Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness

Book Review: Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness  by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche (Zhyisil Chokyi Ghatsal Publications – Prajna Editions 2001)

This is a book about the gross to the more refined views of reality in Buddhist Philosophy according to the Mahayana Tradition. The particular teachings given by Khenpo were derived from the famed 19^th century non-sectarian teacher Jamgon Kongtrul from his,

“Encyclopaedia of Knowledge.”

First is the traditional Three Stages in the Process of Understanding Dharma Teachings: hearing/listening reflecting/pondering/contemplating, and meditation (by incorporating into one’s being). These three are also called the Three Fields of Investigation and the Three Ways to remove Doubt. There are Buddhist texts said to relate to these three activities. He gives as an example of hearing – The Jewel Ornament of Liberation – by Gampopa as a thorough exposition of relative truth. The Madyamakavatara by Chandrakirti is given as an exposition of the ultimate truth of emptiness. The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra attributed to Maitreya is given as a text to meditate on after studying the texts on emptiness. This text is about Awakened Nature, or tathagatagarbha. This Buddha Nature forms the theoretical basis for tantra and mahamudra. These also refer to the three turnings of the dharma wheel. So first study relative truth, then absolute truth, then the more subtle versions of absolute truth that reveal themselves through direct understanding beyond conceptuality. The progressive stages of meditation on emptiness refer to these subtle-ward realizations. In this system there are fives stages:

1)      Shravaka stage – the stage of the hearer

2)      the Cittamatra stage – the stage of the mind-only school

3)      the Svatantrika-Madhyamaka stage

4)      the Prasangika-Madyhamaka stage

5)      the Shentong Madhyamaka stage

The example is given of clay as a solid substance as a relative truth and as a collection of atoms as a truth grading toward the absolute. The gradual refinement process is also likened to zooming in on a target – getting more and more precise.

The main Hinayana (smaller vehicle) schools are given as Vaibashika and Sautrantika. The Mahayana is subdivided into Cittamatra and Madhyamaka (Middle Way). The Madhyamaka in this system is divided into Rangtong and Shentong. I think this is a Tibetan division. Here the Indian Yogacara school is associated with the Shentong view. The Rangtong is divided into Sautantrika and Prasangika. There is debate among the Tibetan schools as to which view is the most subtle. The Kagyu school from which this book derives favors the Shentong View as the more refined. The Geluk school usually favors the Rangtong and the Prasangika as the most subtle view.

First is the approach of the Shravaka, or hearer. At this stage the emptiness of self is contemplated. This refers to the selflessness, or anatta, taught by the Buddha as a mark of existence. He said that the root cause of suffering is clinging to the idea of a permanent, independent, truly existent self. The main problem we have is a habit of behaving as if the self were permanent and independent. These arguments are difficult for most people as the existence of the self seems rather obvious. “The question is not whether or not the person, personality, or ego is a changing, composite train of events conditioned by many complex factors. Any rational analysis shows this to be the case. The question is why then do we behave emotionally as if it were lasting, single and independent. Thus when looking for the self it is very important to remember it is an emotional response that one is examining. When one responds to events as if one had a self, for example when one feels very hurt or offended, one should ask oneself who or what exactly is feeling hurt or offended.” The exercise of looking for the self and of asking who is having the comfort or discomfort is key to exploring the nature of our idea of self.

“Clearly, in order to end one’s own suffering, there is nothing more important than to realize that when one acts as if the body and mind constituted a lasting, separate, independent self, one unthinkingly attributes to them qualities which they simply do not have.” All in one’s stream of experience is constantly changing. The Buddha gave an example of the dream to illustrate his teachings on emptiness. In this book the dream example is applied with increasing subtlety to each stage of emptiness meditation.  When one has a dream one may suffer in the dream but when one realizes it is a dream then one realizes that it is not really happening to them – whether one continues the dream or not. Khenpo says that understanding the impermanent nature of self like this intellectually is not enough – that one must examine in this way over and over until one reaches a certainty, a conviction that goes beyond intellectual. Then one can meditate and the veils of habitual patterns will eventually dissolve. The method of investigation for this stage is first to examine how we use the language that describes our conception of self. An example given is, “I am sick ... because I have a headache” He asks if we mean the ‘I” is one thing and the head another. Or is the head the “I”? He says to examine these conceptions of “I” the doer and “I” the experiencer. Examine by trying to pinpoint where the “I” is experienced. He goes through the arguments of those who would equate the self with the brain and the brain with the mind. If so then where is the mind? he asks. To say the self is the mind is like saying the self is the self or the mind is the mind. In a quick examination of Descartes’ famous saying, “I think therefore I am” he notes that the idea of “I am” is merely a thought. He kind of reduces it to, “I think therefore I think.”

“The Shravaka approach is to investigate experience by simply being as aware as possible every moment.” The Buddha’s thesis involves investigation of the five skandhas (the five heaps or aggregates). These are form, feeling, perception, mental construction, and consciousness. These, he says, are the five accumulations commonly mistaken for self. Form is body and environment. Khenpo says to examine the body limb by limb and see how it relates to the idea of self. The whole is merely a composite of parts that are dependent on other parts. When one sits in meditation one first notices the body as well as the environment so merely practicing the abiding meditation technique is a way of examining this skandha. Feeling is broken up into pleasure, displeasure, and indifference. If one examines one will find that these three take turns arising and falling, so none of the three are permanent. Perception refers to recognition of sensory input. This tends to happen continuously while we are awake. We tend to see the self as the experiencer of these perceptions but if we look – perhaps the experiencer has no validity without the perceptions themselves. Mental constructions include thoughts and emotions. In Sanskrit, these are the samskaras that arise due to previous habit patterns. He notes that feelings and perceptions are also mental constructions but are listed separately for the sake of teaching. If we examine thoughts and emotions we will find again that they are constantly changing. Referring to an idea of self one might say “I am sad” but it would be just as accurate and arguably more so to say, “there is sadness.” The Buddhist definition of consciousness, he says, refers to a moment of awareness. Consciousness as the doer or the experiencer of the other skandhas is the most amenable of them to be mistaken for self. A Sanskrit word referring to consciousness is vijnana, or divided knowing. Jnana is simply knowing, or wisdom. The division referred to is that of subject and object, knower and known. Each moment of experience has these two components. If one thinks the self is continuous awareness then one should examine and may find that consciousness is momentary in that it is merely a stream of vijnanas, of divided subject/object interactions. Thus the experiencer is constantly changing in reference to that which is experienced. So, he says, we find that our sense of self is a concept that we project onto a stream of experiences.

The idea of the self brings forth the idea of ‘other’, or ‘other than self.’ From the interaction of these divided concepts arise the unhealthy mental states of desire, aversion, and delusion which lead to suffering. The fruit of the shravaka is nirvana, or removal of suffering. This is the realization of ‘not-self.’ Thus the realization of the shravaka is quite profound. The veil of ignorance is removed since there is no clinging to self. His own suffering is removed. This paves the way for the higher vehicles where the goal becomes the removal of suffering for all beings. The meditation procedure is to reflect on the meaning of ‘not-self’ then, when one understands that self is only an appearance, simply to rest in that state as best one can.

