THE TOOLS OF THE ALCHEMIST
Transmuting darkness into light, discovering more of ourselves, and uncovering the Truth.
 Good day, fellow Alchemists:
On our manifesting journey, we come to certain crossroads that make us question what it is we really want. And as we gradually attain that which we originally sought after, the why of our journey becomes more defined. Why is it that we have the ability to manifest in the first place? What is this reality in which we live that reacts so rhythmically in accordance with our thoughts? While these questions are yet to be answered, it is interesting to see how we change as individuals after receiving the life we always wished to live. The first major change you may have noticed is an increase in your compassion for other people. It's no great secret that a person is at their happiest when they are living in abundance, but this truth extends itself further in our desire to see others happy as well. This may shed light on why major religions around the world teach about compassion and its importance in attaining wisdom. Those who have mastered themselves are able to see what is truly important. Eventually, their desires become attuned with the wants and needs of the world, which is nothing less than collective awakening and infinite bliss for all. By mastering life and manifesting our desires, we fulfill the role of both student and teacher. We become a beacon of light for others to follow in our footsteps. As we get closer and closer to our ideal existence, we may even begin to shed layers of our ego that hold back our manifesting true joy. If, for example, one were to attempt to manifest a life full of bliss, that person may let go of karmic attachments that have been holding back their blessings. All of this happens through practicing the Law of Attraction! In a world that is just ahead of us, we may become a version of ourselves we never believed would come to fruition. When looking in the mirror, the person looking back at us may be someone we don't recognize. That's because at the beginning of our journey we didn't know who we wanted to be, yet. We only had a vague idea or feeling in our mind, and the Universe helped materialize that thought-form through our very being. It is that wonder of what will be that makes life so interesting. You may not know what you want yet, but that isn't stopping you from manifesting it. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Good day, fellow Alchemists:
The inner dialogue that one has with themselves is never-ending and to silence it may seem impossible. But the truth is Alchemist, we can choose to slowly break free from its hold on our lives by seeing it for what it is: An unnecessary habit. Of course, our thoughts are important and they provide a context to the story of our lives. And while shutting our minds up completely does not have to be our ultimate goal, allowing ourselves to disengage with the endless inner chatter that goes on in our heads every day can increase our sense of bliss. The problem is that we are so invested in our life story that we are unable to experience life in the now. We get to a point where we live in a simulated version of reality. One that is far removed from what is true and immersed in illusions of the mind. Zen masters have long understood the problem that comes with overthinking and intellectualism as a whole. They knew that to verbalize the greatest truths in our world, inevitably corrupts them. Therefore, their teachings involve little explaining and an emphasis on revealing your natural self. When we think about Zen, we often associate sitting mediation as the most authentic method for stopping thoughts. However, in Zen, there are three dignities of man spoken about that can function as mediation: walking, sitting, and lying. Taken to a broader sense, we can view just about anything we do as a way of meditation. What's important is the ability to break the chain of thoughts and be deeply involved with what one is doing at the moment. Sure, sitting mediation is very effective and is the most common way to reach inner tranquility, but when we speak of breaking a habit we often expect the change in lifestyle to pervade all areas of our life. If you were to quit eating junk food, for example, it would not be enough to simply not eat it for an hour while still eating it during the rest of the day. In order to break the habit of incessant thoughts, we must meditate even when we aren't meditating. The greatest joys of life come from experiencing it with no filters; to play the human game as honestly as we can and find peace within the moment. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Good day, fellow Alchemists:
As conscious beings living in the third dimension, we are inherently separate. By inhabiting a physical body and being attached to our ego, we create a boundary that other people cannot cross. This is the most difficult obstacle that the soul must overcome in order to connect with others in a meaningful way. You see Alchemist, once we leave this physical plane, it is very possible that we also leave behind individual consciousness and return to unity consciousness where we belong. Being an individual is something painful for the soul to endure. We may even have a sense of homesickness throughout our lives because of our desire to reconnect with unity consciousness. This is why the search for love is so prevalent in the human story. We are searching for a boundless existence, like the one we originate from. By being in a loving and intimate relationship, we are given the opportunity to completely dissolve our boundaries with another person. This feeling can be euphoric and possibly even a little nostalgic. The problem is that we are dependent on our ability to be open with another person in order to awaken this feeling. Currently, our society does not encourage openness; we live in what is perhaps the loneliest era for humanity. Our inability to form meaningful relationships hurts us and can even manifest in an unhealthy craving for other sources of stimulation. If we are to take our own happiness seriously, we must venture outward to find connections and attain the metaphysical continuity that we crave so badly. In order to do that, we must first know and love ourselves. We must let go of our insecurities and of our egos to fulfill our innate desire for unity. After all, how can we fully connect with another if we are not fully connected to ourselves? We must begin to view love as a practice, rather than a pursuit. By accepting and loving ourselves we can properly give love and create relationships that allow for boundary-breaking love to exist. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Good day, fellow Alchemists:
