The Curse of Grace

The Visitor is not an easy read.  It is not what it appears to be, and even if you think you do understand it, it would be best to place such understandings to the side.  Today, for the first time, I am going to share personal insights that are instrumental in understanding why this book cannot be interpreted by anyone; for anyone else.  It is why The Visitor when talking about Knowledge on page 59 says:

He strips you from reason to reveal the truth
For these visions he sees are not yours.
He guides you to knowledge that lives within you
And leaves you - to open the doors.

As outlined in the very first pages of the book, this story moves from fiction to non-fiction without notice or apology.  As described in blogs to this date; there are two parallel stories that run through The Visitor at the same time; a Love Story, and a Story of Love.  However, neither of those stories will lead you to what is in the pages.  Both of those stories are "fictional".  We have yet to explore the Truth of the novel; the fact that the work itself is one of non-fiction.

To help explain the non-fictional basis for The Visitor - today's blog is about "The Curse of Grace".  To some, this concept may seem blasphemous, crazy, distorted or just simply hard to grasp.  However, The Visitor is very intentional in meeting the reader half-way in this discomfort on page 10 where the author shares;

The rumours of who he was were not the reality, but rumours in time became the accepted version of the truth. Depending on who you talked to he was either a mystic, an intellect or just a crazy old man with a bad temper who had chosen to become a bit of a recluse.

This concept that rumour and versions of realities may not accurately depict "Truth", but may still become accepted as reality is important.  The literal description of the Visitor as possibly being a mystic, an intellect or crazy are all just versions or reality.  It is never clarified which version may or may not be real.

So here, for the first time, are personal insights never before shared with others that may lead the reader to have to choose whether the Visitor is a mystic, an intellect or just crazy.  (To the Visitor, it matters not...as stated very early (on page 3); The Visitor was aware of his shortcomings in not being able to see the middle between extremes; however, he would not have changed his understandings for anything. And here, we have the first glimpse into the suffering of the Visitor -  "The Curse of Grace". 

Grace by the understanding of most people is viewed as positive.  As a "blessing" or "comfort".  It is even viewed by many as a virtue.  So to talk about it as a curse, may be strange for you to understand.  However, The Visitor is intentionally very consistent in the non-fictional underpinnings of the central message.  

In Joy and Sorrow (pg 56) the reader encounters the following statement where the Visitor is warning the reader to not make assumptions beyond the moment - but then talks about "pain" and "current state".  This passage, like the novel itself fails to make sense when read from traditional understanding of what Grace is, yet it is doubtful that the reader actually breaks from the rhyme or rhythm of this verse of poetic parable to notice that it is probably discordant with their understanding of Grace.

Do not pre-judge your future
By your current state of grace
For by pain we all are nurtured
Until all sorrow is erased.

Grace to the author is an understanding and acceptance of a Truth which has no need to be defended and may be hard to accept.  It is to face a situation without hope of it getting better, but Faith to accept what is and will be.  It is why the Visitor is described as "hopeless" and goes to great lengths to talk about Faith.

Grace is to accept pain without blame.  Grace is to accept reality without distortion.  Grace is to give up defending, explaining, or victimizing yourself or anyone else.  

The author shares early on (page 2) the central concept of the Curse of Grace when describing who the Visitor was/is:

The Visitor could have been anyone. In fact, he would have argued he was everyone…more or less. He was not extraordinary, he was certainly no angel, and he was far from a saint. He had laughed and cried, felt pleasure and pain, and endured most of the emotional tides
which we have all shared. Perhaps he differed from most of us in his hopelessness. By that I mean he did not believe in hope.
 

It was not always that way. There was a time when he lived every day in hope, but over time the constant cascading disappointments became too heavy a load to carry. It made sense for him to give up on hope and instead anchor himself in Faith - Faith tied to destiny.
 

He would not have been keen to entertain arguments with others on whether life was a series of events open to arbitrary choice or a matter of predetermined fate. Such arguments he felt were fruitless and without consequence. Instead, he was more prone to admire a
perfectly designed system of ordered chaos constantly in flux with individual human choice. He felt there was something beautiful in the concept of unpredictable chaos within an intentional master design: a duality, like body and spirit.

