AN UNIMAGINABLE EXISTENCE
- IS THERE A LIFE AFTER BIRTH? -
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWINS IN THE WOMB
Once upon a time, twin boys were conceived in the womb. Seconds, minutes, hours passed as the two dormant lives developed. The spark of life flowed until it fanned the fire with the formation of their embryonic brains. With their simple brains came feeling, and with feeling perception; a perception of surroundings, of each other, of self. Weeks passed into months, and with the advent of each new month, they noticed a change in each other and each began to sec changes in himself.
“We are changing,” said the one, “What can it mean?”
“It means,” replied the other, “that we are drawing near to birth”.
An unsettling chill crept over the two. They knew that birth meant leaving all their world behind.
“What do you think? Mightn’t there be a life after birth?” asked the one.
“Yes, I think so. Our existence here is just meant to grow and develop in order to prepare ourselves for the life after birth so that we will be strong enough for what we will meet".
“How can there be life after birth?” cried the one, “How would it look like?"
"Well, I do not know that exactly. But at least it will surely be much brighter than it is here. And maybe we will walk around and feed ourselves with our mouth."
What nonsense! How can that be, walking around? That is impossible. And eating with your mouth, what an extraordinary idea! We have the umbilical cord that nourishes us, isn't it? And walking around will also be impaired by that cord, even now it is nearly much too short".
"Yet, I think it exists. Everything will just be a little bit different from the circumstances here".
"Have you ever talked to one who has been born? Has anyone ever re-entered the womb after birth? NO! With birth our lives will end. And life in her is just a dark and tormenting. That is all.” He fell into despair, and in his despair he moaned, “If the purpose of conception and all our growth is that it ends in birth, then truly our life is absurd”.
"Though I do not exactly know how life after birth will look like, surely we will meet our mother then and she will take care of us", said the one.
“Mother? You believe in the existence of a mother?"
“But there is a mother” protested the other. “Who else gave us nourishment and our world?’
“We get our own nourishment, and our world has always been here. And if there is a mother, where is she? Have you ever seen her? Does she ever talk to you? NO! We invented the mother because it satisfied a need in us. It made us feel secure and happy”.
“No, she is here, all around us. We live by her and in her. Without her we could not even exist!".
“Nonsense. I never have noticed anything of 'a mother'. So she does not exist at all".
„Yet, sometimes, when we are quiet, you may hear her sing for us. Or feel how she caresses our world".
Possibly after Henri Nouwen (Dutch priest and writer (1932 - 1996)
- Powiedz, wierzysz w życie po narodzinach? – zapytało jedno z bliźniąt.
- Oczywiście! Tutaj, wewnątrz, rośniemy i stajemy się dostatecznie silni, aby sprostać temu, co czeka nas na zewnątrz – odrzekło drugie z bliźniąt.
- A ja myślę, że to głupota – odparło pierwsze. – Nie ma żadnego życia po narodzinach! Jakże, proszę ciebie, miałoby ono wyglądać?
- No, tak dokładnie ja też nie wiem. Ale na pewno będzie tam jaśniej niż tu. I, być może, będziemy mogli biegać tu i tam, i pobierać pokarm przez usta?
- Takich bzdur to ja jeszcze nie słyszałem. Odżywiać się przez usta, co za idiotyczny pomysł. Jest przecież pępowina, która nas odżywia. I jak sobie wyobrażasz to bieganie tu i tam? Do tego pępowina jest o wiele za krótka.
- Myślę, że jest to jednak możliwe. Tylko że wszystko będzie trochę inaczej.
- Majaczysz! Do tej pory nikt jeszcze stamtąd nie wrócił. Narodziny to koniec życia. I kropka.
- Nikt nie wie, jak będzie wyglądało nasze życie po narodzinach. Ale ja wiem, że będziemy widzieć naszą mamę, a ona będzie się o nas troszczyć.
- Mamę? Więc ty jednak wierzysz w mamę? Więc gdzie ona jest, proszę ciebie?
- No tutaj, wszędzie wokół nas… My jesteśmy, żyjemy w niej i przez nią. Bez niej nie moglibyśmy zaistnieć!
- Bzdura! Nie ma żadnych dowodów na istnienie jakieś mamy, a więc ona nie istnieje.
- A jednak czasami, gdy jesteśmy zupełnie cicho, możesz usłyszeć, jak ona śpiewa. Albo poczuć, jak maluje nasz świat.
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen 1932- 1996) - holenderski ksiądz i pisarz - kapłan, nauczyciel i wychowawca.
A view by Rumi (z tłum.na j.polski)
‘A view by Rumi’ from the website above (translation into Polish - below):
A view by Rumi
When grapes
turn to wine,
they long for
our ability to change.
When stars
wheel around the North Pole,
they are longing for
our growing consciousness.
Wine got drunk
with us,
not the other way.
The body developed
out of us,
not we from it.
We are bees,
and our body is a honeycomb.
We made
the body,
cell by cell
we made it.
Rumi
(1207 - 1273)
The enlightened Heart, ed. by Stephen Mitchell
Pogląd Rumi
Kiedy winogrona
zamieniają się w wino,
wówczas tęsknią za
naszą zdolnością do przemian.
Kiedy gwiazdy
krążą wokół Bieguna Północnego,
wówczas tęsknią za
naszą rosnącą świadomością.
Wino stało się pijane
przez nas,
a nie na odwrót
Ciało wzięło początek
z nas,
a nie my z niego.