Alchemy has long been misunderstood by skeptics as being a pseudoscientific method of refining lead into gold. We now know that the real purpose of alchemy was to transmute heavy leaded consciousness into golden consciousness. This process was a metaphysical transmutation of the mind and soul. By harnessing the power of alchemical transmutation, we can transform ourselves from a finite, unconscious being, into a fully-awakened spirit. Alchemists of the past have organized this process into seven steps: The first step is known as calcination, which is the heating of a substance until it is reduced to ashes. The true purpose of this step is the destruction of the ego. With the ego mostly out of the way, we are able to experience a truer sense of perception. The second step is dissolution. This is the process originally described in alchemical texts as the dissolving of ashes into water. What it really means is the complete immersion into the unconscious aspects of the self. This is where serious shadow work begins. Step three is separation, which is the filtering and discarding of unwanted material. From a spiritual perspective, this is when we discard the parts of ourselves that were added on to us through external forces and the ego. It is also the step where we begin to discover our true selves. After separation comes conjunction. This is the combining of separated elements into a new substance. The masculine and feminine aspects of the mind have infused in a stable condition and the birth of a new person (which is you) can occur. The fifth step is called fermentation. During this step, bacteria begin to grow in an organic solution. What this means metaphysically is the sprouting of life in the psyche and the gaining of spiritual awareness. We begin to trust the Universe and learn to listen to our intuition. The second to last step is distillation. It is in this step that we boil and condense the fermented solution to increase its purity. In spiritual transformation, this is when we purify our energetic state, which allows for a clear connection to the new person we have become thanks to the alchemical process. Lastly, coagulation takes place in order to sublimate the purified ferment. In other words, this is when a new level of consciousness emerges and becomes permanent. You can think of it as enlightenment, or as the materialization of the philosopher's stone. Regardless of what it's called, by completing the seven steps of alchemical transmutation you allow the spirit to manifest within your physical being. Previous forms of suffering and karmic cycles may no longer affect you, and a sense of true bliss can be felt emanating from your mind. This process can happen both consciously or unconsciously through synchronistic events. We are all in the process of transmuting lead into gold. Life itself can be thought of as a trial by fire where our spirit is tested. Let the process occur and you will be rewarded. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Good day, fellow Alchemists:
It is no secret, Alchemist, that the Universe is filled with chaotic vibrations that affect us in a variety of ways. Sometimes they even influence us to such a degree as to determine our moods and change our behavior. But there is an order to this chaos. All throughout the galaxy, cosmic bodies revolve around one another in an intricate dance that propels their own unique frequencies, spreading them down to us on earth to stimulate our consciousness. This is why astrology is such an impactful subject. By studying the cycles of planets around our solar system, astrologers have the ability to predict the effects they will have on individuals and society as a whole. In the astrology system, people's birthdate and time determine certain aspects of their personality and their compatibility with other people. While nowadays it is treated as pseudoscience, astrology was once viewed as an insightful source of knowledge that many scientists adamantly believed in. In fact, astrology is not the only study of planetary and natural cycles. Feng Shui and Five Element Theory also classify the effects of natural forces and how they shape a person or place. In Chinese culture, people tend to only take important actions on auspicious days that correspond to positive cosmic energies. Feng Shui takes it a step further and helps architects, city planners, and interior designers with arranging the environment to accommodate for these external forces. Even the Egyptian Pyramids were built with the stars in mind, with the Great Pyramid of Giza being aligned with the Orion constellation. Just about every culture contains wisdom on the forces of nature affecting our daily lives and how to both mitigate the negative aspects and use the positive ones to our advantage. Alignment is the key to living in harmony with yourself and others. By being aware of your own energetic influences and those of the people around you, you can utilize your own power to the fullest. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Good day, fellow Alchemists:
