Jatharagni: Digestive fire, responsible for the digestion and transformation of food material

(See also: Jatharagni , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Initiation - O

This occult term is generally used in reference to the expansion or transformation of a person's consciousness. An "initiate" is one whose consciousness has been transformed so that he now perceives inner realities. There are varying "degrees" of initiation (i.e., "first degree initiates," "second-degree initiates," etc.).

(See also: Initiation , New Age, Body mind and Soul)

Transformation The process by which a substance takes on a new form, as for example when oxide of hydrogen appears first as water and then as steam. Colloquially we say that the water has changed into steam, but it would be more accurate to say that something which manifested as water manifests now as steam.

The distinction is important because of the serious errors made by overlooking it. As applied to evolution it means that a soul takes on different bodies. It is the soul or monad that is transformed, rather than the form. Wherever there is change of form there is an underlying substance, power, or essence which remains the same throughout the changes, the same in essence but different in form. The Greek equivalent is metamorphosis.

(See also: Transformation , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Water A primary cosmic element with almost innumerable manifestations, corresponding to the Hindu apas tattva and to the akasic waters of space. Its most fundamental meaning is that of space or akasa, the great mother of all, the feminine receptive principle over and in which broods the fire of spirit. "The first principle of things, according to Thales and other ancient philosophers. Of course this is not water on the material plane, but in a figurative sense for the potential fluid contained in boundless space. This was symbolized in ancient Egypt by Kneph, the 'unrevealed' god, who was represented as the serpent -- the emblem of eternity -- encircling a water-urn, with his head hovering over the waters, which he incubates with his breath. 'And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.' (Gen. i). The honey-dew, the food of the gods and of the creative bees on the Yggdrasil, falls during the night upon the tree of life from the 'divine waters, the birth-place of the gods.' Alchemists claim that when pre-Adamic earth is reduced by the Alkahest to its first substance, it is like clear water. The Alkahest is 'the one and the invisible, the water, the first principle, in the second transformation' " (TG 368).

Water corresponds with soul, representing the middle world between spirit or fire on the one hand, and matter or earth on the other. It corresponds to the astral plane as compared with the physical; and here we

See its quality of instability, mobility, having no fixed shape but adapting itself to other shapes, dissolving solid bodies and re-precipitating them. It corresponds to the psychomental nature as contrasted with the spiritual and the physical, and to the liquid state of physical matter, though in this sense it is the water subdivision of the earth element. Water and fire are necessary elements of life, as are their correspondences the moon and sun.

(See also: Water , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Taliesin (Welsh) He of the radiant brow; a transformation of Gwion, eaten as a barley-grain by Ceridwen as an old black hen. She bore him nine months in her womb, and when he was born, set him afloat in a basket of rushes on the Teifi River where Elphin found him and named him Taliesin.

Seventy-seven poems attributed to Taliesin come down, supposedly from the 6th century, though critics maintain that they are forgeries of the 12th or 13th. But the poetry of the later centuries is exceedingly different from the poetry of the Cynfeirdd -- Talesin, Myrddin Gwyllt, Llywarch Hen, and Aneurin -- said to have lived in the 6th century. Of these four, the first two are mystical and Druidical. The verse forms are simple, the rhythm is lofty: the thought, when it is apparent -- for the language is exceedingly archaic and difficult -- is in the grand manner. Twelfth and 13th century poetry on the other hand is ultra-tortuous in form -- the extreme old age of a literature, when thought and inspiration are gone, and only delight in curious form remains -- while the subject matter is practically always the Bard's praise of his chieftain. Purely literary criticism would most certainly place the Cynfeirdd many centuries earlier than the 12th century poets.

The note of the real Taliesin is pagan, that after-centuries were so desperate to make a Christian:

I have been in many a shape

Before I attained a congenial form

I have been a word in a book

I have been a drop in the air.

I have born a banner

Before Alexander

I was in Canaan

Before Absolom was slain

I was on the high cross

Of the merciful Son of God.

My original country

Is the region of the summer stars:

I am a marvel

Whose origin is not known

Nine months was I then

In the womb of Ceridwen

I was Gwion the Little;

Now I am Taliesin.

Not of father and mother

My creator created me,

But of nine-formed faculties

Of the fruit of fruits

Of the god of the Beginning

Of primroses and hill blooms

Of the blossoms of nettles

Of the ninth wave's water.

