Einstein on the Mysterious

From: Albert Einstein  1930  “What I Believe”

“The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science.  He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle.  To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot gasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness.  In this sense, and in this sense only, I am a devoutly religious man.”

Miracles

Miracles by Walt Whitman (from Leaves of Grass) Why, who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know of nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky, Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water, Or stand under trees in the woods, Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love, Or sit at table at dinner with the rest, Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car, Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon, Or animals feeding in the fields, Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air, Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright, Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring; These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles, The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place. To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle, Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same, Every foot of the interior swarms with the same. To me the sea is a continual miracle, The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships with men in them, What stranger miracles are there?

Gratitude

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward


Thanksgiving.  Some native cultures honor gratitude by making a Gratitude Hoop which includes all that a person is thankful for in their lives. The hoop can be made of any material such as a willow branch which bends easily or a small stick from which objects are hung representing your friends, family, health, and all things that you honor in gratitude. 

Another tradition is The Giveaway where one chooses items of personal significance which are then given to others as a symbol of gratitude. This can be an anonymous gift or to someone you know.


Focusing on the positive aspects of Thanksgiving rather than what actually happened in our country (genocide and enculturation of American natives) is a good practice and one that I can appreciate and honor. Enjoy time with friends and family, or take a walk in nature. Appreciate all that you have been given in life. 


Question: What are you grateful for?

Michael on the 7 Levels of Choice: Resolution

Michael: "The final level of choice at seven is Resolution with the positive of implementation and the negative of desertion. The resolution which occurs at this phase is not necessarily an external event, for choice is not determined solely by external action, although it is possible for a moving centered fragment to move before thinking, but then of course this is also choice. The positive pole here of implementation implies that the choice is made, whether it is internal without external representation, or followed by such. Desertion, which is the negative pole, is also a choice."

© 2006 Victoria Marina-Tompkins
all rights reserved

Michael on the 7 Levels of Choice: Articulation and Unification

Michael: "The fifth level of choice is articulation with the positive pole of precision and the negative of befuddlement. Here we find the expressive nature of the sage level both in the positive of accuracy of expression and the negative of confusion and misrepresentation. We would say that articulation could also be said to be definition.

The sixth level of choice is Unification with the positive pole of homogenization and the negative of catastrophe. As is the case in any seven step process, the sixth phase must bring together disparate parts into harmony through the art of blending. The negative pole implies disaster but as noted, many fragments do not reach the 6th level in the negative pole for often times the process is abandoned in the earlier stages. All is chosen however, and sailors have been known to abandon their ships only when they sink and not before, which is of course the seventh level negative pole of desertion."


c. 2006 All rights reserved

Michael on the 7 Levels of Choice: Deliberation and Analysis

Michael "The third level of choice is deliberation with the positive pole of focus and the negative of misalignment. Fragments can become inert here as they weigh the various options of choice, landing in the negative of misalignment which refers to the relationship of one aspect to another. The act of deliberation can be concise or extended depending on the specifics of the situation.

The fourth level of choice is analysis with the positive pole of clarification and the negative of interpolation. This phase or level can be ongoing such as with scholar fragments or those with scholar overleaves, as analysis is far more comfortable than action, even those on an internal basis. In the positive pole a fragment is then able to understand the nature of the proposed choice, and prepares for the expression of such either to him/herself or to others. The negative inserts unnecessary details which are distracting or what might be called irrelevant data."



c. 2006 All Rights reserved

Life and Death: In Memory of Dear Janna

Janna was a seeker of truth.

The first time I met Janna I noticed that she could type faster than anyone I had ever seen and with her eyes closed no less!  She was filled with light, an earnest and dedicated spiritual seeker who struggled with her own demons yet always listened to others.

Through the years Janna and I along with a small group of students continued to gather for monthly channeling sessions, asking the Michaels for "suggestions" and insight to help us make some sense of life in all respects and Janna sought to understand her deepest lows and highest highs and to find some balance. She was always present, a compassionate spirit who easily gave others guidance yet could not easily find her own way.

