Serendipitously, I just picked up a book which seems to touch quite poetically and evocatively on some of the themes Jack is helping us to explore in this course. The book is entitled Becoming Animal, by David Abram. The following excerpt will give some sense of the possible resonances between this text and the theme of this course (exploring and ‘opening’ our senses).
Best wishes,
Bruce
~*~
“I’ve written this book, a spiraling series of experimental and improvisational forays, in hopes that others will try my findings against their own experience, correcting or contesting my discoveries with their own.
This venture will start slowly, gathering energy as it moves. Simple encounters from my own life — encounters unexpected and serendipitous — will provide a loose, structuring frame for each investigation that follows. The early chapters take up several ordinary, taken-for-granted aspects of the perceived world — shadows, houses, gravity, stones, visual depth — drawing near to each phenomenon in order to notice the way it engages not our intellect but our sensing and sentient body. Later chapters delve into more complex powers — like mind, mood, and language — that variously influence and organize our experience of the perceptual field. The final chapters step directly into the natural magic of perception itself, exploring the willed alteration of our senses and the wild transformation of the sensuous, addressing magic and shapeshifting and the metamorphosis of culture.
Many of our inherited concepts (our ready definitions and explanations) serve to isolate our intelligence from the intimacy of our creaturely encounter with the strangeness of things. In these pages we’ll listen close to the things themselves, allowing weather patterns and moose and precipitous cliffs their own otherness. We’ll pay attention to their unique manner of showing themselves, attuning ourselves to the facets that have been eclipsed by accepted styles of thinking. Can we find fresh ways to elucidate these earthly phenomena, forms of articulation that free the things from their conceptual straitjackets, enabling them to stretch their limbs and breathe?” ~ David Abram, Becoming Animal
David Abram actually attended one of CCI’s Consciousness Conferences at Ratna Ling, in 2006, I think. He has not been interested in doing more, though.
He’s a great story-teller and writer. Perhaps there would be a way to involve him further.
Caroline
Bruce, thank you so much for the clarity and precision of your observations, and the delightful quote from David Abrams’ book: ‘allowing weather patterns and moose and precipitous cliffs their own otherness’ – what an expression! Maybe we should write to him and tell him about TSK – ? The phrase ‘creaturely encounter with the strangeness of things’ makes me think he’d resonate effortlessly with TSK enquiries, and also reminds me of an experience of looking at my cat a few years ago – all concepts of the notion of cat vanishing momentarily, I saw this extremely strange presentation of life and form before me, which transcended words or any of my usual ways of knowing or commenting. Very refreshing.