This is the non-fictional underpinning of the Curse of Grace.  Simply put, the awareness and appreciation of a reality that is as dualistic in nature as the Visitor himself. 

Physical - Spiritual; Predetermined - Individual Choice; Chaos - Intentional Master Design.

As the author, I can attest that I have on numerous occasions encountered Grace, but never by my choice or at the time of my choosing.  I have been witness to things I cannot understand, I cannot explain and that defy logic.  Yet those experiences are real.  It has been found while being lost in the eyes of my Beloved while trying to deny Love.  It has been found in isolation and tears when broken down and subjected to intentional hurt by others and struggling to not hurt back.  It has been found in anger for which I can blame no-one; as all anger is owned by the one who experiences it.  Just as all hatred is owned by the one who hate; and blame lies on the conscience of the blamer.

The Curse of Grace is to be aware and to accept.  No matter what the situation.  It is to forgive while hurting.  It is to Love while being rejected.   It is to say a prayer for those who curse you.  Those are the easy parts.  The Curse is where it becomes hard.

It is to let those who you Love suffer rather than betray yourself or the truth.  It is to allow yourself to be judged in cases where defending yourself would allow an opportunity for one to dilute the Truth.  It is to "not forgive" someone (or yourself), when it may be misconstrued as giving relief to a cause for which they are not truly sorry.  At the same time, it is forgiving someone (or yourself) when you are still hurting from damage inflicted when you see that they are hurting themselves and truly ask for forgiveness. Even when you do not want to forgive.

The Curse of Grace is to be aware, and accept that which you do not wish to accept.  To understand that while your body is literally created in pleasure, your soul is born through pain.  

Beginnings are always somewhat vague...

“So how did he come to be here, at the beck of the crow and the call of the stars? If he had been asked, the Visitor would have simply smiled, knowing that beginnings are always somewhat vague, and it is only at the end that clarity begins. Today, things would become clear.                      
 Pg 6  The Visitor”

This blog picks up the narrator speaking on behalf of the Visitor on page 6, answering a question posed to the reader, but answered by the narrators interpretation of how the Visitor may have answered.  This is the first "intermediate" deep-dive of the blog interpretations.  The deep dives prior to this one have been beginner level.  Here, the reader will get the first taste of what The Visitor really is about.  There are clue's sprinkled throughout, but it will take a complete literary paradigm shift to understand, that on the many levels of this story; it is the duality of the Visitor's nature, and the duality of the chapter subject matter which frames the essence of understanding. 

Most readers who might try to ascertain the meaning behind the three sentences on page 6 might well focus on the crow, or the stars.  While the images of the crow and the stars are symbolic; the real meaning is to be found in the words which slip by unnoticed.

To be sure there is a lot happening here in these three sentences.  It is hard enough to wrap your mind around the idea of the various forms of communication that are happening.  The narrator asking the reader a question; the narrator claiming to know the answer asked to the reader by imposing thoughts onto the Visitor, and in the Visitor's assumed answer without a word from the Visitor, but rather an answer of silence portrayed by a smile assuming knowledge.  All this finally wrapped up by an assertion of the narrator that "Today, things would become clear".  But clear to who?  The Visitor, the reader, the narrator?  

At this point, most readers will actually have lost track of the question, which is simply..."So how did he (the Visitor) come to be here?"   It is the notion of "here" that will become clear.  

---

Remember that this novel takes place after the death of the Visitor.  So is here a geographical location?  No, that is explained in depth that the Visitor leaves the city with his Beloved and returns only the eve of his death.  We know geographically, more or less where he is.

So is the "here" being referenced something else? A state of mind, of peace, or awareness? Most readers will not even question this.  However from the perspective of the "author" the here being referenced is closer to a state of "awareness", but also one of acceptance (eve of death), but yet more to the point...a state of "Grace".

