 |
| Dreamwork journals for Rite of Oneiric Insight participants. |
On May 23 I hosted a second Rite of Oneiric Insight. It seems to me it is important to keep record of these, or something.
This time I kept the arrangements & ceremonial format the same, but I made the journals myself because I could not find any that suited my sense of aesthetic or purpose. Maybe this was best anyways, because I found the process of creation meditative & revealing. I am finding art & ceremony are inseparable for me.
People resemble cats when it comes to certain kinds of commitments. Inside, outside, inside, outside... ad nauseam. I prefer it when people do not make commitments until they are certain & actually committed. This may be more common with commitments that cause a feeling of ambiguity. I understand a fear of the unknown -- I have it too, plenty -- but do not engage me with it. Instead, rather, come to me when you have surrendered to your decision -- when you have decided you are in it to win it, not when you are still doing the hokey pokey.
I always disliked that dance.
At the end of two weeks of hokey pokey, one woman (out of four) attended this particular rite. She was in it to win it & in the end of it all, she was the only one who was supposed to be there. We must trust in these things.
I plan to repeat this rite using this format one more time (why? I don't know, I just know), then I will likely work another meditation, perhaps one more closely tied to manifesting. Perhaps there will be other changes as well. Also as time progresses, I will continue to add to the Dream Shrine which has already evolved significantly.
Static does not seem to me to be the natural way of things, but rather subtle, sensible evolution should be allowed to occur, organically, spontaneously. There is always room for thoughtful, conscious adjustment. This, among other things is what distinguishes my work from that of a traditionalist. I cannot claim a pedigree or even a pedagogy. I can only claim what is mine.
 |
| Dreamwork journal bindings: "Alis volat propriis," "She flies with her own wings." |
4 comments:
I'm finding art & ceremony are inseparable for me."
Me too. I never set-out to do or make 'art' but inevitably giving one's whole being to a project takes you into the sphere of artistry (in its broadest sense). This is sometimes where practice shifts as I recognize which arts are those in which my devotion cannot be adequately outwardly expressed and those in which there is at least room for growth toward achieving congruence of inner and outer manifestation.
Thank you for your continued and detailed sharing of these projects. I know it's mainly for your family record but it's inspiring for others too.
Your relationship to art shows in your work also. You had a mandala recently which gave me a very covetous moment.
"... I recognize which arts are those in which my devotion cannot be adequately outwardly expressed and those in which there is at least room for growth toward achieving congruence of inner and outer manifestation..." Mmmm, get out of my head.
Actually, I am finding this is a monumental struggle with dance. I can envision, feel, know, intuit with *precision* what movement, gestures, transitions make for what I want to say, but my body does not comply. So I am in a struggle to bring the inner & outer manifestations into congruence. It is very frustrating indeed. But I am also a bit stubborn about this for some reason & I am not willing to shift my practice to accommodate the circumstances. I think the work/struggle for me is part of the devotion, the practice & the sacrifice if you will.
As for the sharing of records, I have been terribly remiss to the point where I don't think it helps with the drive to get back to regular record-keeping. I have a backlog of epic proportions... where to begin? I am stymied. Recently I have been thinking your Tumblr journal with it's succinct format has some compelling merits. Not that I could ever be so brief! ;)
"I think the work/struggle for me is part of the devotion, the practice & the sacrifice if you will."
Definitely and that work is part of the path to mastery*. Even where mastery alludes us though I think that sometimes we can have avenues of creative struggle which may not manifest our fullest intentions but act as vital whetstones on which we develop mastery that is applied with a deceptive effortlessness elsewhere.
I recently took up yoga and every so often when in the middle of a challenging pose remind myself that the point of yoga was never to create fantastical contortions of the body per se but simply to create supportive conditions for meditative absorption. A chaotic mind in a body that has been forced into some extreme arrangement is pointless. So though I know I'm never going to be very physically adept at shaping my body into beautiful and graceful asana, I enjoy the mind-body work and seeing its benefits manifesting elsewhere in my life.
* Great blog here on this: http://www.honeygrove.ca/mastery-far-from-it/
OH! Thank you!
I just fell in love *again*! The bee & bread people! So beautiful, so sincere & with so much humility -- quality which seems to be lacking in the blogosphere & in Life, in general. (I have been tempted to rant from time to time about the people who talk so much about their bad selves & I so want to glean their bits of knowledge & experience but there selling-of-self is so off-putting. However, I withhold b/c I try not to rant too much, it is such an energy sink.)
"I marvel at the one, who no longer has a need to define himself by what he does, for the practice itself, defines who he is..." Yes.
"A chaotic mind in a body that has been forced into some extreme arrangement is pointless..." This part of my challenge too. Think, think, think. And maybe this is why dance works better for me than yoga because the dynamic movement doesn't allow too much time for thinking about anything else. A meditation also results, but through a different modality.
"So though I know I'm never going to be very physically adept at shaping my body into beautiful and graceful asana, I enjoy the mind-body work and seeing its benefits manifesting elsewhere in my life." Absolutely understand the feeling. Sometimes it manifests in the most surprising ways...
Post a Comment