MORTISHA' S PATH OF SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT!

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Find the True YOU with The Cube
from the March 1997 article in New Woman magazine by Annie Gottlieb

There are no wrong or right answers...only YOUR answers!

Step One:

Picture a desert. The first thing that comes to mind may be a real desert you know, or it may be your idea or fantasy of a desert. Either one is fine.

Step Two:

Now imagine that there is a cube in the desert. Do you see it? How big is it? What color? Does it look smooth or rough to the touch? What's it made out of, if you can tell? Is it solid or hollow? Close to you, or far away? Is it sitting flat on the sand, or in some other position? Your cube is one of a kind as your fingerprints---think of it as your soulprint. Before you go on with the rest of the exercise, write down at least five descriptive words about your cube.

Step Three:

Now, picture a ladder in the desert. Where is it in relation to your cube? What's your ladder made out of? Is it a step ladder, or straight? How many rungs does it have?

Step Four:

Now bring some life & motion into the picture: Add a horse! What kind of horse do you see in your desert? What color? Where is it relative to the cube & ladder, and what is it doing? Is it wearing a saddle, or bridle, or not?

Step Five:

Somewhere in the desert is a storm. Where do you see it? And does it affect the cube, ladder, and horse, or not?

Step Six:

Finally there are flowers in your desert. Are they clustered, or scattered? Are there lots, or just a few? Where are they? What kind, what color?

Post your answers here & then I will later tell you what each of them mean.

The cube is medium sized sitting flat but at an angle to me, blue, and rubick's cube like, solid and smooth and sitting a little ways away from me.

The Ladder is a little to the right of the cube (a few yards) and is really long and straight (I can't see the top of it) and made out of wood.

The horse is dark and beautiful and galloping around freely in the background without any saddle or anything.

The storm is a sand storm kind of tornado like and goes through, but all the other things are still there. It whirled around/through them, but they didn't move.

There is a cluster of bright colored flowers (maybe tulips?) near the cube that stand out....but then a whole carpet of other flowers that are all kind of yellow/orange everywhere else -- almost like a carpet of dandelions.

It is a large cube ..blue in color...it is solid and bright like a light shining around it and very smooth...

the ladder is straight leaning upright against the cube made of aluminum with 25 rungs...

it is a white horse no saddle or bridle and is a distance away watching the cube...

the storm has no effect on anything else and is a long ways away...

the flowers are red ane there are several and around the base of the cube all the way around

Picture a desert. The first thing that comes to mind may be a real desert you know, or it may be your idea or fantasy of a desert. Either one is fine.

***Sunny, blue sky, white sand, barren dessert

***translucent, 6x6 hollow glass cube; floating in mid-air. Description: rotating, structurally sound, emanating light, smooth, whitish in color. Cube is placed about 6' away.

Now, picture a ladder in the desert. Where is it in relation to your cube? What's your ladder made out of? Is it a step ladder, or straight? How many rungs does it have?

***6' straight Ladder made up of dark brown wood, leaning on the cube for support. 6 rungs.

***Gleaming brown bare back horse next to the ladder that's leaning on the cube. Horse is standing still.

Somewhere in the desert is a storm. Where do you see it? And does it affect the cube, ladder, and horse, or not?

***Storm is looming but still a distant away. Does not have an immediate effect on the cube/ladder/horse.

Finally there are flowers in your desert. Are they clustered, or scattered? Are there lots, or just a few? Where are they? What kind, what color?

***Red flowers, maybe daisies in shape, sporadically clustered and scattered all over.

-grace. looking forward to the result gypsy. Thanks for that interesting visual.....test.

The desert is the painted desert. Browns, reds and gold colors. The cube is in the distance, it is aproximately 10 feet tall. It is solid and White. It is very smooth with sharp edges. It is sitting flat facing me.

The ladder is laying on the ground to the right of the cube. It is straight with 23 rungs.

A horse is in the distance to the left of the cube racing toward the cube. It is a brown and white paint. It has no briddle or saddle and is running free.

A storm is brewing in the far distance to the right of the cube. It will not affect the the horse or cube as it is moving away from the cube, horse and ladder. There are scattered clumps of yellow dessert flowers. I cant think of the name of them now, but they are lovely and add much beauty to the surrounding area.

The desert is light brown to purple, dotted with tall sagraro catcus, low growing catcus with bright red flowers and low growing shrubs. The landscape is dotted with large bolders tinted with yellow light at the top and offering shade with deep dark spaces at the bottom. The desert, catcus and brush is full of life of all kinds, birds, inscets, coyote, fox, and rabbit, with Hawk circling overhead piercing the quiet with a distinctive cry now and again. The desert is filled with the roaring sound of silence but if one listens closely they will hear the soft scurrying sounds of the wildlife who live there.

