Part
One: Apprentice to Change
Chapter 1
~ Barney's Lessons in Conscious Dying
Several
months before he died, my old dog-friend Barney shared a number of
challenging and thought-provoking talks about the nature of death. As
a student and teacher of conscious dying, Barney offered to share his
insights, beginning with how the way we ‘hold’ or think about
death greatly influences the way we experience it. As Barney
notes,
Ah,
there is so much to discuss! That is why I would like to leave you
now with the image of a road toward Death. It is the major path to
one’s end in this particular space/time/being configuration. But,
whilst on that road, we will take numerous side treks in order to
more fully discuss and appreciate this most amazing journey.
Chapter
2: Facing Fear
This
chapter explores our individual and collective fears surrounding
death, as well as our human fear of change in general. Shapeshifting
is introduced as a way in which we can experience our projections of
fear in greater detail and come to appreciate how they offer keys to
healing. Included is a personal experience of facing fear and
releasing the ‘knot’ of energy that served as a guardian to
prevent premature movement into greater levels of awareness. An
excerpt of how this experience unfolds:
I
sat with that and wondered aloud. “So, all this is about hidden
signs? About secret memories linking one being to another, one self
to another, and back again? We’re sending each other coded
messages across time, between lives? Is that what you’re saying?
That we store pieces of ourselves in the stories of our lives? That
our life events hold a kind of coded, hidden language known only to
ourselves? We are coding each other, telling stories within
stories?”
But
Barney didn’t answer. Do you still have the fear about the rabbit?
he asked.
Chapter
3: A New Set of Eyes
The
central metaphor of this chapter explores how it is necessary to
release old beliefs and worn-out paradigms (and even ‘unlearn’
some of our body’s manner of perceiving the world) as we open to new
ways of seeing ourselves and our world. Topics include how we use
surface consciousness as a defense against deepening; how humans moved
from a conscious relationship with death to a fearful one; how we may
come to know the ‘scenery’ of death by ‘walking the path of
death’ in advance; and, how reincarnation is a form of
shapeshifting. We also look at “crossover points” in which both
learning and teaching occur as we merge consciousness with another
being.
It
occurred to me—in that lovely, lightheaded way of fever—that if
I could travel into each bark I would see something about each dog,
that the unique sound and energy of each bark offered a portal to
another way of seeing. So too, it occurred to me, was this vision an
apt metaphor for shapeshifting.
Chapter
4: Endless Variations & Infinite Perspectives
This
chapter looks at the incredible diversity of species and views on
planet Earth as well as the many ways in which we can make use of
assorted incarnations to learn. It features three unique views of
shapeshifting through talks with the Penguin People, the Spirits of
Fish, and an ancient form of Bird. These conversations are tied
together via a discussion in which Barney and I look at the various
how’s and why’s of spirit incarnation. As Barney notes,
I
share this information to shake up some old ways of thinking and
remind you that there are infinite perspectives in life. The more
you learn more about shapeshifting and ways of connecting with other
forms and species, the more you will see—and perhaps more deeply
appreciate—the unlimited array of form, thought, creation,
incarnation, and much more.
Chapter
5: Open Doorways
This
chapter opens with Barney’s explanation of how his many lives as a
teacher of shapeshifting led him to his teachings with Death. We
explore karmic illusions, different forms of shapeshifting, and
what happens to the consciousness of the ‘other’ with whom we
merge or shapeshift. In addition, this chapter takes us back to Barney
as he prepares himself (and me) to die. Once more, Barney:
It
is true I am thinking of leaving the body behind, but there is still
time left for us to finish our discussions. You are now briefly
thinking about why I waited until ‘the last minute’ to have
these discussions, but another part of you also knows that this is
the exquisite nature of timing and the unfolding of events in this
dimension. If I had given you this information before, would you
have been able to hear it? And, if you had, then why would I need to
stay? This is not to say that I am here solely for you, but perhaps
you get my drift about our relationship—much of our time together
has led to this.
Chapter
6: A Conscious Death
This
short yet potent chapter features a talk with my ‘Higher Self’; a
talk with Barney the day before he dies; the experience of waking up a
few hours before his death and meeting Barney’s “Spirit People”
(guides and friends); and Barney’s conscious movement into
death.
They
were clearly not physical people, but they were not what I’d term
ghosts either. Spirit People perhaps—people who existed on another
level of being, or in a different dimension. At the time this did
not occur to me as unusual—rather, it was like being awake in a
dream in which things that happen do not seem strange. And so I
merely waved to them and asked who they were. They said they were
friends of Barney. This seemed funny because it was obvious—as if
I should have known it all along. I told them I was getting Barney
some water and they nodded in encouragement.
