The world as a nail - in progress


The universe is written in mathematics. The Mystery is written in poetry. We're born where the two meet, on the border.

I'm not real happy with this one yet. I'm going to rework it.
— NW



This is the fourth of my "tool group" of postings.

By now you've realized that I am not focusing on the physical tools. Back in The right thingamajig for the job I wrote about feeling the weight of the hammer, the hardness of the shaft, where the balance point is, the temperature of the metal, and hearing the ring as the hammer strikes.

If I thought it would help, I would have you taste it.

Athletes, dancers, and martial artists rely heavily on muscle memory. One of the forms it takes is that after enough repetition, your brain doesn't have to lay out every move for your muscles. The move becomes nearly instinctive without you having to focus specific attention. This happens because the patterning takes place in the nerve clusters close to the muscles involved, not in your brain. This frees a significant part of your brain for other things.

But we're not done yet.

Did you know that science was the bastard child of magick?

These days we're conditioned to accept that science and technology are the answer to all our problems. We forget that chemistry began with alchemy, that metallurgy started with fire and pottery and spells scribbled on walls.

Both science and magick are about manipulating the environment. Neither has all the answers. And neither is more true.

Magick has it's roots deep in our minds and works outward. Science has it's roots in our surroundings and works inward.

Or, to rephrase it just a bit:

The universe is written in mathematics. The Mystery is written in poetry. We're born where the two meet, at the crossroads.

It's more than just a turn of phrase. How we think governs which tools we reach for.

There's an old saying, if all you have is a hammer, then the whole world looks like a nail.

Make sure you have more than one set of tools.

Make sure that you know every tool you have so you don't have to think about how to use it.

Accept that sometimes, you won't have the right thoughts or the right tool for the job.

That's when you will have to make something, based on what you know and feel and understand.

Posted: Sat - January 24, 2009 at 02:08 PM
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