Donald Traxler's Poetry: December 2020

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Interior Worlds

Interior worlds are his domains,

where time and space are nothing,

and only Consciousness remains.

102 Thousand Visits, and Many Pirates

Does anything look strange to you about the graphic above? It's a listing of the top sources of visits to this blog in the last twenty-four hours. Thirty-two of the thirty-four visits from the US were by a known pirate. But the 800-plus visits from Sweden were by an even bigger pirate. Only Sweden and Japan appear to have the capability of such rapid harvesting of my work. But I can't worry my head about it, at least not now. I say let them fight it out among themselves and try to make a profit off of what I give away free.

Overnight, total visits to the blog went from 101,613 to 102,484. Normally, two or three hundred visits would be a very big day. This is ridiculous.

My "Upanishad" series ended at ninety-one parts. It could be extended in the future, but at the moment this is all I have to say.

I have started a new series, "Notes on the Zohar," which is currently at four parts. I expect that there will be many more parts. This is writing that I enjoy doing, with some personal touches.

The poem that I posted this morning, came to me between 4:00 and 5:00 a,m,, which is the "witching hour" for such things. I did not include any dedicatory line, thinking that the subject was pretty obvious. It was inspired by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, whom I met and from whom I received "The Rebbe's Kiss" in 1966 or '67. He was the most charismatic man I ever met, and made a huge impression on me, a very positive one. May his memory be for a blessing.

As usual, thanks to all of you for your continued interest and enthusiasm.

Sound the Shofar

Sound the shofar for a

New Year of the Soul.

Dance the Rebbe's dance,

and sing the Rebbe's tune.

Our Father yet lives,

our people live.

Our Rebbe yet lives.

Young again,

he jumps for joy.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Notes on the Zohar IV

In the Prologue, we are introduced to the rabbinic cast of characters: R. Hizkiah, R. Simeon, R. Eleazar. It starts with some fanciful exposition of Biblical verses, involving verses from the Song of Songs. If you are looking for spiritual eroticism, here is the signal that you are going to find it.

After a tortuous exposition by R. Eleazar, R, Simeon takes over, and his derivation (on p. 6 of my Soncino Press edition, which equates to pp. 1b-2a in the Mantua edition) of Elohim (God) from Eleh (these) and Mi (Who?) will absolutely make your head spin. Afterwards, his companions prostrate themselves before him in admiration. One of them says that if he had been born only to hear this, he would have been satisfied.

In my edition, the Prologue begins on page 3. In talking about it, we have only reached page 6. The Prologue ends on page 62, so we have a lot more of the same ahead of us. Obviously, I cannot provide a blow-by-blow commentary.

What I can do is go back to some material that unfortunately got skipped over in the last instalment of these Notes.

The Zohar was not only a revelation to Christians (as I described last time); it was a revelation to Jews. It was partly to blame for the failed messianism of Sabbatai Zevi, which caused negative connotations to become attached to it. But a new era truly began for the Zohar and for Kabbalah in general with eighteenth-century Chasidism.

Back in 1964, I began my exploration of Jewish mysticism with a truly remarkable book by Martin Buber: HASIDISM AND MODERN MAN. It may have been a fortuitous choice, but I could not have selected a better entry point.

In that book, Buber showed just exactly in what way the Chasidism of the eighteenth and later centuries is still relevant, as a spiritual outlook, today. What I read reminded me of my beloved American Transcendentalism, and I wrote a paper comparing the two. It fired my imagination and my spiritual ardor. I wanted to emulate the Tzaddikim ("Righteous") who had followed, and I guess still follow, in the footsteps of the Baal Shem Tov, the Master of the Good Name.

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Notes on the Zohar III

The Zohar provided the mystical dimension that must originally have been present in Judaism. The consensus among today's scholars is that some parts of it are quite old, going back to just before and just after the destruction of the Second Temple. Quite a few quotations and prayers from the Zohar found their way into the mainstream liturgy, though most were removed after the failed messianism of Sabbatai Zevi caused the Zohar to fall under suspicion. It did fill a need, and therefore was very popular among the Jews.

