Journal of Sacred Work

   There is a genius living in my backyard. He is this Willow Leaf Oak. He features his own brain & a trunk stronger than Goliath. Pansies adore him.  

   His hair reminds medical students of dendrites, those strange, neuron-based tendrils without which we experience no thought.

   Neurons speak to each other through dendrites. When stimulated dendrites excite or inhibit neurons. 

   What stimuli awaken intelligence? Mozart, a certified brainiac, said "Love, love, love is the soul of genius."

   It is a mistake to limit genius to the contents of the cranium. Healing lives in loving fingertips as much as it does in scalpel blades. A compassionate gaze proves that eyes can change brain chemistry as powerfully as Valium. Love is not measured in cubic centimeters or milligrams because its power is beyond measure. 

   Genius will give herself to us if we engage effort – find new ways to express ourselves so that we discover the beauty within.

   David Whyte wrote, "Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew." 

   Whyte seems to tell us: If you want to excite your dendrites write a poem, a song, a story, without worrying if anyone will like it. You will discover fragments of genius hiding in your heart!"

-Erie Chapman

Surrealist photo-image by Erie