A writing from January, 2008:
The inner fulcrum teeters and steadies;
the inner compass gyrates and comes to rest on true north:
inner north unfolding as an other-dimensional orientation.
An inner road map spreads before the mind’s eye,
the heart’s magnifying glass holding open spaces
and vistas where once there was only a speck
and a misunderstood scribble.
There is a furrow in the heart —
a deep wrinkle where is stored the memories of ages,
the bigger picture, the epic story of the soul.
It is here where one might focus on the bloodline
which leaves behind clues as to the deeper nature
of the soul’s origin.
Hold in the mind’s eye the image of a perfect rose,
or any perfected being or form.
Hold steady the gaze upon the form
and watch it dissolve and shift into
a permutation of its present form:
the form will shift and change,
but as with a kaleidoscopic image,
one can follow the logic of the permutation of form;
one can understand its progression
from one form to another.
But this understanding is best grasped
with the heart, not the intellect,
as the heart understands the pervading essence,
the sameness of being underlying the form,
while the intellect runs with the new form
and ignores the shared essence with the previous form.
It is essential to grasp the progression of essence
rather than the mutability of form, as the one expands
meaning, while the other contributes to a perception of chaos.
The interplay of meaning and chaos is actually the intersection
of most interest for those with the eyes of the heart
opening unto this level of perception.
Forms can be endlessly classified,
and offer much fascination in the sorting out thereof,
whereas essences reside in symbols, and hence
symbols are superforms, or hyper-forms,
with a dense packing of meaning within their frame.
Rather like a black hole points to the intense
gravitational pull of the star at its center:
the black hole is great, but the story behind the star even greater.
Ah, the fragmentation of the ego!
The permutation of the form once again.
So what and where and how is your essence?
What form is it peeking out through?
Is the form growing tight, restricting movement?
Or is it expansive and easy to maneuver
within the current ego/form?
When the ego becomes restrictive
to the essence shining forth within its boundaries,
the form must change to accommodate the essence growth.
Hence, the nervous breakdown, the psychotic break with reality,
the depression, the escapisms of all kinds–
all these serve to shatter the form for growth or,
in the case of escapisms, to delay the inevitable shattering for a while.
The shattering of the old form can be gradual,
beginning with a crack, a sadness, a longing;
or acute, causing much pain and attendant fear in the process.
If one’s heart remains open to the unchanging essence,
the mutating form has an easier go of it in the sense
that there is an abiding peace within which smooths the way
for the inevitable changes in the shape of ego.
So it is wise to cultivate this peace,
this sense of the unchangeable essence which
is all-pervasive throughout the world of fickle form.
This peace is the foundation stone of faith.
It is that peace upon which is built the enduring edifice
of the faithful and within which the virtues may grow and multiply.
