CHESMAYNE
cream coffee
Creativity
“The Creation of the Man - God
Almighty”, Michelangelo
Originality of
thought or expression, originative, productive. Degree of ability to come-up with new ideas. To
see a problem from different perspectives or solve a problem in an original
way, to maintain an open, exploring and curious mind. Flexibility
of thinking allows new ideas to percolate to the top of your mind. It is the inexhaustible well from which all
great minds drink and a natural skill of each human brain. Chess is the Holy Grail of creativity. A creative thinker can see things in more original ways than the average thinker. To play Chesmayne you will need to break your own moulds in thinking and habits, use the
new MPs/mps and try different sized boards and become polymathic in nature - stretch you brain’s ability to accept ambiguity and
juxtapose opposites. You can develop a sensitivity
to the unseen creative forces within yourself!
In 1508, on the orders of Pope Julius
II, Michelangelo began work on the restoration of the decoration on the ceiling
of the Chapel dedicated to Sistus IV.
In place of a starry
sky,
the wonderfully painted ceiling shows the nine stories from the central part of
the book of Genesis, of which this - The Creation of Man - is probably the
best-known. 1,000 pieces. Completed size is 26.5” x 18.75”. A high-quality puzzle from Clementoni of Italy.
Creativity is the
quality most commonly connected with genius. The ability of the human brain to solve problems and to create is limitless. Genius is a product of education, care, love and characterized by a sense of humour. The spark of
this attribute is latent in all human beings.
‘Journal of a Genius’ was published by Salvador Dali. James Joyce in his book ‘Ulysses’, said “a
man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery”. Recognized geniuses have included: Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Newton,
Einstein, Edison, Copernicus, Beethoven, Milton, Jung, Galileo, Mozart, and Dante. Genius is
the capacity to see twenty things where an ordinary chess player sees only a
few, and where a wo/man of talent sees two or three.
Genius has no age limit and is the professional disease of madness.
The
addictive Quality of Chess: “The element of discovery in chess is very
important. I don’t repeat myself
well. I want and need that stimulus of
creativity from one new idea to another”.
“Il Creatore”, Michelangelo
“I must Create a System, or be
enslaved by another Man’s; I will not Reason and Compare: my business is to
create” (Jerusalem).
“A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the
Universe”: “Everything created shares
the urge to create. ... All creation is due to polarity. Every birth occurs through this
interpretation of positive and negative, light and dark, male
and female, god and goddess, electricity
and magnetism, and the two circles of the ‘vesica piscis
’ where geometric forms configure”.
“The Creation”, Michelangelo
“Here and there in the ancient literature we encounter
legends of wise and mysterious
games that were
conceived and played by scholars, monks, or the courtiers of cultured
princes. These might take the form of
chess games in which the pieces and squares had secret meanings in addition to
their usual functions”. Herman
Hesse.
For the creative mind, chess is more than a game of conquest, conflict,
and competitive skill. Chess is a
reflection of life creatively engaged.
It is worth the time, energy and mindful effort to learn to play
chess. To appreciate its subtleties is
to spark the creative imagination. It takes an
artful combination of left
and right brain thinking
to maneuver successfully on the board.
A game intently focused upon will produce whole brain thought and allow
the mind to flow intuitively across the checkered landscape.
The game of chess was consciously designed to
represent the world of transformations on a restricted field of action. Each player utilizes the different forces of
nature as well as the psychological motivations hidden within. Chess mirrors our relationship with the outer world, and allows us
to reflect upon our inner self as we warp and weave our way to victory.
When asked, “What is chess?” the Caliph of Baghdad
replied “What is life?” Though the
origins of chess are in dispute, it has been around in many guises for several
thousand years. Some say it originated
in India, some Persia, others in China, and the Chinese have their own version in use
today. Regardless of its origins, to the enlightened mind it serves as a platform for
creative transformation of the mind and spirit.
The key to understanding the deeper significance of each piece is the geometric way it moves. Does the piece move in a straight
line, diagonally along the hypotenuse of a triangle or both? A square move represents earthly action. A triangular move represents alignment with
the divine within. The
divine within is what inspires us to creative thought.
Examining the chessboard, we see that it has 64
squares of alternating color. One
interpretation indicates that the white squares represent the path of the intellect
and the black represents the devotional path of the heart. The chess
pieces represent the forces of nature, light and dark, good and evil, opposing forces which
permit the manifestation of all things material. Each piece represents a different position,
power and possibility in the game of life.
How you use each piece and the kinds of risks and gambits you are willing to engage is a great reflection of
your approach to life. Let’s examine
each piece and it’s potentials.
The King:
This is the piece the whole game revolves around and represents our deeper
self, the divine spark within us. And
yet, it is the least powerful piece in terms of ability to move about the board. It can only take one step at a time, though
it can travel squarely or triangularly.
The Queen:
This is the most powerful piece on the board having unlimited movement in
any of the eight directions. She is the
power of Nature, reflecting the light of the King, possessing unlimited
potential.
