Meaning is ascribed, assigned, imposed.

We are told what is meaningful.

Religion consists of believing 
what someone else 
has said to be so.

So does education.

The clergy, the teachers, 
give to the laity, the students, 
meanings that have been ascribed and assigned 
to statements by other clergy-types/teachers through the ages.

No clergy-type/teacher ever asks a lay person/student 
about the truth of their own experience. 

The lay-person/student is required 
to dismiss/discount/ignore their own experience 
and to embrace/believe 
what they are told to experience 
by the clergy/teachers. 

In all of this, our individual intuition,
our balance and harmony,
our original nature
and our inherent/innate virtues/virtuosities
(The things we do best
and enjoy/love doing most 
are discounted,
dismissed,
ignored,
and we are required to live entirely
out of a Left-brained, logical, rational orientation.

We are never told/taught/enabled
to reflect/meditate/consider/contemplate
on something/anything to the point of new realizations.

We are never invited to question anything,
to wonder about what's worth knowing/asking,
to explore the validity of various points of view,
to investigate where the lines might lie
between opinion, belief and conviction,
and where imagination comes into play
in our consideration of truth,
or where meaning comes from,
and who says so,
and how they come to know so... 

We are told to take what we are told
on faith
and to not ask questions.

Do you see how empty all of this is?

And the entire world is run
on the assumptions/presumptions
that this is the way 
to run the world.

It is no wonder that the cultures
of the world
are based on escape and denial,
and that all that really matters
are drugs, sex, alcohol and money.

–0–

Beauty is all around us much of the time.
Our place is to make ourselves available to it.
To be present with what is present with us.

Ann Weiser Cornell says that "In Presence,
we are listeners. In Presence we can listen 
with interest and acceptance to whatever arises."
Without taking sides or forcing outcomes.

It works well with everything,
as a general life attitude.

The warmth of friendly presence in our life
opens us to all things,
especially beauty.

And we stop walking past beauty unseeing,
and start slowing down.
Paying attention.
Listening.
Looking.
Seeing.
Hearing.

And that changes everything.

–0–

When we take something on faith
we are enfolding it into our imagination.

We are saying "I am going to imagine this to be so--
pretend this to be so--
because I want it to be so.
And I am going to tell myself that it is so,
whether it is or not.

"Since you can't prove to me that it isn't so,
I am going to imagine that it is so,
because it gives me such comfort to do so."

People all over the world throughout time
have lived in imaginary worlds
because reality would be too stark and painful
for them to bear straight up,
just as it is.

They take it on faith that the world
is the way they want the world to be,
and take as much comfort in that being the case
as they would if it actually were so.

The trouble with that is their make believe world
requires them to treat people who do not share
their conviction
in ways that are outlandish and inhuman.

They have burned people at the stake,
hung people by the neck until dead,
drowned people as witches,
shunned people,
exiled people,
tortured people without mercy or end,
all because their imagination
told them that doing so was God's will.

When I shave my head
it is going to be in renunciation and protest.

–0–

I can't wait to be really old,
things are getting more interesting 
by the day.

The post previous to this one
is listed as "April 31, 2024."
As though there are 31 days in April.
Made perfect sense to me.
Yesterday.

The more Right-brained I get,
the less Left-brained I become,
and living Right-brained
in a Left-brain world
is no way to get around.

So, I'm back to having to pay attention,
yet the Left-brained world is so boring!
If you don't see the problem,
just keep breathing.
And think of growing old
as becoming increasingly Right-brained.
Even against our will.

Do you see the old woman
or the young maiden?

Keep looking until you see both,
and how you can't see both
at the same time.

You can only see one at a time,
and know about the other one,
switching back and forth eternally.

Life is that way.

We look and see one thing.

We look again and see another thing.

Death is where we see all things as one thing.
We wake up in death
and see how wrong we were.
And where we were right.
And why in the hell 
did we have to kill those people
we thought were wrong?

All the wars and the genocides
are wrong killing right
in the name of right killing wrong.

