Paths of Heart Without Lust of Result in the Sand

 

“This is my secret; I don’t mind what happens. That is the essence of inner freedom. It is a timeless spiritual truth: release attachment to outcomes, and—deep inside yourself—you’ll feel good no matter what.”
— Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

“I told you once that our lot as men is to learn, for good or bad,” he said. “I have learned to see and I tell you that nothing really matters; now it is your turn; perhaps someday you will see and you will know then whether things matter or not. For me nothing matters, but perhaps for you everything will. You should know by now that a man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting. A man of knowledge chooses a path with heart and follows it; and then he looks and rejoices and laughs; and then he sees and he knows. He knows that his life will be over altogether too soon; he knows that he, as well as everybody else, is not going anywhere; he knows, because he sees, that nothing is more important than anything else. In other words, a man of knowledge has no honor, no dignity, no family, no name, no country, but only life to be lived, and under these circumstances his only tie to his fellow men is his controlled folly. Thus a man of knowledge endeavors, and sweats, and puffs, and if one looks at him he is just like any ordinary man, except that the folly of his life is under control. Nothing being more important than anything else, a man of knowledge chooses any act, and acts it out as if it matters to him. His controlled folly makes him say that what he does matters and makes him act as if it did, and yet he knows that it doesn’t; so when he fulfills his acts he retreats in peace, and whether his acts were good or bad, or worked or didn’t, is in no way part of his concern. A man of knowledge may choose, on the other hand, to remain totally impassive and never act, and behave as if to be impassive really matters to him; he will be rightfully true at that too, because that would also be his controlled folly.”
–Carlos Castaneda

 

“”…thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.”
–Aleister Crowley (AL I, 42-44)

 

Three quotes all of which seem to be saying very similar things to me. Learn what is our will to do, act on it and cultivate an attitude that it really doesn’t matter if it happens or not. In the long run it is all folly, our actions written on the sand. If our actions change things, then we will live with the results. If it doesn’t we will live with the results. As long as we are travelling on a path with heart (love under will), then we have done what it is in us to do.
Blessings, G

 

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Protection / ConcernProtection / Concern by G A Rosenberg

 

Forest ProtectorForest Protector by G A Rosenberg

 

See Free!

 

“Rebellion is when you look society in the face and say I understand who you want me to be, but I’m going to show you who I actually am.”
— Anthony Anaxagorou

 

See me
Not the me who follows
arbitrary rules
as a husband, a parent, a societal role
but the me who dreams
who breathes
who feels things outside the box
and looks to expand beyond
eat, work, sleep, buy, buy waste
Look at me and throw off your own chains
as I seek to loosen mine
We can create something new
and transform ourselves from the mouldy mould.
See yourself
not as a role
but as a being being free.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Hart in a Storm (Furfur)Hart in a Storm (Furfur) by G A Rosenberg

 

Asleep in the CaveAsleep in the Cave by G A Rosenberg

 

Between Love and Bloodshed (Glasya-Labolas)Between Love and Bloodshed (Glasya-Labolas) by G A Rosenberg

 

Trapped in Amber – A Consciousness Stream

 

“Well, here we are…trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.”
— Kurt Vonnegut

 

Here we are, trapped in this moment. Luckily we have the ability to entertain both ourselves and each other so its a nice time to share some thoughts. Today was Thanksgiving in the land of my birth so maybe I should say somethings I’m grateful for (besides the fact that I was not a native some 300+ years ago). I am thankful for friends, family and the intersection of both. I have been lucky to have an abundance of love in this spin of the wheel and it is something I try never to take for granted. I am thankful for a mind, hands and spirit all of which work reasonably well and for so many things to learn and do. I am thankful especially for the lessons in compassion and that I can feel so much of what is going on in the world and make things better when and how I can. I am thankful for teachers and for each of you reading these words. I am thankful for the growth that I have experienced in this past year and even the hard lessons and pain I have experienced. But enough gratitude for now. What are your dreams and hopes? In what way do you hope to move outside your comfort zone? What inner demons do you face and can I help you dance with them? Of late I seem to have no end of questions, we live in confusing times where many act strangely and expect everyone to follow along. We live in systematic cultures and the systems are running down as they find that their one size fits all solutions fit very few and that a culture based on scarcity and contrived monetary values will eventually fall apart. As the supposed scarcity increases, the greedy get greedier as people fear loss more than they fear not having in the first place and here I am on my soapbox again. Perhaps we can just enjoy the moment, this time together trapped in the nonmoving now but then aren’t we always?
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Open SpaceOpen Space by G A Rosenberg

 

Crystal GazeCrystal Gaze by G A Rosenberg

 

Trapped in Amber – A Consciousness Stream

 

“Well, here we are…trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.”
— Kurt Vonnegut

 

