Eternal Universal Oneness

   Many spiritual traditions around the world use sacred rituals to worship the Eternal Life-giving Power to manifest wholeness or healing. Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of Analytical Psychology, was a firm believer that being in touch with sacred powers helped overcome all types of problems and addictions.  If we lack spiritual insight or focus, then we are living in a karmic reality over which we are not exercising any control. Karma, in simple terms, oddly, can be summed up by Newton’s third law of physics: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” While karma is traditionally a part of Hinduism, it is manifest in all of our lives. This is because each and every one of us is interconnected at the subconscious level.

   Despite tremendous diversity among approaches to the sacred, all these practices have a strong thread of continuity. Sacred Mother Nature / Father Creator helps us heal and harmonize our inner energies by becoming whole. It is truly not important what we trust or believe; God - Mother/Father is Eternal Universal Oneness. This Creative and Sacred energy is everywhere and we are children of that Source. That means we are a “universal family” regardless of who we are, where we live, what we believe, etc. Any action we take, even our thoughts, are reflected upon the Greater Oneness.

   If we think back to the Neolithic period of the Goddess Culture, we see that it also demonstrates the Principle of Polarity and its impact upon the Greater Oneness. Jung called this the “Unus Mundus” or One World. The Goddess Bird/Snake was described as self-created. She hatched the Cosmic Egg (feminine principle) with the Snake (masculine principle) surrounding it. This principle governs everything in creation and is expressed in many philosophies, traditions, and science. Polarity and karma are inseparable since karma is the reaction to an action. That means there must be movement, which requires the energy that exists between two opposite poles.
  

 Jung’s conception of human nature is to be found in opposites:  “...the concept of energy implies that of polarity since a current of energy necessarily presupposes two different states, or poles, without which there can be no current. Every energic phenomenon consists of pairs of opposites: beginning and end, above and below, hot and cold, earlier and later, cause and effect, etc. The inseparability of the energy concept from that of polarity also applies to the concept of libido."

  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), says that the Supreme Ultimate arises from the movement between opposites Yin-Yang which is fundamentally Non-Polar. The Yin-Yang circle represents the relaxation (black) of Yin which is expressed as the intelligence of the feminine, and the activity (white) of Yang which is expressed as the intellect of the masculine. They spring forth from the five transformational energies.

  

  The entire mental and physical world or mind-brain theory is based on the concept of duality. Inside each person, it exists on many levels. For example, we cannot contain just the mind or just the body alone. A bodiless mind we usually call a soul, the spiritual seed of a man, and a body without a soul we call a corpse. We regard ourselves as alive when we have both of these components. Because duality exists in every aspect and structure of our universe, spiritual transformation always includes a disconcerting reorientation. As a result, throughout human history, people have had underlying fear-based beliefs regarding self-acceptance and belonging. Pythagoras said: “...if there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.” We need all these concepts to communicate with each other. C. Jung sums it up best: "Wholeness is not achieved by cutting off a portion of one’s being but by integrating the contraries..."
  

  Our growth generally involves three stages of development:
1. Initial phases of the spiritual life that bring us moral law and habit;
2. Higher-minded stability, continuing growth, and an increasing desire for full union with the family and community;
3. Personal awareness of being, but not solely identified with that experience. One sees oneself as the entirety of being, or nothing, or just awareness.   

  These stages are not perfectly linear, because they are influenced by two systems or divisions of consciousness: vertical and horizontal. They also tend to mirror our spiritual and physiological development stages: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
  

  It is important to note that age is not simply measured in the years a person has existed in the world in their present life.  Sure, a 60-year-old has, or at least, should have, accumulated much greater worldly knowledge than a 20-year-old. However, age is not limited to this physical realm. Souls come and go from one incarnation to another. There are no age groups associated with what a person has learned during their reincarnations. Nor is it a sum of rebirths that they have experienced. Living in a physical body, we are meant to learn certain things through playful games, as we pass through the three stages of development mentioned previously. 

   An interesting factor is how we view and create our reality.  We usually express ourselves as traditional living models, which is part of the horizontal or vertical human reality, or polarities.  Our perception of the world is who we become. Gary Zukav, an American spiritual teacher and author, states, "...reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think.”
 