It's hard for those of us who knew Janna to make real sense of why she would choose to take her own life on November 16th. Just 2 weeks earlier I had written to her, asking if she was ok after reading a post on facebook that was troubling to me. She replied:

"Victoria, thank you. You are not the first person to ask that -- those of you who know the depths of my depression and the heights of my mania. I'm pretty sure I'm OK. Time will tell. My fondest hope is that here in post-chiron, the mania and depression have wed and morphed into a foundation that I can stand on and love -- a foundation that is worthy of all the gyrations. Time will tell."


Her pain was palpable, her hope just as strong.


I know I will miss her and find some comfort in the knowledge that if we so choose, we can meet again, whether on the astral plane where we can share a cup of tea and talk about the good times, or in the future when we will have the opportunity to start afresh. 


Many blessings to you dear sister priestess Janna. Love and light.




photo courtesy of facebook

Einstein on God

From Einstein Interview with George Sylveseter Viereck, at the age of 50

Do you believe in God?

“I’m not an atheist.  The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds.  We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages.   The child knows someone must have written those books.  It does not know how.  It does not understand the languages in which they are written.  The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn’t know what it is.  That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God.  We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.”

Michael on the 7 Levels of Choice: Composition

Michael: "The second level of choice is composition with the positive pole of preference and the negative of concealment. It is at this level that a fragment becomes aware of the components of the choice to be made, the structure of the "issues" and essentially constructs the basis upon which the future choice will be made, and this of course can include desertion (level 7) which is also a choice. We might call this phase a prelude to the consideration of phase 3. The negative pole often times distorts facts which then conceals the validity of truth of a personal nature. In other words, the fragment is unable to perceive the legitimacy of the structural components and therefore discards and or hides the "facts" in lieu of false perceptions. The positive pole allows the fragment to entertain what the tendencies might be without taking the necessary steps toward the finalization of choice."


All Rights reserved

Knowing with Certainty, or Not

How can we truly know with any degree of certainty that we what hold as true is in fact true?

Our thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, affections, and relationship to the world and others are often based on feelings of surety, that what we are experiencing is truth. But what is a personal truth ("I like chocolate") cannot always be translated into a world truth ("Everyone likes chocolate") or certainly a Universal truth because it's unlikely that as much as we like or love chocolate that it exists in every corner of the Universe :)

Take another example: The roles in essence.  Many of us reading this blog know about The Michael entity and what they have to say about the 7 roles in essence, (slave, artisan, warrior, scholar, sage, priest, and king) that our world is composed of millions of people who are all one of these 7 roles for each and every incarnation, a choice they made at the beginning of ensoulment. We read about this, and then apply it to the world- can you validate the 7 roles by looking around you? Do you see slaves serving the common good, artisans creating? Yes.

Here is the intersection of a personal truth with a Universal truth.

So we adopt this truth as our own and begin to apply it to our personal world view.

Then, a question might occur to us which goes something like "How can I with absolute certainty know that this is true?".

We can't. But we can look to see if there is evidence to support our beliefs (which in the case of the roles in essence there is enough supporting evidence for me to validate it) and decide whether to adopt it as a probable truth. We can allow for the possibility that some of what we have come to believe as true could not be (think The Matrix) and some could be. Here we have the opportunity to hold our thoughts lightly which then allows for us to be open, receptive, and joyful without the need to be right, or to know. We can allow for different perceptions without the need to change others for in truth how do we really know what is true?

Lots to think about.

Speaking the Truth without Blame

Following the initial steps of showing up and listening to what has heart and meaning is the Shamanic practice of the East, Speaking the Truth without Blame. 

When we are fully present in the moment and have taken the time, a "pause", to look within our hearts to see what is of meaning to us personally, then we can speak what we have come to understand as true. This practice is about us, and not about the other person in that this sacred communication is not predicated on casting the blame outside of ourselves which in most cases leads to the creation of more fear but is instead focused on clearly communicating how we feel and what we think following self reflection.

In most cases speaking the truth based on our own perceptions without the need to manipulate the other person through guilt, anger, or blame creates an environment where we can feel safe to be heard and to hear others, which together nurtures our relationships in a positive and benefical manner.

Michael on the 7 Levels of Choice

This is the first of a series outlining the 7 levels of Choice.






Question: 
What are the different levels of understanding choice by people on the physical plane, from the lowest level of understanding to the highest?

