Reveal / Conceal

 

“Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.”
— Donald Winnicott

 

I reveal my dreams but not too closely. First the veils need to be separated. It takes a keen eye to see through the illusion to what lies beneath. Yet in
what I choose to hide, I reveal much. Symbols that I may only partially understand dance through me and things enter in that others see that were hidden to my eyes. Thus, I reveal even as I conceal and say much when I believe myself to be the most silent. In this I am not that different from most, we all have our tells yet perhaps in my exhibitionism I am more open than most.
Blessings, G

 

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Changed in Ways She Could No Longer RecognizeChanged in Ways She Could No Longer Recognize by G A Rosenberg

 

EnfoldedEnfolded by G A Rosenberg

 

RonoveRonove by G A Rosenberg

 

A Fleeting Prayer

“Intelligence is the capacity to receive, decode and transmit information efficiently. Stupidity is blockage of this process at any point. Bigotry, ideologies etc. block the ability to receive; robotic reality-tunnels block the ability to decode or integrate new signals; censorship blocks transmission.”
–Robert Anton Wilson

Ganesh break me through the barriers
of the quicksand in my mind
Hermes free me
from crippling beliefs
and help my thoughts fly mercurially.
Oh cross road beings
widen my mind
so I can see that other roads exist
and honour them as I wish mine honoured
and see them as valid choices I may one day make.
Let me speak when others put their hand to my mouth
and that bars of thought are all illusion.
May I use what I have to free others
and may my travel be swift.
Aughm HA!
— G A Rosenberg

Blessings, G

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Golden HummingbirdGolden Hummingbird by G A Rosenberg
WrathWrath by G A Rosenberg
Approaching the Unknown with Totemic AspectsApproaching the Unknown with Totemic Aspects (Bael)  by G A Rosenberg

Do I Know what I Mean?

 

“People have a very firm conviction, or belief, that they speak the same language, that they understand one another.
Actually this conviction has no foundation whatever. The language which they speak is adapted to practical life only. People communicate to one another information of a practical character, but as soon as they pass to a slightly more complex sphere they are immediately lost, and the cease to understand one another, although they are unconscious of it.”
— G I Gurdjieff

 

Language is a tricky business. People talk at each other and seldom realize that they are using the same words to mean two or more different things. Words like war or freedom or love or concepts like free will, acceptable losses, faith, religion, or meme. The words that people use in conversation with each other without sharing meaning is nigh endless. What’s even stranger is how often we use these words without having a full understanding of what we ourselves mean when we use it and how for many of these ambiguous terms, our meaning changes from day to day, conversation to conversation or hour to hour. When we say God do we mean an all-knowing guy in a white beard strolling through the sky? Do we mean an archetype, one of several that is part of the shared unconscious of mankind, an all-loving compassionate being, an angry vengeful parent. Is he internal or external? Then we can talk about love. I love you. Do I mean by that that I feel affection towards you and am trying to elicit whether you feel affection back? Do I mean it in a general sense that I love all of mankind and since you are part of that you share in my love? Does it mean I want to make love to you? Does it mean I would lay down my life for you or put your needs above my own? What if I’m not sure and it just seems like a good thing to say at the time? It always seems somewhat miraculous that any of us are able to communicate with each other at all. I guess we should thank god (or gods or goddess) for small miracles.
Blessings, G

 

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Butterfly TrailsButterfly Trails by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark DreamingDark Dreaming by G A Rosenberg

Do I Know what I Mean?

 

“People have a very firm conviction, or belief, that they speak the same language, that they understand one another.
Actually this conviction has no foundation whatever. The language which they speak is adapted to practical life only. People communicate to one another information of a practical character, but as soon as they pass to a slightly more complex sphere they are immediately lost, and the cease to understand one another, although they are unconscious of it.”
— G I Gurdjieff

 