Here we are, trapped in this moment. Luckily we have the ability to entertain both ourselves and each other so its a nice time to share some thoughts. Today was Thanksgiving in the land of my birth so maybe I should say somethings I’m grateful for (besides the fact that I was not a native some 300+ years ago). I am thankful for friends, family and the intersection of both. I have been lucky to have an abundance of love in this spin of the wheel and it is something I try never to take for granted. I am thankful for a mind, hands and spirit all of which work reasonably well and for so many things to learn and do. I am thankful especially for the lessons in compassion and that I can feel so much of what is going on in the world and make things better when and how I can. I am thankful for teachers and for each of you reading these words. I am thankful for the growth that I have experienced in this past year and even the hard lessons and pain I have experienced. But enough gratitude for now. What are your dreams and hopes? In what way do you hope to move outside your comfort zone? What inner demons do you face and can I help you dance with them? Of late I seem to have no end of questions, we live in confusing times where many act strangely and expect everyone to follow along. We live in systematic cultures and the systems are running down as they find that their one size fits all solutions fit very few and that a culture based on scarcity and contrived monetary values will eventually fall apart. As the supposed scarcity increases, the greedy get greedier as people fear loss more than they fear not having in the first place and here I am on my soapbox again. Perhaps we can just enjoy the moment, this time together trapped in the nonmoving now but then aren’t we always?
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Open SpaceOpen Space by G A Rosenberg

 

Crystal GazeCrystal Gaze by G A Rosenberg

 

Embracing Our Completer Selves

 

“We live with our archetypes, but can we live in them?”
— Poul Anderson

 

Who are we? Who do we want to be? Are we the businessman / Emperor archetype who somewhat benevolently brings order to our underlings existence? Are we the rebel / Punk who wants everything torn down? Are we an artist or a Mother Nature expanding in self expression? Do we try so hard to live inside our chosen archetypes that we deny expression to other aspects of ourself that run counter to them? What parts of ourselves do we keep hidden in the shadows because they don’t fit our internal image of who we should be?
In my experience, the more we make ourselves into something that only partially represents, the more we deny our own identities. We can’t defeat our shadow by denying it, it will always win in the end. It is only by embracing everything that we are, giving it all full expression that we can fully self-actualize and truly know what our purpose in life may be.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

SerpentSerpent by G A Rosenberg

 

Celling out (Abstract)Celling Out by G A Rosenberg

 

The Serpent and the Sword (Botis)The Serpent and The Sword (Botis) by G A Rosenberg

Persistance

 

“I must continue to follow the path I take now. If I do nothing, if I study nothing, if I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it — keep going, keep going come what may.
But what is your final goal, you may ask. That goal will become clearer, will emerge slowly but surely, much as the rough draught turns into a sketch, and the sketch into a painting through the serious work done on it, through the elaboration of the original vague idea and through the consolidation of the first fleeting and passing thought.”
— Vincent van Gogh

 

Staying the course
tho the skies start to cloud
Keep trudging along
even stuck in the crowd.
Finding my way
tho the path may be blocked
Knowing I’ll open
every door that is locked.

 

It’s never that easy
and it’s never that clear
yet the end will be reached
and my goal I will near

 

Taking each step
tho I don’t know which direction
Moving so slow
yet I’m moving with intention
Giving some space
to the doubts I feel within
yet still satisfied
with persistance I will win

— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Raven GoddessRaven Goddess by G A Rosenberg

 

Light at the CoreLight at the Core by G A Rosenberg

Persistance

 

“I must continue to follow the path I take now. If I do nothing, if I study nothing, if I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it — keep going, keep going come what may.
But what is your final goal, you may ask. That goal will become clearer, will emerge slowly but surely, much as the rough draught turns into a sketch, and the sketch into a painting through the serious work done on it, through the elaboration of the original vague idea and through the consolidation of the first fleeting and passing thought.”
— Vincent van Gogh

 

Staying the course
tho the skies start to cloud
Keep trudging along
even stuck in the crowd.
Finding my way
tho the path may be blocked
Knowing I’ll open
every door that is locked.

 

It’s never that easy
and it’s never that clear
yet the end will be reached
and my goal I will near

 

Taking each step
tho I don’t know which direction
Moving so slow
yet I’m moving with intention
Giving some space
to the doubts I feel within
yet still satisfied
with persistance I will win

— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Raven GoddessRaven Goddess by G A Rosenberg

 

Light at the CoreLight at the Core by G A Rosenberg

Ways Outside the Box

 

“The whole and sole object of all true Magical and Mystical training is to become free from every kind of limitation.”
— Aleister Crowley

 

We humans tend to find astonishing ways to limit ourselves. We do it through almost every social affiliation we have (whether it be religious, vocational, social or political). We do it by lack of imagination. We also limit ourselves through self-doubt. We are limitless beings and only by getting outside our boxes do we allow ourselves to see it. That is why Magical and / or Mystical training does such a good job of freeing us. By discipling ourselves out of the box and by training our focus and imagination we can transcend ourselves and find true freedom. There is no other way out with the possible exception of recreational drug use and that way is dicey at best. It offers only temporary glimpses and all too often becomes a limiting box in itself. They can be a good gateway however in terms of glimpsing possibilities as long as one remembers they are tools at best, rather like a double-edged sword that can easily cut the wielder as it does the target.
Blessings, G

 

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Healing Transformations (Marbas)Healing Transformation (Marbas) by G A Rosenberg

 

Entering  the GatesEntering the Gate by G A Rosenberg