradition, in particular to this ritual immersion in the Mikveh.
Mary Magdalene is also said to have studied under the Essenes and to have been a highly respected member alongside Jesus. Their belief was that men and women were equal and the soul was able to change genders, honouring both form in equal measure.
Some say that Jesus’ mother, Mary was also an Essene, acting as the temple dove and introducing her child into the community. Others say that the community wanted to take Jesus away from her at the age of seven having learnt that he was the great and long-awaited prophet, and that she had to fight to keep him.
The community and its demise is a mystery, but the most likely explanation is that the secrecy of the community was revealed and the town destroyed by the Romans. As the Essenes started out having abandoned Jerusalem in protest to how it was being run this is the most likely theory, but the legacy of the Essenes lives on in peoples minds.
The mystery of the scrolls lives on and is still puzzled over to this day, especially the predictions of the ‘end of the age of evil’ and cataclysmic events in the future that would bring an end to this age for good…
Whatever the facts tell us, the ones we can rely on are the shining and exciting example of a secret society or off-the-grid community that went their own way and may have produced one of the most influential rebels known today.
“Everybody’s got a past. The past does not equal the truth unless you live there.” ~ Tony Robbins
Most of us know by now that holding on to the past does us no good. Can we change the past? No. Is reliving a past situation over and over in our minds ever going to make the past different? No. So why is it that so many of us spend time mulling over past situations?
It’s as if our mind believes if we keep thinking about it over and over, somehow we will have a magical thought or revelation that will suddenly make us feel better about what happened.
And while this may be the case some of the time, often when we use our heads to “think” of the solution vs. letting our heart feel the feelings it needs to in order to move forward from a situation, we notice that the same issues seem to pop back into our life in one form or another.
Either we continue to think about a past circumstance later as if the “aha moment” we had previously never happened, or another event pops into our reality that is similar to the previous one and then we wonder why we keep attracting similar people, places or events to us.
How do we finally make peace with the past once and for all? How can we go about being just ok with what did happen and at the same time rise above the old vibrations of our former self so that we don’t attract similar situations in future?
Here are 6 ways to let go of the past ~
“Let today be the day you finally release yourself from the imprisonment of past grudges and anger. Simplify your life. Let go of the poisonous past and live the abundantly beautiful present… today.” ~ Dr. Steve Maraboli
1) Forgive Yourself
Forget about forgiving others. To forgive another is completely impossible unless we have first forgiven our own selves. Our innocent hearts felt an emotion in response to a situation and we may have judged it as “wrong”.
“Anger, judgment, criticism, etc… are not very becoming of you, so you were wrong to feel these things,” is the message we send to our heart. So instead of your heart knowing that it is heard by us and loved unconditionally, we tell it is not “good enough” yet.
This is why emotions persist. They are only arising inside of us to be loved unconditionally. Instead of judging yourself for having less than desirable emotions, just forgive yourself for having them. It’s ok to feel an emotion.
It’s why we are here. Something miraculous happens as we begin to forgive ourselves. Inner peace emerges as soon as we stop judging ourselves for being human, and consequently we give other people the freedom to be human as well.
Suddenly we become more understanding, compassionate and empathetic in the face of any adversity, and the past situation that brought about so much angst inside of us are looked at from a more loving perspective.
2) Love the one who “fixates”
How many times have you criticized yourself for not being able to stop thinking about someone or what someone did to you or how a situation happened? Probably more than you would like to admit.
Unfortunately, trying to control our mind by condemning it for replaying the past isn’t going to make it stop. The replay will just keep coming, no matter how much we try to tighten the leash on our own minds. Surrender to it.
You can say something like, “I accept that I don’t know how to stop obsessing about what happened, I now call upon a higher power to resolve this issue for me.” When we relinquish “control” over to a force more powerful than us, we open ourselves up to receiving help.
Our ego isn’t designed to be able to get over anything on it’s own, only rising to a new level of consciousness will help us transcend any perceived “problem.” This can only happen as a result of inviting more presence and awareness into being.
