Lillooet March 29, 2022
Hello neighbours, I write to you in between the fixing of needful things around our house, doctor appointments and gradually getting our yard and garden ready to welcome our new grand-daughter, Madison. I am excited at the thought of having my eldest son and his wife over to visit this coming Summer for their first time. I am also excited about the Canadian Men’s Soccer Team qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar. Their first such achievement since 1986. Spring is in the air and the annual tire change is imminent.
I have just been reading about some archaeological mega-sites located in what is today, Ukraine. These sites are changing some minds as to our understanding of human social evolution. Culturally designated as Cucuteni-Tripolye, they are mostly located in Ukraine and Moldova. The Neolithic inhabitants came from the East, from the lower Danube and traversed the dark forests and valleys of the Carpathian Mountains.
They may have been drawn by the fertile black soils that today are called chernozem. The largest sites are Taljanky, Maidenetske and Nebelivka which were occupied from about 4100 BC to 33oo BC or about 800 years. Taljanky extends over an area of 3,000 hectares and shows no sign of central administration nor of communal storage. No government buildings, no fortifications and no grand monumental architecture have ever been found. Instead, about 1,000 sturdy timber walled houses 16 feet wide and 30 feet long, (like half-trailers) arranged in a rough circle on firm foundations with attached gardens. They formed ovoid rings around an empty central zone. Female-shaped pottery figurines were a common item found in many of the houses along with beautifully decorated vessels. These artifacts also bear witness to the travel pattern mentioned earlier.
Those folks were hunters, gatherers, small scale herders and “play” farmers. Their diversity in this regards seems to have supported populations of up to 10,000 without any detectable traces of exhaustion of local resources. It is my hope that the current war doesn’t ruin these sites and any that yet remain to be discovered and studied. The stories to be told by these traces are in my opinion, vitally instructive for the people who currently identify as Ukrainian and Moldovan. I anticipate some wonderful developments to sprout from the cogitation of the implications of this evidence of one possible way humans have already lived.
As is the case with personal journeys into one’s own life and mind, there is always much that is not yet known, but curiosity and patience are good travelling partners through the mystery of human existence. An analogy may be drawn from archaeology and anthropology to inform personal mental/emotional archaeology. In both cases, studying the past is not wasted time or effort. Nay, it is necessary in order to understand the present.
In the laying out of all the pieces of my own past to view, as I have done in my writings, I have enabled myself to examine things in my own natural way. A way, that for me, is to start with a single acorn and then slowly work my way up to understanding the forest as a whole. I have also recently read that the majority of people approach things in an exact opposite manner. They easily label the “forest” with no understanding of it and may or may not begin to examine the details. I see only mystery in each item until at long last all the parts crystallize into a deep understanding that to an observer, appears to have been sudden.
My personal stories are those acorns and are necessary for my personal growth. They are the mulch that nourishes that growth. They are the building blocks of my perception with which I constantly refine my understanding of truth and learn of my own blind-spots and misconceptions to assemble a list of what is original and what things have been plastered on by life and circumstances. I am continually able to measure my own growth by referring to my stories as I have first written and slowly edited them, folding in new insights as I go.
I saw a young woman on TV today, coming out of the Vatican Museum with a Canadian Delegation. Inside, she had seen many Canadian First Nations artifacts on display including a pair of beaded moccasins from British Columbia, a kayak from the Arctic, some embroidered leather gloves and other articles of clothing and personal use.
She told the reporters that the museum curators were constantly emphasizing that they were not the owners of the pieces, rather that they were the caretakers of those items. She stood in her dignity and in a sweet, strong, curious voice, said that she failed to understand why the people by whom those items were made and belonged to shouldn’t be the caretakers. I agree with that lady. The stories told by those items are crucial to the well-being of their makers and to their descendants.
-archaeological information taken from the book, The Dawn Of Everything
by David Graeber and David Wengrow © 2021 Signal
~~~Now, for my sixth set of Meditation Reflections~~~
Reflections on Guided Meditations or Bobcat Logic for Meditation Hesitancy (6)
Mar. 2, 2022
What wisdom have you gained from conflict?
From conflict I have learned that no one is all right or all wrong. No one is all good or all bad. Most automatic mental responses are erroneous and undignified as they are essentially malleable and unconsciously programmable. Body responses, by contrast, are much more trustworthy as they come from a less mercurial source. Gentleness is our only strength. Staying within our centres always serves us best.
Mar. 3, 2022
What are you curious about right now?
Learning about my own mind and how to employ and to integrate the lessons and techniques that serve my good while going forwards. I am curious to know the nature of the new relationship that I am cultivating with my own mind.
Mar. 5, 2022
What will you approach with an open mind today?
Some new findings and theories in the fields of archaeology and anthropology that I am currently reading.
