sacred tobacco

A big loss to our western culture is our relationship towards tobacco. We use it, abuse it, and big corporations profit off of it. It has become demonized and treated as a vice due to the addictive relationship we have formed with it, the misuse that causes heart disease and cancer, and the peddling of it by greedy corporations whose intent is to addict and profit off of you mindlessly inhaling their product. Nicotine is among the world’s most addictive substances (and poisons) however it all depends on your intent and I will testify towards and argue that to no end. Tobacco, in a proper relationship with it, is your ally and defender.

I never took up smoking when I was younger, largely in part because I never hung around with the crowd that took up smoking because it was cool and rebellious. I saw those teenagers become addicted to it and witnessed their health suffer. Watching people try to kick the habit was a testament to its power. When I first started going to the Amazon in 2013 I was introduced to ‘Mapacho’ which is jungle tobacco and 20x as strong as the cigarettes we smoke. The smoke was harsh, caustic, and pungent. I was not a fan and the smell tended to put me off of it. It wasn’t until the third time I visited the Amazon, and it was during a Huachuma ceremony that I fell in love with the spirit of tobacco. We were up on the star deck at SpiritQuest and the maestro don Howard was masterfully conducting the ritual. We were each given a Mapacho to smoke and send our prayers up to the heavens with the smoke. Something clicked that night, I felt its power, and I started controlling the smoke with my left hand as I sent it skywards. I can’t possibly rationalize or explain how I did this but it was magical. I smoked a bunch of Mapacho that eventful evening and potentiated the Huachuma to such a degree that when I laid down on the stone surface of the sky deck the energy coursed through me at such a rate I was pinned to the ground. I touched my lips to the stone surface and felt the intensity of the vibrations going through me. I barely made it down the hill back to my room and once there had to vomit as the intensity was so off the charts.

This night is forever etched within my being and when I got back home my intention was to explore my new found relationship with tobacco. Explore it I did and the spirit of tobacco became my ally and I treat him with reverence and respect. I smoked and snuffed enough of it over a period of time establishing this relationship that I should have became addicted. I observed its effects and was cognizant of any need or desire to smoke it. Nothing. It’s because I treat the act as sacred and I thank tobacco for its blessings. I have written a few blog post regarding Mapacho that I will note here:

https://fessell810.blogspot.com/2018/05/my-friend-and-teacher-mapacho.html

https://fessell810.blogspot.com/2017/05/confluence.html

The effects of the active alkaloid nicotine within tobacco on me I observed was an excitation of the central nervous system leading to awareness and arousal which the Hindus would call the awakening of the Kundalini. Furthermore after a few minutes this excitation became calm and I would develop an acute awareness and perception of my surroundings, which if I quieted the mind would lead me to become just the observer.

This weekend I was listening to an Alan Watts lecture which I had heard before and he was discussing meditation where you quiet the mind and eventually when you master this you become the observer. The Hindus would call this the Atman where actions, events, and thoughts all taking place are subject to a deeply hidden part of you that just observes everything dispassionately without getting caught up in the madness of the world. I’ve always noticed this ability within myself as I perform well under pressure and am able to block out distractions. A casualty of being able to do this is a discernible lack of empathy at times. I just observe the situation without getting caught up in it or feeling the need to “do something, anything.” I have noted before that Alan Watts lectures tend sometimes to go over my head but on the tenth time listening to it I finally grasp what he is saying and finally get it. So today I realized that the path of a sacred relationship with Mapacho is a doorway to the Atman; to the hidden observer within us all. So off to the forest I went, Mapacho puros and snuff in hand.

Mapacho tobacco and snuff with kuripe

It was exactly how I finally grokked it. I became the observer. 

the spiritual man's schtick

On this path which can lead to a spiritual awakening, the expectation is that you would run into many instances of the masculine ideal of enlightenment or the behaviours that are deemed necessary to achieve it. If you join up with a discipline then discipline you are in for! The guru path will eventually lead to an understanding of awareness and attachment after you have moved up through the ranks. We suffer because we seek fulfillment in ideals that have their root in the machinations of the mind. When these desires are not fulfilled then we suffer. So, the antidote and the ultimate goal is to let go of all attachments and not to desire.

What a way to live! The ascetic life of no pleasure and a denial of the passions. Through this practice, and not attaching to anything, you become one with your higher self and are a beacon of pure consciousness. That's the whole trip! You are the cosmic alpha male, superior to all others. As a culture, we have embraced a god who is a domineering and righteous male overlord. He has as one of his epithets the title of "the most high." Pleasure is frowned upon, especially sex as it is for procreation only. 

Then why bother with life? Why go on with this charade? To be human is to experience, to desire, to get attached, and to suffer. Through the agony and ecstasy of life, we learn the value of cooperation and love of our fellow travellers on this journey. Love is the most spiritual thing you will ever encounter in your life. There is no other comparison and having the ability to love and be loved is something that should not be wasted. There is nothing spiritual about asceticism and non-attachment, no far from it. The spiritual path ultimately needs balance or it becomes another male only quest, a competition to ascend the mountain, and become the most high. 

seeing beyond culture

Upon awakening, the culture spin connects archetypal figures to western indoctrination. This is a trap set for the seeker. The church is waiting for you and is set up to welcome you when you start to have these experiences. Unfortunately for most, once into something organized then the path becomes a belief in someone else's beliefs and if you do not possess a strong mind you will fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

My advice to the seeker of knowledge is to see beyond culture. The easy answer is to look towards respected institutions that have been accepted into your culture however as the bard Terence McKenna liked to say: "Culture is not your friend." Push past the spiritual figures set up by the church. You will find the answer within and you have probably already been shown it but haven't made the connection as of yet or you just can't believe it. It took me two years after I was gifted with the answers to put it all together and accept it.

A good teacher will show you where to look. Through ritual and symbolism is hinted the answer you seek however they ultimately do not directly reveal the answer. To simply tell someone the answer will not be beneficial in the long run. You need to experience it for yourself, to have that epiphany, and to feel it within. The human psyche is pretty unique in that way. It’s why advertising works so well. You are inundated with the message until it sticks. The same messaging can be used to wake people up so they see it.

