#universal wisdom

Few works of art conceal as much symbolic depth beneath a seemingly simple story as The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. On the surface, it’s a fairy tale filled with princes, queens, and magical creatures. But beneath that layer lies a rich tapestry of esoteric symbolism, much of it connected to initiation, human transformation, and the power of conscious choice.

Mozart was a known member of a Freemasonry lodge, and many scholars—both academic and esoteric—agree that the opera reflects Masonic teachings encoded in allegory. At its core, The Magic Flute is not just entertainment; it is a symbolic journey of initiation.

The protagonist, Tamino, represents the seeker—the individual at the beginning of the spiritual path. He is lost, confused, and driven by desire, but also guided by a deeper calling. His journey mirrors the path described in many initiation traditions: a movement from ignorance to wisdom, from illusion to truth.

One of the most striking elements is the presence of trials—especially those involving silence, fire, and water. These are not random obstacles. In esoteric traditions, including those inspired by ancient Egypt, such trials symbolize purification and transformation. The candidate must prove discipline, courage, and inner balance. Some interpretations connect these scenes to imagined initiation rites in places like Ancient Egyptian temples, where the soul was tested before gaining access to higher knowledge.

The duality between the Queen of the Night and Sarastro is also deeply symbolic. At first glance, the Queen appears as a figure of light and protection, while Sarastro seems severe and authoritarian. But as the story unfolds, this perception reverses. The Queen represents illusion, emotional manipulation, and the chaos of the unrefined self. Sarastro, on the other hand, embodies wisdom, order, and enlightenment.

This inversion carries a powerful message: truth is not always where it first appears to be. The spiritual path requires discernment—the ability to see beyond appearances and choose wisely.

And this brings us to one of the opera’s central esoteric themes: free will and conscious choice. Tamino is not forced into enlightenment. He must choose it. Again and again, he is presented with options—fear or courage, silence or reaction, illusion or truth. His evolution depends entirely on his decisions.

Love also plays a crucial role. His bond with Pamina is not merely romantic; it symbolizes the union of complementary forces—reason and emotion, masculine and feminine, will and intuition. In many esoteric systems, true progress requires this inner harmony.

Even the music itself has been interpreted symbolically. Repetition, harmony, and structure reflect order emerging from chaos—another key Masonic and philosophical principle.

So what can we take from The Magic Flute today?

Perhaps this: that each of us is walking our own path of initiation. Life presents us with trials, illusions, and choices. The question is not whether the path exists—but whether we recognize it.

And more importantly… whether we choose to walk it.

👉 Final Reflection

At its core, The Magic Flute isn’t about distant rituals or hidden temples—it’s about everyday awareness. The “initiations” it portrays show up in real life as moments of choice: reacting or staying centered, following illusion or seeking truth, acting from fear or from clarity. Growth doesn’t happen automatically—it depends on how you respond to these moments.

The practical message is simple: pay attention to your decisions. Choose discipline over impulse, understanding over reaction, and purpose over distraction. There’s no secret path hidden somewhere else—the path is already in front of you, shaped by your actions. The more consciously you walk it, the more everything starts to make sense.

Shamanism is the most ancient and most enduring spiritual tradition known to humanity. It predates and constitutes the foundation of all known religions or religious philosophies. One could view shamanism as the universal spiritual wisdom inherent to all indigenous peoples. It originated among nomadic hunting and gathering societies. These ancient shamanic ways have withstood the tests of time, varying little from culture to culture. Over thousands of years of trial and error, primal peoples the world over developed the same basic principles and techniques of shamanic power and healing. A whole way of life evolved that was based on everything being in right relationship. At the heart of shamanism are the following core beliefs:

1. Everything is interrelated and interdependent. If one species suffers, all others are affected. The health and well-being of humanity is, therefore, dependent upon the overall health of the sentient web of life. The shamanic practitioner is sensitive to this sacred interrelationship and serves as a bridge, linking the human and natural realms. The practitioner's prayerful communion with the natural elements and powers preserves an orderly, harmonious universe.

2. The natural world has two aspects: ordinary everyday awareness, formed by our habitual behaviors, patterns of belief, social norms, and cultural conditioning, and a second non-ordinary awareness accessed through altered states, or trance, induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. In a non-ordinary state of consciousness, the universe can appear fluid and nonlinear, moral absolutes vanish, death is but a transition and life exists in a variety of forms. Ordinary reality is matter-oriented, while non-ordinary reality is spirit-oriented.

3. Everything is alive and has a spirit. Shamanism is a way of perceiving the nature of the universe in a way that incorporates the normally invisible world where the spirits of all material things dwell. Shamans have different terms and phrases for the unseen world, but most of them clearly imply that it is the realm where the spirits of the land, animals, ancestors, and other spiritual entities dwell. Spirit encompasses all the immaterial forms of life energy that surround us. We are woven together into a net of life energies that are all around us. These energies can appear to us in different forms, such as spirits of nature, animals, or ancestors. The spirit world is the web of life itself.

