I am delighted that Jeanne so eloquently comments on our favorite subject of exploration when we walked together in this world, PROJECTION. In relationships the usual focus for projection is the anima/animus, one’s soul, which accounts for the compelling power and magic of the in-love experience. In Jeanne’s reply to this female reader she instructs that she reclaim the strength and beauty of her own strong woman. In effect, that is the real challenge to finding one’s wholeness. Yes, when we fall in love we are experiencing union with our contra-sexual internal other. For a man this is his inner woman and for a woman her inner man, as reflected in our partner. However, we are also falling in love with our partner’s valuation of us; through being wanted and desired by another we become valuable. Many are caught by an inability to value themselves, hence they constantly seek the reflection of their worth in the attention given to them by the other. Jeanne instructs this woman to turn her inner man’s fascination to her strong woman, that is, to fall in love with herself. This is not narcissism; this is the experience of truly valuing and giving attention to the self. Loving the self entails an honest recapitulation, which involves facing all the truths of the self, with total acceptance. Loving the self is valuing and withstanding the utter truth that, despite all our wonderful companions, our completion is totally a solo journey, and we are all completely worthy of the adventure.

Jeanne’s message today reflects three points from the world of the ancient shamans. Her focus on the use of words to define one’s world is captured in the shaman’s view that the socialization process human beings are subjected to from the time of their birth and the uniformity of it among all people generates the world we live in. That world is a description, not an actual perception of reality. This description is very much constructed by our use of words. To perceive energy directly is the goal of the shamans, enabling direct access to alternate worlds.

It is critical to interrupt the flow of energy that generates our dominant description of the world, via a number of techniques, in order to experience a different world. The shamans used a technique entitled: not doing, to accomplish this interruption of energy flow. When Jeanne suggests using new words to define experiences, such an interruption of habitual flow of energy is accomplished, and one is freed to enter a different world. The shamans would call this, having an experience of being unfamiliar to oneself.

Finally, words are vehicles of intent. Words attract energy to construct the intent they embody. A new vocabulary constructs a new world in which to live, just as viable as the habitual world we commonly inhabit, which is indeed in need of evolutionary change.

Today, Jeanne asks us to really take time to change the way we think about ourselves, and the world we live in. She asks that we become proactive in changing our world by actually using new words, allowing for a distinct change in perspective. If confronted with anger, rather than staying caught in anger accept it as an opportunity to challenge the world you are in and the reason for the feelings of anger. What is the deeper issue that you are being asked, by your inner you, to confront? The anger is merely the tool to accessing it. If being confronted with great change in your life, rather than be consumed by old patterns of victimhood or depression, change your perception of your situation to one of growth, and the opportunity to, instead, be firmly planted on a new path with a new set of rules and intentions. By removing our old sets of behaviors we open the door to be able to allow our intent to really work for us because we now know that we want to live life differently, but awareness is the key. If we are aware that we are caught in an old habit, we can shift out of it simply by applying new words to the situation. “I’m not stuck, I’m being challenged to grow. How do I choose to grow? Am I choosing to be on a new path of evolutionary change, utilizing my new tools, or am I going to remain using the old words about my self?” Jeanne is urging us all to partake in this time of change by really taking control of the way we think, perceive, and experience life. We can have a different experience simply by changing our perceptions, our perspectives, and our words.

Last night, while reviewing Chapter 13 of The Eagle’s Gift by Carlos Castaneda, entitled The Intricacies of Dreaming, I encountered the shaman’s description of what happens to awareness after death, often “consumed” by The Eagle. In our forthcoming book, The Book of Us, the impact of this construct on Jeanne and I, when engaged in Tensegrity and in her preparation to leave this world, is discussed. This question today was a follow up to that construct from Jeanne’s experience and vantage point, now, in infinity. She offers a clarification of the eagle construct in terms more universally recognizable, and therefore useful in understanding the shaman’s path, and in everyone’s preparation for their encounter with infinity.

Learning to Physically Shift to Change Worlds

Here Jeanne is giving us another skill, a physical shift that everyone can do in some way. By physically turning in another direction, with the intent to go calm, you leave behind everything that you were just experiencing. Physical turning, shifting, is a powerful energetic movement that will change your perception, shifting you right into another world, instead of staying attached to the one that is drawing you. Use your own specific focus to stay in calm, even saying to yourself as you turn, “Go calm.” Practice it often to access the calm inner world where everything is different. Turn, pivot, walk away, and you will abruptly change your perceptions and your world. This physical action is a very useful skill, and can be utilized in many situations, even when alone and feeling off balance. Turn and go calm. It really can be that easy.