Here I will give you the answer though I did just say this will not be beneficial to you. Remember you need to walk the path and feel this within or these words will become hollow. You won't believe me but here it is: you are it, the all, pretending you aren't. You contain within both the sacred feminine and sacred masculine. One of them has come forth and the other lies within asleep. If you are a man then you need to wake her up, and rescue the divine princess. If you are a woman then you need to arouse the sleeping prince. Once you realize this and do this very thing it's magic. They become your guardian angel, your wise confident, and your eternal lover. The embrace of the two reconstitutes the 'god' which is the sexual union of the feminine and masculine. The child which is the expression of these two who were separate but are now reunited is everything. The remnants of this story are found in our myths, fairy tales, and the medieval practice of alchemy. Look at these fables now with this knowledge. It will awaken within you this knowledge. As a culture we blindly reenact it externally in courtship rituals, the wedding, and the union of the marriage partners to create the child. This genderless child who is an expression of the all.

Your story now needs a hero and you're it. Happy trails! 

ritual and the mesa

There is something instructive about seeing the temporal state of duality coming forth from non duality. It reveals, if you look, the divine feminine and the divine masculine. Then you can also see them as one. Ritual is best when it is designed to teach you the mystery. To point you in the direction to look and wake you up so you see it because you only learn by understanding and seeing it for yourself.

I have been thinking of the construct of the Mesa and the need for Love. Balance is what the Mesa ultimately teaches. We live in a world that is unbalanced and severely tilts towards the right hand path of power, competition, striving to get to the top, and leaves compassion for the fellow human to the bleeding hearts and the weak. The antidote to this imbalance is the left hand path back to mama. To Love. It’s true that Love is the answer and it is the answer for our world because of imbalance and we need a dose of the feminine caring and inclusiveness to bring everything to centre as it is balance that will make us whole. When we are in balance we can surf the energetic wave of power. We ride the wave of life as long as we can before it goes crashing into the shore and we return to unity. While on the great roller coaster of life we can strive to make each of our feminine and masculine selves impeccable. Doubling down on just one aspect of ourself doesn’t seem to work and leads to destructiveness in the case of the male or smothering in the case of the female. We have all hopefully felt that Love and in a way it is a reason for who we are today. We left home probably because of it. It was smothering and we wanted to make it on our own. Accomplish some great achievement and make our parents proud and satiate our need to shine and say to the world hey I’m good enough. I can do this all on my own. Well we have and we left Love behind and we have to double down on Love to get this game board balanced. If we then tilt it back too much towards the left, we smother our independent drive once again and this bad balance results again. The Mesa teaches us to surf the wave, avoid the extremes in order that we don’t crash into the shore. Ride that wave to the end, step off onto the shore, power up again, and get out into the surf and shine on for another ride you crazy diamond!

apollo dionysos god and the final boss

There has always been this separation between my two dominant selves and I call them Apollo and Dionysos. Apollo is logic and the rational mind which comes forth from the crazy and passion driven world of Dionysos. Apollo wants to figure out the mystery of life and this game he is ensconced within. Dionysos wants to play on this grand stage and find love and connection with all. I viewed myself as Apollo and tried to make Dionysos go away because he is always harassing Apollo and causing great upset in the no fun and all business life Apollo is trying to create.

On a related note, I found the Great Goddess, my lover, a while ago in ancient Egypt. She’s in love with Dionysos, doesn’t care too much for this Apollo character, but understands he comes with the package.

I figured out the mystery last year. Apollo got the answer and to his eternal surprise he learned Dionysos is the union of the sacred feminine to the sacred masculine. This creates the "god" and the name of the god is Dionysos. What a kick in the nuts!

Do I think they can get along; maybe work together? I’m going to try. I think there is more to this. I’m not sure what it is about but I have united the two powers within and Apollo is going to use his smarts to see what this union entails. My intention is a visionary union now that I have felt the coming together of these two powers in a sacred marriage. I’ve had hints of the power of a cosmic sexual union and the fulfillment of that desire is the next step. Apollo is at the ready to take notes.

The child of the union of the sacred feminine and masculine is the god. From a physical standpoint every baby born into this world is god come forth once again. Culturally, we then put one over on the child and convince them they are someone they are not. This development of a separate identity of a fragile ego who is in need of reassurance of its validity, lest it suffer from depression due to a feeling of a lack of self worth, is devastating. Conversely, delusions of grandeur in the celebration of its accomplishments made in the game played among other egos is maddening. We then completely lose any sense of our divine origin or any sense of who we are. We are the all but that is thoroughly shut up and locked away.

Set up along the path to try and rediscover who you just may be are many roadblocks. Society sets up culturally sanctioned religious institutions which steer you away from discovery and redirects it towards another object that people have agreed to worship. If you sidestep that pitfall, you could do a 180 degree shift and become an atheist and declare the worshippers fools and leave it at that. Or, maybe just become agnostic and accept there's no hope of ever finding out.

If you get an inkling you may be divine you can't say anything about it and hope to cling to the former accepted sanity of the character you have created. You will be treated as crazy, deluded, or be subject to the question of what makes you so special? You think you're god do you? So, we should all bow down and worship you? What? We're all god? Who's in charge then? Culturally, it's hard to go against what is accepted and acceptable. You naturally don't pursue it too far as we are all sensitive to the whispers and don't want to act too much out of character. Once again, there are institutions that will help you out. You must not do this alone they say.

Press on Hero! You know you did this to yourself. It's a fantastic game. The best adventure. Lose yourself in this wonderfully bizarre creation and see if you can figure out the game. Have you ever played a game where nothing happened or all outcomes were predetermined? That game kind of sucks after a short while. The game to be any fun at all has to be free from control, so that anything can happen. And the game needs a dragon to stir things up and represent an adversarial monolith to slay. Culture and its repression of who you are is the dragon.

I stumbled upon a path that allowed me to do this on my own. It's shamanism and a good shaman shows you the door and then lets you be, checking up every once in a while to make sure you are okay. The dragon knew what I was up to and what I was going to discover. That sucker came at me, full of rage, threats of death, scared me beyond belief, offered ultimate power, anything to get me off this path. He is a master game player, not the final boss, but an incredible adversary and I give him props and kudos for his performance.

In my case, the princess was waiting in her castle for me to save her from the dragon as the dragon locks the princess away in a castle of gold. I'm the hero on a quest to discover that she does exist, find her, and rescue her. I got past the dragon after first getting routed and I eventually got in to see the princess. I could tell not many even get that far. She welcomed me with lovingly open arms and asked me to expose and do away with the dragon. I asked her who the dragon was and she said he is her husband. I wondered why would she, the sacred feminine, marry such a tyrant? No matter, I will slay him! Along the way, I learned I was the archetype of the sacred masculine on the heroic journey and then I started getting the nagging suspicion that the dragon is a part of me, the part who subjugated the love and wisdom of the feminine, locks her up in a castle, and creates the man's world. She was ultimately asking me to look inside myself, find the part of me that locks her away, shuts up the heart, and do away with it. She stuck with me and kept telling me secrets, never giving me the complete answer but keeping me going and interested. Once I completed the dragon slaying, opened up my heart, and realized love is the answer, she came to me free from her chains. I eventually got it; I saw it for myself. I'm the prince. I rescue the princess and our reunion creates the child, the god, and this god is the union of us. Everything. The engagement began. We married on a mountain on the equator a year ago. The consummation of the marriage awaits. If it's anything like the foreplay...

