Difficulties and Tensions Happen to Spiritual People and the Truth about the Number 11! Spiritual Flaccidity, Hunger Games and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Hunger Games

Difficulties and Tensions Happen to Spiritual People and the Truth about the Number 11!  Spiritual Flaccidity and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Maybe it’s the Aquarius or Uranus part of me, but I’ve always gone the opposite way of the crowd.  And in this instance I’m talking about the crowd that thinks or believes that if you have a difficulty in life or tension in any way that you’re doing something spiritually wrong!  Natural Law, you know?  Nature as an example:  the flower, in order to grow, requires the resistance of the earth to push against in order to find the light, the Sun.  Of course, how often do we hear of the other example of the lotus pushing up from the mud to symbolize our life on earth—without the mud the lotus couldn’t grow!

Tension!  There’s been a lot of that this year so far but this is (for me) and 11 year after all – numerology.  Anyway, the soul needs the tension, the strain, the stress, the pull within caused by life on Earth for growth and development just as flowers need rocks in their soil against which to push in order to reach the sun.  If we avoid tension at all costs—the way that the spiritually elite white-lighter population does—we become flaccid of spirit!  And live in yet another delusional state!

We seem to learn and to grow though tension:  maybe that’s what an 11 personal year is all about.  Does the tension and stress of earth living keep the spirit from going flaccid or getting fat and flabby?  Don’t we have to keep in shape (even spiritually)?  And so don’t we need challenges or some sort of oppositional energy (Ha! Thinking in astrological language now) in order to draw us out of our otherwise sleepy white-light delusional haze?  I’m just asking, contemplating—that’s an 11 year thing.  The word “tension”, interestingly enough, is used in describing the vibration of the number 11; Google it, you’ll see.  Other “T” words associated with the 11 vibration are these:  trials and tests.  Surprised?  If so then you might be a white-lighter in need of some 11 “T” vibe reality.

I mentioned at the start of this post the Uranus/Aquarius aspect of psyche and guess what the number 11 is associated with in astrological terms?  Yeah, Uranus/Aquarius is the answer.  And in soul astrology when we look in a chart to find where the soul has experienced trauma or wounding, we usually have our eye scanning for the location of Uranus and what where Aquarius is located.  Anyway…

Any trauma or crisis creates divine possibility and probability for spiritual growth—right?  We can’t have a flaccid soul or spirit now, can we?

Like I was saying, we need that tension in order to grow—or so the theory goes.  Tension is the key to growth; we learn through tension and we exist through tension here on Earth.  Tension creates that oppositional energy that pulls our lotus-flower-self right up out of the mud!  Light does that, sun does that and who says that the light or the sun (the 11 energy) doesn’t come right along with exactly what we need to grow, including crisis and all those T words mentioned earlier?  I’m just sayen’—just contemplating the idea of the necessity of opposition, of the right amount of necessary tension to shape our souls, our hearts, our minds, and our spiritual journey here.

Take the Yin-Yang; within the light there is darkness and vice versa.  And as the white-light crowd goes one way seeking spiritual flaccidity and I go the other contemplating the necessity for oppositional tension, life goes on as it will despite our theories.  Are our experiences in life on Earth all about haphazard odds? Or is there a divine force of intelligence guiding those odds?  As they say in the book and movie The Hunger Games, “May the odds be ever in your favor!”

Meanwhile, if any of those T words are part of your experience (tensions, trials, tests, and trauma), don’t immediately jump to the conclusions that those white-lighter’s push about creating your reality and positive thinking and all the rest of that.  You don’t need a crash course in the Law of Attraction (gimmie’ a break!) and you don’t need to escape into the white-lighter nihilistic delusion either.  Simply realize the true 11:11 vibrational message:  there needs to be balance, yin/yang and avoid the flaccid spiritual extremes.

White and black are the colors of the numbers of 11 which is reminiscent of the yin/yang symbol—two sets of opposites, the world of duality—light in the darkness and darkness in the light.

The number 11 represents challenges; do people know this?

Here’s something I found online [http://www.professionalnumerology.com/chaldeansystem.html] about the number 11:  This is an ominous number to occultists. It gives warning of hidden dangers, trial, and treachery from others. It has a symbol of a “Clenched Hand”, and “a Lion Muzzled”, and of a person who will have great difficulties to contend against.   [Based on Chaldean numerology]

My greater point is that great difficulties happen even though we wish that “the odds be ever in your [our own]  favor” …  despite that, sometimes struggle, strain and striving happens and like the flower pushing against the rock and soil or mud, that’s how we grow.  Don’t let those white-lighters make you feel bad – it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong! It’s only life on earth; it’s soul growth and maybe it’s the odds!  😉

I just remembered a few things.  First, I’ve not been blogging regularly and with this recollection, I (once again) vow to be more consistent.  Secondly, what ever happened to the 37 Verses of the Bodhisattva that I said that I was going to start doing?  Opps, see all of the above; it’s an 11 year!  However, with the above in mind, I did draw a verse number out of the basket here to add to rectify my delinquency.  I drew vow #23 which has to do with attachment and impermanence.  It talks about not holding on to anything — yin or yang, light or dark and those rainbows in life and not being attached to anything.  What do you think about how this verse applies to what I’ve written in this post?  Here it is:

When you encounter attractive objects,

Though they seem beautiful

Like a rainbow in summer, do not regard them as real,

And give up attachment.

