THE TOOLS OF THE ALCHEMIST
Transmuting darkness into light, discovering more of ourselves, and uncovering the Truth.
Good Day, Fellow Alchemists:
Do you feel how the world is changing all around us? How old paradigms are beginning to crumble before our very eyes? There is a very powerful transition that is occurring on our planet right now - a move towards the spirit. In order for us to understand what that means, we must first look at our role in all of this. While it may seem like the events around the world are at their worst, it’s all a symptom of this great change. Remember Alchemist, before order comes chaos. Within the cocoon, a disorganized mess of an organism is waiting in darkness to come out in its final form. This transition is the cause for most of our confusion. With the added perspective of spirituality, it’s like we’re trying to look in two directions at once.It’s not the first time a shift like this happened either. Our current experiences are the direct results of smaller shifts that began not too long ago. The last major shift happened when we disconnected from organized religion and put our faith in science. We completely moved away from anything spiritual and only trusted what could be verified by our senses. And who could blame us? The innovations made by scientific pioneering brought the world into the modern age. People across the globe were pulled out of poverty, were given clean water, and bright lights filled the streets, banishing the darkness once and for all. However, it wasn’t long until those bright lights began to blind us. The darkness wasn’t gone, we just weren’t looking at it anymore. With all the mental anguish that has built up from humans being forced to live in cities and work jobs they are unhappy with, we, as a society, are forced to look at our own darkness once again - to step into our shadow. It is a turbulent time, but we must remember that we chose to be here for it. We will all come out the other side and live together in the golden age that is to come. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Grand rising, dear Alchemist:
Existence is an absolute mystery to us humans. No matter how much we try to delve into the the most basic principles that comprise our reality, we always seem to be missing information. This is true for both scientific and spiritual pursuits. What science lacks in its explanations of the world is an all encompassing meaning - a Why factor. Spirituality on the other hand, lacks verifiable evidence for the existence of anything beyond the physical. It is dependent on individual experiences. Perhaps this is the way it should be. The universe, after all, is not obliged to make sense to us. But what if we try on a spiritual perspective and view it through the lens of a scientific mind? Maybe by blending the best of the two beliefs we can derive an even deeper truth. Alchemist, there is a common spiritual axiom which states that all is mind - everything is created through thought. But the word thought is not exactly accurate here. If it were simply our thoughts, the universe and all of existence would be quite fickle. The correct verbiage would be: the imagination. It is through the imagination that we discover ourselves. It is a gateway to psychological archetypes talked about by Carl Jung, which dictate how we view the world as a collective. Imagination is also the direct result of having an animal who thinks in words and can see days and weeks into the future - that would be us. Scientist and spiritual gurus can agree that the act of imagining is something uniquely human. So when we think of the world and how it was shaped and how it changes, we need not cling to the idea of a static reality but instead one created by conscious beings. A reality woven together so tightly by individual imagination that penetrating it is almost impossible, creating an illusion of consistency. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Good day, fellow Alchemists:
Growing up in our society has a way of flattening and chiseling out our uneven ends. What doesn’t fit the mold of acceptable roles is cast aside as unimportant. The things that make us the happiest are downgraded and invalidated by referring to them as hobbies; as urges to be acted upon only after the real work is done. The years pass us by and, lo and behold, we become unhappy adults leading unhappy lives. It’s almost as if we put our need for meaning and fulfillment after our need for acceptance from others - as if life wasn’t hard enough. And even once our work is finished, we find ourselves in a new conundrum; not knowing what makes us happy. The gap between our sense of self and the image of who we project outwardly to others widens to an unreachable point. What a great sin it is to limit and hide our true self, only to maintain a deceitful outward appearance. Living to work to pay for our stuff, so we can continue to work, to pay for our lives, which again, is only dedicated to working. It’s madness. If we claim to be beings of logic and reason, it is only fair that we abide by it. Alchemist, it is your mission to dive head first into the deepest realms of who you are and bring forth your true self and your true desires. Anything less than your greatest dreams are not worth your time. Some might say this is wishful thinking, or that life doesn’t always go as planned. They are right about one thing. Life DOESN’T always go as planned. Sometimes the Universe intervenes and makes fools out of the meticulous planning of us earthlings. And to that, we should be grateful. For it is the blind pursuit of our own inner truth, despite any setbacks or hardships, that we discover our destiny. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Good day, fellow Alchemists:
