Posted by jonvon on March 16, 2005 at 18:06:56:
In Reply to: Re: something new posted by cav on March 16, 2005 at 02:22:11:
yeah, its the metaphorical that matters. this is the seat of power for the shaman, as you obviously know very well.
ok, following, more lunacy.
this viewpoint, this knowledge, slips right underneath the subculture like an otter in a bathtub. i have said this hundreds of times by now, but more than anything it is the subculture i object to, with all the written and unwritten rules of behavior. rules that are only crooked, nonsensical shadows of the truths they claim to represent. rules which we only cling to because of the demands of the ego.
those truths, manifold and protean, are only expressible in an artistic sense through the vehicle of metaphor.
truth is also expressible in acts of compassion, and in acts of / states of power. not sure how to word that. there is more to life than art, i guess. but i am an artist. i'm not much good beyond that, i don't think. i'm not sure if this makes me terribly selfish. or shell fish. it might. i have spent a lot of time trying to understand how to live authentically. it is one of my primary drives.
metaphor is a thing that, as you said, must be experienced from within. only in this way is it actual power in the context of a life. looking upon a metaphor as expressed in, erm, holy writ, can be an extremely useful exercise and can be transformative. it can also be destructive when not handled well.
plumbing the depths of one's own psyche to discover the metaphors arising out of that place (a place that, as steve pointed out elsewhere, is itself a metaphor) leads to a kind of power, a kind of knowing, that is transformative. transformative discovery. within the context of a creative act, like say, writing a novel, the power rising out of these discoveries is rather mind boggling. this is what i am experiencing right now.
i guess the difference is, that which comes to us in christianity as i have experienced it, has a kind of vast glory that can be completely overpowering. i cannot exist in it for long, it basically destroys me in so many ways that i just sort of end up folding over. breaking into a lot of little mirrors. i keep wishing they would all go dark.
that which has come to me in my creative moments feels like a thing on a smaller scale. but for me it is no less important. i have been, in one way or another, seeking to escape the glory cloud. not sure, but it may be following me around. or, i keep stumbling into it. once in a while. when i get lucky.
maybe now i am in the belly of the whale. it is scary in here. but good. good and scary. and smelly.
is my darkness my light? i have no freaking clue. honestly, i am in the smelly old dark.
i am where i am though. that much is for sure.
oh yeah, i'd love to hear those tunes. :-)