Seeing Ahead

Jack is a birder, a folksy part-time naturalist; he joined us -a group of seniors seated at a round table, ready and able to swap stories. I prompted him to re-tell a bird tale of the tension that exists between crows and owls. The black feathered creatures, taking advantage of their ownership of daylight hours to annoy owls; only to find themselves at serious disadvantage at night when they are subject to silent unseen attack by owls, as a scene of demise was reconstructed by Jack at the discovery of black feathers, too long to have belonged to the common grackle, and more surely to be crow-like remains of an owl’s attack.

Humans look at birds through varying lenses; naturalists such as Audubon and Muir have often seen and described them as examples of moral rectitude, while more recent ecologically minded birders see them as markers of environmental change. Book-ending these two views are that of the more common birdwatcher armed with field guides and life lists.

Feeling a bit expansive in the company around the table i offered another view of avian creatures, saying, “I see birds as representing spiritual forces.” And went on to explain this outlook with two stories, based on observations not of specie and habitat but of avian behavior as it enters my field of vision, especially as i drive about. The rules of this little game of observation are quite simple, if a bird or birds enters my field of vision from the left, i’m warned -alerted to be extra careful of what lies ahead; and if from the right alerted to some blessing ahead. The number of birds and their closeness counts too. The closer they are the sooner the event they may signal; their number is a bit complicated, but more of that later.

Looking at birds through this lens makes for a unique sort of traffic report as i drive about, no radio required just a bit of focused attention does the trick. Here are the two stories.

One night i was headed home. The rain slicked road ahead held an “S” curve that obscured any sight of possible oncoming traffic. But what i did see was a bird coming up suddenly and near by, entering my field of vision from the left. Immediately sensing it as warning lifting my foot from the accelerator and moving it left, poising just above the brake pedal. No sooner had that slight movement been accomplished than an oncoming car came into view; it was out of control and crossing over into my lane -heading straight for me. Quickly my foot jumped on the brake, in full emergency stop mode. There was no time for the nicety of disengaging the clutch, so i ‘killed’ the engine as i came to a stop; just a mere foot away from the oncoming car, whose driver had simultaneously been trying to regain control of his vehicle. No harm was done. The brief interval based on avian warning had allowed me to stop just short of collision; so not only was no injury sustained, but no damage was done to either vehicle. All i had to do was restart the engine and pull around the other vehicle, the chagrined but relieved face of its driver plain to see.

Some years before i was driving to a meeting, i had been invited to speak to a small group that met in a home in a suburb unknown to me. This was in the days before GPS and back then i did not even own a decent road map; armed with limited instructions i took off in the general direction, watching the birds as i went, changing lanes only as indicated by their movements from left or from right. Arriving at my designated exit i took to suburban roads as given in the directions and as seen from street signage, eventually getting close to my destination, but unsure of the next turn. In this state of uncertainly i approached an intersection, only to be met by a bird that flew into my vision from the right. It held a worm in its mouth and made temporary landing in my lane, forcing me to stop lest i hit the creature. Then it flew to the left. A quick check of my directions showed that this was the very street where i was to turn. Off to the left i went, following the worm carrying bird, checking house numbers along the way. A couple of blocks later i arrived painlessly and safely, full of the story of the adventure that brought me there. It’s difficult to say who was more surprised, the attendees where i was to speak or me by the bird adventures that marked my way.

Driving home from the story swapping roundtable meeting with Jack and others i mused about this intimate view of birds as spiritual forces; just ahead the four-lane road reduced to two. Traffic slowed. Six birds entered my field of vision from right to left, signaling a blessing; six is a number i associate with conflict and how wise it is to be sure of being correct before proceeding. One of the cars ahead in my lane had slowed, properly yielding the right of way to oncoming traffic, before executing a left turn. As this scene unfolded, i counted the cars between the cause of our delay and my own. I was sixth in line.

Seeing Ahead

Birds fly into sight:
Warning from left; blessing from
Right: Radar in flight!

Impulsiveness v. Spontaneity

Voice dialogue as a psychological technique has been around awhile; but when Genpo Roshi (bigmind.org) picked it up and merged it with 30+ years of realized Zen training it has entered a whole new sphere of influence.

Recently, on a message board where i sometimes hang out, a question arose about recognizing Intuition and not confusing it with misplaced longings or other concerns that may arise in conjunction with hidden issues in the psyche, commonly called the shadow.

On a bike ride yesterday, i mused, wondering if voice dialogue could be helpful in shedding some light on this question, which i had previously come to see in terms of Impulsiveness v. Spontaneity.

A significant part of the psyche is the sense of separate self, commonly known as the ego. If we postulate a world of essential unity, where uni-verse means one-story then anything that sees it self as separate has a tenuous existence, and helps to explain why it (ego) tends to cling to smallness and even obstruct a broader deeper expression of the human condition.

Voice dialogue is a technique that sidesteps this obstruction by simple device of asking permission; employing the good offices of ego rather than trying to kill it.

All that being said here is a text derived by experiment with this technique. Please be invited, to the extent of comfort, to play along with each request for a given voice and post any text results as a comment. It went like this…

Facilitator: Let me speak to the controller. Who are you? What is your function?

I am the controller; I run the gate, organize the day, try to keep things on track; my greatest concern is loss of control.

Facilitator: If i have an interest in speaking to another voice, would it serve me to obtain your permission to do so? In addition, granting that, will you also use your good office to insure a clear channel to such a voice?

Controller: Yes, thank you for asking, I seldom get such consideration. Go ahead.

Facilitator: Let me speak to the voice of Impulsiveness. (after respondent makes a slight shift…)
Who are you and what is your function?

