In modern times,
the balance of intellect and intuition
has been lost.





Sun 8.8


We live in a world in which power is not accorded to the individual. A good 90% of the evils that befall us have been eliminated. One is not beset by robbers at the edge of town anymore as was the norm in past history. Most of the illnesses that felled our ancestors have been eradicated, or brought under control, and there is food aplenty in the rich countries.

These amenities rob us of our natural power to intuit, to get past one's jailer, which is the thinking mind. It spins and spins and spins, all day, every day from morning till night. Whew, so exhausting, that most favored pastimes involve circumventing the mind's control, movies, television, books, computers, electronic gadgets, sports, crossword puzzles, exercise. Note the word, pastime. Why a need to pass time? Is life so unpleasant that one must make it go by more quickly? Ah, it's 6 o'clock now, I can have a drink and at 11 I'll watch that movie I rented. Islands of pleasure in the vast ocean of thoughts that control our every action. Is it ennui? One is bored out of one's skull. Another apt phrase, yes the skull and it's ingredients, how to turn it off?

Power accrues to the person who develops, and comes to trust her intuitive abilities; they will counter the mind's continuous spin. Just like the meaning we attach to the word when someone is trying to fool us, to hide something from us, spin. That's what the mind is doing, putting a pleasant face on what is not pleasant, or acceptable, or desired. Truly, on your deathbed, you will not be asking about what's up with Lady Gaga, or what's happening in Congress, or with that fool of a president, or even whether the Knicks are winning.

Karl Jung once spoke about the abuse of symbols in modern society and how destructive of the human spirit they are. Advertisements are awash in symbolic language, and I have had experience of what an invasive force they are. After fasting for 4 days in deep woods on my vision quest, the bombardment of signs and ads in a little convenience store as I slowly returned to society was physically painful to experience. Something I don't even notice when I'm in my spinning mind. Spinning mind is a product of the society we live in. Intuitive mind makes you live in the moment, and for the moment, because there is nothing else. One learns to see and read the moment in all its ramifications; one is able to sit for 3 hours without need for diversion, or entertainment, like the tiger, or the wolf. One knows.

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Current favorite this past month has been On the Worktable