Continued from Chapter 11.
“The seer sees that every man is in touch with everything else, not through his hands, but through a bunch of long fibers that shoot out in all directions from the center of his abdomen.” Don Juan, in A Separate Reality, by Carlos Castañeda.
By Richard Juarez
Lines of light
Credit: Kheng Guan Toh / Dreamstime.com
We were both so eager to start our next session with Don Emilio that the month just seemed to drag on and on. When the time to meet with him again finally arrived, Tony met me at my house and we ran to Nana and Tata’s.
“Good morning,” Don Emilio called to us we bounded up to the garden shed.
“Good morning, Don Emilio,” I answered as I stepped in and took my seat, breathing a little hard from the short run.
He was inside looking at the potted plants at the west side of the shed. There was a worktable there with most of Nana’s pots and flower trays on top, and underneath, her storage area. She had quite a few potted plants, as well as trays of little plants ready to be dug into the garden. Her table looked really nice with all the red, pink, purple, yellow and white flowers, and multiple shades of green leaves. I could see that some of the flower trays had been moved back and to the side to make a clear space in the middle of the table.
“So, Don Emilio,” said Tony as he just sort of waved his hello and began right in, even before he sat down, “now that we’re learning this ancient spiritual stuff, when are we going to learn how to do mind reading, and being in the right place at the right time?”
“The ancient secrets we will be talking about involve much more than that,” he answered, wiping potting soil off his hands. “But before we talk about anything new, I want to know if you had any questions about the breath-focus exercise you practiced.”
We both had lots of questions, mostly about falling asleep and wandering thoughts.
“Most beginners have the same problems,” he reassured us. “The problem with sleeping will lessen if you get enough rest at night. Also, do not do this exercise right after eating, as a full stomach and relaxation tends to induce sleep. As for wandering thoughts, once you are aware that you are thinking about something else, you simply go back to following the in and out breaths. You may have to shift back and forth quite a few times at first, but with practice it becomes easier to ignore the thoughts floating by and keep focused on the breath.”
“I assume you will want us to keep practicing this for a little while more,” said Tony. “How many weeks will we have to practice before we can keep the stray thoughts out?”
“While dealing with your thoughts was a major issue for both of you over these past four weeks, that is not the end purpose of this exercise. That was just the first step. Once you get your thoughts under control, you will be able to enter a place of silence where you can connect with the energies of the earth and the universe, and connect with your higher self and other guides. Eventually, you will want to make this connection every day because of how you benefit and not because you have to do an exercise each day.”
“So this breathing exercise we practiced, we just do that and then can see into the future and read minds?” I asked.
“No, I am afraid it is not that easy,” chuckled Don Emilio. “It is just a beginning point for learning how to work with energy. We will discuss other ways to increase energy, move energy, and stop leaking energy, which help to increase your vibration and your awareness. When you vibrate at a higher rate and have a higher level of awareness, you may have a sense of what a friend may be thinking, or have a strong feeling about what is going to happen.
Tony sat there with a big grin on his face. “Man, that would be really cool if we could do that! But I don’t know, this is some pretty strange stuff.”
“What I have to share may seem strange at first,” said Don Emilio, “but there is nothing to be afraid of. It is simply an ability to see more and be aware of more. I have access to more information and power than you do. Not because I am special, but because your eyes and minds are partially closed to the possibility of this additional information. I say partially closed because part of you is aware and wants to share this with the rest of you that lives in ignorance.”
“Oh, come on,” said Tony. “Why would we choose to live in ignorance?”
“It has been an unconscious process, from the time we are very small until we die. We are pressured by society into believing that good people believe only in certain ways, and that other ways of acting and beliefs are wrong. That is why some people believe that only their religion is the right religion, or that only their way of government is good. An unstated pressure toward conforming results in people just following along, not asking questions, and not following their own intuition. This conformity process goes way back. It was used forcefully by the Spaniards to conquer and convert the native peoples here in the Americas.”
“You mean the Spaniards tried to keep the Indians from knowing about their connection with God?” asked Tony. “Why would they do that? I thought they were trying to teach the Indians about God, and to educate them, not keep them ignorant.”
“Yes, they were trying to teach the Indians about God,” Don Emilio responded, “but about their own version of God, and their own version of religion. The government of Spain and the Catholic Church set out to destroy the culture and spiritual practices of the native people, and to replace these with Spanish Catholicism and Spanish culture. They did this as the most efficient way to conquer and control the diverse populations. In this process, people were punished or even put to death for spiritual beliefs that were contrary to the teachings of the Spanish Church. So the practice of native spirituality, ‘the old ways,’ had to go underground. It had to be hidden from the eyes of Church and government officials––hidden so well, in fact, that over time many families lost the knowledge of this ancient spiritual way of life.”
