Merkabah
- Thread starter Skarekrow
- Start date
This was just put out so I will be watching it as I post it here.
Enjoy!!
Enjoy!!
TEDx The Science of Interconnectedness:
Cassandra Vieten
[video=youtube;eEd_YTZB1Tw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eEd_YTZB1Tw[/video]
Published on Feb 3, 2016
Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences,
co-director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute,
and co-president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the State of California, and several private donors and foundations,
her research has focused on spirituality and health; development and pilot testing of mindfulness-based approaches to cultivating emotional balance (primarily in the areas of addiction and pregnancy/postpartum well-being);
and factors, experiences, and practices involved in psychospiritual transformation to a more meaningful, compassionate,
and service-oriented way of life.
Her primary interest lies in how psychology, biology, and spirituality interact to affect experience and behavior.
Cassandra Vieten
[video=youtube;eEd_YTZB1Tw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eEd_YTZB1Tw[/video]
Published on Feb 3, 2016
Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences,
co-director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute,
and co-president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the State of California, and several private donors and foundations,
her research has focused on spirituality and health; development and pilot testing of mindfulness-based approaches to cultivating emotional balance (primarily in the areas of addiction and pregnancy/postpartum well-being);
and factors, experiences, and practices involved in psychospiritual transformation to a more meaningful, compassionate,
and service-oriented way of life.
Her primary interest lies in how psychology, biology, and spirituality interact to affect experience and behavior.
This goes with the above video really ^^^^
It’s only a matter of time before PSI is proven beyond doubt IMO…at least a guy can hope.
This was released finally about 3 weeks ago.
Enjoy!!
It’s only a matter of time before PSI is proven beyond doubt IMO…at least a guy can hope.
This was released finally about 3 weeks ago.
Enjoy!!
Dean Radin -
The Future of Consciousness Research
[video=youtube;PT8H7eNKIH8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PT8H7eNKIH8[/video]
Dean speaks about psi and consciousness research at the IONS 2015 Conference.
The Future of Consciousness Research
[video=youtube;PT8H7eNKIH8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PT8H7eNKIH8[/video]
Dean speaks about psi and consciousness research at the IONS 2015 Conference.
In the most recent Swedish translation of the bible, Jesus' family got IKEA furniture, Ericsson mobile phones and a Volvo car. Everything was sponsored by the 1% for the benefit of mankind.
I say it’s high time they take out all the bits saying slavery is an okay practice…as is stoning someone to death, etc.
Either that, or pass legislation making it your religious right. We could even have cool ID cards…we could be like “religious police” or something..hmmmm?
I loved watching this! His reaction is very expressive, humble and somehow touching. I'm always impressed when someone who really is a genius is also humble.
This is a really great talk!
Raises some fun thoughts to play with.
Enjoy!
Raises some fun thoughts to play with.
Enjoy!
I^2 Intelligence Squared
Spoken by Robert Anton Wilson
[video=youtube;e1ZqU3myVbk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=e1ZqU3myVbk[/video]
"The path up is the path down.
The way forward is the way back.
The universe inside is outside but the universe outside is inside."
- Robert Anton Wilson
Spoken by Robert Anton Wilson
[video=youtube;e1ZqU3myVbk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=e1ZqU3myVbk[/video]
"The path up is the path down.
The way forward is the way back.
The universe inside is outside but the universe outside is inside."
- Robert Anton Wilson
Scientists Discover People Who Are Awake Can
Influence Dreams Of Sleeping People Using Telepathy
Influence Dreams Of Sleeping People Using Telepathy
Dream telepathy suggests that human beings have the ability to communicate telepathically with another person while they are dreaming. This isn’t a new concept, scientific interest in telepathy dates back to the fathers of the psychoanalytic movement.
Freud, for example, looked at the implications of telepathy on psychoanalytic thought.
He also considered dream telepathy, or the telepathic influence of thought on dreaming, on multiple occasions.
Carl Jung believed in the telepathic hypothesis without question, and even developed a theoretical system to explain “paranormal” events of this nature. (2)
It seems that all great minds encourage the study of various types of non-physical phenomena.
“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” — Nikola Tesla
According to Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. and professor of psychology at Saybrook University in California:
A wealth of anecdotal and clinical material exist which supports the possibility of telepathic effects occurring in dreams (Krippner, 1974).
However, an experimental approach to the topic did not become possible until psycho physiological laboratory technology became available.
It was discovered that sleeping research participants awakened from periods of rapid eye movement (REM) activity were frequently able to recall dream episodes.
As a result, it was possible to request a “telepathic receiver” to attempt dreaming about a target stimulus that was being focused on in a distant location from a “telepathic sender.”
(source)
Experiments and ResultsHowever, an experimental approach to the topic did not become possible until psycho physiological laboratory technology became available.
It was discovered that sleeping research participants awakened from periods of rapid eye movement (REM) activity were frequently able to recall dream episodes.
As a result, it was possible to request a “telepathic receiver” to attempt dreaming about a target stimulus that was being focused on in a distant location from a “telepathic sender.”
(source)
In the mid 1960’s, Montague Ullman, MD, began a number of experiments at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York to test the hypothesis that people could be primed to dream about randomly selected material.
In other words, they could choose what they wanted to dream about before going to sleep, and this could include anything, from artwork to movies to photographs and more.
Shortly after these experiments began, Ullman was joined by Stanley Krippner (quoted above), who has a very impressive background in the scientific study of dreams, psychology, and parapsychology.
The experiments they conducted lasted a span of more than 10 years, and “yielded statistically significant results.”
During the experiments, there was usually a “telepathic sender” and a “telepathic receiver.”
They met in the laboratory for a short period of time before being placed in completely separate rooms just before going to sleep.
The telepathic sender had an envelope waiting for them in the room in which they’d sleep.
It would contain something like a picture or a drawing.
The receivers were then purposely awakened shortly after Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) began so the researchers could take a dream report.
A Very Significant Session
One very memorable and significant session of dream telepathy experimentation took place where the selected art print was “School of Dance” by Edgar Degas, which depicts a several young women in a dance class.
According to Krippner, the receivers’ dream reports included such phrases as “I was in a class made up of maybe half a dozen people, it felt like a school,” and “There was one little girl that was trying to dance with me.”
These results are fascinating, and the idea that one can influence another’s dream opens up a lot of doors.
Although we might not understand the process behind the transfer of information, and we can’t see this transfer take place from mind to mind, we have proof of it occurring.
This is quite common when we examine scientific studies that have evaluated parapsychological phenomena — we know what is happening, but not how.
Another significant session conducted by Krippner and Ullman took place on March 15th, 1970.
In this session, a large group of people at a Holy Modal Rounders rock concert was selected to send something telepathically.
A local media artist by the name of Jean Millay took responsibility to ready the telepathic senders for “target preparation.”
She did this with help from the Lidd Light Company, a group of artists who were responsible for the light show at the concert.
Millay gave the audience a brief verbal set of directions before the image was flashed on the large screen that the telepathic senders were looking at.
Six slide projectors were used to project a colour film about eagles and their nesting habits, as well as information about various birds from around the world (including birds from mythology, like the phoenix).
This all happened at the same time Holy Modal Rounders were playing their song, “If you want to be a bird.”
There were five volunteer telepathic receivers for this experiment, and they were all located within a one hundred mile radius from the telepathic senders.
All of the receivers were aware of the concert location and were told to record their images at midnight, because that was when the material would be sent to them.
According to Krippner:
One “telepathic receiver,” Helen Andrews, had the impression of “something mythological, like a griffin or a phoenix.” The second, third and fourth research participants reported images of “a snake,” “grapes,” and “an embryo in flames.”
The fifth participant was Richie Havens, the celebrated American singer and recording artist, who reported closing his eyes at midnight and visualizing “a number of seagulls flying over water.”
Both Mr. Havens’ and Ms. Andrews’ reports represented direct correspondences with the target material. (source)
More remarkable results were seen when the rock group “Grateful Dead” also volunteered to participate in a dream telepathy session over a span of six nights.
You can read more about that (and other results) here.
These results were actually published by the American Psychological Association (1)
These are usually the instructions given to subjects who participate in these experiments:
1. You are about to participate in an ESP experiment.
2. In a few seconds you will see a picture.
3. Try using your ESP to “send” this picture to the receiver.
4. The receiver will try to dream about this picture.
Try to “send” it to them.
5. Then, receivers will be made aware of the sender’s location.
Possible Explanations?
Quantum physics has shed light on the vast interconnectedness of everything in the universe.
One possible explanation is quantum entanglement.
For example, consider two electrons that are created together.
If you send one to the other side of the universe, the other will respond instantly, regardless of their distance from each other.
This is one way of interpreting how everything is really connected in some way.
Einstein called it “spooky actions at a distance.”
For a great visual demonstration of this, click here.
Related Article: Our Physical Material World Isn’t Really Physical At All
The truth of the matter is that we have no way to explain how this works.
The researchers involved were only able to observe and record what was taking place, which again, is very common for parapsychological phenomenon.
At the same time, these experiments involve dreams, a completely different and altered state of “reality” that we really don’t know much about.
It’s a world separate (or at least we think is separate) from the world in which we are “awake” (although, of course, the world we perceive when we are awake could very well be just a dream).
But that is a subject for another article.
Parasychological Phenomena Have Been Proven and Documented All Over The World
Parapsychological (PSI) phenomena have been studied, documented, observed, and proven (over and over again) by a number of renowned scientists in laboratories all over the world.
The Department of Defense has had a huge interest in this subject (and has studied it) for a number of years, yet the scientific study of it is concealed from the public and left out of universities and mainstream science, which is not fair, and not right.
It isn’t as though this information is inaccessible to us, some of this documentation and these publications are available in the public domain.
These have been covered in depth, and the links below will take you where you want to go, to an article that is well sourced with lots of information.
There are more examples on our website, so if this sparks your interest feel free to browse through it and look for more!
10 Scientific Studies That Prove Consciousness Can Alter Our Physical Material World
Sources:
(1) http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1986-13291-001
(2)http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=489052 http://stanleykrippner.weebly.com/a-pilot-study-in-dream-telepathy-with-the-grateful-dead.html http://www.neuroquantology.com/index.php/journal/article/view/385 http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/59574068/dreams-telepathy-various-states-consciousness https://www.google.ca/#q=Dreams,+Te...iousness+Stanley+Krippner+and+Cheryl+Fracasso
Quite right.
There is nothing that turns me off from a person faster than arrogance...none of which this Gentleman displayed.
I'm sure I have been perceived as arrogant before...I know people would talk about me at work from time to time (I'm not fucking deaf morons hahaha), that those of us on the Heart Team thought we were the shit.
I think people mix up arrogance with actual skill and self-doubt with ignorance.
It's the arrogant assumptions and judgements that people make...with actually the forum being a good example.
Much is assumed about people here by others...assumptions of people being or acting a certain way based on what they write - which in some ways gives you an intimate view of certain things but is actually riddled with gaps. Those who you speak to here that automatically assume they are more intelligent, or belittle people because their point of view is not the same shared by them...they are missing the point entirely and negating any bit of intelligence they think they have IMO by interacting in such a jaded and unrealistic view of reality to make such ignorant assumptions about people you have never met...many of whom would probably crush and outwit you in ways you never dreamed of IRL.
Like my tagline reads - I once knew a man who thought he was above me, and he was until he had that thought.
