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Leon Lewis on Your Earth Calling

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ANCIENT LEGACY

By Leon Lewis

Each of us, whether we are aware of it or not, has a unique, sacred Earth calling via which we discover, assimilate and express aspects of Earth’s legacy that we have come to explore, both individually and collectively. Life is offering each of us the opportunity to rediscover our original promise that was made on a soul level. This calling and the power to bring it forth, is available for each of us to explore by paying conscious attention to the relationship we have with our environment and the messages we receive from it.

Having lived in Southern Africa for all of this lifetime, my attention has to a considerable extent been focused on the Earth legacy of this part of the world. Ever since I can remember I have had a deep respect for the First Peoples of our planet and the magical aspects of their relationship with the environment. An alternative term to describe these First Peoples might be ‘the people of nature’.

Many correlations between groupings around the world can be found within the context of the expression of Earth wisdom. There are also distinct differences, specific to each particular group, which define their unique contribution to the tapestry of our human experience. The correlations unite and bond not only all of the World’s First Peoples around the common aspects of their wisdom and legacy, but also incorporate the peoples of contemporary society – who might be described as ‘the people of technology’. Some, from within this context, have been exploring the various indigenous legacies, from the ancient as well as the contemporary viewpoint.

If we regard Mother Earth as a living being and teacher, then it stands to reason that we acknowledge her many ways of communicating to each living entity its encoded purpose, which has been held in safe keeping, to be released as and when the time is right. The earth is guardian to a fragile and exquisite legacy that records the sum total of all experience since her primordial beginnings; a legacy which each of us has helped to create and which contains many clues that we left for ourselves as markers along life’s ancient road. These serve as stepping stones to greater awareness, to be gathered up as ‘pieces of the puzzle’ and put together to create a more expanded picture.

As we grow in the profound realization that we are here to seek and become the harmony between heaven and earth – between the world of energy and matter, or between masculine and feminine aspects – we discover a simple truth, namely that the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether have to be in balance within our lives. We establish this balance through the medium of all of our relationships.

The First People of Southern Africa lived in harmony with the elements for thousands of years. Their descendants generally refer to themselves by the collective names of “Bushmen” or “San”. As with many of the First Nations upon our planet, who nowadays mostly constitute minority groups in the lands of their origins, the cultural traditions of the Bushmen are greatly threatened. Dispossessed of most of the land that nurtured their forefathers for countless generations, and destabilized as a result of westernization, the few Bushmen groups who have to some extent remained connected to the natural ways of their ancestors struggle to thrive. Most have moved off the land, to nearby towns and villages, and have thus become assimilated into relatively westernized communities. Some still remember the old ways, but many have forgotten.

In times gone by, their respect for the land equaled their respect for the Great Spiritual source, and it was understood by all that Spirit lives in everything. The spirit within sang in worship of the trees, the sky, the wind, the animals, fire and rain. They were a nation of great story-tellers, hunters, rainmakers and healers. Each individual had a sacred calling, a special gift. One person could see into the future, another could communicate with the spiritual realms and ancestors; some could communicate with the animals and, through this communion of souls, hunt food for the people. There were those who were gifted in the magical ways of the trance dance, in which the Shaman would experience entry into spiritual dimensions and from this perspective assist in healing the sick. Sometimes the healer would ‘become’ the animal by assuming particular qualities of its being. This special gift, sometimes referred to as ‘shape shifting’, has often been depicted in the numerous examples of Bushman rock art to be found throughout Southern Africa, as therianthropic beings (part human, part animal). Still others were blessed with intuitive knowledge about herbs and plant medicines.

These gifts were all understood to have come from the spiritual realms and were intended to maintain the ‘love connection’ they had with the Creator. The healing dance – the dance of the ancient consciousness of the land – has always been the dance of community, the dance that invokes the life-giving legacy of nature. Thus it was that the First Peoples of Southern Africa lived in peace with Mother Earth, sharing all that they had with one another. Their love connection – the simple communion with the animal and plant spirits, the sun, the moon, the stars and the ancestors – was their natural way to balance and share energy in order to live in harmony with all life everywhere. They always understood this essential interconnectedness of all life – that one member of the group is diminished by the lack of the other.

