Imaginal Journeys in the Underworld

  I’m not sure what to make of this morning’s experience. It seems to fall into the “new” experiences; that is, rather than encountering the soul of a dead person, I am basically out of the equation and serve as a catalyst, helping heal a split affecting a (probably) living person. There is no journeying through the Black to retrieve a soul. It’s more like I become the transition between the two ‘halves’ of the person, essentially serving as a doorway through which they pass. As you can see, it’s somewhat similar to the old experiences but also different. These experiences are highly symbolic such that I can’t really tell who I’m interacting with. At first, I was aware of roiling clouds, touched with fiery orange. I couldn’t tell if it was a sunset or these were clouds billowing out of a volcano. I gradually decided it was a volcano. After a while, I became aware of an entity. It did not appear to be human but, in the Symbolic Realm, it’s hard to tell exactly what things are. This ...

  Imaginal experiences are direct knowledge whereas, as soon as the ego gets a hold of them, they become ordinary knowledge. This means they are reified and turned into experiences that are things. They become abstract symbols that we relate to.  It’s a little frustrating because trying to explain the difference between direct-knowing and indirect-knowing to someone who doesn’t have much experience with direct-knowing is pretty much impossible. I know that all of us do have some degree of direct-knowing but it’s pretty rare. This morning I realized something about Earth Consciousness that I didn't know before. The Earth is in touch with her siblings scattered across the universe through us, her children. We are conduits for communication between other, living planets. And we can be connected to other conduits; i.e., the offspring of other planets. It’s an ingenious means of extra-terrestrial travel that doesn’t rely on technology. Rather, it’s the spiritual development of the ...

  I’m not sure how much stake to put in this because we’re just two days into this but something appears to have changed in the ‘journey’ I experience while meditating. I’m pretty sure that neither yesterday’s nor today’s involved dead people. I *think* they were still alive. Unlike finding the souls of the dead, I’m not sure how aware of me these souls were. In some ways they are but not in the same way as those who have died. It’s also more work. When finding a dead soul, you just need to locate them in the blackness and then pull them over into the next realm so they can continue their journey. With these souls, they’re trapped but not necessarily in the black; it’s more like they’re deluded. Sort of like they’re lost in a maze or a fog and can’t find their way out. Your job is simply to be with them, holding the depth and maintaining the connection to the light of the Truth. This seems to help them in some way, help them climb out of their delusion and get onto firmer footing. ...

  I’m still not sure how much stock to put in this but I’ll write it down anyway and see what happens. As always, I go back and forth over these experiences, sometimes thinking they point to something real and sometimes thinking they’re just fantasies. For the past month, I’ve had instruction during my meditations from the one I refer to as Gabriel, although I don’t know if that’s really who he is. He’s a very fun teacher - lighthearted and joyful with a wicked sense of humor. He’s very permissive and doesn’t judge or condemn anywhere my mind goes. He’s also very focused and provides excellent instruction. Mostly, he’s been teaching focus but more than that, he’s been instructing me on the meaning of enlightenment and the way of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who doesn’t decide to forgo dwelling in the state of Nirvana. Indeed, Nirvana is present in the experience of every Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is a development of the soul and the lotus is the perfe...