Next we come to the Cittamatra approach. This is the first of the Mahayana approaches and is concerned with the enlightenment of all beings. The Shravaka realization of the Hinayana is said to remove the first of the two veils – the veil of the kleshas, or negative emotions that arise from karma. The more subtle veils of knowledge remain. He says that “the power to liberate others arises from seeing the true nature of reality more deeply.” Compassion for others is the motivation. The bodhissatva has two aspirations: to become enlightened and to liberate all others.

Cittamatra means ‘mind only’ or ‘merely mind.’ At this stage the reality of the conventional world is questioned. Here one is said to realize that the subject/object duality referred to before as defining our stream of momentary experiences is merely a conceptual notion. The Cittamatrin sees mind and matter as not separate. There is only the perceiving aspect of consciousness and the perceived aspect of consciousness. In response to the notion of some scientists that mind is a subtler form of matter he notes that if that is the case then the idea of matter would need to be redefined as capable of producing thoughts. The dream example at this stage is to ask oneself if one is dreaming right now and to examine whether this is possible. After examination one may find that “there is no characteristic of waking experience that clearly distinguishes it from dreaming.”

“Cittamatrins explain the phenomena of dreaming as the six consciousnesses which usually face outwards to the objects of the senses dissolving back into the base consciousness (Skt. alayavijnana) like waves into an ocean. It then starts to move within itself creating images of subjects and objects that the mind takes to be real and experiences like waking experience.” So they say there is a difference between waking and dreaming but that the substance of both worlds is the same. Rinpoche also notes the subjective nature of time – as in stories of meditators who go into samadhi for long periods of time and when they come out they think that very little time has passed. He kind of debunks the idea of consensus reality being real because of that consensus. He gives examples such as we see water as something to quench our thirst while to a fish it is home – or we see someone as a friend, others see him as an enemy, but a mosquito may see him as food. “ Consensus does not prove anything other than that certain relationships exist between different streams of experience.” The Cittamatrin might ask how something can be known without a knower. They say all is the mind experiencing itself.

In Cittamatra there is posited a third aspect of experience – that is the self-knowing, self illuminating aspect that is in essence the mind experiencing itself. This aspect explains how memories are stored as well as karmic impressions. Cittamatra doctrine divides experience into three natures: imaginary, dependent, and truly existent. The person, or self is of an imaginary nature (as in relative reality), the moments of consciousness (including the perceiver and perceived aspects) are of a dependent nature – since they derive from the causes and conditions of previous experience. The truly existent nature refers to the quality of emptiness, or absolute reality itself as not existing separately, permanently, and independently. When the self-aware aspect (the third aspect of experience according to the Cittamatrins) realizes no separation between perceiver and perceived it becomes Wisdom Mind, or jnana – so the alayavijnana, or base consciousness is said to be purified. The Cittamatrans refer to this Wisdom Mind as the absolute dependent nature which they say is real. They refer to it as absolute truth but the Madhyamakas reject this argument. Regarding the fruit of Cittamatra realization Rinpoche says that the experience of Wisdom Mind is a profound experience that is difficult to explain. The experience of the complete indistinction of mind and matter is said to purify more subtle veils related to knowledge. The Cittamatras tried to explain the experience as “a pure stream of self-aware moments of consciousness,” but apparently more refined teachings find contradiction in this explanation. The Method of examination at this stage is to reflect whether the inner perceiving aspect can be in any way distinguished from the outer perceived aspect. He gives suggestions for contemplating the nature of mind and matter both in the scientific frameworks and the philosophical ones. The meditation procedure is simply to reflect on the nature of dreaming and the three natures of experience given and to notice between sessions how all experience is like a dream. As the shravaka approach resolved the emptiness of self. the Cittamatra approach begins to resolve the emptiness of phenomena, or ‘other than self.’

The Svatantrika approach is the least subtle of the two Madhyamaka Rangtong approaches. These approaches aim to completely establish the “emptiness of self-nature of all phenomena, (dharmas).” The Svatantrika argues to refute the self-nature of phenomena and then further argues to establish their true nature as emptiness. The Prasangika View only refutes, it does not seek to establish that the true nature of phenomena is emptiness. The Svatantrika View is simply that the objective, conventional, relative reality is purely conceptual and the ultimate reality is emptiness free of concepts. The Cittamatra doctrine that is refuted by the Madhyamakas is that there is a truly existent substance called mind. So I guess they refute all concepts as imaginary. The dream example is that although fire may burn us in a dream it does not have the self-nature of fire yet it can still cause fear and suffering so in a relative sense it appears and functions like fire but when one realizes one is dreaming it no longer has that appearance or function. The conclusion of some Svatantrikas is the same as the Prasangikas – that relative and ultimate truth are inseparable. The former use arguments to establish this and the latter only refutations. The Svatantrika Views are based on the Prajnaparamita Sutras where Buddha states that, “all dharmas are emptiness.” Regarding his statement that ‘the three realms are merely mind” – they regard that as a provisional teaching meaning that relative reality is conceptual while the Cittamatras would regard it as a definitive teaching that ultimate reality is mind. The famous Nagarjuna was the founder of the Madhyamaka system of thought. One of his main analyzing arguments had to do with whether any thing is a whole or composed of parts. All parts can be subdivided into more parts so where or at what point would the whole be distinguished from the parts. The distinctions are only conceptual. The Nagarjuna asks’ “Is a moment of experience single or multiple?”  “If it is neither it cannot truly exist. If it were single it would not be able to have any duration.” Giving it a beginning, middle, and end would separate it into three separate moments of experience. Therefore it can be niether single nor multiple. Another way this is said is that there is ‘mere dependent arising of phenomena.’ If something arises dependent on something else, then by definition it has no self-nature. The meditation involves seeing all phenomena, both outer and inner as having no self-nature. Even though things appear both in waking and in dream, they are still empty and without self-nature. Meditating in such a way may help us see that because of this, enlightenment is possible for all.

