Temporary Lives and The Operation of the Sun

A reader at this blog wrote me a letter recently asking about The Operation of the Sun. Here is the most explicit description of it as it comes down to us from antiquity.

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes

“True, without falsehood, certain and most true, that which is above is as that which is below and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the miracles of the One Thing. And as all things are from One, by the mediation of One, so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father, the Moon its mother. The Wind carries it in its belly, the Earth is it’s nurse. This is the father of all perfection, or the consummation of the whole world. Its power is integrating, if it be turned into earth.

Thou shalt separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, suavely, and with great ingenuity. It ascends from earth into heaven and descends again into earth and receives the power of the superiors and of the inferiors. So thou hast the glory of the whole world; therefore let all obscurity flee before thee. This is the strong force of all forces, overcoming every subtle and penetrating every solid thing. So the world was created. So were all wonderful adaptations, of which this is the manner. Therefore am I called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. What I have to say is completed, concerning the Operation of the Sun.”


Let’s understand a few basic points. We live in a world of night and day. We are composed of and respond to the movements and relationships of the planets as they aspect each other according to our time of birth and our location. You could say that this is the essence of our particular life karma. This blueprints our tendencies and the conditions in which we will find ourselves at different periods of any given life.

The major influences are The Sun and The Moon which rule over the interaction between what is visible and invisible in us. We have our day side and our night side and the harmonization of these could be considered our real life’s work. Various other stars play into our circumstances. I have mentioned how we are like a house with three floors. The basement is the subconscious. The main floor is the self-conscious and the top floor is the super-conscious. The basement is the point at which we access a great ocean of being shared by us all. Though it is the same ocean for all, the point at which we access it is unique to our individual self. The super-conscious can be called God. To the degree that we can allow the top floor to control what emerges from the basement into the main floor, to that degree we are aligned with the best of what is possible for us.

What I am saying here is simplistic and could benefit by a more exhaustive presentation but we don’t have that time and space available here. We have around 1500 words. You have to consider and expand upon what is said here. You can easily find more about all of this. You can easily find much more by using your intuition. Your degree of intuition is relative to your capacity to allow the top floor to flow into the main floor. Most people block this out because it interferes with the self-interest of the main floor. The more one lets go of self interest and allows their interests to be managed from the upper floor... the more intuition becomes the guiding light. In times of greater materialism... or where one’s nature is more materialistic... the capacity to get useful, divine input is severely curtailed.

In these materialistic times, the main focus of the individual is the construction and maintenance of their material state; acquiring status and wealth, protecting and growing status and wealth, engaging in and having a primary focus on sense experience and all of what you see when you look around you and see the mad fire in the eyes of the world; ubiquitous cellphone masturbators, pornographic culture, quick and immediate food for each sensory port, made from quick and immediate compounds composed of elements lacking in vitality and nutrition. This is what you see at the movies; hear in the music, consume in The Food Court, hear on the news and which compose all of the temporary lap dances of each diminishing day. The purpose of these lap dances is to distract the heart and the mind from deeper considerations.

Why would ‘the world’ want to distract you from deeper considerations? It is because you are food. The world eats you. You are no different than livestock in this regard and the world has conscious agents who have opted for service on this plane. You could think of it as a game. You could imagine you were walking through a red light district where shills stand outside of every strip club and regale you with the possibility of pleasures within. Once inside, you are stripped of your resources and once you leave you are missing something. Something is missing but you don’t know what it is. Heaven and Earth compete for your attention. Though Heaven surrounds you, it is not easy to see. The world is very easy to see.

The work of the world is to keep your attention on it; on what is outside of you. The work of Heaven is to draw your attention within. It is no more complex than this. It is you who decide what shall have the stronger influence upon your consciousness and thereby shape you into what you will be... or... reveal what you already are.

