The central tenet of alchemy is the idea that all matter is alive and is the hiding place of what many call God, Essence. It’s that which is seen and unseen, known and unknown, visible and invisible. It aligns with the traditional formulas of initiation: suffering, death and new life; departure, initiation and return. It’s a transformational process in which matter and humans change in character in order to be reborn into something new. The seed turns into a tree. The caterpillar changes into a butterfly. The servant becomes the messiah. The metaphorical lead of life transforms into the gold of awakening thus creating a whole new way of being and doing.

Change in this context is the idea that in the billions of years the cosmos has been in formation there has been and will continue to be development, modification, variance, diversification, metamorphosis, transmutation, transition and transformation from one order of magnitude to another. This is opposed to sameness, uniformity, similarity and stagnation. All of this implies movement from one state of development to another by transcending what is while also including it. It’s an ongoing process in all creation from Being to Becoming. It’s a relationship in life between spirit and matter, poles of the eternal Oneness of all that is, has been and will be.

Alchemy then does not create. Rather it works with pre-existent conditions and materials in latent states to become active; growing into something new. For humans it presupposes the possibility and potentiality within that can be activated through a variety of conditions that can be discovered and initiated. The same way a seed that contains invisible life grows when placed in the proper conditions called earth, air, fire and water so humans have the capacity through the Life Force to grow into a fullness that is rarely realized.

Alchemy is a process that transforms what is to what can be. The activation is found in the laboratory of creation of which we are a part. The alchemy of change is a divine art and science, a generative power of the Divine Mind acting in nature. As we become more aware of this we become evolutionary alchemists co-creating with the Great Creating. As we awaken to our part to play in this unfolding drama of life we become more and more who we truly are and ultimately have been created to be. The Cosmic Christ is not just one person but the entire field of Divine Energy manifesting in the very nature of being and becoming. We are all seeds of this Divinity.

OK, let’s step back and take a deep breath. This is a lot to digest. Let’s literally stop to breathe and marinate in this mystery for a moment. Inhale, exhale, feel the life force coming and going in the air you’re taking in and letting out. The green plants are producing oxygen which we need for life while we humans are producing carbon dioxide which the green plants need for life. Every breath therefore contains the reciprocity and rhythm of Life. Every atom has come from star dust billions of years old. This Generative Operating Design is always here with us, for us, ever sustaining us. We are all part of this One Creating; Co-creating what we’re experiencing.

Once we realize all that’s been said here at a deep interior level we can begin to understand what Socrates was saying in the above quote: “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but in building the new.” For us the new is found in the Alchemy of Change that’s taking place all the time with and without us. The truth is that we absolutely are  the change we’ve been waiting for and will continue to be as long as we understand our part to play in the vast expansion of consciousness that is unfolding in, around and through us.

Remember that alchemy is a process of transforming what is to what can be. The gold we seek is within us, all around and flowing through us. The Christening, the anointing and bestowal of our Original Blessing is ever present, ever beckoning, ever inviting you, me, all of us to be free of the abdication and enslavement that binds us and blinds us. Remember too that change is transition, variance, development, metamorphosis, modification and fluid movement.

Engaging the Alchemy of Change requires waking up to who we truly are and who we’re not. It requires an expansive view of life beyond the narrow confines of our everyday preoccupations. It’s a call for a more inclusive and cosmic understanding of creation from the inside out that honors the whole natural order as living matter in harmony with the the Ultimate Creating. Here we uncover a new cosmology, a new way of being and doing. Here we discover the ultimate treasure in the heart of matter that continues to help us discover New Life in the midst of death.

• As you sit quietly, introspectively, reflect on what you’re fighting that’s old within your sphere of influence. Feel the conflict, the difficulty, the energy of this fight.

• Now reflect on what you want to build that is vibrant, life giving and new. Feel the energy of this newness and take note of it.

• What’s the message you’re receiving from these two reflections? Take your time. Relax into this change in perception. Affirm the grace of this awakened embrace. Let go to let come.

• In this Alchemy of Change what actions are you willing take that will help build the new? What’s the gold that’s radiating out from the newness? Let it flow through you in appreciation.