Interestingly, the Christians found the Zohar interesting too, for various reasons including a messianism that some thought could serve their purposes. Very few Christians could read Aramaic and Hebrew, but in 1677-8, Knorr von Rosenroth published his Kabbalah Denudata, in Latin. This was translated into English in 1887 by S. L. Macgregor Mathers, and the race to mine the treasures of the Zohar was on.

Mathers, A. E. Waite, and others (W. B. Yeats was involved, too) founded the Golden Dawn. They had a great interest in everything Kabbalistic, especially the Tree of Life and the Sephiroth. I have seen a color diagram of the Etz Chayim from one of Yeats' own notebooks. Uncountable other Western occultists were also interested (and many still are).

The original Golden Dawn did not last forever, and one of its members, Israel Regardie, decided to publish its rituals, considering that preservation was more important than secrecy. This gave rise to whole new generations of Kabbalah-enthusiasts.

As an aside, I have Regardie's boyhood Pentateuch, which he kept with him all his life. It does not contain any secret messages or anything like that, but it does have his bookplate and a prize-award plate from his Hebrew teacher. (See below.)

Monday, December 28, 2020

A Poet in Pandemic III

No one has written the script,

but we are the players,

up against the wall,

Waiting for Covot.

A Poet in Pandemic II

We are surrounded by art,

with nothing to do

but make our own.

A Poet in Pandemic I

In his intramural world,

by walls circumscribed,

both time and space

have lost

their meaning.

Sunday, December 27, 2020

The World of a Poet

The world of a poet

is full of drama

that she or he

sees best.

Lovingly and carefully,

the poet translates it

for all the rest.

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Notes on the Zohar II

I want to make it clear that I am a STUDENT of the Zohar, not a teacher of it. These are notes that I take in the course of my own study, which at this point is largely a review. I offer these notes to you. Kind of like "Cliff's Notes," only it's Don's Notes.

So who the hell am I, to be doing this? Good question, which I would ask, myself. I can't really explain it, and my guidance did not.

Why, then, am I doing it? I'm supposedly not even a Jew, although it's complicated. My Jacobson ancestors were originally Jews (is that something that can be changed?). I have a Jewish "DNA-cousin" in the Ukraine. I had a reincarnational flash at the age of five, which I now recognize as Jewish. My friend Yakov told me that I was one of the "Lost sheep from the House of Israel" mentioned (twice) in the Gospel of Matthew. He would know better than I, and others have said as much.

The truth is that I have felt more Jewish than Christian since 1964, which is when I started studying Jewish mysticism, including the basic principles underlying the Zohar. I came under the spell of Martin Buber, and by 1965 had read his book about the Baal Shem Tov and both volumes of the Tales of the Hasidim. In that year I also came under the influence of Chabad, through a bearded ex-yeshivnik named John Blank (not the one in Portland, whom I also know), and, eventually, through Shlomo Carlebach.

I do not believe there are any accidents in this life. All of these experiences left their mark on me, a mark that has proved to be permanent.

But other marks have been left on me, by St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Ávila, by Shankara and Lalla, by Ramana and Ramakrishna. Those influences have already aided my study of the Zohar. After all, "Truth is One; Many are the Names."

But will I have time to deal with the five-volume monstrosity on my bookshelf? It seems unlikely, but let's get started.

The Zohar deals with the question of divine transcendence vs. immanence in unique and, let's face it, often contradictory ways. I would say that the question is never really settled. In other words, it's a mystery, and that's OK. We don't have to know everything or have all the answers, as long as we have reverence and respect.

The waters start to get murky, at least for me, when we talk about the Zoharic "flowings out" or emanations that bring about the four "universes" of Atsiluth (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetsirah (Formation), and Asiah (Action). Do they correspond to the "planes" or "levels" of our multidimensional being? I don't yet know, but the "flowings out" remind me of the series of vibrational "expansions" in Kashmiri Shaivism, and they have the same purpose: to make the Transcendent Immanent. What could Mosés de Leon have known about Kashmiri Shaivism? Not much, I would think, but all of this knowledge comes, ultimately, from the same Source.