In a aeon I was released from a world, and in a Type from a type, and from the fetter of oblivion which is transient.
From this time on will I attain to the rest of the time, of the season, of the aeon, in silence.
- Gospel of Mary Magdalene -
From this time on will I attain to the rest of the time, of the season, of the aeon, in silence.
- Gospel of Mary Magdalene -
"3 Levels of Parallel Shifts (Nexus)
[Excerpt from TT: 1999-06-03]
[M6] A Community shift in parallels? Explain?
[Michael_Entity] There are three levels of Parallel Shifts/Nexus: Individual (happening throughout the year at any time deemed appropriate by the Essence), Community Shifts (a group of shared consciousness steers themselves into a reality of shared interests); and Global, (a collective Sentience of a given planet moves into various parallels for various explorations of reality as a whole)."
http://library.truthloveenergy.com/Michael-Teachings/3-levels-of-parallel-shifts-nexus/
First I had that you can create your own reality. Then I heard that you can co-create your own reality. People in your environment also have an influence on you, but not a monopoly. They shape the truth that you see, the reality that you perceive.
The quote above says that there are scopes of beliefs. There are levels of beliefs and people within the same environment perceive the same reality, I suspect.
Also mentioned are timelines. When a binary decision of two options is made, two timelines emerge, one for the yes and another for the no. When a larger of people change beliefs, there occurs is a split at the scope of a group.
"Creating or Changing Truths
[Excerpt from TT: 2002-03-28]
[Val1] Can you tell us more about creating, changing our own truths?
[M_Entity] In the context of this time frame, most of you will be looking at your own Personal Truths in relation to the average World Truths about WAR, Religion, and Community. There is a focus now on these very important Truths as they stand for those who are in more dangerous positions and how that may or may not affect you.
As most of you know, there are Personal Truths, which are subject to change at any time, and they may or may not be anyone else’s Truth. There are Community Truths, which are shared beliefs, which contribute to World Truths. World Truths are true for everyone on a planet, whether they wish them to be Truths or not, such as Grass being Green, and Gravity. Depending on your Personal Truths, the World Truth that War still exists and affects the planet, may or may not be a “good thing.” When enough Personal Truths shift, which then shift Community Truths, then World Truths can change as well. Even the Truth of Gravity can change, if its properties change as a World Truth. We believe the properties of War would be even easier to change.
Many of you will be dealing with your thoughts, feelings, and actions as they relate to those issues of War, Religion, and Community. Your own Personal Truths may or may not be affected."
http://library.truthloveenergy.com/Michael-Teachings/creating-or-changing-truths/
Stop believing in gravity, and it will vanish. Let us hope that people long for world peace, and war will vanish.
What happens if a majority of people starts believing that the moon is made of cheese?
I am behind you, on your left side. Then I tap your right shoulder to see how you react.
One of the best basic introductions I've read.
Today's definition and history lesson -
(That is my personal Scrying mirror IRL btw)
Scrying is something all witches learn from a very tender age, it means to perceive or to reveal.
To scry you need a reflective surface to gaze into, this can be a crystal ball, a mirror, a candle flame or water.
It is an ancient technique used for the purposes of divination.
Many witches use a crystal ball or a crystal sphere which stimulates their psychically induced images.
You are the scryer and you are going beyond the conscious mind into a mystical place to gain information offered by the cosmos, our ancestor’s scryed using clouds by day, and the reflection of moonlight on water by night.
Nonphysical shapes and images appeared on the surface of the water, in mirrors, crystal balls, clouds and flames.
Sometimes what appears is symbolic or images from the past or future may be revealed.
It is up to the scryer to interpret what the images, or symbols mean and it is only through practice and the intuition of the scryer that accurate, informative and helpful messages and information are revealed.
Those who can scry anywhere anytime, are fortunate to have this magical skill, so long as they are able to switch it off at will and do not become completely distracted every time they see a shiny black surface.
For the rest of us there are many things we can experiment with to make scrying easier, and different things will work for different people. Scrying can be defined as the art of gazing into a dark mirror, water or crystal, going beyond the physical eyes and letting the inner psychic eye open allowing us to receive visions and information.
Scrying is a learned skill, just as riding a bicycle, or ice skating, practice is necessary, even with an innate talent, and as with any other learned skill, patience is needed during the learning curve.
When you first begin learning there will be times when you feel you have reached a point and are standing still, then there will be a shift of energy and a growth spurt will occur.
There will be sessions where things work well, and sessions where you feel nothing is coming through, but as you continue you will find that there are more highs than lows, and you will feel more comfortable as you progress.
Some people have a natural aptitude for scrying.
They only have to walk past a shallow puddle in the road, glance at a piece of black glass, admire the glossy fur of a black cat and numerous images flood into their minds.
Others have to spend days, weeks, months, even years, mastering this apparently simple technique, staring into elaborate black mirrors and seeing nothing but their own dark reflection — frustrating indeed — and of course, that very frustration makes things more difficult.
As with all magic, it needs to be taken seriously, but with a playful and curious state of mind.
Trying too hard is counterproductive.
One of the things which make scrying so hard for some people to do is that, like meditation, it requires an altered state of consciousness to be achieved, but with the eyes open.
In meditation, path working, and in parts of a ritual most people prefer to work with their eyes closed, this makes an altered state so much easier to reach and to maintain.
Over the centuries people have been eager to know what the future holds and have tried various mediums to gain the anticipated information that will guide them in their life, they can find out about their financial situation, their loved ones and relatives.
When there was no other form of communication, other than the written word carried by a messenger, or the spoken word, and people were away from loved ones, scrying was one way to keep an eye on those close.
The world was a much bigger place then and people could not traverse the world with the ease we do nowadays.
For centuries scrying has been practiced by adepts and novices alike, by witches, magicians, sorcerers, priestesses, priests, kings and queens, many different tools were used, sacred vessels, pieces of glass, bowls of water, crystal balls, crystals and so on.
What is revealed to the scryer is not always easy to distinguish and images, symbols or messages can be fuzzy, hazy and unclear.
Our Guardian Angels and Spirit Guides often offer us assistance when we are scrying, by way of symbols, messages any imagery.
We can consult with the God or Goddess energies and other deities, who can offer guidance through there infinite wisdom.
The future always holds many variables and the future revealed when scrying is influenced by our choices, universal shifts beyond our manipulations, and the action or inaction of those with whom we interact.
The predictably changeable quality of the future, can through practice become clearer as our skills are honed, and through careful and cautious study and contemplation of the symbols, images and messages received, effective choices can be made.
Thus our carefully calculated and implemented actions can holistically influence our destiny.
Witches are adept scryers and at a glance are able to discern and interpret what is revealed to them, in whatever form it is presented.
The earliest uses of crystals and gemstones comes from the Druids to gain knowledge of their future, the Scottish Highlanders referred to them as the “stones of power.”
During the middle ages crystal balls were considered precious items, and skilled scryers often passed them on to their apprentices.
Apache medicine men used clear quartz crystals to induce visions and the Yucatan scryers placed a mystical reverence on the clear quartz crystals.
The goddess Hathor carried a shield which reflected things in their true light, from this shield she was able to create the first magic mirror used for scrying.
The Ancient Persians used the Cup of Jamshid, along with wizards and those involved with occult practices, with this they were able to observe the seven layers of the universe.
The cup was filled with the elixir of immortality.
The ancient Celts and Greeks used beryl tools, crystal, black glass, water and clear quartz.
Romans used any shiny objects and crystals.
Nostradamus used a bowl of water for scrying as he gazed into this and saw into the future.
The Alchemists John Dee and Edward Kelley, used a crystal ball or polished obsidian.
Communication with Divine Energy takes place when someone is scrying, crystals have, are and will continue to be used for communication.
Crystals are favoured by diviners because of their symmetry and are important tools for all those who practice the art of scrying.
When selecting a stone we should choose one that first draws us and refracts light well, pick it up and see how it feels, close your eyes and get a sense of the energy it is emitting, decide whether it feels right for you.
If the first one does not then try the same thing again with another crystal, keep doing this until you find one that you feel in tune with and know you can work with.
The traditional way to care for the crystal or crystal ball, was to never expose it to sunlight because sunlight inhibits the connection with the psychic mind and blurs the communication with the Divine Energy.
Moonlight was thought to provide the correct energy by charging the crystals with the energy of the Moon.
Scrying is something that becomes easier through practice and it is found that those who are practiced in the art tend to see the same symbols and symbolic images, each time they scry.
Therefore once correctly interpreted, the symbols can be quickly and readily understood in the context of the reading.
In order to scry successfully it is necessary to allow the intuition free reign and to trust our psychic vision.
Scrying can also help us to divine our dreams and use the knowledge to enhance our life.
Through scrying we are able to tap the wisdom offered by the Akashic Records which contains the experience and knowledge of all mankind, past present and what is held for our future.
Once we enter this realm normal time restrictions do not apply, it means we have reached a place where there are no time limitations.
Often witches scry inside a magic circle to avoid being distracted by outside influences which distort the visions, it is better to scry at night as psychic vibrations are more easily received.
Night offers the most suitable energy for any form of divination, and those who are skilled in the art of scrying will only do so after the sky is dark and the white noise of the day has lessened.
Witches use their scrying abilities to find a lost object, this is done by holding a crystal pendant over a map where the object is thought to be lost, the more energetically the pendant swings the closer you are to the lost item.
When the crystal pendant has located the object it will pull down to the specific point on the map.
Whatever instrument you use to scry with you will be tapping your Clairvoyant abilities, images will be projected into your crystal ball, crystal sphere or whatever it is you have chosen to work with.
It is the psychic eye that projects the images allowing you to see them and be able to interpret the messages.
From this vantage point you are able to tune into the past, present and the future, and we are able to see beings from other dimensions.
With practice and patience we are able to communicate with these beings from other dimensions, whether they be Angels, Nature Spirits, relatives who have passed over, or Spirit Guides.
People often find that they have a particular connection, or spiritual link with people with whom they have been linked and who are acting as teachers.
Through scrying and the tapping of the Collective Unconscious we are able to not only see (Clairvoyance), but to hear (Clairaudience) which is hearing with our psychic ear.
Through scrying and the burning of fragrant oils, scented candles and incense, we stimulate our psychic sensing (Clairsentience).
This is where our psychic senses are heightened letting us tune into our feelings using this vital psychic sense.
If we think of ourselves as spiritual beings encased in a physical body we can then believe in the Divine Light within everybody and then tap into the wise inner being within us all.
There is a vast amount of information floating around the cosmos and scrying assists us in tapping this readily available information.
We all carry within us hidden and unprocessed information which through scrying can be accessed and used to enhance our lives.
Images seen when we scry, offer us ancient information passed onto us from the experiences of the people from that particular time.
Information can be given through images given by Nature Spirits, Angels, Spirit Guides or ancient ancestors, even deceased relatives offer guidance.
Eventually after much practice, as soon as you see something in your crystal ball, mirror or water reflection, your mind will quickly interpret words and impressions.
You may actually feel something physically, such as tingling in the fingers and toes, or a prickling sensation on top of the head, sometimes it may feel as though your face is being touched, this is to do with the energies you are accessing.
Through scrying you are able to travel back in time to view your past in this lifetime, you can then project forward and view what you will be doing in the future, viewing the people you are to meet, and the places you are to go.
As you move backward and forward in time you experience the space where time has no relevance.
