How is the term Alchemy used ?
What is the difference between a Global Alchemist and an Alchemical Hero?
What is VisionaryHeart Alchemy?
Is VisionaryHeart Alchemy a religion?
What is the relationship between VisionaryHeart Alchemy and Alchemical Hero Training?
Tell me about the term Alchemical Hero
What does ‘Heart-centered Visionary engagement’ mean?
Are you speaking in hyperbole when you say ‘inexhaustible benefit’?
What do you mean by esoteric and why is it important?
What does in mean to cultivate unreasonable happiness?
Will AH training help me find my life purpose?
What to you mean by training and transforming aspects of consciousness?
These days the terms Alchemy and Alchemical have come to popularly signify, or be a synonym for the words, transformation and transformational. I refer to that as the general sense of the term, but in a more specific sense Alchemy does not refer to just any kind of transformation. It is, as the universal alchemical metaphor of turning lead into gold indicates, the transformation of value in the direction of greater. But more than that, the transformation is of a radical nature in the original meaning of the word which is from the latin ‘radicalis’, meaning ‘to the root’. (Many people think alchemy is ridiculous but now you know it is really radicalis… Ba bump bump) The result of the transformation is fundamentally different from what it was (yet in another fashion still similar). If you where to take a bar of lead and melt it down and pour it into a mold. It is lead as the bar, it lead when melted and will still be lead regardless of the shape any mold you may pour it into. You could justifiably say that a transformation has occurred and depending on the mold you could say it was toward greater value. However it would still be lead. On an atomic level the lead would still be lead if you mixed it with other things. Gold is on the atomic level, which is the most fundamental level of defining the character of physical substance, something completely different from lead.
Another essential aspect of Alchemy is that it operates the understanding that most fundamental aspect of any phenomena resides on the interior. When Gandhi uttered his famous quote about the necessity of becoming the change you want to see, he was expressing an alchemical understanding.
More Broadly yet more specifically, I use the terms Alchemy and Alchemical to reference a whole approach to all aspect of life whose aim is the radical transformation of all those aspect that has historically appeared in many very different cultural context with surprisingly similar understandings and methods. The specific suprisingly similar things that appear in all or most historic expressions of alchemy regardless of the culture that I am refrencing
What is Global Alchemy and a Global Alchemist?
I find it useful to define Global Alchemy in two different but similar ways
Global Alchemy is the art and science of becoming the change you want to see in the world and expressing that into the world through heart centered visionary engagement with it in order to maximize the probabilities of the most favorable, immediate, and future outcomes for humanity and the Global Civilization.
Global Alchemy is the art and science of transforming the way humans exist upon this planet. This includes the humans themselves, their relationships and interactions with each other and their relationship to and interaction with all life and the environment.
A Global Alchemist is anyone who practices the art and Science of Global Alchemy as defined here.
The First of these definitions shows Global Alchemy to be concerned with two interdependent arenas – Personal Alchemy and Systems Alchemy. The Second one emphasizes Systems Alchemy. Personal Alchemy deals with the ‘becoming the change‘ part of the definition. Systems Alchemy deals with ‘in order to maximize the probabilities of the most favorable, immediate, and future outcomes for humanity and the Global Civilization‘. The middle portion, ‘and expressing that into the world through heart centered visionary engagement with it‘, is a bring between them that contains elements of both.
Personal Alchemy is concerned with the transformation of the relative self (as opposed to the absolute self/no-self which is changeless and characterless and thus not transformable). In more general sense any practice the leads you to, over time, to ‘become a better person’ (for lack of a better phrase that is readily understandable) could be considered “Personal Alchemy” . However what makes personal alchemy different from most personal growth is its direct focus on the most fundamental aspect of relative self which is consciousness and more specifically the structures of consciousness. (the topic of the structure of consciousness will be covered elsewhere but for the sake of a basic orientation, these strucuture includes, memories, beliefs, ideas, models, information processors, values, rules, skills, personality traits, qualities, and ‘programs’) Since any authentic personal growth must entail changes in the structures of consciousness, they can all be considered ‘Personal Alchemy’ in the sense of moving from lesser to greater value. However, much of this is more akin to shaping lead into more useful shapes then the more fundamental transformation that, in a more specific sense, that personal alchemy is aiming towards
Regardless of whether Personal Alchemy is considered in the more general sense of the more specific, to be a Global Alchemist, you must understand that your effectiveness in systems alchemy is predicated on personal alchemy and that an ongoing engagement in some form Personal Alchemy is essential to success as Global Alchemist. In addition, the term ‘Global’ has special meaning in the context of Personal Alchemy of inclusive or integral. The Personal Alchemy of a Global Alchemist is inclusive of and directed towards every aspect of their lives. This is what specifically bridges personal and systems alchemy
Before moving on to Systems Alchemy, It should be made clear that Personal Alchemy is a Self Applied art and science. No one can really transform the consciousness structures of anyone but themselves. It is possible to support others in personal alchemy and it is possible to create contexts that are either more or less supportive of personal alchemy and doing that is aspect of systems alchemy
Systems Alchemy is concerned with the transformation of the systems and structures that shape our relationships to and interactions with each other and the environment. This includes, but is not limited to (in no particular order): governments, politics, commerce, business, education, economics, media, judicial process, agriculture, industry, wealth distribution, technology, family, relationships, communication, media, community, culture, entertainment, housing, architecture, construction, science, economics, and international relations.
