and the world burns

Bluff Knoll burning May 2018

One explanation for the increasingly savage and destructive fires all over the planet, and specifically in Australia where I live, is global warming. Over the last few days we watched nervously on TV and Facebook as the south coast burnt - fanned by hot, gale-force unseasonal northwesterly winds. I often comment these days that there is no longer a need to worry about whether we will end up in hell at the end of our lives - because we are all there already. Planet earth is increasingly becoming a fiery furnace.

Yesterday there was an e-mail barrage between myself and a friend who had misinterpreted my response to a gift. There was miscommunication on both sides.  My old self would have retaliated swiftly - I'm good with anger and outrage, very practised in verbal sparring and able to be a real bitch. But I chose to see through what was happening. I'm not a saint - I still experience huge rage and vent regularly - usually in the surf away from others where I am free to yell at 'God'. Yesterday, instead of responding with equal rage and indignation, my response was to stay calm and try to diffuse the situation before things were said that couldn't be unsaid. Unfortunately it didn't go the way I would have preferred so I decided to let it go - and go outside and do some burning off.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know I think archetypelly and symbolically. It's no surprise then that I see the 3 events as related - through the element of fire. I've known for some time that fire - in an alchemical context - is about transformation. So I did some more Googling to get some backup - from different sides of the theological fence (just to confirm that these constructs are archetypal in human consciousness):

'The fire ceremony is at the core of many shamanic traditions.... Fire is known as the most rapid form of healing and transformation:

The symbolic essence of the fire ceremony is to release old ways of being, to let go of old stories and drama, and through this comes the rebirth, the transformation and the renewal.'

Dr Grafix, pen & coloured pencil

This overview from the Christians about what is happening today really resonates:

'The element of fire is surfacing in the human condition through anger, strife, rage, conflict and war. These incendiary states raise the vibratory levels found in all life on Earth’s surface. Most people do not recognize the correlation between explosive feelings, which lead to conflict and war, and the primary element of fire; but they are directly related. 

“Fire has always been associated with spirituality since earliest times. Flames of all types have been part of ancient rituals throughout your planet. Fire increases the energy output of whatever it touches. Anger, rage and fear have vibratory wavelengths that heat and therefore expand. So do the spiritual practices of prayer and meditation.”

“In ancient India, the concept originated regarding the spiritual fire found coiled at the base of the spine, which when activated rises up to the crown of the head. It was called kundalini and was considered essential to the progress of the soul. When this spiritual fire reached the top of the head, enlightenment was attained, and a person became a realized being.”

Dr Grafix, Mortificatio, oil on canvas

Wildfires, earthquakes and the warming of Earth’s temperatures are directly connected to the element of fire. This element is affecting the behavior of people in every area of the globe. How many times have you seen anger, rage and strife occurring in some aspect of your daily affairs? How quickly are interpersonal confrontations occurring between individuals or groups within your sphere of influence? Do you see these same kinds of behaviors at the national or international level? Wherever they surface, they are activated by the element of fire.

In other words, the individual achieved the knowledge that he or she is a child of God possessing an immortal soul on a journey of return to the Source from which it had come. Spiritual fire was the element bringing this state about. Therefore, we ask that you view an increase in the element of fire in your lives on all levels as an opportunity for spiritual growth. Whenever you encounter it, try to convert any negative expression into its higher spiritual counterpart—love and respect for all forms of life, no matter how they manifest.'

Yesterday that's what I was trying to do - to convert the negativity.

I have to say it's slightly amusing that all of us - Christians, Moslems, Buddhists and Hindus alike - find ourselves in the fires of hell on a spinning, burning orb. This planet, our own historical actions, will force us to transform - regardless of whether we think we should or not.

references:

Shamanic Ritual: The Heart of Transformation, Mara BranscombeFebruary 7, 2017, https://www.gaia.com/article/shamanic-ritual

Spiritual Transformation through Fire, The Lightbringers, October 2015

http://www.shiningmountain.net/october-2015-spiritual-transformation-through-fire/

image 1: Bluff Knoll (burning in the last few days) courtesy of Jill O'Meehan

image 2: Dr Grafix, a very old drawing of mine initiated by a dream

image 3: Dr Grafix, Mortificatio, oil on canvas

people in boxes

Maybe it's just part of the ageing process but my need to withdraw from the world (again) isn't dissipating. After all the trouble I took to hold onto the 122 followers on my Dr Grafix Facebook page, I have deleted it - effective in 2 weeks. I'm having more fun with Instagram anyway where I've accidentally picked up 49 followers. 

As an introvert and loner I've always struggled to maintain a public face. I like people and I'm not afraid to communicate with them - it's just that most of the time I'd prefer not to. I like silence and solitude. 

Recently I researched Autism, thinking that 'diagnosis' might be relevant. The questionnaire concluded that I was either 'borderline or high functioning Autistic' - but that didn't really fit because I have a debilitating capacity for empathy. 

When I mentioned my 'research' to a clinical psychologist friend the other day she said: 'surely you'd be more Aspergic than autistic'. Wow! That was a bit of a blow. I have tried hard to disguise my eccentricities and thought I was being reasonably successful but maybe not. I know my family have always considered me to be quite 'weird' but I thought that was just family. The positive thing about the psych's comment is that I will now give up trying to be normal (whatever that is) because I was obviously failing.

I've had quite a few conversations with a friend who suffers from mild epilepsy. Some of the states she describes sound familiar and I wondered if there was such a thing as an 'epileptic personality'. I often see small flashes of light 'inside my head' (if that makes sense) and my father had some abnormal twitches and traits which I assumed were just part of his obsessive nature. So I researched the 'epileptic personality' and although I could definitely see aspects of myself in there, the study was inconclusive - which confirms that you can't put people in boxes.

I guess I'm no closer to solving the mystery of me in relation to the rest of the world. Maybe one day I will stop trying to figure it out. In the meantime this Krishnamurti meme says it all:

image 1: Anne Hamill - Is There a Right way to Put People In Boxes?

image 2: Dr Grafix - Instagram screen shot

image 3: Imgur

domestic dilemma 1

Another of my tongue-in-cheek, retro, social commentary memes. This one is about a 'domestic dilemma' that is close to my heart. 

The drawing was based on a photo I took with my phone whilst watching an old black & white movie. I had forgotten the context when I rediscovered it which left me free to add my own interpretation. I love old b&w films and I love adding random text to images - hence the thought bubble. 

image: Digital illustration by author, Dr Grafix (aka Munted Doll) 2018