Burning Dross and Distilling to Consciousness

I frequently correspond with a close friend with whom I shared a large part of my “middle life”. We were recently talking about how it can be dismaying realizing how many stupid things we fell for in our previous limited understanding yet we can’t have any regrets, as whatever it took to get us to an awakened state was all good. Whatever it took to get here, so be it!

I was musing on this thought and the intense pressures we all endure going through life and all of its challenges and wild changes. So often things seemed insurmountable with no end in sight to those particular situations we find ourselves seemingly trapped in.

When thinking on this and how I literally exploded into this wonderful new awakened conscious awareness I had an interesting analogy come to mind that made me smile inside. All that compacting pressure and often feeling like I was seething in a cauldron of trials and tests I was actually getting distilled down to truth concentrate. When the alive crystal clear waters of true liberating and enlightening truth finally got into my then ready container….wham! And I’ve been exploding ever since.

I was getting distilled down to the elements that would be essential for my eventual role in life. As the old analogy goes, gold is purified by intense fire whereby the dross is burned off to give us the refined end product – in this case: consciousness concentrate with a heck of a lot of learning along the way!

It’s Not Easy – The Scylla and Charybdis

It’s a lot easier to look back on all of those trying life situations and experiences than it is actually going through them. But we do get through them. If, that is, we keep up the pursuit of truth. I’m by no means minimizing the seriousness of life’s trials, they literally are life and death, both physically and spiritually.

Getting through those dire straights, real or imaginary, is no picnic.

I loved Homer’s The Iliad and the Odyssey as a teen and learning about Greek mythology. The imagery was fascinating. I just knew there was truth in so many of those so-called “myths” and ancient legends. They resonated with me very deeply and surfaced in my consciousness repeatedly all during my journey.

One particular story comes to mind that is the archetypical backdrop for idioms like “dire straights”, “between the devil and the deep blue sea”, or being “between a rock and a hard place.” What’s interesting about this metaphor for life’s challenges is the extreme nature of the obstacles, painting them as aggressive energetic forms out to “sink” the life traveler.

All fear based, again sometimes appearing very real, but after all is said done fear is our biggest obstacle. Once we learn to overcome that we’re well on our way.

But life’s circumstances can sure appear this way:

Scylla and Charybdis, in Greek mythology, two immortal and irresistible monsters who beset the narrow waters traversed by the hero Odysseus in his wanderings described in Homer’s Odyssey, Book XII.  Scylla was a supernatural creature, with 12 feet and 6 heads on long, snaky necks, each head having a triple row of sharklike teeth, while her loins were girt with the heads of baying dogs. From her lair in a cave she devoured whatever ventured within reach, including six of Odysseus’ companions.

Charybdis, who lurked under a fig tree a bowshot away on the opposite shore, drank down and belched forth the waters thrice a day and was fatal to shipping. Her character was most likely the personification of a whirlpool. The shipwrecked Odysseus barely escaped her clutches by clinging to a tree until the improvised raft that she swallowed floated to the surface again after many hours. To be “between Scylla and Charybdis” means to be caught between two equally unpleasant alternatives. (source)

Pretty apt as to how life’s challenges often appear.

Putting Truth In Action and The Duality Game

It’s a whole lot harder to know truth and not respond to it than it is to find it out and take action. I pity people who are coming across so much empowering and enlightening information now yet refuse to budge. There’s something called accountability that I think people minimize to try to keep their conscience at bay. Once we know something is true the next obvious step is to do something about it.

If we don’t, there are spiritually derived consequences at many levels.

It’s not always clear what the next step is, but as I often say the boat has to be in motion for the rudder to take effect. Too many are afraid to venture out into what appears to be unknown territory, but that’s only based on our previous understanding of what is known and unknown, what is a so-called safe and secure course of action versus a life of thrilling fulfillment and a greater sense of real security that awaits anyone willing to push off from that seemingly safe shore.

That fundamentally “forbidden territory” is now my number one destination.

But when you finally step out you immediately realize all of those fears were unfounded, and in most cases you’ll find are deliberate social engineering memes rerun over centuries to keep humanity frozen in place. Ultimately they are just fabricated dragons and demons as in the above metaphor, only given power by our entertainment of the illusion.

This is where duality comes into focus, setting humanity at variance with besetting ogres and fabricated concepts and enemies to keep us apart from realizing we are all one in a completely connected universe. In other words, transcending the board game called life and seeing things for how they really are is the most empowering and thrilling experience you’ll ever have. The rest simply comes into focus as an opportunity to learn and grow and help others to do the same.

The cauldron used to get you here wasn’t so bad after all now, eh?

Living With Yourself

This is the crux of the matter. Our personal universe is ourselves. That’s our battlefield. When we get sorted out we can help sort out others, not before. Once we’ve found greater truth which we know needs to be manifested and shared, our lives drastically change, whether we handle it responsibly or not.

For those who respond constructively life gets brighter, happier and more meaningful. Certainly new challenges present themselves but tremendous empowerment kicks in, even if we feel absolutely alone during the first phases of this transformation, an aspect of the birthing process I like to address to help those during this seemingly estranged period.

The most wonderful realizations come when we see this entire set we’re on is a fabricated one, and that we each have complete control over our personal reality.

But all this can be addressed in a very simple way. You have to live with yourself. All day every day. For the non-enactor, when you know better than to do or be what you are living or participating in, life is very conflicted and unpleasant. Such is the power of truth. It will not go away. It’s here to stay and always has been here and will eat at you. That’s a good thing.

You just discovered it, or a good piece of it. Now it’s your turn to respond. If you don’t, there’s a price to pay. Your conscience has been more fully awakened and will not be satisfied until you respond to it. You too have been changed for life.

This is obviously why the “whirled” is the way it is, to keep everyone comatose so they don’t feel, never mind respond to, these callings of conscience. For those unwilling or too lethargic or selfish to answer the call, these distractions become a source of solace, an enabling mechanism for their apathy. They’re also addictive, all the better for the unwilling to hide behind. Such is the state of much of society today.

But the price is high. Personally and socially.

Dispelling the Hologram

It’s a time to awaken from slumber. Realizing everything that has transpired in our lives only makes us stronger is wonderfully empowering. We hear that at many levels, but when the break through happens it really comes into focus.

Know your life is a process, a wonderful one. What each of us has to endure in this magical journey really is part of a wonderful design, but the most important aspect is to see it as such from an awakened perspective. I spent decades “trying” to forgive my father for how he serious damaged me as a young man, having horrendous consequences throughout much of my life. I knew forgiveness was intrinsic to moving on but I just couldn’t muster it.

When I woke up it was a piece of cake, and I’ve been happily “corresponding” with him on the other side ever since. A dramatic shift in consciousness was necessary.

If things are troubling you and don’t make sense, it’s time to rise above this entire paradigm. Whatever it takes, get there. There’s no secret remedy except a sincere heart and a driving passion. Once you transcend the old understanding model everything will make perfect sense, and the gratitude pours in like sunlight into a darkened room.

See you there. Love truly does rule the Universe.

We just need to get above the fray and see things for how they truly are.

Much love always, Zen

Zen Gardner is an impactful and controversial author and speaker with a piercing philosophical viewpoint. His writings have been circulated to millions and his personal story has caused no small stir amongst the entrenched alternative pundits. His book You Are the Awakening has met rave reviews and is available on amazon.com. You Are the Awakening examines the dynamics of the awakening to a more conscious awareness of who we are and why we are here – dynamics which are much different from the programmed approach of this world we were born into.