Although when you move backward and forward you are in the space of no time, you can if you choose to gauge the time of when the future events are to take place.
When symbols are presented to us during scrying, even though we may not understand at first, what the meaning is, there is within us, somewhere down deep inside, where we retain the clairvoyant ability to interpret the meaning.
Symbols, and the profound information they contain, will be shown more often once you develop your clairvoyant abilities, this is due to the fact that symbols offer information that is deeper and more spiritual.
A crystal ball will reveal detailed images more readily than the flame of a candle, and as your clairaudient ability becomes stronger you will be able to distinguish the messages you are given more readily.
Clairaudience requires that we speak with gentleness and understanding when reading for others and revealing information that comforts and helps. When scrying with a crystal ball psychic touch operates as a generator to our psychic energies, transmitting psychic impressions, there is an energy field around anything you use to scry with, much as human beings have an auric field.
It is important to use our own judgement regarding the validity and the appropriateness of the information we receive.
While at the same time being acutely sensitive to the querent’s emotional wellbeing, and whether they are strong enough to receive all, or just some of the information received.
Sounds often trigger impressions, fragrances, tastes, images and senses and can transport us to another time and place.
Crystals are amplifiers, they receive and transmit energy assisting the one who is scrying.
To be able to scry successfully, dedication and patience is needed, and if your psychic abilities have not yet surfaced, you may find that scrying can awaken that which is within you waiting to be revealed.
Once the symbolism has been revealed to you, and you have acquired sufficient understanding to interpret the symbols, scrying will become a more natural form of divination.
If you find that it is too difficult to awaken your abilities through scrying, put it aside for a time and try the Viking Runes, or the Tarot, this may be an easier way to begin your journey.
You can always go back to scrying as you become more in tune with your abilities.
To crystal scry successfully do so at night, as night rules the psychic mind and the energies are conducive to psychic phenomenon.
Create a space in your home where you can sit comfortably, and have somewhere to place your crystal, or crystal ball.
Always light a candle, or candles before you begin, making sure that candles are placed safely in suitable candle holders, and away from any flammable object or material.
Allow yourself to enter a relaxed state by closing your eyes and taking several deep breaths, when you open your eyes touch the crystal, or crystal ball until it feels warm, by doing this you are connecting your energy to the energy of the stone.
The heat activates the stone and you are becoming as one with the instrument you will be using, thus allowing the psychic energy to flow.
Before beginning to scry, and while touching the stone it is important to contemplate the intention of the reading, being as clear and concise as possible.
By sending out a clear message or thought, tuning in to the necessary psychic energies will begin.
You are now ready to gaze into the crystal, or crystal ball, at this point you are going beyond the conscious mind and entering a place of psychic awakening, where you will be receptive to messages, images or symbols that may be revealed to you.
As you gaze into the stone imagine your mind merging with the energy of the stone and being encased by the light within the stone.
As you do this you will feel the energy shifting, go beyond any physical images as the reflective light of the stone links you with the Divine Energy, enhancing your psychic vision.
When you feel as one with the Divine Energy, absorb the impressions and insights that come to you, your senses will heighten and your inner psychic ear will be acutely aware of sound.
Relax into this energy and feel it flow through you.
While scrying information can come to you via all five senses, and will not necessarily be visual, sometimes it is just a sense of, or there may be flashes of intuition that you instantly understand the meaning of.
How you receive the information is not as important as how you interpret it, when you review what you have perceived during your scrying, do so in a non-logical way.
As you are learning, limit your sessions by giving yourself a specific amount of time in which to work, begin with ten minute sessions and work up from there.
You are aiming for a session of forty five minutes in length, in this time you enter an altered state of awareness leading to acute psychic receptivity.
The most common techniques for scrying are;
Water gazing,
dark water is a good way to start, not least because it is easily available and costs nothing.
A pool can be lovely to scry in, though I would recommend sitting or kneeling down to do so, since it is very easy to forget what your body is doing once your mind becomes absorbed, and it is somewhat undignified to fall into the (possibly stagnant) water at a moment of great revelation.
A black bowl filled with water is another method and has the advantage of being safe and suitable for indoor use.
Tap water is fine, but spring water will probably work better.
Perhaps the best kind of water to use is Moon water: spring, rain or sea water which has been placed in the Moonlight every night for a whole lunar cycle.
The water can be blessed in whatever way you feel is appropriate, possibly dedicated to one of the Moon goddesses who rule such activities as these.
An alternative to using a black bowl is simply to use any dish but to darken the water with black ink.
The old witch in her cottage would doubtless have done her scrying in a bubbling cauldron of stew or in the water boiling in an iron pot ready to make up some herbal brews.
Crystal gazing,
always use a clear crystal, one you have chosen for the specific purpose of scrying, and only use it for this purpose, this is the most popular form of divination.
It is to be a crystal that draws you and one that feels comfortable to the touch, place it on a table in front of you.
Do your deep breathing until you are completely relaxed, make sure you have a lit candle behind your crystal then touch the crystal.
When scrying with a crystal you may turn it to view different images, crystals are conductors of energy, able to send and receive signals. Once you have become attuned to your crystal you will receive a wealth of information, through thoughts, images, symbols, senses, supernatural beings, or loved ones.
Older crystals have a higher frequency and are able to keep records of ancient knowledge.
As you gaze at your crystal you are looking at the window of the crystal and while you work the crystal will bring into balance the body, mind and spirit.
When you and your crystal link frequencies you will intuitively receive information that is relevant, sometimes when gazing into the crystal shapes will move and change before your eyes.
Fire gazing,
flame of a candle can produce some dramatic and startling results as the energy of fire is conducive to psychic visions, always use candles with care and place then safely in candle holders.
Mirror gazing,
black mirrors are easiest to use because they don’t slop about like water (at least not under normal circumstances!).
They are expensive to buy but very easy to make.
Spray the back of the glass from a cheap clip frame with a couple of coats of black enamel paint.
Make sure the glass is spotlessly clean before you do so as any little marks may spoil your concentration when you come to use it.
Once the paint is completely dry, return the glass to the frame.
Bless the mirror if you wish to and treat it with the respect due to any magical object.
It can be kept hanging on the wall or put away after use, wrapped in a natural material like silk or cotton.
If you prefer something a little more fancy, charity shops are excellent hunting grounds for interesting frames.
The size of the mirror is not important, although if you are just learning the technique, a larger surface area will probably prove easier to use.
I would also avoid too elaborate a frame on a small mirror as it may distract you.
When gazing into a mirror, with all lights turned out you enter a trance preparing you for scrying work, it acts as a focal point for visualisation and can become a doorway into the astral plane.
The dark mirror allows communication with higher realms, and the subconscious access to the Akashic Records.
View your past lives by gazing into the mirror and watching your face change shape, and your hair change style and colour.
Each time you try this, the images become more refined and detailed, allowing you to gain a clearer picture of your history.
Spirit energy can also be perceived while gazing into the mirror, some people find this a little daunting the first time they try this.
A black scrying mirror is a powerful psychic tool, offering the user hidden knowledge and clairvoyant ability, it can also be a portal to other planes of existence.
The hidden mysteries of oracular temples and the ancient rites of the magick mirror and the techniques that were practiced are again coming to light.
A further use of this art is to communicate with another person, such as a magical partner, especially if they live a long way away and you cannot meet very often.
Each person should have their own mirror, dedicated solely to this purpose.
Ideally the mirrors should be identical and made by the people involved on an occasion when they are together, to ensure the closeness of the link.
When separated both people look into the mirror at an agreed time and a good psychic channel of communication can be set up.
With practice, it becomes possible to call the other person to the mirror if you really need to talk to them at a time when you have not agreed to meet.
Egyptian Dream Scrying,
used by the ancient Egyptian priests and priestesses as part of their initiation ceremony.
Water would be placed in a large black bowl, after entering into an altered state the Initiate gazed into the vessel and the Initiates destiny was revealed.
To use the Egyptian Dream scrying technique you must observe absolute silence once the sun sets, until after you have finished scrying. Drink only water before you begin and shower or have a bath, after which you are to use olive oil on your temples.
After bathing and before you begin scrying light a candle.
Next write on a plane white piece of paper with black ink the purpose of your Dream scrying, and the name of a dream god.
Morpheus and Thoth are both dream gods.
Draw an image of the dream god on your left palm, sit comfortably and gaze at the candle flame.
Look at the image on your palm and call upon the dream god of your choosing by saying the name of the god, then recite after the name “I invoke through the silence of night awakened power of dreams divine.”
You then focus on your question and blow out the flame of the candle.
After this climb into bed and go to sleep, when you awaken write down your dreams and decipher the messages.
Symbols are subjective, and interpretation is peculiar to the diviner, a crystal will offer a clear picture of a symbol or symbols, they can be messages from spirit energy nearby.
You will likely find that over time, and after symbols are repeated, you begin to get a sense of what they mean and the message becomes clear.
There are traditional interpretations that some scryers use, however over time it is likely that you will create your own, until that time you may wish to try these;
Blue clouds: Career or business success.
Gold clouds: The chance of a new romance, a flow of cash, prosperity.
Grey clouds: Dark gray — Black; Sadness, disappointment, ill fortune.
Green clouds: Happiness and good health.
Orange clouds: Unresolved emotions, suppressed anger and aggression.
Red clouds: Be aware of what is going on around you.
Silver clouds: Some difficulty ahead which will be overcome leading to happiness.
White clouds: Good fortune awaits.
Yellow clouds: Be patient and strong there are obstacles to come.
Stones used for scrying
Apophyllite: This stone allows us to see into the future after gazing into it.
Diamond: Suitable for all types of scrying.
Obsidian: This is a black power stone that aids us in accessing the subconscious mind.
Scrying is a magical art with many possibilities.
Exactly what it is and how it works is for each individual practitioner to decide for themselves, but it will certainly enhance and focus both the psychic and creative abilities of the magician who is drawn into dark pools to find the bright treasure of secret knowledge.
The act of scrying is related to the Moon and lunar energy that is why it is always best to practice after dark.
When within your home and before you begin, extinguish electric lights and work by candlelight.
Experiment with where and how you like to work, and always place yourself in a calm and quiet environment to assure a successful session, you may also work with quiet music without lyrics.
For any type of divination a calm and meditative atmosphere is necessary, somewhere the scryer can feel unhurried, peaceful and calm, and are able to comfortably open up to the Divine Energy.
Today's definition and history lesson -
(That is my personal Scrying mirror IRL btw)
Scrying
Scrying is something all witches learn from a very tender age, it means to perceive or to reveal.
To scry you need a reflective surface to gaze into, this can be a crystal ball, a mirror, a candle flame or water.
It is an ancient technique used for the purposes of divination.
Many witches use a crystal ball or a crystal sphere which stimulates their psychically induced images.
You are the scryer and you are going beyond the conscious mind into a mystical place to gain information offered by the cosmos, our ancestor’s scryed using clouds by day, and the reflection of moonlight on water by night.
Nonphysical shapes and images appeared on the surface of the water, in mirrors, crystal balls, clouds and flames.
Sometimes what appears is symbolic or images from the past or future may be revealed.
It is up to the scryer to interpret what the images, or symbols mean and it is only through practice and the intuition of the scryer that accurate, informative and helpful messages and information are revealed.
Those who can scry anywhere anytime, are fortunate to have this magical skill, so long as they are able to switch it off at will and do not become completely distracted every time they see a shiny black surface.
