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Becoming Our Own Wise One, by Stewart Bitkoff

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

There are as many ways to God as there are created souls.—Muhammad

In our culture, who assumes the role of holy or wise one? In more traditional cultures the holy, wise one is a central figure. Often, they advise the king/queen, sit at the right hand of the chief, understand human behavior and prescribe medicine, help pass along the oral history of the tribe, and have an inner connection with universal wisdom and Truth. When a difficult societal issue arises, this individual is central in helping decide direction or outcome. Daily, they are consulted on a variety of issues.

Today, this diverse role and function has been spread across a team of specialists. For guidance, we go to a priest, counselor, doctor, psychologist, historian, politician, or lawyer, depending on the nature of the issue. Because of the complexity of some issues, this specialist may not even live in our own community, and to consult them we make an appointment, months in advance, travel to get the advice/treatment, and pay a fee.

This specialist model has pluses and minuses. Specialists, because of training, have information and expertise not available to others. In some endeavors, these people are essential and our culture cannot be without them. However, by separating out problems and going to others for solutions, we lose sight of the fact that, for the most part, it is possible to manage our own concerns. Within the wise one model, one person, who is readily accessible, knows us, and is part of our tribe/family, can solve a majority of issues.

In both models, the holy/wise one and specialist model, there is reliance upon others. While it is important in today's technological world to have the option to consult a specialist, we have generally forgotten our own individual potential and multi-level capacities. With training, we can become our own source of wisdom and through inner perception manage a wide range of daily issues, consulting with specialists as indicated.

Gradually, we are returning to a model of self-reliance and individual responsibility. We are shifting away from dependence upon others and searching for our own inner wisdom to manage our life. Tomorrow each person will be their own wise one, consulting with specialists far less frequently and only when required. This is the next stage in the evolutionary process.

Building Self-Reliance
How will this shift in personal awareness occur? We are in the beginning stages of it. Look around and notice the increasing interest in different religious philosophies that maximize individual human potential and how so many are returning to spirituality-based living. See the general discontent in the way government is being run and the growing awareness that neither republicans nor democrats can save us. From the outside, our way of life is being attacked by terrorists who want to return to a more traditional and religion-based social system (as defined by them). It is generally recognized that greed in the market place is destroying our middle class. The family fabric is being strained with couples having to work three jobs. Soon we will be a society of rich and poor.

Many are beginning to wonder, what went wrong? Also, many are searching for real, lasting answers.

We are living in an age when people are turning away from authority-based in favor of individual-based action. Over time, many have realized that we have given up too much responsibility to authority, government, and institutions, and gradually people are taking back control of their lives and working locally to solve their own problems.

The shift has occurred and will continue. Remember—a better world is created one person at a time.

A Missing Ingredient
In order to create better, more complete people, we have to add the missing spiritual ingredient. This enriching element balances individual greed and helps the individual realize that because of our complex world, often our best interest is served helping our neighbor. For example, we may have to spend money to upgrade the air filtering capacity of our car engine so that we have clean air to breathe. This may cost personally, but in the long run the air quality of everyone is healthier.

According to the mystic, the missing ingredient and balancing factor is higher consciousness. This consciousness, because of its alignment with Truth, enables the individual to work toward collective interest. his potential is latent in everyone, and its individual development and operation will help save us; we can then continue with our own evolution.

Personal spiritual development is a new frontier and area of inquiry. How can each traveler develop inner wisdom and reach higher consciousness? How can each become a wise man/woman and achieve excellence in their daily life?

There is a way to do this, but we have forgotten where and how to look. The next phase will see its full reemergence.

How do I go about finding the missing ingredient? Turn back to the religion of your birth; become a better Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, etc. Seek the inner core of religious experience: do not be satisfied with the outer shell of religious teaching and fossilized rules created by others. Find your own inner, vibrant Truth, and become a spiritual traveler. Each of the great religions provides a structure or framework from which to begin the inner journey of exploration of self and higher consciousness.

And, if for some reason, your journey is restricted by the religion of your birth, seek Truth and higher consciousness in another spiritual path. Pray and ask for a different way to open to you. Pray for a guide and teacher who will show you your own inner potential and teach awareness of your own growing spirituality. Find a teacher that is aligned with Truth and who will give you tools to uncover your own strength and teach you how to proceed on your own.

In this endeavor, three factors must be aligned: the student, the teacher, and the grace (Baraka) of the path.

It is tradition that the teacher calls to the student's sincerity or purity of heart; this is the factor that enables the student to be successful.

How do you grow sincere in your efforts? Seek Truth or wisdom for its own sake not for what it will give you. Seek Truth because you love and must know it. Then, as The Light or God wills, the golden or inner path will open to you.

This is the balancing factor, the missing ingredient. One day this awareness will be as common as the growing realization that there is an underlying or connecting energy in the universe.

