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“Boogie Street”
Words and Music by Leonard Cohen
O Crown of Light, O Darkened One,
I never thought we’d meet.
You kiss my lips, and then it’s done:
I’m back on Boogie Street.
A sip of wine, a cigarette,
And then it’s time to go.
I tidied up the kitchenette;
I tuned the old banjo.
I’m wanted at the traffic-jam.
They’re saving me a seat.
I’m what I am, and what I am,
Is back on Boogie Street.
And O my love, I still recall
The pleasures that we knew;
The rivers and the waterfall,
Wherein I bathed with you.
Bewildered by your beauty there,
I’d kneel to dry your feet.
By such instructions you prepare
A man for Boogie Street.
O Crown of Light, O Darkened One…
So come, my friends, be not afraid.
We are so lightly here.
It is in love that we are made;
In love we disappear.
Tho’ all the maps of blood and flesh
Are posted on the door,
There’s no one who has told us yet
What Boogie Street is for.
O Crown of Light, O Darkened One,
I never thought we’d meet.
You kiss my lips, and then it’s done:
I’m back on Boogie Street.
A sip of wine, a cigarette,
And then it’s time to go . . .
A lever won’t work without a fulcrum.
The best fulcrum is composed of something solid, holds up well under pressure, has a non-slippery surface, and broad base that resists sinking into the surface it is placed upon.
Everyone Should Have One
In the physical world a large block of hardwood is the fulcrum of choice.
These same characteristics are required to create a fulcrum of Purpose when one is confronted with a debilitating psychological mass that needs moving. The extreme density of the negative emotions created by addictive behavior is such a mass, and its resistance to change is most often too large a load for the average psyche.
This Purpose you create must be deep, broad, non-slippery, and hold up under the pressure that will be applied to it by people and circumstance.
Addictive behavior is slippery, it sinks into your psyche, and it reacts negatively to pressure. Because of those characteristics, it is essential that the intention of being free from your addiction is only a byproduct of your purpose, not the purpose itself.
Your Purpose should be bigger than just wanting to be free from addiction, but a purpose that is as large as the rest of your life. The kind of Purpose that requires a full stop in the addiction cycle in order for it to be fulfilled, for that is the only kind that will work as a fulcrum on which you can place a lever strong enough to move the internal mass that throws a shadow across your world.
For some thoughts on Purpose, see the Purpose page: bottom link on the left
The third element needed for the functioning of the internal lever is force, or energy. Your normal sources of energy have been depleted by the
on-off nature of the addictive process, and you’ll need to find an ‘outside’ source of added energy if you seek success at moving the stone.
I’ll Need Help with This
This energy you’ll need; you won’t be able to buy it, or borrow it, steal it, or even rent it.
You can however, using the process of the Projected Word, locate, concentrate, and direct energy towards getting out from under the heavy shadow of the psychological mass of negativity.
The start of the Projected Word process involves establishing a location for the reception of psychic energy.
For a 5-minute period a day sit completely alone, without obvious distractions like, music, video, and telephone.
Speak quietly to yourself the word, “I”. Pause for approximately 10-secounds, (approx. 3 breaths), and then repeat the word, again quietly out loud, “I”.
Repeat this step for 5-minutes, daily for 5 days.
The word must be said out loud, not rushed, as if you are a homing beacon broadcasting a location from a boat lost out on the ocean.
(This statement establishes location in space)
On day 6 add the word “am”, so that you are saying, quietly out loud, “I am”. Pause for approximately 10-secounds, (approx. 3 breaths), and then repeat the words again, “I am”.
Repeat this step for 5-minutes, daily for 5 days.
The words are said in a matter of fact manner, and as a complete sentence. Resist the temptation to add any descriptive words in your thoughts after the statement “I am”. (I am tired, I am fat, I am stupid, I am…anything)
(This statement establishes location in time)
On day 11 add the word “ energetic”, so that you are saying, quietly out loud, “I am energetic”. Pause for approximately 10-secounds, (approx 3 breaths), and then repeat the words again, “I am energetic”.
Repeat this step for 5-minutes, daily for 5 days.
(This statement concentrates energy)
On day 16 add a second sentence after the first, speaking the words, “ I am forgiving, resilient, and free from negativity.” Pause for approximately 10-secounds, (approx. 3 breaths), and then repeat the two short sentences again, “I am energetic. I am forgiving, resilient, and free from negativity.”
Repeat this step for 5-minutes, daily for 5 days.
