New World Order

[Please tell me about the new world order]

You know that there is a big shift taking place in human life now. Part of that shift is a re-ordering of values, of how humans see the value of things. This means that the old emphasis on money and wealth has to undergo a radical transformation. You can see an example of this in how people form alliances now. These alliances are less reliant upon geographical location and more on common interest. The internet has become a tool for communication, and is becoming a tool of community. People share bits of information, of energy, with lightning speed. This is a stepping stone. It is important not to fall in love with the internet. This is a crude model of how we communicate with each other in our world. It is more instantaneous and less inhibited by distance. There is no distance and no time here. This is our reality and it is becoming your reality as well.

When you struggle with the limitations of the physical universe, you become frustrated and can even fall into despair. This is part of the darkness, the blindness that has been the rule of the day for millenia on Earth. Now it is becoming possible for people to experience the instantaneous communication that we enjoy.

Another example is the bartering of services. When you do a healing session for someone and receive one in return, there is no money transferred and the transaction does not involve the political power structure at all. This is an exchange of energy in a more pure way and could be a sort of model for the future. But it is not as if the transaction takes place entirely between the two people who do the exchange of services, because the energy of the healings radiates outward, as you would see it, from the room where the sessions take place. This healing vibration is not confined to that space but has an effect, however weak, on the surrounding area and indeed on the whole Web of Light. The more you resonate with light, the more it affects the Whole. This type of action is far more powerful than you can imagine. It affects people who have no knowledge of working with the light and no interest. It affects them subliminally, subtly raising their level of vibration. Sometimes it works on them in a way that is disconcerting, and they search for comfort in the usual places, which are places of negativity, addiction, closing in upon oneself. We are working with you and people like you to see how it may be possible for the rising of the light vibration on Earth not to have that effect on the unsuspecting, on the innocent in a sense. We have seen in the past when we try to elevate the vibration of the planet, how it can drive people crazy. It is important that we persist, that we continue to try to bring Earth into the next level of vibration. We are trying to do this in a more harmonious way than in the past. And for this it is crucial that people like you, who have some sensitivity to the workings of the Light, participate.

You already know how to do this, up to a point. You enter into a meditative state and clear your mind of your usual thoughts. Then you watch and listen and sense. As you become more quiet and more sensitive, you being to feel or see or sense the evolving connection to the Web of Light and you lean back into it, like leaning against a hammock, as if it could support your physical weight. And then you begin to feel the vibration of that light entrain your own inner vibrations, and connect inside your body so that the body is not an obstruction or an object on the web, but is integrated into the glow. Try to stay like this. The benefits for yourself are beyond imagination. Do it for yourself and you will help us and help everyone.

From a different source

A few days ago, my wife and a friend discovered that our friend, LG, had taken his own life. He had been suffering with a serious mental illness for a few years, and had stopped taking his medication. He cut himself off from everyone who was trying to help him and gave up the struggle.
During the wee hours of the morning I woke into a reverie state from the dream state and saw him standing in the bedroom in shimmering light. Calling in my Guides and Power Animals, I asked him to stay over there (away from me!) and promised to deal with him later.

Then when I got up for the day, I took up my shamanic drum and started calling in the spirits. At a certain point, after we had created Sacred Space together, I saw LG again standing there in shimmering light. I asked the angels to open the portal into the World of Light and asked LG to look up into it and see what he could see. He was very happy. He understood that he could now make the transition from this world of suffering into the place of infinite compassion and light.

The feeling of joy was immense: his joy and mine as a participant in this divine mystery.

Later, as I was sitting with a group of people contemplating what had happened, I saw the divine form of Hermes and realized that he had been helping me in the earlier ceremony. I asked if he had anything to tell us about the mystery of life and death. Here is what he said:

It is indeed a great mystery. You can feel the power of that transition when it happens, if you are in the presence of it as it is happening. It is like an ecstasy. It is a coming together of many things. Most of those things are things we do not see or understand before that moment. All the threads that led to the life you live now come together, all the reasons for your birth into this world come together at the end also.

You see that when the body dies, the person does not. So you can prepare yourselves for this passage by practicing, by being aware of the body and how your consciousness can be independent of it, not by ignoring the body or becoming numb to it, but by becoming more conscious of it, so that you can distinguish between the quality of the physical and the qualities of the non-physical. Then you will not be so frightened by this natural event.

