Methods with Natasha - session 6

//free form questions in 5 mins// (based on 'Questions for Poets')

how can one use animation to illustrate people’s speculations? when we speculate, how articulate are our visions? can speculations be linked to dreams in that they present a limited perspective on an imaginary setting that you only later when articulating, give form? how much do speculations draw on your subconscious, how much on prejudices, how much on images seen in the past? if we saw more images, would our speculation change? is the reservoir of images directly linked to the coloring of images? are we like AI, trying to make the best guess of a certain pool of possibilities? can we imagine things we have not seen before or is it that like in a dream, you only dream faces that you have seen before? when you speculate, do you judge your imagination? or is it a direct process, non-iterative, pure flow between external output and internal archetypes? how can we enrich our speculations?

//answer one of the above questions//

how can we enrich our speculations?

To answer this question, I feel is to talk about imagination and what are ways to access it. Because I would argue as much as information could be a useful source or pool to draw from, it can also present an indestructible wall, a border, through which we circulate in the terms which are known to us - that is to say, you can never jump over the fence of the known and speculate of something new, unknown (***don’t delete any text***). So to me the answer lies somewhere in acquiring more information, but then also in accessing realms of (un)consciousness in which these pieces of information can be connected in networks which work on a different plane, or mode, then awake analytical thought. An associative method should be tapped into, only to be followed by a process, a creative action, and then looked at through a generous eyesight, that analyses without judgment, or rather without denial of what has come up in the process. Methods such as EMDR could be used and I think that when in the correct way could be just as effective as a free writing exercise as this one where you go in a state of flow. now - breathe, and try to use the words which come to you, rather than lean on known variables. We know we can do it, and write through our own toolbox. in a process of imagining, speculating, associations come which are not always visual sometimes not articulable, sometimes not known to the imaginator, as to where they come from. But all should be honored, or at least all that the imaginator feels a draw to. A certain somatic trust, or an intuitive understanding of yourself, is required which can only be achieved through long term work dedicated to the self day to day. And now, I think - can this be important thoughts in the midst of a genocide? And then I said to myself, it’s part of the powerlessness I feel that amidst chaos, I am still in the realm of abstract thought, but which I still find important, significant to myself, and thus if I follow what I find important for myself, I am also doing what I can amidst my helplessness - and here I see an avalanche of fallacies in a narcisstic, self-centered, ego oriented, vain world, the product of which is I.✌️

let’s see what referenes I could find in support of enriching your imagination through practices dedicated to the building more tunnels in the underworld of the subconscious. And maybe, I should stop talking in such a indifferent, distant manner.

Huxley uses the term antipodes to describe the "regions of the mind" that one can reach via meditation, vitamin deficiencies, self-flagellation, fasting, sleep deprivation, or (most effectively, he says) with the aid of certain chemical substances like LSD or mescaline.

Huxley states that while these states of mind are biologically useless, they are nonetheless spiritually significant, and furthermore, are the singular 'regions' of the mind from which all religions are derived.

Hey Huxley, I am thinking about these biologically useless states.

-useless-

funny word. Useless to the body, useful to the soul. Hey Huxley, I feel like sometime I am making very distant connections, and find meaning where perhaps there is none. Like now, look, I am talking to you, although I started from the explosions in Rotterdam, and somehow insist on finding magic there. I wonder if this is a poor vocabuary, an autistic predisposition, intelligence, wishful thinking, naivety - to be fair, when I list the things I wonder about more negatives come out of it, and I make the effort to also give to myself the other side. Hey Huxley, I think I have been to Heaven and Hell, and I feel like I can perhaps tap into both, don’t feel the need so much tho now. But Huxley, let’s go back to the antipodes of the mind - sometimes, when I try to think of something, to come up with something, I forget to get in the state they require, and only when I let go, I can unstuck.

//Edit the above text to produce something accessible by a wider audience//

how can we enrich our speculations?

I feel like writing is probably the worst way to approach this question. At the same time, all sorts of questions have found their (at least partial) answers in different pieces of writing, or perhaps no question ever found its answer in writing, so it’s possible this one is no different. To clarify - to answer this question, I feel is to talk about imagination and what are ways to access it. And here, analytical thought reigns no more. I would argue that as much as information and data could be useful sourcess to draw from, they can also present an indestructible wall, in the borders of which we circulate in the terms which are known to us - that is to say, you can never jump over the fence of the known and speculate of something new, unknown.