Michael: "We will first outline the seven levels of the choice making process, and this is specifically related to fragments choosing based on their own personal truths, which is of course the criteria which fragments utilize when making such decisions. We do understand that your inquiry here has to do specifically with the progression of understanding related to choice as a Universal truth, but we do think that the understanding of such larger concepts also relates to the processes through which a fragment traverses in order to reach the culmination of such efforts ie decisive understanding.

The first level of choice is Identification with the positive pole of prognosis and the negative lethargy. At this phase of the process a fragment identifies that a choice may be "in order" and sees either the possibility of an outcome in the positive pole, or the inertia which is a result of no action at all, the negative pole. We would suggest that many, many fragments find themselves in the first 3 stages of choice, with a full 48-52% of that total in level one. It is very common for fragments to simply persuade themselves into believing that there are at the hands of "fate" and that it simply is beyond their control to change anything, or to make an internal adjustment in response to a given stimuli. In the positive pole of prognosis it is possible to comprehend the validity or necessity of change and or choice, and it is from this position that fragments then choose to proceed to level two. If a fragment is in the negative pole, it is more likely that the following steps will be taken without due course, with trepidation and certainly with doubt, suspicion and disbelief."


c. 2006 Victoria Marina-Tompkins All rights reserved
photo courtesy of photo stock

Abode of the Beloved

Oh Companion That Abode Is Unmatched,
Where My Complete Beloved Is.

In that Place There Is No Happiness or Unhappiness,
No Truth or Untruth
Neither Sin Nor Virtue.
There Is No Day or Night, No Moon or Sun,
There Is Radiance Without Light.

There Is No Knowledge or Meditation
No Repetition of Mantra or Austerities,
Neither Speech Coming From Vedas or Books.
Doing, Not-Doing, Holding, Leaving
All These Are All Lost Too In This Place.

No Home, No Homeless, Neither Outside or Inside,
Micro and Macrocosm Are Non-Existent.
Five Elemental Constituents and the Trinity Are Both Not There
Witnessing Un-struck Shabad Sound is Also Not There.

No Root or Flower, Neither Branch or Seed,
Without a Tree Fruits are Adorning,
Primordial Om Sound, Breath-Synchronized Soham,
This and That - All Are Absent, The Breath Too Unknown

Where the Beloved Is There is Utterly Nothing
Says Kabir I Have Come To Realize.
Whoever Sees My Indicative Sign
Will Accomplish the Goal of Liberation.

-Kabir

What Has Heart and Meaning

Listening to what has Heart and Meaning

A Shamanic Practice



The Shamanic practice of listening to what has "Heart and Meaning" follows the first practice of Showing up. Once you have become focused totally in the moment and are present, then turning your attention inward to your heart is the next step in the process of creating intention and right action in your life.

It is easy to be swept off course by the opinions of others, from what your family and friends think to the larger social opinions "du jour" which change almost daily. If we continue to look outside of ourselves for validation of our own perceptions, then we will continue to be influenced by others. This is not to say that paying attention to what others have to say isn't useful or valid; Rather it means that it is most beneficial to first look inside your own heart to see how YOU feel. Once you have more clearly understood your personal feelings and perceptions, then you will be ready to take the next step which has to with speaking what is true for you.

Enjoying What Is

My handsome boy Jazz, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is an expert at the art of enjoying What is. In fact, I would say that he easily accepts his circumstances whether it is a happy moment, a "biscuit" moment, time for a walk, sleeping on the futon for an hour or so moment, or any number of other daily events which he tends to take in stride. Now when things get a little tense around our house, he runs upstairs and seeks a safe haven in his bed till things calm down- we call him the "emotional barometer" of the household! Suffice it to say that no matter what is going on, whether it is fun, challenging, or anywhere in between, he accepts it.

He also doesn't hang onto resentments, grudges, nor does he get angry. Sure, he may bark at the cat on the fence outside the kitchen window and after being "shooshed", he remains upbeat and ready for his next adventure whatever that may be. He is loving, open, and affectionate, tail always wagging when I come home from work. There are no "Why have you been gone so long?" looks but only lots of happy wags and hope for a biscuit.