3) Look for the positive
Nothing happens that isn’t meant to evolve us in to a better version of our former self. So when we think about a past situation try and find at least one “positive” that happened as a direct result of that circumstance.
This way we start training our minds to always look for the positive in any situation. Soon we notice we are naturally flowing with life instead of fighting and resisting every unplanned set of circumstances.
4) Express gratitude for what you learned
If we know that nothing in life happens that is not for our betterment, we can learn to start saying “thank you” as our response to everything. Even if we have no idea what we are thankful for at the time, we can be assured that sooner or later the reason behind a situation will reveal itself.
As we look to our past and try to make sense of things and fret over why something happened the way it did, just say thank you. Soon the reasons that we are thankful begin to show themselves to us and we become completely accepting and understanding of why things happened the way they did which allows us to move past things and live more in the present.
5) Remember, only “Now” exists
The past is over. It’s already done. The only moment we really have is now, and as we start to practice mindfulness either through meditation, or creativity or whatever, we start to live more in the now as a natural result. The by-product to being rooted in our “now” is that we notice that our minds are less inclined to re-visit the past.
So immerse yourself in something you enjoy, create something, or do something that makes you feel “alive.” The pleasure of these tasks will motivate us to live more in our experiences as they happen instead of reliving the past and trying to change something that is impossible to change.
6) Allow yourself to feel
Don’t be afraid to feel any unresolved feelings that are still coming up in response to you thinking about a past situation. Allow yourself to get as angry as you want, cry if you need to, scream if you are so inclined, but whatever you do don’t stifle your emotions.
All emotions are “ok” and if we give ourselves some quiet time to feel any emotion we want, we allow ourselves a safe space to be able to move past them in a healthy manner.
The minute we give the green light to our hearts to feel anything it wants, we notice the energy of the emotions dissolving into the light of our own being.
“Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz
Perhaps the reason why many of us look outside; to books and friends, to mentors and peers to give us the tools to create a healthy routine and the means to begin manifesting the life we want is because we don’t trust ourselves.
Yet when we haven’t been given these tools or pointed in the right direction by those who should’ve done so to positively curb our natural development we often need a few more nudges than most. Or perhaps we have mastered the art of self love and care but are yet to take the plunge and start facing the ultimate act of self love. Doing what you came here to do.
When it comes to this next step – of manifesting and positively welcoming in those changes with open arms – we need a great deal of growing up and taking responsibility, but also a greater depth of honesty.
For the biggest message to the universe (and the most common way we are not impeccable with our words) is the little voice that says night and day; I’m not good enough for this, I don’t deserve it, I don’t have the capacity to help others, I’m not ready.
Some helpful routines and suggestions for manifesting what you want can be too vague, others too materialistic. The first rule of witchcraft, whether you’re interested in that side of it or not is that, whilst you’d love to be off creating colorful spells and doing one for this and one for that, actually the greatest wisdom is knowing that everything is already OK the way it is and doesn’t need your interference thank you very much.
The universe knows the bigger plan, so sit back and enjoy it. However, some things need a little nudge in the right direction, and if you’re completely changing the direction of your life or instigating major changes in many forms then you’ll probably need to study and rearrange your patterns and habits.
Here are five wiccan tips that work for me:
1) Dig deep
Before even planning and plotting over what you want to manifest, you must dig deep. This especially applies if you are asking and asking for something and you’re just not getting it. An example is the person who wants an apartment and a job, yet time and time again, despite wishing for both just runs into roadblocks.
The message this person is probably sending out is that they don’t really want to be there, or, that they’re just not sure what they want to do or where they want to live. The universe WILL give you everything you desire… it’s just that most people have no clue what exactly it is they want.
Be careful what you wish for is a common adage for a reason. You might just get it and it may not be what you wanted after all. Remember EVERYTHING has two sides and so explore the possible ‘down sides’ or less appealing aspects of your wish and how it might impact other parts of your life.
