Going with the Flow II Joan Pancoe
“What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home?”
Lyrics by Joan Osborne
Dear ONE,
What if, from the far future, we could look back at this time in human history with 20-20 hindsight? My channeled downloads tell me that we would see that, because of all the seemingly senseless chaos and loss which occurred in an ongoing cascade in 2020 and beyond, there was catalyzed a mysterious alchemy. And that this alchemical process infused the 3D experiment now in progress with more wisdom and compassion from hearts and minds being blown open than could ever have been realized under any lesser circumstances.
On June 5, we’re kicking off the first of our bi-yearly Eclipse seasons since the pandemic began. These planetary events always ratchet up the intensity as they set up the themes and tones for the next six-month period and beyond. Think of Eclipses as Full or New Moons which are turbo-charged with cosmic rocket-fuel. So, if you think we have quite enough intensity going on all over the planet already—well, all I can say is: There’s always room for more!
For, just as there are infinite levels of all dimensions, including the Void, so too are there infinite levels of depth available to be realized at every point of our journey, especially if we’re not primarily externally goal-oriented.
So, cultivating a taste for intensity (I used to say ‘intensity” was my middle name:)), is especially relevant as, over the next month, we have a much rarer set of three eclipses occurring, rather than the usual pair. The first Eclipse on June 5 is a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius opposing the Sun in Gemini, and the following two are a New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer on June 20, followed by a July 4 Lunar Full Moon Eclipse in Capricorn.
This Eclipse season brings us the FGO (f**kin growth opportunity) of assimilating all the intensity of outer reality into a cohesive Mind/Heart (Taoist don’t differentiate) perspective of how to make the absolute most spiritually out of our present conditions. This is especially the case this Summer with the retrogrades of Transformer Pluto, Karmic Teacher Saturn, Philosopher Jupiter and Lover Venus all encouraging us to go within to form our own truth.
How do we cultivate our own perspective on the Truth? Well, firstly, we must accept that it will be a relative, not absolute, truth as we are, after all, in a relative plane of duality. Then, we need to be willing to move to the timeless Witnessing perspective of the Soul, which gives us a more objective, longer-range view of reality playing out without the filter screen of our usual ego-colored glasses.
And, most importantly, it’s time to stop allowing ourselves to be force-fed fear-inducing data in the guise of objective truth by the 24-7 news cycle, whose job it is to keep us watching, like observing a continuously repeating video of a train wreck in slow-mo. This mostly negative slant creates potentially toxic, pre-digested “junk food” which can make us ill in body, mind and spirit if we over-imbibe.
So, while we can continue to watch or read news with our discriminating mind, it’s best to keep it to a minimum, just enough to witness the pulse of the mass tone and the particular doings in our vicinity. But then, it’s time to back away from our news delivery systems so that we’re not inundated with so much skewed info that we allow it to affect our core tone of faith in the Flow.
Here’s some news to help tip our perspective more towards “glass half-full” rather than “the sky is falling:”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/22/environment-pandemic-side-effects-earth-day-coronavirus
The June 5 Eclipse is especially significant as it’s the first in a new cycle conjoining the Moon’s Nodes, newly into Gemini/Sag since last month. What this means is that, with the North Node of Destiny entering Gemini as of May 7 for 18-months, we’ll have the opportunity to start seeing the Divine—or each soul’s innate awakened nature—shining out through their physical eyes.
From the bus driver to the bus rider, from the homeless to all essential workers—whether in hospitals, groceries, pharmacies or delivery men or women—all Buddhas or Christs in disguise. I heard one essential worker say, after she had just barely survived the coronavirus, that she felt “sacrificial,” as she had no choice but to risk her life to go to work to feed her kids.
With the Gemini North Node of destiny, we’re not speaking of some high-minded metaphysical philosophy (that’s the Sag South Node of our karmic past). But rather, it is to viscerally experience everyone as part of Source or the Divine, God or the Tao, as our new normal perspective. This has been happening for me over the last few decades and, believe me, it changes one’s view of everything.
This new way of seeing our fellow souls is actually being awakened in us by the Quickening and the global existential crisis we’re all in. In addition, the North Node of Fate now in Gemini is delivering us to a new level of our planetary Karmic/Dharmic Mission as it guides us by encouraging clear and objective positive thinking until 2022.
My definition of being a mystic is one who experiences unity consciousness as the true nature of reality. In other words, seeing the Divine, Source or the Tao in everything and everyone with no separation or boundaries: One Being, billions of faces.
So, now, we get to choose which direction to go in: Towards becoming a mystic in practice (Gemini North Node) or sticking with an exclusive, over-righteous spiritual philosophy that believes we are all made of the same Source energy in theory, but in practice—not so much.
