Energy: A Shamanic View

From the shamanic point of view everything has energy, in fact, it would be fair to say that we are all whirling fields of energy.  You and I are energetic beings, so are our friends and neighbors, and the trees and flowers that I am anxiously waiting to see bud after the snow storm this weekend.  The desk that I am sitting at is also made of energy. 

This means that our energy fields interact with all the energy fields around us.  Have you ever thought that we are swimming through an ocean of energy?  Just think about all of the radio waves that we "swim" through.  Your radio picks up one radio station because that is the frequency that it is tuned to but there are thousands of other frequencies in the air all bombarding us with their energy.

As humans we like to put things into little boxes and categorize them.  This goes here, that goes there.  Maybe it is part of the dualistic view of the world that most seem to have. However, energy is not good or bad, it is just energy.  The way that energy is used, the way that it is directed causes energy to have good or bad effects.  You are probably walked into a room and sensed the energy that had infused the space. The energy may have felt good and uplifting, or it might have felt heavy and depressing.  Learn to sense the energy around you.

What happens when water gets backed up and and no longer flows?  You have probably seen stagnant, putrid, smelly water.  The same thing happens with energy.  When energy is blocked it begins to stagnate.  One of the reasons that I do QiGong every morning after greeting Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Intitayta (Father Sky) is to make sure that my energy is flowing.

To stay in tune with nature, our environment and the universe it is important to monitor our energy and our energetic relationships.  One of the easiest ways to stay centered and not to be influenced by the energy around us to stretch, take a deep breath, and smile.  This is a wonderfully simple way to stay grounded.  I always keep a couple of black tourmaline crystals in my pocket to absorb negative energy (I think that I need to write a blog about Black Tourmaline) and wear a clear quartz crystal over by heart chakra to protect it.  I also have a small gong bowl in my office that I ring every day when I enter and several times during the day to break up and stagnant energy and cause it to reform.

I'll write more about energy in my next blog.  I have gotten over the "shock" of the semester starting and have all of my classes under control so I'll be blogging more frequently again.  Thanks for reading, your presence sends me positive energy and I thank you.

Why the Sky is Blue and Other Ruminations

About a year ago my then eight-year-old philosopher son asked me why the sky was blue.  I thought to myself, “What a wonderful teaching opportunity, time for some physics.” so I explained that light has different wave lengths and that our eyes pick up the blue light better than other colors.  Not a good explanation because he repeated his question, “But why?”.  So I told to myself, “Well this kid is bright, he needs a more complete explanation.” so I proceeded to explain the Rayleigh scattering model that shows that the intensity of scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of its wavelength and that blue and violet, because they have shorter wave lengths, scatter more than red light at the other end of the spectrum.  I thought that it was a pretty good answer.  He didn’t.

“But dad, tell me why the sky is blue.”  So I responded once again, well it’s not really blue.  It’s just that the cones, all five million of them, are sensitive to different colors but that their color sensitivity overlaps so they are more sensitive to some colors like blue than to others, like violet.  It became evident that I wasn’t getting anywhere because he repeated his question yet again.  I decided to try another approach.  This time I responded by telling him, “Well son, the real reason that the sky is blue is because that is the Goddess’ favorite color.”  and he replied, “Thanks dad, I knew you would know why.”

I was really proud of my young philosopher because he never gave up, he kept asking why.  All too often our desire to question gets socialized out of us and we quit asking why questions and then we quit thinking and just become receptive sponges that accept whatever comes along; always jumping from one idea or belief to another.

Kesariya Stupa where The Buddha gave the Kalamas Sutta

This reminds me of The Buddha and the Kalamas.  The Kalamas were a lot like us.  They had a variety of spiritual teachers and each one was probably saying, “I know the way. My way is the right way and everyone else is wrong.  Follow me, not them.”  The Buddha wandered into this mess and was asked by the Kalamas what they should do.  To everyone’s surprise he didn’t respond by telling them, “I’m right, they are wrong, follow me.”  His reply is recorded as the Kalamas Sutta.  In his first reply to the Kalamas he said:

"So, as I said, Kalamas: 'Don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when adopted and carried out, lead to harm and to suffering’ — then you should abandon them.' Thus was it said. And in reference to this was it said.”  [Emphasis mine]

After providing a list of reasons for not blindly accepting a teaching he explains that if the results of the teaching, when put into practice, are negative then abandon them.  That path is not good.  He then repeated the same short list of “why not” reasons and then explained how to tell if a path is a good path:

"Now, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted and carried out, lead to welfare and to happiness' — then you should enter and remain in them.”  [Emphasis mine]

He told the Kalamas to test a path, try it out and see what results from following the path.  If the results are good, lead to welfare and happiness, then enter the path and stay on the path.

I have tested my path and found, that for me at least, it leads to welfare and happiness.  I feel spiritually alive on this path and feel that by following the path I am a better person.  To learn this I have had to assiduously avoid the academic track of just seeking knowledge. After all I’m good at that. I've been a college professor for thirty years and that’s what I do.  However, on a spiritual path knowledge isn't enough.  I need experience, and I bet you do too.

To test the path that I follow I had to actually get on the path and walk it.  Academic knowledge about the path didn't show me that it was a path that leads to welfare and to happiness.  Living it did.  It doesn't matter if you call yourself an Atheist, a Buddhist, a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew, a Muslim, a Pagan, a Wiccan, learning about your path isn't the key.  Living your path is.

So, what’s my point in all of this?  First, question everything.  Don’t follow blindly.  I climbed Huyana Potosi in Bolivia once and there isn't anything more uninspiring than walking behind someone and looking at their butt for hours as you and they struggle up a mountain . . . that’s what happens to followers.  Second, to see if you path leads to welfare and happiness you must live your path.  There isn't any other way.

Huyana Potosi from the Bolivian Altiplano

Hope to see you along the path.

Peace,