I was enchanted by Math

Before I became immortal:

(Then) I was enchanted by Gwydion

The Initiator of the Britons,

Of Eurwys, of Euron,

Of Euron, of Modron,

Of five battalions of Adepts

Teachers, the Children of Math.

Math fab Mathonwy was a famous enchanter; in the madinogi he is the teacher of Gwydion. Men are "enchanted by Math before" they "become immortal," then by Gwydion the Initiator.

A great deal of what is too obscure to be intelligible, breaking now and again into bursts of great poetry, wherein deep esoteric meanings are apparent: such are the 77 poems of Taliesin.

(See also: Taliesin , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Chinook Learning Community - N

A New Age educational community located in the Pacific Northwest. This group sponsors both long and short-term educational programs on personal and social transformation, New Age spirituality, and how to live with an ecological perspective.

(See also: Chinook Learning Community , New Age, Body mind and Soul)

Tulku sprul sku (Tibetan) [short for sprul pa'i sku (tul-pe-ku) from sprul pa phantom, disembodied spirit; cf Sanskrit nirmanakaya body of magical transformation]

Applied to a lama of high rank, often to the head abbot of a monastery; specifically, to those lamas who have proved their ability of remembering their office and standing in a former incarnation, e.g., by selecting articles belonging previously to themselves, describing details of a former life, surroundings, etc. The two most important tulkus in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy are the Tashi and Dalai Lamas. Tulku is often referred to as an incarnation but, outside of the many varieties of an incarnating or imbodying power or energy, incarnation in popular usage is the direct continuance of a previous imbodiment. These so-called living buddhas of Tibet are one kind of tulku -- the transmission of a spiritual power or energy from one Buddha-lama of a Tibetan monastery when he dies, to a child or adult successor. If the transmission is successful, the result is tulku.

Tulku is of many different kinds and very closely parallels the Hindu doctrine of avatara. Taking Jesus as an example: here was a life-long tulku, a ray from a divinity; a tulku of that divinity so far as that ray goes, a divine manifestation, and hence a true avatara in the Brahmanical sense. Again, Gautama Buddha was tulku of his own inner buddha or inner god. The average person, however, is merely overshadowed occasionally, if he really aspires, by a touch of the divine flame from within the higher parts of his own constitution, and yet even for these fugitive instants such person is tulku. But when Gautama attained buddhahood, he was relatively infilled with his own inner buddha, and therefore was that god's human tulku. That was for Siddhartha the man, nirvana; he then entered dharmakaya and this portion of him was then known of men no more: that portion of him was a man become divine.

Another kind of tulku is where a human mahatma will send a ray from himself, or a part of himself, to take imbodiment, perhaps only temporarily, perhaps almost for a lifetime, in a neophyte-messenger that this mahatma is sending out into the world to teach. The messenger in this instance acts as a transmitter of the spiritual and divine powers of the mahatma. Blavatsky was such a tulku, imbodying frequently the very life of, and hence guided by, her own teacher. While this incarnation of the teacher's higher essence lasted, she was tulku. When for one reason or another the influence or ray was withdrawn for a longer or shorter period, tulku then and there became nonexistent.

Still another aspect of the tulku doctrine is illustrated by the case of Blavatsky. Where is she now? Blavatsky has not yet again reincarnated -- she has not yet been born as a child -- but she has at certain times, and for one certain individual, with that individual's consent, organized as it were tulku for that individual. For the time being, therefore, we can say that Blavatsky has partially imbodied in that chosen individual for the purpose of special transmission. In all cases of tulku, they are incarnations or appearances. If Blavatsky, for instance, were to make tulku of a person for a month or a year, for the time being that person would be tulku, but when that particular work was done, the influence would be withdrawn and tulku would stop.

There is again another kind of avataric incarnation or tulku, a temporary physical appearance of an adept in the mayavi-rupa. Certain Tibetan lamas are known to be able to perform this feat, and thus they too have been properly called tulkus, which is the type of tulku that certain Orientalists have referred to as "an appearance."

Another type of tulku of an opposite and essentially evil character is that brought about by a hypnotist who temporarily displaces the psychological nature of his entranced subject through psychologization or even hypnosis plus mesmerism. This, however, is more often than not an act of black magic and fraught with grave dangers, both to the hypnotist and the one entranced. Every clever hypnotist actually makes a tulku of his victim in a black magic sense. When he puts an idea into the brain of his victim, that one week from now at three o'clock in the afternoon he is going to do some essentially foolish or undignified act -- for the time being that hypnotist is working a black magic tulku on that victim, and every psychologist and hypnotist knows the possibility of this fact, though the scientific explanation of the term may be strange to him. A key example of black magic tulku was what the medieval Europeans used to call werewolves. This doctrine of the tulku, however, is at heart beautiful and sublime, and hence highly reverenced by the Tibetans.