Tony and I looked at each other. He seemed as shocked as I was. We had heard about the conquest, but not much about the dirty details. “Is this why you called it the secret teachings?” I asked. “Because it had to be hidden?”
“Yes, and if some in your family believe they should not talk about the ‘old ways,’ it is because they were taught that you do not talk about these things, either because their families did not believe in them or because it was not safe to do so. I know that your Nana and Tata, Vicente, left Mexico at a young age, before anyone had a chance to teach them more about the old ways. They only learned the first part––that you do not talk about it.”
“‘Because he is of the old ways, and people don’t like to talk about the old ways.’ That’s what my mother said when I first asked about you.”
“Well, that is what she was taught. It was not on purpose that your mother or grandparents or great-grandparents kept their families in ignorance. Originally it was for protection; later it was simply from lack of knowledge, and it became one of the many traditions passed down blindly to each generation. Now I am here, at your grandfather’s request, to help break that tradition of ignorance and to support the spiritual part of you that knows the truth.”
Tony looked confused. “I still don’t get it. How can part of me live in ignorance and part of me know the truth? What parts?”
“You have probably been taught that you are a physical being who is born, grows up, lives, dies, and then your soul goes to heaven. But in truth, you are a spiritual being existing in the non-physical void connected to and a part of that one living energy consciousness, and just a portion of you is temporarily occupying your physical human shell. The spiritual entity that you are sent a portion of your consciousness, which some call a soul, to temporarily occupy a physical body. In fact, that spiritual entity, or Higher Self, sends multiple souls out to experience life on earth. The soul of your current human shell carries within itself the knowledge of its Higher Self consciousness, and of its many experiences on earth. It knows that the physical part is only temporary, that it will die away, and that the soul will merge again with its greater or Higher Self.
“During the time that a portion of consciousness exists here on earth within a physical body, the mind usually forgets that there is the larger consciousness, of which the being is a part. People come to believe that they are only this physical being they see each day in the mirror. Further, the mind has them believe they are separate from other physical beings and objects in the world, and separate from All-That-Is or God. So part of our work will be to help you reconnect with your Higher Self.
“Now, all persons and objects are not only made of energy, but are surrounded by a field of energy. They appear as balls of energy to some Toltec shamans and others who can see the lines of light energy. We are much more than the physical body that you see. Increasing the amount of spiritual energy that you hold in your personal energy field is the first step in connecting with your Higher Self and with that greater energy of which we are all a part. It is through this connection with your Higher Self and with the greater energy consciousness that you will make the changes in your lives that you desire.”
“Oh man,” said Tony, “like a split personality––definitely not what we’ve been taught.”
“Yeah, but somehow, it feels right. My brain is a little confused, but it sorta makes more sense than what we’ve been told.”
“I understand what you are going through, as I experienced the same thing myself,” said Don Emilio. “It is difficult to put this information into words or instructions. Much of this information is non-linear; it comes through the right side of the brain, the side that accesses information differently, not in words, but in images, intuition, or concepts, from other levels of awareness. So some of what you learn will not be words or instructions. You will just ‘get it.’ This is a lifelong learning process. My intent is to help you get started on that spiritual learning path by showing you some of what you can expect to encounter along the way.”
“You don’t expect us to learn it all? You’re not going to give us a test on ancient spiritual truths?” Tony asked, smiling.
“I hate to disappoint you Antonio,” answered Don Emilio smiling back, “but no test. My intent is to expose you to what you already know deep inside. I will show you how to bring your energy up, and to increase your spiritual power, so you can begin to access the ancient truths inside of you.”
Don Emilio rose from his chair and started slowly pacing in front of Nana’s worktable. He looked deep in thought for a few moments before turning back to us and continuing.
“I want to talk more about these energy connections. As a human race, we need to reconnect with the earth and all of her energies. It is one way to strengthen our connection with spirit, with God. We have a lot of machines and technology, but we have moved further away from what is real, from what is important. Coming from the native Mexican-Indian culture, we have a tradition of connection with the earth, and with all the powers of the universe.”
