🌀🐇 #74 meditation mastery guide, deal with negative urges, snow art

Plus Grief and Praise  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts Gems of The Weird and Wonderful From Around The Web 👁 Apotheosis Retreat: Our one-of-a-kind transformational event integrating plant medicine with myriad other philosophical and spiritual practices. [Learn more here.]()​ 🧘‍♀️Meditation From Cold Start To Complete Mastery: A Manual For Global Wayfinding Meditation. [Read it here.](=)​ 🚫 Mindfulness To Deal With Negative Urges: A brief instruction from Shinzen Young on how to deal with unhealthy impulses. [Read it here.](=)​ Did someone forward you this email? Get this newsletter every week when you [sign up here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ What you see here is the magnificent snow art of Simon Beck. "From spirographs to starbursts, Beck tends toward mathematical patterns, which create varying effects depending on the vantage point and the light. He works for up to nine hours on each ephemeral design, forming the snow into new patterns whenever a fresh snow falls or mountain winds blow his work away." [See more here.]()​ 🪖 From An Army To A... I learned something that blew my mind the other day... After reflecting on Metamorphosis, I thought about the core metaphor: a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly. I imagined a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon. And then thought... "Wait I've never seen a butterfly with friends. Do they hang out with others or is it an isolated existence?" Turns out they do gather in groups. Naturally my next question is what is a group of butterflies called? My instincts said a "flutter." Probably something I heard before. That is correct but there's another name that I LOVED. A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope. How cool is that? That lead me to investigate the name of a group of caterpillars: an army. And now we build out our metaphor further... The difference between an individual caterpillar and butterfly is obvious. It's a canonical analogy for transformation. But what about the shift from a group of caterpillars into a group of butterflies? An army into a kaleidoscope. An army is ruled by authoritarian means with a mind-melding group consciousness. A kaleidoscope is a shimmering dance of beauty. Can we move from being a compliant conformist society pursuing normalcy and uniformity to a kaleidoscopic one emphasizing our unique and individual beauty while in touch with our interdependent contribution to the larger dazzling orchestration? It's an interesting question to consider. :) 😢 Grief and Praise Enjoy these beautiful words from Martín Prechtel on the enlivening force of grief: "Grief is praise of those we have lost. Our own souls who have loved and are now heartbroken would turn to stone and hate us if we did not show such praise when we lose whom we love. A nonfake grieving is how we praise the dead, by praising that which has left us feeling cold and left behind. By the event of our uncontrolled grief, wail, and rap, we are also simultaneously praising with all our hearts the life we have been awarded to live, the life that gave us the health and opportunity of having lived fully enough to love deep enough to feel the loss we now grieve. To not grieve is a violence to the Divine and our own hearts and especially to the dead. If we do not grieve what we miss, we are not praising what we love. We are not praising the life we have been given in order to love. If we do not praise whom we miss, we are ourselves in some way dead. So grief and praise make us alive." 🤓 Learn This Word Asabiyyah: a concept of social solidarity with an emphasis on unity, group consciousness, and a sense of shared purpose and social cohesion, originally used in the context of tribalism and clanism. ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[The Sacred Art of Vladimir Kush: 35 Visionary Paintings That Will Awaken Your Artistic Soul](​ When asked in an interview how he would describe his work to someone who had never seen it, Russian-born surrealist painter Vladimir Kush responded, “I would describe my work with the quote from William Blake: ‘If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite…'” This response alone should give you some insight into Kush’s perspective — a perspective which drives him to create some of the most stunning and celebrated works of surrealism in recent history. Kush describes his work as Metaphorical Realism and has commented on the power of metaphor: “To reflect the world in the mirror of the metaphor — this is my goal. Metaphor does not only belong to linguistic communication but can also be found in our daily life. Metaphor is the means of communication that we live by. First of all, the metaphor is aimed at the viewer’s feelings and subconscious. It gives full rein to imagination, as it is the imagination that creates the connections between two seemingly different things.” In his paintings, Kush is known for depicting seemingly realistic scenes that contain hidden images or impossible elements. Look closely at all of the following paintings, and you’ll notice that things are not what they seem. What appears to be something commonplace, when scrutinized more closely, is in fact something strange, or else it is two things at once. This technique allows Kush to create “connections between two seemingly different things.” Take some time to contemplate these paintings, and you’ll find yourself making myriad novel associations and activating the dormant power of your imagination. Kush has an uncanny ability to seduce us into seeing the world differently, and if you let him, he will feed your creative mind in a way that few artists can. ​[Continue Reading](​ 💌 In The End The next issue of our premium newsletter [Stairway To Wisdom](=) is coming out on Friday and we'll be diving into A Matter of Death and Life. =​ Here's just a taste of what's inside this book on love, loss, and what matters in the end: “I know that I will exist in ethereal form in the minds of those who have known me or read my work but, in a generation or two, anyone who has ever known the flesh-and-blood me will have vanished. I shall end our book with the unforgettable opening words of Nabokov’s autobiography, Speak, Memory: ‘The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.’ That image both staggers and calms. I lean back in my chair, close my eyes, and take comfort.” Want access when it's released on Friday plus 60+ additional book breakdowns? Sign-up for the Stairway To Wisdom. Right now you can claim a free trial so you can test-drive with zero risk. [Get Your Free Trial](=) 🎬 Endnote Here's a little treat for making it to the bottom. We had a spontaneous moment of overlap with John Vervaeke and Akira The Don. Their mutual appreciation for each other was something to see. ​[Check it out here.](​ We hope you enjoyed this issue of Down The Rabbit Hole. Feel free to reply and tell us what you think. Want to help us spread the word? We love sharing these gems of wisdom and wonder with you each week. If you love receiving them and want to help us spread the word, here is one quick way you can do that: Forward this email to one friend. That's it. It will take 5 seconds and will help us spread the good vibes and reach more people. We appreciate you. With Wonder, Mike Slavin & The HighExistence Team P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? Read previous issues and sign-up to receive future issues here: [(​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​[Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 40 E. Main St. #1137, Newark, DE 19711 [Built with ConvertKit](=)