Café Session Chefchaouen

Synchronosophy Coffee Break

Coffee is a kind of magic you can drink.

〰 Catherynne M. Valente 〰

Chefchaouen ~ photo © Kyriacos Georgiou on Unsplash

Welcome to our second Café Session ~ this one is in Chefchaouen, known as the ‘Blue Pearl of Morocco’. You can see why. The houses look as if Grandfather Sky himself has poured shades of bright ultramarine blue all over the walls and narrow lanes on a sunny day.

Ultramarine ~ the name literally means beyond the sea ~ which sounds as dreamy as this fairytale town looks.

In the real world, the pigment came from ‘across lands and mountains’, or more precisely from a distant mountainous strip in northern Afghanistan. Ultramarine was made by grinding the blue precious stone Lapis Lazuli into fine powder. The pigment was once valued higher than gold.

But we can’t go any further and start our conversation without a glass of Moroccan mint tea.

Moroccan mint tea ~ photo © Jaida Stewart on Unsplash

No matter where you are in the world, you are at home when tea is served.

〰 Earlene Grey 〰

Moroccan tea, also known as ‘Berber whiskey,’ is not just a beverage. It is a cherished cultural tradition, reflecting the open-hearted spirit, and time-honored rituals of Moroccan culture.

Serving tea in Morocco is a gesture of respect and hospitality. It is customary to offer tea to guests before engaging in any discussions, ensuring a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Drinking Moroccan mint tea prepares participants of a gathering for fruitful conversations, enchanting storytelling, and of course traditional Moroccan food.

Back to the ultramarine pigment made from precious blue stone. Imagine sitting in a space where walls and floors are all covered in pigment made from powdered Lapis Lazuli ~ this deep blue gemstone sparkling with smatterings of gold dust.

Lapis Lazuli in Rockface ~ photo © Geert Pieters on Unsplash

Lapis Lazuli has been revered as a stone of wisdom, intuition, protection and truth for at least 6000 years, favoured by Cleopatra and the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, as well as other chiefs, from Mesopotamia to Ancient China.

Originally reserved for royalty, priests and sages to deepen their connection with the divine, Lapis Lazuli stones can be used today by anyone who seeks to improve the relationship with their own (higher) self and step into their authentic power (whatever that might mean to you).

Besides the potential effects of the gemstone, there is also the colour itself, which can have a significant influence on the atmosphere and mood of a place. Of various theories out there, I’ve chosen the Gœthean theory of colour, because Gœthe’s perspective on the phenomena of living nature are in alignment with the concepts of Synchronosophy ~ and as tribute to the great man, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who made a guest appearance in Chapter 10.

In her essay Gœthe on the Psychology of Colour and Emotion, Maria Popova writes:

BLUE

“This color has a peculiar and almost indescribable effect on the eye. As a hue it is powerful — but it is on the negative side, and in its highest purity is, as it were, a stimulating negation. Its appearance, then, is a kind of contradiction between excitement and repose.

“As the upper sky and distant mountains appear blue, so a blue surface seems to retire from us.

“But as we readily follow an agreeable object that flies from us, so we love to contemplate blue — not because it advances to us, but because it draws us after it.”

In the Noctarine map of Consciousness, BLUE is the colour of the Instinct, associated with emotions.

Negative emotions are associated with ‘having the blues’ and of course the music genre called Blues, with its melancholic harmonies and lyrics.

Although we haven’t yet explored the colour or its associated Faculty in depth in the last six chapters, negative emotions and negative subjective experience have already been mentioned sufficiently to be aware that they play a key role in the practice of Synchronosophy.

As a quick reminder of the chapters of the Heartwood of Synchronosophy, here is a summary:

The Heartwood Of Synchronosophy (summary)

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And before I forget, earlier this month, Frank from Unbekoming invited me for an interview about the story ~ past, present, and future ~ of Synchronosophy. It was published on the 12th of April over at Lies are Unbekoming.

If you haven’t yet, you might like to check it out later.

Courtyard in Chefchaouen ~ photo © Lindsey Lamont on Unsplash

In the 1st Café Session I suggested the format of a metalogue for our conversations around the introductory chapters of Synchronosophy (The Rootstock).

