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Void School Rules Vol. 3: Cyphering in 3's
I find that in my life when asked to be present in a way that shines the light on me and only me (even if its only for a second) I experience anxiety. However, freestyling with others (sometimes called cyphering) allows me an opportunity to engage and make space for my fears.
I have no shame in saying that cyphering makes me nervous. What makes me the most nervous is that when it’s my turn to rhyme, it feels as if i’m being judged, and not just for what anyone can see but also for what they can’t. Because my presentation is filtered through another persons subject (which I have no control over) their perception will never match the reality of who I am.
Once i’ve started, even if I wanted to run there’s nowhere to go except deeper into the rhyme and the anxiety.
I’m in the spotlight, falling through the groundlessness of the moment, not knowing what will arise in my mind, feeling into the dynamism of emotions and thoughts with a mind that moves constantly outside (“what will they think?”) and then inside itself (“what am i thinking?”). In a freestyle cypher there is no refuge to be found aside from the immediate reality of the experience of our body, mind and what some may call spirit. In the cypher there is no place to hide; your refuge is your experience.
Similar to how we may show up in our everyday lives, instead of allowing ourselves to relax and accept ourselves as we are, its common in a cypher to present that we need to be more than we are in attempt to convince ourselves and others that we are confident and competent. Sometimes to appear less nervous we present as humorous or do something entertaining to distract others from the truth of our uneasiness. At other times we hide in our self deprecation acting as if we aren’t even worthy of being there. Regardless of the way we try to hide our anxiety we only genuinely hide from ourselves and in turn continue the exhaustive search for how we can be someone else. In that act there is no genuine acceptance of myself (which is also profoundly unkind towards myself).
Therefore, in a cypher let your refuge be the truth of what’s real about you and your immediate experience.
Unless it is the point of the rhyme scheme or topic, don’t elevate or reduce your sense of worth or embrace a false feeling or disingenuous sense of self.
Be natural.
You have everything you need and your simple presence is enough.
If we can relax a bit and welcome our complete experience (and not just our worry or hope) we may find that what we have at our disposal is the reliable richness of our body, mind and nature.
Our body, mind and nature can actually be represented in three groups of three’s.
The three bodies
The three perspectives
The three faces of spirit
The 3 Bodies
All sentient beings have three bodies and it is these three bodies that we have immediate access to at all times. They are the areas of our immediate reality that are able to be experienced by us without any other persons assistance or influence.
These three bodies can be called:
Gross: or your physical body, bones, organs, systems etc.
Subtle: your energetic body, electricity, heat, qi, jing, shen, prana, elan vital or commonly thought of as “energy”.
Causal: this is body of your fundamental awareness, your witness mind, the mind that is witnessing you reading this right now. It is spacious, attentive, calm yet full of activity, and the home of fundamental wisdom, unconditional compassion and equanimity.
When cyphering all of these bodies are touched into to some extent, but what facilitates true relationship with these bodies is what facilitates true relationship with anyone or anything; returning to it over and over again in order to know it intimately. Eventually, that which you didn’t have a relationship is seen as a part of you and your life. This stands for healthy and unhealthy activities.
In order to know and benefit from the experience of these bodies it is important to train prior to cyphering.
If you practice when you’re not cyphering experiencing and trusting the three bodies is easier.
When we do not practice we do not know the capacity or the direct experience of these bodies and the benefit of the relationship diminishes.
A simple practice of engaging the three bodies can look something like this.
Gross:
before rhyming drink two glasses of water, give yourself a 5 minute deep tissue self massage, take three deep slow breaths, stretch your limbs, Buddhist Mindfulness of Body practice. Overall, be aware of your physical body.
Subtle:
before rhyming, practice a simple set of qigong movements, intently trying to feel qi moving through your body, tai chi, self tonglen/acceptance/kindness practice to relax energetic reactivity to self deprecating mind states. Overall, be aware of the feeling of energy moving throughout your body.
Causal:
before rhyming, engage in a practice that allows you to rest in unobstructed awareness and experience the expansiveness of the mind as vast as the sky., Big Mind practice, Shikantaza, Zuowang, Mahamudra.
Why is this important to freestyle practitioners?
The three bodies are your home and they include the totality of our immediate experience. When cyphering, the three bodies serve as both refuge and source of sustenance. When we need to know what is reliable and available our bodies are here for us.