And how do the ten (in regular Kabbalah) or eleven (in Lurianic Kabbalah) "Sephiroth" fit into them? Originally they were Kether (Crown), Chokmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), Chesed (Mercy), Geburah (Strength or Severity), Tiphereth (Beauty), Netzach (Victory), Hod (Glory), Yesod (Foundation or Base), and Malkuth (Kingdom). But in Isaac Luria's system, which has dominated Chasidic thinking since the eighteenth century, another is added: Da'ath דַעַת (Knowledge), which is placed between Chokmah and Binah, because it is the product of them. Indeed, the Hebrew word דַעַת can have all three meanings: knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Interestingly, Chabad is an acronym for Chokmah, Binah, and Da'ath. Not a surprise, since its roots are in Chasidism, especially that of Lubavitch. Obviously, their Kabbalah is Lurianic.

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Notes on the Zohar I

Parts that make up the Zohar:

1) Sepher ha-Zohar (the main portion). I have seen various translations of this title, some of which are ungrammatical. To me it means "Book of the Brightness." Every mystic will understand to which Brightness it must refer.

2) Siphra di Tzeniuta (Book of the Veiled Mystery). Five chapters inserted into Exodus. Relation of spirit and matter.

3) Sitré Torah (Secrets of the Torah). Angelology, the Divine Name.

4) Ra'ya Mehemna (The True Shepherd). Code of conduct. True Shepherd is Moses.

5) Midrash ha-Ne'lam (Hidden Exposition). Scriptural exposition from gematria, and allegorical exegesis.

6) Tosephta (Additions), containing references to the Sephiroth.

7) Hekaloth (Halls or Palaces). Description of abodes of paradise and hell, some references to astrology and magic.

8) Idra Rabba (Greater Synod) and Idra Zuta (Lesser Synod). Extensions of Siphra di Tzeniuta, often repetitive.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Upanishad XCI - Here Ends Nagnopanishad

Here ends Nagnopanishad, written by Nagna Chidaananda, containing 91 parts. May it bring peace and enlightenment to many people, and may it harm none.

यहाँ नग्न चिदानंद द्वारा लिखित नागनोपनिषद समाप्त होता है, जिसमें 91 भाग हैं। यह कई लोगों के लिए शांति और ज्ञान ला सकता है, और यह किसी को भी नुकसान नहीं पहुंचा सकता है।

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Knowing What We Know

Knowing what we know,

we shall act as though

we did not know.

Who will chop the wood?

Who will tend the stove?

Who will make the socks

for the Baal Shem Tov?

Monday, December 21, 2020

Upanishad XC - When You Fully Understand / जब आप पूरी तरह से समझते हैं

When you fully understand what is real and what is illusion, that is called enlightenment.

Nagna says:

Only Consciousness is real.

जब आप पूरी तरह से समझते हैं कि वास्तविक क्या है और भ्रम क्या है, तो इसे ज्ञान कहा जाता है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

केवल चेतना ही वास्तविक है।

Sunday, December 20, 2020

101,000 Visits, and Somebody's Full-time Job

Today we will pass the milestone of 101,000 visits to this blog. If you think the milestones are coming faster, you are right. Currently, about 60% of the visits are due to pirate activity. The most active pirate at the moment is the one I call "Mac Safari," reflecting the names of his or her operating system and browser. Mac's location is the USA. I could probably get more information from Google Analytics, but I prefer not to do that. The interesting thing to me is that Mac is spending as much time copying my work as most people would spend on a full-time job. I am sure that Mac would not do this unless Mac expected to make a sizable profit from my work. Times are tough, I know, but if Mac had honorable intentions, she/he would contact me. I'm sure that we could work something out, and Mac would avoid a lawsuit. One thing I will say about Mac: he/she has good taste.