You may wonder why I am writing about Jazz today? It's because over the past weeks I have been working on converting my office system to a MacIntosh after using a PC for 13 years. I admit it, I left the Apple fold for more than a decade but, after deciding that I wanted more beauty in my home office space, I made the decision to purchase a new Imac and come what may accept the hurdles of making the transition. And today, after struggling to move my AOL filing cabinet over to the Mac accepted that it is not possible. The thing is, one of the reasons I am changing my system is that I want to start using a different non AOL filing system and guess what? The Universe gave me what I asked for and it's Cold Turkey, just in time for Thanksgiving. A bad joke, sure!  But watching my Jazz take life in stride has helped me with this process and I am delighted to share that I am typing my first Mac blog today.

Question: How have I enjoyed What is today?

Health in Relationships: The Higher View

Creating Health in Relationships: Holding the Higher View

The 7th stage of creating positive relationships has to do with seeing the King viewpoint: There are many roads or ways of being in relationship but not all roads are equal by measure. In other words, the realist perspective is that there are many choices we can make, and not all of them are equal in terms of positive impact on our lives. We learn no matter what we choose but then, are we choosing joy? Or are we choosing strife? Perhaps it is somewhere in between on most days.

Understanding that there can be essence growth in even the most challenging of relationships can help us move through conflict and create more peace with our choices. Understanding that we don’t have to choose to be in difficult relationships and can learn through joy! We get to choose!

Question:  What is my essence learning?

Health in Relationships: Harmony

Creating Harmony and Balance in Relationships

Relationships are always in a state of change and flow. It is only natural that relationships are, as is often true with many other things, constantly moving from states of harmony to disharmony and hopefully back into harmony.

The 6th stage creating healthy relationships has to do withunderstanding where there is harmonic balance in the relationship and where there is fragmentation or disharmony.

To maintain harmony look at the places of discord to find resolution through problem solving. There are many ways to bring us back into harmony including spending non-verbal time in nature, sharing true play with within our relationship, and using the Shamanic tools of the talking stick (see previous blog) to share our feelings while our partner, friend, child, or any other relation to us listens.

Look to nature to see beauty and harmony, then bring that into your own relationships.


Questions: How can we move toward harmony in our relationship? On a scale of 1-5, where are we on the “harmony scale”?

The Rhythms of Life and Blog

Greetings all readers,

Starting tomorrow I am going to be posting my blog in a more leisurely fashion which, in my mind at this moment, looks more like every few days rather than every day. I find that I need a little more time to gestate my thoughts and want to give myself the time to allow for that process. I am also soon to be in the process of converting my computer system from PC to Mac which will take some extra time including a visit or two to the Mac "creatives" to help me get everything set up and running.

I thought it a good idea to let you all know and as always appreciate you taking the time to read my blog.

Many blessings to you today and enjoy!

Victoria

Health in Relationships: Communication

Michael on Health in Relationships

The 5th stage of creating health in relationship is related to the Sage role in essence and the importance of creating clear communication. This step expands on the earlier work with purpose, structure, implementation, and evaluation and expands the relationship through the 5th level focus on communication. We can communicate our feelings and thoughts in many ways including through words, gestures, actions. Whatever you uncovered as being true for you in the relationship in the earlier steps can now be verbalized in the 5th.  This process can include appreciation for what is working in the relationship as well as areas in need of adjustment.


Question:  Is there anything I need to say? In what ways can I share what I think or feel?

Carrying God

Carrying God
A Sufi poem by Hafiz








No one can keep us from carrying God
Wherever we go.
No one can rob His Name
From our heart as we try to relinquish our fears
And at last stand -- Victorious.

We do not have to leave him in the mosque
Or church alone at night;
We do not have to be jealous of tales of saints
Or glorious masts, those intoxicated souls
Who can make outrageous love with the Friend.

We do not have to be envious of our spirits’ ability
Which can sometimes touch God in a dream.
Our yearning eyes, our warm-needing bodies,
Can all be drenched in contentment
And Light.

No one anywhere can keep us
From carrying the Beloved wherever we go.
No one can rob His precious Name
From the rhythm of my heart --
Steps and breath.