4. Shamanic practitioners can access other realms of reality. Practitioners employ methods for altering consciousness so that they can send their souls into non-ordinary reality. The act of sending one's soul into non-ordinary reality is called the soul flight or shamanic journey, and it allows the journeyer to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness. One of the most universal methods for altering consciousness for this spirit journey is a persistent, mesmerizing drumbeat.

5. Non-ordinary reality is more real than ordinary reality. When a shamanic practitioner enters non-ordinary reality, it is to obtain clarity and understanding about something in the everyday world that is not understood (e.g., Why am I sick? Why did this misfortune happen to me? How can I bring healing to myself and others? What is my mission and purpose in life?). Consequently, that is why shamanic journeying is sometimes called "going to the source." And that makes non-ordinary reality more authentic or real.

6. There are three inner planes of consciousness: the Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds. The three realms are linked together by a vertical axis that is commonly referred to as the cosmic axis or World Tree. The roots of the World Tree touch the Lower World. Its trunk is the Middle World and its branches hold up the Upper World. This central axis exists within each of us. Through the sound of the drum, which is invariably made of wood from the World Tree, the shamanic practitioner is transported to the axis within and conveyed from plane to plane.

7. The purpose of shamanic ritual is to engage the spirit world to effect specific changes in the physical world. The ordinary and non-ordinary worlds interact continuously, and a shamanic practitioner can gain knowledge about how to alter ordinary reality by taking direct action in the non-ordinary aspect of the world. From a shamanic perspective, all human experience is self-generated. Experience is shaped from within since the three realms or resonant fields that define our experience of reality exist within each of us. Each human being is a hologram of the universe. Essentially, we are the universe experiencing itself in human form.

8. Shamanism is based on the principle that innate wisdom and guidance can be accessed through the inner senses in ecstatic trance. The essence of shamanism is the experience of direct revelation from within. Shamanism is about remembering, exploring, and developing the true self. Shamanism places emphasis on the individual, of breaking free and discovering your own uniqueness in order to bring something new back to the group. Shamanic practice heightens the ability of perception and enables you to see into the deeper realms of the self. Once connected with your inner self you can find help, healing, and a continual source of guidance. To practice shamanism is to reconnect with your deepest core values and your highest vision of who you are and why you are here.

The Harshing of the Mellow…

first published June 5, 2016 Cas I fancied myself a tragic Cassandra, my warnings to the world ignored and unheeded. I could recognize the birth of a killing wave long before even a ripple fluttered beneath the water. I paid attention when the stone was dropped, and could accurately calculate how long it would take before those waves engulfed the shore, There, the revelers and the workers plowed…

“Spirituality is not about getting out of the world, it is about getting into the world, according to the purpose that brought you here.”

In finding our deeper nature doesn’t it seem like we have left the paved roads and we are in the wilderness. The spiritual journey can be lonely in the beginning

“There is who you really are, and there is what the world has made of you. Your spiritual practice is an opportunity to recognize this.”

– Marshall Vian Summers

Old Souls, "There is a Beautiful thing Inside You that is Thousands of Years Old. Too Old to Be Captured in Poems.. Too Old to Be Loved By Everyone.. But Loved So Very Deeply by a Chosen Few." ~ Nikita Gill

“You must learn who is flying in your skies, who is taking your people against their will. This cannot be a deep dark secret now. It must come out into the open so that people can see it and understand it clearly. For, as We have said, it is not a mystery. It is a concealed truth, concealed by many forces.”

Learning to develop and trust our intuitive intelligence is more important now than it ever has been before. According to a recent UCLA study, we are exposed to a tsunami of information that amounts to over 174 newspapers full of data per day. That is more than 5 times the amount of information we were exposed to just 20 years ago. Included in this deluge of data are countless opinions, endless streams of expert advice and a myriad of gurus and guides telling us what we should be doing in order to live our best lives.

The reality is that the only guidance system we need to assist us in living our best life is the wisdom held within our natural intuitive intelligence. When properly developed it can and will lead us to the choices, ideas and innovations that will guide us towards what is truly in our best interest and help us create the highest good in our lives. Intuition is a subtle language so understanding the various ways it communicates makes having a deep and meaningful relationship with it rewarding, reliable and much more fun. Intuition operates in our body and nervous system on levels that range from basic, binary, survival-based communications to complete conversations that are elegant, sophisticated, and evolved.

Level 1: Gut Instinct

Attributes: safety, security, and survival.

We have all heard of this level of intuition, and most of us can recall a time when we have recognized it or felt its presence in our lives. Gut instinct may be the best known and most mainstream interpretation of intuition, but it is only a small part of the entire intelligence system. We should not depend on it alone to guide us to our highest potential or outcome. Gut instinct is simple, basic, and binary, which means it communicates through the feeling of opposites and uses impressions such as yes or no, stop or go, safe or unsafe, to convey its message. When your gut instinct is operating, it will answer such questions as: “Is this choice/person/relationship in my best interests? Can I thrive in this environment? Will this situation meet my deepest needs?”

