Loosen the Chains

 

“The known is accidental, the unknown is the home of the real. To live in the known is bondage, to live in the unknown is liberation.”
— Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

In our human experience there is a limit to what we can know. Oh I’m not talking about peak or mystical experiences where the whole picture for brief instances lie open before us but the rest of our lives, the parts where we chop wood and carry water. Yet so many seem happy with these limits, they learn a brief bit and believe they know it all. They cement this with conviction, certainty and faith and use these weapons to take on all comers.
In any fight between what I know and what is possible to learn I will cede the battle always. I want to know more and to understand more and if that means sacrificing what I know now for something better than so be it. Have to at my convictions. Throttle my faith and stamp on my certainty. I will always thank you for it. If you can loosen my chains and expose me to the infinite of the unknown, you will have my eternal gratitude.
Blessings, G

 

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DescendingDescent by G A Rosenberg

 

Electric Skull MandalaElectric Skull Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Protected By My Armour?

 

“A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”
— Unknown

 

A friend of mine posted this story today in a FB page on Spiral Dynamics and asked people their perceptions about the levels of consciousness of the two people involved in the story. For the intents of this essay let’s translate his question as “What quality do you believe the woman contained that would allow her to freely give of the stone?”One of the people who commented on the thread gave a thorough tho somewhat tortuous analysis of the story to show that he did not believe the question was answerable. As proof of this he argued that there was nothing in the story that showed A) that the man knew the woman was wise and B)that the woman knew the stone had value. I find both points fairly easy to counter. It is obvious from the last sentence that the man perceived that the woman knew its value. Also wisdom is seldom an attribute we give ourselves. It is normally a quality that is perceived and bestowed by others. The woman is describe by this word twice in the story which to my reading means her wisdom was readily apparent. That is all besides the point.
I have noticed a tendency in academics and intellectuals to avoid questions that involve a certain amount of soul searching by intellectually picking the question apart and attempting to discredit the question rather than answering it. This is something that I struggle with myself. We dance very intricate dances of reason and critique, anything to avoid that plunge into self reflection. Is it fear of losing our objectivity? That seems rather an empty fear as none of us are truly objective. We all have past experiences and learned behaviours that colour our perceptions no matter how we try to distance ourselves. Is it a fear of exposing ourselves and being vulnerable to critique? That feels quite possible. I know there are times when I would rather distance myself from a question rather than appear foolish in my answer. Using our intellect and knowledge are pretty good armour against possible attack. Unfortunately they can be equally effective against insight and growth.
Blessings, G

 

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Empty Chair People Reach A Meeting of the MindsEmpty Chair People Reach a Meeting of the Minds by G A Rosenberg

 

Electric FuchsiaElectric Fuchsia by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – October 3 2011

“When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you’ll find something solid to stand on
Or you’ll be taught how to fly!”
–Richard Bach

Off to Connecticut soon for the memorial service and to see family. Once more a farewell tho I feel in ways my mother’s presence closer than I have in years. Today I went to Shine, the tea restaurant and wellness place that I go to for Kambucha and yoga. The owner put her hand on my arm and said “You’re happy right” and I realized she was correct.
Mourning feels somewhat farcical when I realize that my mother now exists without the pain that has been part of her existence for the past 10 years. Unencumbered by the physical, she now embarks on whatever the next stage may be and knowing my mother, she travels first class (but then when it comes to spirit, don’t we all?)
Can I share this with my family? They showed so much fear in the hospital, of sickness and death and wish to mourn in the traditional Jewish way (the irony of it being called Shiva does not escape me, every culture shares connections) I honour their grief and the expression of it tho find elements of it uncomfortable, i guess lessons to be learned for all of us. Namaste

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The Stuff that Dreams Are Made of by G A Rosenberg