We identified, the structures of consciousness as that which Personal Alchemy aims to transform. That which is transformed in Systems Alchemy is two fold. All the Systems that compose our Global Civilization are composed of, moderated by, and/or are expressed through persons. There is no way transform a system as whole with out a corresponding transformation to ‘critical mass’ portion of the people involved with that system. And what about this critical mass of people must be transformed.? Their consciousness structures.
If you’ve been paying attention then you will be saying about now “But Wait, Didn’t you just say you can’t change another persons consciousness structures” Yes I did and I so glad you’ve been paying attention. That is why I used the phrase “in order to maximize potentials” the definition of a global alchemist, because that is really all you can do. However there is more to the story and for that we must turn our attention to the second aspect of this two-fold expression of what is transformed by personal alchemy.
A global alchemist seeks to transform the Paradigm which informs a system and out which it operates. The paradigm of a system is to a system what the structures of consciousness is to an individual. There is a interdependent mutually informing relationship between the consciousness structures of individuals and the multitude of (often nested) paradigms in which they participate. A very large percentage of who we are at the relative level is directly informed by the paradigm in which we are embeded, musch more then most of us would like to believe. Conversely, the individual, both through direct resonance of their consciousness structures and their ideas, words and behavior which themselves arise from their consciousness structures, influences the paradigm in which they are embedded. It is important to note that the degree of influence over a paradigm in not equal among its participants and there are many factor that effect what degree of influence one has, including such things as personal power (reaffirming once again the critical importance of Personal Alchemy) and position within the system. Competent Leadership can be defined as the ability to Set, Shape, Sustain, and/or destroy aspects of a paradigm so that it best supports the structure in behaving in accordance with their intention.
Additionally, when ones consciousness structures are different from a paradigm one is operating in this will be experienced as conflict with the system and the individual both attempting to alter each other. If such attempt to alter are unsuccessful then typically, either the individual will attempt extricate from the system or the system will attempt to eject the individual. Again there are many factors that determine the probabilities as to which will change
It is through an understanding of this interdependent relationship between the Paradigm of a System and the consciousness structures of those who participate in it and how to apply that understanding that a Global Alchemist engages Systems Alchemy. However, since a paradigm is a co-emergent phenomena even the most skillful Global Alchemist will never be able to do more than maximize probabilities. Interestingly, the more you sense of happiness is entangled with changing a paradigm, that is to say the more you experience the conflict you are in with a paradigm as a cause for unhappiness, the harder it is to change that paradigm if for no other reason then that you will find the conflict intolerable and either extricate from it, behave in ways that cause you to be ejected from it or suppress those aspects of you consciousness structure that are in conflict with a corresponding suppression of your power to influence. This once again highlights the essential nature of personal alchemy as the foundation for successful Systems Alchemy and is why the Alchemical Hero Training is designed specifically to cultivate unreasonable happiness.
This a very condensed introduction to a very complex topic. All that is important to understand at the beginning is that as a Global Alchemist, you aim to continually expand your capacity to maximize probabilities of favorable and the foundation of that capacity lies in your own ongoing practice of Personal Alchemy
In the Alchemical Hero Training system, initially there is much greater emphasis on Personal Alchemy Practice over direct Systems Alchemy however,while you are laying the foundations of Personal Alchemy practice you will also be gradually unpacking and expanding on this brief introduction. It should be noted that while Personal Alchemy practice is emphasize in the beginning, Systems Alchemy practice is not ignored all together. One of the special characteristics of Alchemy is that it both uses the inner to transform the outer and the outer to transform the inner, so even while emphasizing Personal Alchemy you will be quickly learning ways of engaging with life so that everything you do both supports your inner transformation and also contributes to the maximizing of probabilities for the outcome of a sustainable Global Civilization
What is the Difference between a Global Alchemist and an Alchemical Hero?
