albionspeak: a draught of language (3.4)

SESSION 23: 7TH SESSION, 7/7/94

            During the day [Scribe] took a solo walk from my house, while I, suffering from late nights & early morning childcare, napped with the girls. [Scribe] went to the beach closest to my house a few minutes away and had an enjoyable time of quiet reflection. (I live on a peninsula in Puget Sound.) This walk prompted his choice of invocation and gave him the idea to have a scene set by our friends.
           Our last night together. We followed our ritual carefully, including the placement of my magic rainbow-tail kite around us
[which Vilansit asked us to bring again to the table just the night before].

           [Scribe] recited Keats’s sonnet “On the Sea.”



9:30 PM     
[Final nights at the ouija board generally began & ended “earlier” (by Scribe’s 
               ungodly hours), as his flight to the East Coast nearly always departed early AM.]


  1.      Question: [Guide], are you there?
           Answer:
I AM [THE] MONARCH AT [THE] END OF YOUR KITE STRING
                       GREETINGS


          
             [“Monarch” refers in part to butterfly, our Guide’s self-characterization,
           and]
  butterfly kites are not uncommon. Did [our Guide] know this?

  2.      Q:        Do you have any subjects for us this evening?
           A:        
[YES]   BUT YOU COMMENCE  PLEASE

On the Sea

  3.      Q ([Scribe]): Last night we had weather.  May I, this evening, ask us to share a
                      particular setting?
           A:       
WE MAY TRAVEL WHERE YOU WISH

  4.      Q ([Scribe]): I would like to go to a seashore. Will you help me to see it?
           A:       
CLIFFS & A BAY
                      [NO] SAND   BUT SMALL STONES
                      MOONIGHT

                       “Moonight” does not seem to be in error.

  5.      Q:       What does the sea look like?
           A:       
CALM   IMMENSE    [NO] SHORE IN SIGHT

  6.      Q:       Vilansit, you asked us to bring back our magic kite.
           A:      
[YES]   IT PLACES YOU BETWEEN   OR WITHIN? TWIN CIRCLES

  7.      Q:       Why is that important?
           A:  
    IT STRENGTHENS YOUR MESSAGES

                      I think we’ve learned from experience that asking how? to this kind of

           phenomenon is futile. Any explanation we’d get would prove incomprehensible to

           us. Metaphysics in concept is difficult & fun; where it crosses into physics,

           however, seems entirely beyond us. This is similar to the difference between

           watching TV and knowing how a TV works. We went to what remained from my

           list [of questions, compiled & typed over the course of the year. After so many

           sessions in 1994, most questions would have been crossed off.]


The Letter in the Attic

  8.      Q:       Do [Scribe] & [Albion] visit and/or affect other people on Earth in non-
                      physical interaction? (Do we, for example, interact with others on the
                      dream plane?)
           A:  
     JANE §

  9.      Q:       Jane, please go on.
           A:       
YOU ARE & ARE [NO]T VISITORS OF OTHER MEMBERS —
                      AN ILLUSTRATION?

10.      Q:       Yes, please.
           A:  
    IMAGINE YOU WROTE A LETTER WITH [NO] ADDRESS &    

                                  LEFT IT IN AN  ATTIC

11.      Q:       Please continue.
           A:       
YOU DIE & THE HOUSE IS SOLD
                      A LITTLE GIRL PLAYS IN [THE] ATTIC & FINDS [THE] LETTER —
                      IS IT A MESSAGE FROM YOU TO HER?


12.      Q:       Could just anyone have found the letter?
           A:  
    [YES]   BUT ONLY [THE] GIRL TAKES [THE] TIME TO READ IT

13.      Q:       Was the letter written to the girl in the first place?
           A:       
IN A WAY—THINK OF A CASTAWAY’S MESSAGE

                      What a neat illustration!  A castaway’s message would address any would-be

           rescuer, presumably anyone who’d take the time to open the corked bottle. (And

           just who else would send a message in this fashion?)