Some have the capacity to see what it happening here. Some have the capacity to suspect- or even to know- that there is more than meets the eye and ear. This is what The Operation of the Sun is all about. From the Emerald Tablet we learn, “As above, so below.” Everything you see here has a counterpart in the unseen worlds above and below the bandwidth of your senses. Upward/inward... the spaces are increasingly more open, more rarefied, more tranquil and cooler. Downward/outward, the spaces are increasingly denser, less rarefied, less tranquil and hotter. Upward/inward comes ever greater freedom, even though it comes through ever greater surrender, which self-interest regards as bondage. Downward and outward comes ever greater confinement through license which self interest considers freedom.

Through the stages of the Operation of the Sun, which are carried out by The Holy Guardian Angel, you enter new worlds, as you are transformed in ways that allows you to see them. You do nothing in this process but endure the transformations. Think of a department store with many floors reached by an elevator. Whenever the elevator opens on a particular floor you step into an entire world. Though we all seem to be moving through the same world here, this is not the case. Here in this world at this very moment people are experiencing Heaven and Hell. Though there may be some subterranean Hell it is also very much present here as well and so is Heaven. Everyone here is moving at this very moment toward another world and another set of clothes for another segment of greater suffering or lesser suffering.

The most important thing we can achieve here is an alteration in our consciousness. The thing that screws up most people is that they need to be able to ‘see’ and ‘touch’ things for them to be real. This is why they will accept a physical tour guide but deny the presence of non-physical guides. The physical tour guide knows only the physical level. The non-physical guide knows the other levels as well. We are talking here about a legitimate invisible guide... there are all sorts of misleading guides seen and unseen; “as above, so below.”

It is possible to precipitate upward through the planes of existence and we achieve this through a changing consciousness. People use prayer, chants, visualizations and various disciplines to assist this. They do the same thing going down as well. At the moment, an aperture is opening that only comes around every 25,000 years. This is why there are so many people here and why the material pull is so great. There is a war on for your attention. You should be able to see this... see it blatantly right in front of you but... it all looks like normal life. It has routine and hard surfaces. It takes a fierce attentiveness and certitude to focus on what you cannot see but believe (or know) to be true. The world is composed of lies. This should be readily apparent from observation and experience but... self interest intrudes. One might well ask if self interest is in your best interest.

We’re going to go over 1500 words today due to the inclusion of The Emerald Tablet and this following piece which might be a good project for repetition and memorization. I memorized both of these long ago and repeated them for years. This one is called,

The Pattern on the Trestleboard

“This Is Truth about the Self

All the Power that ever was or will be is here now.

I am a center of expression for the Primal Will-to-Good which eternally creates and sustains the Universe.

Through me its unfailing Wisdom takes form in thought and word.

Filled with Understanding of its perfect law, I am guided, moment by moment, along the path of liberation.

From the exhaustless riches of its Limitless Substance, I draw all things needful, both spiritual and material.

I recognize the manifestation of the Undeviating Justice in all the circumstances of my life.

In all things, great and small, I see the Beauty of the Divine Expression.

Living from that Will, supported by its unfailing Wisdom and Understanding, mine is the Victorious Life.

I look forward with confidence to the perfect realization of the Eternal Splendor of the Limitless Light.

In thought and word and deed, I rest my life, from day to day, upon the sure Foundation of Eternal Being.

The Kingdom of Spirit is embodied in my flesh.”


These sayings relate to the stations of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life and could be considered as stages in The Operation of the Sun, just as The Stations of the Cross and many another practice all relate to the same process of self discovery, self realization, transfiguration, transubstantiation, divine sublimation or a host of terms. Everything cross-references the way the seven chakras turn out to be the seven planets and the way Mercury, Sulphur and Salt turn out to be the 3 Gunas of action. One mountain... many ways up. Once up you can see all of the ways down.

I’ll leave you with a little reading list that can prove very useful in respect of what has been said here. There is a fellow called Joseph Brenner who wrote a book called “The Way to the Kingdom”. He didn’t put his name on his books so... often the author is given as ‘anonymous’. He also wrote, “The Impersonal Life” and several curious little pamphlets. I can send some of the pamphlets out in PDF to anyone who asks. You might also consider “The Door to Everything” by Ruby Nelson as well as The Kybalion. These are out of the Western Tradition but West and East are the same except for appearance. If you do not practice spiritual discipline you will make no progress in the same way you will not wake up as a piano player if you haven’t applied yourself to the craft. That’s enough for now.