The Prasangikas say that the Svantatrikas are still holding on to a little bit of conceptuality by trying to establish emptiness through reasoning. For this reason they do not attempt to use reason to establish the true nature of phenomena. All conceptual views are refuted so that one cannot say that something exists, does not exist, neither exists or doesn’t, or that it both exists and doesn’t. This is kind of a conceptual way to refute all conceptuality by refuting everything so that the mind may rest in non-conceptuality. The aim is to “free the awareness of its conceptualizing habit.” The Svantantrika View is said to be good for refuting all the non-Buddhist Views and the Prasangika View is good for refuting all grosser of the Buddhist Views. Regarding the dream, the Svantantrikas realize that the dream is not real but the Prasangikas would say - if there is no concept of real how can there be a concept of unreal? By keeping relative and ultimate reality separate there is still a conceptual component to the analysis. Really the distinction is merely conceptual. The meditational progression is that conceptual tendencies grow weaker while non-conceptual awareness grows stronger. Chandrakirti was the major exponent of the Prasangika View. Through this type of logic Chandrakirti refuted the notions of the non-Buddhist Indian Samkhyas who said that things arise from themselves. He refuted the ideas of the Buddhist Vhaibashikas and Sautrantikas who said that things arose from things other than themselves. He refuted the notions of the Jains who said that things arise from both themselves and things other than themselves. Finally, he refuted the views of the Ajivakas who taught that things arise from nothing. Of course, that was the end of it – he did not put forth any idea how things indeed arise but that by refuting these conceptual notions one may come to a profound understanding. In terms of base, path, and fruition Khenpo says that for the Svatantrika and Prasangika approaches the base is the two realities (two truths), the path is the two accumulations (conceptual merit and non-conceptual wisdom), and the fruition is the two kayas (Buddha bodies). In meditation on the Prasangika View one  rests without concepts on the inseparability of ultimate and relative reality, no time, no space, no body, no ideas, etc. In between sessions one practices the accumulation of merit through the six perfections as the best way to use relative reality as a means of support. The meditation is to rest without contrivance in the natural state.

The Shentong approach returns to the Cittamatra terminology – emptiness of the three natures: imaginary, dependent, and truly existent. Shentong does not accept mind or consciousness as truly existent as do the Cittamatrins. They hold the Madyhamaka View that it is non-arising and without self-nature. They see the Wisdom Mind as entirely non-conceptual rather than subtly conceptual as the Cittamatrins do. They see it as something that cannot be refuted by the Prasangikas. In a way it is kind of like saying – infinity plus one – but it works. They say it is something that is realized by non-conceptual direct means. This is the approach of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. They say that the self-knowing, self-illuminating awareness of the Cittamatrins is incorrectly interpreted by them to be a consciousness, particular a purified form of divided consciousness (vijnana).

Shentongpas would call the Wisdom Mind the Clear Light Nature of Mind that is beyond concepts and division. It is also called dharmata and tathagatagarbha (Buddha Nature). They say that Rangtongpas still hold some subtle conceptuality even in their total refutations of concepts. Shentong attributes the three turnings of the dharma wheel teachings thusly: the first cycle teaches the Shravaka level of meditation on selflessness, the second level teaches the Madhyamaka Rangtong View, and the third teaches the Madhyamaka Shentong View. Each successive one corrects the faults of the former. The third turning is explained in the Mahayanauttaratantrasastra attributed to Maitreya. Here it is taught that the nature of mind is Clear light and that tathagatagarbha pervades all being. In this text are given five reasons for teaching about this Awakened Nature – 1) it encourages all to try to arouse bodhicitta and attain enlightenment, 2) it humbles those who would feel superior after arousing the bodhicitta, 3) it removes the fault of taking unreal stains to be the true nature of beings. 4) it removes the fault of taking the Clear Light to be unreal, and 5) by showing that all beings are of the same nature as Buddha it allows beings to see no difference between self and other and so to arouse true compassion. Buddha Nature is the base, path, and fruit. The base is the time when it is completely obscured by stains, the path is when it is partly obscured, and the fruit is when it is purified, or unobscured.

Rinpoche also analyzes some of the other five treatises of Maitreya in order to show in different terminologies the profundity of the Shentong View which equates the unimaginable non-conceptual Wisdom Mind with Clear Light Mind and Buddha Nature.

This idea is said to be the basis of the notions of Buddha bodies (kayas), Buddha fields or realms and the mandalas of sambhogakaya tantric deities. For Shentong the dream example has to do with the Clear Light Nature of Mind in that dreams can manifest whether the mind is aware or unaware. “In the same way the Clear Light Nature of Mind is the basis for both samsara, which is when the mind is unaware of its own nature, and nirvana, which is when the mind is aware of its own nature.” In the state of Wisdom Mind whatever arises does not disturb the mind. The meditation at this stage is non-meditation, or simply realizing the continuous state of Wisdom Mind. He emphasizes the importance of a guru and devotion to the guru in unraveling this profound understanding. But he says that one can prepare the mind for such understanding by studying such works as this very text (from Jamgon Kongtrul’s Encyclopaedia of Knowledge). Kongtrul says that “Rangtong is the view for when one is establishing certainty through listening, studying, and reflecting. Shentong is the view for meditation practice.” At this stage one just rests in the natural state and there is no more investigation. All effort is non-rest so if one strives then one has not yet stabilized the realization. One rests until one is enlightened.

My review of this book was an exercise in hearing and contemplating these ideas. I have read the book twice now and studied it through this analysis. Now I have notes as well for

further contemplation. Through this conceptual understanding of the nature of reality as defined by so-called enlightened masters perhaps we can undertake such practices as might lead to such states since the possibility of doing just that is said to pervade all being. I have personally met this teacher and found him to be quite interesting as well as unconventional and rather refreshingly unpredictable.

Dreamways of the Iroquois: Honoring the Secret Wishes of the Soul

Book Review: Dreamways of the Iroquois: Honoring the Secret Wishes of the Soulby Robert Moss (Destiny Books/Inner Traditions 2005)

Awesome book. Loved it. Robert Moss is quite an accomplished dream shaman with great insights in the healing possibilities of dreaming. He starts off describing some of his childhood near-death experiences with several bouts of pneumonia where he became consciously separated from his body multiple times and for long periods. He also had long dreams where he spent what seemed a lifetime among certain spirit beings he later discovered were spirits of the Aborigines of his native Australia. Interesting that he mentions that as I read in Jean Houston’s book, “Jump Time” about an old Aboriginal woman who claimed that old Aborigine souls were being reborn in the white folk of the region. I infer from Robert’s notes that the two main human mythic energies available to us are those of place (past peoples of the areas we live and work) and those of ancestors. Through this narrative the author connects with both in rather symbiotic ways.

He describes buying a farm in upstate New York in an area formerly occupied by the Iroquois tribal federation. Here he sits under an old tree and watches a hawk. On the wings of the hawk he begins dreaming of old times and connecting with animal powers.

He dreams of places and people that he discovers to be historical people from the past of the area such as Sir William Johnson, an Irishman who became British governor and befriended the Six Nations of the Iroquois and helped mediate their concerns during and after the French and Indian War of the mid-1700’s. During a trip to Ireland the author went to Johnson’s place of origin there and while visiting the nearby megalith at Newgrange he discovered a mental portal for himself in the glyph of the double spiral which he calls the eyes of the goddess. Robert then proceeded to study the local history in depth and write two historical novels about it. Having a past as a best-selling horror writer – it was dreaming and its possibilities – that offered him a change, a new vocation as it were, a destiny of sorts. (Incidentally, during the reading of this book my son bid mecome and watch a movie - called Broken Chain - with Piers Brosnan playing William Johnson and giving a dramatic historical picture of the people and time).

