I was feeding him puppy-toast
and said
“The world is an illusion. . . ”
Without missing a beat he said
“There’s no reality in duality.”
Of course
I couldn’t really tell if he was serious
Dogs have a way of sly smiling
and they lie. . . .
They love you when you make puppy-toast
but they lie. . . .
He sat down at the table and pulled papers from his ever-present briefcase. “ Now we know that our brain is only a set of particles, such as electrons and protons, interacting through electromagnetic fields. Every biological process is due only to the chemical reactions, which in their turn, are due only to the electromagnetic interaction among the electrons and the protons of the atoms forming our organism.”
I couldn’t help interrupting, “Let me see if I have this straight. You are telling me that you completely understand every possible way in which these particles interact? You personally have brought scientific inquiry about the underlying nature of quantum mechanics to it ultimate conclusion. There is nothing left to discover?”
“Well, no, not me personally . . . “
“Then you do not know this directly?”
“Look, you are made of particles, just particles . . .”
“And energies, don’t forget energies.”
“And energies, but its all just dumb unfeeling matter, not at all transcend . . .”
“These particles of which you speak, have you ever seen any of them?”
“I see them everyday. . . “
“You see the particles?”
“Well, no.”
“Then I must conclude that you are you are fostering a series of facts without direct proof, sounds a bit like faith to me, but I digress. No one knows each and every way that particles interact. Perhaps somewhere in that swirling maelstrom of quantum mechanics there may be interactions that can fully explain the human soul.”
“What if there is no soul in there?”
“Then there isn’t. But you do not know.”
“And neither do you.”
“Exactly.”
You live in a Universe
that exceeds your perception of it
You may see it, taste it
hear it or feel it
And while it contains all those things
It is more
To name the Universe
is an attempt to limit
limitlessness
Yet there is a part of us
that speaks
And that part needs names
So let us call this Universe,
Reality
with the understanding
there is more to it
Then we can ever name
There is also a part of us
that wants to be free of naming
Wants to be free of detail
free of manifestation
A part that only wants
the underlying mystery and magic
of Reality
The historical conflict between these two parts
these two engines of the mind
Is perhaps the result of a misunderstanding
We often feel it would be best
to be one and destroy the other
But who would cut off his right hand
because he wants to be left handed?
Who would willingly blind himself in one eye
or deliberately destroy one foot?
Who wants eternal Daylight
or forever Darkness
Why then should we seek only to name Reality
or to end all naming?
It is in the balance
that we find the universal harmony
Perhaps this dichotomy
is part of the natural human heritage because
We perceive this Reality
through the filters of our human brains
the Left and the Right minds
The Left brain understands
Logic and Language
The Right brain understands
Love, Magic and Religion
The Left analyzes and dissects
The Right synthesizes and creates
But who would want only one or the other?
Who would want rainbows of only one color?
All mystery and manifestation within us
arises from our perception and reflection
of the Universe
But the Cosmos is not obliged to reside
only within our grasp of it
Who can truly say
there is no more?
Who can limit the limitless?
. . .
You have been told there are
Three dimensions, perhaps Four
Things are not Black or White but Grey
such dogma denotes limited thinking
Believing thus you bleed
all color, texture and taste from Reality
We live in a multi-dimensional Universe
Unbound in its responses
to our eyes
hands and pallet
Our waking and dreaming mind
And still extending beyond
Perhaps when you name a thing ugly
you limit the beauty you can find in it
Perhaps when you name a thing bad
you limit the good that you can see in it
Is this a really balanced perception?
We may limit our perception
but we can not limit the Universe
Living is balanced by Non-living
Arduous is balanced by Easy
Day by Night
Love by Fear
Light by Darkness
Hope by Despair
Heat by Coolness
Earth by Fire by Water by Air by Earth . . .
None of us can expect an endlessly easy life
we all must touch Reality
Or spend our lives trying to hide from it
But when overwhelmed by one extreme
remember the other is not far away
You will discover that Reality is balanced
but not perfectly symmetrical
Such Cycles are a means of Balance
Everything happens
It just doesn’t happen all at once
That’s why we have Time
. . .
