Thursday, December 01, 2011

Cosmic Consciousness

"We want to pour oil onto the fire,
fan the tiny glow into flame,
span the earth;
make it quiver,
and beat more fiercely,
living and pulsating cosmos,
steaming universe."

(1892 - 1965)

"The Infinite, therefore, cannot be ranked among its objects. You can only apprehend the Infinite by a faculty superior to reason, by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer—in which the divine essence is communicated to you. This is ecstasy. It is the liberation of your mind from its finite consciousness. Like only can apprehend like; when you thus cease to be finite, you become one with the Infinite. In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self, its divine essence, you realize this union—this identity."

(204 - 274)

2 comments:

Koji Bulahan said...

This just gripped me. What is it a picture of?

I'm pulsing with curiosity, so that for you to answer my question could perhaps satisfy my mind immensely, or perhaps cruelly rob me of the awe i feel now not knowing what it is.

Andy Ilachinski said...

Koji, thanks for stopping by and for asking about this particular image. I will be happy to tell you what the "reality" is, but keep in mind that (as you suspect) it may take away from your initial feeling. On the other hand, even when you know, the "image" is still the image that first caught your eye, so you do not necessarily have to think of it any differently. That is the magic of photography, and the magic of art. Here is the "answer": you are looking at a small (about 15 mm by 15 mm square) section of some old cracked marble tile on a dining room floor; with a bit of color added. To *me* it looks like a cosmic gateway to other worlds!