(This second statement directs energy)
Not the Right Kind of Lever
It will take energy to shift the psychological mass created by your addiction, and the energy will have to come from some unfamiliar direction, because the ‘you’ that started out is not you that exists now.
‘You’ have been changed, your brain chemistry altered by the same addictive behavior cycle that has produced the mass of negativity that exists, unseen by the outside world, within your character.
You now will have to find a new way to get the energy needed to lever away the stone.
In the ‘seen’ world of physical reality, the simple tool that has been used through history to great effect is called the class 1 lever. Monuments from Stonehenge, Easter Island, and Egypt testify to its ability to move huge amounts of mass with only human energy as the motivator.
But since the internal mass exists ‘under’ the surface of physical reality, amidst the neurons and hormones that turn your thoughts, impulses, and drives into feelings and action, the tools and energy required to move it must be able to function there, in the ‘insubstantial’ world of your inner self.
In the substantial ‘outer’ world, the parts of the Class 1 lever must also have substance, like real-to-the-touch wood, metal, and stone. Try moving a boulder, or even a pebble, just by thinking about it…nothing doing.
The Kid has it Correct
But jam one end of the arm of the lever under its edge, lay the lever across the top of the fulcrum, use some force and…movement.
In the insubstantial ‘inner’ world, the parts of the lever must, accordingly, be without physical form themselves, but the basic principle of using a lever to move mass remains the same.
It will be the interplay between of your intention to improve in your Practice with the psychological mass of your addiction that will allow your Practice to work as a lever.
Because a Practice includes regular work, it mirrors the addictive process by constantly appearing in your day-to-day life, where it must interact and compete with the addictive process for your time and energy.
At first the new practice has no depth, it just rides on the surface tension of your psyche, like a water bug in the currents of a stream.
But in time, and with many repetitions, it develops width and depth, and you can use it to go ‘under’ your familiar surface reactions and behaviors. It is then that it brings back information about the depths of your internal world, not only about the psychological mass of negativity that you’ve developed through addiction, but also about other, deeper aspects of yourself, strengths and skills that have been obscured from your view.
It can ride above, but go below:
It is during this process that your Practice begins to function as a lever, and you can start to move the mass that sits there, if you have enough energy to bring to the task.
The shortest way through to a source of energy that doesn’t have to be bought, developed, taken out on loan, or talked into helping you, is to use the tried and proven method called Projected Word.
If you have created a solid Purpose with a broad enough base, you can then use it to brace your lever. One end of the lever must be jammed under/into the mass that you are trying to move. The lever then lies across the fulcrum; its upper end will be where force is applied to shift the mass.
Remember, the mass you are trying to move out of your way is basically invisible, only existing inside you alone, as a psychological barrier composed of intertwined thoughts, feelings, impulses, and habits relating to your addiction.
The lever you use to move it will be made also of invisible ‘stuff’, and perfect for the task for that reason. This lever is formed from Practice.
What is a Practice?
Anything that will take time to master, an activity or skill that one must work at regularly, with focus, in order to improve or maintain proficiency. It could come from one of these:
Musical instrument
Writing
Gardening
Dance
Cooking
Drawing and Painting
Photography
Martial Arts
A Field of Study
The best idea would be to pick something that has always interested you in some sense, find a teacher, and begin. The teacher can be a book, online, at a school or university, or a club. It does not matter, how you are taught, or where. What matters is why.
The Practice must include the intention to improve, to get better at your chosen activity.
It will be the interplay between of your intention to improve in your Practice with the psychological mass of your addiction that will allow your Practice to work as a lever.
See the common stages of Practice here:
The psychological mass of addictive behavior, brought about by the heaviness of the emotions involved in the cycle of quit/restart/quit/restart… is more of a load than most people can move on their own.
It takes too much energy, expressed continually for too long a time, and often one just ends up wrestling with this giant thing, like a dung beetle doing everything it can to move its huge ball of crap…just a little.
Archimedes suggested that there is another way to move mass, using a lever, as seen here:
Since we are talking about a psychological load, we are not going to use a physical lever, but we will use the same principles used in the physical world.
As can be seen from the diagram, there are three parts to a lever that are all essential if one is to move a load; the lever, the fulcrum, and a force.
The lever must be made of something continuous and strong, in order to transfer the force into the load. The psychological process that will stand for the lever will be a Practice.
The fulcrum must be something solid and unmoving, in order to best support the lever and transfer all the force into the load. The psychological process for the fulcrum will be a Purpose.
The force applied must be focused into the lever alone; otherwise chances are it won’t be enough force to shift the load. The psychological process for focusing the force will be through the Projected Word.
stormcrossing 