“Oh, wow!” I blurted out. They both stared at me, surprised at my outburst. “Just a minute. I’ve got something like that,” I said excitedly, as I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. “Mr. Marin at school has a poster in his office, with a quote by an Indian, a medicine man, I think. I liked what it said, so I copied it down.” I unfolded a small piece of yellow lined paper and read it out loud.
“ ‘The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the Universe and all its powers––Black Elk.’ ” I stood there, staring at the yellow paper in my hand.
“Yes, native cultures have known this for centuries and centuries,” said Don Emilio. “But it is not just a concept or a nice idea. Black Elk and the ancients knew this as a fact. We are actually literally connected to all things around us.”
“Actually connected? What do you mean?” asked Tony.
“Some of our people, especially some shamans, can see the luminous fibers, lines of energy that make up our energy field, and which extend beyond that to connect us. You may even learn to see these lines.” Don Emilio looked directly at me.
“Lines of energy?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, smiling. “Very thin filaments of light. They are like invisible lines, like a web of energy connecting all living things.” He paused, looking at me. “Everything is connected by this unimaginable maze of energy pathways.” Don Emilio kept looking at me.
Then it hit me. “Oh, of course! No wonder I liked that poster. My dream!”
In my dream I saw the lines of light connecting me, the eagle, with everything else. In the dream, I really felt a connection with everything! I was surprised that such a significant event in my life as that dream faded away so that I didn’t even remember it until Don Emilio coaxed me with his pointed looks. It had been about two months since I had that dream.
“How come I didn’t remember?” I asked, somewhat embarrassed. “I know about the lines of light, from my dream. How come I forgot?”
“You did not forget,” he responded. “Not totally. Perhaps your mind pushed this information away, as it is not part of the world-view it is comfortable with. But it seems that another part of you attempted to bring the information to a conscious level through the poster.”
“Sounds like a chess game is going on inside there,” said Tony.
“A whole lot more is going on inside you than you are aware of. But let us get back to the strands of light energy, the connecting rays. This light energy is the essence of our existence, the basis of all life, and it helps us to understand how we are all connected. Light energy is not only sunlight warming the earth. It is light transformed by plants and animals into food energy. It is the energy that runs through the earth’s own electric and magnetic grid lines, some of which runs through our individual human energy system. It is a great inter-connected grid of energy. We are all connected––and all a part of each other.”
“Can we feel this energy flowing?” asked Tony.
“Yes, you can. Energy flowing from our bodies travels along those luminous fibers. It also can be seen or felt as energy radiating from our bodies, in what is called an aura. Some people can see auras. Energy also flows off our hands and fingers. I will show you what I mean.” He started rubbing his hands together. “Bring your hands together and rub your palms back and forth quickly, like this, for about ten seconds. Then, slowly separate your hands, moving them away from each other. Now slowly bring your palms toward each other again, until they are almost touching.”
I could feel warmth and a tingling in my hands as we did this.
“Now, move them apart a few inches, then back, then out and back again.” He paused. “What did you feel?”
“It felt like I was sorta squeezing something between my hands!” Tony said with surprise. “Then it felt like I was stretching it when I moved my hands away. That’s weird.”
“Rather than weird,” he corrected Tony, “it is simply natural to become aware that you have an energy field around you, and it extends beyond your hands. It has mass. You can squeeze it, let it expand back out, and send energy out through it. It is a very powerful force, yet very much a part of our daily lives. Energy is not something that runs only in the electric wires. It circulates through us and around us. We can get it moving within us at a greater intensity through yoga, martial arts, or other energy-moving disciplines.
“As I mentioned, energy also runs between beings by means of those invisible luminous fibers. All matter is basically energy that is interconnected by these thin lines. This is what the medicine man Black Elk was referring to when he talked about our oneness with the universe. We feel we are one, we feel connected––and we actually are connected. On an energy level, you and I and the trees and the rocks are each a ball of energy, with many fine lines of energy coming out of the balls of light, connecting to everything in the universe.”
He paused to let that sink in. As we sat there in the quiet, I had a flash of inspiration.
“Don Emilio! I was just trying to imagine everything connected to everything else, and it was really hard to think about how that could be. But thinking back to my dream, I could see it!”
“Yes, the dreaming side of you knows the truth, that everything is energy and everything is connected. As with the electricity in the wires, all energy and all matter vibrate at a certain frequency, and the higher the energy level, the higher the rate of vibration. We are connected to everything, but our connection with other people and things is stronger when the other’s vibration rate is similar or close to ours.