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The Little Deer, a Cherokee Legend – Deer Hunters of the Western Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Hunting Season 2011

Think Before You Shoot (or if you must, for you own health, think after… read on and you will see what I mean; it can’t hurt to know these things 🙂

This post was motivated by love for both human and animal kingdoms.

One With The Earth; are you awake or asleep?  A myth is a legend and as many historians will tell you, the power of the myth (See: Joseph Campbell) is…. well, powerful and it holds a truth that is deeply engrained in consciousness.  That is, if one is conscious enough of consciousness to ‘be’ conscious of it.  Either you get that or you don’t.  Let’s move on…

Do you find hunting, the hunter—sport hunting with no reverence for the animal—emotionally upsetting? Are you a hunter who is looking forward to the upcoming hunting season and one who has never considered the spirit of the animal and its connection to your christian god?   Do you believe nature and its inhabitants are on the earth for the sport of serving your destructive pleasure?  On the other hand, you might carry the memories in your soul of the early days when man was merged with nature as one.

Perhaps, like me, you dread the start of the upcoming hunting season.  May you find some comfort or balance with your emotions with that by reading this post.

Whether you have an aversion/abhorrence to hunting OR an attraction to killing animals (either way), my intention in writing about this whole issue of hunting and killing animals is that it be of service to the reader.

If you’re a hunter with no conscious awareness of your spiritual connection to your animal brothers and sisters, maybe you could develop a-little-bit-of one by reading the story of the Little Deer below.  You may want to think about what you are doing when you shoot to kill in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina–you are on sacred ground, the Cherokee Ancestral Home where animals were considered ‘relatives’ and their clans respected.

This information comes from some writing by Warren Jefferson who compiled such information on beliefs of the North American Indian.

The lives of the  North American Indians were infused with the supernatural and there was a constant interaction between the spirit world and theirs.

In my recent study which comes from a renewed interest in Indian culture I came across a Cherokee myth or story referred to as Little Deer.  I am most interested in the ancient ancestors, before Europeans came to North America.

Many Indian tribes throughout North America tell of a time when humans and animals ‘shared common ancestors’ and ‘spoke the same language’ with animals.  (See Ted Andrews, Animal Speak)   We see groups with semi-animal and semi-human ancestors in American Indian culture–half-man and half-animal.   But then don’t we see the same thing in the ancient cultures of Egypt and Greece for example?

Pre-patriarchial times is what I mean… the matriarchal days when earth mother was honored have an influence on the consciousness carried forward into some Cherokee myths. 

There were animal totems and certain animals were seen as protectors of the animal clan.  The person would, in those days, enter into the relationship with the spirit of a particular animal species such as the wolf, bear, caribou, elk, deer or other animal and incorporate the animal’s characteristics into one’s self drawing the animal’s qualities, strengths and survival skills.

Perhaps there are many of us who have the memories of living in such ways still alive in our souls?  And we are the ones who would likely shutter at the thought of sport killing and hunting.

Once a totem animal, in Indian tradition, has been acquired, the person is bound to certain actions and taboos regarding that animal.

Christian or non-spiritual hunters today seem to have no taboos other than their enjoyment of the kill as a sport without any consideration for the soul of the animal.

And, Yes.  North American Indians believed not only animals but trees had a soul too.  Living closely with nature thousands of years ago  it was as obvious to them, just as it would be to today to anyone who lives close to nature and who has thrown off patriarchal religious conditioning which poisons the mind to the sacredness of nature.

Often a person could not hunt or kill his totem animal even as a matter of survival and even if the spirit of the animal was honored.  This is because someone’s totem animal is, for them,  in effect a special “relative”.

The Cherokee ancestral home is in the present-day western Appalachian Mountain region of North Carolina.  Today, many (or most) Cherokee people live in Oklahoma, since their forced removal from the region in 1838 known as the Trail of Tears.  I live in the Cherokee Ancestral territory.

I believe the following information comes from James Mooney’s “Myths of the Cherokee” about North American Indians.

Man is the paramount power and hunts and slaughters the others as his own necessities compel, but is obliged to satisfy the animal tribes in every instance, and according to the Indian system, the bones of the dead are covered with presents for the bereaved “relatives”—the other animals of the animal tribe. (I wonder how many hunters stop to think of the bereaved animal relatives of the animal they kill.)

This pardon by the hunter is made easier, according to the shamans, through their knowledge of reincarnation in which it is understood that every animal has a definite “life term”, which cannot be curtailed by violent means.

If the last paragraph above is true, it will help me get through this year’s deer hunting season—the beginning of which is closely approaching.  I find it highly significant that I seem to have drawn in the information exactly at a time when it is most beneficial to know!