For the rest of us there are many things we can experiment with to make scrying easier, and different things will work for different people. Scrying can be defined as the art of gazing into a dark mirror, water or crystal, going beyond the physical eyes and letting the inner psychic eye open allowing us to receive visions and information.
Scrying is a learned skill, just as riding a bicycle, or ice skating, practice is necessary, even with an innate talent, and as with any other learned skill, patience is needed during the learning curve.
When you first begin learning there will be times when you feel you have reached a point and are standing still, then there will be a shift of energy and a growth spurt will occur.
There will be sessions where things work well, and sessions where you feel nothing is coming through, but as you continue you will find that there are more highs than lows, and you will feel more comfortable as you progress.
Some people have a natural aptitude for scrying.
They only have to walk past a shallow puddle in the road, glance at a piece of black glass, admire the glossy fur of a black cat and numerous images flood into their minds.
Others have to spend days, weeks, months, even years, mastering this apparently simple technique, staring into elaborate black mirrors and seeing nothing but their own dark reflection — frustrating indeed — and of course, that very frustration makes things more difficult.
As with all magic, it needs to be taken seriously, but with a playful and curious state of mind.
Trying too hard is counterproductive.
One of the things which make scrying so hard for some people to do is that, like meditation, it requires an altered state of consciousness to be achieved, but with the eyes open.
In meditation, path working, and in parts of a ritual most people prefer to work with their eyes closed, this makes an altered state so much easier to reach and to maintain.
Over the centuries people have been eager to know what the future holds and have tried various mediums to gain the anticipated information that will guide them in their life, they can find out about their financial situation, their loved ones and relatives.
When there was no other form of communication, other than the written word carried by a messenger, or the spoken word, and people were away from loved ones, scrying was one way to keep an eye on those close.
The world was a much bigger place then and people could not traverse the world with the ease we do nowadays.
For centuries scrying has been practiced by adepts and novices alike, by witches, magicians, sorcerers, priestesses, priests, kings and queens, many different tools were used, sacred vessels, pieces of glass, bowls of water, crystal balls, crystals and so on.
What is revealed to the scryer is not always easy to distinguish and images, symbols or messages can be fuzzy, hazy and unclear.
Our Guardian Angels and Spirit Guides often offer us assistance when we are scrying, by way of symbols, messages any imagery.
We can consult with the God or Goddess energies and other deities, who can offer guidance through there infinite wisdom.
The future always holds many variables and the future revealed when scrying is influenced by our choices, universal shifts beyond our manipulations, and the action or inaction of those with whom we interact.
The predictably changeable quality of the future, can through practice become clearer as our skills are honed, and through careful and cautious study and contemplation of the symbols, images and messages received, effective choices can be made.
Thus our carefully calculated and implemented actions can holistically influence our destiny.
Witches are adept scryers and at a glance are able to discern and interpret what is revealed to them, in whatever form it is presented.
The earliest uses of crystals and gemstones comes from the Druids to gain knowledge of their future, the Scottish Highlanders referred to them as the “stones of power.”
During the middle ages crystal balls were considered precious items, and skilled scryers often passed them on to their apprentices.
Apache medicine men used clear quartz crystals to induce visions and the Yucatan scryers placed a mystical reverence on the clear quartz crystals.
The goddess Hathor carried a shield which reflected things in their true light, from this shield she was able to create the first magic mirror used for scrying.
The Ancient Persians used the Cup of Jamshid, along with wizards and those involved with occult practices, with this they were able to observe the seven layers of the universe.
The cup was filled with the elixir of immortality.
The ancient Celts and Greeks used beryl tools, crystal, black glass, water and clear quartz.
Romans used any shiny objects and crystals.
Nostradamus used a bowl of water for scrying as he gazed into this and saw into the future.
The Alchemists John Dee and Edward Kelley, used a crystal ball or polished obsidian.
Communication with Divine Energy takes place when someone is scrying, crystals have, are and will continue to be used for communication.
Crystals are favoured by diviners because of their symmetry and are important tools for all those who practice the art of scrying.
When selecting a stone we should choose one that first draws us and refracts light well, pick it up and see how it feels, close your eyes and get a sense of the energy it is emitting, decide whether it feels right for you.
If the first one does not then try the same thing again with another crystal, keep doing this until you find one that you feel in tune with and know you can work with.
The traditional way to care for the crystal or crystal ball, was to never expose it to sunlight because sunlight inhibits the connection with the psychic mind and blurs the communication with the Divine Energy.
Moonlight was thought to provide the correct energy by charging the crystals with the energy of the Moon.
Scrying is something that becomes easier through practice and it is found that those who are practiced in the art tend to see the same symbols and symbolic images, each time they scry.
Therefore once correctly interpreted, the symbols can be quickly and readily understood in the context of the reading.
In order to scry successfully it is necessary to allow the intuition free reign and to trust our psychic vision.
Scrying can also help us to divine our dreams and use the knowledge to enhance our life.
Through scrying we are able to tap the wisdom offered by the Akashic Records which contains the experience and knowledge of all mankind, past present and what is held for our future.
Once we enter this realm normal time restrictions do not apply, it means we have reached a place where there are no time limitations.
Often witches scry inside a magic circle to avoid being distracted by outside influences which distort the visions, it is better to scry at night as psychic vibrations are more easily received.
Night offers the most suitable energy for any form of divination, and those who are skilled in the art of scrying will only do so after the sky is dark and the white noise of the day has lessened.
Witches use their scrying abilities to find a lost object, this is done by holding a crystal pendant over a map where the object is thought to be lost, the more energetically the pendant swings the closer you are to the lost item.
When the crystal pendant has located the object it will pull down to the specific point on the map.
Whatever instrument you use to scry with you will be tapping your Clairvoyant abilities, images will be projected into your crystal ball, crystal sphere or whatever it is you have chosen to work with.
It is the psychic eye that projects the images allowing you to see them and be able to interpret the messages.
From this vantage point you are able to tune into the past, present and the future, and we are able to see beings from other dimensions.
With practice and patience we are able to communicate with these beings from other dimensions, whether they be Angels, Nature Spirits, relatives who have passed over, or Spirit Guides.
People often find that they have a particular connection, or spiritual link with people with whom they have been linked and who are acting as teachers.
Through scrying and the tapping of the Collective Unconscious we are able to not only see (Clairvoyance), but to hear (Clairaudience) which is hearing with our psychic ear.
Through scrying and the burning of fragrant oils, scented candles and incense, we stimulate our psychic sensing (Clairsentience).
This is where our psychic senses are heightened letting us tune into our feelings using this vital psychic sense.
If we think of ourselves as spiritual beings encased in a physical body we can then believe in the Divine Light within everybody and then tap into the wise inner being within us all.
There is a vast amount of information floating around the cosmos and scrying assists us in tapping this readily available information.
We all carry within us hidden and unprocessed information which through scrying can be accessed and used to enhance our lives.
Images seen when we scry, offer us ancient information passed onto us from the experiences of the people from that particular time.
Information can be given through images given by Nature Spirits, Angels, Spirit Guides or ancient ancestors, even deceased relatives offer guidance.
Eventually after much practice, as soon as you see something in your crystal ball, mirror or water reflection, your mind will quickly interpret words and impressions.
You may actually feel something physically, such as tingling in the fingers and toes, or a prickling sensation on top of the head, sometimes it may feel as though your face is being touched, this is to do with the energies you are accessing.
Through scrying you are able to travel back in time to view your past in this lifetime, you can then project forward and view what you will be doing in the future, viewing the people you are to meet, and the places you are to go.
As you move backward and forward in time you experience the space where time has no relevance.
Although when you move backward and forward you are in the space of no time, you can if you choose to gauge the time of when the future events are to take place.
When symbols are presented to us during scrying, even though we may not understand at first, what the meaning is, there is within us, somewhere down deep inside, where we retain the clairvoyant ability to interpret the meaning.
Symbols, and the profound information they contain, will be shown more often once you develop your clairvoyant abilities, this is due to the fact that symbols offer information that is deeper and more spiritual.
A crystal ball will reveal detailed images more readily than the flame of a candle, and as your clairaudient ability becomes stronger you will be able to distinguish the messages you are given more readily.
Clairaudience requires that we speak with gentleness and understanding when reading for others and revealing information that comforts and helps. When scrying with a crystal ball psychic touch operates as a generator to our psychic energies, transmitting psychic impressions, there is an energy field around anything you use to scry with, much as human beings have an auric field.
It is important to use our own judgement regarding the validity and the appropriateness of the information we receive.
While at the same time being acutely sensitive to the querent’s emotional wellbeing, and whether they are strong enough to receive all, or just some of the information received.
Sounds often trigger impressions, fragrances, tastes, images and senses and can transport us to another time and place.
Crystals are amplifiers, they receive and transmit energy assisting the one who is scrying.
To be able to scry successfully, dedication and patience is needed, and if your psychic abilities have not yet surfaced, you may find that scrying can awaken that which is within you waiting to be revealed.
Once the symbolism has been revealed to you, and you have acquired sufficient understanding to interpret the symbols, scrying will become a more natural form of divination.
If you find that it is too difficult to awaken your abilities through scrying, put it aside for a time and try the Viking Runes, or the Tarot, this may be an easier way to begin your journey.
You can always go back to scrying as you become more in tune with your abilities.
To crystal scry successfully do so at night, as night rules the psychic mind and the energies are conducive to psychic phenomenon.
Create a space in your home where you can sit comfortably, and have somewhere to place your crystal, or crystal ball.
Always light a candle, or candles before you begin, making sure that candles are placed safely in suitable candle holders, and away from any flammable object or material.
Allow yourself to enter a relaxed state by closing your eyes and taking several deep breaths, when you open your eyes touch the crystal, or crystal ball until it feels warm, by doing this you are connecting your energy to the energy of the stone.
The heat activates the stone and you are becoming as one with the instrument you will be using, thus allowing the psychic energy to flow.
Before beginning to scry, and while touching the stone it is important to contemplate the intention of the reading, being as clear and concise as possible.
By sending out a clear message or thought, tuning in to the necessary psychic energies will begin.
You are now ready to gaze into the crystal, or crystal ball, at this point you are going beyond the conscious mind and entering a place of psychic awakening, where you will be receptive to messages, images or symbols that may be revealed to you.
As you gaze into the stone imagine your mind merging with the energy of the stone and being encased by the light within the stone.
As you do this you will feel the energy shifting, go beyond any physical images as the reflective light of the stone links you with the Divine Energy, enhancing your psychic vision.
When you feel as one with the Divine Energy, absorb the impressions and insights that come to you, your senses will heighten and your inner psychic ear will be acutely aware of sound.
Relax into this energy and feel it flow through you.
While scrying information can come to you via all five senses, and will not necessarily be visual, sometimes it is just a sense of, or there may be flashes of intuition that you instantly understand the meaning of.
How you receive the information is not as important as how you interpret it, when you review what you have perceived during your scrying, do so in a non-logical way.
As you are learning, limit your sessions by giving yourself a specific amount of time in which to work, begin with ten minute sessions and work up from there.
You are aiming for a session of forty five minutes in length, in this time you enter an altered state of awareness leading to acute psychic receptivity.
The most common techniques for scrying are;
Water gazing,
dark water is a good way to start, not least because it is easily available and costs nothing.
