The Big Picture Newsletter
July 2021
Vol 16, #7
The purpose of the Big Picture Newsletter is to celebrate the spiritual nature of human beings. We are dedicated to dissolving the myth of the randomness of life, and the materialistic nature of consciousness. We believe that every human being is an aspect of God, a powerful creator and orchestrator of his or her life experience.
In this Issue:
Soul Sharing
The Westphalian System: Decentralization vs Centralization
Suggest a topic! Email Ken
A detailed and practical explanation of consciousness, the five universal principles, and how to use them in daily life
Conversations with My Higher Self
Answers to spiritual questions beyond the body reality
Ken's conversation with his father the day after he died
Just released
What will happen if humanity embraces Transhumanism?
An Esoteric History of Earth for the past 200,000 years
The long lost personal notebook of the great inventor Nikola Tesla is discovered by a scientist who changes the world
(Second Edition)
What if the universe is actually a sophisticated holographic illusion?
(Second Edition)
The story of the unfolding evolution of consciousness on planet earth.
(Second Edition)
An airborne virus is released on an unsuspecting population. Written 10 years ago, this book unknowingly foreshadowed the current pandemic.
An 11 e-Book collection.
A comprehensive overview of the spirit/ mind/
body framework.
See Ken's movies for free!
Go to The Big Picture website
and click on the links.
Can a child's love save her father's life?
Get Inside the Mind of Nature -- Discover the simple but powerful mathematics of the underlying geometric figures that shape our world.
Soul Sharing
Another in a series of blog posts at my website
“Soul sharing” is the idea that the soul is a non-physical consciousness that experiences in the physical universe. As human beings we experience human consciousness, which is the physical awareness a human being has when part of his/her soul consciousness is associated with the physical body. Compared to soul consciousness, human consciousness is limited because only a piece of the soul’s awareness, which is part of the Creative Source, can “fit” into the physical body. So, most of the soul awareness exists outside the physical body, at the level of God/Creative Source/Spirit, or whatever you want to call it. In this way, physical entities can “share” soul awareness, for all human beings have souls, and a soul can share more than one physical body. Perhaps soul sharing is the explanation for “soul mates,” the almost complete bonding of two human beings in a love relationship.
I’m interested in this subject because my wife and I are soul mates. There’s such a strong bond between us that even after being together for 45 years, it’s hard to be away from each other. It just feels so right to be in the same space with each other.
I had an interesting experience in soul sharing this morning. I have had pets my entire life. I grew up with a cat and a dog, and have lived with cats for thirty years with my wife. We have seen them grow up and die, and then we get new ones. Recently our two cats both died within three weeks of each other. For some reason these two leaving us was much more devastating to me than the others. After three months we decided to get two kittens from the Humane Society.
After Sergei and Nicky died I told my wife that the next two cats we got would be reincarnations of Sergei and Nicky. Jenny looked at me and said, “I don’t think cats or animals reincarnate.” My favorite spiritual lecturer, Lee Carroll (Kryon) says that animals don’t have souls.
Well, I don’t believe that after what happened this morning. Two days earlier we walked into the Humane Society and immediately were attracted to two little kittens. One of them was black and the other tiger-striped, just like the two we lost. (Of course, just because the bodies look alike is no reason to assume that the consciousness of the animals is the same.) But the energy of these two guys was similar to the energy of our previous two cats when they were little. So, we took them home.
On Sunday morning (as I write this) I was in bed with the two little kittens. (Kittens are angels without wings.) Jenny was out of the room making coffee. Both of them climbed up on the bed The tiger-striped on had the energy of Sergei, and of two other cats we’ve had. The black one had the energy of Nikky and another cat we lost. So what the hell, I started talking to them on a soul level, calling them by their previous names to see what happened. I immediately felt a sense of love and a presence that I can’t describe, it was a feeling of reunion with long lost loved ones. The tiger-striped cats sat on my chest and started to purr loudly. He was rubbing his head against mine, the black one did the same. There was an unbelievable feeling of togetherness, a feeling that everything was perfect, that all the cats I’ve ever had were there in that moment. Tears of joy started rolling down my face. It lasted for about ten minutes of absolute bliss.
