It’s Sunday, yay!

As you spring forward into another week, take a few minutes and join Mindy in reflecting on the fascinating journey we’ve taken through the crown chakra, that enigmatic gateway to higher awareness and spiritual connectivity. It's been an exhilarating ride, weaving together insights from great minds like Ram Dass and Alan Watts and now the enlightening perspectives shared in "Wheels of Life."

This week, we’re not just dipping our toes, but diving headfirst into the deep end of consciousness. Have you ever wondered about the mysteries that govern our inner universe? Or pondered the cosmic jokes hidden in the folds of our gray matter? Well, you're in for a treat because we're about to peel back the layers of the known and luxuriate in the depths of the unknown.

So grab your mental surfboard (or a joint), and let's ride the waves of consciousness together. Who knows what shores we'll discover, what treasures we'll find beneath the surface, or what revelations will transform us? As you come to shore, bask in the vastness that is not known but somehow experienced fully.

—David/Gonzo

This week’s discussion on the crown chakra (chakra 7, Chapter 8 in Wheels of Life) got me downright giddy. I loved seeing this connection between the many things that I’ve read over the past couple of years (Ram Dass, Alan Watts, Eckhart Tolle, Michael Singer, Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh, Tara Brach, etc.) and the chakra framework. The focal point of spirituality and awakening is the crown chakra, “the place where the underlying order and meaning of all things is ultimately perceived. It is the pervading consciousness that thinks, reasons, and gives form and focus to our activities. It is the true essence of being as the awareness that dwells within. In the unconscious, it is the wisdom of the body. In the conscious mind, it is the intellect and our belief systems. In the superconscious, it is awareness of the divine.” [Wheels of Life, p319]

The question of what consciousness is and where it comes from has been puzzled on by philosophers and scientists alike, for as long as there has been either discipline. From my own view, we have come to ask better questions, but real answers still evade us. (This is a fun piece about some of the more recent questions scientists are investigating when it comes to this topic.) Given that there are so many great questions and so few answers, I personally find it a delicious space in which to wonder and imagine. 

One of my current favorite ideas about consciousness comes from the research of Dr. Michael Newton, who was a master hypnotherapist and practicing psychologist when, while working with a client to address some shoulder pain that had proven unaddressable by standard medical approaches, essentially stumbled into a past life where he was a WWI soldier who received a bayonet in the shoulder. While under hypnosis, this man recalled all sorts of details of that life, including specific information about the military service, and this data was later confirmed to be accurate. Continuing with this unexpected new direction of his work, Dr. Newton went on to have thousands of clients over the next three decades who could recall experiences from not just past lives, but the space of existence between lives. This information was carefully documented and organized by Dr. Newton and his colleagues, and it's fascinating to read his writeups on what they learned.  That was a lot of background info for the idea I wanted to introduce, which is that a Soul doesn’t put its entirety into a human when it comes down to earth, but only a portion, and the remainder remains in (what I call) the Soul Realm. (The gist of the reason for this is that a Soul is so energetically massive and powerful that it couldn’t be contained in a human form.) So with this framing, part of our consciousness is down here, having a limited view of reality but fully immersed in this experience of earth life, and part of us is there, with a view of the whole picture and an understanding of what we are hoping to get out of human experience. So when people talk about connecting with their Higher Selves, that would be the part of their consciousness that has the full picture, that stayed behind. 

I have no doubt that some of the readers of this newsletter are now thinking, “Wow, this is some seriously weird stuff; Mindy is trippin’!” (David would probably agree with you), so maybe it is reassuring to hear that I wouldn’t say I “believe” in any of this, but rather find it a fascinating possibility and delight in spending time exploring it. At this point in my life, I identify so deeply with physicist Richard Feynmann when he said, “I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” The questions around consciousness and souls are some of my favorites to explore. 

