What is tradition? It is a belief, ritual or behavior passed down within a culture or civilization with symbolic meaning that connects with our origins in the past.
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Traditions often persist and evolve for thousands of years. They lay the foundations and structures of how we live, express and experience this reality. One theory of social science is that tradition is often contrasted with innovation of entire societies. This contrast in thinking can be confusing. We are currently experiencing the expansion  of social change, one where societies progress from being traditional to being more current or progressive.

Unifying traditional beliefs, objects or customs implemented or believed in the past, with enlightened and accelerated views and information in the present assist us to change paradigms,  breaking the bonds that confine us.

The problem for many is that while they are attempting to create new paradigms they have become somewhat flippant of past traditions. Some individuals are saying that the Master of the past are set in their ways, that the information is out dated.

As a teacher and spiritual coach I believe in setting up strong basic structures and foundations to build on. For instance, A basic structure such as the 7 major energy centers in the chakra system, will always remain a foundation. The traditional colours and the new energies they bring, will change and new ones will open.  The Blue Ray will always carry the energy of The Will of God, although the expression of that Ray and how it activates us may change.  Archetypes will always be created by the mass consciousness, however those archetypes will change and evolve into new ones as we begin to change our paradigms.  DNA will always be contained in the human form, although it’s components, form and expression will evolve to match our consciousness.
I believe that there are many of us who strive to change our current paradigms and be the “Oneness and Love” that the spiritual realm offers us. In order for us to change our paradigms and those of society we must first begin to change the neuro pathways in our brains that dictate behaviour and emotional response. Anyone who channels knows  the fasted way to change those pathways in not by creating  new ones, because creating a totally new neuro pathway can take years. However re-routing the old neuro pathway patterns, creates new realities. This is the reason we see paradigm shifts taking so long on a mass consciousness level.

If we respect and honour tradition, while embracing newness we begin to re-route our pathways. After all the foundations of our bodies and energy systems have supported us for eons. I like to think of it as doing a renovation. We often keep the foundation and upgrade or build onto it with innovative technologies and/or modern décor.

For those out there saying, “the Masters are set in their ways and the information is old”, I say, “interesting, that’s not my experience.” The information and teachings I receive from the Masters has changed and evolved considerably over the years. It was Kwan Yin and her disciple Beishu who provided me with the information and techniques to chakra colours over 14 years ago which I called The Beishu Method ™. Then St. Germain who taught me how to do paradigm shifts and create the new technology in Magic Max XL. It is St. Germain and another Master (who will remain nameless for now) who is teaching me a new technique that moves the double helix DNA encoding to a triple helix and instills new neuro pathways by re-routing the old ones through evolving archetypal patterns…cutting age stuff and new information needed for our conscious evolution!
​The Masters continue assist us to adapt and evolve to new energies, they have after all made their ascension and as such have an advanced perspective which is not egocentric. In other words, “been here, done that.” Lived on the earth plane and acquired complete knowledge, skill, techniques and disciplines that benefited them in the ascension process. Are they the only ways? No, they are simply foundations of truth that can be built upon.

Remember the words, “I am that I am”?  You can call it your God-Self, Creator-Self, Divine-Self or I Am Presence whatever you choose, the concept and foundation is still the same it is only the words and or view of that aspect of self that has changed. It seems to me that, old concepts are simply being re-labeling and presented in a new way, then passed on as “current” while discrediting our foundations and traditions.

In my humble opinion, if we want to receive information from those who have come before us, and laboured to assist humanity in not only finding by simply choosing enlightenment, dissing them is not the best approach. By showing honour and respect to the Masters and the fundamentals they have strived to initiate, we open ourselves to becoming vessels on new knowledge, information  and up dated tools that assist our evolution in a broader way than our egos can see.

As one of my precious clients said to me this morning, you wouldn’t re-invent the wheel would you? So my question to you is, has the wheel been re-invented or simply modernized and remodeled to be more efficient for the changing times?