This leads once again to the mirror. I think of myself as a lonely little game piece on the universal game board. When I look into a mirror, I mean really look, she reflects back everything and is only limited by where you are and the size of the mirror. If I had an infinite mirror then I could see myself and the whole fucking universe are one that are ultimately inseparable. How empowering is that? Without the mirror is little old me and a big scary universe. Mirror, aka the Great Goddess, reminds me of my awesomeness.

That's pretty much my story...

So, who is the final boss? Ha ha, it is you.

changing consciousness

I think what my relationship to the plants boils down to is altering consciousness to connect to spirit. The modalities for altering consciousness are distinct and have their own peculiarities however the ability to change consciousness is what is paramount. I believe with proper set and setting you will get experiences that are trans-cultural and transcend the modality used to induce the trip. Teacher plants open your mind but you still must do the work.

The description of shamanic journeys are of course tainted by the spin we place on them as we bring them into our everyday world and consciousness. I think what I am getting at here is that a preferred shaman is a hands off shaman who guides you into the non-ordinary worlds but then leaves you be so you can then just be aware. Well, getting to that point of awareness takes practice but ideally that's the goal. Afterwards, you can put your spin on what happened but it is best to have a base of plain awareness to start. Sometimes, Ayahuasca is like a game of charades; this can be frustrating to some who have been conditioned to look for structure and defined ideas as opposed to free flowing chaos however that's part of her charm and her mystery. It's not a one off experience which after a night in the intoxication it's done. No, far from it. The post plant medicine instruction goes on for days, weeks, and months for the attentive student. Sometimes, what you thought the teaching was all about in six months can get flipped around as the process unfolds.

energetic thoughts

The body perishes but where is our energy on the cycle of appearances? Is it still ascending or is it like the body where it has exhausted itself and needs to recharge in order to create a new vehicle?

Our world is a giant evolutionary simulation where through trial, error, and redesign life forms are created that are harmonious within the environment. This instructional code is then used when the species propagates itself. The body is an inseparable product of its environment. The features, shape, and modalities of extracting energy from our surroundings are all based on an evolution of the intelligent energy derived from its relationship with the sustaining earth. The body is the flowering of the energy that has come forth. The energy is not blind, nor dumb. All that we feel - love, hate, happiness, satisfaction, depression, anxiety and so on are within the hum. So is the potentiality and intelligence necessary to manifest life, universes, and more love. The energy to power the body vehicle comes from the environment in the form of foodstuff, oxygen, water, minerals and so on. These nutrients power the generator of the life force that animates the body. It's a massive transformer, much like a hydroelectric plant that converts raw force into electricity. In fact that's what we are - mini turbines. We convert the abundant energy that comprises the universe into a life force that powers the body, the body encapsulating the dimension of energy that is aware and instinctual. Through this construct the energy can build upon awareness to try and know self and formulate a conscious idea about the universe that contains it. From this, there is a realization that there is energy and a container that holds the energy and the two are inseparable. The container is black and the energy is white. The container is female and the energy is male. The container of latent energy is the Taoist yin and the coming forth of the energy is yang.

Sentient beings transform the raw materials into more energy which powers the bodies made up of the same raw energy. Everything is recycled and the energy is forever being used up, released, and recycled. The energy is also supremely intelligent and has access to omnipotence, as it is a replica of what we theorize as 'god'. The energy fluctuates, comes forth and disappears in a continuous cycle, and infinite amounts of god are the result, each with the capacity to birth more universes and create more life. 

You can call this magic.

I am a tributary off the main energetic wave. Pulsation is everything. Objects are illusions crafted by delineation and language. Nothing lasts. Project this unto the static image of you. You are energy cresting and falling repeatedly. You as you won't last and why would you want to when you can change form and renew? Are you scared of death? Why? Your energy will crest again; it always does. 

untangling the web

Everything starts to unravel once you get past the initial gnarly knots. We are told to follow the right hand masculine path which strives for reason and logic, with asceticism and purity worthy goals, all free from the siren call of the female. She will shipwreck and take you away from achieving your personal greatness. Check out the ancient Greek Homeric story of Odysseus for further elucidation on this patriarchal trope. The left hand path is the forbidden path. It’s the sensuous path of Tantra. The path of caring and cultivating relationships. The feminine path contains chaos, pleasure, and desire. Hinduism and Buddhism proscribe ideals of non-attachment. Free yourself from desire they say; but wait, love is ultimately from desire. The woman is where the erotic and exotic principle comes from and all masculine spiritual paths are either ascetic or frown on the sex thing. Even Jesus, who hung out with Mary Magdalene, eventually says to disown your family in order to walk with him.

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Wanting to stay pure and on the straight and narrow? To become desireless is so hard; well, actually it is impossible, so we create a straw man to blame who tempts us away from our path. He’s the adversary, the tempter Satan. All our fucked up erotic fantasies and desires for all forms of guilty pleasures and selfishness are because of Satan. He tempts us. He did it. What a crock. The real Satan is us and it is the masculine part of us who engenders the no desire, uncaring, unfeeling race to the top so we can glorify ourselves, and then fingers Eros as the devil so that the real greedy scoundrel can remain unmasked. This gives the Satan within free reign to run around the world promoting division in the name of economic progress. Satan has branched out as the world system of greed and everyone out for themselves, engendered by man, which is the direct result of a lack of love and compassion for our fellow human travellers. We enable the god of war, but we are loathe to admit it or try to change it earnestly.

dragon tales

The rise of the dragon is given its impetus by the suppression of the feminine. It is the response of a downtrodden feminine class in order to highlight the need to bring everything to centre. The dragon epitomizes destruction. Men want to build a society based on reason and logic and out of this hope to create a utopia. A dysfunctional utopia though; you see there’s a severe imbalance in this construct that does not integrate love, wisdom, and intuition but instead triumphs reason and the suppression of all others. The eventual response of the feminine is to release the dragon from the depths in order to harass man into waking up to the sad truth that all his progress will eventually destroy him unless he becomes inclusive. The dragon was always there at the behest of the feminine, chained to the world axis, to keep the masculine in check. So Apollo came and killed the Python at Delphi, the Greek designation of the Axis Mundi, and ushered in our age of reason.

