Yesteryear Fiction

The Tree of Life
By All is Light


the tree of life is veins
is the fire
the wood
the lightning
which signals the thunder
the tree of life is water
the carving of rivers, tributaries
beating with the heart of the world
filling us with blood
feeding us with blood.


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All is light, and light is all. We see, we breathe, we think, we love, and in the hinterlands between the folds in the fabric of reality and spirit, we find magic, we learn what it is to be Soul, to be light.

Destructive Magic
By All is Light


Now, don’t let the title fool you, we’re not talking about summoning natural disasters or blasting holes in things using the power of your mind, but rather how those who follow the Path of the Yazhi typically apply destructive energy, like any tool, without malicious intent, to achieve a specific and ultimately beneficial goal.

It has often been said that destruction and creation go hand in hand, and that the only constant in the universe is change; It is an ever-present fact that death is a part of the natural order of things, the end result that ultimately brings about rebirth and a new form of life at the end of which death waits again, and so the circle repeats itself endlessly. (Though the ultimate goal of any Yazhi is, of course, to break the cycle and transcend death, or at least, bypass it. More on this in the article: A Yazhi’s view of Death.) Even so, it is seen for what it is, a natural process, and more of a biproduct of life than the end result per se, but also as a powerful (and potentially dangerous) tool, as anything destructive often is (take uranium, for example!)

Of course, this begs the question: just what would you use it for? The answer is simple: to obtain your freedom. We cannot truly be free (and therefore enlightened) without tearing down at least some of the walls that build up in our consciousness, in our relationships, and in the world around us, reinforcing the material stratification that keeps us so grounded. Therefore, destructive energy can be seen as a way of bringing down the barriers we do not need anymore, of opening our eyes to things and aspects of reality that we had previously refused to even consider. Think about it: say a you have a violent, obsessive ex-boyfriend (or girlfriend) that stalks you and just doesn’t seem to get the hint that things are over; destructive energy, when worked properly, can be used to sever the ties (on a spiritual level) that bind him (or her) to you, safely and effectively, without causing irreparable harm to either of you. Remember– the Yazhi works in mysterious ways, and burning away connections such as these is often the starting point on the road to recovery; you may find that the ex you “cut loose” spiritually is better off for it, finally able to move on with his or her life and achieve things that might not have seemed possible before. Destructive energy can also be applied to spiritually scour parts of the soul or psyche that are stagnant or “dead,” removing the sort of restrictive emotional scar tissue that is often a barrier to proper energy flow and enlightened thought. Of course, caution is advised in all of these circumstances! Let morality (and not anger) be your guide, and do not take all emotional scarring at face value; some spiritual wounds run deeper than most people might imagine.

To my knowledge, no Yazhi has ever used this tool of the psyche and the soul to inflict harm of any kind onto others; they do believe, however, that many people do just that every day (on a small and incredibly imprecise level) without even realizing it. Think about it: energy is worked through the mind, and given life through emotion and intent; a person, not conscious of what kind of energy they might be working, directing and how it might affect the world (and people) around them, could cause a fair amount of damage (on a spiritual level, at least) simply by getting angry. Imagine, then, the amount of potentially destructive energy flying around cities and highways, mingling with other sorts of energy sent off just as unconsciously, creating the amalgam of mixed, emotionally generated energetic “static” that Yazhi claim we, as a species, have become mostly desensitized to.


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All is light, and light is all. We see, we breathe, we think, we love, and in the hinterlands between the folds in the fabric of reality and spirit, we find magic, we learn what it is to be Soul, to be light.

Nature/Anti-Nature
By All is Light


When classifying mainstream faiths, one can see that there is a definite division between “earth-centered” religions that stress the importance and spiritual superiority of nature and those, like the Judeo-Christian faiths, that focus more on the functions of society at large, working within the limitations of the basic framework of the never-ending cycle of human progress, treating nature as relatively inconsequential on the whole.

The Path of the Yazhi, however, attempts to incorporate both; it is common knowledge that as long as there are humans, neither nature or modern society are ever going to “go away” completely (both are integral parts of our lives) so coexistence and compromises are necessary, lest we injure ourselves by jumping to extremes. This concept of the equality of nature and what is referred to by Yazhi as “anti-nature” (i.e. things that are uniquely human and set us apart from nature) is known as the Sacred Duality; much like the Yin and Yang, this duality incorporates two diametrically opposed forces that are inextricably linked, but the principle resemblance ends there. While the Yin and Yang work independently of man, existing in all things and states of matter, the Yazhi’s Sacred Duality exists because of man, kept in a delicate balance by human hands alone. (Think about it– without the delicate balance, nature is just as likely to overrun everything humans have built as anti-nature is to eradicate our environment.) Of course, without humans, there is no purpose for such a balance, and the earth itself, a very significant part of nature, would simply reclaim everything that was once maintained and kept on the opposite end of the scale, if you will, by human hands.