If you ask most people what it is they truly want, you will likely hear, ” peace and harmony.” In an attempt to find my own inner peace, I recently went on a 10 day silent meditation retreat. Many of my friends and clients are curious about my 10-day meditation experience. The best way I could describe my experience was to say it was a cross between, being a monk or nun,  and a prisoner.
The most common first reaction is, “I could never do that, 10 days without talking or eye contact, just sit and meditate all day, you don’t eat dinner!” When I think back to past events at the center, I am amazed by how quickly time went by. While a day of 10+ hours of meditation passed by unexpectedly easier than I had imagined, 10 days of meditation with the same daily schedule passed by incredibly slow at times as well, I must admit, there were days when I was extremely bored. There were days that I was peaceful and totally blissed out and there were days when I thought if I had to listed to one more raspy, guttural chant I would lose my mind and be locked away forever (especially on day 2 & 6). There were days when the chanting lasted for what seemed forever and in the days to follow there were times I longed for this assault on my senses, because it meant that the one hour of no movement that filled me with joint pain, sleeping legs and excruciating back pain was about to come to an end! For me it truly was a love (craving)/hate (aversion) relationship. To fully understand what I am referring to click this link: Shri SN Goenka – (Vipassana metta chant)
At times I was grateful to be there in the silence and doing something just for me, and there were times I felt like crap, was in pain and felt like I was in some self imposed prison camp.

“What type of meditation was this” you ask?

Vipassana meditation, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. It was taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills and purification on the mind.
The four qualities of a pure mind are:

• metta-selfless love
• karuna-compassion
• mudita-sympathetic joy
• upekkha-equanimity

There were roughly 28ish men and 23ish women present at the retreat and we were segregated, the men had access to one side of the site and the women the other – with separate dining halls and a separate field and woods where each group could meander around and be in nature.

This course was conducted in noble silence, what does that mean?

Well, Noble Silence  is a technique used by a lot of Buddhists, monks, and nuns in which a person refrains from speaking, eye contact or gestures as a way to help quiet the mind and condition the body. For me it was a way to focus internally without being taken out of my process by focussing on someone or something else. As one who does healing, I naturally and constantly make others a priority. I am easily distracted by their needs, and…voila, I no longer have to focus on my stuff. With 10 days of noble silence I was unable to allow myself to be taken of task. Although I felt myself being pulled this way or that at times by the many who were in pain or ill, I tried to remain focused on the fact that I could do nothing to assist them, I had to hold them as able and allow them to go through their own process…amazingly, everyone survived! For me this was a major breakthrough and I released a deeply entrenched habit pattern.

The daily schedule was as follows:

4:00                         Morning wake up bell
4:30 – 6:30             Meditation
6:30 – 8:00             Breakfast and rest
8:00 – 9:00             Meditation
9:00 – 11:00           Meditation
11:00 – 12:00         Lunch
12:00 – 13:00         Rest / interviews with the teacher
13:00 – 14:30         Meditation
14:30 – 15:30         Meditation
15:30 – 17:00         Mediation
17:00 – 18:00         Tea break (only fruit)
18:00 – 19:00         Meditation
19:00 – 20:15         Video discourse by S.N. Goenka
20:15 – 21:00         Meditation
21:00 – 21:30         Question time
21:30                       Bed

