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December 04, 2004
Bach Flower Essences class!
I slept in until 11... still sick. Still detoxing from whatever's going on.
Checked out JFK University... they have a Holistic Studies program. Neat, aye?
Things continue to manifest so quickly... last night I was lusting after pizza, and I had made up my mind: today I would put a note in the kitchen suggestion box saying, "I know you folks only do pizza every week during the summer, but do you think you could do it at least once this quarter?"
Instead, today I ate pizza for lunch. The kitchen rocks!
Afterward, I checked in with someone about the meeting last night. I apologized because I felt like I got a bit confrontational with him. He in turn said he felt like he had been confrontational in general the whole time. We both let the other know that we didn't experience the other that way. And it was settled and clear.
So that was good practicing of conscious communication, I think. And it was that kind of little thing that it's so easy to just "let go" and never acknowledge, which sometimes works, but other times just festers. Why not take 5 minutes and demonstrate your commitment? Then there's no question, no room for negative thoughts. And you might get a hug afterward ;-)
Much love in the mail today. I knew I would get my new AC adaptor, but there was also a box from my aunt containing the pillow and sweater I left behind at Thanksgiving, and my first issue of Natural Home.
Neat advertisers, I looked at a few... likeHaiku Designs.
Love this platform bed, but think I could probably build it myself easily.
Also like these Edo Zen tables.
Lastly, this Integra Vision dishwasher from Bosch. Oh my god. Silent, no visible controls? I'll take five of them, please.
Before dinner was the Bach Flower Essences class, which was fantastic. After that, plus the previous experiences I had with them, I'm probably going to buy a set to start playing with.
I also absolutely need to get muscle testing and pendulum use under my belt. Here's the story... Surya offers two ways to prepare a dosage bottle of Essences: you can pick from a list with descriptions of each Essence, or she can use her pendulum to pick them. I've gone by the latter route both times.
The last time in particular, the pendulum indicated four different Essences; reading the descriptions, three seemed dead on, but one didn't seem to fit at all. But, "maybe they know something I don't" I thought and went with it.
So the handout Surya provides is one page with brief descriptions of the 38 Bach Flower Essences; at the class, we received five pages of information on those same 38, four of which were description. Reading this more detailed info, I found that the Essence that didn't seem appropriate is actually perfect. (Incidentally, of the four Flowers I'm using--picked to support the beginning stages of implementing the much mentioned Extra Fantastic Grand Master Plan 2.0--two are Depression Flowers and two are Anger Fowers. Hmm.)
Anyway, this more or less confirms it for me that the rational, thinking mind is more of a hindrance than a help when using some tools. I can also understand it via General Semantics:
The only way the mind begins to understand the effects of the Essences is by observing their effects either in the self or clients. This understanding, like the descriptions in handouts and books, constitutes a "map" of the "territories" comprising each Essence. Since the map cannot be the territory, our mind can never grasp all the effects and uses of even a single Essence.
The problem wasn't really the length or detail of the description, because for any given description (map) there will necessarily be aspects of the Essence (territory) that it doesn't cover, and the possibility always exists of encountering a situation in which those unknown aspects are precisely called for.
Hence, the necessity of relying on different ways of choosing Essences, such as the higher self (pendulums) or the body (muscle testing).
Of course, using either of those techniques requires getting out of one's own way. I have trouble getting out of my way. Pendulum use and muscle testing are like sitting zazen: if you're trying, you're not doing it; and if you're trying not to try, you're not doing it!
The Universe provides: Getting Out of Your Own Way Essence. It's not a Bach Essence, but if it can help me be in that place of allowing required to do the things I want to do... I'll take it! "Allowing" is required not only for pendulums and muscle testing, but also aura, chakra, other energy work, and who knows what else.
With Morningstar's Essence Guidance page, I also picked Indigo Sapphire Essence. I can see how it would apply, as pendulum use in particular seems to me like a Sixth Chakra/asking for guidance activity.
Few people really wanted to meet during dinner, so we put it off... by 7:30 or so, there were five of us forging ahead.
But before that I had some time to sit in the Kiva alone and sit with my feelings of disappointment. Something that came out of that was remembering that the Universe attends to itself, and that my particular vision, while it may be one way to shift the situation our class is in, is not required to address the issues.
Anyway, we'll see where things head tomorrow.
Posted by Josh A. at December 4, 2004 10:30 PM
Comments
I used to play with this game called the "Crystal Avatar" that used a pendulum Ouija Board-style, but I could never believe it because I knew I was making it move. Why do you believe the pendulum?
Posted by: Ari Moore at December 6, 2004 05:54 AM
The question isn't, "Am I making the pendulum move?" but "How am I making it move?" Am I working with detachment, or am I trying to influence the outcome? Am I trying too hard? Do I have limiting beliefs about "this pendulum stuff"? Am I connecting to a greater source of intelligence, or am I just plain disconnected in general?
For me it boils down to, "Am I in my own way or not?"
I like the idea that tools like pendulums helps us access our intuition (or, if you prefer, "higher self"... or even "guidance" from wherever you believe guidance comes from). Eventually, if used properly, they can help us train ourselves to hear our intuition well enough that we don't really need the pendulum anymore.
Anyway, I have seen pendulums and muscle testing both give better choices than using the mind alone both with myself and others. As well, I have seen them agree the assessments of others using other systems, such as interviewing, or diagnostic acupoints.
It can be difficult to think about, since our culture is often very mind-oriented... and not even the whole mind, but just some specific aspects of mind.
Posted by: Josh A. at December 6, 2004 11:46 PM
Oooohhhhhh. I guess all of that makes sense. I suppose the same should apply to the Ouija Board, as well. But in both situations, you have to trust the person holding the avatar -- I guess that's the clincher...
Posted by: Ari Moore at December 7, 2004 06:36 AM