Tag: spiritual journey

The Light Within the Darkness

 

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
— Carl Jung

 

Too long have I been blinded
by sleight of hand candles
held by charismatic fools.
I was a moth diving in
losing myself in their flames
Badly singed I turned away from all
within my darkness I found the true light
calling from within
empowering, enabling
I discovered self pride and self will
and a light brighter than any candle could be
Pulled within I could find myself outside the well.
— G A Rosenberg

 

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walking-through-the-fire-reduxWalking Through the Fire (Redux) by G A Rosenberg

 

elemental-shamanElemental Shaman by G A Rosenberg

 

Pinched Feet

 

“The Shoe that Fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases”
— Carl Jung

 

2016 was both a year of growth and a year of confusion for me. In some ways I realized more of my ambitions than I have before. Yet I find myself with less definition of conviction than ever before. This was at least partially due to my reaction to the US Presidential election. It seems people were so polarized and had definite feelings of the rightness of their case. So many of these reactions seemed and still do unreasoned. I found myself growing more and more uncomfortable with the polarization that has been happening. People seem to be using their opinions to justify bad behaviour on both sides and there is little willingness to either challenge one’s own beliefs (something which is one of the few rules I have for myself) or be open to those of others. People justify their beliefs not because they have tested them and won out but because they can find them mirrored in the beliefs of almost all of their friends and social media acquaintances. I regret having to say this but if all of your friends agree with your political views no matter what they are, you need to widen your circle of friends.
Blessings,
G

 

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reflecting-inner-skies-reduxReflecting Inner Skies (Redux) by G A Rosenberg

 

manifesting-the-elks-spiritManifesting the Elk’s Spirit by G A Rosenberg

 

To Ease the Passing of Time

 

“I do not write for a select minority, which means nothing to me, nor for that adulated platonic entity known as ‘The Masses’. Both abstractions, so dear to the demagogue, I disbelieve in. I write for myself and for my friends, and I write to ease the passing of time.”
— Jorge Luis Borges

 

To ease the passing of time I write and create art. Oh time will pass easily enough, perhaps too much so and there are so many moments where I have so little to show for it. I create to at least have my footprints in the sand. To show where I’ve been if only to see it all wash away. Thus I understand why graffiti artists tag seeking if not recognition acknowledgement of existence. Oh there are other reasons as well tho perhaps they are less honest.
Blessings, G

 

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Sometimes Random Patterns Take on LifeSometimes Random Patterns Take on Life by G A Rosenberg

 

Heartbreak Ends With TimeHeartbreak Ends With Time by G A Rosenberg

 

Commitment

 

“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery and isolation. Isolation is a gift… All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it… And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds… and it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”
~ Charles Bukowski

 

This year, for a number of reasons I have decided to work on my physical aspect. Over the last couple of rather taxing years, I had let myself become rather sedentary and ate a lot of my frustrations. I had started smoking again and was up to over a pack a day. So once January hit, I decided I would take action.
1) January – I quit smoking cold turkey.
2) February – Diet and more activity. I stopped eating by eight PM. I stopped eating cheese. I started drinking lots of tea both to suppress appetite and to clean the body. I walked 10,000 Steps a day. I lost about 13 lbs and achieved my goal weight for the month.
3) March – Continue Diet and increase exercise. I am up to 15 pushups twice a day. I have been riding my bike every day that the sun allows. I am up to 12,000 steps a day. While weight loss has slowed a bit I feel my body regaining its overall form.
These might seem like some what minimal goals. I purposefully chose goals that would not result in injury. I have, in the past, overcommitted and ended up unable to exercise at all and I wanted this to all be doable. It hasn’t just been a matter of extensive effort but that of committed every day constant effort and it is paying off. The next steps will be a yoga class and the gym at least 3 times a week. One step at a time
Blessings, G

 

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Serpents ArenaSerpent’s Arena by G A Rosenberg

 

Cancer RisingCancer Rising by G A Rosenberg

 

A Night’s Dream

 

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream”
.- Vincent Van Gogh

 

The Night sky brings dreams and hunting
We run the forest as wolves
bringing down our prey
and eating in the moonlight
We howl our victory
and make love until dawn’s arrival
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessed Be, G

 

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Talisman for DreamingTalisman For Dreaming by G A Rosenberg

 

Wounded AbstractionWounded Abstraction by G A Rosenberg

 

Going Through the Motions

 

“Enlightenment cannot be according to any system. It has to resolve and clarify your own situation. The realization must satisfy and fulfill your heart, not the standards of some system. The liberation must be of you, you personally…The quest does not bring about improvement or perfection. It brings about a maturity, a humanity, and a wisdom.”
— A.H. Almaas.

