Humanity: Power and Potential

WK 1- Feb. 2- Humanity- How do you define “humanity”? What is your contribution to the collective space of humanity? How does your spiritual path support this definition and contributions? 

We humans are beautiful and terrible, at once transcendent and terribly ignorant. We're sentient, that is to say, we know that we are. That knowing sometimes inspires us to be our best, sometimes frightens us back into the cave*. We're clannish, tribal creatures, much given to an us vs. them view of the world. We're thinking, tool using apes, to put it in practical terms. Yet the shell of our bodies does not fully describe what we are. We are divinity in fleshly form, shapers of energy and destiny. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience, as the saying goes.

When I think about the nature of humanity, I can't help but think of Plato's allegory of the cave. To sum it up briefly, imagine human beings chained in a cave, forced to look at the back wall. Behind them is a fire, which is used to project shadows on the wall. The prisoners come to believe that the shadows are real. They never look backward to see that they are mere puppets, and that the way outside is open. Outside is the sun, which represents all that is good and true, all that is truly real.

This concept is quite similar to the view in Eastern philosophy. Vedic texts discuss the concept of maya, or illusion. This world we live in, the Earthly plane, is mere imagery, or illusion. We can transcend illusion through study and practice.

Quantum physics also is catching on to this view of reality. Quantum physicists describe physical reality as a hologram, as if it's a giant projection on some theoretical screen. Each tiny sliver of the image contains all the information of the whole. Scientists refer to the observer effect - the fact that simply observing a subject will cause it to change. Imagine then, the effect that a conscious act of will could have in comparison to an impartial scientific experiment.

So reality is a hologram, an illusion. We humans have the capacity to mold and shape it. All we have to do is wake up. Become aware of the true nature of reality. Accept and honor our gifts. Then, we can do and be, anything. We are fields of infinite possibility, as Deepak Chopra puts it.

My contribution is to spread this message: our universe is co-creative and participatory. We are movers and shapers of reality. We have immense power and potential. We are members of an interconnected web of life with a responsibility to use our power wisely and for the highest good of all. We should be good stewards of our Earth and all the beings on it - animal, vegetable and mineral. My mission is to empower and inspire others to develop their potential as balanced and awakened beings.

My spiritual path fully supports this definition of humanity. At the beginning of this post, I discussed western and eastern philosophy, and the new science of quantum physics. Pagan philosophy espouses the same beliefs, of course. "As above, so below" is just another way to talk about the macrocosm/microcosm of this holographic universe. It also neatly covers the immanent deity concept. You are Goddess, a Wiccan might say. Magic is just another word for co-creation and focusing the will to create change. Various realms or levels of reality neatly coincides with concepts of maya and the cave allegory. 

As a witch and a shaman, my spiritual path supports my contributions to humanity. It's my job, my calling, to heal and teach others. Stewardship of the Earth? Definitely part of the job description. Shaping energy with my will? Check. What I believe, what I practice and what I do for income, they're all connected. All of a piece. They are all part of the hologram, the macrocosm that is my personal world. 

I am that I am. I am Goddess. I am a human being - flawed, strong, whole, imperfectly perfect. 

And so are you. 

Namaste. 

As always, the light within me recognizes and honors the light within you.

So mote it be!

************************************************************************************************

*Plato's Myth of the Cave, from The Republic, Book VII, 514a-518c

Star Mysteries: the Astrolabe

Legend tells us that early pagans were able to tell time by the stars, to navigate by the stars and predict celestial events. Not just pagans - sailors and scientists of all types had the ability to perform these tasks in the pre-computing era. I mentioned this to a friend recently, and lo! She had been to a class in which they made paper astrolabes and learned how to use them.

Last night, she was kind enough to begin teaching me. Turns out, one has to have a good deal of knowledge to even use the device. It also helps to have a good grasp on the maths. A major problem with using astrolabes today is the evolution of how we measure time.

In ancient days, timekeeping was based on the Sun and the Moon, our most familiar celestial bodies. The sun's position was charted by all using the astrological signs. Today, we have introduced time zones and daylight savings time. Plus we now know about the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit. So when using an astrolabe to, for example, predict sunrise on a certain date, one first finds the answer on the astrolabe. That answer is in solar time. Then we have to adjust for modern timekeeping. WHEW!

So last night, after getting a basic familiarity for the instrument, we learned how to find sunrise and sunset on a certain day, predict the solstices and equinoxes, locate stars in the sky and how to measure the height of trees and other objects. All this, from rings of paper printed with measurements!

It was good nerdy fun, but also excited me on a spiritual level. Step 1 to re-creating the wisdom of the ancients! Which makes me consider: did early pagans use this device or something similar? Is this the sort of mystery that modern Druids are concerned about? I would think so, but so far I haven't worked up the courage to ask any of the Druids that I know. Druid readers, chime in here, please! Would that be rude to ask about? I've read about the henges, and of course I suspect that they were used for a similar purpose: charting and predicting the movements of celestial bodies observable by the naked eye.

From an intellectual, history geekery and spiritual perspective, this was awesome. But there's more: I am an explorer. It's perhaps a misfortune that I was born into an age where most places have been explored by others. But I have not found it to be so. Simply because you can locate a mountain on a map, and look at its topographical contours on paper does not mean that you know a place.

For me, true knowledge of a place comes from traversing it on foot. In that intimate communion, I can smell it, taste it, feel it and see all of the nooks and crannies. Looking at a peak from a meadow at noon is very different than at dusk. Sleeping near a river allows its song into your heart. Getting to know its animal and plant inhabitants is to know the soul of a place.

But I digress. No matter if it's been mapped, no matter if it has been seen by eyes before mine (animal or human), it makes no difference to me. Still, I explore.

And one day, I'll be able to wake a from a deep sleep under the stars and know what time it is. I'll be able to pinpoint my position on the Earth, our mother, using an astrolabe. To measure a fir tree's height...just because I can. Because it fulfills some primordial need within me. Because...I truly don't know why. I just know that I want to know.