Transmutation: When Peter Got Out, Walked Upon, And Came Toward...
Updated: Mar 21
Transmutation. What is it? I've thrown it around as a solution in my writing. I've tossed the word about as though it solves things with a certain "2+2=4" efficiency. In short, Transmutation is changing one thing into another thing, entirely. To "transmute" something means to alter its nature. Changing a liquid into a solid. Taking ideas from notes to action. Transmutation allows us to change emotions or states of feeling into other things. On a vibrational, energetic level, transmutation involves accepting lower, challenging energies and transforming them into higher, more positive forms of vibration. Lower frequency to higher frequency. Here are some AI-suggested examples of different kinds of transmutation:
Meditation & Breathwork: To raise vibration and manage emotional states.
Visualization: To actively change energy patterns.
Journaling/Art: Working through difficult feelings until they shift.
Mindful Response: Instead of reacting negatively, acknowledging the emotion and choosing a higher response, freeing both oneself and the other person.
Facing Truth: Not avoiding pain, but sitting with it to understand it, which leads to genuine transformation.
On the one hand, scientifically speaking, transmutation refers to the conversion of one chemical element or isotope into another. This idea is as old as humanity. In fact, in Annunaki lore and legend, it is said that the original purpose that brought our creators to Earth was the search for gold to repair their dying atmosphere. As old as the order to dig for gold is the practice of trying to create it from other things: Alchemy. This was part of the "forbidden knowledge" that was shared with Man by his gods. Alchemy is the quasi-scientific attempt to turn base metals into higher, more noble metals that have living qualities. Alchemy turns lead into gold. Transmutation on a nuclear level. Point of fact, it IS possible to transmute lead into gold. We've done it artificially, although the resulting gold was horribly radioactive and unstable. This is an example of physical transmutation. Changing reality. Changing "what is".
On the other hand, spiritual transmutation involves altering the vibrational frequency of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in INTENTIONAL ways. Consider the water and ice experiments of Masuro Emoto (opening video at the top). Emoto’s experiments, which proved that human thoughts and emotions could change the structure of water crystals, are categorized as pseudoscience and do not involve changing the chemical composition of water molecules (H2O). It does not involve elemental change. But it certainly involves change from one thing to another. Change of structure IS change from one thing to another, entirely. This would be vibrational, spiritual change, NOT elemental change. Still, one frequency to another is one thing to another, entirely. Changing "What is".
Emoto's experiments are not direct examples of transmutation, but they ARE possibly a window into a process through which transmutation can occur. If, by force of will, we can physically alter a single cell in our own bodies, then it is also true to state that humans can grow wings and fly like angels. It is but a matter of scale. I won't get that far off into the weeds in this entry, but the topic can go there. Similarly, if, by force of will, we can alter the structure of our cells or the cells of other things or beings- similar to Emoto's experiment- then we can willingly transmute parts/portions/pieces of the reality we create around us as we move through life. This is to include our emotions and feelings. Our physical pains. Our grief. What's more, it is to include the emotions, pains, and grief...of others. It is also to include the very nature of the physical, material things around us.
But before we get too excited, understand that the process works in BOTH directions. Just as we can transmute negative to positive, we can also transmute positive to negative. The Emoto experiment was able to create beautiful, orderly patterns in the ice crystals AS WELL AS negative, chaotic, and distorted ones. Consider this scenario:
Look at this way: if I'm driving my car in traffic and another motorist cuts me off while maybe honking his horn or giving the middle finger. How do I respond? Almost automatically, I may honk back or give the middle finger back or tailgate or give a mean look as I pass- any one of a hundred aggressive tacts. It's an instant reaction. Stub a toe, yell "dammit". Why did this particular reaction happen? Why do I react that way?
I react that way because in a split second, my imagination told my brain a story about why that person cut me off in traffic and my brain accepted it and applied it to my thoughts and behaviors. Instantly. The brain sees and processes all, whether we consciously know it or not. In that split second, my brain sees that this other person cut me off and then my brain takes it personally. It imagines that this person cut me off because he thinks he is better. Faster. Probably has a better car than me. Or maybe he doesn't, and I am indignant that he cut me off in his shitty car. Now, he will make his destination on time before I will. I'll be late because of him. He took my spot on the road and got in front of me. That bastard. I bet his life is better than mine....
