THE TOOLS OF THE ALCHEMIST
Transmuting darkness into light, discovering more of ourselves, and uncovering the Truth.
 Good day, fellow Alchemists:
We live in confusing times, Alchemist. It seems the greater our intellectual reach becomes, the more difficult it is to navigate through the endless sea of beliefs that have surfaced in recent years since the rise of the information age. Some might argue that this is a good thing; that we are slowly becoming more aware of the world we live in, rather than being blind to reality. While we are certainly more knowledgeable about the world, we lack the right context that gives that knowledge meaning. The more we know, the weaker our grip becomes on what is real. That feeling of intellectual weightlessness comes with more than its share of anxiety and uneasiness. The truth is, Alchemist, is that reality is not what it seems. To have an accurate understanding of the world around us, we must be mindful of what we are putting into our field of experiences. When all we are fed is information that is meant to fuel our unhappiness, that simulated reality becomes fact in our mind. This phenomenon is promulgated by social media and mainstream news networks, who all seek to profit from our constant attention. Sanity is a fragile thing. In order to maintain our mental health, we must nurture our consciousness with proper stimulation; engage in experiences that are genuine; ones that rekindle the same natural state of bliss our ancestors lived with, despite their harsher living conditions. Being in nature and bathing your eyes in the color of the forests and mountains is a great way to reconnect to what is real. While in nature, you are staring at similar scenery that humans have been subjected to for thousands of years, thus awakening you to a truer reality. It is not through information that we can uncover what is true, rather, it is through experiences that we align ourselves to what is unchanging about reality. With love and sincerity, The Alchemy by LA Counsel  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 |