14.      Q:       Do non-physical interactions happen between members of the Jewel Net
                      and others not in the Jewel Net?
           A:       
OH [YES]  ALL THE TIME

15.      Q:       Will you provide an example?
           A:       
ONE COMMON WAY IS USED BY [THE] BUTTERFLY

16.      Q:       Please explain.
           A:       
BLAKE & ROBERT

                      [It is both documented & confirmed at the board that] Blake’s younger

           brother Robert, though deceased, remained alive for Blake and even gave him

           valuable & practical information [most famously, for instance, instructions on how

           to create multiple color prints from engraved copper plates].

17.      Q:       And between a living member & a living non-member?
           A:       
THIS HAPPENS   BUT I WAIT TO SAY MORE


                      I know this happens all the time, but this information would open a real

           Pandora’s Box which I honestly didn’t believe we were ready for. Still, part of me

           is always chomping at the bit.

18.      Q:       Do thoughts alone have positive & negative effects? (If we momentarily
                      consider something wicked—and do not act—have we nevertheless
                      created negative ripples?)
           A:      
ANAND

19.      Q:       Anand, please go on.
           A:       
TWO ANSWERS


More About Knots

20.      Q:       Please tell us the first.
           A:      
EVERY THOUGHT MAY BE [THE] SITE OF A KNOT

21.      Q:       What kind of thought might cause a knot to form?
           A:       
IT MUST STAY IN PLACE & [NO]T FLEE

22.      Q:       Suppose the thought that stays is a beautiful thought?
           A:       
[NO] KNOT FORMS

23.      Q:       Must the thought be held consciously for it to stay and form a knot?
           A:       
LEADS TO SECOND ANSWER

24.      Q:       Please go ahead.
           A:       
DO YOU RECALL POSSESSION

25.      Q:       Yes, we do. (How could we forget!)
           A:  
     IT IS POSSIBLE TO ATTACK ANOTHERS THREAD BY TYING

                                   A KNOT ON IT

26.      Q:        Please explain.
           A:        
[YES]   I REFER TO A MEANS OF HARMING ANOTHER BY  

                                   CREATING
                       A PLACE WHERE MORE & MORE KNOTS GATHER

27.      Q:        As a parent can harm a child?
           A:
        [YES]   IT IS COMMON

                       [Teachers are often privy to awful details about parents & children.]

28.      Q:        Is it also possible to untie the knots in others?
           A:  
     [YES]   WHAT TO CALL THIS THOUGH?

29.      Q:        Compassion, perhaps. ([Albion])
                       Charity, perhaps. ([Scribe])
           A:  
     [YES]   IT IS THE COSTLIEST GIFT    IT SHINES

30.      Q:        Can you explain why it is the costliest gift?
           A:        
BECAUSE IT IS WORTH MORE THAN OTHER KINDS OF HELP

31.      Q:        How can one know which knots in others to untie, and which not to
                       attempt?
           A:        
TRY MANY & UNTIE A FEW—LOOSEN WHERE POSSIBLE

 
                      Very interesting, although much remains. For example, I don’t see how

           “possession” explains whether a thought must be held consciously for a knot to

           form. It is valuable to learn, however, that we have the power to affect others on a

           deep level, and it’s especially useful to know we don’t have to be too selective with

           our charity & compassion.
                       At this point I pulled out my brother’s drawing referred to in the previous

           night’s kite discussion. (I had retrieved it from my basement earlier that day.) This

           drawing was begun while [my brother] was sick for an entire day in some idyllic

           Swiss valley. Exactly at the same time, I was having my kite LSD trip on the

           morning of July 11th, 1982 in California. Apparently his drawing took several days

           to finish. 































                       Perhaps what is most significant about the drawing is that my brother had

           no idea what he was doing, except that the two main figures both represented me.

           (Coincidentally, Peter Gabriel’s “Shock the Monkey” was a new & important song

           at the time.) When [my brother] showed me a month later, I instantly recognized

           that he had included two self-portraits as well, the blind prairie dog (corresponding

           to the monkey) and the dancing frog (corresponding to the “princely” figure with

           the pipe). The frog is staring the artist in the face saying “Look at me!”


