11-15-2010, 03:51 AM
Ra Wrote:...so should the seeker approach its mate and evaluate each experience, seeking the jewel.
I hope you'll forgive me, Old Bean, but one could observe that, if you're unsure about the nature of your jewels at this...point...shall we say, then perhaps you've been seriously mis-handling things?
Seriousness aside,for me, "the jewel" refers to that which is experienced with uncommonly rarefied aesthetic apprehension.
My intersection with this comes through music and spiritual experiences where what is perceived is so intensely moving, yet also so intensely ineffable owing to the personal refinement of the one's instrument of perception.
Through Brahms, Bach, &c. I first perceived glimmers of Transcendence. It was many years thence before I could explore those feelings at will, unaided by a rising draft of corporate devotion.
Working with both the disciplines of meditation & music has led me through passages where jewels of great beauty have become available in response to my dedicated pursuit of aesthetic refinement.
What's the "dearly bought" business about? What's the "great price?" Have you ever read J. Campbell's The Hero's Journey? It's a lonely road, venturing out repeatedly into the land of imagination, out beyond your places of familiar reference. It can hurt to cast away dearly held constructs and values when you're still plugged in to life as a 3D humanoidal earth creature.
In my view, walking around the goal posts (as AQ discussed) probably doesn't refine your essential vibration as much it does to use the opportunity to more carefully refine your technique in the context of the game.