A pool can be lovely to scry in, though I would recommend sitting or kneeling down to do so, since it is very easy to forget what your body is doing once your mind becomes absorbed, and it is somewhat undignified to fall into the (possibly stagnant) water at a moment of great revelation.
A black bowl filled with water is another method and has the advantage of being safe and suitable for indoor use.
Tap water is fine, but spring water will probably work better.
Perhaps the best kind of water to use is Moon water: spring, rain or sea water which has been placed in the Moonlight every night for a whole lunar cycle.
The water can be blessed in whatever way you feel is appropriate, possibly dedicated to one of the Moon goddesses who rule such activities as these.
An alternative to using a black bowl is simply to use any dish but to darken the water with black ink.
The old witch in her cottage would doubtless have done her scrying in a bubbling cauldron of stew or in the water boiling in an iron pot ready to make up some herbal brews.
Crystal gazing,
always use a clear crystal, one you have chosen for the specific purpose of scrying, and only use it for this purpose, this is the most popular form of divination.
It is to be a crystal that draws you and one that feels comfortable to the touch, place it on a table in front of you.
Do your deep breathing until you are completely relaxed, make sure you have a lit candle behind your crystal then touch the crystal.
When scrying with a crystal you may turn it to view different images, crystals are conductors of energy, able to send and receive signals. Once you have become attuned to your crystal you will receive a wealth of information, through thoughts, images, symbols, senses, supernatural beings, or loved ones.
Older crystals have a higher frequency and are able to keep records of ancient knowledge.
As you gaze at your crystal you are looking at the window of the crystal and while you work the crystal will bring into balance the body, mind and spirit.
When you and your crystal link frequencies you will intuitively receive information that is relevant, sometimes when gazing into the crystal shapes will move and change before your eyes.
Fire gazing,
flame of a candle can produce some dramatic and startling results as the energy of fire is conducive to psychic visions, always use candles with care and place then safely in candle holders.
Mirror gazing,
black mirrors are easiest to use because they don’t slop about like water (at least not under normal circumstances!).
They are expensive to buy but very easy to make.
Spray the back of the glass from a cheap clip frame with a couple of coats of black enamel paint.
Make sure the glass is spotlessly clean before you do so as any little marks may spoil your concentration when you come to use it.
Once the paint is completely dry, return the glass to the frame.
Bless the mirror if you wish to and treat it with the respect due to any magical object.
It can be kept hanging on the wall or put away after use, wrapped in a natural material like silk or cotton.
If you prefer something a little more fancy, charity shops are excellent hunting grounds for interesting frames.
The size of the mirror is not important, although if you are just learning the technique, a larger surface area will probably prove easier to use.
I would also avoid too elaborate a frame on a small mirror as it may distract you.
When gazing into a mirror, with all lights turned out you enter a trance preparing you for scrying work, it acts as a focal point for visualisation and can become a doorway into the astral plane.
The dark mirror allows communication with higher realms, and the subconscious access to the Akashic Records.
View your past lives by gazing into the mirror and watching your face change shape, and your hair change style and colour.
Each time you try this, the images become more refined and detailed, allowing you to gain a clearer picture of your history.
Spirit energy can also be perceived while gazing into the mirror, some people find this a little daunting the first time they try this.
A black scrying mirror is a powerful psychic tool, offering the user hidden knowledge and clairvoyant ability, it can also be a portal to other planes of existence.
The hidden mysteries of oracular temples and the ancient rites of the magick mirror and the techniques that were practiced are again coming to light.
A further use of this art is to communicate with another person, such as a magical partner, especially if they live a long way away and you cannot meet very often.
Each person should have their own mirror, dedicated solely to this purpose.
Ideally the mirrors should be identical and made by the people involved on an occasion when they are together, to ensure the closeness of the link.
When separated both people look into the mirror at an agreed time and a good psychic channel of communication can be set up.
With practice, it becomes possible to call the other person to the mirror if you really need to talk to them at a time when you have not agreed to meet.
Egyptian Dream Scrying,
used by the ancient Egyptian priests and priestesses as part of their initiation ceremony.
Water would be placed in a large black bowl, after entering into an altered state the Initiate gazed into the vessel and the Initiates destiny was revealed.
To use the Egyptian Dream scrying technique you must observe absolute silence once the sun sets, until after you have finished scrying. Drink only water before you begin and shower or have a bath, after which you are to use olive oil on your temples.
After bathing and before you begin scrying light a candle.
Next write on a plane white piece of paper with black ink the purpose of your Dream scrying, and the name of a dream god.
Morpheus and Thoth are both dream gods.
Draw an image of the dream god on your left palm, sit comfortably and gaze at the candle flame.
Look at the image on your palm and call upon the dream god of your choosing by saying the name of the god, then recite after the name “I invoke through the silence of night awakened power of dreams divine.”
You then focus on your question and blow out the flame of the candle.
After this climb into bed and go to sleep, when you awaken write down your dreams and decipher the messages.
Symbols are subjective, and interpretation is peculiar to the diviner, a crystal will offer a clear picture of a symbol or symbols, they can be messages from spirit energy nearby.
You will likely find that over time, and after symbols are repeated, you begin to get a sense of what they mean and the message becomes clear.
There are traditional interpretations that some scryers use, however over time it is likely that you will create your own, until that time you may wish to try these;
Blue clouds: Career or business success.
Gold clouds: The chance of a new romance, a flow of cash, prosperity.
Grey clouds: Dark gray — Black; Sadness, disappointment, ill fortune.
Green clouds: Happiness and good health.
Orange clouds: Unresolved emotions, suppressed anger and aggression.
Red clouds: Be aware of what is going on around you.
Silver clouds: Some difficulty ahead which will be overcome leading to happiness.
White clouds: Good fortune awaits.
Yellow clouds: Be patient and strong there are obstacles to come.
Stones used for scrying
Apophyllite: This stone allows us to see into the future after gazing into it.
Diamond: Suitable for all types of scrying.
Obsidian: This is a black power stone that aids us in accessing the subconscious mind.
Scrying is a magical art with many possibilities.
Exactly what it is and how it works is for each individual practitioner to decide for themselves, but it will certainly enhance and focus both the psychic and creative abilities of the magician who is drawn into dark pools to find the bright treasure of secret knowledge.
The act of scrying is related to the Moon and lunar energy that is why it is always best to practice after dark.
When within your home and before you begin, extinguish electric lights and work by candlelight.
Experiment with where and how you like to work, and always place yourself in a calm and quiet environment to assure a successful session, you may also work with quiet music without lyrics.
For any type of divination a calm and meditative atmosphere is necessary, somewhere the scryer can feel unhurried, peaceful and calm, and are able to comfortably open up to the Divine Energy.
A New Vision for Dreams of the Dying
This is a really great article, it’s just a bitch to repost from their page layout.
Anyhow, here is the link - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/health/dreams-dying-deathbed-interpretation-delirium.html?_r=0
Enjoy!!
This is a really great article, it’s just a bitch to repost from their page layout.
Anyhow, here is the link - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/health/dreams-dying-deathbed-interpretation-delirium.html?_r=0
Enjoy!!
Interesting thoughts...
Let's continue our exploration of the relationship between the incarnate self (the ego) and the higher self.
We begin by taking a step back to look at the overall picture of human mentality.
First, there is the conscious ego of the incarnate personality.
Then there is the subliminal self (as F.W.H. Myers called it), which includes both the subconscious and the superconscious.
The subconscious — dubbed "George" by Arthur Ellison, who compared it to the autopilot of an airplane — is a programmable faculty that can access information and provide creative breakthroughs when properly instructed.
It functions largely as an information retrieval service and as a way of organizing information.
The superconscious is the total intelligence of which the earthly incarnation is only a small part.
It is typically difficult to access while we are incarnate.
Perhaps because the brain serves as a kind of filter, most of the knowledge and wisdom of our higher self or super-consciousness is denied to us during our earthly journey.
On rare occasions, some individuals do enjoy brief, tantalizing, life-changing direct access to the superconscious.
Such episodes are known as instances of "cosmic consciousness," as described by Maurice Bucke.
For the most part, our exposure to the superconscious is limited to bits and pieces that manage to bleed through whatever barrier ordinarily blocks them; it seems that the subconscious serves as a backdoor access route to the superconscious in these cases, and the material often reaches us in dreams or reveries.
The superconscious is what I've called the diamond (an image that's not original with me, having been used by the channeled entity Silver Birch, among others). Our incarnate ego-consciousness is one facet of the diamond.
The diamond has many facets, each representing a distinct incarnate personality, which collectively can be described, somewhat inaccurately, as a series of "reincarnations."
Together these various personalities and their experiences make up the total self.
But — and here is where it starts to get interesting — the total self is also interacting with other selves, other diamonds.
We see evidence of this interaction in the work of hypnotic regression therapists such as Michael Newton who bring patients to a "between lives" state.
In this condition, the patient appears to identify not with the incarnate ego but with the higher self.
She typically remembers multiple incarnations while understanding her true self to be distinct from any of them.
She also remembers the process of learning from each incarnation and choosing the conditions of her next incarnation.
And the patient invariably describes herself — i.e., her higher self — as one member of a group of colleagues who are all engaged in the same kind of exploration. In fact, intense emotional bonds form among these various higher selves; hypnotically regressed patients would frequently break down in tears when reunited with their "between lives" friends.
So the diamond is not an isolated thing.
Unlike Simon and Garfunkel, it would not sing, "I am a rock, I am an island ..." Instead it is part of a community of souls all striving for advancement and needing to advance together.
To extend the diamond imagery, we can imagine these various diamonds as parts of a continuous chain — a diamond bracelet or necklace, so to speak.
The total string of diamonds, which may be unimaginably vast, presumably equals the totality of consciousness in existence and is therefore equivalent to "God."
Now here's the tricky part.
The diamonds exist outside of our space-time cosmos.
They are not bound by temporal linearity.
So what they will do, they have already done, and what they will become, they already are.
The journeys undertaken by the component psyches have all been accomplished, and the stringing-together of the diamonds into an unbroken strand has already been done.
But the journeys were and are necessary to inform the diamonds.
And the journeys were and are bound by linear time.
In other words, we can look at the situation from two very different perspectives — the perspective of linear time, with which we are personally familiar, and the perspective of existence outside of time, about which we can only speculate.
Our own perspective, as incarnate beings here on earth, is limited, while the perspective of the total self is unlimited or at least radically less limited.
And each perspective is correct in its own terms.
Previously in this blog, we've talked about the brilliant 19th century satire Flatland, by Edwin Abbott, which compares the limited perspective of a two-dimensional being to the more advanced perspective of a three-dimensional being.
Flatland is directly relevant to the issue we're facing here.
From a Flatland perspective we are engaged in a long ongoing journey, but from a higher perspective we have already completed the journey.
And yet the journey was necessary in order to make the perfection of the diamond possible.
What we're talking about is a strange loop, a tangled hierarchy, a hand drawing itself, a snake swallowing its own tail, a Mobius strip.
The end is implicit in the beginning; the beginning contains the end.
Like the time traveler who saves his ancestor's life and thus ensures that he will be born, the perfected diamond directs the journeys that will make possible its own perfection.
I admit that there is no way to fully grasp this, inasmuch as it would require a higher dimensional level of understanding, which we as incarnate beings simply don't have.
That doesn't mean it's not true, any more than the third dimension (height) is untrue just because Flatlanders can't perceive it.
I suppose this is where faith comes in — faith in the original sense of "trust" (the ancient Greek word ispistis).