The cube is about the size of one of the medium size boulders, adobe colored, with the morning light painting subtle color variations along the top, middle and bottom, with each color blending into the next in almost imperciptable gradients. The many earthy colors (dun, many shades of brown, orange, red, purple and yellow) move around the cube changing position with the movement of the sun throughout the day. The cube is semi-smooth, with the texture and rippling of adobe. The cube is made from the material of the earth into adobe and is solid. The cube sets on the horizon, equal distance between the rising sun and the setting sun, about in the middle of the desert that surrounds me. The cube sets balanced on one end, with only a small area actually touching the earth, and most of the mass rising up toward the sun. The cube provides shade for the animals. To discribe it, the cube is made from the materials provided by mother earth, it is colored with the subtle earth tones that compliment the movement of the sun, it rests between dawn and dusk, though it is not a boulder it fits in with the landscape despite its foreign shape, the cube represents balance between the creative pursuits of humans and respect for their mother and all her creatures.

There is a straight wooden ladder laying at the foot of the cube, ready to be used when needed. The ladder is made of sweet smelling cedar and is tinted with just a hint of red. The ladder has four rungs that are bound to the main shafts with sweet grass and is just tall enough to reach the topmost angle of the cube. It is used to observe the rising and setting sun as the light changes across the desert.

The horse is a wild creature of the desert and gallops toward me from the direction of the rising sun, it is buckskin with black main, tail and stockings. I am awestruck at the beauty and power of this very special horse. It comes out of nowhere, kicking up little tufts of dust as it gallops swiftly toward me. It is bathed in the red, yellow and orange light of the rising sun. As I stare trancelike at this awsome animal, Hawk gives a great cry and swoops down, landing right on the back of this wonderful horse. It is then I know, this is the horse that accompanies me in my dreamtime and we are old friends. As Horse approaches me, she lowers her head and breaths softly in my ear her warm, sweet breath filling me with the familiar feelings you get when greeting a friend that has been away for awhile. I ask for permission then jump on the back of my friend who has no saddle or bridle, we stand motionless both looking at the cube, then with one accord we race toward the cube together, of one mind and it feels like one body.

There is a storm coming from the direction of the setting sun. Horse and I try to outrun it but it overtakes us. It is a great black cloud full of noise and discord. Horse and I are both confused and do not know which direction to go. We look for the cube and see just the highest tip sticking out above the black storm cloud. Though we cannot see her Hawk calls to us from above, guiding us with her shrill call, we follow the sound of Hawk, moving slowly and carefully since the black cloud allows no light in and we are unable to see clearly. Eventually we arrive safely at the cube where Hawk is perched on the highest point and we shelter under the cube until the storm passes and the sun returns. Horse leaves, returning to the desert having carried me to safety, she says goodbye, I know she will return whenever I need her. I place the ladder on the cube and climb to the top, sitting with Hawk, we quietly watch our friend gallop off back to her wild home. We watch until she can no longer be seen, we know she needs to return to her wild existence, and at the same time we know we will miss her until we next meet.

The flowers are scattered all about. Beautiful, low growing and broad they are bright reds, yellows, oranges and purples. They provide beauty and sustinence for many of the animals. They are part of the catcus and brush that live in the desert and are painted with a much brighter brush than the other earth tones, a beautiful contrast.

My desert was a vast land of golden sand, with subtle sweeps of sand here & there.

My cube was as big as a house, landing solidly on the sand with an Earth shattering thump. It was a very deep, gemstone blue, solid, smooth, like hard plastic or something similar. massive, shiny, solid, smooth, heavy.

My ladder was a straight, polished, smooth-rounded-edged, wooden ladder that reached up to the top edge of the cube, leaning on it. There were somewhere around 7 rungs.

My horse was a deep brown, with mane & tail flowing in the wind as it ran around & around the cube bareback. No bridles, saddles, or anything on it.

The storm was a tornado in the far left background of the scene. Nothing was affected by it.

The flowers came in from the front left & just totally covered everything in their path, like a wave coming through. Every object was covered in a blanket of multi-colored, low-lying flowers...no storm left, nothing visable but flowers & the cube, which was totally covered with flowers as well.

Please do not read any further unless you have done the exercise & seen your complete vision first! Otherwise you will not have a clear interpretation.

Now you're ready to decode & interpret your 'waking dream'.

The desert is the world as you see it.

The cube is YOU-your self-portrait. (Your list of adjectives describes you!)

The ladder is your friends.

The horse is your lover.

The storm is trouble (and challenge-it can be positive).

The flowers are children (or work-they can be anything you create or nurture, from paintings to patients to pets).

Figuring out what your individual vision is telling you depends on how you see things. It is all figured with symbolism, like dreams...this is how your subconscious works. Let's start with the desert.....

What kind of desert did you see? Was it a vast land of just sand? Were there extras added in? What were they? What do those things mean or represent to you? This is how you view the world.