Visible sings: ♫ Spread Your Wings ♫
'Spread Your Wings' is track no. 1 of 11 on Visible's 2001 album 'God in Country'
Lyrics (pops up)

Magical Powers and the Absence of Love

When I was young I had, as has been documented here at various times, an extraordinary Kundalini experience. There are the small flashes that are the common occurrence and then there are the absolute life transforming experiences and mine was of this sort so that the effects lasted for some years. During this time I had magical powers which would operate spontaneously. I can only assume, at this point, that what was happening was being directed by someone else.

I met a living saint who arrested and channeled these powers and over time this energy has been sublimated into more controlled forces which operate through the intuition and other archetypal manifestations that are easier to live with and less likely to compromise me in ways that are undesirable. It is the undesirable aspects that we are going to talk about today. I’d like to start off with this link and then we’ll go on once you have read or... scanned what is there, depending on your temperament.

What you have read is probably new to many of the readers here. I direct your attention to the connections between L. Ron Hubbard, Aleister Crowley and The Nazis as well as various groups which were/are engaged in activating certain forces for personal use. You can see what is said about the character of these people and things they got up to and this is what I’d like to go into today.

When I had certain powers I found them amusing and curious things but I didn’t take them seriously as something I wanted more of. For the most part I seldom used them and when I did, as I said, I got the feeling it wasn’t me doing it. Sometimes I was in danger and things would happen that removed the threat or concealed me from it. When these powers went away I didn’t miss them and don’t care if they ever come back. I know there are people in this world who have a certain unshakeable integrity and force of will. I am not one of them. I knew instinctively that these things would get me into trouble.

Magical force is cyclopean and it is colored by the individual channeling the force. The power of this force is not to be under-estimated. You are treating with something that can burn you to a cinder under the right conditions and which can also put you under the power and influence of entities who have no love for humanity and which are always laying about in the area where people are messing with these sorts of things. The madhouses and the graveyards are filled with people who thought they could manage these things. It takes an exceptional person of a rare type to be able to handle this sort of thing and... one needs be possessed of much more than the ordinary human virtue to engage. A tremendous purity is needed and... most of the time... those attracted to these things are seriously lacking in this essential element.

For myself, I have found that surrender to the activity of the mediating angel is the best course. The true magical act is gaining the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel for the purpose of completing the Operation of the Sun. The practitioner does nothing themselves. They simply endure the stages toward completion and avoid all possibility of interference in the process.

No one contacts God directly. There are always mediums between the individual and the source of all things. I would suggest that those among us who can handle the charge of a lightning bolt are few and far between.

What are called Siddhis in the Hindu tradition and magical powers in the Western tradition come to all aspirants as they move on the path. Some of these powers are very welcome and quite benign. Some of them can get you into trouble and that is why most masters who possess these things seldom if ever use them. Ramakrishna, the great Hindu saint had ALL of the powers and he never used them once. He passed them on to Vivekananda just before passing out of this realm. Anyone who possesses these powers- and knows the means- can transfer them to anyone they choose.

I should mention that all of us have certain powers but we are unaware of them most of the time. One of these is the ability to work with the subconscious mind to bring things into manifestation. The subconscious mind is like the earth into which seeds are planted and then receive the benefits of Sun and Rain. We have these within us too. The difference between the operation of a master at this particular process and that of a non master is the time involved in manifestation. A master can precipitate something near immediately. For others it takes longer but it still happens. The same things need to be kept in mind about gardening as need to be kept in mind about this process. They are identical in many respects.

