How We See It

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the Eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all Ridicule and Deformity, and by these I shall not regulate my proportions; and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the Eyes of the Man of Imagination, Nature is Imagination itself. As a man is, So he Sees. As the Eye is formed, such are its Powers.”
— William Blake

To some, the universe is a pretty harsh place and life is a difficult process where one is constantly beaten down. To others it is wondrous. Each tree and each street light is magical. There are challenges yes but adventure too and one can easily become the other. Both viewpoints can come from people living in remarkably similar situations. Yet each thing that happens to them will further confirm their viewpoint. To one who sees themselves as the victim of their story, an argument with a friend will be seen as a betrayal. To the other it will be a gift of insight into how people think and act. A loss of a job can be seen as just another example of the world being against them or an opportunity to find something better or have some time off. It’s amazing how the same world can appear through two different lenses. Of course these are only two perspectives out of countless others. Each one an example of the many hues, the prism of experience can break into. Changing perspectives can be a challenge but being able to hold onto as many different ways of looking at things as possible can be endlessly rewarding.
Blessings, G

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Questing on Bear BackQuesting on Bear Back (Puson) by G A Rosenberg
Calm at the Centre of a Randomizing PatternCalm at the Centre of a Randomizing Pattern by G A Rosenberg

Star Perspective — A Consciousness Stream

 

“Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.”
― Alan Wilson Watts

 

Perspectives
Heading towards destruction or salvation
Circling the drain or raising up the spiral
Is it the end of the world or the caterpillar’s cry
as he weaves his cocoon?
What if we lost our sense of right and wrong
and saw everything as being the path?
What if we stopped judging ourselves, our society, our planet
and worked on ourselves
in kindness and compassion towards others?
If we are all stars
then there are no wrong constellations.
If this is all illusion
a play put on for cosmic edification
then does it matter how the play turns out?
Will we not all take off our costumes
and makeup for the cast party at the end?
Is the difference between us and the stars
that we lend such gravity towards our existence?
Where we see injustice, is it truly part of the dance?
What is it meant to teach us?

 

Blessings, G </h4?
 

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Into the GreenInto the Green by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark PortalDark Portal by G A Rosenberg

All the Flavours of Life

 

“Everything in life is miraculous. It rests within the power of each of us to awaken from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness.”
― James Branch Cabell

 

Quite often, we find ourselves unable to see just how amazing life is. From time to time we all end up going through shit and it can get to feeling rough. Loved ones pass and relationships fail. We deal with ill-health and loss of jobs and it can feel pretty dark both inside and out. However if we could look at those dramas from an outside perspective, they can look quite different. I think of some of the rough things I’ve gone through and survived and there is beauty there. Painful beauty has taught me much. It has given me an appreciation for the good moments and has made them sweeter. They are the downside turn of a wheel that is exquisite in all the flavours of life. If all we had was pleasant then we would take the worst moments of that pleasantness and call it hell. If all we had was misery then the best moments of that would be joy. Life it seems grades on a curve.
If there is truth to the idea of reincarnation (which I tend to lean towards most days) then this perspective gains even more currency. It would follow that we would go for the full experience deal and want one of every life possible. If reincarnation is not true than for me either through books or through appreciation of the lives of others, it would be much the same. I would want to vicariously experience as much as possible as to gain the fullest experience possible. At times this has exposed me to some terrible pain both for myself and for others. I would rather experience all extremes, joy, pain and as much as possible in between then be limited to only my one existence. How can I understand others if I limit myself to even the happiest of lives?
Blessings, G

 

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Fated EncounterFated Encounter by G A Rosenberg

 

Violet Flame With SilverViolet Flame With Silver by G A Rosenberg

Pain’s Gifts… A Consciousness Stream

 

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding… And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy”
― Kahlil Gibran

 