  Humans are dualistic thinkers. For example, if there is quantity, there must also be quality.  We use psychological reasoning that consists of horizontal and vertical thinking.  Horizontal thinking is more broad, and an approach that usually involves fulfilling ambitions or desires to expand.  It is about solving problems using an indirect and creative approach.
  On the other hand, vertical thinking is more narrow and tends to go deeper. It is more hierarchical and academic. Communication between these two different modes of thinking is sometimes difficult. But, it is important to note that brilliant minds are not stuck on just one axis. There are many examples of “chain thinking” in which an individual or group uses both.

  Does gender affect whether we are vertical or horizontal in our thinking? The answer is no. Polarities are not linked to, nor influenced by masculine or feminine brain differences. They go beyond that. As mentioned, polarity and duality are fundamental laws and binary systems in Mother Nature. One cannot exist without the other. They are described as the “feminine” and the “masculine”, opposite but interconnected forces. 

  Masculine energy is directed, goal-oriented, productive, outward-thrusting, and acts like a positive magnetic pole. It takes charge and does, rather than simply being. It corresponds with linear, left-brained thinking. Feminine energy embodies creativity and healing in its nature and is more nourishing. It is process-oriented, unstructured, and inward-drawing like a negatively charged magnetic pole. It corresponds with circular, right-brained thinking.

  What is the takeaway from all of this information? It is important to understand that polarity is only an expression of universal duality. Because it exists, so does karma, which affects everything in creation and is manifested in our physical reality. The asceticism in this assumes the form of a conflict between the aspiration for liberation and the heartfelt desire to continue what is earthly. It is also identified as the Self, consisting of a "lower self" or an Unconscious Self, and a "higher self" or Divine Self, which are contradictory to each other. Our consciousness is always trying to challenge us by pointing to "other existence" as the opposite. A karmic relationship is created within each one of us and affects all of the Greater Oneness through our connectedness. Maybe it is our mind that creates duality and opposites? 

  According to Jung: “Every good quality has its bad side, and nothing good can come into the world without directly producing a corresponding evil. This is a painful fact”.  In Vincent Brome, an English writer's Biography, one quote that was attributed to Carl Jung: “Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you” was rephrased as “Show me a great man and I will dismantle him for you.” 
 

  Jung believed in a Higher Self which is perceivable by everyone, and treated the patient from a dualistic perspective. His term ‘non-duality’, is the idea that every manifest thing is a manifestation of the One because it is a Unity that is ‘one’ in the arithmetical sense. Since numbers are archetypes of order, Jung suggests that the number One symbolizes non-differentiation. There the Highest Self represents the center of our psyche and signifies wholeness or our mental and physical health.
  

  Carl Jung said: “Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it… But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected and is liable to burst forth suddenly in a moment of unawareness. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.” We are dualistic beings. To achieve wholeness in our lives, we must accept all parts of ourselves that have been ignored or denied. Understanding the symbolic meaning of the conscious/unconscious, and the polarity of everything as Unity is a major step toward the attainment of meaningful living.

 Yours faithfully,
 HAC 

 

How Get My Eyes Fixed?

   Irmina has prodded me for some time now to write some more about my experience with Natural Vision Improvement (NVI).  I have been hesitant because my progress, until recently, has not been as encouraging as I felt it should be prior to writing about it and trying to sound like I’m an expert.  So let me start the discussion with that; I’m not a trained NVI coach or any kind of medical or eye doctor. And even though I am on the cusp of being able to say I have perfect sight, I’m not yet there. However, I am more than happy to share with you my experience and what I have learned from a great deal of research.