You could begin to live your lives less governed by the fear of death.

Living in Two Worlds

December 5, 2008

[How is it possible to live in two worlds at the same time? It is so disorienting.]

We can see that humans struggle with this issue. We are trying to understand what it is like to be in a physical body. For us, it is hard to comprehend because it is not in our experience. We admire your position, because it is so demanding. In a way, our life is easy compared to yours. It is not easy for us to see your suffering, though. We recognize the very difficult situation that exists for human consciousness when it is confined to the physical realm. It is very much like being cut off from your loved ones, from your source of nourishment. That is what we are working to change. We want for you to be able to feel our presence as you go through your activities, your ordinary activities. Now you feel us when you are trying to connect to us, when you meditate or write. It takes a special effort of concentration, of releasing.

You have noticed that when you are connected to us your body is more relaxed. That is important. You can practice being more relaxed as you go about your usual activities. Try to see if you can do ordinary tings, like the dishes, while being much more relaxed. You have to be aware of your body as you do these things in order to notice how you tense up unnecessarily. Even if you just learn to do the dishes in a relaxed way, your life will improve.

It is easier to be connected to us when your body is not holding a great deal of unnecessary tension. It is about the energy flows. Tension blocks the flow of energy. Communication with us is all about he flow of energy. The information we send comes on a flow of energy. Sometimes the flow itself is the message and sometimes there is an additional message on the flow, analogous to how you send radio signals as a modulation of the carrier signal. But this is not about electromagnetic energy. It is a different energy, one that can reach across the boundaries between dimensions, between worlds. That is why in your dimension this energy looks like it does not dissipate with distance, as if distance were irrelevant to its action. It is because the energy flow from us to you is traveling in a different pathway thn what you experience in the space/time realm. It is not important to understand to cosmic physics of it; just understand that we can communicate with you at any time or in any place because we live where there is no time or place.

In this way, by practicing some awareness of the body as you go through your day, you open the door to us to enter into your daily life in a more continuous way.

Linking with the Earth

You remember the sensation of being connected to the crystalline energy of the island beneath you, helped by the sacred triangle you set up.
[I had set up an equilateral triangle about 7 feet long on a side, and sat cross legged in the middle of it to meditate each morning.]
It is a very strong sensation here, [Hawaii] but you can feel something like it at home. Ask the crystals to connect you and the group to the crystals in the Earth, in the bedrock and below. Let those energies connect with the liquid crystalline structure in your bodies. This will open doors to new worlds, to new realizations, new dimensions. You are not sitting on dead rock. You are sitting on a vibrant being vastly greater than yourself, vastly more intelligent than any human or even than the whole collective of humanity. From here you can connect to sun energy and star energy. In fact, that is your role, the role of humanity, to serve as a connecting link between the Earth energies and the higher energies form the cosmos. This is the work that you must undertake, the work that is desperately needed. Mankind has lived too long in the old experiment, to see whether anyone could connect with these energies when the mind was given supremacy. Could humans find the Light in their darkness? Some could, but not enough; not enough people, not often enough, not strongly enough. Now the situation is reaching a critical point.

You have already found out how rich this type of life can be. It is only the beginning, just scratching the surface. What lies before you is vastly more profound than what you have seen so far. Remember the vibration of love. Always keep yourself in the vibration of love, as you have heard it said.

Remember, too, that as you become more and more connected to the crystalline energies of the Earth, your own personal mana, your power, will increase correspondingly. This requires great care. What you say and how you say it will have greater impact than you might expect. You have come to think that your voice is never heard. It will be, and you impact will be much greater. As we used to say: Remember yourself, always and everywhere.

This is a time for alertness, flexibility and non-attachment

This is a time that calls for alertness, flexibility and non-attachment. Many of you know this already. It is good to be able to let go of things that are not important. It would be good to ponder this: what is really important to me and what is something I am merely attached to. Look inside at your own feelings, your own sensations as you contemplate the elements of your life. In this way you can experience how your body reacts to the idea of loss, of change. This will help you to be prepared for the changes that are happening, to be able to see clearly what is happening and what you can do.

When you are connected to us you feel this inner clarity, as if the light is shining inside your presence, in your body even. We are here to provide that illumination. Your part is to allow us in, and to release yourself from your attachments to the things that are not necessary.

