Categories
Tools and Tips

Time and Our Relationship with the Stars

Dear Being Energy Community

One of the most fascinating concepts of the ancients is the concept of time.  We focus on time this week because it is something that seems to be escaping us, outside of our grasp. So we want to pause and reflect on the implications this concept has on cultivating awareness and shifting to new perspectives.

People living in Mesoamerica, for thousands of years, understood time differently that we do today. Instead of a linear sequence divided in seconds, minutes and hours, that moves from past to present and then to future, they saw time as cycles. They understood human beings as part of an ever-changing universe and our connection to all.

One example of this concept is demonstrated by the way the Maya predicted and understood the world in which they lived.  They created a complex calendar system that included three interconnected circular calendars. They recognized that the natural world, the cosmos, and even their own bodies functioned according to observable cycles. They recognized that the celestial bodies within these cycles emanated energy, forces that informed human perception. To locate themselves within these cycles the Maya tracked the movements of planets, the moon, the sun, and very important to them, Venus.  They devised a complex system to determine the energetic potential and possibilities of every moment on earth (Click here to read more about the Mayan calendar).

People of Europe in the 15th century provide another example of this concept of a relationship to the stars, relying on astronomical cycles for harvesting, planting, getting married, etc. An example is conveyed in the Clock of Prague that includes astronomical dials.

People knew then, based on the position of the celestial bodies in the sky, that there were more propitious moments for a variety of human affairs. The clock of Prague, which contains an astrolabe, a continual display of the sun, moon, stars and planets, demonstrates the importance of these observations on a daily basis.

By connecting to the cosmos and the motions of the celestial bodies, we can expand our notion of time. The seers of Don Juan’s lineage asserted that it is energetically essential for human beings to realize that the only thing that matters is our journey of awareness, our relationship with the universe.

There is much more to reflect and say about this, but we leave it to you to send us your comments and questions to further explore this topic. For now we would like to invite you to take action, to bring a NEW idea of time to your own home.

We would like to invite you to bring some stars inside your home as a guide to understanding the importance of circularity and cycles around us. Most of us live in rooms with 4 walls, lacking the movement and fluidity of cycles, which limits our perception and emphasizes the syntax of linearity.

This is what Carlos Castaneda taught us to do and what we have been practicing for years.

  • Draw the FOUR phases of the moon, each phase on a separate piece of paper: First quarter moon, Full moon, Last quarter moon, and New moon.
  • Be creative!
  • Hang them on the four walls of your bedroom or living area in the following way: New moon on the South wall (South pole), Last quarter moon on the West wall (setting sun), Full moon towards on the North wall (North pole) and First quarter moon on the East wall (rising sun).

Over the next lunar cycle, take note of any changes in your thoughts or actions towards the Sun, Moon and stars in the sky.  What’s new?  Do you see anything differently?

We have followed this suggestion of Carlos Castaneda for many years and as an example, it has changed our spatial and conceptual perception. We all live in square rooms and apartments and we have developed a greater sense of circularity.  This sense of cycles immediately connected us to nature and to the cosmos.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences,

Aerin & Miles

*Image courtesy of Theilr, under CC license

Categories
Community

Beth Hartley in the Spotlight

Dear Being Energy Community:

My name is Beth Hartley and I am currently an Alaska Statewide Mentor, a position funded by the State of Alaska and run by the University of Alaska to support beginning teachers that have moved to teach in rural Alaska.

The vision of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project (ASMP) is that every student in Alaska has the benefit of a great teacher. The mission is to give new teachers the support they need to succeed. Not only are these young adults new to teaching, they are new to village culture and the unusual exigencies of living in rural Alaska, often partly off the grid (inclusive of “honey buckets” i.e., indoor, rustic, non-flush toilets).

The resiliency the teachers demonstrate as they rise to the, often, unexpected demands of teaching in the bush is truly inspiring, even as I help wipe away tears, shoulder burdens that can’t be shared otherwise, and still praise and push their practice on behalf of the village students that depend on them for academic success.

I have lived 25 years in Alaska – an adventure from the start! I came up as a Bilingual/ESL (English as a second language) specialist and trainer serving villages around the state then settled into the larger community of Anchorage to serve as a bilingual/ESL teacher and specialist, and finally to “retire” to take this new position with the State.

Aside from my primary work, I love to work as a Special Olympics Alpine Ski Coach, and as a driver for the Horse Drawn Carriage Company; both great ways to stay active in the blustery winter months.  James, my partner, and I love to travel the world and experience new places, people and cultures in our “free” time. World travels – along with moving to Alaska – have been dreams manifested.

Which brings me to the practice of Being Energy and the legacy that engendered it. As I have reflected and dreamed in our Path with Heart classes, I have come to realize that my work as a mentor is serving as a recapitulation of my career; that I have accessed intent and intent has accessed me to move me in this direction, cleaning up my path and dusting my link with intent along the way to make me most suitable for service to this unique constellation of students and teachers. Participating in the various classes provided by Being Energy has also provided a network of friends and resources all over the world – one of the best gifts a “warrior traveler adventurer” could ask for!

Categories
Tools and Tips

How do You Love?

Dear Being Energy Community: 

How do you Love? Where in your body do you find the feeling of Love?

We asked these questions and more in our first class of the new Path with Heart Series: “The Art of Moving the Assemblage Point: Jumping Grooves” as part of our exploration to assemble new perceptions and awareness.

Seers of ancient Mexico recognized that our ability to perceive the physical and the abstract occurs through a center of cohesion, which they called “the assemblage point.” They understood that we interpret the world through thought-feeling patterns that govern our behaviors and color our perceptions.

When the assemblage point shifts, we are able to transcend our usual states of consciousness to experience new levels of awareness. “Jumping grooves” is the shifting to new positions of the assemblage point. How we shift, by assembling our perception of ourselves and the world is an art that can be learned.

Don Juan told Carlos Castaneda one day, while hiking in the Sonoran desert that, “…we (human beings) are an awareness encased in our hearts”. LOVE or AFFECTION, as Carlos Castaneda preferred to call it, is a powerful unifying force that acts to bind our awareness, and it influences our physical, emotional and cognitive development. It is a guiding force that causes us to act intelligently, from confidence and it is one of the most powerful tools for moving the assemblage point.

The feeling of love, belonging, compassion, understanding, affection, fondness, warmth, care, friendship, tenderness, all of the above, can shift the assemblage point, can help us transcend fears, resentment, and pain.

Take action:
We continue in the upcoming classes to individually explore and to look in depth at the question, “HOW DO I LOVE?” It becomes a way that we can track how this force manifests in ourselves, in our day-to-day actions.

Specifically:

  • Find three actions that you will do daily, this week that will become an expression, a manifestation of LOVE
  • Notice how the consistent practice of these three actions will not only move your assemblage point, but also sustain that position of unconditional LOVE.

We invite you to share the results of your experiences in the Comments Section below

Have a loving week!