Saturn Teachings: Spiritual and Environmental Lessons of the Asian Tsunami
January 6, 2005

by Curtis Lang		print version
		print version (graphics)

An unprecedented outpouring of relief efforts is being directed at the afflicted region, although in many areas bureaucratic mismanagement and political conflicts are delaying the delivery of much-needed supplies and medical assistance.

There are spiritual, social, political and environmental lessons to be learned from this world-altering disaster. We must first absorb the spiritual lessons of the Tsunami Event in order to properly understand the socio-political and environmental lessons to be learned.

It is fitting that the spiritual keynote this Capricorn-ruled month is the struggle to transcend the ego in world service.

Capricorn is symbolized by the goat, the hardy, sure-footed rock-climbing ascetic who can make a meal of the rough grasses, stunted herbs and shrubs on any mountainside, the solitary, trail-blazing goat, who thrives on the thinning air found at the higher altitudes.

Capricorn is thus the sign of the initiate who climbs the psycho-spiritual mountaintop, enduring the harsh conditions, the lack of food, and the isolation in a quest to experience the Unity of creation.

In a karmic sense, the initiate has no choice but to climb.Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the stern taskmaster, who demands that we scale the seemingly unscaleable psycho-spiritual heights looming before us.

From the base of the mountain, from the standpoint of our everyday egoistic consciousness, the heights, or the Higher Self, appear so distant as to be unattainable, yet the initiate is spurred on by an inner vision of the mountaintop.

The mountaintop is home to the pure rain-fed springs and lakes which nourish the farms and countryside below, and offers astounding vistas, overlooking hundreds of miles in every direction.

The springs and lakes represent love and compassion and the awe-inspiring views symbolize inner wisdom that confers great visions, transcending time and place.

The difficult ascent symbolizes the painful work required to transcend the egoistic personality and overcome the lower chakra issues related to personal survival: greed, sexual desire, jealousy, envy, will to power for personal benefit, and so forth.

The goat, or initiate, rises into the rarefied realms of the higher chakras through a combination of love, wisdom and willpower. Exercising the will, the initiate overcomes sensory desires, symbolized by the privations incurred as a result of the harsh climate, the thinning air and lack of vegetation encountered on the long climb up the mountain.

Exercising constant mental discipline during the difficult climb, carefully picking a way among pathless rock formations and through wild forests, the initiate sharpens the mental powers that must be strengthened before the gift of wisdom can be conferred.

Ultimately, the initiate must be guided by intuition, or be lost on the trackless climb to the summit. To receive intuitive guidance, the initiate must begin to open the heart and center the consciousness of self in the transpersonal realms – allowing the Higher Self to inform, to guide and to shape the journey.

At long last, the initiate attains the very peak itself. Having subdued the demands of the ego, and having strengthened heart, mind and will, the initiate is prepared to participate in the Unity consciousness of the mountaintop.

Photo by Jane Sherry

First, the heart opens. The opening of the heart chakra is symbolized by drinking from the springs and lakes on the mountaintop. The Source of life for all who dwell below, the mountaintop springs represent the pure waters of Love and compassion that flow from the open heart.

Then the Higher Self descends into the strengthened intellectual vehicle, conferring wisdom, symbolized by the vast mountain vistas, an eagle’s eye view of landscapes near and far.

The initiate cannot rest, however. Like the goat, the initiate seeks ever new challenges, restless and determined to evolve, to explore, to contribute ever more to this beautiful creation -- planet Earth.

The initiate is compelled anew by a second Saturnian impulse, the successor to the impulse that first propelled the little goat up the mountain.

The initial impulse to climb the mountain required a series of great sacrifices that culminated in the transcendence of the ego, the attainment of Unity consciousness, and communion with the Higher Self.

This new Saturnian impulse requires the initiate to willingly make a further, perhaps greater, sacrifice. The initiate sacrifices the bliss of individual salvation, seeing that bliss as a refined reflection of the illusion of the egoistic self.

The initiate willingly descends from the heights of Cosmic Bliss, Truth and Love to engage in selfless service among the people living below, placing the collective needs of humanity above personal considerations. The initiate brings the gifts of love, wisdom and will to the community from the mountaintop.