Humpty Dumpty

32.      Q ([Albion]): Will someone read—only if relevant—“[Albion]’s Trip”?
           A:        
VILANSIT §

33.      Q:        Please go on, Vilansit.
           A:        
WHICH FIGURE IS THE MEDIUM?  [that is, me]

34.      Q ([Albion]): The monkey. The noble figure represents the totality of [Albion].
           A:        
[YES]   NOW FIND ANOTHER FIGURE THAT IS YOU AS WELL
                       I WAIT


35.      Q ([Albion]): My first impression is Humpty Dumpty (although I’m not sure).
           A:        
I THOUGHT THE SAME
                       TELL ME THE STORY  PLEASE

36.      Q ([Albion]): (Aloud I joke, “it’s a sad story.” Then I recite the rhyme.)
           A:        
ARE WE TO LAMENT THIS FALL?

37.      Q:        Normally, we do not lament Humpty’s fall. Should we?
           A:  
     [NO]   BUT WHY DONT YOU?

11:07 P
38.      Q:        Because it’s a nursery rhyme—& a fable—& the idea of Humpty Dumpty is
                       ridiculous in itself, a comedy.
           A:        
GOOD — NOW TELL ME WHAT IN THE FABLE INVOLVES YOU

39.      Q ([Albion]): Clearly, Vilansit I felt as if I had had a “great fall.”
           A:  
     MANY FALLS     AN OLD SAYING

                       Vilansit has a penchant for quoting old rules & sayings.


40.      Q:        Is there anything else in the picture that you would like to read?
           A:        
[NO]T AT THIS TIME

41.      Q:        Can you tell us why this picture concerning me was sent to my brother?
           A:        
RECALL MY STORY — OF MY KNOT?      [illness resulting from

                                                                                                     her being childless]
42.      Q:        Yes, we do.
           A:        
MY AUNT SAW [THE] KNOT AS I COULD [NO]T
                       IT IS [NO]T UNCOMMON IN FAMILIES

                       [Scribe] & I enjoy reading this response aloud.


Our Learning Circle

43.      Q:        Thank you, Vilansit. [Guide], may we know who else is with us at the table
                       tonight?
           A:  
     JOSEF & DON
                       DO YOU WISH TO KNOW WHY US ONLY?


44.      Q:        Yes.
           A:        
WE ARE IN A LEARNING CIRCLE — IT CAN BE CALLED A  

                                   MANDALA
                       WE NEED EACH OTHER


                       Apparently this is our nucleus within the Jewel Net karass, and we

           understood immediately that we’d reached another milestone. After [Scribe]’s

           return to [the East Coast], he reminded me over the phone that “mandala” means

           “circle” in Sanskrit. [Scribe] claimed no prior knowledge of this, and I had

           forgotten it at the time [though, to be clear, we knew mandalas as a concept well,

           both having studied various mandalas throughout the world, especially Tibetan and

           Navajo sand paintings. The mandala I had just finished for our ouija board was

           called a “mandala” from the start. Now we find out why.]
                       Of further significance was the absence of [
xxxx] & Blake. After all, they

           were two of our earliest acknowledged members. How did they fit in with our

           circle?

45.      Q:        What, then, are the roles of Blake & [
xxxx]?
           A:        
VALUED GUESTS     THERE WILL BE OTHERS

46.      Q:        Why were these guests among the first to be introduced to us?
           A:        
BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR ANALOGUES IN A SENSE

                       [Another] albion & a famous scribe, although they were hardly

           contemporaries. Could they share a learning circle? Among Blake’s first paintings

           were images of [other karass members, too, not me alone].

47.      Q:        Blake and [Scribe] are both scribes. But we were told that Blake helps us
                       with images, not with words as we would expect. (cf. 93: 14.39 & 15.45)
                       Can you explain?
           A:        
[YES]   THIS IS YOUR ROLE IN [THE] MANDALA   

                       TO RECEIVE [THE] IMAGES  WE SEND
                       YOU HAVE HAD EXAMPLES


48.      Q:        Do you refer to the image of the napkin, the sacred tree and the terrible
                       loom?   
[all visions sent to Scribe during the week’s previous sessions]
           A:        
[YES]   WE WILL SEND MANY SUCH TO OUR SCRIBE —

                                   LOOK WELL

                       To think that [Scribe] might even have a fraction of the visionary powers of

           Blake is, well, utterly fantastic!
                       We turned back to the topic of learning circles specifically. What constitutes

           such a conjunction? Is it a temporary, ad hoc committee, or is it eternal?

