AT THIS POINT in this book we have come a long way. We have talked about many important concepts and techniques, all of which are necessary for activation and proper operation of your physical vehicle. We have looked at things like trust, breathing, visualization, intent, and protection rituals. Now, with these things rehearsed and part of our daily practice, it is time to consider opening up a channel of communication.

What kind of communication channel?

Basically, a channel of communication to the spirit world.

Specifically, a channel of communication to your guide network.

What's your guide network?

Well, your guide network is a tight collection of disincarnate spiritual entities who are here to "guide" you and assist you and who want nothing more than to hover around and provide you with the energetic and support services you need to complete your chosen work.

That's all.

They are here to help and uplift you.

That's it.

Now, a lot of people have the mistaken idea that your guides are like teachers or directors whose job is to direct you through life and tell you what to do. However, that's not the way it is. Your Spirit guides are not more knowledgeable than you, more spiritual than you, more wise than you, or more "good" than you. Truth be told, you are the one with the knowledge and the experience. You are the one that is at the front line, so to speak, and because of that, because you have a direct connection with the material world we are creating, your guides cannot sensibly direct you. It doesn't make any sense. It would be like a landlubber who's never been in a boat trying to tell an experienced sea-faring captain how to pilot the ship - with a cell phone, a thousand miles away, without being able to see what's in front of the ship.

Craziness.

Really, your guides are more like disincarnate friends and family members who offer you advice, energetic assistance and, if you want it, gentle and supportive guidance - but only if you ask. And let me be clear here, if you want your guides to help, you need to ask them. Not only will your guides never make a decision for you, they will also never do anything to you without your permission.

You are totally in control here.

You are, quite literally, the captain of your ship. As I explain in The Parable of The Garden (included in the appendix of this book), your spiritual guides are there to help you "do your job." They are there to help you find your way around in the darkness of this earth and nothing more.

Now, I've got to say that, in all cases, your guides are very good at providing you assistance. If you ask them for advice, chances are they have the answer, and that's not because they are smarter than you, it is just because they know you well. In fact, because your consciousness is "veiled," i.e., because you have been sleep walking on this earth, when you start out, your guides literally know you and the purpose for which you incarnated better than you yourself do. In fact, when it comes to the whys, the wherefores, and the "where am I going" types of questions, your guides have the answer, at least initially.

But remember this.

Your guides aren't babysitters.

They won't be around you forever. They are just there to help you through the first stages of your awakening process. Once you've got it under control, your guides are no longer needed and they will step back in order that you can make your own decisions and that's a good thing. It is something to shoot for. You want to get to a point where you are confident enough in your own abilities to pilot without advice. It shouldn't take that long to get there, but until you do, trust your guides. Your guides are there to serve and ensure a safe awakening.

So, question before us now is, how do you contact your guides?

How do you open a channel of communication to them?

Well, like all things spiritual, it is very easy. All you have to do to open a channel to your guide network is visualize a connection of some sort. The easiest, and therefore most powerful, visualization that I can think of is to simply visualize an "energy pipe" starting from your brain center and passing through your skull up into the spiritual world.

Simply see a tube exiting your skull. See the pipe as it exits your skull widen and expand into a huge cosmic funnel where energy flows through a narrow "point of contact" into your skull, brain, and Central Nervous System (CNS). Focus in on the energy now and notice how, as it flows, it enlivens your entire nervous system. As the energy enters, your brain lights up, your nerves sparkle with energy, and your body glows with the light-energy flowing in and through you. Now, as you visualize this scene in your head, notice how you can control the flow of energy. You can squeeze the energy flow right off and therefore "cut yourself off" from the funnel that connects you to The Fabric of Consciousness (a.k.a. The Waters of Creation), or you can speed up the energy flow and even expand the funnel to encompass the entire universe and beyond.

Keep in mind this next very important point:

There is no limit to how wide that funnel can become and no external control over the process. You turn the spigot on or off. You specify the energy flow and you control how wide or narrow the channel is.