(See also: Tulku, sprul sku , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Magical Name: A magical name is more than a mere name-word. It is a name to which much thought has been given. Found at the end of a search of one's heart, mind, and self, it is the result of a quest for the perfect name.... It can be more than a name; it can be a tool. A tool for transformation.

(See also: Magical Name , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Birds : Dream Interpretation Dictionary - Various Bird Symbology:

Various Bird Symbology:

White Dove: well known symbol of peace; a symbol of the Holy Spirit descending on Christ, as depicted in many artistic works.  A pair of white doves is a common symbol of love and devotion.

Mourning Dove:  commonly thought of as a potential symbol of upcoming death to someone you know, but only if it is seen in unusual circumstances and not just eating at the bird feeder or sitting on a telephone line.

Eagle: Among the 7 mortal sins, depicts pride; among the 4 cardinal virtues, justice.  Symbol of John the Evangelist, depicting spiritual cognition, faith, healing and ascension.  Similar powerful symbol of the Great Spirit to the American Indians, who use it's feathers in many ceremonial dress & implements.

Goose: symbol of fidelity and loyalty.  Could also be a metaphor for

"being goosed" or "acting like a goose."

Ostrich:  closing eyes to unpleasant facts.  Just mentioning "Y2K" will make many ostriches out of you! <smile>  Also a symbol of meditation, since the Ostrich parent does not sit and hatch it's eggs, but lets the sun do it's work while it guards them vigilantly.

Owl: wisdom, as portrayed in so many children's stories and cartoons.

Peacock:  pride, vanity and showing off due to the male's proud strut; but the male does this as part of his mating ritual to get the attention of the female, so I would apply this as such.  It is used to symbolize the American CBS network, and a metaphor could be "showing your true colors."  The peacock also symbolizes joy in the afterlife.  True story:  my mother & I visited my grandmother's grave one afternoon to find a living, breathing peacock standing there staring at us.  When I found out that it symbolized "joy in the afterlife," you can imagine how special that was.   How often does one find a peacock standing on a grave?  Coincidence, my foot!

Nightingale:  symbolizes yearning and pain; in Christianity it

symbolizes the longing for heaven.

Raven: intelligence; oftentimes depicting things we really prefer not to hear.

Stork:  instantly recognizable in our culture as a symbol that a baby has been delivered or is due, possibly due to the young stork's habit of gratefully feeding it's parents when it becomes a fledgling; or due to the stork's return after winter migration, when nature begins anew.

Swan: transformation, as in from "ugly duckling" into a beautiful swan.  Also symbolizes loyalty and fidelity.

Turkey:  Is any American unfamiliar with the symbology of "Turkey Day?"  Also referred to as a metaphor often used to describe something as being silly, or an embarrassing failure or dud.

Vulture: impending death, or a metaphor for waiting to take advantage of someone in dire trouble, as in "the vultures are circling."

Egg: symbolizes primal beginnings from which all life springs forth;

also in Christianity this is a symbol of resurrection (ever wonder where the thought of Easter Eggs came from?), as in Christ breaking out of his tomb similar to a chick breaking free from it's egg.  Could also have metaphorical influence, such as the age-old question, "Which came first--the chicken or the egg?"  In this manner it could be saying, "Some questions can never be answered by mere humans, so quit agonizing over a problem without solutions and deal with what-is, as it is."

Other types of symbology involving birds:  metaphors such as

"bird-brain", "You eat like a bird", "birds of a feather flock

together," "that's for the birds", "A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the

bush", "feathered friends", etc.  Just apply the metaphor to the context of your dream to get the gist of what the symbology entails.  Also helpful is relating bird dream symbols to song lyrics.  Think of how many different songs mention birds in one way or another.

