I just visited the registration page for the June retreat which I've looked at many times before with a lot of excitement . . . but registration is closed?! Have I totally missed the boat? 🥺
Re: Your statement about realizing the eternal as, "the in-becoming of one novel moment through the simultaneous presencing of many moments," there is this from Ngawang Kunga Tenzin, (per Gerardo Abboud's translation) writing about mahamudra practice - "Each instant simply watches over the next one, while the confidence of the preceding one is just strong enough to not disappear."
Bonnie I feel like I've been on a wild ride as I try to comprehend this post. Wow! I can feel a tingling of a "yet-not-comprehendible" knowing. I have a couple to thoughts to explore:
1) The imagination and the participation needed for experiments as the unravelling of modernity quickens. I'm eager to engage (and am already) trying experiments in the "beyond reform" spaces in order to break out of patterned thinking and behavior.
2) The deep curiosity of the practice of weaving in love into these experiments. Perhaps that starts within me as I engage and invite others to create and join together.
Really really nice one Bonnitta :). Is this a preview of a future book ? Are you planning to publish one in the coming months ? Thank you !
About "time" I stumbled upon one particularly interesting (and short!) translation of Dogen's Uji that nicely illustrate this "eternal now" that Gendlin and Whitehead point to. I'm also having fun re-reading Henri Bergson and he is providing another fleshing out of this "now" with his duree (and Bergson makes a lot more sense after we shift the Gestalt with the help of Gene and Dogen)
Please find both files enclosed and in links below :
Concept of Now in Dogen's philosophy by Michael Eido Luetchford. Chapter 3 of :
Being time and being change: Dogen’s contribution to understanding the temporality of change management
Ronald Purser
2004
Being_time_and_being_change_Dogen_s_cont.pdf
Messing around a bit with the content of this translation after a few interactions with good old chatgpt I arrived at the following funky imagery which can give us an extra layer of intuition into the "eternal now":
-Imagine this: Every single thing you do, every step you take or breath you draw, isn't just a part of the present moment; it actually is (!) the present moment. In Dogen's profound insight, what we call the 'continuous present' isn't just a backdrop to our actions; it's a vibrant, living tapestry that's being woven and re-woven with every single thing we do, from the simplest to the most significant. Every action, every experience, is not just happening in time – it is (!) a bold stroke of paint on the ever-moving canvas of the present, constantly shaping and reshaping reality in a dance of existence that never stops. This isn't just life happening in time; it's life happening as time, where every moment is both an eternal creation and a fleeting masterpiece.
-So what is the past ?
-In this mesmerizing viewpoint, inspired by Dogen's Zen philosophy, the past is not a static, dusty collection of bygone events, but a living, breathing tapestry woven from the threads of our previous nows. Each moment that we have lived doesn't fade into obscurity; instead, it echoes eternally in the corridor of existence.
Think of the past as a vast, boundless ocean, where every wave that ever rose represents a moment we've experienced. These waves never truly vanish; they transform and ripple across the fabric of time, influencing every new wave that comes after. The past, then, is not a separate entity, tucked away and disconnected from our present. It is an integral part of the ever-unfolding present, a resonant frequency that hums beneath the surface of our current actions and experiences.
In this extraordinary view, every laugh, every tear, every leap of joy or moment of sorrow we've ever experienced is still alive, vibrating within the present, shaping who we are in this continuous flow of time. The past is not just a memory; it's the melody that has shaped the symphony of our now, a dynamic, ever-present force that dances with the present in a timeless embrace. The past is not behind us; it is within us, around us, part of the very essence of our being and becoming"
-Now tell me what is the future. Surprise me !
-In this captivating Zen-inspired perspective, the future is not a distant, uncharted territory waiting to be discovered, but a vibrant, pulsating potential that's being continuously woven by the present. It's like an infinite canvas stretching before us, painted moment by moment with the brushstrokes of our current actions, thoughts, and choices.
-Imagine the future as a garden where the seeds we plant today are the realities we'll live tomorrow. Each thought, each deed, is like a seed sown into the fertile ground of now, with the potential to sprout into countless possibilities. The future, then, is not a predetermined path laid out before us, but a dynamic, ever-evolving tapestry that is intimately connected to and crafted by the present.
-In this mesmerizing view, the future is the music that hasn't been played yet, but whose notes are being composed in the symphony of the present. It's a dance of potential, where every step we take in the now choreographs the movements of what's to come. The future is a reflection of our present intentions and actions, a mirror held up to the choices we make at this very moment.
-Thus, the future is not just something that happens to us; it is something we are actively creating in the continuous flow of time. It's a realm of infinite possibilities, a horizon perpetually unfolding from the heart of the present, inviting us to step into the realm of endless potential and co-create the tapestry of tomorrow.