How about your cube? How big was it? Was it very small? Perhaps you view yourself as a small piece of a bigger puzzle. Was it huge? Perhaps you see yourself as having a great impact on the world, or very important to it. If it was medium-sized, perhaps you feel you fit it just right?

How was your cube positioned? Was it firmly on the ground? Perhaps you are hard to budge once you make up your mind, or are very 'firm' in your beliefs. Was it floating in the air? You may be more of an 'airy' personality...with lots of ideas & dreams....artists & scientists fall into this category.

If your cube was on it's point the author says "A cube standing on one point is reaching as high as it can-and refusing to be stacked with other cubes. That says you're an idealist, a striver for perfection, perhaps a workaholic-a solo performer or leader. (Gloria Steinem has admitted to being all of the above!)"

The material & texture are important as well. This is how you see yourself. Are you rough? smooth? brilliant? dull? cracked? incomplete? high-tech? The author tells us scientist's cubes tend to be clear, & artist's often come in rainbow colors. She says "A plastic cube: Consciously we think plastic means 'cheap & phony.' But to the subconscious mind, I've found, this unpretentious, everyday material signifies 'salt of the Earth.' If your cube is plastic, you probably come from an honest, proud, working-class background. ...(Actor Willem Dafoe's is knee-high and made of heavy, clear plastic, like a 'joke ice cube'...[It] is plastic--and not as cool as it looks!)"....."Brilliantly reflected light signifies blinding ambition. (Sunlight absolutely blazed off actor Jasmine Guy's glass cube.)" "If you saw a Rubik's Cube, maybe you're clever, versatile, and like to challenge people!"

"The ladder: If it's taller than the cube, you prefer friends & co-workers you can look up to; if it's shorter, you're the leader of the pack-or you have thoughts the others can't share. If the ladder's leaning on the cube, you exchange plenty of hugs & mutual support; space between them signifies independence. An old wooden ladder suggests heartfelt attachment to old friends, while a metal ladder stresses their reliability and practical help--and a paint-splattered ladder reveals creative collaboration. Vertical, your pals help you reach your goals; lying down, they're to relax and hang out with. ....If you saw your grandfather's (or another family member's) ladder, you probably see friends as 'family'.

The horse: Don't take its gender too literally. If your man appears as a mare, he's probably nurturing; bold, assertive women often show up as stallions. A flying horse suggests that you're freshly in love or that you idealize your beloved. An earthbound horse's behavior tends to be comically familiar, though it may be that of an ex- or a wished-for lover. Doing the Cube with a new date can give you clues (via his horse) to his romantic history and expectations; doing this exercise with your partner can be therapeutic-and sometimes cathartic. You'll see your relationship through each other's eyes, and that can lead to honest talk and needed changes.

The storm: Is trouble far away? Good! On the other hand, some very successful people love storms and find lightning enlightening--Jasmine Guy, for one, and Novelist Douglas Coupland (Generation X). Watch how your cube, horse, and ladder react: Who's more upset in a crisis? Who protects whom? (A woman in prison told a friend of [the author] that her storm was inside her cube.)

The flowers: Parents (or would-be parents) put a few of them in a protected cluster close to the cube. Nonparents--and prolific artists--scatter theirs all over. Teachers, managers, and leaders often grow their flowers in cultivated fields. And cactus flowers signify that creation--whether of children or of projects--has come about through difficulties such as divorce."

Have fun interpreting your cube! If you have any questions about specific symbols, colors, flower meanings or anything of that sort, let me know & I'll help you out. Remember that the symbolism of your objects are unique to you. The descriptions above are just typical meanings. Use your imagination when deciphering your cube exercise. Use free association and consider jokes and puns. The author says that "one woman couldn't figure out why her ladder was steel. Then it hit her: Her best friend's name is Steele." The author had a "short, smooth sanded pinewood ladder that reminded [her] of the ones in the Indian Pueblos of the American Southwest." She says,"(My closest friend is short and blond-and her grandmother was Mexican)."

Annie Gottlieb is coauthor, with Slobodan D. Pesic, of The Cube: Keep the Secret, published by HarperSanFrancisco. This post was written with excerpts from her article in New Woman magazine March 1997.

It is smooth, large, cool, solid, shiny, blue green crystal, close to me and sitting in the sand on one of its points.

It is a straight ladder, made out of dark wood, at least 25 rungs and far from me on the other side of the cube

This horse is beautiful and white with flowing mane and tail, and is prancing between me and the cube, looking at me........and bare backed....

I see the storm on the horizon, big and dark, but it does not seem to be moving, just sitting there and is not affecting anything right now.......

Many red and pink and gold flowers scattered around me and where the horse is...it is almost like a carpet of them .....

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1. wooden, beige, small, rough, lost

2. straight, away from the cube, 6

3. paint, multi colored, away from, no saddle, yes bridle

5. scattered, few, poppies, gold

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