Over the past 20 years, the Star Elders have helped us understand the synchronistic connections between the shifts, the bumps, and the awakenings of the collective consciousness of humanity. These bumps we feel are a part of an ancient code that activates a divine plan that triggers a planetary ascension process. The Star Elders feel that the year 2008 is the year that we will manifest the shift of the ages which they predicted 10,000 years ago. The Star Elders say that enough people on the planet are working with enough light that we have been able to tip the balance of the darkness back into the light. So, it was no surprise to me that in the last few months of 2007, all the puzzle pieces came together regarding the affects of this planetary awakening of humanity. This is why our lives have felt ... well ... so darn discombobulated.

The Star Elders humorously refer to this planetary ascension as the Domino Affect. Remember when you were a child, and you got that set a Dominos? Instead of playing the game, we all sat them up in a row, so when you knocked the first one down the others would quickly follow. This is why the Star Elders call this ascension process the domino affect. Because once you knock down the first domino, there is no stopping the rest from falling in succession. Such is our awakening process. Once we start the process to wake up, there is no turning back. You can't fail once you begin the journey. You can't slip back into darkness. It is impossible to unlearn the light. Let's say that again . . . It is impossible to unlearn the light!!!

The Star Elders organized all the symptoms and effects on humanity into seven simplified steps, or what they call the seven dominoes. They talk about what happens to us, how we react to it, and what does it really mean to us now. We already know that symptoms of awakening and ascension can be quite challenging and even painful. But what this article plans to do is to take some of the sting out of the awakening, and put back the bliss and the joy in a process that we have long waited for. (Read... The Star Elder Message though Aluna Joy in 1998 http://www.kachina.net/~alunajoy/99aug2.html)

The disciples sought Enlightenment, but did not know what it was or how it was attainable. Said the Master, "It cannot be attained". You cannot get hold of it." Seeing the disciples' downcast look, the Master said, "Don't be distressed. You cannot lose it either." And to this day the disciples are in search of that which can neither be lost nor taken hold of. ~ Anthony de Mello, SJ

So what might trigger your first domino to fall? What events might start the ball rolling so to speak? Many things can trigger the beginning of your ascension process. For some like me, sacred site travel (yearly trips posted on our web site) has been a great trigger for me. My first trip to a Mayan site in 1986 nudged me out of my spiritual laziness so I would finally face myself, and begin to ask who I was, and why was I here. I have never looked back after that first visit to a sacred site. For many of us, meditation can also trigger and accelerate the ascension process. For others, it might be practicing yoga. For some it might be a book or article that triggers you into remembering. Others might be triggered by things like sacred site essences, (sacred site essences posted on our web site) or even a photograph of a sacred site that they had spent a past life in. But many times a huge life challenge or trauma can crack us open so the brilliant light inside of us can begin to leak out. Through great trauma and loss we begin to reach for a greater meaning to life. This is a sacred wound and a Shaman's path. Eventually you remember that you never were in the darkness . . . you just forgot that you were in the light all along.

When I was in Palenque in 1990 (read the Palenque Story at http://www.kachina.net/~alunajoy/2003jan.html), the Star Elders showed me the self-justifying creative force that the universe that was beginning to manifest on the planet. It manifests bit by bit. The more this energy washes over the planet, the more affect it has on humanity. Anything and everything that is exposed to this creative energy is literally forced to come back into alignment and in harmony with the laws of cosmic nature. This energy can cause all kind of interesting weird and often times undiagnosable symptoms. An incredible amount of spiritual fuel is being used for this ascension process. We are literally being turned inside out and being pushed to the limit. Every ounce of our energy is being used. This is why we feel so incapable to cope with stress. The entire planet and every living thing is self-justifying right before our eyes. This is why we are feeling so much pressure in the world today. This is why we are so bored with life. This is why we are in such a hurry. This is why we are so confused. This is why our body is giving us such problems.

The good news is that our spirits are really ready for this ascension process. In fact, our spirit can hardly wait to get there, wherever that is. Your spirit was ready . . . yesterday! Your spirit doesn't have to deal with time, gravity and other laws of nature in the 3-D world like your body does. This is why having a vision is such a joyful event . . . but working to make it manifest can be a huge drudgery. Your spirit is like a racehorse at the starting gate stomping its foot in frustration. The 3D mechanical mind that runs our body is our spirit's biggest challenge to overcome, because our body is holding spirit back. On the other hand, your body is struggling to keep up with your spirit. But this is the age where were ascend with not only our spirit, but also carting along our physical body! We have never ascended so completely towing a body along before. In the past, we usually dumped our heavily programmed bodies and started over. This also explains the huge amount of catastraphobia in the collective consciousness right now. You body remembers that we dumped it in the past. But this time we are not going that route.

