Adjustment

*This post was originally written 5/6/2011 and never posted as I was still contemplating and playing with it. I found it recently and it syncs with life both outwardly and inwardly right now so I thought it was time to put it out there! Here we go...

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Let's explore some words, looking at their etymology and meanings we've derived from symbols in previous posts.

Maat = the creative divine feminine order

Weighed = moved, lifted, carried, a vessel/carriage

Heart = center, middle

Against = opposite, toward

Feather = wings (breath, scent, sense, faculty of perception, to travel, know, feel, journey, to go), rush, fly, drive back or down, petition, seek, go forward, pray, request or require, desire, wish


under- = beneath, between or among

-world = mankind, human existence

law = layer, measure, to put down (lay)

judgement = discern, separate, divide, perceive

I've had judgment and the underworld on the brain. I'm attempting to dive deeper into the meaning of Maat weighing the heart against her feather. I think this is commonly interpreted as a comparison of the purity (lightness) of the heart with that of a feather, but this has me imagine the scenario similar to facing judgement before the pearly gates of heaven. This traditional image is just unsatisfactory to me. I find myself wondering, "Why? and What for? What purpose does this serve in the natural order of things?" So I've started breaking down the meaning of the words to get a bigger picture that can be interpreted in more ways, as for some reason having more questions, and having more options of paths to run down is what brings me peace and understanding. So here is one such scenario I have come up with so far:

The feminine divine ordering principle of the universe (Maat) : carried (weighed) the wish (feather) toward and from (against) one's center (heart).

To me, using these alternate words brings new meaning to the symbol. A symbol of the law of creation, that what we dwell on we also dwell in. That what we see, think, feel, and do is informing an inner part of us on what to make manifest.

"When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those to love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true"

*Interesting that the above song is from Disney's Pinocchio, about a wooden boy who longs to be REAL and his nose grows when he tells a lie/untruth.

By the way, I'm not saying that the above IS the meaning, or is THE meaning, but as usual I am just exploring meanings and possibilities surrounding Maat, the goddess of Truth.

What we deem as "true" is what we perceive as real, something that appears well formed, accurately shaped, and as steadfast and true as a tree. Truth is an exchange of faithfulness. Because the truth has proven to be faithful/constant we believe and trust in the truth, which perpetuates the truth, and the cycle continues. In fact, the FACTs that we believe are true, are really actions, events, occurrences, doings, experiences, and even "evil" deeds that have taken place. Evil is bad and wicked. But BAD is just being inferior in quality. When we look at the hierarchy in the process of creation: inspired from the all pervading mindstuff, to feeling, to thought and finally to the physical/material (as expressed by the Tetragrammaton), the material is actually just the lowest, most inferior piece of the puzzle. Below the superior inspiration and design. Wicked is a word derived from wizard. A magician uses the divine principles of creation to bring wishes into form. We are all wizards, witches and magicians, most of us are just casting our spells unconsciously. So a fact is a magical act.

The universe was created when god spoke. So what god had to say was really important to what was to be formed.  What are you saying in your own life? It's interesting that the word "addiction" means devotion, tendencies, habits. You could call it ritual. Even more revealing is that it comes from "ad- "to" + dicere "say, declare". This is important, because it shows that anything that you devote yourself to is an "addiction", it is what you continually, habitually perform, think, hold dear and thus becomes what you are saying because it yields results in the formation of your life.

We create our universe, and yet what we have created is simultaneously creating us.  I was looking at trees (trues?) the other day, thinking about how the direction they grow is based upon their environment - the way the wind blows, what is blockading them from growth in a certain place - such as a structure of some sort, dependent on the quality of the soil where they are located, how much sunlight and rain they take in, etc. But trees influence their environment too, their growth changes the landscape, their life creates oxygen which is crucial to the life of all other things.  We are the same way, we grow where the energy flows, if there is a blockage of some sort, our growth is stunted in that area and we will grow in another. Growth doesn't always imply a "betterment" either, it's just a building upon wherever the most energy is placed. Yet we are creating and shaping our environment all of the time too. There you have it, you are as divine as a tree. That's the truth.

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Food for thought. It's 2017 and I'm contemplating this all once more. Questions I'm facing are - Where have my "facts" that inform my life come from? What is my source? Have I learned from experience, by action and work? Or have I only listened and read the experience of others and attempted to create based not on my own physical, first hand, inner knowing but on the truth of others?
To be continued...

the world is your oyster

A brew of many previous posts, I am really feeling this within today ~

Your subconscious is not something that is hidden from you, and not something you only encounter in your sleeping dreams. Your subconscious is what you see reflected in the mirror and everything around you. The world you see is a manifestation of the ideas, thoughts, behaviors you have learned to know by heart, that which you enact and practice time and again until it is instinct, your belief of what is true. You have the power to create what you see by changing what is true to you, what YOU choose to tell your heart/mind...and that truth can be whatever you choose! It may just take some serious convincing. ;)

"Why then the world's mine Oyster, which I, with sword will open."   ~ Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor

From the Online Etymology Dictionary, Oyster: mid-14c., from O.Fr. oistre, from L. ostrea, pl. or fem. of ostreum "oyster," from Gk. ostreon, from PIE *ost- "bone" (see osseous). Related to Gk. ostrakon "hard shell" and to osteon "bone."