 

We can follow the rules of any given spiritual school and be initiated at every level yet come out of it almost unchanged. I have met a few people where this was the case. Oh they had the necessary answers to satisfy the requirements that they derived either intellectually or intuitively yet after going through the motions, the energy released was not the energy that they personally needed to bring them to the next level. Castaneda’s Don Juan would say the path wasn’t one with heart for them. From my own experience I would say that they hadn’t found a way to plug in deeply enough. Anything if we are open and ready for it can bring a peak experience. If we are not ready tho any experience will be merely that no matter how much we may wish it were something else.
Blessings, G

 

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Night Wolf SpiritNight Wolf Spirit by G A Rosenberg

Awakening AuroraAwakening Aurora by G A Rosenberg

 

Skewing My Perspective

 

“We begin to learn wisely when we’re willing
to see world from other people’s perspective.”
― Toba Beta

 

In my life I have met some fascinating people. They were intelligent and yet came at life from a position so different than anything I had considered, sometimes almost opposite that every instinct in me just screamed out they were wrong. I know that the usual response that people have in similar situations is that they shun the people or ridicule them in public just so everyone could see how wrong they were. I guess I don’t have that usual response. Instead I would start speaking to them and try to understand how they arrived at the conclusions they did. I would work to inhabit their point of view even to the point where I could debate my previously held world view from the perspective of the new and end up either with a stalemate or a flat out win. I would then hold on to this new viewpoint until (most commonly) a) the flaws that I had missed became apparent (or in some cases the hypocrisies and inconsistencies of the people holding the viewpoints making them seem like just another unattainable ideal) b) I came across someone who held a very different point of view and I became fascinated by that. Eventually I stopped believing both in absolute point of view but also that there is any viewpoint so ridiculous that someone somewhere won’t adopt it as their truth and have good sound reason for doing so. Also that any viewpoint can be accurately be argued for or against with logic. More and more I come to the point where almost everything holds possibilities yet all sacred cows (or chaos) have died off.
Blessings, G

 

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Life flow Above and that BelowLife Flow Above and That Below by G A Rosenberg

 
Burst Emerald SphereBurst Emerald Sphere by G A Rosenberg

 

Hypothetical (or Not So) Lifestyles of the Intolerant and Hypocritical

 

“I learned that very often the most intolerant and narrow-minded people are the ones who congratulate themselves on their tolerance and open-mindedness.”
— Christopher Hitchens

 

Let’s talk hypothetically for a moment. Let’s make it two moments as I give two hypothetical cases:
A) A gay couple go into a bakery and order a cake for their wedding. The owner refuses to serve them. A large ruckus results that includes people calling up the baker with death threats and boycotts. The baker tries to protest that he has the right to refuse service to anyone including those who do not live according to his beliefs. Eventually he is fined for discrimination. Justice has won the day according to most people.
B) A right wing politician whom many consider bordering on fascist enters a restaurant. The owner refuses to serve him. The restauranteur states that he has the right to refuse service to anyone including those who do not live according to his beliefs. The politician leaves followed by a crowd of people jeering at him and threatening violence in protest. Justice has won the day according to most people.
I have a serious problem reconciling the two ideas of justice portrayed in the two situations above and yet both situations resemble real world happenings.
This has little to do with my own political leanings except that either business owners have the right to refuse service at their discretion or they don’t.
I disagree with both restaurant owners and find their refusal in both cases to be ridiculously narrow-minded and shortsighted. Did the baker fear that the lord would strike down his bakery if he helped make something beautiful for two people in love. Did the restauranteur fear that if the politician started talking, people would immediately be spell-bound, put on jackboots and start walking down the street hitting minorities with truncheons? Then again I have never feared ideas or lifestyles that were different than my own and I detest the idea of letting fear control my actions.

Blessings, G

 

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Star GamesStar Games by G A Rosenberg

 

Spatial ExtremitiesSpatial Extremities by G A Rosenberg

 

MortisMortis by G A Rosenberg