Speaking most basically it is the difference of general to specific.
Anybody who is engaged in the art and science of becoming the change you want to see in the world and expressing that into the world through heart centered visionary engagement with it in order to maximize the probabilities of the most favorable, immediate, and future outcomes for humanity and the Global Civilizationregardless of what methods of personal alchemy (even in the most general sense of the term) and systems alchemy they use or are trained in, is a Global Alchemist.
Alchemical Hero training is a specific cohesive, comprehensive, developmental, and systematic training that utilizes a specific system or approach to Global Alchemy called Visionary Heart Alchemy. Though I believe there are many people who would already define as Global Alchemists, as far as I know, at this time, there is no other comprehensive training that is explicitly for training you to be a Global Alchemist but I hope there will be soon because though I have great confidence in the efficacy of Alchemical Hero Training and that a great many people can and will benefit from it, and though it is very flexible, non-dogmatic and minimally referenced to any specific culture, it is a specific approach with specific qualities and things it emphasizes and no specific approach will be best for everyone.
Some of the specifics of Alchemical Hero training, which are centered around the term alchemy being used in it more specific sense that other approaches to Global Alchemy may, but don’t necessarily, include are:
- It is focused explicitly on the transformation of the Structures of Consciousness in the more radical sense contained in the metaphor of turning lead into gold rather then the more general sense which is more akin to the reshaping of lead into more useful shapes
- It is seeped in a context of connecting with, abiding in and giving expression to the Sacred in every aspect of life
- Its approach to the Sacred is grounded in, and expressed through a understanding and language that is essentially, non-theistic but does not exclude those whose approach to the Sacred is Theistic in style
- It is non-dogmatic. There is nothing you must believe to begin Alchemical Hero Training. The Visionary Heart Alchemy that is basis for the Alchemical Hero training is built around a set of Alchemical Principles but the Alchemical Hero in training is expected to explore and test these principles withing the laboratory of there own lives rather then believe them. The principles are not beliefs in the sense of proscription of faith any more then I ‘believe’ in gravity. Its I trust in gravity as a principle operating in my experience of the physical I have never had an experience where an object that is not being acted upon by some other force fails to move toward what I call to the ground. I also understand that my habit of referring to this process as “falling down”, while meaningful in the context of my localized process of orientation, is a misnomer when understanding gravity in the larger context of space where the orientation of up and down loose meaning.
- It is Integral (Though it does include insights gained for Wilburian Integral theory its approach is not limited to, nor does it incorporate it even remotely whole hog)
- It is explicitly Esoteric
- It is oriented toward ultimate attainment while addressing the relative. The aim of a sustainable global civilization may or not be obtainable, but as long as one is interacting with the global civilization one may as well do so in a way that maximizes the potential of the most favorable outcomes we can consider. Alchemical Hero training will be relevant no matter what occurs on the global scale. My root teacher Lama Tharchin Rinpoche referred to the ultimate aim as fire and all relative aims as smoke. If you have the fire you will have the smoke effortlessly and inexhaustibly. Jesus is reported to have said seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all else will be added unto you. In an esoteric understanding of this verse the kingdom of heaven and the fire of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s metaphor are identical.
What is Visionary Heart Alchemy?
VHA is a system of Sacred Alchemy that
- is non-dogmatic
- emphasizes practice over study of theory
- design to take advantage of modern technology and the insights of neuroscience without relying on them or indulging in reductionist thinking
- mostly transcultural
- This means that it make very minimal (required) use of symbols or language that is specific to any given culture (social, regional, religious, etc.), I say mostly for two reasons. First, is that it has been found this it is impossible to eliminate all such reference without hindering potency. Second, it is a recognition of pervasive yet invisible influence of cultural bias. In modern esoteric circles the claim is often made of having removed all cultural biases when what they have really done is removed (perhaps) all cultural bias but there own, often a culture of postmodernism. Even the assumption that it is universally better to remove cultural bias is a cultural bias.