Language is a tricky business. People talk at each other and seldom realize that they are using the same words to mean two or more different things. Words like war or freedom or love or concepts like free will, acceptable losses, faith, religion, or meme. The words that people use in conversation with each other without sharing meaning is nigh endless. What’s even stranger is how often we use these words without having a full understanding of what we ourselves mean when we use it and how for many of these ambiguous terms, our meaning changes from day to day, conversation to conversation or hour to hour. When we say God do we mean an all-knowing guy in a white beard strolling through the sky? Do we mean an archetype, one of several that is part of the shared unconscious of mankind, an all-loving compassionate being, an angry vengeful parent. Is he internal or external? Then we can talk about love. I love you. Do I mean by that that I feel affection towards you and am trying to elicit whether you feel affection back? Do I mean it in a general sense that I love all of mankind and since you are part of that you share in my love? Does it mean I want to make love to you? Does it mean I would lay down my life for you or put your needs above my own? What if I’m not sure and it just seems like a good thing to say at the time? It always seems somewhat miraculous that any of us are able to communicate with each other at all. I guess we should thank god (or gods or goddess) for small miracles.
Blessings, G

 

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Butterfly TrailsButterfly Trails by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark DreamingDark Dreaming by G A Rosenberg

Communicating Transformative Vision

 

“And therefore, all of those for whom authentic transformation has deeply unseated their souls must, I believe, wrestle with the profound moral obligation to shout form the heart—perhaps quietly and gently, with tears of reluctance; perhaps with fierce fire and angry wisdom; perhaps with slow and careful analysis; perhaps by unshakable public example—but authentically always and absolutely carries a a demand and duty: you must speak out, to the best of your ability, and shake the spiritual tree, and shine your headlights into the eyes of the complacent. You must let that radical realization rumble through your veins and rattle those around you.
Alas, if you fail to do so, you are betraying your own authenticity. You are hiding your true estate. You don’t want to upset others because you don’t want to upset your self. You are acting in bad faith, the taste of a bad infinity.

Because, you see, the alarming fact is that any realization of depth carries a terrible burden: those who are allowed to see are simultaneously saddled with the obligation to communicate that vision in no uncertain terms: that is the bargain. You were allowed to see the truth under the agreement that you would communicate it to others (that is the ultimate meaning of the bodhisattva vow). And therefore, if you have seen, you simply must speak out. Speak out with compassion, or speak out with angry wisdom, or speak out with skillful means, but speak out you must.
And this is truly a terrible burden, a horrible burden, because in any case there is no room for timidity. The fact that you might be wrong is simply no excuse: You might be right in your communication, and you might be wrong, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter, as Kierkegaard so rudely reminded us, is that only by investing and speaking your vision with passion, can the truth, one way or another, finally penetrate the reluctance of the world. If you are right, or if you are wrong, it is only your passion that will force either to be discovered. It is your duty to promote that discovery—either way—and therefore it is your duty to speak your truth with whatever passion and courage you can find in your heart. You must shout, in whatever way you can.”
― Ken Wilber, One Taste

 

Sometimes when we have a vision of something higher, we cannot put it into words as much as we might try. For me, as much as I love the written language, I find that art gives me a whole new way of communicating. The english language as it is written and spoken can only go so far at communicating understanding and it is so ambiguous that quite often it obscures more than it enlightens. If it is as necessary for us to communicate understanding as Ken Wilber suggests that it is (and I would have to agree) than it is great that many of us can find other means in which to do it. For some, music may be their best way to communicate their highest understanding and for others dance. Still for others it may be higher mathematics or poetry (using language in a symbolic way that transcends it. We must communicate our vision even if we’re not sure afterwards of its correctness and its great that we have so many ways to do it. At least perhaps until we can become fully telepathic with each other and share our visions directly.
Blessings, G

 

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Time, Life, Death, The MaidenTime, Life, Death, The Maiden by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark Sun RisingDark Sun Rising by G A Rosenberg

Choosing Memes

 

“When people get immersed in a culture with strong new memes, it tends to be a sink-or-swim proposition. Either you change your mind, succumbing to peer pressure and adopting the new memes as your own, or you struggle with the extremely uncomfortable feeling of being surrounded by people who think you’re crazy or inadequate. The fact that you probably think the same about them is little consolation.”
–Richard Brodie, Virus of the mind