So to me the answer lies somewhere in acquiring more information, but then also in accessing realms of (un)consciousness in which these pieces of information can be connected in networks which make little use of analytical thought. An associative method should be tapped into, only to be followed by a process, a creative action, and then looked at through a generous lens, that analyses without judgment, or rather without denial of what has come up in the process. Methods such as EMDR could be used, and could be just as effective as a free writing exercise as this one where you surf in a state of flow.

Even now when writing this text I have to remind myself to not rely on phrases which I know go well together, but rather find which words present a personal truth and in the process, perhaps come up with an answer to my initial question. I often feel like I am recycling ideas which although valuable to myself and worth the exercise, also feel like known friends I can lean on without much effort.

In a process of imagining, speculating, associations come which are not always visual, sometimes not articulable, sometimes not known to the imaginator, as to where they come from. But all should be honored, or at least all that the imaginator feels a draw to. A certain somatic trust, or an intuitive understanding of yourself, is required which can only be achieved through long term work dedicated to the self day to day.

I feel often when addressing such topics I go on an esoteric tangent, and I don’t know if that is always useful.

And now, I think - can this be important thoughts in the midst of a genocide? And then I say to myself, it’s part of the powerlessness and guilt I feel, that amidst chaos, I am still in the realm of abstract thought, which I still find significant to myself, but if I follow what I find important for myself, I am also doing what I can amidst my helplessness - and here I see an avalanche of fallacies in a narcissistic, self-centered, ego oriented, vain world, the product of which is I.

Let’s see what references I can find in support of enriching your imagination through practices dedicated to the building of tunnels in the underworld of the subconscious. And maybe, I should stop talking in such an indifferent, distant manner.

Huxley uses the term antipodes to describe the "regions of the mind" that one can reach via meditation, vitamin deficiencies, self-flagellation, fasting, sleep deprivation, or (most effectively, he says) with the aid of certain chemical substances like LSD or mescaline.

Huxley states that while these states of mind are biologically useless, they are nonetheless spiritually significant, and furthermore, are the singular 'regions' of the mind from which all religions are derived.

Hey Huxley,

I am thinking about these biologically useless states.

-useless-

funny word. Useless to the body, useful to the soul. Hey Huxley, I feel like sometime I am making very distant connections, and find meaning where perhaps there is none. Like now, look, I am talking to you, although I started from the explosions in Rotterdam, and somehow continue to insist on finding magic there. I wonder if this is a poor vocabulary, an autistic predisposition, intelligence, wishful thinking, naivety - to be frank, when I list the things I wonder about, more negatives come out of it, and I make the effort to also offer to myself the other side. Hey Huxley, I think I have been to Heaven and Hell, and I feel like I can perhaps tap into both but don’t feel the need so much tho now. But Huxley, let’s go back to the antipodes of the mind - sometimes, when I try to think of something, to come up with something, I forget to get in the state they require, and only when I let go, I can unstuck. So Huxley, tell me in your next letter, perhaps, if I am really getting at something, or am I just being lost in the jungle of my mind. OK, I know there will be no next letter. I know very well I have to find the answers myself, so Huxley, thanks for just leaving me your writing; so I can both bathe in the mastery of language as well as the epistemological and spiritual searchings I feel we are both onto. And Huxley, one last thing - a classmate of mine, or a friend, or perhaps a stranger is reading this letter now, so that’s why I didn’t give out too much here - I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun of finding their own answers for themselves. They can thank me (and you) later.

Kisses! Y

PS: I just really don’t know how from the explosions in Rotterdam I got to mysticism again. Something’s not right and yet it doesn’t feel that wrong. But perhaps that’s not for other people to read and I wouldn’t want to spill my mess onto someone else, beside my classmate/friend/stranger, who is kind of forced to. Things need to be more separated. Not all roads lead to Rome - if they do, why would I need to be addressing such different topics? Surely there must be somne differentiation in how the different parts of the world functin. OK THAT’S ENOUGH BYE

the cover of Heaven And Hell by Aldous Huxley