Having dreams of an old Iroquoian woman dictating teachings to him in an archaic form of the Mohawk language and the Huron language (she was a Huron taken prisoner and subsequently adopted by the Mohawk) – he had to figure out what language it was and how old. This woman who he calls “Island Woman” apparently turns out to be a Clan Mother of the Wolf Clan of the Mohawks and the grandmother of Molly Brant, the Mohawk wife of this Sir William Johnson. She is also a dream shaman. She is an atetshents, or “one who dreams.”  He also received the word, ondinnonk, “the secret desire of the soul expressed by a dream.” The wishes of certain dreams must be headed in order to prevent soul loss of individuals and detriment to the tribe. Often these dreams indicated an impending attack or a place and time to hunt or find food. Dreams were acted out in ritual dramas following the slogan that “dreams require action.” The first part of the day in old Iroquoian societies was to tell one’s dreams. During the mid-winter rites of Ononhouroia, the Swirling of the Mind, there were dream-guessing games, or perhaps guessing one’s secret desires which would apparently end up as gift- exchanging activities. Even though the societies tended toward marital fidelity and modesty in public – there were occasional therapeutic orgies as a way to act out certain erotic dreams.

Through researching and keeping records of dreams for many years Moss offers that there are three basic types of dream related to the future: 1) Rehearsal dreams – which help us prepare by seeing the future consequence of a certain course of action,  2) Precognitive dreams – literal or symbolic, that are played out in later waking life, and 3) Early-warning dreams – showing events that may or may not happen in the future – showing only possible futures.

The old Iroquois believed that beings from the spirit world constantly try to contact us in dreams. Moss offers the possibility that this Island Woman is reaching across time through dream deliberately – perhaps due to struggles during her time with epidemic and war. The Iroquois say that dreaming is an important way to accumulate authentic power, or orenda. Orenda is also equivalent to life force. The neighboring Delaware, or Lenape tribe say that dreaming increases one’s access to maskan, the ability to do exceptional things.

Moss then describes several dream visitations of shamans, secret native words and practices and initiations received in dreams. He also describes encounters with various animal powers. He thinks that through his early experiences and dream encounters that he is able to more easily open gates between worlds. He has studied quite a bit under various Native American shamans and elders. Many Native Americans participate in his Conscious Dreaming Workshops and some consider him an elder in their traditions. Due to his abilities to function in the shaman’s realm he thinks that his destiny is to be a teacher of dreams – to help people reclaim dreams as a method of healing. He gives many examples throughout the book of dreams and visions with beneficial results. In his many encounters with spirits, ancestors, and shamans, in dreams he is often taught and shown things because “he sees the way the shamans see.” He has some dreams apparently that are straight out of Native American mythology. One thing that does kind of come across in these various dream descriptions is that most dreams are relevant mainly to the dreamer, not so much to others, although they may also be relevant to family or tribe. He speaks too of poetry and dreaming as ways to call forth the inner song of healing.

In a few chapters he goes through Iroquois myth such as Sky Woman making the earth world on turtle’s back and the story of the Twins, one light and creative, the other dark and destructive – and their interdependency. Next he goes through the stories of the Peacemaker and Hiawatha, thought to have occurred several hundred years before the coming of Europeans.

Next we come to the actual teachings of Island Woman, the Huron/Mohawk dream shaman of the Wolf Clan. The first teaching is an encouragement to get in touch with one’s Animal Spirits – said to be born when one is born. One’s animal double can move from one animal body to another. The guardian spirit animals are called oyaron. One may contact one’s oyarons(s) through dreams, other shamans, fasting and vision questing – or some other experience. She says the spirits hunt us, especially in dreams. Next she speaks about the soul components. She says that many folk have lost one or more of their souls and that there is a vast mass of walking dead soul parts wandering. The gaps left are in danger of being filled by malevolent spirits and maddening energies like addiction and depression. Dead souls are heavy and restricting and generally obscuring. It is said that some ancestors decided to stay close after they died. These can be available for guidance but they must be distinguished from the “hungry ghosts.” Part of the work is re-uniting souls with bodies. Dreaming can help us uncover our sacred purpose. She speaks of soul families traversing space and time and reconnecting with them. She says, “Unless you dream, you’ll never be fully awake.” She says that “Big Dreams” reveal secret wishes and needs. Here is a related quote: “Life is full of crossroads. Often you don’t even notice them until they are behind you, unless you know how to dream. Through dreaming you can scout out the different trails you might follow and see where they lead. Through dreaming, you are already choosing the events that will take place in your waking life.” Orenda, the life force that binds the universe is said to accumulate in old oaks, mountains, and stone. She suggests that when you recall even just one dream with detail that can be a point of departure for dream travel. She says that dreams can tell us when sorcery is being worked against us. This was maybe useful in her time when war magic was a common practice. She also notes jealous rage as a motivation for sorcery. She notes correctly I think that sorcery happens all the time – even when we don’t know we are doing it – when we think of someone consciously or unconsciously we are affecting them in some way. I thi nk in most cases we don’t need to fight against this but general protection against a malevolent attack might be revealed in dreams. The Seneca visionary called Handsome Lake had dreams that led him to give up alcohol (firewater) and revitalize his spirit connections. He also had visions that directed him to engage in a witch-hunt of sorts against sorcerous shamans. He may have been influenced by Christianity in this regard so this could be an improper use – but I don’t know the details.

Next Island Woman talks about the “Burden Straps” – a long strap made of woven elm bark or moose hair and wrapped around the forehead to pull a load connected to the other end. She refers to the metaphorical burden straps as Sky Woman (Ataensic) brought food

to feed her people in such a way. So the burden strap refers to taking care of the tribe by taking on its burdens. The requirements to taking on such a responsibility include being cleansed by water and fire and having your energy field combed with song. Being dropped blindfolded into a hole in the earth and overcoming fear – it is said – will make your spirit helpers reveal themselves. Island Woman says her spirit guardian (oyaron) is a Fire Dragon – rare and very powerful. She says men fear it and very few men can hold such power. She also talks of the Sisters of the Stones, a secret society of feminine energy that reaches across space and time.