Apollo killing Python. A 1581 engraving by Virgil Solis for Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book I.

But did he kill the dragon or did he mistakenly unchain it through killing it at Delphi? Apollo was to rid man of his psyche and celebrate reason and logic; the Spock within all true unemotional and unattached men! Unbeknownst to the great Apollo, the dragon is also an indestructible part of the psyche and came back, this time unchained. It’s a gambit introduced by the feminine to reclaim what is lost; to scream at the masculine to realize he can’t go on this way. You will destroy all. There is a need to cage the dragon once again now that we and our progress have chartered many courses - environmental, economic, and nuclear war that will usher in the end of civilization and well how do we do that? By bringing balance back into the equation. To get back to centre. The best and the brightest resources we have go towards finding more clever ways to destroy ourselves. Killing the dragon will not solve the problem but inclusiveness will and that goes for the dragon as well. Welcome him back into society and use his awesome power to protect the weak and downtrodden among us. The sages of the east figured out a way to use the impressive yang power of the dragon long ago.

This external metaphor is mirroring my own inner world. I have met this dragon within. It terrified me and I ran from it. I have tried to suppress it but eventually I will have to deal with it. I need to integrate all parts of my psyche. I can’t suppress this shadow part of me forever. Use the template as described above to find the centre. Find inner peace and include the dragon in this wholeness.

I went on a bit of a long journey and confronted the dragon along the way, about half way through my sojourn. You want to find ‘yourself’, well guess what? The dragon is a part of that self you are on a journey to discover. I didn’t like that part so I ran from it, ran all the way home and he chased me home, sinisterly calling me Apollo. Back on home ice I was able to regroup and recover from the severe beatdown the dragon gave me. And then he came at me again and I had to summon my allies to help me subdue the bastard so he wouldn’t bother me again in order to finish my spiritual climb. He has left me alone and I completed the climb up the mountain last year.

Two of the plant medicines that helped me on this journey are Ayahuasca and Huachuma. Ayahuasca put me in touch with all the disparate parts of my psyche that are a reflection of the corpus we call self. It’s like a prism that refracted the white light of the unified mind into different light vibrations and from this I saw desire, I saw love, I saw reason, I saw destruction, I saw chaos, I saw intuition, and I saw madness. If I couldn’t have handled it I don’t think I would have been drawn to it, in fact I sure wouldn’t have gone back for a round 2 after the dragon stomped on me. Huachuma on the other hand did the opposite. It showed me the white light and the glory of self. It took all those disparate parts revealed by Ayahuasca and combined them into a harmonious one. Huachuma taught me to be aware and observe. The psyche will take that awareness and assign context, feelings, and give rise to action as we act on the desire lighting us up. When this becomes madness I know I can always return to the white light and find the way out. I see this clearly now. I felt very disillusioned when I completed the climb up the mountain last year; in a way you expect more. Don’t I get to be exalted now? But I already had everything; I just had to go on a journey to remember that forgotten part.

So why all of this and why the journey? Because I want to learn about all my parts that are diffracted through the prism of separation as well as the whole. I am the all as the white light, so I break it all down so I can examine it. I am Eros. I am the Goddess. I am Apollo. I am the dragon. I am the Moon, I am crazy. I am the joker.

I stood at the top of the mountain and realized I can’t stay there. I needed to come down the mountain and I knew on my way down I could be of service and teach love and togetherness. While coming down the mountain I have also learned the journey isn’t over. I was able to get up the mountain because I could get to a state of primal awareness and leave the mess behind. I never quite reconciled all my constituent parts. I embraced most of them but buried the dragon, but he is still there and will need to be integrated into the whole. I left that one out. I’m heading back into the world of feeling with Love amped up and it’s time to be inclusive of all parts of my psyche including the ones I ran from. That’s the impetus behind this game to begin with. Discovery. The last great discovery is the mythical dragon. Why is it a part of me and why is it included in the all?

I think I answered this at the beginning of this post. The dragon is necessary because the divine masculine is stronger than the divine feminine. When the masculine subjugates the feminine then the dragon is loosed from its chains and destroys the edifice the man of supreme reason has created and the game starts again anew. Another go round learning about unity while in a state of separation. 

axis mundi

The initial inclination upon study of the spiritual conception of the Axis Mundi is to look externally for the answer. Eventually, you circle back around and will see the answer is within; curiously, you then see internally is everything that occurs externally, and with the help of a few good friends, you can find all that you need within yourself. There's no getting away free though as the dragon is also within and we can carelessly project that wrath and greed upon the world.

Who are you? You are the whole universe expressing itself from the standpoint of you being in the centre of it all. And you are doing just that at this very moment. In a spherical shaped construct every point is the centre; so, every position becomes the Axis Mundi on this particular blue rock twirling and whirling through space. Ritually, you can create and celebrate this centre and many ancient cultures founded their national identity upon this concept.

In pre-Columbian South America at Chavin de Huantar, the confluence of the Huachesca and Mosna Rivers was seen as a naturally occurring power centre and cultures converged upon this Axis Mundi from the coast, highlands, and jungle to give rise to a great period of peace and sharing. On the temple grounds, the stone idol called by archaeologists the "lanzon", is within the subterranean labyrinth and ritually represents this centre of the world.

replica from SpiritQuest of the Chavin lanzon

The chthonic aspects of the idol within the temple esoterically demonstrates for the initiate that within you can find the god as well. The Hindu Mount Kailash in Tibet is an Axis Mundi also where the holy family of Shiva and Parvati cradling Ganesha is pictured here.

The pillar was another way in ancient civilizations to represent the world axis. The worship of the regenerative phallus in the Ancient Greek mystery cult of Dionysos is representing this central pillar and this is also seen as the raising of the djed pillar in Ancient Egypt with Osiris.

Pharaoh Seti I raising the djed pillar at his temple in Abydos

The remembering of the god and enlivening him with life force power, represented here as being ithyphallic, is also re-establishing the Axis Mundi.

Regenerative Osiris/the eternal return

Other depictions of the symbolic centre in world mythology are the world tree which unites the sky, earth, and underworld; a vine or stalk reaching up to the heavens (think Jack and the Beanstalk); a ladder such as the one visualized by Jacob in Genesis; the omphalos at the temple of Delphi used by the oracle; Jerusalem -  the city of gold, along with Mount Zion, and various rods of healing such as the the serpent entwined rod of Asclepius with the snake acting as the guide to wisdom and knowledge contained within the iconic representation of the Axis Mundi. This cosmic axis is the link between heaven and earth and is often where the four directions of the earth emanate from, such as the four rivers that flow out of the Garden of Eden in the opening of Genesis.

