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NOTES: Shamanic Encounter

Posted on May 28th, 2008 by AlexNoble : Artist in Residence AlexNoble
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I noticed today when I met F. how completely at ease I felt. It was as though he saw me, and understood immediately who I was and why I needed to talk to him.  I felt as though I was meeting an old soul, or perhaps a shaman. I did not have to apologize for my ignorance. I was impressed that, instead of just brushing me off on the telephone, like most bureaucrats would have done, he came down to the lobby to speak to me in person.  When I told him that I had actually prayed for some help, and asked for an angel, he laughed and blushed. His presence was that of depth, power, and control, yet there was also great kindness.  When I explained the problem I was trying to solve, I felt that I had his absolute attention. I said: "I am a get it done person, but I do not know what to do in this situation," I knew that he would do everything he could to help me.


Alex Noble







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NOTES: Learning to Write

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by AlexNoble : Artist in Residence AlexNoble



In spite of all the writing I have done, I always feel as though I am still learning to write. Always the blank sheet of paper, like a vast open desert...  Always the haunting fear that says I have nothing more to say. Always the hesitancy to just jump in and start the flow of words: a dream, an encounter, a moment of beauty, a concern, a special joy, or just a haiku moment in nature.  So I wait.  And if I wait long enough, patient as a fisherman casting his line into the deep blue, words will float to the surface of consciousness, at first shadowy and indistinct, then I see their shapes, and then I can catch them, one at a time. When new friends ask the inevitable question, "What do you do?" I gather my courage and reply:"I am a writer."  Then, of course, they brighten up (everyone it seems wants to write these days) and ask: "What do you write?"  And I gather more courage and answer:"Very short paragraphs.  I am a very short paragraph writer."




Alex Noble






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NOTES: Self Help Books

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by AlexNoble : Artist in Residence AlexNoble
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I have an addiction, it seems, to self help books. With each new secret, solution, answer, method or system that comes available, I have to read it, or at least have it on my bookshelf for a rainy day. The buying of self help books is a guilty pleasure, because there is always the hope that this new book will provide The Answer to Everything, and that my life will be, somehow, magically transformed by whatever words of wisdom live in these pages.  I often wonder why I am so hungry for wisdom and ideas that promise transformation. Am I not good enough as I am?  What if there were no self help books available to me?  Would I be able to become a better person just by entering deeply into my own experience, observing it with clarity and precision, and learning from the very stuff of life itself, unfiltered by someone else's perception and process?  I love what George Bernard Shaw said when someone asked him what books he would take with him if he had to spend a year on a desert island.  Shaw replied: "Blank ones."   Is the book I write for myself, perhaps the best self help book of all?


Alex Noble





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NOTES: Being Nice

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by AlexNoble : Artist in Residence AlexNoble






Our culture places a premium on "being nice," and this leads to a lot of falsity, fakery and insincerity.  How often do I step aside from an honest response in order to be nice?  How often do I deprive another of my honest and heartfelt response, in order to be seen as nice?  I wonder, as I watch myself now in awkward situations, if any genuine good is ever done by failing to be true to my real feelings.  While it takes discipline, courage and self-awareness to risk being seen as a "not nice" person, surely there is a benefit in being able to be authentic in the moment, if this is done with love and integrity.  There is freedom in knowing that while I do not always have to be "nice," I can always be loving and truthful.




Alex Noble
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NOTES: Small Towns

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by AlexNoble : Artist in Residence AlexNoble
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We are losing our small towns, the same way we are losing family farms, topsoil, and a feeling for what Christopher Alexander calls "human scale."  I had almost forgotten how a small town works, until today, when I had an urgent need to get some information from a teacher I had studied with many years ago.  All I remember is that he moved away, to Sagebrush, which is a very small town about two hours north of the not small town I endure, because it is on the ocean.  Arthur, the subject of my search, is a tall, tall man who loves jazz and used to be a force in the jazz society here.  He is kind and gracious.  Emboldened by my memory of what a thoroughly good person he is, I had a feeling that someone in Sagebrush would surely know if he still lived there and how I could find him, even though I had forgotten his last name.  And so, knowing that I was entering small town territory, which is different than not small town territory, I did what seemed to be the obvious: I called the County Sherriff's Office.  Deputy Robbins answered.  Realizing I might sound like a nut case, I jumped right in.  "I am trying to find my former teacher Arthur, who moved up your way about 20 years ago, but I have forgotten his last name.  I can tell you that he is very tall, perhaps 6'6" or so, loves jazz, and is a kind and good person. Do you happen to know him?"   Deputy Robbins, being a classic small town sherriff, didn't miss a beat. "Oh," he said, "You must be looking for Arthur Blake. Lovely fellow. My grandson is in his Fifth Grade Class over at the elementary school.  Here's the number."  Small towns.  Big hearts.



Alex Noble



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