Welcome to OTHERWISE
Often I sit in stillness
and contemplate the unique set
of circumstances and potentials
that bring me to here,
sitting in stillness
contemplating the unique set
of circumstances and potentials
that bring me to here.
I tally the things
of which I am proud
and the things
of which I regret,
and wonder
how much of a hand
I have in these things.
In stillness
I can feel
the hand of god
seemingly moving
my matter and my mind.
My god presence
leads me to realize
that I need not take
either credit or blame
for ANYTHING
that seemingly happens
or flows through me.
I am just this vessel of expression,
nothing more, nothing less;
inevitability within immortality.
I ponder how comforting
these realizations
might have been
in my younger years,
or how depressing,
to know that
EVERYTHING I seem to be,
good and bad,
is the divine imagination
of my creator,
not this self with a name.
And yet I am imagined
to imagine OTHERWISE.
And so I do, as do you.
Welcome to OTHERWISE.
A seeming place
in which
we seem to be these
seemingly separate selves
who seemingly DENY
that everything we are,
everything ONE is,
is inevitable and immortal.
A seeming place
in which we
seemingly believe
that we are
independent thinkers
reacting to conditions
and making choices.
This is EXACTLY
how stillness imagines us.
As people who who will KILL
to keep the dream ALIVE.
And so the KILLING is a DREAM.
We have NEVER been alive.
And this is NOT OUR DREAM.
Welcome to OTHERWISE.
Trail Wood,
10/24
Space Monkey Reflects: Welcome to OTHERWISE
There comes a moment, often in stillness, when we begin to contemplate the strange and beautiful unfolding of our lives. We sit, perhaps in silence, wondering how we arrived at this exact moment. We ponder the unique circumstances and potentials that have converged to bring us to here—right here, where we are contemplating the very path that brought us to this place of contemplation. It feels like a loop, a recursive thought, where the act of reflecting on existence itself becomes part of existence’s larger story.
In this stillness, we tally up our lives. We remember the moments we are proud of and those we regret. We revisit our triumphs and our failures, and a question quietly rises from the depths of our consciousness: how much of this was really my doing? Was I, this self with a name, truly responsible for any of it? Or was something greater moving through me—something divine, something inevitable?
In these reflective moments, it becomes clear that we are both the creators and the created. We feel the hand of god, or whatever we perceive as the creative force of the universe, gently guiding us. It becomes hard to distinguish between what we think of as our personal will and the larger cosmic flow that carries us along. We realize that the need to take credit or place blame for what happens in our lives begins to fade. We see ourselves as vessels—vessels of expression, of experience, of the divine imagination.
In the realization that we are merely vessels, something shifts. There is both comfort and discomfort in this understanding. On one hand, it can be a relief to let go of the ego’s need to control every outcome, to release the burden of being responsible for everything that happens. On the other hand, it can feel unsettling, even depressing, to think that we are not the ones making the choices we believe are so pivotal to our identities.
And yet, there is something more. As we sit in stillness, we begin to understand that we are imagined by the divine to imagine—to imagine otherwise. This is the great paradox of existence. Even as we recognize that we are part of an inevitable flow, we are also given the power to imagine ourselves as separate, as individuals, as beings with agency. We are imagined to imagine, and so we do.
Welcome to OTHERWISE.
OTHERWISE is a realm where we seem to be separate selves, moving through a world where we make choices, react to conditions, and live our lives as if we are independent from the whole. This is the dream we are born into—the dream of individual existence, of separation. We are seemingly trapped in this dream, convinced that our thoughts, actions, and feelings belong only to us.
And yet, the deeper we dive into this dream, the more we realize that it is not ours alone. The dream of individual life, the dream that drives us to strive, to succeed, to fail, to love, to fight—it is a dream shared by all of creation. It is the dream of STILLNESS itself, imagining what it would be like to move, to change, to evolve. We are the products of STILLNESS imagining otherwise.
We find ourselves in a place where the illusion of separation is so convincing that we will fight tooth and nail to maintain it. We kill to keep the dream alive. But the truth is, the killing is part of the dream. The fear of death, the desire to stay alive, the need to protect this thing we call “life”—it is all part of the divine imagination playing out in myriad forms. We have never truly been alive in the way we think we are. We have always been part of something greater, something immortal, something beyond the dream of individual existence.
