Chameleon – Finding Truth in an Ever Changing Universe
6 02 2017‘A man without conviction.’ ‘A man who doesn’t know.’ These statements are interpreted often as signs of a weak character, yet to find throughout time other statements which validate the thoughts expressed by the ‘pop star’ Boy George in his song ‘Karma Chameleon’ by Culture Club, suggests that he was in fact, providing insight beyond the veil. That he personally has experience of what in Qabalistic terms is referred to as the Ain Soph Aur or ‘limitless or eternal light.’ For instance, in a recent translation of The Tao Te Ching, by Ursula K. Le Guin, she translates the first chapter using what I find to be interesting phrases. ‘So, the un-wanting soul sees what’s hidden, and the ever wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name…’ Shambala 1998.
This idea is reflected in several other elements, one being Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. ‘(The sage commander) holds to no fixed position or identity. Thus his wisdom emerges in the moment, on the spot.’ There is also a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote which essentially means the same thing. ‘Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow, speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day.’ These reflections upon personal engagement with the laws of creation allow for us to see how each moment we face challenges which will either fall into our range of expertise, or not.
The willingness to achieve new solutions to persistent challenges is one of the greater gifts of humanity. It isn’t really curious then, that even Einstein has addressed this type of thinking. ‘Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.’ To relate this quote to Le Guin’s translation, the persistency of wanting provides the consistency of fulfillment, however this fulfillment is still within illusion. The un-wanting soul, seeing the hidden, is able to engage with ‘the man behind the curtain,’ and thus attend to real needs and address solutions that require outside the box thinking.
As much as each of these statements can be actualized in the Zen phrase of ‘chop wood, carry water,’ the reverse must also be true, ‘chop water, carry wood.’ Or, play as well as you work, play while you are working, work while you are playing. Remembering that insanity is performing the same action and expecting different results.
As each of us reach towards our greatest potential, we must stay aware that others have been in this direction before, that the signpost up ahead, your next stop, ‘The Twilight Zone’ is still a road marker, and we have not gotten off the path as long as there are signs of humanity along the way.
2,500 years ago, 180 years ago, about 60 years ago, 34 years ago and today, don’t let your self- talk lead you into atrophic thinking, allow yourself freedom of thought, and keep in mind what Emerson said: ‘A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.’
