Light Piercing and Pervasive: A Short Story

Light Piercing and Pervasive: A Short Story

Josh stood still as he looked down on the terrace below his balcony. It was an ordinary day full of grey clouds in the sky and a sense of sluggish heaviness weighing down his body. He turned back inside and sat down on his chair spotted from stains of the past. Mistakes spilled over the upholstery, half-cleaned remnants of incidents associated with various memory webs in his mind. He was slow in his movements but something deep inside was restless and agitated.

     Today he was going to take his friend's little boy out for a bike ride near the water. This was a task he felt dutifully committed to and considered the day a burden on his mediocre existence.

     He had already eaten breakfast and was full of animal meat, various sugars and heated fats. He had woken today with an ugly feeling from the night's dreams of chaos and confusion. In his sleep he was presented with fragmented flashes of aggressive and violent creatures merging in with the natural setting of indistinguishable parts representing a claustrophobic backdrop of helpless imprisonment. There were patches of flat colours without borders, invisibly sharing space with each other. But, after his coffee and food he felt the dreams of the night slightly muted by his misty sense of waking presence.

     He picked up the kid at half past 10. He did not want to show his disinterest so he put on a dynamic mask of contentment as he happily guided the boy along the route. Freddy, the boy was so excited about the day's excursion that he could not stop giggling, shouting and asking questions. Josh was not prepared for such a situation and was naturally affected by the boy's bright energy. "Which way is east now?" blurted the boy, smiling.
     "It's that way." Josh responded, pointing out toward the vastness of the sea and sky.
     He delivered the boy back home around noon and was prepared for lunch at his favourite burger shop. Licking his lips, he made his way down the street on his bike dreaming about his upcoming fries and gravy. Upon receiving his order he turned to take his tray to the dining area but as he turned to walk he crashed into a lady and the tray fell lifelessly to the floor resulting in a pathetic mess of scattered poutine, burger parts and a splash-like puddle of cola.

     Josh did not bother ordering another set. He was actually not very hungry anyway. He left, slightly irritated by the event and brought this story with him as he walked along the street to the coffee shop down the way. He judged the others walking, watching their movements and clumsiness. "Why were they so automatic and careless in their movements?", he pondered as he looked out from his position as one would look out through a cockpit window. He took notes on his surroundings as he coasted down the street reporting his findings to control. An eery sound began to emerge from a few blocks away. The high pitched humming was accompanied by a slight crack in the clouds. The sunlight, long covered by the dense masses of condensation beamed out through the tiny opening with an absolute determination. With the humming coming to a halt, Josh looked up at the beam of light which was now separated into its colours as if refracted by a crystal. The sight was engaging and Josh could not pull away from the sheer beauty of the fan of hues. Just at the height of his attention, the rainbow streaks suddenly fused back into a single blinding white light, which then increased in intensity until it seemed to turn all things into an invisible white purity. Josh was left frozen in time and space, still aware of his existence but blinded by light. He felt as if he was floating but knew his feet were firmly rooted to the ground. Spherical pulses of energies were emit in waves from his center as he dangled in space. His presence was consumed by this all-pervasive force which he was not separate from. He merged with the essential power and was washed clean of his past. All sounds ended in time. Deaf and blind, Josh was not, but the one and only, the nowness of forever, the limitless fuel of life and awareness, the infinite field of clarity. He awoke, he was seated at the coffee shop overlooking a freshly brewed cup of dark roast, the steam swirling up through the air into his nostrils. He felt the moisture coat his nose hairs as the scent ascended through his system. He looked up and around, seeing others moving gracefully, walking around, sharing space, sitting, chatting, ordering, greeting. The blended motion swirled invisibly together, microscopically entangled in an immensely complex and incomprehensible way. Through the window, Josh could see the cars and people passing by on the road. The speed of the cars sent shivers down his spine, the people were most mysterious. He was not engaged but rather involved completely. The show was being performed, and he was both a spectator and an actor. The stage extended beyond the horizon and the director endlessly called for lights.