I still love the principles of metaloguing (here is the link with instructions about the metalogue format) and would like to continue in the same spirit, however, I’ve since come across a richer, more delicious term ›››

I picked up ‘communal pondering’ from a conversation between Krista Tippet, founder of ON BEING, and Marilyn Nelson, poet, teacher, author, translator, Poet Laureate of Connecticut 2001-2006, introduced as a storytelling poet.

The title of the conversation caught my eye ~ Communal Pondering in a Noisy World

The first thing Marilyn Nelson says in the podcast is just beautiful, I want to share that with you here:

“Poetry consists of words and phrases and sentences that emerge like something coming out of water. They emerge before us, and they call up something in us.

But then they turn us back into our own silence. And that’s why reading poetry, reading it alone silently takes us someplace where we can’t get ordinarily.

Poetry opens us to this otherness that exists within us. Don’t you think? You read a poem and you say, “Ah.” And then you listen to what it brings out inside of you. And what it is, is not words; it’s silence.”

Let that sit in silence for a moment.

Further on in the podcast, Nelson talks about an event where participants were sharing their poetry. “It was a way of sitting and pondering together,” she recalls, and immediately follows up with a bit of ‘pondering’.

“And I think it’s a very rewarding activity. One of my college professors said that poetry rediscovers reality for us. And in a way, that’s what happens.

You go to listen to a poet, and you leave not only having learned something about the poet’s reality, but also having learned something about the reality you are living. And I guess that’s what communal pondering is.”

Moroccan Mezze ~ photo © Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Although I’m not writing poetry, perhaps the chapters of the Heartwood of Synchronosophy contain passages here and there which have a similar effect, where you might read a paragraph and listen into yourself, and it brings something out inside of you.

Maybe silence. Maybe a question. Maybe a memory.

Maybe something you have learned about the reality you are living. Or something you would like to learn about that reality ~ present, past, or future?

These are the kind of things I would like to ponder with you.

Here is what Krista Tippett says about communal pondering:

“Even the notion — I mean, the phrase ‘communal pondering,’ I feel like that’s what we need… right now. Right? We have no idea how to do that, but it sounds so fascinating.”

I feel the same and would love to give it a go. I am curious. I can feel the holorhythm swirl in my belly ready to watch and feel our pondering unfold.

Wondering about pondering…

accompanied by Moroccan coffee, strong and sweet.

Arabic coffee served with water ~ photo © Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Veronika: I’ll start our café session by pondering negative subjective experience (NSE) and how we get through them.

We all have them. We all remember going through difficult times in various situations. And we did get through them, somehow. Or we’re trying to do so. Thanks to our survival Instinct.

In Chapter 12, I shared the story of how I got out of a tricky situation (which could have ended in trauma, tragedy ~ it could have ended my life) in a most unexpected way. What I learned from this episode is that when you find yourself in a trap, there is only one way out. Upwards! Somehow I found a way to switch from ordinary to an extra-ordinary level of functioning.

Here is an interesting thought by Marilyn Nelson in response to being asked about a difficult period in her life, “I would not want to relive that period of my life. But I kept thinking of my great-great-grandmothers. I kept thinking if they could live through what they lived through, I can live through a tenure decision. Piece of cake.”

I love that! Drawing on the strength and resilience of the ancestors, turns the challenging period into a metaphorical Piece of Cake!

Both examples illustrate a fundamental inner change when faced with danger or a challenge. Like switching into a different gear to access inner resources of which we are not usually aware.

What kind of thoughts or ‘survival strategies’ do you have, or recall, to cope with negative experience?

Bertus: Plunging in the ponder with a simple practice from my past workshops in colour. I asked people to choose colours they didn't like and use them to make something ugly. No need to say it wasn't a very popular practice. But I found it brings an amazing widening when I genuinely try not to pick what I like but to work (just for that session) with the least likely, and deliberately avoid to make it pretty, or beautiful.

Such a powerful little exercise. And so similar to your practice...

Veronika: Ohh, thank you Bertus! What an interesting, inspiring idea! I have never thought about doing this (well, painting is not my primary medium ~ yet) but I can totally imagine that it brings out ~ as you say ~ an amazing widening.

We are collectively so focused on working with the good/ beautiful/ positive/ likeable etc. towards perfection, that most people completely miss this rich other resource available to us. I must try this some time.