Taking the high road means we need to let go of our attachment to the Sag South Node of our Karmic Past, which is epitomized by seeing others as “less than” in terms of innate potentials. It’s about walking our talk, rather than clinging to a karmically-regressive, (not to mention, hypocritical), spiritual belief system.
We always have free will about what to do with our karma or destiny once it is presented. Free will is like a “stacked deck”—which means “the fix is in.” In other words, our karma is already loaded into the game. And, as I always say, we can do it now . . . or we can do it later. Go for the growth, that is.
At the moment of his enlightenment, The Buddha, said it best:
“How strange—all living beings have the fully awakened nature, but none of them knows it. And because of that they drift and sink from lifetime to lifetime in the great ocean of samsara, in suffering.”
How do we deal with a world in which we find ourselves surrounded by so much chaos and all the varieties of mental illness and forms of madness which this is triggering? I’ve found that the Taoist philosophy of going with the Flow, or Wu Wei, is most helpful, as it provides an internally peaceful view which naturally allows for a very long-range perspective on the whole Earth Game to permeate our relationship with Life as the ultimate guru.
Here’s one of my all-time favorite quotes on Wu Wei by Alan Watts:
“When a cat falls out of a tree, it lets go of itself, becomes completely relaxed, and lands lightly on the ground. If the cat made up its mind that it didn’t want to fall, it would become tense and rigid and would just be a bag of broken bones upon landing.
“In the same way, it is the philosophy of the Tao that we are all falling out of a tree, at every moment of our lives. As a matter of fact, the moment we were born we were kicked off a precipice and we are falling and there is nothing we can do to stop it.
“So, instead of living in a state of constant tension and clinging to all sorts of things that are actually falling with us because the whole world is impermanent, be like a cat. Don’t resist it.
“A few years ago, I wrote:
“The witnessing perspective is the optimal protection from being infected by the tone of the mass consciousness, which is always the lowest common denominator—particularly so now in the Kali Yuga. For, if we’re still following the news at all, we’ll be witnessing more and more chaos, as some who are mentally ill act out life-and-death dramas that trigger pockets of mass hysteria to arise. We can also expect more reports of seemingly “surreal” acting out as if we’re watching an alternate universe or twilight zone based on fake news and fear (false evidence appearing real) in certain sectors of the population.
Would you like to know where you stand on a spiritually-based mental health continuum? For a baseline read, check out these spiritual truths and contemplate how self-evident they are to you:
- 1. All beings are part of one greater divine Being.
- 2. The Universe is made up of energy and ALL energy is conscious.
- 3. The gold standard of energy is love in all its forms.
- 4. Everyone is doing the best they’re capable of, and no one on the personality level chooses to be mentally ill.
- 5. We’re powerless over other people’s karma playing out; therefore, all we can do is take care of our side of the karmic street and set a tone of equanimity in the Flow.
- 6. Cultivating bodhichitta—i.e., compassion and loving kindness, without judgment for those who are suffering due to illness in body, mind or spirit—is taking the highest road spiritually.
Globalism, or internationalism, is the perfect political metaphor for holding a spiritual vision in the Light of: One Being all connected through the hearts of each of us forming the heart of the world, i.e., the Divine Heart. And, while we all have equal access to our birthright of an infinite supply of unconditional love from the Universe, we don’t all remember this truth yet.
So, it’s up to those of us who can claim this birthright to send this Divine love out as compassion to all suffering beings on the planet—asleep, ignorant, mentally deranged, fear-based or otherwise—as lost souls, confused children, if you will. The Dalai Lama puts it best:
“From the Buddhist point of view, the Chinese officer who is committing the cruel act against the young boy is initiating a new cycle of negative karma. In the case of the child, there is a closure of a particular karma that the child is experiencing. The perpetrator of the crime is in fact an object of more compassion and mercy than the child.”
In light of the present schism in terms of reactions of how to be in the Flow during the pandemic, the perspective I would like to share is about how to consciously prevent as much, what I’ll call, “karmic collateral damage” as possible.
Here are two quotes to set the tone:
“Freedom does not mean you have the right to endanger the lives of others through your own irresponsibility and ignorance.” —Robert Reich
“Now is the time, if ever there was one, for us to care selflessly about one another.” —Dr. Anthony Fauci
This means that: Anyone who chooses to put their own desires for gratification first, beyond essential needs like food or shelter—if it is done at the expense of even possibly harming another human being—is incurring karmic collateral damage.
Operating from this higher level, with the heart/mind blown open, means taking conscious responsibility for only taking actions for the highest good of all concerned, not excluding ourselves in this, of course—but also not excluded anyone else’s well-being.
I wrote about a similar subtle form of negative karma in my newsletter:
SPRING 2017 SOUL-LEVEL CURRICULUM: The Karmic Consequences of Entitlement (and it might not be what you think)
Here’s an excerpt:
“From my experience with facilitating thousands of past-life regressions, I’ve been reminded that in the lives in which there was the most abuse of power, the most karmic poo-poo was incurred. And, that some of the greatest karmic gains come from past incarnations with the most suffering.