That is there "here" being referenced.  Remember, the Visitor already argues against the existence of "time" being anymore than a physical notion.  And time and space to the Visitor are relative.  What the Visitor talks about more is "the procession of life" from the body housing the seed of the Spirit - and about growth through Love.  The "here" is really referring to a "state of Grace".  

So the real question is..."How did he (the Visitor) arrive at a state of Grace (here)?.

---

From page 2 in the chapter Corvus we already are aware that the Visitor’s state of Grace is not due to any unearthly personal attributes.  The Visitor could have been anyone. In fact, he would have argued he was everyone…more or less. He was not extraordinary, he was certainly no angel, and he was far from a saint.

As such, any such state of Grace the Visitor is in would seem to be attainable to anyone or possibly even everyone. Perhaps a hint to how he came to this state of Grace may be found in the chapter on Prayer.  In that poetic parable (the story within the story) we hear the Visitor’s recorded words as:

Words are not required to speak to the spirit.

If you forget how to pray, then be still.

Stay silent and listen - and your soul - you may hear it

Faith like Grace, is more than free will. 

This idea that Grace is more than free will takes us to the notion that you can’t simply “want it” or “make it happen”.  It is more than free will.  So, this state requires something outside of personal control (or free will).  If the reader can hold the entire context of the novel at once, then within the idea of “Grace, and awareness, and acceptance” you might refer to the poetic parable on Knowledge, where the Visitor shares:

That being said, understand what I say

Your prayers - they are still being heard.

So, let no man ever stand in your way

Of accepting or rejecting the word. 

Simply put…the idea that your prayers are being heard (even if your may wonder if that is the case) is contrasted with the idea of never letting any man stand in your way of accepting or rejecting.  So the idea of knowledge, attached to prayer, being heard is outside the realm and control of others… if you don’t allow others to interfere.   This is reinforced again in the central message when you take stanza six on the poetic parable on Prayer into consideration.

I wish I could teach you how to pray in words,

But God listens not to your muttering,

Except for the times He Himself can be heard

Through your lips at the time of His choosing. 

Here is the connection the “your prayers being heard”…but now the tricky part in describing “the state of Grace”.   Here the Visitor states that God listens not to your mutterings…except when He Himself (capitalized therefore referencing God) utters them through your lips at the time of His choosing. So it’s more than freewill.  There is intervention to attain this “state of Grace”.  You can’t simply choose it to happen.  Yet, your prayers are being heard…but not necessarily through your words or at the time of your choosing. Sound familiar?

Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

So all that said...we might now understand that what becomes "clear" is "how the Visitor arrived at this state of Grace"...but we still don't know how he actually arrives there.  Even with this interpretation, we only understand the question - not the answer.

To understand the answer requires the reader to digest the full Corvus Chronicles. Remember, The Visitor is only the beginning of the Corvus Chronicles - and as already stated clearly...'Beginnings are always somewhat vague".  So while the answer may not yet be revealed, at least now you understand the question.

Until next time...Journey in Love

Michael Paul

Universal Language of the Soul

1 Corinthians 14:10   There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.

In part, this corruption of language spurred him towards a belief
in what he called “the universal language of the soul”, or language
with no spoken words. A language best heard (or felt) in silence.  Pg. 4 The Visitor

If you have had the patience and perseverance to follow all the blog entries in "The Visitor - Re-Visited" you would be aware that The Visitor is not a simple story.   You would also be aware it is a story that not even the author fully understands, and invites readers to search for their own interpretations.

That said, moving forward, these blogs will start to take a much deeper dive into possible interpretations.  Today's interpretation is focusing simply on a statement made by the narrator on page 4 of The Visitor about "corruption of language", and a belief in a universal understanding that requires no spoken words, no language and perhaps is best "felt" in silence.

However, now as a seasoned reader (if you have followed this far) you are going to start to see more of the influences on The Visitor and perhaps understand why it is not just a Love Story, but a Story of Love.  This deep dive is the beginning of truly understanding what The Visitor is about, and why individual interpretation is actively encouraged by the author.