Love is a magical power and it can be increased in force by exercising it. This is no different than what happens to your muscles when you lift weights. Also, the channel through which love flows is always narrow in the ordinary soul. It requires opening and various things can accomplish this; spiritual disciplines, meditation, right thinking and reflexive rejection of all negative thought, trauma and loss and... what is important to keep in mind is... as you age... different possibilities present themselves about every seven years as you move into the different stages of life. This is why it is seriously important to have a focused goal that carries you through your existence. What you may believe is unavailable to you now might well show up- will most likely show up- on it’s own as you go.

Powers and wealth, property and position are all deficits. They seem to be assets but they are not. They require attention and protection. They are like noisy children that do not shut up and they drown out the higher voices and deeper beauties of your self. Knowing what is worth having is more important than most people realize. Anyone who is able... can... stop for a moment and consider... what do I really want? The truth is that what we really want is to feel good about ourselves and what we do. We would welcome tranquility, grace and joy... more than all of the world’s treasure because, indeed, the world’s treasure will steal your tranquility, grace and joy.

Some of us want children and lovers. We want all kinds of things and we conspire to acquire them and... all along the way we lose pieces of ourselves. We forget what we are and who we are and we become only an entity in the pursuit of disappointment and sometimes destruction as well... all of this for nothing... for nothing.

The power of love and the ability to love can be compared to the expansion of the universe and there are many mysteries and powers in the harmonic containment of itself but what does any of it matter if we do not feel good? What does that mean? Aren’t all of us seeking love which we have confused as something else?

Giving yourself away seems like a sucker’s game. Opening your heart and letting love guide your way is a nice thought and people talk a lot about it when they are confusing it with something else or packaging it or selling it or consuming it but it is truly elusive and will not be contained and you can’t fool it. You can only fool yourself. All anyone ‘really’ wants at any time in any place is to feel secure and harmonious and at peace but... why then is the world as it is?

I am sure that I could flood a million words across the page about that, as I am sure that others have already done so and will continue to. And then there are another million words that I could flood across the page about what we could do about it. Others have done that too and will continue to. It seems to me, within the limits of what I am able to perceive, that some things are worth having and some things are not. For some strange reason, I believe you need to give yourself away, serve as you go and cultivate serenity by freeing yourself of the things that chase her away.

Visible sings: ♫ Right Thru My Heart ♫
'Right Thru My Heart' is track no. 5 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Almost A Capella'
Lyrics (pops up)

How Rare is True Spiritual Inquiry?

When you go looking in a search engine for the answer to the question, “How many Buddha’s are there?” you are not going to find a definitive answer. In one Buddhist tradition it is said there is only one Buddha per age. I heard, some time ago, that there are as many Buddha’s as there are grains of sand on the seashore. What should be kept in mind and which also answers this question, without giving a specific answer is... everyone has Buddha nature. It’s something that can be developed.

You could take some period of time and wander through the towns and cities, in the manner of Diogenes, searching for an honest man and ask people what the primary goal of their life was. You could have a few questions to determine priorities. You could ask the relevant question according to the land you were in. In the East you could ask about Krishna or Buddha. In the West you could ask about Christ. You could ask about Islam in either. You would ask according to what was prevailing there as a prototype for realization or enlightenment.

In your search, you would want to differentiate between accepted religious beliefs; dogma and cant... and an actual intensity of pursuit. You want to find out how many people are searching for a greater awareness in the moment in which you find them. Go ahead, ask them. If this last point were to be taken as a vital criteria, then... you would find that the number of people you encountered who could be identified as being engaged in awakening their Buddha nature was very, very small. In times of pervasive materialism you would find the number to be smaller still.

You do not have to ask anyone these questions. You can sit in any park on a Sunday; walk along a beach in summer, on any city street on any evening, into bars, nightclubs and theaters and simply watch. You can attune yourself to determining the focus of the people you are observing. You may not penetrate into their deepest thoughts- it is likely they will not either- but you can get a general idea.

Churches are mostly locked up at night in these times but some are open and you could compare the population of a church at night to any of the centers for amusement. Church attendance is often not a sign of spirituality, as much as it is a measure of conformity but an open church, such as we have here in Europe, shows you what kind of traffic there is during the times that services are not being held. You have to consider that the larger portion of those you will find in a church in these times... you have to consider that they are there because of some pressing life problem, as opposed to a driving intensity to know their maker and themselves.