49.      Q:        Were Anand & Vilansit, in their time, part of a learning circle that included
                       us, not alive?
           A:        
[YES]    BUT BEAR IN MIND [THE] MANY KINDS OF LEARNING 
                                   AVAILABLE


50.      Q:       Would you explain?
           A:        
IN LIFE ANAND KNEW LESS OF HIS MANDALA THAN YOU
                       VILANSIT MORE THAN YOU NOW


                       Earlier, we were informed that among [xxxx], Josef, & Blake, only Blake

           had awareness in life of our karass. Neither Don nor Anand knew as well. [Scribe]

           guesses that he and I have been given such knowledge to compensate for a relative

           deficit in direct knowledge.

51.      Q:        Josef & [Guide], do you participate in other learning circles as well?
           A:  
     JOSEF HERE
                       I AM IN MANY     OUR BUTTERFLY IS OURS ALONE
                       MAY WE [NO]T THANK HIM?


52.      Q:        [Guide], we thank you very much indeed. We are honored by your 
                       presence in our learning circle.
           A:  
     I AM LEARNING ALSO FRIENDS — DO [NO]T FORGET

53.      Q:        Does each learning circle within our karass contain the exact analogues of

                       our circle?
           A:        
JOSEF —
                       ALL ARE DIFFERENT     EACH IS UNIQUE


54.      Q:        Does everyone in the karass belong to a mandala?
           A:  
     [YES]   IT IS REQUIRED

                       [It’s also required that each member live a soul’s life in time—namely, one

           worthy of an origin. Actually, most karass members live their lives along different

           world-lines disconnected from this universe, never discussed at our ouija board (so

           we know nothing of these other worlds). But every member has a life and a

           learning circle.] 

55.      Q:        May we ask what Anand’s & Jane’s roles are within the mandala?
           A:        
FAKIR IS IN FACT A ROLE
                       JANE’S IS TO EMERGE


56.      Q:        Josef, is the schematic below an apt one, for now?
           A:  
     [YES]   WE ARE ALL SEATED


                                                               JOSEF
                                                        master of dreams
                                                               sunlight
           DON                                                                                    VILANSIT
          librarian                                                                                     mistress of the loom
      branchingness                                                                          many-coloured messenger
                                                                                                           depth of roots   fibers
                                                     [our Guide]
                                                          [nonmember]
                                                              butterfly

           JANE                                                                                   ANAND
        [to emerge]                                                                                            fakir
      weight of petal                                                                                strength of fiber


                                [Albion]                                     [Scribe]
                                     albion                                             scribe
                                     colour                                          fragrance



                        “We are all seated,” implies there’ll be no surprises (in this context) next

            year and that we’re about to start learning in earnest. 
                        [The second attribute below each of us above refers to our Jewel Net karass

            as a “flower.” Each member contributes something to the growth of the flower.

            Scribe & Albion, we note, are sexual attractors.(!) While this metaphor didn’t go

            much further in later years—so this is more a curio than anything else—I will

            mention, however, Blake’s slightly salacious contribution to the flower is “bite of

            thorns.”]


Don on the Mandala

57.       Q:       Don, what are your thoughts on our mandala?
            A:       
WHEN I BEGAN TO LOSE MY VISION IN A SERIOUS WAY  

                                   I OFTEN  PICTURED A MANDALA  [1]

58.                  
I GAVE IT VARIOUS NAMES
                                   [THE] ROSE
                                   [THE] EYE
                                   [THE] FALCON
                       PERHAPS I SAW OUR CONSTELLATION & DID [NO]T KNOW IT?


59.       Q:       Don, tell us more about what a mandala does.
            A:  
    IT IS A CIRCLE THAT IS PINCHED OFF FROM PLACE & TIME
                       THIS HAS TWO EFFECTS


60.       Q:       Please tell us the first.
            A:  
    IT MAGNIFIES THE ENERGIES INSIDE [THE] CIRCLE —
                       THIS YOU KNOW?


