The Loyal Opposition

 

“Balance every thought with its opposition because the marriage of them is the destruction of illusion”
— Aleister Crowley

 

Neils Bohr said the opposite of a fact is a falsehood but the opposite of a profound truth is another profound truth. R Buckminster Fuller said that the universe can only be apprehended asynchronously. In other words there is no way that we can understand the complete universe at any one time. Therefore at any given time we can only have a partial understanding of the truth. How then do we go about getting closer to the truth. The way that Aleister Crowley suggests above is a good one.
Testing what we think and believe with their opposite is extremely useful tho for some people challenging. Many of us identify so strongly with our thoughts and beliefs that when they are challenged by someone, we take it as being a challenge to our very being itself. Instead we should welcome it and yes, challenge ourselves. If we are correct, than the opposing view will obviously fall apart. If we are mistaken than the opposite thought will enlighten us. Far more often tho, the truth lies somewhere in between and it is by synthesizing the two that we can reach a higher understanding. Of course than occurring to Hegel, we should then look at the opposite of our synthesized view and keep on going until we reach a total breakthrough beyond thought.
Blessings, G

 

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Sky Dragon (Re)Sky Dragon (Redux) by G A Rosenberg

 

Hanging Out in the Garden AgainHanging Out in the Garden Again by G A Rosenberg

 

The True and False of It

“In a universe that defies description, all systems of belief can only be false.”
— Austin Osman Spare

 

Buckminster Fuller said the universe was asynchronously apprehended which means that it cannot be fully comprehended all at once. At most when we contemplate the vastness that we live in we can only achieve a partial comprehension. I believe it is possible to have a peak or mystical experience where we can catch a glimpse of the totality but those tend to be notoriously difficult to put into words. Therefore any system of belief that is written or spoken is only a partial approximation and thus on some level flawed. With that understanding tho we can look at many belief systems (and lets not kid each other, there are probably at least as many systems of belief as there are people. Even people who believe in as structured a religion as fundamentalist christianity will differ in exactly how they interpret the ‘literal word of God’ and what that means in their lives.) any one of them will be false or at best partial. Of course since I believe we live in a universe of infinite possibility I also agree with Ken Wilber when he says that everyone is right (but partial).
Blessings, G

 

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Dragon in ReposeDragon in Repose by G A Rosenberg

 

Idea StreamIdea Stream by G A Rosenberg

 

Tools For Change

 

“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller

 

I would like a new pair of glasses. Ones that will make what now seems crucial and important seem trivial and trivial things vital. In this way I will learn that what we deem important is relative. Time tends to do this anyway. How many things that seemed urgent to you on a particular day and time five years ago affect your present life at all. These glasses tho would serve as instant time and lend a new perspective…
While we’re at new tools for thinking, how about foot ware that show what its truly like to walk in any given person’s shoes for an hour or two and truly show life from their perspective…How about a ring that would show what true love and commitment felt like so that it would never be confused with anything else?
What would it be like if we each lived our lives as if these tools were real?
Blessings, G

 

This is my 2000th post on Waking Spirals. Keeping this blog and sharing my art, poetry and observations with all of you has been truly rewarding. Thanks for the amazing feedback. Many Blessings indeed

 

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With Eyes Like Galaxies She whispers My NameWith Eyes Like Galaxies She Whispers My Name by G A Rosenberg

 

A Crystal that Will Reveal DreamsA Crystal that Will Reveal Dreams by G A Rosenberg

Elegance

 

“When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty…….. but
when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is
wrong.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller

 

When a solution is found that not only solves the problem but does so in an efficient way we call it elegant. Elegance is a type of beauty that involves both simplicity, efficiency and grace. In our lives, we encounter many varieties of problems. So often we settle on make shift quick fixes that appear rough and unfinished. Oh they last for a while but if we don’t find a way to integrate them fully in an elegant manner than the problems will reassert themselves. Therefore for a solution to be fully workable it must have that elegance.
Blessings, G

 

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By Any Other NameBy Any Other Name by G A Rosenberg

 

Ornamental2Ornamental by G A Rosenberg

Dare

“I’m not trying to counsel any of you to do anything really special except dare to think. And to dare to go with the truth. And to dare to really love completely.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller

 

One of the best working definitions of love I have heard is that its what happens when another person’s well-being is essential to your own. Can you imagine what that would feel like if applied universally. If everyone’s well-being became essential to our own? If everyone’s well-being became essential to everyone else’s? Apply it beyond just people. Imagine a universe where the well-being of every being was essential It seems to me that that just may be our natural state. Imagine a universe where we all dared to love completely at once.
“You may say I’m a dreamer
but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us…”
— John Lennon

Blessings, G

 

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Celestial DanceCelestial Dance by G A Rosenberg

 

Violet aand Frost BlueViolet and Frost Blue by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – August 14 2012

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou

 

One of the most important things I have learned is how to lose my attachment to being right. If the universe is truly impossible to comprehend more than one part at a time as R Buckminster Fuller said than at most anything we say or think will only be part of the whole therefore even when it is mostly right, it is a little bit wrong. If you like learning, it’s awesome, it means there is always more to learn and a more accurate view that can be developed. Of course the question begs to be asked that if you don’t like learning, why did you sign up for this trip in the first place?
Hmmmm I wonder if there’s a lesson in that. I mean if life in the physical on earth is a school and we chose to be here, does that make all of us humans cosmic nerds? There’s something appealing about that thought somehow. 🙂
Blessings, G

 

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Human By Design by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – May 23 2012

“Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable”
— R Buckminster Fuller

We are the ninety-nine percent? Ah wouldn’t that be an interesting essay. Seeing the 99% of us that we can’t touch rebelling against the 1% on the surface that seems to make all the decisions. Occupy our existence. YES.
Of course not even our psyches occur in a vacuum. Still how much of ourselves even surface to the point of awareness? Meditation elicits and integrates more for sure tho at any point we contain multitudes we’ll never meet, the would have been us’s and the could of been us’s .
Still what amazing raw material to recreate ourselves from… If there is a quality that we admire or that we crave we can know or at least surmise that it exists somewhere inside of us and evoke it. What awesome potential, knowing that each day we can become, or perhaps be becoming..

Daily Becoming
I choose qualities needed
Essence Awakened.

Blessings, G

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Dance Emerging by G A Rosenberg

Steel Web Corridor by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – April 23 2012

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller

OK the systems (political, economical and spiritual) in place now are pretty unworkable. More and more people are seeing naked Emperors (The Emperor’s New Clothes – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). What do most want to do? Tear down the wall, forcibly rip apart the old systems and leave in their place…well…surely almost anything must be better than this, right?
I like R Buckminster Fuller’s idea of building a newer better model but I believe we better get working on it because the old ones built on lies and greed and paranoia are falling apart quickly.)
Of course many people are working on new perspectives and new ways of being (Thrive Movie Going Free | Thrive among others). Tearing down old ways is relatively easy, building something new, now that’s a challenge. One I believe we’re all up for.

I hope everyone had an amazing Earth Day and got the chance to be out in nature for a bit today. I attended an amazing meditation group meditation workshop here in Vancouver run by Brad Morris of Cowabunga Meditations (http://cowabungalife.com/). Of course any  day that starts with me walking the dogs out in the backyard barefoot by the garden tends to be pretty great. Much gratitude.

Minor Haiku

Tunnels under ground
Wealth we’ve uncovered by sweat
belongs to others

Sorry I guess I meant miner haiku 🙂

Blessings, G

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Flowers and Flame Abstract by G A Rosenberg

Emerald Glass Mandala by G A Rosenberg