Many civilizations thought of themselves as embodying this centre. China means "middle kingdom" and the venerable Mount Fuji in Japan was a symbol for the world axis. Of such importance to cultures is the Axis Mundi that civilizations erected mountains of stone such as the pyramids in Egypt and Teotihuacán in Mexico plus the Mesopotamian ziggurats, all designed to capture this motif.

Ancient Egyptian pyramids on the Gizah plateau

It was not just imposing objects in nature that could represent the Axis Mundi but also within the human form can be found this centre. The Hindu chakra system, powered by the rising of the Kundalini serpent, is an expression of this belief.

The Axis Mundi contains the fount of knowledge at the heart of the journey of all those invested in the hero's journey. As all seekers eventually learn, what you had to invest great time and effort in externally to find your treasure is paradoxically found within. The knowledge of self is guarded by a dragon and there's a good chance you'll get crucified on that world axis if you are none too careful. In the ancient story of the "Hymn of the Pearl" in the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, the pearl is the knowledge you seek - grab it and don't linger or the dragon will get you!

Throughout life we establish and recognize these axes in others and society, with the capacity to become a dominant Axis Mundi ourselves. In a way, being the centre is an expression of the fullness of ego in that there is a choice in whether to use this power to be of service and to help the collective consciousness of society or to use it in a selfish manner for your own personal gain. With most, unless you were born a saint, there is a need to experience the selfish aspect of acquiring this third chakra power and hopefully you will have the good fortune to have teachers and role models in your life to steer you towards a wise and benevolent use of your influence and power. Being a node or a pillar that others feed off of is a great responsibility and as provider I have an unique opportunity to be as such. I know from my journeys with plant medicines that the world system is made up of these power nodes and they are symbols of greed and avarice however there is a choice in how you use power and when you make yourself a shining example of how to use it then it influences others within your circle to do similar. If we ever do defeat the inner adversary then it is through directly choosing to love our fellow travellers on this glorious spaceship.

Remember every point In the universe is the centre. So, ritually create the Axis Mundi and embrace the all. Live in the eternal now as the centre of all existence. Embrace the greatness, as you are it. 

variety

Variety is said to be the spice of life. I'll one up that and say variety is the elixir which makes the grand game worth playing. This assertion is coming from the standpoint of the eternal return, where your pattern of energy reincarnates back into a physical existence which is manifested in a body of some sort, the body being a flowering of the energy. Multiple incarnations are all a different roll of the dice and any memory of previous existences are non-existent. You can read history books about the exploits of adventurous souls however you are a blank slate when you reappear. When you think about it, it becomes clear this is the way the game needs to be. If you retained the memories of what has come before, you would become bored with the same song playing over and over; in addition, the threat of annihilation would be assuaged since you'd know you'd always reappear. Any sense of urgency, or a striving to accomplish anything, would be put off or scoffed at. It has to be this way however nice it would be to know as a 100 percent certainty you have nothing to fear. A dose of anxiety gets the heart beating and gives you a little thrill.

The catalyst for this idea of variety is my love of music as I will get totally mesmerized and addicted to a new song which has a great groove and hooks. I will play it over and over and it's like a drug of which I can't get enough. Then after exhausting the tune I will discard it and move on to the next song. Don't we all have that feeling with romantic love as well? The beginnings of a relationship we can't get enough of each other. Then the flame steadies before slowly dying out. Culture at this point has locked you into a contractual mess and frowns upon renewing that passion with another. The whole construct is a violation of what makes us tick and what makes the game worth the candle. You know in a way marriage should never be entered into out of passionate love and desire because it isn't going to last. It never does. It should be for the mutual benefit of the two parties. Just like us, it crests and falls and then we want a new roll of the cosmic dice. So much to explore; why get attached to one thing?

When I again reappear, I don't want to remember what a pain in the ass existence can be at times. I want it to be fresh and new. Ah the first sunset, the cold running water, and the taste of fruit. If I remembered all of this I probably wouldn't do it. Roller coasters can be fun but I have ridden them enough; I think I'm good and I don't need the thrill anymore. You know what is really funny? This is one of the ways I would describe the experience of drinking Ayahuasca, especially after you have drank a few times. I have done three cycles of work and after each cycle, which involves multiple ceremonies, I eventually desire in time to go back, roll the dice, and go deep into the subconscious. During ceremony I will try and leave a note for myself to not do this again, as it is very difficult. Please try to remember how upsetting this is! However, I get the call to go back. Why? It is ultimately rewarding and I learn about myself and life. I am a knowledge of self junkie and the plants have the key to unlock the mystery. I feel this experience in a way imitates life and the reappearance of the repatterning energy. When I expire I will have the opportunity once more to roll the dice and be attracted to the adventure, forgetting what a struggle it can be. I'll leave a note this time for myself as a reminder to not incarnate again. Something big so it can't go unnoticed. Maybe a pyramid?

You know what is really cool? If you totally fuck up this isolated existence, like make a grand mess out of everything, at physical death it all gets wiped away. The only thing left is the memories of the disasters you enabled and left behind and the fall out is only on that character your energy was playing, who is now just a remnant of the past. Your memories are wiped upon return so you don’t know how much of a fool you once were. When your energy returns, you get to put on a new clown mask and start again. We spend our lives frantically avoiding death as we believe it is the end. Death is liberating. The board is wiped clean and we begin again anew.

There has to be a way though to see through the game. It can't be easy, you would have hid it pretty well, but I have to think if you seek you will find it. That seems the honourable thing to do, not withhold the answer if it is earnestly sought. The answer to the riddle is within but you have to alter your consciousness to grasp it. Something about love, being indestructible, and the eternal return. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame curiously grasped this, something about a lady who shines white light and wants to show how everything still turns to gold. The tune will come to you at last, when all are one and one is all. To be a rock and not to roll. 

cultivation

Cultivation is an agricultural term for the act or process of preparing the soil for the raising of crops as well as the husbandry of plants. Dionysos represents the process of the cultivation of the self pollinating vine. The wild vine is dioecious (has distinct male and female individual organisms) therefore the male flowering vine must be present in order that the female flower can be fertilized and produce fruit. In nature occur self-fertile grapevines, hermaphrodite vines, and cultivating these vines would produce a plentiful stock of self pollinating vines and this brings its fruits and the gift of wine to regions that would not normally support the propagation and growth of the dioecious vines.