But, for simplicity’s sake, let us consider a lawn. Without human intervention, it is simply a plot of land, weed-ridden and thick, with dry, dead patches wherever seeds are unable to grow; every year it grows, a veritable jungle of wild grasses and flowers that grow so much they begin to compete for space and resources, their roots getting tangled in a strangling mass as they seek out moisture and minerals. Then, as the heat begins to take it’s toll, the grasses and flowers die off, leaving a virtually barren plot of land that sits, first baked by the sun and later hardened by frost until at last conditions permit growth again, and the cycle begins anew. It’s very essence is sporadic and random, subject to the whims of weather and not very useful on the whole.

With human intervention, however, and the balance of the sacred duality, anti-nature can turn that same lawn into a lush and green patch of perfectly manicured grass such as you might find at a golf course or near the civic center of a major city. Too much anti-nature, and it’s a barren plot again, land blighted and scoured of nature’s touch by an extreme. To this degree, one might compare the Yazhi’s sacred duality to the way a balance in nature is kept by predators keeping prey in check, lest they breed out of control and damage the environment; but consider the opposite– too many predators, and the prey become extinct.

It is also important to note that Yazhi believe the balance of the sacred duality is essential to the proper flow of ambient energy; the presence and degree of nature and anti-nature in any setting effects not only the way different types of energy move (or stagnate, as the case may be) but also the way that energy feels. Sound hokey? Consider this– blindfolded, without sound to key you in on your location, would you be able to tell the difference between a forest and a city? Of course you would; your latent ability, as a human being, to feel the difference in energy flows and energy fields (Yazhi believe) practically guarantees it.


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All is light, and light is all.
We see, we breathe, we think, we love, and in the hinterlands between the folds in the fabric of reality and spirit, we find magic, we learn what it is to be Soul, to be light.

Terraforming Energy
By All Is Light


A quick guide on how to change the energy in a room or any given area to the exact vibe, frequency, color, feeling or sensation you need it to be in, regardless of how negative or tainted the energy already there is.

Step 1: Determine how many corners there are in the boundary of the area you are going to change the energy in. Find that many objects, however large or small, (as long as you know they can hold your energy for an extended period of time – I use small stones, beads, candles, sometimes objects that are already in a given corner,) and place one of them in each corner until all the corners have an object in them.

Step 2: Find the spot where the energy is the most disturbing and sit there. If you’re having trouble finding it, close your eyes and focus on following your way to it using your third eye.

Step 3: Get comfortable, smile, relax, think about a happy memory, close your eyes and focus on the light of your inner energy field. If you’re troubled about something or there are other traces of unclean or negative energy in your system, take a moment to cleanse them, to cycle in clean energy and cycle out the unclean. Remember, you’re using your own energy as a template for the change you want to effect on the energy of the room around you, so bring your own energy into the perfect state.

Step 4: Begin to meditate. Change your focus to seeing the room or the area (however large) that you want to change the energy within, and do so with your eyes closed. See it from every angle. Look into every corner, study the way the negative energy in the space looks, note its color, the way it moves or spreads.

Step 5: Focus again on the light within yourself. Build it, picture it as it spreads from the center of your being outward into the rest of your body, beyond the lines of your body into your transpersonal energy field (AKA aura) and further out into the rest of the room. Feel the change in the energy around you as it becomes like the light flooding out from within you, feel your body becoming light, reaching out and slowly spreading until it fills the entire space with clean, wonderful energy, converting all the negative energy in the space as it goes. Like terraforming, you will literally be changing all the energy in that given space to exactly the frequency, color, or feeling that you want it to be. You’re setting the tone for the entire room, and literally creating a sort of blank slate in the entire space– with one exception. It’s not really blank, it’s exactly as clean, awesome, healing, inspiring or calming as you need it to be.

Step 6: Slowly, carefully, like the tide receding from the shore, draw your light back into your body and, as you do so, the energy you have left behind will be clean and uniform, exactly as you envisioned it. Once you have returned completely to your body, remember to breathe, take a moment to feel the energy settling in place around you, and then open your eyes.

Step 7: In order to make this change more permanent (you can change the energy this way to anything you want at any time, but people, spirits, and other forms of energy will have a much harder time leaving anything behind in or tainting the energy in your space) you can carry a bit of this energy with you and charge those objects you placed in the corners in Step 1 with it so that they hold and maintain the energy as a sort of perimeter around the space. You can also do this without objects at all by simply laying (or drawing) energy wards in the air (or on a surface) in the corners. Once this is done, very little will ever need to be done in order to keep the energy in the area as you set it.


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All is light, and light is all. We see, we breathe, we think, we love, and in the hinterlands between the folds in the fabric of reality and spirit, we find magic, we learn what it is to be Soul, to be light.

