Sink or Row

The title of this blog, Sink or Row, is a play on the word synchronicity [Sink (or) Row (in the) City]. It is admittedly hokey, in fact I wanted to change it, but part of me knew there was a reason for its choosing. I wondered last night what that reason was, and then "serendipitously" it was given to me this morning as I was reading The Perennial Tradition by Norman Livergood.

If someone acknowledges the phenomenon synchronicity, whether they realize or not, they are on a transition from a completely physical based understanding of the world to a spiritual focus. As this occurs, their values and place in the world must change. As one belief system dies, a new one is born. If, however, the person does not accept the new beliefs, they will be lost, for their old way of living is gone (there is no going back) and they do not yet have a new home.

The analogy is crossing a river. Each of us in this position have found ourselves in in middle of a river, regardless if we want to be there. Our only option now is to either sink or row.

No one said it would be easy. No transition is, but if we decide to go with the current, the flow, it will be a considerably better experience than going against it.

Prophetic Dreaming

I like to track my dreams. I do it for the excitement of finding connections between my dream and waking lives. Recently I tried an herbal remedy that enhances dreams. I can't say for certain if it is the cause, but shortly after taking the remedy, I had my first set of prophetic dreams. They occured just before leaving on a trip to Puerto Rico.

In my first dream, my wife and I were on a train leaving New York City. The train was like a roller coaster going up and down on tracks over water. The train ride ended and we had to quickly jump onto a boat to continue our journey. My wife was panicked because she felt might leave her luggage on the train.

The hotel we stayed at, unbeknownst to me, sat on top of a cliff. We needed to take a tram to the bottom. From there, a ferry takes hotel guests to a private beach. The ferry runs every half an hour and the first day, after making our way to the boat in the nick of time, by wife realized she left her bag in our hotel room. Kinda similar.


In another dream, I just unpacked in a hotel room when someone else walked in and said this was their room. I had mistakenly gone to the right room number, but the wrong floor. In my dream I was on the fourth floor, my room was on the third.

Twice while in Puerto Rico I went to the wrong floor while trying to find my room. Both times I went to the third floor, when our room was on the fourth. Kinda similar, but not concrete. The next is a good one, though.

For two consecutive nights, I dreamt I was completely dressed from the waist up and naked from the waist down. The first dream took place on an elevator. In the second dream I was looking in a mirror as I was tying a tie. I was wearing a light blue dress shirt and a light blue tie. I was also talking to a college friend, Marla Mathews.

Following is a sculpture found at the pool of the hotel we stayed:








When looking head on, the position of the hands and the flute resemble one tying a tie. The material is a pantena copper – greenish blue. The bird that sits on the boy’s shoulder was indigenous to the area. When in flight, the bird’s body looks unmistakably like the letter “M.”

Lil Wayne, Lil Buddha

Last night, Katie Couric, in part of a Grammy Awards special, interviewed Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne, dating back to when he was a child member of the street-harden group of musicians known as The Cash Money Millionaires, has always fascinated me. I used to wonder, “What does this young man have to offer these grown men?”

That was in the late 90s. Though Cash Money Millionaires have come and gone, Lil Wayne, now an adult, is a top selling hip-hop artist. I am vaguely familiar with his current work (I am more familiar with his persona) and what I have heard, I did not like (what can I say, 37 year old white men are not his intended audience). I do recognize however that his music resonates with millions of fans and countless other artists-there is something to him.



I was amused to see Katie interview him due to the obvious strange juxtaposition (who remembers when Busta Rhymes and Martha Stewart presented an MTV award together? this was almost as weird.). Additionally I wanted to see if I could figure out why I have been drawn to him (I have never seen a Lil Wayne interview before).

Katie asked Lil Wayne about his music making process and the rumor that he doesn’t write down any lyrics when recording.

Lil Wayne answered that the music is always created first. And then he shared his secret. He said he listens to the music, and then actually becomes it. From there, words just enter his mind. They stay forever which is why he doesn’t need to write them down (slight paraphrasing).

It was perfect.

I haven’t been able to wipe the smile from my lips for the past 12 hours.



Note: Bob Dylan was interviewed on 60 Minutes about five years ago. He said something very similar when describing how he writes his lyrics.

#1

In the beginning of any recent Universal Pictures’ movie, the opening sequence that leads to the Universal image below, starts with one beam of light shooting out from the earth into space. This is followed by another beam and another and another until there are hundreds. Ultimately it becomes evident that the beams of light are not separate, as it is first implied, but are all part of the same originating light source. That’s synchronicity folks.



Each connection or synchronicity observed appears to be a unique link in an otherwise sea of chaos*. As awareness to synchronicity grows, more are observed. Ultimately synchronicities will occur on such a prolific level that the observer reaches the undeniable conclusion that everything is connected to everything.

What we are experiencing as synchronicity is the beginning of man's awakening.


*yeah I know I am referring to much Masonic and other esoteric imagery, more on that to come.