Some of you may have noticed that in my recent self-portraits I am almost always wearing a couple of malas. The darker beads are rudraksha, and the lighter ones are tulsi. I wear them as a reminder or symbol of a great realization that I experienced on August 25, 2020. It is the same realization that gave rise to my poem-series "Upanishad," which currently includes eighty-nine parts. Thus the beads do have meaning, a very real meaning, and are not mere decoration.

Thank you, all of you (even the pirates), for your continued interest and enthusiasm. I can be reached by email: exolinguist at gmail dot com, or by commenting directly on the blogspot posts.

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Happy Solstice!

Friday, December 18, 2020

Upanishad LXXXIX - The Sun Shines between the Brows / सूर्य भौंहों के बीच चमकता है

The sun shines between the brows,

but the brows too are illusion,

as is the sun.

This greater sweep of time and space

is the veil before Maya's face.

Nagna says:

It is Consciousness that pierces the veil.

सूर्य भौंहों के बीच चमकता है,

लेकिन भौंह भी भ्रम है, जैसा कि सूरज है।

माया के चेहरे से पहले समय और स्थान का यह अधिक व्यापक घूंघट है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

यह चेतना है जो घूंघट को भेदती है।

Thursday, December 17, 2020

More Naked I Cannot Be (revised version)

"More naked I cannot be

until this body

sets me free."

[Excerpted from "This Body Has Survived," published in this blog on Dec. 7 2020.]

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Upanishad LXXXVIII - You See His Body / आप उसका शरीर देखें

You see his body,

but you do not see him.

Who is he?

Who are you?

Nagna says:

We are Consciousness, we are Atman, we are Brahman.

आप उसका शरीर देखें,

लेकिन आप उसे नहीं देखते हैं।

वह कौन है?

तुम कौन हो?

नग्न कहते हैं:

हम चेतना हैं, हम आत्मन हैं, हम ब्रह्म हैं।

A Note on the Udugi Language

Please do not use the Udugi language for anything fraudulent. Do not, for example, say that it is "an ancient dialect, most closely related to the Cherokee of the Eastern Band of Cherokee." That is simply not true, and it is obviously not true (you'll get caught in your lie). Udugi was constructed on the basis of Cherokee vocabulary and a subset of Esperanto grammar. Esperanto was invented in 1885, which is hardly "ancient." If you say anything that is untrue about the language you are using, I will not give you any assistance whatsoever. If you are using Udugi, you must call it Udugi. If you have lost your original language, as many have, you need to be honest about that, too.

I cannot stop you from using Udugi: it belongs to everybody. But I will not participate in or assist any project that is dishonest or fraudulent.

Thank you and wadó. ꮹꮩ.

Donald C. Traxler (creator of the Udugi conlang)

Monday, December 14, 2020

Upanishad LXXXVII - He Lifts the Light / वह प्रकाश को उठाता है

He lifts the light

from bulb to Sahasrar,

and with the sight of the sixth he sees both near and far.

Nagna says:

Past, present, and future are the same to him.

वह प्रकाश को उठाता है

बल्ब से सहस्रार तक

और छठे की दृष्टि से वह निकट और दूर दोनों को देखता है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

अतीत, वर्तमान और भविष्य उसके लिए समान हैं।

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Why Telepathy Works

These days, even many scientists (especially parapsychologists) admit that telepathy is a thing, that it happens. Unfortunately they cannot explain why, or how, it works. I am not a scientist, but I will try to explain it here, from my own experience, and based on principles that, over decades, I have come to accept. This explanation for telepathy has more extended significance, because it also provides evidence for, and helps to explain, other phenomena that are part of the human condition.

The first thing that one must know is that we do not live exclusively on the physical, material plane. We are multidimensional beings, inhabiting several planes concurrently. The next plane above the physical is the Astral (Sanskrit sukshma, meaning "subtle"). There are others above that, including the so-called Etheric, but I don't have much information about them. We inhabit these planes concurrently, and when the physical body dies, our Astral, Etheric, etc. selves do not die. What happens is that a vacancy is created on the Physical, which, for most of us, will eventually be filled through the process that we call reincarnation. We may, though, rest for a while before taking on another body. Where do we rest? On the Astral.

