The Free Radical

“I’m walking on mushrooms… whoa-oh!”

The Mycelial Network has made it quite clear that there is much to say at this time of transition. For the past few days it has been very difficult to walk my path without stepping on mushrooms. They’re everywhere! I could inundate you with hundreds of photos of mushies, but I’ll just stick to the more interesting ones. These reminded me of pancakes.

“In times of great chaos, one must be principled and clear. Complex subjects must be simplified in order to see them for what they truly are. The concept of ‘evil’ has been lost in layers of confusion.

“We live in a Free Will universe. This means that the One Life is exploring its own Will. Everything is allowed… and every act of Will has consequences.

“As the Awareness of the One Life remains divided, so too does Free Will. There appears ‘self’ and ‘other.’ Evil is simply defined as the abrogation of the Free Will of another. Whatever act seeks to limit the choices of another is evil in intent. As long as intentions are divided, evil is inevitable and necessary.

“This is a broad definition… with huge repercussions. Nearly everyone is engaged in perpetrating evil at this time… wherever the control of others is sought.

“Individuals must come to their own realizations about unified Awareness and Intent. All roads lead to Mi-Fu.”

This individual juniper bush resides adjacent to where I usually park my truck. Apparently he didn’t get the “ascension memo.” Its berries are “old school”… tasting very much of yesterday’s gin. Today’s message from the Mycelial Network reminds us that every individual has the unassailable right to evolve at his own pace. There is no requirement to join with the ascending crowd. Notice however that the berries on this bush are not the familiar powdered blue– like on every other bush. Rather, they are shiny black– as they are when the blue powder is rubbed off. Those choosing to move ahead at a slower pace are granted the freedom to do so… but with the distinct awareness that things are not exactly as they were before. The wider world has shifted; there is much to be absorbed and integrated… to each his own according to the momentary dictates of awareness.

Hawk is the guardian of visionaries. In a previous post from September 7, she promised to return with further instruction and guidance for deploying the New Vision in the “real” world.

She spent the day mostly unseen, periodically calling to me from the distance. Finally toward the end of my walk, down by the river (where once I encountered Thunderbird– but that’s a whole other story), Hawk met up with me and circled above for several minutes.

“Knowledge is currency in the natural world,” she began. “It is a means of exchange among all the agents of the One Life. The purchasing power of knowledge is measured in experience. The knowledge leading to repetitive experience which engenders little feeling beyond boredom is a fiat currency– backed by nothing more than a social agreement. Knowledge leading to New Experience, which always engenders excitement, is the gold standard among the agents of the One Life.

“Your position now is strange and ironic… and perhaps somewhat humorous. You are the bird in the cage– a cage whose door has been pried open, yet you know it not. You seek the sacred knowledge of flight… as you deny your own wings.”

That was the end of Hawk’s message this day… and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed– that she would abandon us still trapped in this illusory cage of our own repetitive thoughts and habits. Little did I know that her “partner” would slide in to complete today’s message.

This is the eleventh snake of the year. Eleven is a master number. You can see from the scuff marks on his back that Master Snake just recently survived an epic battle. He was in no position to slither away; he was shaky, almost disoriented as he picked up the conversation.

“You will be shaken from your lethargy… but you will survive. You will question your stores of knowledge… and find your wealth lacking. I am the squiggly line on the page which heralds the beginning of New Creativity.

“You are still entrapped by knowledge which cannot serve you any longer. Freedom lies in the Unknown– always. Make peace with your own immaculate creativity, for it is your light into the darkness. Sometimes you cannot know exactly where you are going; creativity is like that. You pick a direction and see what develops as you hone your skills… and the cage is utterly forgotten in the process.

“Remain in process– always.”

Master Snake then began to sing an old song… about a New Song… “Chameleon’s Teardrop (Makes a Rainbow).”

With all of the recent rain, the mushrooms have moved into overwhelm. It’s like an invasion… but a happy one.