I am impulsiveness. I am a direct link, a sort of conduit, between the ‘self’ and an object of interest; I set the ‘self’ in motion towards that object.

Facilitator: How are you different from the voice of desire?

Impulsiveness: To me, desire is plagued by indecision, procrastination, and doubt; I do not fool around with such nonsense; my tendency is to get the ‘self’ to just do it!

Facilitator: I take it then that you move with dispatch?

Impulsiveness: Yes, and then some; I am a close relative to instant gratification.

Facilitator: It appears that desire is your motivator, are you linked to other voices, too?

Impulsiveness: Yes, desire and i are old friends, but what really gets me going is obsession.

Facilitator: Controller, with your permission may i speak to the voice of obsession?
Who are you and what is your function? (after respondent makes a slight shift…a deep voice speaks)

Obsession: I am obsession. I want what i want, getting it now is fine; if not i’ll help make a plan to get it later; i have heard of ‘giving up’ or surrender, but, i have no truck with ‘em; push comes to shove, my guess is that they are just rumors.

Facilitator: So let me see if i have this straight? When you give extra impetus to or sometimes supplant desire and put a charge into impulsiveness, all sorts of stuff might happen, so much so that even the controller is overwhelmed?

Obsession: Yup, but that is not my business. I’m a come hell or high water kind of guy.

Facilitator: Controller, loss of control is a big issue for you, and my guess is this last voice may be troubling to you. Let me please speak to another voice. Let me speak with a clear channel to the voice of spontaneity. Who are you and what is your function? (after respondent makes a slight shift…a boy soprano voice speaks)

Spontaneity: I am spontaneity; often Intuition acts through me.

Facilitator: How are you different from impulsiveness, are you not both speedy?

Spontaneity: Impulsiveness is quick all right, but because my home is in the world outside of time; even light speed is not beyond me. Moreover, impulsiveness and his cohorts and minions set energy running down old tracks; firing certain long established synapse patterns. I am always fresh, new, and unexpected. Sometimes i work so fast, that it is difficult for the ‘self’ with its ponderous ways to accept my presence and counsel.

Facilitator: But wait, in normal circumstances is it your custom to actually speak?

Spontaneity: No, but my presence can nonetheless be detected in spite of my typical silence.

Facilitator: Tell me more, how does this work?

Spontaneity: I always show up in a broad and deep context; my antennae are multidirectional, multi-phasic, and I can translate signals from most any no-where. Often I manifest as Great Clarity, quietly giving a sort of picture or overview. However, I am only capable of showing up NOW! So hanging around is definitely not my thing. My guess is that this is why i am sometimes missed. But wow, do i have FLASH!

Facilitator: Controller, please let me speak to another voice. I have a question for the free-functioning integrated human being. In view of this conversation and assuming that the ‘self’ may still have trouble differentiating between Impulsiveness and Spontaneity; do you have some counsel for the ‘self’? (after respondent makes a slight shift…a mellifluous voice speaks)

FFIHB: Yes, typically spontaneity is beyond doubt but if the ‘self’ is unsure, it can always assume that a movement to action comes from Impulsiveness, and perhaps even yield to it, given one crucial proviso.

Facilitator: Hmm! What is that? Is there some sort of test?

FFIHB: Yes. Run the notion past the voice of harmlessness. If it fails to pass, drop it!

Intuition

Knowing ones sometimes
Call me The Voice of Silence.
Are all ears open?

Dutch Treat

This morning a squirrel ventured out along the pole that supports the flag in my garden. I watched as the furry creature skillfully arrived at a point where the leaves and berries pictured on it were in seeming reach. Alas, no tugging, pulling, or grasping at the flag-fabric images brought him any closer to actual nourishment.

A part of us is much like this squirrel, ever discontented; it seeks, and seeks, and seeks, as befits its job. However, this constant discontent, this constant seeking alone is not sufficient to realize that which truly nourishes.

The squirrel was acting on a partial or incomplete view or illusion; it led to his seeking but not finding. Operating this way is an expression of a fundamental flaw -a category error stands in the way of the sought.

My guess is that my little furry neighbor at the garden flag had only two options: to continue to seek or not. Happily, we humans have a third option. There is seeking, not-seeking, and non-seeking. At first blush, this seems to be a silly notion, or maybe a trick of semantics. Nevertheless, practices exist that point-out this third option -to the willing.

No such pointing-out practice known to me is more fun, and more accessible to more folks than that developed by Dennis Merzel (aka Genpo Roshi). He calls it the BIG MIND-BIG HEART process. Employing the best that over 30 years of Zen training has to offer combined with voice dialogue techniques pioneered by western psychology, a trained practitioner of this process can bring a willing person to a direct taste of non-seeking with ease.

Here is a URL to a TV video produced in Holland a couple of years ago. It intersperses slices of an interview with Genpo with scenes from a Big Mind group session held in that country. It is in English with Dutch sub-titles. (RealPlayer is required to view it, a downloadable free version of this player is available.)

http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/bos/archief/bb.20040425.rm

The key to the working of this process is very simple; a trained facilitator relies on permission. It is like when my kids were little and wanting something; often at such times i would respond to their entreaties with a question of my own, “What is the magic word?” Knowing the drill, they would respond, “Please!”

It works like this: the facilitator asks permission of that part of us that the ‘self’ employs to run things in our lives, giving it a name and voice. Employing this simple device, allows willing participants in this fun filled and illuminating process to move into and occupy many different perspectives by giving them voice, and importantly not just those of our duality-bound conventionality; but of non-dual perspectives typically available only to those whose training in some sort of inner work has brought them to an advanced state. Have fun!


Big Mind/Big Heart Revealed

Genpo Roshi is
Authentic, real and rare. Let
Your true nature speak!