It is the Oneness of all of life which forms a common thread and establishes a bridge, from the spiritual perspective, between individuals and between countries – beyond borders and boundaries. If this Oneness is held as the common guiding principle in all that we do, think and say, it has the power to help us unite more deeply within our search for harmony, truth and light.

In order to embrace Oneness as inhabitants of Mother Earth, we are now challenged to recall the ancient memory, which is beyond language. The experience of the First Peoples suggests to us that collective memory be accessed via the feeling nature, by consciously acknowledging our pain and our joy (past and present), and then expressing this primal experience in symbolic ways that are meaningful to us. The sum total of a multi-dimensional inner journey of this nature is too vast and too intricate to be effectively conveyed between people solely by means of the intellect. If communicated via the heart and heart connections, we might authentically share with each other and with Spirit, who it is that we are.

The shared results of this re-awakening, sensed in the energies and feelings that form part of the experience (including feelings of love), have the power to bring about an acknowledgement in each individual of the fundamental nature of being human upon our planet – ‘god-man, god-woman’, with the potential for conscious awareness, within the context of the microcosmic and macrocosmic aspects of our universe.

As we recognise the significance and power of sacred sites associated with the ancients, we have the opportunity to honour these places as pilgrims. Furthermore, we are encouraged to become re-acquainted with natural medicines and to revive our intrinsic respect for natural law, thus regaining the knowledge that is necessary to thrive and live in harmony with the land.

As we remember, we release ourselves from time – from ‘the beginning and the end’ – and return to our essence. Resonating more harmoniously with the song of Mother Earth, we become more familiar with the intimate dance of relationship with our higher and lower nature, as well as with others around us. In honoring the Oneness of humanity, nature and Spirit, we begin to radiate creative vitality and the wisdom of the ages, which has always been our birthright.

Leon Lewis

from:    http://www.spiritofmaat.com/jul12/ancient_legacy.html

Leon Lewis on Higher Consciousness

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Expanding into higher consciousness

By Leon Lewis

In my previous article in the February 2012 edition, I explored the subject ofconsciousness beyond conditioned thought, and emphasized the importance of attuning to the natural environment and honoring universal principles in support of a deeper relationship with all of life. The subject of higher consciousness and the associated realms is infinite and may be interpreted and experienced in as many ways as there are self-aware entities. In this and further articles I aim to draw from the experience of my personal journey with the purpose of inspiring others to reach more deeply into realms beyond the limitations of societal conditioning. The inspiration for my written work comes from aspects of my inner guidance, with no exclusive allegiance to any particular creed or dogma.

‘Expanding into higher consciousness’, briefly stated, describes the process of becoming one with the Source; completing the current evolutionary cycle, having gained experience that contributes to all of life. This journey is about progressively embracing Oneness. It does not necessarily imply that mastery has to be attained within all realms in order to live as a spiritually aware, universal being.

However, as implied in my previous article, the journey of conscious evolution does entail releasing (or healing) the limiting aspects of our conditioned existence, some of which include subconsciously motivated tendencies regarding our attitude and behavior. The journey involves enjoying the gifts and beauty that our earthly experience offers us and embracing the lessons that we receive from our lower nature. Nevertheless, it is also necessary to work with those aspects of the lower nature that might once have served us and now no longer serve, so that they might either be released, or transmuted and integrated – by choice. If not consciously worked with, unexamined tendencies can develop into what might be understood as compulsive behavior, or the creation of comfort zones beyond which it becomes progressively difficult to remain balanced and fulfilled.

Releasing the nature of being conditioned (including the inclination to subscribe to the culture of control) initially creates a vacuum that we are challenged to fill with new experience as we ascend the ‘ladder of awareness’, so that we align with the greater and more expanded aspect of our being – that which I refer to as the higher nature (and which some describe as the higher self). The higher nature (or higher self) is you, but ‘more’ of you.