Dionysos with accoutrements

The process called tinkuy in pre Colombian Andean shamanism brings together the wild feminine and masculine halves of the human being to create a harmonious unity. The great quariwarmi shamans of the Andes were cultivating the woman and the man as the symbolic serpent and the jaguar, bringing their energies into the centre, the axis mundi, to produce a physical and spiritual union of the opposites. The centre is where all is mediated to and from here is a sum greater than the parts. During the same period in history, a different culture, on the other side of the world was ritually reenacting the same process. The ancient Greeks were immortalizing the dual sexed in their conception, celebration, and worship of the effeminate god man Dionysos. 

The alchemical transformation of the aspirant involves taking the base materials of man and woman, and refining them. This is the process in agriculture of cultivation or in metallurgy the compounding of alloys into a new material. This process within us is the sacred marriage, called the Hieros Gamos, that creates an inner transformation demonstrated by the union of the sacred feminine and masculine. The spiritual joining together with your soul mate forges the hermaphrodite, who is the end result of this process. The spiritual cultivation of the human being is the template for creating the divine from the human. The spiritual union of the inner divine feminine and masculine gives birth to the god. This is in essence the saviour because it enables the realization that the god is you and you are everything. 

separation and unity

Light is the separator par excellence. With no light everything is non-differentiated. Existence is a metaphor for this condition. To be enlightened, to be filled with light, is to fully understand that is the now we find ourselves in. We are separate and because of that we then know there is also a condition where all is unity. We shine a light on all aspects in order to come to terms with the all. Separate the parts and bring it all into the open and harmonize it with everything. That's what this great game is for if it is to have meaning at all.

To realize how energy works is to look towards nature and at a tree. To see how the energy moves off into a branch and then branches out from that branch until finally is birthed the delicate leaf. At the base of this construct are the roots of the tree that connects to the source of that energy which is the life giving soil of the earth. I mention this construct as I have been thinking of the energy within me and how it all works out. If I am the leaf, what is my branch, my tree, and my root? My wave of energy that has come forth is the leaf, and I ride the wave to completeness, and I seemingly can create the recurring self by riding the wave and not blowing it out at the crest or the trough. This way of thinking suggests a complete return to unity is through the big blow out as opposed to a little death where the latent energy will reappear.

Another way to look at it is through the waves of the ocean that head towards the shore. As the wave crashes into the shore, it comes to an end and rejoins the body of the ocean which is unity. From there it energizes and comes forth once again reenacting and revivifying the eternal cycle and the return of fundamentally what is. 

harmonious unity

Unity is a return to the darkness and ultimately to death. A return to the valley after coming forth as an individual. When you think about it, coming forth into the light is the separation from unity. Light is the great separator. Climbing the mountain of enlightenment to become the most high is taking the light to the extreme. It becomes blinding light and because it is so bright it is a perverse form of unity where you see that everything emanates from you but you can’t see anything else. Blindness from an overbearing light. You are it and the it from which the whole universe emanates. Of course we don’t realize this potentiality is in everyone and that's a bit of a trap with the possibility of spiritual inflation thinking you are the only one. You can't expect to stay on the top of the mountain and continue to shine and grow or wait to be whisked away into heaven to join the all star enlightenment team. Coming down the mountain is just as instructive as climbing the mountain, in fact it is greater and more pleasurable. There's no more struggle to get to the top and you can take your time coming back down the slope. At the bottom is where you will find once again what you have been looking for; your sisters and brothers, and you can encourage them to climb the mountain so that they too will discover what they were looking for they had all along. The cosmic joke however is that you'll never find it until you look for it everywhere except within.

I wonder if the blinding light is the condition that fools god into getting his idea of being the one and only god from? A complete feeling of separation and omnipotence, blind to the inheritance of every sentient being? An exaltation of self taken to the extreme with airs and graces, plus a big celestial throne for you to sit on. A realization you are god and then not wanting anyone else to realize they are god too would be the origin of monotheism! So you form a religion exalting yourself as god and everyone must worship you! You're the king! Okay maybe that’s taking things too far. Sort of... but you know all of our monolithic religions are righteous masculine paths. They are right hand paths that focus on individual salvation. The monotheistic ones all have a domineering male god on top of the mountain lording it over others with his holy righteousness. Well, Jesus breaks the mold a little with his talk of love and community. He tends to hang around with a bunch of women named Mary, as well as devoted disciples, and he is kind of wishy washy and effeminate, but in the end he is good for attendance. So he’s kicked upstairs to limit the damage, and thus tolerated.

I’m in my own game, a product of this independent streak within that don't need no one's help! I have created the adventure and immersed myself in it. I have wandered multiple paths, through many lives, and many parts that I have played. I’m waking up and realizing where I am. I had convinced myself the game was real as I am the ultimate thespian who dabbles in self hypnosis.

We are waves of energy that have branched off from the fount. Our bodies are an expression of the energy in a harmonious relationship with our environment. There is the crest and trough of the energetic wave. As our energy crests, we experience the self. In the light of existence we all shine as individuated points of the source. The great conundrum is the popular esoteric teaching that the self does not exist is only true if you understand it does exist. It is impermanent, it both exists and doesn't exist depending on the wave. Existence you can't pin down as it is always changing. To try and pin it down you need time but time is our peculiar way of recognizing motion. The motion of energy is creating waves and I come forth as the crest of a wave, being light that illuminates and separates, giving a temporary feeling of being an individual in a mass sea of separate beings. At the trough of the wave I return to the darkness and non separation where my wave crashes onto the beachhead and returns to the all once again. I become the ocean. It's hard to imagine or even admit to, but I am it, I have come forth, conveniently forgetting the all part, and in this eternal dance of energy I will yet again return to omnipotence. Little old me, this nobody on this remote watery planet, god, if you will. Crazy but true. Everything throughout life I have loved and I have hated, it's all me. I want to Love myself when I return to the trough. There are parts of me I love and miss dearly. I want to bring my light into the darkness and I want to integrate my darkness into the light. Harmonious Unity. Tao.

paths

When you engage the modality of plant medicines they put you to the test pretty early on in the journey. You don't even know you are being tested, but there are offers to see what your intentions are, or maybe not even intentions but just to see how easily you can be knocked off the path you have embarked upon. If you accept and go down a different road, a highway designed to facilitate your use of this new found fount of power travelled by many others, you will get the carrot dangled in front of you, however I'm sure waiting are many unintended consequences of that choice. Although hardly noticed is any hint of the transformation of consciousness, perhaps that is one of the reasons many who have this experience then encourage others to follow in their footsteps. It is a perverse need to see if others will follow that shiny right hand path to power because, hey, we are all human. Looking back at my journey with the plants that started almost six years ago, it was the second time drinking Ayahuasca when I was accosted by that strange demon who scared the wits out of me. It was a stark reminder that all is not well in my world so there will be a need to face up to it. This demon came back the third time I drank Ayahuasca two nights later, though not as in my face. He offered me a share of ultimate power in the conquest of the universe if I would join forces with him. It was a direct invitation to take the ring of power. I didn't accept it but just endured the sales pitch for the night. When I left the jungle this fucker followed me and kept calling to me and I thought I was going crazy. Things got better once I got home but I was periodically harassed. It reached its peak six months later where he'd wake me every night because at that point he knew I was trying to get away from him. Eventually I vanquished him, well that wasn't a fait accompli until I returned to the Amazon and drank Ayahuasca again. He was there waiting for me and I endured his taunts and rage for the whole ceremony until he fucked off for good. The Goddess the next ceremony told me he wouldn't bother me anymore.

