Pervasive
Pervasive, Symbolic, Enlarged
A theology of immanence means treating each thing, animate and inanimate…natural and mand-made, as if it were alive, requiring what each living thing requires above all else: careful attention to its’ properties, their specific qualities. James Hillman, Kinds of Power
If Fox was a philosopher, he would posit that flowing in the Beauty of this world is a moral act. He would wisely nip arrogant humans who argue that he is deluded, those who say that his landscape is composed only of particles drifting randomly. He would give a side-eyed glance to those who claim that all the precious creatures he loves are little more than stimulus-response machines.
Our Fox is an instinctual Buddhist, sensing that the sacred is not something separate or distant from the ordinary and the profane. For those who can finally see, a transcendent reality and energy permeates all and is Pervasive, not limited to specific places, times, nor things. In the zone he enters the deepest level of reality.
Why this painting?
Simply put, living in a symbolic world means understanding that everything has meaning and is connected to something larger than itself. Ordinary objects, actions, and events can be seen as symbols that point to deeper truths and realities.
In this painting, Fox flows with energy that moves through the landscape. Some have referred to this force as loving, compassionate, nurturing, some capitalize Love, differentiating it from the ordinary, and using this word interchangeably with God. It is sometimes recognized to be playful, yet has a push that moves us from below, or above, or within, into making something extraordinary, which takes work, takes effort, sometimes extraordinary effort, and yet feels purposeful and is restorative, even weightless. It brings continuity that we often lose in modern society, and so this energy is felt to be connecting and at odds with our woundedness that has led to fragmentation and meaninglessness. This pervasive force has been depicted as a field, that spread across what otherwise seems to be emptiness; it changes things, impacts us and each other from a distance, spooky, operating according to an acasual principle, with revelatory synchronicity.
Even with regular Work, you will have moments of feeling radically disconnected. That is a time to return to the small fox in the painting who sees that the Universe is worthy of reverence. Everywhere is the manifestation of a divine or ultimate reality. He senses the sacred that permeates all aspects of existence, and he lets it move him.
This painting invites you to see the Beauty all around. Recognize that the magical and creative source pulses within and without. Though the human mind can appreciate only so little–the depth and breadth of our holy source we cannot see—still we can open our Heart and mind. Cultivate veneration and gratitude. Cultivate a Heart of Enlarging.
Enlarging. As I have told you my vision, to begin a Heart-drama that may bring you closer to what is True and Beautiful, you must start with Enlarging your state. Pay attention to your body, and step back, be an observer. There is a form of theatre playing out before you. You are a performer playing a familiar role, getting a payoff, a weekly allowance of emotional charge that keeps you sticky in it. Notice if you’ve adhered to characters and are invested in the drama. Have you memorized all the lines you have been given? If so, of course, your ego is quite proud of what you have been able to do on stage with this limited character. You may have imagined that you will receive at least an honorable mention at the Golden Globe’s. You won’t.
X-posing the Barriers. Stepping back requires shifting your attention. And Pain into Ritual requires some spontaneous action to move you. You will know that you have been released because there may be some audible pop, as your rigidity is momentarily pulled away. Or not. You may feel a jolt, or nothing, or feel disoriented, as a chorus of negative voices have gone quiet. Don’t worry, they will show up again, probably at the next moment. That is why you need to practice.
Making the effort to step out from of the Barriers around you and in you is EXPANDing into the natural spaciousness of a human Heart.
EXPANDing is embracing the spontaneous. Learn to dance, or better yet unlearn any practiced dance by getting into rhythm with a being in front of you or in a natural setting. Play with your dog. They think humans are crazy anyway because they know us so well, so they won’t judge you any more than they already do, and they will at least enjoy the game. The point is to regularly get out of the sobriety of your Abnormal persona that hides the Pain and minimizes our Self-deception.
