Original Works

Discussion of Joseph Campbell's work with an emphasis on the personal creative impulse as well as the sociological role of the artist in today's global community.

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Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

I wanted to start this topic as a place to share our original works, art, poetry, stories, whatever. I don't know If I've already shared this one but I'll share it anyway:

Life is and so am I,
Life is and so am I,
I can't expect life to be,
Anything outside of me,

My life destroys me,
And my life creates me,
But it's my life,
And it's whatever I make it to be,

Do you understand me,
Do I understand myself,
Do I understand you,
Does it matter if I do,

All that matters,
Is that you,
Understand,
You,
Understand,
You,
Understand you,

And understand,
That life is,
And so are you.

That's it for this song. Also feel free to share any thoughts or feelings on any art work in this thread.

Peace, happiness, and understanding to all,
Cosmic Dancer
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

The Unexpected Vision Quest




The bus was filled with shades of gray, a mess of people with shattered dreams. Maybe it was just my reflection. I was to spend the next three days on a boring bus ride going from Memphis to Salt Lake City. Memphis was a hard lesson in love and loneliness. I needed to go back home to Utah and find myself again. I had been told about Vision Quests years ago, a solo mission to find yourself, face all fears, and come out of it knowing your purpose. I was finally ready to go on one.

A tall, middle-aged man caught my attention as he stepped onto the bus. His aura glowed like a bright beacon in a sea of gray. He had a mystical presence, though his clothes were plain and his hair long and ratted. Our eyes were glued on one another as he walked to the back of the bus and asked to sit by me. We both knew we were meant to meet, but we didn’t know why. He sat down and introduced himself as Raven, though that wasn’t the name he was born with. “The name chose me,” he said as he pointed out the window at a raven perched atop a telephone pole.

The bus started down the road and the raven took flight along side it. As the conversation continued, I began to understand why we were meant to meet. Raven had gone on many Vision Quests and was on his way home from one now.

“Are you a Shaman?” I asked.

“Not yet,” he replied modestly.

I wanted to know everything I could about Vision Quests, I bombarded him with questions. But then the conversation shifted, and we somehow got on the topic of my mother. I wasn’t talking to her anymore, she didn’t even know where I was, I didn’t think she’d care, she’s never cared before. The abuse and neglect that I had experienced throughout my childhood had made me cold. My heart was filled with anger and resentment, and loneliness.

He then gave me the advice that I didn’t want to hear, but needed to. “When you speak to someone with anger in your heart, even if you try not to use angry words, they feel that anger and they’ll give it right back to you. You first need to understand your mother, then you can see why she is the way she is, and then you can love her and forgive her.”

“But she doesn’t understand ME,” I replied with frustration.

“When you have taken the time to truly understand her, then go to her. Tell her that you understand her and that you love her and that it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t understand you, because YOU understand HER. Say nothing more.”

What he said made me even angrier at first. Why should I try to understand her? She’s the one that gave birth to me and then made me wish I was never born. She never showed me any love or affection. Only jealousy, disappointment, resentment. She resented me for being born. “You’ve been the biggest pain in my ass ever since you were in the womb,” she would say. She hated me because she saw too much of herself in me. “You look like me when I was your age, only you’re skinnier, and prettier, and vain. Stop staring at yourself in the mirror…you may be pretty on the outside, but you’re ugly on the inside.” All of the things she used to say would play over and over again in my head, a constant reminder of how I was viewed by the most important person in my life.

“Why couldn’t she be the loving, nurturing mother that I needed her to be?” I blurted out.

“Because she never had that herself,” Raven said compassionately, “People aren’t perfect and, unfortunately, too many times we act out only what we know from our own upbringing. We can’t break the pattern until we admit that our parents made mistakes, and then make a conscious effort to do things differently. Think about how your mother was raised.”

I began to think about the stories of her childhood. She was raised on a farm with five brothers who always picked on her, her father would discipline with a belt, a whip, or a board with holes in it, her mother would slap her upside the head when ever she was annoyed. My mother slept on the couch and spent all her free time riding horses and reading books under trees, in pastures far away from home. Her family never hugged, kissed or showed any sign of affection. As I stepped into my mother’s shoes, I felt her pain and sobbed with empathy. She still had that lonely little girl locked inside of her, as did I.

The three day journey was coming to an end, Raven and I hadn’t even eaten, we only stepped off the bus twice to stretch our legs. I guess I was too involved in my emotional journey to even think about physical needs. I was feeling high on compassion and understanding, I was so grateful to Raven, I wanted to give him something back.

“I want to give you a recording of some of my music. It’s the only recording I have, but I want you to have it. You’ve given me so much on this journey, I just want to give something back.”

“I feel so honored,” he said, “And I want you to have something as well.” He took a necklace from around his neck, “This necklace was given to me by my Shaman on my first Vision Quest, and was given to him by his Shaman on his first Vision Quest, and now I give it to you. It holds a lot of wisdom and power to guide you on future Quests. Someday you too will pass it on.”