            Moss gives some interesting suggestions for ways to share dreams. He thinks that the way we share our dreams is very important. His method he calls Lightning Dreamwork Method:    Step One: Tell the Dream as a Story with a Title – tell the dream as a clear and simple story. Step Two: The Partner Asks Three Key Questions – the first is how did you feel upon waking – the initial feeling-tone may be key to the quality and urgency of the dream. The second question is a reality check to determine whether a dream is literal, symbolic, or experience in a separate reality. Auxiliary questions can relate to whether anyone in the dream can be recognized in waking life and whether any events in the dream could happen in waking life. One thing to determine in his questioning is whether the dream gives advice. The third question to the dreamer is: “What would you like to know about this dream?"  Step Three: Playing the Game “If It Were My Dream” – this is to get the perspective of the dream analysis partner – who may have had similar or related dreams or dream types. He says it is important not to interpret the dream or pry, just to give feelings and associations that come up.  Step Four: Taking Action to Honor the Dream – here Moss gives an interesting quote: “Real magic consists of bringing something through from a deeper reality into our physical lives, which is why Active Dreaming is a way of natural magic.” Ways to honor dreams can include: making a short motto from a dream (like a bumper sticker), keeping a dream journal, create from the dream – music, poetry, drawing, theatre -, take a physical action such as traveling to the place in the dream, create a dream talisman to hold the energy of the dream (as a means to return to the dream) – he suggests stones, use the dream as a travel advisory, journey back to the dream (he gives a method later), and tell the dream to someone else it may relate to.

Next is an interesting section on “Navigating by Synchronicity” – paying close attention to symbolism, coincidences, and chance encounters and acting on their basis. He suggests that this is the way of dream in waking life and it is most certainly a long tested shamanic technique.

Net he gives the Dream Re-entry Technique: First pick a relevant dream with good recall and much energy. Relax. Focus on a specific scene in the dream in vivid detail. Clarify your intention – what you want to know and what you will do once you get back into the dream. Invoke animal powers. Perhaps enter through shamanic heartbeat drumming as he suggests. I have not tried this one yet but I plan to do so soon.

Next is Tracking Dreams with a partner. This may be a simple as lying together to take a shamanic visionary journey. Sharing and knowing the details of the dream before embarking is vital and having clear intentions is good. He has apparently used this method successfully in helping people with past trauma.

Moss says that many people are in need of a meaningful dream and suggests ways of bringing someone a dream in need of a dream. He has apparently encountered peopel who have never recalled a dream in their life and helped them to do so. He gives several

examples of finding dreams not only for the individual but often for their friends and family – or how to interact with them in difficult situations. In a chapter called Medicine Dreaming he talks about dream warnings of how to deal with possible and impending illness and the healing gifts of the animal powers. Bear is strongly associated with Medicine and Healing in the Native traditions. Horse may refer to vital energy as the windhorse of the Mongolian, Siberian, and Tibetan traditions.

In talking about soul loss he gives the following Symptoms of Soul Loss: (quoted)

1)      inability to ground yourself: spaciness, tendency to drift off, “check out,” or constantly trying to escape from situations around you

2)      chronic depression

3)      chronic fatigue

4)      dissociation and multiple personality disorder

5)      addictive behaviors

6)      low self-esteem

7)      emotional numbness

8)      inability to let go of past situations or people no longer in your life, for example, inability to move beyond a divorce or grief over the death of a loved one.

9)      obesity or unexplained serious weight gain (typical in women who are survivors of abuse)

10)  abusive behaviors

11)  absence of dream recall

12)  recurring dreams of locations from earlier life, or of a younger self separate from yourself

The last one is interesting and he gives some examples where dreaming of your younger self suggests certain unresolved trauma issues related to that time period.

Of dead souls and soul parts he reiterates Island Woman’s warnings about the earth-bound dead seeking revenge through inciting cravings, confusion, and bodily symptoms. So as in many shamanic systems it is thought that more than one aspect of energy and consciousness survives beyond physical death. Apparently the Hurons had an elaborate second burial to properly locate a soul part that stays close to the Earth. He suggests re-implementing such a practice to mitigate the homeless soul problem that some shamans say is becoming toxic. Apparently, the Iroquois associate this aspect of soul energy with the bones, or more accurately the bone marrow. It is called

ohskenrari, the burned bones – as he says – like the “living dead” of horror flicks. Moss describes a vivid dream/vision of being shown various soul components by being conscious within them.

Next he goes through dream talismans, dream poems, songs, paintings, theatre, etc as therapeutic activities and as a way to both entertain and honor the spirits.

He relates an interesting experience where he encounters a native fellow who gives him a message from the Kogi shamans on the mountainous coast of Columbia. They are a culture with a long and powerful dreaming culture where specially selected shamans are kept in darkness for the first fourteen years of their life to develop their dreaming abilities. The Kogi call the dream world Aluna and say that the Aluna is now coated with polluted energy of both human malice and ET energy that has taken notice. This they say is blocking the reception of messages from higher consciousness. They are seeking the help of powerful dreamers to basically fix the tears in the web of dreams so that better telepathic connections can stay open. Moss describes some interesting details of his and his workshop participants in this vein with surprising detail.

There is some great info and practice ideas in this book. I have tried one of the shamanic techniques with contacting animal/spirit allies with some success. One thing I have noticed about dreaming is that focus, intention, and repetition of that focus and intention does yield results (for me especially if I can get to bed soon enough).

There is an appendix that gives ideas for creating a dreaming circle in one’s “community”. We have done something of this sort in the Horus-Maat Lodge with our Group Dream Blog. This is relevant to Horus-Maat in that one focus is the development of a futuristic operational double-conciousness where one aspect is a group consciousness.

The Andean Codex: Adventures and Initiations Among the Peruvian Shamans

Book Review: The Andean Codex: Adventures and Initiations Among the Peruvian Shamans  by Dr. J.E. Williams (Hampton Roads Publishing 2005)

This is an interesting chronicle of the author’s time spent among Peruvian and other Amazonian shamans. It starts out with an account of an ayahuasca (yaje) experience in the Amazon. Ayahuasca is a powerful hallucinogen that is strongly considered an entheogen – where shamans say the actual spirit of the plant is contacted and interacted with. Several anthropologists and entheogen researchers have provided remarkable and intense accounts of these experiences. In any event, the presiding shaman interprets the author’s experience as a summons to travel to the Andes and learn from the shamans there. So by a series of interesting coincidences he meets up with some Q’ero shamans (as well as some Tibetan monks passing through). They spend some time together in the beauty of the Andes. Incidentally, I have heard of a few Tibetan monks that have studied South American shamanism. The main story then ensues of the author’s multi-year adventures with his Q’ero teacher, Sebastian, and his mates and family.

The Q’ero live high in the Andes but the author meets his friends in the city of Cuzco near the most famous Incan ruins. Strangely, Sebastian and comrades are often in Cuzco when the author arrives from California. The author talks much about synchronicity and auspicious conditions being signs for shamans. Auspicious dreams are also important.

The author shares some great adventures in this book involving hardships of life in the Andes, high elevation illnesses, and braving the elements among a poor indigenous society that is by necessity very in touch with the natural world. In fact, among the Q’ero the relationship between humans and the natural world is the most important relationship. The author refers to it as an eco-spirituality. There is communication and relationship between the shaman and the spirits of nature. The spirit of the Earth is called Pachamamma, nature spirits are called Akikuna, and mountain spirits are called the Apus. Sebastian is also a curando, or healer/diviner. He divines with coca leaves, a staple in the Andes – where the leaves are offered in most rituals. They are also chewed and made into tea frequently to ward off fatigue and bring a feeling of well-being. The author refers to the paqos as shaman-priests. The author also notes the strange magnificent quality of the refracted light in the Andes due to high elevation air and proximity to the equator. He describes it as otherworldly and enhancing an already great beauty. He describes the small offering rituals called despachos which involve arranging special food and colorful offerings that are burned in natural places – kind of similar to a Vedic homa fire offering, a Tibetan sangchod or smoke offering, or a Native American smudging. The Akikuna nature spirits are venerated at wakas, or unusually shaped rock formations. The puma is a great totem animal among the Andeans and their predecessors the Inca because of its great power and ferocity. There are legends of the return of the Inca.

