By Rick Phillips

The other day I received a phone call from across the planet from dear Ms. Hwee-Meng Tan. She asked me if I would be willing to write an article about the importance of Deva Sessions for the Lapis Lazuli Light Newsletter. I said that I would be happy to put something together.

As an introduction, Deva Sessions as taught by the Deva Foundation take a person deep within themselves into a profound, non-ordinary state of consciousness. Wakefulness increases as the consciousness expands, and the individual moves into an open, aware state where the governing ego steps aside to allow the unconscious mind to express itself into clear consciousness. The experiences that arise can be of almost any variety, from forgotten memories of this lifetime or other lifetimes, or experiences can be seen as symbolic stories that have special meaning and relevance to our current lives. The Deva Facilitator is trained to support this process and bring the important information out for discussion and insight. The process is usually surprising and illuminating, though at times the healing can be uncomfortable as the old attachments break free. This process is guided by one’s own Higher Self, that spiritual inner knowing that brilliantly organizes and carries you through the experiences. I personally have gone through these Sessions hundreds of times; each session always unique and revelatory.

For a few days I sat with myself and my Higher Self and contemplated what approach might be appropriate for this article.  And as I was organizing some old personal Deva Sessions I came across a session from more than 20 years ago. And I realized it had a new purpose for me and a special relevance for people living around Singapore. Here is the Deva Session presented as a symbolic session:

“I see myself in a cave. It is dark, warm, damp. There is no light yet somehow I can see. I have some kind of physical form, but not human. My eyes are adapted to this environment; actually my life is adapted to this place. This cave feels and represents the boundaries of my sense of universe. I don’t know how long I live here, but I do what I have to do to survive and that occupies all my time and energy. Fear is dominant because it is hard to protect myself here. I can’t see much. I’m always on guard. There is no peace here.

One day the earth shakes and a huge crack appears in the cave. Bright light floods into the cave. I feel cool air, an amazing breeze flows through the crack. After some time I make a decision to journey into the crack and I go up into the light. As I journey I feel apprehension and some fear, but there is a stronger force pushing me onward, maybe it is curiosity or maybe I want more, I’m not sure, but I keep going up. I feel so alive. Finally, I arrive on the surface and I have to cover my eyes because it is so bright, so I find a dark place to rest. Then something strange happens, the light goes away, except there is a round, bright object floating farther up above me in a dark void. Well, it’s not completely a void; I see other points of light all above me. I explore and I find colors and water, and rocks and sand, and other animals and insects and birds. It seems that the more I experience, the more that I begin to understand. Life is different here than in the cave. My vision, my hearing, all my senses adapt quickly to this new reality. Much time passes as I learn to live this new life in this new place, in this new reality. I know now I live on an island surrounded by an ocean. But now I enjoy the exploration and desire to go to new places and experience new discoveries. I find a mountain on the island and I decide I want to climb the mountain. It takes time but I’m patient and I go through different ecosystems, jungles, rain forests, grasslands, higher and higher. And in each new place there are amazing and different life-forms, the feelings are different, but what I love most of all, is when I look out I can see so far across the water. I’m so high and I can see so much space. It feels so unlimited. But after much time I realize that I’m trapped on this island and I may never leave because this is the only land as far as I can see. But I keep climbing higher and higher and one day I reach the top of the mountain. And on this perfectly clear day I see in the far distance across the ocean another mountain. I can’t believe it. I’ve discovered another land and my mind realizes that there must be something more there. A new world, with new life and maybe others like me that are eager to experience a new reality. And I am determined to find a way to travel there, to meet other life-forms, to share my journey and to learn of their journeys and discoveries. And maybe we can help each other. And maybe there are others still living in the caves that like myself may be ready to rise out of the darkness and into the light of a new world of possibilities. Life is so much more than just surviving day after day, following the same routines, living the same reality with no hint of something more. I am so grateful that when the earth shook and the crack opened, that I was willing to explore what lay beyond.”

This is a rather simple symbolic story, but with many levels of meaning. One level is to demonstrate why Deva Sessions are important. So I would like to use this example of a simple session to comment on some benefits of such work:

I see myself in an imaginary reality. First of all, the imagination is one voice or expression of the soul. As the imagination opens consciousness, I begin to flow with a story that is rich in symbolism of what my soul wants me to experience, and hopefully, to learn from its significance. The cave represents my personal reality. My ego is habituated to that reality. My reality is structured by “survival” and all the routines required by that basic need. “Cave” is also underground, without light, severely limited in what it can offer me, the boundaries tight around me. And then something shocking happens that may be termed “grace,” or simply an extraordinary opportunity for the next stage of personal evolution. It may be stressful; it may be too much to handle, but that “opening” many times is a calling that we dare not pass up. The ego reacts by giving us a host of excuses why we should turn away and avoid it. It triggers the fear response, or “I’m not ready response,” all those thoughts of the ego is part of its job to maintain the status quo. But in this case there was a more potent force pushing me forward, something more trustworthy, and as I remember clearly to this day, a dignity that could not be denied. What am I going to do? Stay in this dark prison or accept the open door and follow the light up into fresh air? So I’m sure you feel the same as I did, the only choice I had was to go for it.