   Since you are asking about a corrective procedure,  let me describe my experience. I underwent a Refractive Keratotomy (RK) in 1983.  I had one of the best eye surgeons in the world, Dr. Richard Volk.  Since the procedure involved the reshaping of the cornea using a diamond-tipped scalpel, one eye at a time was done with a one-week period between eyes. That was a cautionary measure designed to ensure the health of the corrected eye before starting on the still-healthy, uncorrected one.  Yes, that’s right, I said healthy, uncorrected.  Poor vision in the vast majority of people is not caused by unhealthy eyes.  Myopia, hypermetropia, presbyopia, and the like are not diseases or deficiencies of the eyes. These conditions, as I now realize, are a result of how we have learned to use them and how we manage the stress that causes strain on them. The results of my RK procedure were remarkable; since no eye patch was required, I was reading street signs with unbelievable clarity on the way home with my brand-new 20/15 vision.  

   Once the painkiller and valium had worn off, it was extremely uncomfortable, but I didn’t mind. I now had a perfect vision just as I always knew that I would. But there was one thing nagging at the back of my mind; the extremely vivid warning from my eye surgeon that my eyes would regress; perhaps quickly, perhaps slowly. The procedure, he told me, would also not prevent the most likely onset of presbyopia as I aged.  But that was a bridge I decided to cross when I came to it. Seventeen years later I reached the bridge and I’m a bit embarrassed that it has taken me eighteen years to cross it.  Why? Because I accepted conventional wisdom and the warning of my eye surgeon when he said “…eventually you will need either an additional procedure or corrective lenses.”  I chose to wear glasses. After all, my real issues were reading the fine print on my airline tickets and seeing the monitors properly in the airport. And some issues with the computer screen.  I would just wear them as I needed; I was still better off than I was prior to the RK.

   My friend, once you start with glasses, it is like taking an addictive drug. You keep needing something just a bit stronger.  What good vision I had left spiraled downward and I soon was in glasses all the time. The nature of RK made it risky, I was told, to attempt further corrective procedures. By then, I was a bit jaded about the idea of another procedure that would leave me with poor vision again at some point down the road. Intuitively, I believed that there had to be a way to get my perfect 20/15 back. One of the things that convinced me of that was my clear flashes. Every now and then, I would turn my head or shift my position and suddenly, I would have a brief moment of clear vision! If that was happening, I knew that my eyes were capable of seeing clearly.  Then I discovered the world of Bates.

   Let me now return to the subject of correcting vision using surgical or other procedures. Want my advice? DON’T!!!  If you do, like me, you will be amazed at the clear vision you most likely will achieve. Keep in mind that there are risks, and you may be one of the few unfortunates for whom things don’t work out well. However, I’m not here to scare you out of doing it; I have heard of very few corrective procedures that turned out badly. With 100% percent surety, however, sooner or later, your vision problems will return. Why? Because you corrected the symptom, not the issue. As a martial artist and a yoga practitioner, you are familiar with exercising the power of your mind over your body. You can do so with your vision. If you want to learn more about the Bates Method, just google it and you’ll find a ton of information.  If you do opt for the LASIK, still research NVI; it can keep you from slipping into Presbyopia or regressing back into myopia. But if you do elect for LASIK, then you will have to deal with the side effects, one of the worst and most common is how your eyes handle light glare at night.  This can make night driving hellish; I say this because I experienced it. Regardless of the direction, you take, Godspeed in your search for perfect vision!

   This soundtrack was created by Irmina Santaika specifically for me to use as a meditation to correct my vision. I deliberately kept the narration in the video brief to allow more effective relaxation.  

   The ocean, porpoise, and whale sounds are soothing. The vocals are Sacred Sounds specifically made to stimulate the eyes and associated organs. The visualization that I describe in this video has been extremely beneficial in my natural vision improvement journey. 

   This is not a natural vision improvement method, but a technique that uses Sacred Sounds and visualization to help you release the strain that is responsible for poor vision. If you feel your eyes beginning to move on their own in a relaxed, easy fashion, this is a good thing. Don’t try to stop this movement, but also, do not try to induce it – just relax and allow it to happen. It is a sign of relaxation. It is a very slight and smooth movement, like small waves along a sandy beach. Do not confuse it with saccadic type movement of the eyes, it is a separate action. In addition to relaxation, you will need to learn to look with your mind, not your eyes. The mind will control the eyes without your intervention. Center your mind by imagining all light being focused on the center of your consciousness. As you relax and center, the light will begin to properly focus, over time, on your retinas.

Yours sincerely,

Ron