Now, most of you reading these words will have a closed off channel of communication. Don't feel bad. It's not your fault and, as adults, we are like that. We don't start off that way as children. Oh, no! As children we have a wide-open channel to The Fabric. However, for reasons I outline throughout my writings, as we grow into teenagers and adults, we close that channel off.

Why?

Basically, we close it off because we are taught to be afraid of it.

We close it because we are taught that we are tiny and irrelevant.

We close it because we are told it is filled with demons and devils and tricksters of every kind.

We close it because we are told judgment awaits us "on the other side."

We close it off because of all the religious and scientific gobbledy-gook we hear.

It comes down to this: we close it off because we don't want to connect with the "other side." We have been taught deep fear of The Waters of Consciousness and so we put up a wall, build a meniscus, and shut down the connection. We then put on this big show for ourselves and everybody else about how we don't understand and we can't connect and we don't have the power and oh gosh, and oh darn, gee, golly whiz.

Ah, but, dear chela, you do have the power to open. You have total authority over the channel. All you have to do is visualize that pipe and "the channel" is instantly opened.

Simple.

Now, as strange as this might sound to some of you, and although I've given you a lot of tools and advice in this book to prepare you for opening a channel, I wouldn't recommend blasting that skull pipe open just yet. My advice, no matter who you are and what types of communication you may have had in the past, is to start slow. Remember what I have said. The reality on the other side of that pipe is vast and mind boggling and even with the breathing and the intent and the visualization and the safe driving lessons and the protection and all the help from your guides, you still want to proceed with caution.

Open a little bitty pipe at first and allow just a thin sliver of energy to pass back and forth.

Don't overdo it, but do it like you do all the other visualizations you do. Do it for a few seconds whenever you think about it, several times a day, persistently until "things" start happen.

What kind of things?

Well, since it's a tiny connection you open at first, you'll be looking for "meaningful" things to happen.

"Synchronous" things.

You know what synchronicity is, right?

Synchronicity, according to Carl Gustaf Jung, is the occurrence of an extremely unlikely event with deep personal significance and meaning. A synchronicity is a remarkable, nay astounding coincidence, but not just any coincidence. A synchronicity is a coincidence of epic proportions. It is an event, a confluence of person, place, and thing that is unmistakably personal, meaningful, and outrageously cosmic in its statistical improbability.

The "event," the synchronicity, could be anything. It could be something your neighbor says, it could be some weird and inexplicable electronic malfunction, it could be a vehicle driving in front of you, it could be a beggar on the street approaching, it could be a number flashing repeatedly before you, or anything under the sun as long as it has personal meaning and as long as it is so statistically improbable that when you experience it, you just know "something" is going on.

So what's this "synchronicity" have to do with talking to your guides? Well, unless you do something foolish and blast the channel open before you have properly prepared yourself, synchronicity is the first "channel" that your guide network will use to communicate with you. In fact, when you open your skull pipe up just a little itty bit, it's the only one they can use. So if you're coming at this with no previous experience, when you start the "pipe visualization," when you open an itty-bitty bit, pay attention! Your first communications will be in the form of synchronicity.

Now, synchronicity is an okay kind of communication channel to use. The good thing about synchronicity is not only can your guide network actually get a "message" to you without much ambiguity, it keeps a nice safe boundary between your ego and the rest of the Spirit world. This is a good thing, especially if you have some fears about the spirit world that you aren't aware of and that might become activated if you get too close to the meniscus. This way, you can get a communication from Spirit without actually confronting your fears. Thus, it's a good starting point because it allows the sleeping mind of the body, the mind that is unfamiliar with the deep realities of Spirit, to see that something big is going on without becoming terrified by the implications. Synchronicity is a slow dose of communication meted out in safe measure designed to ensure the integrity of the ego.

