| Move-in / Move-out of journals (mostly) complete |
[Dec. 25th, 2007|12:51 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | doma | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | noisy fridge | ] |
Hello All!
The strange person ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) artemisian42 who has recently friended most of you without a special message or "hello" is me.
I'm finally moved into a new journal space (the aforementioned).
Life is Good.
See you over there, I hope? |
|
|
| Bon voyage, little bumblebee..... |
[Jul. 21st, 2007|01:43 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | activism, art, astrology, biking, birding, books, bright ideas, cestina, cooking, czech, dance, dreams, ev2g, film, food, garden, german, habibi, health, hiking, horses, humor, kayak, last days, music, mythology, nonviolence, photos, poetry, quotes, sailing, school, vacation, vanity, wine, wtf, xc ski, yoga, zen tarot | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Mr. Spot's Chai House | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  calm | ] |
| [ | music |
| | *tuc*tuc*tuc*tuc* mellow techno (unidentified) | ] |
So, the Big Changes.....
I did find what I was looking for - and more - at the Soulcraft Intensive experience at Breitenbush Hot Springs, in beautiful, beautiful Oregon.
I found that it is time to leave the old imagination of myself, which I have harbored since the traumatic times of adolescence....as the Dream within me died, was killed, was sent into dormancy, into a Most Harsh Exile....becoming the hard-husked seed which I have once again UnEarthed, brought up from the Underworld, in all its repulsive glory. It scares me, this thorny-cased germ of Desire; Desire which is at once "Mine" and yet "Not Of This World."
I found that numinous place, at Breitenbush, the wise, old trees calling my Name, their wordless whispers carried in the invisible ether which weaves our separate lives into One. Wise old Cedar, standing sentinel at the beginning of The End, that overgrown path into the thicket of unmined Desire, pointing deep into the wood: Go, and you will Come Into Being, it seemed to say. With my Skin crawling, I found
The Place Where the Two Worlds Meet
So infrequently I pass by this way
consciously
How strange to meet you here, like this.
In the silence
that roars forth my Name
But which I don't yet have ears to hear.
How long you've waited in the Shadows
Beckoning
Peering out to see my eyes looking back
Wide open
Afraid
Tangle of eyelashes
Then darting
Away--to safety
To the light
To the tender, frayed white threads that have
long been bunched in the right corner of
the box that
my Grandmother never opened.
I couldn't bear to look
Into that sickly
Black hiding spot
Where years of torment spent
anguished
In self-pity and denial
'Tis easier to play the victim
Than to risk being your
Own Hero
Invincibility comes
With invisibility
. . . so it would seem.
But the road not taken may be
the last.
The final hurrah in a
night-lit day
Upperworld of folly
Laughter--"good times"
Never having to countenance
the unrequited Love
That rests so silently,
so gently
In my breast.
But the perilous Journey into the Underworld is not without rewards. Oh no....for as I discovered, those threatening, trembling teeth set in soft pink gums, upon closer inspection, transmute to brilliant rays of light....
And I Received a Star in Return
Pretense dissolves
under the rhythm of time
Beyond our individual horizons
Beats another.
Pressed into Action
Being denied---
Entry
Into this narrow neck of womb
Warm, rippling, smooth yet
oh so rough
softest landing on pinkest flesh
Rhythm ceasing unceasingly
Thrumming in my ears.
What pale of night
Dons such cloth?
Wrapped around the eyes
of the Child
Stripped bare -- untied
raveling like a spindle
Unknown Being -- Unknown Doing
Who pulls the thread?
Wallow in it, lap it ALL up
Don't leave one rock unturned
Because pirates bury treasure
EVERYWHERE
Like crafty Raven
in his Lair.
Esteemed friend
Do not be scared.
Here, you have it on YOUR honor:
Grace is everyone's heir.
To be a Light
Go to the Dark
The torch to brighten the way
Is your OWN Heart.
Prickly heat of lion's jaws
Feel those voluptuous claws
TEAR YOU PRETTY
Naught to pity
for YOU are Grace's heir,
You ARE Grace's heir.