Bertus: So many wonderful similarities in our themes...

The series I did on colour that has gotten more depth after reading your essays. Total fan of Goethe's take on the colour relations. He knew it was his best work....

I must say, I am quite shaken by how you have linked this all into a whole. Really hope this communal pondering will take an ongoing form...

Veronika: That's wonderful to hear! I am excited that reading my work is inspiring yours!!

Yes, the idea of these Café Sessions is that they remain open ~ on an ongoing basis ~ where anyone can drop in any time and engage with the communal pondering. In that way it's different from a webinar. The idea came to me when pondering how I could make my work a little more interactive (rather than this one way monologue of 'feeding' readers with a chapter each week.)

I'm so glad you are picking up on the essence of this virtual café.

Josh: I like very much the Marilyn Nelson quote about poetry, and the whole notion of to "... listen to what it brings out inside of you." The whole idea of bringing forth something precious from within is also reflected in starker terms in The Gospel of Thomas, logon:70 "If you bring forth that which is within you, it will give you life; if you do not bring forth that which is within you, it will kill you".

It points to the whole of life as a process of revealing and unfoldment, and the intriguing thing is that in the same manner as we would never expect a chrysalis to become a butterfly, so also that which is hidden within us, when brought forth, can transform into something so 'gloriously unexpected' that we are left in awe and wonder.

Which brings me to the subject at hand -- a communal café pondering on the subject of Negative Emotional Experiences (NSE's). What if, in similar manner to a gestating Chrysalis becoming a butterfly, so also a gestating NSE becomes something wonderful in our lives, a step on the journey towards fulfilling an unexpectedly wondrous potential?

Such an idea is of course, as noted, counter to the trend in the last few decades of "thinking only postive thoughts" -- which we see now can result in 'toxic positivity'. Delving into NSEs requires courage to go through the emotional pain barrier, requires facing lots of 'dark nights of the soul', and requires a reliable map through the inner jungle. Glad to say that the Synchronosophy Map is at hand, and emerging week by week. 💜

Jamie: Thank you Veronika. I am a fan of Maria Popova’s writing and Krista Tippet’s On Being too. Brilliant doors to the universe. That’s the same way I feel about poetry and I love your quotes. “Poetry consists of words and phrases and sentences that emerge like something coming out of water. They emerge before us, and they call up something in us.”

I feel you do that with your words and how you take them down to their roots and their origins and original meanings. In doing so you open something up inside of me. I would call that poetry and you a poet. Thank you!

My question comes back to consciousness and what part of consciousness we all share. Can you shed some more light (lights) on consciousness. I find when I write poetry something from my unconsciousness speaks loudly enough for it to then become visible again. It’s as if some thing that I forgot has been remembered. It was not new. More so revealed, and uncovered.

Veronika: Your question, Josh "What if...?" reminds me of what Rilke said about dragons, “Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”

I think that is truly the essence of Synchronosophy.

I think you're right, Jamie. We get so bogged down in thinking of 'poetry' etc. as literary categories. But poetry also means something else "Like something coming out of water," as Marilyn Nelson so beautifully said. That applies to my writing too. Not just the wordcasts. All my writing! Thank you for bringing this to my awareness!

The question about consciousness can only be answered by differentiating between 'small c' and 'Capital C' Consciousness. In Synchronosophy I am writing about Consciousness as the source of everything. We share all of it. It is us and we are it.

When you ask about 'part of consciousness', in synchronosophical language that would be called 'awareness'. Our awareness is continuously moving between light and darkness, the known and the unknown wilderness.

The Noctarine doesn't differentiate between 'conscious' and 'un-' or 'subconscious'. There is only the familiar, bright, awake side of Consciousness on one hand ~ and the dark wilderness, alive with apparently 'dormant' creatures on the other. Both are ultimately connected with the collective oneness. But through the Inner Wilderness this connection appears to be stronger because we haven't yet nailed it all down by what we think we know.

Perry: Thanks Veronika for this essay. I like that phrase communal pondering, which speaks to me of quiet deep discussion over Moroccan mint tea.

It reminds me that when I lived in Montreal, before I was married, I had Moraccan friends and we got together often over beautiful glasses of mint tea and talked and argued and laughed. It wasn't communal pondering, but it was camaraderie with old friends.