Pain has given me many gifts.
Empathy has come from memories of pain shared.
Body awareness has come from Pain’s messages.
Perspective has come when I see those
who’s suffering has cause to be much deeper
yet carried so much lighter.
Also what hurt so deeply long ago
that I thought it unbearable
now has faded to a mere itch
if remembered at all.
(A gift of memory and time as well)
I find little of nobility in my own pain
and dislike the common game of comparing scars.
Yet still for the gifts of pain I feel grateful
and no doubt will unwrap many more.
Blessings, G

 

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Magician (Alt)Magician (Alt) by G A Rosenberg

 

Butterfly Colours obscuring an Idyllic LandscapeButterfly Colours Obscuring an Idyllic Landscape by G A Rosenberg

 

Perspective Answers

 

“Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.”
–Truman Capote

 

Which head is answering the question?
Which key will fit this lock?
Am I a parent or a child?
Do I represent my gender? My Orientation?
Do I represent this spiritual or psychological perspective?
Do I represent this economic class or political leaning?
Do I have to make a choice?
In the end I represent a snapshot of myself in the moment. My perspective may be coloured by some of these things, all of them or none of them and the colour may be playing against type…
After all what are they but contradictory voices yammering… In the end tho its surprising how often it becomes necessary to speak, to say, to decide.
I try to cultivate a condition of intuitive arbitrariness at these times when an answer seems mandatory. I can always backtrack afterwards and see why it was the ‘right’ one. Of course being the king of second guessers (a title given me by my ever patient and loving partner) I can often see how the opposite answer would work as well…
It’s our choices in the moment tho that determine the rabbit holes we journey down.
Blessings, G

 

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Peering OutPeering Out by G A Rosenberg

 

Medicine WheelMedicine Wheel by G A Rosenberg

Textured Perspective

 

“No, life has not disappointed me. On the contrary, I find it truer, more desirable, and mysterious every year.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

As I get older I find that life does gain a texture that I didn’t perceive when I was younger. Its not that it wasn’t there, I got too caught up in the moment to moment drama to appreciate it. Now I find that even the hard moments have a beauty to them. This is especially true when I can step out of the moment and perceive it. Conflicts with loved ones when you’re caught up in them are painful and yet taking the witness perspective, I can see it as each of us being who we are and it being an interplay of personalities. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel the pain just that I can see it in context as part of a pattern. This also becomes true of the day to day annoyances. I consider it a victory if when I am caught in a traffic jam or a construction zone or in transit delays if I can use the time to meditate or contemplate something fun. Perhaps just constructing a play on words or a dirty joke. It helps.
Blessings, G

 

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Lion in JungleLion in the Jungle by G A Rosenberg

 

Crossroads Mandala2Crossroads Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Understandings — A Mash-Up

“If you really want to change the world, you must first understand it adequately, or all you will do is reproduce in larger numbers your own ignorance.
–Ken Wilber

 

Ripples in the stream
Unexpected results come
from each thrown stone

 

This blog entry may go a bit random. I’ve been asked a few interesting questions and I wanted to share my answers and perhaps gain the perspective of those of you reading this.

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So what is the precious gift that comes out of letting go of loyalty?

 

perspective
that’s more of a thoughtful guess than a conclusive answer
but when we are loyal to someone or something, we tend to focus on the positive aspects, the qualities that have earned our loyalty
when we let go of loyalty, we can see a more complete picture
*allow ourselves to see
it can deepen our love for what we felt loyal towards
true forgiveness rather than forbearance..

 


One of the most helpful insights that I received from a friend was the idea that a true gift is something that truly belongs to the receiver already. The gift is in the realization that this is the person whom it belongs to and it is a form of return. The gift we give each other of realization and enjoyment of time spent is something that can never be taken away it belongs to us. It makes the idea of ‘being the gift’ an intriguing one. Tho it would follow that the way to do that is to become fully who we are.

