Tag: Hermann Hesse

Spinning the Wheel of Self

 

“Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world’s phenomena intersect, only once in this way, and never again. That is why every man’s story is important, eternal, sacred; that is why every man, as long as he lives and fulfills the will of nature, is wondrous, and worthy of consideration. In each individual the spirit has become flesh, in each man the creation suffers, within each one a redeemer is nailed to the cross.”
― Hermann Hesse, Demian
 

Reaching inside
yet barely breaking through the surface
so much more to see
so much more to be
the journey takes a lifetime
and the wheel stays in spin
the king falls and rises
the queen nourishes
and sometimes yes sometimes the demon at the bottom
I’ve been him too
I ride the wheel
and turn it
while exploring the nature
and the nurture
the soul behind the curtain
watches, witnessing all
in love
Curious as the spiral spins anew..
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Eagle Spirit AscendingEagle Spirit Ascending by G A Rosenberg

 

Bubbles Encroaching on Infinite SpaceBubbles Encroaching on Infinite Space by G A Rosenberg

Essence and Mirrors – A Few Random Thoughts Floating Down the Consciousness Stream

 

“What should I possibly have to tell you, oh venerable one? Perhaps that you’re searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don’t find the time for finding?”
― Hermann Hesse

 

In searching for the true essence of something, do we deconstruct it, reduce it to its component elements? In all the parts that make up our physical form, where do we find our essence… a doctor (or butcher) could dissect us in every way possible and still never see it… Perhaps to understand the essence of something, the trick is not to open it but to open ourselves…and find that in ourselves that relates…

True Mirrors, whether they be people or objects can either cause us unbelievable bliss or painful aversion..all depending on how well we can handle what is reflected back to us..

It’s not meaning that we search for as much as that something in ourselves that will help us know and understand.

Blessings, G

 

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Chamber's SecretsChamber’s Secrets by G A Rosenberg

 

Soul MirrorSoul Mirror by G A Rosenberg

 

Seeking Within…

 

“There is truth, my boy. But the doctrine you desire, absolute, perfect dogma that alone provides wisdom, does not exist. Nor should you long for a perfect doctrine, my friend. Rather, you should long for the perfection of yourself. The deity is within you, not in ideas and books. Truth is lived, not taught.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

We read and we study. We analyze with critical thought anything that comes our way. We seek perfect understanding yet all too often we avoid the self-work that may bring it closer. It feels like we circle the outer rim of ourselves while the centre remains many layers down. What can bring us inside? Oh exposure to new ideas is fantastic, don’t get me wrong. I love new paradigms and new ways of looking at things. Yet who is doing the looking? Is what we are exposing ourselves to bringing us closer to our truest self or leading us in circles. Perhaps we can take what we have learned and journey inward with it, adding awareness to our knowledge and knowledge to our awareness.
Blessings, G

 

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OverseerOverseer by G A Rosenberg

 

Caught Up In It2Caught Up In It by G A Rosenberg

Leaf and Star

 

“Most people…are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

May I be both star and leaf? Leaf floats on the wind and follows gravely down. Yet for a moment it is borne away from any life it could have imagined for itself as if in defiance of the universe itself on a flight to who knows where. It does not fall as much as is carried in joy.
May I also be a star following a course and shining so bright. I have purpose direction and a conscious awareness that dwarves all. Both star and leaf, ephemeral and constant. Yet is there something of which the star itself is but a leaf in comparison? What connection to wisdom that would be.
Blessings, G

 

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Image of Crowley Over K2 MountainImage of Crowley Over K2 Mountain by G A Rosenberg

 

Gone FissionGone Fission by G A Rosenberg

One Brief Moment

 

“That is where my dearest and brightest dreams have ranged — to hear for the duration of a heartbeat the universe and the totality of life in its mysterious, innate harmony.”
― Hermann Hesse, Gertrude

 

To hear for a moment
the universal chord
and to harmonize in an infinite instant…
to know that brief moment
then have it slip
bereft and longing
like seeing the sun
then locked in a closet
in my head

 

How do you regain a moment once had? How do you find your way back to where thanks to grace you’ve had a chance to be. To feel that moment of connectiveness. How does that moment change your life and what new quests does it send you on? It seems to me that one moment is both too long and way too short.
Blessings, G

 

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Moving Along in A Fractal LandscapeMoving along in a Surreal Landscape by G A Rosenberg

 

Minimalized Filtered BeachMinimalized Filtered Beach by G A Rosenberg

Self-Reckoning

 

“I call that man awake who, with conscious knowledge and understanding, can perceive the deep unreasoning powers in his soul, his whole innermost strength, desire and weakness, and knows how to reckon with himself.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

Living with yourself can often be the hardest trick. Our perceptions coloured by unreason, with hues it takes sometimes years to perceive, shortchanging ourselves and others. We want to love and be loved and indeed belong to love yet we fight it because of feeling unworthy or unable to respond. If we can just silence ourselves long enough to hear and perceive the hues coming in, those actors on the stage of our being that speak out the preprogrammed lines based on rage, guilt and sorrow, then we can use that rainbow rather than it using us, silence those actors and feel and become that love.
Blessings, G