The concepts of silence, universality, and language are central themes in The Visitor.  The previous blogs on Love explain how the Visitor believes sacred words like Love, Faith (and even hope) have been corrupted to the point the words are now meaningless.  

“Shared, but maybe not emphasized to the same degree, is the strong suggestion that deep within us, in the silence of our souls, we know intuitively the differences between what is right and what is wrong.”

Other sections of The Visitor talk about the need for Love, Empathy, Understanding, Judgement, Pain, Sorrow, Joy etc.  All these are claimed by the Visitor to be universally shared states of the human condition.  This idea of silence, and universal understanding is hinted to in the prologue (pg viii):

In fact, one of the pivotal contextual points in The Visitor is in his search for silence.  That is what partly drives him away to his home outside of the city prior to his death.  This is clear at the end of the section of Crime and Punishment (pg 43) when the narrator shares the following:

Although I still did not fully understand what he meant, he was passionate in his belief that the more he withdrew from everyone, the better he was able to connect with anyone. From his solitude and isolation, he could connect with everyone rather than be consumed by any one. His description of how we are all connected and of how we are all one was beyond a romantic notion. He believed the connection was beyond spiritual. Just as a high tide lifts all boats, the hurting of one hurts us all. He believed there was shared responsibility and accountability amongst everyone.

The idea that there are many languages in the world, each with meaning is not a novel idea.  We are more than aware we don't all speak the same language.  And while a foreign language may sound like gibberish to one not familiar, the support for something deeper is found within 1 Corinthians 14:10

There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.

In the eyes of the Visitor this concept is pushed to the idea that there is even meaning in a language without words.  Reference the poetic parable on Joy and Sorrow to understand at a minimum the Visitor sees "emotional states" as universally shared.

Your joy and sorrow are not yours alone
They are both universally shared states
Unless your heart is carved out of stone
Such feelings are our shared human fate.

The Visitor's assertion that you can "understand" or derive meaning from such universally shared states directly follows the stanza above in the chapter on Joy and Sorrow.

You may witness the pain in the eyes of a stranger
Or smile when someone else laughs.
Or feel the fear when someone’s in danger
As we all walk along a shared path.

The idea of witnessing pain in the eyes of a stranger is the idea that we can "understand" pain in someone without the need for words.  The fact that we may smile when someone else laughs invokes the idea of an innate ability to respond to an "emotional" stimuli.  This is again emphasized in that we can actually "feel fear" when someone else is in danger.

Words are not required to share, in fact all of these examples are actually better "felt" than heard.  Words require translation, are open to misinterpretation and are filtered through a cognitive process.  We are much more in control of the words we utter.  And as such, we can intentionally confuse, manipulate, control and hurt others for whatever purpose we choose.

We are much more responsible for the words we say and the impact of those words.  Again, this concept is not new or unique.  See Ephesians 4:29

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

In the extreme dualism that makes up the personality of the Visitor, it is not surprising that we can draw the conclusion that for the Visitor, words are not only "inadequate" but mundane; where as silence and prayer are sacred.  There are various examples of this duality to be found throughout The Visitor, but they will be highlighted in future blogs.

Quickly however, to understand the "sacredness" of silence to the Visitor we can refer to the poetic parable on Prayer (pg 71):

Prayer is the expansion of your inner self
In prayer, you rise in communion.
Prayer is not a deal you can barter or sell
It is a sacred, silent, union.

The idea of three simple words "sacred, silent, union" pretty much sums up the connections I am talking about.  Although silent - prayer is meaningful communication.  And although the action may be initiated individually, the concept of "rising in communion" shouts a universal connection shared within this act.  The Visitor would argue that we don't really "pray" alone.  This concept is reiterated in the poetic parable below:

Words are not required to speak to the spirit.
If you forget how to pray, then be still.
Stay silent and listen - and your soul - you may hear it
Faith like Grace, is more than free will.

When you can hear, the voices of others
And join in the suffering of what we’ve all done
Without a word, your doubt will be smothered
When you join prayer, with others; as one.