I didn’t want to take it but he insisted and so I accepted. It was time for us to part and go our separate ways. We said our goodbyes and embraced, then he stepped off the bus. The raven flew down to him and perched on his right shoulder and I watched as he disappeared around the corner of a building. Then the bus was off again and I continued on my journey, in awe.

This story may seem hard to believe, as are many life changing experiences, but I swear that it is all true. Ravens are considered to be guardians through the cycle of death and rebirth. For more information on Vision Quests, check out the book, “Create Your Own Vision Quest” by Denise Linn.




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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Cosmic Dancer on 2003-07-09 00:11 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Cosmic Dancer on 2003-07-09 00:15 ]</font>

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

WHY?

Why do I even try,
To figure out why?
Why don't I just get high,
And let the day pass by,

Why am I,
Why am I?

Why do we disagree,
On what we don't see?
Why don't we let life be,
And put our minds at ease?

Why are we,
Why are we?
Why are we,
So unhappy?
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

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Post by Martin_Weyers »

Cosmic, I don't understand much about poetry and less than that about English poetry. So I can not tell you if your writings are good or bad. But their tone is very musical. Everytime I read them, my brain starts to create melodies. In contrast to AL's poems I always hear very melodic pop music, when I read your poems. AL in contrast makes my brain imagining rock music.

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Martin on 2003-07-19 19:58 ]</font>

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

Martin,

If my lyrics make you hear music, well then that is a beautiful thing! Thank you for your two cents, it is much appreciated. And, as a matter of fact, my music IS very melodic, but I wouldn't say it's pop, just because it is like nothing anyone has ever heard before, at least that's what people think, and because it's not exactly popular...yet.
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

Once I Watched:

Once I watched the sun rise,
There were lily pads in the sky,
Then I thought of her face,
I saw rain in her eye,

She used to be like sunshine,
Spreading happiness and love,
But now she's at her lowest,
And there's one she's thinking of,

Once I heard the wind blow,
And the birds and chimes sang along,
But now all I think of,
Is her hearts sad song,

The one she loved was blinded,
By her bright sun rays,
He chose to walk the shaded path,
And they went their seperate ways,

Once I saw a flower,
Stand alone in a field of dew,
It opened its petals proudly,
Anxious to see the new,

She used to be the kind,
Who stood out in a crowd,
But now she doesn't see,
A reason to be proud,

Today I watched the sun rise,
Then I watched it set,
And it made me realize,
Life's not over yet,

Tomorrow the sun will rise again,
And see all the new,
And I hope one day you'll see,
That the sun is you.
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

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Post by Sue »

Thank you Cosmic, both for this thread, and for your wonderful words....there is much to contemplate in your writing. I wrote this after having observed a beautiful blue butterfly rest upon some horse manure in my pasture. This was not long after the beginning of the war - and just after having moved to an area where mother nature has an extremely strong presence..................

PERSPECTIVE
Light blue delicate
Manifestation of life
Amazing gift from mother nature
Fragile in its existance
Yet strong in its being

Displayed upon a creatures leavings
In a blending of then and now
A butterfly sets upon a leaving of manure
Beauty against supposed waste
Perspective is all

A world at war
This planet, amazing gift from mother nature
Light blue delicate manifestation of life
Fragile in its existance
Yet strong in its being

In a blending of then and now
Old misunderstandings and intolerant hatreds
Once again sets upon the minds of men
Such waste upon such beauty
Perspective, and love, is all


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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sue on 2003-07-30 14:44 ]</font>

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

Sue,
Amen to that! I am so glad that someone else, besides myself, has added an original work to this thread. Your poem is much appreciated and profound and beautiful, thank you for sharing!
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

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Post by Martin_Weyers »

Sue, according to Joyce's & Campbell's differentiation between proper and improper art, your poem is very very proper improper art. I really like it. (I have no idea which kind of music does fit with your poem. Maybe it still has to be composed. What a great compliment! :wink: ) Nice metaphor, the butterfly rest on the horse manure. I'm a disrupted person. Sometimes I feel like the butterfly, sometimes like it's rest on the horse manure, sometimes like the pasture underneath.

Cosmic, you can learn from my use of metaphors, that I would be an awful poet. That's why I have not shared anything with you so far. But you wrote that art is allowed, too. Here's an etching I made about three years ago. It's a concept for an altar of the goddess. Sometimes I want to dedicate it to Flora, sometimes to Kali. I said before, I'm a disrupted guy.

Image
Works of art are indeed always products of having been in danger, of having gone to the very end in an experience, to where man can go no further. -- Rainer Maria Rilke

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Post by Calaf »

Martin's assertion that the music has yet to be composed was right on track. Cosmic Dancer, I am a composer. I would love to right a tone poem to accompany your beautiful work. If you read this post, respond on this forum, and I can come up with one.
"Dharma is the best thing for people, both in this life and in the next."<br>-The Buddha, from the Agganna Sutra

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Post by Sue »



You're welcome Cosmic Dancer - and Martin? Being a "disrupted" person can be a sign of growth :)....I liked your etching; each time I look at it, I get a different feel.

