the dance of knowingness & unknowingness
vulnerable heart-sharing + meditative reflections on grace
so i published a piece a few days ago called ‘diary of an unresolvable hurricane’
and interestingly i went through quite a process after publishing it
i like the piece a lot but
i ended up feeling quite a bit of angst around these lines that i wrote in the original version:
“i no longer believe in ‘God’
i no longer believe in ‘Christ’
i no longer believe in ‘Truth’
i no longer believe in ‘Love’
those statements aren’t really true — just a way of pointing
i still believe in Christ and Love and so forth — i just no longer believe those beliefs represent fixed or final truths”
i ended up feeling like these lines weren’t really clear — and that they might just shock or confuse people rather than clarifying anything
even though i sometimes play the role of the trickster or riddler or ‘spiritual provocateur,’ i do generally endeavor to be clear in my writing — especially about those things which are most dear to my heart
and i guess i ended up feeling kinda disturbed by my own carelessness & unskillfulness
interestingly, no one actually gave me any negative feedback on the piece — so this whole process could’ve been pure projection based on my own emotions and assumptions
but i legitimately felt anxious and afraid that my words might have hurt someone, or destabilized someone, or caused people to misunderstand me
this was fascinating to experience, as i don’t usually feel this way about art that i publish on the internet — whether writing, music, video, or otherwise
after ~12 years of prolific public creativity, i’m pretty good at just ‘putting myself out there’ — messy processes included — and trusting that people will receive from that whatever they’re meant to receive from that, with a general intent to provide something that could be freeing or useful or medicinal
but, sometimes i do still get hung up on the implications of certain creations
so i wanted to write a follow-up to hopefully bring more clarity — and frankly to help restore my own peace of mind
i do believe and i do know
i believe in God
i believe in Christ
i believe in Truth
i believe in Love
not only do i believe, i know the experiences these words refer to with incredible intimacy
these words all point to faces of Divinity
faces of the supra-personal Heart
i have wept many tears at the altar of this Heart
this Heart is experience itself here and now
right now, just as it is
and now
and now
this supra-personal Heart can look like anything
this Heart of Life presents as an endless variety
and we know this endless variety
we do!
for we ARE THAT!
we are this seamless effulgence of pure poetry from/as the Creator’s Heart
we are most intimate with this poetry of life!
i know Christ, having met him personally and supra-personally as a pure loving presence beyond description
i know my daughter, having spent so many precious hours with both her personal and supra-personal radiance & artistry
i know God, having tasted numberless personal and supra-personal flavors of God’s flowing grace
i know Love, having felt my heart crack open to myriad personal and supra-personal flavors of boundless all-inclusive fullness
i know Truth, having noticed deeply that I AM and WE ARE the one living mystery that is actually, miraculously present here and now
i know all this intimately as the revelatory tapestry of life…
and…
and…
and…
i also un-know all of it
meaning i see its irrevocable quality of mystery, infinity, ever-shifting-ness
i see the way in which all of it is like an evanescent sandstorm that can never be caged within any conceptual structure or belief system
i see its pristine sky-like vastness
i see its ever-unshackled fullness
all of it is as it is
precisely as it is
yet that way that it is, can never be spoken with full accuracy
the holy word can take us a long way — bless its heart
the holy word can poetically evoke so much
yet no word can ever ultimately contain or pin down What Is
it’s too close, too direct, too slippery, too miraculous, too ordinary, too simple
the dance of knowingness & unknowingness
i wrote a poem yesterday that speaks to a deeper integration of knowingness and unknowingness. it goes like this:
i don’t need to know what you are
to know what you arei do know you, my love
i know you most intimately
the knowingness & unknowingness
kiss & dance & make love &
climax one another into
ever-vaster flowerings of
heart-realizationheart is now
heart knows & un-knows & is
not bound by eitheri love you
i love you
i also recorded this video where i read the poem and expressed what it means to me:
i am happy to have written this poem and made this video
i felt i was able to offer a more sacred and full expression of my heart’s truth
a truth that includes both the knowing & the unknowing — and the unsayable space that holds both of them
it is such a juicy paradox
how on one hand we are floating in/as pure mystery, having not the faintest clue about anything
and yet simultaneously being so unspeakably familiar with this mystery — being this mystery, tasting this mystery, knowing this mystery in countless ways
this unknowing knowingness is grace
grace is my heart
grace fully includes the knowing & the unknowing & is not bound by either
grace points toward what is always beyond & always
closer than close
allowing both knowingness & unknowingness,
yet fixating neither knowingness nor unknowingness,
we discover heart’s simple rest
allowing both duality & nonduality,
yet fixating neither duality nor nonduality,
we discover heart’s simple rest
allowing both form & emptiness,
yet fixating neither form nor emptiness,
we discover heart’s simple rest
thank you for considering these words
i appreciate you and wish you peace, my friend
may your days be filled with gladness, thanksgiving, & child-like buoyancy
God bless you and your loved ones
take care
love,
jordan
P.S. The next chapter of Lion Heart Leadership begins January 1st. Join us if you feel called to experience a sacred training ground for coaches, creators, & space-holders.
Good piece I like the concept of knowing and not knowing, knowing something well enough that you can let it go but have it for when you need to know it situationally. Have it stored in the fractals of your mind. I would like it if you read a few of my pieces. The Metamorphosis and The Bible Simply are two good ones that I feel are worth a creative individuals time.