One of the great things about inner work is when an inner dilemma is confronted; somehow you know what you have to do. This is the beginning of recognizing and practicing one’s inner genius which we call Higher Self. Right in the beginning of this story, there is a turning point. Do I stay in the cave or do I notice the opportunity and follow the light? If I choose the former, then I’m in for some heavy processing about entrapment, strict boundaries, being survival dominated, regret for lost opportunities, and about being stuck my whole life. And even if this is what I choose, the Higher Self will continue to create another plan of action. Because one purpose the Higher Self will always give us is the promise of eventual and inevitable liberation.

It is a common experience that when a person breaks into the high vibration of an expanded state of consciousness or experiences the brilliance of the spirit, it can be intense. The light is too bright, the energy currents too fast and because it is a new experience we pull back energetically. But if we stay with it and allow the energy to modify my energetic field, I will adapt and open into it. As I integrate this new reality it will reveal itself to me. A new reality is different than before, it has laws of expression that ask me to change, to stretch, to sense through new organs of perception. As I adapt mindfully to this new world, I open the fascination of what is possible for life “above.” I say, “The more I experience, the more I begin to understand.” Consciousness is the basis of experience, and experience is the basis of understanding. Without sensing, feeling, being in body with an experience, understanding is fragmented and faulty. This is one of the problems with trying to understand solely through the intellect, or using faith as a source of knowledge. Thinking about something is so marginal, whereas, opening your consciousness and living an experience on that unbounded level takes the experience onto all levels of being. We could call it “holistic.” Going to school, church, temple…and being told, “this is law” can only penetrate our knowing up to a point, but having the deep holistic experience of the “law,” we realize the law.

This session is about the journey of the expansion of consciousness, from the dark, limited, constricted state of the cave, to the expansiveness of the unlimited. Each step brings expansion, expansion empowers, the path is not a torture, but a thrill. Each level achieved brings with it the momentum and encouragement to keep climbing, as if the great cosmic magnet is pulling us forward to into it. The “great cosmic attractor” cannot be denied because it is part of every manifest being.

The movement of the journey is now the flow of life, unfettered; the karma now is more appreciated. When our karmic path expresses visible evolution, we understand it better, not to mention that it feels better. When our karmic path feels blocked or stuck, it feels full of suffering. Polarities are the basic building blocks for a relativistic world, both are necessary. When we find the key that opens the locked door, the movement into freedom is available if we can find the courage to take that first step. The pendulum swings out of one polarity into the other.  The Deva Session demonstrates this energetic breakthrough. As I experience this symbolic act within my consciousness, I experience this shift outside in my “real” life. Integrative change must begin internally to consolidate karmic resolution out in the world. Remember, we are not just isolated bodies in random space; we are unified souls occupying bodies in space. Bodies come and go, but our soul holds the karmic memory until I release my attachment to it through the liberating effect of spiritual consciousness. What is inspiring is that I may have been trapped in “cave consciousness” for countless lifetimes, repeating this pattern in countless incarnations, but now I have released myself from that isolated, painful karmic attachment and I am now free to expand into more life. We call this “clearing the emotional body” of its habitual or karmic attachments. Almost all inner work sessions contain moments where the healing nature of Spirit energetically dissolves that binding nature of past experience and frees us to change.

Another characteristic of this story is the demonstration of “inner maps” that Spirit commonly offers us.  An inner map is a plan that directs us through the difficult terrain of our emotional and karmic history. The plan guides us, and helps us navigate the unconscious mind. One expression of an inner map is experienced as a personal journey that leads us through various challenges or new experiences where we learn valuable lessons along the way. This is true for this story. I journey from the lower world into middle and upper worlds, each realm with a different reality and different realizations. The lower world represents constriction and a limited sphere of influence. This is a realm of 1^st chakra, the survival theme is dominant and fear keeps me constantly on guard. An opening appears and I find courage to choose to move up into the middle realm. I realize fear can be overcome by courage which produces a new state of consciousness. This middle realm has a new reality for me. My journey now seems to have purpose and I follow the inner map forward and up into higher states of consciousness, each one opening more freedom and an expanded sphere of influence and connection.

Another quality of this session is the transformation of ego. From constricted, fearful ego which only cares for its own survival, the ego transforms during the journey. It expands; it empowers and sheds many of its limiting beliefs. Instead of living only for itself and fearing “the other,” it now seeks relationship. “And I am determined to find a way to travel there, to meet other life-forms, to share my journey and to learn of their journeys and discoveries. And maybe we can help each other.”

This is quite a profound shift of being. Because the ego is primarily about preserving itself and maintaining the status quo, to see the ego change is auspicious for the real possibility that our egos can evolve in this lifetime, that our egos are not fixed and doomed to old, unyielding negative patterns of behavior, but can become healthier and more free.

Lastly, the Deva Session is full of optimism and positive energy. I literally release myself from the dark into the light, from fear of life to the joy of seeking out more life, from isolation into the potential of mutual relationship. Whenever the Higher Self brings us a session that demonstrates transformation into more vitality and willingness for more relationship to life, the path is open for us to more easily make that real. It has already happened inside, so we naturally manifest it outside in our new reality.

Did I as a typical client doing a typical Deva Session know that when this simple story emerged in my mind while I was laying on the massage table that it would have so many levels of importance and meaning? Of course not! I’m just speaking out the story. My intellect did not plan or create all those different levels of meaning. Only after, when I read it over and think about it do I discover the treasures. The point is that even if we believe that I just “made up” a simple story, what is really happening is that the story is coming from the Higher Self, that dimension of genius and perfection. Spirit has just given me proof of its existence and more important, a personal communication that we can use to bring ourselves into greater clarity, harmony, and understanding. Deva Sessions are truly amazing because no one does it for you. You do it for yourself. This is the essence of self-empowerment.