In retrospect if I would have grabbed that ring as offered I'm sure I would have developed an inflated sense of self along with self aggrandizement. Success in life would have been assured with material success and the new and shiny girlfriend, while doubling down on this new found path to glory. Of course the requisite emptiness inside would result but that's what booze and drugs are for until you sink into a hole and expire.

I bring up this tale because it was a questioning of intention and you might as well figure out from the get go why you are doing this because along the path you will be continuously tested. If you can move past the first big one then you got the others, well at least you can spot them. All my life I have had an inflated sense of self, I was shy so I kept it under wraps, but let me explain this: I knew I was smarter than everyone else and sure enough the scholastic testing would always prove that out. I always had that to fall back on when things got tough or I had to prove my worth. From this I developed a cocksure self confidence that given a reasonable amount of time I could figure anything out and then excel at it. Two later life results of this are first when I was 40 I decided I was going to figure out the meaning of life and I was actually serious about it. Talk about hubris but I knew I could do it if I put the time and effort into it. So that was the path I chose and how I ended up where I am today. In retrospect it probably saved my life or at least saved me from a miserable post 40 life so for that I am thankful as well as guiding me toward the left hand shamanic path. The other result is because of this pursuit to find meaning I didn't care about riches, material success, or power. That was not my game, my deal was to figure it all out. However I learned that too will be tested, how far will you go to figure it out? You know the try this, try that, oh this drug is the one that will bring on ultimate enlightenment. Hinduism, Buddhism, do you have a guru? Have you tried transcendental meditation? Uh no sounds exotic and fancy; maybe it will give you the secret? 

I found this place four years ago called SpiritQuest run by this unassuming wiseman don Howard. He called this shamanic work, work. There was a structure to the program, I maintained a discipline, and didn't over do the whole trip. In a way not rushing through the course is tough because you want to hurry the process along, but the post plant medicine use integration period was stressed, so I went on about a 15 month cycle for three years of plant medicine use. It was a good path to enlightenment and once there I could shine for all to see. 

Along on the journey to the top of the mountain to become the most high, to attain enlightenment, are within all the constituent parts you thought you were going to ditch when you got that prize. It doesn't work out that way. All the parts of you, you can't pick and choose, pile in for the joy ride. Your ego sits in the front seat and jumps out of the car first when you get to the top. It's so dazzling at the top of the world. Your psyche, your base desires, and your peculiarities didn't go anywhere, you may have suppressed them, but they're with you now on the mountain top. It is a whole new set of problems, even more so then before. At least when you were just a flawed human you had an excuse for all the things you didn't like about yourself or desires that would erupt from the subconscious at inopportune times. Now what? The stakes are even higher since you have declared yourself enlightened. You have to double down on the suppression and so many are waiting for you to fail, so they point out you and your path are frauds. Well guess what? You're still human, so come down off that mountain and embrace what it is to be human.

That was my weakness that was to be tested and exploited to the greatest extent. I wanted that carrot, I wanted the knowledge and assurance of what this all meant. Like I said, SpiritQuest gave me the discipline to do this in a sane manner and by doing so I realized what was happening when I reached the summit of enlightenment mountain. I was one up on the universe! I knew what it all meant and then I realized in the end it didn't mean anything without Love. Finding meaning meant nothing without realizing that all that matters is Love, for yourself and for all others. So come down off that mountain and share that Love you found with everyone else. I owe that all to don Howard and the impeccable program he created at SpiritQuest. Without this guide I'm pretty sure I would have reached the top of the mountain and lorded it all over others instead of coming back down and being of service. To say I have led a blessed and fortuitous life is an understatement. The call is strong to give back now because as I have learned, all are my sisters and brothers. 

trinity

My idea of a trinity involves the sacred marriage of the divine feminine and masculine within that creates through this union the all encompassing hermaphrodite. Bringing the two powers together creates a wholeness of one and also the three. The one is both. In order to access or see it I have to reconcile within these sacred powers. Then I see it. I look into a mirror and I see it, my reflection is the all. I see her and I see him and we are one. I stand at the head of my Mesa and I see us together. I know she is there within me and when combined we transform into the divine couple. When we come together and reunify we will birth new worlds. This universe is the child of the divine couple.

At the conclusion of the movie 'The Matrix' the song 'Wake Up' by Rage Against The Machine exhorts us to wake up. The lead singer Zack de la Rocha pleads with us. He screams "WAKE UP." It worked. Years later I'm in a small town on the equator in the Andes mountains in Ecuador.

I have discovered within my long hidden soul mate. A rooster continuously crows trying to wake me and prepping me for the sacred marriage. I write this down to acknowledge the parallels.

It required a great deal of time, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding to not only figure it out but to actually feel it; to know deep down the answer. I've had the answer for a few years now, probably since the summer of 2016 when I returned from the Amazon jungle. I wasn't able to add it all up and see it though until a few weeks ago. I stood at the head of my Mesa and I saw the answer looking back at me. The realization washed over me and I felt it. I am it. I felt her within and I felt the union. I looked into the union of the serpent and the jaguar and saw it. That's me! And I'm everything. The sacred feminine and masculine were combined as one and acting as my reflection. You know, Jesus is nothing without Mary. Together they are 'god'. They are within us and externally we reenact the sacred coupling with our marriage ceremony. Many ancient cultures had divine couples or dual sexed gods: Isis and Osiris, Virachoca, Shakti and Shiva, and of course my favourite the Ancient Greek god Dionysos - the ecstatic, effeminate, passionate, and liberating one who is eternal and indestructible. The masculine comes forth but underlying everything is the feminine and this is the essence of Dionysos.

