I Was Seeking the Philosopher's Stone and Found an Opportunity to Serve

In my Hermetic studies, there were seven operations in a transformative process, both for physical alchemy as well as spiritual alchemy.

I had made a 1-year commitment to work with my Hermetic teacher, Susan. She was to teach the ancient wisdom of the Emerald Tablet of Thoth and the way of the Philosopher’s Stone, also known as Alchemy. I had to agree to not make any major changes in my outer world and to not make any requests of a person, place or situation to change on my behalf. I was to be learning the nature of reality – the cause and effect of my inner world of mental, emotional and physical energy bodies’ outer experiences.
I would sit in meditation by entering a relaxed and open state of consciousness, while staring directly at the face in the center of the mandala below. Like many alchemists in the past, I replaced the mandala’s central image with a small round mirror to facilitate my introspective process. While staring at the center of the mandala, I would intend to incorporate into my peripheral view all the alchemical images of King (masculine) and Queen (feminine), Spirit (masculine) and Soul (feminine) that were present. I would have to move slowly and intuitively and try to feel a sense of increased meaning and inspiration. This began my journey through the seven operations.

My only other tools in the process were the Major Arcana cards of the Thoth tarot deck, without any written interpretation of the cards provided. I had to meditate on the images of the cards and allow meaning to emerge and inform me about where I was in my stage of transformation. My journal was my greatest companion and became the way I tracked my unique process and meaning of life as I grew self-aware and shifted consciousness on all areas of my life.  My journal became my Emerald Tablet and personal guide for my life’s cause and effects.

There were lots of Hermetic advanced breathing exercises that I needed to learn and experience correctly. I learned to know myself as – breath of life and energy in motion, emotion. I didn’t know then, but those various breathing exercises would become the basis for my transformation and for the healing breathwork I use with my clients today.

Susan would give me instructions I would have to follow to the T. If she felt like I was moving through the process from my ego controls she would send me back into my inner lab for another operation. She would call my ego out! – key. Not an easy task, but I trusted her and she received my medicine as her student which made us a great team.

I was seeking the Philosopher’s Stone, the White Stone by the River, The Sword in the Stone – all the same and meaning ‘that which contains the knowledge of creation’…a symbol that represents the final outcome of my inner transformation, of the conversion of the base metal of my outer character to the golden properties of my Higher Self. It was all about my evolution of consciousness in the alchemy of time – the hardest, most profound work of transformation I had ever done.

The purpose of the alchemical process was for me to gain knowledge of the Divine and to build a conscious relationship to my higher energies, life force, the Universe. This knowledge was something entirely different from formal types of knowledge gained through my life conditions, academic studies and formal trainings…which I had lots of!

I was to intimately know myself as Universal Energy expression through the Seven Laws of the Universe and how they operated. I also needed to know how my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual energy bodies operated within the Universe. Phew! I quickly realized the alchemical process was both science and spiritually based and could be used repeatedly in a simplified manner to map consciousness daily!
My Hermetic studies also deepened my spiritual practices of ceremony and ritual to honor the earth, natural world, Seven Directions, sacred circle and cycles. The processes blew my mind open and drove home the power of my growth mindset and the necessity of feeling comfortable with being uncomfortable!

I have included a picture of me meditating in preparation for one of the Mind Mastery retreats I led in Sedona, AZ in 2016. You will notice there is a Swan tattoo between my shoulder blades. The Swan is one of the birds in the mandala and represents the second operation, Dissolution, which occurs in the sacral chakra and facilitates the releasing of emotional blockages and subconscious purification of feelings. The Swan symbol reminds me that my subconscious emotions have the power to create my life… and so do yours!
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That journey was eight years ago. I successfully completed all seven operations and repeated them three times over a 3-year period. Since then I have created similar processes and tools, which I lead in modern everyday alchemy, that have assisted others in their own inner transformation, outer manifestations.

My passion is the alchemy of relationship dynamics – relationship to Source, Self and Other (people, money, health, business). I serve Individuals, couples, entrepreneurs and small business owners with the Self-awareness, Mindset Creation and Inspired Action necessary for their unique experience of evolution of consciousness in the alchemy of Freedom, whatever that means to them.

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