Headless

Prior to today the art of Philip Rubinov-Jacobson was unknown to me. Shown here is his work entitled, Two Philosophers Discussing the Nature of Enlightenment. (More about him and his work can be found at:
www.rubinovs-lightning.com/html/biography.html)

The picture reminded me of my time with Mary. She and i became acquainted and our mutual interest grew.

Mary was a complex creature, at once musically inventive and deeply connected to her inner life. She was charismatic, psychic, and as a girl, self-described as being "boy crazy." Sometimes, she was so ‘tuned in’ as to be uncanny; more than once, she would pick up the phone and say hello before it rang. I came to suspect that she once had lived a life as a monastic –a closeted nun, close to what folks call god but returned now to explore parts of life unknown to the nunnery.

We decided for a weekend camping adventure together. In rented canoe, we spent the day paddling and floating along an Indiana River, very much enjoying an outing in the woods as well as in each other's excellent company. How much i enjoyed being regaled with her stories of the inner life and just how the flames of a wood fire might symbolize the uniting quality of spirit.

That night, after dinner around a campfire, something special happened. Together she and i entered a unique sort of "we" space; it was an altered state. As often happens in altered states my vision changed; and while altered states are relatively rare in my life, they do nonetheless happen and are often accompanied by changes perhaps in perspective as well as vision.

Imagine my surprise when in the flickering firelight my gaze turned to her and, i could not help but notice that her head had completely disappeared! In the space above her shoulders, where her head should have been, i could clearly see the woods behind her. Whoa! I had seen some strange things in my life but this was a first!

This special “we” space included a sort of psychic rapport; this meant that we were tuned in to each other so as to evoke a feel for what the other was experiencing. This enabled me to understand that just as i was looking at her and her disappeared head, she in turn was looking at me and my head had disappeared too! So strong and clear was this rapport that it was sufficient to convince me that i was still sane -and yet not hallucinating.

But what if anything would such an experience have to say about the subject of conversation between two philosophers walking in the woods as depicted by Rubinov? Well, my guess is that we were well short of enlightenment, but had nonetheless entered new territory; crossing into a non-egoic state –as witnessed by our apparent headlessness.

Different yet Same

Drawn together, our
Paths crossed like starry-eyed
Lovers: Vivified!