We have to trust that there are not only quantitatively but qualitatively different levels of reality and of consciousness, and that at higher levels the paradoxes and mysteries that presently bedevil us will dissolve.
We can say, then, that the higher self both is and is not God.
And the incarnate self both is and is not God.
From a timeless perspective, in which everything has been accomplished, the incarnate self is part of the higher self which in turn is part of God, and therefore the incarnate self partakes of God.
But from a space-time perspective, the incarnate self is still busy informing and perfecting the diamond — the facets have not yet been polished to a high shine — and the diamond has not yet linked up with the other diamonds, because it is not yet ready.
So from a Flatland vantage point, the incarnate self is on a journey to become a polished facet of the diamond, and the diamond in turn is on the journey to become one facet of God.
But from a more elevated perspective, these journeys have already been completed and the incarnate self already is — and always has been — a polished facet of the diamond, which already is (and always has been) a facet of God.
Since we cannot really grasp a non-Flatland perspective except as intellectual abstraction, we cannot quite "see" the diamond chain as a completed fact.
To us, if we intuit its reality at all, it is a work in progress.
But this is a feature of our limited perspective.
If we were able to grasp higher perspectives of consciousness, we would see the whole matter quite simply — just as the hero of Abbott's Flatland, the redoubtable Mr. A. Square, saw everything with startling new clarity when he was lifted up, quite against his will, into Spaceland and observed his two-dimensional home from a height for the first time.
Perspectives in consciousness
Let's continue our exploration of the relationship between the incarnate self (the ego) and the higher self.
We begin by taking a step back to look at the overall picture of human mentality.
First, there is the conscious ego of the incarnate personality.
Then there is the subliminal self (as F.W.H. Myers called it), which includes both the subconscious and the superconscious.
The subconscious — dubbed "George" by Arthur Ellison, who compared it to the autopilot of an airplane — is a programmable faculty that can access information and provide creative breakthroughs when properly instructed.
It functions largely as an information retrieval service and as a way of organizing information.
The superconscious is the total intelligence of which the earthly incarnation is only a small part.
It is typically difficult to access while we are incarnate.
Perhaps because the brain serves as a kind of filter, most of the knowledge and wisdom of our higher self or super-consciousness is denied to us during our earthly journey.
On rare occasions, some individuals do enjoy brief, tantalizing, life-changing direct access to the superconscious.
Such episodes are known as instances of "cosmic consciousness," as described by Maurice Bucke.
For the most part, our exposure to the superconscious is limited to bits and pieces that manage to bleed through whatever barrier ordinarily blocks them; it seems that the subconscious serves as a backdoor access route to the superconscious in these cases, and the material often reaches us in dreams or reveries.
The superconscious is what I've called the diamond (an image that's not original with me, having been used by the channeled entity Silver Birch, among others). Our incarnate ego-consciousness is one facet of the diamond.
The diamond has many facets, each representing a distinct incarnate personality, which collectively can be described, somewhat inaccurately, as a series of "reincarnations."
Together these various personalities and their experiences make up the total self.
But — and here is where it starts to get interesting — the total self is also interacting with other selves, other diamonds.
We see evidence of this interaction in the work of hypnotic regression therapists such as Michael Newton who bring patients to a "between lives" state.
In this condition, the patient appears to identify not with the incarnate ego but with the higher self.
She typically remembers multiple incarnations while understanding her true self to be distinct from any of them.
She also remembers the process of learning from each incarnation and choosing the conditions of her next incarnation.
And the patient invariably describes herself — i.e., her higher self — as one member of a group of colleagues who are all engaged in the same kind of exploration. In fact, intense emotional bonds form among these various higher selves; hypnotically regressed patients would frequently break down in tears when reunited with their "between lives" friends.
So the diamond is not an isolated thing.
Unlike Simon and Garfunkel, it would not sing, "I am a rock, I am an island ..." Instead it is part of a community of souls all striving for advancement and needing to advance together.
To extend the diamond imagery, we can imagine these various diamonds as parts of a continuous chain — a diamond bracelet or necklace, so to speak.
The total string of diamonds, which may be unimaginably vast, presumably equals the totality of consciousness in existence and is therefore equivalent to "God."
Now here's the tricky part.
The diamonds exist outside of our space-time cosmos.
They are not bound by temporal linearity.
So what they will do, they have already done, and what they will become, they already are.
The journeys undertaken by the component psyches have all been accomplished, and the stringing-together of the diamonds into an unbroken strand has already been done.
But the journeys were and are necessary to inform the diamonds.
And the journeys were and are bound by linear time.
In other words, we can look at the situation from two very different perspectives — the perspective of linear time, with which we are personally familiar, and the perspective of existence outside of time, about which we can only speculate.
Our own perspective, as incarnate beings here on earth, is limited, while the perspective of the total self is unlimited or at least radically less limited.
And each perspective is correct in its own terms.
Previously in this blog, we've talked about the brilliant 19th century satire Flatland, by Edwin Abbott, which compares the limited perspective of a two-dimensional being to the more advanced perspective of a three-dimensional being.
Flatland is directly relevant to the issue we're facing here.
From a Flatland perspective we are engaged in a long ongoing journey, but from a higher perspective we have already completed the journey.
And yet the journey was necessary in order to make the perfection of the diamond possible.
What we're talking about is a strange loop, a tangled hierarchy, a hand drawing itself, a snake swallowing its own tail, a Mobius strip.
The end is implicit in the beginning; the beginning contains the end.
Like the time traveler who saves his ancestor's life and thus ensures that he will be born, the perfected diamond directs the journeys that will make possible its own perfection.
I admit that there is no way to fully grasp this, inasmuch as it would require a higher dimensional level of understanding, which we as incarnate beings simply don't have.
That doesn't mean it's not true, any more than the third dimension (height) is untrue just because Flatlanders can't perceive it.
I suppose this is where faith comes in — faith in the original sense of "trust" (the ancient Greek word ispistis).
We have to trust that there are not only quantitatively but qualitatively different levels of reality and of consciousness, and that at higher levels the paradoxes and mysteries that presently bedevil us will dissolve.
We can say, then, that the higher self both is and is not God.
And the incarnate self both is and is not God.
From a timeless perspective, in which everything has been accomplished, the incarnate self is part of the higher self which in turn is part of God, and therefore the incarnate self partakes of God.
But from a space-time perspective, the incarnate self is still busy informing and perfecting the diamond — the facets have not yet been polished to a high shine — and the diamond has not yet linked up with the other diamonds, because it is not yet ready.
So from a Flatland vantage point, the incarnate self is on a journey to become a polished facet of the diamond, and the diamond in turn is on the journey to become one facet of God.
But from a more elevated perspective, these journeys have already been completed and the incarnate self already is — and always has been — a polished facet of the diamond, which already is (and always has been) a facet of God.
Since we cannot really grasp a non-Flatland perspective except as intellectual abstraction, we cannot quite "see" the diamond chain as a completed fact.
To us, if we intuit its reality at all, it is a work in progress.
But this is a feature of our limited perspective.
If we were able to grasp higher perspectives of consciousness, we would see the whole matter quite simply — just as the hero of Abbott's Flatland, the redoubtable Mr. A. Square, saw everything with startling new clarity when he was lifted up, quite against his will, into Spaceland and observed his two-dimensional home from a height for the first time.
Haunted history...
We tend to think of poets as gentle souls wandering the road less traveled by and contemplating the majesty of Grecian urns, but since roughly the 6th Century A.D. they’ve been in a knock-down, drag out fight with philosophers over death, fortune, and the vagaries of human existence.
Sadly the philosophers are winning, as the poets starve because nobody buys poetry unless they’re trying to impress us.
Yet the poets, undaunted, boldly fight on with the battle cry, “They say the shadows are the place to hide/But listen/No one looks into the sun” or some such pithy bit of eloquence by a poet whose name I can’t recall, since as I said, nobody actually buys poetry.
Tragically they then also pass out from lack of adequate nutrition.
Still, the poets struggle on.
Poets and philosophers have no doubt been at loggerheads since the invention of their respective job descriptions, but open warfare erupted with a shot across the bow by the philosopher Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (or just Boethius to his friends and people who worry about trivialities like word counts).
Boethius (480—524 A.D.) had the misfortune to be around while the Western Roman Empire was busy disintegrating, born right after the last Roman Emperor was deposed, and serving as a public official for the Ostrogothic Theodoric the Great, the latest ruler of Italy and regent of the Visigoths.
Barbarian kings can be a tad fickle, so Theodoric wound up imprisoning and eventually executing poor Boethius on largely trumped up conspiracy charges in 524 A.D.
From his dark and dismal jail cell, awaiting the axeman, Boethius musing on his change of fortune penned one of the more popular books of the Dark Ages, The Consolation of Philosophy.
And the message was clear.
Screw poets.
In this extended allegory, Boethius, with the aid of the Muses of Poetry is wallowing in misery and lamenting on the bit of nastiness fate has served up to him when Lady Philosophy arrives, tells him to suck it up and declares the evil of error running riot and the folly of any contemplation but that of reason, saying “If this band when warring against us presses too strongly upon us, our leader, Reason, gathers her forces into her citadel, while the enemy are busied in plundering useless baggage.
As they seize the most worthless things, we laugh at them from above, untroubled by the whole band of mad marauders, and we are defended by that rampart to which riotous folly may not hope to attain” (Boethius, Consolations, Bk.1).
Thus, Lady Philosophy argues that one should only contemplate ill fortune and unexplained turns of events in the glaring light of philosophical reason.
The central theme is the acceptance of adversity in the spirit of philosophical detachment, and that the only consolation is not in emotion, but logic.
Pretty stoic for a guy about to get his head chopped off.
Yet, the poets, faced with an insane universe rail on, despite the protestations of a few of their traitorous own that give comfort to the enemy, such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who once said, “The Helicon of too many poets is not a hill crowned with sunshine and visited by the Muses and the Graces, but an old, mouldering house, full of gloom and haunted by ghosts”.
Is this not what poets are for?
To offer the possibility of some sort of gestalt that explains the inexplicable, articulates the inarticulatable, and bridges the many gaps in our experience, abundantly evident when reason fails.
This is why I have a particular fondness for strange phenomena reported by poets.
I realize it’s a very specific fetish, but who better to contemplate something outside the confining bounds of regular experience, to attempt to apprehend that which defies reason.
Put on your beret, follow me down to the coffeehouse, and hear now the tale of Alice and Phoebe Cary.
American poet Alice Cary (1820-1871) and her sister and fellow poet Phoebe Cary (1824-1871) were poetic prodigies, jotting down critically acclaimed verses (effusively praised by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Rufus Wilmot Griswold, and Horace Greeley) beginning in their teens.
They were raised just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, eventually migrating to New York City where they were prominent figures in the literary and social scene, busily hobnobbing with prominent figures of the era from P.T. Barnum to suffragist and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
The Cary family (Phoebe and Alice had seven other brothers and sisters), a moderate bunch of fairly liberal and reform-minded Universalists lived on the 27 acre Clovernook farm in North College Hill, Ohio, purchased by their father Robert in 1813.
In 1832, they decided it was time to build a new house in full view of their old house, and a few days before they were to take up permanent occupancy in their brand-spanking new domicile, a bizarre incident occurred (Alice Cary related the story directly to the noted spiritualist Robert Dale Owen, and Phoebe Cary’s niece Ada Carnahan similarly recounted it in a biography of her aunt).