Fields of Shaggy Manes and other unidentified monsters pop up all over the place like ideas in a fertile mind. Some of them seem boringly familiar while others seem alien and exotic… and possibly tasty.

“We are all connected.” The mycelial voice belongs to no one in particular; it is a manifestation of an unseen collective. “We are connected in consciousness… or we are separated in consciousness. Choice is a function of consciousness, and both are absolute.

“Consciousness cannot be deleted or erased from existence. Consciousness is existence. They are identical. Existence has no opposite; consciousness has no opposite. ‘Unconscious’ and ‘subconscious’ are aspects of awareness– a subset of consciousness.

“Everything occurs within consciousness… including all time and space. Consciousness does not magically or mysteriously arise from special configurations of matter and energy; it is not something generated. It was not suddenly created during that most magical of all ‘scientific’ events, The Big Bang. Consciousness is. Or if you prefer: consciousness = is.

“Allow what I have said to percolate through your consciousness. Arrange your consciousness in such a way that you are able to grasp the profound truth of it. Today’s discussion is the merest beginning. Consciousness is the whole deal; prepare to blow your own minds again and again and again– The Little Bang Theory. Haha!”

For every encounter that I report there are at least three more on which I remain silent. Some of these encounters are just encounters; there are no overt messages. And sometimes I sense the message, but I just don’t get it… I need further clarification.

As my daily journeys have deepened, I am still consistently astonished by my deep acceptance into Forest Life. So often I encounter animals who are at first wholly unaware of my quiet presence, and as I greet them I am well pleased with their immediate replies: “Oh, it’s just you, Niels.” Yup, just me; I love that.

In the last few weeks there has been another type of encounter altogether… and it has become rather frequent. I am often meeting up with people on my daily forest walks. It used to be that encountering people out here was extremely rare. Now, suddenly, it happens nearly every day!

At this time of year I expect to run across hunters in “my” territory. I always have before. This year…? Not one yet. Those whom I do encounter are harmless recreationists. They are drawn to the area by some subtle need to deepen their own appreciation of beauty. I used to definitely resent such “intrusions,” but now I find myself actually welcoming and enjoying them. I imagine that most who encounter me out there in the forest are at least a little surprised by our interaction. I’m not exactly what they were expecting… but then, neither is this Forest of the New Renaissance.

“Our energies have been woven together.” It was the Forest in general who answered my query about these increased visitations. “In particular, it is the unique energy of human appreciation which activates a subtle yet deep response from the Web of Life. Make no mistake; this landscape has been altered. It has responded to your deepest magic. The ‘wildness’ has been humanized… just as the human has been ‘wilded.’

“The connection is immensely attractive… not merely to you, but to all. The human quest relishes discovery; exploration is your craft. Each of you has the ability to generate local realities in co-operation with the local landscape. There is a particular feel, tone or atmosphere to this Forest now that was activated by your unremitting zest for New Adventure. Together, we are a whole new life form. Others are curious; they rightly suspect novel possibilities.

“Unity Consciousness is the combining of energies… in great anticipation for the deepest magic. And it is real.”

Come find me… and see if it’s not perfectly true!

I was hoping that Coyote would agree to be my new dog. (For those who remember Jazz, my departed dog, today is her birthday.) I thought maybe Coyote could just meet up with me everyday for my walks, tag along, and then go his separate way each evening. It’s a good plan in my estimation… but he’s still a bit shy.

Here, Coyote left a few tracks as a greeting. Turns out, though, he had quite a lot to say. His theme this day is about Free Will. That he is the speaker of today’s message indicates that our Free Will is surrounded by trickster energy. He begins this dissertation with a little mind-reading demonstration. Hopefully, as you continue reading, you will “play along,” and if all goes well, you will be faced with a powerful demonstration. Follow Coyote’s instructions silently in your own mind… and see if he can indeed read your mind… here we go…

“Choose a number between 1 and 10.

