05 Jul The Way Of The Way 304
An extraordinary genius is successful and celebrated by society. A true genius is happy whether or not they are successful or celebrated....
16 May Creation
Before time began, there was only NON. Upon my arrival, I and NON created the NOW. My experience of the NOW is WOW....
26 Apr Tao
This symbol of Taoism reveals the essence of Taoism. Tao, in Chinese, literally means the (right) way. The Tao is the way, the nature, of reality; the way of the universe; and the harmonious way or path through life. The circle represents the universe. Within the universe are two seemingly independent abstract fish forms, in shades black and white, that are actually interdependent as curled together they form the universe as a whole. The fish represent life, consciousness, which is what makes the universe whole. Each fish has an eye, black or white, reflecting the shade of the other. Looking eye to eye, each sees its own shade in the other. Likewise, when we look in the eye of others, we see ourselves. The way through the life, along the interface of the white and black forms, is everchanging; bending left and bending right; requiring us to be conscious of our way, lest get lost in the white or black forms. Ultimately, the symbol of the Tao implies all things in the universe are interdependent; the path through life is everchanging; however, life is in balance, harmonious, when we consciously move between counterbalancing forms. Another interpretation is the symbol represents two animals engaged in a sexual position commonly known as "69." If so, the message there is that a happy way to make it through life is simply enjoy yourself. As above, the Tao acknowledges there are different ways for different people....
07 Mar Bactrian Silver Trumpet, Late 3rd – Early 2nd Millennium BC
At first sight, this object engaged my attention; great presence (which has not diminished with time), surreal, and enigmatic as it seemed to have an ambiguous utility function. Initially, I thought it was a hearing aid; the top inserted in the ear and the bottom the mouthpiece. Others have guessed it a spout for pouring wine or an implement used for snuffing out a candle. However, notwithstanding other creative uses, it's a mini trumpet a shepherd would use to get the attention of another shepherd in the distance. Now, I see it metaphorically; a mouthpiece through which the breath of God enters a human head which processes the breath into sounds. The sounds are music. The sounds are signals, like words. An apt description of this blog as I, your humble writer, am just here to convert the breath of God into words for all to hear....
18 Feb Soul
Image of the soul created by artificial intelligence. The image suggests the soul is like a sun that our body shrouds in darkness. The soul represents love as it resides as does our heart in the center of our upper body. In the stillness of meditation, we realize our soul is but one of an infinite number of eternal stars (a universe of infinite centers) and our body (the personal self) is nothing but empty space....
17 Feb It Is What It Is Whatever It Is
Our mind is quicker than our eyes in defining what we see. It's funny when our eyes prove our mind wrong. Unfortunately, we rarely open our eyes; otherwise, much of what our mind sees would be funny....
09 Oct Mother Goddess, 7th millennium BC
The serenity of this mother goddess amulet from the dawn of civilization is reminiscent of certain sculptures of Buddha who arrived at the dawn of human consciousness....
02 Oct Iberian Idol, 3rd Millennium B.C.
As an abstract, non-representational, cylindrical sculpture, this artwork is referred to as an"idol." Its solar eye suggests the universe is revealed by the light emanating from the eyes of God....
13 Sep Kongo Fetish
This surreal 19th century Kongo fetish (an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit) depicts a bundle containing juju (magical substances that empower an object) from which a mirror-faced head with a feather atop emerges. When we look at the mirrored face of the object, we see ourselves. This suggests we are the fetish and the fetish works its magic through us. The feather protruding from the head suggests the mind of the fetish connects it to the spirit world; that can take flight and see beyond the range of man....
27 Apr Eye idol, 3700 – 3500 B.C., Tell Brak, Levant
This 5500 year old female figure comes from the time before the dawn of the written word. Much has changed since then but perhaps men have not. The figure is depicted with eyes, nose, breasts and a vagina; but no mouth or ears. Perhaps that's how most men like their women. More seriously, what this apparently sacred object (it is referred to as an "idol") means is open to interpretation. Eye idols are almost invariably depicted with eyes only; no mouth, nose or other body parts. Perhaps that's the nature of a presumably all-knowing deity, they observe and do not speak. As Lao Tzu observed more than 3000 years later: “He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak." ...