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Monday, July 23, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Are your thoughts making you old?
A mechanistic worldview left over from the 19th century colors our view of the body. People think of their bodies as a mechanical device, kind of like their car. To continue the analogy: at the time of manufacture / birth, their car / body is a beautiful device with everything working in optimal condition. After a few years things will start to go bad — there is an expected order to this; just review the manual in the glove compartment for the full itemization. Parts can be replaced but the car / body will eventually deteriorate and have to be eventually junked. Our bodies are not like cars — our bodies have an extraordinary ability to rejuvenate. It is our thoughts / beliefs / expectations that need to be revised or they will make us old.
except from the book Parallel Mind by Aliyah Marr
copyright Aliyah Marr
except from the book Parallel Mind by Aliyah Marr
copyright Aliyah Marr
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Dream Recharge
In a dream just before awakening, I felt/saw my whole body as a unit. I felt a pleasant charge of energy go through it from my head to my toes. I was both experiencing it and observing it at the same time. The phrases "parasympathetic nerves" and "house of bliss" kept repeating itself. I have the idea upon awakening, that this is one of the ways I renew myself energetically and physically. A kind of self-induced orgasmic housecleaning or recharging. Where did I learn this and who taught me?
June 15, 2007 copyright Aliyah Marr
June 15, 2007 copyright Aliyah Marr
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Creative Acts
It is important to realize that I am making a distinction between the product of creativity — art — and the act of creativity. Art does not have to be beautiful or well-crafted. People often confuse good craft or style with art and creativity. Craft is a skill that is learned, but is not synonomous with art or creativity; craft is something that can add or detract from a piece, depending on the maturity of the artist.
--excerpt from the online interactive book Parallel Mind by Aliyah Marr
--excerpt from the online interactive book Parallel Mind by Aliyah Marr
Ingenue
The spirit is a true "ingenue" — it is here to experience being human.
No matter what is on the surface, deep down it is having the time of its life. Like the Greek concept of tragicomedy, it is only a play with no real distinction or preference between emotional states. What is happening to you in the world (read your mind's reaction to events and to its thoughts about the events) doesn't affect it.
You could be crying from a terrible tragedy, and if you check what is happening at your spirit's level, it is bubbling with the joy of the experience. It doesn't understand our minds' distinction between negative or positive — like a child, it is not weighed down by beliefs or judgments, or even by a past. The spirit is a moment-to-moment thing — it cannot think about what is happening; it can only experience it. Your spirit is timeless, innocent of death of despair or travail; it is in the state of the sublime ecstasy that is the essence of life and consciousness.
--- copyright Aliyah Marr
No matter what is on the surface, deep down it is having the time of its life. Like the Greek concept of tragicomedy, it is only a play with no real distinction or preference between emotional states. What is happening to you in the world (read your mind's reaction to events and to its thoughts about the events) doesn't affect it.
You could be crying from a terrible tragedy, and if you check what is happening at your spirit's level, it is bubbling with the joy of the experience. It doesn't understand our minds' distinction between negative or positive — like a child, it is not weighed down by beliefs or judgments, or even by a past. The spirit is a moment-to-moment thing — it cannot think about what is happening; it can only experience it. Your spirit is timeless, innocent of death of despair or travail; it is in the state of the sublime ecstasy that is the essence of life and consciousness.
--- copyright Aliyah Marr
Friday, June 8, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
An Embarrassment of Riches
People often talk about a feeling of emptiness inside: I first heard of this phenomenon in a book by Mark Epstein. He seemed to think that this feeling was one that was universal in human experience.
I've got to admit that I have never had this feeling; so I do not feel that it is essential to the human experience. My basic feeling is the opposite: I feel very full. I have felt that I was so full that I was near to exploding since about 13 years old, when I made a conscious commitment to pursue a passion for art. I am more inclined to feel frustration at not being able to work creatively. To continue the analogy, the feeling of creative frustration is a feeling like one is exploding inside a small box.
I lead a simple life, without much in the way of material goods; I have no children, no plans for retirement, no thoughts for the future, no investment in anyone else. On the surface, one might say I am poor in the things that most people value. Yet, I feel incredibly rich: I am rich in ideas, in visions, in dreams, in aptitude, in talent, in the arts, in health, in imagination, in love, in friendship, in relationships of all kinds.