- is designed to be an Alchemical Integral Meta operating System (AIMOS) specifically to accommodate the post modern pluralistic Esoteric pursuits (I am afraid it may be awhile before I elaborate on this aspect much except in one -on-one coaching situations)
- Is a system of Integral Esoterics (which is the integral step beyond the Green meme Chaos Magick and Post Modern Magick
Some of things VisionaryHeart Alchemy is not
- a new age cut and paste patchwork
- an ‘update’ of ancient wisdom teachings true wisdom is timeless and not in need of any updates
- a ‘best of” compilation
- better then any authentic wisdom lineage. Unfortunately there is no reliable objecitve criteria that can be given for determining what is an ‘authentic’ lineage. If, however you are connected to such a lineage, you should not in any way view Visionary Heart Alchemy or Alchemical Hero training as replacement for the practices of that lineage.
- necessarily better then any other approach to personal and global transformation methods. There is no approach that is suited to everyone and while I am confident that there is a certain portion of the worlds current population that will derive more benefit from VisionaryHeart Alchemy (and Alchemical Hero training) than the approach they are currently using, I am equally confident that a portion (almost certainly very much larger) of the total population would benefit more some other approach than what iis conveyed in VisionaryHeart Alchemy. I am confident. It is should be noted that while one can not say any given approach or system is universally better then all others, it can be said that some approaches or systems are universally dysfunctional. That is to say there are trainings for supposed personal transformation being peddled to the world, unfortunately sometimes quite successfully, that are complete shit and don’t work for anyone on any functional level.
- a religion itself nor embedded in any specific religious context (For more detail see next question: Is VisionaryHeart Alchemy a religion?
Is VisionaryHeart Alchemy a religion?
VisionaryHeart Alchemy is not a religion itself nor embedded in any specific religious context. There is no specific religious or spiritual doctrine to which you must ascribe to practice VisionaryHeart Alchemy nor is any specific religious or spiritual practice contraindicated from the point of view of VisionHeart Alchemy(Some religious dogmas may see VisionaryHeart Alchemy contraindicated according to there view however)
VisionaryHeart Alchemy does however address itself to those things that have been historically relegated to religious contexts. Until very recently, historically speaking, any cultural context you lived in was dominated by a particular religious view, with very little latitude for differing views. Thus Alchemy has in its specific expressions has, again historically speaking, has been contextualized by a specific exoteric religious culture though its understanding of the symbols of that religious cultures where often more esoteric. However, the approach and even metaphors of Alchemy remain very similar in all such varied contexts. Now in the 21st century, even in cultures where specific religions dominate social and political culture the internet gives exposure to other contexts. It is now possible to express Alchemy in a way that is secular in the sense of being independent of any specific religious organization while at the same time not in any way rejecting what value those contexts may have for specific individuals
The VisionaryHeart is related to at least some of what is referred to, in classic Western Alchemy, as the Philosopher’s Stone. The actual term based on poetic translation of the buddhist term Bodhicitta which is itself symbolized by an eastern equivalent of the Philosopher’s Stone, The Chitamani or Wish-fulfilling Jewel, which is sometime depicted as a luminous pearl. This then infers the Pearl of Great Price for which the wise would sell all to purchase.
In VisionaryHeart has an ultimate aspect and a relative aspect. The ultimate aspect relates to who you primordial are in the absolute sense. As such it is changeless and thus cant be said to be cultivated but rather revealed, expressed and embodied. It’s complete revelation, expression and embodiment is the ultimate aim of VisionaryHeart Alchemy.
The relative aspect which is called the Embodied VisionaryHeart on the other hand can be cultivated and that is the core training of Visionary Heart Alchemy. This cultivation is achieved by training various aspect of consciousness. While it important to avoid falling into the trap of materialistic reductionism, in VisionaryHeart Alchemy, the foundational approach to the cultivation of the Embodied VisionaryHeart is built around measurable physiological (specifically neurological) correlates to some of these aspects of consciousness. The term Embodied VisionaryHeart can be seen as a poetic references to the 3 Brains, Visionary – Head Brain, Heart – the brain in the… well I hope you can figure that one out and Embodied – the Gut Brain (I will explain more about this later but there are literal brains in both the gut and the heart in addition to the well known head brain).
What is the relationship between VisionaryHeart Alchemy and Alchemical Hero Training?
