A Tale of Two Serpents
30/12/2012 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaA certain anniversary looms on the horizon and Izzie cannot help but think how very much different things are now but also strangely similar
The memory of an event always seems somewhat stronger around the time of year it occurred and even more so when the days and dates coincide
This makes the Christmas of 2007 and even 2001 much more vivid than last year’s. That was a Sunday and the other two were on Tuesdays and the last two of those three Tuesdays were hotter than hell
After a particularly miserable year in 2001 decided to try wipe the slate clean for 2002. In aid of this noble aim adopted a mantra inspired by the spirals in a rather geekish book entitled “e - the story of a number” and a favourite quote from the recently read first four Potter books. While “There is no good or evil - only power and those too weak to seek it” was by far the most favourite quote, it was not exactly the sort of thing suitable for an idealistic beginning to a brand new untainted year
That honour went to a sentence from “The Chamber of Secrets” “It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities”
In only two days this combination had yielded fruit and the present serpent incarnation suddenly and most unexpectedly came into being. It was a most wondrous and magical time. Things that had seemed impossible had become effortless and a grumpy lump of misery became a bright and bubbly effervescent and very mischievous creature. This was not a one day wonder but lasted a good two years before the magic slowly yielded to mundane reality. Even the Dursleys noticed and suspected the involvement of illicit mind altering substances
While the magic shield retained its power, Izzie felt much happier, had more energy and strangely attracted all sorts of wonderful people and things in both the mundane and virtual worlds. All of this took place with no effort or will at all unlike all those previous exhausting and futile attempts to change
Spent a good while since then trying to understand this strange and mysterious process and lamented how the magic slowly faded into oblivion. But the memory remained and the hope that once again its transformative power could be resurrected.
And now the wheel of time has turned back to the pretty much the same position as it was in December 2001. So much suffering is caused by trying to make reality repeatable. The green light does not necessarily strike in the same place twice. This the Izzie knows but intends to stack the deck and to create conditions conducive for its return
One common element in all the mystical experiences was the act of squiggling, preferably with a fountain pen and green ink. Years later came across Julia Cameron and her ‘morning pages’ what Izzie prefers to call the Pensieve. While her ‘Greater Power’ and ‘inner child’ stuff can be exceedingly annoying, there is absolutely no denying the power of those pages and her explanations of why they work are just as good as any.
The Inner Serpent or Higher Power, whatever one may choose to call this being wants to know that you are serious and prepared to put in the necessary effort and proper procedures for invocation. And after a good twenty minutes or so squiggling she usually puts in some sort of appearance.
This creature works in most mysterious and oblique ways indeed. Had recently been peeking at a certain Nanowrimo profile and noticed the Izzie signature “Constant Vigilance”
The little green light bulb goes off in the Izzie skull. What a silly creature. While there’s two intended meanings one involving mindfulness and the other Mad Eye Moody and his constant paranoia, looks like the inner critter just did not get such subtle distinctions and went fair and square with the latter. That could explain a whole lot of what has been happening lately
Likewise a much beloved saying of the serpent “Blessed are those who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed” This can be taken several ways. The literal one of gloom and doom and bad things happening and another of taking nothing for granted which would encourage a more detached and grateful disposition and reduce the frustration caused by unrealistic expectations
So while one inner serpent might be a wise guide, the other is literally a reptilian idiot but seems to be the one pulling most of the strings that matter. And guess who seems to be getting the last word a lot lately?
So as much as the Izzie hates to say it, the new age fluffy bunnies are on to something with their affirmations and the rules for creating them
No ‘nots’ or ‘should be’s just simple present tense plain words
Had decided to rekindle this tradition of a mantra and some words of wisdom and would now have to bear this in mind when choosing them
Been deliberately carrying around piles of unnecessary junk as a warning sign to the rampaging reptilian brain that its ways are no longer working and have got to change. First the things and then the words and that way the message might finally sink in.