By

Rick Phillips

November 12, 2009

When we look back through time, history shows us the evolution of consciousness. We see the human imagination of higher forms. We see the fascination in stargazing, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the wonder of the celestial forms, the natural forces and cycles. We see the movement through time attempting to understand the world we live in and our place in it. We see the evolution of gods and goddesses, the mythologies that create larger than life characters and their stories that reflect the challenges we strive to overcome. Through the lens of history we see the progressive changes, that evolution of the human being and the evolution of our different cultural philosophies, the evolution of our world and cosmic view. And we imagine where that evolution may lead us.

Through the millennia, we must notice an important theme. Life demands adaptation to a continually changing world. Paradoxically, change is a certain, unchanging reality. And in order to survive and progress in this realm, we must find a way to handle change. It is interesting that our ego’s normal response to the stresses of this world is to try to maintain control and keep the status quo in place. We constantly resist change, we encourage habit, we try to protect ourselves in countless ways in order to preserve out-dated customs and the ignorance of ages past. Suffering continues despite our efforts. Like Zysiphus in Greek mythology, he continually attempts to push the boulder up the mountain over and over again, even though it crushes him each time it slips from his grasp.

Yet, this realm of suffering has purpose. And that purpose can be seen and heard in the perennial wisdom of the ages. What we see through time is a different strategy for human success, the ability to adapt, to learn, and expand consciousness in the midst of a challenging world of change. This human realm offers each soul that incarnates within it a divinely designed environment conducive to facing that pain and suffering. We are asked to see the opportunity within the crises of life challenges, those karmic themes that by their nature come to us repetitively, unless miraculously we solve the task at hand immediately, which is rare, if at all possible. We need the reoccurring presentation, always slightly modified, like a variation on a theme until we know it, heart and soul. Our soul incarnates and enters into the collective karma establishing itself individually to face the struggle as it presents to us personally. We all desire happiness though we are surrounded by unhappiness. We all desire love though we dwell in a world of separation and judgment. We desire for wisdom but we are programmed in ignorance. And to make it even more challenging, souls get overshadowed, overwhelmed, shocked by the intensity here. And, we enter with the past memories, the past karma that is unresolved and already active on our current agenda. This is a significant burden right from the beginning. But even though we carry this burden on our back, we are also coming in with the greatest gift of all, a Spiritual Self. This Spiritual consciousness, or what I call Higher Self, is our source for personal transformation. It is a reservoir of the pure energies, the spiritual inner knowing, that guidance which will lead us to liberation. Higher Self is the designer of our life’s lessons, so the Higher Self is the perfect teacher to show us the Way. Even though our karmic themes create potent difficulties, we must know that we have a source of inspiration and guidance. It may not be an easy path, but we can do the inner work to open the possibilities into realities. Our karmic themes are the opportunities for growth, the grist for the mill, that environment in which we will transform. In other words, we can use our Spiritual Self to guide us through the difficulties and create liberation by learning and practicing the lessons they teach us.

The Creative Intelligence of our Spirit offers a new way to approach the age-old problems. We not only flow with the adaptation to a constantly changing world, but we evolve in skill, we evolve to a higher form ever approaching a life of enlightenment. One that is a model for our fellow beings.

But what is the Spiritual Self? This has been the question for the ages. Most would agree that it is transcendent. It is beyond description, indefinable, no words can ever truly say what it is, though we may try. It does not seem to be a “self” at all since it is formless and beyond any concept a limited mind can create. But it certainly fills me with deep feeling to speak of it in my life. So I want to keep trying. How would I ever stop searching for it?

For me, the Higher Self calls me forward, like the grand attractor that pulls me toward infinity. Imagine the gravitational pull of a great star and as I approach it I accelerate toward it. Though I may have been in orbit around it for countless ages, each revolution around it brings me closer where I feel its radiance, and at some critical point I let go of my tangential journey and hurtle into communion with my source.

At first the Higher Self needs to be personal, not because it is, but because I want it to be. It is my personal God/dess. And I use the descriptions of religions to imagine such a Being. But as I begin the journey of personal experience, religion gives way to a personal spirituality that has even more meaning. I find the mystics speaking to me of their experiences and I use them to help understand my own. Not all of it is comparable or even useful, but it is in the search and the attempt to communicate where I find progress. Finding words where none are ever enough, recognizing spiritual energy with such diverse and beautiful expression, it becomes a constant reminder that Spirit is within all things, nowhere is it permanently hidden. To notice the Divine Intelligence makes me happier than almost anything. So it becomes part of my practice to see Spirit consciously wherever and whenever I can. To practice putting Spirit into life, living it as both the witness and the protector, the guide and my patient confessor. This ideal form embodies the highest imagination that is possible for me and I always know I cannot begin to imagine such a form, and then my heart takes over and just starts loving. And then I realize that I don’t have the stamina to maintain the ecstasy limited as I am in this human body. But there are moments of a brief taste so exquisite that I am content to wait for the next and the next, knowing that Spirit is continually opening the Way for me and all others.

In this I am full of gratitude.

