People Looking Without Seeing.

"The question is not what you look at--

but how you look and whether you see."

Henry David Thoreau

Journal, August 5, 1851.

- + - + - + - - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -

"What's this?"

"What's what?"

"Why, look."

John Updike

The Poorhouse Fair

- + - + - + - - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -

"Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

1 Samuel 16: 7.

- + - + - + - - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -

   The average person living in our western hemisphere sees things. The job of the poet, the mystic, the artist, or the philosopher is to see ideas behind the things.

   I'll confess, I often find, even as I'm reading (or writing) poetry--I'm often distractable and focused on speed and finishing, rather than dwelling deep in the moment--the idea is eluding me with shameful ease. Then again, I just read an 81 page book of poetry, of which I understood less than five pages. Is it because I never slowed down? Actually, I read several poems two or three times, and it still read like stream-of-consciousness gibberish. (*see below for excerpt.)

   Whattaya think? Does that notion of looking for idea apply only to good literature? I think so...perhaps one could draw a line between popular fiction and "literary" fiction based on this distinction...or...not? Your thoughts?

This brief blog is brought to you by the underwriters of "Sidd Owen N. Lissen," and teachers and parents everywhere.

............ .......... ..........

Be still...and know...

Wisdom of King David

Psalm 46: 10

=-=-=-
* THE RED EASEL
Say doc, those swags are of the wrong period
though in harmony with the whole. You shouldn't take it too hard.
Everybody likes it when the casual drift
becomes more insistent, setting in order the house,
while writing finis to its three-decker novel. Only when the plaint
of hens pierces dusk like a screen door
does the omnipresent turn top-heavy. Oh, really?
I thought they had names for guys like you
and places to take them to. That's true, but
let's not be hasty, shall we, and pronounce your example
a fraud before all the returns are in? These are,
it turns out, passionate and involving, as well as here to stay.

[Now, WHAT does this poem have to say about:
--easels? let alone, red easels or harmony with the whole?
--docs?
--swags?
--hens?

   I rather pride myself on my reading and interpretive abilities--this poet, John Ashbury, is a complete and utter puzzlement to me!--DLS]

Rainy Daze

After taking my hypnosis seminar, back in the late 80's, I put that tool to work...and occasionally turned that focused relaxation back on myself. However, I suppose there is enough misinformation bruited about that I should lapse into educator mode for a paragraph or two.

Hypnosis: A Primer.

What hypnosis is not:

• --mind control or weakening of the will
• --making someone act like a chicken--well, unless they're on stage and that's what they want to do
• --sleep
• --magic.

What hypnosis is: 

• --a powerful tool that, like any other mere tool, helps you to do a job that needs to be done
• --a deep relaxation into that pleasant state we would usually call a daydream. In this daydreamy state, the mind is much more open to suggestion...and THAT is what hypnosis is all about--my planting reasonable suggestions--emphasis on both the acceptableness of the ideas, and on the fact that I never give commands, only offer suggestions.
• --again, it's a tool. Hypnosis serves to distract that criticizing/nagging little voice that makes you doubt yourself, question your capacities, or raise objections when what you really need is motivation.

Is hypnosis a tool for everybody and a solution for everything? Well, would your kitchen be complete with the one and only implement being a meat cleaver? Would your toolbox be adequate if your only tools were a pair of vice grips and a 1/2" crescent wrench?

Okay, that's a long intro to...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lapsing into a daydreaming state, the rain has lulled my consciousness into a quiet unreality, or hyper-reality. It's as if my mind has wandered off across the bay, over the waves and between the raindrops, floating like a ghost in a cartoon. Yet, I am not unconscious or unaware. I can steer myself toward a pirate-story, or I can wander along the far shore playing junior naturalist poking in tidal pools and amongst the shrubs, or treading on the forest duff seeking buried treasure.

Okay, so, I'm daydreaming. Am I asleep? Clearly not. Might I appear asleep if I'm between thoughts and not typing as I am right now with my eyes closed? (Yes, I touch-type...thanks Mom! Yes, I did come back and edit my mistakes--you're welcome, Miss Burkill and Mr. Pavini!)

My point is--daydreams can be harnessed, but the driver of the daydreams needs a very light touch on the reins and should let the beast pretty much follow its own nose--wonderful new adventures may unfold, new horizons open, and you might take a turn off the main road you'd have never taken and now are delighted that you did. Follow that creative muse...I suspect that many creative sorts get themselves into this hypnotic trance and truly free up their knows-no-bounds imagination!

