The Artist & The Scholar

They’ve all touched the same place

The same source

The ground from which all arises

Viewed from varying perspectives

Different pinholes in the same red curtain

Different vantage points of the same stage play

Upstage left, downstage right, stage lights and shadows

Language must do summersaults to grasp

The ground which cannot be grasped

All five, in their attempts to describe

Their experiential view of the ground

They all become poets, artists

In our attempts to describe the perennial ground

From which All arise

We are all becoming artists

Allegory of the Square

Visions of beings big and small, old and young, all different shapes, I used to see them stuck in these squares, and it used to kill me why they had done it to themselves. Nothing in our universe was square, yet they all accepted their roles as squares trapped in square houses on square blocks and flattened squares of cropland surrounded by square walls which encircled the oblong earth which encircled the spherical sun, and somewhere there was a supermassive black hole which was probably spherical and encircling something else which wasn’t square.

Ability, Responsibility & the Grace of Evolution

Headstrong is not strength, I began to know. Only the ignorant believe themselves wise. All my perceived virtues were illusive perceptions, lies I made up to validate my being. Tragedy upon tragedy, failure upon failure, insult upon injury, I began to know as Grace in disguise.

Oh, God couldn’t evolution be a little easier? One must imagine the first fish on dry land wasn’t too happy in the water. The water must’ve been unbearable. Evolution was like that.

The Quest for Truth Begins In Lies

Riding bikes up Oakleaf Drive, Dereck asked, “Why don’t you go to church?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, “Why should I go to church?”

“Well, if you’re not a Christian, you go to hell.”

“Oh.”

“All you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just say, ‘Jesus, please forgive me of my sins.’””

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, just say it.”

“Jesus, forgive me of my sins.”

“OK, you’re saved.”

“Saved from hell?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, thank God for that.”

Your Society Always Has Your Best Interests In Mind

As long as you sleep less than four hours each night and fill your entire schedule with useless tasks, appointments, and meetings, you never have to confront any existential truths -or lies. Just fill your days and nights with doubt, worry, stress and fear. This is called success. Great job! You did it. Your peers will applaud you for your “ambition” and “hard work.” You will feel as though it’s all meaningless, but your society values your unique contributions.

Cosmic News I (Ned the Fish)

Ned the fish has evolved in time and space, as one does in the Cosmos. The consciousness that is Ned the Fish has become entirely sentient but not yet conscious. It’s a tricky place in time and space, where one species on a planet becomes aware but not yet conscious. This is the period when 99% of species in the Cosmos destroy themselves. This species on planet Earth call themselves… Hu-mans.

Ascension

Find the night sky through the thick shadows of despair. Remember the sky? Remember the mountains? The valley is a small part of the whole, and the whole is much bigger than imagination, much bigger than memory. Don't make a home down there in the shadows. Don't succumb to the lie. Do not wander aimlessly, and for God's sake do not stop moving!