Inside-out
Pervasive is an energy that flows into all aspects of our life and work. It permeates with insight, seeps Sacred understanding into areas we don’t expect to be receptive, until we feel the results. Where there has been production for material profit, there is connection and purpose, as art brings forth Beauty and reveals what has been hidden. Where we have been rigid there is softening. Where we have been obsessive and distracted, we find open focus and a wider view, even a vision that holds disparate parts together. Or, equally true, there is a strengthening in the areas of our lives that have been confusing and confused. But this can be hard to see except perhaps by looking back. In retrospect.
As you end a session of Work, let the Inspiration flow everywhere. Let the Inspiration speak through you as you move through your day or evening. Recognize that you have touched symbolic depths in these ancient narratives that you X-pose (they are not just old because they arise from your past, but they are also archetypal, constant over generations, ancient as human experience). They are not simple signifiers or allegories, this equals that, but symbolic, so they will never fit into a box. As spiritual teachers have tried to convey to us for a millennium, symbols in narration, surplus images laid out in from front of us showing us a surplus reality, is the language of our sacred experience. which is a language very difficult to speak without sounding psychotic. Engineers or anyone trained to speak monologues from the left brain are notorious for having no idea what we are talking about.
But our Child, our Artist, our Lover and Visionary knows in our natural world, in our relationships, in our mindful states of attention, in our engagement with our art. symbols are not a thing, but a potential pathway into a deeper plane of knowing.
But why should we care? If we have lived our life perhaps entirely in a consumer space, with plenty enough spectacles to keep us entertained (until they don’t), why should the sacred or ineffable concern us? As I learned from years of providing therapy, it’s pointless to prescribe to a doctor or argue with a lawyer or attempt to sell anything to a salesman. I can only say I believe that knowing that there is more than one room (the small one you have rented) in the house of our existence matters because the voice of our Self, true essence, lies in a world beyond the daily walls and mental barriers. When we are aware, when we break the trance of tunnel vision, we find what is True; the path of our Heart-desire is aligned perfectly with the Heart of the universe. If that sounds too “woke” then perhaps you have been engulfed by some mindless political campaign (don’t forget to buy the hat). And I suspect Fear is at the root of your resistance.
To begin or to maintain life in depth, you could collect small objects that you find, feathers, stones that call to you for some reason (or better, for no reason). Hold on to quotes, wisdom, poems, anything that helps you to remember to find as William Blake wrote, “Infinity in a grain of sand.” Reflect regularly on your collection, letting this give rise to different thoughts on different days. Such small rituals can help to infuse our lives with meaning and purpose. At the same time, be warned as you cultivate a more Sacred Perception, widening your circle of compassion, you will be struck, if for some reason you are not already, by the deepest grief for all those glorious being that humanity often has treated as roadkill.
Upside down:
The knowledge that you are on a spiritual path unique to you will not sit well with those who think they are the only authority. Reflect if you are being challenged by a “rational” self-assured, overly optimistic, even bullying persona or community that has found its way to mass insanity. Dominators and their minions have some status in their own tiny fishbowl and believe they have earned a right to convey the special knowledge that they have acquired from sources, derivations sometime murky or absurdly precise. As self-proclaimed models for others on how to live, they can be dangerously persuasive, and their influence can be pervasive.
Do not allow authoritarian-leaning out-of-control egos to influence you. Consider what is driving them. It has nothing to do with you. Mommy or daddy may have told them they were Golden children because they were so good at adhering to the party line. Or maybe their uniqueness was unrecognized in their family, and now is the time for them to prove they are special and get retribution. Perhaps religion taught them “the only truth” and they now must convince you of something. Or their specialness is the result of a medical residency or similar profession, where empathy and the ability for awe was deconstructed by mentors who preached compartmentalization with the fervor of religion.
You don’t need to ask them where their delusions come from. Unless you hope to be their therapist, it’s not your job to trace a contagion back to its origin. The message here is to find a way to a source that is larger than anyone’s ego-created God.