One way to look at this is to consider how the various things you own could be used differently. You know that you have at our disposal certain tools for communicating with people at long distances. This makes it less necessary for you to travel to where the people are who need your services and for them to come to where you are. It costs almost nothing in terms of dollars to do this, but is very costly to get on an airplane or in a car and travel long distances. That is just one example.

There could be a place for communal living arrangements, as well. Working on relationships would be part of this. People live very separate lives now in America. This is not the way it is done amongst most of the sentient beings of the universe. Barriers between people need to be examined and more openness is needed. This allows better flow of energy, of love.

You know that sitting with a group and connecting together with the Web of Light is a very powerful experience. The group energy is far more than the sum of its parts. And the people get connected in ways they could not imagine in their ordinary state. You cannot foresee the structure of it when you are not connected to the Web of Light. It is this disconnection from all life that is what creates the blindness and the fear. It is part of the old order and that is what is breaking down.

You can problem solve together. This will be a better way for the future than for each person to try to survive on his own, solving the problems that others may have solved.

Taking your place on the Web of Light

It is time for people to know about us, we who live in a higher dimension. For thousands of years, the situation has been that people thought they were alone on the planet Earth, and that their actions existed only on Earth and only had consequences on Earth. It was never true, but now it is time that people understand the place they hold in the universe, in the larger context. Earth is of interest to us because She holds a special place in the vibrational sequence, in the pattern of the life of the universe as a whole. She has been a sticking point, a sore spot, a place where energies get stuck and don't flow through to the rest of the system. That is changing, has to change. This is why there is such an enormous stream of energy flowing toward Earth from the Galactic Center now. The planet is rising up, waking up, entering a different level of vibration as a whole. People are riding the crest of this wave of energy as it builds. Some people are able to absorb this energy in a healthy way and most are not. Most are so unaware of all this that all they notice is an increase in their fear level. Something feels different and they don't know what it is, so it all goes to the usual place, the place of fear. And it apparently doesn't do any good to tell people not to be afraid. They are so addicted to fear; they cannot see anything else. So we ask the light bearers like yourselves to take their places on the web of light, to tune in, so to speak, and to resonate with the Whole, so that the vibration we are sending can be amplified and transmitted unconsciously to the rest of the people; unconsciously for them, of course, not for you and the other light bearers. This is an important action on your part, one that is essential to the transformation of the planet, for Her growth and development if you will. It does not depend on you alone; there are many other people like yourself who are doing this now, at the level they understand it. But you have tuned in and are tuning in, and your efforts, with those around you, have an effect that is positive and very needed. We can help provide the resources that you need to keep this going. Do not fall into the place you sometimes go, where you believe that your efforts are too puny to have any effect. When you resonate with the web of light, your efforts are amplified by many orders of magnitude. You can feel how amazing the process is when you do it, so don't forget that impression. It is truly amazing to be opened up to these higher levels and to realize you can live in this very different way, plugged in to the universe as it were.

A higher perspective is needed

What we want for you is that you should have the same perspective as we, the same view from above as it were, as it seems to you now. You come to this not through shutting down your feelings or trying to “rise above it” but by being more open to all feelings, to the feelings of others, to the feelings in yourself that seem out of place as well as the ones that are socially approved.

You learn to encompass all the vectors of yearning and they balance each other, so you are not pushed or pulled by desire and repulsion. You see all, feel all. Then it is possible to be at another level and to manifest what you wish. Now it is not possible to manifest what you wish, not as much, not as deeply. Sometimes you can, but not to the extent that is possible for a being such as you.

For example, I came to you in this form [Ashiata Shiemash] because of your history with Gurdjieff. This form would mean something to you. I am from the highest source and can take many forms. All of the compassionate teachers are manifestations of the God energy. We present in different ways in order to help you understand the message. The closer you get, the more it looks like light. The light is what matters. It can penetrate everywhere, into the darkest places It can change whatever it touches. You can become a vessel of light. You already are, but you could be more so.

Always remember the light, to carry the light, to call for us in the light. You are learning that it is not a battle. The dark ones like to make it a battle, but it is not. It is a melting, a transformation. A supernova of light.

