Turning toward the Soft and Subtle

All that is subtle and unseen can seem very remote—and even unreal—when there are challenges on the material level which occupy the entirety of your attention. I have written before about the density of this moment, which is largely related to the gravity being released from the very heavy sign of Capricorn. It is that weight which can cause us to prioritize the familiarity of depression, anxiety, numbness and addiction over the information and experiences contained in the subtle realm0—which becomes increasingly difficulty to access when we are in a state of fear or panic.

I thought of this when I realized I had been brushing off my dreams recently, when in the past I would routinely spend time with them each morning, exploring the seemingly limitless doorways they open up into psyche. As the seriousness of the various catastrophes in the world increased, I began to (almost unconsciously) believe that such a flimsy thing as a dream couldn’t be helpful here.

I made a point to show up for a webinar on dreams created by Machiel Klerk (founder of Jung Society of Utah) and was instantly energized by remembering the potency of dreams in particular but also the entirety of the subtle realm in general, especially in circumstances that are dire, when guidance is required and some essential message is clearly trying to break through the thick crust of humanity.

There is something very human about being driven to dive deeper into the realm of cosmos and unconscious when things get tricky in the external world. It would be in times of tribal disaster that the shaman or seer of a group of people would be called to interpret dreams, make predictions based on the stars and other natural phenomena, and attempt to chart a course toward safety based on this information from the intelligence of Nature (which speaks through dreams, the sky, all of the natural world).

This is a fascinating conundrum: there are crises on all levels, occurring simultaneously, which can have the effect of causing a certain numbing or emotional emergency which makes it much harder to access your own subtle reality of sensation, emotion, intuition, etc (none of which is accessible when we’re in fight or flight). But those are the very places where we will find the information we might need to steer our way through this morass of unconscious, undigested toxicity built up over generations that is now oozing forth like the puss over-cooked inside an infected wound.

In order to avoid the almost inevitable depression that can result from disconnecting from the wisdom of body, dreams, sky:, my suggestion would be to make what is subtle and easily forgotten a priority. Make time in your life for dreams, meditation, astrology (!), and be weary of the voice in your head that is so convinced that anything not aimed at immediately addressing a material emergency is a waste of time. I think that is where we can get stuck in survival mode and lose touch with soul.

There is, of course, another danger: and that is retreating into the non-physical realm as a form of escape. This is just the flip side of the “woo-woo will not be helpful here” coin, as it is equally divisive and a form of retreat. This tendency has been in play for generations, and actually gave birth to many of the “New-Age” techniques we now utilize today in an attempt to make palatable living in a psychotic world nearly completely disconnected from Nature. Buddhism (which is not at all new age, but still relevant for this discussion) may have developed as a technique to come to terms internally (through equanimity) with what was an extremely violent, unfair and spiritually devestating external situation (the entire concept of Moksha or final liberation is a very curious one—what would drive a people to want to escape the cycle of birth and death?).

Along with that, astrology in many forms has historically been used to escape the physical world in one way or another. Blaming every earthly phenomenon on one transit or another is not a way to become more a part of life. As with any technique, it is the way in which it is approached and applied which will determine the results. A study of the stars and planets can be read as an instruction manual for how to be on earth, rather than an excuse for why your life is the way it is. In consultations I am always attempting to ground the information in the stars in the direct experience of an individual and suggest ways to deepen that connection.

Once again it is the middle ground we are looking for here, where we might carve out a little island of habitation beneath the stars, but firmly planted on earth, where we can remain connected to both earth (material reality) and sky (subtle reality) and as a result be more insulated from the turbulence that can result from living in either extreme. What we are aiming for is neither escape nor rejection, but deep consideration of the various landscapes and paths available.

The ‘two worlds’ of material and subtle/spirit realm are actually touching, and can be found inside one another. This means that is you want to keep your eye on the ‘mystery,’ you can look right into what appears to be solid, material, dense. if there is depression, do not accept it as a flawed part of your personality and attempt to live around it: dive right into it and discover in its gross density a world of subtle sensation and emotion that is actually a message from your psyche regarding how to come out of it. If there is a racist uncle, do not accept the frustration you feel towards him as a fact of your reality that you compartmentalize in order to pursue your ‘spiritual goals.’ Invite it into your dreams, explore it in meditation, fully incorporate even the very aversive aspects of reality into your daily life. This way you don’t have to feel like you are running from anything. AND, in these types of integrated practices we can all begin to weave together the deep divisions we see all around us (and which are undoubtedly IN us) and break some of the charge of polarization that threatens to electrocute us all.