A scientist, a skeptic, or a materialist would call this utter nonsense, but who cares about those dead-heads? It was an experience I’ll never forget, a connection to the Creative Source through the vehicle of two little kittens. Who knows but that there were others there as well, perhaps human loved ones who shared part of their souls with me as well. It was such a profound, deep feeling of perfection and bliss that I sometimes share with Jenny.
I’m convinced that animals do have souls, or the equivalent of a soul. Consciousness isn’t separate like human bodies are. From my previous meditations I’m pretty sure that there is a collective consciousness of animals species like cats and dogs, just as there is with the human family. It’s almost like, if you have had one cat or dog or other pet, you have shared them with the entire collective consciousness of the species. In that broad sense all life everywhere is linked via soul-sharing, or consciousness sharing. After my experience this morning, I have no trouble at all accepting this idea.
An experience like this is intensely personal and subjective. It cannot be adequately explained using language. It can easily be dismissed by skeptics and materialists. However, anyone who has had a spiritual experience doesn’t care. These spiritual insights are far more real than the physical world we live in every day. They have a powerful feeling of inclusion and connection with an energy far greater than the mundane events of “real” life. These experiences remind one that there is far, far greater reality beyond the body reality of the five human senses. But there’s no algorithm or formula or seminar that you can teach to others, so that they may have a similar experience. This is why my work has always revolved around finding your own personal insight.
Follow the Leader is an outdated concept
“Follow the leader” or “follow the hero” simply doesn’t work to create a personal connection to the Creative Source, although it can be inspiring. The best seminar I ever attended was by a guy who called himself Drunvalo Melchizedek. Seriously folks, I have no patience with pretension or hype, but this guy was the real deal. He basically told stories and we got together in “pods” of eight for surprisingly effective group meditation sessions. Drunvalo was my inspiration for writing my geometry book on polyhedra. The point is, this guy didn’t hold himself up to be a guru or a spiritual master. He did his thing and sent us home. He taught us about the merkaba, and how to create a surrogate merkaba, which led to the greatest spiritual experience of my life. He said, “if you can do this you become more than human.” This is exactly and precisely what happened to me a month later.
Spiritual experiences are personal and subjective – the surrogate merkaba
I’ll describe this briefly. Creating a surrogate merkaba is done by asking permission from the earth and then going through a few simple steps. A month after taking this seminar Jenny and I went up to northern Michigan for our annual fall vacation, to a house on Lake Michigan. The next morning a fog blanketed the entire lake. You went outside and saw white. It was a magical day, completely still. Not a sound could be heard except for the gentle lapping of waves on the Lake Michigan beach. Visibility was about six inches. I thought: “OK, let’s test to see if this surrogate merkaba stuff is for real, or is it bullshit.”
I’m a skeptic at heart. I don’t believe anything unless I can feel it or see it for myself.
So I followed the steps to create a surrogate merkaba above the lakefront house. This involves the creation of a spinning vortex of energy. And just like a computer program, you give the surrogate merkaba instructions. You create it, program it, and then let it do its thing. My instructions were: “clear away the fog in a way that shows purpose.” I imagined that the fog would clear off gradually in a way that would prove it wasn’t just random movement of water vapor.
I did this at 8 in the morning.
We went out for a short hike (interesting because visibility was about one foot) and came back. We had something to eat and I was doing some writing. About three hours later I remembered about the surrogate merkaba I created. I went outside and looked around.
Nothing. There was no change. I shrugged and chalked it up as a failed life experiment, and then I forgot about it. We had lunch and I went back to writing. About an hour later I went outside looked out at the lake. The fog was still thick. There was no breeze, no movement outside. I casually looked up at the sky, and saw that the fog had begun to clear in a perfect circle directly above the house where I had put the surrogate merkaba.
It was remarkable. Fog everywhere, a small, perfect circle of blue sky directly above. I marked it down as a purely coincidental but interesting physical phenomenon, and went back in the house to continue writing my book.
An hour later I stepped outside and looked at the sky again. The circle was bigger, the “hole” in the fog larger, but the surrounding fog was as thick as ever.