I use the term ‘higher nature’ to convey the image of the expanded, inclusive self, which is connected to the Source of all of nature. This includes the nature of who it is that we are in this lifetime and beyond; in other words, that which we might describe as the eternal ‘soul self’. Therefore, the experience of the higher nature characterizes the evolving experience of the soul self in its awakened state, as we achieve this connection from our current perspective.

The deepening of the connection between the higher nature and the soul (or super-conscious) realms, and between the lower nature and the dense (or subconscious) realms is part of the goal towards which evolving consciousness aspires – via the bridging nature of the heart, which animates us and allows us to express who we are and aspire to be, with love, joy and dynamism.

Therefore, in becoming a bridge between realms, we are continuously challenged to release ourselves from the shackles created by conditioning that effectively holds many within society in a state of hypnosis. Empowerment involves change, upon change, upon change. That which resists the tide of evolution becomes stagnant and looses momentum – ultimately leading to a state of disempowerment.

The early steps require deliberately and meticulously becoming aware of each aspect of conditioning, and then actively releasing it; in so doing releasing ourselves into a freer and more expansive state of being. This journey, however, involves taking upon ourselves new and higher responsibilities – for freedom and responsibility are intricately linked. We cannot exist within our expanded, eternal state without exercising the choice to love, to care, to understand, to be mindful, and to practice compassion and discernment.

These are some of the contributing attributes that open the portal which beckons us onwards into a broader acceptance and experience of our universal nature; that we might thoroughly immerse ourselves in that which we came to explore as our birthright; in that which each soul has yearned to know – each doing this in their unique way. ‘Uniqueness’ characterizes and motivates the journey within the third dimension, and that very quality is diminished by many of the societal norms which pervade.

The act of embracing this new level of responsibility and experiencing the opening of the portal to ‘the beyond’, signifies the event of the conscious connection with our higher nature – or soul self. This is a significant initiation, a great celebration, experienced and described in different ways within various spiritual traditions. This initiation signifies expansion beyond superficial cultural boundaries. As we release limiting beliefs and reach through this portal into our greater, inclusive self, we remember and begin to experience ourselves as truly universal beings.

The journey through the portal involves the opening of the heart and an amplified experience of love. It also involves an enhanced perception of light and life, beyond that which is generally experienced from the perspective of the third dimension. We recognize that we are of that light and that the light is ‘of us’. This might be described as the light of Soul, the light of balance, or the light of unity. In truth, one of the great miracles of being self-aware lies in discovering the nature of the link between love and light within the context of our lives.

A key to understanding this process is that graduation through the portal is not about leaving something behind. It is about soul development, in which we retain the facilities that have been acquired within our lifetimes. We unite these facilities with those aspects that could not be expressed through us as material beings and therefore had to be left ‘in abeyance’. Thus we ‘re-member’ ourselves as expanded beings, within the sphere of enhanced experience that we have attained.

In recognizing and acknowledging this new experience, it becomes a beacon and progressively replaces our illusory third dimensional beacons. As we recognize the beacons presented to us in the context of our higher consciousness, so we have the opportunity to remember, and to weave their qualities into our every thought, word and deed. Our every-day experience and activities change, of necessity, in order to support this experience of expanded awareness.

We then naturally embrace areas of radical personal change, which includes our various practices and interests. We might choose to dedicate more time to solitude and adopt practices that support the understanding of particular aspects of life more deeply. For, the highest pursuit within the realm of our current experience is its in-depth exploration. Thorough involvement with the universal environment becomes our guiding practice. In exploring density, the subconscious mind and the diverse aspects of life that surround us, we discover who it is that we are as universal spiritual beings.

In taking these progressive steps, we engage opportunities that ultimately lead inwards towards to the attainment of Oneness (or unity consciousness), which is the balance between all things. We become balance. From having been entities who explore and study opposites, we become the resolve, we become the solutio leon.sacredcall@gmail.com.n – we become unity. Unity consciousness surrounds our universe; encompasses our universe. It is therefore available to us, as a parent’s love is available to the child.