The Bishop:
These pieces remain upon their own color throughout
the game and can only move diagonally. One bishop
travels the path of the head and the other enjoins the path of the heart.
The Knight:
The Knight represents the awakening of the spiritual initiate
acting in the world. It moves by leaps
of intuition along the sides of a right triangle. It alternates between white and black squares with each move, therefore, engaging the head
and heart in each action. Only a knight
or a pawn can initiate the first move of the game. The knight can make a move that even the
Queen cannot make.
The Rook:
These are the only two pieces permitted to move strictly along straight
lines in the four cardinal directions.
They represent our physical power to act in concert with the world’s
material structures.
Pawns:
Pawns represent ordinary men and women attempting to move across the board
of life toward eventual initiation into union with the divine. The pawn
utilizes only the simplest interactions with other pieces and does not
recognize the divine forces behind its life.
It only moves one step at a time.
Always forward, never backward.
It can move either straight ahead when challenged, or diagonally,
showing that it can utilize the head or heart in it’s progress. If the pawn gets far enough to triumph over
life’s trials and adventures, to the eighth square of the opposing side, it
achieves a higher state. At this point
it can transform into any piece it desires.
Usually the pawn is made a queen and thus becomes a co-creator. Though many a wise man has chosen to become
a knight and won a definitive victory as a result.
According to Michael Schneider in his most excellent
book ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe’, ”A complete game of
chess is an evolution through a series of geometric transformations of position
and power. Each combination of pieces in various positions on the board
exhibits the physical configuration of a particular energy pattern. One way to
play the game is to work with the geometric tensions and make moves that bring
the situation into harmony”.
Great minds of history have appreciated the game of
chess, among them, Goethe, Shakespeare, and Aristotle.
In the words of Benjamin
Franklin, “Chess teaches
foresight, by having to plan ahead, vigilance... by having to keep watch over the whole
chessboard... caution, by having to
restrain ourselves from making hasty moves...
and finally, we learn from chess the greatest maxim in life, that even
when everything seems to be going badly for us we should not lose heart, but
always hope for a change for the better, and steadfastly continue searching
for the solutions to our problems”.
Some of the greatest games in history have been
decided in the end game with only a single knight. Learning never to give up is a necessity in
any problem-solving venture. If the true creative experience is to live an artful and successful
life, then opening the mind to it’s fullest extent would seem a necessary
effort.
Chess is an excellent opportunity to study yourself and how you relate to
the world. Are you cautious or
fearless? Do you lead with your head or
your heart? Can you move between both
at will? Can you see the whole and
where it’s leading or are you stuck in the isolation of the moment? Can you forge through to the very end
without ever giving up? These are the
qualities a creative mind needs to cultivate.
Take an interest in chess and you can exercise these qualities in a
playful way.
© Copyright 1997 by J. L. Read. All rights reserved.
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Man is only what he believeth, a
brother of darkness or a child of the Light
(Emerald tablet of Thoth)
The Personal creation
shape appeared in the year 1991 in Wessex, England, in a wheat field. On the morning
of July 11 the at the foot of a Neolithic hill fort named Barbury Castle lay an
enormous design, some 12,000 sq. yards in area.
Local residents had reported mysterious lights the night before,
accompanied by a loud rumble more intense and prolonged than thunder. A nearby town had also reported total loss of
power, and its military base scrambled all helicopters.
Here was an
unmistakable symbol, a design that is perhaps one of the most important in
Hermetic philosophy. It is a cosmic law,
a collection of numeric, musical and geometrical harmonies which founded the
prevailing order in every ancient civilization.
It is literally a depiction of the realm of God: it embodies the
principle of the Three in One. It is representational of the cosmic egg, a
symbol of creation where the three elements - mercury, sulphur and ether - are
given substance by the breath of God and made into matter. The central circle contains the total area of
the surrounding three circles. The sum
of all circular areas comes to 31,680 sq. feet, with 3168 being the gematrian
number representing Lord Jesus Christ.
The same number was also revered by pagan religions as the number of the
highest principle - the Creator.
The personal creation shape contains complex
mathematical equations like the Fibonacci series, Pi value, The Seed of Life, the Flower of Life, the Fruit of
Life and the Tree of Life, all of which are
embodied in this cipher. Cosmic Shapes function as an
intelligent language for personal creation and living awareness. You may feel that your rational mind cannot
grasp the meaning of the cosmic shapes, but your physical body and your
sub-conscious receives the meaning of these symbols in a very powerful way. The shapes inside the personal creation
symbol, communicate with the genetic
library that is encrypted in our bodies and contains all the knowledge of the universe. This is why you may be drawn to this
symbol.
The universe is
composed of frequencies (sounds), geometrical shapes and light. These three elements appear encrypted in the
personal creation shape. The changes
that will occur in the world in the next few years will open new and
fascinating paths to personal creation, evolvement and the revelation of the
truth behind all life.
Creativity
