Photo: Down in Blue Girl's cabin. A view of my bunk. The chair was removable for sleeping. The knapsack, which I called the "bottomless bag," held books, journals, and food. The red object on the right, outside the cabin, is our generator.
I believe I've mentioned many times that I do most of my writing at night. I often pull "all-nighters," crawling into bed after the sun has come up. I've been doing this the last several days and will be doing it again tonight. My mind is the most fertile at night.
The photograph of Blue Girl's cabin is about the way I came to think of the boat, as a metaphor for my own body. Sleeping in the cabin was like going into the belly of the whale (the metaphorical unconscious).
In Coming Home to Myself, Woodman and Mellick say:
"To sit in a chair and analyze
is heady stuff,
but it does not help you
live the power of the image.
Put your image into your body.
Does it waken a response?
Of course:
your rage, your grief,
your great Buddha laugh.
Just put the image into your body
and wait.
This is your body,
your greatest gift,
pregnant with wisdom you do not hear,
grief you thought was forgotten,
and joy you have never known."
Tonight, I will try to come home to myself as I write. I'll let you know how it's going.
6 comments:
pregnant with wisdom you do not hear
How I wish I'd have thought of this line...then I could use it over and over.
Wow.
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Am awaiting more River news albeit, not patiently.
"I SING the Body electric;
The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them;
They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul.
Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves;
And if those who defile the living are as bad as they who defile the dead?
And if the body does not do as much as the Soul?
And if the body were not the Soul, what is the Soul?"
Walt Whitman
"Sometimes in his life a man becomes dissatisfied and, not content with what he has, he seeks the satisfaction of his desires through prayer to God. His mind is gradually purified until he longs to know God, more to obtain his grace than to satisfy his worldly desires. Then, God’s grace begins to manifest. God takes the form of a Guru and appears to the devotee, teaches him the truth and, moreover, purifies his mind by association. The devotee’s mind gains strength and is then able to turn inward. By meditation it is further purified and it remains still without the least ripple. That calm expanse is the Self.
The Guru is both external and internal. From the exterior he gives a push to the mind to turn it inwards. From the interior he pulls the mind towards the Self and helps in the quieting of the mind. That is the Guru’s grace. There is no difference between God, Guru and the Self."
David Godman, ed., Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (London: Penguin, 1985), p. 96.
A toast to "all nighters" too!
ggw07@aol.com
What about school?
That is the Guru’s grace. There is no difference between God, Guru and the Self."
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WOW, this line from one of your quotes just sunk in. I want to explore this source more fully. --Theresa
Aww, you have so much to offer us! Can`t wait!
V
Sorry to be just getting back to you. Caught up this morning. A fascinating mix of diary, philosophy, and spiritualty. I'm private now, I'll leave you a key if you want.
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