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Satyr's GladeSatyr’s Glade by G A Rosenberg

 

Scyer's FlameScryer’s Flame by G A Rosenberg

Retreading Potpouri

 

A bit of a mixture of old and new tonight as I am determined to get back on track with the tarot book. Tomorrow: All-New Material.
Tonight — A bit of old and a bit of new…

 

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

Inate lemons into lemonade.. tires into tirades… we seek meaning and find it in the strangest ways in the strangest places..turn around and see it in some strangers’ faces. At times cut off we feel so empty…need a fill, need a thrill… all too often, we may want a pill, find a cure… want to be sure…what lies within..find a new spin… meditate, not medicate and find the how…the reason that brings value to how we ended up here in the first place…

 

“The Reality Of The Other Person Lies Not In What He Reveals To You, But What He Cannot Reveal To You.
Therefore, If You Would Understand Him, Listen Not To What He Says, But Rather To What He Does Not Say.”
–Kahlil Gibran

 

I find magic in being able to be comfortably with another person in silence. Far too often it seems, when we share an environment where conversation does not reign , we start making assumptions out of fear. “Why doesn’t he / she say something? Are they angry? Did I do something to offend them?” We try to fill up their silence with words of our own devising. The more comfortable I feel with myself, the more I can quiet the chatter of the model of the other I have created in my head and I can actually be open to both them and myself.
Blessings, G </h4?
 

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Playing Behind the ScenesPlaying Behind the Scenes by G A Rosenberg

 

Twilight trickstersTwilight Tricksters by G A Rosenberg

Letting Go – A Punching Walls Story

 

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go”
― Hermann Hesse

 

“You people always hold onto old identities, old faces and masks, long after they’ve served their purpose. But you’ve got to learn to throw things away eventually.”
–Neil Gaiman

 

When I was 19 and had a mishap with the law my father came down on me like a ton of bricks. He told me that he didn’t know what it was but it almost felt like I had something missing in me and he did not feel I was a good person. Insecure at the best of times and somewhat floundering at that point in my life it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was devastated.
For years after that, I found myself either trying to live up to whatever image I had of what my father thought a good person should be or playing against that image in rebellion. With each victory or setback I experienced I asked myself, “So am I a good person now?” I did not have the courage to ask my father.
At some point when I had come close to hitting bottom, it finally occurred to me that I had to let it go. For one thing it had way too many layers
1) what a good person is qualitatively
2) what my father saw as being a good person
3) what I perceived my father saw as being a good person
4)who I was in relationship to 1, 2 or 3
The absurdity of it had me laughing and crying at the same time. I realized that the most important thing was to be myself in the world for good or bad, doing what best reflected the person I am. If I tried to live up to a yardstick especially someone else’s it would not be as meaningful as living up to myself. From that point on, I decided that I would no longer be as concerned with being good as doing right and expressing my being. But I could only do that when I was able to let go of that conversation with my dad and take responsibility for my own actions.
At some point after that, my father had cause to tell me what a good person he thought I was. It felt a touch anti-climatic.
Blessings, G

 

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Guardian and GuideGuardian and Guide by G A Rosenberg

 
The Spiral Moves FasterThe Spiral Increases by G A Rosenberg

Questing

“What should I possibly have to tell you, oh venerable one? Perhaps that you’re searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don’t find the time for finding?”
― Hermann Hesse

 

It’s so romantic to imagine ourselves on a quest and so many things to quest for. We quest for love. We quest for truth. We quest for power. We quest for understanding. We might follow clues around like Hansel and Gretel following breadcrumbs until the trail comes to an end. We feel ourselves ennobled on the quest as if we are doing something important. Yet we abandon possible friends because we feel they don’t understand the importance of our undertaking. Perhaps one of these friends may have become something more but “sorry my dear I quest for love”. We abandon insights because they are not big enough or strong enough to match the Truth we seek. We surrender partial understanding or discard it because it is not the whole thing. We miss that partials can grow. While it is true that there is always more to find, why do we so often miss the gifts along the way?
Blessings, G

 

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Star ChambersStar Chambers by G A Rosenberg

 

Smokey Psychedlia2Smokey Psychedelia by G A Rosenberg

Inner Voices – Rambling Thought Streams

“Gaze into the fire, into the clouds, and as soon as the inner voices begin to speak..surrender to them. Don’t ask first whether it’s permitted, or would please your teachers or father or some god. You will ruin yourself if you do that.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

We ask for guidance from inside, from outside but do we accept it when it comes. Do we write, do we fight the words that come. Are we numb to their meanings rejecting, deflecting protecting ourselves. In wonderful rationalizations we avoid the temptations that they offer thus conditioning does make cowards of us all. What deities or beings or inner higher selves may whisper what we need to hear? We care and we fear but do we dare?
I open myself to the guidance of all and I will fear not but my own discernment.
Blessings, G

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Eye of the WarriorEye of the Warrior by G A Rosenberg

 

Front ManFront Man by G A Rosenberg