Monuments

”To safeguard these things will not affect the course of battles, but it will affect the relations of invading armies with those peoples and their governments...to safeguard these things will show respect for the beliefs and customs of all men and wil bear witness that these things belong not only to a particular people but also to the heritage of mankind...These monuments are not merely pretty things, not merely valued signs of man's creative power. They are the expressions of faith, and they stand for man's struggle to relate himself to his past and to his God.”

 

THE MONUMENTS MEN, by Rob't Edsel.

 

--------- ---------- --------

I love this quote...a reminder that creativity is a gift from the Creator himself. This gift is resident in all of us. Some have cultivated it with astonishing fruitfulness. Some have had the gift stomped on, deprecated, and debunked in the home, the school, and at work. Some are unaware or unbelieving that they are bearers of the creative spark--let me urge YOU in particular--any little urge that you have to make something, do something unique, to say or write or behave in a way that diverges from the habitual, the usual--yes, THAT is the glint of creativity.

Fan the flame--in yourself and in others. Encourage kids and adults alike as they use hands and mouth and mind to create something new, different, and exciting. (Okay, it may be exciting only the that person--encourage 'em anyhow--it could be you who will want a little cheer-leading in some off-beat pursuit of your own, tomorrow!)

Questions?

"But I've never been creative, David."
--Bah, I don't believe it. You have surely doodled on the edge of a paper, or hummed a little tune unknown to any other human, or made a repair in a manner that nobody has ever done before, or you've added spices or ingredients to a meal that no other person had ever suggested to you...do you get my drift?

"But, it takes time, David. I'm so busy already..."
--Meh. We're all as busy as we choose. How many hours of TV have you watched today? This week? How many hours of playing games on the computer, or Facebook, or...I'll bet you know where your time slips thru your fingers. Make a deal to grasp a 15-30 minute chunk of time where you can spend some quiet, meditative moments, then compose/craft/make/modify/create/write/rhyme/paint/hammer/saw/knit/sew/glue, just go and do!

"But, I'm really uncreative, and all those verbs above just make me tired, David."
--Oy, so, maybe you are depressed? One of the best therapies for feeling tired and blue is to go and do--acting like you're not tired and blue often evolves into feeling energized and upbeat. Whattaya gotta lose?

Editing, life, and hard choices.

(Antoine de Saint-Exupery.)


Lord, take away my impatience--except for my eager expectation of Your return.

Lord, take away my cynicism--I don't know how many times You've admonished humankind that our mouths are lethal weapons that should never be aimed with evil intent!

Lord, take away my reliance on me...and substitute reliance on Thee!

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

Okay, this was going to be a blog about writing, not applied theology! But, in matters non-mathematical, (or animal or mineral--extra points for identifying the opus alluded to!) you gotta listen to your heart, where occasionally that Still, Small Voice actually can shove a word in edgewise!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

So, what am I cutting out?
--This past Lenten time, I cut out time-wasters on the computer. It was liberating.
--In my writing, I am cutting out excess verbiage. Often, I emphasize by saying the same thing in two or three different ways...but why not say it with sufficient punch, panache, and passion the first time?
--When we moved, we cut a lot of possessions out of our lives. Felt good then. Feels good now. Stuff and clutter just sit there, soaking up your energy, dulling your attention, so just clean up one small surface today. Right now--if you think this applies to you, and you know who you is--don't duck it. Do it! (David, this means y-o-u: clean up this desk! Now!)

Gotta Read!

Where shall we go, you and I,
   on two wheels so sweet?
Anywhere, we have no care
   and need nothing to eat:
We'll dream our dreams
   inside the covers
and share our joys
   as gonzo book-lovers!

               =-=-=-=

Yes, this is almost what my little three-wheeled scooter looked like when we returned from the library two weeks ago! When you're an addict, MORE is always better! Art, travel, biography, and fiction all rode home, bouncing in my basket or waving wildly in a bag on my handlebars!

Not only do I HAVE to read...but in my reading I find inspiration to write...as that sagacious Stephen King said, "If you want to write, you need to read. A lot." or words to that effect.

What writer has absolutely charmed you, cannot wait to read more? Curious people want to know (in comments below?)

BTW, looks like my front tire needs a little air...I suspect nobody who knows me well would ever worry about my running out of (hot) air!