Sit down, let rip on the honesty and THINK HARD about what you really want. What are those little red flags that keep going up? Don’t ignore them. Pluck them out and study them with a magnifying glass. Like all stuck emotions and fears, the more you honestly explore and release them the more likely they are to dissolve into thin air.
2) Imagine
Having decided what you want, you still aren’t ready to take the plunge. Now IMAGINE exactly how you will be by projecting the ideal into your future. As I’ve already said, what often holds us back is that to know everything that’s going to happen and have it all planned out and set in stone is, well… a little boring. We like mystery and to have the forces of life play out and surprise us in ways we would never have imagined.
Is there a way you could focus on one element to manifest and leave the rest up to the professional and ever-knowing laws of nature? Or do you feel a sinking sensation of dread or disappointment when viewing your dream in such a way? Often, the first few times we do this we come up with false dreams, things we don’t really want at all.
As we all know of witchcraft, the dangerous side of it can prevail if not respected. Becoming a master of divine timing and having fun with spells or meditative manifestation exercises whilst staying humble is one thing, but forcing it can have tragic effects. Making others fall in love, contacting the dead… we don’t need to watch Disney’s Aladdin to know that these are all big no nos.
3) The power of three times three so mote it be
One last thing before taking the plunge – ask yourself, does it hurt anyone including myself? This is one hurdle many can never clear, especially when it comes to money as the sensitive among us simply can’t ask for more than we need or feel the entitlement to it.
It’s like the gender wage gap – in the U.S, women are 77% to every man’s 1$, mostly because women’s sense of entitlement and judgment of their own self worth in the interview is much lower.
The fact that all the world’s wealth already goes to those who believe they should have it and honor financial status and success above all else already makes my skin crawl, so these self help books that encourage you to feel entitled to money just doesn’t feel right somehow.
Do you NEED what you are desiring? Are you being greedy and are secretly aware of this? Perhaps this is a block, but also should be an indicator of the right thing to do. Buddha’s right speech and right livelihood indicate having a just reason attached to a goal.
If you want to save money to eventually buy a beautiful house and gardens to turn into a meditation centre or foster home will probably compliment your higher self as opposed to buy a second car. Having said that, each to their own and who are any of us to judge what others want, but this is a good rule. If it doesn’t hurt anyone including yourself, then go ahead.
4) Explore the best ways to manifest for you
Some do an image board, some repeat a mantra. Some wish for it everything night and others do so and then conveniently forget about it. The key thing is doing something, but most certainly with an air of detachment. Creatively explore ways to integrate it into your routine. Spells can be a fun and creative way to do this although beware becoming too attached to little mistakes and superstitions along the way.
Doing this with others can be even more powerful and avoid individual pedantries. Meditation may be more your thing, but remember to close any ‘wishes’ or visualizations of getting what you want with a prayer for others – a simple energy reminder and statement of humility to the universe that you are aware you already have all you need, that you are already grateful.
I find drawing up a routine with spaces for spontaneity can be an excellent way to manifest things. Just changing your habits and routine and acting as if you already have whatever it is you desire can be the most effective step.
5) And finally, keep going
Keep going, repeating steps one to four until it begins to happen. Often if it’s not happening you’re missing signs from the universe which are opportunities in disguise or still not being completely honest with yourself about what you want.
Revise, meditate on your past and any inner voices that may be telling you things that are holding you back. Manifesting can be a huge inner journey, and if done right, can open up all sorts of doors for you. With changes that can be enjoyed for the rest of your life.
“We are all connected; to each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically. We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.” ~ Neil DeGrasse Tyson
What does it really mean to be connected? Let’s look at some similar terminology: linked, associated, related, allied, coupled, joined, attached, fixed, tied, bonded, united, and coalescent. When it comes down to it, no single word can define the concept of everything is connected to everything else. Even the word “interdependent” falls short.