The Czech word "Čmelák," means bumblebee...and is the moniker given me by my now ex-husband, Kaj, that dear, sweet karmic friend, who was a lot like a gatekeeper to My Underworld....it was an appropriate name for this part of my Life, the part which he and I shared, for a bumblebee is not supposed to be able to fly, according to the laws of Newtonian physics....hehe How appropriate, it seems.... Kaj just may have been my Shiva, throwing himself under the feet of Kali as she nearly lost her hold on her Purpose and Meaning, as she almost raised the Sword which Cuts Through All Delusion to make the Ultimate Sacrifice, to destroy ALL Creation, rather than to foment a Creative Destruction, to Bring Life Back Into Living Balance. Kaj: Thank You for keeping me from The Ultimate Void. And Thank You for helping to send me into The Living Void. Life is not all Upperworld of Folly.
So, I bid thee all this Hearty Farewell: Artemis walks the Earth again.
I have been gone for too long, it feels....yet I never even left. How could I?? You didn't think I would leave you NOW, did you, dearest, dearest Mother Earth?
In my final, personal closing ceremony at Soulcraft, I offered my hand to Mother Earth in marriage....and in gratitude I Gave myself to Her, taking my vow in the form of a silver ring which I could only wear upon my finger for a couple of days before it itched and itched...and told me that its proper place is on the altar, for Artemis, the Goddess of the Moon, the Virgin of the Forest, will marry to no one....not in any literal sense....for as surely as I type this now, I am in thrall to Mother Earth, I am here to Love Her with the Bravest Heart which beats eternally within Me.....All True Courage is born of Love, for courage without Love is brutish.
I have established a new LiveJournal, which I am going to slowly put together (not being in a hurry), and which I will announce here, when it is ready to launch.
In the meantime, Greg Kimura reminds us all, that we EACH have a Gift to Offer to Our Selves, to Our Global Family, to Earth and to the Universe....
Cargo, by Greg Kimura
You enter life a ship laden with meaning, purpose and gifts
sent to be delivered to a hungry world.
And as much as the world needs your cargo,
you need to give it away.
Everything depends on this.
But the world forgets its needs,
and you forget your mission,
and the ancestral maps used to guide you
have become faded scrawls on the parchment of dead Pharaohs.
The cargo weighs you heavy the longer it is held
and spoilage becomes a risk.
The ship sputters from port to port and at each you ask:
"Is this the way?"
But the way cannot be found without knowing the cargo,
and the cargo cannot be known without recognizing there is a way,
and it is simply this:
You have gifts.
The world needs your gifts.
You must deliver them.
The world may not know it is starving,
but the hungry know,
and they will find you
when you discover your cargo
and start to give it away. |
|
|
| POTD (Proverb of the Day) |
[Jul. 14th, 2007|07:30 pm] |
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.
--African proverb
BIG changes coming soon.... Watch This Space..... |
|
|
| Bookstores are dangerous -and- The Zen Oracle |
[Jun. 27th, 2007|10:22 am] |
Of course, the Elliott Bay Book Company is evil and has a huge display of all the new books out this month, right next to the register...can I just bop in and pick up my reserved copy of "William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books?" ooohhhhhhh nnnnnnooooooooooooooooo, I must fondle many volumes, and leave with Blake and Václav Havel's new memoir, "To the Castle and Back."
I was also interested in "Faust in Copenhagen: A Struggle for the Soul of Physics" by Gino Segre. ("Segre brings to life the momentous 1932 gathering of 40 of the world's leading physicists, which ended with a humorous skit based on Goethe's Faust--a skit that eerily foreshadowed events that would soon unfold as Europe was moving ever closer to war.")
And the title of Al Gore's new book made me laugh quite heartily, "The Assault on Reason." The book is billed as "visionary." Well, yes, people naturally like their visionaries, for they seem to be able to see over the horizon and bring positive "good" news, that the people would like to hear. However, the people tend to be ambivalent towards the "prophets," who upbrade everyone for whatever their role in the current situation, giving the "bad" with the "good," for the prophet knows, there really is no absolute human concept of "good" and "bad".... there are only consequences.
