Laura Bruno

“A general understanding of the suppressive power potential within tradition does not liberate us, except from the superficial aspects of behavior that form the outer shell of any actual tradition in operation. Great play is made by power greedy theorists and acting political leaders of the concept of ‘freedom.’ Freedom for its own sake is as suppressive a mode of control as rigid rule. At one extreme the rigidity of an arid tradition imprisons, while at the other, the unfocused random energies of spurious freedom allow the individual to dissipate and be consumed by hidden, greater, unperceived patterns.” ~ R.J. Stewart

There’s been a lot of talk in 2013 and 2014 about various boogie men, conspiracies, and deceptions. With Pluto, Lord of the UnderWorld, still in Capricorn, revelations and exposures will likely continue to increase. After millennia of secrecy, lightning has struck the fortress, ejecting old paradigms left and right, just like the dreaded Tower Card:

We live in a time of chaos, as the same-old, same-old unveils itself in some instances as evil in our midst. Slavery in our midst. Divide and conquer. Spiritual oppression. “Divine retribution.” “Fate.” Uncontrollable, radical change.

Few people know that the Tower card was poet W.B. Yeats’ very favorite card in the entire deck. Though scary to the unwilling and unprepared, for the focused person, the Tower card represents enormous energy suddenly liberated from old restraints. The conscious person knows how to harness such energy into an integrated Chariot card (Tower card = 16; 1 + 6= 7; 7 = the Chariot). (Thanks to Tim Glenn for that insight.)

See how the driver of the Chariot commands the mysterious opposites? He’s got that big, bad “Annunaki” symbol on the Rider-Waite-Smith Chariot, but rather than burning the evil card let’s look at what it represents: a man, under a starry canopy, driving a Chariot, with polarized Sphinxes available to pull him where he wants to go — all under the auspices of the VII (magickal 7), acknowledging initiation into the Mysteries. We see on the Chariot card, one who knows what he wants, aligned with cosmic energy, who … through esoteric wisdom … has learned to harness opposite paradigms and chaotic emotions to do his bidding. We see a responsible adept, ready and willing to journey into and exert influence upon this world.

Robin Wood’s deck pictures the Chariot pullers as black and white unicorns, pulling a Chariot with a Tao (yin-yang) sign and the driver playing a lyre and singing instead of holding the reins. He confidently aligns himself under a starry canopy, and the magical unicorns follow the intention he sings.

In either version, we witness the powerful integration of two opposite forces. Rather than throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water, the Chariot card models magickal manifestation, as the driver calmly and intentionally reclaims and redirects into positive, preferred ends any useful power ejected from the sudden changes of the Tower card.

Without that reclamation, the driver would have a chariot, but no force to pull it. No horse power, no Sphinx power. The driver would embody instead what I hear so often from well-meaning students of watered-down New Age platitudes and half-revealed “Secret’s”:

“I know what I want, but I never get anywhere. I try all those techniques, and I read all the books and listen to all the channels and (now) all the anti-channelers. I tell all those bad “Annunaki’s,” “Archons,” “False Light Arch-Angels,” demons, “negative ET’s,” “fake positive ET’s,” Illuminati, fundamentalist religions, bad gods and goddesses, pretend-good gods and goddesses, MK Ultra programmers, 4th dimensional or 4th density energy parasites, and nano-technology to go away. I’ve done my best to eliminate all emotions, because I know they feed off them … But somehow I just can’t get over this hump. I’m stuck. I’ve been stuck for years. I’m not even sure if I know what I want anymore, because if I really wanted it, wouldn’t I already have it? I mean, I’m onto all the illusions. Nothing’s real. That should free me, right? Why aren’t I free? Why don’t I feel happy?”