Opening the crown chakra

This crown opening needs to reach all the way into the heart, and perhaps lower down, too. Eventually the whole body becomes not just filled with light but changed by it, energized in a totally different way. This can connect you to the other dimensions of your True Self.

The heart feels heavy without this energy, having tasted of it. This yearning helps you to remember that the process is not yet complete. Tension in the body interferes with this transformation. But you don't have to strain at all, even to give up the tension We will do the work, if you simply let us do it. It is hard for you to let us in; we understand. Do what you must to prepare, to make the time and space safe for yourself. We can help with that also. It is like tuning a crystal, tuning in to our frequency, or one which we can use, that will allow us to speak to you about material that cannot be conveyed in an ordinary language, through concepts you are used to. The implications of this are very great, far beyond what you can imagine. Do not try to imagine it, you will just limit what can be.

You are always trying too hard. It is not up to you; well, not all of it. You have a role, but it is not so active and stressful as you make it. By forming this alliance with us, you become something like invulnerable, untouchable. The power that is coming through, that will come through you, will be beyond anything you can dream of. We have said this before, but it bears repeating. Have faith. What is coming is very great, and you are part of it.

How to become a clear channel

Question: I ask that you give me clear vision, make my vessel healthy and clear, so that it can be a better channel.

Ashiata Shiemash: The message is in the energy. You have understood already that Qi is energy, and also is consciousness. You cannot have higher consciousness without the energy for it. In your current energy state, you cannot imagine what is possible. When we talk about how much is possible for you and for people, we mean what is possible from a state of higher energy. Otherwise it is only a projection of the mind. So we begin by trying to bring your physical apparatus to a state of higher vibration. You can help by concentrating, being mindful of the process, and being relaxed to the degree you are able.


In this way it begins to be possible to live in different dimensions at once, to be in two places at once. You can practice by being aware of us as you go through your day. We are not far away. We are very present to your reality, but a little bit out of phase with the frequency of your perception in your usual state. It is healthy to be in two levels at once, better than trying only to be aware of the spiritual dimensions without the physical. We are trying to build a bridge, a connection so that it is more normal, more usual, for you to be able to perceive us while you are in your more familiar reality.


It is necessary to be very relaxed, much more than you can do now. It is necessary to stay relaxed as you go about your business. It does not help to be upset, angry, fearful. We keep telling you that there is nothing to fear. Fear is the great barrier to consciousness. It shuts down your perception, shrinks it to a small dimension. Then you are in the dark and truly cannot see reality. Fear reinforces itself. Love is the antidote, meaning expansion, not floating away from the coarse, but expanding to include more.


So, start with your body, as you have learned already. Begin to sense the body, the sensations, and watch the transformation. Then allow yourself to perceive your body as more than the limits of your skin, seeing how the sensations can arise from a bit beyond what you think of as your body. Practicing to be in two places at once begins here, with awareness of sensation within the skin and outside the skin at the same time.


Next you will learn that once part of your consciousness is outside the skin, there does not have to be a limitation of distance or space, or solid objects. You can go anywhere, any distance, because place and distance do not mean anything to pure consciousness.


In preparation, it is important to be coherent. That means to be relatively unified within your being. You need to be free in the feelings, not stuck with energy tied up in negative memories and attitudes. It is simply a question of having all the available energy free to move and flow. Grudges, grief, pain, fears, judgmental attitudes, all tie up your energy and keep you from having enough resources to do what you wish.

Ashiata Shiemash speaks about the question of money

Now on the question of money: Right now you cannot conceive of how this will look in a short time. In your culture, money rules all. It is not the root of all evil, obviously; it is substance, energy. By holding more energy, running more, allowing it to flow more freely, you open up the possibility to have more energy. This means money too. You do not get more money through fear, through craving, through envy of those who have more. You get more through being more open and more flowing in your own energy, more flexible.

What we want for you is that you should have the same perspective as we, the same view from above as it were, as it seems to you now. You come to this not through shutting down your feelings or trying to “rise above it” but by being more open to all feelings, to the feelings of others, to the feelings in yourself that seem out of place as well as the ones that are socially approved.

You can learn to encompass all the vectors of yearning and then they will balance each other, so you are not pushed or pulled by desire and repulsion. You see all, feel all. Then it is possible to be at another level and to manifest what you wish. Now it is not possible to manifest what you wish, not as much, not as deeply. Sometimes you can, but not to the extent that is possible for a being such as you.