Your spirit uses non-linear organic energy and intuition to manifest and to grow. It relishes in the unknown and likes exploring unknown territory. It isn't restricted by history, or past experience, or fear of the future. Spirit is very much like an innocent curious child that is eternally in the present moment. Your material body uses linear mechanicity, programs, patterns and history to maintain the body to keep itself safe. It is rarely in the present, and it sends out warnings about the future. When we begin to ascend, all that our body knows from past experience begins to shift. Our body literally freaks out, as it does not understand the unknown territory it is entering into. Our minds wildly race to look for relevant programs to use. Unfortunately all your body knows is what has been in the past . . . and what we are moving into is a new future which does not use the old programs. Today, right now at this very moment, we are stepping into the future. Many, and I dare say, most of the old programs we have used, do not apply anymore. It is like trying to use a "DOS" system in a "Windows XP" world. It is time to see the world as a little child because much of the past programming has become obsolete. Sometimes we are able to walk on the Spirit side for a while and get some reprieve from the building pressure. Other times we find ourselves forced back into the body dealing with 3-D reality. So it is the struggle between our spirit and our body that causes all the weird symptoms. This leaves us asking the question . . . "What in the world is going on? And why?"

So below is the Seven Domino Steps. Remember that we will rarely do each step in perfect succession, one to another in a nice orderly fashion. No one ever said that waking up was going to be an orderly process did they? You usually start with the first domino and then you may jump to the second and the third, while the first one is still evolving.

"There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary." ~ Emmanuel

Domino #1.
We know we have begun the Ascension process when we hit . . . THE PRESSURE COOKER.
With the first Domino, we become aware to an increasing and indescribable energy. There is an intense pervading feeling that something is missing, but we don't know what. We find ourselves asking . . . "Is there more to life than this?" We feel a tremendous amount of stress for no apparent reason. Our minds can get very busy like a thousand radio stations going at once. It is hard for us to meditate. We don't sleep well. Generally we can feel rather burned-out, but we don't want to slow down. You can make life choices that rarely work out for you the way you expected. Life feels like a head-on collision. Remember, you are not the only one feeling this. 100% of humanity is doing this one if they admit it or not.

"One must have chaos in one's self in order to give birth to a dancing star." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Domino #2.
The pressure cooker causes a . . . CLEANING AND CLEARING OF THE INNER TEMPLE.
A new higher vibration begins to flush out the denser energies. This is not a fun process. It can cause depression. We can have vivid, wild and violent dreams. We can become catastrophobic and paranoid. We open our eyes from a collective haze of denial. We see for the first time a larger picture of the world and realize that we are not physically safe as we might have thought. We might find ourselves taking survival classes, moving to a supposed safe area, and reading conspiracy theories. We might buy into negative prophecies of a doom and gloom future. We know the stories . . . the "world is going to end", and "we are all going to die" kind of scenarios. Many go through a dark night of the soul at this point. This clearing of the inner temple is releasing many lifetimes of lower vibrational energies and catastrophic past life histories. We will most likely do a lot of releasing at night in our dreams, and we can wake up feeling like a truck hit us. This phase of the ascension process can make us aware of the chasm between who we really are, and what we see in the mirror . . . triggering a deep grief and overwhelming feeling of loss. We might be obsessed with self criticism. The good news is that our feelings are clues to our awakening! When we remember who we really are, it also means it is now possible to BE that powerful lighted one, and we can restore that heaven on earth again.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside himself. He said, "My son, it is between two wolves.... One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith". The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:"Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied: "The one I feed".

Domino #3.
All this clearing causes us to . . . REACTIVATE OUR SLEEPING KUNDALINI ENERGY.
This phase of the ascension process can cause physical, emotional and spiritual overload . . . causing heart palpitations, feeling restless, sleeplessness, headaches, ringing in the ears, dizziness, exhaustion, nausea, and feeling faint. Tightness in neck and shoulders is a big symptom of this phase. We need to sleep more . . . a lot more. We may experience electrical disturbances with computers and other electronic devices. Does blowing out light bulbs sound familiar?

