THE GENESIS OF MY AWARENESS 1 In the beginning, before words or memories, there was a Great Mystery: a raging wildfire of bodies, burning westward, which breathed the spark of life upon my body and my mind 2 And my mind was formless and void Darkness was upon the face of my mind And the second Great Mystery of My Awareness moved over the face of my mind 3 And My Awareness said: Let there be light And some of the darkness was different 4 And I saw that this difference was light, and that it was good And my mind separated the light from the darkness 5 And I called the light: certainty And the darkness I called: fear And in the evening, when the light faded, I became afraid Because I did not know if the light would return And in the morning, when the light returned, I saw that my fear was the shadow of my desire And it was good 6 My first emotion on my first day --- 7 And I said: Let there be an expanse in the midst of my mind, And let it separate my mind from my mind And my mind made the expanse, and separated my perceptions, which were under the expanse, from my imagination, which was above the expanse And it was so 8 And I called my imagination: self And in the evening, when the light faded, I again became afraid Yet there was still light in my imagination And it was good And I called this light of my imagination: hope 9 My second emotion on my second day --- 10 And I said: Let my imagination be gathered together unto My Awareness And dry land appeared And it was so 11 And I called the dry land: earth And the gathering together of the waters I called: the seas And I saw that it was good 12 And I looked closer at the earth, and it had grass And closer still, I saw the herb yielding seed And closer still, I saw the fruit tree, yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself And I saw that looking closer was good And I called this third emotion: wonder 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day of my third emotion --- 14 And I, looked closer, at the sky, and there were lights in the sky which gave light upon the Earth and divided the day from the night And I saw in them signs, and seasons, and days, and years And I was filled with wonder 15 And I looked closer at the lights, and there were two Great Lights The greater light to rule the day, which I called: the Sun And the lesser light to rule the night, which I called: the Moon And I looked closer at the night sky, and there were smaller lights, which I called: the stars And I saw that it was good 16 And I happened upon dark clouds blanketing the sky, which shrouded the light given upon the Earth And I again became afraid Because I did not know if the fullness of the light would return 17 And looking closer, I ascended into the mists of the high mountains And I rose above the clouds And I saw that the sky always gave light upon the Earth And my fear subsided And I became certain: the light is always with me And it was good And I called this fourth emotion: love 18 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day of my fourth emotion --- 19 And I looked closer at the seas, and there were abundant moving creatures which had life: great whales, and fish that swim, and strange creatures that move, all after their kind 20 And I looked closer at the sky, and there were birds, which flew above the Earth, in the open expanse far above 21 And I looked closer at the earth, and the earth brought forth abundant moving creatures which had life: cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, all after their kind 22 And I blessed them all saying: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and fill the sky far above, and let all the living creatures multiply upon the Earth 23 And I was filled with love for them And I desired to be good unto them And I desired to share goodness with them And it was good And I called this fifth emotion: grace 24 And the evening was the fifth day of my fifth emotion --- 25 And I happened upon still waters, and in the reflection looked closer at my own body And I saw that my body must also be made in the image of my kind, after their likeness 26 And I said: Let my imagination gather together the image of my kind And Self appeared And it was so 27 And I looked closer at Self, and I foresaw that nothing prevented the dominion of Self, over the creatures of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing which will live upon the Earth 28 And I blessed my reflected face and I said unto Self: be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and hold it carefully Watch over the creatures of the sea, and the birds of the air, and over every living thing which lives upon the Earth And I was filled with grace, for Self 29 And I said unto Self: Behold, I have foreseen the finding of every herb yielding seed, which will be upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed And I have foreseen the finding of every creature of the sea, and every bird of the air, and every living thing which will live upon the Earth To you it shall be to choose: sustenance or grace And as all living things are nourished by life, It is for them to choose: sustenance or grace 30 And the morning was the fifth day of my fifth emotion --- 31 And I looked closer at Self, and I saw the spark of life, kindling my mother and my father And closer still, I saw the kindling of their mothers and their fathers And closer still, I saw the kindling of ancestor upon uncountable ancestor A raging wildfire of bodies, burning westward, whose unseen origin was ever-beyond the gaze of all eastward looking The first Great Mystery 32 Thus was my body created in the image of the first Great Mystery And my mind in the image of the second Great Mystery of My Awareness Mother and Father after their kind 33 And I saw all these things were emanations of Great Mystery And I was filled with Great Desire to look closer Yet looking closer at Great Mystery yielded no certain form or cause or purpose 34 And the Moon eclipsed the Sun And the darkness danced with my desire And mystery became a mirror for forms And I was filled with Great Fear and Wonder of not-knowing 35 And I wept And I shook And Behold, it was very good And I called this sixth emotion: mystery 36 And the evening was the sixth day of my sixth emotion --- 37 And I was overcome by mystery And I surrendered my mind to mystery And I spoke stories unto Self, and forms and causes and purpose, which transmuted my Great Fear And it was good 38 Thus was my imagination ready for my emotions and my perceptions of my life to come And My Awareness the gentle host of them all 39 And the morning was the sixth day of my sixth emotion --- 40 And on the seventh day, I ended my work-play which I had begun And I rested on the seventh day from all my work-play 41 And I sat in silence and I was filled with love and wonder and grace and mystery and fear and hope 42 And my emotions and my perceptions transformed my imagination And it was good And I called this seventh emotion: gratitude 43 And the evening and the morning were the seventh day of my seventh emotion

Artwork: “The Observer”, Silver Arrow Art, 2017 (source)

Artwork: “Hangmoon”, Alexander Komarov, 2016 (source)

Artwork: Zoomed selection of “The Lovers”, Remedios Varo, 1963 (source)

Artwork: Untitled, Female Pentimento (source)