Stand Up New Aquarians! A three-part series on what the
New Age we are entering means and how to prepare for it.
Part I – How we lost our Magic.
From the mud to the stars
The terra cotta tub in our garden – not much bigger
than breadmakers’ crock or a large mixing bowl –
has been transformed into a lovely, if small, lotus pond,
by my husband, Putu S. Our first lotus just bloomed
– pushing its head out of the mud and water, its slender
stem stretches a metre high, reaching straight for the sky.
It sprung open yesterday into a lovely bloom, some fifteen
centimetres across, soft pink petals cupped around the inner
heart of green with yellow fluffy pollen-decked fronds.
A heavenly scent drifted into the garden (and my consciousness)…
The fish below dive at the stem underwater, making it rock
slightly, but apart from that, it stays pointed firmly at
the heavens.
The other day, I took our daughter Cahya, who is one and a
half, for a walk up the road to a nearby café which
has a large lotus pond, maybe eight metres by ten metres,
filled with wonderful flowers. I was struck by the beautiful
energy of the location - I knew lotuses were famous spiritual
symbols, but hadn’t realised they made a spiritual contribution
of their own by enhancing the energy all around them.
And this is my theme for this series on the Aquarian Age –
whether you are a lone lotus in a mixing bowl, or one of a
group standing in a landscaped pond, your contribution is
really needed right now. We need you to enhance the
energy for everyone around.
Many people in the world are confused, lost, afraid, don’t
know which way to turn. It is these lost souls who will
encourage governments to retaliate with violence and risk
dragging us into world war three.
Spiritual people must rise up right now, (however unfamiliar
and uncomfortable that feels - and I feel pretty uncomfortable
writing this), band together, and guide people towards the
light. Even if you lead only by setting a good example,
that is a very good start.
We need to find ways of waking up the people around us who
are still asleep. Using art and music feels like a good
way of beginning, to me. Could you (who me? Yes,
YOU!) host an evening of music and song? Share an uplifting
poem with a group of people via email? Find a way of
‘going public’ a bit more about your spirituality,
especially in front of people who you think ‘aren’t
into it’ or ‘don’t understand’?
(Add your own ideas here).
Whatever level you feel you are at, even if you feel you are
only just beginning your own spiritual journey, please trust
that you are up to the task. Remember, you only need
to be half a step in front of someone to help show them the
way. WE NEED MORE LIGHT. And we need it now.
Go to it!
Jeli Lala.
A brief history of our planet
Long ago, there were some amazing civilisations on Earth:
the Incans, Mayans, Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Atlanteans,
and more. These people were connected with ‘source’
– the power and natural magic of the earth, and with
their own inner power and magic.
They understood how we are all connected to one another and
how everything we do affects everyone else. And how
everything we do comes back to us. They lived in specially
chosen sacred places and created cities and buildings that
we still marvel at today – Machu Pichu in Peru for example
– a stunning, labyrinthine citadel nestling in mysterious,
rounded, fecund green mountains (I visited in 1985 –
it’s amazing), They recorded the details of their
remarkable, complex cultures – for example, the incredibly
complex and complete calendar system of the Mayans and the
heiroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians.
Then what happened? These great civilisations gradually
died out. Later, in Europe, America and other locations
the people who retained their connection to the earth, and
to magic, healing, and so on, were horribly persecuted. Thousands
of them were tied to a stake and burnt to death as witches,
or drowned at the ‘ducking stool’, or hanged.
Often, this included anyone who was simply a bit original
and different (creative artists, wise women, eccentrics, midwives,
seers, and even cross-dressers).
This then, caused a great ‘cutting off’ from our
original roots and wisdom, and a strange, very harsh aspect
of the male took over society and dominated for a very long
time. You could call this ‘the dark ages’.
Understandably, it became unfashionable to relate to the planet,
and to ourselves in magical and ritualistic ways – it
was actually dangerous! There was a real risk of being
accused of witchcraft, and burned! And so, we cut ourselves
off from a very large, powerful, and wonderful part of who
we really are, and instead concentrated on our ‘rational’
selves. It was safer!
This way of thinking has lingered with us for a long time.
For example, when I was at school, study of ‘the arts’
(literature, language, art, etc) were seen as something somehow
‘non-serious’, and not nearly so ‘important’
as maths and science (which of course, would enable us to
‘get a proper job’ which seemed to be the main
focus at the time).
‘ Lotus of Light’ greeting card by Jeli Lala.
From a selection available at Ashram.
Logic, and rational, ‘Cartesian’ thinking became
almost the only accepted or ‘real’ way of thinking.
We began to identify ourselves with our heads – thinking
became much more valued than feeling or sensing. In
the UK, I have too often heard the phrase “you’re
letting your heart rule your head (my girl!)” –
as if this is a bad thing! (Meaning that our rational
thoughts should control our actions, not our intuitive feelings).
Of COURSE the heart should rule the head! Duh!
The heart is the centre of love, higher relationships, and
feeling.
Having lost touch with our hearts, we also somehow lost touch
with our souls and forgot what we were really meant to be
doing here on earth. (Remember the Hopi prophecy –
we must again become ‘two-heart people’ –
thinking with our heads AND our hearts.)