During this phase, we can be a bit narcissistic as we get a glimpse of who we truly are. We begin to feel how powerful we are. We begin to feel the inner wisdom rise up in us. We, as they say, "see the light". If we are not careful, we might take this personally and begin to spout off that we are the second coming and are here to save the world! In a way, you really are the second coming . . . but you are not the chosen one. You are one of many awakening ones!

Awakening Kundalini energy causes frustration as we are vibrating at a higher rate, and we have to wait for the outside world to catch up. This can feel like it is taking forever. We almost want to give up. Awakening Kundalini energy can also make us feel lost, alone and separate. While knowing we are connected to everything, we still can't seem to find HOME. We might find ourselves moving home base when the Kundalini domino is at work. Sadly, it might not feel good anywhere we go, and we worry that we will find no place left on Earth that does. Everything feels just plain icky. We feel no personal security, and we might feel unbearably vulnerable. Personal relationships, and all areas of life, can be polarized to the extreme. As our energy becomes more powerful, we might have sudden shifts of interests of friends, activities, habits, jobs and homes. We find ourselves ending relationships that were out of alignment with new energy. Remember . . . like energy always attracts like energies. We find that people and surroundings that no longer match our vibration will simply go away. As we evolve higher and higher, this phenomenon becomes more obvious. Remember to Breathe and let go. Live and let live. This domino makes us understand the true meaning of surrender.

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ...

Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. ~ Carl Jung

Domino #4.
Once the Kundalini begins its awakening, this sends us into the . . . GREAT EGO DISSOLVING.
Our ego is simply an illusion we have about ourselves. Our ego tells us who we are and why we are here based on programs and old, outdated history. Our ego is not based in spirit. The dying of the ego can cause anxiety, panic and feelings of hysteria and anger. We will feel a loss of interest in current goals; and loss of sense of self. We might feel as if everything is dissolving from us and most of everything is! We might feel out of control, vulnerable, and powerless, with no frame of reference for what is appearing ahead of us. Many feel worthless and think they have nothing to offer the world. We can feel like we may never find our life's purpose. Many are feeling like they are going to die, or want to give up. These mechanistic patterns and behaviors that we are losing are not needed in the higher realms. Could it be that we are dying to the old ways of being, and letting go of our attachments to this world, so we can move on to the next? Yes it is! It is here that a profound level of unity births inside us. In this Phase, the Savior evolves into a unified whole linked with a wave of awakening humanity that by the way . . . will save the world!

Remember that the load you seemingly carry may very well be the light and the way for many others to follow ~ Gabbitas

Domino #5.
Once the old ways of the ego begins to disappear, we begin to cross . . . THE BRIDGE . . . a GREAT DIVIDE.
We begin to enter a space where all time, space and dimension coincide all at once. We might have unusual aches and pains throughout different parts of our bodies and intense allergies. We might experience dimensional and future doorways either by seeing or hearing them. We won't have the usual compass to guide our lives. We are in between realities but not integrated, and there is no time to integrate in. We might feel disorientated, not knowing where we are, and feel a loss of a sense of place. We might begin to have unusual visuals in the inner and outer worlds. We will have weird dreams where we find ourselves healing past atrocities. Atlantis, Maldek and other massive catastrophes in our past are being cleared out. We will feel painfully aware of things that are out of balance with natural cosmic law like war, hunger, abuse, pollution etc... We will begin to feel a deep urgency to do SOMETHING - ANYTHING but won't know what that is. Now the outside world does not remotely match the way we are now vibrating. Everything feels so darn heavy. We might feel morning sickness like nausea and vertigo. The planetary gyroscope is being rebooted. We might feel an unplugged feeling when we actually move through and touch the other side. We can't describe this with words. We are meeting soul mates after long and fruitless searches. Memory loss and difficulty accessing words is an issue. The English language is dualistic and cannot move forward with us into a world of higher frequencies where duality cannot exist. So as we begin to Ascend, we will have more trouble with words. This makes it really interesting trying to have a conversation . . . unless the other is also at this level.

"Security is mostly superstition.It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of humans as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." ~ Helen Keller

Domino #6.
When we cross the bridge far enough, we begin to BEND OUR LIGHT
(read more on our web site here http://www.kachina.net/~alunajoy/2007july.html).
We will find that working in a linear manner is not happening at all at this stage. We will find that we feel scattered at our work, and become like a butterfly skipping between one focus and another. We feel compelled to do things that are not necessary or practical, and usually find ourselves doing the un-practical. We think we are wasting time, and then we feel guilty about this. We find ourselves in a cycle of re-scheduling, re-working, re-ordering, and re-organizing, because we need re-covery and re-vitalization. We need to re-focus and are screaming out for re-assignment.