In the state of unity consciousness we touch what might at best be referred to as the inner or ‘unspeakable’ realms, from where we are able to bring into our experience the change that we become – our knowing, our increased love, compassion and desire to create.

As we focus again on our outer day-to-day life and apply that which we have acquired, or remembered, our magnetism changes. Our energy changes and our abilities therefore change. Our attitude broadens enormously and thereby brings about a shift in our sense of inclusiveness. We are then also able to infuse many of our activities with conscious love – activities that previously might have been habitual. In doing this, our ‘beingness’ expands far beyond the physical body, so that we radiate as we involve ourselves in that which we recognize as our higher calling.

It is our birthright to be embraced by and embrace higher consciousness and, in so doing, bring forth our essence as universal creator beings.

Leon Lewis

Leon can be reached @

from:   http://www.spiritofmaat.com/apr12/expanding_into_higher_consciousness.html

Leon Lewis on Getting Outside of the Box

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Consciousness beyond conditioned thought

(Recognizing the Language of Divine Unity)

By Leon Lewis

We live in times where, for those who are consciously awakening, a more intimate and intricate relationship with Spirit — including nature in all its forms — is becoming a priority. The heightened sense of separation from Spirit that many feel is to some extent encouraging humanity towards exploring deeper and more inclusive ways of connecting with all of life, via their own higher nature. The pace of our current lives, in which we are experiencing escalating change in the world and in systems around us, appears to dictate that we act in opposition to our inner process and higher principles. A crisis of purpose emerges, in which many feel unready to effect the necessary changes, in the face of evermore evident and unsustainable contradictions.

Conditioned thought exists as the result of the subconscious absorption of environmental imprinting, which includes social, religious, historical and political influences, etc. The development of our relationship with our higher nature requires that we nurture the ability to transcend those aspects of conditioning that would hold us back.

One of the realizations emerging amongst many who are approaching higher consciousness is the need for dedicated inner work, in order to bring about a state of balance. This work includes the regular practice of meditation, via which the results of a deepening awareness of the spiritual life can be carried into daily activities. Amongst other benefits this practice fuels our essential loving nature. It also supports the expression of conscious creativity and the ability to work with change — qualities which life asks each of us to weave into every aspect of our experience.

 

A fundamental part of being human involves maintaining harmony with nature. Disharmony occurs as a result of being out of touch with nature, including the nature of who it is that we essentially are. Emotional imbalance, illness and various other conditions serve as reflectors (or reminders) that this connection has to some extent been compromised.

Whichever facet of our lives we focus upon, whether it be the food we eat, the attitudes we hold, the company we keep, or the practices that we undertake, it is helpful that we regularly remind ourselves to remain centered within our ‘natural’ self; within the energy of consciously recalling times when we felt at one with nature — thereby carrying the resulting feeling of ‘at oneness’ with us into all of our activities.

Consciousness beyond conditioned thought — where there is a deep inner comprehension of oneness — reflects our original state of being. This state of being, which might also be described as unity consciousness, is gradually re-awakened as we connect more deeply with our higher nature.

This awakening requires a certain dedication to the establishment and maintenance of inner silence. The extent to which we are able to achieve silence and the resulting inner stillness determines the extent to which we can open to the ‘higher mind’ — beyond the thinking mind.

The ‘higher mind’ — beyond the predominantly ego-based intellectual paradigm — creates thought. It brings new thought into being and is intimately linked to the evolutionary process. The ‘higher nature’ (and the experience of the ‘higher nature’ beyond that which we would understand in terms of the mind) involves what might be described as divine experience. It is beyond intellectual description and can only be expressed in terms of feelings and sensations, such as the experience of light, joy, energy or sound.

What emerges from the elevated experience referred to above is (to a certain degree) translated into thought, in our daily experience. We might then put this into practice or ‘walk’ it into our world or environment, thus sharing it creatively with others. It may translate into words or deeds, or manifest as something intangible.

Entering a state of higher consciousness — a term used to explain experience that transcends conditioned thought — takes us into more expanded dimensions of conscious being, involving frequencies that for the most part cannot be ‘measured’, from a conventional scientific perspective. The spontaneous expression of love and kindness are examples of the transcendence of conditioned thinking and doing.