Mar. 5, 2022
What does success mean to you? What do you enjoy about the journey?
Success means to me, being satisfied with myself regardless of my environment. I enjoy the constant practice of holding this truth in my awareness throughout each day as my mind constantly begs to differ. I have heard this dynamic situation aptly referred to as mood-surfing. The differential between the deep, still waters of pure awareness, when acted upon by winds of emotion and thought, creates waves. Truth is the surf board. A platform, not a destination.
Mar. 7, 2022
How has your meditation or mental fitness practice grown recently?
I have been blogging my reflections in these Correspondence articles you are now reading. This practice has emphasized the lessons on my mind by the implied importance of repetition. The sharing of these reflections with unknown visitors to my website, Artemisia, makes me feel connected and also reinforces the truth that we all suffer from our mental activities to some degree. I have recently found myself using techniques learned from the guided meditations in real situations during my days and nights. I feel more present and I am looking at my personal patterns of thought from a greater measure of distance, a better vantage and a more ample space than used to be the case.
Mar. 7, 2022
Whose joy or good fortune can you celebrate today? How?
I celebrate my wife, Nisa, who after a year long leukemia ordeal is once again gardening under a turquoise sky, watched over by our ginger cat. I can celebrate by showing my own joy for her recovery and by sharing this good news with all our family and friends.
Mar. 8, 2022
How do you stand up for what you believe in? Who inspires you?
I am honest in my dealings, even when this is clearly inconvenient for me. I give and receive without calculating for my own gain. I freely share useful knowledge. I don’t practice racial segregation. In my life I have been inspired by many and many times I have been disenchanted when I learned of the hidden sides of people that I once saw as heroes. Now, I am transitioning from that way of perception into the realization that I needn’t toss out the great deeds of heroines and guides simply because they were human. Rather, I still take tuition and inspiration from their positive contributions and acknowledge the soil from which their wisdom sprang. I am inspired by Sequoyah (inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary), Jeanne d’Arc, Giordano Bruno, St. Melangell, Hypatia, Zorba, Layman Pang, Siddhartha, Rolling Thunder (Cherokee Medicine Man), Angelique Kidjo, Llio Rhydderch, Mark Twain, my wife, Leonisa.
Mar. 9, 2022
How do you hold space for difficult or strong emotions?
I remember that their nature is transient, while my own awareness is unchanging. I acknowledge that my assessment of a given situation may very well be be inaccurate. I get occupied doing something. I walk in the other person’s moccasins before reacting.
Mar. 14, 2022
How has your meditation practice changed over time?
I am now meditating in every different state of activity and inactivity, in the company of another and when alone, in guided sessions and free form. In short, I am making it portable.
Mar. 14, 2022
What will you do to step outside your comfort zone today?
I will skip writing this particular reflection!
Mar. 19, 2022
Which daily activity can you use as a reminder to be present?
Petting my cat or other animals. Looking up. Making my bed with great care.
Mar. 22, 2022
Where do you turn when life feels overwhelming? Why?
I sometimes turn to conversation with my younger sister, April. Because we are very close emotionally and intellectually and because we have always practiced great respect for one another. I also inevitably turn to physical activities because they pull me out of my head and into my body and centre.
Mar. 23, 2022
Where are you feeling overwhelmed? How can you soften stress today??
I am feeling overwhelmed at times in trying to perceive my place within the whole. This is likely because my place is in the centre of my awareness, where it has always been hiding in plain sight. It is precisely the chasing of my elusive self that is a habitual folly that I am determined to gently dissolve. In trying to perceive now what future personal goals may be worthy of attainment, rather than letting things unfold on their own. In trying to come to terms with understanding the true worth, value and importance of my human mind. I can soften stress today by doing a “mindful minute” at any time needed.
Mar. 25, 2022
Where in your life would you benefit from going with the flow more?
Medical advice and aging.
Mar. 26, 2022
What do you appreciate about yourself?
I appreciate my resilience and my willingness to become enlightened. I appreciate my patience with mystery.
Mar. 28 2022
What do you notice when you bring your attention to your heart?
I notice that it is an open-ended spiritual communication device and works best when kept supple and clear. My heart informs my mind of truth. I have written more extensively about my understanding of the heart in my essay, Making Dignity Possible. I did not know of the Sanskrit word, chitta, prior to this day’s particular guided meditation, but I have known for many years that the heart and mind can and do function as a single organ. I still struggle at times with this truth.
Mar. 29, 2022
How do you build trust with yourself?
I build trust with myself by remembering my accomplishments with an enthusiasm equal to that which accompanies my remembrances of my missteps. By seeking and following my own council. This is how wisdom is built. By realizing that each has their own individual wisdom. Ultimately, I build trust with myself by living responsibly. Paying spiritually and temporally as I go
Far from fin...