Shamanic Practice: Erasing Personal History

"Central to the practice of the shaman is the dropping of his personal history. Castaneda recounts that Don Juan instructed him to 'endeavor to erase my personal history by any means conceivable'. Dropping one's personal history means setting the axe against the root of the ego. Personal History is constantly renewed by telling parents, relatives and friends everything one has done, thus determining what is expected in the future. Not so the warrior; he drops the baggage of the past, he 'has no family, no name, no country', the expectations of others do not pin him down, 'he has only life to be lived'."   from The Wheel of Time book review by Ed Metcalfe


A core practice in contemporary shamanism is the Erasing of Personal History as introduced into the mainstream in the writings of Carlos Casteneda. During his apprenticeship with the Shaman Don Juan, Carlos was reminded of his own personal "stories" and the way they influenced the way he responded in his life.

From the time we are very young, we create personal stories based on our perceptions of events. These stories are just that, stories. They are not "truth" but are indeed our own creation of what happened and may differ from the way others perceive the same events. "You can't walk in another man's moccasins" might be a good adage here and a reminder that our experiences are our own and not necessarily the way others see them.

So long as we continue to reference our internal library of Personal History, then we continue to respond in ways that are based on the past and not in the present.  We can often identify when we are responding from Personal History when there is more energy in the interaction than what might seem "current". This could be an overreaction to what might be a small incident or comment from someone, an "ouch", or as large as a full blown depression or fear reaction. Beginning to identify these triggers can do much to help us in detaching from them and in the process returning to the present which is the Point of Power.


Photo Spiral Galaxy

Your Daily Jung: On Vision

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes".

Carl Jung
5th Level Old Sage

Saturn Moves into Libra: It's All about Balance

As Saturn moves into the cardinal air sign of Libra for the next 2 years, be prepared to see where you have balance in your life and where there is imbalance.

We have the opportunity to see justice in action as our leadership strives to rebalance the scales, becoming true peacemakers who are not only in favor of the rich and powerful, but who now represent the "common man" as well, knowing that all people are equal and deserve equal rights. Of course, this won't happen overnight! But Saturn is patient yet demanding and its own way unforgiving, the "Lord of Karma".

Saturn also insists that we look at our relationships. We will be encouraged (to put it mildly) through external circumstance to look at our own shadow that we project onto others. See someone who is angry and raging? Look at your own unexpressed rage.  Know that person who pushes your buttons? This is the time to look at what your buttons are.

Saturn will begin to show you how you give your own power away through projections which leak energy. And, this Lord is not nice about it!  Become aware of the lessons coming your way and look deeply to see what the true work is for you.

Where is Saturn is in your chart right now?  It's transiting placement will indicate what specific issues are up for you. (see link below to run your chart online)


1st House Libra: balance how you interact with the world, your "presentation".
2nd House Libra: balance money, using personal resources
3rd House Libra: balance daily communications, neighbors, siblings
4rd House Libra: balance home, your "roots".
5th House Libra: balance personal creativity, children, play
6th House Libra: balance daily work habits, health, service to others
7th House Libra: balance relationships and partnerships
8th House Libra: balance how you relate to other people's money, joint resources, sex
9th House Libra: balance educational work, spirituality, travel
10th House Libra: balance work, your social position
11th House Libra: balance your group relationships, friendships
12th House Libra: balance humanitarian work, dreams, intuition

After you have located your current Saturnian placement, take a look at the position of Saturn when you were born (natal chart) and see where your Saturnian lifetime work is.

For example, if you have natal Saturn in the 2nd house, then your lifetime work will have to do with "money karma" and striving to find balance there.  If it's in the 10th house, then work will be where you experience Saturn lessons

Astrologers say that wherever you have Saturn in your chart is where you are likely to experience limitations: However, it is also possible to see Saturn as a Great Teacher. It might not be easy work, but Saturn always rewards work!  Its motto might be "Action, not Talk".

To run your chart online:  http://www.astro.com/
Saturn will be in Libra until Oct. 2012
Photo courtesy of NASA

Mirabai

"Mirabai was a devotee of the high, higher, highest order. Among the saints of India, she is absolutely unparalleled. She composed many, many bhajans, which are prayerful songs to God. Each song Mirabai wrote expressed her inspiration, aspiration and sleepless self-giving."   Sri Chinmoy




I'D CALL THAT
A poem by Mirabai


Before I
fell asleep last night
I laid awake and wondered:

What did I achieve this day
just roaming around calling His name?

So I brought before my minds' eye all who I had been kind to,
and it turned out to be
all things that
I had
seen.

I'd call that---one hell of a
productive
day!


Mirabai (1498-1550) India's most renowned woman poet-saint