“Multiply it by 9.

“If the product is a two-digit number, add the two digits together. If not, just move on to the next step.

“Subtract 5.

“Now, if 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, etc… determine the corresponding letter of the alphabet.

“Now think of a European country that begins with this letter.

“Take the second letter of this country and think of a large animal that begins with this letter.

“Now concentrate on the colour of this animal…

“Oh wait! Do they even have grey elephants in Denmark?”

(Did it work? If it didn’t, it’s because you flunked the math. The whole “trick” is that no matter what number you choose in step one, the result by the end of the math section will always be 4. And then for the remaining steps there’s only ever one choice. The whole thing is just a demonstration of the illusion of Free Will. But Coyote would like to take us beyond the mere illusion.)

“Human Free Will is absolute. It is in fact so absolute that you may even freely choose to negate it. Historically, most have.

“A highly skilled Puppet Master is able to pull the strings in such a way that the strings appear not to exist at all. You must find your strings… and pull them back into the influence of your own Will.

“To deny that you are a creator– the author of your own story– is to abdicate your sovereign Free Will. You will dream and pursue implanted ‘stock’ dreams instead– they are the ‘choiceless choices.’

“You have unique talents and gifts hidden within your soul. Only your sovereign Free Will may bring them forth. To dream of personal power, fame and riches will assuredly keep them buried. Look carefully at the origins of your most cherished aspirations. What are the things that only you can bring to the richness of the Human Collective?”

Spider is both a symbol for infinity as well as the weaver of illusion. I find Spider’s figure-eight body in the most interesting of places!

This is a very different Spider from the white and gold version of Grandmother Spider in my earlier post. This one has predominantly male energy. Today’s message could only come from Spider– the weaver of words and fate.

“The human perspective is coming under scrutiny– from within. Previously, in your history, you were not equipped with adequate metaphors to understand your own perspective. Have you recently wondered why everything seems to be happening all at once– right Now?”

Yeah, I know I have. And I have about a thousand theories as to why. But go on Spider… please do tell.

“The moment of your metamorphosis had to await the establishment of your ‘computer era.’ In so doing, you have now acquired the correct metaphors with which to proceed. You have all come to understand the meaning of ‘virtual reality.’

“You have lived your lives for many generations within a simulation. You were told this thousands of years ago by your gnostic ancestors. Only now do you possess the tools to begin to understand what this means. I will explain in metaphor.

“Suppose your body/mind is a computer. It is assuredly connected to the Universal Mainframe ethernet. Your soul (God) is the operating system… like Windows Vista– but without all the tiresome glitches! Somewhere along the lines of your past, the operating system was usurped.

“It is as though a minor word-processing program decided that it would replace the operating system. Word-processing programs are not even remotely designed to function as operating systems! But this particular word-processing program was very skilled at its designed function; it could spin together the most elaborate and intricate tales by linking words in highly unlikely cascades of pure speculation. It could talk a really good game! It was convincing.

“The word-generating storytelling part of human consciousness began believing its own fabrications. It invented systems and cultures to ‘prove’ its own lies… but these were just more fancy arrangements of words.

“You have grown weary of the emptiness of words. You are beginning to realize that word-processing programs make terrible operating systems. You are rapidly outgrowing this metaphor. Look behind and beneath the word ‘soul’ and see if there is some other ‘substance’ which you can hang your hat upon– rather than a head full of meaningless babble.”

Harsh! I’m a writer. I make my living doling out words. I’ll try my best to at least choose them judiciously.

The Master Recyclers are out in full force.

Mushrooms are great indicators of much going on beneath the surface. They are but the fruiting bodies of the actual organism which lives wholly underground… the mycelium. Generally, they take on the task of breaking down the hard-to-recycle materials littering the forest floor. The structure of their bodies resembles a neuronal mass, like a giant brain reaching through the ground. They are highly intelligent.