Chapter
7: What Happens Next
“The
experience of death is to some degree very personal,” Barney
told me a few days after he died, “though
a few of the basic transitions do happen to a great many beings.”
This chapter looks at Barney’s personal voyage as well as some of
the general experiences that we all might encounter upon dying. In
particular, we look at what happens when consciousness leaves the
physical body. Once again, Barney:
Death
for me was, as you noted, very easy. But I have been working at this
for what might be called a long time. I have had many experiences of
death and have been learning to become ever more conscious in each
transition. In a way, you could say that many of my lives are about
the death transition and that is the focus of my teachings in your
world.
Part
Two: Adventures in Shapeshifting
Chapter
8: We are All Shapeshifters
“Once
you get past this division of ‘life’ and ‘death’,” Barney
told me one morning, “you see that it is simply another choice of form. This is where
shapeshifting can play an important role for you and other humans.” Discussed
in this chapter are reincarnation, the distinction between personality
and soul, the value of conscious incarnation, and the use of
shapeshifting as a means to ‘wake up’ while in the body. Also
included is an experiential shapeshift with both Rabbit and Fox, along
with short conversations with trees and animals about the deeper
nature of the shapeshifting.
When
you allow and are 'open,' then your soul can open within you. Then
there is the space for more of the greater you to filter into and
infuse the physical you. You are enlarged; you become more aware of
your totality, light and brilliance. And if you continue with this
opening, you will begin to see the brilliance not only in yourself,
but also in all other shapes and forms, all other beings. And that
is when shapeshifting simply Is. It's not even called shapeshifting
at that point, because it is obvious—you are all: the ant, the
elephant, the kangaroo, the parrot, the dog, the human, the living
nowness of All. At that point—which is not really a point at all
but a Be-ing—there is no longer a need for words.
And,
for a moment, Barney and I sat happily in silence.
Chapter
9: This Mosaic Called Earth
Spirit
moves through a multitude of beings, each—due to its unique
software—offering a different perspective of life on planet earth.
In visiting these other perspectives through shapeshifting our
consciousness, we may experience a remarkable range of diverse
realities. Thus we are free to learn from each other, share knowledge,
wisdom and experience, and evolve in a more conscious way together.
This chapter specifically looks at how different animals ‘move’ on
the earth and some of the insights they hold for all of us. Also
included are several talks with a cactus, and a sharing of cactus
mythology:
This
is the story that our kind relates to, the way we see our beginning.
Just as humans have differing ways of seeing their beginnings, from
originating in a garden or from the growth of other beings [primates]
into humans.
“Yes,
that's true,” I agreed. “And other cultures offer different
views of our beginning as well.”
Our
feeling is that the more stories there are to view, the more we
might appreciate the glory of our beginning, and of how we have
become what we are today.
Chapter
10: Limitless Possibilities
This
chapter title refers to the endless potential of shapeshifting
experiences. Or, as Barney put it, “We
are on the wide track here. We are opening to largeness!” In
this section, we explore how gaining fluidity in shifting
consciousness is often a prelude to meeting one’s inner selves.
Included are experiences of “becoming like water” and seeing
through Barney’s eyes; sharing adventures with a raven, a jaguar and
a goldfish; and a brief incident of teleporting consciousness. In
addition, we meet a group of beings who focus on reawakening humans to
the deeper nature of shapeshifting.
“Next
question?”
I
laughed. “Okay, so part of me wants to know if I ‘really’ did
turn the toy rhinoceros.”
That
was a little joke for you—and a foreshadow of things to come.
Remember what you learned about teaching and learning? The two work
together. So it is with shapeshifting with other beings. It is not a
singular process. It is all about relationship. When you are in
relation with something, you affect it, just as it affects you. The
toy has a different sort of ‘consciousness,’ though most humans
would not speak about it in that way. But, yes, by interacting with
the toy you did ‘shift’ it to some degree, just as it allowed
(or enabled) you to shift. The two work in tandem.