It was late in the afternoon, a sudden thunder-shower which had brought Robert Cary (the father) in from the field had driven every one under shelter, but the storm was over and the sun shining when one looking across the hollow saw a woman with a child in her arms standing in the open door of the new house, and called the attention of the others by asking how Rhoda and Lucy came to be over there and how the door of the new house came to be open.
Rhoda was the third daughter, fifteen years of age, and Lucy a child of two.
But even as they were talking, Rhoda joined them and the child Lucy was found to be playing within.
By this time all the household were out gazing at the apparition, which at last was seen to walk back into the house and disappear.
Robert Cary started out to see what it was.
Keeping the house in sight and seeing no one leave it, he found the door open, but found nothing more.
Diligent search upstairs and down, on the clean floor or soft soil without, discovered no footprints or other signs of human presence.
Within the first year of their occupancy of this new house, Rhoda and Lucy died within a few weeks of each other, carried off by a virulent fever…When the fact is added that the child Lucy has been seen to flit about the old farmhouse (the last time a few years ago, when a boy who had been guarded from a knowledge of the story came running with a white, scared face, saying: “There’s a little girl up-stairs in a red dress”) it will be seen that the belief of Alice and Phoebe Cary in the supernatural began before modern Spiritualism was talked of (Prince, 1928, p133-134).
Why an entire family should witness and faithfully attest to observing the apparitions of two living daughters (who were standing next to them) in an unoccupied house defies explanation, finds no susceptibility to logic or reason, yet has to be understood in some way, as the poetry of the universe, speaking to us about some as of yet unidentified relation between our past, present, and future — this is eloquently captured in Phoebe Cary’s most revered poem, “One Sweetly Solemn Thought”.
And I say to the poets, “Rock on,” for as noted by Greg Bear, “Once, poets were magicians. Poets were strong, stronger than warriors or kings – stronger than old hapless gods. And they will be strong once again”.
But can somebody please feed them?
References
Boethius, d. 524. The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius. London: E. Stock, c1897.
Carnahan, Ada. “Phoebe Cary”. The Ladies’ Repository v48 (July). Boston: A. Tompkins, 1872.
Prince, Walter Franklin, 1863-1934. Noted Witnesses for Psychic Occurrences: Incidents And Biographical Data, With Occasional Comments. Boston, Mass.: Boston society for psychic research, 1928.
The Poetry of Anomalies:
Haunting Verses with Alice and Phoebe Cary
“A poet’s work…to name the un-namable, to point at frauds, to take sides,
start arguments, shape the world and stop it from going to sleep”
— Salman Rushdie
We don’t work for philosophy…
Haunting Verses with Alice and Phoebe Cary
“A poet’s work…to name the un-namable, to point at frauds, to take sides,
start arguments, shape the world and stop it from going to sleep”
— Salman Rushdie
We don’t work for philosophy…
We tend to think of poets as gentle souls wandering the road less traveled by and contemplating the majesty of Grecian urns, but since roughly the 6th Century A.D. they’ve been in a knock-down, drag out fight with philosophers over death, fortune, and the vagaries of human existence.
Sadly the philosophers are winning, as the poets starve because nobody buys poetry unless they’re trying to impress us.
Yet the poets, undaunted, boldly fight on with the battle cry, “They say the shadows are the place to hide/But listen/No one looks into the sun” or some such pithy bit of eloquence by a poet whose name I can’t recall, since as I said, nobody actually buys poetry.
Tragically they then also pass out from lack of adequate nutrition.
Still, the poets struggle on.
Poets and philosophers have no doubt been at loggerheads since the invention of their respective job descriptions, but open warfare erupted with a shot across the bow by the philosopher Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (or just Boethius to his friends and people who worry about trivialities like word counts).
Boethius (480—524 A.D.) had the misfortune to be around while the Western Roman Empire was busy disintegrating, born right after the last Roman Emperor was deposed, and serving as a public official for the Ostrogothic Theodoric the Great, the latest ruler of Italy and regent of the Visigoths.
Barbarian kings can be a tad fickle, so Theodoric wound up imprisoning and eventually executing poor Boethius on largely trumped up conspiracy charges in 524 A.D.
From his dark and dismal jail cell, awaiting the axeman, Boethius musing on his change of fortune penned one of the more popular books of the Dark Ages, The Consolation of Philosophy.
And the message was clear.
Screw poets.
In this extended allegory, Boethius, with the aid of the Muses of Poetry is wallowing in misery and lamenting on the bit of nastiness fate has served up to him when Lady Philosophy arrives, tells him to suck it up and declares the evil of error running riot and the folly of any contemplation but that of reason, saying “If this band when warring against us presses too strongly upon us, our leader, Reason, gathers her forces into her citadel, while the enemy are busied in plundering useless baggage.
As they seize the most worthless things, we laugh at them from above, untroubled by the whole band of mad marauders, and we are defended by that rampart to which riotous folly may not hope to attain” (Boethius, Consolations, Bk.1).
Thus, Lady Philosophy argues that one should only contemplate ill fortune and unexplained turns of events in the glaring light of philosophical reason.
The central theme is the acceptance of adversity in the spirit of philosophical detachment, and that the only consolation is not in emotion, but logic.
Pretty stoic for a guy about to get his head chopped off.
Yet, the poets, faced with an insane universe rail on, despite the protestations of a few of their traitorous own that give comfort to the enemy, such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who once said, “The Helicon of too many poets is not a hill crowned with sunshine and visited by the Muses and the Graces, but an old, mouldering house, full of gloom and haunted by ghosts”.
Is this not what poets are for?
To offer the possibility of some sort of gestalt that explains the inexplicable, articulates the inarticulatable, and bridges the many gaps in our experience, abundantly evident when reason fails.
This is why I have a particular fondness for strange phenomena reported by poets.
I realize it’s a very specific fetish, but who better to contemplate something outside the confining bounds of regular experience, to attempt to apprehend that which defies reason.
Put on your beret, follow me down to the coffeehouse, and hear now the tale of Alice and Phoebe Cary.
American poet Alice Cary (1820-1871) and her sister and fellow poet Phoebe Cary (1824-1871) were poetic prodigies, jotting down critically acclaimed verses (effusively praised by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Rufus Wilmot Griswold, and Horace Greeley) beginning in their teens.
They were raised just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, eventually migrating to New York City where they were prominent figures in the literary and social scene, busily hobnobbing with prominent figures of the era from P.T. Barnum to suffragist and abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
The Cary family (Phoebe and Alice had seven other brothers and sisters), a moderate bunch of fairly liberal and reform-minded Universalists lived on the 27 acre Clovernook farm in North College Hill, Ohio, purchased by their father Robert in 1813.
In 1832, they decided it was time to build a new house in full view of their old house, and a few days before they were to take up permanent occupancy in their brand-spanking new domicile, a bizarre incident occurred (Alice Cary related the story directly to the noted spiritualist Robert Dale Owen, and Phoebe Cary’s niece Ada Carnahan similarly recounted it in a biography of her aunt).
It was late in the afternoon, a sudden thunder-shower which had brought Robert Cary (the father) in from the field had driven every one under shelter, but the storm was over and the sun shining when one looking across the hollow saw a woman with a child in her arms standing in the open door of the new house, and called the attention of the others by asking how Rhoda and Lucy came to be over there and how the door of the new house came to be open.
Rhoda was the third daughter, fifteen years of age, and Lucy a child of two.
But even as they were talking, Rhoda joined them and the child Lucy was found to be playing within.
By this time all the household were out gazing at the apparition, which at last was seen to walk back into the house and disappear.
Robert Cary started out to see what it was.
Keeping the house in sight and seeing no one leave it, he found the door open, but found nothing more.
Diligent search upstairs and down, on the clean floor or soft soil without, discovered no footprints or other signs of human presence.
Within the first year of their occupancy of this new house, Rhoda and Lucy died within a few weeks of each other, carried off by a virulent fever…When the fact is added that the child Lucy has been seen to flit about the old farmhouse (the last time a few years ago, when a boy who had been guarded from a knowledge of the story came running with a white, scared face, saying: “There’s a little girl up-stairs in a red dress”) it will be seen that the belief of Alice and Phoebe Cary in the supernatural began before modern Spiritualism was talked of (Prince, 1928, p133-134).
Why an entire family should witness and faithfully attest to observing the apparitions of two living daughters (who were standing next to them) in an unoccupied house defies explanation, finds no susceptibility to logic or reason, yet has to be understood in some way, as the poetry of the universe, speaking to us about some as of yet unidentified relation between our past, present, and future — this is eloquently captured in Phoebe Cary’s most revered poem, “One Sweetly Solemn Thought”.
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er;
Nearer my home today am I
Than e’er I’ve been before.
Nearer my Father’s house,
Where many mansions be;
Nearer today, the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea.
Nearer the bound of life
Where burdens are laid down;
Nearer to leave the heavy cross,
Nearer to gain the crown.
But lying dark between,
Winding down through the night,
Is the deep and unknown stream
To be crossed ere we reach the light.
Father, perfect my trust!
Strengthen my pow’r of faith!
Nor let me stand, at last, alone
Upon the shore of death.
Be Thee near when my feet
Are slipping o’er the brink;
For it may be I’m nearer home,
Nearer now than I think.
(Phoebe Cary, One Sweetly Solemn Thought, 1852)
One wonders what sort of illuminating results we would produce, if only we could encourage more poets to become ghost hunters.Comes to me o’er and o’er;
Nearer my home today am I
Than e’er I’ve been before.
Nearer my Father’s house,
Where many mansions be;
Nearer today, the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea.
Nearer the bound of life
Where burdens are laid down;
Nearer to leave the heavy cross,
Nearer to gain the crown.
But lying dark between,
Winding down through the night,
Is the deep and unknown stream
To be crossed ere we reach the light.
Father, perfect my trust!
Strengthen my pow’r of faith!
Nor let me stand, at last, alone
Upon the shore of death.
Be Thee near when my feet
Are slipping o’er the brink;
For it may be I’m nearer home,
Nearer now than I think.
(Phoebe Cary, One Sweetly Solemn Thought, 1852)
And I say to the poets, “Rock on,” for as noted by Greg Bear, “Once, poets were magicians. Poets were strong, stronger than warriors or kings – stronger than old hapless gods. And they will be strong once again”.
But can somebody please feed them?
References
Boethius, d. 524. The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius. London: E. Stock, c1897.
Carnahan, Ada. “Phoebe Cary”. The Ladies’ Repository v48 (July). Boston: A. Tompkins, 1872.
Prince, Walter Franklin, 1863-1934. Noted Witnesses for Psychic Occurrences: Incidents And Biographical Data, With Occasional Comments. Boston, Mass.: Boston society for psychic research, 1928.
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I recently underwent a relatively minor - but surprisingly painful - outpatient surgical procedure.
I spent the next two days crashed out at my parents house in a haze of Percocet, Zofran, and Ibuprofen.
On day three I stopped the narcotics, preparing myself to return to work.
But the pain didn't stop.
I spent day three on the couch, certain that once I got past 72-hours post-op, the swelling would subside and the pain would cease.
But the pain didn't stop.
Days four and five were a complete loss.
The incision site, near the base of my tailbone, ached with any movement; I missed two days of work because I couldn't walk without feeling as though someone was stabbing my spine.