For example, I came to you in this form [Ashiata Shiemash] because of your history with the Gurdjieff Work. This form would mean something to you. I am from the highest source and can take many forms. All of the compassionate teachers are manifestations of the God energy. We present ourselves to you in different ways in order to help you understand the message. The closer you get, the more it looks like light. The light is what matters. It can penetrate everywhere, into the darkest places It can change whatever it touches. You can become a vessel of light. You already are, but you could be more so.

Always remember the light, to carry the light, to call for us in the light. You are learning that it is not a battle. The dark ones like to make it a battle, but it is not. It is a melting, a transformation. A supernova of light.

Ashiata Shiemash speaks:

In his book, Gurdjieff said that I was sent from above. I am still being sent from above. There is continuously something being sent from above, being sent to everyone, but only a few are able to receive. That something which comes from above, once received by people, needs to be allowed to flow and connect these people to each other and to the Earth itself. You may feel this as a feeling, an emotion; you may see it like a vision; you may sense it as a kind of clarity. For any of this to happen, your whole being has to be engaged, or at least you must have the intention that your whole being be engaged, not just the thinking. The more of this divine energy which you can allow to flow, the more clarity you will have, the more lightness of being. You may find it possible to help direct the flow of this energy into parts of your body where it is needed, where it is not flowing, where there is pain and suffering. It requires a gentleness of intent, not forcing.

When he speaks of something coming from above, the experience which comes through is like an energy descending through the crown. It looks like light, sparkling, white light, and feels cool, like standing under a waterfall. Here is how he describes this experience and a little about what it means to us:

We wish to speak to you about the changes that are taking place in humanity. One very important aspect of this is the change in perception that is becoming possible for people in general. What has been called consensual reality is shifting because of changes in the planetary vibration, which are being induced by a change in the influences coming from the Center.
Consensual reality has to shift so that the planet can grow and so that humanity can see more clearly its role in the grand scheme of things.
It must now become more possible, easier, for people to see dimensions that are not evident in the type of seeing called consensual reality. Where formerly a person had to enter an “altered state of consciousness” in order to see angels, demons, spirits of people who have died, and other types of discarnate beings, that seeing can begin to be “normal.” You can begin to see the beings who are all around you all the time, watching you. You can have a clearer relationship with them. You can begin to understand how things really work, instead of being in the dark. It is your birthright; it is innate in human beings to have this capacity. This capacity for seeing has been rigorously schooled out of children, and the ability to see spiritual beings has been persecuted for centuries in order to preserve the blindness and slavery of most of humanity to those who want this power. People who can see cannot be enslaved.

What is needed is an increase in the quantity and quality of energy that flows in the organism of each person. We have spoken of this many times. [in other channeling sessions] You must learn not to be content to carry only the weak energy you are accustomed to. You must learn to carry a more vibrant energy. It is at first uncomfortable. It does not feel normal to you after so many years of being satisfied with low frequency energy, with blindness. So the change has to be gradual, organic as you might say, so that your organism can remain in balance. Too much too soon can throw off your balance, make you sick, misalign the physical presence and cause pain, make you crazy.

