Transmission Fluid

Gearing up!

Yesterday, just as we’re gearing up
For the fall
Mitch’s car broke down
In Yucaipa.

And though it was a giant pain in the ass
It was also such a brilliant reminder
Of the connective tissue
Between the physical and the metaphysical
A giant neon sign
That they are
THE SAME COHERENT ALIGNED
And a REFLECTION of each other.
Echoes, soul mates.
Of each other.
The two loops of the infinity sign.
#theinfinitecreator

I’m a sucker for symbols.
Hidden meanings.
And little whispered reminders of the Big Connection.
In seventh grade when I learned
That those little animals in The Glass Menagerie
Weren’t just tchotchkes
But also symbols of fragility
I knew the word
Was going to make sense
In a whole different way.
I mean sure sex was exciting.
But no more so than this
WHOLE NEW LAYER OF LIFE!

Eventually I studied semiotics.
Which is literally
The study of signs and symbols.
Just one semester.
And then it was like
Yeah this is how I understand how to make things
Not something I want to write term papers about.
And I went back to the studios.

But I was drawn to semiotics
Because I do walk through the world
Feeling like things represent and mean things
As much as things are things.
This is one of the reasons
That the idea of manifestation - one huge branch of creativity
Interests me so wildly.
I’ve had some crazy examples.
The easiest shorthand is this.
One day I said to myself
I need more pink in my life.
Meaning like decor.
Maybe pink velvet throw pillows.
Or lip gloss.
Or a blouse.
And the next day
I woke up with pink eye.

At the time I was attending a Science of Mind Church.
Not as a congregant
But as Mitch’s plus one
He was the Musical Director.
It was a little churchy for this new age Jew
But I also was very drawn to the idea that -
To radically oversimplify -
Our thoughts create the world.
The way they explained it
It was almost an equation.
Outpicturing is the word they use.

But for me
Life isn’t an equation.
It’s a poem.
I know some of you math nerds probably see equations as poems
And I honor and even envy that.
I do see the poetry of numbers.
But only one at a time.
Like 88. Or 3. Or 108.
So many feelings about all those numbers.
But equations are mostly sentences
I don’t understand.
You know like a foreign language where you can have a vague sense.
Oh well we’re talking about water.
But no idea if to means there a storm coming
A bath to take.
Or a drought.

Anyway.
So thoughts create reality.
I understand that
In a poetic way
Not mathematic way.

For instance
Thoughts create feelings.
The first time I heard this
I thought the person telling me was insane.
Because obviously you have a feeling.
And then you think about it.
But they were insistent.
And I was struggling.
So I experimented with it.
Learning to experiment in my life
Has been one of the best changes.
Becuase it means I didn’t have to believe her
Or reject this idea.
I could see if it might be true.
I could try changing my thoughts
And see if I felt differently.

I did feel differently.
Woah.

So the poem of life
Has something to do with
Thoughts create feelings
Action creates thoughts
Thoughts create a physical reality
Physical reality exists to reflect a metaphysical universe.
Meaning is embedded in it all.
The mystery is there to enjoy.
The mystery is beautiful.
And to be experienced.
More than decoded
And understood.
To stand over.
Under.
Sure.
But mostly with.
Withstand.

We thing of withstanding as bracing up against.
Something difficult.
Withstand the pressure.
Which is certainly what we were doing yesterday
As we tried to navigate full schedules
And a broken down car in Yucaipa.

But if you can withstand
Stand with
The uncomfortable parts
The poetry of life
Finds its way right to your heart.
And does create a thought.
The one thought.
I am alive.
It goes both way.

But back to the thing that set me off today.
I was leaving a check in message
And in it talking about how some things in my life are moving so fast
But that I have to slow down in order to write and think
And how I need to shift gears
And probably need to take time to make the transition
And how when I was in my 20’s my loft mate and I
While we were building our loft
And also making art
Were using pot to transition between these two activities.
And we literally used to call pot
Transmission fluid.
Ha ha.

Now when I need to shift gears
And I sometimes remember
To do a breathing sequence:
Breathe in for a count of seven
Hold one
Breathe out for a bout of seven
Hold one

It is super helpful.
Is it because it’s essentially an 88?
7+1 and 7+1.
Numbers and meanings.
The infinite of The Infinite Creator.
I’m sure there’s tons of science around it.
But I just know it works.

Anyway I was leaving this message
And when I finished about how I needed to be better at shifting gears
I transitioned to the next thing on my mind.
Mitch’s car breaking down in Yucaipa.
He Lyfted home and we’re waiting to hear.
But most likely it is the transmission.
Which I hadn’t connected.
Till I said it outloud.
His car transmission.
My own switching gears.
Which he is also doing at a pitched level.
The out picturing.
The physical and the metaphysical.
The connection.
The reminder.
That we create the world we are living in.
Which is a world of extreme change.
Extreme accelerating change.
Which must mean we are.
Changing at this rate.
And that means so much.
And we’ll keep getting into all of it as we go here.

For today
Just grateful for the reminder.
Be connected.
Stay connected.
Breathe in 7 hold for 1.
Breathe out 7 hold for 1.
It takes courage to connect.
But I encourage you
To know that courage
Is the transmission fluid
That keeps the gears shifting.

PS I’ll be exploring more of this Friday at the always superfun UnCabaret