Finally to answer a few question from Uji :
How is it possible that our experience of crossing the mountain or river isn't completely merged into the ongoing flow of the present?
-In Dogen's Zen Buddhist view, particularly through his concept of 'being-time' (uji), the question itself may be based on a misunderstanding of the nature of time and experience. For Dogen, time and being (existence) are not separate entities; they are intimately interconnected. Therefore, the act of crossing a mountain or river is not just an experience occurring within time; it is an expression of time itself. In this view, there is no separation between the experience and the flow of the present; they are one and the same. Each moment of crossing is a complete and total manifestation of the present. The distinction we often make between an experience and the flow of time is, from this perspective, a conceptual separation that doesn't exist in the actual, immediate experience of being-time.
Why can't we consider that our act of crossing the mountain or river is actually contributing to the creation of this continuous present?
-From Dogen's standpoint, the act of crossing a mountain or river is indeed contributing to, and more accurately, manifesting the continuous present. Each action, each moment, is not only a part of the present but is an active, complete expression of it. In Zen, there is a focus on the immediacy and totality of the present moment in each action. Thus, when one crosses a mountain or river, one is fully actualizing the present moment. This is not just a contribution to the present; it is the present itself. The continuous present, in Dogen's thought, is a dynamic, ever-unfolding reality that is constantly being expressed and realized in every action, no matter how mundane or profound.
In essence, according to Dogen and the Zen tradition, our experiences and actions are not merely in time; they are time. Each moment and action is a complete and total embodiment of the present, reflecting the non-dualistic nature of being and time in Zen philosophy."
Very nice the idea here is that past present and future are related to the duration of the consciousness experiencing it
So if God has eternal duration then he occupies past present and future from our perspective all at once and in the book I'm writing called a once and future God
The idea is to introduce a temporics a new temporics as gebser saw to understand the notion of God and our relationship with the divine
We can map this temporics onto the trinity where God as origin the father is our past and is completely metabolized in our present our creaturely present
That God the son is the inflation or carnality of our creaturely present
And God the holy spirit is the advancing wave of the triune gods duration which is a pulling Force advancing into the future through whiteheadian creative advance
This would constitute an interesting "dance" between the 3 aspects of God.
The beauty is that, that there is such inter-action (first would Gendlin say) and intra-action (Karen Barad) between past, present and future, that in every moment the 3 are present (the past shapes and structures the present, providing context and meaning, the future similarly, as next steps and burgeoining seeds and possibilities, and vice vera, our attention in the present orients our actions and understanding of the context, aka shapes and structure the "past" and the implied "future") so in the trinity metaphor the 3 aspects of experiencing are all present all at once structuring and making and taking each other in mysterious ways as mysteriously as notes in a melody form such patterning landing one by one within our experiencing, and as Dogen would say :
"Although time can be seen as a process like this, times arriving do not pile up on top of times past, neither do they extend out in a continuous line."
BUT even though they do not pile up or extent they do organize themselves in a very non wishy washy way.
With Gendlin in "The time of the explication process" we can say that :
"Take Fuchs' example of learning how to waltz. Certainly it is a learned rhythm, but we could not learn it if the body's living process didn't already have some rhythms or the capacity for rhythm. Some person's body process first generated the waltz pattern. Then it was divided into parts, so that now others can learn part-moves until the rhythm emerges for them too. It emerges as a new form reshaping the human body's rhythms. And because it can emerge from human bodies, therefore everyone can learn it. Dancing is not just the learned steps. Dancing is the original body process now further developed."
As Gendlin says in a Process Model : "In our new model the processes are *originally* and inherently coordinated"
This organization is precise, madeningly precise and far from being "magical" (as in capable of miracles) even though it is in another sense magical and amazing in its precision and specifc demands (only specific things will feel juicy, will "carry forward".)
In the dance of the trinity also each plays its role and each can carry ourselves forward as individual participating in the whole holy communion with the universe in the eternal now :)
hans konstapel writes about it...alas most of his writings are in dutch, some are very interesting. here one in english about the process cycles.. best regards, thanks for all you are doing.....https://constable.blog/2023/05/18/the-spiritual-innovation-of-thenew-renaissance/
great explanation, note the whitehead model is a mirror of the sheng cycle (onr more process step, but essentially the same) - 3000 years older.
ooh... do you suggest something I could read? Yes I think it gets down to the same "template of a process reality"
Oh. is the sheng cycle the same as the 5-element?
