Book of Mercy #1-5

Debate on Leonard Cohen's poetry (and novels), both published and unpublished. Song lyrics may also be discussed here.
holydove
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

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Mary, I would agree with you; Leonard's muse does seem to be female, be it the female side of himself, or an actual, live-in-the-flesh woman (if there is really any difference between the two!). Although, sometimes one might see his muse as The Source of creation itself - the Universal Source - with no particular gender. But then, when it manifest as "muse", for Leonard, it does seem to be a female manifestation.

Whoa, Mat! It seems your female side judges Leonard rather harshly - LOL!! That's okay, I'm not criticizing that, I find it delightfully interesting! Being a woman, I've always wondered about what kinds of personal responses men who love/admire Leonard might experience, as compared to the ways in which a woman who loves Leonard would respond to him. (Of course, I'm sure there are individual differences among each gender, but we are not really equipped to go into that here. . .) The only comment I would make is that my impression is that Leonard does care about the well-being of his women, mainly because I happen to know that he continues to "take care" of certain women, even long after they are no longer involved in a romantic/love relationship. Of course, his motives for that might still be self-centered, but on the hand, his motives might not be self-centered at all; it's possible that he genuinely cares about them; many people have commented on how generous Leonard is. Ultimately, I guess we can only guess, as we don't really know. . .

Now that I've spent all this time on the topics above, I don't have that much time left, but I will try to return to Psalm 1.4 for a bit. "It was here that I found my will, a fragile thing, starving among ferns and women and snakes." In the image of the fern, we again have reference to the "golden symmetry"; it's said that the "golden mean" (the most aesthetically pleasing math ratio) is found in the fern frond; it represents perfect balance & therefore, is said to approach the Divine. The fern frond also represents the unfolding of new life, as the frond of the young fern is tightly curled, & then it proceeds to unfurl toward the light. The Maori of New Zealand have a symbol called the Koru, which is a representation of the fern frond, & when it has more than one frond, it represents the bonding of disparate kinds of people, or 2 opposite but complementary life forces - so here again, we might have a reference to the Taoist yin/yang phenomenon.

Snakes have so many associations, so to keep it brief, I'll just mention a couple of them. The "snake" image in the Bible, in various passages, has been associated with wisdom, salvation & eternal life (contrary to the conventional association with "evil", which I think is a false twist on what it's meant to represent). (I'm not quoting the passages/contexts that contain these associations, right now, as that would take too long). In Yogic/Buddhist teachings, the Kundalini, which is the energy of awakening/enlightenment, is said to be like a serpent which lies coiled/asleep at the base of the spine, & when it is awakened, it rises up the spine, piercing the energy centers (chakras) of the subtle body, & when it reaches the 7th chakra (the Sahasrar) at the top of the head, the individual attains enlightenment/union with the divine. There is also the image of the Ouroboros, which is a serpent eating it's tail, which represents the perpetual cycle of life, death, rebirth. It also represents primordial unity - that which has no beginning & no end.

So, in finding his "will. . .starving among ferns and women and snakes", the impression I have is that he knows that there are doors to this divine union/golden symmetry/infinity/salvation (whatever one wants to call it) - the doors are all around him & within him - permeating the outer & inner environment - yet his "will" - his longing to find the "secret chord" - is starving because, at this point in the psalm, he is not able to access/open the doors. And the image of "women", if we see it as a representation of his "muse", or the female aspect of himself, is another door to union with the divine/golden symmetry/etc., whose touch he waited for, & which he goes out to rescue in the following lines.

I would like to talk about the "two shields of bitterness and hope. . ." but that's all I have time for right now, so next time. . .
Last edited by holydove on Sat Apr 07, 2012 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
holydove
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

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A little more on Plsalm 1.4: ". . .With the two shields of bitterness and hope, I rose up carefully, and I went out of the house to rescue the angel of song from the place where she had chained herself to her nakedness. I covered her nakedness with my will, and we stood in the kingdom that shines toward you, where Adam is mysteriously free. . ."

