Message #1509 - SHAMAN'S UNION Date: 09-28-96 11:18 From: Stardance To: Song Bird Subject: Re: candle focus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @PID: BWRA 3.02 [Reg] @MSGID: 93:9301/0.0 324d4417 **** Constellations exploded when Stardance heard **** *snip* SB> For me, the eyes will draw closer and closer until they merge and SB> become one eye, one flame. This is a singular experience. Something SB> mystic? Trick of vision? Don't know. All I know is that when I SB> finally quit the experiment my mind is so clear I could feel a ripple SB> in a pool at 20 yards. SB> I'm quite interested in hearing your own experiences in focusing your SB> mind, taming it to hear, as it were. SB> Song Bird Greetings! I have a heart-shaped crystal that hangs in the center of heart-shaped wooden stand. I acquired this years ago, as it was very pretty to look at, and if set in the window, produces lovely prismatic rainbows when the sun hits it. Quite by accident, I also discovered another use for it. I can set the crystal and stand on a coffee table, and when I sit, I am eye-level with the crystal. In the past, I have lit a small candle and set it directly behind the crystal. When I look into the center of the crystal, I can see the flame quite clearly, and distinctly. By focusing on the crystal, and the flame behind it, I will get that effect you spoke of....the flame divides, then divides again, and so on, yet there is still that one central flame as reference point. As I clear my mind, those outer images of the flame begin to merge into a ring of bright light, surrounding that central focus point. At this point, I tend to slip into a trance-like state, and as soon as I do, that ring of light will flare up and swallow the central focus point, until it is like I am 'looking' at an unwavering sheet of golden light, like a highly polished mirror. Now, most times, that 'mirror' remains empty, and I simply go through some meditative exercises, and will surface feeling deeply refreshed, and energized. But, there have been a few times in the past when that 'mirror' will show images. Distinct, clear images, like watching outtakes from a movie or particularly lucid dream. And these images are always Foretellings. And what I see will come to pass, usually some time in the next quarter or so . One or two were Long Range visions.....seen a couple of years ago, and only recently come to pass. But *always* exactly as was shown to me in the light mirror. There have also been a few occasions when I found myself drawn *into* the light mirror....and out the other side. At that point, another spirit steps into my body/consciousness....I've been told it's very similar to what a medium experiences when channeling. I have never felt threatened in this state, and when it is 'time', I step back through the light mirror and into myself.....and surface to find some very surprised people on my end Apparently, a short, intense Q&A session had gone on while I was 'away'...and the answers he got not only surprised, but pleased my friend/teacher. He wouldn't really discuss later what, exactly, had gone on, but he told me my visualization skills were above average, and I had no need to worry about it. Of course, as a writer, visualization is very important....and it is something I have been able to do since I was a small child....I didn't really think about his words until much later, and when I did, I realized that by using the crystal as I had, I had stepped onto a Higher Plane, albeit briefly, and had been given a wonderful gift in the process. I still use that crystal for trance work.....but not as often as I used to, and always with firm purpose and focus in mind. I would never want to abuse the gifts in any way. Stardance ... I seek not to know the answers,but to understand the questions.. Caine --- Blue Wave/RA v2.12 * Origin: The Castle of the Winds (93:9301/0) @PATH: 9301/0 9300/0 9000/0 9004/0