In other pedantry, today is my first day of a week-long vow of silence, as a part of my summer independent study "Soulcraft." This will be my last post for a while, as I shall endeavor to be more contemplative and observant of myself. I've already noticed a few interesting things, which makes me think I should make this a regular habit. (I was inspired to do this by Gandhi's accounts of how much he got out of it. That Gandhi....)
At work, I'm carrying around a post-it note around that says:
"I'm not trying to be rude, I'm on a vow of silence through July 3rd. We can have a Zen-like conversation, though, and that way, I can answer ALL your questions. :-)" |
|
|
| More book lust.... |
[Jun. 26th, 2007|03:51 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | books, poetry | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | v praci | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  devious | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Neko Case (in my head) | ] |
YES! Today I am to obtain a copy of "William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books," reputed to be a sublime reproduction of his illuminated works....
The weak in courage is strong in cunning.
If others had not been foolish, we should be so.
Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius.
Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.
......
The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at the end of six thousand years is true, as I have heard from Hell.
For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to leave his guard at tree of life; and when he does, the whole creation will be consumed and appear infinite and holy, whereas it now appears finite and corrupt.
This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment.
But first the notion that man has a body distinct from his soul is to be expunged. This I shall do, by printing in the infernal method, by corrosives, which in Hell are salutary and medicinal, melting apparent surfaces away, and displaying the infinite which was hid.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.
For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.
--William Blake
Quite frankly, I want to memorize a lot of his poems and such, that I might liven up fireside follies during camping outings this summer. This will have to wait until after the kiddies have retired to bed, before "Uncle Willie" can come out, lest there be nightmares. |
|
|
| More QsOTD -or- Who's got da power? |
[Jun. 20th, 2007|03:21 pm] |
Authority relieves us of the responsibility of independent action.
They can let you out of the jail now, because they've put the jail inside your mind.
--Starhawk
It is better to do your own duty, however imperfectly, than to assume the duties of another person, however successfully. Prefer to die doing your duties: the duties of another will bring you into spiritual danger.
--Bhagavad Gita
It's so interesting to see how the historical and the existential can get so confused, and mixed together, so as to never make sense of what the hell is going on around you. (Lawd knows, I struggle with it!) How people do get worked up about the idea of "spirituality," as if it were a static object of some sort. At the bottom of it, I reckon all that term refers to is "one's experience of the world." That's all the "spirit" idea is, that a person actually has an experience of existence, of life.
Of course, as Robert Sardello puts it, the problem in this modern society (USA) is that people who are in a consensus trance of reality tend to operate on theories and not on their own experience. He argues that, via socialization, we inherit these "theoretical frameworks" which are supposed to define or explain our existence, then the theory itself is totally forgotten, and we "take the forgotten theories to be reality." It's sort of a pall of prejudice towards everything, a projection of ideals upon one's experience and upon the phenomena around you. It was just this trend of trying to organize existence through "theories of everything" which prompted Edmund Husserl to work to found the branch of philosophy known as "phenomenology." (defined - (1) The science or study of phenomena, or things as they are perceived, as opposed to the study of being, or the nature of things as they are. (2) The philosophical investigation and description of conscious experience in all its varieties without reference to the question of whether what is experienced is objectively real.)
It seems to me rather unwieldy to try to negotiate reality via determinism (i.e., theoretical frameworks) when you live in a (mysteriously) indeterminate universe characterized by its non-linearity.... |
|
|
| Perception is self-referential |
[Jun. 20th, 2007|12:55 pm] |
Only in a completely moribund society would disrespecting someone be commonly understood as a sign of self-respect.
(hehe, and I ain't talkin' causality...I'm just describing a situation. How it might have gotten to be moribund is whole 'nother kettle of fish.) |
|
|
| QOTD |
[Jun. 20th, 2007|08:38 am] |
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.
--Joseph Campbell |
|
|
| Reanimating old acquaintances |
[Jun. 16th, 2007|11:48 pm] |
I'm finding that through my grounding, meditation and mind-body integration practice, especially through heart-based practices, I'm developing quite the relationship with the trees around my block. :-) It's amazing the richer view of life obtained by using the heart to perceive the world. It's a matter of subordinating the mind to the interpretation of the heart's perception and feeling, and I'm so curious how this will develop. I haven't worked with the heart-based techniques for very long, and I'm sure it will progress a long way from this starting point....