It's all so multi-faceted, so for now I will try to focus on just a couple of impressions. Bitterness is associated with the past, & hope is associated with the future. In that context, bitterness & hope are constructs with which we shield ourselves from the nakedness - the openness, the truth - of the present moment. Most of the time, we dwell in those familiar constructs that are connected with the past & the future, & we spend very little (if any) time in the present. He needs to connect his will with the pure/naked essence of the energy of inspiration (the angel of song) in order to sing with a voice that is true - a voice that will express the truth of the present moment. He goes out of the familiar "house" of mental/emotional constructs, with the 2 shields & the intention of rescuing his mistress/the angel, & he does release her, but he releases her by gently covering her with his will. My impression is that perhaps he has now let go of the protection that the shields would provide, so that his longing for the voice of truth (his will) can be free to lovingly unite with his mistress/muse - who is naked & in chains because she also needs the energy of his will in order to be free. So the angel & his will need each other, long for each other, & in uniting, they free each other from their respective imprisonments.

". . .where Adam is mysteriously free. . .": I think Adam might be a reference to the narrator's own primordial being, & the union of his will with the naked essence of song has allowed him to unite with the deepest level of his own self - the true core of his being - & now he can sing with a voice that is true & that is the place where he is free.
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

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...the voice of truth (his will) can be free to lovingly unite with his mistress/muse - who is naked & in chains because she also needs the energy of his will in order to be free. So the angel & his will need each other, long for each other, & in uniting, they free each other from their respective imprisonments.
"...they free each other" and perhaps in that "uniting", they learn from each other.
-or become some other perspective; something else?
I have tended to think, holydove, that the human aspect/mind is changed, but this line of thinking you tender, suggests that the muse/soul/other is changed also.
I like that thought and I will saunter with it awhile :)

Thanks,
MatbbgJ
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
holydove
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

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Thank you, Mat. I just want to reply to your very interesting comments, at this point.

I think it's possible that there is an "absolute"/formless aspect of soul that doesn't change, & it permeates all forms, but it also manifests in various forms within the mind/soul of any given individual. And I think there are places in Leonard's work, like this psalm, where the muse is a manifestation within the level of form. And my impression here, is that his will is his longing to create something that is true, & the angel/muse is that which would give the will its ability to project the beauty & truth into a particular form; & neither aspect can attain fulfillment without the other. So I agree with what you said, that in uniting, on a certain level, they may have become another whole entity - he says, "we stood in the kingdom. . .", so they still exist as different aspects, but the union has changed something for both aspects, & now, in a sense, there is a new entity which can potentially, because of the union, find "the. . .words that would not bend the will away from you"(something that couldn't be done before the union).
holydove
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

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I've been trying to get back here; so now, on to Psalm 1.5: I see several key images/concepts here, so I will take them one at a time. First, these 5 words which open the psalm: "Let me rest," he cried. . ."

The Kabbalistic & Buddhist implications of the term "rest" are similar. Of course, in Kabbalah, as previously mentioned, it's tied in with the Sabbath being the day of rest. Rabbi Isaac Luria, the founder of Lurianic Kabbalah, said this: "On Sabbath, the essence of the day is unity & complete connection to God. The very essence of the day creates the divine unity". The teaching is that the the divine service of the Sabbath should create a longing for unity with the divine, that is so strong, that the soul wants to leave the physical form in order to reunite with its Source. So these 3 words - "Let me rest" - are another expression of that longing for unity.