The wheels of karma grind exceedingly slow but exceedingly fine, and it all evens out in the end. Everybody, sooner or later, especially evil clowns or malignant narcissists, get theirs, rest assured. So, that’s just one less thing to ever be concerned about! (Unless you’ve been veery naughty:).)
“Hell hath no fury like a narcissist denied,” says Sandy Hotchkiss, author of Why Is It Always About You?” In her book, she explains that a sense of entitlement actually has nothing to do with real self-worth. Instead, a person with an entitlement complex is similar to a small child who never learned that he or she is not the center of the universe. They throw tantrums when outsiders don’t meet their demands.
How do you know if you have a sense of entitlement? Here are some of the main signs:
1. You impose unrealistic demands on others.
2. You tend to feel sorry for yourself if things don’t work out the way you want them to, and you advertise it openly, in melodramatic ways to get attention.
3. You have been called a bully, manipulative, ruthless, egotistical, vain or a liar.
4. You believe that you deserve happiness and success, and you go to great or extreme lengths to get it, often at the expense of others.
5. You punish people when they don’t do what you want, either by gossiping, spreading rumors, giving them the silent treatment, or by shouting and being verbally abusive.
6. You tend to see other people as competition or a threat.
7. You exhibit many double-standards in your behavior and interactions with others. For example, it’s OK for you to be late or forget something, but it’s absolutely not OK for someone else to do the same.
8. You tend to take more in friendships and relationships while the other person gives.
9. You look out for yourself first. Your needs and desires are more important than anyone else’s most of the time.
10. You have a hard time negotiating or compromising in a situation.
11. You believe that you are a priority and you should always come first, even at the expense of others.
12. People often seem to be offended or upset by what you say.
13. Generally, you think that you are better or more important than other people, and that other people should see this as well and respect you.
14. You want to be admired and adored.
15. You find it second nature to assert your dominance or superiority over others, and you enjoy doing it.
The above list is excerpted and edited from: https://www.davidwolfe.com/15-signs-entitlement-complex/
Quite an ugly list, no? That’s why so many of us feel appalled while observing the antics of Trump and his most rabid followers. Even if we only identify with a few of the above entitlement traits, Trump is still an amplified mirror to our darkest selves or shadow sides individually and en masse.
I studied his birth chart at depth before the 2016 election and did a reading about it on Fox news radio, no less. I will reiterate now what I said then: Trump is authentically being true to himself. He’s a Mars/Leo Rising showman who just loves the sound of his own voice.
Added to this, with Trickster Uranus conjunct his Sun and North Node in Gemini, he genuinely exemplifies an archetypal trickster energy. So, most of the time, when he lies or changes his mind 180° on any issue, he’s actually just allowing whatever he’s thinking at the moment to come out of his mouth with no filter or discriminating awareness of potential consequences. (We don’t need to get into his Venus/Saturn conjunction in uber-sensitive Cancer which indicates feeling empty, lonely and unloved no matter how big his cheering crowds are).
For more on archetypal Trickster energy:
Embracing the Unexpected: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Uranus (but were afraid to ask)
So, while Trump is certainly playing out his own humpty-dumpty karmic fall from grace—in this life or a future one—he’s also, in his trickster role, being a catalyst to spark the masses to rise up out of their unconscious stupor and more proactively choose the Light—or not.
While it’s true that the more egregious abuses of power are, the more karma incurred, even very subtle levels of selfishness and entitlement can be harmful to others and to our own spiritual growth, and thus create karma (i.e. unfinished business or baggage) to be resolved at some future time—in this life or beyond.
For more on the nature of karma:
If This Were Your Last Incarnation, What Would You Do?
In closing, on a positive note: On December 21, 2020 we’ll have the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at 0° Aquarius which, without doubt, any astrologer would say is a huge beacon of hope. Then, in 2023, Pluto will move into Aquarius until 2042 and during this period everything will slowly start being transformed. We’ll get to witness all the old values of Pluto in Capricorn falling away.
This means that money, materialism, external power and mindless consumerism will be gradually replaced as priorities with the Aquarian values of honoring the higher mind and intuition, more global collaboration and a deeper multi-dimensional understanding of the world.
And finally, I would love to schedule a psychic and/or astrological phone reading with you to help make the absolute most out of these extremely challenging times. Please check out my Services menu and feel free to reach out to me by phone or email anytime to discuss creating the perfect customized session for you or your loved ones.
Breathing deeply and sending out pure aliveness with a smile,
J O A N
“No mud, no lotus.”
“Imagine that the Earth is the tree and we are the leaf”
Thich Nhat Hanh
“The whole Universe is my true personality.”
Anonymous Zen Master
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