This poetic parable is unquestionably influenced by Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

Again, concepts of communication requiring NO WORDS (in this case actually groanings too deep for words), but rather SILENCE.  The idea of "join in the suffering of what we've all done" found within the Visitor's poetic parable is another call to not only how we are all connected, but an understanding regarding judgement.  Whole sections of The Visitor are devoted to "taking care when to judge".  Words spoken carelessly and without Love are just part of the noise.  Again, this whole central concept sprinkled throughout The Visitor can be traced pretty easily to the Bible.  This time, 1 Corinthians 13:1

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal

As well as Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Again we can see confluence of influence - Ephesians 4:29

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

The idea of NO WORDS, but rather communication through a more adequate spiritual fashion (prayer being one example) is again influenced by another passage, this time 1 Corinthians 2:13

which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

One more example of the inadequacy of words is found in John 8:43

"Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

It really should be no surprise by now as you are in the midst of the "first deep dive" into interpretation that when the Visitor does speak, (even though he finds words inadequate and would prefer silence) he speaks ONLY in poetic parables.  Influence for this type of speaking is found in John 16:25

"These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.

At this point you the reader might make the assumption that the Visitor is a literary personification of Jesus.  I can assure you as the author of The Visitor, this is not the case.  As clearly outlined in The Visitor, the Visitor is not Jesus or any other incarnation of a prophet.  

Page 2 of the chapter Corvus makes this clear:

The Visitor could have been anyone. In fact, he would have argued he was everyone…more or less. He was not extraordinary, he was certainly no angel, and he was far from a saint.

So, Who is the Visitor?  

There is an answer, but the answer cannot be given.  Words are inadequate. Be assured however, the Visitor does exist.  To actually find out who the Visitor is cannot be achieved without the background provided by the rest of the books within The Corvus Chronicles.  However, a very strong hint as to who the Visitor is is found on page 10 of the novel where the narrator shares, "If anyone had asked the Visitor who or what he was, he would have simply said:"
I am a part of you, just as you are part of me.
No more, no less; just another guest
Whose time has come to leave.

The last part to touch briefly on in this deep dive before I let you up for air, is to be found within the intersection of these central themes of "universal, language, silence, Love" and the damage done by inadequate words is the idea of the strength and sacredness of silence, to let silence by your message or your last word.  This idea is found in the poetic parable on "Talking" (pg 62):

“Do not be tempted in your need to talk
When you’re driven too hard to be heard
Sometimes it’s wiser to get up and walk
And let silence be your last word. - The Visitor”

The power of silence as a response again is not a unique concept and heavily influenced from external sources.  For example Acts 8:32

 "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

Luke 23:9

And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.

Proverbs 10:19

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Psalm 39:9

"I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it.

1 Timothy 5:13

At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.

And finally: two of my personal favourites:

Proverbs 17:9

He who conceals a transgression seeks love, 

and

Proverbs 26:20

For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.

As such, the Visitor is probably prone to not defend his positions.  Afterall, The Visitor takes place three hours before death.  There is nothing to be gained in attempting to defend.  It is not only a strong position, it is the only position.  Again support for this position can be found on page 43 of The Visitor:

He shared how he was no different and had spent far too many years justifying everything he did to others and himself. It took many years and many hard lessons to learn that justification was not called for nor required. If we acted in Faith, guided by Love, there was never a need to defend. In fact, he would contend that defending righteousness only diluted it.

So the message is to take care.  Care with your words.  Care not to defend as those who are asking you to defend are motivated by something you do not need to, and probably should not even entertain acknowledging.  Instead, hold to Faith, and be guided by Love.  And finally, take care when judging.

“John 8:3-11

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either Go From now on sin no more.””

If you made it this far....congratulations.  Go up for some air, but as in any deep dive, take time resurfacing.  

Journey in Love

Michael Paul

Love - Stanza VII

All these things Love does to you,
Exposing secrets of your heart
So you may see in all you do
That sacred special part.