“Nothing Nature does is strictly circular. Natural cycles are spiral structures. A spiral, when viewed vertically from above, appears circular– think of a bedspring; a quick change of perspective though, reveals a structure allowing for growth– from the side, its vertical component becomes apparent.

“Evolution never moves backwards. We’re not bringing back the dinosaurs. In times of Great Change, it is understandable to long for ‘the good ol’ days.’ However, their ‘goodness’ has long been spent. What is truly Good is to move along the spiral pathway.

“The past is a memory– where experience was gained; it is not however a template for the future. That takes root in imagination– a place of novelty. Feed your imaginations with more than stale nostalgia!”

Mushrooms as food can inspire a few challenges, mostly due to their great variety, including deadly poisonous individuals… posing as lunch. Puffballs are safe, and are currently numbering in the thousands along my route. They are the true champions of tasting exactly like nothing. Fortunately they grow alongside some tasty companions on the Mesa like Wild Onion and Tarragon, so I can assemble something like a gourmet eggless omelette.

“Learn the lessons of history… within the correct context. The universe is an organism. As such, it grows and develops; it will never be a fetus twice. Please understand.”

I think I get it.

“Lighten up!”

At first, I thought that might be all I’d get from Sweet Clover. Much like his gangly stalks and tiny sparse flowers, his words can be short and clipped… yet potent in their economy. I had him team up with Juniper today, but Juniper is likewise as curt. So, today, we get a series of snippets; it’s up to us to connect the dots.

When I was a kid I hit upon a winning flavour combination when I began dumping large amounts of cinnamon powder into my vanilla ice-cream. I’d stir it up into a soft-serve called “cinnamonilla.” To this day, it may very well be my favourite flavour of all time. What a treat to have it replicated now on my woodland journeys!

I strip the clusters of white flowers (the white variety of Sweet Clover is far less bitter than the yellow variety) and combine that with the 5th-dimensional expression of Juniper’s newly-evolved berries. This unlikely combination yields a flavour extravaganza which may very well exceed my childhood experience. I must stress here that the new Juniper berry tastes absolutely nothing like gin– not even remotely. (The whole “panty-remover” industry could be in serious jeopardy in the New Adventure.)

With the transportive flavour of sweet childhood lingering on my lips, I was ready to hear Sweet Clover’s clipped remarks.

“Your thoughts are electric. Emotions are magnetic. A moment’s thought will confirm this.”

Synapses in the brain are definitely electrical in nature. Even cartoons depict thought with the symbol of a lightbulb lighting up. Emotions definitely seem to have much to do with repulsion and attraction much like polarized magnets. So okay, I can buy into that.

“The basic nature of this realm is of frequency– electromagnetic expression… across a wide spectrum.

“The combination of thought and emotion is the requisite to action. Movement is a most powerful frequency.

“When you engage in thoughts and feelings which inspire no action, you negate your own best intentions.

“You have lived in a war zone for many generations. Pick your battles wisely. Strongly-held opinions amidst inaction is detrimental to all– especially self. Indulging in impotence is no way to create a New World.

“Focus on what can be done toward positive outcomes. Discard the rest.

“What is needed more than anything Now is for you to enjoy… well, anything you can. The plight of others is relieved with Joy, not through impotent commiseration.”

Perhaps Sweet Clover’s pointers should be read a few times in order to sink in.

Check out this clown!

This strange little plant is called Strawberry-Blite. Although spelled differently, the word “blite” (blight) usually associates with other words like “disease” and “pox” or “blemish” or maybe even “curse.” Clearly, its name points to infection… and yet it is a merry little fellow with intentions set on good cheer.

It is a member of the botanical family which includes spinach and is similarly highly nutritious. Its spade-shaped leaves taste something like tangy arugula, and its showy flowers/fruit taste a lot like… um, nothing. There is definitely something about this plant that is nearly irresistible, though.