There are many white light meditations and other exercises for moving energy through the body with our consciousness. The following meditation has worked well for many people and therefore I highly recommend it. It is not necessary to do this for long periods of time., even 5-10 minute is enough to energize the body and clarify the awareness. This meditation can be practiced either sitting up or lying down with the eyes close. After taking a few minutes to rest and be with what is happening inside yourself, allow yourself to breathe deeply. After three to five minutes of breathing then start the meditation.

Bring a stream of pure white light from the universe into you heart and let your heart expand with this spiritual energy. Let your heart become full, so that it overflows with love and light.

Allow that love and light to flow up into the throat, nourishing and opening the throat chakra.

Take the light up into the head, filling it with the light of clarity, allow it to stimulate the higher centers of the mind and radiate a stream of light out of the third eye…feel it open, feel the expansion. Be with that for a moment. Then draw the light out of the top of the head, opening the crown chakra. Radiate the white light from the heart up and out the crown chakra and fill the room with light. Be with that radiance for a minute.

Come back to the heart chakra and draw in more healing light and draw it up to your shoulders and down your arms and out the hands and radiate the light out into the room. Feel the flow of love and healing and radiate it to the world for a moment.

Come back to the heart and draw more white light in and circulate the light through the rest of the body. If there is any blockage or tension that you notice in the body, concentrate the healing light on that blockage and allow it to clear.

When the body is glowing with light, then allow it to flow to the solar plexus chakra. Push if through the emotional body and out the solar plexus and radiate the light into the room. Feel the light open the emotional body. Let the love and light flow from the universe into your body and then radiate it back to the universe. Be with that feeling for a few minutes.

Take a minute to be in silence before opening the eyes and getting up.

COMMENTARY

I feel it is important at this time that there is an emphasis on the heart chakra. Chapter Six in my book, WINDOWS TO THE SOUL, explains my theory in detail and this exercise is an extension of that theory. By taking the love and light up into the throat and head, a beautiful balancing process will begin. The heart directs our deepest Yin energy into the head (which contains predominantly Yang energy). The Yin energy will help activate our psychic abilities and deepen spiritual consciousness. As we take the light to our shoulders, down through the arms, and out the hands, we are guiding the energy along the existing heart and pericardium (Envelope of the Heart) acupuncture meridians. This will stimulate the flow of heart Chi through the body. We are assisting the efficient flow of “life-blood” from the heart to the body. The last step of pushing love and light through the emotional body is representative of opening the chakra of the emotional body and radiating out, instead of pulling in energy. The complete process is a perfect preparation for contacting your Higher Self, or “just being in the flow”.

Prepare yourself for this Guided Meditation:

Close your eyes and bring your attention to the breath. Breathe comfortably and follow the breath with your awareness. If the mind wanders off, just effortlessly bring the attention back to the breath. Be easy, be comfortable, just breathe. And when you are ready…

Imagine… You are far out in an infinite ocean. It is a cloudless day. There is no wind, no waves, the water is like glass. The water is a deep blue, it reflects the sky of an equally clear deep blue. You are floating on this water, floating in an ocean of deep blue. Feel yourself float effortlessly. All your muscles are relaxed, the seawater holds you in its embrace. You are safe, as if you are being held by a loving Mother. Feel yourself floating now.

(Pause)

As you breathe easily, you begin to surrender. Let go into the infinite blue. You start to shrink in size, becoming smaller and smaller. The water is taking you inside herself. As you merge with the water, the feeling is gentle, natural, easy. You are continuing to shrink. You are aware of this spontaneous natural change. You are transforming. The more you shrink, the more your awareness expands. The body may be very, very small, but your awareness is very, very big. You are now no larger than a drop of water. As you continue to shrink, now you are the size of a molecule of water, and now an atom of oxygen, then smaller, an atom of hydrogen. Then smaller, a proton, now an electron, still shrinking. Now you are a photon of light speeding through quantum space at the speed of light. Feel this.

You watch the journey through space. What is it like? What do you feel? Maybe you notice how empty it is. You continue to fly through space noticing that there is nothing there except an occasional photon of light speeding by you.

Now stop flying and be still. Let your light extinguish. You are no longer in the created universe! You are in the eternal black, the energy of pure yin. Feel the non-activity, the profound silence. Just rest here in the infinite space of Being.

(Pause)

Now, start the process of becoming. Start to manifest yourself, back into light, into a photon of light. And then start expanding. Grow bigger, expand through the sub-atomic dimensions becoming bigger and bigger. Grow back into your human physical body which is floating on the ocean. Feel yourself. Can you maintain the experience of being infinitely small, in the emptiness of the microscopic?

(Pause)

Now, look up into the blue sky. It is clear, expansive, deep. Feel yourself rise up into the heavens. Fly into the space of our solar system. And continue into the space of our Milky Way Galaxy. Keep flying farther out beyond the galaxy into the emptiness of the universe. Expand yourself now. Expand into the vacuum of space; the black of the emptiness of space. Nothing is there, emptiness. It is silent. Feel the unbounded space of macro-space. Feel the silence. Nothing happens.

Remember the silence of micro-space.

Remember the silence of macro-space.

Whether you are infinitely small or infinitely big, the only reality is the emptiness. Be the emptiness.

Now draw your awareness deep inside yourself into the emptiness of your Being. You are not small or big. You are not a body. You are not an awareness. Your true reality is the emptiness of emptiness. Rest in your true nature. Just rest. Being the silence, the peace. Just the being-ness.