Synchronicity happens a lot in your life, a lot more than you realize, especially these days. In fact, it is often the case these days that those in the spirit world who have an interest in you have some kind of "life or death" message to get through to you. Unfortunately, until we actually start to pay attention, we tend to miss a lot of the "desperate" messages our guide network tries to send us because although a synchronous event is easy to see if you're paying attention, because of the subtle nature of the event, it's also easy to miss if you aren't looking.

Also important to note, synchronicity is also something you can control. That is, you don't have to stand around waiting for your guide network to send you a message. Be proactive! Ask a question and wait twenty-four to forty-eight hours for the answer. I recommend a simple question like "are you there" or "who am I" or something like that. Keep an open mind, too. The answer you get, especially to the "who am I" quesstion, may surprise you.

Now, the bad thing about synchronicity it that is has a couple of profound limitations. First of all, although you can always tell that something is "going on" when you catch a synchronous message, that's about all you can tell. Owing to the difficulty of arranging material events in an improbable but meaningful sort of way, the message sent to you is always a simple message and often merely an empty message - meaning that the only meaning to be found is in the fact that the event is meaningful - and that's okay, at the start, anyway. The point "at the start" isn't to communicate profound spiritual wisdom or to engage in a deep spiritual conversation. The point is to simply start the process of getting you used to the idea that there's "something big" going on beneath the surface. Once you get used to the idea, then it is time to graduate and move on.

A word to the wise here:

Whatever you do, don't get hung up on synchronicity. Synchronicity is okay for what it is, but amongst all the methods of getting a message through the meniscus, synchronicity is the most "primitive," most indirect, most difficult form of communication that can happen. It takes your guide network immense concentration and intent to arrange even the simplest events. Therefore, if you "hang on" to synchronicity, you are asking a lot from your guides. I can tell you now, they won't carry on banging their heads against your stubborn refusal to "see" forever. If you don't move on to easier and more effective forms of spiritual communication, they will stop trying. When that happens, you've either got to wait for them to chill out enough to want to try and get a message through your stubborn-ass head again, or you are going to spontaneously move on to an easier (for them) form of communicating. You just can't ask them to keep doing it for you. They'll eventually give up. Trust your own eyes. If the event seems impossible within the rational confines of a materialist universe, it is.

Once you get the message that there is "something going on" beneath the surface of this reality, and presuming you don't get freaked out and fearful, then the next step is to open the skull pipe a little wider. You already know how to do that. To do it, simply visualize the narrow pipe widening a bit. How much? Trust your intuition. A little bit or a lot, it's up to you. Of course, once you decide how much, then you do it like you do all the visualizations you do. Visualize for a few moments, persistently and faithfully, several times a day, until "things" start happen.

What kinds of things?

Well, "feeling" things.

Emotional things.

Bodily things.

When you open that skull pipe of yours a little wider, start paying attention to your body.

Why?

Because external spiritual influence on your actual physical body, i.e., spiritual manipulation of the subtle systems of your body, is the next step in opening a full channel to the spiritual world.

Perhaps at this point you are asking yourself, how can a disincarnate spirit influence my physical body? Well, when you are willingly open to the influence, or when you are not aware of your absolute spiritual sovereignty and therefore "open by mistake," it is easy. In fact, the same high spiritual principle that that governs the interaction of consciousness with the physical universe operates here as well.

As above in consciousness,
So below in matter.

Just as you control the physical world through the thoughts you have in your head, and just as disincarnated Spirit can communicate with you by influencing the external material world, consciousness (whether in a body or not) can influence your body. After all, your body and your mind are part of the material world and, like all aspects of the material world, your body (and mind) respond to consciousness pure and simple. Therefore, communicating with you through your body is a lot easier than communicating through synchronicity. Indeed, All Immortal Spirit has to do to communicate in this fashion is influence your body in a way that is noticeable to you. Typically, Spirit targets your CNS in order to provide you with some kind of sensation.

What kind of sensation?