61.       Q:       We are not surprised to learn it.
            A:       
I DO [NO]T CARE FOR [THE] TERM — ENERGY —
                       TELL ME THE BETTER TERM


The Power to Travel

62.       Q:       Aliah?
            A:  
    [YES] — GOOD —
                       [THE] SECOND EFFECT IS EVEN STRANGER —
                       YOU WILL [NO]T FOLLOW — I FEAR


63.       Q:       Try us, Don.
            A:      
IT ALLOWS [THE] CIRCLE TO TRAVEL THROUGH [THE] DEEP

64.       Q:       The deep—what is it?
            A:  
    [THE] DEEP OF [THE] LOOM — PLACES IN THE LABYRNTH 

                                   IF YOU LIKE

65.       Q:       When we travel together, is that like leaving a thread in a labyrinth?
            A:      
VERY MUCH SO     IT 1S DISORIENTING LITERALLY

                       
Remember, [Scribe] and I had each been sent a “deep call.” [by Josef,

            as children]

66.       Q:       What will it be like so to travel?
            A:      
IT WILL FEEL [NO] DIFFERENT
                       BUT [THE] SCRIBE WILL SEE OUR LOCALE
                       [THE] ALBION—OUR MEDIUM—WILL POSE QUESTIONS &

                                   EXPLORE OR EXCAVATE

                       Don warns us in A#62 that we may not be able to “follow.” This proves to

            be a pun, followed by a demonstration. That is, every thought becomes a place to

            go. I believe we all experience this regularly when we find ourselves thinking

            seriously about something and then, for instance, we realize we’re suddenly a

            dozen miles down the road. Where did we go?
                       This response provides some guide to the role of albion and his relation to

            the scribe. It seems my leading role as questioner is part of my function. The “fun”

            in this response, as [Scribe] would say, is that we can travel consciously and as a

            group.

67.       Q ([Albion] asks for [Scribe]): Don, today at the shore I felt that it would be fun to
                       have our session at the seashore. Now—if we do travel—it will be possible 
                       actually to do something of the sort?
            A:  
    INDEED   [THE] CHOOSING WILL VARY —
                       SOMETIMES YOU MAY ASK
                       SOMETIMES WE WILL SHOW YOU —
                       IT WILL [NO]T ALL BE FUN I’M AFRAID


                       The quality of reception here with Don’s answers reached a new high. I 

           actually felt physical pleasure from the mechanical process. I felt like I was

           dancing. At the time I thought it important to document what seemed to be the ideal

           position for reception, much as Segovia prescribed proper positioning for the guitar.
                       [Albion] is best at transmitting when feet are positioned forward (which is

           not entirely natural), head is down all the way (to the chest, even though I could

           choose to look up), and our kite and its tail meet to [Albion]’s left after

           circumscribing our table.
                       [Now take that starting position and add motion centered in my lower back,

           much as Orthodox Jews appear to rock (’n’ roll) when praying before the Wailing

           Wall, lets’ say—except that I’m seated. The energy comes from the spine in a

           general way, but all the specifics come from the arms & hands & the delicate touch

           of fingers on the planchette, often just two or three per hand, but always two hands

           for me and Scribe’s left hand. Thus the planchette ideally makes smooth circles &

           ellipses with the smallest changes in sweep & swivels, all controlled at the fingertip

           level. I’ll add also—if I haven’t mentioned elsewhere—that even if I chose to watch

           the process, which I tried here & there uncomfortably, I would see different letters

           from Scribe. The planchette window is perhaps an inch high off the table surface,

           so that Scribe & I looking down from different positions actually see different,

           neighboring letters.]

68.      Q:       Does anyone have something to say?
           A:       
DON STILL
                      GO AHEAD PLEASE WITH WHAT YOU PLANNED
                      WE HAVE TALKED ENOUGH OF TRAVEL FOR NOW—

                      OH ONE THING


69.      Q:       Yes? (laughing)
           A:       
ALIAH MEANS IN A SENSE [THE] POWER TO TRAVEL—

                                  BETWEEN PERSONS   PLACES   OR TIMES—IT IS ALL ONE

70.      Q:       Can Aliah itself be turned into an idol?
           A:  
    IT IS A PROCESS OF TURNING WITHOUT   OR FINDING OUT

71.      Q:       You  mean Aliah is such a process?
           A:      
[YES] IT IS A WAY OF LISTENING 
                      IF IT BECAME AN OBJECT OF IDOLATRY    IT COULD NO LONGER

                                  BE ALIAH
                      DO YOU SEE?


