Olga Kharitidi's "Entering the Circle" first came out in 1996. I came across it in a second hand bookshop and the proceeded to consume it. This well written, first person account of her foray into the Siberian wisdom tradition and the legendary land of Belovodia is an easy read.
Several things got me taking the highlighter and sticky labels to my copy:
1. The idea of a spirit lake as the home of the inner being. Having immersed myself in Tenzin Wangyal's teachings on finding inner stillness, silence and spaciousness the concept of spaciousness being a spirit lake resonated well. Olga asserts that while it is important to create our physical reality we must not lose our connection to this inner reality or will become slaves to our creation and dead inside. I liked how she equated physical reality with a shore around the spirit lake. The shore is nothing to be afraid of as long as you realize it is "your own creation".
2. Around page 103 Olga relates an visit, early on, to a healer who used music to heal. He tells her that music could create miracles if we would only put the right intention behind it. Have we lost much of the soul of music by only creating to the mass market. Isn't this what makes the classics of Bach and Mozart so enduring, the expression of emotions in music, uplifting, inspiring and at times challenging? Simply folk tunes take us back to our roots. Irish tunes and shanty, at times bawdy and at other times funny or nostalgic do the same. Blues connects us with the struggles and heartache of the singer. The power of intention makes music special. We need to use its power more.
3. On pages 137-8 Olga outlines the three main processes working that drive humans. The past, the present and the future. While there's nothing new in us missing the present moment by immersing ourselves in thoughts of the past or possible future I do rather like how she describes it. "They speaking inside their heads about the past, reconstructing it by changing or erasing the things that don't fit" with the image of themselves they're trying to create. Of the future she peaks of how we try to image our future self, what it will be, do, look like etc. But, she warns, even the present can present problems as we work to ensure others see us as we wish to be seen. We gather around us people who reinforce our self image and our ideas while disliking those who don't. We can transcend these three processes by keeping an awareness of our inner self, our spirit lake or inner space. This heart self "is where real freedom and magic start".
4. On page 159 she entertains some interesting thoughts about the quantum reality. The particle versus wave nature of the universe and relates this to independent individuals . Like particles we can see selves as separate (like particles) or as a seamless wave "with no boundaries at all."
5. Finally, for me, what stands out in the later part of the book is "The first rule". Olga describes five attributes: truth, beauty, health, happiness and light. To find the right path through anything in life the being instructing her says "for each decision you face you must ask yourself if the choice you make will satisfy the five necessary attributes". Certainly a tall order but one to keep in mind. It reminds me of the main character in "The Celestine Prophecy" where he has to choose which way to go so he chooses the brighter one. This is illustrated elsewhere in the book where a story is told of a man who found Belovodia, the mythical land, akin to Shamballa, where no one ages and everyone is spiritually evolved. Although later it is revealed that the only gateway into this fabled land is through our connection with our inner being.
It is remarkable that the author, a psychiatrist practicing in Russia at the time, undertook the journey she did and had the courage to share it with us. I believe she now resides in America and has gone on to write a novel "Michael Gate" and another work entitled "The master of lucid dreams", which I've yet to read.
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