Somehow we became estranged (not my choice), I do not remember why, over some trifles, I would imagine, but I have the memories of the discussions and the mint tea. It does induce a slower mode of discussion.

And speaking of colours, blue is my favourite, not royal blue, but sky blue, where the birds fly and the falcons and eagles soar.

Sky blue is so very true.

It is my kind of deep hue

To soar where there are so few

If we only knew what is true

Veronika: How lovely. Yes, drinks and food are such an important part of conviviality and our communal being... thank you for sharing this beautiful memory with your friend over Moroccan mint tea.

Moroccan mint is the only mint I grow in my garden too. It's the best for tea and many dishes. And thank you for sharing a blue poem too!!

It often trips me up at communal gatherings where so many people get bogged down in discussions about ingredients of the food (is it vegan? is it glutenfree? does it have this or that spice in it...) It takes the joy out of the communal pondering and focuses on our differences...

Which brings us right back to our topic of negative subjective experience...

I wonder what all this contemporary food segregation is about...

Jamie: I always understood Spirituality is being aware of being. That hidden awareness or what I called the invisible, becoming visible. I always stumbled over the “unconsciousness” part. I totally resonate with how you put that. That big C consciousness to me represents “spirit” not of a religious sense, but that essence that we all share. Stardust. That part of source that flows through all of us. Can you go deeper on the small c consciousness?

Veronika: Spirituality as 'being aware of being'. ~ Great definition!

The trouble with the word 'consciousness' is that it is used by different people in very different ways. The concept of 'unconsciousness' was suggested by Freud, I think (or perhaps he called it 'subconsciousness') and picked up by Jung ('collective unconscious'). Before that, 'unconscious' was used in medical terminology for when someone fainted or lies in a coma.

People sometimes also say they are 'unconscious' during sleep. In my mind this is absurd. Consciousness is very active during sleep (key word 'dreaming') it's just not in daytime waking mode.

There are also plenty of testimonies of people under anesthesia witnessing their own surgery etc. Which suggests that Consciousness can be experienced by the human mind in different modes. Consciousness itself is not something we can switch on or off.

Which brings us to small 'c' consciousness. This is the term I use for the conventional definition by neuroscience according to which 'consciousness is a phenomenon produced by the brain'.

The way I use big C Consciousness is in alignment with the ancient Vedic science of mind, where 'Consciousness is everything'. Used in this way, Consciousness represents wholeness, which includes essence, of course. Consciousness (used in this way) is not part of the source, IT IS THE SOURCE.

It's all a matter of definition really. (see also chapters 10-12 of Synchronosophy and my wordcasts on the Conscious Clan)

Thank you so much for asking these further questions, Jamie!! These detailed differentiations are essential, if we want to understand who we are and how we function. Please keep asking, if anything is not clear. It's a complex and difficult to grasp topic, and it's entirely possible that I haven't explained it very well.

Perry: I too have noticed of late the focus among some people over food. Not only for health purposes. It is indeed a type of segregation where people form identities. It becomes almost religious. I cringe when food becomes a means of separation. Food Apartheid?

This is not how I view food, which is to bring people together.

Veronika: Totally! Food Apartheid is a great word for it. I mean, allergies are one thing. But to eat (sometimes really crappy processed) vegan food (for example) and get on a high horse about it is quite another. As if we didn't have enough food problems in the world...

It is a way of forming an identity, as you say, and to make other people feel bad about 'lesser food choices'. Following the familiar destructive pattern of anthropocentric supremacy.

Jamie: Wonderful clarity Veronika. I ask as this so-called “consciousness” is a most misunderstood term along the lines of “love” and “poetry”. Once we get those three words to “come out of the water” we find ourselves at their intersection. Your writing is contagious and definitely a door to a revealing. Bless you 🙏❤️

Veronika: Beautifully put. And thank you so much for a lovely compliment 💖🙏

What baffles me is how intelligent people (I mean neuroscientists, right?) can go on for decades banging on with the same old question: 'how does the brain produce consciousness?' and never get an answer, because 'consciousness is this mystery'.

Don't they know that the right question always leads to an answer? They should read more Rilke!