According to the shaman, if the animal is killed before the ‘expiration date of the allotted time for that animal’s life’, the death is only temporary and the body is immediately resurrected in its proper shape from the blood drops, and the animal continues its existence until the end of the predestined period, when the body is finally dissolved and the liberated spirit goes to join its kindred.

This belief appears in the story of Little Deer (below).  In that story, certain supernatural personages have dominion over the animals and are therefore regarded as the… well, for the lack of a better word, perhaps the one who disseminates karma.

Here is the short story of the Little Deer from Cherokee Myth (and there are truths in myths!) about a hunter who neglects to do a ceremony for the animal’s spirit after killing a deer.  The following story comes from beliefs of North American Indians regarding their animal “relatives” who they call the “four-footed tribes”.

The Little Deer

Now, whenever the hunter shoots a Deer, the Little Deer, who is swift as the wind and cannot be wounded [the Soul of the animal group leader for the deer], runs quickly up to the spot and, bending over the bloodstains, asks the spirit of the Deer if it has heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon.

If the reply is yes, all is well, and the Little Deer goes on his way; but if the reply be no, he follows on the trail of the hunter, guided by the drop of blood on the ground, until he arrives at his cabin in the settlement [the hunter’s living quarters], when the Little Deer enters invisibly and strikes the hunter with rheumatism, so that he becomes at once a helpless cripple.

No hunter who has regard for his health ever fails to ask pardon from the Deer for killing it, although some hunters who have not learned the prayer for the animal’s spirit may try to turn aside the Little Deer from his pursuit by building a fire behind them on the trail.  (Moony 1900)

Here is another version of the mythical tale of The Little Deer:

In these early days, the plants, the animals, and the people all lived together as friends. As the people multiplied, however, the animals had less room to roam, and they were either slaughtered for food or trampled under the humans’ feet. Finally the animals held a council to discuss what to do.  The deer held a council and decided to send rheumatism to any hunter who killed a deer without asking its pardon for having done so.

When a deer is shot by a hunter, the fleet and silent Little Deer, leader of the deer, runs to the blood-stained spot to ask the spirit of the killed deer if the hunter prayed for pardon for his affront. If the answer is no, Little Deer follows the trail of blood and inflicts the hunter with rheumatism so that he is crippled.

The more you are motivated by L.O.V.E., the more fearless and free your action will be

Daily Divination 8-2-11 Prosperity and Radiance! Are You in The Flow? I CHING KUA 14 with Tarot and Astrology Archetype Correlations

Using resources wisely—ask Washington DC about that! Today’s message is about PROSPERITY inspired by the I-CHING Kua 14. Prosperity has radiance; it is a grace, an energy, which can be used with positive or negative effects. The energy of money can be either nourishing and supportive or small-minded and self-indulgent. Boy O boy! Don’t we see THAT debate being played out in Washington right now?

The I-CHING wisdom states that  fortune smiles upon us when our vision and plans are in harmony with the flow of the Universe. I think the important word in that last sentence is “flow”. Fears about not having enough always stop that flow—trust me on this one! It’s one of my life lessons! (My natal North Node is in Taurus in the 10th.)

When we have ideals that are in harmony with a compassionate and “flowing” universe, the resources are available to us. Miserliness and greed don’t seem to be part of natural law and the flow of the TAO.

On the other hand, we know that with abundance comes the responsibility of being good a caretaker of resources—acting modestly but not selfishly seems like good common sense. The question is whether or not we act in accordance with what is the highest and best within us. What attitude is in honor and in integrity? It involves compassion and sharing what we have with others when the opportunity presents itself.

The current debates in our country (United States) and throughout the world about finances and the economy bring forth an opportunity to examine our own feelings about finances, wealth, personal economic issues.

Today’s message brings forth the suggestion to examine our own attitudes about finances, prosperity and wealth and our relationship to others where money is concerned.

Relaxing one’s fearful attitudes and maintaining a hopeful and relaxed mind while neither hoarding nor being greedy helps us to stay in the flow that supports prosperity.

Today, the message is to take heart and know that we are all abundantly blessed and with that inward inspiration, outward manifestation becomes apparent. Is this a truth that you are living?

 

ASTROLOGY AND TAROT KEYWORD ASSOCIATIONS TO KUA 14/PROSPERITY

Aries – initiation of action without fear; freedom; creating an identification structure

Taurus – money; value system; relates to 2nd house of “what is valued”

Cancer – feeling secure, safe, comforted (comfortable) and nurtured by life; emotional connections to safety; emotional immaturity

Leo – looking for validation outside of self; seeking outer world gratification and acknowledgment (in this case, through financial success as a validation of self-worth)

 

The Star – being hopeful and relaxing the mind; staying in the “flow”

The Sun – blessings; success; take heart; joyousness and happiness; universal blessings; the sun illuminates all things without judgment or preference—equality

Magician – outward manifestation of inward inspiration

Justice – making discriminating choices

The Emperor – achievement of goals; being responsible

Judgment – Living one’s inner truth; knowing we are more than our physical body and physical possessions; being receptive to the flow; awakening to over-indulgences