Perpetual Existential Angst (PEA) is a constant companion of mine.The seat of the frustration for myself and, I believe, for anyone who walks in the world of the 'metaphysical', is that we see and hear almost everything on two levels; that of the face value but also in terms of the deeper meaning - the hidden psychology. The conflict arises in trying to distinguish when it is appropriate to inform people about what you are registering, and indeed if one ever should. The 'path' may be to know, but to retain, the information until people are led to it themselves. The angst arises from the constant desire to gently shake people awake to a realisation of their indivisibility between what is above, below, within and without.
There's a whole sub culture of us out there leading this dualistic life. Coincidences and synchronicities speak volumes to us. Additionally we hear intonations within the spoken words of others, we notice metaphor and symbolism in one's choice of words - whether it be from overheard conversations in the local shops or in the latest news bulletin on TV. Body language is revealing too, as is the choice of clothes, the colour of those clothes etc. Even age makes a difference. Who out there with a grounding in astrological symbolism/planetary cycles doesn't prick up their ears when someone says they are 28 or 41! To the average Joe on the street age is a number, to the astrologer though it's a Saturn return or a Uranus opposition.
Here's an everyday example of what I mean.
In England this weekend rugby fans were gripped by the match between England and the New Zealand team, the All Blacks. To many the 'All Blacks' are known as a formidable side of dedicated, focused men who happen to play their sport with exceptional skill. How though, one may ponder, have they managed to build up such a solid reputation and incredible track record despite changes of players, coaches, managers and the natural passage of time. Why hasn't the Argentinean or indeed any other of the international teams achieved such a degree of respect and consistency?
Now, beyond the NZ team being the best in the world, I know zilch about rugby but I do know a lot about symbolism and the symbolism for the New Zealand side is noteworthy and I believe that their ongoing success has to be due in some part to metaphysical factors.
Firstly the strip and the name of the team ALL BLACKS shows correspondence to a Saturn/Pluto vibration. Their strip is 'all' black (Saturn) and there is an emblem of the silver fern in their logo. Silver equates to the Moon and her lunar influences whilst the Fern is a Scorpio (Pluto) plant as it grows in shady, moist areas in dense undergrowth. All students of astrological symbolism know that Saturn/Pluto energies are those of spectacular endurance. Astrologer Sue Tompkins talks about it being the aspect of controlled use of power and of demolition. The All Blacks certainly seem to demolish their opponents time after time. This weekend they won the Grand Slam beating England 32- 6 at Twickenham.
The second reason I know this team will forever be one step ahead of their opponents, lies in the way they start their matches. The All Blacks are famous for doing The Haka. They are not the only team to perform this ancient Maori posture dance, it's part of New Zealand's ceremonial culture, but the reason The Haka gives the All Blacks the edge could well be down to what they are wearing (black) plus this dance invoking something known as entrainment.
I wrote about entrainment here but basically the phenomena was first recognised by Christian Huygens, a physicist and clock maker. Huygens happened to notice that when pendulum clocks were marking a different beat, then before too long, when they were in close proximity, their beat became entrained i.e. the swing of their pendulums would have synchronized. Nowadays entrainment is recognised as a universally occurring phenomenon in Physics and Quantum Physics and is linked to brainwaves and soundwaves and, some say waves of any description* For example the sacred ' AUM' sound is a humming sound of a particular wavelength that affects the entire being and brings it to a state of harmony otherwise known as resonance.
So, watching The Haka, I believe that the All Blacks are (either knowingly or unwittingly) tapping into a an ancient Maori technique that brings the team into a state of entrainment and therefore gives them an edge over the competition. It quite literally synchronises the willpower of the team. The definition of the word Team being 'the cooperation of a unit' - and that means physically and mentally.
There's far more about symbolism in the sporting arena's that I could mention, including the symbolism of the starting time of matches and the numbers which players wear on their backs, but that's for another time. I just wanted to demonstrate how easy it is for someone to think they are just watching a straightforward match, while I sit there thinking 'England are stuffed 'coz they don't do The Haka'!
Ah well this dualism in my mind, and the resulting P.E.A., is the curse that may one day turn into a blessing, but for now though I guess it is something I will just have to live with!
* * * * *
Now would you look at that. I just googled 'Entrainment + Haka' and it seems I am onto something. In the book Deleuze and Music it says: Rhythmic syntheses bring bodies together under relations of movement and rest and also individuate a Haka as an event......... read about this here. So, it is indeed all about Rhythm and Synthesis of the team and this confirms the value of The Haka.
* Furthermore distance may not be a factor. Entrainment may take place between the brains of people when separated, and be a factor in telepathy and synchronistic events like continually bumping into someone or having them call you when you have just thought about them.
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