Even the term “quantum entanglement” doesn’t seem to do it justice. And, really, we shouldn’t expect our limited terminology to describe anything accurately. Our words are just tools we use to communicate an experience that ultimately cannot be communicated. And that has to be okay.
But there’s no reason why we can’t have fun trying to communicate it anyway. And there’s no reason why we can’t attempt to reconnect the disconnected by teaching them how everything is already connected. If we are to “turn our weaponry into livingry,” as Buckminster Fuller once suggested, we must first connect the disconnected.
Those who are disconnected (the majority) believe whatever they are conditioned to believe. Their minds are inflexible. But if we can get them to see how everything is connected, then maybe we can achieve a social dynamic where we are flexible enough to transform our weaponry into livingry.
We’re connected to each other biologically
“The strategy of self-distancing from the world has impelled and shaped the modern self –differentiating it, empowering it, but eventually so isolating it that it has come to dwell inside a solipsistic prison of its own assumptions.
Worse, in its inflation and increasingly manic desperation, the civilization possessed by that objectifying stance has now become a centrifugal force of destruction and self-destruction in a world too intimately interconnected to accommodate such a titanic juggernaut so out of balance with the whole.” ~ Richard Tarnas
Beyond the psychological archetypes, beyond Jung’s theoretical collective unconscious, beyond Greene’s hypothetical metamorality, there is an organic connection we all share as human beings; a living, breathing, natural biology that connects us all on a visceral level.
Perceptually, we are all experiencing the human condition individually. But actually, we are all connected by the human condition interdependently.
Realizing the latter helps to alleviate the inherent suffering of the former. We are first and foremost social creatures.
The very idea of our “self” comes from using other “selves” as mirrors. We are each of us walking, talking, psychophysiological mirrors for each other. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we will become more compassionate and sympathetic, and the more likely we are to practice vulnerable empathy and fearless forgiveness.
We need to think less like desperate and isolated islands and more like robust and interconnected oceans. Like Arne Naess said, and Aldo Leopold before him, “think like a mountain.” We do this in order to harmonize ourselves with each other and with Gaia.
To become eco-conscious and eco-sensual, that is aware of our connection and interconnection to the micro and macro cosmos. We must bring our creativity to bear upon our egos and then imagine ourselves as oceans or mountains: greater eco-centric beings connected to all things.
But there is a prominent fear dwelling at the heart of the human condition. Most people are scared of facing their truer interdependent self. Indeed, the lesser independent self has a seeming stranglehold on most people’s perception of reality. This is because facing a difficult truth means disrupting the comfortable lies we’ve been telling ourselves.
Like Carlos Castaneda said, “People are afraid of connecting with their natural selves. This is because our modern lifestyles have become controlled by the Corporate Illuminati and are now disconnected with the spirit of Mother Nature and the spirit of planet Earth.”
Too long have we overfed the Ego at the expense of the Eco. We too easily forget that we are also connected to the earth.
We’re connected to the earth chemically
“Talk to a tree, which is more deeply rooted in God than any cross because no cross has roots, it is a dead thing – that’s why it kills… a tree is alive, with roots deep into the earth, branches high into the sky, connected with the whole, with the rays of the sun, with the stars – talk to the trees!” ~ Osho
The Earth is a living system of which we are all an aspect. Human beings are fundamentally interconnected with the Earth and with all its lifeforms. The boundaries we have set up between nature and the human soul are illusory at best and self-destructive at worst.
Neither the Earth’s environmental problems nor humanity’s unsustainability problems can be resolved without first taking full account of the interconnection between human nature and Mother Nature.
If we can become more attuned to the subtle forces of the ecosystems we inhabit, and more responsible with the not so subtle forces that we contribute to, then we can rediscover innate aptitudes that will help us to mend ourselves, our communities, and the planet.
The sooner we realize, as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe did, that “nature has neither core nor skin: she’s both at once outside and in,” the sooner we’ll get to a state where we can heal the alienation between person and planet, and establish a healthy relationship between the two.