Stuff like “Lose weight now” or ‘Dump the junk” would just not cut the mustard and might in fact produce the exact opposite effect desired
Stuff like “Infinite abundance” or “Peace and prosperity” reek too much of “The Secret” and are just too fluffy and new age
Then there’s all the possible green garden metaphors such as “Lush” or “Eden” or “Fertility” or even “Cornucopia” After all a lush green and fertile edible garden can provide not just a sanctuary but most of the day to day munchies reducing further the need to go out and earn those elusive silver sickles
But Lush in this bit of Oz also means a piss pot. Eden could just as likely invoke some creep called Adam appearing on the scene along with the resultant visions of exile and banishment. Fertility - After the story of Abraham and Sarah, the Izzie ain’t taking any chances. And the cornucopia could end up containing not cobs of corn, bushels of wheat and oodles of apples but a few hand grenades, daggers and AK 47s and some very poisonous berries
Oh such terrible negativity. After ‘Constant Vigilance” the Izzie is right to be wary of unforseen consequences
Tried on words like ‘grace’, ‘fulfilment’ and even ‘fruitfulness’. In light of the insights gained from a certain deck of cards even “Magic happens’ and ‘True will” got a look in but none of them have got the spark
After what seemed like hours perusing through Ollivanders’ dictionary of obscure magical wand words, finally found what just might be the one. Short and simple with seemingly no unintended side effects
Plain simple “Light” or when in the mood to get a bit bossy “Lighten up”
The ‘green’ bit is reluctantly left out just in case the inner serpent chooses not the interpretation of inspiration but annihilation
“Lumos” would be lovely and lots more exotic but is just missing that subtle something
For the last few years been attempting to dump lots of junk, to sort out the clutter and banish certain toxic toadish influences. And there’s a few spare tyres of blubber that can be tossed onto the pile of all that physical, mental and emotional baggage. Using all that stuff to create a sense of security has failed miserably. Conscious recognition of that fact is the first step. The next is to convince the inner critter presently pulling the strings
When good intentions and will power don’t work then it’s time to get sneaky and use imagination instead. Visions of a winged feather light serpent flying above and beyond all that heavy soul destroying stuff and leaving it all behind just might work where all those schedules, timetables and nagging inner critics didn’t.
The Mayan feathered serpent didn’t bring the trail of destruction that the doom sayers predicted so an Izzie incarnation shouldn’t do too much harm either. Fluffy angel white wings or a pale shade of silver should go well with those emerald scales.
Only a couple of more days now before it’s finally time to unleash the bright shiny new inner beast
2013 will once again be The Year of the Serpent
The memory of an event always seems somewhat stronger around the time of year it occurred and even more so when the days and dates coincide
This makes the Christmas of 2007 and even 2001 much more vivid than last year’s. That was a Sunday and the other two were on Tuesdays and the last two of those three Tuesdays were hotter than hell
After a particularly miserable year in 2001 decided to try wipe the slate clean for 2002. In aid of this noble aim adopted a mantra inspired by the spirals in a rather geekish book entitled “e - the story of a number” and a favourite quote from the recently read first four Potter books. While “There is no good or evil - only power and those too weak to seek it” was by far the most favourite quote, it was not exactly the sort of thing suitable for an idealistic beginning to a brand new untainted year
That honour went to a sentence from “The Chamber of Secrets” “It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities”
In only two days this combination had yielded fruit and the present serpent incarnation suddenly and most unexpectedly came into being. It was a most wondrous and magical time. Things that had seemed impossible had become effortless and a grumpy lump of misery became a bright and bubbly effervescent and very mischievous creature. This was not a one day wonder but lasted a good two years before the magic slowly yielded to mundane reality. Even the Dursleys noticed and suspected the involvement of illicit mind altering substances
While the magic shield retained its power, Izzie felt much happier, had more energy and strangely attracted all sorts of wonderful people and things in both the mundane and virtual worlds. All of this took place with no effort or will at all unlike all those previous exhausting and futile attempts to change
Spent a good while since then trying to understand this strange and mysterious process and lamented how the magic slowly faded into oblivion. But the memory remained and the hope that once again its transformative power could be resurrected.
And now the wheel of time has turned back to the pretty much the same position as it was in December 2001. So much suffering is caused by trying to make reality repeatable. The green light does not necessarily strike in the same place twice. This the Izzie knows but intends to stack the deck and to create conditions conducive for its return
One common element in all the mystical experiences was the act of squiggling, preferably with a fountain pen and green ink. Years later came across Julia Cameron and her ‘morning pages’ what Izzie prefers to call the Pensieve. While her ‘Greater Power’ and ‘inner child’ stuff can be exceedingly annoying, there is absolutely no denying the power of those pages and her explanations of why they work are just as good as any.