“The seventh chakra relates to what we experience as the mind, especially the awareness that makes use of the mind. The mind is a stage for the play of consciousness, and can bring us comedy or tragedy, excitement or boredom. We are the privileged audience that gets to watch the play, although sometimes we identify so completely with the characters on stage (with our thoughts) that we forget it is only a play.” [p321]

A question I’ve pondered, especially as a person who has an immense love of animals, is what kind of consciousness animals possess, because to me it is obvious that they do have consciousness. Is it of a different type entirely than human consciousness? Is it less developed? Could a dog consciousness progress in development and growth to become capable of being a human consciousness? While reading this chapter and pondering consciousness, I had the lovely idea that maybe animals are inhabited by appropriately sized snippets of consciousness. Maybe right now there’s a sliver of Mindy consciousness occupying the body of one of the geese in the pasture behind my house. Maybe another snippet is in a raccoon in the woods somewhere. And maybe dozens of little bits are occupying insects and spiders and even microbes all around the globe (hell, maybe all around the Universe)! Since another of my favorite ideas is that one of the main points of existence is to have a variety of experiences, this idea gave me such a tickle of delight. When all of my “soul slivers” are reunited, I’d get to experience the memories of what it was like to live as these myriad creatures. And maybe some of my slivers and David’s slivers have connected across a whole multitude of other species’ lives. Even though it’s just a thought experiment, it brings me so much joy and delight to imagine it. (As I type this, I have the biggest smile on my face. I’m so tickled just by thinking about it!)

Now, back to the chapter.   

One point of special interest to all was the idea of just how amazingly complex our minds are.  “Our amazing human brain contains some thirteen billion interconnected nerve cells, capable of making more connections among themselves than the number of stars in the entire universe.” [p321] Since we are always existing in these specialized meatsuits, we take them for granted. It’s lucky for us that we came fully assembled instead of with a box of parts and a manual, because it sure seems like we’d not ever have gotten very far. That paragraph continues on to say “there are 100 million sensory receptors within the body, and ten trillion synapses in the nervous system, making the mind 100,000 times more sensitive to its internal environment than to its external one.” Wow.

This, I think, is a great lead-in to one of my favorite parts of this chapter, and to the chakra system in general. (Prepare yourself for a bit of a soapbox rant.) As I’ve worked to feel more connected to and appreciative of my body, to view it more as a tool with which to experience my life and less of something that needs to look a certain way, I’ve grown more frustrated and, at times, angrier, at the ideas that have been accepted over time to cut us off from enjoyment and appreciation of our bodies. I lay a big steaming pile of responsibility at the feet of western Christianity and its ideas of bodies as “carnal, sensual, and devilish.” Another culprit is philosophy and science, who prized reason and the capacities of the mind while too often relegating the body to the same level of denigration that was held for animals. My personal philosophy is that our bodies truly are the vehicles we travel in to enjoy and experience our lives. The human body’s capacity for sensing and enjoying the world is truly incredible, but how often do we get so trapped in our own minds that we miss out on the pleasures and delights of the senses? Like we discussed with the second chakra, to deny ourselves the enjoyment of bodily pleasures is to live fractured from ourselves. We were struck by the implications of this section, “The descending current of consciousness, having divine realization as its origin, brings immanence. Immanence is the awareness of the divine within, where transcendence is the awareness of the divine without. Immanence brings us intelligence, illumination, inspiration, radiance, power, connection, and finally manifestation. True self-knowledge is to understand that transcendence and immanence are complimentary and that inner and outer worlds are indelibly one. While the liberating current brings us liberation or mukti, it is the descending current that brings enjoyment, or bhukti.” 

Many spiritual traditions focus so much on transcendence, which is often framed as escaping the limitations of the material plane, including our own bodies. I love that the chakra system, as an aspect of tantra, centers the body as important and valuable, a key to unlocking the doorway to our greatest potential. Why even have these incredibly complex bodies if we are only striving to be unburdened by them? While reading this chapter, it occurred to me that the technophiles interested in uploading their consciousnesses into the cloud (or whatever the latest terminology is) likely see this as desirable because they haven’t cultivated an appreciation of the joys of the body. They see the body as just a vehicle to move their brains around, and a robot could do it just as well and not have so many pesky needs. How sad.

