The Philosopher's Stone - An Hypothesis

From Wikipedia:
The philosopher's stone (Latin: lapis philosophorum; Greek: chrysopoeia) is a legendary substance, supposedly capable of turning inexpensive metals into gold; it was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For a long time, it was the most sought-after goal in Western alchemy. In the view of spiritual alchemy, making the philosopher's stone would bring enlightenment upon the maker and conclude the Great Work.[1]

Of course, many are familiar with the Philosopher's Stone due to the Harry Potter book/movie. The stone was supposedly given to Dumbledor for safe keeping. What many people don't know is that Nicolas Flamel was a real person.
Also from Wikipedia:
Nicolas Flamel (traditionally c. 1330 – 1418) was a successful scrivener and manuscript-seller who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist due to his reputed work on the Philosopher's Stone. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Flamel

That is the key to making a believable story is to include just enough truth. There indeed was a Nicolas Flamel. He as believed to be have been a Grand Master of the Priory of Sion spoken of in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Like most things with a smattering of truth, the Philosopher's Stone may not be a real physical stone, but a symbol of something else. Bear with me as I lay out some of the fascinating things I have learned on my journey. Sometimes it pays to open one's mind to other possibilities.

It is said that the Philospher's Stone is the Holy Grail of alchemists. One thing that was brought into more popular thinking thanks to Dan Brown's books, Angels and Demons, and the Da Vinci Code, is that much was hidden in plain sight though obscured by imagery. Much of the sought after knowledge of the "secret societies" was considered the Occult. Of course, the Church deemed the Occult to be devil worshiping and forbade it. The truth is that the word Occult simply means hidden. So it was hidden knowledge and wisdom that these societies sought. The Church originally had deemed much of the Gnostic Gospels to be heresy. This included the Gospels of Thomas and Mary Magdeline. You could be excommunicated for reading such heresy. Like that is a bad thing? Sorry.

Okay, now I have read many philosophies from indigenous cultures from across the world, various religious beliefs, raised Catholic, read Buddhist wisdom, Hindu teachings, and my own innate reasonings. One common thread throughout all of these is the importance of heart. Now, even science, through quantum physics is beginning to find the power of heart. It is said that we can change things through intent. But other wisdoms teach us that it is not only in thinking about a change, but in feeling it that it becomes. Okay, let's let that sink in for a moment. Quantum Physics as well as ancient teachings tell us that it is not our thoughts alone, but our intention, our heart that drives changes around us.

It is interesting that no matter where you turn, everything centers on the heart. I have never read The Celestine Prophesy, but I did get the movie. My wife has two copies of the book and it is on my list of "to read". Now, in the movie there is a point where one of the characters goes to the center of the ruins with a young girl. The two sit on the ground in this circle and the girl shows him how to exchange energy, not from the head, but from the heart. We see a stream of energy going from her to him and as he understands, it is returned to her. Their power grows as they continue to exchange energy until they create a field around themselves that the soldiers can not see them. Now this brings in another aspect of quantum physics that could be an interesting side note. That is that so far they believe they have ascertained that there are fifteen dimensions. What if what they did was to create a tunnel in which they switched dimensions. To the soldiers, it appears as if the circle is empty. However, they can see the soldiers outside the circle. Now, I believe it was Einstein, not sure if I am remembering correctly, I do have a problem in that area. Too many concussions I suppose. Anyway, I believe it was Einstein who hypothesized that there are parallel dimensions where at certain points the veil between the two is thin. He called these decision points. It is at these points when we make a life-changing decision that we may actually change dimensions and take a different track in our life. This is an interesting side note, but let me get back to Celestine Prophesy. The point that is being made is that they exchange energy of the heart. This is the key to the "magic" that they were able to create.
Now if we look at Hindu philosophy which has been carried over into many "New Age" practices, we see the chakras. Chakras come from the Sanskrit that means spinning wheels. The chakras are spinning wheels of energy. In most practices there are seven chakras or energy centers. There is the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, and crown. Now depending on the practice that you follow, the energy is said to flow from the root to the crown and out the top of your head, or from the crown to the root and into the ground. A chart that shows the various chakras and their meanings can be found at www.meaningoflife.i12.com/chakras.htm Now, Greg Braden in his latest book, The Spontaneous Healing of Belief - Shattering the Paradigm of False Limits, presents another perspective that I think flows more in line with some of the more ancient teachings and modern science about the power of heart. From what I read, Greg believes that the energy flows both from the top down and the bottom up and enters and exits through the heart. Of course, Greg is known for his books that tie spirituality and science through quantum physics. In this book he also notes something called resonance. This is that feeling you have that something is true. You just feel it. it was actually in reading this passage from his book that got me to seeing the synchronicity in a lot of spiritual beliefs.
Now science, through quantum physics tells us that we actually affect things simply with our attention or intention. Lynn McTaggart in her book, The Field, tells of experiments where quantum physicists attempted to test to see if we could affect an outcome simply by observing. It appears, according to science, that we can. Of course, this has always been stated by ancient wisdom. Of course, when it comes from New Age sources mainstreamers have a tendency to scoff at it. Yet, one of the reasons I loath the term New Age is not only because it is a blanket term, like shaman, which has been used to cover a diverse belief system, but because many of these so-called New Age wisdoms have their basis in ancient teachings. I think what draws the negativity most is the charlatans that use this as another means to fleece people. Yet, there are charlatans in many walks of life, why denigrate an entire group for the actions of a few? Ah, because then we can make people disbelieve in New Age teachings. I am still a little upset with the neighborhood priest who stated that the Church teaches that God is within while these New Agers teach that God is out there somewhere. Um, since when? That wasn't what I was taught when I was brought up Catholic. I had to go through a priest for everything.
Okay, so we have science and ancient wisdoms starting to come together. In essence, science is proving what the ancients have been saying all along. What keeps us then from starting to believe that we can change the world for a better place? Well, separation for one. Throughout history we have been taught to be separate from others. We have been segregated by race, creed, nationality, sex, and any other difference we can find. We have built fences, borders, and gone to war because our governments, churches, and other leaders have told us that THEY are out to get us. We have been taught not to believe the ancient teachings because they were put out by pagans, ignorant savages, or some other denigrating term meant to keep us from listening. We are taught to fear others. We are taught to close our hearts. This breeds hatred, bigotry, and violence towards others. But what if the ancient teachings are correct? What if we all come together as one heart, one spirit, remembering that we are all related? What if we can through our hearts change the world? If we all can come together can we bring about the beginning of the fifth world? A world of peace, love and harmony?
So what does this have to do with the philosopher's stone? Well, think about it for a moment. The philosopher's stone is supposed to wield enormous power. Heck, even Voldamort wanted it. But what if it was hidden in plain sight all along? What if the truth of the philosopher's stone is not that it is a great and powerful stone, but that it is not a stone at all? What if the philosopher's stone was a coded way of speaking of the power of the heart? What if all of us were to put aside our differences and be like the girl in the Celestine Prophesy and concentrate our loving energy to bring about healing for ourselves and the world? What if we are the philosopher's stone?
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.