Geography of the Art and our Internal Compass

"Geography of the Heart" New Work at Cafe Talia 

It's been a weird couple of weeks in my world: time consuming email crash, got the flu, vacuum stopped working, then pretty much right after I stopped whining a largish painting sold and I got a small art show hung.  As I watched it all unfold and unravel, it was interesting to observe.  Again I was reminded of my preference for things to unfold as "I like". You've heard me talk about this before. Of course you say, who wishes for the flu, who hopes to spend 2 days mopping up after an explosion in  their inbox?  Excellent point. But the subtle thing is the mind's arguing with what is, evidenced by impatience, grumbling, imagining that things should be otherwise.  When the desirable things arrived I could even see the slightly edgy excitement of them, which felt uncomfortable in the body.  There was a subtle background note of the nose sniffing around for more "good stuff" as the "desirable" unfolded.  I could see the imbalance at both ends of the spectrum.

At one point a line from a Zen poem popped into my mind: "the way is not difficult for those who do not pick and choose" . Here's the whole poem if you're interested: "Affirming Faith In Mind".  As my mind staggered back to centre I realized I wasn't chicken little and the sky wasn't falling.  This was simply life unfolding as it does and I could do what needed to be done and not terrorize myself with whining, clutching and looking like an embodiment of Edvard Munsch's "The Scream"(perhaps that's a little too dramatic?).  I sometimes forget that it is my railing against what is, rather than the circumstances, that really makes life suck.

Cafe Talia with painting "Continents of the Heart"

It reminds me of a teaching story about a farmer who lets his old horse loose and it runs away. The villagers say, "that's too bad."  The farmer says, "who knows?"  The next day the old horse returns followed by a beautiful wild stallion.  The villagers say, "that's wonderful, now you have 2 horses."  The farmer says, "who knows?" The story continues.  Here's the link to the full story but I know you're getting the gist of the story: "how do we know what's good or bad, really?"  And for me this is such a good reminder of how small our focus is.  How do we really know?  The most helpful position is to simply be with what is and take the next step that needs to be taken.

The Density of Air 12"x24"

 I have been reading some interesting stuff by a German doctor named Rudiger Dahlke who talks about the fact that the human mind is so drawn to divide things up into light an dark and wanted and unwanted.  Even our word de-cision means to cut in two.  He warns about chasing "the light" and how one side of a pair is likely to draw in it's opposite, in it's attempt to seek balance.  Harmony and balance are what create health.

Crossing The Fields in Winter

Dahlke has an interesting view of illness.  He says our illnesses are in fact messages from our bodies about imbalances or things that are missing in our lives  that we have consciously rejected or ignored.  Our symptoms are telling us we need to deal with these things.  I find this so interesting.  Of course the trick in this is to hear the message accurately.  I think part of why I find this so interesting is that it feeds into this duality of picking and choosing, of liking and not liking what comes up in our lives.

peeking in the door at Cafe Talia

I will end with a quote about "Geography of the Heart" that I used in my artists statement at Cafe Talia:

“... Setting the compass of our heart, no matter how rough the storms, how difficult the terrain, even if we have to back track around obstacles, our direction is clear.”

- Jack Kornfield

The Dominoes of Dependent Origination

The Law of Dependent Origination is an important Buddhist concept and generally considered fairly difficult. Heck it even sounds difficult (what do all those words strung together actually mean?). But as I was reading Joseph Goldstein's, "The Experience of Insight, I was struck by his clear and simple explanation. I am not going to list the 12 links of dependent origination but I will offer up his basic simple description of it and why it is so helpful for us to "get":

"Understanding the Law of Dependent Origination, how because of one thing, something else arises, we can begin to break the chain of conditioning. When pleasant things arise, we don't cling. When unpleasant things arise, we don't condemn. When neutral things arise, we're not forgetful.... We are free to break this chain, to free ourselves from conditioned reactions. It takes a powerful mindfulness in every moment not to allow feelings to generate desire. When there's ignorance in the mind, feeling conditions desire. If there's something pleasant, we want it; something unpleasant, we desire to get rid of it. But if instead of ignorance in the mind there is wisdom and awareness, then we experience feeling but don't compulsively or habitually grasp or push away.... No longer driven on by ignorance and desire, the whole mass of suffering is brought to an end."

For me this is a lovely practical way of looking at dependent origination which can seem long and cumbersome in some people's hands. But here Goldstein manages to offer us the short course (the chapter is longer) by giving us a powerful view of our everyday behaviour, which consists of a lot of habitual grasping and pushing away. Need comfort, I'll have a latte. Fear might make me neglect making a doctor's appointment to attend to a nagging health issue. I might feel dislike for someone because they remind me of my third grade teacher who never warmed to me (reactions like this often float below our own personal radar and feel unexplained). I might feel depressed because it's been cloudy and rainy for so long.

It's often hard to see how these moment by moment feelings and thoughts add up to the subtle flavour of the day, one of minor (or major) dissatisfaction. And while it is fine to have preferences it is the strength of our clinging to them ,the feeling sense associated with them and our unconsciousness of them, that colour our world in ways we don't even notice most of the time and add up to suffering or unsatisfactoriness.

Maybe this is a simplistic way of thinking about dependent origination but if it moves us in the direction of true understanding, then it can only be helpful. When there is a large glass of water to drink, it's best to do it one sip at a time. Otherwise a lot of coughing and sputtering can ensue.