“Imagine that you are a child again. Your parents allow you the freedom to play in the backyard all you want. Around the periphery there is a hidden fence, overgrown by the wilds encroaching from the outside. You hardly ever encounter the fence, for though you know that it is an insurmountable boundary, your world of make-believe renders it obsolete. The various roles you assume in your imaginary play all fit easily within the enclosure defined by the fence.

“Now you are grown… and the fence has succumbed to the onslaught of time; it has crumbled to nothing. The untamed wilds are creeping into your backyard, but you hardly notice. You are still enmeshed in the pretences of childhood, living the habits of a lifetime.

“It is time to play like you have never played before! A whole new world awaits your exploration. Your old roles and habits will not do for this New Adventure– they were suited to your parents’ cultivated backyard. You must discover your own hidden resources, your dormant abilities. Playfulness is your new job, for that is how you test your own limits.

“You are wild… and beautiful… as you remember Being undomesticated.”

Yo! Sounds good to me!

I’m always excited to encounter Frog! He will only appear when conditions are suitable: i.e. pristine. He doesn’t handle pollution or other environmental degradation or corruption well. You only need to watch his antics very briefly to understand his mastery, though.

Frog successfully navigates the landscape of ego-consciousness utilizing leaps of deduction, hopping from one concept to the next until the ‘right’ idea is located. He is even more comfortable and adept at maneuvering through the watery/emotional elements of consciousness, though. He finds comfort in the muddiest waters whenever threatened. And if stirring up the silt at the foundation of emotional outbursts doesn’t provide adequate cover, Frog won’t hesitate to dive right into the soft mud of the subconscious… completely disappearing in the process. That his message today is about unitary consciousness shouldn’t come as any surprise.

“You have been separatists. You are split between two worlds… and one world obscures the perception of the other. The natural world of your outward perception is, in truth, seamless, whole and complete… but you do not see it thus. The obscuring world, the one of illusion, is held within your own heads like a bubble. It is flimsy and thinly veiled, but you continue to mistake it for reality nevertheless.

“The world of illusion that you carry with you everywhere you go is maintained by your internal dialogue. Your incessant self-talk IS the whole basis for the illusion. It is a world made of words; you arrange them into narratives which make sense to you in the moment, but the very nature of words is that they are fragmentary and divisive… and even the very best narratives are incomplete.

“Only in rare moments does your internal dialogue fall silent. In those moments– however brief– the separation dissolves and you merge with the real and natural world of your environment; there is nothing holding you apart.”

I have to admit that one thing I had noticed as I got more and more into foraging during my daily walks, the more often my inner voice would fall silent. In times past, it was “normal” to carry with me an inner agenda– things to think about on my walk. But as I was required to focus more and more on my surroundings in order to locate the treasures of my foraging pleasure, my inner voice had less and less to say. I found that I couldn’t sustain both worlds at once. I could either be in the real world which provides life and sustenance, or I could occupy the illusory world of my thoughts– philosophizing.

“So much of the primary human ‘mistake’ is that you are all supremely arrogant. Each of you is so utterly convinced that your thoughts matter. You act (in consciousness) with the belief that if you were to stop thinking, or merely to stop over-valuing your own inner dialogue, that the world would somehow be diminished. The real world, by virtue of being real, does not require the overlay of your precious narratives. It will continue on merrily without your incessant self-talk.

“Niels, you yourself have noticed that the creatures of the forest will shy away from you in fear or suspicion when you are self-absorbed. We can easily feel the intrusion of your illusions… and cannot immediately trust your story lines. When you move with the grace of internal silence, however, you are part of the forest environment. You are not separate, and your peaceful intentions are easily discernible to all.”

It’s true. The forest doesn’t fear me in the slightest; it just mistrusts my thinking. As I refrain from thinking, I am accepted and assimilated into real life. It’s really the easiest thing ever… once I get past the idea that my thoughts are oh-so-important! Thanks Frog!

“The real world is seamlessly one… unless you choose to think otherwise.”