I have never felt the need to have any children: I suppose because I see my work as my children. Giving birth to a painting, a movie, a design, a dance, a poem or prose is a process that I really enjoy. Sometimes I feel as if I am pregnant for a few years with an idea for something: I incubate it like a hen on an egg, until the moment is somehow right. Sometimes a piece is executed quickly; sometimes, it is painful and slow. But it always feels like giving birth in that in the end you look down in amazement that you produced this new thing that has never been in the world before. It has something to do with you, but it is also a complete entity in itself.
As for love, I feel very wealthy indeed. I have learned to love everything around me: that includes myself as an element in the natural world. I feel others love me in whatever way they can; I ask for nothing more than that which they are willing to give with a free heart. I don't feel the need to be loved, because I feel that I live in a loving universe. I once picked up a book in a bookstore called something like "101 Ways to Make Love": I furtively opened the cover to find that the author recommended such things as writing poetry, making art, appreciating nature, etc. Since then, I realized the only way to feel absolutely loved and secure was to be in a state of being in love with everything.
If I had ten lives, I could not possibly follow all my interests, all my passions, nor pursue all my visions, or develop all my creative ideas. Like the famed rich king, Croesus, I am rich beyond all imaginings.
I have never wanted a traditional life. I have come to the conclusion that it has less to do with talent or aptitude, than with the desire for something "other" that produces a life such as mine. In other words, I simply desired something else, and was prepared to pay the price of my creative freedom.
In my opinion, most people don't desire more, or dare to even dream that they might be able to have more. Perhaps they are afraid to take the risk and lose all; or they are afraid of success, or of being different, of being a "loner".
I think that we all ask for the life we have; some of us are simply more conscious of what is happening. So, as the genie in the bottle warned, "be careful what you ask for!" You might just dare to ask for more, and end up with an embarrassment of riches.
I've got to admit that I have never had this feeling; so I do not feel that it is essential to the human experience. My basic feeling is the opposite: I feel very full. I have felt that I was so full that I was near to exploding since about 13 years old, when I made a conscious commitment to pursue a passion for art. I am more inclined to feel frustration at not being able to work creatively. To continue the analogy, the feeling of creative frustration is a feeling like one is exploding inside a small box.
I lead a simple life, without much in the way of material goods; I have no children, no plans for retirement, no thoughts for the future, no investment in anyone else. On the surface, one might say I am poor in the things that most people value. Yet, I feel incredibly rich: I am rich in ideas, in visions, in dreams, in aptitude, in talent, in the arts, in health, in imagination, in love, in friendship, in relationships of all kinds.
I have never felt the need to have any children: I suppose because I see my work as my children. Giving birth to a painting, a movie, a design, a dance, a poem or prose is a process that I really enjoy. Sometimes I feel as if I am pregnant for a few years with an idea for something: I incubate it like a hen on an egg, until the moment is somehow right. Sometimes a piece is executed quickly; sometimes, it is painful and slow. But it always feels like giving birth in that in the end you look down in amazement that you produced this new thing that has never been in the world before. It has something to do with you, but it is also a complete entity in itself.
As for love, I feel very wealthy indeed. I have learned to love everything around me: that includes myself as an element in the natural world. I feel others love me in whatever way they can; I ask for nothing more than that which they are willing to give with a free heart. I don't feel the need to be loved, because I feel that I live in a loving universe. I once picked up a book in a bookstore called something like "101 Ways to Make Love": I furtively opened the cover to find that the author recommended such things as writing poetry, making art, appreciating nature, etc. Since then, I realized the only way to feel absolutely loved and secure was to be in a state of being in love with everything.
If I had ten lives, I could not possibly follow all my interests, all my passions, nor pursue all my visions, or develop all my creative ideas. Like the famed rich king, Croesus, I am rich beyond all imaginings.
I have never wanted a traditional life. I have come to the conclusion that it has less to do with talent or aptitude, than with the desire for something "other" that produces a life such as mine. In other words, I simply desired something else, and was prepared to pay the price of my creative freedom.
In my opinion, most people don't desire more, or dare to even dream that they might be able to have more. Perhaps they are afraid to take the risk and lose all; or they are afraid of success, or of being different, of being a "loner".
I think that we all ask for the life we have; some of us are simply more conscious of what is happening. So, as the genie in the bottle warned, "be careful what you ask for!" You might just dare to ask for more, and end up with an embarrassment of riches.
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