There`s a rather large incoming class for the online W1 course. So large that there are not enough W3 students to mentor them all so some of us in Level 4 have been asked to double up and be mentors students to both W1 and W2 students this year. I mention this because as this new charge of students runs amok in the streets upsetting apple carts and playing digital hide-and-go-seek they have added a new twist, their own Facebook page. The student I`m mentoring mentioned me on their new page,FB listed my FB address to the page so I did a short intro and I became swamped with requests to take on new friends (sigh). Once you get caught in a Facebook dragnet like that there`s no getting out and no telling where that net will drag you off to. I`d like to speak a bit about where the Universe dragged me in that net.
I got this FB invite from someone named Effy Wild and accepted it after finding out she was one of the new W1 students. I didn`t want to appear uppity or give the impression that the students in the upper levels of the Mystery School felt they were too good to socialize with the newbies so, even though I didn`t want to, I accepted it. I watched this person`s posts on my home page for a few days and when I saw she had posted a link to her website and blog I went exploring a bit.
What I found were incredibly brave posts about depression, art, taking too many classes and wonderful poems such as "Salt" and short stories such as "Breath". It occurred to me that among the rough tumbled stones I had discovered a gem. In an effort to be a better mentor I had found a mentor of my own.
I consider Effy to be a powerful catalyst for the creativity process. In one of her recent posts she mused on a quote by Leonard Cohen that said in part " As I grew older, I understood that instructions came with this voice",powerful stuff. Effy(who claims navel gazing is one of her super powers) went on to record some of her thoughts on what her instructions might include. She wasn`t quite sure yet what those instructions might tell her to do but she has some pretty good ideas about the warnings prior to operating her voice. Under the "DO NOTs" she lists things like;
"Shrink to accommodate other people"
"Be acceptable to others at the expense of your own authenticity"
The short and simple ones like, "Don`t talk, don`t tell, don`t feel"
and probably the most important warning of all; "NEVER give up".
I was moved to write a comment to her that I will reproduce here;
Dear Effy,
Interesting concept this "Instructions come with this voice" thing.
Right now I am deeply involved with issues on where I stand so I`ll have to put finding my own instructions on my to-do list. I plan to put exploring this concept in the top ten tough rather than just adding it to the bottom.
It`s been brought to my attention that where I stand on some things has a tendency to make some people uncomfortable. These same people have trouble articulating the exact nature of their discomfort (no surprises there). I asked these people what they thought I might be able to do to ease their discomfort. They were at a loss for words. When I suggested they might designate a spot where they would prefer that I stand they shuffled around and conferred amongst themselves in whispers. After a bit of additional coaching from me they were finally able to tentatively point to where they would prefer I stand.
In the spirit of peace I went over to have a look. I scratched around with the toe of my boot, then I got down on all fours to get a closer look and survey the "lay of the land". While I was down there I pressed my ear to the spot to see what it had to say. Before rising I picked up a pinch of soil and had a taste to see if it was to my liking. Then I came back to the group to report my findings.
I told them that the spot that they have chosen for me was, in my estimation, not at all safe for me to stand on for several reasons and on several levels. I also informed them that the very idea that they had the audacity to tell me or anyone else where they should stand on any issue made me VERY uncomfortable.
It appears we may have reached an impasse.
I plan to take a nap while they plan what they plan to do next.
I am hopeful we can come to an equitable agreement soon as I am rather keen to put these standing issues behind me and get on with this business of finding and reading the instructions that come with my voice and putting those instructions to use.
I will keep you posted on my progress.
Regards,
Daedalus
Effy allowed as how it`ll probably be OK if I can`t find the time to read those instructions.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Weathering the storm
One of my First Sgts. once told me " Anyone can maintain their game face when things are going along smoothly. It`s when a storm hits that you get to see what lies behind the mask". I`m beginning to see this bit of wisdom for the useful tool that it really is.
When I was in doubt about someone I used to deliver a bit of front loaded stress their way in order to see what they`d do and get a better idea what was under that mask they wore. Some thought this approach was manipulative at best and more than a bit mean at worst. I just looked at it as another way to collect information. Now I understand that if I`m patient I don`t need to manufacture or deliver anything,I can just observe and get the information I need to make a more accurate assessment.
We all have days when we begin to question the things we believe to be true and those questions bring some stress of their own. We begin to listen to that stress as it tells us we don`t know near as much as we think we do or aren`t near as capable as we think we are. Give those thoughts enough time and exploration and they begin to multiply like a virus and before you know it you`re ripe for an event to come along that will act as a trigger that rocks us to our foundation like a violent earthquake. If you are on low ground and anywhere near the shoreline you better be well prepared and have all the debris cleared quickly before the Tsumani that is sure to follow arrives. If you`ve planned ahead and built a strong yet forgiving foundation that isn`t too rigid and allows for some movement and flexibility then that earthquake (and the event that triggered it) didn`t do you too much damage if any at all.
