Into Darkness, Towards Light

 

“I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you.”
— T.S. Eliot

 

In the darkness
I found comfort
shadows reflected from the dying light
the waves of a distant shore lapping
my inner light shone more brightly there
caressed by black flame
amid the coiled stillness.
Mysteries revealed themselves
and wisdom gained
in chthonic realms
my will was illuminated
In my rebirth I discovered
my own salvation
and a new light beckoned me on.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Nightmare in the Stars

 

Nightmare in the Stars by G A Rosenberg

Intricacies of the MachineIntricacies in the Machine by G A Rosenberg

 

The Dust of Broken Memories

 

“And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
― T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

 

The dust of broken memories
shows me strange dreams
scattered and strewn
of happy children
and shadowed times
Too many tears shattered
over dim futures
and a yearning for a time
that never was.
I feared to tell you how I felt
and your hurt silence echoed mine
We walked for hours not holding
and then it was time for the sun
Maybe someday but that will be the dust
of another’s hand.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

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A State of BalaceA State of Balance by G A Rosenberg

 

A Platter for a Gorgan's HeadA Platter for a Gorgon by G A Rosenberg

Do I Dare?

 

Do I dare Disturb the universe?”
― T.S. Eliot

 

If a whisper shatters mountains
and a wave destroys the sea
if a word can break my heart
and a touch can set me free
If a child’s laughter
can restore an old man’s health
Do I dare disturb the universe
that lies within myself.

 

If a book brings down a government
and a sigh can start a war
If a mother’s tears of grief
can no longer be ignored
If a song sets armies watching
with conviction in their heart
Can I change some folk’s awareness
with a single work of art?

 

If a murmured ritual
can change the world outside
If showing you new confidence
means you never have to hide
If I can share some secrets
that I never thought I’d share
Then I dare disturb the universe
by letting go of fear
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Archetypes from Another PlaceArchetypes From Other Place by G A Rosenberg

 

Mother of SpidersMother of Spiders by G A Rosenberg

 

Transvaluating Sculpture

 

“Every moment is a new and shocking transvaluation of all we have ever been.”
— T.S. Eliot

 

More than the sum of each moments part
I strive to become
not other for that way lies sadness
but authentically more the being
my true self knows itself to be
and tells me in whispered silence.
Like a sculpture I chip away
at the marble block of self
releasing the masterpiece within
I can sense the art from the artifice
and if I mistakenly take
too much or too little
the art is not lost
merely transformed
into something new.
Each moment less separation
from the finished piece
and I start to perceive
the shape inside my stony self.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

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Drifting2Drifting by G A Rosenberg

 

In Search of the RIght KeyIn Search of the Right Key by G A Rosenberg

 

Accompanied by Music (Paimon)Accompaniment (Paimon) by G A Rosenberg

 

Birthday Doggerel

 

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.”
― T.S. Eliot

 

Another cycle of the sun has spun
another lesser feast begun
another soldier on the ground
Chronos buys another round

 

New Paths appearing, Others gone
I stand at the crossroads looking on
Hermes and Thoth will help me decide
Loki and Eshu the paths will make wide

 

So onto a new one I disembark
this one just may be a lark
a year to relax, a year to breath free
a year without challenges for me

 

Not a chance, I crave the test
the chance to be shown at my best
or worst, yet that way’s tests
does bring my spirt’s growth bequests

 

Whatever comes I stand here ready
my hand is on the tiller steady
with eyes bright and without fear
I leap into the arriving year
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Burning Mind FieldBurning Mind Field by G A Rosenberg

 

Past Yields to Present(r)Past Yields to Present (R) by G A Rosenberg

 

Up Pompeii

 

Then spoke the thunder
Da
Datta: what have we given?
— T. S. Eliot

 

And Now the Prologue… (Points for anyone who gets the reference)
Yesterday we docked in Naples and toured the ruins of Pompeii. Afterwards I went and explored Naples while the rest of my group toured Herculaneum.
Pompeii has a very strange sense of history to it. Parts are very well preserved and you can walk through the (restored) houses, stores, temples and businesses of people who lived close to two thousand years ago.
It is an amazing gift to be on this trip with people I love seeing these sites but for me the most awesome part is walking in places I have only read about and experiencing the people and architecture there. Each city has its own heart beat and if you are open you can feel it. Naples is a city in which I could easily live. It is busy enough to be Metropolitan yet it has that laid back seaport feel.
There is a magic that happens when I find myself in a strange city where there is little English spoken. After passing the beautiful seaport Fortress and several pizza places, I found the beautiful shopping centre that the Pompeii tour guide had mentioned. Turning the corner there were many more stores, most but not all of them international chains. Continuing walking, I found a small art gallery that featured the t painting “The Martyrdom of St Ursula” by Caravaggio (one of my favourite artists) which was the last painting that he had finished (around a month before he died). They had several other painters of that style and that vintage and I spent a wonderful 20 minutes there.
For me, it is finds like that gallery and watching people living their lives as much and maybe even more so than the sites in any particular place that brings me the most enjoyment. Being able to balance the two this trip has been amazing.
Blessings, G