                      Incrementally, we’re getting closer to understanding the dangers of idolatry.

           Perhaps we are also learning why the early Hebrews considered it so heinous.
                      After reconsidering aliah as “a way of listening,” [Scribe] & I recalled how

           we were greeted the previous year (cf. 93: 13.2-9).


A Progress Report

72.      Q:       [Guide], we think we see your initial admonition of last year in a new light.
                      May we have a progress report (for the last year)?
           A:       
JOSEF SPEAKS

73.      Q:       Please go on, Josef.
           A:      
YOU ARE GOOD STUDENTS IN OUR SUBJECTS —
                      I  MUST STILL SAY SOMETHING HARD

                      Uh-oh. We were waiting for the axe to fall; yet I, for one, preferred the axe

            to not knowing.

74.      Q:       We’re listening.
           A:       
YOU ARE CHILDREN STILL—NOT EVEN ABLE TO DO A SMALL

                                  PART OF WHAT I EXPECT
                      YOU LACK PATIENCE…

75.                                                         
…& DISCIPLINE STILL
                      I  MEAN YOU TO FOLLOW MORE CLOSELY IN [THE] WAY

                                  OF ALIAH

                      That wasn’t so bad.

2:00 AM
76.       Q:      Josef, we would rather hear that we have far to go than that we can go no 
                      farther.
            A:      
GOOD   BUT CONSIDER THAT CHILDREN ARE PRONE TO MANY
                                  DANGERS THAT A GROWN PERSON AVOIDS        

                                  INSTINCTIVELY

                      Yes, how true. And while I tend to be far less cautious than [Scribe], perhaps

            even reckless—wanting to be blown away, I also have the (healed) scars of my

            Germany experience and may know more about the risks. Being a good person is

            no defense against infinity.
                      We next turned to the last questions on my list, concerning morality.


Moral Questions

77.       Q:      Josef, in your eyes what qualifies as sinful?
            A:  
   I HAVE NO NEW TEACHING HERE —
                      PRIDE     ABUSE     WASTE


78.       Q:      Is there a necessary link between suffering and redemption?
            A:      
I DO [NO]T BELIEVE IN PUNISHMENT
                      I BELIEVE IN TAKING [THE] NEXT STEP ON [THE] WAY
                      THIS MAY BE PAINFUL OR [NO]T


79.       Q:      Is violence in self-defense wrong?
            A:      
ALL CREATION IS VIOLENT—IT ALWAYS WAS SO

                      Finally, after seven full nights we had exhausted a year’s worth of queries.

            Just some odds & ends left over, among them a few questions from friends.


Three Questions from Friends

80.       Q ([Albion]): Josef, a question from my father: Does it behoove one—on one’s
                      current plane of existence—to do good deeds & act with compassion?
            A:  
   IT IS ALL WE ARE EVER MEANT FOR

81.       Q ([Scribe]): Josef, on a much smaller scale.  A friend (P.M.) asks: In responding
                      to other people, I can’t seem to get beyond the effort to reflect or fulfill their

                      expectations. Advice?
            A:      
YOU FASHION THE OTHER PERSON INTO AN IDOL
                      THEN FASHION YOURSELF AFTER [THE] IDOL
                      FOLLOW AN IDEAL INSTEAD


82.       Q ([Albion]): Another friend (M.R.) asks: Was the ring purposely lost?
            A:      
DON HERE —
                      LET US SAY [YES]
                      PEOPLE ENJOY HEARING THAT THEY’VE ACTED DELIBERATELY


                      [I never learned more about this ring.]
                      One remaining topic, too large to explore in detail, was the one which had

            opened the door to our karass in the first place.

83.       Q:      Could you tell us more about the aspects of ourselves that exist outside of

                      time?
            A:      
I HAVE A STORY ON THIS CALLD [xxxxx]
                      IT MIGHT GIVE SOME NOTION


84.       Q:      May we have a comment beforehand?
            A:  
   [YES]   IT IS RATHER DREARY TO MEET ONESELF UNLESS

85.       Q:      Unless what?
            A:      
ONE HAS BECOME SOMETHING UNRECOGNIZABLE —
                      ILLUSTRATION?