The wild places of nature have always been sanctuaries and havens for those seeking to commune with the ineffable. If you wander in these places you will very seldom find anyone engaged in what I am talking about. Some numbers of people are practicing spiritual inquiry ...and remembrance ...as they go through their day and while moving through the world. You have to assume that this number is also very small. It appears that very, very few people are engaged in seeking to find what authored the process in which they find themselves.

In the comments section at another blog I posted this interesting series of pictures which shows us how infinitesimally small we are. You could take what is shown here and apply it to the universe within. You could apply it to this search I am talking about and you could apply it to the question of how many Buddha’s there are. You could apply it to the question of how many sincere seekers there are in any faith. You could apply it to the population of the marketplace as opposed to the number of cave dwelling yogis which inhabit the Himalayas. You would need to factor in endless time and the absence of time altogether. You would need to factor in the possibilities that there may be living worlds like our own in many places across the universe. There are so many factors that you would get no real answer but... you would get a sense of immensity that exceeded your ability to grasp it.

As you follow the progression of pictures, give careful consideration to what was discovered when the Hubble telescope was focused on what appeared to be empty space for four months.

I am using Buddha’s as an example. You can pick any tradition. You have to probe for what I am trying to say because there is no way to say it. What’s being presented here is not exactly what is being said.

Every Buddha generates out of their being, an entire world, or type of solar system or galaxy that is freely given for any who would seek sanctuary there. Every spiritual being, who has achieved realization, generates a space where the determined soul can enter and where the clamorous sounds of the ravenous world can be muted for the purpose of self-inquiry. The Amitabha Buddha has The Western Pure Land. Traditionally there are six realms in the Buddhist cosmology. Hinduism, Christianity and Islam have comparative circumstances where the same place is differently designed to accommodate the trappings of what the followers of any tradition might expect. It’s what’s known as ‘user friendly’.

There are other planes of existence. Whatever you are thinking and feeling at the moment and whatever occupies your interest is determining your direction. You are actually headed somewhere at this very moment even if you are sitting down. Go back into the marketplace and look at the size of the crowd and observe the desire bodies at work. The interplay of behavior, desire and relative components all serve to create something like an automobile on the highway. Realization and the higher virtues have never been a main consideration of the mass. The mass actually operates in opposition to these things. There are people of seemingly high intelligence who have all the answers and no interest in what lies beyond their areas of concern.

These individuals have already determined the value of everything they do not know based on what they have assumed to be true, based on what they prefer to believe. Many of them will tell you there are no other worlds; there is no divine authority, there is no purpose to life other than what has been scientifically determined and so on and so forth. They are ‘dead’ certain that what exists within their bandwidth is all that there is, even while their own sciences prove otherwise.

Perhaps you are one of those rare souls who actually care about what might lie beyond this fire world. How can you find your way out of this place? You have to head somewhere and you must have a guide. Consider the nature of vibration. Consider the nature of sympathetic vibration and how this might lead you to acquire both direction and guide.

You are climbing a mountain. This requires energy and determination. You must know or believe that what you are seeking lies at some point along your route. This is certitude. Something must carry you through the certain tests that you will encounter. This is faith. If you Google these words you will find that they are tenants of Islam. You will find the same in every legitimate tradition and you will find that the truth realized is hidden in the outer world and revealed in the inner world. Outward are the wars between everything. Inward is the resolution of all conflict. Confusing this leads to the eternal problem.

You can’t take anyone with you but you will find companions on the way. If you are content with what you have here then this will not apply to you. If you are not content then you will have no peace until you seek, because, the very distress you feel is the impetus to the search. One needs to hone their intensity by the hour. This is the primarily important thing. Nothing else is important except for good behavior on the way. Persevere and you will see Buddha’s beyond counting and more, far more than your imagination can presently conceive.