Level 2: Heart-Based Intelligence

Attributes: courage, compassion, and communication.

The intelligence in the heart encourages us to adopt the practice of courage, compassion, and care and use them to communicate and connect with all other life forms in our environment. It guides us to what is appropriate to say or do in moments of need and allows us to connect and communicate in often unspoken ways and to bond with people, animals, and places in ways that cannot be described by words or rational thought. This center of wisdom prompts us to ask the questions, such as: “Is my life filled with beauty? Do I love what I do? How can I discover my joy? What would I do if I were not afraid? Am I bringing the best of myself to my life and the world?”

Level 3: Visionary Power

Attributes: imagination, visionary certainty, and creative possibility.

The third level of intuitive intelligence is found in the mystical and often misunderstood power of extrasensory perception (ESP), expanded spiritual vision, lucid dreaming and other elevated psychic events. This is the level of intuition where extraordinary solutions, alternate ways of doing things, and groundbreaking new ideas are commonplace. When this center of wisdom is active it guides us to ask questions such as: “What do I see as a solution or possibility? Is there something I am overlooking? What dreams do I have for my future that I haven’t given myself permission to make into reality?”

Level 4: The Connection to Universal Wisdom

Attributes: Universal awareness and unity consciousness

The fourth level of intuitive intelligence is the most nonphysical of the group. This intelligence is often activated during deep meditation or advanced awareness practices, and it is sometimes reported after near-death experiences or times of great stress or trauma. The highest level of intuition that humans can reach while in physical form is the one that allows us to access the realm of all things and to become consciously aware of our connection to and ability to create with the intelligence that is the source our reality. When we are aligned with this level of intelligence, we recognize that all things in life are valuable and appropriate and that we have the power within us to change and heal our lives if we so choose.

Here there are no questions. There is only consciousness.

Life is not real.

(Not only have I given you scientific proof, but I also mentioned this in my post, “Notes from the Universe.” I have also explained that “Death Does Not Exist” and emphatically stated that life is a game that you can’t lose in my post, “A Deeper Understanding of Death and Murder.” )

Consider virtual reality games, which are wildly popular and are considered “fun” by most.

They are alternate worlds created by “real” people who are, presumably, more conscious and more intelligent than the characters (avatars) that they create in their alternate realities.

Which is to say that the CREATOR of the alternate reality has a wider and more comprehensive view of the avatar’s life circumstances and environment than does the avatar herself. (The creator knows more about the avatar’s world because s/he CREATED it.)

Why do people create alternate realities??

To experience other perspectives; to see what life would be like under a different set of circumstances, in a different body, in a different location. For FUN.

Thus, your higher self created the game (i.e. your individual life circumstances/obstacles) so that it could experience life in 3D through a human avatar.

(Can you really be sure that your “intuition” is anything more than silent commands issued by the creator of your avatar on a cosmic keyboard??)

...

Anyone who has played a simulated reality game which involves “people” can attest to the fact that even avatars enjoy SOME level of autonomy in their “fictitious” lives. (I mentioned this, jokingly, in a post about my own life, and how my younger sister’s created characters from The Sims game would always defy her (their creator’s) wishes for them. Before going to school, my sister would build her avatars houses and ideal little lives, only to return home to see that they had burned down their homes, abandoned their families, and cheated on the partners that SHE had chosen for them. One girl outright REFUSED to be with the guy that my sister had literally created for her; she rebelled by always ending up in the houses of the other male characters--never her own!)

And so again, I ask: How can you be sure that YOU, YOUR LIFE AND YOUR EXISTENCE are not merely a simulation on some more intelligent being’s SCREEN???

Additionally, when you enter into the virtual world, what type of life do you choose? Depending on your personality, you may choose a life riddled with hurdles for you to overcome for the sheer thrill of it, OR you might elect a more comfortable existence. (The same person could choose a completely different set of circumstances depending on the day/time/temperature outside/their mood/how bored they are at the moment.)

This explains why some people in what we call “real” life have significantly harder lives than others.

But more often than not, we choose the BEST of everything that the virtual reality has to offer: the best cars, the best houses, the best bodies, the best lives...

Which is why it makes NO SENSE for anybody residing in this 3D human existence to consciously CHOOSE to exist at ANY LEVEL THAT IS LESS THAN BRILLIANT!! When you play video games, do you always make a point to choose the WORST car? The most SOUL-CRUSHING job?? The ugliest and LEAST INTERESTING mate??? The most UNCOMFORTABLE house??

Of course not!

THIS IS WHY YOU ARE REWARDED BY THE UNIVERSE AND YOUR HIGHER SELF FOR DOING THE THINGS THAT YOU WERE CREATED TO DO!!! It is also why you are “punished” when you do not!!

(I’m tryna give y’all the secret to life, but who is listening???)