astral travel
with alice coltrane
the sky in the west is golden.
clouds, like luminescent auric orbs of gold-white glow, sprinkle the skyline.
they are outlined with the most divine hue of (sun)light
the rain clouds above, are full
and the snow, over the rolling hills, outlines the low trunks and gnarled roots of oak, juniper and rabbit brush.
the wind plays on the wind chimes. the goats nibble. amara squeals, red-cheeked and swimming in an oversized down jacket.
a few blessed souls have created and are maintaining a small free store on the corner here in town by the laundromat. its shelves are always full and the clothes line is usually busting out of the wood frames. the pile of shoes is usually a few shoes deep and always a new box or two (or three) is sitting out there to the right, waiting to be sorted through.
i saw a book in there the other day that sparked my interest, but when i tried to pull it off the self, the entire row of books fell off, awkwardly and completely into a scattered pile on the ground. a car drove by.
as i bent over to pick up the array of books, everything from parenting to astrology, cuisine to romance novels, a little book caught my eye.
the author, a very beloved musician i have enjoyed for many years now, alice coltrane, wife to john coltrane, who himself became the patron saint of this church, home of the Living Love Supreme in san fransisco, wrote:
“The sacred triple expansion of the Supreme Lord, which has its infinite properties of creating, maintaining and dissolving, pervades the entire atomic and atmanic (pertaining the soul) universe. In reality, the proton, electron and neutron are none other than the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in minute form — the Holy Trinity hidden beyond the veil of human awareness. This holy triune universal support is also known as the Supreme Lord in three persons: Brahma, Vishnu, Siva; and in mundane terminology it is called Power, Light, Energy.”
i had no idea she was a writer, nor did i have any idea the depth of her spiritual journey in life. what i did know about her was that she was married to john coltrane for a short time before he died and then she traveled to india. her music became a major source of inspiration for me as she blended soulful and ecstatic jazz with the harmonic and devotional whisperings of india.
i read the book in one sitting. written on the first blank page of the book…
the small 53 page book was totally weird and wonderful and awful and just, oddly inspiring all at once. i marveled at its existence (only 4,000 in print) and at its arrival in my hands at this moment in my life.
the name, Turiyasangitananda, written on the cover, following her last name of Coltrane, means “the Transcendental Lord’s highest song of bliss”, which she mentions briefly in her book.
in the book, she gives detailed accounts of her trials and lessons in the spiritual realms…
“I was astrally projected from the physical body very frequently, practically every day, and permitted to travel from plane to plane. Occasionally, I was projected from the second-stage, ‘twin’ astral body, the carbon copy of the physical, into a subtler third-stage etheric body, which is a bluish-white or silvery ectoplasmic apparition of the astral body. …There is one more projection, one which might be considered as ‘being in the image and likeness of the Lord’ without form. It is the Absolute, Manifested Formlessness. It is the highest and the most supremely subtle one. It positively defies discovery and description…”
the mystery abounds. i am compelled and moved to learn more about this remarkable woman.
after discovering this book, we went to the laundromat to wash an enormous load of muddy rugs, blankets and sheets.
in the laundromat there was a man, with two (two!) pairs of eyeglasses on, preaching the word of Jesus Christ to a tall man moving his bundle of wet clothing and sheets from the washers to the dryers.
mystery abounds.
✧ ✧ ✧
interestingly enough, i had gone on a major art binge on pinterest a few days prior to all this, the first time in years, and i had shamelessly downloaded tons of artwork that spoke to me without, sadly, labeling any of the artists or titles or anything. in my (weak) defense, some of the pieces were unlabeled to begin with, while others have the artist’s name on the image itself.
it all began with my interest in learning more about the Yoruban (west african) orisha, by the name of Obatala, the king of the orishas.
below is a bit of the art journey that unfolded, thanks to the world wide web and all the millions of users on pinterest…
anyway, this has been an oddly inspiring week. i hope you enjoyed a bit of this newsletter (is it really a newsletter?) or at least some of the art, none of which is mine, except the few photos i took.
here’s to the mystery and the luminous potential of the human heart ~
“By fire, the Supreme Alchemist transmutes base metal - i.e., the human heart - into gold. …an individual’s heart will have become purified in love - bright and shining in a splendor of divinity like the purest gold.” - Alice Coltrane-Turiyasangitananda
I am also an Alice lover!