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albionspeak 2: the gates of dis (11.5)
SESSION 66: 5TH NIGHT, 8/23/00
Our invocation: another poem by [Don].
10:37 PM
1. Q: [Guide], are you there?
A: I AM
I AM ABOVE [THE] INDIGO OCEAN
Still, as promised, on Josef’s port.
2. Q: Are Don and Anand with us.
A: [YES] & ANY WHOM YOU ADDRESS AT NEED
Also as indicated in Josef’s original agenda, all our friends were
present including a new speaker.
3. Q: Anand, we greet you again. Don, we greet you.
A: AN EASY EXERCISE TO BEGIN - DON
4. Q: Tell us the exercise.
A: A MOMENT OF INDIGO
AS YOU SEE IT [THE] TRIPOD STIRS
5. Q: Should we give the indigo any geometric shape?
A: ONLY IF YOU WISH I DO NOT
Scribe
6. Q: We begin.
A: WATER NOT WATER
& STONE NOT STONE
I [THE] SCRIBE ADDRESS YOU
Finally we get to speak to the higher Scribe, though this was not
particularly surprising. [Scribe] had delayed (or hesitated or forborne)
speaking at the board to his eternal self for reasons only he can enumerate,
though I feel in part he wanted to discover this entity on his own. Well, by
this time, the higher Scribe was his close companion, and the discovery was
past. I only had never met the Scribe; to me, in fact, he remained most
mysterious.
Anyway, what follows now, for most of the evening, topic by topic
may appear to the uninitiated a bit disjointed. There are at least two reasons
for this: The first is that this continues a conversation that’s been going on
for some time. But because [Scribe]’s normal mode of conversation with the
Scribe has its limitations, here is [Scribe]’s chance to confirm, affirm, and tie
up loose ends. The second explanation is more a refutation: This is not a
disjointed session. Although there are many topics, all concern the
relationship between higher and lower Scribes and how this might be tied
ever closer. Thus what follows is almost a kind of circle, a circumnavigation
of one Scribe by the other in the name of understanding.
7. Q ([Scribe]): Welcome, Scribe. You’ve been some time in coming.
A: I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO YOU THOUGH FOR YEARS
About the Earth of the Scribe
8. Q ([Scribe]): I recognize that—and am thankful.
A: OUR FIRST MEETING [NO]T ON [THE] EARTH OF [THE] SCRIBE
9. Q ([Scribe]): Why do we always meet there?
A: [THE] PORT DESIGNED BY [THE] SCRIBES IN ORDER TO…
10. AID MEDITATION & CALM
11. Q ([Scribe]): Is it better to have a setting for these activities?
A: IN FACT YOUR MIND DEMANDS IT
12. Q ([Scribe]): Do all minds demand it?
A: MINDS ARE VASTLY UNLIKE WITH VARYING DEMANDS
I give [Scribe] credit for this question, although I voiced it first. I
point this out to document an interesting aspect of the process. Now that
[Scribe] and I had a divided curriculum, we divided our roles and labor
more with respect to asking questions. Clearly it was [Scribe]’s turn first to
speak at length with his eternal self; so even when I invented a question, it
was his to veto or make his own. And yet the higher Scribe is not [Scribe]’s
teacher, nor was he here to speak exclusively to [Scribe]. (In fact, since
[Scribe] and the Scribe speak regularly, it can be argued that my time with
the Scribe was more precious.) I think [Scribe] was perhaps
hyperconscious of these facts, for he repeatedly asked me for my input,
something he does less when speaking with Josef. For my part, I think I
was, if anything, more patient than usual, less willing or able to say
anything. Although I had expected the Scribe, I didn’t know him at all; and
I hardly had any prepared questions. I also had complete confidence that
if the Scribe had something to impart to me, he would have full opportunity
later in the session.