OK, by now I am totally intrigued. An hour later I step out again, the blue hole in the sky is larger now, but still almost a perfect circle. To make a long story short, over a time period of about 8 hours, the fog cleared away from the lake in an almost perfect circle. The circle of blue sky got bigger and bigger and bigger. Then, about five in the afternoon, a breeze picked up and scattered the fog.
I knew what the seminar leader meant when he said, “If you can do this you become more than human.” This was a demonstration to me that consciousness can have a direct affect on the physical universe.
After that experience I didn’t feel the need to do more experiments. I never made another surrogate merkaba. I didn’t have to. I will never forget that magic day in the year 2000 as long as I live.
It’s funny because Jenny was tired that day and, after our morning hike, never stepped foot outside the house. There was no one else in that area that day in the twenty houses on that beach. Jenny and I were alone; so in a sense this experience is completely subjective because no one else saw it. Or maybe they did, and remarked about the curious phenomenon of the circle in the sky. A scientist would explain it as a random movement of water vapor molecules, but nothing remarkable.
But for me it was life changing. It led me to write ten books. I have still never felt the need to make another surrogate merkaba; once was enough.
I tell this story to illustrate that inspiration from others is important, but any spiritual experience is always personal. Neale Donald Walsh and Eckhart Tolle are inspirations, and their books are great, but no one can explain to you how to connect with the Creative Source. Drunvalo was wise enough not to tell us what might happen if we created a surrogate merkaba. He just gave us the info and encouraged us to have at it. That’s the sign of a great teacher.
So – look to others for inspiration but consult your own inner wisdom.
The world right now doesn’t need leaders and followers, it needs people who will look inward to find the God inside. Or, perhaps, it needs more little kittens and puppies to lighten people up.
The Westphalian System: Centralization vs Decentralization
Another in a series of blog posts at my website
The human race is now engaged in a war of ideas. A cursory examination of this conflict emphasizes debates around COVID-19: lockdowns and the nullification of individual freedoms in the name of public health, or the opening of economies so people can get on with their lives. But the issue is much deeper than that, and literally involves how human societies in the future will be organized. The debate between centralization and decentralization is worldwide, and affects almost every human being on the planet.
In the West, the ideas of the nation state, sovereignty, and territorial integrity began in the 17th century with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended 80 years of war in Europe, and also involved a religious truce of sorts between the three main religions of that time: Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism (based on the doctrines of Martin Luther, which were essentially objections to the perceived corruption in the Catholic Church), and Calvinism. The Peace of Westphalia was the beginning of the modern era of nation states with distinct and protected cultural, religious, and/or political identities. The concept of territorial integrity and national sovereignty were born out of these negotiations almost 400 years ago. These ideas allowed for the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, just after World War II.
The 20th century saw the establishment of communist and fascist states, and a serious challenge to the Westphalian system across the globe. Of course there have always been totalitarian states throughout human history, but as the population of earth rose from 2 billion in 1927 to 7 billion in 2011, centralization, authoritarianism, and centrally planned economies began to conflict with notions of individual rights, and societies such as constitutional republics that protect individual freedoms.
Those in favor of centralization argue that planned economies are vastly more efficient at moving goods and services, and are better able to utilize the talents of individuals in society for the common good. Those in favor of decentralization decry the squelching of human rights and individual freedoms, and argue that centralized societies inevitably become totalitarian, inhibit creativity, and are ruled by a privileged elite who use inflexible ideology to make people follow “the party line.” Those in favor of centralization counter that the inevitable evolution of free societies lead also to the establishment of wealthy elites who establish a modern-day privileged class and lord it over the people.
In the United States there is a lot of confusion about the political system we have. If you asked most citizens about this, they would say that the US is a democracy. On a very basic level, this is true. But the US is actually a constitutional republic. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights spell out explicitly what the government can and cannot do. The Bill of Rights guarantees individual rights for each citizen, and religious rights. The power of the central government is limited by the Constitution, and all powers not specifically granted to the central government are reserved to the states.
