Finding Ch'i

We have the potential to create good through the innate power of our minds.

  

I am one of those people who shouldn’t read newspapers or watch the news because it's very bad for my ch’i!   Some days the things I hear really get my dander up, especially when injustice is involved.   One of the more troubling recent news reports involved a case in which several Fullerton police officers beat a non-resisting (according to witnesses) homeless man to death. 

Other recent disturbing news reports include storm trooper style raids being levied against peaceful Amish farmers who have the audacity to sell unadulterated raw milk to their neighbors, and raids against  food co-ops because organic gardeners have organized to share the bounty of their gardens with one another without consulting Uncle Sam.  I am also very concerned by the all too frequent reports of ailing medical cannabis patients jailed for growing a plant they use as a valuable herbal medicine.  

My sense of  trepidation increases each time I hear a new report of police and government crime and corruption.  As our civil rights evaporate and law enforcement, and other civil authorities become more aggressive and brutal, I fear we are edging far across the line that once separated democracy from totalitarianism.  I worry about the negative impact of our faltering economy and the world wide debacle of our narrowly averted budget crisis. 

On top of all this, I am extremely concerned about the environment.  While the media encourages  blind consumerism, every single living organism on Earth is being endangered to benefit the concerns of an elite few and the voting public are given no voice in the matter.  We can no longer be certain what we are consuming. Our drinking water contains poisonous chemicals including chlorine and fluoride, sewage and industrial waste.  Traces of by hormones, antibiotics, and other pesticide residues are present in water supplies, meat and produce and genetically modified foods occupy grocery store shelves without so much as a warning label.  

Meanwhile, our civil rights have disintegrated until the United States has begun to resemble a totalitarian regime. It is more than evident that we are on the brink of disaster.  Our long term survival demands powerful, Earth-friendly changes.   

Fortunately, I am not the only one who has taken notice of the fact that society is quickly descending a downward spiral.    There are already many clarions out there making their voices of reason be heard and  directing awake and aware citizens on how to respond to our present multiple crises.  This actually takes a great deal of perceived responsibility off of my shoulders.  I am in no position to direct anybody!  It has become discouragingly evident that my long-held dreams of solar panels on my roof, passive heating and cooling, chickens, goats, green house, and organic garden are not going to manifest during this lifetime.  The pittance I recycle, the few potted herbs I grow, and the few animals whose lives have been spared through my vegetarian diet, don’t represent even a drop in the bucket of the needed change. 

So I’ve asked myself what difference can one inconsequential woman, who spends most of her days seated on a wheelchair, make?  What can I do to contribute to world change?  

I am a proficient writer, so the obvious answer is to write about the issues that concern me.  And I imagine I’ll do my fair share of ranting as I post in this blog.  But continual band-standing about the current state of affairs may be counterproductive—it damages the ch’i, both mine and other’s.  I'd rather participate in helping myself and others reclaim the sacred connections we have lost—to nature, the land, our perceived forms of deity, and toward one another.   When these essential ties are broken, we flounder and sink into mental mire.  But when we are grounded and connected, we attain personal balance and are happier and more effective.

These times demand action and effectiveness—we must each shoulder our personal responsibilities and work to make things better before they are irreparable!  This includes how we use our mental energy.   It occurs to me that our karmic responsibility may not end on the level of action—i.e. "harm none".  

If “thoughts are things”, as both the science of physics and esoteric lore suggest, then many of us are throwing some very nasty garbage out into the Universe!  

We all belong to the Collective Consciousness.  All conscious beings are co-creators of reality.  So in addition to the direct physical impact of our actions, we also mentally influence the events that unwind during the course of our lifetimes.  Our conscious choice to demonstrate love and think kind thoughts may be just as important as our physical efforts.  We have the potential to create good through the innate power of our minds.  Knowing this may be true greatly changes the stakes.  Just as we each have an obligation to be good citizens in society, perhaps we owe a similar obligation to deposit love, gratitude and positive thought within the collective consciousness, and to influence others to do so as well.   

So besides sharing news, rants and important discussions about issues that I hold dear to my heart, I’d also like to share some tools for attaining and maintaining mental balance and ch’i.   Please don’t misunderstand me.  I make no claims of super spirituality.  I am not the contemplative monk on a pinnacle, able to maintain my composure while the world crumbles around me.  (If I were, I probably wouldn’t “need” this blog).  But, at least some of the time, I manage to create a very peaceful and serene mental oasis.

Whatever assists others in finding balance and establishing an inner connection to the Universe will be fodder for this blog. As we go on I’ll be digging into quite a mixed bag of tricks.  Anything from metaphysics,  philosophy, sage Native American sayings, prayer, guided meditation, aromatherapy, visualizations, crystals, and herbs.  In addition I'll be sharing rituals for celebration of seasonal Sabbats, the tides of the Moon, and one's own personal tides and rhythms.  Some of what I share will also be my own personal techniques, developed by my own device. 

 An effective positive affirmation should be short but powerful. I wrote the following affirmation several years ago and still speak it over myself almost every morning as I face the rising sun. 

"I am a Witch, I am one with the Universe and the Divine. 

I am a co-creator of reality and whatsoever I decree is mine.

 And I decree peace, health and prosperity;

for my friends and loved ones, and also for me. 

Let this day be free from strife or fear. 

Let only love and joy come near. 

With blessings given and received,

I walk in peace in word and deed.

So Mote It Be.  Blessed Be."

As we go on, I hope to influence each one of my readers to create peaceful interludes each day during which they quiet their minds, reestablish their sacred ties and connections, and begin to cultivate their inward treasures.  As we seek to create a better mental reality, we also assist in creating the peaceful paradise upon Earth that we desire.  Once we can harness and direct our minds, nothing is impossible to us! 

Peace and Blessings to All!

Esmerelda