Book of the Labyrinth: Drawing 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

DRAWING THE CIRCLE

In the structure of Lichtenbergian RITUAL, once we’ve decided to MAKE THE THING THAT IS NOT with our Invocation, the next step is Drawing the Circle: defining/creating/ and defending that liminal space that we must enter into in order to do our work. That space could be a physical space like a studio or a mental space where we imagineer the first/next step of our process.

That is in Normal Times; what has changed for us in Captivity?

For starters, that time and space we used to enter into for our work may be a lot harder to come by. If we’re working from home, supervising our children’s schoolwork, dealing with illness and isolation, it’s not as easy to walk into that study and close the door.

All this talk and turmoil
and noise and movement
and desire is outside
the veil;
inside the veil is silence
and calm
and peace

—Abu Yazid Al-Bistami

That was before. Now? Pfft. The gate to our workspace is never fully closed, if indeed we can get it to open.

It may be that it’s just more difficult to create/protect our workspace than it was before; it may be that we have to change how we Draw the Circle — smaller chunks of time, shorter bits of process, more immediate (or more long-range) goals.

Whichever the case may be, I’m afraid the texts in my Book of the Labyrinth are not as pertinent as they might be, and I will freely admit that I have not solved the puzzle of Drawing the Circle for myself. I am a bad creativity guru.

Let go of this everywhere and this something, in exchange for this nowhere and this nothing.
—The Cloud of Unknowing

Beyond a certain point
there is no return.
This point must be reached.
—Kafka

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
— Isaiah 43

So help me out: Are there texts I should have in my Book of the Labyrinth that address Drawing the Circle in more inspirational/helpful ways? Comments are always open.