In Buddhism, there is a body of teachings called Lojong (Mind Training), & one of the instructions in lojong is: Rest in the nature of alaya, the essence." It's said that bodhisattva activities (which are actions that arise from & manifest true compassion) come from a place of rest. The alaya, or essence, is the level of mind which is completely open & completely still. It is the open primordial basis of all phenomena. So the instruction is to "rest in fundamental openness". Fundamental openness would preclude any notion of division or other-ness - it would be one whole infinite expanse of space. It would be experienced, initially, as a little gap in our usual ongoing preoccupations/thoughts/activities. In terms of meditation, one would find oneself, probably unexpectedly or even suddenly, at rest. That little gap, or quality of rest, would expand more & more, until finally it would begin to swallow up any notion of self in the experiencer, & so there would eventually be no subject & no object - just one whole undivided expanse of being. So here again, the term "rest" would have to do with abiding in that open space of unity & stillness, where any notion of "self" & "other" is competely dissolved.

There is also a Yogic meditation practice that involves focusing on the space between the breaths - the space where the in-breath & out-breath dissolve - the space after one breath ends & before the next breath arises - the space from where all breath (all phenomena) arises. As one continues to focus on that space, it gets bigger & bigger. It's a very peaceful space. My first meditation Teacher used to say: "That's the space of God. Rest in that space".

Have to go now - more later. . .
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

Post by mat james »

Psalm 46,10.
"Be still and know that I Am (God)"

East is East and West is West and somewhere in never/never land, the twain might just meet. 8)
...or something like that.

Shiloh-ing Sabath
"Let me rest"; it makes a good argument, whatever culture one rests in.

It makes me feel like the meandering Moon;

Shiloh Moon

I am that
stare-ing Moon;
two-faced!

one watching
the crazy Earth spin

and one juxtaposed
facing away

rest-ing...
...in the sparkling View


MatbbgJ
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
holydove
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

Post by holydove »

mat james wrote:
East is East and West is West and somewhere in never/never land, the twain might just meet. 8)
...or something like that.

It makes me feel like the meandering Moon;
Mat, what a beautiful poem!! I totally love it, & thank you so much for sharing it!!

let me just say - see you on the dark side of the moon - the place, perhaps, where East & West do merge. . .

Psalm 1.5, cont.: There is so much in this psalm, there is no way to cover all of it, & I hardly know where to go first.

". . .and he opened the book in anger, to make his payment to the law. An angel, who had no intrinsic authority, said. . ."

There is a kabbalistic teaching that says that human beings produce angels (or, we can say, spiritually charged entities) when they think, dream, speak, feel & act, & those angels are attached to the soul that created them. Emotions such as love or anger would produce different kinds of angels, & people are constantly giving birth to different types of angels. There is a hierarchy of angels, & I think these angels, generated by human thought/emotion, would be fairly rudimentary angels, & low in the hierarchy. Perhaps this angel was generated by his anger, & that is why he/she has "no intrinsic authority".

"An angel. . .said, 'You have sealed every gate but this one; therefore, here is a little light commensurate with your little courage.' His shame climbed up itself to find a height from which to spill. Then there was a sweeter saying in a stiller voice: 'I do not put my trust in man, nor do I place reliance on an angel.' Immediately the Torah sang to him. . ."

Perhaps because this angel was generated by anger, it does not have the capacity for mercy, but only for something like justice; which means it can only give back, measure for measure, whatever it has been given (pound of flesh; eye for eye; etc.).

In Kabbalah, there is something called "bread of shame". This has to do with the idea that before the creation of the world, the positive, giving energy of the Creator was everywhere, & because of its giving nature, it has to create a Vessel to receive its Light. The Vessel felt shame about its nature, which was opposite to the Creator's, & the vessel pushed back against the Light, & so the Light withdrew & contracted. But then the Vessel wanted or needed the Light's return, & this need was a very strong primal force; but when the Light did return to the Vessel, in response to the Vessel's irresistible need/desire, the Vessel could not accept the full force of the Light, & the Vessel shattered, & that shattering caused the line between physical & metaphysical realities to be irreversibly crossed, & this eventually led to the creation of the physical world, which therefore contains, within it, remnants of the Light.