Jamie: Or it leads to another question lol! Science needs to read more poetry indeed. We can never trade mystery for mastery. Maybe the brain is just a big antenna? Maybe it just picks up the signals of source? Better yet -maybe it’s sending them out.

Sometimes the meaning of the word gets lost, and with it that meaning and understanding. We forget, and move in circles. Looking outside for what’s always existed inside. Far more than historians we need synchronosophologists! 🫵🏻❤️

Veronika: Precisely! They have been asking that same old question for years... Decades! Scientists need to turn more towards the source and tune into what comes out of the water ~ to be fair, some do (and then they get kicked out and declared 'crazy').

That's another important point. "Looking outside for what’s always existed inside." We need more intronauts!

Elizabeth Ro: Consciousness can only be entered into through the human heart. The brain is through the senses whereas the heart connects to the universe. Emotions are still part of the brain whereas the heart generates feelings. Our breath changes when we view or read living art forms-it begins the process of opening up the heart which connects to the infinite where Cosmic Consciousness is Self-realized.

Jamie: Elizabeth! Indeed 🙏❤️ It is “cuoreosity”- the heArt of being. Thanks so much 💗
Elizabeth: So little said yet so much revealed!! And breathing makes it all possible! The breath plays an important role in grasping the moment where so much of poetry and beauty live and dwell and have their Being.

Jamie: HeArtfulness 💗

Elizabeth: ...reveals Truth. You are on to something when you ponder the action of the brain. In Buddhism it is understood that Dharma however profound is a secondary dialogue; that Buddha (enlightenment or insight) must come first. We need the brain to communicate with others but not to confuse it with Truth.

Jamie: That is soul poetry! Thank you 🙏❤️

Elizabeth: Yes. Imagine that Creation is not what we see outside but the essence that dwells within every atom of every cell. In Hindu Creation or Creatrix is female.

Veronika: Very interesting. Thank you!

In the Noctarine, the map of human Consciousness, which has given birth to the discipline of Synchronosophy, creation is an ongoing process called Symbiopoiesis, comparable with the interplay of Wuji and Taiji in Taoism.

Kimberly: What an energizing cup of tea! I thoroughly enjoyed this engagement and was especially happy to hear @bertus in the conversation. As soon as those ultramarine hues hit my eye, I thought of his own deep explorations of color and loved hearing how he’s encouraged students to “paint something ugly.” This idea thrills me and even more so, the possibilities that lay dormant within it.

I also just read a thought-provoking essay this morning by @sarahfayauthor where she explores the nuanced importance of silence in conversation. We are so conditioned to exercise the talking part of communication but true to the Symbiocene system, of course, the spaciousness around conversation is just as powerful and intimate as the words. I loved thinking about this as I read about your “communal pondering” and listened to (and between) the dialog shared thereafter.

Veronika: Yes, me too! Bertus was the first to drop in this morning. A delightful start to our communal pondering. I also remembered his recent ultramarine explorations when preparing this café session.

And thank you for picking up on the silence (mentioned by Marilyn Nelson too). That is, as you say what provides the spaciousness, space for the all important breath, as Elizabeth points out. Silence is such a fascinating topic in itself. I haven't read Sarah's essay yet but it's a verbiont I am dancing with myself at the moment.

Faye: First the color, the Lapis Lazuli. I have a piece of it resting on my desk that is so striking. I'm a huge fan of Maria Popova, but hadn't read that piece... thank you for sharing! This part "we love to contemplate blue — not because it advances to us, but because it draws us after it." feels especially worthy of pondering.

Which brings me to the idea of communal pondering, which I also think is quite delicious. I've written previously about the strange power dynamics that are often present in teacher/student relationships, and I think opening a dialogue this way is a beautiful shift. Not only because it invites everyone to participate in the conversation fluidly, but because it addresses the underlying belief many people have about authority and their right to be heard and seen. This is a beautiful space you've created. I'm grateful to be a part of it 🦋💙🖌️

Veronika: Thank you so much for popping in and throwing your thoughts into this blue space of communal pondering.

You got it! If we want to practice living and being in community, we need to throw out all concepts of hierarchy, top down authority, beliefs in your truth versus mine, and all that jazz. I am so happy see you here, and hear that you enjoy this little ultramarine corner of our substack community. (I'm enjoying your red space too ❤️‍🔥🍎🍓🎈)