(IrnMind Mettle Monday) (Wellspring Season ~ April 20/2020)
/// Tawnshi fair Townspeople, Ladies & Djentlemen ~ To IrnMind Mettle Monday🤘🏿 The most #Brutiful way to Engage /w the start of your week!
(I) *Brutiful Quality Quotation:
“What did you do as a child that created timelessness
That made you forget time?
There Lies the myth to live by” -Joseph Campbell
As I reminisce & romance upon how this quote resonates /w my childhood self, I am reminded of the domain of Grandma & Grandpa Hanson. While not my biological grandparents, they served as my caretakers during the days before I attended school & had a vast array of activities that presented an infinite ocean of awe & wonder to immerse oneself ~ for example, I fondly recall the countless hours watching classic cartoons on the stairs.
Grandpa Hanson was a collector & had all three levels of the house full of antique toys, furniture & a cornucopia of other intriguing objects, /w an ever-rotating stock of items & traders coming to visit, almost every week he would have something new to show. The backyard was a forest of free play ~ revisiting the home over 20 years later as an adult & looking at what now seems so small, seemed a vast expanse for escape & solace as a five-year-old boy.
I am reminded now of my unknown introverted self ~ the hours alone I would spend in contemplation, creating my own world & imagining futures yet to come. It seemed so natural that I was able to be comfortable on my own for so long, I would climb into my favorite tree overlooking the back alley & park beyond, eat my lunch & daydream for hours.
There were also hours at, or under the table drawing ~ most vivid in my vision are the homes I would draw ~ with large boulders of gold in the basement as the foundation for each drawing. The symbolism of which I now link to my ignited passion for architecture, becoming a builder, & the philosophy of alchemy towards a heart of gold, as well as having a hearts desire to build genuine wealth & “Forge a Modern Renaissance Mind” through refinement of spirit.
Thinking back on those memories rekindle such passion, knowing that from the beginning of my boyhood, I had a visionary spirit of grandiosity, to build beyond what others could comprehend, to create & innovate beyond boundaries.
(Qu)? | Can you recall a memory from your childhood, a felt sense where time slipped away? Do your absolute best to incorporate even the seemingly insubstantial details. Where could you implement a practice in the coming week to rekindle that inner flame, to fuel your creative forge?
(II) Music to Immerse in Listening:
(August Burns Red) | Spirit Breaker | Lyric Video & (Full Genius Lyrics)
As a pillar on the IrnMind playlist, this song has been an anchor through countless storms of life. It has allowed me to sail wisely through the waves of oppression that seek to capsize & capitalize upon moments of weakness ~ & serves as a reminder to appreciate each day as a precious gift. As one looks to forge an IrnMind, know that often when we look to progress, the first thing we will experience is loss, however, this is what allows us to tear down, rebuild, & transcend our former selves ~ & through refinement of spirit, build a fortress upon a foundation of superior character & virtue.
Spirit Breaker is comprised of powerful lyrics /w an interlude of spoken word poetry ~ a torch to light the depths of one’s soul. The song seeks to evoke a sense that we may all experience trials where time & place seem only as a deep depression ~ a never-ending dark night. There is however, always a light at the end of the tunnel. /W support from those around us, steadfast dedication to struggle through beauty & surrender /w courage, one need only fight & flow in supple fashion ~ anchored in coherence /w the tides of transformation. Spirit Breaker is the embodiment of “beginners mind,” & the lyrics below are recited in silence each time I finish a “Zen Mind” meditation.
“I hope to Open my Eyes
To see this Picture, I’m throwing it all away
I hope to Open my Eyes
To see this Moment
That I should Treasure Forever”
To profess a recollection of what my eyes & heart did behold at the end of my last meditation… /// I sat upon scarred logs lining the top of a knoll covered in sage & wild grass ~ overlooking the rustic railway tracks that span the length of the horizon. Before me was a vast expanse of hillside & snow-capped mountains ~ a great stillness in the spring thaw ~ yet /w the sunsets warmth on my face, & the birdsong along /w the winds kiss, I was deeply immersed in a moment of pure presence ~ a departure from any worry or fear, only beauty, clear eyes & full heart.