Visible sings: ♫ I Need More Light ♫
'I Need More Light' is track no. 4 of 11 on Visible's 2001 album 'God in Country'
Lyrics (pops up)

Easter in her Spiral.

Tomorrow is Easter. Tomorrow we get proof of everlasting life or we celebrate the occurrence of having received proof of everlasting life or, it’s just another day. Proof of everlasting life has always been around but what that means is under debate. What parts last and what parts do not ...and why is the collective focus so overwhelmingly upon the parts that do not... last?

Where I am, the biggest focus is on the traditional meaning of Easter and probably the country’s main holiday. Other places it is the Easter Bunny, which I think is a fertility symbol, dressed up in a fairytale persona; you can assume that from the eggs and what we know about rabbits.

There isn’t any question in my mind that Jesus Christ accomplished everything attributed to him... even if, not exactly the way the people that run the curio kiosks say he did and even if the historical Jesus was never around... that’s got no bearing on the matter.

Students of the Hermetic sciences, occult history and metaphysical venues know that the ageless tales of our trials and redemptions are played out in most religions and myths and based on Nature and things hidden within Nature and hidden within ourselves. What religions there may be at any particular time are more for the purposes of crowd control and the maintenance of the status quo. Promotions and demotions take place on their particular conveyor belts and a certain percentage of personnel are sacrificed on battlefields and elsewhere in rituals that appease the appetites of dark entities that deliver on promises paid for in blood and which assist in holding up the pretenses and structures that maintain the rulership of the temporal plane.

People generally think that angels are servants of God and demons are servants of The Devil. They have the further impression that these two are of equal power and that it’s touch and go all down the line but that God wins in the end. Actually... angels and demons are employees who perform specific tasks for a single conscious force with a dual appearance, depending on whether you are a righteous or a wicked sort. I should add that this has little to do with the judgment of society in that respect. Quite often the apparently good are inherently evil and so on and so forth, in forward and reverse.

The same types performing at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ are performing at the present, daily crucifixion of truth which is, after all, what Jesus the Christ represents; according to him being “the way, the truth and the light”. Those presently telling the truth are outcasts among the general population just as Jesus was and those telling the lies are pulling the strings upon which the unconscious puppets dance. It’s no more complicated than that and anyone making it complicated is involved in the process and anyone can see this if they will put off the blinders of self-interest.

The scoffing and the mocking and the ridicule of the day are coming from the same circles as they did back in the day. The same agencies are at work. The same personalities are employed to the same ends. The time is no more or less mystical or holy today than it was then and no particular portion of ground is more holy than another. No portion of dirt belongs more exclusively to any animated figures of dirt except that all of the dirt belongs to itself which belongs to the consciousness that animates the dirt, with or without the knowledge of those animated.

None of the exoteric rituals and costumes has any potency except within the minds of those so believing and generally... only for the purpose of deception and control. It is as real as Halloween is and the difference between the perspective of children on Halloween and the perspective of adults at any other time is no different either. It’s all a dress up occasion for the celebration of our inner fears and hopes personified by fantastic presentations that bear no resemblance to anything real.

There is a reason why people will sit at the end of their life and wonder what happened and who it happened to. There is a reason why people will not remember what actually happened and remember instead what they have deceived themselves into believing. There is a reason why the larger percentage are filled with disappointment, confusion and fear and why some smaller portion are filled with faith, hope and brimming expectation.

Power on one plane of existence does not transfer to power on other planes of existence. Money on one level is not currency on the other and only one power has power over all of the planes of existence. One either is in accord with that power or one is not. One will submit to that power regardless, when the time comes. There is a reason why senility is the state achieved to in the main and why regenerated innocence, which is the sole objective of a true life, is so rarely accomplished.

It is conceivable that one may fall short and experience defeat many thousands of times in the pursuit of a greater awareness. So long as one renews their commitment they may continue to the goal. For the majority, this determination will be strong- only in a particular period of youthful industry- before it turns to the common industry of mortal gain and loss. Then they become a part of the army that opposes the continuing pursuit of those who will not cease in their objective for that lasting freedom ...and which is what the tale of Jesus the Christ is all about. Imitation is more than the sincerest form of flattery. It also will transform you into what is being imitated.