(Pause)

Now, when you are ready, come back to the awareness of floating on the infinite ocean reflecting the infinite sky. It is all One. Breathe this experience into your new body. Breathe the emptiness into form. Feel the freedom that you are. There are no limitations, no constrictions to who you are. Feel yourself and breathe.

Shalom…Shalom…Shalom…

Over the last 26 years I have had the chance to witness an aspect of human consciousness that few encounter: the individual’s inner experience of past life recall. I have no idea how many of these have been communicated in my facilitation of the Deva Sessions’ altered state of consciousness, but it is probably approaching 1000. Certainly, there has been enough to draw some conclusions regarding the benefits of these truly multidimensional experiences.
It is almost impossible to prove that the stories my clients tell me are indeed true past life memories; they may be entirely symbolic dressed up as past lives or they could be composite stories drawn from many actual past life experiences. Or they may be self-created stories, essentially constructed as a symbolic reflection of one’s current life situation. Sometimes you can draw conclusions about their purpose and personal meaning based on how such experiences are presented or how they are intuitively felt. From my point of view it does not affect the therapeutic and deeper purpose of such profound inner work. With the help of the Facilitator, and the symbolic interpretation of the experience, the client can gain valuable insight into the previously unconscious material. The stories are about bringing the karmic memories to consciousness, identifying the recurring themes and relating them to our present life situation. As we become more conscious of the underlying karmic themes that are repeating, whether consciously or unconsciously in our lives, we can open a choice whether or not we want to make a change to those patterns. We can only take action once we bring the problem areas into consciousness and make a choice to work on it. If we are not aware, then we are powerless to make changes. Past life work is all about finding the themes and “peeling the onion” of imprinted memory to the source of our suffering.
So let me take you through some of the benefits as I see them:
Whenever a person expands consciousness and begins to see beyond the limits of the ego boundaries (which occur during these sessions) they will notice that they are more than just an ego defined by this particular lifetime in this particular locus of time and space. I may be identified as an ego currently, but at the same time I may notice another past lifetime(s) coexisting within my consciousness. And (hopefully) I notice that I am more than an ego, but actually a soul that orchestrates those egos, and beyond that a Spirit that is all-encompassing, and beyond that …
The experience of my multidimensionality allows me to disengage the narrow vision of ego-reality and look from new points of view. (Don’t worry, this will not make you schizophrenic or cause multiple personality disorder, and if you are schizophrenic or suffer MPD, it may help bring you back together) For example, if I’m a man, I can switch to looking through the eyes of a woman. I can feel the body, the emotions, the different programming of what it feels like to be a woman. If I’m the victim in the current life, I switch the viewpoint to being a victimizer; if human I can switch to being non-human, alien, an animal, a rock, a planet, etc.
Past life or multidimensional experiences allow one to experience a different reality than the habituated reality of the current waking state. One can experience other states of consciousness and their realities: The “real” versus “symbolic”, “out of body” vs. “in body”, afterlife vs. waking life, high (spiritual) consciousness vs. normal human consciousness, etc.
One of the most practical benefits of experiencing past lifetimes is the releasing the fear of death. After a few experiences (regardless of the nature of one’s death) of birth, life, death, afterlife, and rebirth, the person remembers the nature of life transition, that effortless, natural way of continuation.
The language of the inner world is symbolic. As the experiences unfold I begin to expand my understanding of symbolic meaning and thereby fathom archetypal forces at work on the level of my soul. The past begins to release deeper meaning and relevance to the present. My attachments to past imprints are communicating on a more holographic level than my habituated mental, linear viewpoint. This expands my view to a bigger picture, enabling broader perspective, helping to detach and open to greater possibilities of response which leads to an easier transformation of self and, of course, a better understanding of the nature of the self and what it is that is continuing to incarnate life to life.
As I watch the symbolic “stories” unfold, somewhat like watching a fascinating movie in a special theater, I discover that there is an aspect of myself that is silently observing, an unattached “witness”. This is the pure consciousness, that essential nature of Self.
Because of this unbounded, unattached perspective, I can experience a safe and appropriate environment to experience the unspeakable. This is one dimension of what is called the “shadow”. This is normally an experience that the ego needs to control, to repress, to avoid and deny. The Sessions give us permission to explore, to understand and to transform the shadow with the spiritual energy. For example, if a man is in great conflict because he is energetically and psychologically attached to the karmic theme of rape and violence toward women and has abused his power repeatedly through lifetimes, the past life experiences allow him to become conscious, to step out of his habit, his ego guilt, and learn how this karmic habit affects himself and others. Through the Sessions, this man can now witness himself playing this theme out on the level of consciousness rather than destructively in his current life. The expanded consciousness also allows his Higher Self to clearly guide him in ways to stop the negative pattern, to release his guilt, and to heal the past.
Related to the opportunities the shadow may present, there are those deep attachments, dependencies, addictions, and destructive patterns that may possess and control my life. The Sessions can open awareness to discover their origins in the past, their development through lifetimes, and the consequences of their expression. Again, looking through unbiased eyes of the Higher Self to see clearly, to face the shadow, and empower courageously to take the necessary action required to exorcise the imprisoned self is not only possible but essential to the overall empowerment necessary to walk through life without fear and separation.
