Mark Rothko - Red
Mariko Mori's Dream Temple
In Japan, one need not be particularly religious to visit a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple. Having said that, prayers and ceremonies such as christenings tend to be held at shrines, while temples are often reserved for funerals and other more formal spiritual ceremonies. The tradition of temple craftsmanship is passed on through each generation. In the case of Ise Shrine, in the southern corner of Mie prefecture for example, the temple is rebuilt every twenty years on an adjoining site.
What is a dream temple?
Is it a site that exists external to oneself?
Is it a reminder of the sacred that exists within?
Kofun - ancient Japanese burial mounds built during the 3rd to 7th centuries to bury people of the ruling classes. An example of Shinto influence before the arrival of Buddhist culture from China. Identified as forested earth mounds, key-holed in shape, with a surrounding moat. These days, a Shinto gate may mark the entrance of a burial mound. Some of these sites can be accessed for bushwalking. Some require an appreciative meditation from across the moat. As such, nature combined with design creates a place of harmony and relaxation.
(Image: source unknown)
Interestingly, Rothko disliked being labelled as an abstract artist. For him, colour was an instrument which allowed for the expression of emotion, but was not to be the focus of his work. In other words, if you were 'moved only by the colour relationship', then you missed the point.
Put more sagaciously...  Chapter 12
The five colours confuse the eye, The five sounds dull the ear, The five tastes spoil the palate. Excess of hunting and chasing Makes minds go mad. Products that are hard to get Impede their owner’s movements. Therefore the Sage Considers the belly not the eye. Truly, ‘he rejects that but takes this’.
(Extract: Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu )
1. the 'belly' = what is inside him/her, one's own inner power
2. 'that' and 'this' refer to the world outside & powers within oneself.
Meditations in an non-emergency
Chapter 71
‘To know when one does not know is best. To think one knows when one does not know is a dire disease. Only he who recognizes this disease as a disease Can cure himself of the disease’. The Sage’s way of curing disease Also consists in making people recognize their diseases as diseases and thus ceasing to be diseased.
(Extract: Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu )
A little while ago, I found out my mother had passed away. Growing up, our relationship was either good, superficial, or marked with estrangement and unresolved conflict. For the most part, the spats were over petty issues. That in itself was never really a problem. Dealing with emotional outbursts without adult-to-adult dialogue or support was a problem. Underlying all this, my mother felt that I didn't respect her. I dare say she was right. Unfortunately, by the time I found out my mother had passed away it had been three years since I'd last seen her. I knew she was sick, but we had become estranged yet again. In other words, we never reconsiled.
My mother died of breast cancer, six months before her 55th birthday. It doesnt seem real, but it is.
Louise Hay, cancer survivor, metaphysical counselor and author of You can Heal Your Life, believes our thoughts have a strong influence over our health. Cancer, she writes, is symptomatic of a deep hurt
or longstanding resentment that eats away at the self. I couldn't help but think this was true. But who am I to say I have all the answeres? Despite being an adult, it feels like I will always view my mother from the perspective of a child.
From what I've seen, there's not much to be gained in holding onto resentment and blaming others for not getting what you want out of life. That's a very easy thing to say, but putting that into practice is altogether an entirely different challenge.
You could say I've tried to deal with this by becoming my own parent.
(Image: Shoji Ueda)
A few months after this news, I became sick. To be honest, it never felt life-threatening, but it was serious enough for me to end up having three weeks sick off work with pneumonia. Not that I ever went to hospital. The only other time I'd been off sick for an extended period was around the time I got my ears pierced at the age of 10. I'll never forget that experience. For ages I'd cajoiled my mother into getting my ears pierced until she finally relented. At the salon, the gun used to pierce my ears got stuck in one ear. The beauticians used 18 carot and not 24 carot gold. My skin reacted to the disinfectent and my ears were pussy and infected for over nearly two weeks. Not to mention the pain. It was my mother who looked after me and cleaned me up. I can't imagine how awful a job that was.
Back to Louise Hay, and according to her, pneumonia is symptomatic of being 'tired of life' - a sign that emotional wounds are not being allowed to heal. One of the benefits of having fever, a sore chest and all the other sypmtoms of pneumonia therefore, is having too little energy for anything other than complete rest. No headspace to worry about others or to contemplate your guilt over other people's problems - despite our social conditioning to do so. A tightening of the chest, either triggered by things such as coffee or emotional discomfort, acts therefore as an emotional barometer for stress. What a powerful weapon.
From that experience, I learnt a few things:
1. You are not responsible for other people's behaviour, but you are responsible for your own. 2. When feeling sorry for yourself, remember it takes more effort to cry than what it does to laugh. Oh, it also makes your chest hurt. 3. Friends come in different shapes and sizes and they all help out in differnt ways. Accept that they may behave in ways that don't match your expectations. Put away that calculator. 4. Let go of the past. Shit really does happen, but why give away your power by waiting for others to take pity on you, when you can empower yourself to get out there and just get on with it. 5. Some people, no matter how well-meaning they are, just aren't ready to understand what you've been through. It's not their fault. There's no need for them to wear your shit. 6. You can't fight a ghost. So stop wasting your time in doing so. 7. Kimchi (a popular korean side-dish of fermented cabbage) is totally awesome.
(Image: GreenWing's Sue White)
As much as I like what I've written, I'm still learning. Practising what you preach requires dedication, and the discipline of an origami jedi....
Congratulations! You made it to the end of the blog. You deserve that online origami kit. Go on, knock yourself out. You know you want to...
... Until next time...
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