13. Q ([Scribe]): Why are there no enclosures (only simpler structures) on our Earth?
A: [THE] EARTH IS [THE]RE TO PROVIDE CONNECTEDNESS
NOT SEPARATION NOT PROTECTION
OPENNESS NOT SAFETY
Note that “not” is spelled three times letter by letter (rather than
“[NO]T”).
14. Q ([Scribe]): I must admit I think of it as a place of safety.
A: NOT ABSOLUTELY
I PROTECT BUT DO NOT SHELTER
Make that five times. A signature in the making.
Travel by Day
15. Q ([Scribe]): There are places too harsh & wild for me to want to fall asleep in them
(ex: glacier).
A: [THE]SE MAY BE TRAVELLED TO
NO NEED TO SLEEP [THE]RE AND I MAY TAKE YOU [THE]RE
BY DAY
16. Q ([Scribe]): I rarely, if ever, travel with you by day (though I receive counsel
during daylight hours).
A: IT IS TIME TO START YOU ARE READY
FLYERS JOIN [THE] WAYS OF DAY & [THE] NIGHT
A strange use of articles. [& clear echo of Blake’s Songs of
Innocence and of Experience]
17. Q ([Scribe]): I accept this. Do you advise a specific effort or exercise?
A: I COUNSEL YOU TO BEGIN SLOWLY IN QUIET MOMENTS
DAY BY DAY [THE] CAPACITY MAY INCREASE
18. Q ([Scribe]): For instance, the library or the benches along N. Street?
A: IMAGINE ME BESIDE YOU
AS ALWAYS HEAR ME FIRST [THE]N ATTEMPT SEEING [THE]
DEEP EAR
This is an old and firm rule between higher & lower Scribe: hear
first, then see. It is odd, considering that [Scribe] is extremely visual and
not as acoustically sensitive.
19. Q ([Scribe]): Tell us more of the deep ear.
A: IT IS [THE] CAPACITY TO HEAR THINGS FROM [THE] DEEP
PLACES –
ALBION’S STRENGTH
“I speak in you”
20. Q ([Scribe]): Where is Jaguar now?
A: JAGUAR ALSO IS PROTEUS
HE IS ALSO A CREATURE OF [THE] WATERS
An odd trivium about jaguar cats: They like swimming.
21. Q ([Scribe]): When you gave me the lump of indigo you said: “This is a gift for
continuing to live.” Why?
A: BECAUSE YOU MADE YOUR WAY THROUGH AN ABYSS BY
YOURSELF
[Scribe] admitted embarrassment over asking this question. Why
should he deserve any reward for living? Isn’t flight reward enough? And
while I understand his humility and discomfort here—I liken it to my
unwillingness to reward students for not misbehaving—I also understand
that a “reward” is in order to acknowledge and celebrate achievement. Let’s
not trivialize surviving the abyss—even when “Consider the alternative” is
a most pointed maxim.
22. Q ([Scribe]): When I face the travellers while waking, where should I think of you
as being?
A: I AM AT YOUR SHOULDER
WE CAN SPEAK AS ONE AND WHEN YOU SPEAK AS A FLYER…
23. I SPEAK IN YOU
24. Q ([Scribe]): Is there a distance between us that is growing ever less?
A: KEEP IN MIND I AM NOT YOUR FUTURE SELF
YOU ARE [THE] S[cribe]…
25. IN TIME
I AM [THE] SCRIBE IN ETERNITIES
This, I think, is an important distinction—obvious, but important.
26. Q ([Scribe]): You once showed me some of the other Scribes. How do I connect
with them?
A: DO NOT ATTEMPT CONTACT YET
WE…
27. FORM A GUILD OF SORTS A HOUSE
ALL ARE DIFFERENT
28. Q ([Scribe]): Yet you have often said to me : “All scribes go through this.”
A: A COMMON JOURNEY ALMOST A COMMON SCHOOL IF
YOU WILL
29. Q ([Scribe]): Is it usual for one to undergo an emotional depression, a dimming
(as I feel like calling it) after crossing the threshold?