I may have always had a creative portal open through my writing, but it's always been mediated in some way through the mind-body schism of the worldview in which I was steeped...like having a straw to suck through instead of the floodgates opened wide.
Through taking walks around the neighborhood and trying to communicate with the plants, just being open and friendly and receptive to whatever, without expectation, I'm getting more and more of a sense of what the master Japanese "natural" farmer Masanobu Fukuoka meant by
"A life of small-scale farming may appear to be primitive, but in living such a life, it becomes possible to contemplate the Great Way. I believe that if one fathoms deeply one's own neighborhood and the everyday world in which he lives, the greatest of all worlds will be revealed."
I'm beginning to remember this natural connection to the animate, sentient world of our fractal reality, a connection which came so easily when I was a child, and it's quite pleasing to reanimate my old acquaintances of childhood.
"What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook."
"It is a rare qualification to be able . . . to conceive and suffer the truth to pass through us living and intact."
--Henry David Thoreau
"Everything in the realm of fact is already theory. . . Let us not seek something behind the phenomena--they themselves are the theory." --Goethe
(Yea, this approach has ever yielded me the most "truth.")
"Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough." --George Washington Carver
(would someone please inform the U.S. Government?) |
|
|
| New books, new books! yaaaayyyy |
[Jun. 16th, 2007|12:03 am] |
Yaaayyy, one last mark on the collective - yet mediated - consciousness known as the Internet, I got's some new books today and this particular bookstore caused me to realize: I must buy every single book Thich Nhat Hanh has written. I was tempted to buy many today. I think he might be a good mentor for me....hhmm, an excuse to go to France? ;-) hehe
Be Still and Know: Reflections from "Living Buddha, Living Christ," by Thich Nhat Hanh, a small, handy-sized book of quotations excerpted from his exploration of the deep spiritual connections between Christianity and Buddhism. The book itself will undoubtedly be invaluable to me in grad school....
Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh, with his commentary on the mindfulness teachings of the Buddha, organized into 20 exercises. I thought this would be a perfect complement to the summer independent study of "Satyagraha."
Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self (Revised, 2004), by Anodea Judith. So far, this is a wonderful melding of psychology and spirituality, exploring the chakras through Jungian psychology, somatic therapy, childhood developmental theory, and metaphysics. To understand "chakras" I think one has to know that there's more to life than meets the eye. The chakra isn't a "literal" thing in the sense that we SEE it with our eyes, it's more of an energy field idea. For instance, electromagnetic fields are absolutely integral to our existence, and yet are invisible to the naked eye. Is not this just one such "unseen" plane? There are many metaphysical maps to use, but I'm just "naturally" drawn to Eastern ones as the most usefully descriptive, and I'm quite pleased with the way Anodea adds Western psychological perspectives to make it more accessible to the average Westerner. A lot of interesting charts and illustrations, too. |
|
|
| QsOTD -or- this is why I'm so attracted to Buddhism |
[Jun. 15th, 2007|10:23 pm] |
In Buddhism, our source of energy is faith in daily practice. Faith in an idea is risky. Ideas can change, and tomorrow we may not believe the same thing. Buddhist faith is experiential. Once we have tasted the reality, no one can remove that from us.
The teaching of the Buddha was intended as an instrument for meditation. Since then, many Buddhists have gotten caught by the ideas he presented. They confuse the means and the end, the raft and the shore, the finger pointing to the moon and the moon.
Everything Jesus and the Buddha taught was to a particular person or group on a particular occasion. We must try to understand the context in which they spoke in order to understand their meaning. If we just analyze their words, we may miss the point. Theologians sometimes forget this.
Even if our enemy is cruel, even if he is crushing us, sowing terror and injustice, we have to love him. This is the message of Jesus.
How can we love our enemy? The only way is to understand him, to understand how he has come to be the way he is.
In fact, to "love our enemy" is impossible, because the moment we understand him, we feel compassion toward him, and he is no longer our enemy.
In each of us, there is nonviolence, and there is also violence. With mindfulness, we can begin to transform the violence, the wars in ourselves, into love, understanding, and compassion.