Oyster/Bone is the material, those ideas which have crystallized into form.

As explored in the bird is the word, sword = his word = truth.

The world is my oyster, my bone, the structures I have built with my beliefs - and with my own word, my own vibration, my own truth - I will open/unfold/expand/change/evolve/create. Within the oyster, is a womb of creation/a vulva turning, spiraling, rolling around the pearl of wisdom, knowledge, truth and beauty which I/you hold dear.

"Opening oysters requires skill. The preferred method is to use a special knife..."   ~ Wikipedia, Opening Oysters

  

We are already standing at the pearly gates of heaven.

conception perception

(In the spirit of double rainbow guy, "what does it meeeeaaaan?")

We often look to visual artwork, movies, commercials, poems, songs, etc., as expressions of ideas with the use of symbolism. But lately I'm thinking about this 3 dimensional realm that we live in, and that literally everything that we see and touch around us is a symbol for an idea, a collective belief that we all have. We create/manifest our thoughts into material existence. Some people reject this idea, thinking that this statement implies that when you think something it instantly appears. Following this line of thinking - seeing as that this obviously doesn't seem to happen for most of us (based on our definition of "instant" in our concept of time), the statement doesn't seem plausible. But who decided that manifestation had to be instantaneous? Every object around us has originated with a thought, something non-material. First came the idea/thought/belief, then came the act of using our tools to build something based on that vision. So we literally do manifest our reality, whether it takes billions of years, or some amount of months, or a 30 minute meal. So I am interested in the part of the physical reality that most of us can't see - the slippery, elusive thought matter behind every thing we have created.

con*cep*tion [kuh n-sep-shuh n] -noun  1. the act of conceiving; the state of being conceived. 2. fertilization; inception of pregnancy. 3. a notion; idea; concept: She has some odd conceptions about life. 4. something that is conceived: The machine is the conception of a genius. 5. origination; beginning 6. a design; plan. 7. the act or power of forming notions, ideas, or concepts.  

 

"...We work with being, but nonbeing is what we use." Lao Tzu

While having the stream of thoughts flow through my mind, my eyes focused in on the railing around our porch, which I normally don't even acknowledge or think about. "What does a railing symbolize?" I thought to myself. It signifies our belief that we need a boundary wherever we find a railing, that for whatever reason we believe that we need a reminder that without that boundary we may find or inflict harm or discomfort if we go there (wherever there is). That there is a need to keep something in, or keep something out. The belief that we can separate inner from outer. If we did not have these beliefs, we would not have created railings and fences, for there would be no reason for them, as it would not yet have become our conviction that we needed to attempt to isolate one part from another. In exploring the symbolism of the railing, we can ask:
What would the world be like without boundaries? What was it like before we brought about this symbol of separation? And if we removed such a symbol, would it alter our belief that we need such boundaries?

This of course, is just one example of the symbolism that is all around us. Paying attention to the meaning inherent in every structure gives new perspective and profound meaning to the world. It makes you think about what your beliefs really are, and what you want them to be. If we want to change our collective beliefs, then manifesting a physical structure - or maybe more importantly removing structures and things that aren't relevant anymore, is our task. Of course, this brings us to the realization that there are some groups of individuals that are well versed in shaping the collective belief systems simply by introducing the idea into our physical environment. (One obvious means of doing this is through the use of media). This you probably recognize, also happens to be explored in the movie "Inception".

*update 9/16/10* Today I read this quote which is all too fitting with the subject of this post!
"...everything on the material plane takes on new meaning because it is seen as a symbol for an inner quality or state of being." Liz Greene, from her book Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil

What do we believe? We can see by looking at what objects and symbols we surround ourselves with. And what do we want to believe? What ideas and frameworks still have value, and which ones are outmoded and should be deconstructed to build something new? Hmmmm...
And who knew a porch railing could be so mentally stimulating?



Recommendations:
*The previous post "crystallization" also relates.
*For further exploration of the power of your beliefs, I always highly recommend the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton.
*The work of Michael Tsarion and his study of symbols, words and history has also enriched my life and added perspective.
*The work of the individuals over at the The Sync Whole (and the myriad of other blogs that interweave there), make amazing connections and decipher symbolism through the observation of film, pop culture and more. Their stream of connections is enlightening, but is also just plain fun and inspiring!

Tour Through the Reality

a beautiful, quick-hitter video of the universe that we are observing.