Jesteśmy pszczołami,
a nasze ciało jest plastrem miodu.
To my stworzyiliśmy
ciało,
komórka po komórce
zrobiliśmy go.
(przekład mój)
Thanks for Jaap van der Wal
Dear Olgai,
Thank you for posting the two websites of Jaap van der Wal. They are genuinely wonderful.
Tai
Human Mystery
Thank you Tai,
I also like very much these slides from the courses:
http://home.unet.nl/walembryo/embryocourse_web_minimum.pdf
Best Regards to All,
Olga
Thanks again
Olga,
Thanks much again for this website with the course slides. Wonderment in seeing and thinking about them.
Tai
unimaginable... (również po polsku)
AN UNIMAGINABLE EXISTENCE
- IS THERE A LIFE AFTER BIRTH? -
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWINS IN THE WOMB
Once upon a time, twin boys were conceived in the womb. Seconds, minutes, hours passed as the two dormant lives developed. The spark of life flowed until it fanned the fire with the formation of their embryonic brains. With their simple brains came feeling, and with feeling perception; a perception of surroundings, of each other, of self. Weeks passed into months, and with the advent of each new month, they noticed a change in each other and each began to sec changes in himself.
“We are changing,” said the one, “What can it mean?”
“It means,” replied the other, “that we are drawing near to birth”.
An unsettling chill crept over the two. They knew that birth meant leaving all their world behind.
“What do you think? Mightn’t there be a life after birth?” asked the one.
“Yes, I think so. Our existence here is just meant to grow and develop in order to prepare ourselves for the life after birth so that we will be strong enough for what we will meet".
“How can there be life after birth?” cried the one, “How would it look like?"
"Well, I do not know that exactly. But at least it will surely be much brighter than it is here. And maybe we will walk around and feed ourselves with our mouth."
What nonsense! How can that be, walking around? That is impossible. And eating with your mouth, what an extraordinary idea! We have the umbilical cord that nourishes us, isn't it? And walking around will also be impaired by that cord, even now it is nearly much too short".
"Yet, I think it exists. Everything will just be a little bit different from the circumstances here".
"Have you ever talked to one who has been born? Has anyone ever re-entered the womb after birth? NO! With birth our lives will end. And life in her is just a dark and tormenting. That is all.” He fell into despair, and in his despair he moaned, “If the purpose of conception and all our growth is that it ends in birth, then truly our life is absurd”.
"Though I do not exactly know how life after birth will look like, surely we will meet our mother then and she will take care of us", said the one.
“Mother? You believe in the existence of a mother?"
“But there is a mother” protested the other. “Who else gave us nourishment and our world?’
“We get our own nourishment, and our world has always been here. And if there is a mother, where is she? Have you ever seen her? Does she ever talk to you? NO! We invented the mother because it satisfied a need in us. It made us feel secure and happy”.
“No, she is here, all around us. We live by her and in her. Without her we could not even exist!".
“Nonsense. I never have noticed anything of 'a mother'. So she does not exist at all".
„Yet, sometimes, when we are quiet, you may hear her sing for us. Or feel how she caresses our world".
Possibly after Henri Nouwen (Dutch priest and writer (1932 - 1996)
http://home.unet.nl/walembryo/epeovv.htm
Henri J.M. Nouven
Czy istnieje życie po narodzinach?
(rozmowa nienarodzonych bliźniąt w łonie matki)
- Powiedz, wierzysz w życie po narodzinach? – zapytało jedno z bliźniąt.
- Oczywiście! Tutaj, wewnątrz, rośniemy i stajemy się dostatecznie silni, aby sprostać temu, co czeka nas na zewnątrz – odrzekło drugie z bliźniąt.
- A ja myślę, że to głupota – odparło pierwsze. – Nie ma żadnego życia po narodzinach! Jakże, proszę ciebie, miałoby ono wyglądać?
- No, tak dokładnie ja też nie wiem. Ale na pewno będzie tam jaśniej niż tu. I, być może, będziemy mogli biegać tu i tam, i pobierać pokarm przez usta?
- Takich bzdur to ja jeszcze nie słyszałem. Odżywiać się przez usta, co za idiotyczny pomysł. Jest przecież pępowina, która nas odżywia. I jak sobie wyobrażasz to bieganie tu i tam? Do tego pępowina jest o wiele za krótka.
- Myślę, że jest to jednak możliwe. Tylko że wszystko będzie trochę inaczej.
- Majaczysz! Do tej pory nikt jeszcze stamtąd nie wrócił. Narodziny to koniec życia. I kropka.
- Nikt nie wie, jak będzie wyglądało nasze życie po narodzinach. Ale ja wiem, że będziemy widzieć naszą mamę, a ona będzie się o nas troszczyć.
- Mamę? Więc ty jednak wierzysz w mamę? Więc gdzie ona jest, proszę ciebie?
- No tutaj, wszędzie wokół nas… My jesteśmy, żyjemy w niej i przez nią. Bez niej nie moglibyśmy zaistnieć!
- Bzdura! Nie ma żadnych dowodów na istnienie jakieś mamy, a więc ona nie istnieje.
- A jednak czasami, gdy jesteśmy zupełnie cicho, możesz usłyszeć, jak ona śpiewa. Albo poczuć, jak maluje nasz świat.
Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen 1932- 1996) - holenderski ksiądz i pisarz - kapłan, nauczyciel i wychowawca.