We think that if the powerful countries would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds -- our prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of the bombs are still here, in our bodies and minds.
--Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk who is also a renowned thinker and scholar, whose books I lust over (and slowly accumulate)
That last one is the basis and understanding from which Sustainable Ballard operates. Speaking of understanding, I must add to Nhat Hanh's expression of "love your enemy and you are transformed," that in order to understand your "enemy," you must first identify where it is you stand in the relationship, and all the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the present moment. This tends to require quite a bit of awareness and examination, especially of one's own self. Then comes the recognition that change begins within, not without, and the process of cultivating self-respect can begin. I cannot control another person, but I can certainly control my own self, and actually have a profound influence on my relationships, thereby. And as A.J. Muste said, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."
An even deeper understanding of this would reveal that loving your enemy (thus not completing the "victim" pole of a loop of violence) is a powerful expression of the fact that your enemy is not separate from and alienated from you. Your enemy quite literally IS you. Sending out violence only yields violence in return, which is reflective of both the "feedback loop" and the mutually-arising nature of causality in a unified energy field. |
|
|
| QsOTD |
[Jun. 13th, 2007|02:22 pm] |
I had long been convinced that there was nothing new under the sun and that one can find hints in transmitted knowledge of what we ourselves are just discovering, thinking about, and even producing. We are original only because we know so little.
--Goethe
It is especially difficult for modern people to conceive that our modern, scientific age might not be an improvement over the prescientific period.
--Michael Crichton |
|
|
| Prophetic QOTD |
[Jun. 12th, 2007|10:06 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | activism, quotes | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | v praci | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  working | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Death Cab for Cutie - We Looked Like Giants | ] |
There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. And this seems to be the final revolution.
--Aldous Huxley, Tavistock Group, California Medical School, 1961
Perhaps this is what Tricky Dicky Cheney meant by waterboarding (a torture technique of "simulated drowning") being a "no-brainer!" (meaning, of course the U.S. should torture people.) |
|
|
| Sustainable Activism |
[Jun. 7th, 2007|09:41 pm] |
Maaaannnnn, I'm looking forward to summer....
I'm not totally finished with this course design, because I need to meet with my evaluator for advice....but this is the main thrust of it
I want to use my learning from this class to (eventually) create a class at "Sustainable Ballard University" :-) on Sustainable Activism. I'll be sure to post my work to LJ, in case it might help all of y'all out there who are engaged in creative and regenerative work.
We all have to remember to take the time and the care to regenerate and re-create ourselves in the process, too! :-)
Independent Study Contract
Title of Learning Activity: Satyagraha: The Balance of Being
Major Learning Intention:
What is the overall purpose of this activity?
This is an enquiry into the nature of balance in the human rhythm of Life. It is based on the premise that simply "Being" is a state of being which, at its best, is "absolute truth," whilst "Doing" is a state of being which is "relative truth." Since both states of being are always, in fact, in relation to an unknowable "Absolute Truth" (the entire Universe), they may be distinguished by various descriptive feeling states. "Being" may be described by such feeling states as "rest," "serenity," "egolessness," "non-striving," "enjoyment," "gratitude," "receptive relation," "awe," and "joy." "Doing" may be described as "giving," "engagement," "aggressive* (active) relation," "asserting one’s humanity," "humility," "respect," and "honor." At its best – in balance – "Doing" would also incorporate the feeling states of simply "Being," while actively engaging in the world and "grasping for truth" (satyagraha). The theory is that this work/life balance would result in a sort of equanimity-in-action, which could be called "living in truth," for the unknowable Absolute Truth would seem to be most about authenticity, or unconditional love. Life is as much about gratitude, joy and celebration, as it is about actively engaging in the healing and repair of the world’s sorrows.
*aggressive defined here as "strong or emphatic in effect or intent"
Learning Objectives:
What specific knowledge, skill and/or attitudinal competencies will be acquired?
1. How to create personal space* in my life for enjoyment, re-creation, and genuinely aesthetic opportunity, while remaining active and engaged in my work.