Whenever we have the opportunity to expand our perspective, to see a bigger picture of ourselves moving through our personal history, we can look at the evolution of a specific or our multiple life-themes through time. Noticing the choices, the development, and the refinement of our wisdom is essential to understanding our purpose through lifetimes and thereby, coming back on track to that purpose in the present lifetime.
Past life work can provide a unique perspective into the nature of relationship. To experientially know that you have traveled with this person together before, probably countless times, and to see both the differing roles and the commonality of connection can help to deepen, or better understand the current relationship. The discovery of the karmic themes between you and another can provide important insight to understanding the dynamics currently in play. The imprinted roles of the past have a way of inappropriately showing up in the future. Past life work can expose the habits that may again be in play today, though today we may have taken a new role with the other. Instead of being the Mother, this lifetime I may be the daughter, the son, the husband. The roles of the past may need to be energetically and consciously disengaged to free one of old habits or dependencies. (How this process succeeds in this endeavor, its dynamics and results, need to be discussed at a later date.)
Past life work cultures and begins to stabilize multidimensional phenomenon. What I mean by this is best described by an example: The inner work client lies down on a massage table to begin the process of going within. At first he or she is probably only aware of the physical body laying there breathing, listening to the sound of a fan blowing a cool breeze across the body. The person may have thoughts of himself/herself, the history of the current life, and begins to speak out the experience coming into the mind. The client is aware of the Facilitator’s questions and comments. Then simultaneously there is the thought or the emergence of a story arising in the mind. A story begins and the client begins to speak out what is happening on the level of consciousness. A character, and/or other characters emerge in the story which the client may identify with in the story. There may be the feeling that I am watching myself in another time and place. The past life experience unfolds, which includes his/her story or history. There may be experiences of entering differing or contrasting roles within the story. Maybe I become the ego of the child in the story and look through a child-like perspective, or I become one or more of the adults in the story. I continue to change places, jumping into the experiences of other characters. And while all this is happening, I may be aware of my physical body feeling tense or full of energy, and on the spiritual level, I have awareness of the Higher Self present with me. All of this can exist in the session simultaneously. This is one possible experience of the cultivation of multidimensionality, many different points of view and simultaneous levels of transformation all held within the container of consciousness. So I may be aware of the many dimensions: I have physical body in awareness, while my mind is aware of the flow of the memory which my mind describes, the soul is subtly communicating the symbolic meaning of these experiences and their relevance to my current life, and may be bringing me celestial support in the form of spiritual guides or supporters as I go through the discoveries, and beyond it all is the quiet or communicative presence of the Higher Self. This is important because our nature is not one of isolated, separate being but of an all-inclusive, interdependent Oneness. By breaking out of the constricted linear awareness of ego, we free ourselves from habituated constraints. We experience more universality, we realize that we are everything and empty at the same time. We learn to let go, to transcend identity. Multidimensionality means to experience all things in the hologram of Unity-consciousness, and to use this invaluable experience to integrate our humanness with the galactic, the microscopic with the macroscopic, the 10,000 things and my ego locus in space-time.
Time has conditioned our mind to become linear. Multidimensional inner work helps to de-condition the mind to be free of temporal constraints and possibly to open awareness to not only the past, but possible futures. The Higher Self can produce experiences of possible choices and the outcomes or futures they create. By freely moving forward or backward in time I can experience the flow of time and my relationship to it. The Sessions bring consciousness to the interplay of past-present-future so that I can release any attachments to time and discover “no time”. This experience empowers the mindfulness of living in the moment and its consequent freedom.
The evolution and development of the soul through time can also manifest in the expression of talents, abilities, and “knowings.” Inner work sessions can connect one to a history of expertise, whether it is physical or emotional expression, intellectual or artistic development, or the skill of multidimensional healing. I may retrieve valuable teachings or a sense of my soul’s purpose in order to apply the knowing of the past into the needs of the present. As we cultivate the inner vision, imagination, and creative intelligence that promote the expansion of consciousness, we learn to bridge the inner experience to an integrated outer reality. The transpersonal, astral, etheric, and other dimensions can then viably communicate to the mundane human dimension. These experiences cultivate the symbolic, allegorical, metaphorical levels of consciousness into real-life interpretations and useful conclusions that warrant resulting benefits.
As we experience, navigate, process, and integrate non-ordinary states of consciousness, other dimensions, other databanks of information, or intelligence, to open communication and relationship with other beings, entities, and life-forms, we personally demonstrate the potential of opening consciousness completely to the extent possible.
Finally, multidimensional experiences open the higher octaves of incarnate life to the numinous, the ecstatic, those heavenly realms of bliss and God-experience. The transcendence of the innate limitations of bodily form and the binding influence of past attachment lead to the unbounded state of liberation and the clear experience of Spirit.