Courtesy to: http://www.readersdigest.ca

(See also: Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation Birds , Dream Dictionary Birds )

CERBERUS

Twin of Orthrus, who is symbol of Set. The tri-cephalic dog with the dragon's-tail guarding the gate of Hades, who permits entry but prevents exit, is probably derived from pre-Hellenic Ker + bero (pherontes), meaning simply "head-bearing", for originally he had a hundred heads and not merely three. His three heads stand in parallel to and midway between the three rivers leading to Hades (Phlegeston, Styx and Lethe, which divide the dead from the living) and the three judges within Tartarus Rhadamanthus, Minos and Aeacus who judge men's souls. He is the Greek equivalent of the jackal-headed Egyptian God Anubis (or the wolf-headed deity of Abydos, Wepwawet, "Opener of the Ways"). Proof of this can be seen in the fact that whereas Cerberus is the offspring of Typhaon (the terrible stormcloud or cyclone, and the last of the titans) and the serpent-woman, Echidna, Anubis is the son of Osiris and Nephthys (sister of Isis), who assisted in the putting back together of the parts of Osiris and his resurrection. As Gods descend from one people to another, they usually degenerate into monsters. We see this readily in the transformation of pagan deities into Xtian demons. Anubis is god of the three processes of death, resurrection and reintegration, who leads the soul to the underworld under his protection, but Cerberus is merely a monster who guards the pathway. Mention should also be made of the three ultraexistential "beyond" Gods: Ain Soph, Tao and Abraxas.

(See also: CERBERUS , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

transformation-oriented bodywork (transformational bodywork): Combination of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual processes related to energetic balancing (see energy balancing), psychotherapy, spiritual counseling, and touch therapy. Transformation-oriented bodywork descends from bioenergetics, massage, the personal/spiritual growth movement, and Reichian Therapy. its fundamental principles include the following. (a) Constricted muscles block energy in the body. (b) Constriction shows up as pettiness. (c) The Highest Ideal lies in the realm of Divinity, the Source of both life and meaning for humans and the earth.

(See also: Transformation-oriented bodywork , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Self Realization: Direct knowing of the Self God, Parasiva.

Self Realization is known in Sanskrit as nirvikalpa samadhi; "enstasy without form or seed;" the ultimate spiritual attainment (also called asamprajnata samadhi).

Esoterically, this state is attained when the mystic kundalini force pierces through the sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head. This transcendence of all modes of human consciousness brings the realization or "nonexperience" of That which exists beyond the mind, beyond time, form and space.

But even to assign a name to Parasiva, or to its realization is to name that which cannot be named. In fact, it is "experienced" only in its aftermath as a change in perspective, a permanent transformation, and as an intuitive familiarity with the Truth that surpasses understanding.

See: God Realization, enstasy, liberation, kundalini, Parasiva, raja yoga, Samadhi, enlightenment.

(See also: Self Realization , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

UNIFIED FIELD THERAPY

Unified field therapy (UFT) proposes that beyond the body, beyond energy, lies a matrix of consciousness that permeates every aspect of our world. This dynamic, ever expansive matrix forms a single field from which all conscious life flows. This field is called the Unified Field.

All physical, mental, emotional, and energetic patterns known to our world originate from this single source. Present in our every experience, these patterns form the very fabric of our reality. The most subtle shift or change in these patterns can yield immense expansion in our consciousness and bring enormous transformation to one’s life. Utilizing this knowledge, Unified field therapy directly accesses the Unified Field to initiate shifts within a conscious system.

Clients remain fully clothed and are asked to lie face up on a massage table in a comfortable position with eyes closed and attention focused internally. The therapist then begins to evaluate, palpate, and integrate fields of consciousness surrounding and permeating the client. This can be done in a hands-on or hands-off application. Sessions last approximately 40 to 60 minutes. Accordingly, clients must define for themselves how their consciousness integrates and changes as a result of this work. For this reason, therapists are trained not to define or project their perceptions or expectations onto a client’s experience.

Therapists often request that new clients follow up between 48 to 72 hours after the initial visit to discuss any additional “shifts” that may have occurred in the interim.

(See also: UNIFIED FIELD THERAPY , Alternative Health, Massage, Bodywork, Body Mind and Soul)

Core Transformation (Core Transformation experience, Core Transformation Process, Identity Process): Ten-step self-help method pioneered by Connirae Andreas, Ph.D., the primary author of Core Transformation: Reaching the Wellspring Within. Core Transformation is a way to melt one's limitations and to open the door to a sense of wholeness and of the universal. Its theory posits an inner being, inner self, inner essence, or core self. Proponents have billed the technique as a breakthrough in the fields of NLP, psychology, and religion or spirituality.

(See also: Core Transformation , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

THEO

Greek root meaning "god" combines to generate many creative ideas:

THEOCRASY -- Mixed worship of the gods; intimacy with the  gods.

THEOMACHY -- Opposition to divine will; Fighting with the  gods.

THEOMORPHOSIS -- Transformation into a divine shape.

