Another way to look at the rooted tree metaphor, is that it is also ‘at sea’, the ‘cosmic ocean’ that planet earth is traveling across. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the solar system animations, but earth isn’t just moving around the sun, the whole solar system is moving around the galaxy and the whole galaxy is moving with the expanding universe, so it is at very least, spiralling through the ‘dark waves of space-time’. The waves of course are not water, but gravitational waves. So in my meditation I combine these two ideas, I feel my rootedness to the earth, but also envision the ‘earth ship’ carrying me across the 'cosmic ocean'
I subscribed to one podcast - paying a chunk of change up front which after a year of engagement they made me a lifetime member. 👍
Casting about for another podcast to subscribe to - I figured I needed something that was some more relational. So I chose your blog.
I've been investigating Near Death Experiences, both blissful and horrendous. The horrendous has thrown me into a crisis of faith and chaos. Eventually I arrived at that I must still live out my life here in chopping wood and carrying water. I do belong to a tradition that talks of love and service to people, so cultivating relationships might be a way to do that. Thanks Elizabeth!
Re boats and stability: if we think about the ocean as the unconscious (or even cosmos) and the boat as our little ego-bound reality then being a bit unstable isn't just a luxury, it's a necessity. Maybe the boat's captain needs to dive in and swim. It's what the best artists do:-)
Your piece came to me staring at my "woodswrecked" daysailer, on its trailer, prow boldly pointed at the arboreal canopy, tarp sagging and shredded under the weight of deciduous detritus - safe, defeated, and utterly out of place.
I remember how stunned I was when I first ventured beyond the protective sea wall, and the force and the rhythm and the utter disregard the waves - not just the waves but the *swells* - had for my negligible skills and flagging resolve. Back to the trailer and into the woods with her, where I can mutter and putter about, broken trucks and leaky pumps and wet firewood always there for me, entropy my trusted friend - far from those feckless waves, empty horizons and the absence of all that's human.
But your words reminded me I left something there - maybe I should go back, and look again.
I think as adults we often forget the importance of play. It builds our resilience, so even though arcades and burgers aren’t a long term solution they are absolutely a valuable solution for now! Pockets of joy, glimmers of hope. Thank you for the reminder!
Another way to look at the rooted tree metaphor, is that it is also ‘at sea’, the ‘cosmic ocean’ that planet earth is traveling across. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the solar system animations, but earth isn’t just moving around the sun, the whole solar system is moving around the galaxy and the whole galaxy is moving with the expanding universe, so it is at very least, spiralling through the ‘dark waves of space-time’. The waves of course are not water, but gravitational waves. So in my meditation I combine these two ideas, I feel my rootedness to the earth, but also envision the ‘earth ship’ carrying me across the 'cosmic ocean'
I subscribed to one podcast - paying a chunk of change up front which after a year of engagement they made me a lifetime member. 👍
Casting about for another podcast to subscribe to - I figured I needed something that was some more relational. So I chose your blog.
I've been investigating Near Death Experiences, both blissful and horrendous. The horrendous has thrown me into a crisis of faith and chaos. Eventually I arrived at that I must still live out my life here in chopping wood and carrying water. I do belong to a tradition that talks of love and service to people, so cultivating relationships might be a way to do that. Thanks Elizabeth!
Your piece reminds of the excellent Advent reflection, Shipwrecked at the Stable by Brennan Manning. Sometimes we appear buoyant, but we are always wrecked. "The shipwrecked at the stable are the poor in spirit who feel lost in the cosmos, adrift on an open sea, clinging with a life-and-death desperation to the one solitary plank." https://www.abranchinthevine.com/blog/are-you-shipwrecked-or-landlocked-at-the-stable-brennan-manning-at-his-best-zrc54
This one brought tears Thanks.🙏♥️
Re the Psychedelics event: have you been in touch with Imperial College's psychedelics research dept? https://www.imperial.ac.uk/psychedelic-research-centre/
Re boats and stability: if we think about the ocean as the unconscious (or even cosmos) and the boat as our little ego-bound reality then being a bit unstable isn't just a luxury, it's a necessity. Maybe the boat's captain needs to dive in and swim. It's what the best artists do:-)
Your piece came to me staring at my "woodswrecked" daysailer, on its trailer, prow boldly pointed at the arboreal canopy, tarp sagging and shredded under the weight of deciduous detritus - safe, defeated, and utterly out of place.
I remember how stunned I was when I first ventured beyond the protective sea wall, and the force and the rhythm and the utter disregard the waves - not just the waves but the *swells* - had for my negligible skills and flagging resolve. Back to the trailer and into the woods with her, where I can mutter and putter about, broken trucks and leaky pumps and wet firewood always there for me, entropy my trusted friend - far from those feckless waves, empty horizons and the absence of all that's human.
But your words reminded me I left something there - maybe I should go back, and look again.
I think as adults we often forget the importance of play. It builds our resilience, so even though arcades and burgers aren’t a long term solution they are absolutely a valuable solution for now! Pockets of joy, glimmers of hope. Thank you for the reminder!