Brigitte, this is fabulous. So well-written, so rich. Great examples. The photo speaks /shouts volumes both from foreground and background. It encapsulates life itself.
“I am not when I think. Rather, I am when I relate.”
This has a deep spiritual meaning if one considers ego (thinking) vs soul (our soul relating with other souls and experiencing the commonality of Source Soul/God/Creator/All That Is, etc., however one envisions or names this. The universal experience of relating is what matters.).
Brilliant, brilliant piece. I loved it. So well done. It can hardly be overstated how important this is today imo.
I thank you so much for reading this piece, Kathy! And I like how you think about this, and your line "The universal experience of relating is what matters." Profound.
Brilliant essay, Brigitte. So many things came to mind as I read this:
• The oft-overused analogy of an iceberg and how the vast majority of it is below our sight or, more applicably, our conscious awareness.
• The left-brain dominance in our Western world, especially since the Industrial Revolution.
• The popularity of (and, one can argue, growing addiction to) "memes" and quick sound bites, another indication of our need to get quick-fix glances (and knee-jerk answers) by focusing on the foreground, to the exclusion of the holistic, more nuanced background.
Your essay reminded me of the time a friend tried to explain to our Sunday coffee gang about the inherent limitation of language. Another of our motley caffeine klatch, a loving, brilliant fellow with a very logical bent, asked him, repeatedly, to try to *explain* this phenomenon in a more understandable fashion; the irony was lost on him, while the rest of us suppressed giggles.
Larry, I thank you so much for these thoughtful remarks, and I can somehow picture the Sunday coffee gang conversation.
I now wonder where this information inside my essay went, but our bodies process millions of times more information than our conscious mind is aware of (P. Sheperd in his book cites even a billion times more)
This was stunning Brigitte. Many have already commented on various call-outs and phrases that sang out to me as well. You have an exceptional skill at blending the background and the foreground with your use of language. It strikes me that the capacity to bring what is in the background of the conversation into the foreground of the conversation is the new form of leadership we need right now. You're such a bridge builder. Keep it coming.
These encouraging words from you—yourself an incredible bridge builder (I had not thought of myself as one before, but I like this image)—mean a lot 🙏 Thank you, Rick.
…”I am not when I think. Rather, I am when I relate.” - dang…really rad read…i think about this so much…what is the densest cleanest most direct way to express the thing…words, art, music, etc. all attempts to share but all filters the same…but they do bring us closer to each other even when sometimes parting us…but also that hug…space is the great connector…
Brigitte, I wholeheartedly echo the other comments. This is such an intelligent, thoughtful piece. So precious. You describe the paradox of how we experience the world beautifully - “the crisp scaffolding of perception” - and your choice of photo to ground that wonderful Frost line is highly effective.
I was really taken by your discussion of language and relieved to read that, while often confining us to the foreground, it offers a way to move beyond that through metaphor and poetry. Exemplified by these lines:
“The background, like the moment in the photo, may remind us what the foreground forgets: that meaning is shaped by the movement and flow of life, and in our participation in it. It may be found in a dancer’s arm moving in grace, a daughter’s breath catching, or when locking eyes with a beloved animal. The wild peace found in gestures and every moment, at least potentially.”
Richly layered, perfect example with the photograph of reunification. You take the reader on the emotional journey with you across the web. I felt that same lump in my throat as I read your words. No better illustration of your thesis than the heart-felt.
Several friends have mentioned/cited Dr. Ian McGilchrist in the past year, all disconnected from one another as far as I'm aware. His two books The Master and His Emissary and The Matter With Things have been sitting on my desk for a few months now. I don't know if I'm ready to read them yet, but I think all this serendipity is pushing me towards them faster.
Are you aware of Carlos Castenada's mentor Don Juan? His terms seem to be the same or a parallel to what you wrote. They are Tonal - the known world or what he says is on the tabletop, and Nagual - the normally unseen or unexperienced form of perception. These all seem to correspond to our left and right brains. Shifting voluntarily into the Nagual perception takes energy, which comes from living a disciplined life of practice or from shocks, which he used liberally with Carlos.