THEOPANAX --  The all-healing god.

THEOPHANY -- The showing of divinity in mankind.  However, the Neoplatonists meant man recognizing his own divinity showing in  himself.

THEOPNEUSY -- Divine Inspiration. Another Neoplatonic idea. The  inspiration, though divine, is one's own Higher Self.

THEOPOEIA --  Godmaking.

THEOSIS -- God impulse. Theos is the god's personality or  character as opposed to Daimon, a divine power or entity.

(See also: THEO , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

COBRA

The Hieroglyphics of Horapollo Nilous explains the metaphorical aspects of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The first entry is about serpents. It seems the Egyptians used the cobra to designate royalty because of its power over life and death. Since, when coiled, its tail disappears, it is also a fitting symbol for eternity. The Greeks called the serpent oura, or "tail", whence the "Uraeus", which is the Greek word for the cobra-shaped crown worn by kings and gods alike. To demonstrate its "eternal" aspect, the Greeks depicted the serpent devouring its own tail (Ouroboros "tail-devouring"). Oddly enough, the Greek letter rho is similar in shape to the beta, and some scholars think oura (read ouba) is taken from an old Hebrew word for sorcery ob. (See OBEAH).

This is all very instructive, to be sure, but what interests us is that the Egyptians believed that the cobra was so deadly that it didn't even have to sink its fangs into a person. It barely needed to graze him. In fact, it merely had to "breathe" on someone to inflict its venom. Now, since we already know that the "king" cobra was associated with royalty, its not surprising that the Greeks should call it, in their language, "the little king" or basilisk, bringing along with the word the Egyptian version of its natural history.

By the time we reach the Middle Ages in Europe, the basilisk (since cobras don't exist in Europe) had turned into a fabulous beast with wings and a fiery breath fatal to every living thing. A similar transformation happened to the poor white rhinoceros of Africa; in Europe the unicorn was turned into a fabulous horse with a horn. And when we learn that the most fearsome of sea serpents, the Nichus, was born of a medieval monk's mistranslation of an original misspelling of the Latin version of the "Nile" river (Nilus), an obnoxious pattern emerges: the decay of truth into superstition, simply because of linguistic ignorance.

(See also: COBRA , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Transformation (hua): Taoist notion in the Chuang-Tzu that everything in nature involves transformation from one state to another.

 (See also: Transformation , Eastern Philosophy, Body Mind and Soul)

Will we destroy ourselves in ecological catastrophe, human misery, and war? Seismologists and "sensitives" are increasingly talking about major earth changes to come, economic analysts are increasingly talking about a collapse of the global economy, and ecologists are increasingly talking about a breakdown of the entire global ecosystem. Of course we cannot remain in denial about the ecological and political realities on our planet. Somewhere between an ungrounded spiritual escapism based on denial, and a narcissistic preoccupation with gloom and doom, we can choose to intentionally and purposefully envision a brave new world based on the deepest truth of our being. In order to do this we must consciously face our own shadows, seek a genuine hope, commit to rebirth, and open to the light of our guiding truth.

Read more here: » Earth Changes and planetary transformation - the supramental awakening and planetary hope

There are many types of women in our society, but the one that cries out for the healing the loudest is the Female Warrior. She longs to transform herself into the Goddess and yet doesn't even know it. Nor does she know how.

Who is the Warrior? The Warrior is powerful, independent, self-reliant and successful --because she has to be. Yet, she resents all of the responsibility and obligation that goes with her role. She's the only one around who can get things done, and get things done fast enough and perfectly enough.

Read more here: » Women's Spirituality: Warrior to Goddess - How to Transform the Feminine

Indigo Children

Children born since around 1982 really are different, like no other generation of record. If the movie "Indigo" makes this point and no other, it has done the world a favor and hopefully will help to engender an overall transformation in how we regard and teach children. Surely it will inspire a forum whereby the children themselves can speak and be heard... for our youngest citizens truly have something important to say that is worth hearing.

Read more here: » Indigo Children: A view on the movie Indigo by Twyman/Walsh/Simon about Indigo Children

The Oneness Celebration during the Venus Transit of June 6-8 this year takes place at an amazing gathering of energies in the Mayan calendar. In the age old Tzolkin calendar the venus transit has been celebrated without interruption by the Mayan people for some 2500 years. The Oneness Celebration is a gathering celebrating the Venus Transit of June 2004 and a Meditation to focus on the Enlightenment of Humanity by the Year 2012.

Read more here: » Venus Transit: The Oneness Celebration