The Astral is also where a lot of telepathy takes place. If you receive a psychic communication from a relative or friend who has passed, it's generally coming from the Astral. You may also communicate psychically with a person who is still living on the Physical, but you will do this via the Astral. There are ways to intentionally access the Astral (easier for some individuals than others), but this most commonly happens when we are in the dream state.

The Astral is different from the Physical in several ways. It has been described as "unobstructed." "Time" and "space" are concepts that have no meaning there, You can communicate with equal ease no matter where the other person is located. You can also experience the past (for example past-life events) and the future, which are really just extensions of the present. This explains precognitive dreams.

Speaking of past lives, some of us have special abilities that we seem to have always had. In my case, the special ability is a facility for languages. But it does not work equally well across all languages and language families. This, in itself, can provide clues concerning certain past lives. These clues can be combined with DNA information and subjective feelings that we've carried around in this lifetime to help us to fill out the picture.

I hope to write more on these ideas in a future post. Thanks for reading. Comments are welcome.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

100,000 Visits, and Yakov

We are on the threshold of 100,000 visits to this blog. As those who know me would expect, I am celebrating with a nude selfie. As I've said many times, "there is nothing to say about a naked man (or woman)." It is, after all, our natural state and birthright. But there may be something to say about a photograph of such a person. The photo below was taken on December 8 2020, coincidentally our forty-first wedding anniversary. If I look relatively healthy and youthful in the picture, at the age of 78, Sandy deserves much of the credit. I think I would probably be dead, at least physically, if not for her.

On September 26 2020, three days after my birthday, I published this poem:

Visions I - The Old Man

An old man,

with gray hair and beard,

is giving me nourishment,

sustenance,

and keys,

from the other side.

He hands these things to me

through the veil,

with his right hand.

In his left hand he holds a staff.

I do not know his name,

but he knows me.

This "vision" was actually an appearance on the Astral plane, the level that is called "sukshma" (subtle) in Sanskrit. It is not uncommon for me to receive communications on the Astral from friends who have passed, but I didn't know who this one was, Or maybe I didn't want to know. It was cleared up for me at 3:55 a.m. this morning. It was Yakov.

My friend Yakov Leib HaKohain, known to the poetry community as Larry G. Corey, passed on October 16 2017 (26 Tishrei 5778). On my birthday, three days before the "vision," I had written a poem, "Upanishadic Postlude," which I dedicated to him. Clearly, he was on my mind. In the poem I mentioned that on his yahrzeit, which this year fell on October 14, I would light a candle for him. And so I did.

Yakov did not appear to me in his physical form from this life, the old man who lived on the mountain with his beloved dogs. Instead he presented as a kind of Gandalf character, leaving me to wonder whether it was an agèd Rabbi, Sri Aurobindo, Walt Whitman, or someone else. I should have known. It was just the kind of trick Yakov would play, and no one else would even think of it.

As I said, it's not uncommon for friends who have passed on to communicate with me from the Astral. But they don't give me nourishment, sustenance, and keys.

I am accepting Yakov as my guide and teacher from the "other side," and taking him up on his promise. I do not do it lightly. It requires commitment, and comes with a responsibility. It also shows that I cannot escape from the old fart, even three years after his reputed "death."

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Blue Skies - The Naked Poet in Uruguay

My wife, Sandy, and I moved to Uruguay in January, 2013. We had already bought a house in Atlántida, Department of Canelones. Later on, we also bought a beach house in Aguas Dulces, Department of Rocha.

In mid-2013 we acquired a rescue dog, whom we named "Betty." She is still with us, and is now 7-1/2 years old. Getting her to the US when we returned was difficult and expensive, but was well worth it.

As you can see from the photograph below, our house had a swimming pool. We knew pretty much everyone in Atlántida's small expat community, and we gave frequent pool parties and dinner parties, especially in the earlier years.