One could say that Visionary Heart Alchemy is the operating system for Alchemical Hero Training or one might say they both share the same core operating system. Alchemical Hero Training has the same orientation as Visionary Heart Alchemy but the only part of Visionary Heart Alchemy that is essential for most of the Alchemical Hero training vectors is the core cultivation of the VisioanryHeart, which is a foundational training that actually activates the microprocessor and install the operating system that powers both systems. More extensive training in Visionary Heart Alchemy is a highly recommended elective training vector for Alchemical Hero training or extensive Visionary Heart Alchemy could be pursued in lou of pursuing other Alchemical Hoer training vectors. This option and the reasons one might do so will be pursued at a latter time because the Alchemical Hero Training is a greater priority for me at this time. While the core cultivation of the VisionayHeart is the only part of VisionaryHeart Alchemy training that is a prerequisite for the core aspect of the various other training vectors, there will be elective modules of other training vectors that will require more extensive VisionaryHeart Alchemy Training.
Tell me about the term Alchemical Hero.
(Ok so I broke format and this is not a question but request but since request and question share the same root I’ll just press on)
As a whole the phrase ‘Alchemical Hero’ belongs in the same class as the phrase Sacred Warrior. Since is have gone in depth about ‘alchemical’ elsewhere I will simply say here that “Alchemical’ refers to a particular approach to the Sacred and to life that is centered on the the Sacred. The term hero is inclusive of all that is usually infered by warrior in this sacred context but without the semantic refrence to War. There are many instances of Heroship that have nothing to do with opposition with another being (unless you personify forces – As in a fireman battling with a fire)
The The word ‘hero’ is used in its mythic sense and meant to covey a sense of courage and level of personal commitment. (Mythic is use here in the sense conveyed most famously by Joseph Cambel as opposed the coloquil sense of a falsehood or the blue/amber stage of Spiral Dynamic/AQAL) There is a great deal of inertia to the status quo of pervasive mediocrity both in the external world and more critically within yourself and no amount chronological blessing (ie 2012, Age of Aquarius, Aeon of Horus, Grand Astrological Conjuction or what have you), Space brother intervention, New Age activations and clearings, etc,; is going to to the work for you individually or for us as a global civilization. Becoming the change takes commitment and expressing that change through heart-centered visionary engagement in every area of your life takes even more. It also seems that at this stage of the story of the Global Civilization, to avoid some the less desirable story lines that some of our current trajectories make probable a significant number of people will need to step up to heroic engagement.
What does Heart-Centered visionary engagement mean?
Let tackle Visionary first. The word visionary tends to convey a sense of the grandiose but to being visionary has nothing intrinsically to do with size or grandeur. In very simple term to be a visionary is to think and take action outside-the-box . The box is the dominant paradigm, the accepted assumption and presuppositions of what ever field or context you engaging with. A business visionary, for example, is someone who thinks and takes action outside of the box of prevailing views and models for how to do business. Now, when successful this out of the box thinking and acting often leads to big and even grandiose changes, however the initial thoughts and actions can be quite small. It is not the size of the idea that makes it visionary but departure from pervasive mediocrity of business as usual. When you first become the change you seek, you have already taken at least a step outside of the paradigm that maintains the status quo. Then visionary engagement becomes simply a matter of choosing to take another step and then another…. What makes a global alchemist different from simply being a visionary is the intention to engage every arena of life with the intention of stepping beyond the status quo. Another distinction is the element of being heart-centered.
Again, in simple terms, for visionary engagement to be heart-centered means that it is motivated or driven by, a strong sense of compassion. This is, by itself, a very important distinction as it quite possible to successfully think outside-the-box when driven by very different motivation. However being heart-centered is not just a motivation for visionary engagement but also a method. Recent Studies (last 20 years) have brought to light that the metaphorical and poetic allusions to the heart have a very physical basis. The heart is not just muscle or pump but a center of particular kind of intelligence. The heart has a literal brain of over 40,000 neurons as well as the capacity to generate and receive the chemical signal called neurotransmitters. The heart moderate an aspect of intelligence that some simply refer to as heart intelligence. The aspect of intelligence that can get stuck in a paradigm is the part moderated by the head brain. The heart intelligence doesn’t think in paradigms. It is heart intelligence that allows a fundamentalist christian grandmother love and cherish her gay grandson even though the paradigm she is imbedded in says she must disavow him. So being heart-centered is a method for being visionary as well as motivation for it.
Are you speaking in hyperbole when you say ‘inexhaustible benefit’?