Fascinating, I was not aware of these teachings, and I already started down this rabbit hole. The idea of shocks (ie. grief I suppose) is interesting too. Thank you Karl for your thoughtful comment! 🌈
Brigitte this truly touched me. Aside from the fact that I love reading anyone's commentary on David Whyte, the ideas of background and foreground are really timely I think. US society is so focused on foreground, the immediate aspects of our experience, and somewhat tries to avoid the background. For example, our current strengths and weaknesses as a society can't really be understood except in the context of our history, in which they make perfect sense. I sense there's a lot of fear to honoring our background, individual and societal, because we don't realize the important interplay of the two. Much like in music, we can make the melody as nice as we want but it can never rival the beauty and richness of adding in the harmony, which adds depth, context and emotion.
Emily–Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback and time to read this. Yes, there is so much fear and conditioning at work, making it harder and harder to see the large interplay/context…
This is a beautiful piece Brigitte. Your writing is actually a lot like David Whyte's - smooth, poetic, fluid, perceptive. And this is a reflection that really hits home. Timely and important for the Western world. Thank you for writing this.
Thank You for saying that… I’m leaning on some of the greats who have been illuminating the path (here Whyte, McGilchrist, Sheperd, etc.) I agree that it’s important.
Brigitte, wow. What an essay! I finally had some silence and ability to drift into the background a bit and read in silence. Your ability to take this deep subject and turn it into such a relatable essay is remarkable.
I especially resonated with this: “that meaning is shaped by the movement and flow of life, and in our participation in it.”
I enjoyed this so much Brigitte--thanks for bringing it to my attention. A good use of the Frost quote! I am also thinking about Frost's poem Lost in Heaven, in which the speaker first is searching for his old "sky marks" or familiar stars and constellations in the sky, but ends,
"Seeing myself well lost once more, I sighed,
Where, where in Heaven am I? But don't tell me!
O opening clouds, by opening on me wide.
Let's let my heavenly lostness overwhelm me."
I think that sense of lostness is like disengaging from the foreground, the way you talk about it.
Brigitte, this is fabulous. So well-written, so rich. Great examples. The photo speaks /shouts volumes both from foreground and background. It encapsulates life itself.
“I am not when I think. Rather, I am when I relate.”
This has a deep spiritual meaning if one considers ego (thinking) vs soul (our soul relating with other souls and experiencing the commonality of Source Soul/God/Creator/All That Is, etc., however one envisions or names this. The universal experience of relating is what matters.).
Brilliant, brilliant piece. I loved it. So well done. It can hardly be overstated how important this is today imo.
I thank you so much for reading this piece, Kathy! And I like how you think about this, and your line "The universal experience of relating is what matters." Profound.
Brilliant essay, Brigitte. So many things came to mind as I read this:
• The oft-overused analogy of an iceberg and how the vast majority of it is below our sight or, more applicably, our conscious awareness.
• The left-brain dominance in our Western world, especially since the Industrial Revolution.
• The popularity of (and, one can argue, growing addiction to) "memes" and quick sound bites, another indication of our need to get quick-fix glances (and knee-jerk answers) by focusing on the foreground, to the exclusion of the holistic, more nuanced background.
Your essay reminded me of the time a friend tried to explain to our Sunday coffee gang about the inherent limitation of language. Another of our motley caffeine klatch, a loving, brilliant fellow with a very logical bent, asked him, repeatedly, to try to *explain* this phenomenon in a more understandable fashion; the irony was lost on him, while the rest of us suppressed giggles.
This is very well thought out. Nicely done!
Larry, I thank you so much for these thoughtful remarks, and I can somehow picture the Sunday coffee gang conversation.
I now wonder where this information inside my essay went, but our bodies process millions of times more information than our conscious mind is aware of (P. Sheperd in his book cites even a billion times more)
That reminds me: Ever heard of "heart math"?
https://www.heartmath.com/
I have not—but I am checking it out now. Thank you!
This was stunning Brigitte. Many have already commented on various call-outs and phrases that sang out to me as well. You have an exceptional skill at blending the background and the foreground with your use of language. It strikes me that the capacity to bring what is in the background of the conversation into the foreground of the conversation is the new form of leadership we need right now. You're such a bridge builder. Keep it coming.
These encouraging words from you—yourself an incredible bridge builder (I had not thought of myself as one before, but I like this image)—mean a lot 🙏 Thank you, Rick.