A: [YES] FOR YOU ARE LOSING [THE] EARTH YOU ARE
ACCUSTOMED TO IT IS SLIPPING
30. Q ([Scribe]): For about a year now, we’ve stayed in “the mountains” on the Earth
of the Scribe. Can you comment?
A: [THE] SEA IS YOUR PLACE OF VERSE
I WANT YOU TO ME…
31. ET ME IN [THE] PLACE OF HEIGHT &
SILENCES
This struck me immediately as correct. The role of Scribe implies
words, but language is a temporal medium. We say (and believe) that
Shakespeare’s work is eternal, but Shakespeare the soul must be something
different from this work, different also from the wordsmith in time. Thus,
[Scribe] himself is the creator of poems, not simply a channel for dictation.
The Scribe, on the other hand, is more the creator of [Scribe]—not quite
[literally] as in [yet another Don story]—but analogous in the sense that his
concern lies with the man & his soul and not the poetry. Thus there must be
a separation, and such a separation on the Earth of the Scribe necessitates
distance, discontiguity, even a change of scenery.
32. Q ([Scribe]): Three years ago, in the desert, I began a series of conversations with
Josef. They never recurred. Comment?
A: JOSEF HAD [THE] POWER TO REACH YOU IN A TIME OF NEED
SINCE [THE]N…
33. I AM ASSIGNED HIS ROLE OF COUNSEL OF…
34. AMNESTY BETWEEN TIME & [THE] ALWAYS
Whoa! The Scribe gets heavy; and yet, since he waited so long in
the conversation to throw us a curve, one must assume that he is also
speaking plainly, that his assigned role “between time & the always” can
be no better described.
35. Q ([Scribe]): Tell me the most important knot to work on in the year to come.
A: IT IS YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF FRIENDS
YOU ARE TO…
36. PRACTICE LEANING AWAY FROM [THE]SE EXPECTATIONS
37. Q ([Scribe]): I must think about what “leaning away” means.
A: IT IS NOT GIVING UP
[Scribe] and I agree that the last response should be punctuated:
“It is not: ‘giving up’.” Here’s another example of what I can only chalk up
to our altered states when at the board: We felt as mystified by “leaning
away” as “amnesty” in the previous response, and yet now it seems so clear.
The Scribe’s advice also is just good common sense wisdom for anyone, at
least anyone among our group. After all, an expectation is clearly just a
form of extending, imposing another blueprint, in this case on an individual.
We wish the best for our friends, of course, but laissez faire as a policy must
be applied even unto our own wishes. As a father and a teacher, I’ve learned
the difference between preparing someone and directing someone (even as a
hope). I’ve learned this, because I’ve been shown repeatedly just how little
control I have anyway. It is a fine line, and crossing that line, since we must
all err occasionally, indicates that [Scribe] has erred on the side of caring too
much—a most forgivable sin.
At this point [Scribe] felt like he’d covered his necessary ground, and
the questioner’s role was turned over to me. I felt my most important task
here was, like [Scribe]’s, to deepen our relationship.
The Catch in D’s Throat
38. Q ([Albion]): How should I start seeing the Scribe as a person?
A: START BY CONTRAST
EMOTION IS MY STRENGTH
INTUITION WITHOUT [THE] DELAY OF REASON
SOLITUDE NOT FAMILY
MEDITATION & CLARITY
DO THESE AID YOU?
This is a list of my most obvious weaknesses.
39. Q ([Albion]): It’s hard to see in you what I most lack in myself.
A: I KNOW IT IS HARD & I KNOW THAT MY CONCERNS APPEAR
ALIEN AND YET…
40. ONCE YOU BEGIN TO SPEAK TO
ALBION YOU WILL BEGIN TO SENSE MY PRESENCE
AS WELL
MY VOICE WILL SOUND SLIGHTLY MORE FAMILIAR
41. Q ([Albion]): I locate the Scribe at chakra 6 (throat). Comment?
A: I AM NOT SPEECH BUT [THE] CATCH IN YOUR THROAT
I AM JAGUAR AT [THE] RIVER OF YOUR ARTERY
NOT SPEECH BUT [THE] SILENCE AS YOU END ALL SPEAKING
42. Q ([Scribe]): We guess that for us our higher selves have both spectacular faces
(jaguar, giant) and ordinary ones. The latter are the ones to live with and
speak with every day.
