The universe is eternal and without beginning or end, in the sense that it was not "born" and will not "die"; these are anthropomorphic projections of your own mortality. Since ultimately all time is simultaneous, the universe has "always" existed as a venue of activity for bodies of consciousness seeking to explore matter-based existence. Like any physical structure, the universe must be organized into coherent, stable, self-sustaining patterns which endure through time, while allowing sufficient flexibility so as to weather the likely events and fluctuations inherent in the system. Thus, the placement of celestial bodies is not random, but follows patterns and principles ensuring the system's stability and endurance.

The Cosmic Web

There are two basic types of celestial body: energy-absorbing and energy-releasing. We might call the former "sponges" and the latter "generators." All solid objects are sponges: planets, moons, asteroids, human beings, etc. They absorb energy from the cosmos in far greater proportion than they release it; they transmute cosmic and solar radiation into the building blocks of solid matter. Read the rest of this entry »

As is the case in many aspects of life, "popular" astrology—with its zodiac signs, houses, cusps and retrograde planets—is a facile, and easily understood, system hinting at a deeper reality. Like religion, it seeks to reduce the infinite and unknowable to a set of simple rules and principles by which humanity might live in harmony with the cosmos. Rather than assembling a pantheon of gods—or a God—to influence human affairs, astrology proposes that planets, stars, and other celestial bodies determine personality traits at birth and sketch the likely events unfolding in the future. Thus popular astrology is imbued with a certain fatalism both as to personal psychology (your birth sign locks you into certain characteristics) and life events (which are foretold by the stars).

Natal Influences

The importance of the moment of birth has been vastly overstated in popular astrology. Since you swim in the cosmic soup from conception to death, choosing one particular moment as the "defining" one which marks you for life is simplistic at best. Still, the moment of conception and the time of birth can be pivotal points at which cosmic influences carry disproportionate effect.

Conception is significant because it is the moment when two cells—egg and sperm—fuse to forge potential new life. Until that moment, gametes are merely cast-off cells within their parent body; "cast-off" in the sense that they play no essential role in maintaining health. Their purpose is to beget the next generation, not to sustain the current one. Read the rest of this entry »

As is the case in many aspects of life, "popular" astrology — with its zodiac signs, houses, cusps and retrograde planets — is a facile, and easily understood, system hinting at a deeper reality. Like religion, it seeks to reduce the infinite and unknowable to a set of simple rules and principles by which humanity might live in harmony with the cosmos. Rather than assembling a pantheon of gods — or a God — to influence human affairs, astrology proposes that planets, stars, and other celestial bodies determine personality traits at birth and sketch the likely events unfolding in the future.

This is popular astrology, imbued with a certain fatalism both as to personal psychology (your birth sign locks you into certain characteristics) and life events (which are foretold by the stars). Beneath this popular perception lies "deep" astrology, an ancient knowledge of the relationship between humanity and the cosmos, which gave birth, through millennia, to its popular stepchild. This knowledge has been honed by advanced societies spanning the globe and the millennia. Because deep astrology retains full vitality in the collective unconscious, it bleeds into awareness, however misshapen in popular form to conform with western principles of structure, hierarchy, and cause-and-effect. Read the rest of this entry »

The world's mythology and literature are haunted by spectral visitors from "the other side," ectoplasmic intruders aiding, warning, guiding, and terrorizing humankind. Every culture, from the aboriginal to the wired, spins tales of vaporous apparitions, of a constant commerce across the permeable boundary dividing souls freed of flesh from those still encased within it. If death silences the lips, whence arises the ceaseless clamor from beyond the veil? Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists group the world's many species in classifications of increasing size and complexity: each individual belongs to a species, a genus, a family, a phylum, and so on.  Just as there are hierarchies of increasing complexity among earthly creatures, so is the spiritual realm structured into "levels" whose entities grow in size, complexity, and purpose.

The spiritual hierarchy does not occupy some distant "place," like the Sunday School heaven floating above the clouds. All levels of the spiritual hierarchy blend and interpenetrate one another. What holds them apart as distinct bands of activity and purpose is the vibrational frequency of each level. Read the rest of this entry »

Every night, in the dream state, your soul communes with your higher self and probable/reincarnational brethren, and carries guidance and advice back from its nocturnal sojourn. Given the choice, most people would readily say they welcome such guidance, yet they struggle to hear but the faintest echoes flowing from the higher realms. What tools are available to loosen the barrier between waking self and higher self?

First, one must recognize a cold truth: the higher self's plan for a lifetime may horrify the ego. The ego's wants are simple: shelter, food, love, sex, health, money: as much and as often as possible. There is nothing wrong with desiring any of these; they all contribute to a stable, comfortable life. But here lies the challenge to even the most evolved ego: the higher self may consider fulfillment of these wants an impediment to its life plan.
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Every culture, from aboriginal tribe to complex civilization, recognizes the significance and esoteric mystery of dreams. History, literature, and poetry swarm with dreams' prophetic and symbolic power. Modern western thought, its vision narrowed by the blinders of materialism, struggles to make sense of dreams. In one view, the purpose of sleep is to allow the body time to rest and heal, with dreaming a mysterious byproduct. Dreams are variously explained as the random static of neurological chaos; a means of emotionally processing the day's events; or the symbolic patina on material rising from the deeper strata of the psyche. Whatever one's view, all agree that the realm of sleep and dreaming remains a dark mystery.
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Why do dreams so often seem chaotic and confusing? They seem so because what transpires during the dream state and what is recalled upon awaking are two sharply distinct processes. Recalled dreams represent your conscious mind's best effort to make sense of material of a frequency and depth which it is not designed to process. Raw dream material must be decelerated many levels of frequency to be processed by the conscious mind, losing fidelity and richness in the process. The seemingly random chaos of dream imagery stems from the brain's inability to coherently synthesize the raw stuff of dreams, which operates on a different, deeper logic and order.
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Throughout western culture, old cultural and scientific models are being superseded by deeper, richer, subtler paradigms grounded in holism. Holism, as a worldview, posits that living beings are more than the mere sum of their parts; and that consciousness and spirit are inextricably woven into the total being. In medicine, this means recognizing the "whole person" as an indivisible gestalt of mind and body; granting consciousness, however elementary, to the cells and organs; and considering the emotional/physical/
spiritual environment in which a body dwells as a primary influence on its health or disability.

Although holistic medicine is a step on the path toward a more comprehensive medicine, it is but a step. Beyond holistic medicine lies vibrational medicine, a philosophy and practice of healing rooted in the awareness that the body is essentially energy, energy sculpted into a complex network of patterns manifesting as the various organs, tissues, and so on. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all the challenges facing humankind in a parlous era, one holds both the greatest peril and the greatest promise: global warming. In truth, global warming is but one facet of a multidimensional ecological crisis whose fearsome potential you are only beginning to recognize. Before addressing the issue itself, let us take a look at the Earth from the perspective of ecological holism.

Every planet is an ecological system of greater or lesser complexity. As Nature's fundamental principle is balance, every planet settles into a stable equilibrium, however dynamic its surface may be. Earth is an exceptional planet for a number of reasons, including its extraordinarily lively and dynamic surface; its high water content; its equable temperature range; and its mix of atmospheric and telluric elements enabling life to thrive. Unlike other planets, which have little difficulty in maintaining equilibrium, Earth has an exceptionally dynamic and volatile environment, both atmospheric and telluric: from earthquakes to tornadoes, the party never stops. Earth rarely settles at static equilibrium; its dynamism is its equilibrium.
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