The enemies that are set against the fulfillment of life’s great task are many. Your parents and your associates; the governments, religions, education systems and the world of business; all of these oppose you. The enemies in the outer are mirrored by the inner enemies and you do seem to be quite alone. It is for this reason that the inspiration of those who have gone before is of such great value. One’s failures are not the measure of accomplishment. Everyone fails and would go no great distance at all without the help and inspiration of the unseen hand.

Look around you at what is mocked and hindered. Look at what is ignored in nearly all of the books and movies; what seldom appears in conversation or in life except as a parody manifesting out of the mouths and in the actions of hypocrites and liars. It is no different now.

There is no success in fighting the outer oppositions. This war has no end. It is eternal as the interplay of the elements that compose it. One masters it from within and will find that everything external submits automatically to the degree that the inner mastery is maintained. Since there is only one master, it is the alliance one should seek and in achieving that you have found the inner chamber, the sanctuary and the feast.

There is only one question. Is it real? Is what we cannot see more real than what we can? That is something for each soul to determine. Is all of what the great art and traditions declare only colorful lies or are the colorful lies what surrounds us within the confines of our senses? Is faith the substance of things unseen?

Jesus was a man. Christ is a station. In him the two merged and for the reason of showing the possibility for any who might follow. Others have come there since and move among us now. The essence of every religion is the same. It is only the accommodation of the divine to our particular vision that makes the everlasting halls appear to be different. It is a single kingdom with many mansions. Strive hard or... continue in that line in which you are standing... awaiting the next turning of the endless wheel of fire.

Visible sings: ♫ Light Up Ahead ♫
'Light Up Ahead' is track no. 1 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Almost A Capella'

The Key to The Gate of the Road to Shambhala

I’ve known about Shambhala for a long time. I’ve had information about Shambhala for a short time. I always thought it was one of those mystical lands populated by high beings that found their way out of here and now live there and... well; that’s where my information pretty much stopped. I’ve been finding out more about Shambhala lately. That’s a very brief synopsis. I had something far more detailed and thought I had bookmarked it but... alas... no longer to be found. There’s some interesting history available for those able to find it.

Most of us who read here have heard about the great separating out that is to take place during the transition period of the coming and going 25,000 year cycle. You might imagine a series of invisible highways, weaving their way toward some unknown location. These highways pass near one another at times and we can see those who are on the different highways. Sometimes they might bisect for a brief period and conversation and experience may pass between those headed in their particular directions and then there’s the bellow of the fog horn as they pass like ships in the night.

I make no judgment on the paths chosen by anyone. The value of decisions made concerning one’s direction must rest within the heart of those so affected by their choices. I cannot know the hearts of others and what inclined them toward the place where they are bound. I do not even know my own heart entirely. I believe that my direction is partly due to what I seek and partly due to what is seeking me. It could be that all of these highways lead to a version of the divine, acceptable to the traveler. It is fairly certain that these highways lead to the treasures of their heart, Jesus Christ said something about how where your treasures are, there your heart is also.

One person’s Heaven may well be another person’s Hell. Highways lead in all directions, out and up and down. Some are steep and graded and some are gradual. Some are narrow and relatively untraveled and some are near gridlocked with the crowds. Again, I can pass no judgment on this. People will find what they are looking for. They will find it here, if it is here and they will find it elsewhere if it is elsewhere. There is a mysterious magnetism within us that connects to the object of the yearning of the heart. It knows the way regardless of whatever we may think we know.

It’s in the blood, after a fashion. The love of spiritual things and material things is in the blood. Why some are made, or fashion themselves, to long after material things and some after spiritual things is a mystery. To me it seems like degrees of blindness. We all hunger after something and that would have to be something we are capable of seeing or imagining to exist. We have the natural affliction of appetite and then there are those things desired that are not as inherent as the need to feed and reproduce.

