Beginnings and endings
marking your skin;
the inner and outer worlds
marking your skin-
black, red,
white, yellow
marking your skin.
Wrinkles, scars, and blemishes,
the fresh cuts
of the world,
marking you too.
What a canvas you are.
A testimony to your courage.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
“Power rests on the kind of knowledge one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless? They will not prepare us for our unavoidable encounter with the unknown.”
–Carlos Castaneda
The Visionmaker makes a full-hearted commitment to surrender to the lessons of direct knowledge. Everyone is shaped by that encounter in unique and unpredictable ways. Only through experience can the seeds that Destiny planted within us, the seeds of our own journey of transformation, be awakened.
Direct knowledge is a potent, transforming force-an old way of seeing dies and new vision is born. These unavoidable encounters are singular events if we are awake. They initiate and mark us with knowledge.
The purpose of these encounters is to empower the journey of heart and meaning, preparing us to take the next step from the known world into the unknown world.
Full engagement with life is the only way we can acquire direct knowledge. Book learning, accounts from other people, and our theories are useless here. We must be prepared to get our hands dirty, and on occasion, our nose bloodied, in pursuit of knowledge and the empowerment that accrues from running it to the ground.
Ultimately, Visionmaking is empirical. Only full engagement and the application of all that we have acquired from the journey thus far is sufficient to prepare us for “the unavoidable encounter with the unknown.”
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
This past week-end, my friend Dr. Bill Stewart asked me an important question relating to Visionmaking: What is the difference between Destiny and Fate?
There is a big difference.
In Visionmaking, Destiny is the name of the helping ally that instructs each of us about the singular purpose for our lives. It is the force that supports the personal vision or dream that each of us has been specifically created to manifest. Destiny conveys the gifts of continuous learning, growth and change. Destiny demands our active and deep engagement in pursuing a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Most people view Destiny as a straightjacket of predetermination, something we are confined and defined by. They mistake Destiny for Fate. Fate is “something unavoidable that befalls a person; the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; the decreed cause of events.”
By this definition, Visionmakers see Fate as an agent of the status quo and an enemy of the path of heart and meaning. Visionmakers recognize Fate for what it is–a self fulfilling prophecy that is created by the unwillingness to take responsibility for making choices or by choosing poorly. In the Visionmaker’s philosophy, we get what we earn and not what we’re assigned.
The power to choose is at the heart of the distinction between Fate and Destiny. Fate removes choice from the equation. It depicts a universe that is prescribed. Visionmakers see a world that is far more dynamic, and demanding, than that. They see that the power to choose has been given to every human being to generate purposeful action through full engagement.
Making choices demands that we engage, and Destiny demands that we make choices. Choices forge the partnership between the Visionmaker and Destiny. As the Spanish philosopher and essayist, Jose Ortega y Gasset put it:
“We are not launched into existence like a shot from a gun, with its trajectory absolutely predetermined. The destiny under which we fall when we come into this world…consists in the exact contrary. Instead of imposing on us one trajectory, it imposes several, and consequently forces us to choose…To live is to feel ourselves fatally obliged to exercise our liberty, to decide what we are going to be in this world. Not for single moment is our activity of decision allowed to rest. Even when in desperation we abandon ourselves to whatever may happen, we have decided not to decide.”
Thanks for your question Bill.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
Imagination is more important than knowledge, Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
-Albert Einstein
In my last post, I outlined The Way of Knowing, or cognition. The second power of the intellect, and the subject of this post, is The Way of Dreaming, commonly known as imagination. In Visionmaking, one way is not superior to the other, despite Einstein’s value judgment. They are both held as complimentary faculties, to be stewarded equally.
If cognition is the problem solver, then imagination is the explorer. Imagination is centrally important to Visionmaking because it allows for a different kind of seeing-one that trancends the narrowness and familiarity of convention to explore the vast realm of possibility. This is the terra firma of the artist, scientist, entrepreneur and adventurer. “Imagination is a very high sort of seeing,” wrote Emerson.
This capacity to dream has spurred humankind to extend the boundaries of the known world, both outwardly and inwardly. It is the domain of visions, dreams, imagery, metaphor, symbol and stories-what Sir Laurens van der Post termed, “the forgotten language of God.”
Author Evelyn Underhill recognized the differentiation between imagination and cognition when she wrote: “…the reasoning powers as such have little initiative. Their province is analytic, not exploratory.”
Make no mistake. The Way of Dreaming has its own science, though the forces that govern it may seem as strange to the cognitive frame of reference as quantum theory is to Newtonian physics.