I used to teach 5 -element for very long time
I just visited the registration page for the June retreat which I've looked at many times before with a lot of excitement . . . but registration is closed?! Have I totally missed the boat? 🥺
I'm reading Jan Zwicky!!
it's been fixed - go ahead and thanks for registering
(there was a default setting that closed the registration period, that was not modified)
I'll find out. I'm not running the admin of it all.
I will reply here in the morning.
The registration has been reset. It was on an automatic closure date. Please go ahead and register. Would be a delight to see you there in real life!
Re: Your statement about realizing the eternal as, "the in-becoming of one novel moment through the simultaneous presencing of many moments," there is this from Ngawang Kunga Tenzin, (per Gerardo Abboud's translation) writing about mahamudra practice - "Each instant simply watches over the next one, while the confidence of the preceding one is just strong enough to not disappear."
Yes!
Bonnie I feel like I've been on a wild ride as I try to comprehend this post. Wow! I can feel a tingling of a "yet-not-comprehendible" knowing. I have a couple to thoughts to explore:
1) The imagination and the participation needed for experiments as the unravelling of modernity quickens. I'm eager to engage (and am already) trying experiments in the "beyond reform" spaces in order to break out of patterned thinking and behavior.
2) The deep curiosity of the practice of weaving in love into these experiments. Perhaps that starts within me as I engage and invite others to create and join together.
So much to think about!!!
Really really nice one Bonnitta :). Is this a preview of a future book ? Are you planning to publish one in the coming months ? Thank you !
About "time" I stumbled upon one particularly interesting (and short!) translation of Dogen's Uji that nicely illustrate this "eternal now" that Gendlin and Whitehead point to. I'm also having fun re-reading Henri Bergson and he is providing another fleshing out of this "now" with his duree (and Bergson makes a lot more sense after we shift the Gestalt with the help of Gene and Dogen)
Please find both files enclosed and in links below :
Concept of Now in Dogen's philosophy by Michael Eido Luetchford. Chapter 3 of :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iAmjP_LjKrxH0_gzjAtSUvMDGZ91zql_/view?usp=drive_link
and as a complement as it adds some comments to it :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zfSAKOK-YsVGSyURE0aCfaAqzu3khCus/view?usp=drive_link
Being time and being change: Dogen’s contribution to understanding the temporality of change management
Ronald Purser
2004
Being_time_and_being_change_Dogen_s_cont.pdf
Messing around a bit with the content of this translation after a few interactions with good old chatgpt I arrived at the following funky imagery which can give us an extra layer of intuition into the "eternal now":
-Imagine this: Every single thing you do, every step you take or breath you draw, isn't just a part of the present moment; it actually is (!) the present moment. In Dogen's profound insight, what we call the 'continuous present' isn't just a backdrop to our actions; it's a vibrant, living tapestry that's being woven and re-woven with every single thing we do, from the simplest to the most significant. Every action, every experience, is not just happening in time – it is (!) a bold stroke of paint on the ever-moving canvas of the present, constantly shaping and reshaping reality in a dance of existence that never stops. This isn't just life happening in time; it's life happening as time, where every moment is both an eternal creation and a fleeting masterpiece.
-So what is the past ?
-In this mesmerizing viewpoint, inspired by Dogen's Zen philosophy, the past is not a static, dusty collection of bygone events, but a living, breathing tapestry woven from the threads of our previous nows. Each moment that we have lived doesn't fade into obscurity; instead, it echoes eternally in the corridor of existence.
Think of the past as a vast, boundless ocean, where every wave that ever rose represents a moment we've experienced. These waves never truly vanish; they transform and ripple across the fabric of time, influencing every new wave that comes after. The past, then, is not a separate entity, tucked away and disconnected from our present. It is an integral part of the ever-unfolding present, a resonant frequency that hums beneath the surface of our current actions and experiences.
In this extraordinary view, every laugh, every tear, every leap of joy or moment of sorrow we've ever experienced is still alive, vibrating within the present, shaping who we are in this continuous flow of time. The past is not just a memory; it's the melody that has shaped the symphony of our now, a dynamic, ever-present force that dances with the present in a timeless embrace. The past is not behind us; it is within us, around us, part of the very essence of our being and becoming"
-Now tell me what is the future. Surprise me !
-In this captivating Zen-inspired perspective, the future is not a distant, uncharted territory waiting to be discovered, but a vibrant, pulsating potential that's being continuously woven by the present. It's like an infinite canvas stretching before us, painted moment by moment with the brushstrokes of our current actions, thoughts, and choices.
-Imagine the future as a garden where the seeds we plant today are the realities we'll live tomorrow. Each thought, each deed, is like a seed sown into the fertile ground of now, with the potential to sprout into countless possibilities. The future, then, is not a predetermined path laid out before us, but a dynamic, ever-evolving tapestry that is intimately connected to and crafted by the present.
