… just as no one can use the equator to tie up a package, the real wiggly world slips like water through our imaginary nets. However much we divide, count, sort, or classify this wiggling into particular things and events, this is no more than a way of thinking about the world: it is never actually divided.
~ Alan W. Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
Kitchen Improvisations
Was in the mood for chutney, brought a jar of its cranberry variety home from the market, only to discover it a bit bland and boring — so dumped the contents into a mixing bowl, and began to improvise: to create my own variation on this basic theme.
First added a few dashes of powdered cayenne and dried ginger powder — for a bit more spiciness. Then some minced orange peel, for the nice color and a hint of bitter. Then chopped some almonds, and dried mangoes, for some yummy chewy crunchy fruit-and-nut highlights.
Thought this might be perfect, but then glanced a jar of chia seeds in the pantry, and thought “yes! … a perfect final touch for my chutney ensemble.” But chia seeds are best if hydrated a bit, so after placing a few tablespoons of them in a bowl, I brought some water to almost-boiling, and poured a bit of it over the seeds.
The Multitude Become …
Ten minutes later, the multitude of seeds had become a single mass of chia-jello: As the gelatinous portion of each seed was activated by the warm water, its identity (if you will) as a single seed expanded, dissolved …. with its borders now merging seamlessly with the activated gelatin-core of all the other seeds. Even though we still can observe individual black seed-coverings floating within the gelatinous whole, there is no real separation — since all are now clearly held within the single gelatinous whole.
Something Similar
And so it is (I reflected, standing there at the kitchen counter) with the appearance of human body-minds within the deeper unity of Pure Awareness: each apparently-separate body-mind akin to the husk of a chia seed; and our True Nature something like the gelatinous mass that forms when a heretofore dormant aspect of the seeds is released.
Then added the chia-gel as the final ingredient of my newly-enhanced cranberry chutney — confirming its deliciousness by sampling a bit, then placing it into a larger glass jar, and in the refrigerator for future consumption, as a condiment alongside curries, etc. — and perhaps also a reminder of something even more delicious 🙂
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