I’ve been making use of time-traveling technology to gather information I can use to nudge the future in a direction that is in greater harmony with the path I seek to walk. It is not secret technology; no one entity has a stranglehold on the technology, for it goes far beyond the domain of “intellectual property rights” and saleable ideas.
This “technology” I refer to, is really a very simple concept – one that I’m sure nearly every person on earth has used at some point, without even realizing it. The Akan people of Ghana know it as “sankofa” [to go back and take].
The aphorism rendered completely reads: “Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a, yenkyi.”
Or: “It is no taboo to return and fetch it when you forget. You can always undo your mistakes.”
Flickering almost at random between various states of elation depression hatred sadness boredom inspiration self-loathing pure joy ecstacy. The fact that I’m living a life with no real direction had been slowly making itself very apparent over the past month. In trying to move in too many directions at once, I end up going no where.
Today that click came.
The word SANKOFA is derived from the words SAN (return), KO (go), FA (look, seek and take). This symbolizes the Akan’s quest for knowledge with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination, and intelligent and patient investigation.
The symbol is based on a mythical bird that flies forwards with its head turned backwards. This reflects the Akan belief that the past serves as a guide for planning the future, or the wisdom in learning from the past in building the future.
The Akan believe that there must be movement with times but as the forward march proceeds, the gems must be picked from behind and carried forward on the march.
In the Akan military system, this symbol signified the rearguard, the section on which the survival of the society and the defense of its heritage depended.
Revisiting past events that have shaped my life and how I experiparticipate in it. Researching my lineage through various methods, most taking the form of some sort of Internet facilitated search, some by oral means, from uncles, aunts, grandmother.
Looking for those gems I left behind, lacking in appreciation of what gifts were in my possesion.
…Maharishi called the Transcendental Meditation technique “a path to God,” and the Transcendental Meditation technique has been described as “spiritual” but not religious, and as a coping strategy for life.
Transcendental Meditation
Something about those last five words moves me in a strange way. Almost as if it’s being implied that one must cope simply with being alive, as if it were a great stress or chore. I can’t help but laugh a little, as I definitely feel as though I’ve been struggling to maintain my sanity and composure. I’ve begun growing a forest, a field, of ideas and knowledge and love that must be tended to nourished and cultivated. My “paying” job has become a burden, a drag, to say the least. 8 to 9 hours spent working on someone else’s time, on their dream, on their business. Time to move forward, to keep the momentum gaining. I haven’t been meditating regularly (only once, I think, in the past two weeks), and I can feel the difference. It’s not good: my mental energy dissipates fairly quickly, ability to focus is slightly diminished. I’ve taken the next week off from work to recover and meditate.
A fun and strange quote from a friend:
You should never start clearing just after a quick spontaneous idea. Once you start clearing, you’ll make big changes in the habitat. If you cut big amounts of deciduous trees and bushes, they’ll grow new shoots double speed after clearing! Be aware of this! It’s like peeing in your pants, first it is warm and nice but shortly after that it is not any more. That’s why you should think about the future: are you ready to repeat this after a couple of years? Are you ready to start grazing after cutting?