Freestyling also allows us to work with two fundamental experiences of the mind:
our fundamental awareness: the part of us that’s watching, witnessing, seeing etc.; our internal experience
our conditioned mind: the self, our identity, that which is experienced as ever changing and can be studied .
Our fundamental awareness is related to the word “free” in freestyle.
Our fundamental awareness is free, meaning it is unencumbered, unburdened, not obstructed and nothing blocks its ever presence. It is one of the aspects of the experience of being “in the zone” or “getting open”. The truth is that you’re neither getting open and you’ve never left the zone. The zone is an ever available field of awareness in which you already exist. The vastness of your awareness is ever present and available but we do not relax into it, but instead become nervous in its largeness (ignoring the potential largess) and begin to search for ground as it will, seeking stability through thinking instead of stability in the natural openness of our awareness. We are not creating openness we are revealing it. When we let go of needing to go anywhere else or to search for something to remedy our experience of being truly present in the cypher, openness presents itself. We are dis-identifying with the totality of our experience as only existing in our comfortable everyday relationship to thinking and feeling, that pre-informs us of our experience instead of allowing us to experience things as they are. As the renowned psychologist Viktor Frankl pointed out, “between stimulus and response is a space, in that space is our power to choose our response. in our response lies our growth and freedom”. Learning to rest in the space between being moved to do something and doing something, is trusting that I will not be destroyed in that space and in fact can make wise decisions based on not reacting to the fear of boundlessness or feeling that we need to be more than this experience. how we choose to respond determines not only how we learn to navigate our experience but also freedom from the faultiness of fixation on a permanent sense of self, that in truth is changing moment to moment. we are free from being trapped by shortsighted perception and have learned to take refuge in a relaxed yet attentive mind. This aspect of the mind is seen from the inside, experiences various states of consciousness and is associated with the scientific field of phenomenology.
Our conditioned mind refers to the word “style” in freestyle.
Style is what your bodymind looks like from the outside, can be experienced as various structures and stages of physical, mental and spiritual development and is associated with the field of hermaneutics. What you appear to be doing on the outside can be viewed from three perspectives: body style i.e. style of kinesthetic movement and activity (ex. stiff, fluid), how you physically interact with space. mind style i.e. the archetype you inhabit, level of identity development, morality, values, meaning making etc. spirit style i.e. how your relationship with awareness/consciousness presents itself. if awareness is like an ocean, our relationship with it could be likened to the waves. some waves are very close to the ocean and are not very destructive. some are middling, more destructive and powerful in their capacity to do harm but still connected to the source. some waves are very large and cause widespread destruction to many people; still, it remains connected to the source, the ocean. there is nothing you can do to disconnect from consciousness. the most you can do is obscure your experience of it by associating yourself with what is distant from the source, instead of seeing yourself as the source itself. Styles express relationship with our bodies, minds and spirit, and like relationships can change depending on the amount of effort we put into our desired area of growth.
When we freestyle or cypher, we are cultivating a relationship with both the free and the style aspects of our being but there is a difference between reading it and doing it; knowing it and experiencing it. When we rhyme with the full awareness of our bodies, we increase the potential of experiencing an integrated body mind and reap the benefits to our rhyming and to our lives.
The Three Perspectives
There is another aspect of the mind that should not be ignored and that is the ability of the mind to take perspectives.
All human beings have the capacity to take on three various perspectives of their experience:
1st person: me, mine, I.
2nd person: you, we.
3rd person: they, them, it, it’s.
We inhabit these perspectives all throughout our days and when we cypher as well.
Why is this important information?
This is important because our psychological and spiritual growth is based on our capacity to see both within and beyond our own perspective. Cultivating understanding, mutual resonance, peace, enlightened society etc. calls for us to be able to understand who I am and how I cause myself and my world suffering (1st person), who others are and their reality as well (2nd person) and what is the objective word around me i.e. nature, mountains, the stars, the universe etc. (3rd person).
The more we inhabit these perspectives the more we know them, can feel into and understand them and hopefully be able to hold multiple perspectives (mine, yours and all of ours) at once.
We can cultivate perspective taking through freestyling when we intentionally choose a perspective to inhabit or avoid.
For example, rhyme without referencing yourself. you can’t say I, me, mine or my. You can only take on 2nd and 3rd person perspectives. Why would i do this? in order to go beyond a fixation on “me” and how i see things. It promotes connection through living in the perspectives outside of my own.