I would suggest you take some time to ponder & invoke a felt sense of a past or current situation /w which you need rulership over. Then listen to the song, allow the lyrics to resonate /w where your spirit needs to be taken, & the meaning you need to find through your difficulties. I invite you to set a new standard, begin again, & Immerse 🌊🎼
(III)IrnMind-Forge:
Zen Mind Beginners Mind | (Shunryu Suzuki)
As a child, we approach each new situation in life /w a depth of fascination that is almost unfathomable to most in their adult lives. Therein lay the secret to engaging /w our days in a more brutiful fashion, if we can awake each morning /w an intention to dedicate our attention & presence to that of a being in awe. Beginners Mind can then be an instrument for exponential progress, as we find novel solutions to formally perplexing situations ~ our paradigm expanded beyond the borders of a finite & fragile sense of self unwilling to look foolish.
“The practice of Zen mind is beginner’s mind. The innocence of the first inquiry ~ what am I? ~ is needed throughout Zen practice, The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, & open to all possibilities. It is the kind of mind which can see things as they are, which step by step & in an instant, can realize original nature of everything.”
In this way, we can remove our perceived mastery, or complex of perfectionism, & explore approaches & methodologies that may seem utterly tangential in nature ~ yet hold infinite potential for discovery & innovation. Take for instance, my artwork. I find myself falling into a pattern of intense self-critique, scrutinizing which lines should go where, & the proper formation of patterns, often taking on the position that all work must be a presentable finished masterpiece. What if instead, I saw each work, each hour invested as ample time to connect /w my intuition, to immerse in the present moment, & conjure up inspiration from the creative well ~ letting flow the ink as a steady stream.
“Shoshin, or beginners mind, The Zen way of calligraphy is to write in the most straightforward simple way, as if you were a beginner, not trying to make something skillful or beautiful, but simply writing /w full attention, as if you were discovering what you were writing for the first time ~ then your full nature will be in your wilting. This is the way of practice, moment after moment.”
My abstract art style has been influenced in large part to the Elder Alex Janvier’s monumental exhibition at the Glenbow Museum in 2018. It was the seed of inspiration needed to cultivate my own abstract art style & has allowed countless hours to slip away in the consummation of creative exploration & progression. The work mentioned below moved me to tears /w its symbolism ~ a young boy, whos spirit being lost & trampled upon, utterly forgotten. His influence to reconnect /w the spirit of my inner child has, in a sense, brought about truth & reconciliation to the loss of my inner child’s own identity, & as a genuine human being. It has allowed me to build a foundation of understanding /w which to flourish as I further my purpose on the path of life.
Modern Indigenous Master Alex Janvier | (Wounded Knee Boy)
(IV) Count Your Blessings:
Vlog #19 (Beginners Mind Baptism)
(V) Profound (Qu)? to (Ponder/Journal Upon):
(Qu)? *How would I like to wake up each morning?
A question I have been asking myself lately in an attempt to hardwire subconscious triggers into my operating system.
Here is a short list of how I would ideally show up each morning, in departure from my restorative slumber.
- Awake /w delight to engage /w the day
- Ritual & reverence
- Immerse in creative work
As part of my (mTor) or morning ritual, & in an effort to implement more (ritual/reverence), I shower in the morning before meditation, & speak a blessing that is like scripture ~ living, breathing & ever-flowing. In its current iteration, it goes along the lines of
“Thank you, father, curator, ancestors ~ for this gift /w which I may gain clarity.
Please bestow me /w light, that I may paint upon this canvas /w brushstrokes of beauty
That I may live through virtue. That I may /w diligence forge an IrnMind
That I may further implement my Ikigai & purpose to inspire & serve
Each day a little death, each day baptism, immerse ~ born again
Amar (*a mixture of Amen & Marsee)
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/// If you know another human being who would delight in any of the content contained, please share this message /w diligence. If you have been bestowed this message, & would revel in an weekly Infusement of Modern Renaissance Inspiration /w a Dose of Métis Polymath Paradigm Expansion ~ Please follow this (Inter-Dimensional Portal)
What took you down the rabbit hole? Content recommendations, Insightful Improvements, Questions? Let us connect! I would love to engage through Instagram @IrnMind ~ Tag me & use the #IrnMindMettleMonday
To all those in the thread of the global IrnMind who invest their time to watch & read each week, thank you, /w a depth of gratitude drawn from the well of my heart. Your collaboration to further my purpose to 💡 “Inspire & Serve” & the (Ikigai) of IrnMind ~ Forge a Modern Renaissance Mind ~ is of absolute imperative. Together, we can work to forge a mind that is creative, resilient & therefore adaptable through adversity.
/// Marsee & Ardua per Bellus 🙏🏾🤘🏿
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