Chapter
11: Deepening Dream Awareness
This
chapter investigates shapeshifting in dreams, as well as using
shapeshifting to access deeper aspects of dream awareness. Included
are talks with Dream-Guide teachers and several examples of
shapeshifting dreams. Subjects explored in the talks feature the
parallels between shapeshifting and dreaming, using dream experiences
as templates to other states of awareness, and integrating dreams and
waking consciousness. A Dream-Guide teacher:
In
the dream state you are able to partially access that part of
yourself which creates reality; as you ‘think’ what you want to
wear—or what shape you want to be—you flow into it. There are no
obstacles of 'I can't do that' or 'That isn't possible'. When this
type of magic is alive, you are able to accept it, to use that
energy and make the shift you choose. It is really quite simple. It
is only your construction of thought that deems it is not simple, or
not possible, in other limited versions of ‘reality’.
Chapter
12: Moving Through Fear
This
chapter regards fear as a guardian between worlds—not only between
life and death, but also between our small, unawakened self and our
greater potential. In considering how our deepest fear isn’t that we
are powerless but powerful beyond measure, the chapter looks at how we
might use fear as a barometer of where we are in our journey. It also
includes an elephant dream as an example of transforming fear through
different selves in different times.
I
opened my eyes. “So that is where the fear is still stuck? In
another life?”
It
is a deep knot, well placed, because you hid it there yourself,
said Barney.
If you work with that fear, you can lessen the hold—and lessen the
need for it to hold you.
Chapter
13: Other Voices…
This
chapter further explores the aforementioned group of beings who study
shapeshifting and contribute to the learning of others. Also included
are three individual talks and one linked (merged) voice from an eel,
a plant and a member of the group. Yet another aspect of this
chapter’s title is explored through how the voices of disowned inner
selves are reflected (or projected) onto outer selves. Similarly,
teachings from Raven reveal how the many ‘selves’ we interact with
in the world relate to the selves we hide within.
As
I closed my eyes, I saw a close-up of Raven’s face, black eyes
glinting. He moved his head slowly, side to side, or, as he put it,
“view to view, you to you.”
We
speak about poetry of the soul and movement between hearts because
this is the way we perceive the world, he remarked in a calm and
thoughtful manner. We maintain
you cannot engage in shapeshifting if you are always guarded. You
must open—not only to those around you, but to the deeper nature
of your own being. As you delve into this arena, you will find
infinite amazement at what you hold within yourself.
Chapter
14: …Other Selves
Here
we focus on shapeshifting as a tool to integrating our ‘other’
selves. Included is an unusual experience with whales, revealing how
sound can serve as a pathway leading us to alternate realities and
selves. Further, we explore the notion of simultaneously experiencing
numerous versions of Self, and how finding the “spirit tracks” we
make for our future/past selves allows us to meet and consciously know
ever larger aspects of who we are.
I
smiled in return, and Barney and I sat silent. Colorful thoughts
swirled and danced like an unruly passing parade, though even the
most outrageous of these eventually settled down softly beside us. I
felt like a tired pilgrim, having trekked through untold mountain
passes and secluded valleys. Tired, but satisfied too.
Let
us put it as such, Barney
remarked at last. Shapeshifting
is about forging new avenues of creativity, about breaking through
limiting boundaries of consciousness, about meeting other aspects of
who you are and what you have created.
And this is our bridge to the remainder of our path: the Art of
Greater Living. It is to share the essence of experience with
others, to spark in one another new modes of being, to awaken
conscious relationships between all the ‘yous’ who operate in a
multitude of varied realities, and so to evolve more consciously
together.
Part
Three: The Art of Greater Living
Chapter
15: Embracing the Yeti
This
chapter focuses on remembering and recalling our lost selves, with the
Yeti as a great example of a legendary ‘lost self’. We explore the
interweaving of cultural legend, personal mythology and different
versions of reality as we work to reclaim that which is lost (some of
which may be so lost that we don’t even know about it); dissolve the
fear that keeps this lost (or as repressed shadow material); and, use
shapeshifting as a means to embrace all our selves in the process of
becoming ever more whole.
Now,
I call myself Spirit of the Yeti, but I am more precisely Spirit of
the Lost, of the Forgotten. I correspond to the energetic reality
that underlies your perception of the Yeti. In shapeshifting terms,
I am the energy of things that has been hidden away but still needs
to be found... It is very true as you put it—you must embrace all
of your thoughts, all of your creations, all of your yetis. This is
part of your journey, to embrace the Yeti and see that, too, is Who
You Are.
Chapter
16: The Circle of Projections
In
recalling and reclaiming our projections, we begin to refashion
ourselves and experience more deeply the essential oneness out of
which our selves are created. But how do we know what is ‘real’ as
we work with projections of self and ‘other than’ self? How do we
not get lost in such a flood of projections? This chapter looks at
karmic illusions (spiritual projections) and the “meeting place”
in shapeshifting in which a clear recalling of selves is
possible.