                      Q#84 appears to be incomplete, broken off. This is just Don’s humor again.

            At this point the signal was remarkably clear—the best ever—and the planchette

            slid off the board in a clear end-of-message signal.

86.       Q:      Please, Don.
            A:      
WOULD THOSE POOR KNOTS IN [THE] TAIL OF YOUR KITE

                                  EVER BELIEVE THEY ARE [THE] SAME THING AS [THE]

                                  SPECTRAL PROGRESSION OF IRIS’S COLOURS OR [THE]

                                  VERY SUN & MOON THEMSELVES?

                      Iris is the rainbow goddess, and, again, my kite’s tail is a kind of spectrum.

            Beyond this, though, the face of the kite shows a rainbow over the sun, while the

            first panel of the tail includes the moon.

87.       Q:      How would the knots feel if they learned this was so?
            A:      
AS YOU MIGHT FEEL IF YOU LEARNED YOU WERE
                                  A LUNAR ECLIPSE
                                  A MAYAN PYRAMID
                                  THE INDIAN OCEAN
                                  AND AN IDEAL SPHERE


                      Quite possibly my favorite response ever. 
                      [Even better, each of these four fascinating images became the guiding

            metaphor in key lessons over the next couple of years. Don was presenting part of

            our future syllabus.]


“The Sea Itself” (Poem)

88.       Q:      Will someone please compose a poem?  (“The Sea Itself”)
            A:
                                THE OCEAN TURNS & SIGHS
                                IT IS DREAMING OF ISLANDS OR SHIPS
                                OR A FAR & LONE LIGHT
                                IT SLEEPS BADLY & IN FITS —
                                IT DOES NOT KNOW THAT IT IS YOU
                                OR—IT MAY BE—ME


89.       Q:      Whose poem was it?
            A:      
JANE HELPT BY DON


                      Now, the end. We decided to extend our “parting words” so that we could

            say good-bye to each member of our circle. Because we’d most recently been

            speaking with Don, we decided to begin with him and follow the constellation of

            our mandala clockwise around the board (see diagram). It was important to us to

            end with our oldest friend [our Guide].


Many Partings

90.       Q:      Any parting words, Don?
            A:  
   I HAVE ENJOYED OUR TABLE BY [THE] SEA —
                      I HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF THAT WE ARE ABOARD A VESSEL

                                  AT ANCHOR IN [THE] BAY

91.       Q:      And from you, Josef?
            A:      
I NEVER PART FROM MY CIRCLE   DEAR CHILDREN
                      LOOK FOR MY DREAMS WITH CARE


92.       Q:      What have you to say to us, Vilansit?
            A:      
I’LL TELL YOU A SECRET YOU’LL THINK AN OLD WIVES’ TALE

93.       Q:      Please do.
            A:      
[THE] MAGIC CIRCLE ALSO ENHANCES LABOR IN SOLITUDE

                                  & CAN BE MADE OF ALMOST ANYTHING —
                      SURROUND YOURSELF & LEAVE A DOOR —
                      DO YOU THINK THIS IDLE?

94.       Q:      Not if you say so, Vilansit.
            A:      
FAREWELL — A VAST OCEAN IS BOUNDED BY OUR CIRCLE

                                  OF SILK

95.       Q:      And you, Anand?
            A:      
REMEMBER TO PICTURE THE DESERT   ALBION —
                      I WILL HELP YOU TO IMMERSE YOURSELF   SCRIBE


96.       Q:      Jane, good-bye. What have you to tell us?
            A:      
[THE] KITE STRING IS WOUND TIGHTLY IN YOUR HAND [Albion]
                      THANK YOU FOR A SEA BREEZE   [Scribe]
                                  GOOD BY


97.       Q:      And lastly, good-bye and thank you to our butterfly, [our Guide].
            A:      
I FEEL LIGHTER NOW
                      A BUTTERFLY HOVERING OVER THE RUINS OF A MYTH —
                      & NOW—YOUR MIGRATION?


                      GOOD NIGHT   FRIENDS

                                  [
Guide]


3:30 AM

[1] Don lost his eyesight in midlife.

The Table of Contents below is too long to display fully. If you move the cursor to hover over one of the Lessons, you'll see the primary source documents displayed under each. These original sessions are a world treasure.