The Hindu hermaphrodite Ardhanarishvara - the union of Shakti and Shiva

When I alter my frequency I can access the hidden and forbidden; we call this the occult and are discouraged from entering into these worlds. It's all here now. I've spent time with her in these realms, most of it not understanding our relationship or who I am. She asked me to come away with her, pleaded with me the first time I did it. I said no; I still have things to accomplish in my earthly life and my family to take care of. The second time she invited me into her golden castle and we combined as one through the heart and mind. The third time was an erotic get together in the ancient Egyptian temple of the Goddess at Denderah.

Temple of the Goddess at Denderah

It was the most exotic scenario and incredible feeling of pleasure I have ever felt as she moved over top of me. I didn't pursue this; I was taken aback by this visionary sexual tryst and I guess I wasn't ready to find out about desire plus how it makes the world go round. I did come back for more. She's always around. She became a fairy and enchanted me with her grace and charm. She transformed into a serpent, a large green boa, and entered into me and ended up resting upon my left shoulder. She came back to be at my side after I transformed into a jaguar as my Queen. We married last December in Ecuador on a mountain straddling the equator during a Huachuma ceremony. A rooster crowed repeatedly to wake me up and get my attention. There was someone there playing a drum like I had never heard before. There was a lightness and joyful feeling. Then she transformed into a cow and lay in the grass field next door.

I have told her I'm done with searching in my lifetimes. I have been wandering through millenniums, lost in search of the answer, stubborn in my desire to solve the mystery of the great game. This incarnation is it for me as everything I have wanted to learn and solve has been satiated. I know there is always more to learn and I'll keep digging at it but it's all gravy now. I need to finish this book I'm writing that will free a great many humans from a mental prison. That is a promise I made to her and the plants concerning my sacred journeys. The maestro don Howard calls it reciprocity; it's giving back, a thank you. After that I will return home when the time comes. We will be together, start a family, and birth another universe. 

the game

Culture sets up rules plus goals to accomplish and from the placement of the goal posts, you strive to try and win the game. We get totally involved in our contests, whether it is scholastic, employment related, or a competition we are playing. It gives you a thrill when the outcome is on the line and a sense of satisfaction if the goal is accomplished. Conversely, if you fail at the game or lose a deciding contest, there is a sense of disappointment or worse despair. Humans love games; so much so, that I think gaming is divine and is something universal that creates adventure and excitement. Take it from the standpoint of being omnipotent with the power to control everything. You would be totally bored; so, you would start relinquishing this power in order to create outcomes that are not predetermined. The thrill is there but you still hold onto some control so you don't get lost in the game. We are adventurous and like to take chances so you give it all away and enter into your own creation, perhaps leaving the key to get out with a trusted friend but they are not to use it unless you really foul up your game.

We judge success in anything and everything by wins and losses and we must compete. In our capitalist society business is all about competition; even as a worker you are in competition for employment as well as the constant striving to move up the corporate ladder. Have to kill it at work and become the best, better than all the rest. Gotta get the latest fancy and trendy car to let others know I've made it! Have to get the hard won degree from an institution of higher learning, an institute created by other game playing humans, that demonstrates how smart I am and that my hard work is rewarded. Even set is the trap that in order to gain enlightenment you have to climb the spiritual mountain and win that game. Making the announcement you are enlightened is the ultimate in absurdity.

Do you see it? We create all these artificial cultural goals and then we attach this way of thinking onto everything we do no matter how altruistic and holy we make the game. So, what will happen when I die? Well, if you were good or did the religious institution of choice's bidding then you get rewarded in the afterlife. You can see it now that I have pointed it out. How good do I have to be? Do I need a perfect score? Who decides? Is it the celestial arbiter that grants me the ultimate win?

We have done this to ourselves.

There's no game you have to win, you are creating your game and all that goes along with it. You know when you sit in meditation and finally come to the realization that letting go of thoughts leads to you just being aware? Well, it's a similar situation I am describing with the game. A game is in the same category as a thought. Stop playing games and what are you left with? Experience. This journey in human form is an experience. There's no competition, nor winners and losers. It’s like playing music or dancing that has no ulterior motive. You are just playing for the sake of playing.

Remember to play I was reminded of often last fall while travelling through Peru and Ecuador. Play for the sake of playing.

Unconditional Love for all will come from dropping the need to play the game for gain; to not compete with your fellow humans but to come together, share, and create harmonious bonds.

Most of us play the game all our lives down to our last breath. We are so ensconced in it we don't want it to end. And then posthumously we are offered the chance to roll the dice and play the game one more time. Okay, weeeeee let's go! When it is finally time to go home, you step off the merry go round and leave the carnival via the main gates. The game was fun but I don't want to play it anymore.  

three times' the charm

Three times' the charm - cliche, spell? This can speak to the dissemination of falsehoods in that if you repeat a lie enough then eventually it becomes accepted. Salesmen learn this trick early; it requires a suspension or bypassing of that inner voice that might flag this as being dishonest and they learn to drown out that voice. The top sociopaths are masters at this and then beguile themselves into believing the lie. Referenced within this strange cliche are also language spells that reveal how easily humans can be fooled with words. As Terence McKenna proclaimed "The world is made of language!" It's true we bring this world into existence through the objectification of abstractions with flimsy boundaries of what constitutes the object and then we assign attributes to these abstractions using tricks of descriptive language. It would be an oversight if I did not lump the advertising industry in with this charming phrase. Not only do the pushers of product sell a lifestyle of expectation which appeals to our egos with their clever advertisements but the top manipulators know they must buy enough advertising time in order that their message is repeated and thus becomes one of those mental worms ingrained in the psyche of their unsuspecting victim. Television especially lulls you into a stupor so the hypnotic advertisement can do its work. The only downside to the advertiser is the hypnagogic ability of television to put you to sleep. No matter however, the message is repeated online, on highway billboards, on the transit system you use to get to work, and so on. Another trick is using the inability of most people to think on the spot, especially when challenged. In that case we resort to what is most easily recalled and this means spouting out one of these cliches or an easily remembered claim from a commercial. The ego being what it is and not wanting to be called out for changing its mind or thinking about something, will then double down on these beliefs regardless if they still or ever believed in them.

plants and unselfishness

Plants are of a higher consciousness and evolution than humans. They have physically evolved to the point where they can take in the energy from the sun and convert it into foodstuff. The animal must constantly kill living creatures in order to survive. There's no way around it, whether it is taking the life of animal or plant. The plants give freely of their virtues and gifts to animals. The plants heal and if you are open minded you can learn they also teach. The plants offer all this unconditionally. There is no expectation for a reciprocal offering; that is up to you and your free will. The plants teach us unconditional love if you open your heart and connect with them.