permaculture

[Jack Rowe <jackrowe@compuserve.com>]

Yin-Yang does represent interaction of polarities, as the two sides pulsing
around a center, and also in the facet of each side always containing
elements of the other, even at its 'purest'.

To me, the Yin-Yang symbol's greater significance lies in its visual
transcendence of the "2", or polarity... taken as a whole it represents the
third level of energetic interaction -- synthesis, 'BOTH', 'AND'. The dot
in the center of each polarity transcends the either/or attitude on a level
of manifest reality, and the inseparable combination of both polarities in
the circle or 'Medicine Wheel' itself transcends polarity on a level of
implicate order or that which 'underlies' reality (god, the quantum field,
the 'void'). By transcending 'either-or', we raise ourselves to a much
higher level of perception and observational depth, useful in permaculture
as well as in living with other humans/animals -- and ourselves, natch'.

Another representation of the Yin-Yang useful to permaculture -- and in
dealing with personal acceptance of the creative cycle of initiation,
growth, maturation, reseeding, assimilation and gestation -- is the
inescpability of the pulsing nature of 'reality'. Our attempts to avoid the
'darker side' of the circle (which can feel like 'chaos', 'depression', or
'permanent' loss of focus) have driven us to the addictive behaviors which
have brought our Earth to its present state of beginning to reject its
human tissue. And the pulsations of Nature are where we observe where we
enter in order to harvest the forces prevailing at any one time ("Cycles
are opportunities in Time", Mollison or someone). 

Once I drew a visually-near-perfect Yin-Yang in the dust on the back window
of my car (a time in my life when I really needed the reminder). Got a lot
of comments on how round it was, always explained it was 'just meant to be
there'. Sister-in-law asked if I'd used a 'pattern' to draw it, I said
"Yeah, 5,000 years old". Finally got stopped by a couple 'good ole boy'
cops who made me erase it (my motto: 'don't argue with armed rednecks' --
hey, it's kept me from getting shot at this long). Oh, well -- it comes and
goes. 

Jack