Healing Waters

Distillation

Distillation is another wash of the parts of the personality that no longer work with the new self that has been uncovered. Human beings grow attached to the material world along with their thoughts, beliefs and opinions.  This stage of the work calls us to release attachment to everything and feel detachment as a true form of love.  This form of love is from a higher level and not a form that is usually practiced until we have let go of our attachments to end results or the future.  Distillation helps wash away the dark matter of attachment and reveal the deeper intuitive self in its purest form-- light and Oneness.

From: Hollingsworth Counseling 

Healing waters wash over us. Healing waters heal us and make us new. Healing waters flow free. The inner process of Distillation is also renewal. It is the light at the end of the fermentation process. We can rise above the rise and fall of emotional waters. There is a space that exists above and outside of the regular events of daily life. A zen state of being where peace abounds.

Facing the Abyss

One must pass through the great dark abyss to reach the all consuming light. The darkness that most of try to hide from everyone including ourselves has to be unearthed. If we take the time to fight the demons that plague us we will see that a new existence, one of freedom exists in the next breath after the abyss. We are never alone in our journey to face the darkness, the Creator of All provides all that is needed on this seemingly unbearable path.


The fermentation process gives you the environment to allow the dead counterfeit self to rot away. This process is emotionally draining yet worth the pain. As you realize that you are so far from perfect there may be a tendency towards depression; however, know that no emotion is wrong. We can control how we react to our emotions. You can choose to be proactive and incorporate various coping skills into your life at this time (keeping a journal, yoga, cleansing herbs, etc). By embracing the shadows that haunt you embrace freedom as well. This is the true beginning of regeneration.

Today, I stand fearless and ready to embrace that which haunts me. I allow the supporting earth energies of autumn to help me in my path of letting go of grief and sorrow.
I sow the seeds of regeneration in my life.

I may die but I will live again as a new being more powerful and creative than ever.

"Death is rebirth, not extinction." -Unknown

7 Stages of Transformation: Alchemy

The seven stages of alchemy are:

Calcination 

This is the first stage of the alchemical practice and essentially represents the process of burning.  It represents a burning within the self, of energies repressed due to trauma, projection of others thoughts, ego, and feelings or emotions.  Calcination allows us to bring the energy or feelings to the surface, experience them fully and cause the fires of calcination to burn the energy away.  Once this step is complete, the process leaves us with a feeling of freedom from the energy.

Dissolution

Dissolution is the process of adding the element of water to the ashes of what has been burned by the fires of calcination. This is an emotional stage where the person takes themselves back to “the womb” of childhood where some of the impurities (repressed feelings) were attached and need to be washed away. The feelings, reactions, opinions, thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes must be examined for reality, to find whether they are based on repressed feelings or present facts.  This is a stage of anxiety, fear, denial, illusion and possible mental breakdown.  When a person moves through this stage they can then look at what is real because feeling all of the negative feelings has now penetrated the illusions.

Separation

In this stage of the alchemical process the individual is able to see himself in two parts or the opposites within. The two worlds represented are the world we have created -- fueled by what we come from -- and the world of consciousness and reality-- a world much different from the one we ourselves created. Repressed feelings cause a veil to be produced that causes reality to be skewed.  Separation is a process of being able to see and separate the ego self that has been burned in the fires of Calcination and the feelings expressed and released in Dissolution and choosing what is now important to keep of you. 

Conjunction

Conjunction gives us our first look at the higher realms of existence such as spiritual connection, concept of God, or something greater than ourselves that is outside of and connected to our self.  This stage is described in the Emerald Tablet, “That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing.”

Fermentation

Fermentation is also known as Putrefaction or decomposition.  This decomposition is the rotting of the dead self. There is realization on a deep level of ones deficiencies, and a possibility of mental depression at this stage.  To look into the dark shadows of one’s self is to look at what most deny.  Jung spoke of the importance of embracing one’s shadow so that the darkness of it could be illuminated.  When the shadow is embraced it can be healed with the introspection and understanding of what gave it birth.  Regeneration and growth begins to take place during this stage.

Distillation

Distillation is another wash of the parts of the personality that no longer work with the new self that has been uncovered. Human beings grow attached to the material world along with their thoughts, beliefs and opinions.  This stage of the work calls us to release attachment to everything and feel detachment as a true form of love.  This form of love is from a higher level and not a form that is usually practiced until we have let go of our attachments to end results or the future.  Distillation helps wash away the dark matter of attachment and reveal the deeper intuitive self in its purest form-- light and Oneness.

Coagulation

This is the last stage of the alchemical process. The balance of the opposites creates a balance and harmony necessary to easily move between the two realms of matter and spirit.  The person that has successfully accomplished this stage has completed unification within themselves on all levels.  They have been able to join spirit and soul with the body, separating them from everything that would hinder them ascension into the union with the Divine.  This is the stage of the phoenix rising from the ashes and the complete resurrection.