There is an innate drive to live in harmony with the natural world and its primal rhythms. We have suppressed this drive through self-induced nature deprivation, and we are disoriented and suffering because of it.
As Carl Jung intuited, “Civilized Man does not understand how much his “rationalism” has put him at the mercy of the psychic ‘underworld.’ He has freed himself from superstition (or so he thinks), but in the process he has lost his spiritual values to a positively dangerous degree. His moral and spiritual tradition has disintegrated, and he is now paying the price for this break-up in the worldwide disorientation and dissociation.”
The human soul cannot be saved while the biosphere crumbles. Our sanity is linked with the health of our environment. A healthy human being naturally develops a responsibility for their environment. Likewise, a mature human being naturally develops a responsibility for the power they wield.
Our quest should be the integration of science and spirituality, of nature and the human soul, a vision which reminds us of our connectedness to the inner self, to each other, and to the planet.
We’re connected to the universe atomically
“What you do is what the whole universe is doing at the place you call the here and now. You are something the whole universe is doing in the same way that the wave is something that the whole ocean is doing. The real you is not a puppet which life pushes around. The real deep-down you is the whole universe.” ~ Alan Watts
Perceptually speaking, everything “exists” along an improbable line of probability. On a long enough timeline of probability, what’s possible and what’s impossible begin to merge. Perceptually, everything is separate and finite. But actually, everything is connected and infinite. It is this infinite connection, despite our limited finite perceptions, that makes us one with the cosmos.
Like the physicist Niels Bohr said, “We must be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts as with creating images and establishing mental connections.”
The mental connections we establish are the stories we tell each other. There are non-fiction laws to the story that is our universe unfolding, but it seems more like a work of fiction.
We are the stymied and astonished readers of this story; blinded by the miraculous interconnectedness and supersymmetry of it all to such an extent that we consistently forget that this very compelling story abides by the laws of non-fiction. One might even argue that our minds inject a kind of fiction upon the non-fiction story that is our universe unfolding. Thus creating paradox.
But we can always flip the tables on ourselves and our outdated worldviews. Try this: I am somebody (individual, unique, ego, concerned with the self) subsuming everybody (social, collective, egoless, concerned with the human condition) transcending nobody (cosmic, interconnected, immanent, concerned with an interdependent cosmos).
When it comes down to it the lines of separation drawn between us and the universe is an illusion. We can no more be separated from the cosmos as from the air we breathe, the ground we walk on, or the bacteria in our stomach that digests our food. The guts of the stars that died before us are the same, atomically, as the guts in our bodies. We are star stuff doing star stuff in human form.
How amazing is that? And when we combine the precepts of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, Schrodinger’s equation, Zeno’s paradoxes, and the many-worlds interpretation of the quantum wavefunction, it stands to reason that an infinite interdependent multiverse is at hand, and paradox only occurs because of our bias toward finitude despite the infinite interconnectedness of the cosmos.
At the end of the day, we are the universe frolicking in human form for a while. We are an interdependent universe playing the role of independent verses. We are tiny human-shaped waves emerging from a gargantuan cosmic ocean. We are the almighty infinite wavefunction that has collapsed into finite waves for a paradoxical amount of time.
We are an infinite God godding its godhood into finite godlings who vainly attempt to pierce through the veil of ignominy; who dare to burst through the Doors of Perception and into the vastness of infinity, knowing full well that we will most certainly fail, but flourishing forward anyway, ever so closer to that unattainable enlightenment that casts its shadow back upon us.
But it matters not, because we know –balls-to-bones, ovaries-to-marrow– that the journey is the thing.
Some helpful routines and suggestions for manifesting what you want can be too vague, others too materialistic. The first rule of witchcraft, whether you’re interested in that side of it or not is that, whilst you’d love to be off creating colorful spells and doing one for this and one for that, actually the greatest wisdom is knowing that everything is already OK the way it is and doesn’t need your interference thank you very much.
