This IS NOT A Stone (#66)
"As soon as we start to notice that certain types of events 'love' to group together at certain times, we begin to understand the attitude of the Chinese, whose theories of medicine, philosophy and even building are based on a 'science' of meaningful coincidences.
The classical Chinese texts did not ask what caused that, but rather what 'liked' what to happen.
We can find almost the same unspoken ground theme in astrology and in the way in which different civilizations have relied on consulting oracles and paying attention to signs.
These are all attempts to provide an explanation for the coincidences that are different from those that depend on direct cause and effect.
By creating the notion of synchronicity, Professor Jung has outlined a way in which we can penetrate deeper into the relationship of psyche and matter.
And it is precisely such a relationship that the symbol of the stone seems to point out.
This is, however, still a completely open and insufficiently researched area, in which future generations of psychologists and physicists will have to involve themselves."
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Number 66 in the continuous series "This IS NOT A Stone"
To watch the previous post in this series follow this link to: 'This IS NOT A Stone #65'
Or start at the beginning: 'Everything In One Stone'
Choosing this simple, mediocre sand stone in 1986 to be his focal point for meditation and thoughts, artist Jan van Krieken doesn't need much more; a symbol for the slipping of time, a bit of eternity amidst an ever faster moving and changing world.
While investigating and researching the artist automatically arrived at "The Philosopher's Stone", the mysterious substance that alchemists had sought for centuries. Van Krieken found out that they were essentially looking for the same thing as he was looking for by means of the stone in his pond; the pure and the everlasting.
Almost 32 years of observing and photographing that one sand stone. Sometimes covered with snow, sometimes occupied by a bird, or hidden by fallen leaves, protected by ice or serving as a warm bed for a salamander this cycle of change became a metaphore for life itself.