He notes that most Andean ceremonies are performed at noon when the sun is at its height. The Sun is the father as the Earth is the mother. The shaman carries a medicine bundle with sacred objects used in despachos and other more detailed rites. When the offerings to be burnt are readied there is first a ritual blowing on the offerings.

The Incan three worlds are described as our everyday world, the interior world entered through dreams, death, and shamanic experiences, and the higher world of “spiritual beings and universal energy.” The author uses mapacho tobacco – an hallucinogenic form of tobacco with large amounts of nicotine – as an offering and sacrament. The Q’ero shamans also indulge although it is used by other Peruvian shamanic traditions, not theirs.

The author then digresses about his early interest in the Andes from a book about a fabled hidden monastery there (called Secrets of the Andes by Brother Phillip). He tells an interesting experience he had in the 70’s at Mount Shasta in California where he sought sacred power and meditation. He was stranded there as his car brokedown so he visited a psychic who informed him that he was to meet Sister Thedra, whom she apparently did not know. Through coincidence and luck he found a place called Mount Shasta Abbey. He rang the bell and asked for Sister Thedra and was informed she was in permanent retreat. But she hears and meets with him briefly saying she was expecting him. She then tells him that she was on the original expedition in the 50’s to find this Monastery of the Seven Rays, near Lake Titicaca, and spent 5 years in Peru and Bolivia. She talked of a mystical form of Christ called Sananda. She mentioned that the monastery was there but had transitioned to a non-physical plane. The book he read was about their journey in the 50’s.

The author then describes his ritual at the cave Temple of the Moon near Machu Picchu. After this he describes the first of a handful of Andean principles. The first is Munay which means love, or loving-kindness and implies a sincere tranquil joy and beauty. During this chapter the author describes a long journey on foot to the land of the Q’ero over high mountains to 18,500 ft. All the mountains have names and are venerated. They reach the village and ready to go up to more mountains to do a karpay, a shaman’s initiation for the author. At this point he introduces the second principle, yachay, the way of knowledge – to learn, to know, to remember. This includes indigenous survival knowledge as well as intuitive inner knowledge. Shamans here spend much time isolated in nature – on vision quests of sorts. Some objects used for the karpay are condor feathers and llama fetus (as an offering to the lower world), and resinous incense. Sebastian notes that the power of stines is very important in healing and the Inca were people of the stone, being very intricate and precise stone-workers. During his initiation he is given special stones by Sebastian, some of a strange sort that are said to fall out of the sky, that have something on them looking like a carved spacecraft.

The next principle is llank’ay, the way of action. He describes this as the proper cultivation of love and work. In this section he describes the communal work life of the Andeans who live in small primitive stone huts heated with smoky llama dung. He describes the potato harvest that he takes part in. Apparently there are over 4000 varieties of potatoes and other roots cultivated there, all very small – about the size of one’s thumb.

The next principle is the way of life, or kawsay. This refers to the energy matrix, or web of life that connects all living things on Earth. He says that Pachamamma, Earth-time, and kawsay are inseparable. “Prayers, chanting, and drumming are traditional ways of  regulating energy and restoring balance.” Colored flowers and ribbons are used to lighten heavy energy. The author also mentions a method of placing stones on a person’s body when the energy is too light. This provides a grounding effect. The life force is called kallpa and heavy energy that may cause sickness is called hucha. There are reputed to be magical stone keys to open  gates to other worlds perhaps to be rediscovered at the return of the Inca. The energy of the Apus, or mountain spirits, are said to be male with colors of white and sky blue. The energy of Pachamamma is female and green in color.

The last of the five principles is ayni, the way of reciprocity. This refers to the interchange of the other principles – love, knowledge, action, and life-energy – between humans and the environment. Mutual respect and acknowledgement of interconnectedness are other ways to describe it. So a despacho rite is an offering of respect to nature – a way of acknowledging and working with that interconnectedness. This ayni is practiced both in ritual and in daily life.

Next the author describes a ceremony where he becomes part of the family as a sort of god-father to one of Sebastian’s daughters. Then they take a long journey (which they take every year) to the Mountain of Stars where 30 to 40,000 Andeans gather in mid-winter. There chunks of ice from a glacier are carried on the backs of ascetic pilgrims back to Cuzco, as a ritual offering.

Some Andeans do practice the ritual sacrifice of llamas, as offerings to the Apus and obviously for food. According to a book I read a few decades back called, “The Highest Altar: The Story of Human Sacrifice,” there is some evidence of an occasional child sacrifice to mountain spirits (although obviously illegal). Of course, most indigenous traditions practiced human sacrifice, even our European ancestors. The Vikings and Celts killed captives, slaves, and servants and wives to killed nobles, as recently as a thousand years ago. The Incans utilized human sacrifice all the way up to the Spanish conquest in the 1500’s and 1600’s so it is much more recent in the history and perhaps the minds of the people. As in many cultures the mountain spirits are said to be the most powerful.

The author concludes with another journey into the Amazon where he takes ayahuasca once more with chanting shamans and experiences more visions which he ties in with his dreams and previous visions.

Overall an interesting book, worth reading, mostly an account experiences but also an account of an apprenticeship in Andean shamanism.

The Cygnus Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of Life's Origin in the Cosmos

Book Review: The Cygnus Mystery: Unlocking the Ancient Secret of Life’s Origin in the Cosmos by Andrew Collins (Watkins Publishing 2006 -2007)


This book will blow your mind with fascinating insights into mythology, shamanism, archaeology, Neolithic death cults, and archaeo-astronomy. Paleolithic cave art dating back at least 17,000 years ago shows star patterns so humans at that time certainly observed the night sky. Successively older hunting-agricultural societies have been discovered in recent years in Anatolia, modern day Turkey. Nevali Cori was dated to around 7500 BC and the latest discoveries including Gobekli Tepe date back to 9500 BC just after the last ice age. This is the oldest “city” in the world thus far discovered and offers some insights into the mind of early man. The author sees astronomy as a factor in the orientation of the structures and the jist of this book is the supposition that an astronomical death cult possibly stretching back to the Paleolithic is evident throughout the world. The nearby historical ancient city of Harran was home to the Sabians who were avid astronomers having a heyday in Hellenic times and like contemporaneous Alexandria in Egypt seeing the beginnings of Hermeticism and Alchemy. The author suggests that perhaps they were the physical as well as in some ways the doctrinal descendants of those way farther back in time. The author tracks other possible remnants of an early astral religion, including Neolithic excarnation towers, where dead bodies were placed on towers to be devoured by vultures, or carried to the afterlife by these vultures. Murals from Catal Huyuk depict just such scenes. The similar Zoroastrian practice can be seen as a remnant and perhaps even the Tibetan custom of sky burial as well. Vulture shamanism may have been particularly popular in this area and in general, bird shamanism as a death cult may be a common motif throughout the pre-historic world. The author also sees remnants of this in the cult of the Yezidis, the Mandeans, and some pre-Islamic Arabian cults, all in the vicinity of Anatolia.


