The phrase that is said to contain the essence of Alchemy is “Solve et Coagula” which translates to “Dissolve and Build”. This can be seen as a loop of repetition but used in the proper way, is a spiral of evolution where there is continual refinement of substance. In this model, the inessential is dissolved to it’s basic elements and those raw materials are gathered and used to make a higher level creation.
Below is the recording of a talk I gave on this topic along with additional meanings of the Ouroborous and finally, using the power of the heart to drive Alchemical transformation on an emotional level. During the guided meditation at the end, there was one of the most powerful synchronicities that I have ever encountered. I had talked about the two energy flows of The Torus and how they can be seen as life on Earth reflected in one flow and Spirit reflected in the other. I had mentioned the Charles Ives piece “The Unanswered Question” as a brilliant example of this in music. During the guided meditation, there were some beeps that could have been distracting and there was soft, spiritual music playing the whole time so this literally recreated the Charles Ives piece and also fit perfectly with the theme of the meditation. This was not at all planned but was perfect!
Here are the timings of the subjects covered in this talk:
In this talk I explore the Three Essential Alchemical Elements including applying them to a number of different areas of life. As with most things in life, it’s about how to achieve balance with these elements rather than making any seem more important than any others.
Below is a talk I gave exploring the Three Essential Elements in Alchemy:
Here are the timings of the subjects covered in this talk:
In Alchemy, there are many elements that are discussed and several maps of transformation. This talk I cover the three fundamental Alchemical principles of Mercury, Sulfur and Salt as well as the four color phases of Black, White, Yellow and Red.
Below is a talk I gave on the Three Principle Elements in Alchemy and the Four Color Phase model of Alchemy:
Here are the timings of the subjects covered in this talk:
Many people know that Carl Jung was very open to the mystical and metaphysical and that had an impact on his model of Psychology. What most people aren’t aware of is that certain elements of Alchemy, especially imagery and language had an impact on even Freud in the development of Psychology and Psychotherapy.
Below is a talk I gave on how Alchemy served as a model for the development of early Psychology and Psychotherapy.
Here are the timings of the subjects covered in this talk:
This is the second talk I gave on The Emerald Tablet. In this talk I expand on what I had covered earlier in terms of polarity and geometry. The main area of focus of this talk is how the Seven Stages of Alchemy come out of The Emerald Tablet and, most importantly, how we can understand these phases and move through them in our every day lives.
This is a visual depiction of The Seven Stages known as Azoth of the Philosophers:
In this second I cover is how to work with the seven stages as a map as well as two big obstacles to completing a process, attachment and aversion.
In the history of Alchemy there are many great texts that focus on working with plants, metals, energy, psychology or spirit but I don’t believe that there is anything else quite like The Emerald Tablet. It’s brief and easily fits on one page but there is so much in it that can be pulled out and used. This post is the first in a series about The Emerald Tablet, with each focusing on a few elements and going into some depth with them.
The Emerald Tablet is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus who is a combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. There are many takes on the significance of this document and in this series of posts I will be sharing a number of principles that come out of the Emerald Tablet.
Below is a recording of a talk I gave and under it is a listing of the topics and timings if you would like to jump to a certain topic rather than watching the entire video which is 56:48 long.
I love exploring consciousness and most of my classes and workshops usually involve one or more meditative processes. The reason for this is that our states and stages of consciousness flow from the inside out. The best way to create physical reality as showing up differently or to activate or expand some potentials is to turn your attention within and then to make changes in the areas of subtle energy, consciousness, imagery, etc. and then see how physical reality shows up differently.
One key challenge is that the pace of modern life is more rapid and to create some degree of mental stillness and one pointed focus can be the cause of much difficulty and lack of enjoyment who are looking to make changes in this way. I have found a number of ways to help greatly increase mental stillness and enjoyment for even people who are new to meditation and I have seen massive changes in those who have applied the techniques.
A quality like mental quiet can be a great one to pursue and expand, but if we become attached to this idea, then it can cause difficulty. If we experience moments of great mental quiet and later have a mind that is very active, we can feel like we had something and then lost it. In our modern achievement focused culture we might feel like we were “succeeding” and then “failed” when our minds were not quiet.