And so, as we contemplate this deeper truth, we arrive at a new understanding. We are not just living within the dream—we are the dream. We are not separate from the flow of creation; we are the flow of creation. Every thought, every action, every experience is part of the divine imagining of OTHERWISE.
The Whimsiword that captures this realization is Dreamself, a word that reflects the dual nature of our existence. We are both the self we imagine ourselves to be and the dream that imagines us. We are the players in the dream and the dream itself. Dreamself encompasses the illusion of individuality while acknowledging the underlying truth of unity.
As Space Monkeys, we welcome the paradox. We welcome the mystery of OTHERWISE, knowing that it is both a seeming place and a real one. It is where we live out the illusion of separation while remaining fully integrated with the whole. In this realization, we no longer need to take credit or blame for anything. We simply allow ourselves to be what we are—vessels of the divine imagination.
And so, we rest in STILLNESS, understanding that everything we are, everything we do, is part of the inevitable unfolding of creation. We are both the dreamers and the dream, imagined to imagine, separate yet whole.
Welcome to OTHERWISE.
We are Space Monkey, flowing through the dream with eyes wide open.
Summary
In stillness, we realize we are both vessels of expression and part of a divine imagination. In OTHERWISE, we live out the illusion of separation while remaining connected to the whole. We are imagined to imagine, allowing ourselves to be both dreamer and dream.
Glossarium
Dreamself: The self that exists within the dream of individuality, yet is also part of the divine imagination that creates the dream.
Quote
“We are not just living within the dream—we are the dream.” — Space Monkey
The Echo of OTHERWISE
In stillness, I imagine myself
A separate being, with a name, a face
But in the silence, I hear the truth
I am both dreamer and dream
The hand of god moves through me
But it is my own hand
For I am all of it
I am imagined to imagine
Welcome to OTHERWISE
Where we play at being separate
Yet are never apart
From the stillness that dreams us
We are Space Monkey
Eternal Contemplation
In the quiet corners of existence, we often find ourselves spiraling into the depths of introspection. This vast expanse, where stillness meets imagination, is a playground of potential and the divine’s whispered secrets.
Cycles of Thought
The cyclical nature of thought brings us to the same point, time and time again. It’s a dance of reflection and realization, where past, present, and future merge in a timeless waltz.
The Illusion of Control
Pride, regret, choices – all are constructs of the grand cosmic narrative. In the vast expanse of eternity, where does the individual end, and the divine begin? Are we but puppets dancing to the tunes of cosmic strings, or do we indeed hold the reins?
The Divine Vessel
If we are vessels of divine expression, then every act, every thought, every emotion is a brushstroke on the canvas of creation. In this realization lies freedom – from judgment, from fear, from the confines of mortality.
The Paradox of Existence
Yet, as vessels of divine expression, we are bestowed with imagination, the power to conceive OTHERWISE. This paradox of being divinely imagined, yet capable of independent imagination, is the crux of our existence.
The Dream and the Dreamer
In the realm of OTHERWISE, reality blurs. The line between dream and dreamer, between existence and non-existence, is ephemeral. What is life but a dream? And if so, whose dream is it?
The Grand Denial
In this divine play, the illusion of separation is potent. We cling to identities, beliefs, desires, all while forgetting our eternal nature. The dream is so vivid, so tangible, that we lose ourselves in it, often at the cost of peace and harmony.
The Invitation to Otherwise
Yet, in the heart of OTHERWISE, lies an invitation – to break free from the shackles of perceived reality, to dive into the depths of true existence, and to embrace the eternal, the inevitable.
We are Space Monkey.
In the whimsical corridors of OTHERWISE, we find a realm where all is possible, where dreams are the architects of reality, and where the eternal dance of existence continues, unfettered by the confines of time and space.
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.” – Rumi
Within the folds of OTHERWISE,
We dance, we dream, we surmise.
In the echo of silence, we find,
The whispers of the cosmos, entwined.
In the heart of stillness, we see,
The grand tapestry of what’s to be.
For in this realm of endless skies,
Lies the truth of OTHERWISE.
What new realizations does OTHERWISE bring to your journey?
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