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Yes.
No.
On.
Off.
The mind machine
creates the cookie-cutter shapes
rumbling down the assembly line of time .
Time and space themselves
are carved out of emptiness
to furnish a skimpy scaffolding
for the colorful contours
of evanescent meaning
by which we live and breathe.
In.
Out.
We move compulsively
between past, present, and future,
made uneasy rather than thoughtful
by our seemingly random choices.
We move restlessly and rapidly
down the slipstream of time,
as if we feared to drown
in our own depth.
Up.
Down.
Cascading eloquence prevents us
from participating in the truth
below the surface of our artificial lives.
To explain our predicament,
we busy ourselves with
assembling assorted shapes
in ever new combinations.
We call it science, philosophy, religion
and at least temporarily tell ourselves
that all these excruciating elaborations
are needful and veritable.
On.
Off.
At times, rarely, we gaze into the mirror
and realize the arbitrariness and perfidy
of our intellectual performances.
The shock of recognition has us reeling
for a precious moment
before we pull the blanket of familiarity
back over our heads.
What we see in those flashes
is nothing the mind can twist
into recognizable patterns
or accustomed tastes.
It defies being demoted to meaning
and resists our customary clutching.
Even, perhaps only for a single breath,
The habit of grasping itself recedes in shame,
and tears of emptiness blind our searching eyes.
In.
Out.
When we look again,
the world has reconstituted itself
with a brazen briskness and solidity
that belie the earlier mirroring of truth
but betray the handiwork of mind.
Soon the glimpse beyond the battlements
of our make-believe world
is only a wisp of memory
that, increasingly, lacks plausibility
and uncurls into a mere glimmer of hope.
Yet, there it was.
For one glorious moment
we recognized the empty chaos
beyond the lattice of space and time
beyond the gossamer creations
by which we entertain each other
and sort of sustain ourselves.
On.
Off.
We must remember.
Always.
Fully.
Please check out Georg Feuerstein's book Transparent Leaves From the Tree of Life: Metaphysical Poems.
Copyright ©2008 by Georg Feuerstein. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any form requires prior permission from Traditional Yoga Studies.