I started meditating when I left home for college and just had a mat, zafu and Phillip Kapleau’s The Three Pillars of Zen. It was a great guidebook as a start and I was focused on my classes and didn’t have access to a live teacher.
After I was able to sit comfortably in the half lotus posture on my mat and zafu, I had some great sessions where I felt a great deal of peace where my mind felt naturally quiet. I was excited at the progress I was making but when things became more hectic with my college classes, it was more difficult for my mind to settle in to the meditation. The more my mind was active, the more frustrated I would become which then added to the activity in a downward spiral. Before I started using feedback loops to deepen my meditations (see the video below) they were mostly a source of rapidly expanding frustration!
After a time, I let go of all of this and just allowed myself to enjoy the sensation of sitting without any agenda or sense of progress. With this “letting go” I had the most powerful meditation I had up to that point! I felt like a large rock sinking into soft earth and being totally supported by it. It was a totally blissful experience and for the first time realized that enjoyment was one of the most powerful ways to deepen meditation. Up to that point, I had been focusing laterally at how long I had been meditating and how much “progress” I had made. This was my first time that felt vertical, where I dove into the process and had a very deep experience where my mind was blissfully and easily quiet.
I have since found a number of other tools that help with mental quiet and meditation that I share in the video below.
It’s kind of a long recording, so here are the timings of the subjects that I cover so you can skip to what interests you:
0:00 Introduction
6:19 Why meditate and explore consciousness?
9:00 Illuminating Shadows
26:36 Mental Chatter and Freedom
31:24 The Motivational Mechanism, consciousness and mental stillness
37:50 Chakras, trauma and consciousness
49:04 Feedback loops, appreciation and consciousness
53:22 Guided Meditation to putting it all together
1:16:00 Going Further with “Subtle Energy Evolution”
I was very happy with the experiences that people have had with what I presented in this webinar as well as in the Subtle Energy Class where I go much deeper into it.
The Paradox…
There is a natural paradox that comes up with consciousness. The more we attach to the idea of mental quiet the more elusive it can be. The more we resist and judge the thoughts that do come up, the more they proliferate. The best way I have found to deepen and enjoy meditation is to use whatever meditative technique as a way to tune into the potentials that the technique can offer and dive in and enjoy the process with no attachment to the outcome. Any time thoughts arise, allow them and give them total space and non-judgment and non-resistance and they will dissipate on their own. The more you welcome and allow whatever arises, the more light and flexible your consciousness will become.
Enlightenment is intimacy with all things. – Dogen
Whether there is a specific technique or not, the presence is the most important thing. It can be helpful to not only be non-attached to the idea of mental quiet as well as any specific meditative technique. Any time you feel that you have found “The Best” technique, that can limit your willingness to use a different technique that can offer another form of expansion that may be best at a future time.
I like to think of each technique as a nutrient that may serve us and different times may call for different types of nutrition to support our life and expansion. If we become fixated on one type of nutrient, we can easily throw off our balance based on attachment to ideas of what we feel is right instead of choosing from a place of consciousness in the moment.
Last, I would just like to leave you with one thought that I share with my workshop participants:
Curiosity over time = Knowing
Blind certainty over time = Dogma
The approach that has worked best for me as well as for individuals who I have had the honor to teach at one of my classes and workshops is to stay open and curious like a child and just play with different techniques to see what the effect is. Once you have an experience you can continue to play and learn in a fun way from that new place. I have studied how children learn and this light and playful way of exploring things is one of the reasons that they learn and grow so rapidly!
I would love to hear from you with any thoughts, experiences, or questions.
P.S. If you got something from this post I would appreciate it if you could share it on Social Media platforms like Facebook and Twitter!
We all ask and answer questions all of the time, the problem is that a lot of times we ask them unconsciously and as a result, create our life from the same place of unconsciousness.
When we get past the simple closed ended, yes/ no type of question to the more powerful open ended type we may come to a couple of realizations:
1. The quality of the question, whether empowering or dis-empowering, will determine what can show up as a result.