We were provided with two fantastic vegetarian meals each day, breakfast and lunch. At dinner time, we had a shorter break and were served fruit and tea. I must say people can be very creative when they receive the same food selection every evening for 10 days! For the evening break, many students soon discovered that a little cinnamon and honey on sliced banana or apples was a good combination. I even noticed one person mush up banana in a bowl and add hot water and honey. Others made fruit salads. I tried several of the previous options, closer to day 7 I began just having a 1/2 of a banana and some Bengal spice tea. surprisingly I wasn’t hungry in the evening and it all turned out just fine.
Those who were there in serve as volunteers were absolutely fabulous. I am sooooo very grateful to them for their loving contributions and have already decided that I will go back in a service role to contribute on another level.
I learned that my cravings/desires (raga) or my aversions (dosa) to certain things (possession, emotions, beliefs) create strong attachments. Suffering, unhappiness, anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, dissatisfaction, disappointment, frustration, pride, arrogance, fear and worry are all derived from craving and aversion.
When the mind is being over-powered by craving or aversion, or continual focus on desires or aversions lead to patterns in the unconscious mind that are connected to the sensory output. This then transforms any attachment to a craving or aversion we develop into what is referred to as a “sankhara.”
According to our teacher S.N. Goenka the body creates these sankharas; deeply rooted mental patterns with some kind of karmically reactive energy knot that generates impure thoughts and actions. They are basically habitual patterns we have learned over the years or lifetimes buried in the unconscious mind that we respond to. They in turn begin to trigger our cravings or aversions or avoidances. Most people try to stop craving or stop avoiding at the activity level i.e. “I won’t have a drink tonight” Regular Vipassana practice assists us to observe our sensations with equanimity, by doing so, we begin to stop generating new sankharas, and our old ones bubble up to the surface and get evaporated. When we evaporate all our sankharas, we become enlightened.
For someone like me whose specialty is removing patterns from the unconscious mind, I was delighted to discover a technique that I could use to eradicate these blueprints not only this lifetime but from all lifetimes.
Through Vipassana meditation we discover that our happiness does not depend on manipulating the external world, we only have to see ourselves clearly in order to free out deep seated patterns. It is the method by which the Gautama Buddha and his disciples freed themselves from every form of suffering and attained awakening and enlightenment, it is not Buddhism. In Vipassana meditation we do not call on the assistance of god, spirit or any other external power, is a independent method, open to people of any faith or none at all, you and you alone through your own efforts find mastery.
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So what was my personal meditation experience like?

In Goenka’s teaching, Vipassana goes as follows: feel the sensations in your body, both the gross sensations (like pain in your knees) and the subtle ones (like just focus on your hands, right now, and after a few seconds you’ll probably feel a little tingling, or maybe heartbeat-like pulsing.) Notice them, develop your awareness, and also develop your equanimity, don’t react to them with clinging or aversion.
Some sittings were very eventful, others were distracting, some boring, others blissful, some intriguing. When all is said and done, what I have learned is that instead of labeling or judging each sitting, I have become a silent observer. In fact, I now realize that if I become attached to a experience in a sitting I may begin to crave that, if I begin to dislike a bored sitting then I may begin to create aversion for it, this in turn begins the cycle again and creates new sankharas!
My intention was to go and do something for me, self healing. In doing this I in turn make the world a better place. I learned a lot about my body and my mind during the process and in the week since. So life becomes an observation and as I observe all aspects of it without cravings or avoidances, I begin to release myself from my disharmonious patterns and misery…this has got to be good for all those I come in contact with…allelujah!
I wish you all compassion on the path to liberation,

Hi Carol,
Sometimes I believe that one who is on a spiritual path should offer services free, and once on a spiritual path how do people know if they are doing the right occupation as a service?
Please withhold my name, thank you for your feedback.

Hello __________
Beliefs are powerful. Beliefs can set a tone for certain realities to occur. Poverty is often associated with wealth of the spirit and wealth of finances is seen as the fall of the spirit. This thought pattern runs so deep that it often influences us on profound levels. Unconsciously we believe that if we are called to be in “service” an economic crash will pursue and we will be stripped of our material wealth. Somehow we have been programmed to believe that poverty and the spiritual path are a team. There is no such rule!
For the second part of your question you need to ask yourself the following questions; has your longing to live a more spiritual life included a need to change your occupation?  When you were  are “called”, did you determine the path or were you “called” to the path that the Divine determined you were most suited to?
Perhaps that path is not an occupation; perhaps it is one of personal transformation in a more understated form.

Hi Carol, I have some questions below:
What is enlightenment? Is it the same a raising your consciousness? And,
When Buddha found enlightenment, was it something he reached and stayed there, or is it a practice, that you do everyday?
Thanks for clarifying.