Well, that depends on the message. If it's a happy message that everything is okay and you can keep going on your merry way, then you'll have happy sensations. However, if it's an urgent message of a type like "WAKE UP, YOU'RE HEADING FOR A WALL, YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH!" then it's a more urgent sensation. It could be anything. It could be a "worry" feeling meaning something bad is going to happen if you don't do something. It could be bad feelings about yourself meaning you're doing something wrong and getting away from your chosen life's purpose. It could even be pleasant little tingly "resonations" telling you "MONEY," you're right on the mark. It really just depends. So pay attention to your feelings. You never know who might be trying to talk to you.

Now, using your CNS to get a message to you is a great method of communication. In terms of the quality of the message, it's much better than synchronicity. Synchronicity is a blunt hammer compared to the subtle possibilities that open when you enable bodily communication through your CNS. Using your CNS is also safe for the ego, since, if you are still a little frightened by the depths beneath the surface, you can just assume it's your own body acting on its own. You don't have to confront or commit to the idea of the meniscus at all here, at least until you've learned to trust that your emotional senses will guide you accurately through your life path.

Of course, as you would expect, CNS communication has some limitations. Like synchronicity, the kind of message you get with the CNS method of communication is always very simple. In other words, you cannot get a lot of detail through. It is no more than a binary "good feeling/bad feeling" sort of thing. You can manage general advice through this, i.e., advice like, "Turn left," "turn right," "go straight," or "get the hell out of DODGE right now," but that's about the extent of the message you can get. Obviously, because of limitations of CNS communication, you don't want to rely on this form of channel for very long, although you can if you want to. Unlike synchronicity, your guide network doesn't find it tiresome to communicate through your CNS system. In fact, if you are stubborn, it can go on for decades. Still, you don't want it to. As with synchronicity, don't get hung up on feelings. Once you're comfortable with the notion that other beings can influence your body, once the idea that the boundary between you and "everything else" isn't a solid wall like you were raised to think it was, and once you're convinced that this is okay and nothing bad is going to happen to you because of it, move on and expand the pipe a bit more. Do it almost exactly like you did it the last time, only this time extend the energies down through your brain and also out the middle of your forehead.

In fact, do the funnel thing again.

Visualize a funnel sticking out of the top of your head and a funnel sticking out of the spot just above and between your eyes. Visualize these two pipes as wide or as narrow as you want. Trust your intuition as to how wide and how much energy will flow. When you get a good idea, start the visualization. Do it like you do all the visualizations. Do it for a few moments whenever you think about it, several times a day. Be persistent and do it every day until "things" start happen.

What kinds of things?

Well, "intuition types of things."

"Sixth sense" types of things.

Even idea and image types of things.

I mean, at this level, when you open up your crown and your third eye, you are actually starting to pierce the meniscus and let the information flow directly into you. To be honest, this level is a lot like the previous level inasmuch as it relies on subtle manipulation of the CNS to get your attention. However, at the same time, it is more than simple emotional communication, because it is at this point that you actually begin to peek through the meniscus and let the ideas flow, if not freely, at least independently of your physical existence.

Exciting (!) because at this point, you are actually, carefully, touching The Waters of Consciousness. At this point, ideas (the stuff of The Fabric) are actually getting through. Not too much though. At this point, we're usually lacking in spiritual confidence so we still tread The Waters safely and with reserve. We may feel comfortable with subtle emotional communications, and we may even be okay with the occasional imposition of an idea, but we're still not too sure of ourselves and so we still maintain an ego barrier and an erroneous belief that it's "hard" to get a message through when in fact, when directly connected, it is very easy. Still, at this point, the illusion of separation is probably best, because the next step, which involves a totally open channel, can be quite the paranoid, freaky, soul cracking, discombobulating shocker for any of those still stuck with any of the nasty misconceptions I listed earlier in chapter two of this book.

