I first read about Convening a Council in Cosmic Healing, by Barbara Brodsky. In the 13th chapter, she describes a visionary ceremony in which she takes stock of her present circumstance and then takes a Bodhisattva Vow, offering her newfound wholeness to the universe. She was surrounded by a circle of loving spirits, including Jeshua (Jesus) and her guide and teacher, Aaron. The concept of a Council began to take root in my heart and imagination. This was also about the time that I had a series of conversations with George SanFalcon about a governance process that he eventually published in book form as The Council of Equals. I learned from these two, and for that I am grateful.

At a particularly difficult point in my marriage a few years back, I felt like I had come up against a brick wall. Mrs. BarelyAware and I loved each other very much, but our perspectives and behaviors surrounding a deeply personal issue were at odds and seemed unresolvable. Moreover, the issue loomed large enough in my head that simply acknowledging our differences and living with them seemed intolerable. I needed to speak the deepest truths of my heart to her in my heart’s native language. Part of the problem, however, was that she was for the most part unable to understand that language. The conversation, no matter how many different ways I approached the subject, led down a common path toward misery and suffering, for both her and me. My prayer boiled down to the essence, was simply, “help.” The answer came in meditation one day – talk with her Higher Self, in the context of a Council.

Everyone has a Higher Self. Some call it their Guardian Angel. No matter the name, you have a loving spirit entity assigned to you and you only. Its only job is to help you and guide you and keep you on the track that you laid out for yourself before you were born. Mostly beyond our awareness, this loving spirit is nevertheless with us all the time no matter what. Somewhat idiosyncratically, I like to think of my Higher Self as “me” after I have become fully enlightened. The future “me” is returning from the future, to help the present “me” through my current experiences. I have had the good fortune over the past few months and years to get to know my Higher Self. I call him (Yes, I perceive him as masculine) “Daniel.” Our conversations can be odd, especially from his perspective, because I am literally just talking to myself. Through him, I can access and identify with the oneness of existence.

If Daniel can talk directly with the higher self of Mrs. BarelyAware, then she, on the most important level, could hear me deeply and perhaps help us to resolve this issue. I knew that on the most profound level, our life goals were harmonious. I knew that her higher self was just as loving and powerful as I knew mine to be. Most importantly, our higher selves were deeply connected – not only through the bonds of love and friendship forged by our personalities, but more profoundly through our mutual connection with the essence and oneness of all things.

So I asked Daniel to begin. I wanted to be as inclusive as possible, so I asked any being of love and light that had an interest in positively resolving this issue to join the circle. This included my guides and teachers, the higher selves, guides and teachers of Mrs. BarelyAware, our children and extended families, and other beings that I simply didn’t know. Soon I felt a circle forming, with the two of us in the middle. I felt loved and respected. I stated my needs and my case the best way I knew how. Mostly, I asked them for help, a way out of the stuck place where I felt I was. The circle began to sing most beautifully, as both a chant and a hymn to the creative principle of the universe. I understood it to be a way of focusing and harmonizing the energy of the group. The image began to fade from my mind.  The understanding came that the Council would remain in session until a decision was made or a path found, probably in a few days. I would receive a communication from them then.

A few days later, I did in fact get a notification, and I went back to the circle in meditation. The answer I got made me feel heard and respected, and over the weeks and months, I saw a real change in our relationship. Now I use and trust this process for times when I cannot see a way forward and circumstances seem to conspire against me. My results have always been positive.

I am writing this for my small phone group, a loving sangha that is currently looking for the next step in our shared path together. Now that I have shared my experience, I would like our group to convene its own council. Here’s how to do it:

1) Reflect a bit on why you are in our group, and how a council might help. From 30,000 feet, what are your intentions? Why do you continue, and what would you like to achieve? Be as general or as specific as you like. Examples might include service to positive polarity and to the light, if you feel so moved. If you have taken the Bodhisattva vow, that would be an appropriate intention as well. These are not required, just what inspire me personally.

2) Find a still, quiet place, and begin to meditate. When your mind is sufficiently clear and still, bring those intentions for the group to mind. Ask for help. Then ask your Higher Self (or Guardian Angel) to communicate with you.

3) If you feel a change in your energy, or in the vibration, or a presence, this is an answer to your asking. Please challenge what comes, and phrase your challenge so that it requires a simple yes or no. Example questions might be: “Is your presence and communications harmonious with my highest ideals and intentions?” or “Do you intend harm to none and benefit to all?”
a) If you get clear yes answers to those questions, continue to step four.
b) If you get no or ambiguous answers, go back to #1 and start over. Do not engage with spirits who aren’t consciously serving the light!
c) If you get nothing or are unsure of what you are getting, continue with step four. Imagining the rest of this is perfectly OK (trust me – explaining that is another blog post, and this is already long!). At some point, if you persist, you will find that the experience becomes a bit more than imagination. Keep your guard up however. At any time, if something doesn’t seem or feel right, go back to #3 and challenge.

4) Listen to the energy for a time. Is there a message there for you? If not, no worries.

5) Ask that your Higher Self/Guardian Angel/Whatever you choose to call it join together with the higher selves of the rest of the group, so that your highest intentions and the highest intentions of the other members can be consciously known and in harmony with one another. If you have established relationships with spirit guides or teachers – Aaron comes to mind as one example – be sure to invite them. Ask that any interested being of love and light, who consciously serves others for the benefit of all, join the circle.

6) Before you end the meditation/reverie, try to get a sense of (or imagine) what the circle might look or feel like, what actions might be taken.

7) Please let me know your experiences, either in person or in the comments below!