Now you get to see if what you chose to build on that foundation is up to snuff. Will the coming tidal wave slam into you toppling everything you`ve built and reduce it all to floating rubble that gets swept away or will it flow around you and and leave your house standing in it`s wake? There`s always the chance that even if you`ve done everything right and the initial wave didn`t do severe damage that those around you who haven`t built so well will not survive and the debris from all that wreckage will still cause you extensive damage.
Even a strong,healthy tree with deep roots can be toppled if those around it keep slamming into and leaning against it for support after they have been uprooted and blown over.
Now I try to remember to keep to the high ground and just wait and watch. Sooner of later forces other than myself will have an impact on the people I have questions about. Those people who, when I look closely at them, I wonder if I`m seeing their true face or just a cleverly constructed mask they are hiding behind.
Here on the shoreline and the other "between places" where many and varied forces can come to bear,sometimes all at once, is an excellent place to wait and watch. When those foundations shake and the waves come you can get all the information you need. Any lingering questions can be answered by waiting till the flood waters recede and then going to look thru all the debris. Among the bits and pieces of what`s left behind you can always find the true faces of both the casualties and the survivors. When you can look into those faces you`ll find the answers to all your questions. Once you get the answers you need you can then help to rebuild your community for the next quake,tsunami or storm with an eye toward sustaining less damage in the next go-round.
Sometimes it involves climbing a mountain then clearing and moving everything onto higher ground.Sometimes it means changes in building practices and more reinforcement. Implementing suggestions that allow you to rebuild in new ways that better protect you from the potentially damaging forces around you that you have little or no control over. Sometimes you just scrap it all,walk away and consider you and your immediate family to be the only survivors.
No matter what the final outcome, there`s no denying that everyone and everything that has been touched by such an event has sacrificed something and been changed to some extent. Another fact is that things can never go back to the way they were.The Universe doesn`t work that way
When I was in doubt about someone I used to deliver a bit of front loaded stress their way in order to see what they`d do and get a better idea what was under that mask they wore. Some thought this approach was manipulative at best and more than a bit mean at worst. I just looked at it as another way to collect information. Now I understand that if I`m patient I don`t need to manufacture or deliver anything,I can just observe and get the information I need to make a more accurate assessment.
We all have days when we begin to question the things we believe to be true and those questions bring some stress of their own. We begin to listen to that stress as it tells us we don`t know near as much as we think we do or aren`t near as capable as we think we are. Give those thoughts enough time and exploration and they begin to multiply like a virus and before you know it you`re ripe for an event to come along that will act as a trigger that rocks us to our foundation like a violent earthquake. If you are on low ground and anywhere near the shoreline you better be well prepared and have all the debris cleared quickly before the Tsumani that is sure to follow arrives. If you`ve planned ahead and built a strong yet forgiving foundation that isn`t too rigid and allows for some movement and flexibility then that earthquake (and the event that triggered it) didn`t do you too much damage if any at all.
Now you get to see if what you chose to build on that foundation is up to snuff. Will the coming tidal wave slam into you toppling everything you`ve built and reduce it all to floating rubble that gets swept away or will it flow around you and and leave your house standing in it`s wake? There`s always the chance that even if you`ve done everything right and the initial wave didn`t do severe damage that those around you who haven`t built so well will not survive and the debris from all that wreckage will still cause you extensive damage.
Even a strong,healthy tree with deep roots can be toppled if those around it keep slamming into and leaning against it for support after they have been uprooted and blown over.
Now I try to remember to keep to the high ground and just wait and watch. Sooner of later forces other than myself will have an impact on the people I have questions about. Those people who, when I look closely at them, I wonder if I`m seeing their true face or just a cleverly constructed mask they are hiding behind.
Here on the shoreline and the other "between places" where many and varied forces can come to bear,sometimes all at once, is an excellent place to wait and watch. When those foundations shake and the waves come you can get all the information you need. Any lingering questions can be answered by waiting till the flood waters recede and then going to look thru all the debris. Among the bits and pieces of what`s left behind you can always find the true faces of both the casualties and the survivors. When you can look into those faces you`ll find the answers to all your questions. Once you get the answers you need you can then help to rebuild your community for the next quake,tsunami or storm with an eye toward sustaining less damage in the next go-round.
Sometimes it involves climbing a mountain then clearing and moving everything onto higher ground.Sometimes it means changes in building practices and more reinforcement. Implementing suggestions that allow you to rebuild in new ways that better protect you from the potentially damaging forces around you that you have little or no control over. Sometimes you just scrap it all,walk away and consider you and your immediate family to be the only survivors.
No matter what the final outcome, there`s no denying that everyone and everything that has been touched by such an event has sacrificed something and been changed to some extent. Another fact is that things can never go back to the way they were.The Universe doesn`t work that way
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