While it can’t be proven, I believe staying open and present is a pathway into existential transcendence–a way of dimming the illusion of space and time, and acknowledging information that isn’t held back by reductive categorizations, and/or potentially oppressive societal considerations.
Musings
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8 responses to “Musings”
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The intellect looks at ‘consciousness’ and speculates … “I think, therefore I Am; am I?” But unless we act to change our state, it remains mere speculation. Even mindfulness can drift into habit that then leads to self delusion that it’s still ‘real’. We forget or excuse the times that we’re not mindful. Can we become mindful ‘always and everywhere’? Can we become *so* mindful that we start to see the workings of our emotions? Can we then start to see how our apparently rational and ‘objective’ world view is merely a story; how our likes, dislikes and ‘truths’ are merely acquired? Can we then step beyond ‘self’, to stop trying to create and shape a world that all along was creating and shaping us? No, none of this can be ‘proven’ in the sense of answering the intellect’s speculation … All of it has to be experienced, uniquely, by each person. It’s like the experience of a chick coming out of its shell: suddenly there’s this bigger world, but the chick couldn’t ‘prove’ it (or even imagine it) from inside the shell. It takes a leap of faith and a certain amount of effort. That’s not meant to be critical: just a signpost, if you like, to an intellectual trap. Imagination – and therefore speculation – is limited by our experience; and our experience can then also be limited by our imagination.
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I agree! A while ago, I became interested in existentialist philosophy. Many of them invented words and concepts in an attempt, I believe, to evoke a more direct experience of what they were referencing, free of the story and societal weight that clung to already agreed-upon words and concepts. Kind of like a Zen koan in essay form.
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Societal consideration will appear as rules for behavior without substance other than the words used and otherwise meaningless.
Thank you for liking my poem!
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Absolutely! When there is enough substance and spirit behind an intent, I believe the needs for words starts to diminish.
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Kent Wayne 
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