Late Jottings :
L1 : Mapmaker
He has laboured long
To map the land he knows so well
Throughout years he has used great skill
To create contours, symbols, and scale
His map is a testament to his
dedication, intelligence and resourcefulness
His map has great utility
It guides, reveals, enables him to set a course
To traverse his domain in safety
So great is his faith and trust
In the product of his labours
That he no longer needs to raise his eyes
To plot his course
To walk his land
To see where he is
He has forgotten the land he mapped
The map has become the territory
The map is not the territory *
If he could put down his chart
Lift his eyes
The beauty, vibrancy, and stark immediacy
Of his lost land
Would shatter his cartographic creation
* thanks Korzybski
He has laboured long
To map the land he knows so well
Throughout years he has used great skill
To create contours, symbols, and scale
His map is a testament to his
dedication, intelligence and resourcefulness
His map has great utility
It guides, reveals, enables him to set a course
To traverse his domain in safety
So great is his faith and trust
In the product of his labours
That he no longer needs to raise his eyes
To plot his course
To walk his land
To see where he is
He has forgotten the land he mapped
The map has become the territory
The map is not the territory *
If he could put down his chart
Lift his eyes
The beauty, vibrancy, and stark immediacy
Of his lost land
Would shatter his cartographic creation
* thanks Korzybski
L2 : Sound
The bell rings
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in the bell
The sound rings out through still air
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in the air
The sound enters my ear
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in my ear
The sound arises in my mind
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in my mind
My mind returns the sound
Crisp and clear
Back to the bell
Where is the sound?
The sound reveals the system
Bell, air, ear, mind, bell ........
I ring the changes once again
Renewing sound cycles
My mind returns the sound
Crisp and clear
Back to the source
Where is the sound?
Systems arise and fall
Like froth at the oceans edge
Fragile bubbles, transient forms
Emerging from and returning to the source
The bell rings
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in the bell
The sound rings out through still air
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in the air
The sound enters my ear
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in my ear
The sound arises in my mind
Crisp and clear
But the sound is not in my mind
My mind returns the sound
Crisp and clear
Back to the bell
Where is the sound?
The sound reveals the system
Bell, air, ear, mind, bell ........
I ring the changes once again
Renewing sound cycles
My mind returns the sound
Crisp and clear
Back to the source
Where is the sound?
Systems arise and fall
Like froth at the oceans edge
Fragile bubbles, transient forms
Emerging from and returning to the source
L3 : Searching
Searching
The Outer spaces
We approach
The ancient
Moment of creation
The Outer spaces
We approach
The ancient
Moment of creation
Searching
The Inner spaces
We approach
The present
Moment of creation
The Inner spaces
We approach
The present
Moment of creation
L4 : Motion
The tree moves
The trunk sways
Branches sweep
Leaves shiver
All is motion
Rooted origins in
Profound tranquillity
The trunk sways
Branches sweep
Leaves shiver
All is motion
Rooted origins in
Profound tranquillity
The mind moves
Emotions stir
Thoughts shift
Ideas spark
All is motion
Rooted origins in
Profound tranquillity
Emotions stir
Thoughts shift
Ideas spark
All is motion
Rooted origins in
Profound tranquillity
L5 : Symmetry
Patterns repeated
Across scales
Across time
Across space
Connecting all
Symmetry broken reveals the differences of things
In the physical world, in the very small
The arrow of time loses direction
In the physical world, in daily life
Its flight is all too apparent
In perfect symmetry no distinctions can be made
In the world of the mind, in daily life
The multitude of thoughts are all too apparent
In the world of the mind, in quiet calm
The thoughts of mind dissolve away
Symmetry maintained reveals the source of all
How can this be interpreted
How can this be experienced
How can this be known
Only through that which exists
Patterns repeated
Across scales
Across time
Across space
Connecting all
Symmetry broken reveals the differences of things
In the physical world, in the very small
The arrow of time loses direction
In the physical world, in daily life
Its flight is all too apparent
In perfect symmetry no distinctions can be made
In the world of the mind, in daily life
The multitude of thoughts are all too apparent
In the world of the mind, in quiet calm
The thoughts of mind dissolve away
Symmetry maintained reveals the source of all
How can this be interpreted
How can this be experienced
How can this be known
Only through that which exists
L6 : Leaving
Behind me
My house falls in to decay
Structures, long regarded as home
Collapse
I move forward
Through vibrant mountain meadows
Through clear, crisp, mountain air
Under bright, blue skies
I may look back
But I do not return
Cooling breezes, in the open space
Encourage exploration
Eager playfulness
Behind me
My house falls in to decay
Structures, long regarded as home
Collapse
I move forward
Through vibrant mountain meadows
Through clear, crisp, mountain air
Under bright, blue skies
I may look back
But I do not return
Cooling breezes, in the open space
Encourage exploration
Eager playfulness
L7 : Risings
Fish
Rising to meet
Contact
Ripples role out
The surface revealed
Sparkles in sunlight
Returns to calm
Tranquillity
Rising to meet
Contact
Ripples role out
The surface revealed
Sparkles in sunlight
Returns to calm
Tranquillity
Thought
Rising to meet
Contact
Ripples role out
The surface revealed
Sparkles in sunlight
Returns to calm
Tranquillity
Rising to meet
Contact
Ripples role out
The surface revealed
Sparkles in sunlight
Returns to calm
Tranquillity
Naked awareness
Clothed in myriad pulsating butterflies
Clarity
Disguised by vibrant colour
Boundless space
Revealed by harmony of motion
Faceted sphere
Constantly renewing
Testament to itself
L9 : Balance
The drunken man
Wanders and sways
Lost to his senses
Through pursuit of his senses
Victim of his delusion
Of a straight, firm, path
Of measured speech
Although his path seems wide
freedom of movement great
He has no liberty
In his sensual prison
The drunken man
Wanders and sways
Lost to his senses
Through pursuit of his senses
Victim of his delusion
Of a straight, firm, path
Of measured speech
Although his path seems wide
freedom of movement great
He has no liberty
In his sensual prison
The tightrope acrobat
Wanders and sways
Found in his perceptions
Through awareness of his senses
Beneficiary of his view
Of a dynamic, vibrating path
Held in his peace
Although his path seems narrow
His freedom of movement small
He has found freedom
In the liberation of balance
Through error and ignorance
One wanders far, and finds delusion and hallucination
Through knowledge and clarity
The other treads a narrow path and finds certainty
For one, each wild lurch leads further into ignorance
For the other, each small movement brings knowledge of all
Where is the master of dynamic equilibrium to be found?
In the serenity of the heart
L10 : Up The Junction
Believing itself to be travelling rapidly
On the six lane highway of progress
The modern mind now finds itself
Gridlocked, at Spaghetti Junction
To remain inside the vehicle
In air conditioned luxury
Deluded by the temporarily comfortable
Offers no prospect of liberation
Stepping outside
Into the smog and chaos
Confronting the temporarily uncomfortable
Offers the prospect of liberation
A walk to find man’s true relationship
With the natural world
With others
With himself
With the mystery of being
Believing itself to be travelling rapidly
On the six lane highway of progress
The modern mind now finds itself
Gridlocked, at Spaghetti Junction
To remain inside the vehicle
In air conditioned luxury
Deluded by the temporarily comfortable
Offers no prospect of liberation
Stepping outside
Into the smog and chaos
Confronting the temporarily uncomfortable
Offers the prospect of liberation
A walk to find man’s true relationship
With the natural world
With others
With himself
With the mystery of being
(Thanks John! - all time favourite album cover!)
L11 : Out Side In
Inside out
Outside in
Looking out I see the cloud outside
Looking out I see the tree outside
Looking out I see my hand outside
Looking out I see my words emerge
Looking in I feel the clouds inside
Looking in I feel the tree inside
Looking in I feel my hand inside
Looking in I see my thoughts arise
Outside in
Inside out
No sides - just is.
An archetypal content expresses itself, first and foremost, in metaphors. If such a content should speak of the sun and identify with it the lion, the king, the hoard of gold guarded by the dragon, or the power that makes for the life and health of man, it is neither the one thing nor the other, but the unknown third thing that finds more or less adequate expression in all these similes, yet - to the perpetual vexation of the intellect - remains unknown and not to be fitted into a formula. C.G.Jung