For those who are following the previous blogs (Interpretation of the poetic parable on Love stanza's I-VI) it will be easy to understand that the visitor is talking about Love as in the "entity" rather than Love as a romantic notion.

For someone not following "the story within the story" (the parable) it is easy to see how this line would be interpreted as meaning; "falling in romantic love has highs and lows, pleasure and pain, and all those emotional tides we go through while in or out of Love, which teaches us who we are."

That notion is not necessarily false.  We do learn who we are from our experiences, whether they are good or bad.  We learn empathy, we learn compassion, we learn through both our mistakes and the mistakes of others.  But if it is truly Love; it is never a mistake...at least if talking about Love from the perspective of the visitor.

Love Stanza VII - Line I : All these things Love does to you,

From the perspective of the visitor; he is talking about Love (the entity) acting on us.  From the pleasure, to the pain, to the sacrifice to the Grace.  This is not "physical" Love.  This is something that is done to us and through us our our journey of life.  

Love Stanza VII - Line II: Exposing secrets of your heart

It can be hard to look inwards, especially when hurting, and see the role our action, inaction, acceptance or rejection had in situations we may suffer.  It is easier to look outwards, and recognize the things that we didn't like, felt unfair, or when we felt betrayed.  It is easier to blame others.  

But Love, the entity (not the emotion) has the power to expose our true feelings.  In complete honesty and solitude.  It is not a judgement bestowed upon us, but the clarity of coming to our own self-judgement and acknowledging our role.  

It is rare that anyone is every completely innocent.  While the actions of someone else may seem more overt - there is usually some role each of us play in any situation where we may feel as though we have been hurt.  Sometimes its as simple as not being honest with ourselves and accepting things we should not have accepted in hopes for something else.  Sometimes it may be not paying enough attention to the other person or situation but rather being so wrapped up in ourselves that we lose track of both the other person(s) and the situation.  Sometimes it's as easy as not recognizing the hurt we may have caused someone else in the defense of ourselves.  

It's hard to be that honest, to see the role we each play in the losses and hurts where we feel like the victim.  But Love can help us see clearly.  

And sometimes it will actually take the guilt away, especially in situations where someone is innocent.  These are situations where someone else has power or control over someone else.  That power or control can be due to age, to financial, to position.  For example; it is rare that a child can be held to blame in any hurt where adults are involved.  The adult typically has the full trifecta of power (age, financial and position).  In situations where children are exploited the entity of Love can help them see they are in fact fully innocent. 

The reality is the "exposing secrets" according to the visitor will occur.  There is no escape.  This is made clear in numerous parables of the visitor, such as the one on Laws:

And following a law which is inherently wrong
Does little to lessen your crime.
And no matter how good and no matter how strong
We all must account in due time.

This concept is made even clearer by the visitor on the parable regarding Time; and actually may be seen or interpreted as a warning, or an accounting to the secrets within your heart,  Although in the concept of "time" the visitor is talking about how death is not bound by the physical realities of time (physics or speed, mass, velocity, gravity etc), the idea of an accounting and clarity at the end of life (in the concept of eternity) is cohesive to the message of understanding and accounting for the "secrets of our hearts" will occur:

When yesterday and tomorrow converge on today
When everything is, and always has been
Revealed at once, all you do - all you say
When all that has been and will be - is seen.

Love Stanza VII - Line III: So you may see in all you do

The idea that Love enables you to see in all you do, is the idea of a deeper honesty within yourself that cannot be hidden.  It is not the idea of being judged externally - where you will be able to account by means of any defense.  It is the idea that in reality, you really can't lie to yourself.  You can lie to others, and they may not know.  But the reality you know when you are lying to yourself, therefore, you cannot in reality "lie to yourself".  Love makes this very clear.  Love has the ability to make you self-accountable - in ALL you do (or don't do).

Love Stanza VII - Line IV: That sacred special part.

That sacred special part is that part that lives beyond the physical mundane body that will be left here on earth.  The reality is that Love allows you to see that part of yourself that is beyond the face you see in the mirror.  It is that part of you that grows within yourself.  Basically, it allows you to see and recognize your spirit in advance.  Love lifts the veil.  