Actually No, I am not speaking hyperbolically at all. It is actually quite easy to create inexhaustible benefit for all. You can do it right now. Say out loud, or to yourself if you are around other people something to the effect of “May everyone be happy” with however much sincerity you can muster. Now contemplate the fact the well wishing for all created some small amount of good karma however minuscule that may be. Now Say “May whatever good karma which that well wishing created benefit everyone without exception.” You have just did the rough equivalent of depositing money in an interest bearing account which never that only allows the interest to be spent and since the original deposit never gets spent that interest will keep coming inexhaustibly. Mind you that example may be the equivalent of a one cent deposit that bears 1% interest that gets shared among everyone. How ‘big’ of a deposit and the ‘interest rate’ of the deposit will depend on a lot of factors, however the benefit of that deposit will never cease. The Alchemical Hero training contains in-depth explorations of what I call Karma Mechanics (did you get it… K(c)ar [ma] Mechanics 🙂 – I totally stole that – the phrase, not the understanding – from Antero Ali’s book “Angel Tech”) which explains how to make Karma work for you which is an important part of expanding an inexhaustible trickle of benefit to a Niagara Falls size flow.
What do you mean by esoteric and why is it important?
Esoteric comes from the Greek root ‘eso’ meaning ‘within’ and is opposed to ‘exo’ which means ‘outside’ Unfortunately this is somewhat misleading. When people speak of outer and inner inner worlds they are most often using self as the point of separation of outer and inner, with mind and the phenomena of mind (thoughts, emotions, memories) being ‘inner’ and body and all the rest of physical phenomena being ‘outer’. However according to esoteric understanding this word we refer to as the outer world and everything in it has a ‘within’ aspect that is considered a more fundamental aspect of the reality that is referenced as outer. To speak of an ‘inner’ of the outer is both confusing and not entirely accurate as the level of reality that ‘esoteric’ is referring to, at once surrounds and is the core of the exoteric level of reality which we could call – the obvious. We could say Esoteric refers to a level or dimension of reality or existence that is less obvious but more fundamental then level of reality most everyone acknowledges as reality. Another set of terms often applied to the exoteric and esoteric levels of reality are ‘gross’ and subtle respectively but ‘gross’ has negative connotations. It is important to understand that the distinction between esoteric and exoteric is not sharp and that definitions are not precise.
To bring clarity some specific examples may help. Things like chakras, and the meridians spoken about in acupuncture and Chi Kung are examples of things related to the esoterc dimension of the body. They are, in fact, often refereed as parts of the esoteric anatomy and parts of the subtle body. Feng Shui, which, simply put, is about how you arrange objects within a space such inside of buildings to create harmonious “energy” flows, is dealing with the esoteric aspect of the outer environment. One of the dictionary definitions esoteric is “known to only a few”. Until very recently all these things were esoteric in western cultures by that last definition, but even though very large sections of the population even in western culture at least know of these things they are still esoteric because of the level of reality they are related to. Actual functional knowledge of these things, as opposed to knowing of or believing in these things, is still largely esoteric even by the definition, “know by only a few”
It is also important to note that the esoteric dimension of reality is not intrinsically more sacred then the exoteric. It possible to learn how to work with the esoteric dimension without, in anyway, deepening you connection with and expression of the sacred. Just as it is equally possible to deepen you connection with, and expression of, the Sacred without be involved in some of the more specifically esoteric trainings. However since the Sacred is generally subtle and in-obvious it is by defintion relegated to the esoteric in a broad sense.
Esoterics, which are methods of working with the esoteric level of reality, are very important because functional knowledge of them is a highly leveraged position for creating change both in yourself and, if applied with all the requisite contextual understanding, the external world. There is a community in Findhorn, Scotland that grew extraordinarily large fruits and vegetable on soil that was conventionally (exoterically) speaking inhospitable to cultivation because they learned how to relate to the esoteric dimension of plants. No dangerous genetic modification required. I believe that this is very suggestive of the ways that esoterics can help us create a sustainable global civilization. (Findhord still exists but I don’t know if they are still growing the massive plants that made them famous)
How essential is Esoteric training to Alchemical Hero training?
Well that depends on how loosely or inclusively you define esoteric. In the core aspect of most vectors of training, the very explicitly esoteric aspects are minimal. Since, as is mentioned elsewhere, there are no required beliefs to enter into Alchemical Hero training, no belief is the esoteric dimension is required. Though, to be honest, I doubt anyone who patently rejects all notions of an esoteric dimension to reality would be interested in Alchemical Hero Training or Global Alchemy in general, it is possible understand all the core aspects of personal alchemy training in terms of Neuroscience, or as I like to call it NueroAlchemy. The Alchemical Hero Training is being designed to accomadate those who want to go deep into the study of esoterics and how to apply it to both personal and systems alchemy, as well as those who have less interest in such in-depth esoteric applications.