Let us consider for a moment
the two aspects of Balance
There is static Balance
where all things stop
all motion stops
no sound, no heat, no matter . . .
Nothingness
And there is dynamic balance
such as a man walking
the middle of a curving road
Know the difference
You can not control a thing
by only stopping it
Control comes from directing the motion
of things
When Balance is achieved
Is it possible to act
without doing anything?
To dance without moving?
Is it possible to be taught
without a teacher?
To have without holding?
To Act outside of Fear or Anticipation of reward?
Is it possible
to let things appear in the distance
move to this place
and let them go
While perceiving the balance
of this motion within Reality?
It is said that our current aspect of Universe
Began in a great explosion
or rending of nothingness into which
one tiny seed of energy became everything
The speaking side of the mind
sees the Wonder of this
The mysterious side of the mind
sees God
A beginning
a middle
what of the end?
Is this not in keeping with Balance?
The Past and the Future
fuse in this Instant
Anon
While the Matter/Energy of this Cosmos
remains balanced
The possibilities are without limit
The Universe is
the Well of first things
A storehouse of new and old things
ever evolving, growing, changing
The Universe is an ever opening flower
And You are part of the Dance
You are not divorced from it
how can you be an unnatural thing?
Are your atoms from somewhere else?
Is your pattern so bizarre?
You are human and share
in the heritage of human beginning
middle and end
How could it be otherwise?
Inside of You . . .
you are a universe
There is the infinite circular ring of You
surrounded the receding
Great out-there
and filled with the vast
Great In-here
The Universe touches your universe
at every points
and all points beyond
You can paint your walls
any way you like
Or you can learn
to see the subtle colors
already there
Hold to the center of the Universe
If you talk of it
and do not dance with it
you will become confused
If you paint it with all the pigments known
and do not reflect it
you will become murky
If you follow the rituals of others
with infinite attention to detail
you will become disillusioned
But if you face each moment
with an open hand
an open heart
an open mind
You will be the Master
of the Moment
And a life is built
of such moments
It is said that the Universe
is running down
But is in this degradation of energy
lies the integration of Life
Human life is the water
that runs uphill
Notice how beautifully
Order arises out of Chaos
without breaking any of the True Rules
The vast open spaces within the Universe
contain an indeterminate number of worlds
The Universe is always pregnant
giving birth to the New
This birthing is the rising up
from the ashes
The fresh breeze of Spring
within the depths of Winter
It is always present within you
How will you use it?
. . .
It is said
That which is not born can not die
Is that wisdom?
Is that eternal?
Perhaps . . .
But each moment is born
used
and passed to the past
If these moments are of no use
why do we build them?
Each is special, different
unique
Not a thing to be wasted
If you waste the moments of your life
you will end up
with a bunch of wasted moments
The Past touches the Future
As this moment
this instant
this Now
Anon
Right now
The waters of the Sea
are transformed into the mist
And in this same instant
the clouds are congealing and twisting
And in this same instant
the rains are nourishing all things
And passing through caverns
creek and riverbeds
Running away
away to the Sea
All in Motion
all in Balance
as it should be
There are myriad other examples
of this balance in process
and you should take time
to name them and see them in your mind
Do this and you will never grow bored
You must keep you mind ductile
In living
remember the Earth, the Air, the Fire
and the Rain
I know we have much fancier names than these
But you get my drift
Keep things simple
in your mind
Children have such complicated minds
to be truly simple
you must be older
Confront your adversaries
with your understanding of the Truth
Examine your own motives
seek counsel in wise people
Be Fair and Just
They are people too
and people generally will not do
things that they feel are wrong
If a person does a bad thing
he will have to lie to himself
Saying
“I have the right to . . .”
Or
“He hurt me and my honor demands . . .”