Balanced Living
Until I achieve this inner understanding, what am I to do? Try to live a good, balanced life. Achieve excellence in something. Seek to help others and develop the many aspects of yourself. Make time to listen to your inner song. Stay away from that which is destructive. Do things in moderation and try not to hurt anyone. Be kind to yourself and others. Be a good loving person that is an asset to their family, community, and world.

If you do these things, in time, the inner missing ingredient will develop. As it develops, it will help you fully utilize all of your skills and abilities. Added spiritual capacity is a balancing and enabling element, helping the traveler reach human excellence and completion.

And when this occurs, you will be a king/queen in this world and the next, having your own inner wise one to consult.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2009. All rights reserved.

My son just called me and asked me if I believe in ghosts. When I said yes, he told me someone is visiting the apartment he shares with his girlfriend. This spirit is turning on the TV and lamps in another room. They both hear footsteps, and they've both felt someone lean over them while they were sleeping. They also told me that their next door neighbor, Brian, recently died in the hospital. I told them to talk out loud to Brian and tell him he is dead and needs to move on. So far, however, this isn't making a dent in the situation. What do you suggest?

- Barb

Dreamchaser:

What I pick up is that this ghost is not Brian, so they're not addressing this spirit by its proper name. I hear that this ghost has been there since before Brian died.

The ghost is attached to the land your son's dwelling was built upon. This ghost is a very friendly, curious woman who lived on that land over 180 years ago. She was a mother and a housewife, and did lots of work around the place, but her main concern was taking care of her family.

The easiest way for beings on the other side to communicate with us is to use energy like electricity. The television and the lamps are both run by electricity, so it's very easy for her to manipulate them.

She wants your son and his girlfriend to know she is there. She wants them to know she is looking out for them and watching over them. That's the reason they saw her leaning over their bed while they were sleeping - she was just making sure everyone was tucked in nice and tight.

Why do you feel it's necessary for your son and his girlfriend to run off this woman who lived there for many, many years before they were even born? Is she bothering them? Is she hurting them in any way?

I feel that having her around the place is actually a good thing. She watches over their things and makes sure that everything is okay. I have heard tell of ghosts closing windows before rain storms and things like that - this is the sort of ghost they're dealing with.

They can tell her to go to the light, but she doesn't have to. She obviously has chosen to stay near this plane. When we die, we are given the choice to cross over or not to cross over. She isn't evil, harmful or bad in any way, she's just a spirit who is choosing to remain earthbound. She will be there long after your son moves out because she CHOOSES to stay on the land that she loved.

I suggest your son and his girl introduce themselves to her out loud. They should explain who they are, what they are doing there, what year it is, etc. Tell them to be sure to express gratitude for the way she is watching out for them, as well as their desire to live in harmony with her.

I personally lived with my ghosts for years and years at my old house. I got used to them being there, and got used to going around behind them, turning off lights and stuff like that.

There is nothing to fear from this woman, for she will never hurt anyone. If anything, she will keep them safe. Just think of the great tales they will have to tell about the ghost woman who lived in their first place.

I wish everyone involved peaceful co-habitation.

*****

Astrea:

It's very common for people who die young or from an unexpected illness to stay earthbound for some time, and often they have annoying little habits that involve electrical appliances.

Recently we had a spirit who insisted on turning on the television in the middle of the night, with the sound turned up all the way! Grumpy (my husband) thought it was probably a problem with the remote, so we replaced the batteries, but the television still turned on every night. We then removed the batteries from the remote, but that didn't help either.

The spirit wasn't anyone we knew, so there wasn't any polite way to ask it to go away. This person was simply stuck here in between Earth and Heaven. He was passing through, but he didn't want to move on.

I used the St. Michael's Prayer and some incense, and out he went. The batteries are back in the remote, and we're sleeping peacefully through the night.

There are many ways to get rid of a restless spirit. Before your son calls in a professional, here are a couple of things he can try:

Light two white candles, and while lighting them, say out loud, Raphael, Archangel of the Air, begin to blow the winds of change for our dear friend Brian, who will be coming to join You and Your Heavenly Host. Erase his fear and keep him from danger on his journey. Guide him to the Healing Light of Heaven.

The most common way to get rid of unwanted restless spirits is to assemble a Bible, a bell, and one white candle. Inscribe the spirit's full name on the candle and light it. Open the Bible to the 23rd Psalm and read it aloud. Ring the bell and say St. Michael's Prayer:

St. Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil, may God rebuke him. We humbly pray, and do thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Then add, Take with Thee our Brother, Brian, and lead him into the Light of God, Amen. Close the Bible, ring the bell, and blow out the candle. That should take care of things. It's wise to do a ritual cleansing afterwards with sage or some other incense, and make sure the doors are open so Brian's spirit can find its way out of the house.

If none of these things seem to work, then it's time to call in a professional. If they're Catholic, a priest might do a cleansing of their home for free. If they're not, try a priest at a local Episcopal Church. Christians don't like to discuss or perform exorcisms publicly, so this sort of thing is more common than most people realize.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.