Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Sphere of Consciousness

7 Dimensions of Consciousness

Within the domain of consciousness that we move and have our being in, there are seven centers of energy that interact to form the layers of our existence. In astrology, we know and symbolize these layers through the seven traditional planets: Sun, Mercury, Venus, (Earth + Moon), Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In other traditions, they have been visualized as spiritual energy centers within the body known as chakras. These chakras stretch from the root chakra at the base of the spine (Saturn) all the way up to the Crown chakra above the head and connecting in at the pineal visualization center (Jupiter).

Inner Sphere

These seven layers of our inner life strive to become balanced. But sometimes we focus on say only three layers and neglect the others to our ultimate detriment. Imagine these seven layers as legs of a table. It only takes three legs for a table to stand, but the table we are visualizing has seven legs, symbolizing these seven primary areas of life, and the authentic vibrant life needs to be expressed on all seven!

Spiritual (Jupiter) Journeys/Meaning/Philosophy/Synthesis
Professional (Saturn) Prestige/Accomplishment/Community
Intellectual (Mercury) Education/Communication/Learning/Perception
Emotional (Earth-Moon) Family/Heart/Soul
Vitality (Sun) Creativity/Purpose/Enlightenment
Social (Venus) Relationships/Aesthetics/Pleasure
Physical (Mars) Sexuality/Competition/Drive/Initiative

For instance, someone could be extremely focused on Professional, Intellectual, and Social development, and totally neglect the Physical, Vital, Emotional, and Spiritual areas of life. But down the line when one of those areas experiences a dimensional collapse (Which is only a matter of time due to the silently building pressures within the dis-eased neglected centers), then the person flies into a tail spin and their life goes through a crisis.

The current life change or crisis (lit. to decide in Greek) that I'm undergoing was caused by my own lack of attention on the Physical, Social, Emotional, and Vitality areas. I neglected movement and got stiff. I isolated myself in the woods and became anti-social as well as emotionally depressed. I lost any sense of purpose, until I had had enough and I was moved toward change once my Professional expression toppled. As a result, the relationship I was in went through a crisis of consciousness and we both realized that we had forced marriage upon ourselves when we were really just good friends with some common interests and admiration for each other. So now that we've ripped ourselves apart, it's beginning to become very clear how to restore balance in these seven areas.

One of the goals of my upcoming walkabout is to create a person-centered adventure where the goal is to interact with people and assist people with the gifts of the Magi that I've been given.

What exactly is a Magi?

If I'm going to have a blog about a traveling magi, maybe it's good to define the term. In ancient times (Sumeria), there were a class of magian priests who studied the cycles of the heavens and the planets within the starry sphere. They surmised through observation that the events that transpired in the heavens also transpired on earth, the familiar As Above, So Below mantra of astrology. In modern astrology we've expanded this to As Without, So Within and vice versa if you're that cool...

The word Magi is the root for many other words like Magic, Imagine, Magistrate, Majestic, etc. Lofty words indeed. In the ancient world the Magi, the same line of priest kings that visited Jesus in the manger, were considered wise men, highly educated of the Persian elite class. Abraham was on such man, the father of the desert religions that we are still fighting like wounded brothers and sisters to this day!

In the year 321 AD, the emperor Constantine released an edict that declared all Magi in the realm to be put to death. This was because the wisdom that the Magi held would seriously wreck the new emerging doctrine of Christianity as it was being crafted as a state religion. People were supposed to bend over and pay their tithes, not think for themselves and study the science/art of the heavens and surmise the secrets of time. So the Magi and their special wisdom were suppressed and driven out of the Western Civilization. Turns out that they were also eventually repressed, feared and scorned in their own culture with the rise of Islam.

In the modern world, this amazing tool called the Internet has enabled many isolated practitioners of this ancient form of magic to get in touch and share knowledge. We gather at conferences around the world, many posing a psychologists and counselors. But we are really Magi, and we have returned! Hence, the documentary film I made called Return of the Magi, available through Netflix.

Turns out that in the rising Aquarian Age, astrology will regain its former stature as chief of the fields of knowledge, along with Theology. Theology will change too, and embrace a more cosmic consciousness path to religious inspiration. Someone somewhere is working on the Third Testament...you just wait and see!

So I've taken to the roads and streets of life to share this wisdom of the Magi. I won't be taking a camel, however disappointing that seems to some. But I will be using a lap top and a Droid cell phone to share inspiration with the world as I go and to document the journey of synchronicity. I live for the earth and serve her transition into the dawning new world. Maybe we should be called Techno-Magi!

Balancing Your Life


The key to balancing these seven areas of life is not about quantity of time spent in each domain, but quality. If you take quality time for health and fitness (the Physical) then you won't be forced to make time for sickness and illness. The body needs to move, it's that simple. A peaceful walk or some gentle Tai Chi or dance is enough. Just breath and sweat and heat your body up to the point that you sweat and transform the solid of your form into a liquid so the rivers of toxin can release and flow away. You know how great you feel after a good workout or amazing sex!

