Dear Ones:

As we move toward the Autumnal Equinox, it is time to begin your preparation for the coming winter months. Autumn has long been recognized as the time of "gathering nuts," by plant and animal kingdoms as well as by humans. When you can draw your own personal focus into alignment with the Earth process (as do your little four-legged cousins), you benefit from a sort of natural unification with Nature. You can easily see how plant and animal kingdoms share in oneness with the Earth as they participate together with the seasonal passages. Much of humanity, however, spends seasonal shifts in unconscious, almost robotic, repetition of "the daily grind," in one climate-controlled environment after another. They have little more touch with, let alone appreciation for, seasonal changes than if they actually slept through the entire process.

In truth, really showing up for the movement of Earth in Her annual cycle is to participate in a great Mystery. I use "mystery" here to indicate those extraordinary experiences which can cause life-altering moments, even though they may appear quite ordinary to the uninitiated. You see, a door to enlightenment is presented in virtually every moment, but it is only approachable by those who are awake enough to discover it. Most people would not believe that having a full experience of a single musical note, or the cry of a bird, or clap of thunder, is enough to profoundly alter one's space of Consciousness, one's perception of the Real, and/or one's intimate connection to all of Creation. Most would simply laugh at the idea that a single tone, radically experienced, has enough spiritual momentum to propel the hearer into a Unitive experience with Divine Mind. Of course, the same could happen with simply seeing a flower, if really seen, or a rainbow, or bolt of lightning, to name only a few of the myriad doors to enlightenment.

When you consider the transformation possible from the dramatic experience of a single visual image or aural tone, how much more provocative might be the turning of a season? Not only are there enough evocative stimuli to throw an entire neurological system into sensory overload, all of Nature is holding a field of highly charged creative energy just waiting for humanity to discover and step through a door to enlightenment on behalf of all sentient beings! Why do you think so many indigenous cultures had (some still have) their ritual high points at the solstices and equinoxes? These pivotal points are magical times, and when humanity was more actively engaged in relationship to Earth, individuals, and cultures, literally felt the power "in their bones."

In these modern times, however, all too often all people feel is whether or not the air conditioning is adequate! Some of you may remember, as children, seeing an adult show you a magic trick on the equinox by standing an egg on end for the day. You can explain this feat, of course, by the fact of the gravitational pull from the sun being in direct alignment with the equator. However, as the day begins to turn to evening, the egg begins to slant until it finally falls over with the passing of the "equal" time (i.e. light and gravitational field). To the child of wonder, experiencing the "standing egg" proves what that child already knows: the world is full of mystery. Indeed, even for an adult, experiencing (fully experiencing, that is) the standing egg can provide a wonderful door to enlightenment. The real question here is: As an adult, understanding gravity and knowing why the egg stands up, can you still show up fully for the mystery and make yourself available for that door?

Those of you who are unfamiliar with the twice annual "standing egg" may find your logical mind jumping in to say something like, "That's impossible." It is very common in your time to attempt demystifying any and every opportunity the Numinous might take to sneak in and awaken consciousness. Indeed, even contemplating the role of the Numinous is a huge stretch of the imagination for many. Yet gathering the kernels of your spiritual harvest is, in some way, a gesture of your acknowledgment that the Numinous is moving magically, miraculously, through you. But if you can take this whole process one step further and discover the Numinous moving through the plants and animal in the creation of this year's harvest, then your active engagement in the mystery of Autumn becomes profound. It not only prepares you for your journey into the cave of introspection for the coming winter (another act of harmony with Earth), it allows you to spiritually deepen you connection to/with the Numinous. It allows you to transcend all that is known scientifically and experience the magnificence of Creation with the astonishment, wonder, awe and reverence of a child who has never lost his/her connection with the divine. Indeed, such facilitates the miraculous and allows for the opening of a door to enlightenment. If you want to experience the miraculous, you need to know that "miraculous" has nothing to do with the event. It has, rather, everything to do with the way in which you allow your consciousness to be operated upon by the event.

Please join me in September in listening to Contemplate the Unfathomable, a lecture I did for the Denver group on July 10th of this year. It is my wish for you that this lecture will help you each stretch beyond the confines of logic and experience the radiant abundance of the Numinous in all aspects of Creation.

NOTE: Because the meditation that here follows deals with profound spaciousness, it is a good idea to record the meditation on tape before actually attempting to do it.

"As I open myself to the benefits of this meditation, I dedicate my efforts and merits to the liberation of all sentient beings. ______________ (say your own name here), gently relax and breathe deeply into your body. Find the comfort of knowing your own breath intimately, and give thanks for the sweetness of each new breath as it enters and leaves. Experience and appreciate the miracle of breath.

"As you continue breathing, let yourself experience gratitude for the presence of "The Miraculous" in all the manifold ways it appears to you in daily life. As you breathe deeply and fully, let yourself experience The Miraculous all around you. With every breath, breathe in The Miraculous. Experience It as a brilliant cloud of vibrant white light speckled with gold light enveloping you. Breathe it in as if it were the most precious air in Creation. Breathe It in through your nostrils; breathe It in through your crown chakra. Breathe It out through your nostrils; breathe It out through your heart chakra. Let the light of The Miraculous that surrounds you be reinforced by the light you breathe out. Breathe with your most attentive breaths. Continue breathing The Miraculous in and out until the cloud of vibrant white and gold light is so thick and rich that you can no longer see yourself sitting within it.

"Continue exchanging the light with your breath until you can no longer even feel yourself sitting in the cloud. Notice that The Miraculous has dissolved away your physical body and with it, all resistance to — The Miraculous. Continue breathing thus for a few minutes, until you recognize no trace of a self; there is only — The Miraculous. From this point in consciousness, you realize that all that has ever existed is The Miraculous. The Miraculous is the stuff of all creation, no matter the form nor duration it assumes. Let yourself experience this idea with the openness of a child. Let Consciousness unify, simply and beautifully, with the idea of complete openness.

"As you continue to open more and more fully to The Miraculous, let yourself begin to hear within the massive white and gold cloud, the sound of the eternal OM. Let It fully permeate the brilliant light, sounding forth with the full verve of Creation. Let It enter your Consciousness through the Emptiness and awaken within you It's Own resonant frequency. Let It dissolve any and all resistance to Itself. Let your mind dissolve into Pure Consciousness with the pervasive sound of OM within, and throughout, The Miraculous. Breathe in the OM; breathe out the OM. Sit for a few minutes in the profound creative impact of the Cosmic OM.

"Let the Holy Sound and Holy Light recognize Each Other, spontaneously spiraling together in the Dance of Creation. Let the dance of Creation beget all forms, all absence of forms. Let it bring forth all recognition of form within formlessness, and formlessness within form. Continue breathing sound and light as you reflect on The Miraculous. Let the sound and light suddenly dissolve into profound silence; a silence that reverberates through the fullness of Creation with:

"May all beings everywhere be happy and peaceful."

"As you hear, feel and fully experience this mantra, instruct all sound, all light, all the perception of sound and light to dissolve into the mantra. Completely experience this mantra as yourself. Go thoroughly into the mantra, imbuing It with Life - your life. As you do so, gently open your eyes and let them fall on the image of the monk painting himself within the open circle. Let your focus be held here until you can return to your normal waking state. Do this slowly."

In loving fondness,
Djwhal Khul