Flinging Poo

“Even Benny Benedict’s “One Month to Go” column was based on that illusion. Benny had actually read Darwin once, in college a long time ago, and had heard of sciences like ethology and ecology, but the facts of evolution had never really registered on him. He never thought of himself as a primate. He never realized his friends and associates were primates. Above all, he never understood that the alpha males of Unistat were typical leaders of primate bands. As a result of this inability to see the obvious, Benny was constantly alarmed and terrified by the behavior of himself, his friends and associates and especially the alpha males of the pack. Since he didn’t know it was ordinary primate behavior, it seemed just awful to him.
 

Since a great deal of primate behavior was considered just awful, most of the domesticated primates spent most of their time trying to conceal what they were doing.

Some of the primates got caught by other primates. All of the primates lived in dread of getting caught.

Those who got caught were called no-good shits.

The term no-good shit was a deep expression of primate psychology. For instance, one wild primate (a chimpanzee) taught sign language by two domesticated primates (scientists) spontaneously put together the signs for “shit” and “scientist” to describe a scientist she didn’t like. She was calling him shit-scientist. She also put together the signs for “shit” and “chimpanzee” for another chimpanzee she didn’t like. She was calling him shit-chimpanzee.

“You no-good shit,” domesticate primates often said to each other.

— Robert Anton Wilson

 

Robert Anton Wilson goes on to say that the way that many of us avoid our fear of being identified as ‘no-good shits’ is by pointing out other ‘no good shits’. Looking around at social media (among other things) I’d have to agree with him. I have been guilty of this myself in the past, looking at others who are doing wrong in the world or in their lives, those who I considered to be much worse than me.
“Look at those people who abuse or abandon their kids.”
“Look at what our nation’s leaders are doing now.”
“I can’t stand people who lie to themselves”
Hell it beats working on myself to become more self-actualized and aware. I am not saying we should not stay aware of what’s happening in the news or even of behaviour we see in others as much as staying self-critical and compassionate. It also helps when I realize that I have baggage too.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Lizard EyeLizard Eye by G A Rosenberg

 
Portal VoyagePortal Voyage by G A Rosenberg

My Place of Worship

“Why did men worship in churches, locking themselves away in the dark, when the world lay beyond its doors in all its real glory?”
― Charles de Lint

 
Walking through the woods towards the shore
I look out on the ocean
the first place of worship
and honour each step
Invocation of the spirits around me
In awe of the great mother the sea
and the sun
I reach a quiet receptive place
and receive the grace and power offered
with awareness and gratitude
for the existence I know.
It is a perfect moment
and one I know I can recapture
when I wish.
This shall be my place of worship
and in my heart a home.
— GAR

 

Blessings, G

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Ink Blot MandalaInk Blot Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Fractal Space MandalaFractal Space by G A Rosenberg

Trading Boredom for Fear

That mechanism by which you substitute fear for boredom, that’s one of the most common traps that people fall into.”

–Robert Anton Wilson, (An Incorrigible Optimist, interview)

 

 

I have been known to claim that I don’t get boredom. You’re bored? Don’t you have books to read, some new stream of thought to explore or something to meditate on? Have you heard all of Tori Amos’s music? How about Maynard James Keenan’s? Really Tool and A Perfect Circle? What is the last music you listened to that was outside your comfort zone? What is the last sentence you either intentionally misheard or misread and made horrible puns out of. As I said, while doing some things like dishes or laundry may feel tedious to me I am seldom if ever bored.
I have seen tho and know first hand the costs of boredom. Time slows down to a crawl and its not like its expanding with hours of fun but hours of tedium. Surely something will happen to make the time go by faster. I haven’t had a good adrenaline surge in minutes. The mind wanders over to all the things that could go wrong or the consequences of things I’ve done wrong in the past and before I know it I’m no longer bored but am in full scale panic mode. At least its exciting but not really worthwhile. I’d rather contemplate word play or meditate.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

In the Red ZoneIn the Red Zone by G A Rosenberg

 

The Abyss Stares BackThe Abyss Stares Back by G A Rosenberg

Wishpoosh and Coyote – Creation Myth From the Nez Perce

“Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are the artists of one kind or another.”
― Joseph Campbell

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

The Nez Percè tribe in the Pacific Northwest tell of a great Beaver Wishpoosh who jealously guarded the primordial lake from all creatures wishing to swim in it. Coyote wanted to fish in the lake one day and ended up in a brawl with Wishpoosh. They fought from one end of the lake to another causing gauges and land masses to shift in form and break off causing the formation of the uneven coastline there.
Finally needing to recharge a bit Coyote transformed himself into a jagged branch and floated on the lake. Unfortunately Wishpoosh saw him and came along and swallowed him whole. Coyote transformed himself into a giant needle and started cutting Wishpoosh up from the inside out into a thousand pieces each of which became a tribe of humanity. The tribes that formed from pieces of the head became very wise. The ones that formed from the arms were very strong. The ones that formed from the legs became very fast runners. According to some versions of the legend, some were made without eyes or mouths so Coyote had to return to finish the job and did it sloppily which the Nez Percè attributed some of the strange looks that other tribes have.
Coyote is a trickster / scribe deity and the splitting apart of another deity has echoes of Set and Osiris. Also death by the prick of a needle has elements of the death of Baldaur in Norse mythology.

This is the first of what will hopefully be a recurring feature on Waking Spirals taking a look at myths and legends and perhaps will result in some art pieces as well.
Blessings, G

 

Ocean ReflectionOcean Reflection by G A Rosenberg

 

Inner Butterfuly MandalaInner Butterfly Mandala by G A Rosenberg