This is the reality of the visitors message.  You know and can see behind the veil through the power of Love.  You don't have to wait until the crow comes calling for you.  

_________________________________________________________________________

I hope the message of Love as relayed by the visitor is becoming clear.  It is a personal journey of Love that we experience with others, but at the same time, it is to each and everyone of us our own unique journey.   

If you are enjoying the concept of the poetic parables within the prose of the visitor I invite you to check out the full volume of The Visitor; Book I of the Corvus Chronicles now available on this website (see Bookstore) or on Amazon, Indigo, Kindle, Kobo or by ordering at a bookstore near you.  

Until next time, I present to you the first half of the parable on Love, (Stanza's 1-VII inclusive).

Journey in Love; Michael Paul

When Love beckons, do not sleep
And let none stand in defiance of;
Though cost be high and loss be steep
Leave doubt behind and yield to Love.

As sure as Love will lift you high
To heights beyond your reach
To fully grasp; you must partly die
Self-interest must be breached.

And Love will drop you like a bird
Scorched flying near the sun
Do not the dizzy heights disturb
Love’s quest to become one.

For your body; it will bless
And guide you through all weather
While softly naked it will caress
Your body like a feather.

Then it will bind and chain and flog
Till you can take no more
And leave you stumbling in the fog
Alone - lost in amour.

Love will heal wounds of desire,
Then bleed you dry as stone
Love throws you into sacred fires
Where you will burn alone.

All these things Love does to you,
Exposing secrets of your heart
So you may see in all you do
That sacred special part.

Love - Stanza VI

Love will heal wounds of desire,
Then bleed you dry as stone
Love throws you into sacred fires
Where you will burn alone.

In the previous stanzas on Love the reader was introduced to the concept of Love as an entity (more than a feeling; see blogs on stanzas I-III inclusive), followed by Love as physically expressed (see blog on stanza IV) and then the feelings of hurt of associated with Love (binding and piercing; see blog on stanza V).

In stanza VI we see all these previous elements combined.  Love having the power to heal and hurt, but also the concept of purify or sanctify.  This is the concept of Love being trans-formative.

This particular stanza also serves as a prime example of how the visitor speaks in "poetic parables".  This stanza is open to a very real interpretation of the pain many may have felt when it comes to Love.  However, as a parable, there is a story within the story open for interpretation by the reader.  In this stanza, the underlying story of the parable is actually about the acceptance of Love as a trans-formative power.  It is actually from the visitor's perspective a story about the experience of Grace.

Love - Stanza VI, Line I :  Love will heal wounds of desire,

In the first line of stanza VI the visitor depicts Love again as an entity with an ability.  In this case Love (object) heals (action).  Love in stanza VI is not talking about "feeling"...except the stanza is also rift with the idea of physical feeling (wounds, bleed, burn).  As such, this stanza is complex with discordant messages that fit well with visitor's dualistic view of the world, but may be a little confusing to those who hear his message.  

To "heal wounds of desire" is to heal hurts associated with loss, rejection, and loneliness. While there may be other such feelings, typically wounds of desire are not of a physical nature, but rather an emotional nature.  When we lose someone we Love, or our feelings for someone are not reciprocated, or when we feel isolated.  Although these are not "physical" pains they are still very much real.  As such, they need healing as much as any cut, break or bruise.  

Physical injuries are healed through the bodies process of healing itself.  Sometimes it may need help, from doctors, from antibiotics, even blood transfusions.  The point is, all the remedies for physical injury are physical remedies.  For healing wounds of desire, which are non-physical, the cure is also non-physical.  Whether it is time, or Love, or a combination of; the point is that Love will heal these very real non-physical wounds which are associated with feelings such as loss, rejection and loneliness.

Love - Stanza VI, Line II :  Then bleed you dry as stone

As already described above, here Love is acting as an entity or force, not a feeling.  To most readers this line will appear to be associated with "pain", the idea of being bled as dry as a stone is not a comforting thought.  However, that is not the meaning of the visitor.  