Here....two more poems that I've written:


ZEN HORSES
Deep dark eyes
Liquid chocolate
Caress with kindness
Curiosity without judgement

Calm, centered, peace from within
Emanates from velvet skin
Be a mirror human
Exhale with us into now
**********************************
FREE FALLING
There’s more than can be absorbed
Too much stimulus, too many decisions, too much input
An overwhelming desire to shut off the brain, stop processing
Explains the tendency that people have
Of going off the deep end

But what is your experience if you dive off
Frightening, black and dark - the stereotype?
Adventurous, providing transcendence of all?
The unknown edge of this abyss
Could have the power to swallow or embrace you could it not?

Depends on your perspective as you leap
Dive faint hearted with a certainty of doom
Dive arrogantly with ego as your tailwind
Dive passionately with a sense of fateful release
Dive confidently with joy

Or

Just leap
Knowing that it doesn’t matter if you dive off or not

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

Martin,
Wow!! Facinating! Definately something to stare at while meditating. Love it, thanks for sharing.

Calaf,
Thanks for the offer, I am also a Composer, I actually do not consider myself a Poet, all the "poetry" that I have shared thus far is actually lyrics and already has music written for it. I would share the actual music here but I have very little music recorded, and the stuff that is recorded, well I can't figure out how to attach it in these forums because I am computer illiterate. Maybe one day I will figure it out and be able to share a whole piece with everyone.

Sue,
I really love your poetry! I can really relate to the last two pieces you posted and also find them to be inspirational and empowering for me. Thank you so much for sharing.

I am so excited that this thread is actually getting some attention and that original works are being shared and discussed. I feel like I am actually getting to know the creative community. Martin, until now I had no idea that you actually had an artistic bone in your body. Please share more if you can, and that goes for everybody else too. All you closet cases, come out of the closet and share you work, don't be shy, don't be timid, don't be affraid of rejection. Art should be shared, music should be shared, poetry should be shared, stories should be shared, photographs should be shared. You may be worried that your work will be judged as not good, but who is anyone to judge? What is a Critic? Someone with a God complex I say. So don't hoard your artwork all to yourself, share it. What is the point in creating something if you are the only one who gets to experience it? Share! Share!! Share!!!

Okay I'll get off my soap box now, though it's kind of fun to stand on a soap box every once in a while:)


"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

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Post by Martin_Weyers »

On 2003-08-03 13:42, Calaf wrote:
Martin's assertion that the music has yet to be composed was right on track.
Calaf, I said that my brain does not set Sue's poems into music automatically. Cosmic's poems sound for me like songs of pop singer Björk Gudmundsdóttir from Reykjavík. But don't worry, I don't expect from you to sound like Björk; I expect from you to sound like Baron Vitellio Scarpia. :wink:

Cosmic, my art bone is my main job, but I'm doing several others to earn the money for rent and biscuits :smile:
But what is your experience if you dive off
Frightening, black and dark - the stereotype?

[...]

The unknown edge of this abyss
Could have the power to swallow or embrace you could it not?

[...]

Dive confidently with joy
Sue, that reminds me on the closing chapter of that wonderful film SUKHAVATI - PLACE OF BLISS. I will watch it again on saturday with my RoundTable group. Can't await it! This may not be Campbell word by word but all in all:

We're in a freefall into future. When you go through a tunnel, anxiety comes along. ... All you have to do to transform your hell into a heaven is to say yes. Joyfull participation in the world and everything changes.

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"Draw a straight line and follow it." La Monte Young, Composition 1960 No. 10

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Martin on 2003-08-04 14:22 ]</font>

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

For Mother Nature:

Took a walk by myself one day,
To meditate and get away,
Walked up the hill to see the view,
The brilliant colors and the morning dew,

But on the way what's this I see,
The garbage of stupidity,
Then I felt Mother Nature's pain,
'Cause we both knew...
They'd come again,
They'd come again,

When I reached the top of the hill,
I held my breath and stood real still,
Flowers, a lake, and a waterfall,
But what's this destroying it all,

Words written on the rocks and trees,
The words of stupidity,
Then I felt Mother Nature's pain,
'Cause we both knew...
They'd come again,
They'd come again,

She gives us all and a little more,
She makes us rich, we make her poor,
She gives us breath and food and land,
We hold her heart in our hands,

Why does it seem we're born to destroy,
Mother Nature is not a toy,
Can you feel Mother Nature's pain?
Can you help them...
Not to come again,
Don't come again,
No oh don't come again.
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

Cosmic Dancer
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Post by Cosmic Dancer »

Martin,
We must have posted at the same time. I just wanted to add that I absolutely love Bjork! (I don't have any o's with double dots on my keyboard) And she actually has been a musical influence and inspiration for me. I think that's pretty amazing how you can hear the music to words so accurately, what a gift to have. So please tell me more about your artistic bone, you don't ever talk about that aspect of yourself in the forums...that I have seen anyway. Do you draw, paint, scribble? What's your favorite medium? I would love to see more of your work.
"We are each given a specific inner mountain to climb... How we climb and the time we take are up to us... In other words, we're given the playing field, but we choose how to play the game"--Dan Millman--

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