MEMOIR LOGO CONCEPT: The aleph and a Sufi mystic inspired my creation and design of the syzygy logo, which I initially based on the symbolism of the yin and yang.
But the concept expanded when I first saw the aleph in Judith Cornell’s
Mandala Healing Kit, My inexplicable attraction to it led me to incorporate it into my logo before I knew what it meant.
I later read that the “Aleph (the first letter of the sacred Hebrew alphabet) embodies the primordial, divine potential of the universe. ... Aleph contains all the universe’s potential and all of its emptiness simultaneously. Aleph represents a dynamic process of movement from unity to diversity and back to unity,” Jennifer Judelsohn, Songs of Creation.
And the mystic poet Rumi inspired me to use the fire and water concept after I read The Question. Here is an excerpt:
“The presence is there in front of me. A fire on the left, a lovely stream on the right.
One group walks toward the fire, into the fire. Another toward the sweet flowing water.
No one knows which are blessed and which are not.
Whoever walks into the fire appears suddenly in the stream.
A head goes under water, and that head pokes out of the fire.”
LOGO ART: Cropped fire and water images from Free Images.
LOTUS LOGO: In spiritual and religious literature, “the lotus is a symbol for the macrocosm and the microcosm, the universe and man. The lotus represents the divinity of the cosmos as well as the divinity of man.
The lotus is the center of the infinite, omnipresent consciousness which connects with the consciousness of the universe. Through the intuition, one of man’s divine gifts, the spiritual student can see the infinite, omnipresent consciousness as the lotus flower within himself.”
LOTUS ART: Courtesy
Homestead, my website service provider. (Temporary art while I design of my own lotus logo.)
TO DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE CHAPTER OF SYZYGY:
THE MEMOIR
TO BUY MEMOIR
(Thru Amazon)
THE MEMOIR
CROSSING THE BRIDGE TO SELF
THE WEBSITE
THE MEMOIR
NEW!
Persevere, Cross
the Great Water
Saturday, September 21, 2013: Continuous consultations with the I Ching in the previous five months urged me again and again to “persevere, to cross the great water.” It was a curious expression to me, which I took quite literally—though I really could not see a means or a point in crossing the Rio Grande from where I was temporarily living in Texas then into Mexico. But as my knowledge of the I Ching grew during the next few months, I began to understand it on a symbolic level.
And, finally, I had an aha moment. To cross the great water (or river as it is sometimes called in the I Ching) was not referring in my case to a physical journey, but rather to my spiritual journey, as is suggested by the initial title of my memoir and website, Syzygy: Crossing the Bridge to Self. But when that name for my domain was not available, I had changed the title of my memoir and website to In the Night of Day.
In the process of rebranding, I had lopped off the bottom of my mother's painting, which of course was depicted from the very start as me, in a champagne-colored Topaz, demons and all, crossing a body of water, and in that process I also lopped off the symbol of the Self. But in my aha moment I realized that the I Ching was telling me to do it, already, that is, the Work: building this website and editing my memoir, which double as both my work and my Work, and my symbolic journey, that is, crossing the bridge (the water) to self, that is, my process of individuation.
And in my new understanding of the symbolism of the I Ching, I intuitively knew that I had to revert to my original syzygy title, even if few would recognize that term.
It seems I recall that the rep I spoke to said the domain name I wanted, syzygy, in all the variant forms I could think of, was taken when I first decided to build this website. There must have been something else to it, and surely it is written in my notes somewhere, because it occurred to me: What is the likelihood that someone already bought the domain: Syzygy: Crossing the Bridge to Self? Thinking perhaps there was a misunderstanding, I called my service provider again about the availability of the syzygy domain and, of course, it was available. The Universe seemed to speak through the I Ching in an unexpected way. I bought the domain and reverted to the original title and art work that my mother created, and all felt right with the world. ♂ ♀
My Unconscious Omission of the Cross May Hint
at Something Deeper
Sunday, March 17, 2013. When I changed the title of my memoir to accommodate a domain name, I had to modify the original artwork my mother painted for me. I cropped out the lower portion, the Crossing the Bridge to Self part, though I did keep and incorporated all of its elements into the design of this website, or so I thought. I unconsciously overlooked one little element while designing this website: the cross.
I didn’t notice it until an hour ago when I was editing the Jung & Me page and got to thinking about my dilemma about the Trinity and the impact the knowledge of the Assumption might have had on my psyche to say a new version of the Sign of the Cross without rebuke: “In the name of the Father, the Mother, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
And as I wrote the above sentence, it struck me even funnier that the element I’m referring to is the only element in this painting that is in both worlds, in the conscious and the unconscious realms, not that I thought of it that way consciously during its creation.
And then it hit me. I may have unconsciously rejected the cross because I unconsciously felt rejected by the cross, considering the omission of Mother, kind of the way I unconsciously rejected my Dad when I was a newborn. He had no idea I could sense his rejection of me from the womb, and I wouldn’t know it myself for years to come.
And triple the synchronicity—or quadrangle it—considering
My latest revelation: Aha moments say “cross” great river
This feature page will be updated periodically as new revelations occur to me (as they pertain to my journey).
ABOVE: The modified cover art shows the name change of my memoir (which I later realized was a mistake). BELOW: The original cover art with the original title.
I created the six thumbnails above from the various elements in my mother’s painting to carry the theme of her art throughout this website. But in my latest revelation, I realized that I unconsciously omitted a seventh element: the cross.
© 1955–2015 Syzygy: Crossing the Bridge to Self. All Rights Reserved.
how I couldn’t explain why, but I was really reluctant to use the cross as my symbol of Self when I was drawing my mandala the other day. (See Out of My Mind.)
I remember now, back in 2000, asking my mother to add the cross, I remember feeling obligated—as if it would be sacrilegious not to add it, though I couldn’t explain why I felt that way. I kid you not, I remember searching that painting for several minutes looking for a good hiding spot for the cross, and instructed my mother as to where to put it. I checked back, and I see I didn’t mention the cross at all in that chapter, not once.
I believe Universe’s message for me in this revelation is to embrace the cross. It is part of who I am. It is part of my authenticity. And to that end, I will incorporate that missing element in the design of this website, and in my heart.
♂ ♀