Here is what the 10th Amendment to the Constitution says:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
FindLaw says:
“Passed by Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791, the Tenth Amendment is the last in the group of Constitutional Amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Unlike several of the other early amendments, it is quite brief – only one sentence. But that one sentence grants state governments all powers not specifically delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. However, as broad a grant as this seems, interpretation by the Supreme Court has placed some limits on state power.
“Frequently Asked Questions
“What is meant by ‘reserved powers?’”
“‘Reserved powers’” refers to powers that are not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment gives these powers to the states.
“What is an example of a reserved power?
“Reserved powers include running elections, creating marriage laws, and regulating schools.
“Why are reserved powers important?
“Reserving powers for state governments helps maintain a balance of power between the states and the federal government. They also allow states the freedom to try out different ideas and programs, which is why states are sometimes called ‘laboratories of democracy.’
Furthermore, in Fry v. United States, 421 U.S. 542, 547 n.7 (1975),”the 10th Amendment expressly declares the constitutional policy that Congress may not exercise power in a fashion that impairs the States’ integrity or their ability to function effectively in a federal system.”
Notice that the states are the laboratories of democracy, not the federal government. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written precisely to limit the power of centralization by the British crown, or any dictator or group of totalitarians, such as modern-day fascists and communists.
The states run elections and have always run elections, not the federal government in DC. It’s why some states are now looking into the corruption surrounding the 2020 election. The power to examine elections and ballots can be done by the duly elected legislatures of each state.
There is good reason to limit the power of the central government.
In a democracy, the majority can trample on the rights of minorities. The Electoral College, for example, was designed to protect the rights of less populated states from the rule of big states. Those who favor abolition of the Electoral College, or packing the Supreme Court, have, most likely, not studied the U.S. Constitution and the checks and balances it creates to keep a stable political system. The recent riots in dozens of American cities, with billions of dollars in property damage, is a taste of what can happen when mob rule takes over. Totalitarian societies are always centralized, and are always based in intolerance for other points of view.
Here in the US there is now a debate between a populist movement that favors a smaller government and a larger private sector, and those who favor the communist, centralized model of a huge central government that plans the lives of all citizens. Under the guise of “COVID Relief Bills,” the central government in Washington DC and the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, are literally printing trillions of dollars. Some businesses report that they cannot find employees because people are being “paid” more to stay home than going to work. Where this will lead is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain: money is not wealth. As long as the amount of currency and credit in circulation balances the goods and services produced by the economy, the currency is stable, inflation is low, and the economy has the opportunity to run well. Merely printing money without a concomitant increase in the production of goods and services must lead inevitably to inflation and the debasing of the currency, which adversely affects the poor, the class least able to withstand the onslaught of inflation. Inflating the currency has been tried (and it has failed) throughout history, from the Roman Empire to the U.S. colonies, who attempted to print scrip to fund the Revolutionary War against the British crown. No one would take this currency, which were just pieces of paper backed by nothing valuable.
A centralized economy would be able to print massive amounts of money, whereas a decentralized economy with a smaller central government and a large private sector would never be able to get away with it.
In short, centralized governments can never plan for the billions of decisions made every day by citizens. Centralized planning inevitably results in prohibition on thought, speech, and action to suit the demands of those in power. This is why centralized, totalitarian societies have always failed.
Centralization of politics in the United States has led to the placing of barriers and barbed wire around the Capitol, as a privileged political ruling class tries to protect itself from the people it is supposed to govern. Here in the US, HR 1 and SB 1, under the guise of “election reform,” will take control of decentralized elections from the state legislatures and give it to a corrupt central government, allowing for the party in power to maintain its power indefinitely. These election laws will, of course (for it is the modus operandi of centralization) – be backed by the coercive power of the State, where authority (and military power to enforce diktats) is concentrated.
In conclusion, human societies thrive when they are supported by the rule of law, and by the guarantee of liberty and freedom of thought and expression, which leads to creativity and powerful economic opportunities. Although some centralization is necessary for good planning and rational public policy, too much centralization will lead to a sterile, apathetic society ruled by a privileged few.
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Ken is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Since childhood, Ken has been thinking about the Big Picture and how to increase spiritual understanding in the world.
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