Hi Shelley,
The concept of “enlightenment” as a spiritual path is associated more with Eastern spiritual traditions than it is with Judeo-Christian theology. Enlightenment is the unfolding process of spiritual awakening. It is our emergence from our self-imposed bondage. Bondage caused from the inability to use ones understanding without the guidance from another.  Enlightenment is a form of transformation. It is essentially gathering all the parts of you that are light to come together at the same time; the manifestation of the energy of your spirit in totality.
I do believe that there is some misconception that becoming “enlightened” will somehow provide us with innate perceptive abilities and continual peace thus allowing us to change conditions of earth-based reality. We hold these perceptions because most people need a tangible outcome for their efforts, if they are going to exert themselves, they need results they understand and for most that is 3D based.
This is a brief overview of the life of Buddha; I will let you determine whether or not you feel he stayed in  a state of enlightenment or if he had to work at it daily.
Gautama Buddha, the historical Buddha, lived between 563 and 483 BC in the area known now as the Indo-Nepalese region.
He was born into royalty. When the young prince was in his twelfth year, the king called the wise Brahmans in council. They revealed that Gautama would devote himself to asceticism if he cast his eyes on age, sickness, or death.
Wanting his son to be a universal monarch instead, the king surrounded the palace with a triple enclosure and guard and proclaimed that the use of the words death and grief were forbidden. The most beautiful princess in the land, Yasodhara, was found for his bride, and after Gautama proved himself in many tournaments calling for strength and prowess, when he was 16, the two were wed and had a child together.
Gautama was kept amused and entertained for some time by this privileged life behind the palace walls until one day his divine vocation awoke in him, and he decided to visit the nearby town. The king called for everything to be swept and decorated, and any ugly or sad sight to be removed. But these precautions were in vain for while Gautama was travelling through the streets, an old wrinkled man appeared before him. In astonishment the young prince learned that decrepitude is the fate of those who live life through. Still later he met an incurable invalid and then a funeral procession. Finally heaven placed in his path an ascetic, a beggar, who told Gautama that he had left the world to pass beyond suffering and joy, to attain peace at heart.
Confirmed in his meditation, all these experiences awakened in Gautama the idea of abandoning his present life and embracing asceticism. He opened his heart to his father and said, “Everything in the world is changing and transitory. Let me go off alone like the religious beggar.”
Grief-stricken at the idea of losing his son, the king doubled the guard around the walls and increased the pleasures and distractions within. Yet even this could not stop the troubling thoughts in Gautama’s heart or close his eyes to the realizations of the impermanence of all life, and of the vanity and instability of all objects of desire.
His mind made up, he awoke one night and, casting one last look at his wife and child, mounted his horse and rode off. For many years he studied the doctrines until, having felt the need to learn more elsewhere, he traveled and fasted. His two teachers had showed him how to reach very deep states of meditation. This did not, however, lead to a sense of true knowledge or peace, and the practice of deep meditation was abandoned in favour of a life of extreme simplicity which he shared with five companions.
Resolved to continue his quest, Gautama made his way to a park near present day Benares. Here he sat beneath a tree meditating on death and rebirth. Discovering that excessive fasts destroy strength, he learned that as he had transcended earthly life, so must he next transcend asceticism. Alone and weak, he sat beneath the sacred Bodhi tree of wisdom, and swore to die before arising without the wisdom he sought.
It was here that Gautama attained knowledge of the way things really are; it was through this knowledge that he acquired the title Buddha (meaning “awakened one”). This awakening was achieved during a night of meditation, which passed through various stages as the illumination that Gautama had sought slowly welled up in his heart. He knew the exact condition of all beings and the causes of their rebirths. He saw beings live, die and transmigrate. In meditating on human pain, he was enlightened about both its genesis and the means of destroying it.
In this meditation he saw and understood each of his previous existences, and then understood the chain of cause and effect. He then reviewed the death and rebirth of all living beings and understood the law that governs the cycle of birth and death. He was able to identify the Four Noble Truths.
When day came, Gautama had attained perfect illumination, and had become a Buddha. The rays emanating from his body shone to the boundaries of space. He stayed in meditation for seven more days, and then for four more weeks he stayed by the tree. Through his process of enlightenment he discovered that all sentient beings in this universal life possess Buddha hold, and all are future potential Buddhas.
From that time he had two alternate paths: he could enter Nirvana immediately, or else he could stay and spread enlightenment. After Brahma came in person to beg him to preach the law, Buddha yielded and stayed on the earth. For many years he traveled and taught his wisdom about the force of love and the destruction of all desire.
Although initially hesitant to share his insight on the grounds that humanity might not be ready for such a teaching, the Buddha decided to communicate his discovery to those willing to listen. The remaining 45 years of the Buddha’s life were spent journeying around the plain of the Ganges, teaching and receiving visitors.
After his death, Buddha’s remains were cremated, as became the Buddhist tradition. The passing away, or the final nirvana, of the Buddha occurred in 483 BC on a full moon day in the month of May, known in the Indian calendar as Wesak.
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Hi Carol,
Can you tell me a little more about Zeolite and its uses please.
Joanne