We think the Wailing Wall on this side of death
is something.
Wait until you see the Wailing Wall
on the dead side of death!
All those people Wailing through forever
because they were wrong, wrong, wrong.

Actually, it won't be that way.
It will be more like,
"Oops. We were wrong about that one.
Oh, well."
As we make the shift over
into being right finally, at last, forever.

What would eternal punishment achieve?
That's the stupidest idea in the encyclopedia
of ideas.

And, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, never mind.

There is only waking up and knowing 
what's what.
And living as though it is.

Death is where we all wake up.
Consciousness is coming for us all.
Woke is going to get us in the end!
I can't wait for the Laughing, I Told You So Wall! 

Death is where we all wake up,
get it right finally at last,
and live laughing together through eternity.

I may be wrong about that,
but it is a fine idea.
It will be such a shame 
if it is wrong.
Oh, well then.
I'll just regret it forever.

What does thinking about 
what we think about
keep us from thinking about?

We tend to repeat the same conversations
week after week.

When is the last time we had a new idea?
A realization?

What can you imagine doing
that would make you accessible
to your imagination?

If you were to have a conversation
with me in your mind,
what would we talk about?

Imagine the visit.
What would you say, 
How would I reply?

The simple exercise/experience
if an imagined conversation
is an always available opening
to new realizations.

You'll find yourself saying things
you would never think you would say.
And whenever the person you are talking to
says something,
it is something you say they will say,
and that will likely be surprising as well.

And the conversation will take turns
you would never say you would say.
We generate the words but say things
we are stunned to hear.

How does THAT work?

We are a mystery of endless depth,
brilliantly amazing at every turn,
and we think we are so boring 
no one would ever want to talk to us.

Take yourself out of lock-down
and watch yourself fly!

–0–

No matter how we cut it,
look at it,
size it up,
think about it,
perceive it,
etc.,
it comes down to being
immovably stuck in the Julie Andrews Dichotomy. 

As Mary Poppins it is,
"Anything can happen if you let it!"

As Maria von Trapp it is,
"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"
"How do you keep a wave upon the sand?"
"How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?"
"How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?"

Which way is it?

How would Mary Poppins
solve a problem like Maria?
By letting it be, no doubt!
By changing her mind about "the problem,"
so that it becomes "no problem at all."

Only Mary Poppins could be
so grown-up!
As to let things be what they are!
Until, as circumstances beget circumstances,
they become entirely different in time,
and we wonder why/how 
we ever thought they were problems at all!

In waiting it out
we change ourselves.
"Acquiescence, accommodation, compromise, Kid.
Acquiescence, accommodation, compromise."

Growing up is the solution 
to all of our problems today, any day. 

–0–

We are never more than 
a slight perspective shift away
from having it made.

Changing our mind about what is important
is all it takes.

Reflecting on our motives for not doing that
until we come to new realizations
is the only thing standing between us
and "a new world, Golda, a brand new world."

That is not asking too much.

–0–

We live to see what we can get by with--
just like Jesus,
who was called "a glutton and a wine-bibber,"
which was the term of the day
for "beyond parental control."

Jesus was beyond anyone's control,
and his turning over the tables 
of the moneychangers during 
the high festival season of Passover
was the last straw
and got him crucified.

That was a "bridge too far."
He couldn't get by with that much.

But his example shines brightly for us all:
Live to see what you can get by with!
Push against the limits!
Question authority (and everything else)!
Live by your own standards,
and with your own contradictions.

That's the way we did "church"
in all the congregations I served,
asking, "What needs to be done?"
and finding ways to do it,
no matter what,
"outside the box" though it was.

Doing what needs to be done
requires operating outside the norms
of the chain of command and the Book of Order.

How many Books of Order did Jesus violate?
How many Books of Doctrine did Jesus trash?
Be so bold!

But, be right about what needs to be done!
If you are right, be a law unto yourself,
and let the chips fall where they may.
Knowing that crucifixion is always a possibility.