We often talk about how our power is limitless; how, the only limitations we may run into stem from our own misguided beliefs. While this is true, there are some systems of energetic exchanges we should be aware of when confronted with a state of lacking. Alchemist, throughout time immemorial, humanity has lived in communities in which everyone has a role to play. Each person living in a community supports one another by accomplishing separate goals and dividing up work evenly. This allows for a greater amount of success within any given organization because no one person can do everything by themselves. This fact has not changed, even in our modern society. Whether if it’s giant corporations, governments, sports teams, or even just a small family, authority is delegated as evenly as possible while stay maintaining a hierarchical structure. Of course, as we know, sometimes there are pitfalls and control issues between members of a group, but for the most part, humans tend to get along well. You might be wondering: what does this have to do with returning my own power back to me? Well Alchemist, part of this system relies on individuals giving up parts of their own power to others in order to fulfill their wants and needs. Some of us might have fantasies of living on a remote island, picking fruit off trees and being completely independent from society, but eventually desires for technology and modern comforts will creep in and you’ll be forced to make a choice. Our desires lead us to giving up portions of our own power. Not that there is anything wrong with having desires. But if you ever feel drained or overextended, you should ask yourself: Have I let my own wants weaken me energetically? It is entirely possible Alchemist, that some of the things you may think you want are actually unnecessary to your own well-being and happiness. It is likely for this reason that minimalism has gained such popularity and recent years. It may also shed some light on why Yogis remove themselves from society and relinquish all their worldly desires. The return to power is a great transition that clears ones mind and frees the soul. After all, the choice is always ours to make - meaning of course - that we are indeed limitless,. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Good day, fellow Alchemists:
There is an old parabola that Alan Watts would often tell in his lectures. The story follows a rancher who recently hired a new farm hand to help him. The new employee was sent to do a variety of tasks, which he fulfilled quickly and without error. The farmer was delighted at how diligent his new helper was and tasked him with even more responsibility; to examine potatoes and decide which ones were to be sold and which to throw away. After only a short time of doing the job, the new employee yelled to his boss that he can no longer stand the work and that he wishes to resign. His boss, the farmer, was surprised by his attitude. He had him do all sorts of difficult jobs by himself and never once did his employee complain. The farmer asked his worker what had pushed him over the edge. He even offered him a raise and other such benefits. The worker then explained that he didn’t mind the back breaking work, but the constant decision making with the potatoes had driven him mad! It is believed Alchemist, that our will power is an exhaustible source. Everyday, we have a myriad of choices to make and each one can chip away at our strength to decide Some of us may find ourselves in internal stalemates on a regular basis. We may worry that we hadn’t taken every piece of information into account, but the truth is Alchemist, we never could! It all stems from a desire to control the outcome. This is why having trust in the Universe is so useful. If we allow the world around us to be shaped in whatever way fate has in store for us, much of our power can be returned to us. It is for this reason that every leader delegates authority to the people around them. By giving up control you will have the entire Universe working in your favor. All you must do is learn to let go. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Grand rising, dear Alchemist:
Our body is a wondrous tool for exploring all that the third-dimension has to offer us. We travel with it and interact with one another through it, and when our time on this planet is over, we return our body to the earth. It is truly a beautiful relationship, yet we often neglect our bodies energetic needs. Alchemist, your mind and body crave unity with each other! These days, most of us spend our time sitting in front of a computer or phone while our bodies waste away. It is not simply a matter of exercising and eating properly, we are completely disconnected from our body and the sensations we feel. Our physicality is the tether that binds us to this reality. By not living through it and bringing it to our awareness through out the day, we become stuck in the world of the mind. This, of course, results in stress