-In this mesmerizing view, the future is the music that hasn't been played yet, but whose notes are being composed in the symphony of the present. It's a dance of potential, where every step we take in the now choreographs the movements of what's to come. The future is a reflection of our present intentions and actions, a mirror held up to the choices we make at this very moment.
-Thus, the future is not just something that happens to us; it is something we are actively creating in the continuous flow of time. It's a realm of infinite possibilities, a horizon perpetually unfolding from the heart of the present, inviting us to step into the realm of endless potential and co-create the tapestry of tomorrow.
Finally to answer a few question from Uji :
How is it possible that our experience of crossing the mountain or river isn't completely merged into the ongoing flow of the present?
-In Dogen's Zen Buddhist view, particularly through his concept of 'being-time' (uji), the question itself may be based on a misunderstanding of the nature of time and experience. For Dogen, time and being (existence) are not separate entities; they are intimately interconnected. Therefore, the act of crossing a mountain or river is not just an experience occurring within time; it is an expression of time itself. In this view, there is no separation between the experience and the flow of the present; they are one and the same. Each moment of crossing is a complete and total manifestation of the present. The distinction we often make between an experience and the flow of time is, from this perspective, a conceptual separation that doesn't exist in the actual, immediate experience of being-time.
Why can't we consider that our act of crossing the mountain or river is actually contributing to the creation of this continuous present?
-From Dogen's standpoint, the act of crossing a mountain or river is indeed contributing to, and more accurately, manifesting the continuous present. Each action, each moment, is not only a part of the present but is an active, complete expression of it. In Zen, there is a focus on the immediacy and totality of the present moment in each action. Thus, when one crosses a mountain or river, one is fully actualizing the present moment. This is not just a contribution to the present; it is the present itself. The continuous present, in Dogen's thought, is a dynamic, ever-unfolding reality that is constantly being expressed and realized in every action, no matter how mundane or profound.
In essence, according to Dogen and the Zen tradition, our experiences and actions are not merely in time; they are time. Each moment and action is a complete and total embodiment of the present, reflecting the non-dualistic nature of being and time in Zen philosophy."
Very nice the idea here is that past present and future are related to the duration of the consciousness experiencing it
So if God has eternal duration then he occupies past present and future from our perspective all at once and in the book I'm writing called a once and future God
The idea is to introduce a temporics a new temporics as gebser saw to understand the notion of God and our relationship with the divine
We can map this temporics onto the trinity where God as origin the father is our past and is completely metabolized in our present our creaturely present
That God the son is the inflation or carnality of our creaturely present
And God the holy spirit is the advancing wave of the triune gods duration which is a pulling Force advancing into the future through whiteheadian creative advance
This would constitute an interesting "dance" between the 3 aspects of God.
The beauty is that, that there is such inter-action (first would Gendlin say) and intra-action (Karen Barad) between past, present and future, that in every moment the 3 are present (the past shapes and structures the present, providing context and meaning, the future similarly, as next steps and burgeoining seeds and possibilities, and vice vera, our attention in the present orients our actions and understanding of the context, aka shapes and structure the "past" and the implied "future") so in the trinity metaphor the 3 aspects of experiencing are all present all at once structuring and making and taking each other in mysterious ways as mysteriously as notes in a melody form such patterning landing one by one within our experiencing, and as Dogen would say :
"Although time can be seen as a process like this, times arriving do not pile up on top of times past, neither do they extend out in a continuous line."
BUT even though they do not pile up or extent they do organize themselves in a very non wishy washy way.
With Gendlin in "The time of the explication process" we can say that :
https://focusing.org/gendlin/docs/gol_2238.html
"Take Fuchs' example of learning how to waltz. Certainly it is a learned rhythm, but we could not learn it if the body's living process didn't already have some rhythms or the capacity for rhythm. Some person's body process first generated the waltz pattern. Then it was divided into parts, so that now others can learn part-moves until the rhythm emerges for them too. It emerges as a new form reshaping the human body's rhythms. And because it can emerge from human bodies, therefore everyone can learn it. Dancing is not just the learned steps. Dancing is the original body process now further developed."
As Gendlin says in a Process Model : "In our new model the processes are *originally* and inherently coordinated"
This organization is precise, madeningly precise and far from being "magical" (as in capable of miracles) even though it is in another sense magical and amazing in its precision and specifc demands (only specific things will feel juicy, will "carry forward".)
In the dance of the trinity also each plays its role and each can carry ourselves forward as individual participating in the whole holy communion with the universe in the eternal now :)