The initiate’s love flows like a mountain spring, the initiate’s wisdom provides the Big Cosmic Picture for those flatlanders who have yet to scale the inner heights, and the initiate’s willpower transmits an energy that helps the entire community to evolve, to co-operate in performing great works that none could undertake alone.

The new moon appears in Capricorn on Monday, January 10^th. Maya del Mar points out that the Sabian symbol for 21° Capricorn reiterates the need for mutual aid and collaboration within the framework of competitive human evolution: "A RELAY RACE. The value of competition in developing group consciousness. The whole of civilization is a vast kind of relay race in which groups of people and generations carry the torch of what we call ‘progress.’ Major achievements result from the sum total of human strivings. One must seek to relate and adjust one’s strength to the challenge presented by competitors in DYNAMIC INTERCHANGE."

This Capricorn cycle, beginning with the Tsunami the day after Christmas, we are all challenged to rise to the occasion, to attempt to climb the mountaintop, to open our hearts, to transcend business as usual, to seek partnership and unity with our friends, allies and even our competitors, and to work together as a global family to mitigate the suffering of those struck by this awesome tragedy.

Personally, I have been overwhelmed with the videos, pictures and inner visions of the millions of individuals who have lost lives, loved ones, homes, livelihood and even hope in this tragedy.

During meditation and Distance Reiki sessions when I focused on transmitting healing energy to the stricken ones, my Guides presented me with many individuals and we worked on them one by one, providing short bursts of energy, perhaps two or three minutes each.

I saw lovers separated by the wave who had died and could not understand, their souls kneeling by their dead bodies, filled with the pain of separation. I saw infants laid out in a row in tents, separated from their parents, soiling themselves with fear. I saw young boys and girls alone in the jungle, without food or water or shelter, full of anxiety, filled with loss, aware of the threats from snakes, predators and deranged fellow humans. I saw a doctor slumped in a chair, who had been working nonstop for days, in a state of near-despair, unable to sleep or eat, his stomach a churning vat of stomach acid. I saw an aged medicine woman with a broken heart and a dizzy mind who had put virtually her entire stock of healing herbs, essences, and infusions, collected over many years, into a large bag, and who had distributed nearly all she owned to those in pain.

I saw so many more, with broken limbs, shattered internal organs, and hearts filled with despair. I felt their feelings, and a feeling arose that no matter what I might do, it would be insufficient. Tears flowed freely.

photo by Jane Sherry

I realized more than ever that I am not the doer. The energy passing through me is the Doer. Spirit is both Path and Empowerment. I realized that can I do nothing of my own power, individually, separate from the collective consciousness of all Beings working to implement the Divine Plan of Love and Light.

But then I was granted awareness of the presence and support of the mighty Beings of Light who are my Guides and Teachers in the transpersonal realms. As I felt wisdom, warmth, light and companionship surrounding me, I felt blessed to be part of this team, working together to transmit love and light, healing and the will-to-live to individual beings and groups of victims throughout the affected regions.

My heart opened further and I found new strength, through my tears, to do the work. The Reiki energy intensified, heating my hands, my limbs grew light, my mind cleared, and I rested as I worked, secure within the embrace of the collective Will represented by the multitude of Ascended Masters, Angelic Beings, Guides and Teachers and embodied Lightworkers active throughout Time and Space, who were all focused as one Light at that moment upon the darkness, pain and suffering of the many Tsunami victims, living and dead.

I realized that this extraordinary moment had revealed a central truth to me. Life on planet Earth for most of its inhabitants is primarily an experience of deprivation, fear, anxiety, suffering and pain.

One billion individuals live through each day hungry, unable to provide themselves and their families with sufficient food, although there is more than enough food on the planet for everyone.

Millions upon millions of individuals lack effective medical care, in the Third World and in the First World, and must cope with chronic and acute pain and suffering on a daily basis.

My Guides pointed out to me that there is an Ocean of Suffering surrounding me every day, and that it is only when the Ocean is roiled, when there is a Tsunami, that people open their eyes to the reality around them.

The first lesson of the Tsunami is that life entails suffering. We are born here to be of service, to Love and help one another. Yet, we as individuals are inconsequential. We as individuals have not the power to change the world to conform to our image or to our liking. Only through co-operation with the forces to be found in Higher Worlds, only by connecting to the Love and Light and Wisdom residing within, can we find our way and be of help to one another.