It is very tempting to try to escape from the physical world as your energy rises and the visions become more clear. This is not what we are trying to accomplish. We want to accomplish a transformation of the physical world, not an escape. To do this we ask that you remain as grounded as you can while we fill your presence with divine energies.
Begin by setting up your body to be comfortable but alert, so that you do not lose consciousness. Then bring your attention into the body, taking an inventory of the sensations of the body. You can be systematic about this at first, beginning at the head and gradually letting your attention flow downward to the feet, taking in the impression of everything along the way. Do not be distracted by thoughts; the mind has been trained to get lost in the contents of mental awareness. You must train yourself not to go with this attraction, but to be very patient, gentle and persistent in sensing the sensations of the body. Then, after sufficient practice, you can enter a full body state of awareness, sensing all at once. Try to include the space around the body, a few inches away from the skin, as well. This quiet awareness sets up an attractive polarity, a field of attraction, which draws down the high energy from the divine, from the starry world.
Try not to interfere then, when we begin to infuse our presence within your energy field. You will feel a different quality of energy, much finer than your own, or what you are used to. It will flow down through the opening of your crown chakra, through the top of your head. Watch as it descends through the body, through your field. Feel how this quality enters and mingles with your own energy and changes it.
This is the source of healing, the philosopher's stone if you will, the fountain of youth. Encourage it if you must, to flow to the places that hurt, that are numb or tight. Better still, let it flow without interference at all. Just bring your awareness to it and to the parts you wish to help, and do nothing more. That is the hard part, not interfering once the process has started. And not shutting it off too soon, not letting your mind wander into dreams and fantasies. This is not the time to write your book! We need your attention to be present to this process, to interact in a certain way so that our high energy can have its action upon the physical presence.
You have begun to see that when we do this, you become aware of lines of force connecting you to the others around you, and that these lines of light travel outward, as it appears, from your presence, in many directions, perhaps all directions, to connect you to all life, to all humanity, to all sentient beings. This connection is always there, but you do not see it until your presence is energized in this way. Can you stand to be this aware? Do you not see how much better it is to be aware of the lines of force connecting you to all of reality than to sit in the dark imagining you are separate?
There is nothing to fear in this. As you become more and more a beacon of light, any dark beings who are attracted to this light will be drawn in only as close as you allow, and their presences will be informed by the light, transformed, changed, enlightened.
Then, with sufficient practice you can engaged in this activity with others who are of like mind. This greatly multiplies the effect, fostering a sympathetic vibration, a harmonious amplification of the energy of transformation.
There, in a nutshell, is our message.
Then, as you practice, you can begin to experience the sloughing off of your worries, your little concerns, which come from living in the dark. You can begin to see how the connectedness of everything works, how events are really caused.
You can begin to trust that the experiences and the people we bring to you are brought to you with a specific purpose, sometimes for you to help them and sometimes for them to help you..
All this happens only with your consent, of course. The divine, starry light cannot enter you without your participation. If it does, the result is madness, “cracking of the old gourd,” the “pouring of new wine into old wineskins.”
Allow yourself to be stretched, to trust that you can see what you do not yet see, and that the seeing will be a good thing.
We will not hurt you; we love you. What we bring is love itself, the substance of love.
Trust us.

Meet the Source; Ashiata Shiemash

In the whole of G.I. Gurdjieff's grand opus, his bizarre, idiosyncratic history of mankind, the most important figure is that of Ashiata Shiemash. It was he and he alone who was able to bring about enough change in humanity that, for a short time at least, people lived in a way much more in accordance with the way people could live if they were conscious, if they had a conscience, if the knew and felt their deep connection to each other. The consequences of the changes he brought about were far-reaching: from the cessation of wars and slavery, to the lengthening of the life span of humans.

(Quotation from All and Everything, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, by G.I. Gurdjieff, pp. 317-318., Viking Arkana, New York and London, 1992.

The Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash Sent from Above to the Earth
"It was just seven centuries before the Babylonian events I have spoken of that there was actualized in the planetary body of a three-brained being there the 'definitized conception' of a Sacred Individual named Ashiata Shiemash, whose turn it was to become a Messenger from Above, and who is now one of the Highest and Most Saintly Common-Cosmic Sacred Individuals.
"The conception of Ashiata Shiemash took its form in the planetary body of a boy of poor family descended from what is called the 'Sumerian race,' in a small village called 'Pispascana,' situated not far from Babylon.
"He grew up and became a responsible being partly in this village and partly in Babylon itself which, although not yet magnificent at that time, was already a famous city.
"The Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash was the only Messenger sent from Above to your planet who by his holy labors succeeded in creating conditions in which for a certain time the existence of its unfortunate beings somewhat resembled the existence of three-brained beings inhabiting other planets of our Great Universe and having the same possibilities. And this saint was also the first who, for the accomplishment of the mission assigned to him, refused to employ the customary methods established during centuries by all the other Messengers from Above for the three-brained beings of that planet.
"The Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash taught nothing whatever to the ordinary three-brained beings of the Earth, nor did he preach anything to them, as was done before and after him by all the other Messengers sent from Above with the same aim.
"And in consequence of this, none of his teachings, in any form whatsoever, passed from his contemporaries even to the third generation there, let alone to contemporary beings."


