Practice is a frame into which I pour my mind. It is a method of alignment, a point of orientation. My practice sessions have a score: I mark the edges, define the area of inquiry, lay out aspirations. Yet an equal measure of unguarded territory is necessary. A door must be left ajar for unexpected visitations. In every session, I reserve time for improvisation. Improvisation is where seeds of the best work are dropped. When expectation is abandoned and agendas are replaced with listening, waiting and attention, this is when beauty that I could not have planned emerges. (From Voicings from Underground; The Slow World p 60)
Strange Worlds
Shamans return to the world of the living with conscious knowledge of the inner realms.
R. Grimassi
Shamanic line drawings trace a path through ‘swaying places’ (trials and obstacles) marked by water, sand & clouds.
The Book of Symbols 430
Ascent origin = ascendere (latin) to climb, or freedom from weight. oft paired with descent. May signify the volatilizing of a solid / the spiritualizing of matter / making conscious unconscious projections. Integration of polarities: ladder, tree, stairs…in alchemy ascent must necessarily be followed by descent (shaman returns to body).
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