It has been said that we are all fallen. It has been said that we bind ourselves with Karma through our actions in the fascination for coagulated dust of one kind or another. It has been said that life is an illusion play for the entertainment of an unseen audience, as well as whatever other audience there may be. People say a lot of things. It is very difficult to know anything but it doesn’t seem to stop us.

I can only speak for my own experience and what is obvious to me through my observations. With the latter, I can only expect agreement or understanding from those equipped to make the same observations. There’s something you eventually learn in the process of living and that is to be able to see when it is okay to share your observations. I find very little of value to be had in manifest life, so this puts me outside the general mindset of most everyone else. I do value whatever it is I may have learned and realized because- I am led to believe- I get to take this with me when I go; wherever that may be.

I’ve come to realize that some sort of Shambhala waits for me... or something more of what I am already going through; or something else, more or less attractive, more or less substantial, more or less dense, lighter or darker. I suspect it is a matter of attraction. If you are attracted to the light then you seek it out. The same would apply to darkness. Sometimes it is hard to know what is, or is not, darkness or light... because darkness has its own form of light. I have heard that light can appear to be darkness because it can be too bright to see and one is made blind from it.

I cannot imagine that the short time I have been here in this go around has equipped me with any encompassing understanding of what is going on. I don’t know how long one would have to live to gain this but I believe it is greater than any single life is capable of. It seems to me that I live in a world of assumptions and presumptions and camaraderie can be gained or lost by one’s ability to adapt to the presence of these in others.

If I set out today for Shambhala or The Western Pure Land or Shangri-La, I have some idea of their general location and those locations are all in the same general area; according to what’s been said about them by those presuming and assuming. I think these places are like camouflaging life forms that adapt to the coloration of their surroundings. You might be looking right at it and still not see it. I like to think I am on the road to Shambhala, no matter what direction I may be headed in.

In the process of my heading to Shambhala on foot, or in my mind, I find that the world is not cooperative in my efforts. Even those closest to me are not cooperative unless I disguise my pursuit in such a way that it appears to them as something they can integrate with their own interests. Kalil Gibran wrote a book about Jesus Christ in which 77 people who met him describe him. They were people of all types. Some were enemies and some were friends. It is called, “Jesus the Son of Man”. If you haven’t read it you might find it an interesting read. I lived with an ancient Archbishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church for a couple of years when I was very young. Gibran had come to visit him once. He said to me, “He was a lovely man but he drank too much wine.”

It’s been said that Shambhala is very hard to find and there are indications that people have perished in the attempt. The latter doesn’t bother me much. People generally perish in much more foolish pursuits so... that wouldn’t be a bad way to go and might be a way of finding it as well. It seems like something one might need to keep to themselves because of the injury done to ones determination by the commentary of those you encounter on the way.

When I was in the restaurant/catering/food preparation business, I used to tell people I was in the music business because I looked at everything I did as being part of the journey to my songs being heard by whatever audience was going to hear them. That’s of no concern to me now because it’s of no importance. None of the things I am engaged in are of any importance to me now. I continue to do them and with no less industry and focus but... they don’t really matter at all.

Shambhala, or whatever it represents to me, is important. Walking through this world is like walking naked through nettles or... barefoot through the desert. There’s a consistency of wounding that is the operative theme of every culture under the imprint of civilization. Some are indifferent to it due to the thickness of their skin and the absence of love. It seems to me that love is one of the keys to the gate of the road to Shambhala and one of the keys to love is vulnerability so... there you are aren’t you?

Somehow we must become impervious to this world while maintaining our precious vulnerability at the same time. We have to appear to be engaged here on our way there. It’s another one of those circumstances where words are not going to do what is required of them and where a great many more words are required even though they will not accomplish the task either and now we have come to the end of the usual stream of words to be found here.

Visible sings: ♫ I'm Coming Back ♫
'I'm Coming Back' is track no. 4 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Color Ball'
Lyrics (pops up)