 

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PompeiiPompeii

 

Pompeii RuinsPompeii Ruins

 

Streets of NaplesStreets of Napoli (Naples)

 

Napoli CastleNapoli Castle

 

Meditating Once Again…

 

“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.”
― T.S. Eliot

 

Water dripping…then silence
an itch…then silence
a bad play on words about trees in the forest…inner laughter
then silence
a rumble in my stomach leads to thoughts of dinner
silence again
from the silence..
a word…
a sound like a drum
echoing soundlessly
my word for the moment
the word bounds then silent
Peace

 

Blessings, G

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Tender of the ForestTender of the Forest by G A Rosenberg

 

Abstract BalanceAbstract Balance by G A Rosenberg

Shadows and Shoutouts

 

“Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow”
― T.S. Eliot

We conceive things so perfectly. We have an inspiration, a moment of clarity where something we wish to manifest is perfect. Then we go about creating it and it never quite fits that conceptual vision. Some line noise gets in along the way. This could be from moment to moment distractions or it could be that the concept does not quite fit our notions of ‘how it should be’ or even that we doubt our ability to actualize our concept perfectly and the doubts become self-fulfilling prophecies. Our own shadows get in the way. Of course the more aware we become of our shadows, the more we can take them into account and the better we can manifest. These shadows are never anything to fear. In many cases, it is our shadows that inspire us to have the concept in the first place.
Blessings, G

 

In the last few weeks, I have had two lovely shout-outs that I wanted to express my appreciation for and to recommend the blogs of both these men unreservedly.
AdamfromNorway (http://adamangel.wordpress.com) is an amazing poet, writer and artist (he does it all and rather well) and I find something to be inspired by and enjoy (he has great taste in music as well) every time I stop by his blog. His shoutout to me:
http://adamangel.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/shout-out-to-gary-grosenberg/ is much appreciated.
<strongStephen Dillard-Carroll (http://www.travelingtarot.com) has a fantastic tarot site and his explanations of each of the cards are well worth exploring. He used my Eight of Cup image and had some very nice things to say about Waking Spirals in today’s entry (http://www.travelingtarot.com/apps/blog/show/41147233-tarot-the-day-for-wednesday-january-29th-2014).
Thank you both.

More shootouts tomorrow.

 

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Projecting2Projecting 2 by G A Rosenberg

 

Bubble TeaBubble Tea by G A Rosenberg

Meeting Again For the First Time

“We Die To Each Other Daily.
What We Know Of Other People
Is Only Our Memory Of The Moments
During Which We Knew Them. And They Have Changed Since Then.
To Pretend That They And We Are The Same
Is A Useful And Convenient Social Convention
Which Must Sometimes Broken. We Must Also Remember
That At Every Meeting We Are Meeting A Stranger”
— T. S. Eliot

 

We are all influx. We change by the moment even when we feel that we are stuck. As we change so does everyone around us. We cannot take another person’s being for granted even if we feel that we have known them for years. For not only do they have sides that we have never seen but they are constantly manifesting new elements of themselves. To deny them this is to deny our experience of them and choosing to look at an old snapshot rather than dealing with someone fresh, new and exciting. We may not always respond well to the changes. That is only natural at times and how we respond may easily become a catalyst for changes in ourselves. We are all changing evolving playful beings revealing and creating ourselves one moment at a time.
Blessings, G

 

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Bubble ReadingA Bubble Reading by G A Rosenberg

 

Fire ElementalFire Elemental by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – February 23 2013

“It will do you no harm to find yourself ridiculous.
Resign yourself to be the fool you are…
…We must always take risks. That is our destiny…”
― T.S. Eliot

 

What would life be without risk? Whether it be in a leap of thought, doing something labeled ‘dangerous’ for the first time, trusting a stranger or sometimes even trusting a friend, trusting our selves, risk becomes part of life. Everytime we choose to love or cry in front of another or even occasionally leave our house (or climb up on a chair or a ladder) we take a risk.
What is it that we risk exactly? Usually when the risk is physical, it results in some kind of fall or injury, When it us an emotional risk we chance damaging some concept of ourselves that we once had. It almost always results in the benefit of greater self-knowledge but usually that is gained only after some type of fall as well.  We need these falls at times to understand ourselves better and to be able to see through our delusions. That’s why we put them in our way. If we don’t take risks to better learn who we are than we lose the lesson
Blessings, G

 

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Cosmic Womb 2

Cosmic Womb by G A Rosenberg

 

Energy ChamberEnergy Chamber by G A Rosenberg