And so on. I feel the perceived slight. I believe the story my imagination automatically told me because it is easy to believe. My body- the surging adrenaline, the heat rising into my face, as I feel an angry reaction boiling to the surface- follows suit and accepts the story. These sensations arrive as proof that this reaction is justified. I honk. I punch the accelerator. I give a look. And in a hundred moments like this, my day becomes consumed.
As humans, we are meaning-making machines. The meanings we make from and apply to our surroundings come from our imagination. The imagination runs constant. It is always on and never off. It continually creates meaning in the background of our minute-to-minute lives. It does this whether we pay attention to it or not. What's more, our brains accept the meaning imagination gives it and then applies it to our thought and behavior patterns automatically. Whether we pay attention to it or not.
As in the example above, my emotional state in the car spirals as I am an oblivious participant in the process, rather than an in-charge intelligence. Sometimes, we run on our biological auto-pilot. It always tilts to emotion. We must be mindful. Intentionality matters. Rather than obliviously participate, what if we actively engaged this process? Rather than allowing our emotions to spiral, what if we took charge of this process at the instant that our brains recognize it and then CHOOSE TO IMAGINE A DIFFERENT STORY? Otherwise, as passive participants, we become victims of our own imagination, as in the example above.
This is where I introduce a Bible story with a new spin. This time, I turn to Peter. Gently, this time. I don't know that we got this story wrong, but I do strongly suspect that we did. At the least, there is far more to this story than we have historically allowed. Aside from Moses, Peter is one of my favorite childhood characters. Loud, brave, brash, impetuous, and action-oriented. Peter the Rock. Always intentional, always deliberate. I want to think about the night in a boat in a storm when Peter jumped into the water and tried to walk on it. In Church, this is a story of faith and failure. Here's the story from the Book of Matthew:
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Keep in mind, the stories immediately preceding this one involve days-long sermons and teaching and miracles and people, People, PEOPLE. Lots of crowds. Plenty of politics. Jesus imparted many of his most famous teachings and parables. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, was murdered by the king of their nation and Jesus heard about it and that they were gunning for him next. Even as he digested this news and the events of the week, Jesus then delivered the Sermon on the Mount and fed a crowd of 5,000 with 2 fish and some bread. By the way, that's 5,000 MEN, according to the Bible...not people. Likely, the total number was upwards of 20,000. As that event concludes, this story occurs. After such a tumultuous week, Jesus says "I'm done. Everybody out. I need time."
And He then took time for Himself. To pray, as it goes...and to think, to accept what had happened- all of it. To feel it fully. To allow in the pain, the negativity, the hurt, the trauma...all that He felt from so many people. So many stories. So many lives. Jesus took time to fully feel, understand, and accept what his nervous system was processing. He made space for the pain, he didn't banish it or run from it. He sat with it.
When He was done, he got up and went and found his guys. They were still in the water. Still in the boat. Jesus walks on water. Peter tries and fails. And that's where we focus: why did Peter sink? He of little faith.
This is where my brain goes the other way. I don't care why he sank. I want to know how the fuck he floats for a few seconds. The takeaway isn't that Peter couldn't. It's that Peter could and did. We don't chide an infant for only taking a single first step, yet we chide Peter for transmuting fear into foothold ONLY enough for several steps...as though "come on, Peter...do better." Who the hell are we? When is the last time YOU transmuted fear into foothold? I don't mean figuratively. I mean literally. Peter "got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus." One subject, three verbs. He got out, walked, and came toward.
I want to look at this story in terms of transmutation. It is possible to willingly enforce vibrational changes in our minds and these vibrational changes can affect physical changes. Rather than allow our imagination to concoct and believe a story that then compels negative behavior, we can choose to use our imagination to see beyond the moment. To choose different. That is where our true power begins. We exercise that power with intentionality. In other words, if it is possible to intentionally focus the imagination towards higher-frequency emotions and TRUTH instead of negativity and passivity, then the result would 100% change the structure of the reality around us- both spiritual and physical. It gets better...
Here is a profound assertion: If we can alter the structure of the spiritual and physical reality around us, then it should also be possible to turn liquid water into a solid foothold upon which to stand and rest the weight of our body. It should be possible to do that by force of will. Again, a simple matter of scale. It appears Jesus and Peter did this. Jesus, intentionally and with the purpose of transmuting his own trauma into love and light for his men. Peter did it, too, albeit momentarily and probably as much by accident as by purpose. He was just following Enki's lead. He'd seen enough, heard enough, knew enough. It wasn't hard to take that first step out of the boat. To walk on water with the Sumerian God of Water was probably not a giant stretch in context. That's how the story went.