Life in modern times for many Western people has become a
stuggle to ‘keep up’ – to pay the mortgage
(home loan) and to buy the material things that our heads
think will make us look bigger and more important in the eyes
of others (and thus, make us feel better about ourselves).
Of course, it doesn’t work, and happiness actually comes
from our connection with ourselves, our families, friends,
and our community. But we have lost touch with this
also. Our societies are often fragmented, lonely, and
crime ridden. In the UK, for example, the term ‘Community
Service’ usually refers to work in the community that
criminals have to do as punishment, to repay their debt to
society - rather than something positive that we ALL might
do for each other!
Anyway, back to the plot. In Europe and America, in
the sixties and seventies, the ‘Womens Movement’
began to challenge and change the male-dominated aspects of
society, and women entered powerful positions in government
and work. Unfortunately, in the process, many women
(including myself) lost touch with their feminitiy and became
‘honorary men’. It has been quite a journey
for me to learn how to receive from men, without feeling the
need to ‘do everything’ all the time. And
I notice how many of my contemporaties are still stuck in
this childless, action-oriented, work-led mould.
In the meantime, world cultures and societies which have managed
to retain their original ‘earth and magic’ connection,
such as the Aborigines, African tribes, Maoris, North American
Indians, Tibetans, Balinese, and others, are somehow regarded
as ‘quaint’ and ‘primitive’ by their
Western counterparts.
While on their part, the ‘indigenous peoples’
look at our materialism with envy and long for more goods,
more money, more things.
The resolution and balancing of the scales of ‘materialism
versus earth and magic’ is really what the Aquarian
Age is about.
We are entering a process that is going to remind us who we
really are. We will learn that we are not just tiny
little people living in boxes watching TV, working just to
pay the mortgage (this, by the way, is not really ‘living’
as far as I am concerned).
We will recover the tremendous lost power of our subconscious,
our will, and our vast creativity. This encompasses
the ability to communicate psychically, to know things without
being told, to instinctively follow the right path in our
life, discovering just what is needed at every step.
It includes the ability to manifest our creative dreams with
ease in the physical world. We will remember and consciously
learn from past lives, healing our wounds from childhood and
beyond. Levitation, traveling through space and time,
and a whole bunch of whacky stuff like that will all become
normal – even mainstream.
Now, if this sounds ‘far out’, or scary, let me
remind you again about the ‘witch connection’
- the ‘witch trials’ that were a major major deal
for a very large number of people. This is what made
our inner magic scary. We externalised it, blamed other
people for it (the witches) and then excised it by burning
people. So the message ‘magic is dangerous’
is deeply engrained in our Western consciousness. Just
be aware of that, it might be the origin of any resistance
you may be feeling to some of the ‘new age thinking’
that’s coming - and try to open a little more.
To give you an example, I recently completed a course in ‘Light
Language’, which is a form of shamanism passed down
from the ancient Curandero Mayan/Aztec tradition. When
I discovered that we were actually learning how to do magic,
I was like ‘eeek!!’ But the seminar leader,
Virani, pointed out that this was due to something that happened
to me in a past life. I felt so much better after that!
I was like ‘oh, ok!’. New teachings like
these are emerging from the covert to the open now, and that
is part of the Aquarian Age, too. Much more is yet to
come. (You can find out more about Light Language at:
www.amanavirani.com).
The job of reconnecting with ourselves is already underway
– witness the huge growth in ‘alternative medicine’,
‘healing’, and ‘new age’ thinking,
products, and services. The growth in this ‘right
brain’ or intuitive thinking is another sign of the
Aquarian Age. Much of the ‘new technology’
of the Aquarian Age is coming from the original, indigenous
tribes (the ones who are still in touch with their magic).
For example, you can go on a ‘sweat lodge’ or
‘vision quest’ at a new age centre now –
this is a North American Indian tradition and initiation rite
for uncovering your true purpose. You can try a ‘fire
walk’ – walking on hot coals in bare feet with
nothing but the power of your will to protect you –
this has it’s origin in the African tribes (among others).
Or you can visit a crystal healer or shaman – which
has it’s origin in the teachings of many indigenous
tribes.
We need to embrace these things more quickly, grow into our
own spirituality, creativity, and joy.
NEXT ISSUE: A Time of Miracles – Catching the magical
moments of Christmas.
(The second part of this series ‘Aquarian Age II –
Understanding the Prophecies - appears after Christmas, on
December 26th, 2001.)
(Calling all late-night cheese munchers! For a future
article on dreams: Readers are invited to email a summary
of any interesting dreams to Jeli Lala for possible interpretation/inclusion).
ASHRAM of SPIRITUAL JEWELLERY & ART is at 1 Sukma St,
Tebesaya, Ubud (Oppositie Jazz Cafe). Tel: 081
239 43354. Open 10am-10pm (to 5pm Sun/Mon)
Jeli welcomes comments and may be contacted on:
Email: jelila@jelila.com
Website: www.jelila.com or www.imagine-retreats.com
