Saturday, October 27, 2007

Experiment: Limited Action for Creation

Obtain a large strip of butcher paper. You will need paint as well, in three colors; red, gold, and green.
Collect the following items: One halved apple, one sponge, a coin, and a stone.

With the apple half you will be permitted to make five strokes upon the paper using any of the three colors. With the sponge you may make three strokes using only two of the colors. With the stone you may make two strokes using only one of the three colors and with the coin you may make one stroke with one of the three colors.

Do not make any additional marks upon the paper.

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Friday, October 26, 2007

Now or Never

The human organism convulses compulsively. It yearns to eat, it yearns to defecate, it yearns to reproduce. It wriggles, squirms and cries until it gets what it wants.
All this is done even through adulthood, but the wriggles, squirms, and cries are displaced by socially allowable substitutes. Sometimes there is a complex tie between the original yearning and the jerk and pull dance the organism does, sometimes not at all. In either case, the animal twitches through life, running in an endless wheel of desire until it is spent. Then it expires and rots.

To what end do we do so much twisting and writhing? The best wrigglers, squirmers, and criers end as food for worms despite their aptitude at wheel running. Could there be any objective use for our jerking jiggling lot?

How many have asked, "What’s the point?" before introducing lead to the delicate tissues of the human head, only to find that lead traveling at high speed is quite uneatable.

Listen closely and I will whisper a secret in your ear, a sound only a little louder than a bullet slicing through air: if life was Hell, death will be worse.

So long as we are slaves to the wheel in the flesh, we will be slaves to it in an even subtler way.

If your will is to stop convulsing, then stop now or never.

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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Experiment: It's Never Too Late To Die

Obtain a small wooden box, preferably rectangular in shape. It may be a jewelry box, cigar box, or something purchased at a craft store. Inside place a photograph of yourself, a lock of your hair and a small personal item. Along with this you will need a white tea light candle and a small bell, singing bowl, or tingshaw, a garden spade or small shovel, sage or amber incense, and a lighter or matches.
Journey to a remote outdoor location where you will be undisturbed. A beach is ideal, but any other place outside will do.

When you arrive, dig a hole deep enough for the box. Light the incense and open the box so that you may look upon the contents. Say aloud, "May this effort be for the benefit of all beings everywhere." Light the candle and ring the bell three times. Now say , "This reading is addressed to the being of …", and insert your own name.
Read the following Obligatory Reader's Invocation. Understand every word as you utter it. Take your time and read slower than slowly.

"To the divine silence of unreachable endlessness;
To the divine silence of perfected knowledge;
To the divine silence of the soundless voice;
To the divine silence of the Heart of the Labyrinth;
To the divine silence of the ancient mind;
To the divine silence of the unborn guide;
To the divine silence of the unseen guide, protector of all sentient life;
To the divine silence of those of perfected knowledge;
To the divine silence of human primate incarnation;
To the divine silence of the labyrinth guides who sacrifice their liberation for those who have not yet awakened to the truth;
To the divine silence of the Lord of Death, the eternal unborn resident of the labyrinth who has sacrificed his own redemption for the redemption of all voyagers everywhere;
To the divine silence of the primordial being;
To the divine silence of the great sacrifice;
We offer homage, love and hope;
But above all, we give our gratitude. "

Ring the bell once more, then read the following Confronting the Clear Light. Again, read slowly and clearly, understanding each word as it is spoken. Allow every word and every space between words to be a universe unto itself. Read it three times, ringing the bell once before each reading.


Close the box and ring the bell three times. Lower the box into the hole you prepared and cover it.
Say, "This concludes the reading addressed to the being of…", and insert your own name. Snuff the candle.
The Obligatory Reader's Invocation and Confronting the Clear Light are taken from the American Book of the Dead, written by EJ Gold. If you’re need is great, purchase the book beforehand and follow this experiment by reading the appropriate passage each day for the next 49 days. You may also repeat the above readings every day for forty nine days following the burial.

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