What does in mean to cultivate unreasonable happiness?
Most people have their experience of happiness tied to a set of criteria as to when they can be happy. This criteria is usually about the circumstances of their lives and are, by and large very narrow. The degree of happiness they experience is directly related to how many and how exactly these criteria are being met. To make matters worse even recognizing or imagining the possibility of a criteria that is currently be no longer being meant will decrease their experience of happiness. All this amounts to reasons for being happy. We even expect people who are happy to be able to name the reasons that they are happy and if they say ‘no reason really’ we get suspicious that their happiness is coming somehow at our expense and that is why they don’t want to say.
Because we all want to be happy, if we tie our experience of happiness to external circumstances then we will be continuously preoccupied with manipulating those circumstances. When we succeed in manipulating circumstances to fit our criteria we call that ‘success’. I call this approach the happiness through success formula. It is the one most commonly preached in the personal success industry. It is also completely dysfunctional. It never actually yields consistent ongoing happiness. Let me emphasize again, it never ever ever ever yields consistent ongoing happiness. The reason it fails is to fold. First circumstances always change and second and most importantly, happiness is an entirely internal phenomena. The criteria are an arbitrary and unnecessary superimposition.
The truth is happiness is intrinsically independent of external criteria and ultimately independent of any criteria at all. All Happiness is intrinsically unreasonable. It is always available but has become obscured by unhelpful habitual styles of attention and ill formed consciousness structures. So in truth we don’t cultivate unreasonable happiness but rather our capacity to access it by learning new ways of attending and by transforming the obscuring structure of consciousness. As we thus ‘cultivate’ unreasonable happiness we will be able to implement the far more effective formula of Success through Happiness. The less your experience of happiness is tied to external circumstances the more your baseline position become leveraged for creating success. There are far to many ways that this is true to enumerate here but I will give two here. First a state of happiness optimizes your neurology toward greater resourcefulness and second, the more you realize that your happiness is independent of any external circumstance, the more immune you become to manipulation whether from advertising and sales or from any of your relationships.
Will Alchemical Hero training help me find my life purpose?
Well that really depends on how you understand ‘life purpose’ . Life purpose is not a fixed thing to be found but something that is continuously being expressed through the ever changing matrix of who you are on a relative level in responds to the ever changing fabric of your life.
What to you mean by training and transforming aspects of consciousness?
First a word about the word consciousness. The way I use the term is not synonymous with mind but rather a designation for its relative aspect rather than the absolute aspect which I typically refer to as Awareness (with a capital A). This has nothing to do with typical English definitions for these words but is an artifact of a common translation convention for terms from Buddhism which I have found gives some of the most clear explication on the topic. The absolute aspect is changeless and beyond any defining characteristic (even the characteristic of being indefinable … chew on that for awhile) and thus you can not speak of training or transforming this absolute aspect. You can train in abiding within it but that is about the relationship of the relative and the absolute rather then the absolute itself. When we speak of training or transformation of mind we can only be referring to consciousness
Training and transformation refer to different things. To understand the difference between them you need to first understand that consciousness has many aspects, Consciousness includes within it such thing as attention, intention, perception, cognition, intelligences, states, structures, content, contexts, emotions, identity, skills, and qualities. This list is not of entirely separate elements of consciousness but rather just some broad categories and they are often, at least partially, mutually defining. All these together can be divided into two major aspects: the enduring aspects of consciousness and mercurial aspects of consciousness
The enduring aspects of consciousness are the structures, meta structures of consciousness and the content that is structured. The enduring aspects of consciousness are changeable and in fact are always changing however when compared to the mercurial aspect of consciousness the change tends to be very slow, gradual, systematic and directional. There are structures of consciousness that will remain mostly unchanged through a whole life time (or even lifetimes) while there are others that do change. Many structures of Consciousness are capable of rapid or sudden change but typically this only happens either by skilled intentional intervention or powerful and often, but not always, traumatic, life experiences. Even in the most extreme example of sudden structure change there will be other structure more or less unchanged. The sense of enduring will be come more clear when we look at the mercurial aspect of consciousness.
