Another spell surrounds forgotten names and events. Don’t miss the opportunity to see how the mind plays with memory. Tonight we found Ram Dass hidden under Meher Baba, and Abby Hoffman under Alfred Orman. These associations can be used more efficiently to release memories and dreams and can equally impress us by the joy of the moment of discovery.
[forgetting begat speech begat word begat, first words begat story begat memory begat spells begat humor begat giggles]
This type of play comes in the category called don’t push the river. Barry Stevens, a Gestalt therapist, wrote a book by that title that helped me hold onto my playful self through the pain of trying to conform to college learning. In this case the consciousness remains a river and only some of the facts float through on the surface. I imagine certain bits ending up closer to the surface at times and other’s bobbing at the bank at other times. One premise of this book offers that we find part of life’s quality by attending to aspects of life that have been relegated to insignificance. These aspects can imminently entertain. They can develop, expand and appreciate. They lead to some wonderful games of home-made malapropisms.
[conformation begat pain]
(I used the word riddles here at first because I liked the way the line sounded. I created a riddle for myself, as I could not really give any further explanation about what I wrote. It seems odd to play like this while writing. Like with the inaccessible word, I knew I was close to the idea and I couldn’t get closer by forcing myself at that moment to find the right expression or even the right idea. I deal with a tendency to get distracted and lose my train of thought. I deal with socialization that says I cannot write. After all I took literally a teachers lament that if I did not learn to spell, I would never get through college. To avoid all these traps, I move on with the loose ends trailing. When I come back to the text, I wonder what comes next.)
[judgment begat confusion]
Casting the Spell#5: Plumb the River
When we cannot find a lost word or misplaced name, and we know we know it, spend some time observing how we push our mind to access it. Rather than keeping this as an internal self-criticism of memory, consider ways in which we could share not the frustration but the layers of association. Plumb the river gently for lost information. Try predicting the word or name based on what word or name comes to mind. Make it up. Usually an associative pattern emerges that we use to access memory. With this overall pattern we can explore and savor remembering. We can get stuck on an association so that we hold it too close and one near it does not come forth. Consider how long it takes to retrieve lost names. Once we know that, then we know how long we have to play with our observations.
Consider that some word may have the right number of syllables. Maybe the letters order incorrectly, though hold the correct sounds. Recently I noticed that I come out with the wrong word and cover it with another expression. I have to back up the associative cascade. Sometimes going against too strong a current, I have to go across the stream. If we know what sound patterns exist, we can use them.For me the sound of some later syllable has taken over the lead and blocked the initial sound. Like remembering a dream, the more literal I am in what I am trying to search, the less productive the search. Come in close and increase the tension and then give room for the process to work. The give and take creates clues unless we leave too much space. Formulate personal rules. See how they vary. This opportunity to play with words and sounds allows us to enjoy the transformation. Mistakes springboard into play.[Mistakes begat connections begat play]
The spell has been cast. Abracadabra
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