©Mike Sasaki 2018

To see the wood forms visit: mikesasakiwoodforms.etsy.com

Freestyle Poem No.2

Resistance of the Fact No.1

I say the name with great strength –
The name of the plant, the trees,
The taxonomy of life.

I clarify and order all things,
Material and not.

I move forth with grand strides,
Confident of past rewards,
Blindly attacking obstacles ahead.

My bones are weary, but I'm wide awake.
I fight with the strength of one thousand –
The battlefield of machine parts
Inside my brain.

The breeze brings soft smells
Of neighbouring flowers and shrubs.
I open the window of attention
And drink in the moist air of spring.

I am the scent of the world.
The friend, the foe, from whence
Do they depart?
The directionless here and now
I be. And resting, sitting,
Listening serene, I am not,
but we.

© Mike Sasaki 2018


 See the abstract wood forms at mikesasaki.com

Freestyle Poem No.1 - 2018/June 4th

Prior to the poem - a short background

The undefined structure of the "freestyle" poetry appeals to my preference of free writing. I come from a prose habbit and want to make it short (about 10-50 lines), hence the "poem" title. I am not defining the word "poem" I am stating my usage of it here. I have expressions I feel will fit in this length with style considerations. I am digging into the depths of nature through acknowledging psycho-neurological importance. I do not have classical training in these areas but I label these subjects of my focus accurately. The tests and experiments are conducted in the "lab" of awareness - the subject being thoughts, perception, fear, "psychological time" and therefore "ego". I hope to find other interested individuals in this type of exploration who can join and bring energy into this inquiry. I make no conclusions - rather open ended ideas serve as tools for digging into the depths of life and our consciousness. Thank you and enjoy.


Freestyle Poem No.1

Blindly born crying in the light,
Commotion, is-ness, already present.
I am, but why, what and who?
The night is deep and empty,
The fear is all pervasive -
My bones are that.

Fixed in motion, travelling,
Following, endless ideas,
Circling, flowing, mixing,
Cutting, picking, disturbing.
Why, what and who?

In the soup, tasting of this.
Wanting nothing, nothing blending.
Falling, twirling, on/off switch cannot be found.

The Body Falls Short: A Short Story

His name was Potter. He would spend hours in the library absorbing past scientific discoveries without the intention of becoming a scientist nor putting this knowledge to use in making new creative discoveries by which the world could be pulled forward in acquiescence. He also loved reading all kinds of history books, constructing an elaborate 4D picture in his mind which he would modify and make more clear as he plugged in new information. The mental picture was like various tunnels moving through time and merging symbiotically where cultures would be partially swallowed up by other dominating cultures. He found great pleasure in his hobby, resting in the awareness of his abundance of knowledge gave him a sense of power and comfort which no one could take from him. It was stored up transparently inside his skull where he could call up any bit at will and sing it out through his throat, tongue, teeth and mouth. He even practiced this execution poetically where he could, depending on what the situation called for, deliver his choice of words in an order and set so beautifully arranged that the listener's face would often glow with attention and admiration. This tendency contributed even more to his sense of power and ultimately pride.

Potter was retired at the age of 42. He built up his estate starting from an early age. He now sat comfortably in his self-constructed throne of the finest upholstered silk and straw. His feet perched languidly upon a matching foot stool. His servant boy would fan him tirelessly throughout the hottest hours of the day as he, the king, would get fatter and fatter as his historical reconstruction grew too expansive for all the folds in his brain to carry and surrepticiously moved down his spine and into his belly. By now, the story in his head had a life of its own, Potter was no longer in control of the winding organism it had become. The story would seem to breathe on its own and take which ever turn it desired.

A few years passed. Potter was now more jolly and lively than ever. He would join discussions, circles, meet-ups and take any possible opportunity for him to share his story. He would even be praised by his debating counterparts for his prowess in rhetoric. Aside from these meetings however he did notice he was quite alone. He spent most of his day at home, at the library, or roaming around town by himself. He would cover this loneliness with food and drink,... and books.