I couldn't sit upright in a chair without a wave of pain crashing over me with such strength that it made me nauseous.
So I spent those days crashed out on my own couch, still unwilling to take narcotics, curled up with Aleve and a heating pad, guilt-ridden about missing work and generally feeling sorry for myself.
On the morning of day six, I called the doctor's office, and spoke to the nurse.
"I thought it would be almost completely better after day 5 post-op," I said, worried.
"And it is better, but it's still really painful."
I had it firmly implanted in my brain that my recovery would only take five days.
I have no idea where this number came from, but I clung to it desperately, a life-preserver of hope in a sea of discomfort.
"Oh, no," she said, startled.
"No, I think you've got another week or so left to go. Most patients with surgery at that site say it takes about two weeks before they're feeling better."
~
I spent day six profoundly depressed.
I turned off my phone; I ignored my overflowing inbox.
I missed a lunch with some co-workers, too depressed to get out of bed and into the shower.
I watched seven hours of television on YouTube, all shows about trauma care and the ER: "An Hour To Save Your Life," "Baghdad ER," "Real ER 911: The Bronx."
Eventually I took one more Aleve, wrapped myself up in a blanket, and fell asleep.
~ ~ ~
I woke up at 10pm, a normal time for me, as a night-shifter, to wake up when I "sleep in."
I sat up at the edge of the bed, and it hurt.
The pain was still there, and now I was angry.
I was tired of being in pain.
I was tired of missing work, missing the outside world, missing sessions at the gym, missing hikes in the mountains.
I was angry at myself for undergoing an elective procedure for something that had just been annoying, and was now acutely painful.
I was angry at myself for not planning this better; I was irrationally angry at my surgeon for not telling me that I should schedule a solid two weeks off from work.
In retrospect I realize she probably did tell me this, and I hadn't listened.
I was angry that the pain was interfering with the life that I'd built up around me, a life that I loved living.
~
As soon as the thought formed itself wholly in my brain, I froze in my steps, halfway to my kitchen.
This was pain.
This was what my patients in the ER were feeling.
I'd had no idea.
~ ~ ~
It was a moment of intense revelation in a year of profound revelations, a year that has completely changed my practice as an ER nurse.
I saw terrible things in Sierra Leone.
I saw adults die, bleeding out slowly in the dark, cold and alone.
I saw children die, locked with seizures.
I saw mothers holding their infants, watching their children die in their arms of malnutrition, starvation, malaria, Ebola.
I saw some of the worst suffering the world can inflict upon humans.
After four months of work in Sierra Leone I quit my job and flew to Belgium, locking myself away in a tiny, medieval tourist town.
I walked.
I ate fresh fruit and waffles.
I slept.
I walked some more.
In many respects I was extremely lucky.
I did not suffer nightmares, as did many of my colleagues.
I did not suffer debilitating panic attacks, or hallucinations, or anything more than a mild culture shock (I needlessly flushed the toilet a lot, solely because I could, and took dreadfully, wastefully, decadently long showers).
And as I meandered the narrow cobblestoned streets one cloudy afternoon, I happened to glance up at a series of façades above some windows across the street.
With a start, I realized they were the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy, the foundation upon which I decided, long ago, to define myself as a nurse.
I stared up at the carvings for a long, long time.
What I realized that day is something I've struggled to articulate for the better part of a year.
It is an awareness broken into two separate pieces.
First, the majority of the humans I meet for the rest of my life, especially here in the United States, will never attain awareness of the type of suffering I bore witness to in West Africa.
Here, isolated on our enormous, relatively homogenous, monolingual and tremendously wealthy continental island, we will likely never be subjected to an epidemic that leaves us dying by the hundreds in the street, or to starvation so severe our children die in our arms.
Most people here will never have this awareness because they cannot acquire it here.
In some ways, this is not their fault; it is instead a quirk of geography.
And luck.
Second, without visceral awareness of global suffering, the only suffering people can comprehend is their own.
And without a wide barometer, an ingrown toenail becomes a situation for tears and a panic attack.
A three-hour wait to be seen becomes "medical neglect" and a threat of a lawsuit.
A refusal to refill a "lost" narcotic prescription becomes "deliberate torture."
These reactions are clearly out of proportion - but the only awareness people have of suffering is their own.
You cannot teach someone the relative degrees of suffering.
And thus, you must understand them on their own level.
~ ~ ~
I still haven't articulated this well.
I may never be able to.
It is incredibly frustrating when my words fail me.
The "annoying" parents in room 30 are very young, uneducated, and frightened because they don't understand why their infant is crying.
They are annoying because they love their child.
Since when is love annoying?
The drunk in room 21 doesn't want to get sober, or get off the street.
He smells terrible and always asks for food and juice.
But he drinks because whatever he has endured in his life is so painful that it is better to be drunk and homeless than sober and in despair.
Since when is despair a reason to mock someone?
The woman in the wheelchair in room 9 speaks with a broad southern accent, and doesn't understand how her diet affects her diabetes, and why her blood sugar is so high.
She never finished high school, and cannot read above a fourth-grade level.
The tech mocks her accent within the patient's range of hearing.
Since when is a lack of education a reason for cruelty?
~ ~ ~
It is naive to believe that an ER can run solely on niceness, and I do not harbor such naiveté.
We face patients who are violent, cruel, rude, threatening, manipulative, and simply dangerous.
We are mandated to save the lives of humans who have willfully killed other humans.
We are hit, kicked, spit on, pissed on, shat on, and verbally and sexually harassed.
We cannot be nice to everyone, or we would lose our minds.
But this does not mean we should be unkind to everyone in return.
~ ~ ~
My revelation about the relativity of suffering, first planted on a cold sidewalk in Belgium and nurtured over the past year, has changed me completely.
The temper that flared and raged in me is almost gone.
Just...gone.
I am kinder to my patients.
I am fortunate enough to work in an ER where I can take time to listen longer, ask more questions, do more teaching.
I am far from perfect, and I mess up and get frustrated every single shift I work.
But I am no longer angry, or cruel.
And I work with, and have worked with, nurses and doctors who are cruel.
One particular physician is so burned out that he leaves his patients in tears, every shift.
Just as I cannot teach my patients the relative degrees of suffering, neither can I teach it to my coworkers.
But I can take this awareness I bought, at hard cost in the jungle along the equator, and pay its dividends to every human that I can, to every patient I have the privilege and duty to care for.
~
And that brings me back to pain.
I stood frozen in the hallway, partway to the kitchen, hurting, desperate for a cup of coffee and some waffles.
And thought, holy shit.
This is what pain means.
Pain means that life suddenly stops.
Life is you knew it, as you liked it, as you wanted it, has changed.
Sometimes it changes for a few hours, sometimes for a few days, or two weeks.
But sometimes it changes forever.
Pain means you can't think, you can't concentrate.
You can't study for your certs, or read your fascinating but complex book from the library.
You can't even focus long enough to write a thoughtful e-mail, or make a reasonable phone call.
Pain is so distracting that you are reduced to being simply an observer, a seven-hour-watcher-of-YouTube, instead of a participant in your own life.
Pain becomes the central focus of your world, the only thing that matters.
You will do anything to get it to stop.
You will take some of the strongest, most dangerous drugs in the world, drugs that make you vomit, make you stupid, make you constipated, make your lungs slow down to lethal levels, to get it to stop.
You just want it to stop.
The subject of pain, and how we treat it in the US, is so much more complex than I care to address here.
It ties to the failures of our tattered healthcare system, a opiate epidemic that is decimating communities and exhausting emergency responders across the country, a national culture of blame that refuses to care for our most vulnerable populations.
But, at least for me, it unlocked yet another door to help me better understand my patients.
My pain, at its very worst, was maybe a 7 out of 10.
I have never experienced 10 out of 10 pain.
I hope I am fortunate enough that I never have to.
My pain will stop eventually.
My life will resume as it was before, probably even better than it was.
But the empathy I gained, though again bought at cost to myself, is priceless.
Because without empathy, or even simple sympathy, we no longer see our patients as humans.
And the moment we no longer see the human beneath the pain, the drugs, the booze, the broken leg, the heart failure, the obesity, the anxiety, the condition that has brought them to our door in the middle of the night – that is the moment we are no longer caregivers.
And that is the moment we need to walk away.
The raven is sometimes known as "the wolf-bird."
Ravens, like many other animals, scavenge at wolf kills, but there's more to it than that.
Both wolves and ravens have the ability to form social attachments and they seem to have evolved over many years to form these attachments with each other, to both species' benefit.
There are a couple of theories as to why wolves and ravens end up at the same carcasses.
One is that because ravens can fly, they are better at finding carcasses than wolves are.
But they can't get to the food once they get there, because they can't open up the carcass.
So they'll make a lot of noise, and then wolves will come and use their sharp teeth and strong jaws to make the food accessible not just to themselves, but also to the ravens.
Ravens have also been observed circling a sick elk or moose and calling out, possibly alerting wolves to an easy kill.
The other theory is that ravens respond to the howls of wolves preparing to hunt (and, for that matter, to human hunters shooting guns). They find out where the wolves are going and following.
Both theories may be correct.
Wolves and ravens also play.
A raven will sneak up behind a wolf and yank its tail and the wolf will play back.
Ravens sometimes respond to wolf howls with calls of their own, resulting in a concert of howls and calls.
Sources: Mind of the Raven, Bernd Heinrich, The American Crow and the Common Raven, Lawrence Kilham
Photo: Bob Whitney
Wolves and Ravens — Rainforest wolves can successfully catch over 200 salmon in a single evening of fishing.
VIDEO Raven: "The Wolf-Bird"
[video=youtube;mhyCsyFp1H8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mhyCsyFp1H8[/video]
Now there is scientific evidence that having a cat is good for you.
The Healing Power of Cat Purrs
Those crazy cat ladies might be onto something. According to today’s infographic, our feline friends provide us with more than just emotional support. House cats may actually be contributing to our physical well-being. When a cat purrs within a range of 20-140 Hertz, nearby humans may be therapeutically benefiting from these vibrations. Purring has been linked to lowering stress, decreasing symptoms of Dyspnoea, lessening the chances of having a heart attack, and even strengthening bones.
Pet therapy is apparently gaining momentum in many medical communities, and according to Animal Planet’s website, there is scientific research that suggests pet owners live longer than those without pets.
It seems that our own animals have the ability to relieve us of our troubles, or at least make our worries seem less important. The bond between pets and their owners may never be fully understood (cats in particular have always struck me as magical and mysterious—and now they have healing powers?!) but it’s nice to know having a furry confidant around can add years to our lives.
The Healing Power of Cat Purrs
Those crazy cat ladies might be onto something. According to today’s infographic, our feline friends provide us with more than just emotional support. House cats may actually be contributing to our physical well-being. When a cat purrs within a range of 20-140 Hertz, nearby humans may be therapeutically benefiting from these vibrations. Purring has been linked to lowering stress, decreasing symptoms of Dyspnoea, lessening the chances of having a heart attack, and even strengthening bones.
Pet therapy is apparently gaining momentum in many medical communities, and according to Animal Planet’s website, there is scientific research that suggests pet owners live longer than those without pets.
It seems that our own animals have the ability to relieve us of our troubles, or at least make our worries seem less important. The bond between pets and their owners may never be fully understood (cats in particular have always struck me as magical and mysterious—and now they have healing powers?!) but it’s nice to know having a furry confidant around can add years to our lives.