…”I am not when I think. Rather, I am when I relate.” - dang…really rad read…i think about this so much…what is the densest cleanest most direct way to express the thing…words, art, music, etc. all attempts to share but all filters the same…but they do bring us closer to each other even when sometimes parting us…but also that hug…space is the great connector…
"Space is the great connector" … where we relate. What are great line. Thank you so much.
Brigitte, I wholeheartedly echo the other comments. This is such an intelligent, thoughtful piece. So precious. You describe the paradox of how we experience the world beautifully - “the crisp scaffolding of perception” - and your choice of photo to ground that wonderful Frost line is highly effective.
I was really taken by your discussion of language and relieved to read that, while often confining us to the foreground, it offers a way to move beyond that through metaphor and poetry. Exemplified by these lines:
“The background, like the moment in the photo, may remind us what the foreground forgets: that meaning is shaped by the movement and flow of life, and in our participation in it. It may be found in a dancer’s arm moving in grace, a daughter’s breath catching, or when locking eyes with a beloved animal. The wild peace found in gestures and every moment, at least potentially.”
Simon, I thank you so much and am glad that it resonated with you 🙏
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! You did a wonderful job of capturing an airy, nuanced idea on paper. Well done ◡̈
Richly layered, perfect example with the photograph of reunification. You take the reader on the emotional journey with you across the web. I felt that same lump in my throat as I read your words. No better illustration of your thesis than the heart-felt.
Several friends have mentioned/cited Dr. Ian McGilchrist in the past year, all disconnected from one another as far as I'm aware. His two books The Master and His Emissary and The Matter With Things have been sitting on my desk for a few months now. I don't know if I'm ready to read them yet, but I think all this serendipity is pushing me towards them faster.
Such lovely feedback, thank you Lily. Means a lot to me. And yeah, reading McGilchrist is a time commitment but worth it (…when the time is right).
A wonderful essay.
Are you aware of Carlos Castenada's mentor Don Juan? His terms seem to be the same or a parallel to what you wrote. They are Tonal - the known world or what he says is on the tabletop, and Nagual - the normally unseen or unexperienced form of perception. These all seem to correspond to our left and right brains. Shifting voluntarily into the Nagual perception takes energy, which comes from living a disciplined life of practice or from shocks, which he used liberally with Carlos.
Fascinating, I was not aware of these teachings, and I already started down this rabbit hole. The idea of shocks (ie. grief I suppose) is interesting too. Thank you Karl for your thoughtful comment! 🌈
Brigitte this truly touched me. Aside from the fact that I love reading anyone's commentary on David Whyte, the ideas of background and foreground are really timely I think. US society is so focused on foreground, the immediate aspects of our experience, and somewhat tries to avoid the background. For example, our current strengths and weaknesses as a society can't really be understood except in the context of our history, in which they make perfect sense. I sense there's a lot of fear to honoring our background, individual and societal, because we don't realize the important interplay of the two. Much like in music, we can make the melody as nice as we want but it can never rival the beauty and richness of adding in the harmony, which adds depth, context and emotion.
Emily–Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback and time to read this. Yes, there is so much fear and conditioning at work, making it harder and harder to see the large interplay/context…
This is a beautiful piece Brigitte. Your writing is actually a lot like David Whyte's - smooth, poetic, fluid, perceptive. And this is a reflection that really hits home. Timely and important for the Western world. Thank you for writing this.
Thank You for saying that… I’m leaning on some of the greats who have been illuminating the path (here Whyte, McGilchrist, Sheperd, etc.) I agree that it’s important.
Brigitte, wow. What an essay! I finally had some silence and ability to drift into the background a bit and read in silence. Your ability to take this deep subject and turn it into such a relatable essay is remarkable.
I especially resonated with this: “that meaning is shaped by the movement and flow of life, and in our participation in it.”
I’m going to read several more times. 👏👏🙏🙏
I enjoyed this so much Brigitte--thanks for bringing it to my attention. A good use of the Frost quote! I am also thinking about Frost's poem Lost in Heaven, in which the speaker first is searching for his old "sky marks" or familiar stars and constellations in the sky, but ends,
"Seeing myself well lost once more, I sighed,
Where, where in Heaven am I? But don't tell me!
O opening clouds, by opening on me wide.
Let's let my heavenly lostness overwhelm me."
I think that sense of lostness is like disengaging from the foreground, the way you talk about it.