The mercurial aspect of consciousness can be summed as gestalt of the present moment experience. The structures of consciousness form the overall container for this gestalt. However the contents of this container are generated moment to moment by a mutually informing feedback loop comprised of
- The currently arising content of present moment consciousness,
- attention (to what is being attended and how it is being attended),
- Ones State of consciousness,
- the intensity of activation of various structures of consciousness,
- intention.
A change in any of these will effect all the other components and the gestalt to varying degree. In The Seed Training Vector we explore these in detail, however a brief exploration of them will be sufficient for understanding their mercurial nature.
The currently arising content is everything that you could potentially place your attention on even if you are not currently doing so. This include both outer experiences and inner experiences. This constantly changing and that change has no specific direction. Right in this moment you can point your eyes in a succession of randomly different directions and each one will change what is included as currently arising content but without any kind of progression in that change. Even without moving anything you can also change what you are paying attention to. Of course at this moment you a completely engrossed in reading this and are not attending to the sensation of what ever your body is pressing against. Though likely as I said that you did at least briefly attend to it. Your state changes subtly and greatly in many different ways again without any sense of an ongoing improvement. Your mood, which comes under the heading of State can go from good to bad or bad to good in a single instant and in neither case is the change lasting. You mood will change again in any possible direction. Right now various of your consciousness structures are activated and others aren’t. A song may come on the radio and you might remember your fist lover whom you where not thinking of a moment ago or the smell of fresh baked bread may waft past you, activating memories of your grandma. The change has no specific progression and can potentially be in any direction and of any magnitude. Right now I am intending to keep writing this and I also intend to cook dinner in 30 minutes. A minute from now I will intend to cook dinner in 29 minute. 5 minutes from now a friend may call and invite me out to dinner. If I agree I will no longer intend to cook in 30 minute uh I mean 29 minutes. All of these changes will also to varying degree change all the others. The song that reminded you of your first lover was a change in arising content that activated a memory structure, Now if that lover broke you heart and you attend to that part of the memory structure your mood will probably get worse but if instead place your attention on the first time you made love you mood will likely improve (assuming that was a good memory) If you were already in a very good mood you will be more likely to attend to the fist time you made love then if you just got in a fight with your current lover or if you have no current lover and feel lonely… and the feed back loop goes on and on with constant change being the only enduring constant.
Given this constant change, you can not meaningfully talk about transforming these mercurial aspects of consciousness accept in a very momentary sense,. In away you cant even talk about training them but you can, through training, learn to influence your present moment experience by influencing aspects of that make up the gestalt. For example your state of consciousness is constantly changing and thus not something that can even per se, trained. However, even though all states a human being is capable of experiencing, whether ordinary, such a waking (and all subtle nuances there in), dreaming and dreamless sleep, or nonordinary, such shamanic trance and mystical unity, can potentially be experienced by any one at almost any moment, they are not all equally likely to occur either on their own or by intention. The likelihood of any given state occurring whether by present moment intention or automatically, can be effected through training. It is various structures of consciousness that govern this likelihood so technically when we speak of state training or any of the components of consciousness that comprise the gestalt of our present moment experience we are really talking about training their underlining structures of consciousness.
There are a great many different kinds of structures and meta structures of consciousness. When we speak of training structures we a referring to doing activities that either creates a new structure, reinforce a structure, or extend a structure. When we speak of transforming structures we are speaking of a profound reordering of a structure that may entail the elimination of element, and/or the inclusion of new elements. This transformation results in either something very different then what was transformed or a change in level of functionality that is an order of magnitude of what came before rather then and incremental change in nature of function that training provides. Most structure can be both be trained and transformed but some are more responsive to being trained while other more apt to transform then change gradually. Often training precedes transformation and can in fact be a prerequisite for transformation as some transformations require certain elements to be present but not necessarily in the structure undergoing transformation. The elements can be part of other structures that may get incorporated into the resultant structure or may simply act as a catalyst for the transformation
The NeuroAlchemical Foundations training focuses on training structures related to the mercurial aspects of consciousness, especially attention (both its strength/stability and its flexibility) and states. This training often, in and of itself, results in spontaneous transformation of structures and can be applied to intentionally cause transformations but is focused on a comprehensive systematic development of capacities rather then transformation.
Alchemical Integration is directly about causing transformation of many structures. It entails training to develop requisite skills but only the most basic competency is need to begin using Alchemical Integration. Most of those are covered in the Seed Training program, actually the free Alchemical Hero Starter Kit provides most of it. Actually no training beyond some explanation is absolutely required but some training in foundational skills will make the process much more enjoyable and effective.