The Inner Serpent or Higher Power, whatever one may choose to call this being wants to know that you are serious and prepared to put in the necessary effort and proper procedures for invocation. And after a good twenty minutes or so squiggling she usually puts in some sort of appearance.
This creature works in most mysterious and oblique ways indeed. Had recently been peeking at a certain Nanowrimo profile and noticed the Izzie signature “Constant Vigilance”
The little green light bulb goes off in the Izzie skull. What a silly creature. While there’s two intended meanings one involving mindfulness and the other Mad Eye Moody and his constant paranoia, looks like the inner critter just did not get such subtle distinctions and went fair and square with the latter. That could explain a whole lot of what has been happening lately
Likewise a much beloved saying of the serpent “Blessed are those who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed” This can be taken several ways. The literal one of gloom and doom and bad things happening and another of taking nothing for granted which would encourage a more detached and grateful disposition and reduce the frustration caused by unrealistic expectations
So while one inner serpent might be a wise guide, the other is literally a reptilian idiot but seems to be the one pulling most of the strings that matter. And guess who seems to be getting the last word a lot lately?
So as much as the Izzie hates to say it, the new age fluffy bunnies are on to something with their affirmations and the rules for creating them
No ‘nots’ or ‘should be’s just simple present tense plain words
Had decided to rekindle this tradition of a mantra and some words of wisdom and would now have to bear this in mind when choosing them
Been deliberately carrying around piles of unnecessary junk as a warning sign to the rampaging reptilian brain that its ways are no longer working and have got to change. First the things and then the words and that way the message might finally sink in.
Stuff like “Lose weight now” or ‘Dump the junk” would just not cut the mustard and might in fact produce the exact opposite effect desired
Stuff like “Infinite abundance” or “Peace and prosperity” reek too much of “The Secret” and are just too fluffy and new age
Then there’s all the possible green garden metaphors such as “Lush” or “Eden” or “Fertility” or even “Cornucopia” After all a lush green and fertile edible garden can provide not just a sanctuary but most of the day to day munchies reducing further the need to go out and earn those elusive silver sickles
But Lush in this bit of Oz also means a piss pot. Eden could just as likely invoke some creep called Adam appearing on the scene along with the resultant visions of exile and banishment. Fertility - After the story of Abraham and Sarah, the Izzie ain’t taking any chances. And the cornucopia could end up containing not cobs of corn, bushels of wheat and oodles of apples but a few hand grenades, daggers and AK 47s and some very poisonous berries
Oh such terrible negativity. After ‘Constant Vigilance” the Izzie is right to be wary of unforseen consequences
Tried on words like ‘grace’, ‘fulfilment’ and even ‘fruitfulness’. In light of the insights gained from a certain deck of cards even “Magic happens’ and ‘True will” got a look in but none of them have got the spark
After what seemed like hours perusing through Ollivanders’ dictionary of obscure magical wand words, finally found what just might be the one. Short and simple with seemingly no unintended side effects
Plain simple “Light” or when in the mood to get a bit bossy “Lighten up”
The ‘green’ bit is reluctantly left out just in case the inner serpent chooses not the interpretation of inspiration but annihilation
“Lumos” would be lovely and lots more exotic but is just missing that subtle something
For the last few years been attempting to dump lots of junk, to sort out the clutter and banish certain toxic toadish influences. And there’s a few spare tyres of blubber that can be tossed onto the pile of all that physical, mental and emotional baggage. Using all that stuff to create a sense of security has failed miserably. Conscious recognition of that fact is the first step. The next is to convince the inner critter presently pulling the strings
When good intentions and will power don’t work then it’s time to get sneaky and use imagination instead. Visions of a winged feather light serpent flying above and beyond all that heavy soul destroying stuff and leaving it all behind just might work where all those schedules, timetables and nagging inner critics didn’t.
The Mayan feathered serpent didn’t bring the trail of destruction that the doom sayers predicted so an Izzie incarnation shouldn’t do too much harm either. Fluffy angel white wings or a pale shade of silver should go well with those emerald scales.
Only a couple of more days now before it’s finally time to unleash the bright shiny new inner beast
2013 will once again be The Year of the Serpent
