Fear Advisedly

 

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
— Jack Canfied

 

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

It’s amazing how much of a commodity fear can be. It’s an easy place to go to when things are uncertain and we live in pretty uncertain times. Tho as I typed that it occurred to me that there are not too many times in history when that cannot be said. Expose yourself to any media these days and you can see people willing to nurture and direct your fear. They will tell you who and what to fear and why. The current presidential election will most likely be won by the person who can best marshall the fear of the general public and direct it at the same time as they suggest that they have the best methods of conquering the very fear that they nurture.

Be weary of those who seek to direct your fear. Fear too often can turn off our critical thinking capacity and when we fear as a group, we can all too easily become ruled by a mob mentality as everyone seeks to either fight or flee. A mob is too easily controlled by those who wish to manipulate others for their own advantage. There is a lot of that going around these days.

Fear is a natural and primal reaction to the unknown. It is also natural to fear something that has the ability to either injure or kill us. It is not the only reaction tho. It is possible to face something dangerous with respect rather than fear. Most people get over their fear of other people driving on the road or of flying in planes. Both are inherently dangerous yet both are in most cases survived. Knowing that we are taking a risk can teach us to act responsibly and mindfully obeying the rules of the road to avoid an accident. We can use our fear as a wise advisor rather than the monster whom we must fight or flee.

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

EntrancewayEntranceway by G A Rosenberg

 

Warrior Spirit HelmWarrior Spirit Helm by G A Rosenberg

 

Autumn

 

“I notice Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Autumn more than any other time speaks to my internal self. Patly because I was born in Autumn a time that makes me generally reflective. There is something tho about the look of coloured leaves falling to the ground and their smell decomposing that inspires me. I enjoy the chill in the air and the blend of summer warmth and winter coolness. I will spend this next few months finishing up some projects and starting some new ones and generally transitioning to the quiet of winter.
Blessings ,G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Whispers in the DepthsWhispers in the Depths by G A Rosenberg

 

Wilting CaniverousWilting Carnivorous by G A Rosenberg

 

Flames, Death, Wisdom and a Well

 

“You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame;how could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Another poem by my friend James Adams tonight for your enjoyment:

 

SISTER BODILY DEATH

 

Assisi wrote with praise and hymn
Of distant sun
And mighty twin
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

Thy cold embrace
‘Neath mask of moon
The rictus chord
Of crimson tune
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

Of you foretold
My eyes to pale
No flailing limb
‘Gainst you prevail
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

With fleeting beat
My heart to still
In silent weep
And dreamy chill
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

With laughing dance
In mortal coil
Of ripened bones
To till thy soil
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

O lovers kiss dwell not too long
Soon speak no word
Soon sing no song
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

With sweet reward
And far off call
Inexorable tread
In end
In thrall
O hail to thee my sister
My sister bodily death

 

Deliverance grant
From tragic plight
No falsity borne
Of will o’wisp light
O hail to thee my sister
My sister of bodily death

 

No truth can match
Your deadly fact
No sin
No glutton
Nor dreadful act
O hail to thee my sister
My sister bodily death

 

With praise to thee
And life on lease
An Instant fear
Forever peace
O hail my sister
With maidens breath
O hail to thee my sister
My sister bodily death
– James Adams

 
<h4 Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Centre of WisdomCentre of Wisdom by G A Rosenberg

 

Oraccular WellOracular Well by G A Rosenberg

 

Spending Time On and With

 

“My solitude doesn’t depend on the presence or absence of people; on the contrary, I hate who steals my solitude without, in exchange, offering me true company.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

I love the company of friends. People whom I can unwind with and be myself. It is easy to walk around with the self dressed in cordial drag presenting the correct social face but it is wearying. After awhile I want to go off by myself or open a book or be doing almost anything because social psychic drag itches more than the shirt that comes with a rented tuxedo. I much prefer friends with whom I can strip down to my psychic underwear with. Those who’s moods and modes I can handle and who can handle mine. I suppose there are people whom we spend time on and people whom we spend time with and I know inevitably which brings me comfort at the end of the evening. They are the ones who are true companions on the journey.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

The War MachineThe War Machine by G A Rosenberg

 

Cosmic WhirlwindCosmic Whirlpool by G A Rosenberg

Dancing Star Paradoxes

 

“The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves.”
Willem de Kooning

 

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

 

“How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.”
Niels Bohr

 

Create from chaos a new order
like sand castles doomed when the tide comes in
A fun game that symbolizes our lives
we create temporary structures of thought and deed
one day the tide comes in and those structures vanish
while we build another
never realizing the friendship of entropy
for without it we could not create
Eternity would pass and we would stagnate
in castles that have become prisons
yearning for destruction’s kiss
so we could create anew.

