You may not realize this, but what I have been teaching you all in Open Inward stems from 33 years of study and mentoring with Dave King, who has, on top of my experience, another 50 years of study as he nears 80 years of age.
We have travelled to Japan on a few occasions to teach Usui-do, a system based on Tendai Buddhism and Taoist shamanism that was virtually lost to the East and reinvented/corrupted with many New Age woo-woo ideas in the West.
The concepts I share are deep and complex, so you can’t ‘learn’ them; you must experience yourself arriving at a new awareness. This growth process takes time and practice. I share this because I want more than anything for you to get past your inner barriers and open those internal doors to profound inner connection.
Going deeper –
What is the Sacred Observing Self (S.O.S)?
You learned about the Sacred Witness in OITEW. Now, I’d like to introduce you to the deeper aspect of the inner sacred witness – the Sacred Observing Self.
The Sacred Observing Self – the S.O.S. is that transcendent, omnipotent (powerful and capable of being influential), unchanging, wise, all-seeing, all-knowing aspect of your self-awareness that is vigilant to a non-attached perception of what is unfolding without and within you.
The Sacred Observing Self (S.O.S.):
S.O.S. exists outside the self and therefore does not judge; she only observes and accepts ‘what is.’ Her essential role is sacred.
S.O.S. experiences vicariously all your feelings, thoughts, and actions, bearing sacred witness to the expansive unfolding of your existence.
S.O.S can mindfully observe the self unconditionally detachedly as if she is monitoring a stranger.
S.O.S. will most often utilize metaphors to prevent agitating her conscious self. Metaphors are a trap door through which our lower consciousness can avoid revisiting a painful state or circumstances, allowing for transformative facilitation through a detached self-observing experience.
S.O.S. is committed to liberating your self-perception, where it has become distorted and corrupted.
Objective Self-Awareness:
What is Socially Acceptable Behaviour?
Below the knowledge of one’s self-awareness of the Sacred Observing Self – the S.O.S. we find a network of generalized socially derived perspectives based on acceptable socially imposed standards (correct behaviour, attitudes, correctness traits) according to one’s level of maturity.
Any behaviour below the generalized social standards creates a negative conflict for the individual and their peers. When one’s behaviour, actions or ideas makes a dispute based on a socially sanctioned judgment that a person must be ‘fixed’ to fit in.
There is another perspective that is not entirely popular. Individuals who create conflict (despite societal judgment) respond to the experience with a self-evaluation mindset through self-connecting practices (such as Open Inward) and self-correcting.
Beyond doing and being what is acceptable in society, to the degree that the individual is capable, our self-awareness (low to high) also includes the developmental and emotional ability to recognize their contribution to events that lead to their success or failures and the ensuing self-discrepancy and decisions to change themselves to succeed at a later opportunity.
Highly evolved individuals naturally attribute their failures to themselves and resolve to transform.
We also possess a level of self-awareness above called the Sacred Observing Self – the S.O.S., which relates to what psychology refers to as Objective Self Awareness, or the Witnessing Self and, in particular, Dispositional Self Focus Awareness, referring to the quality of one’s ability to think about and regulate the self along the lines of self-evaluation and self-evolution.
What is the Ego’s role?:
The lower or egoic aspect of our consciousness is a set of patterns. When the conditions are right, we are triggered, and a pattern begins to play out in our awareness. It is pretty convincingly ‘real’ and relevant to current events. However, the pattern clouds our perception of reality.
The Ego has no intelligence and is, therefore, not objective.
New information is not accounted for, and thus we get lost in the minutiae of the tiniest details (often reimagined, exaggerated and or diminished), from attachment to stories that originate in experiences in the past, old unexplored and unintegrated fears, and self-judgment, reacting (versus responding from the S.O.S. objectively) to our thoughts and feelings, actions and behaviours.
All in all, the Ego is responsible for maintaining a set of preferences designed to guard the recipient against pain and can create a hot mess!
In reality, preferences are created as a result of an experience, + or -.
When they are created from a negative experience like trauma, those preferences are blockages to reality. This layer of our consciousness is known as Samskara.
Remember, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
The Ego is part of the human experience and is a tool of evolution when we bring our Objective observing self to the party!
Sitting in self-judgment is what it means to be human.
No other species self-reflects on themselves or their place in reality in this manner.
If you find yourself in this denser aspect of the egoic Objective-Self Awareness, immediately take a few moments to do Zen Breath Work and self-correct into the detached, all-seeing, all-knowing, Sacred Observing Self.
Why should we connect to our S.O.S.?
Very simply, to cultivate our higher awareness beyond the ‘self’ and become more integrated, balanced and harmonious.
To progress along the path of becoming luminous beings of joy.
There is a transformative potential between our conscious self-awareness and our sacred observing self.
We become free when we surrender the idea that we are separate beings.
Questions to enlist the Sacred Observing Self:
PEMS (Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual) Check-in:
What is the state of balance of the physical being?
What is the state of balance of your emotional being?
What is the state of balance of your mental being?
What is the state of balance of your spiritual being?
PEMS Connection Example Inquiries
What have you discovered about your physical being?
What have you discovered about your emotional being?
What have you discovered about your intellectual being?
What have you discovered about your spiritual being
What have you done to nurture balance and harmony in your physical being?
What have you done to nurture balance and harmony in your emotional being?
What have you done to nurture balance and harmony in your intellectual being?
What have you done to nurture balance in harmony with your spiritual being?
What message does your physical being have for your mental being?
What message does your emotional being have for your spiritual being?
What message does your mental being have for your physical being?
What message does your spiritual being have for your emotional being?
New Open Inward Application:
The Taoist Shamanic Concept of Surrogacy
What is Surrogacy from a Taoist Shamanic perspective?
Surrogacy is an unconditional agreement to take the place of another for some time and space.
A Surrogacy is an unconditional agreement between the Sacred Witness and the Recipient from a Taoist Shamanic perspective.
What is a Surrogate?
A surrogate is a substitute for another in a specific role.
The Recipient becomes the surrogate or sacred mirror of the Sacred Witness as they explore their Sacred Observing Self through the Advanced Open Inward Self Connection Meditation Practice.
The Sacred Witness invites the Recipient to be the host of their Sacred Observing Self unconditionally.
The Sacred Witness intentionally and unconditionally projects their Sacred Observing Self onto the Recipient as they move through the Advanced Open Inward Self Connection Meditation Practice steps.
The Sacred Witness’s intention changes from ‘reading’ the Recipient to ‘reading’ their own Sacred Observing Self as projected/mirrored/reflected on the Recipient.
The Sacred Witness should have a pen and paper or a mind map program open to document and ground any experiences and findings while in the role of the Sacred Observing Self (S.O.S.).
The Recipient Role intention changes from being ‘read by the Sacred Witness’ to being an unconditional mirror, a surrogate for the Sacred Witness to experience whatever their Sacred Observing Self shares with them.
The Recipient/Surrogate needs only focus on being an unconditional surrogate, a sacred mirror for the Sacred Witness, open, relaxed and neutral, and following the instructions from the Sacred Witness.
Dyad Experience:
Break Out Zoom Rooms
The Sacred Witness’s Role = Sacred Observing Self:
Remember your Gassho bow as an opening to the quantum field at the beginning and closing at the end.
While doing Zen Breathwork for 2 minutes, intend to observe yourself through the lens of your Sacred Observing Self (S.O.S.)
Softly gaze continuously at your Dyad Partner (in the Recipient Role) and allow your experience to unfold.
When your time is up, ground and document your experience
Discuss with each other your experiences
Switch roles
The Recipient’s Role as a Surrogate Sacred Mirror:
Set a timer for 2 minutes and signal your Dyad partner to begin their Zen Breath Meditation.
When the 2 minutes are up, raise your hand to indicate the meditation is over.
During the meditation, do Zen Breathwork, and remain neutral, continuously softly gazing at your Dyad Partner, intending to be an unconditional sacred mirror.
There is no ‘doing’ or observing in this role.
Your only job is to be a place-marker in the unified field, no one, nothing and nowhere.
When your time is up, document and ground your experience
Discuss with each other your experiences
Switch roles
Updated connection:
We are evolving as the Ascension process intensifies.
Grounding into the core of the earth has shifted to finding yourself in the center of the Quantum Field:
A new script that replaces ‘grounding into the heart of the planet.
Now imagine the infinite space of the quantum field behind you
Now imagine the endless space the quantum field in front of you
Now imagine the infinite space the quantum field above you
Now imagine the infinite space the quantum field below you
Now acknowledge silently, “I am Now Here, in the centre of the Quantum Field.”
Taoist Shamanic Surrogate Connection Experience:
Where and when does the connection start?
The humble Gassho Bow!
The Gassho bow is a kata movement; each time you experience it, you connect to every previous ‘Gassho bow’ in the Quantum Field.
When conducted with sincerity, with no intentions or conditions, the possibility for connection to the quantum field opens.
The Gassho bow is offered to the Surrogate/Sacred observer, you and your quantum (surrogate of you.
Entering the dojo is at a body-mind level.
Opening Gassho bow –
Opening to the presence of the quantum of yourself that is not part of this universe
No intention is required(conditional),
Doing the Gassho bow puts us somewhere; we don’t know what, when, or where, except it is in the quantum field.
Closing Gassho bow
Then comes the awareness that We have not been here.
You likely will not notice your transition there and back.
It happens in the limbic brain, not the neocortex, so there is no language, just experience.
Between now and surrogate sessions – some find themselves in a place of experiencing the Gassho bow. It is a quantum version doing the Gassho bow, not them in the here and now but their connection to that quantum that was a surrogate.
It is possible to unintentionally re-enter that space, with no dimensions or time, at a later real-world time (appropriate – happens, could be a trigger but not aware).
I.E., The old Traditional Japanese Reiki absent healing technique often performed on a surrogate such as a pillow or a stuffed teddy bear.
I experienced the sensation of two people working on me, one was me, and the other was my surrogate, a quantum of me in the field.
I experienced a tumbling sensation which turned out to be the student tumbling the teddy bear in the air, unaware that a quantum of me hosted it. These are quantum experiences.
Unconditional, in the quantum world, different time and location, anywhere, anytime, relaxed, quiet place when this happens but is often experienced at another time and space—becoming aware of it at a different time and space, unconditional.
You may not notice anything until after the second Gassho bow, realizing something has happened.
Something did happen at the quantum level.
Everything is a journey.
Small steps that create something successively.
The Gassho bow is a kata movement and doesn’t need to be complex.
You are flowing with movements in 3 dimensions or more.
You can’t learn to do this.
You become it.
It becomes you.
A Gassho is a connection between why we are moving and where we are trying to go.
Look at the world as a series of journeys, not a destination.
The more detached from ourselves, the more we have the possibility of entering the quantum world.
It has to be built upon simple movement and expanded from there.
See the Gassho movements like that of a silkworm building its cocoon.
Observe the silkworm movements and silken thread.
Silkworm time-lapse movie.
Quantum Connection Happens:
Imagine a silken chord emanating from an outer frontier point on the wrists.
Allow your hands to have no tension or resistance; the silken chord is there and starts to move;
It is not you guiding the chord but a quantum of you.
A quantum of you is not the here/now you.
You can’t get there by copying an action.
Your journey, the same journey, has to resemble the flow of the kata.
The way you do it is unique to you and, therefore, different for everyone, yet following the same path.