This mysterious central figure in the grand opus of Gurdjieff, said to have lived seven centuries before the great civilization of Babylon may have been entirely a literary creation, a mythical figure created to illustrate a point, to inspire and to exhort. Or did he actually live in a human body at some point? Once, in a story commonly circulated among the members of the various Gurdjieff Foundations, the official holders of the teachings of Gurdjieff, one of his pupils asked Gurdjieff: “When exactly did Ashiata Shiemash live?” Gurdjieff is said to have answered: “Maybe not yet.”

So it was particularly astonishing to me that, when I began to study shamanic methods for altering consciousness, during the first days of my training, I came into a state of consciousness where I met this august personage, and learned that he was to be my teacher.

This encounter occurred during the basic workshop taught by faculty from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. The exercise involved a “journey” to the Upper World to meet ones inner Teacher. In this schema, the Middle World is where we live, the Lower World is a place which looks natural, full of fields, trees, lakes, waterfalls, and where the Power Animals live, and the Upper World, above the sky, is where the high spirit teachers, angels, kachinas live. In this journey, while the teacher drums a steady beat in order to assist the alteration of the student's brain wave patterns and induce an altered state, the student is instructed to visualize himself rising up into the heavens on the back of bird, or on a column of smoke from a fireplace, or by climbing a huge tree, until he passes through a barrier or membrane of some sort, perhaps a layer of clouds, thus entering the Upper World. We had done this as a trial run, to get familiar with the place. My Upper World looked like a city made of crystal, resting on a layer of clouds. Pegasus had dropped me off at a stairway the proceeded upward through the layer of clouds and left me gazing at the dazzling splendor of this amazing place. During the journey to find ones teacher, we were to proceed back to this place above the clouds, and announce our presences, asking to meet our teachers.

When I got there the second time, I kept seeing a setting (or rising?) sun near the horizon, up one of the avenues of the crystal city. It was hard to look at it because of the brightness of the light. Then it turned into a partial eclipse and I had the sense that it was trying to make it easier for me! I kept asking to meet my teacher and I kept being shown the sun. Finally I got it, the sun was to be my teacher. But, ever the good student, I complained to the universe that I was supposed to find someone in the form a human to be my teacher. Then I saw a head floating in front of me, a square jawed, Semitic looking man with a black beard in ringlets. He resembled a bas relief sculpture I had seen in an art museum in my youth, from the Assyrian civilization. I asked him if he was to be my teacher, and he replied with a dignified nod. I was in awe of his presence, feeling the power and grandeur he was emanating. Then I asked if I might be given the privilege of knowing his name. He replied very clearly: “Ashiata Shiemash.”

This was astonishing to me for many reasons. I had been told by one of the senior people in the Gurdjieff Foundation that the name Ashiata Shiemash meant in ancient Sumerian: “Rays of the sun.” At the time I did not know it, but I was about to leave the Gurdjieff Work, the groups of people who were trying to put into practice the teachings of that obscure Russian mystic, who had written about Ashiata Shiemash. My departure occurred about a month later, when the politics of humans in an organization made it impossible for my wife and I to continue to participate with the groups, after thirty-five or so years of devoted membership. During the difficult, highly emotional meeting in which it became clear that we had to leave the organization, the president asked me what was going to happen to my inner work if I left the group, our connection to the Source. I did not tell her then, but I felt a great inner peace and confidence that the Source was not to be found in the structure of the Gurdjieff Work, because the Source was accessible within my own psyche in the form of this inner connection to Ashiata Shiemash himself.

What follows is a collection of writings which came through my fingers while I was in trance, connecting to the wisdom of that personage. I believe that the messages came from Ashiata Shiemash. I cannot be certain of this, and I do not know how one could ever be certain of such an assertion. I do not ask the reader to believe that this is the true source of these writings. Gurdjieff himself was not one to ask for blind faith, but expected his pupils to verify everything they were taught. But I believe the content of these writings has a great value regardless of the source, whether it comes somehow from my own prior learning in the Gurdjieff Work, from some deep place in the collective unconscious of humanity which became available to me through shamanic states of consciousness, or if it indeed comes from some high being from ancient times named Ashiata Shiemash.

Introduction

The entries in this blog come from channeled material. This means that the writing that I do is done in an altered state of consciousness, and represents a relatively pure (as pure as I can make it) transmission of ideas from some source that feels like it is beyond my personal mind. In this case the source of the material identifies himself as Ashiata Shiemash. More on who he is later . . .