Simply put: you’re not free because you threw the baby out with the bath water. In your shock at recognizing how humanity has been manipulated, you tossed away your greatest power, forgetting that if beings derived great strength from slurping up your emotions, then those emotions hold great power. Certainly, you don’t want to feed your controllers, but discarding that source of power falls short of true liberation. Completely rejecting anything that has been used against you in the past does remove that source of power for vampires; however, it also wastes an important source of power for you.

Living without emotions, you lose not only your own power, but a huge piece of your humanity. Do you really think the would be controllers of this world would spend so much energy trying to pathologize every human emotion in the DSM-5 if they didn’t feel threatened by human emotions? Do you really believe the powers that would remain would invest so much time, money and obsession in the transhuman agenda if they didn’t want humans to react more like machines? Here, have an RFID-chip … or this nanoparticle … or Morgellon’s fibers … we’ll radio signal you into compliance like a good little android.

The would be controllers got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. People are onto them, sort of. Their rather effective counter-offensive involves convincing humans that those cookies taste horrible and will leave people with really bad gas:

“Nope! Nothing valuable here. Drop. The. Cookie. Now. For your own protection. There are COOKIE MONSTERS in them ethers! Quick, destroy your cookie, but not by eating it. Ohhhh, no. Just drop that cookie on the floor and let the cockroaches eat that worthless thing. Whatever you do, don’t eat the cookie. A moment on the lips, millions of lifetimes on the karma. You’re smarter than that. Drop. The. Cookie. Drop the cookie. Drop the cookie drop the cookie.”

Meanwhile, back at the Chariot … no cookies/no emotions = no fuel for your horse-unicorn-sphinx pullers. You can hitch your intentions to the “beasts,” but, to quote Bob Dylan: “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”

Discarding all emotions and all possible alliances with inter- and extra-dimensional friends makes about as much sense (and maturity) as closing your heart and swearing off all future relationships and friendships because a narcissist broke your heart. It happens. Not every human, angel, ET, faery and/or herb is a good match for every person every time. Some of them are downright self-serving sociopaths. Does that mean everyone is? Does that mean you can never love anyone or anything again? Does that mean you should never trust anyone or anything again?

As Tennyson said, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Shakespeare also chimed in with “Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none.” The key is not to stop loving, feeling, and trusting but rather to learn and practice better discernment in how you invest your love, trust and feelings.

The best way to begin practicing better discernment is to Know Thyself.

Start here. Learn what makes you tick. Pay attention to your feelings before discarding them. Discover what those preferences and aversions tell you before you hide them from the Cookie Monsters and thus, yourself.

I’m copying a comment I made to someone’s questions about whether or not we should completely shut ourselves off from angels “just in case”:

“In my experience, there ARE good, kind angels who ARE willing to help. The red flags would be if there’s an icky aftertaste of giving away all your power to them, rather than working as co-creators. There’s a lot, lot, lot of fear porn happening right now. There are also a lot of channeled writings CLAIMING to be from archangels that often aren’t. It’s a pretty big mess. Best to go inside and feel who you align with. There are some gods and goddesses that I personally wouldn’t opt to work with either!

“I posted this particular Doreen Virtue, because I loved her dedication at the end, as well as her encouragement to get out there and DO some of the co-creating, not just sit inside imagining and praying.

“People are really struggling right now and really afraid, because they’ve gotten suckered into giving away their power to disempowering beings. Here’s a clue: if the message robs you of your own agency or intellect, then it’s probably not a good message. If a message encourages you to take responsibility for your own life, get INTO Divine flow and allow yourself to receive natural, loving support, then it’s probably a good message. It’s important to check in with how you’re feeling before, during and after interactions.

“I think much of Cameron Day’s [and others'] material is good, but there’s also such a thing as throwing the baby out with the bath water. We can use sincere assistance at this time, keeping in mind that we do not need to make oaths and sign away our agency in order to have friendly support. If anyone asks/requires you to do that, I’d suggest running in the opposite direction.”

Do you see the difference between black or white reacting vs. considered responding vs. the potential for embracing whatever does empower and aid positive creation?