Now, using your intuition and "sensing the ideas" in your head is definitely a step forward from listening to your body because it does allow the actual penetration of a spiritual thought once in a while. However, as you might guess, it is still limited. It is useful for a while so you can build up confidence in your ability to control the thought and image flow, but in the long run, if you stick with intuition, you are settling for the maintenance of an illusion and a restriction of communication. If you want to experience totally open communication with Spirit, you are going to have to move on from this at some point.

Don't forget. As with synchronicity and feeling, your purpose isn't to develop your intuition or get stuck in limited "psychic" mode. Your purpose is to develop confidence to the point where you can blow your connection wide open and reconnect with the full reality of Spirit.

That's the point.

Unfortunately, in this book I'm not going to take you to the point of wide-open connection. You know how to do it if you want to, but I wouldn't advise it at this point. There is a lot we need to consider and I don't have the space for it in this book so I'm leaving a discussion of full channeling out until I write The Book of Magic. This doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. If you want to, feel free. However, for reasons that will become clear in The Book of Magic, I would advise that you not engage in channeling activity for others until you are certain you have a clear understanding of the mechanics and pitfalls.

One final set of comments. If you are a male reader I would like, at this point, to refer your consciousness to the chapter entitled HERESY later on in this book.

Why?

Well, because if you want to get past mere synchronicity as a form of spiritual communication, you are going to have to change your understanding of gender.

Why is that?

Well, it's a bit technical but basically it has to do with the "balance of energy" in your body. It is like this: Listening to your emotions, plugging into intuition, and gently expanding your mind into the glorious Fabric of Consciousness is a very soft, feminine, right brain sort of thing to do.

It is not very "objective."

It is not very "manly."

Therefore, the ability to communicate with Spirit is not often found in overly objective but energetically unbalanced, "manly" men.

Pourquoi?

Well, because intuition is the first authentic form of direct spiritual communication.

Because intuition is the first real penetration of the meniscus.

Because intuition is the first true connection to your higher self and, as such, intuition requires a functioning right brain hemisphere.

Why?

Because the only way to authentically communicate with spirit is from left hemisphere through right hemisphere and up.

And what does this have to do with gender?

Well, as explained in the chapter on HERESY, the right hemisphere functions best only when there's lots of yin energy around, and since yin has been erroneously associated with female, you need to stop suppressing the female side of you and open, if you haven't already, to the soft, feminine side of you.

It's not hard. Even if you're the manliest he-man of the universe, you can still learn to get in touch with your feminine side if you commit THE HERESY and admit you have a nurturing, loving, artistic, open, intuitive, emotional, soft feminine side. And you know what Mr. Man, I don't care how nervous or fidgety you might be here. Male or female, you can't get very far on your spiritual path of awakening unless you balance the energies.

Thankfully, it is easy to do. To do it, to balance your energies, do what you do with all things physical that you want to control. Simply intend and visualize. Say to yourself "I want to work with balanced energies" and then find a visualization of the balance. The simplest (and therefore the most powerful) way that I've found is to use the ancient Chinese Yin/Yang symbol. The Yin/Yang is a perfect representation of the balance of energy and frankly, I can't think of a better way to visualize the balance of Yin/Yang than to use this symbol. So use it. Picture the Yin/Yang symbol floating on its side above your head. Then visualize the symbol "passing through" your body as it energizes you with balanced energies. Trust your intuition here. See it rotating, see it cleansing, see it forcing muck out. See whatever you want, just keep balance in mind and open yourself to the transformation.

And don't be afraid.

Your behavioral repertoire will expand, and in a good way, but you're not going to be suddenly and mysteriously be drawn to your local gay bars. That's just paranoid, fear-based silliness. We choose our dominant gender expression, or cross expression, because that is where we are comfortable. That is what we enjoy. Leading a more balanced existence doesn't mean we stop being who we are. It just means we have more options and more powers available to us. That's all. So chill, open, and relax. It will do you a world of emotional and spiritual good. I promise.