Transcendence
Editor’s Note: NAMI Washtenaw recognizes all faith and spiritual traditions, including those who do not subscribe to a faith or spiritual tradition, we invite you to tell your story from your own faith perspective. Submit this form to express your interest in contributing.
By John Wm. Dunne
A reflection on my spiritual journey from the living hell of a psychotic break to a state of higher awareness.
Beyond the infinity of the depths of deep space,
Space cold as ice as if frozen like hell.
Hell emerging from Dante as dark as the deep,
Deep in my soul while summoning me down.
Down to the pit where no beings exist,
Existing in a myth to reach the beyond.
Meta means beyond, which transcends mortal dreams;
Dreams of the transcendent, as the Greeks defined meta.
Dreaming of space beyond space and time,
Time doesn’t exist it only transcends.
Transcending the deep I am very confused,
Confused like an ant I turn to my mind.
Mind over matter I nurture my heart,
Heart filled with love no wonder I’m dreaming.
Between one’s slumber and sentience is a state of metaxy;
Metaxy is derived from Aristotle, who lived in the between.
Lucid yet whole as I give up control,
Control of my soul to an unknowable ghost.
Ghost full of love as wise as Solomon who considered the ants,
Ants in the ground creating their home.
Home to my mind is an existence in Christ,
Christ is my focus as I know I am lucid.
Metaxy defines the realm of a mind;
A mind between slumber and sentience as defined by metaxy.
Focus on fate as you consider the mind,
Mind becoming clear leading to life.
Life is a journey guided by stars,
Stars in our space arrayed by the gods.
Gods creating myths to confound us some more,
More like the mind which must be our focus.
Intent on our focus we contemplate depth;
Depth that leads us into deep meditation.
Meditation of the deep leads us into the meta,
Meta existence in the realms of the Christ.
Christ is unchanging as if frozen in hell,
Hell is receding like the passing of time.
Time is a memory as dark as deep space,
Space is the essence of a deep meditation.
Spacetime is deep as we ponder the stars;
Stars that define the gods of spacetime.
Stars in deep space give birth to mere mortals,
Mortals of flesh formed in a womb.
Wombs from our mother created by Christ,
Christ is a mystery unknown to man.
Man is the flesh of the thought of a power,
Power so brilliant that it shines like a star.
Intent on the stars as determined by will;
Will that is created by the source of our intent.
The practice of dreaming is the path to beyond,
While reaching the beyond is realized by dreaming.
It is essential to be lucid to acquire a focus,
And with a clear focus it is natural to be lucid.
In the depths of our meditation, we exist among stars;
And in the realms of the stars, we enter–intent meditation.
John began his journey over twenty-five years ago with a psychotic break in which he experienced several religious thoughts and delusions which were out of touch with reality or true spirituality. Throughout the years following his diagnosis as an adult who struggles with schizoaffective disorder, he has received formal education in religious studies and philosophy while praying and studying the “big picture” of mental illness and the “bigger questions” of life. Through his religious studies courses he received an understanding of his inner being which includes his diagnosis as well as the “big picture” of how he would feel if he were mentally and emotionally stable. Through his education in philosophy, he came to an understanding of how to reach this state through a logical approach to his therapy. It is his desire to share this journey which he will continue throughout the remainder of his mortal life with his audience.