Another example is to intentionally take on the perspective of another person or object. Rhyme as if you are that 2nd or 3rd person. Speaking from your first person perspective, take on the perceived first person perspective on that second person or third person objects first person perspective.
You may also want to try taking the second person perspective of a third person objects first person. If the earth could have a conversation with you what would it say?
Using what is called Integral Mathematics, there are 27 possible permutations of primordial perspectives. Practicing taking perspectives cultivates mutual resonance across culture and consciousness when we allow ourselves to walk in the shoes of others.
The Three Faces of Spirit
Expanding further, we can also take on the three available relationships with what is called Spirit, the Divine or God. Sometimes it is called the Three Faces of Spirit. The Three Faces of Spirit practice, as described by Teilhard de Chardin and Ken Wilber, involves viewing Spirit from three perspectives: 1.) as the actual direct phenomenological experience of God/Spirit in the form of satori, kensho, ecstatic reverie and other sorts of "peak experiences" of the divine (God/Spirit-being-us) 2.) as a living intelligence that we can interact with in our own lives (God/Spirit-beside-us) and 3.) as an objective, transpersonal, nontheistic, cosmic face that we reflect about (God/Spirit-beyond-us). These three faces correspond to the three ways of relating to Spirit and are experienced through different spiritual practices, such as contemplative practice, meditation, or prayer.
Exploring the Three Faces of Spirit through the lens of freestyle rhyming offers a unique and creative approach to understanding and experiencing these distinct perspectives on the Divine. Here's how each face of Spirit can be experienced and articulated through freestyling:
1st Face of Spirit: Inner: The "I AM" Presence
The 1st Face of Spirit is experienced as the Eternal, transcending space and time, often described with words like Stillness, The Infinite, The Womb, Peace, The Ground of Being, and Oneness. In freestyle rhyming, this face can be explored through introspective and meditative lyrics that reflect a deep sense of unity with the Divine. The freestyler might use imagery of nature, the cosmos, or the inner self to convey this sense of oneness and eternal presence. The focus is on the internal experience, the "I AM" that exists beyond words, yet is expressed through the flow and rhythm of the rhyme.
Example:
"In the silence, I find the rhyme, transcending space, beyond the time,
Eternal presence, in the flow, where I end, there's no 'I' to know,
Stillness in the beat, peace in the sound, in the womb of the infinite, I am found."
2nd Face of Spirit: Intimate: The Relational "Thou"
The 2nd Face of Spirit is experienced in a relational context, where the Divine is seen as the Holy Other, the Beloved. This face is about the "I-Thou" relationship, where Spirit/the Divine/Awareness is experienced as a living intelligence with whom one can interact. In freestyle rhyming, this face can be expressed through lyrics that address the divine directly, sharing personal struggles, gratitude, questions, and love. The freestyler engages in a dialogue with the Divine, using the rhyme to bridge the gap between the self and the sacred.
Example**:
"Yo, I speak to You, in rhymes we converse, in my heart, Your love, I immerse,
Through trials and joys, You're my guide, in this rap, with You, I confide,
Beloved Divine, in You, I see, the mirror of my soul, set me free."
3rd Face of Spirit: Infinite: The Cosmic Web
The 3rd Face of Spirit is often described as the "great web-of-life," experienced when observing objects of miraculous beauty or the interconnectedness of all things. This face emphasizes the transpersonal, cosmic aspect of the Divine. In freestyle rhyming, this face can be explored through lyrics that highlight the interconnectedness of life, the beauty of the universe, and the awe-inspiring aspects of creation. The freestyler might use metaphors and imagery that evoke the vastness of the cosmos and the intricate web of life, emphasizing the external, objective experience of the Divine.
Example:
"In the grand design, I find my line, rhymes that weave, the cosmic sign,
Miraculous beauty in every verse, in this web of life, we're all immersed,
From the stars to the street, all is divine, in this rap, the universe and I align."
Through freestyle rhyming, the Three Faces of God can be experienced and expressed in a dynamic and personal way, allowing the freestyler and the audience to explore the multifaceted nature of the Divine through the power of words and rhythm.
Considering and utilizing the three 3’s when cyphering allows for one’s experience to be both based in the experience of ones nature and psychospiritually beneficial as it turns the freestyler towards aspects of their immediate fundamental reality.
Hiphop Alive
Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.