“Your first major task then, is to learn how to increase your energy. When your energy is higher, you vibrate at a higher rate. In this state of higher energy vibration, you will then find that you move beyond day-to-day concerns, things will seem to go well in your lives, and things will come to you at the right time.”
“Things we need coming to us, and life going well––I could go for that,” said Tony.
“As we discussed before, according to the ancient shamans there is an amazing, indescribable energy that permeates the universe, which they called Intent, and which others refer to as the Force. Everything in the universe is connected to everything else by means of the thin filaments of energy. When we have sufficient levels of personal energy and then focus our attention on what we want, the Force uses those connections to make things happen to bring those items to us. This is the magical nature of the universe.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” said Tony. “This stuff about balls of energy and vibration is sort of confusing. But if this is how to get the life we want, that’s what I want to learn about.”
“Okay,” I said, “so if we work on increasing our energy and our connection with this Force, we will get what we want, like good grades, a job, money, a new car?”
“It is not quite that simple,” said Don Emilio, “but yes, that is the general process. Take the example of a new job. When you consciously increase your energy, you open yourself up to receiving insights about what you need to do to make that new job happen. Maybe you get inspired to go over to the youth center, and while there you see a job notice on the bulletin board. On the other hand, if your energy is low, you may be less able to receive the insight, and it may never occur to you to go over to the youth center. So you end up missing that opportunity.
“You have to be clear about what you want, and aware of your spiritual energy level. Now about what I called “spirit warriors,” we use the term warriors because, as in a military campaign, we make a commitment to be constantly on duty, maintaining our focus on saving, increasing, and using our energy to strengthen our connection with spirit.”
“Oh man! Constantly on duty?” Tony asked. “Constantly working on increasing energy? Why would someone want to do that all the time?” It sounded like these warriors really got a raw deal.
“As I said before, you will at some point decide how important it is to you to continue working with this spirit power, this awareness. Each of you will decide if you want to live this life of spiritual awareness, and if so, what you will do to incorporate this knowing and power into your life. Let me point out that it is not necessary to be a full spirit warrior or a shaman to benefit from what you will learn. As we get a little further into the teachings, you will understand why a spirit warrior chooses to constantly be aware of opportunities to increase his or her energy.”
We stopped there for the day. As we left, Tony and I walked along the side of the house. When we reached the front yard, we were both surprised by Tata’s voice.
“Hola, Vicentillo y Antonio.” He was sitting there alone on the porch, taking in some sun.
“Hola, Señor Castro.”
“Buenos días Tata. How are you feeling today?” I knew Tata had been sick lately.
“Oh, not very well,” he said speaking in Spanish. “But I am better right now, sitting here enjoying the sun. And you two, how go the classes with Emilio? What are you learning?”
Tony and I looked at each other. Where to start?
“There is so much to learn, Tata,” I answered in English, hoping he could understand me. “I’m beginning to understand some of it, like he says—that everything is energy, that everything in the world is connected, and how we have to raise our energy level. There is just so much! And we’ve just started!”
Tata just looked at me with a blank stare. I could tell he hadn’t understood all of what I’d said. And I couldn’t say it in Spanish. I looked at Tony. His Spanish was a little better than mine.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” said Tony. “I barely know what this stuff is in English.”
We both looked at Tata sheepishly.
“Está bien. Yo lo entiendo un parte. I understood a part. Bueno, váyanse.”
As we walked away, Tony said to me, “It must be pretty hard on you, not being able to understand your Nana and Tata all the time. I’m lucky. My grandparents speak more English than yours, and my Spanish is better than yours.”
“Yeah, it’s especially hard because I’d like to talk to Tata about this stuff we are learning, and he seems to want to know. But I don’t know how to get it across to him, in English or Spanish.”
“Well, I can hardly grasp it myself, much less talk with anyone about it,” said Tony. “Eventually, though, we have to figure out a way to make it easier to understand if we’re gonna talk about any of this with the guys. They’re gonna ask us about this stuff sooner or later.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, not really focusing on what he was saying. I was still thinking about Tata, and that I’d have to figure out a way to tell him what I’d learned—after I’d learned it.
Copyright © 2013 Richard Juarez
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I rubbed my hands together like Tío Emilio suggested and sure enough, I coud feel the vibrating energy warmth between them!
So many of us can relate to the connection and disconnection between ourselves and our elders which we experienced growing up with our different degrees of Spanish speaking ability or lack of.
“It is through this connection with your Higher Self and with the greater energy consciousness that you wil make the changes in your lives that you desire”.
I love it.
Thanks Mr. Juarez