and a lack of overall health. We must remember Alchemist, that humans are three-fold beings: mental, physical, and spiritual. In order to achieve balance and growth, we must master all three of these facets in our lifetime. It is no wonder why yogis and sages incorporated different styles of moving mediation, instead of only sitting mediation. Styles of mediation like Yoga and Qi Gong were developed for bringing the mind back into the body, allowing us to guid our pure intentions through our energetic pathways, clearing them and returning the body to a natural state. An easy practice of bodily awareness that anyone can do is slow-motion movements. It can be any movement, walking, eating, cleaning; as long as you’re moving slow enough to focus on every subtle shift, your mind and body will become one. If that sounds too tedious, then just try standing in one location and focus on all the sensations you feel within your body. The mind and body work at an optimal level when they interact with each other. This union is an important key in maintaining a stable life. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Good day, fellow Alchemists:
How aware are you of the experiences you manifest into reality? Can you see the nexuses between your thoughts and the world you live in? Perhaps you’ve already begun to trace the events in your life back to some unconscious beliefs you’ve held and are now growing past those limitations? Yet, some experiences tend to feel enigmatic. Whatever lesson you were meant to learn from them eludes you, and an exit towards a new reality is nowhere to be found. It might seem like a cop out for your own spiritual growth, but some experiences you have might actually not stem from your own manifestations. Alchemist, has it ever dawned on you that the people you are surrounded by play a large role in creating the world you live in? This is called co-creation, and it dictates how the world is shaped as a whole. We are all together manifesting new realities and coming into a kind of energetic contract with one another. You can think of it kind of like a form of collective validation. When the entire human race agrees that pigs cannot fly, then that reality is collectively manifested. This makes certain situations very difficult to change in our favor. While this may sound a little too deterministic, there are plenty of loopholes to take advantage of to get better manifestation outcomes. We can use the collective unconscious to manifest our desires more accurately by flowing with the strong current of beliefs that already exist. To be clear, you probably can’t make your pet pig fly like an eagle, but you can take positive perceptions that people have on any given situation and focus on it yourself. If you are going on vacation and are worried about your own safety while flying and traveling, simply tap into the collective unconscious that strongly believes that flying and traveling is safe and it will manifest smoothly within your reality. The same can be done with peoples perception of you. If you need to perform well at something, just unlock the collective belief that you are highly capable. By using the collective unconscious to our advantage we can freely take part in all the most positive beliefs held by those around us, rather than the negative ones. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council Grand rising, dear Alchemist:
It’s been a remarkable journey on this planet, hasn’t it? From the moment we are born into this world, we experience all manners of joy and fulfillment; from our first love to our first grandchild. Some of us are lucky enough to have traveled the world, pursuing our dreams, changing the world for the better, and even living long enough to watch new generations do the same. But occasionally, with the sweetness of life comes a bitter aftertaste. Almost all people experience trauma to varying degrees. It is part of the give and take of third-dimensional living. By having a body we are vulnerable to physical pain, and by having an ego we can be emotionally hurt as well. Anyone you meet can attest to the fact that reality can be both beautiful and cruel. That leaves us with a question: If given the opportunity, would we choose to come back to this plane of existence and live as a human once more? As we’ve discussed in previous transmissions, reincarnation is a phenomenon that exists in almost every religion and culture in one form or another. Many eastern traditions set their sights on an existence beyond the never-ending cycle of reincarnation and seek to free their soul from the pain of life. However, couldn’t we also accept that the pain we inevitably feel is worth the joyous experiences we create? It’s a difficult concept to wrap our heads around, especially when factoring in the mystery of what awaits us in the afterlife. When given the opportunity to reincarnate, we may feel as though our previous life had ended too quickly and that there are still many things we wish to experience. Contrary to that point, we may feel as though we’ve had our fill of human life and wish to move on towards our next adventure. Well Alchemist, considering that we are all here at this present moment, living as humans, we can be sure that if the option to reincarnate existed, we’ve already made our decision. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Council |