This baby and the bath water issue pervades much of our lives and has for millennia. It’s one way those wizards behind the curtain have managed to maintain so much control, despite their extreme disadvantage in terms of numbers and humane-ity. The “Holy” Roman Empire used a neutered version of Christianity to conquer vast cultures and land, all the while hoarding and publicly demonizing all the traditional esoteric wisdom from those they conquered. Advertisers use secret symbols to trigger the masses’ unquenchable thirst for mythology and meaning — projecting those longings onto empty products or wind bag politicians. Meanwhile, education and indoctrination assure everyone that any of the real “stuff” is “occult” (which simply means “hidden”), “evil,” “silly” (from the original “Seelie”) or a sign of ignorance (ignore-ance of what’s actually there to perceive). Discerning bodies, minds, hearts and souls would be wise to wonder why something so “worthless” warrants such concerted misdirection and attack.

Secrets only remain secret for so long, before some force or the kind intentions of an initiate who realizes the imbalance tries to level the playing field with leaks. When that happens — whether via Secret Societies (sometimes themselves watered-down, co-opted versions of “Truth”) releasing their “wisdom” or via Snowden and the Guardian revealing the NSA workings — watering down and misdirection become the best ways of managing a complete breaking of the dam. The entire Snowden saga reads like a mythological journey, complete with its own subterranean exploits, chase scenes and Guardian.

Beware and be wise: guardians often speak in riddles. What seems most important may obscure real entrances to Other Worlds.

When it becomes clear that Toto has pulled back a bit of the curtain, the wizards behind that curtain purposely allow themselves to get busted on lesser things, so that the peons feel vindicated enough to stop searching — and outraged enough to distance themselves from anything related to the wizards, especially the wizards’ powerful tools and knowledge. This applies to the NSA revelations just as much as it applies to all the warnings to sever any and all contacts and contracts with spiritual allies.

One should reexamine and sever unfair contracts, but refusing any and all contact is sometimes less than wise. “Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.” Know your own limits and goals, and recognize and respect that other beings have their own limits and goals, too. To the extent that these mesh, you can work together. To the extent not, no, it’s not a match.

The decision to work with or not can be situational, just as different human individuals and groups sometimes align when they have common goals or part ways when their interests diverge. Just as not all human beings are “good” or “evil,” so individuals of any given species — on or off world — can vary. Pigeon holing every individual of a particular group or race as good or evil is a covert form of inter-Galactic and inter-dimensional racism. Sure, you can save yourself from working with that evil “Archon” out to rob your soul, but such blanket bigotry also deprives you of other, potentially valuable and mutually beneficial connections with beings your fear might blindly lump into the “Archon” or Annunaki category. Humans aren’t the only ones evolving in this Universe.

(On a different note, if you don’t want them to be your Masters, then why do you honor them with the title “Archon,” which means “Master”? Call them vampires; call them cosmic weenies … but if you want to reclaim your power, then stop giving it to them in your fear and creative words.)

With betrayal and paranoia running high, the wizards behind the curtain can offer the merest hints of such tools’ and wisdom’s depravity … and then their well-meaning opposition will do the rest of the work, disseminating increased levels of paranoia, fear and a desire for “protective” isolation. Because God/dess forbid the peons discover they have both power and real allies. God/dess forbid the peons delve into their own Shadow side enough to recognize not only their own power but also their responsibility to use that power for the Good.

When caught surfing off someone else’s energy, first rule: deny.

When denial no longer works: neutralize. Convince the peons that all occult powers and potential off-world or interdimensional contacts are inherently evil.

Sure, those wizards won’t get to surf off as much raw emotion, but at least they won’t need to face it turned against them. At least they won’t need to face that emotion and those tools and alliances united in the creation of a more positive Reality. Nope! They just need to go on a little diet until they can manufacture some other outrageous trigger for an unbridled, uncontrolled emotional feast. “Hey, how ’bout a Fear Fest?! Mmmmmmmm, paranoia! Tastes almost as good as pitiful whimpering, simpering depression and psycopathic rage. Variety is so scrummy sometimes.”