This
is the nature of moving through reality without one's proclivities
so close at hand. It feels new and odd and you question yourself
constantly because at first it seems as if you are the only one
traveling around in this manner. But as you trust yourself and your
experiences, you begin to realize that because it is valid for you,
it IS valid. Self-validity takes on a new role as you begin to
create at a conscious level and more keenly appreciate what this
means.
Chapter
17: Ever Re-Becoming
Evolution,
the nature of time, and the process of incarnation/reincarnation are
central topics of this chapter. Several animals share their
experiences with incarnating, and we look again at reincarnation as a
form of shapeshifting. Also explored is how we can contact and share
information with the different incarnations of ourselves. As my dog-pal
Max explains part of his re-becoming:
One
time I was a salmon that was eaten nearly fully alive by a bear.
What an experience! I went directly into the bear and was so amazed
by ‘bearness’ that I stayed and became part of bear. And, you
see, when my salmon essence became part of bear I became part of
bear—and so too did salmon wisdom become part of bear. This is why
it is more important than you realize to pay attention to what you
eat, because what you eat is part of what is becoming you and part
of what you become!
Chapter
18: Beyond the Mirror
This
chapter features a conversation with Barney on the value of conscious
death as a touchstone to meeting and merging with other selves—not
only inner selves, but alternate selves and other dimensional selves.
We look at variations of time and space in terms of integrating these
selves, and how shifting energy (via shapeshifting) allows us to meet
ourselves in other dimensional forms.
The
more you relax into this, the clearer it becomes. There is no need
to prove anything because everything suddenly becomes so clear.
Laughter often accompanies such openings… As many animals have
shown you, cosmic humor is very much alive and well in this corner
of the galaxy—and good for us all that it is!
Chapter
19: A New Set of I’s
This
chapter features conversations with an inter-dimensional being I came
to know as Tau. Tau and I were paired together by Barney as students
of shapeshifting who had similar levels of development, though in
different ways. As such,
Barney told us, you have much to
share with each other—much to learn and much to teach. Tau and I
had numerous talks about shapeshifting and different perspectives of
different worlds, as well as several merging experiences in which we
shared consciousness. During a particularly fascinating conversation,
I stumbled upon the realization that Tau was, in fact, an alternate
version of myself who was working to “bring us together, to unite us
and help each of us become more aware of the others.” As Tau noted
early on:
I
exist in the spirit world—that is, the "I" that is
speaking to you now is grounded in the spirit world. However, I am
aware of many of my other selves, most of which reside in other
galaxies, other dimensional worlds. I have been with this group
before, but was gone for a long absence and have now come back to
share information. You might think of it as being an anthropologist
who goes to study remote cultures, then comes home to lecture upon
it…
Chapter
20: Claiming Presence
This
chapter looks at the idea of integrating selves with enough awareness
to move beyond karma. A Leopard Spirit shares his view that one of
humanity’s biggest challenges is not knowing who we are and that one
of the greatest things we can learn from certain animals is to claim
presence—to experientially know the suchness of who we really are. This
chapter also explores the core of shapeshifting as a means of
“creating and translating soul work in the world.”
Sometimes
this is why we attack and eat you,
said the Leopard Spirit. Sometimes
the energy is too much and we attempt to shake you up by confronting
you face to face, eyeball to eyeball. There were times when humans
engaged animals in these ways and a deeper dance was known. You are
indeed becoming alienated, detached from your own deeper emotions.
Look at how you kill animals now. Humanely you say. Ha! There is
nothing humane in making a technology of killing. Much better to
face your prey, look him in the eye, and allow the dance to unfold.
Chapter
21: Here & Now
With
all our exploration of different dimensions and alternate realities,
we expand ourselves to a place of becoming more. And yet, all we ever
need is right here, right now. This ending chapter brings the
adventure home as we re-member ourselves to seeing the infusion of
‘here’ and ‘now’ within any--and every--aspect of reality. The
full journey of shapeshifting is reviewed and ideas are offered by various
beings about opening ourselves to the Art of Greater Living.
You
sense the nearness of the mystery. You touch it daily, your fingers
upon the treasure box, and yet you allow yourself the indulgence of
forgetting. You can feel the flutter of forgetting, remembering,
forgetting, remembering—like the beat of a hummingbird's wings...
All you need is right here, right now, just as it has always been
and will ever be. That is the Ultimate Mystery of All.