The Sacred Nature of Music
By All Is Light


For most religions, cultures, and even just ordinary people in general, music has an important, almost essential place in everyday life. Just look at how widespread it is; every culture has some unique form of music to call it’s own, and it is such an important part of our lives as human beings that not only do we have radios, tape decks, CD players, and MP3 players for our cars and for use on the go, we also use music to set specific moods in film and on T.V., to pass the time while we shop or stand in an elevator, to motivate us when we need it, (like when we clean the house!) and to help us get in touch with parts of ourselves we might normally repress (heck, I’m even listening to music as I write this article!) Music is something marvelous, a thing that transcends reality, evoking emotions and encouraging all sorts of actions (like dancing, lipsyncing, etc.) that might otherwise not even exist; musical talent and singing have been described as creations, even gifts of the divine, of god or the goddess, (or both, or whatever else you might believe in!) but regardless of your spiritual orientation, the amazing power and potential within music, be it traditional and spiritual chanting, the most raucous of death metal, or anything in between, is so blatantly obvious that it’s quite often overlooked, despite the fact that it is arguably as essential to culture and the human mind as food and drink are to the body.
It’s inherent power is not lost on those who follow the Path of the Yazhi, however; to them, music is seen as a wonderful tool, perhaps the most useful and amazing ritual instrument available (i.e. v.s. what you might see in different religions, candles, holy water, crosses, idols, incense, etc.) when it comes to working energy for use in different applications.

Yazhi believe that specific sorts of music stimulate specific emotions, reactions, and modes of energy within specific individuals; to this degree, most of them believe it is impractical (and closed minded!) to label any particular type of music (be it a genre, artist, style, etc.) as good for only one particular mode of working with energy, no matter what that mode might be. An example, in layman’s terms, if you will– A healer (typically singers, an aspect hearkening back to the Diné or as they are more commonly known, the Navajo) is as likely to do his or her most powerful work with healing energy using Gregorian chanting or traditional singing as he or she is with classic rock, death metal, lounge, country, or even techno/rave! As stated before, those who follow the Path of the Yazhi see music as a tool, not as clumsy or basic as a wrench or a hammer, but eternal and endlessly adaptable, controlled by intent and as precise as the mind of the user, indeed a veritable extension of the soul, of the divine power within every human being. It is everlasting, spiritually powerful, and incredibly diverse in it’s styles, forms, and subtleties, the very epitome of everything a Yazhi strives to be.


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All is light, and light is all.
We see, we breathe, we think, we love, and in the hinterlands between the folds in the fabric of reality and spirit, we find magic, we learn what it is to be Soul, to be light.

Unified Existence and Individual Priestlyhood
By All Is Light


Most of the more common religious traditions teach that there is a natural order of things, that certain people (and entities) are more sacred or holy than others; take Catholicism for example: At the bottom of the list we have the devil, followed by all the denizens of hell, then sinners who have yet to be redeemed, Catholics (in general), priests, etc. all the way up through the Pope and all the creatures of heaven with God at the top. Catholicism is a classic example of a stratified religion, but it is not the only one; all of the most common religions practiced globally are typically stratified religions, as are the cultures of all the most successful societies (The United States is a perfect example here) and it’s proven to be a very useful adaptation in the long run, providing a list or a ladder, indeed an invisible chain of command that encourages productivity with greater power and greater rewards, be they spiritual or monetary in nature.

Because nearly every aspect of our lives, and often the very workings of the world, are stratified (think about it; seniority, priorities, different grades of fuel, etc.) ideas and concepts that do not follow this model are rare and often misunderstood; Most people would assume you’re slightly crazy or perhaps on drugs if you asked the question: “is two really better than one because it has a higher numerical value?” or pondered if north really should be “up” on maps.

This sort of non-linear thinking is an important part of the Path of the Yazhi; It is a universally shared belief among Yazhi that, while stratification is important and useful, it is also superficial and should be treated as such. Yazhi are encouraged to question stratification in society whenever possible, especially where it affects the functionality and efficiency of everyday life, and to consider the implications of living with it, or without it, and decide for themselves whether it is right or not (in each particular application.)

With that in mind, it’s not surprising that the Path of the Yazhi is devoid of any sort of religious hierarchy; every Yazhi is seen as being equal, a priest or a priestess as close to enlightenment as any other, regardless of faith or spiritual persuasion (everyone has their own way of going about it.) They don’t see people who do not follow the Path of the Yazhi as being less than themselves; neither do they see religious leaders such as pastors and Brahmin as being superior to those that society typically places below them. There are no “religious leaders” in the Path of the Yazhi, no prophets, no saints or sinners, and not even the spirit force known as the Yazhi (different from a Yazhi) holds a higher place among them; To a Yazhi, nothing is more sacred than anything else, as there is a little bit of the Yazhi in everything, and a little bit of everything in the Yazhi.


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We see, we breathe, we think, we love, and in the hinterlands between the folds in the fabric of reality and spirit, we find magic, we learn what it is to be Soul, to be light.