We find that for the last time we are faced with long forgotten old dramas, old rivals and attacked by old enemies. Many of these old riffs, which we have given up on, have resurfaced so they can heal . . . and some actually do to your amazement! We are bombarded with vague clues that don't make sense and feel twisted. The feelings of waves of nausea is more intense this time around. We could have ringing in the ears in multiple frequencies, lung issues like we cannot breathe. We feel like choking and have strange hoarseness, which is creating oxygen level drops in our bodies. Do not hold your breath - BREATHE - BREATHE - BREATHE! Lower back issues and all over aches and pains have come back, and we could feel dizzy . . . like someone shoved you sideways and feel like we can't stand up straight. Plus we can't seem to stop yawning!

At the extreme, there may be a rise in many choosing not to stay here any longer, and many are in the process of saying "good bye". Many people, who never get depressed for any reason, are feeling like quitting life. And quitting life is just what we need to do in order to make this shift. If we hang on to what we have known, we close doors to what is out ahead of us. I am not saying to end your life. NO WAY. You came here to see this shift and all the amazing things that we will experience together. What I am saying here is that we are loosing our attachment to things and this world. This is why you are becoming bored and want to quit. This really is a good thing!

"If you always think what you've always thought, You will always do what you've always done. If you always do what you've always done, You will always get what you've always got. If you always get what you've always got, You will always think what you've always thought." -- Author unknown

Domino #7.
Now we are ready for the fun stuff! We begin to CREATE OUR REALITY!
Remember . . . what you create is what your entire being is telling the universal creative force. When we begin to shift, it is important for us to . . . STAY PRESENT. We can't create anything if we are worrying about the future or feeling guilty or remorseful for the past. Remember neither the past or the future really exists. So spirit does not understand this. STAY POSITIVE . . . but stay real to what is going on. Remember . . . ALL FEELINGS are CLUES to something. Do not judge them - learn from them. Make sure we "don't water the weeds!" BE OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES . . . the world is full of imitations and well worn paths. BE OPENED HEARTED . . . staying in our HEARTS is the only way to shift this world into paradise. TRUST YOUR CORE no matter what the outer world says or does.

I will judge my success by how well I live my truth, not by how well my truth is received. ~ Jan Denise, "Naked Relationships"

Remember this is the longest journey we will ever make. That journey is the 13 inches from our HEADS to our HEART TEMPLE. This ascension journey we have been on was to simply get out of our MINDS and return to the HEART TEMPLE. Once we arrive in the Heart temple, we can create anything. And we will! Remember that the Earth is going through this process also. So if you are way ahead in this process, or way behind, you will still feel what the Earth is doing also. I love this, because it is a great harmonizer and keeps us out of our egos while we learn to be a harmonious family once again.

Unfortunately reading this article will not make this process easier or even more blissful (darn!), but at least we know that we are not going crazy. Some ways to get through the biggest bumps on the ascension ladder are the simplest according to the Star Elders. Remember nature is emotionally neutral... so breathe lots of AIR, drink lots of WATER and get out and walk on the EARTH and let the SUN shine on you. Nature heals and harmonizes. Also things like homeopathy, essences, checking in with like-minded friends, yoga, meditation, sweat lodges, OK... I'll even say chocolate and going on a spiritual journey (with Aluna Joy's wild pilgrims :) all can help ease the physical shifts while you ride the wild ascension roller coaster.

Aluna Joy Yaxk'in is an internationally known author, spiritual life coach, sacred site guide, alternative historian, ordained minister and modern mystic who inspires and encourages others to recognize and accept their own authentic divinity and connection to God. Aluna Joy Yaxk'in, PO Box 1988, Sedona AZ 86339 Ph: 928-282-6292 Webpage: www.AlunaJoy.com E-mail: alunajoy@alunajoy.com

Copyright © 2006 - Permission is granted to copy and redistribute this article on the condition that the content remains complete, full credit is given to the author(s), and that it is distributed freely. Center of the SUN - Aluna Joy Yaxk'in, PO Box 1988 Sedona, AZ 86339 USA Ph:928-282-6292 Ph/Fax:928-282-4622 Email: alunajoy@1spirit.com website:www.AlunaJoy.com