The implication, as I see it, is that one's longing for unity with the Source, & "shame" (as it's called) about one's separateness from the source, is a reflection of this primordial "big bang". So the shame climbing up itself to a height from which it could spill could be an expression of that longing, for unity with the Light, growing so intense that it overflows/shatters the boundaries of its confinement (i.e. the "little courage", "little light",the only gate left unsealed, etc.).

There is a prayer called "Brich Shemei" which some authorities say was only intended to be recited on the Sabbath & Yom Tov. This prayer is introduced with the words: "When the Torah is taken out to be read in public, the Gates of Mercy (sometimes translated as Compassion) are opened, and love is aroused on high. Therefore one should say at this time Brich Shemei. . ." This prayer also includes the phrase: "We do not rely upon Bar Elahin", which has been translated as "we do not rely upon the sons of God", or as "we do not rely upon angels". The implication is that we should only rely upon, or trust, the Source itself, & not put our trust in any intermediaries. It seems that this is considered a very powerful prayer, meant to be recited when the Gates of Mercy are said to be open, & Rav P.S. Berg (a kabbalist & author) has even called the prayer a "time machine", by means of which one can travel back to Mt. Sinai in an instant - beyond the speed of light; according to Berg, Kabbalah teaches that the universe was created with the capability to move forward & backward through time, & connection with the Light is a gift & an opportunity to go back in time & correct any past wrongdoings, & remove any aspect of chaos from the annals of the universe, or from one's own personal life.

So my impression, for this part of the psalm, is that once his longing for connection with the Light grew strong enough, all limitations (created by oppressive or chaotic emotion, concept, circumstance, etc.) were dissolved, & in the eternal stillness of that infinite space, this prayer (or part of the prayer) recited itself within his being, & he was then able to hear the song of the Torah. As the Torah is considered to be a direct, live manifestation of the Eternal Being, I would take this to mean that he was now able to hear the voice of Eternity itself - he has, through the intensity of his "shame"/longing, opened all the Gates of Mercy, & attained that direct connection with the Source.
holydove
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Re: Book of Mercy #1-5

Post by holydove »

Just a couple of comments on these images in psalm 1.5:

"Immediately the Torah sang to him. . .and for a moment, as a gift to serve his oldest memory, he wore the weightless crown, the crown that lifts the weight away. . .the crown that leaps up from the letters. . .the crown that raises up no man a king above his company."

As has been mentioned, the first sefirah is called Keter, which means "crown". This first sefirah is also sometimes referred to as "Ayin", which means "Nothingness", & refers to the primal state, before or beyond the existence of form/concept, where there is only undifferentiated being. Like the Zen/Buddhist idea of Nothingness, it doesn't indicate a vaccuum, but a state of being that is beyond conceptualization, beyond our ability to "know" - it means, literally, "No - Thingness" (in this context, a thought or concept is a "thing", as much as any physical object is a "thing"). Perhaps this is why the crown is "weightless" (free from the weight of form/concept/etc.), & why it "raises up no man. . above his company" - in the Keter/Ayin state of consciousness, nothing is higher or lower, better or worse - because nothing is separate or different from anything else - all of creation exists within that state of Ayin, & at the same time, nothing (No Thing) exists at all.

". . .as a gift to serve his oldest memory. .." The sefirot constitute the divine archetype of the human being, & their qualities/characteristics are said to represent our original nature. Therefore, Keter is said to be the "crown" on the head of Primordial Adam. This experience of Unity being expressed in the psalm - accessing that primal, undifferentiated level of being - can also be described as "remembering" one's Original Nature, & I can't think of any "memory" that would be older than that.

". . .and for a moment.. .he wore the weightless crown. . .", & then, ". . ."let me sit beneath the mighty ones whom you have crowned forever, and let me study how they rest." So he had a taste, a momentary experience of Ayin/Nothingness/Infinity/Undifferentiated Being; & now he is praying to be shown the way to get there & stay there forever.
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