by Rick Phillips

A problem , an emotional issue, a karmic theme is the expression of a lesson not yet learned. It is still enshrouded in unconsciousness. So, the first step in dealing with this problem is to bring it into greater consciousness.
This first step is many times the most difficult. The ego does not want to look at something painful; it does not want to enter dangerous territory, it just doesn’t want to deal with anything that could affect its very survival. This is the cause of denial, of shutdown, of avoidance when we encounter a juicy emotional problem. The ego just wants to protect the status quo and keep everything within familiar and secure boundaries.
Consciousness is the primary quality of the Higher Self. We increase consciousness by opening the spiritual energy, not by repeating (yet again) the emotional drama with all its associated attachments. Repetition may be a spiritual attempt of the Higher Self to open greater experience and as a consequence, open greater consciousness, but repetition without consciousness, usually just adds another karmic layer on a even bigger karmic onion. We must move beyond the control of the ego and channel the clarity of the Higher Self into the shadow environment of that problem that has continually resisted our attempts to understand and remedy the difficulty.
In Deva sessions, the Facilitator assists the client to move out of the ego and into the expanded point of view of our spiritual awareness to see the issue from a new perspective. This is a necessary step in the process of healing. Limited perspectives, narrow vision, singularity of perception: these are the tools of the ego to hold on and perpetuate “stuckness.” When the Higher Self emerges all of this has to change. The Higher Self knows the problem; it knows everything about it: its origin, its purpose, and the steps of resolution. We must allow this fresh perspective to be experienced, but most importantly we need the healing energy that comes with the power of Spirit. This spiritual power opens recognition of the problem into the “big picture,” it focuses consciousness like a laser deep into the issue taking the person far beyond the superficial ego attachment. We begin to learn the lesson, its teaching and the opportunity for the shift of consciousness that frees us from the stuck point of view. This expansiveness of awareness creates the next step in the healing process: the freedom of choice.
When we are unconscious we do not have choice. We do not see the issue clearly and we are impotent to make a change. Usually we are still lost in the confusion, attached to the past pain or worried about what the future may bring us. We are frantically reacting about the past and future instead of being conscious of the here and now where choice originates. The Higher Self brings us back home to the infinite present moment. Here we have the opportunity to see clearly and transform the attachment into liberation. But, to make a choice to change is a big decision. This is not a insignificant moment in our personal and collective history. The barriers around a deep issue may have been in place for thousands of lifetimes. The ego may not be willing to dismantle a significant part of its identity. Even though choice is imminent, we may decide to maintain the status quo. It may be too much of a risk for us to follow through with the change. Often this is a sign that more consciousness and understanding is needed. But, if we are working consciously with the Higher Self about this issue, usually it will not arise unless the time is appropriate. The Higher Self knows how to work this issue, it knows exactly what to do to efficiently release the emotional attachment. Choice is not coming from the Higher Self; the choice is a step the aware ego needs to make as a sign of faith. The choice is saying, “I realize that the time has come to let go and I’m willing to follow the guidance of my Inner Knowing!” In the clear light of the Divine, we go for it!
The next step to this process requires action. Choosing to change means that something stuck, fixed or resistant must go through an energetic transformation within the Emotional Body. An energetic shift must take place to allow the system to restructure itself resulting in a new ego identity, one that is a bit more open and more evolved. By taking conscious action we are able to integrate the changes and bring to completion the learning process. This step may be swift or it may take a lifetime to fully realize. No matter, once the Higher Self initiates the quantum leap, we are accelerating to the goal with a Master navigating the journey.
As we implement our plan of action and as the pieces of the puzzle fall together, the problem is seen clearly and understood. That which engendered chaos and entropy now is a resource for growth. The problem is no longer a problem; it is a source of wisdom and an inspiration to go even deeper. Without the problem there would not have been growth and change.
It seems in the human reality that we will always be confronted with issues. As we get older new problems appear. Does it ever end? I believe personally it is possible to move into a free and unattached place with our life challenges, but we still live within the collective and therefore we must still practice these steps of resolution if not for ourselves, certainly for others. This is not bad news. We should not feel it as an eternal burden of lifetimes, but rather to shift our perspective once again (step #1) and see the challenge for what it truly is, the catalyst for greater awareness and continual growth. Our suffering and our breakthroughs teach us compassion for those who are overshadowed. We’ve been there; we can feel what it is like. We are not alone in our struggles. This compassionate awareness is the most potent medicine for a recovering heart. And a healing heart is a self-empowering heart; one that has grown resilient and strong; one that is ready for the next round. “Oh how truly courageous the human heart is!” Ironically, if you haven’t noticed, this process feels good! This is what creates ecstatic life and a profound love of the Divine. One day soon we will be in gratitude for such a glorious chance to live a human life.
Dissolving Memory
One of the most powerful techniques that the Higher Self uses to expand consciousness of an emotional issue is through the opening of memory. Memory is an energetic configuration in time and space. This emotional or karmic memory locks an experience that overshadows the Self into a moment of frozen time and space, where it lives and breathes within the astral structure of the Emotional Body. It then becomes the template for emotional triggering and the stage-set for its particular drama. Since these memories, whether it be past life or recent memories, hold the imprints and programming for the ego, these become the areas which we need to open, to explore, and expand the consciousness into. As a result, these memories hold the opportunities for self discovery. This is true because that which can overshadow the self is unconsciously perceived and reacted to as something that is in opposition to the self, or something that is not-self, rather than perceived as part of the self or in harmony with the self. This is ignorance of the Oneness of all things. Where there is ignorance, there is unconsciousness. By penetrating the ignorance of karmic memory we can expose the issue at hand and discover the lesson it wants to reveal to us. Once the memory is open, it is easy to investigate because its superficial layer is the linear time-line of its story. The Higher Self takes us into the story and we experience again the trauma, the pain, the confusion, the emotion and its effect. Your ego is probably protesting at this moment, “Why would I want to see that again?” This is precisely the point: the ego does not want to go back into it, as matter of fact, it usually will do anything within its power to resist or block the awareness from entering that locked door. This is also why these energetic memories stay hidden within the Emotional Body for lifetimes. In order to access these deep memories we must move into an altered state of consciousness to bypass the ego’s control, we must set the intention for the Higher Self to guide us through this healing process and we must confront and move through the illusionary barriers of ego defense. Then we can open the new perspective. Fortunately, re-entering the memory will not be as bad as we expected. Actually, most clients say, “This isn’t so bad; what was I afraid of?” Maybe at the actual moment of the imprint it was very painful, maybe even horrendous, but the Higher Self can protects us or help us by reminding us inwardly that we are not the experience, we are a Self beyond the realm of emotional experience, beyond the field of duality. This becomes much clearer when we return to these old memories with the conscious support of the Divine. This even may be part of the lesson: to stay conscious in the midst of difficulty or pain. If we could learn how to maintain the Higher Self consciously in everyday life, we would deal with the overshadowing moments much more successfully. Actually, they would not be overshadowing moments; they would just be moments that come and go without imprint and without suffering. The Higher Self would be there to keep the awareness open, free and flowing.
As we enter into the story we notice that we are watching the drama as if we are watching a film. The sense of detachment allows us to experience the story but not to lose ourselves in the story. But more importantly, with the spiritual presence of the Higher Self, we have a omniscient narrator helping us understand the meaning within the story. The experience is not just re-living the memory, it is integrating and utilizing the significance of its purpose into our conscious life. By no means am I saying this is an intellectual process, on the contrary, it is through the intuitive knowing of the heart that we are incorporating not only the teaching of the experience into our life but the realized hologram of spiritual purpose fits perfectly into our human reality. The windows to the soul open a bit wider creating an interface between the ego and its materialistic perspective and the wisdom that its expansive perspective provides. With the presence of Higher Self, we move far beyond the linear historical story and into the spiritual story that multidimensionally links the past, present and future into a moment of infinite possibilities for personal and collective healing. This empowers true choice for the person. This choice for change, for letting go, is a choice that literally changes time. But this is not just limited to the individual. A transdimensional shift of consciousness alters the universe at the moment when that client chooses to dissolve the energetic karmic cords that have held their manifest reality together. But also the letting go is a dissolution of the collective consciousness and therefore effects all of us profoundly yet subtly. Working on these deepest levels of creation re-create “what is”, as the memory of “what was” is no longer necessary to define life. Our interrelationships in life are tied together by our past karmic experiences. As we dissolve these attachments to who we think and feel we are, we are literally dissolving past time and space when we were less conscious, overshadowed, and lost to our true nature. This ushers us into a new, more evolved awareness of who we really are, that Higher Self that has been leading, gently encouraging, and even seducing us home again. Working with memory in such a way becomes a pathway to re-scripting our sense of self and insuring the soul’s destiny.

