The stowing of thrones.

November 2023

Dear Friends

The prevailing spirit of our times has undeniably sown an ever-widening rift between us, a chasm that scarcely escapes the notice of anyone who cares to look.

It weighs heavily upon my heart to witness this ceaseless deluge of acrimony and venom that seems to engulf us. Lines of perceived right and wrong continually being drawn, territories marked by strife, death and devastation. It often feels as though the bonds of human community may be forever rent.

The opinions we hold, and the fervour with which we cling to them, may appear like matters of life and death in this tumultuous moment. Yet we must recognise that life, by its very essence, thrives on holding a certain tension – not becoming polarised and pulled to one side. This is an idea the ancient Greeks called ‘tonus,’ or stretching.

Harmony springs from discord, said Heraclitus, much like the strings of a lyre.

“A stable harmonious sound emerges from the tension of the opposing forces that arise from the bow bound together by the string.”

Life involves a supreme tension between birth and death. The arc of our time here may indeed be summed up by how well we are able to stretch. I imagine it like the precise pulling back of a bow dictating the flight of the arrow.

Interestingly, as the tension increases, you will notice the opposing tips of the bow moving closer together.

Perhaps the mystical poet Rilke said it best:

“Take your well-disciplined strengths, stretch them between two great opposing poles, because inside human beings is where God learns.”

When we dismiss, deny, or dehumanise the other, we fatally tip the delicate equilibrium of life itself. Thus, if it seems as though you are compelled to decide between one thing and another, there lies the imbalance.

Consider the etymology of the word ‘decide’, which stems from the Latin ‘caedere’ meaning ‘to cut off or kill’ — with ‘de’ as the prefix signifying ‘completely’.

Our existence unfolds as a paradox, replete with multiple coexisting truths to be held at once. An inability to embrace another’s worldview often reflects an incapacity to hold the inherent tension of life. We grasp one side while rejecting the idea of an opposing facet within us — the necessary shadow. To paraphrase poet and visionary William Blake, ‘stretching’ one's own worldview to encompass all worldviews is the very essence of wisdom.

We could also heed the words of Carl Jung:

“When an individual fails to acknowledge their opposite, the world is compelled to manifest the conflict and be torn asunder into opposing halves.”

All of us are bound by an interdependence, akin to single cells within the vast organism of humanity. When cells engage in conflict within a body, we call it auto-immunity. Does that sound familiar, as we attack each other daily?

Within this connectedness, we are each a sovereign entity upon the bosom of Mother Earth. Perhaps we can find a way to cease the hurling of projectiles — verbal and otherwise — and come stow our thrones together?

‘Stowing’ in its original sense implies standing our ground, firming our foundations, and deepening our roots.

True courage is required to heed the clarion call that currently beckons us. The path of dreaming a new reality into being is always filled with uncertainty. Most opt for the safe route (which may be the most dangerous of all), even when their soul yearns for something else.

What calls to us lies beyond safety, beyond our knowledge and measure. It speaks to us in the distant and declining whisper of the more-than-human, awakening dormant aspects of our being. To truly become ourselves, we must respond, knowing it will demand that we shed everything that obstructs or obscures it.

The journey will test us and propel us beyond our limits. We must rely on our intuition and imagination so the way itself becomes a map and a prayer — knowing that we cannot turn back until we find the centre, and an inner peace which radiates outward like ripples on a pond.

I was blessed to host a gathering for our Fifth Direction community at the beautiful Peninsula Hot Springs outside Melbourne last weekend with Canadian wilderness guide and breathmaster, Steve Beattie. I’m reminded now of the last stanzas of the poem ‘A Ritual to Read Together’ by William Stafford that we shared to open:

And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider—
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.

For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.

Oceans of love.

Asher

P.S. Weekly breath, meditation and storytelling sessions continue at The Fifth Direction in November, as well as our special gatherings including Deeper Well (Conversations on Death) with myself and Wendy Haynes and our Elder Circle for men with Walton Stanley and Timothy Young of the Minnesota Men’s Conference.

I’m also excited to announce Wild Man Choir: A Story in Song which I am hosting in Melbourne and Byron Bay with ARIA-nominated musician Dingo Spender (of Mama Kin Spender) in early December. This is a call out for brotherhood and all men are encouraged to join us.