The author notes that the orientation of the Anatolian structures is nearly north and may be oriented to the nearest pole star area at the time (9500 BC) – the nearest bright star then would have been Deneb in the constellation Cygnus, which looks like a swan in flight, a cross, or a bird’s foot (which it may have been described as in parts of North America) – it also looks like a kite (as my son observed). Another interesting feature of Cygnus is that it occurs at the northern part of the Milky Way – so for several thousand years (long before 9500 BC) the zodiac of the heavens appeared to revolve around a pole that was very near and for a few thousand years at least in the Milky Way. Since in many cultures the Milky Way is considered a path to heaven and according to the author the heavens from which beings arrive and depart are almost always considered to be in the northern part of the Milky Way – this must have been a remarkable sight to past peoples, especially as it rose and set along the meridian (if I have that right). Even though I may not understand all the astronomical implications I am informed that the author was helped by professional astronomers using a program called “Skyglobe” to plot stellar positions during various time periods and places on earth, mostly related to well-known megaliths and ancient astro-observatories around the world.


The author gives some interesting info regarding the hero-god Orpheus who became Cygnus, the Swan, in the night sky after his death at the hands of the Maenads to be near his Lyre (a nearby constellation). Orpheus was a god of the underworld and after his dismemberment his severed head was an oracle which may have some parallels among the Sabians (mentioned above) and be part of the Neolithic Death Cult. Also of interest is that the first actual human form on a crucifix as a religious symbol is not Christ but Orpheus, from mid- 200’s AD. Cygnus as the cross may have figured in here.


The author stretches back to the Age of Scorpio (16,500 – 14,300 BC) where at spring equinox Scorpio (also depicted as a serpent) along the Milky Way would been on the eastern horizon just before sunrise with Cygnus being at the top of the sky in pole position, also along the Milky Way. This the author suggests is the original astronomical depiction of the so called World Tree where Scorpio as the serpent coils about it.


The author goes through many orientations of megaliths suggesting (as others have as well) that the rising and setting of Deneb and other stars of Cygnus constellation were very important in both keeping time and in preserving a memory of this Astral Milky Way Cult. He finds similar motifs among the Maya, the Inca, some North American tribal myths, the Hopewell in Ohio, the megaliths of the British Isles, in Egypt, and among the Vedic myths.


He goes through Swan myths throughout the world. He sees Bride, or Brighid, as a Swan Goddess – as inspirer of the bardic tradition (swan and duck cloaks were once a ceremonial costume of bards) and as the Swan as psychopomp, carrier of the souls of the dead. He notes the myth of babies coming from storks (or swans) as part of this mythic tradition as well as medieval and much older tales of Swan Maidens and Valkyries among Celtic and Germanic peoples. He notes the rune eolhx (or elhaz) as a bird’s foot, or upward trident as possibly representing Cygnus. Observing the yearly migrations of swans and geese to and from the north may have also been a supporting phenomenon.


In the section on Egypt he goes through an early astrological document painted in a tomb called the Ceiling of Senmut which depicts some Egyptian asterisms (constellations). Through a series of observations and arguments he comes to the conclusion that the falcon-headed lord of the underworld, called Sokar (sometimes associated with Horus) is representative of Cygnus and the that the Egyptian process of Ascension, or climbing the ladder into the sky afterworld realm – involved again traveling along the Milky Way. He goes through in some detail the funerary texts describing the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and other interesting connections. Also of interest regarding ancient Egypt is the Great Lady of the Milky Way , the Goddess Nut, or Nuit which when represented as a composite throughout the year (if I have that right) - the Great Rift of the Milky Way where it splits with darkness in between – can be seen as the legs of the arching goddess and Cygnus between the legs. The sun’s daily path sets near her head (she swallows the sun) and rises between her legs (she births the sun anew). Anyway, there is much more than this – I am trying to give key and interesting points. There is also the Egyptian goose or duck form called the Great Cackler which has both an astronomical and mythological function. The goose/duck egg is related to the heron/phoenix and the mystical ben ben stone as the origin of the world. the The author also notes similarities of the goddess Nuit to the cow goddess Hathor, patron of music and dance.


Next the author goes on to the Vedic notions of Brahma being aided in the creation of the universe by Hamsa, the swan- goose, or Kalahamsa, the swan-goose of eternity. The universe is said to expand from the Golden Nucleus, the Goose Egg of Brahma, called Hiranyagarbha. The pranava, or sacred AUM relates to all triples in Brahmanism and also to the great swan, Hamsa. A is the right wing, U is the left wing, and M is the tail. Also of interest is the goddess Sarasvati, sometimes the wife or daughter of Brahma. She is often depicted riding a swan. She is often as well considered a river goddess, particularly the personification of the legendary Sarasvati River, and its celestial counterpart, the Milky Way – according to the very ancient Rig Veda. This celestial river with its two branches (likely the great rift) brushing the northeastern horizon (around the winter solstice) was referred to as the “gate of heaven” – same as in many other cultures. In Vedic tradition the Milky Way is associated with the world tree, which can be a peepal tree, ie Bodhi tree. Sarasvati, as patron of music, learning, and language as well as the milky way thus has some similarities to Nuit and Hathor. According to Vedic astrology which several scholars think is older than Greek and Babylonian astrology – Hamsa, the swan-goose is equated to the same constellation, that of Cygnus. Regarding other swan stories and myths the author states: “...India’s tales of swan-dynasties can be compared with the legends of swan-knights, swan lineages, and swan maidens found not only in Europe, but also among the shamanic-based societies of central and northeastern Asia and northern Europe ...”


Next the author examines Chinese astronomy which is thought to be very ancient. Some have noted that Chinese astronomy reflects the northern hemisphere as it appeared around 15,000 BC when the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation would have been the pole star. Apparently the constellations and the solar calendar match only when applied to this early date suggested a time or origin for these astrological notions. In Chinese myth Cygnus is linked to the Magpie, or more specifically to the Magpie Bridge across the milky way (across its great rift). The author notes some possible mythical evidence as well for knowledge of precession of the equinoxes. Strangely enough some of the celestial movements in these myths are associated with similarly named movements in the physical practice of Tai Chi. There are also Taoist star motion dances.