I Pray for Whatever creates wonder in your life

I Pray for Whatever opens, nourishes, & elevates your heart

I Pray for Whatever amazes & touches you with awe

I Pray for Whatever is magical & mysterious

I Pray for Whatever blows your mind

I Pray for Whatever reveals a deeper truth

I Pray for Whatever attracts you, allures you, inspires you

I Pray for Whatever opens your creativity

I Pray for Whatever unifies you with it all

I Pray for Whatever you fall in love with

I Pray for Whatever gives you the passion for life

I Pray you follow it relentlessly.

Rick Phillips
12/5/04
Singapore Public Lecture

Our Deva website has finally been given a new life symbolic of our personal and community re-creation. We are completing one cycle of the Tarot, 22 years of service since our dream began manifesting in late 1987. All the archetypes have been generous in their teachings; the Death /Rebirth archetype ushered in the needed change when Rachel and I left the Light Institute in Galisteo, NM and recently it shook our world again as we passed through Rachel’s transformative health crisis and near-death experience.

Many individuals fear the arrival of the unexpected trials that blast their way into our lives; I certainly felt the trauma when Rachel set the stage for her near-death experience of both lungs shutting down due to blood clots in her pulmonary arteries and then again when the medicine that was to heal her blew her brain apart with a massive hemorrhage putting her into a coma for 3 weeks. Many of you know the story of her miraculous journey. But all those dramas are not really the point; it is the journey which returns us back to our essential humanity that is crucial. The gods duty as they spin their archetypal energetic webs around our concepts is to wake us up to that which we have not been aware of, bringing us back home to our authenticity of purpose and back to a unique expression of a living human being.

One aspect of life is to strip away the unnecessary attachments of who we think we are into who we truly are. As we can see all around us at this moment in history is that humans generally need a good stimulus to pay attention beyond the habits of the status quo. Rachel’s life is one of example; she has never shied away from the unspeakable, but repeatedly brought it out to us all to contemplate, if not to participate in. Death/rebirth is the central theme of evolution and Deva is now restructuring to improve its ability to be of service in a world in need.

A review of our Deva history shows that we have been a force for good. We have educated and trained thousands in the areas of personal growth, spirituality and psychology, and have inspired people to create peace in their worlds. We have created and contributed to 8 major charitable projects around the world, many of which are still prospering. Our Deva Lands in the Valencia Valley of New Mexico has been an embodiment of sanctuary and realized spirit for so many beautiful beings who have been our guests. Now, we are striving to expand our services and resources and make them available to all that are called here. Our Deva Intentional Community is now re-creating itself to open its arms to all in need of spiritual sanctuary whether it is short-term or long-term. As we watch the alpine fields that surround us here, we never really know what new flowers we will discover, what wild animals may visit, each springtime awakening different in its expression. So it is with us, yet we are thrilled with anticipation of what is surely coming our way. Come join us for our new chapter of discovery.