Let's review. There are 2 kinds of transmutation: physical and spiritual. I believe, and evidence does show, that spiritual transmutation can initiate physical impacts and, ultimately, change in structure to another thing, entirely. Physical transmutation involves a specific scientific/chemical process to transform and release energy and matter. As the physical, scientific process of transmuting lead into gold has been revealed, so, too, does spiritual transmutation also follow a process that must be discovered by and for each of us. Physical transmutation occurs in nature or in a laboratory. Spiritual transmutation occurs within the imagination.
In this story, we see Jesus take the time to Himself to acknowledge, accept, and experience the chaotic emotions from the week. And then he transmuted them by turning the chaos to something else entirely.
It would be pertinent to point out that:
Transmutation IS NOT rushing to positivity or pretending everything is fine.
Transmutation IS NOT dissociating from the body or emotions to feel better.
Transmutation IS NOT controlling emotions instead of feeling and transforming them.
Transmutation is NOT a spiritual bypass or avoidance of the Curse.
To transmute emotional energy, one must sit with those emotions and feel them. Understand the nature of them. Bury them. Mourn them. Understand the nature of that, too. And then make an intentional choice to bundle that energy and increase its vibration. An intentional choice to transform sorrow and dismay into something else. An intentional choice to turn anger to something else. Fear to something else. Grief to something else. Pain to something else.
But the choice isn't the end of the process. Energy must be RELEASED. Transmutation isn't about holding energy. This, itself, is very bad and harmful. Transmutation is about turning that energy into something else, entirely. To do that, one must ACT. An event is required to release that energy back out into the world in its new form. Punch, counterpunch. Or kiss, counter-kiss, if you prefer. Or, literally: Punch, Counter-kiss. Turn the other cheek, it is said. Either way. I believe this is what Jesus did with that gargantuan ball of hurt energy he held from his hellish week. He sat with it, and then decided to release it back into the world in a higher form. It was a hell of a week. The release of that energy would be a hell of an event. It was, and we still talk about it.
Jesus chose to use that transformed energy he held to demonstrate the power of transmutation for his men. And for us. He then walked upon liquid water and thereby Gifted us a profound lesson in Transcendence. Jesus transmuted trauma to foothold. He focused the transformed energy into the water molecules beneath his feet, rearranging them. Spiritual vibrations affect physical changes. Mr. Emoto is proven correct again. The Sumerian God of Water, indeed. ENKI, as Jesus (Living Water), used water as a teaching tool often. Just as Enki, as Elohim, did the same. As in Genesis, the spirit of Elohim hovers over the deep water...the chaos.
We know that Jesus often focused his light, sound, and vibration in specific ways. Upon specific things. How do we know this? Because he models it for us in The Lord's Prayer (the un-pawed-at Arabic version, that is). "Dad and Mom from the stars, focus your light, sound, and vibration within me." In this case, Jesus himself focused his own light, sound, and vibration into the water below his feet. That energy was the potential energy he had transformed from his hellish week. He focused that energy there, and then he walked on it, activating it.
I don't pretend to know how one might change the structure of water in order to walk upon it. Other than to suggest that one might cause effect upon the water beneath one's feet to emulate water that has been frozen. Only it hasn't been through the natural freezing process. One just emulates it. So, it is plausible that one may walk upon a surface that has been arranged to emulate frozen water. Prove me wrong. If you do, you will have proven Mr. Emoto wrong, too. And maybe Peter. And possibly Jesus. But whatever...
Anyway, I don't think Peter understood it perfectly either. But Peter and I are different. That difference, friends, isn't about faith. We who haven't seen God face to face talk much of faith. We must, because we haven't seen. Those who have seen, speak differently of faith. When you stand in the presence of the divine, faith is no longer an issue, it's an action. I can assure you 100% that the Israelites, when they encountered Enki and Enlil, had zero issues with faith. They believed, no doubt. And they fell on their faces. Even when they worshipped other gods, they did so out of fear, not faith.
Peter saw Jesus in the water and went to him. As Moses demanded of Enki, as Elohim, "Teach me your ways!", so Peter demanded of Enki, as Jesus: "Tell me to come to you on the water!" The God of Water responds in both cases, similarly. However he walked upon the water, Peter did do it. He did it through some sort of mental process- we know that because we see the process breaking down for him. He sinks, partially. Then Enki delivers the line that has echoed through millennia: "ye of little faith." I don't believe he meant this the way we think he did. I think he meant that "of course I won't let you drown" in response to Peter yelling out "save me!" Probably delivered with a smile or a laugh. Walking on the water is up to Peter. That is his task. His focus. His journey. His ascension. His business. He can do it at any time. Now he knows that. And that's the point. Jesus chided Peter for crying out for help in an instant of silly panic, he didn't chide him for sinking. Big difference. Still...practice makes perfect, Peter.