I took this picture in 2015
because in 2014 (our first trip) 
I was so captivated by the scene
that I paid absolutely no attention 
to the process of photographing the scene
and being awestruck resulted in every photograph--
and there be many--
lacking a discernible point of focus.
I wasn't focused on focusing the camera!
So we went back.

Going back was as important 
as going the first time.
And that was important
because I saw an image of this scene
in some magazine--I don't remember which
or where I saw it--
but seeing it was enough to know
I needed to photograph it.

I call this "honoring my eye."
If something catches my eye,
I have to take the picture.
It's a deal I make with my eye.
If I see a barn along an interstate,
I find an exit,
turn around,
pass it on the other side,
find an exit,
turn around,
drive back, park, take the picture,
and get back underway,
having "honored my eye."
Which is not different
from being enslaved to my eye.
My eye is the boss.
I just carry the camera equipment.
Which is a lot easier these days,
in that I have sold all of my proper camera equipment,
and use only my iPhone for photoing everything.
My eye doesn't mind.

I will add here the confirmation 
that I will not put myself in harm's way 
for a photograph.
My eye understands my right to draw lines,
and does not push the issue.
If I feel as though I stand a good chance
of getting by with it,
I will.
If not, I won't.

This image hangs as a canvas print 
in our living area
as a portal to balance and harmony,
and I do not regret a second trip 
to New York to honor the eye.

And I will say this about being so captivated
by the scene that we forget the mechanics 
of photography: That's really the way to do it!
See the scene first! 
Photograph it second!
Do not miss the scene being so focused
on focusing the camera
that all you have of the scene
are not memories but photographs!
That is failing to honor the eye completely!

–0–

Our life is our path.
How we live it is who we are.
What we do with our life is who we are.
What we do is who we are.

"What I do is me--for that I came,"
said Gerard Manley Hopkins,
for all of us.

What is it about your life
that you are proud of?
Do more of that.

What is it about your life
that you are ashamed of?
Do less of that.

There you are.

Live to be you--
consciously,
intentionally,
deliberately--
in all that you do.

We cannot ask for more than that,
and to do other than that 
is to betray ourselves.

We have what remains of the life
left for living
to express/exhibit/serve/be who we are.

Why waste a second not doing that?

If you don't know who you are,
examine what you are proud of
and what you are ashamed of,
and live to be proud of you.

Our Psyche is a wonder of wonders
with depths untold,
taking care of us from the beginning
with what we need when we need it,
enabling us to engage the world
and its people
while maintaining our own balance and harmony
and living to express/exhibit/serve
our original nature
and our inherent virtues/virtuosities
by sensing/seeing/hearing what is needed
and knowing what is called for
and responding to what's what
with what we have to offer
in each situation as it arises
as the child of Psyche that we are,
who protects, guides and enables us
to grow into who we are 
over the full course of our life.

Getting to know Psyche (Soul, Higher Self, Self,etc.)
is an aspect of our life's work,
and trusting Psyche is essential to that work.

We trust Psyche by knowing we are not alone,
and engaging Psyche as a Thou within us,
though where Psyche is located is probably 
beyond us,
and we are probably intricate receiving devices
capable of being in touch with realities
on different frequencies, wave-lengths, energy levels,
"out there" and "right here/now."

And our place is to know what's what
and what is called for in response
in doing what needs to be done
with what we have to offer
the situations and circumstances of our life.

Yet, we are used to thinking in terms of what we need
and what we want,
and live to have our way and get what we want
in each situation and circumstance that comes along.

So first up is turning the light around.
Changing our mind about what's what,
and revising our mode of operating day by day
to take Psyche into account
and live in relationship with Psyche
as the Moved to the Mover.

It is a new way of thinking,
so take your time with it,
and take it up as a meditative/reflective exercise,
you reaching out consciously/mindfully to Psyche,
perhaps by imagining yourself sitting in
stillness and silence in whatever setting you conjure up,
and waiting for the mud to settle
and the water to clear,
and taking whatever comes as being sent to you
from Psyche.

And see where it goes. 

–0–