In order to develop a deeper connection with higher consciousness — the realms beyond the physical — it becomes necessary to embrace and develop higher senses; faculties that are in certain ways parallel to the physical senses but exist on higher levels. This process involves remembering who we truly are as spiritual beings. As each physical sense evolves through various higher stages certain conditions become apparent, such as joyful and creative action, dynamic service, profound realization and the conscious striving towards excellence (including the attainment of higher knowledge). As we sense these awakenings occurring within us, we are inspired to reach out to our higher nature as if taking a hand; thus allowing ourselves to be guided through the higher experience.

The dream state also guides us beyond materially based experience. It involves reflected thought patterns, symbols and feelings. When we look at the way dreams are ‘put together’ and recalled, we recognize that we are dealing with a state that is transcendent of logic and the intellect, even though we might use these faculties to describe the dream in attempting to make sense of it, or learn from it.

The conscious experience of dreams is a portal to the journey which transcends the realm of conditioned thought, beyond the realm of thinking and doing — into the state of:

Being, yet creating;

Stillness, yet radiating.

These words attempt to describe what might be referred to as an aspect of enlightenment. However, because the term ‘enlightenment’ has become loaded, like various other terms within society, it has come to be perceived by many as something almost unattainable, unless complicated and all-consuming practices become the daily routine.

Nevertheless, what is being called for by life is a significant shift in practice, replacing certain mundane, habitual practices with conscious inner practices and, where need be, profound life-changes. Life is beckoning us towards these things and it is helpful to pay greater attention, especially when spending time in nature and when feeling in touch with our own higher nature. Life is encouraging us to recognize the guidance that takes us beyond thought, to listen to the bird-song and the wind through the grasses or the trees; and to feel the heat and light of the sun and the moisture in the air. We are being called to open our higher sense perceptions and to allow the analytical senses to wane somewhat — not to disappear, but not to constantly hold ‘center stage’, as they commonly do amongst the majority of humanity.

Most people live in a state of analysis and judgment — seeing all in terms of ‘I’ and ‘other’, instead of experiencing life in terms of ‘I Am’. As we experience all that is around us from the perspective of ‘I Am’, we begin to become one with ‘All That Is’. We begin to transform — via the feelings that transport us into that state of being. As we do that, we recognize the language beyond words, beyond conditioned thought and analysis … the language of divine unity.

Life is guiding us towards new levels of awareness and new states of being in order to help us align with the changes occurring within our reality. It is offering us the opportunity to step up before it becomes necessary to do so as a matter of survival. It is far preferable to consciously effect changes before change is urgently required, and thus to become the embodiment of change within the environment, rather than one who is forced to change by the shifting paradigms.

The process of expansion into higher consciousness requires that we honor universal principles as well as the natural environment, and thus allow ourselves to be guided by them. Achieving this is an enormous step, for when we are truly in harmony with these things; we are able to express the authentic essence of who it is that we are as spiritual beings — thus becoming one with all of life.

-o0o-
Leon Lewis

 

About Leon Lewis

Leon Lewis

 

I am a potter, musician and spiritual teacher, living in South Africa.

My childhood fascination with the unseen realms led to spontaneous mystical experiences, beginning in the early 1970’s.

Since the 1980’s I have lived in a small, rural village, where I have spent much time in relative solitude, making profound connections with aspects of higher consciousness, the Earth, as well as the legacy of the indigenous First Peoples – known as the Bushmen.

In response to a deep longing to establish a closer relationship with nature, I was granted opportunities to become involved in my surroundings in a variety of ways. I gradually came to realize that my experiences were nurturing in me, amongst other things, a deep respect for the ancient ways and wisdom of the First Peoples of our planet. This led to the privilege of becoming acquainted with some of the unseen forces in nature and the opportunity to participate in various miraculous events.

You can contact me at leon.sacredcall@gmail.com

from:    http://www.spiritofmaat.com/feb12/consciousness_beyond_conditioned_thought.html