The science of dreaming leaves is constructed through ten domains:
1. Dreams-the guidance that arrives in sleep that provide instruction, premonition and healing.
2. Images-mental representations of people, animals, ideas or things and the ability to render those images visually or orally.
3. Symbols-objects, images or sounds that evoke complex ideas or emotions beyond their plain or superficial interpretation.
4. Creativity-the ability to bring forth meaningful new ideas, forms, methods and interpretations which display originality and initiate change.
5. Possibilities-the exploration of potential that something may manifest, may be true, or may take place.
6. Stories-a narrative, either true or fictitious, that is designed to interest, arouse, amuse or instruct.
7. Myth-a body of stories, beliefs or ideas that belong to a people or culture that tell about the ancestors, heroes or supernatural beings and which explain history, natural phenomenon or human behavior.
8. Ritual-ceremonies, rites or procedures that bridge the spiritual and mundane worlds.
9. Art-aesthetically meaningful expressions that stimulate an emotional, physiological, intellectual or spiritual response.
10. Memories-the ability to recall people, places, events and information that ignite the imagination or cause reflection.
The Ways of Knowing and Dreaming provide the Visionmaker with the intellectual faculties to pursue a path of heart and meaning. They are intertwined and constantly collaborating in an extraordinary dialogue about the conversion of possibilities to outcomes.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
“The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
–Bertrand Russell
The last post was devoted to identifying the two powers of intellect-cognition and imagination. In this installment, I will cover the function of cognition–The Way of Knowing– from the perspective of the Visionmaker.
The Way of Knowing harnesses the pragmatic and practical aspects of the cognitive mind. These aspects were developed by early man in encounters with the natural world, especially through the agency of survival. Through the survival instinct, humankind developed the capacity to learn what works and what doesn’t work in encounters with the natural world.
Cognition helped in providing food and shelter, avoiding peril and in tool development and manufacture. Even today, in our “civilized world,” the survival instinct spurs humankind towards being better, faster and smarter. Cognition, through the discipline of learning, assists us to apply knowledge gained to encounters with uncertainty and unfamiliar experience.
The Way of Knowing includes eight apptitudes:
1. Awareness-the capacity to be watchful, gather information and remain present and alert.
2. Attention-the ability to focus the intellect and to concentrate over a period of time.
3. Probing-to search or explore something in order to expand one’s knowledge or understanding.
4. Understanding-the capacity to percieve, interpret, assign meaning and apply knowledge.
5. Reasoning-the power to form conclusions, judgments or to infer through logic.
6. Analysis-the ability to separate something into constituent parts as a means of determining its esential features and their relationships.
7. Judgment-the ability to make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoratively and wisely, especially in matters affecting action, good sense or discretion.
8. Memory-the capacity to retain and recall facts, events, impressions and experiences and to apply recall to new experiences.
“Knowledge is power” goes the 16th century proverb. As a result of the survival instinct and the rise of cognition, human beings have placed a high value on acquiring knowledge and in developing the skill of logical reasoning.
Equally high value should go to imagination, known in Visionmaking as The Way of Dreaming. It will be the subject of the next post.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
There are two powers of the intellect that Visionmakers respect equally: The Way of Knowing and The Way of Dreaming. Over the next couple of posts, I will examine both in support of empowering your journey of meaning and correcting some misperceptions that are currently operating in the dominant culture about these powers.
In Visionmaking, the chief occupation of the intellect is to provide directional support for the expedition to meaning. If the heart answers the question: “What has meaning in my life?” then the intellect plans the campaign for the journey from where we are today to that destination. In other words, intellect is chiefly concerned with “How?”.
Intellect is the faculty of of the mind that imagines, acquires knowledge, reasons, solves problems and assists choice. The intellect actively engages two powers: Cognition and Imagination.
Cognition is concerned with the perception and knowledge of both inner and outer realities. In Visionmaking this is known as The Way of Knowing.
The second power of intellect, Imagination, is concerned with ideas, thoughts and images that help us translate the heart’s directions into action. This is called The Way of Dreaming.
These powers work together. One is not superior to the other; they must work together for the pursuit of meaning.
My next post will focus on The Way of Knowing, which is largeley pragamatic and rational. The post following will feature The Way of Dreaming, which is an expedition into the inexplicable realms of mystery.
I hope you will join me.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
I am just back from a long run along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. It’s a beautiful day–bright, clear and warming up nicely. It should hit 10º C (50ºF) today, unseasonably warm weather for this time of year. It’s been a reasonably mild winter here in Toronto, very little snow and moderate temperatures all winter long.
