I was contemplating doing a copy of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa icon today. The dark icon I remember from childhood in my beloved grandmother's bedroom, and which is in fact to be found in every authentic Polish grandmother's bedroom. The somber beauty of the original painting (marked by the scars which have a story) is … Continue reading Patriotic madonna #1
Who hasn't been a Jew? My mum has, certainly me in my dreams. Who in central Europe hasn't? Probably only those who lack sensitivity, imagination, and a taste for books and history. Certainly I eerily sensed my past in the streets of religious Jerusalem, and you keep coming back to Poland, to visit no one, … Continue reading Who hasn’t
Being me for me always implies some degree of being you. My nature doesn't come with built-in walls and noise cancellation and convenient, numb dampening. It must be comfortable to be cushioned, exposed largely only to your own thoughts. I can do that if i am alone in the forest. Or if i live very … Continue reading Being you
A snake bit me in the Pyrenees It was the Franciscan snake Of empty-handedness, humility and trust If i want to help you, I cannot do more than the Biblical God. Yhwh (being the one who is) I can easily wait for you for decades I think i gave up talking And thinking Thank you … Continue reading The Franciscan snake
The center axis Elusive . Even though i left the latest totalitarian regime behind at age four I still believe Integrity is punishable by death By loss By a burning sensation on my skin That seems to be peeling it off Leaving behind naked bones Which are not quite sure how to move In the … Continue reading Integrity
Taming solitude. To find all four legs of the table (or all four Jungian elements). To withstand winds. Winds of fear, demons that used to scare; but also gusts of delusion; and that which just hangs in the clouds, legless. That which stands upside down but does not realise it. . . Sometimes we live … Continue reading Taming solitude, once again.
Bookish and theory (but also exhibitionist personal) post on whether what's called "mental health crises" in contemporary parlance is equally well – or better – conceptualised as either the necessary growth pains of personality development (Dąbrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration; post-traumatic growth theorists) or the breakthrough moments in spiritual development (Brogan, McLaren, and lots of others including New Age shamanism). Includes bibliographical and Pink Floyd references.