  

As taken from: Hollings Worth Counseling

Father Autumn

Decline in energy exerted outwardly and an increase in energy directed toward reflection and inner wellness characterizes this time of the year. As the leaves fall, let your self fall into the healing balm of silence and delve deeper into inner knowing. Knowing thyself is an ongoing journey.

This is a time to cultivate creative energy and plant seeds for future creative endeavors. Metal is the element of the season and it is said to be the Mother of water and the child of Earth. Contracting is a male energy and one should really learn when it is appropriate to expand and when it is necessary to contract. Contracting helps one refresh and renew for the upcoming season of expansion. The lung and large intestine can benefit from special attention and care through the consumption of warming foods and herbs that cleanse these organs. Mullein is a great herb that improves the health of mucous membranes and aids the lungs in the cleansing process. It does have a slightly calming effect; so it would be wise to drink this tea in the evening before bed with some licorice root for its warming qualities and sweet taste. Your skin would be very appreciative if you continue to stay hydrated and pay attention to the cleansers and moisturizers you are using. The energy of the earth supports the release of grief and sorrow; take advantage of these supporting energies and let go of the sorrows that have been buried deep within. Feelings buried alive never die. Bitter and spicy foods are usually beneficial to the process of healing during autumn/ metal phase of the year.

Let the energy you sense in quiet meditation guide you this season. 

Great Link for further study of the metal energy: http://www.5elements.com/docs/elements/metal.html 

Consuming Fire

Belief is the agent of change essential to the healing process. What you believe is what you get; however, wellness is not a destination it is a state of being. Every decision can either take you closer to wellness or closer to sickness. The mind, body, and soul start down the path of disease when there is a stress that causes difficulty and functioning below optimum levels. Silence allows one to hear the Creator speaking clearly. By taking the time to address beliefs that negatively impact your state of wellness and cultivating habitual silence you can quit the inner noise and increase your sense of peace. By working on the inner state of wellness and silence you also work on the outer being. “As within, so without.”

Reaching a state of wellness addresses the issues of the mind, body, and soul. As hueman beings, we must develop an emotional outlet. Counselors, spiritual teachers, good friends, trusted journals, and more serve as our emotional outlets. Once you change your lifestyle there comes a point when you realize that certain people, places, and things no longer support our highest good. You must have a plan to deal with the emotional tension that accompanies a lifestyle change for the better.

Absolute wellness is within your reach; it lives within your next righteous decision.

Affirmation for emotional well being: “I can feel the sun coming over the horizon.”

To increase the power of this affirmation, imagine the heat of the sun warming you, increasing your fire, and melting the ego. You can rise above the rise and fall of emotions and experience contentment.

Female and Male

As a woman it is quite easy to understand the qualities of the Divine feminine. I have put great energy into cultivating Female energy because most women in this day and age are bankrupt when it comes to femininity. When it comes to understanding male energy I have become quite confused at times. I think through the rose colored glasses of femininity most of the time. My home has been emotion, intuition, expansion, relaxation, growth, etc. Now I seek to find balance between the male and female energies that exist within me. I also seek a better understanding of Creation and the means by which it came to be, Female and Male.

I look at the qualities of the Male principle and realize that I have had issues with these same qualities in my personal life: stress, destruction, heat, action, conscious, logical. I have always felt that the society we live in now moves too fast, destroys too quickly, lives in the conscious mind too much, and has become frigid with logic.

However, I now seek to find the balance between the two energies in my personal walk as a spiritual being having a natural experience. “Honor your father and mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.”  Exodus 20: 3-17


I do see how this verse in the Bible gives guidance to the enlightened being to honor both energies. To honor one type of energy and not the other is a dangerous error. A lot of religions serve as object lessons when it comes to cultivating spiritual energy without nearly as much attention to the body. No amount of spiritual energy can substitute for care and maintenance of the physical body. By paying attention to the inner and outer self we can honor the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine within. 

"The office of Gender is solely that of creating, producing, generating, etc., and its
manifestations are visible on every plane of phenomena." -Kyballion

We become prosperous and gain long life in all aspects when we seek to follow the principle of Gender. 

"The masculine is sovereignty, the crown upon your soul. Femininity is humility and unconditional love, the heart within the breast of your soul and together they make the whole soul essence."

St. Germain
Twin Souls & Soulmates 

I can see how I personally have sought to engage the masculine energies within. I have been on course to move into a more active state of being, sought to be in the body more and in the mind less, put effort into organizing the conscious mind, sought clarity in my mental pursuits, learned how to handle stress better, learned about the necessity of destruction as it relates to the ego, and started taking in foods/herbs that warm the body (ginger, licorice root, cayenne,anise, cumin, cinnamon, millet, quinoa, rosemary, wild rice). When one is sensitive to the murmurings of the soul there is a natural guidance system that manifest. 


Assertive communication serves as another route to reach balance between male and female energies within. You can assert yourself without becoming aggressive as a woman you can still hold on to the warmth and softness that inherently pours forth. 

I trust that there are many paths to establishing male and female energies within. I encourage every soul to seek balance.