Cleaning the pool was a chore that allowed me to have a year-round, allover tan. That was the good part. It was also a lot of work, and got to be harder as the years went by. It got to be too much, and I'm glad that we don't have a pool now.

Uruguay is a wonderful little country (population a little more than three million, of whom half live in the capital, Montevideo). As we got older, though, it became less practical for us to live there. We both look back fondly on the years we spent there. We returned to the US in April, 2019. Florida has many advantages for us, and we're happy to be here.

We have lived in several countries, and have visited many more. We wouldn't give up any of those experiences.

Monday, December 7, 2020

This Body Has Survived

This body has survived for

three-quarters of a century,

twenty-five or thirty thousand

risings of the sun.

This body has carried me

to school, to work,

to love, to being free

from daily labor,

and yet--

it is not me.

More naked I cannot be

until this body

sets me free.

99,000 Visits and Some Big-time Pirates

While I was looking the other way, we went from 98,000 visits to 99,000, and a day later we're at 99,309. This is largely due to concerted pirate activity from the United States and Japan. Should I take this (as well as other piracy from Russia, Germany, and other countries) as a compliment? My sister, who is a well established, prizewinning poet, has congratulated me. They will, after all, bear the costs of publication and distribution. But I still believe in authors' rights and intellectual-property laws, and will act accordingly.

My writing and photography continue apace, driven by a muse with a mind of her own. My "Upanishad" series is now up to eighty-six parts, with more definitely coming. I am hoping the series will eventually reach the sacred number of 108. I am also currently working on a short prose article that will explain how telepathy works, at least in my view.

Florida's short and mild winter is here. We have had low temperatures as low as 33° F, highs in the fifties and sixties. We are able to keep our well-insulated house at a comfortable 77°, so I still don't need to wear clothes at home. I guess I shouldn't complain about having to be at home almost all the time, due to the pandemic. I am not, though, getting the amount of sun that I would like. Fortunately, sun and moderate outdoor warmth will be back in February, if not sooner.

As usual, I would like to thank you all (even the pirates, I guess) for your continued interest and enthusiasm.

Friday, December 4, 2020

Upanishad LXXXVI - This Body / यह शरीर

This body is the vehicle and servant of Spirit.

It has no other purpose.

Nagna says:

The body serves Spirit; Spirit does not serve the body.

यह शरीर आत्मा का वाहन और सेवक है।

इसका कोई अन्य उद्देश्य नहीं है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

शरीर आत्मा की सेवा करता है; आत्मा शरीर की सेवा नहीं करती।

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Upanishad LXXXV - He Is at Home in All Countries / वह सभी देशों में घर पर है

He is at home in all countries,

he is at home in all centuries.

Nagna says:

His real home is very near, and very far.

वह सभी देशों में घर पर है,

वह सभी शताब्दियों में घर पर है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

उनका वास्तविक घर बहुत निकट है, और बहुत दूर है।

Upanishad LXXXIV - He Is Solidly On This Side / वह इस तरफ ठोस है

He is solidly on this side,

yet he is no stranger to the other.

Nagna says:

We are all multidimensional beings.

वह इस तरफ ठोस है,

लेकिन वह दूसरे के लिए कोई अजनबी नहीं है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

हम सभी बहुआयामी प्राणी हैं।

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Upanishad LXXXIII - There Is Only Consciousness / केवल चेतना है।

There is only consciousness.

The highest form of consciousness is love.

Nagna says:

Love requires forgiveness.

केवल चेतना है।

चेतना का उच्चतम रूप प्रेम है।

नग्न कहते हैं:

प्रेम के लिए क्षमा की आवश्यकता होती है।

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Monday, December 28, 2020

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Monday, December 21, 2020

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Friday, December 18, 2020

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Monday, December 14, 2020

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Visions I - The Old Man

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Monday, December 7, 2020

Friday, December 4, 2020

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Tuesday, December 1, 2020