The point is that this entire episode is framed by Jesus' need to accept, transform, hold, and release spiritual energy. Walking on the water was simply the "how" of that particular release on that particular day. It is a model for us. It demonstrates how we handle grief. How we navigate our daily lives in peace. How we become a light to others. How we change the world one intentional act at a time. What we transmute and what we transmute it to are both our choices.
I feel it vital to point out that the transmutative act in this scenario- the act that released the energy back into the world in a different form- is NOT the spectacular act of Jesus walking on water. I repeat. The dramatic act of walking on water was NOT what made this transmutation work. Transmutation does not run on theatrics. One can't fake a frequency. The transmutative act was the gift of the revelation to Peter and the rest...and ultimately, to us. The revelation that he can do that, and so can we, and here is how. Jesus revealing Himself walking on water was a Gift given in Love and that gift- that intention- was the act of release. Walking on water was just something he could do that we can't. Big show. Helluva week, helluva release. It was a device. Jesus transmuted his trauma into light, love, and learning for all mankind. He demonstrated this for us so we may do the same. That's not hellish energy from a horrible, terrible, no-good week...not anymore...that's Love looking forward. Another thing, entirely.
So let's boil it down to brass tacks for those in Rio Linda. I feel compelled to close this with some specific instruction. I also feel compelled to note that the instruction isn't mine. The author, as the reader, is but a student. It helps me to retain a few action points on matters I consider to be important. Here are my action points from this entry:
FEEL IT. In the words of Eckhart Tolle, “The less you personalize the pain you feel and associate it with a story in your head… the more quickly it becomes transmuted. It becomes fuel for your consciousness.” Remain mindful in the moment. When friction occurs and you encounter negative energies, hover over the chaos, not in it. Take a breath. I tell myself 1,000 times a day to "calm the fuck down, it's not about you." Let it hit, let it pass. Observe the energy. Accept that it isn't personal. Feel what that energy does to you on the inside and outside. Accept the hurt and the offense. Feel it and let it burn until there is nothing left to burn. And then hold it.
HOLD IT. Make space for your held energy. You can only hold so much before it begins to wear on you physically. So, rather than let it run amok and unchecked throughout your mind and body, bind it to a time or place or context or scenario. And hold it there. Visit it there. "Hello, Darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk to you again, because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping...and the vision that was planted in my brain still remains." Hold it and examine it until you reach a place of understanding and appreciation...of it. And then...
CHANGE IT. As you hold it, feel its vibration. Focus your own light, sound, and vibration upon that energy and raise its frequency. Hear the dissonance and raise the pitch. Tune it to yourself as one tunes an instrument. I cannot explain to you how to do this. We each have to figure that out for ourselves. I can tell you that when it works, you'll know it. You will feel it and there will be no doubt. Faith in this process will not be an issue for you from that point forward.
RELEASE IT. When the time is right, make an intentional choice to release that transformed energy back into the universe. Opportunities to do this are presented to us all the time. "...As you have done to the least of these, so you have done to me...". When the time comes, you will know. Make your choice. State your intention to yourself clearly. This is Prayer. Focus on creating light, love, and learning for others. AND THEN DO SOMETHING NICE. Something positive. The gift of the "something nice and positive" is the transmutative act. Each act, each gift of yourself to another, is an opportunity to release transformed energy. The release completes the transmutation. And, if but for an instant, the world is a brighter place. YOU...are a brighter place.
RESET. Allow the cycle to repeat. Our role in transmutation of negative energies is never complete. We must always work to put forth light and love. Prepare for the next growth opportunity.
If you're like me, you will never be satisfied with mere spiritual transmutation. If you're like me, you will want to walk on water, too. I get it, and we can get there. But....practice makes perfect, Peter. The kiddie pool is where we prepare for full-fledged water walking. And in the kiddie pool, we practice spiritual transmutation in our immediate space day in and day out. That is where it begins and does not end. I suspect if a consistent and determined effort IS begun there, the rest will work itself out as you go. To understand transmutation and how to directly influence and relate to the energy in the world around us is to take a step into a very different world. One spectacular, intentional step at a time.
Comments