The Intellectual layer is crucial because it connects to all the other layers. You learn as you progress through life and expansion of knowing leads to improvement in all other areas! Plus it's fun! Knowledge is power, and power is about options. Lack of knowledge limits your options and thus your power and effectiveness as a human being. Anyone can master any subject in 3-5 years simply by devoting one hour a day to that subject. Yes, you have to turn off the TV to get to it. You have to fight to increase the quality of your moments on this planet. By the way, I defined a moment as 4 seconds in my first book, Celestial Renaissance. It just divides down to that archetypally. I mean, take a deep breath and count to four, and experience a full moment. Isn't it grand!

A rich social life with true friends is also an intimate aspect of life that needs our attention. You have to be a friend to have friends. I'm currently reading Exile Lifestyle blogger Colin Wright's new ebook "Networking Awesomely" and realizing the amazing power of social connection.

Colin boldly and gracefully integrates social intimacy and professional ambition in a unique approach to networking that evolves the collective game to new levels of expertise. Through the use of an adventurous blend of personal magnetism strategies and the refined ability to scope out the social contours of a room full of people, Colin shows us how to engage human interconnection in such a way that the boundaries between accomplishing our goals and celebrating life seem to blur.

Check out "Networking Awesomely" and you won't be disappointed. My son and I were reading it together last night and laughing so hard we couldn't stop scrolling the e-pages!

Your options for interacting with and befriending people are endless. Join a society or club, take a new course, develop a hobby and join a group that supports it, volunteer! Get out there and socialize. I love the Meetup website where you can type in what you love and find groups in your area who are doing it and sharing it! Colin talks about others in the ebook.

When it comes to Profession, everyone wants to make money, but that's not the core of the issue. Really, we want a sense of contribution to society. When I do someone's astrology chart, I want to know that I sincerely helped that person along their path. As poet David Whyte says, "One good word is bread for a thousand!" We also want to be tested. We want our abilities and capacities to grow through the fire of the journey. Sometimes we fail, and we learn from it. Sometimes we succeed and we realize new heights of personal power and responsibility. Rilke said, "Winning does not temper man, this is how he grows: By being defeated decisively by greater and greater beings." So seek out greater beings, greater challenges and grow in the process!

With Spirituality we don't need to confine this to religious practice. What about our spiritual relationship to the collective? To the environment? What about simply living true to your heart, your ethics, your philosophy. This is where meaning emerges and a sense of the grand scheme of things. This is where all the rest of it starts to make sense through synthesis.

What about that Emotional layer? I tend to neglect family, clan, tradition. Women don't feel safe with someone whose allegiance is to the cosmos before everything else, especially the light bills. I'd rather burn candles in the dark pouring over dusty tomes and meditating on the ancient symbols of life. But I have a hard time just living life and being with people without feeling like an exile, an alien inside. My son gets me though, and appreciates my cosmic approach to being in form. I trust him. He knows my love for him runs deep and I show it. We are best buds. Many women have moved through his life and mothered him in different ways. I've loved being with all of them and can still feel their influences, see into their eyes, and peer into their hearts. Relationships are fluid. They rise and fall like tides. I'm not attached to happily ever after, especially after what I've seen on the long suffering war-torn relationship front of people dying slowly in place, living in comfort but lacking passion!

We come full circle to Vitality, which also has to do with feeling like you belong and have purpose. Symbolized by the Sun, we all quest for enlightenment along this path of self-realization. The minute you give up your individuality is the minute you begin to lose your purpose. Your life gets consumed by the tribe and your purpose gets relegated to Society's Purpose. You work and you pay taxes and you don't question authority. You don't shine bright, you stay in line, merely orbiting the luminaries pictured on the magazine stands at the supermarket.

Except the creative individual has the power to change civilization. No institution ever came up with an idea. Only individuals give spiritual potency to ideas. Then these ideas get cloaked in desire, others tap in, and then they get created!

So be true to your authenticity and thrive! And think about these dimensions within your own life. Are they in balance? Would love to hear from you!

3 comments:

  1. Excellent heart felt and knowledgeable writing.
    Great examples for all the layers. I liked most
    the "living in comfort but lacking passion" that
    happened with me, and no matter how much I meditated on it, I could not stay within the sphere and only moving on meant saving my own chi force.
    What you write is all true and very amazing the description of your sons eyes reflecting each mothering influence through to you still, and you can recognize their souls still in the light of his eyes, truly a saint and an enlightened being can be so free, yet compassionate too.

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  2. Thanks Byra for your comments, I live this stuff at a deep level, nice to know someone else appreciates it too!

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