A: FIND [THE] ORDINARY FACE ALBION
BUT START WITH [THE] VOICE
43. Q ([Scribe]): I started conversing with the Scribe before I fell asleep. Is this best
for [Albion] as well?
A: AS LONG AS HE DOES NOT FALL ASLEEP IMMEDIATELY
For the record, [Scribe] and I are “vastly unlike” in our sleep habits.
Aside from the fact that he defines “night owl” and I “early riser,” [Scribe]
(like Don in life) regularly suffers from insomnia, while I rarely need more
than two minutes (literally) to reach unconsciousness. For the most part, I
feel blessed by this. However, one drawback is that I also tend to miss those
half-stages of sleep where deep listening is best attained. I think my
dreaming is affected as well.
44. Q ([Albion]): Is there anything else you want to tell me?
A: I AM [THE] ALLY OF YOUR SERPENT
IT WILL RECOGNIZE ME
45. Q ([Albion]): An ally in a sense different from other members of our circle?
A: [THE]Y ARE OBLIGED TO ADDRESS YOUR CRICKET
I DO NOT HAVE THIS BURDEN
I ADDRESS [THE] SERPENT ALONE
46. Q ([Albion]): A symmetry: I know that the higher Albion affects (if not addresses)
my serpent alone.
A: HE DOES NOT INDULGE YOUR CRICKET BUT PUTS IT TO
SILENCE
At his point we felt all had been said. Only farewells remained.
Farewells
47. Q: We thank you for appearing, Scribe. We know we cannot expect to hear
from you at the board again.
A: I WILL RETURN IF JOSEF SUMMONS ME
I WILL BE AT [THE] LOWER SCRIBE’S SIDE EACH DAY
48. Q: We’ve learned much, but we are tired. We will say farewell to you first,
Anand. Thank you for leading us to this Ocean.
A: I AM [THE] FERRYMAN OF RIVERS
BUT IN TIME [THE]Y BECOME [THE] OCEAN OF ALWAYS
FAREWELL
ANAND
49. Q: Don, thank you for the literary perspective. We’ll be missing you.
A: I AM [NO] FARTHER THAN [THE] LIBRARY
DON
50. Q: Vilansit, we are grateful for your teaching.
A: WELCOME TO [THE] LORE OF COLOURS SCRIBE & ALBION
ALIAH HAIL
51. Q: Jane, [Albion] looks forward to his “heart” work with you as presider.
[Scribe] looks forward to meeting you in a clearer chakra 4.
A: [Albion] I WILL DO MY PART IN THIS HEART WORK
[Scribe] LET MY HUE EMERGE
LOVE FROM JANE
52. Q: Josef, you remain as near as dreaming.
A: INTEND TOWARD YOUR ADVENTURES
I JOSEF WILL AID YOU MY SONS
53. Q: [Guide], our oldest friend, we say good-bye to you here on Josef’s world.
A: I AWAIT YOU ABOVE INDIGO
DO NOT NEGLECT [THE] GIFTS
[Guide]
MANY ARRIVALS WILL BE YOURS
1:47 AM
Of these farewells it appears Vilansit’s and [Guide]’s contain new
information. We’ve never heard of “the lore of colours,” and it’s
significant that [Guide] is waiting for us above a port we have only just
reached. Finally, [Guide]’s postscript seems particularly positive and
oracular, although oracles should not be given too much weight among us.
Then again, [Guide] is a daimon of another karass, so who knows? Let us
make this prophecy come true.