The bird on a pole motif has been noted throughout this book – in Yezidi, Mandean, and pre-Islamic Arab depictions, in Siberian shamanic depictions of swans on long poles in the forest, in Central America, etc – and also recently interpreted Upper Paleolithic cave art from the famous Lascaux caves in France. Here, other researchers have noted that some of this art depicts the stars, Deneb, Lyra, and others as well as the Pleides star cluster and the constellation Taurus (as a bull none-the-less). This art dates from 14,500 to 15,000 BC.


The next parts of the book have to do with serpent and mushroom imagery and possible associated hallucinogenic cults around the globe in these early times. Cosmic creation symbols may have been: egg, head, serpent, penis, and mushroom. Also the swan may have been a related symbol as mentioned in the rather controversial book – the Sacred Mushroom and the Cross- where it is noted that the long neck of the swan may represent the vaginal passage and its outstretched wings the fallopian tubes. There is much evidence that the early religious ideas of humans were derived from psychotropic shamanic journeys. Since the northern celestial pole remained close to the Milky Way for several thousand years in the Paleolithic it has been noted that this may have been seen as the point of creation and the place to travel to astrally/shamanically/psychotropically. The celestial pole is well known in myths throughout the world as the place of ascent and descent – the place of access to different worlds. Apparently there is an ancient Chinese myth that speaks of the world mountain and the Milky Way once touching. The author suggests that the original Bird on a Pole was the constellation Cygnus, the Swan at the celestial pole position. The Milky Way would have been the path to the point of creation. A researcher named Michael Rappengluck equates the bird-man painting at Lascaux as an expanded Cygnus constellation.


Next the author examines the accounts of anthropologist Jeremy Narby regarding the hallucinogen – ayahuasca. Narby noted that twin serpents very often occur in psychedelic visions of many types. This he thinks is a representative indication of the DNA level of consciousness – a cellular level intelligence of sorts. Apparently Narby thinks at this level there can be empathic communications across species boundaries, both animal and plant. The ayahuasca shamans say the spirits of the plants themselves taught them their botanical knowledge. Narby thinks it is quantum-level consciousness (with signal non-locality). Next he goes through similar experiences of shaman/anthropologist Michael Harner and psychedelic pioneers Terrence and Dennis McKenna. Terrence McKenna noted the similar experiences of users of DMT. Apparently there was some laboratory experimentation with DMT as recent as 1990 in the U.S. resulting in a book called, “DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2001)” by Dr. Rick Strassman. His research showed very similar experiences with 60 subjects and 400 doses. “ A high percentage of the volunteers consistently entered what they perceived as parallel realms, where elfish entities or mechanical insectoids awaited their arrival. They often communicated and interacted with them in futuristic medical rooms where the entities would frantically expunge all impure parts of the body, recreating a form of astral excarnation.” Most of the test subjects considered their experiences to be real encounters with supernatural beings. Another note of interest regarding the psychedelic and serpent symbolism is the fact that Francis Crick, the discoverer of the double helix structure of DNA in 1953 was a regular user at that time of small amounts of LSD as several Harvard scientists were. He was apparently “tripping” when he cracked the DNA code.


Next is a discussion of the idea of “Panspermia” – or the seeding of DNA on our planet from somewhere in space. Recent analysis of an Australian meteorite shows that the components to make DNA and RNA are there in the form of an algae-like organism. Another meteorite from Mars discovered in Antarctica in 1984 contains a variety of organic chemicals, carbon molecules formed in water, and possible fossil impressions of organisms. Interstellar dust clouds may be a source of spores as well as flu viruses.


The nature of “Junk DNA” is the next subject. Apparently the function of most DNA is unknown (97% in humans). Ideas of this being encoded with information activated by viruses, or related to quantum tunnels and hyper-abilities, with psychedelic knowledge – are examined. The next subject is an inquiry into why deep caves were so important to our Paleolithic ancestors. Some have suggested natural acoustics. Areas of resonance seem to be close to where the paintings occur. Another possibility is a greater degree of sensory deprivation. Greek and Roman cults of Hypnos or Somnus the god of sleep, and his son Morpheus, the god of dreams and a shapeshifter, are also associated with cave sleep and sleep-inducing substances such as opium poppies.


Next he talks about the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) left over from the Big Bang that apparently can easily be observed in white noise of a TV set where a small percentage of the noise is CMB. He thinks our ancestors may have been more aware of this background hum and that the legends of the bird’s call at the beginning of the universe – the swan-goose sounding with Brahma is the expanding word/sound (Nadabrahm) and even the Egyptian Great Cackler – may indicate something more. Of some of the oldest flutes found in the world two were made of the bones of swans (dated to ~35,000 BC) and another of the bones of a wooly mammoth. An older one to 43,000 BC was made of a bear femur and is associated with the Neanderthals. Siberian swan pendants also date back at least to 15,000 BC so the swan cult certainly goes back. Marija Gimbutas, who interpreted Neolithic art as a language of sorts identifies the bird-foot symbol (often representing Cygnus) as a representation of the Great Goddess of regeneration.


Next we come to Cygnus X-3, a binary star system(discovered in 1967) in the vicinity of the Cygnus constellation that apparently emits “...one of the brightest sources of high energy gamma rays in the entire galaxy.” It is also one of the strongest X-ray sources and a loud source of radio waves. It is invisible to the naked eye but is very near the dim star Sadr near the center of the cosmic swan. Underground particle detectors built in the 1980’s detected these bursts though they were built underground to be shielded from cosmic radiation. In the year 2000 Cygnus X-3 was announced by NASA scientists to be a Microblazar – meaning that a particle jet stream from it was aimed directly at the earth. Ice cores from glaciers can record the amount of cosmic radiation in relation to time periods and several have hinted at a dramatic increase in cosmic radiation in the times of 37,000-40,000 BC and again in 13,000 – 20,000 BC. So next the author speculates about these energy bursts possibly affecting human evolution. Muons, associated with bursts from Cygnus X-3, are known to cause cell mutations. He then investigates the phenomena of Radon healing mines. Radon is associated with decaying uranium in rocks, particularly black shales and uranium ore deposits. Radon can cause lung cancer in high and frequent doses, however, miraculous cures and healing have been associated with low doses and sick people do visit old uranium mines in some places for healing. Apparently signals from Cygnus X-3 wax and wane according to a 71-day cycle and 5 of these cycles is very close to a lunar year – which was very important to our Paleolithic ancestors.


An appendix takes into account the similarity of certain drawings and myths of the Dogon tribe of Mali to the depiction of Cygnus, particularly with a diagram of called the “fork of space” which looks remarkably like Cygnus constellation within which is considered to be Amma’s Egg, the point of creation of the universe.


Even though this book is highly speculative in parts and quite technical in parts – it is utterly fascinating. The author sure can weave a tale. Some of his adventures indicate that he resembles a modern day Indiana Jones – penetrating areas for knowledge. His writing did seem to keep my attention and I look forward to more from him in the future.