 

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Desire BurningDesire Burning by G A Rosenberg

 

Caught up with the Elements WithinCaught Up Within the Elements Within by G A Rosenberg

 

Dancing Star Paradoxes

 

“The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves.”
Willem de Kooning

 

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

 

“How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.”
Niels Bohr

 

Create from chaos a new order
like sand castles doomed when the tide comes in
A fun game that symbolizes our lives
we create temporary structures of thought and deed
one day the tide comes in and those structures vanish
while we build another
never realizing the friendship of entropy
for without it we could not create
Eternity would pass and we would stagnate
in castles that have become prisons
yearning for destruction’s kiss
so we could create anew.

 

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Desire BurningDesire Burning by G A Rosenberg

 

Caught up with the Elements WithinCaught Up Within the Elements Within by G A Rosenberg

 

From Conception to a Changed Reality

 

“A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

If we can conceive of something, it exists if only in our imagination. If we can imagine something then we can interact with it and learn what makes it tick. If we can interact with something and know what makes it tick then we can create it and make it real and transform our lives. This is true of everything from the concept of freedom for someone who finds himself confined to the idea of food for those who are hungry. Now I’m not not saying that people who are starving can think themselves fed or that someone serving three lifetime sentences in jail can easily free themselves just that the very idea of these concepts can change their lives. Knowing that such things as freedom or a full belly exist and are possible can change one’s existence. This is one of the main principles not only behind magick but behind every movement or revolution that the world has seen.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Volcanic ViewVolcanic View by G A Rosenberg

 

Altered PerspectiveAltered Perspective by G A Rosenberg

 

Slow Beauty Awareness

 

“The slow arrow of beauty. The most noble kind of beauty is that which does not carry us away suddenly, whose attacks are not violent or intoxicating (this kind easily awakens disgust), but rather the kind of beauty which infiltrates slowly, which we carry along with us almost unnoticed, and meet up with again in dreams; finally, after it has for a long time lain modestly in our heart, it takes complete possession of us, filling our eyes with tears, our hearts with longing.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Your smile appeared
last night in my dream
like the one that Alice saw
combined with Mona Lisa elegance
so much like the one I’ve seen for years
yet last night
I noticed
The appreciation sending heartfelt echoes
back through time
Never was the sunrise brighter
carrying past gift and future promises
in its wake.
— G A Rpsenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Viewing The End of the FalseVision of the Burning of the False by G A Rosenberg

 

HarbingerHarbinger by G A Rosenberg

 

Finding Time For Boredom

 

“Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

As I have written before, I am seldom bored. Not only is life too short but there are still so many things to contemplate, to read, to see, to do? In my mind I do them all. Perhaps that’s one of the secrets to overcoming boredom. If we learn to develop a life in the mind and outside of it. I love to meditate and still my thoughts and almost anything can become a mindful practice if you let it. Left unattended my mind descends into word play and terrible puns which I may inflict on people. I also like to let my imagination run free and see what kind of trouble it can get into. I also love contemplating some of the more difficult questions about humanity; many of which I discuss here on the blog. Plus there are the normal family, home life and work related things that need to be attended to. One day I may make time for boredom. Not yet tho not yet.
Blessings, G

 

Click on Images to see full-sized:

 

Little Red's NightLittle Red’s Night by G A Rosenberg

 

Stepping Outside The Night She Saw Nothing UnusualStepping Outside the Night She Saw Nothing Unusual by G A Rosenberg

 

Finding Time For Boredom

 

“Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?”
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 

As I have written before, I am seldom bored. Not only is life too short but there are still so many things to contemplate, to read, to see, to do? In my mind I do them all. Perhaps that’s one of the secrets to overcoming boredom. If we learn to develop a life in the mind and outside of it. I love to meditate and still my thoughts and almost anything can become a mindful practice if you let it. Left unattended my mind descends into word play and terrible puns which I may inflict on people. I also like to let my imagination run free and see what kind of trouble it can get into. I also love contemplating some of the more difficult questions about humanity; many of which I discuss here on the blog. Plus there are the normal family, home life and work related things that need to be attended to. One day I may make time for boredom. Not yet tho not yet.
Blessings, G

 

Click on Images to see full-sized:

 

Little Red's NightLittle Red’s Night by G A Rosenberg

 

Stepping Outside The Night She Saw Nothing UnusualStepping Outside the Night She Saw Nothing Unusual by G A Rosenberg