 


Dealing with despair

 

I have felt times when my wounds emotional or spiritual felt too big to fix or heal. unfortunately i cant tell you much about how i made it through, for the most part i just did
i talked it through with many and spent a lot of time alone, testing plastic knives against my wrists…
its strange tho, because coming out of it had the quality of jumping the abyss…all of a sudden i was ok
oh some of the parts that brought despair still itched… but it felt like i could feel sunlight again and focus on other things
but then in my experience despair is not really sustainable
tho the times i felt ‘in the dark’ it sure felt like it could last forever

 

Blessings, G

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Rubber Duck Takes a Surreal JourneyRubber Ducky Takes a Surreal Journey by G A Rosenberg

 

The Mind Seeks to Order ChaosMind seeks to Order Chaos by G A Rosenberg

Living the Story and Surfing the Tale (A Thought Stream)

“Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found. Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn. Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story. (from ‘Instructions’)”
― Neil Gaiman

 

Trusting my story often means surfing through the plot twists… I’ve learned that no matter what happens that I am still alive and that anything that seems worse will often improve… if a plot twists ends up with me leaving the party (dying) than this may have to be rethought… Not every good deed goes unpunished and every bad turn becomes a teacher…especially if you see it as furthering the plot…perhaps that is the secret to perspective..see even the bad things that happen as part of the story…perhaps this may be an advisor as well. For every decision that comes our way ask yourself “Does this serve the story?” I’ve heard worse advice..and if you believe that this is only one of perhaps an infinite amount of stories we will experience, perhaps not even one of the better ones or perhaps the most sublime, perspective increases… either way enjoy the tale.
Blessings, G

 

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Her Spirit Within the Wolf Conforted HimHer Spirit Within the Wolf Comforted Him by G A Rosenberg

 

Canine VortexCanine Vortex by G A Rosenberg

Humorous Perspective

“Transcendence restores humor. Spirit restores humor. Suddenly, smiling returns. Too many representatives of too many movements – even many very good movements, such as feminism, environmentalism, meditation, spiritual studies – seem to lack humor altogether. In other words, they lack lightness, they lack a distance from themselves, a distance from the ego and its grim game of forcing others to conform to its contours.”
— Ken Wilber

 

Humour allows us to see things that we normally take seriously from a different perspective. This allows us to stretch our mind. If we can’t laugh at what we hold sacred then what does that reveal? If something holds truth does finding humour in it take away from that truth? Can it be that it reveals to us something that we have not fully understood or integrated? From what i have experienced, the more aware a person is, the more they smile, laugh and jest. They have examined what they know and what they believe to be true from all angles so they have discovered the funny parts. Contrariwise, those who take things all fired seriously and resent or condemn humour towards their belief (or lack of it, most atheists (as opposed to agnostics who tend to be fairly humorous) are not only dogmatic as hell but oh so very serious about it. This also tends to be true of fundamentalists of all stripes. Hmmm it seems that an all or nothing approach towards a faith sucks the humour right out of a room.
Blessings, G

 

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Interdimensional Crossroads InversedDimensional Crossroads – the Other Side by G A Rosenberg

 

Spun SnakesSpun Snakes by G A Rosenberg

I’d Love to Change the World…..

“If you want to change the world, you have to change the metaphor.”
― Joseph Campbell

 

How do we see the world?
Is it a battleground each day a new chance to emerge victorious or to flame out in defeat?
Is it a classroom with each day providing a new lesson which we look forward to lunch and recess?
Is it a comedy or a tragedy, each actor on a stage and who writes this stuff anyway?
Is it a cesspool in which we are mired until we can hope for freedom?
Is it a delicious orb where wonder happens all the time with no end to the potential for magic?
I believe that the answer to all the above questions is yes and by moving our view between these and many other possible true definitions of the world we can find ourselves opening up more and more to possibility and growth.
Is life a series of curses and blessings or is it a series of challenges to be met?
Blessings, G

 

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Rooted JourneyRooted Journey by G A Rosenberg

 

Blue Centre StarBlue Centre Star by G A Rosenberg