2. Learn various methods for achieving mind-body integration.
3. Using the heart as an organ of perception, with a view to using the heart as the primary organ of perception.
4. Engage in self-reflection on what I think "mind-body integration" entails and means.
5. Engage in self-reflection on the current rhythms and disrhythmias in my life.
6. To learn to better relate to the spontaneity of life through a flexible-enough schedule; i.e., not a schedule just for the sake of a schedule.
7. Develop a strategy or plan for sustaining various self-care practices.
* Personal space to be conceptualized in a non-linear fashion, i.e., not a time created in fragments, but a time integrated into the whole of my existence. This could perhaps be analogous to the Buddhist concept of "practice" as opposed to "faith." As a currently unwilling victim of the linear philosophical box in which I am trapped, this is stated as an ideal towards which to work.
( Learning Activities, or the execution of the plan, and the Learning Documentation and Demonstration, or the analytic process, is behind the cut ) |
|
|
| QOTD |
[Jun. 7th, 2007|03:33 pm] |
All that man has to say or do that can possibly concern mankind, is in some shape or other to tell the story of his love--to sing, and, if he is fortunate and keeps alive, he will be forever in love. This alone is to be alive to the extremities. It is a pity that this divine creature should ever suffer from cold feet; a greater pity that the coldness so often reaches his heart. I look over the report of the doings of a scientific association and am surprised that there is so little life to be reported; I am put off with a parcel of dry technical terms. Anything living is easily and naturally expressed in popular language. I cannot help suspecting that the life of these learned professors has been almost inhuman and wooden as a rain-gauge or self-registering magnetic machine. They communicate no fact which rises to the temperature of blood-heat.
--Henry David Thoreau |
|
|
| Lisa Gerrard - Moore Theatre, Seattle - May 24, 2007 - The heart as an organ of perception |
[Jun. 7th, 2007|02:45 pm] |
The following is part musical review, part "field observations" using techniques of consciously using the heart as the primary organ of perception, and part "letter to the class," to my Spiritual Psychology of the Human Heart class, at Antioch University Seattle. Kudos to our prof, Randy Morris, who put together a real treat for us in that class.
I've been having a rough time lately, and usually, when things don't go well, I turn that in on myself and punish myself mightily with it. Never having any personal space or time to just "be," makes it really difficult to break out of that pattern, even as I see it happening.
So, when I went to see Lisa Gerrard, I was in a pretty unhappy, depressed space, and really looked forward to experimenting with using the heart as an organ of perception at her concert. I am glad that I went with a clear mind (not under the influence of any substances ;-), so that I could better judge the experience of my experiment.
I sat in the front row and began to bring my attention to my heart, even before the show started. By the time she came out, I had effectively disengaged my chattering mind, quieted all except for the occasional thought along the lines of, "Focus on your heart." This reminds me of the Buddhist concept of "no-mind," and I had practiced similar things through meditation.
The first two songs, the sound was horrible! I don't like the Moore's sound that much anyway, but that was just offensive. Then the engineers got it straightened out, and I could really focus.
I had gooseflesh almost the entire show, as she sang and I let her voice and her presence flow through my heart. I tried "breathing through my heart" and also consciously making an effort to "receive." If I weren't so depleted and so in need of receiving the beauty of the art flowing from her, I would have experimented with sending something.
Several times I thought I might actually levitate off the seat! It was entirely different focusing on receiving through my heart, than via my usual, cerebral attention to musical performances. I was, however, reminded of the experience I had at a Massive Attack concert last year, when I used the spiritual practice of "seeing the sacred in all things," which involves putting all attention on the music (turning off chattering/ distracting mind), but that wasn't specifically heart-focused. The qualities of clarity, a much higher intensity than I got with my usual attention, goosebumps, being deeply touched by beauty and a sense of being suspended in time and space, however, were the same.
The difference with consciously engaging the heart to perceive (using the techniques we've practiced in class), was that it was much, much more magnified and intense. The FEELING was overwhelming sometimes, not to evoke tears, but more a sense of wonder and awe, not unlike the numinous feeling of mysterium. (As defined by R. Otto, "the ineffable and inexhaustible character of the holy is experienced as a power that strikes one dumb, and mute. It is experienced more as a mood similar to that of stupor, dumb astonishment, amazement, awe, and wonder.")