The birds are busy, noisy and abundant. Yesterday I was awakened by one of the Red Tail hawks that live in the back-yard, year-round. It brushed the skylight over the bed as I lay looking at the sky urging me to get up. They are very noisy neighbors, these Red Tails. They squawk all day long. I love them, especially when they hunt. Once, I snuck up on one of them while he/she was cleaning a kill. It diidn’t like me so close and chased me home. I didn’t blame it, I don’t like to be stared at when I eat either. The Red Tails are busy getting the nest ready for egg-laying. They haven’t had much luck with reproduction over the years. Hopefully, this year will be different.
The Owls seemed to have moved on. I haven’t been able to get a close look at them but there were several out back. You could hear them at dusk and during the night, hooting away. Something other-worldly about that sound, opposite to the effect that the Morning Doves have on you. They are soothing and reassuring where the Owls are mysterious and impending.
Saturday afternoon brought an unexpected sighting of a Fox. Not that the Foxes are unusual-there are a mating pair that live at the ravine at the end of the street. We see them every day. What was unusual was to see the female sitting on my neighbor’s roof. The neighbor has a bungalow cottage pressed back against the ravine, easy transit for the critters. Racoons and Cats are the regulars up there. The Fox must have envied the vantage point and was sitting there with full command of the street. We haven’t seen the litter yet, but you can hear the Fox family at night screaming to each other about something to do with food. Last year they had seven pups. They were a hoot to watch as they learned to hunt.
The Coyotes have been spotted on the opposite ridge. They come and go, a less welcome neighbor all the way around. They push the Foxes out of the ravine and take over, decimating the Cat population and eating as many Squirrels as they can. Eventually they move on or are run down by the traffic. We don’t care for the Coyotes too much given there are so many small children on the street. But nothing is quite as exhilirating as walking down by the pond at twilight, hearing them announce your presence with their canine howls. One time my wife and I were down there walking in the mist and there had to be six or seven Coyotes howling. They don’t scare me but we don’t encourage them to get too friendly either.
The Geese and the Swans are waiting for the pond to thaw so they swim at the shoreline of the lake, patiently waiting for the ice to retreat enough to begin the nesting season. The Red Wing Blackbirds are not yet in attack mode. That will come with the eggs. They chase man and beast, unconcerned about the size or disposition of the intruder. I felt in good company when one chased me for half-mile during a run, pecking at the top of my head. It tore after a swan shortly after it drove me away, teaching both of us a lesson in respecting limits and boundaries.
Gratitude to the spirits of land and place and to the abundance of nature here in the City. Gratitude for the change of seasons and the cycles of natural law. We’ll see some late snow, no doubt. But the back of winter has been broken and new growth has already begun.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
Many of you have asked, “Where the heck is the book?”
It’s currently out in the world seeking a publishing home. I never thought it would take this long to go from what I believed to be a finished manuscript to a book available for purchase. As a first time author, there is a lot I don’t know about publishing a book.
Here are some of the lessons learned so far:
1. What you think is obvious and clear doesn’t make it so because of the strength of your belief. Feedback strengthens your ability to connect.
2. Telling people that a book is coming needs to be carefully managed so that there isn’t such a long gap between blabbing about it and delivering the product. Duh.
3. There’s more to publishing than just writing a book. It’s a business in the middle of massive changes. Ultimately, art and commerce must converge. An author needs to understand the requirements of both writing and marketing. I’m learning.
4. Reading ain’t what it used to be. People seem to want their spiritual nutrition in concentrated, easily digestable bites. The Visionmaker is demanding and that goes against the trend.
5. Finding the right partnership between an author and a publisher is like meeting your mate. It requires tenacity, resiliency and commitment.It can take a while.
6. Rejection is normal. You can’t take it personally or see it as a condemnation of your work.
7. The process of writing is initiatory. It demands that you create something from nothing every day. Whether your work gets published or not, you are a stronger person as a result.
8. Persistance is everything. Taking positive steps every day keeps the process of creativity rolling along and staves off the temptation to become impatient.
9. Sometimes, it’s better to give yourself some time to re-read your manuscript several months after you think it’s finished. You’ll discover a whole world of ways to improve on what you thought was perfect. You see things on the page that were previously invisible, revelations that are less than becoming. Self-hynosis is an early stage of delusion.
10. Never tell anyone that you have completed a second book prior to publishing the first one. Ooops.
© Patrick O’Neill 2010. All rights reserved