Another discussion point was the value of meditation. As our book club opener, everyone shared a practice of meditation or mindfulness that they had found beneficial. The answers included walking mindfully without headphones, gazing at a tree and allowing one's mind to go blank, mantra meditation, guided meditations describing peaceful places to help fall asleep at night, resting in corpse pose (savasana) at the end of a yoga session, and sitting in the backyard listening to the sounds of birds, planes, and wind chimes. 

“There is no greater practice for developing the seventh chakra than meditation. It is the very act through which consciousness realizes itself. It is as essential to nourishing the spirit as eating and rest are to the body.” [p333]

“To be worthwhile, all of these forms must have one thing in common—they must enhance, soothe, and harmonize the vibrational aspects of the mind and body, cleansing the mind of its habitual clutter. We take it for granted that we need to take showers, clean our houses, and wash our clothes. We’d be uncomfortable if we didn’t, to say nothing of being the object of social criticism. Yet, the mind and its thoughts need cleansing, perhaps even more than our bodies. The mind works longer, encounters wider dimensions, and runs the operating system of our life as well! While few of us would consider eating dinner on yesterday’s dirty dishes, we think nothing of tackling a new problem with yesterday’s cluttered mind. No wonder we feel tired, confused, and ignorant!” [p334]

I loved the analogy of the importance of cleaning our minds, just like we do our bodies. I have gotten to the point where I very much enjoy meditation, but that doesn’t mean I am great at making time for it or doing it regularly. For some reason, my habit is to lean towards filling up my mind with new input rather than to allow it to clear out. (David says Johnny 5 from Short Circuit is my “soul robot”--”More input! More input!”) This year I’ve been feeling more and more pulled towards more regular meditation, and it’s happening more often, so that’s progress. I’m thinking of doing a “Meditate Every Day in the Month of May” challenge–feel free to join me!   

The chapter wraps up with a brief discussion on enlightenment. She writes, “We keep ourselves from enlightenment by our own mental blocks, just as a roof blocks the sun from shining down on us…in terms of the chakras, enlightenment occurs when the path through the chakras is complete. It is more than just an opening of the crown chakra, or of any other chakra on the Sushumna. It is an experience of unity among all things, and the integration of that experience with the Self. Only if the Self is connected can this occur. It is a process of becoming.” 

NEAT!

Stuff that Mindy ✨ and Gonzo ⚡️ think is share-worthy

• I hope some of you have enjoyed the tunes I’ve shared here. I decided to compile them into a playlist for easy access (and so I can remember what I’ve shared already.) Here ya go! 🎶✨

• A team of theoretical physicists and a team of experimental physicists worked together to create artificial synapses that demonstrate how a construct of water and salt (just like our brain) can process complex information. The work being done sits at the frontier of a growing field of research and experimentation called iontronic neuromorphic computing! 🤯⚡️

• The beautiful spring weather perfectly embodies this song by our friends, Trevor & Nyna, of the musical duo Fort Vine. 🎵 ✨

• “Without a low, there ain’t a high.” I remind myself of this on the hard days. 🎶 ✨

• One more song. Always Alright by Alabama Shakes. 🎵 ✨

SOMETHING TO TRY

When I was pregnant with the twins twelve years ago and my belly was getting sooooo stretched out, I came across a mention of dry brushing as a way to reduce stretch marks. So I bought the brush and started the practice of dry brushing all over my skin before showering. I can’t say if it really did much to reduce stretch marks since I still got SO MANY (growing 16+ lbs of baby will do that), but it did feel amazing and it seems like it’s gotta be good for lots of things. David tried it and liked it, so he got his own brush. Try it and see what you think. Here’s the brush we have. 

—Mindy

PARTING

WORDS

PIC

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice.