February 2002 Message from Ken: The Last Hummingbird

• New Year's Eve Experiment

• Ideas and Resistance

• The White Cranes

• The Last Hummingbird

• Friends and Students

• Upcoming Events

NEW YEAR'S EVE EXPERIMENT

It is the second week in January, and I have completed my spiritual experiment of New Year's Eve that I told you about in my January newsletter. This experiment was very important to me. I needed to experience the energies of all the collective consciousnesses in relation to me and feel if I was truly in alignment with everything.

For seven years I have been calling into myself all collective consciousnesses and being one with all life. I have shared this in my workshops and describe this work in Chapters 14, and 19­23 of my book, The Heart of Soul Healing.

The January newsletter was the first time I shared publicly that I was going to call in all energetics on a specific date, at specific times. As we are aware of, once you put something out like this, there can be a lot of resistance based on people's ideas and beliefs.

I was surprised when one of my former students and a teacher called me after January 1st and said that she did not understand the purpose of this experiment. I felt very disappointed because I was obviously not the teacher that I thought I was, or she would have understood — the purpose of the experiment and my teachings would have been clear to her. I realized that if she was confused, other people must also have not understood.

As I stated in the January newsletter, the purpose of this experiment was to free any person, any souls, or any pieces of collective consciousness that might be trapped in thoughts, feelings, or emotions of the past.

I felt some resistance to my efforts to free these energies and got a cold the day before the January newsletter went out. My concern was that my cold symbolized resistance within myself. I spent a lot of time being quiet within myself and reflecting on these feelings.

I became confused about two months ago, the same night our little goat was killed. I was given very specific instructions that evening from my Higher Self on how I was spiritually needed in the future. This process lasted about three hours. I was asked to become a spiritual warrior. My inner vision looked like a samurai. Later I would understand that it was more like a Ninja vibration. Nine years ago I received seven sacred Ninja symbols. I understand that only a few have seen these symbols, and I believe they integrated with me.

My inner image of the warrior was dressed in gold, which reflected the kind of energetics around the vision. The gold color was also a reflection of my hair turning golden. I shared this story with you a while back.

In my vision, my Higher Self shared with me that I had to be an honorable and compassionate warrior. I reflected on my vision for almost two and a half months and was waiting for the next inner message. I was quiet and curious about how I was going to be of service. My next message led to my work on New Year's Eve.

I think that each one of us is being asked to do things that we don't understand, which can cause a certain level of discomfort. This discomfort caused my resistance. I did not understand what being an honorable and compassionate warrior meant in relationship to my current role as a teacher, writer, and facilitator of healing.

I also felt external resistance to the New Year's Eve work from other spiritual leaders, teachers, cultural groups, and religions who were holding onto their old ideas and didn't want their realities within the collective consciousnesses to shift, which is similar to what I was feeling internally with my new vision. The resistance felt sticky and thick like molasses or taffy.

Many people are trapped in ideas from cultures and religions of the past, as well as the present. I felt that part of the resistance was that some of us do not believe it is possible to free these energies.

As I stated above, the purpose of this experiment was to free any person, any soul, and any piece of collective consciousness that might be trapped in thoughts, feelings, or emotions of the past. I, and all the people who joined me, called in all the energies of the planet for twenty-four hours, and it didn't hurt us. We don't yet know the outcome of this experiment, because we don't know how the shift is playing out.

IDEAS AND RESISTANCE

To me, the resistance I felt with my experiment reminded me of a story I heard about Columbus coming ashore in the New World. The people Columbus met on the shore asked him how he got there. They saw the small boats and knew he could not have crossed the sea in them. Columbus pointed to the vessels anchored off shore and said that he came in those ships. But the native people could not see the ships. They had no references to them in their minds.

Changing ideas and beliefs can be very challenging and create resistance and fear, especially when we are asked to trust something we can't envision or understand. I can only say that the ships are real.

THE WHITE CRANES

Often the creatures around us become our teachers. If we are not observant we can miss the gifts they offer. What they have to offer is clearly illustrated by the story of the woman who developed a very powerful Chinese fighting form. This lesson is well told in the following story from The Bible of Karate Bubishi, translated with commentary by Patrick McCarthy, Tuttle Publishing, 1995, ISBN: 0-8048-2015-5, pp. 62-64.

"ORIGINS OF WHITE CRANE GONGFU (KUNG-FU)

"In spite of his fighting skills in Monk Fist Boxing, Fang Zhonggong was no match for the scoundrels from a neighboring village who deceived and then viciously beat him while vying for control of his village. The injuries Fang sustained during the altercation were so severe that he was unable to fully recuperate and fell gravely ill. Attended to by his loving daughter and personal disciple, Fang Qiniang, his condition gradually deteriorated. No longer even able to eat, he finally died.

"Deeply troubled by the loathsome circumstances of her beloved father's death, Fang Qiniang vowed to take revenge. Although just a country girl from the rural village of Yongchun, Fang Qiniang was nevertheless a promising and spirited young woman. She longed to vindicate her family name, but she had not yet mastered the fighting skills her father was teaching her. She deeply pondered upon how she might find the power and strength to overcome such adversaries.

"One day, not long after the tragedy, Fang was sobbing over the memory of her loss when suddenly she heard some strange noises coming from the bamboo grove just outside her home. Looking out the window to see what was making such a racket, she saw two beautiful cranes fighting. She noticed how the magnificent creatures strategically maneuvered themselves away from each other's fierce attacks with remarkable precision. In the midst of piercing screams, the vigorous jumping, and deceptive wing flapping, the barrage of vicious clawing and lethal pecking was well concealed.

"Deciding to frighten off the creatures, Fang went outside and grabbed the long bamboo pole she used for hanging clothes to dry. As she approached the cranes, Fang swung the pole but was unable to get close. Each time she attempted to swing or poke with the pole, they sensed her proximity, and, before the pole could reach its intended target, the birds instinctively evaded her every effort and finally just flew off.

"Reflecting deeply upon this incident, Fang concluded that it was a revelation and soon set about evaluating the white cranes' instinctive combative methods. If someone could fight the way the white cranes had, that person would be unbeatable. After considerable time and study, Fang finally came to understand the central principles of hard and soft and yielding to power. Fusing the central elements of Monk Fist 'gongfu' with her own interpretation of the birds' innate defensive movements, she created a new style.

"After three years of relentless training, Fang develop into an unusually skillful fighter. Capable of remarkable feats of strength and power, Fang Qiniang was no longer the weak and frail girl she once was. Her skill and determination finally gained her a notable reputation. Undefeated in those three years, Fang's innovative style ultimately became one of the most popular civil self-defense traditions in and around Fujian Province, and became know as Yongchun White Crane Boxing (Yongchun He Quan).

"In an effort to govern the behavior of those who studied her tradition, Fang cautioned her followers to only use their skills in self-defense. She maintained that great bodily harm, including death, could easily result from excessive force. Imparting her late father's wisdom, Fang maintained that without first finding inner peace and harmony, one could never truly master the fighting traditions, and hence never master their own lives. Master Fang asserted that it is only through discovering and then mastering the world within that the power of positive human force can be developed in harmony with nature and used to defeat any adversary.

"Fang said that the principles upon which her tradition was established (i.e., correct breathing, moral precepts, inner-discovery, etc.) had been handed down from ancient times and were not native to the district of Fuzhou.

"FANG'S TEST

"Fang's reputation attracted many challengers wanting to test their skill against that of a woman. However, none were successful. Zeng Cishu was one of the men who dared to test Fang's ability.

"Described as invincible, Zeng was a hard style boxing expert with fingers like iron and a body as hard as a rock. Demanding to do battle with the girl, Fang promptly agreed and Zeng prepared to meet his opponent. Without even being hit once, Fang swiftly dispatched the challenger. So taken by her remarkable skill and gracious character, the fallen warrior immediately petitioned her to accept him as her student. As her personal disciple, Zeng Cishu went on to become Fang's most prized student and eventually become the second-generation master of White Crane 'gongfu.'

"In describing his bout with Master Fang, Zeng announced that he had mistakenly relied too much upon physical strength. Fang only had to use her evasive style and inner force to subjugate him. Zeng Cishu said she was truly a master and worthy of her reputation. Because Zeng was regarded as such a powerhouse, their bout served to greatly enhance Master Fang's reputation and brought much more recognition to her unique boxing method.

"From that time on, Master Fang maintained that anyone learning the fighting traditions must always make sure not to place too much emphasis upon just physical training. True power and wisdom come from within and are reflected without. Introspection and philosophical assimilation must balance strict, hard physical conditioning. This is the way to transcend ego-related distractions and get beyond the immediate results of physical training. People who truly understand the fighting traditions are never arrogant or unscrupulous, and never use their skill unjustly."

THE LAST HUMMINGBIRD

Not unlike Master Fang, I have been learning from the hummingbirds. As you may know we fed hundreds of hummingbirds this last summer. All of the hummingbirds have migrated, except one. He is bright green, with a scarlet-neon neck. We left two small feeders up for the winter. This bird sits in the tree across from my desk, watching his yard and feeders. He puffs up his feathers and looks like a miniature Pillsbury Doughboy. I wonder why he didn't leave with the others? What keeps this bird here? It's starting to freeze. We've had our first snow. Maybe it is because he has all the space and food a bird could ever want. I spend time connecting with the bird each day, and it came to me that if the bird stays long enough, he would become the first bird to arrive.

Maybe the hummingbird is like many of us. We are following our guidance and doing what we think is right, just waiting for the others to show-up and hoping we won't freeze. It's important to realize what life is about — it is not the end of the path, it's the adventure of the path.

The last hummingbird is strong, willful, stubborn and controlling. Remind you of anyone you know? I always tell my workshop participants that the Creator is always attracted to people who are the most stubborn, willful, and controlling. Do you know why?

When they make up their minds nothing can stop them. God must be watching our hummingbird, or maybe God is the hummingbird watching me. I wonder if the hummingbird is the honorable and compassionate warrior?

FRIENDS AND STUDENTS

In the past seven years I have put a lot of energy into friendships. But now I have fewer friends than before. Who wants to be totally open, vulnerable, and truthful? Not very many people.

When I am openly sharing in my role as a teacher, I am vulnerable to others. When students don't understand, or they have forgotten, sometimes they become critical. I think the saddest thing is when the teacher remembers and the students have forgotten what they once knew or vice versa.

When I completely give my teachings and myself to my students they become more than me. That is every teacher's hope. This space can become uncomfortable to the student if they are not ready to take their full power. In my teachings and in the Third Eye of Horus Mystery School, I share all my information freely without requiring the student to be in allegiance with the school or myself. This freedom is different than mystery schools of the past, which required strict loyalty and secrecy.

As students become teachers, they have to be responsible to their inner and outer selves or there will be problems. Sometimes students will attack the teacher because they are afraid to use the power to which they have been connected.

I am increasingly grateful for my home — with the trees, flowers, birds, and animal companions. We are blessed here on Earth to have so many life forms that are unconditional with which we can develop close relationships.

I teach that each of us must go within, over and over, to secure our powers so that we can use them wisely.

I return to Master Fang's understanding, "Without finding inner peace and harmony one could never truly master the fighting [healing] traditions, and hence never master their own lives. Master Fang asserted that it is only through discovering and then mastering the world within that the power of positive human force can be developed in harmony with nature . . . ."

As Master Fang noted, these are the principles that have been handed down from ancient times. I am reflecting on these words and how they may guide me in my service as an honorable and compassionate warrior.

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