Our time on this planet is short and full of mysteries that seem to remain unsolved for generations. One such mystery is that of our purpose in this life. Why are we here? And where did we come from? It was Robert Monroe who attempted to answer these questions through objectivity alone, and some might argue that he was quite successful in his endeavor. Robert Monroe described the process that the soul undergoes when incarnating on Earth outside of a religious context. A byproduct of his own experiences was the ability to teach people how to induce an out of body experience (OBE) and understand the metaphysical workings of consciousness and the Universe for themselves. He was one of the first OBE pioneers to share his experiences with the world, which gave him a unique perspective on the human condition. One that incorporated the afterlife and the soul. From Roberts journey's out of the body, he concluded that Spirit's initial motivation for incarnating was out of curiosity about the world of the living. The spirit would reincarnate again after having their first taste of life and later become sucked into the matrix of human existence. Life can be addicting in a way, and a kind of force can keep us tangled in an endless cycle of reincarnation. Robert believed that we needed to build-up escape velocity in order to leave this cycle and move on to the next realm of existence. No matter how similar or different these beliefs are when compared to religions and spiritual practices, the idea is uniform and simple. We come here to experience life, allowing us to grow from it. After every lifetime, we accumulate new attachments that tie us down to Earth over and over again. However, the soul is intelligent and will choose experiences that will eventually loosen the grasp that the third-dimension has on us. This is where the ability to manifest comes into play. If you can navigate your life to experience what it is you came here to do, it may be possible to liberate yourself from the cycle of reincarnation. To be able to have what you want is nice, but we rarely consider the fact that it is in our best interest to fulfill these desires. Life is meant to be experienced. Every incarnation we undertake is another chance for us to grow on a multidimensional level. Therefore, it is our duty to ourselves that we accomplish our reason for being here and to make the most of it. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Grand rising, dear Alchemist:
When being told by someone to follow your heart, the usual reaction is one of apathy and jadedness. As though those words are devoid of all meaning. The truth is, Alchemist, that if we were to internalize these words, then it is very possible that we would discover their profound meaning. In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, we are taught the value of listening to one's heart and how it can assist us in discovering our personal legend. The story follows a shepherd boy on a journey to discover his treasure. Along the way, he meets many different kinds of people and learns about the world and himself, allowing him to accomplish his dream and fulfilling his personal legend (If you haven't read the book yet, we highly recommend checking it out). This is the essence of what it means to follow your heart. It is common for people to fall into a life they are unhappy with, and the excuse that dreams don't come true is easy to empathize with. Life is difficult. To even arrive at a place we are satisfied with can be a struggle. The first step is always the most difficult and can sometimes be frightening for those who have become stuck in their ways. That is exactly why heart-centered living is so incredible. By living through your heart and following what makes you excited, many obstacles will be removed from your path, and your personal legend can begin! When you ask for something, the Universe conspires to make it happen. That is, only if you're willing to engage in the story that has been set up for you. This requires courage and the ability to trust in the world. Everything that happens all around us is part of a whole that encompasses everyone and their individual stories. All that has happened in your life is a result of every interaction you've had, which eventually led you to the place you're in now. Serendipity is the magic of this world, and by trusting that your heart will lead you in the right direction, this magic becomes actualized. Listen very carefully when your heart speaks; its voice can be quiet, but it is filled with strong desires. with love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  Good day, fellow Alchemists:
All living beings on earth have a set of instructions within them that teach them how to interact with their environment. This is known as instincts, and it's wildly undervalued as a means of understanding our reality. Instincts are thought of as some scientific process that follows the logic of all biological phenomena, and while this is true, it neglects the role spirit plays within the mechanism. Our instinctual tendencies are not simply a result of genetic methylation, a process thought to be responsible for passing down certain traits, but a shared sequence of experiences passed down to us by our ancestors. It is possible that all our ancestor's experiences live on within our minds so that we may learn from their mistakes and achievements. This may shine some light as to why certain phobias are more common in humans than in other animals. It's not that we are simply able to foresee danger better than other animals, but that certain threats are more dangerous to humans specifically. Those threats end up becoming deeply ingrained fears that are passed down to future generations. For example, think about the very common fear of heights. Why would humans be so keenly aware of the danger falling would pose? Because our ancestors lived in trees at one point during our evolution, so falling may have been an obvious threat to avoid, thus resulting in the fear of heights. The same can be said about the fear of spiders, snakes, and carnivorous animals. Even children, who have never encountered any of these threats, will have their fears manifest in the form of a boogyman or monsters under their bed. The profound effect that our ancestor's experiences have on us is important to analyze if we are to truly become self-realized. Many of our karmic pains and traumas may stem from our ancestors, which is why it is important to try and heal with their experiences in mind. This could be the reason why so many cultures around the world revere and worship their ancestors. They knew how important it was to be connected to the past and to not let it affect them negatively by becoming conscious of its existence. The wisdom that once was is still available to us. All the experiences of mankind are within our minds, ready to be used and built upon for the next generation. with love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel |