Oct 2012
Death is not in the nature of things; it is the nature of things. But what dies is the form. The matter is immortal. ~ John Fowles
"Heidegger, the twentieth-century German philospher, clarifies this paradox. He preposed two models of existence: the everyday mode and the ontological mode (from onto, "being", and the suffix ~logy, "study of"). In your everyday mode, you are entirely absorbed in your surroundings, and you marvel at how things are in the world; whereas in the ontological mode, you focus on and appreciate the miracle of "being" itself and marvel that things area, that you are.
There is a crucial difference between how things are and that things are. When absorbed in everyday mode, you turn toward such evanescent distrations as physical appearance, style, possessions, or prestige. In the ontological mode, by contrast, you are not only more aware of existance and mortality and life's other inmutable characteristics but also more anxious and more primed to make significant changes. You are prompted to grapple with your fundamental human responsibility to construct an authentic life of engagement, connectivity, meaning, and self-fulfillment." p33-34, Staring at the Sun by Irvin Yalom.
Could it be possible to experience life as part of Death and Death as part of life in everyday. That in fact in embracing the other/diversity one does not loose individuality. Could this be what some describe as the third way? A uniting of the everyday with awareness. Some would call this blaspheme. For Spirit would not appear to be locked away.
When we face our mortality we become mindful of being. We become aware that each moment passes. As each cell is born it will die. To be replaced by another. As it is not possible to hold onto each breath. We all will reach that moment of our last breath.
Living in the city it is hard to remember the connection with the cycles of life. No longer is food dug from earth or meat an animal killed.
Still I find myself naked as I wander through the forest. Winding. I follow the root, the branch, the rustling leaves, warmth of earth and smell of green. Some would call this a dream.
“Whether we realize it or not, we are all dreaming the world into being. What we're engaging in is not the sleeping act we're so familiar with, but rather a type of dreaming we do with our eyes open. When we're unaware that we share the power to co-create reality with the universe itself, that power slips away from us, causing our dream to become a nightmare. We begin to feel we're the victims of an unknown and frightening creation that we're unable to influence, and events seem to control and trap us. That only way to end this dreadful reality is to awaken to the fact that it too is a dream - and then recognize our ability to write a better story, one that the universe will work with us to manifest" p1, Courageous Dreaming by Alberto Villoldo
Another strand is loosened. I unravel. All those knots stitches that pulled me together. Shaped into being. I am falling apart. Asking who the hell or is it heaven on earth am I?
And so I realize that my mind is small. Fearful. It has been telling me stories of the ultimate fear in death. Being lost.
"But to be a person means to be faced every minute with the decision to live or die, to accept the invitations for more vitality or to decline them out of fear or lethargy". p35, Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore.
I begin to realise that my mind fears the unknown which is life. Being alive. Being with possibility. Being with beauty. Being open. Not in control. Being with the infinite that exists outside and inside. To celebrate diversity. To value life. To dare to crack open the heart. Some call this Love. Some call this Divine. Some call this being alive.
It with this connection I frame this passage between the picture which gave birth to colour ~ And my new birthed drum made with blood earth. Dragon blood. Held by the wisdom of Yew and Beech. Witnessed by two magical gatekeepers of the Crafting in Spirit ~ 'Shamanic Druidry'
I call this the voice of my heart