More wise words from R.J. Stewart, who, realllly gets it:

“We are not suggesting that so-called demons appear in human form and cause illness and accident, but that the demonic response is generated within the human psyche from a deeper source, and it is at this deepest level that it must be resolved.

“If the magician is unable to relate to Innerworld beings correctly, then their effect upon his or her limited or unbalanced psyche may be demonic — confusing, restricting, wild, uncontrolled, self-destructive, dangerous to innocents, and so forth. This is directly comparable to passing excessive energy through a weak or faulty conducting medium or component.”

The key, therefore, is less about tossing out all the energy, than about refining the vessel (i.e. you) that such energy runs through.

“It takes a deeper perception to realize that the old images are still powerful within us, but from a very specialized and highly disguised origin. The imagery was willfully and immorally poisoned during the formative years of the state-Church in the West, leaving psychological weaponry for later cults and variants of the religion according to their cultural expression. Although our subservience to the perverted imagery is due to ignorance, there can be no doubt that the original twisting and tangling was a series of acts of deliberate will and wisdom. Wisdom is not necessarily compassionate.” ~R.J. Stewart

Just because some psychotic control freaks decided to pervert sexuality, esoteric symbols, emotions and magick does not mean that those things are inherently worthless, powerless or evil. On the contrary, they can each serve as powerful initiators of the Good — when used with discernment, compassion and respect. Complete rejection or compartmentalization seems more attractive to the lazy coward in each of us, because, face it, untangling the miasma of watered-down teachings, manipulated responses and strategic sleights of hand takes work. It takes dedicated study, self-exploration, commitment and effort. Many would rather avoid such things, assuaging their conscience by lumping the entire “Left Hand Path” into a hermetically sealed Hefty bag, self-righteously kicked to the curb for trash collection.

And you are completely “free” to do so.

The only catch? You will never liberate yourself if you refuse to accept the responsibility that freedom and empowerment rightfully entail. Most people fight consciousness and personal power because they don’t want to make difficult decisions. They prefer to outsource moral and existential dilemmas to religion, government, philosophy or a well-meaning “helper” who relieves them of that quintessentially human responsibility by short-circuiting power. Patrick Henry famously said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Indeed, something worse than death awaits those who reject liberty: insanity and endless boredom.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein

“Boredom rests upon the nothingness that winds its way through existence; its giddiness, like that which comes from gazing down into an infinite abyss, is infinite.” Soren Kierkegaard

Yes, humanity, it’s time to grow up:

“The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” J.K. Rowling

In addition to teaching Reiki Certification Classes for novices and Master Teachers, Laura works as a Medical Intuitive Consultant, energy healer, tarot reader, artist and Life Coach. Laura primarily focuses on helping Lightworkers embrace their gifts and bring these into the world in balanced ways. By allowing true strengths to shine through, clients find their business and finances naturally expand. Laura also provides Soul Readings, Intuitive Life Path Assessments and general intuitive guidance for career, relationships, schooling, and creative projects.

Author of hundreds of articles on natural healing and awakening, Laura also wrote the book,“If I Only Had a Brain Injury: A TBI Survivor and Life Coach’s Guide to Chronic Fatigue, Concussion, Lyme Disease, Migraine or Other “Medical Mystery.” Responding to client demand, she then wrote the popular “Lazy Raw Foodist’s Guide” to help people navigate complexities of a raw food diet. In 2009, she released her first novel called, “Schizandra and the Gates of Mu.” Interviews of Laura have appeared in Yoga Journal (under her maiden name of Derbenwick), mind-energy.net, Inside Scoop Live, Dynamic Transformations, and Reader Views. She has spoken at medical, health and spiritual events across the U.S.

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