To be bled as dry as stone is not an uncommon concept.  The saying, "you can't get blood out of a stone" means "to attempt that which is impossible".  In the easiest translation of the underlying meaning of the visitor's poetic parable in line II is "Love can do that which is impossible".  

Love - Stanza VI, Line III :  Love throws you into sacred fires

Again in line III we see Love as an entity/power/force which is acting (throwing) rather than a "feeling".  However, the reader once again probably interprets this line through a more sensual lens, of the pain which may be associated with Love.

However, there are specific meanings associated to the concept of "sacred fire" underlying the visitor's words.  Many indigenous North American ceremonies incorporate the use of a sacred fire.  In many of these celebrations, fire is seen as a gift from the Creator and a manifestation of the Spirit.  Although you cannot touch it without pain, the warmth and the light touches us.

The concept of fire and sacredness is also common in Jewish and Christian doctrine, as witnessed by when God spoke to Moses through a burning bush' or in Matthew 3:11  where Jesus is described as one who will baptize you "with the Holy Spirit and Fire".

As the novel The Visitor is influenced by Thomas Merton and his appreciation for inter-faith understanding, it should not be surprising by the reader to see a line which contains cross-cultural references to Faith.  

The point of line III, stanza VI as relayed by the visitor is not about the pain of Love but rather of the sanctifying ability of Love as a spiritual power.  

Love - Stanza VI, Line IV :  Where you will burn alone.

The concept of alone was discussed in length in the previous blog on stanza V of the poetic parable on Love.  The underlying message in the visitor's comments are not about suffering pain alone caused by Love, although for many readers that interpretation may be valid.  

For the visitor however, as described throughout the continuum of poetic parables, this is the personal sacred part of the journey.  Just as you enter the world alone, you leave alone.  To be touched by the Spirit is a personal experience, not open for debate or comparison with anyone who has or has not been touched by a similar experience.  The visitor was never keen on such debates.  This attitude of the visitor is explained early in the novel (page 2) by the narrator who points out how the visitor would have responded to such challenges:

He would not have been keen to entertain arguments with others on whether life was a series of events open to arbitrary choice or a matter of predetermined fate. Such arguments he felt were fruitless and without consequence. Instead, he was more prone to admire a perfectly designed system of ordered chaos constantly in flux with individual human choice. He felt there was something beautiful in the concept of unpredictable chaos within an intentional master design: a duality, like body and spirit.

As described by the visitor, the idea of "where you will burn alone" is in essence a description of the state or personal experience of Grace, where when you are touched by Love in this sense.... you will burn alone.

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I hope that you have found some surprising elements of the underlying messages in stanza VI.  Although your own personal interpretations will be valid for you, I hope that for those who have read the blogs on Love stanzas I-VI inclusive are starting to get the sense of what is meant by the concept of a "poetic parable".  

The visitor speaks only in poetic parables, and as such the reader is challenged to interpret the story within the story.  Part of the beauty of the parable is that every reader may extract a different meaning, and that meaning is the one meant for them. 

Until we meet again to discuss stanza VII,  I now present to you the poetic parable on Love, stanzas I through VI together and uninterrupted.  

Journey in Love,

Michael Paul

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 When Love beckons, do not sleep
And let none stand in defiance of;
Though cost be high and loss be steep
Leave doubt behind and yield to Love.

As sure as Love will lift you high
To heights beyond your reach
To fully grasp; you must partly die
Self-interest must be breached.

And Love will drop you like a bird
Scorched flying near the sun
Do not the dizzy heights disturb
Love’s quest to become one.

For your body; it will bless
And guide you through all weather
While softly naked it will caress
Your body like a feather.

Then it will bind and chain and flog
Till you can take no more
And leave you stumbling in the fog
Alone - lost in amour.

Love will heal wounds of desire,
Then bleed you dry as stone
Love throws you into sacred fires
Where you will burn alone.