He was out for a walk one sunny afternoon when a ceramic vase came hurling down on him from a window above. It struck him in the left ear and he fell to the ground with a thud. The vase exploded into a fine powdery dust as it made contact with the earth, and blew away with the warm breeze. Potter was out cold. His experience was other worldly. It was black and cold. He was travelling close to the speed of light. He began approaching the light from stars which would wiz by in the blink of an eye, one could call them flashes or streaks. Out on the sidewalk people were staring at his contorted body. Some could not figure out what it was. Its shape was knotted up like a pretzel but slimely like a slug. It was emitting a peculiar odour as well and most people did not stay long to peer at the seemingly extraterrestrial matter. A few people called for emergency services due to confusion and helplessness. Just upon arrival of the first paramedic, the dark-greenish-grey, slimely organic mass which once was Potter's body started to rumble and shake. The paramedic halted his approach in surprise and wonder. With a gradual climb, there became audible a long uninterrupted soprano note being sung with a deep raspy underlying quality. The growing whistling of the airy soprano F-sharp interwoven with the low guttural sound texture froze the onlookers in a state of mesmerization. Their feet started to lift off the concrete and their groundless trance-like expressions began changing into blissful smiles of ecstasy as their weightless bodies were strung lifelessly in space. An outpouring of alphabetical characters started spitting out of the strange organic clump. Pulses of letters, rainbow coloured and of sizes ranging from 12pt text to microscopic dust like particles sprayed from what once was Potter. The fountain continued in waves of frequencies and particles, endlessly pouring out into the atmosphere. In Potter's experience, the darkness was changing to light and his flying speed gradually slowed as he came to a standstill. Glowing light was now emanating from his body as he climbed out of the now lifeless coccoon drying up on the sidewalk and stood up to greet the onlookers who were now back on the ground with new expressions of perplexity. Potter took a look at his fresh hands and feet, thanked the crowd and the emergency services and walked on. He did not look back once. In fact, he completely forgot about the whole event and his former life within minutes. He turned into the bakery and ordered a plain, whole-grain bun and a bottle of water.

Thank you for reading : )
See the wood forms at: mikesasakiwoodforms.etsy.com

A Commoner's Hypothesis on the Metaphysics of Insight

Possibly good news for homosapiens.

It is possible that the end of confusion has always been here.

As we all know, communication has its limitations and obstacles. A simple example is: if the listener is sleepy, how can they clearly understand what the speaker is saying. A more complicated example is: the listener misinterprets what is being said due to their own particular patterns of comprehension and understanding of certain concepts and words. So, what do I mean by the word "confusion" in this context? I mean the deepest most fundamental confusion that we are plagued with as human beings, the confusion which prompts such questions as: What is the meaning of life?, What is happiness?, etc.

Now that that is clear, allow me to explain my claim.

As we typically rely on the fields of science, religion, etc. for guidance and supply of knowledge, we may find ourselves "waiting" for the "revelation" to come from the outer world. In science for example, as we are in the quantum era, we have discovered the limitation of classical methods of observation when coming into "contact" with quantum particles which behave in a non-classical way. The link between matter and the unmanifested dimension has been stumbled upon. Electrons may be here or there or both places at the same time. They clearly transcend the limitations of the time-space field.

Can we be internal scientists and make clear observations through awareness? Can the answer to our deepest confusion be found through clarity of "seeing" inwardly? When I say "clear", I mean insights, and realizations that come in a flash (seemingly from a dimension different then space-time). So, I distinguish between conceptual ideas and insights here.
 
Inward investigation and laboratory science share something in common: we seek to discover what is already there. The only way we can find out if "inward science" works is to start conducting experiments in this vast laboratory of the mind.


