Generally speaking, a photograph of a person is an image of a corpse. A body is an object, a \u201cthing\u201d that becomes human because it\u2019s enlivened by the Spirit. (Or, to use another metaphor, you could say that a body is a sponge that absorbs Spirit like water\u2014and a human body is a particularly absorbent sponge.) Because there\u2019s no Spirit in a photograph (or, for you nitpickers, there\u2019s minimal Spirit), some sense of that Spirit has to be infused by the photographer. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s why people can learn to become better photographers. They go through their own process of learning how to bring more Spirit into their photos, and each person\u2019s learning process is unique because each person\u2019s karma, or point of origin on the circumference of the circle, is different on their journey towards the center.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re engaged in a similar process on this trip, bringing more Spirit into the body. And we\u2019re also engaged in learning how to leave the body and go into pure Spirit. But are the two processes really separable? Is it even possible to bring more Spirit into the body without first leaving the body in order to contact Spirit? Is it possible to soak a sponge in water without first lifting it up and putting it under a faucet?<\/p>\n
To me, that\u2019s the action of the PAT process. Maybe you can see some of its effects in the faces in today\u2019s photos. <\/p>\n
On the first day of PAT processes I walked around trying to take photos but stopped, mentioning to Leigh that people \u201cweren\u2019t cooked yet.\u201d Today is day 5, or 6, or 7 or something. (I know it\u2019s day 9 of the whole trip because I make a photo folder each day and the numbers can\u2019t be the same, but at this point I\u2019m not even sure what day of the week it is. At a certain point the sponge gets waterlogged and can\u2019t absorb any more. People become, in essence, a big bucket of water that has a sponge floating around in it. They often call this \u201cfeeling spacey\u201d, and there\u2019s a lot of that going around.)<\/p>\n
After the PAT we visit the Church of the Multiplication where the loaves and fishes thing supposedly happened. Sweet energy and beautiful location on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Gorgeous architecture and gardens that harmonize well with the surroundings\u2014a good setting for a representation of Jesus\u2019 demonstration of abundance. John gives a short talk, about God. (Sorry, I can\u2019t remember the words. My mind generally shuts off when he talks\u2014a true sign of a Traveler. On the first day he talked I made a mental note of a couple of things he said so I could write about it, but the brain is too waterlogged now.)<\/p>\n
John gives another talk in a small outdoor amphitheater under trees at the Primacy of St. Peter. I didn\u2019t know that Peter had some sort of primacy. Is that like a prime number? The number 1 is enough for me. The place has too much churchianity suffused in it for me to really enjoy it, but we\u2019re here to give as well as receive. John reads Jesus stories from that primitive form of the internet that we call the Bible, and our translator gets all choked up. If there\u2019s one thing about our crew, it\u2019s that they have a deep love of Jesus. <\/p>\n
People get a chance to wade in the waters of the Galilee. I just now realize that my ankles are a bit swollen, I think as a reaction to the plane flight and the heat, and I\u2019ve heard that other people on the trip are experiencing this. The ankles seem so far away that I hadn\u2019t even noticed. If I keep going in this direction, and at this pace, will my death be just a painless forgetting about my body? <\/p>\n
Then it\u2019s back on the bus for dinner and John sharing. We\u2019re also watching segments of \u201cThe Chosen\u201d, a TV dramatization of the Jesus story, after dinner each day. There\u2019s a devotional quality to this PAT that\u2019s different from the ones in other parts of the world. It focuses the attention and intention, and softens the sponge. <\/p>\n