This is an attempt to avoid responsibility
to make the other an object
which can be destroyed with impunity
It is a lie
Try to avoid making such lies
But when the Truth is manifest
as it always must be
Forgive you opponents
forgive your friends
forgive yourself
Odds are its all non-sense
though it wont seem so at the time
Chose a vocation that you enjoy
Avoid over zealous competition
Commerce, like Life, is a process
not a means to an end
Avoid comparing yourself to others
Each of us has many attributes
and envy is not a nice one to have
Father and Mother your Children well
Any civilization
which does not prepare a place for
the children
Has about one generation
to realize its mistake
‘But what is it? What is Culture?’
“Oh Brother Toad who am I to tell you?”
‘So, you fail at defining this culture thing?’
“Nope
Look, you have asked a question in words
But the answer can’t be spoken in words.
Culture is beyond all words,
Beyond all Worlds.”
‘Then how can you answer if you can’t use words?’
And I smile
(Yes, my best know-it-all smile
the one that shows all my teeth
the smile I practice in the mirror most mornings)
Open my arms to indicate all the art hanging in this studio
And answer
everso elegantly
without saying a word. . .
To Understand this World
You must realize that there are Things
That you are not seeing
Things that are not separate and distinct
but hidden
Things that are the underlying foundation
without which this World would not exist
Not two
Not separate
But as one and the same
Right now
Here
This World has
the appearance of differentiation
A Wave lifting from the Ocean
A Wrinkling of the fabric
so that some parts are not seen
A flower Burgeon on the stem
Still built of cells
but different in macro pattern
The World is a convolution
of Nothingness into
Something
Into Pattern
And this appearance is not a fluke
of the Universe
Remember the word Universe means
moving toward One
Quite the opposite is true
The universal movement is toward
complexity
The Appearance of Differentiation
Is not accidental
but actually quite the point
This isn’t the future I was expecting
(and certainly not the one I wanted)
You know
I’s kinda hoping for one of those Jetson futures
where everyone shares the fruits of a land of fine appliances
Where everything is clean and swell. . . .
Flying cars, robot maids
and geodesic homes adrift in the clouds
You know like one of those Syd Mead futures
where everyone is eating at a James Bond buffet
I saw the movies in junior high
that was way before the internet
how could it have been a lie?
Schen Tal
The glittering demons flicker
glide
scream within the Shrine
Each has its own special shape
Its own sound
They cavort and ripple
They call to one another
and play the most baffling games
The golden tooth with wings
is Reason
Reason
most beautiful
of all the demons gathered
in the labyrinth
Smiles
Holds out its hand . . .
She leaves by the Southern door
i wonder if i am safe
letting all this go. . .
isn’t that the problem with vision quests
i have to leave the tribe behind
if i wish to save it
having lived in darkness
i have heard of the burning room
the room where the winds enter without permission
the room where comes the burning of the light
(why can i see the cycles of the light that burns
but the others are blind?)
so i leave in the night
under a sky that seems filled with stars
a gentle darkness filled with subtle light
and the sun comes
soft
hot
unstoppable
the total darkness calls me back into the hole
but i stay and let the ball of fire
burn away the comfort of rot
the fingers of darkness seek to hold me
but the fingers are broken and peeled back
bits of madness cling to me
and i discover my own shadow
a reminder of the darkness that birthed me
She said
‘I see many passions on the wind’
With your new sight
can you now see
that i am not the only one
hemorrhaging parna, the soul smoke?
She said
‘Its something I kinda understand
but not with my speaking mind
because its instinctual
Doesn’t everyone feel this?’
no
there are those who can but they chose to not
it is sad but so often true
She said
‘Do they fear looking ridiculous?’
In this day most fear these non verbal thoughts
for a variety of reasons
we are talking primal heart thoughts
and while civilization must accommodate them
right now we are in a civilization of denial
A civilization that thinks you can throw money at any problem
and it will go away
This is called the anodyne approach
tis the numbing
but not the cure
Reality is much stranger than you would think
More organic
more alive
more astonishing
There is a lot more to Reality
than any of us can imagine
In fact Reality can only be grasped
through the consistent
and determined use of the imagination
This is how we achieve the essence of the surreal
Surreal is not something existing outside of Reality
but is the higher expression of Reality
within our minds
Imagination is not an escape from Reality
It is our best tool for perceiving it
chyfrin 