See my abstract wood sculptures here: mikesasakiwoodforms.etsy.com

Seaguls Are Beautiful Too

The seagul coasts through space with wings open for a few moments then flaps its wings again to maintain altitude. I observe the smooth flight trajectory and the indifference written on the birds face. But who is watching? I think what I see is real but it's a two-dimensional image with the illusion of depth processed in the brain. Movement never stops like a photograph, never. Light is fast but still takes time to travel. The stars we see at night are proof. Someone standing below has a different view of the event. Why should I classify it as an "event"? When did it start and end? Thoughts say "event happened". Thoughts are not mine, we share them as a species like currency is traded and circulated. But there is more. There must be more - the beauty of the bear taking a stroll, the whale out of reach in the deep waters of the ocean, peace and joy when the brain is calm and alert.

Another seagul coasts across my zone of visual attention, the fleeting movement is not recorded as the mind relaxes into the depth of silence. Here movement and sound merge. The separations dissolve, nothing is watching, the seagul is not a seagul, the earth spins fast, the wind stirs and blends, the gas and solids share their symbiotic agreement, the trees sway unconditionally supported by the surrounding air, I inhale easy and exhale next. Gravity is sucking me down toward the exact center point of the earth, a point so exact that it cannot be marked, it cannot take space. Does it even exist?

~ • ~

The spine of the bear, the flight of the bird, the apple on the table;

Social interaction, chemicals of positivity and negativity;

Timeless being, freely moving, gracefully silent.

This is "Behind The Wood Forms". Thank you for reading. 

Wood forms can be viewed and purchased at:

 mikesasakiwoodforms.etsy.com

Arch No.2 - in Yellow Cedar - 2017

Good And New Tools Over Mediocre Fish and A Side

Just as human beings evolved with their technology and tools over thousands of years the evolution of my craft also evolved with the tool collection. Without a vise how can you use a draw knife? What are the physical requirements for a shave horse?


Image from: https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/how-make-shaving-horse

 I needed a workbench/surface. I saw the Japanese traditional surface which was close to the ground to be used kneeling. I had a 5"X5" cedar post off-cut about 3' long. I saw cut a groove to accept a stop which is piece of wood to fit in the groove which projects above the surface to keep the work piece from moving in one direction. With this simple device, I could get to work. I could saw, plane and carve against the stop. Without a drill or brace, I was left nailing pieces together or joining them with tight fitting joints. I should mention, I decided to work with hand tools rather than electric tools at the beginning because I wanted to learn those skills masterfully. I have since realized the joy of working with non-powered tools - quite a profound and unique feeling indeed.

This starting-from-scratch approach to tool acquisition appealed to me greatly because I saw it as a sort of complicated problem solving project. In other words, I valued the process and took it slowly intentionally in order not to cheat myself of the valuable learning process gained with each step of this "evolution".

 At a certain point I decided to start investing in good and new tools. I compared acquiring a tool to eating at a restaurant and taking chances on the fish or chicken! It was always an easy decision to spring for the long lasting, very useful tool which provides joy and the facilitation of high quality work. There are quite a lot of tools necessary to meet the minimum requirements to make fine objects. It seemed every time I had a new project there was another tool I needed. But I knew that it was the right thing to do and eventually this process slowed down and I am left today with the collection of necessary tools which I invested in along the way. It's a collection that suits me and my work and has become a natural extension of my hand! I would love to go into more detail, so stay tuned for future blogs on the subject of tools.
 
One example: I bought a block plane from Lie-Nielson,...
 
Image source:
Imagehttps://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/block-planes/adjustable-mouth-block-planes-?node=4072

...springing for the unfavorable exchange rate from US to Canadian and UPS brokerage fee (which was a surprise) only to find that it was faulty. I sent it back and waited weeks for the return taking every precaution necessary to avoid being charged import taxes and the broker fees. I got mistakenly taxed again and had to file for a refund. All the while, I knew that all of this was worth it. I was correct. This properly tuned tool allows for fine work to be done. It has served me very well and having it in my collection is of great value to me.


Thanks for reading.

The abstract sculptures can always be found at:
mikesasakiwoodforms.etsy.com

Visit mikesasaki.com for a comprehensive presentation of my artwork in a variety of media