 

According to Wikipedia, “The meme, analogous to a gene, was conceived as a “unit of culture” (an idea, belief, pattern of behaviour, etc.) which is “hosted” in the minds of one or more individuals, and which can reproduce itself, thereby jumping from mind to mind.” In other words its a catchphrase, a slogan, words with images attach that we spread like lol catz on these inter webs. I love Richard Brodie’s book on memeology, Virus of the Mind tho the implications of this quote has my mind reeling this evening.
There have been several political situations in recent memory that I have felt were at an impasse because at their basis they were competing narratives. Two competing historical stories that were at war with each other. Unfortunately I was mistaken. What was really happening was a battle of the memes that the narratives bred.
Competing narratives can be resolved with critical thought and acceptance that neither side carries the whole truth. However once slogans and catchphrases become part of the armament that two sides carry into battle, there can be no real winner because memes tend to turn off any possibility of critical thought whatsoever. You can recognize the process easily enough. Instead of trying to understand multiple sides of a dispute, people start shouting statistics at each other or slogans or half-truths that everybody knows. As soon as people do this, then they are spreading memes not trying to solve problems. Occasionally one set of memes will overpower or gain more support than the other and that may resolve things but usually a war of memes leads to mutual destruction either quickly or slower. The main problem with memes is that they are forever reproducing themselves and tend to loop where critical thinking tends to be open ended (Thesis, antithesis, synthesis which leads to a new thesis etc..)
We have the ability to decide what memes we expose ourselves to or at least which ones we chose to replicate. Some memes are positive, life and thought affirming. Tho almost always when we start quoting statistics and spreading slogans they replace our thought processes.
Blessings, G

 

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Insubstantial TranSubstanceInsubstantial Transubstantiation by G A Rosenberg

 

Romance Novel Cover For a Surreal AgeRomance Cover For a Surreal Age by G A Rosenberg

 

Simple Understanding

 

“One should use common words to say uncommon things”
― Arthur Schopenhauer

 

One of the qualities that I have been working on in myself is to have the clarity necessary to speak deep truths in a simple way. Understanding is wonderful but if I can’t convey what I understand in a simple way to others than it is next to useless. What’s more if I can’t explain it simply do I fully understand or am I just intellectualizing? In these days of internet connection, knowledge is easy to come by, understanding much less so. It is the difference between having a warehouse full of food and feeding people.
Blessings, G

 

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Window on a New WorldWindow on a New World by G A Rosenberg

 

EchoesEchoes by G A Rosenberg

 

Down the RingsDown the Rings by G A Rosenberg

 

Words As Art

 

“I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.” -from the Fox-”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

 

If I could paint you a picture with words
If I could let you see the sunrise
of my meaning
and realize
it may be different from yours
but our hearts still beat together.
Please don’t take absolute definitions
from what I say
you’d never do that from my painting
merely see interpretation and energy
and that is what I give you
We may never understand each other
if words get in the way
let my heart speak to yours
Hang me on the wall of memory
and observe my meanings
like art
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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RitualRitual by G A Rosenberg

 

Neon CrosshairsNeon Crosshair by G A Rosenberg

Weaving Communication

 

“The best teacher is experience and not through someone’s distorted point of view”
― Jack Kerouac

 

Each moment is an experience. We interact with others or with just ourselves and the potential for learning or hitting that sweet spot of connection with the all is ever present. It’s true that there are distortions in any medium. We talk about ourselves with fading memory with viewpoints half formed and inexact forms of communication. The surprise lies not in the fact that we misunderstand what we hear but that communication happens at all. Yet it does which to me means on some level we must want to communicate. We want to share our lives as clearly as possible and we want to feel the sharing of others. Yet when that sharing is inauthentic we know it.
One of the things I pray for is the ability to be as clear and open as it is possible for me to be in my writing, speech and perception. In that way, each person’s experience becomes part of my tapestry and I can share in theirs.
Blessings, G

 

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Storm Queen (Inverse)Storm Queen by G A Rosenberg

 

Energy WellEnergy Well by G A Rosenberg