The First:
is purely logic. An old carny trick among other devious ploys to fool the unwary:
choose any two single digit numbers
take the sum of the two numbers keeping only the value of its base (digit on the right), e.g.: 4-8-2
repeat infinitum, e.g.: 4820224606628…
create easy to remember patterns and you can invent code, or as long as you remember the first two numbers you can be the all-knowing magician who is able to recite long strings of numbers to a member of the audience holding the paper with the numbers they chose, at least the first two.
most importantly, know where they stop lest you give away the game.
The Second:
is how to witness a miracle:
take a breath, only when you do expand your abdomen
when you exhale, pull your abdomen in (this is easy to see in children and dogs)
repeat, expanding the abdomen on the inhale and forcing out the exhale, with your abdomen, preferably through the nose
now that you have mastered the art of breathing…
when you are lying near or beside one that you love, match your breathing with theirs and pay very close attention to what happens.
The Third:
is to have a talk with your mother if you can. Ask about the events and conditions surrounding your birth from the moment of your conception up to the moment you traveled the birth canal.
When we enter this world, we carry those moments with us (for all time), pass them along to others and change our worlds forever.
They form our traits, and our traits are the time travelers.
If your mother is not available try other means.
If nothing else, know that your Mother is, and she is one.
The Fourth:
is to trust in your faith. Whatever be your faith it is your own, so own it, trust in it completely.
No power on earth can defeat it.
The Fifth:
is to be aware of your messengers. Always they come to us in surprising ways.
The Sixth:
is a moment of joy.
The Seventh:
is, of course, rest.
The Eighth:
is both everything and nothing.
The Ninth:
is whatever comes after infinity.
The Tenth:
is a bookend.
The Spell of Ai:
is about pursuing a spirit in the form of a spoken name. To name a thing is to make it so.
The Muse:
is another metaphor (more about this spirit later). Musicians and performers often invoke a muse; in their heights of performance, they are in the moment entirely, yet might have no notion of that time or space afterward. A trance commonly seen during passionate performances.
Strange and Unusual Places:
is content meant to entertain, not indoctrinate. This is where the writer can release the pathos of his own spirits without the constraints of time and space. No claim is made of its’ merit beyond the spell cast by you, the reader.
Creativity takes many forms. Here we’ll call it medicine. This medicine was given to me at a young age by my grandfather (Ai), who was given by his father and his, farther back in the past than anyone knows. My mother had this medicine as well.
The strange and unusual lies in the knowledge this medicine was not spoken of casually, as though powerful medicine should be applied sparingly. Truth be known, the writer has little understanding of what he writes beyond reconciling his own experience.
So, as for this writer, Ai is real, and that spirit resides here, with me. And now, with you.
A word is a name for something. To name a thing is to make it so.
Here there are words of peace.
Powerful medicine.