As the show progressed, Lisa herself began to take on a shimmering quality, with a sort of halo of light around her, as I was "looking" at her through my heart, not through the usually "pure" (so to speak) eye-to-brain visual intake. It reminded me of experiences with hallucinogens (as far as visual quality), and her human beauty transcended her physical form and became this amazing feeling throughout me. All of a sudden, her singing - her soul - broke through my consciousness so that I was aware of infinity, of eternity. She had elicited within me, the listener, the transcendent, universal and timeless beauty of the human spirit, and it flowed through me, from the lowest chakra out through the crown chakra (to use one map of description). It was unlike any other experience I have had, listening to music.
I would like to share the artist's statement, which is in the program for her world tour:
Where are the keys that give birth to subtle understanding?
Each day we open our eyes having been called by the light of a familiar every day morning. It is at that moment that our eyes open to an entry of poetry which without question brings newness of life we cannot continue to take for granted.
At this finite point, reflection becomes attainable. If we so choose to ponder, we are provided with time to contemplate choices that present us the opportunities to further the well being of the other.
We are then truly liberated, as through the constantly repeating cycle of rebirth, sleeping and waking from it, being reminded daily of our life cycle, we are gently introduced to enter a deeper layer of sensibility and an awareness of the miracle of life: complex and profound. It seems that at these moments God becomes visible and although still abstract, truly a friend, as in this moment the choices we make are based on those things that in good conscience and free will, we choose to become the caretakers of this beautiful planet.
Let us bring our attention to those fragile life forms that we are not privileged to converse with in ways that come without deep reverence, contemplation and respect to our earth, our womb, the placenta given to us on loan while we learn to accept the beauty of our impermanence. So much so and so softly that we are able to step back from the destruction of any life form that has been invited to take up residency here for purposes unknown to us.
Shall we show reverence? shall we find humility?
Potentially yes; because we know love, and know that through love all things are nourished automatically.
Lisa Gerrard, March 2007
As I said, I thought that this energy and soul flowing through me might cause me to levitate several times!! The above statement is the intention which she set, with her tour, and with her performances (I read this only after the show). And this is exactly what was evoked in me. Timeless beauty, absolutely ageless wonder and beauty. And does not she seem to describe "poiesis," and the malaise of the literalization (and profaning) of the whole world and of our existence? Is not this what Lisa means by wondering where are the keys to "subtle understanding"? The "spiritual" body of a being on Earth is called the "subtle" body, and perhaps she is referring to the ability humans all have (however atrophied and neglected) to see the metaphor in our existence, that not everything is entirely literal, nor was it meant to be. Is not poetry (as she called our innate way of interpreting the world) indeed an accurate description of reality? Indeed, perhaps even more accurate than that found in dry, scientific recitations which supposedly describe "object reality." For the human experience of existence is important, it IS vitally important to connect with what the human point of view is (which the deeply subjective purported "objective" science would have us believe is "sin" (which translates as "error.")) It is OUR point of view, it is most assuredly our children's point of view, as anyone who has enquired into the innate intelligence and beauty of a child can attest; children whose future should be on our minds and fully in the public debate this very moment.
Lisa expresses "At this finite point, reflection becomes attainable." I think what she means, in part, by that is that we do stand at a moment in history, where we, as a species, must make a choice. Before the advent of high tech, we could treat the Earth with disrespect and maim and maul her, but with very delayed consequences, or with consequences from which the powerful elite who most manipulate the machine were always sheltered. This is no longer so. And thus, it seems she is saying that we are being forced to examine our assumptions -- all of us, because all of us cooperate with this destruction - this "machine" - in some way. But she knows, as I believe, that no one "outside" can figure out for you, where you fit into the pattern of destruction, nor how you can fit into the pattern of regeneration, of how you can best "care for the other." It is a deeply personal journey, although supported by one's community and one's own immediate ecological environment. It is indeed fortunate that the local IS the global.
