Book of the Labyrinth: Breaking the Circle

(We’re looking at excerpts from my Book of the Labyrinth, a blank book into which I have written inspirational stuff, divided into the sections of RITUAL in Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy.)

Listen: there’s a hell
of a good universe next door;
Let’s go.
— e.e. cummings

BREAKING THE CIRCLE

Hello —
I’ve come to say I cannot stay,
I must be going.
I’ll stay the weekend through,
I’ll stay a week or two
but I am telling you:
I must be going.
— Groucho Marx

At some point we have to stop.

One of the bedrock principles of RITUAL is that it creates a space separate from “real life” in which we can seek, encounter, and incorporate change. That space is called the liminal space: it exists beyond a boundary that separates us from the distractions of “real life.”

In a setting like a worship service or a theatre performance or even a nice restaurant, that boundary is invoked by others. When we create the liminal space for our work, we create that boundary by Drawing the Circle ourselves, and when we’re done, RITUAL requires that we Break the Circle and return to real life, where time flows and chores must be done.

Look: trees do exist;
the houses
that we live in still stand.
We alone
fly past all things,
as fugitive as the wind.
— Rilke

These days, in Captivity, Breaking the Circle can be rough. It was tough enough Drawing the Circle and getting into the space in the first place; if we’ve been Taking the Path with any kind of success, why would we want to stop?

You cannot stay on the summit forever,
you have to come down again.
One climbs, one sees.
One descends, one no longer sees,
but one has seen.
— René Daumal

Or worse: having struggled to Draw the Circle and finding that we’re unable to Take the Path because of our problematic reality, we may cling to our liminal space in a desperate hope that if we keep at it — NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER! — we might finally get something done.

Again, traveler, you have come
a long way led by that star,
but the kingdom of the wish
is at the other end of the night.
— Thomas McGrath

Or worst: we Draw the Circle to escape but have absolutely nothing to work on. We hide in the liminal space, neither engaging with “real life” or our work.

Use the raft appropriately.
— The Buddha

Remember
the flow of water.
Live — at the natural level
Fluid
Live — close to earth
Fluid
Live — giving live
Fluid
Live — falling free
Fluid
Live — in the stream
Fluid
— Timothy Leary

No matter our circumstance, if we Draw the Circle in order to do our work, it is necessary and right that we Break the Circle when we’re done. Organize your workspace, your materials, your mind: create a welcoming scenario to which you intend to return. It’s like making your house relatively tidy before going on a trip; you don’t want to come home to a sink full of dirty dishes.

So don’t just abandon the work. Leave it thoughtfully and with intention. Now, here, in Captivity, it will help, trust me.