Hi Joanne,
I was appalled when I saw how much a bottle of Zeolite was at the Health food store…1 oz for $57.99. This led me to research and find the crystals I needed to create a form of zeolite that has very high vibration and also has other great qualities on a more spiritual side. I sell mine at $30.00 for a 50 ml bottle. Here are the physical benefits.

The Health Benefits of Zeolite

Due to advances in modern technology we have been exposed to never before seen pollutants, toxic chemicals and poisonous heavy metals. We literally live in a chemical soup. The chemicals come into our bodies through the food we eat, the water we drink, and the very air we breathe, the clothes we wear and the convenient everyday products we tend to use. This situation actually threatens our very survival.
Until recently, the only sure way to remove the most destructive heavy metals and toxins from our bodies was through I.V. chelation, a process both invasive and expensive. We now have discovered a totally natural and inexpensive solution to this daunting issue. It’s a miracle mineral called zeolite, and it is perhaps one of the most important substances on Earth today.
Soul Alchemy Healing’s Zeolite Proprietors Blend is a unique formula that absorbs the toxins, free radicals, and metals from your body, and boosts the immune system. Our exclusive Zeolite formula includes an anti Candida Albacans fighting component and has been shown to balance the body’s pH. Foreign cells cannot grow in a balanced pH environment. This mineral has been shown in independent studies to be effective fighting certain types of cancer.

Purification, Detoxification, and Purging with Zeolite
Build-ups of waste products, acidosis and heavy metals can damage our bodies. Unbalanced diets, pollution and food additives can all cause waste products and heavy metals to build up in our bodies. This often leads to acidosis causing “clogging” of the cell membranes. In other words, our cells slowly suffocate. Build-ups of heavy metal toxins (especially cadmium, mercury and lead) are the cause of many serious medical conditions.
The energy of this Zeolite elixir is such a high vibration that it can actually passes between the body’s cells. Due to its extraordinary adsorption and selection capabilities Zeolite binds with waste products, toxins and, most importantly, harmful heavy metals, allowing these substance to be easily eliminated from the body. The high vibration of our Zeolite formula is also a highly effective antioxidant, allowing it to neutralize free radicals on contact.

Other Uses our Ground-breaking Zeolite Formula
Zeolite is a unique antioxidant. A traditional antioxidant works by absorbing excess free radicals into its system because it has an impaired electron. In contrast, zeolite traps free radicals in its complex structure, inactivating and eliminating them.
Other benefits from taking zeolite are:

• Stops acute and chronic diarrhea
• Raises the body’s antioxidant levels
• Binds mycotoxins, forming stable complexes
• Reduces side effects of chemotherapy/radiation
• Stabilizes and regulates immune system
• alleviates headaches and general aches and pains
• regulates blood pressure and pulse rate
• improves degraded conditions of the liver
• improves degraded conditions of the pancreas

​The remedy also has….Charoite
Charoite is the gemstone for this age.  It provides for a synthesis between the heart and the mind.  It sustains your attention span, and opens the heart.
This mineral provides for transmutation of negativity and for grounding to the spiritual self; something needed in these times of extreme earth changes and as we move closer to 2012 and our evolution.  It is useful in cleansing the auric body and filling the chakras with a loving spiritual energy and assists you to stay present.
Charoite tends to transmute the symptoms of illness and dis-ease to well-ness.  It can be used to treat disorders of the eyes and heart, to provide improvement in autistic pursuits, to alleviate headaches and general aches and pains, to improve degraded conditions of the liver {e.g. due to excess alcohol}, to improve degraded conditions of the pancreas {e.g. due to excess refined sugars}, and to stimulate and regulate the blood pressure and the pulse rate.
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This remedy also contains 6 other gem stones with other healing properties.

This is the link to Soul Alchemy's Zeolite