"...while we learn to accept the beauty of our impermanence." Oh yes, the "modern" world, particularly North Americans, would like to transcend life through life, and reject all death and all change -- very literally. This (combined with high technology and loads of hubris and arrogance) actually brings death and chaos and destruction, for it is completely out of the natural order and rhythm of Life on Earth. It's interesting that I note that there are many musical artists speaking about immortality these days (usually in very literate ways and not in "popular," per se, music.)
"Shall we show reverence? shall we find humility? Potentially yes; because we know love, and know that through love all things are nourished automatically." Again, she speaks of the heart, both the receptacle and dispenser of love, and the necessity of respect for Life on Earth -- because that is actually respect for oneself! Should we continue to disrespect the environment (and each other), our own self-destruction is inevitable. And not just on a personal level, but on a species level.
Lisa thinks Love is the way, and I couldn't agree more. But there's a funny thing about Love, that "modern" people who are stuck in their brains and disconnected from their hearts and their feelings (their source of wisdom) really don't like to accept. Love DOES involve endless change, death, dying, and all the "bad stuff" no one wants to reconcile with easily. Love DOES involve ignorance, free will, making mistakes, forgiveness, letting go, surrender and vulnerability. We cannot have the "good" without the "bad." But we have a choice. This is the great gift of humanity - or curse, as I think the "western world" makes out of it.
As I like to say: Intention is the default setting of the Universe. You can't opt-out of Life; even no decision is a decision, as there are always consequences, and something you "could have done." It's a participatory existence. Perhaps this is the thing which vexes all humanity, more than anything else.
namaste,
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
--Martin Luther King, Jr. |
|
|
| The baby Jesus must have been this guy's co-pilot |
[Jun. 7th, 2007|12:36 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | humor, wtf | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | v praci | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amazed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor - Radiation Ruling the Nation | ] |
I think this qualifies as a "miracle"
Man in wheelchair accidentally pushed 4 miles by semi
By The Associated Press
PAW PAW, Mich. -- A man was taken on a wild ride when his wheelchair became lodged in the grille of a semitrailer and was accidentally pushed down a highway for four miles at about 50 mph, authorities said.
The 21-year-old man, whose name was not released, was unharmed but was taken to a hospital as a precaution. He had been secured to his wheelchair by a seat belt.
"The man spilled his soda pop, but he wasn't upset," said Sgt. Kathy Morton of the Michigan State Police.
About 4 p.m. Wednesday, a caller told police dispatchers, "You are not going to believe this: There is a semi truck pushing a guy in a wheelchair on Red Arrow Highway," state police said in a release.
Authorities initially wondered whether the report was a prank call until others called with similar reports.
Officers stopped the truck -- wheelchair still attached -- at a trucking company. The driver didn't believe officers until he stepped from his cab and saw for himself.
"When he saw us, he was like, 'What's going on?"' Morton said.
An investigation revealed the man in the wheelchair had pulled in front of the truck at a gas station and it somehow became lodged by its handles to the front grille.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003737995_webwildride07.html |
|
|
| I think I aced my Czech final |
[Jun. 6th, 2007|03:17 pm] |
Ok, by all rights, I know I can say I aced my Czech final exam. hehe I did find a few mistakes on my once-over, and DAMN, the declension of enumerated nouns is confusing. I can't remember if I should only decline the number as per the verb or preposition, and then make the noun decline per the number's rules, or if I should decline both the number and the noun exactly as the verb or preposition requires.
e.g. Slyšela jsem o pěti aut. (noun declines as number commands)
or Slyšela jsem o pěti autech. (noun declines as preposition commands)
I chose the former, because it was weirder. heheh (good choice when it comes to Czech)
Our professor said that this confuses the hell out of native speaker Czech students, too :-)
And THAT'S ALL FOLKS...I've completed two years of formal Czech instruction! From here on out, I'm on my own, to continue learning Czech.... |
|
|
| QsOTD |
[Jun. 6th, 2007|11:04 am] |
Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man.
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.
It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.
--Martin Luther King, Jr., the greatest American hero of our times, IMHO |
|
|
| QOTD - Take 2 |
[Jun. 5th, 2007|08:40 pm] |
One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.
--Carl G. Jung |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
intense
contemplative
quizzical
busy
okay
artistic
impressed