The Other Side

an Entosophy interview with Black Walnut

Entosophy
Black Walnut Interview
Received by Amanda Nicole
Mendota, Virginia
8.26.2023

It has taken some time to publish this interview.

The black walnut spoke to me in an intimate way. There are images and words that are not included in this particular offering of the interview. Soon, those images and words will enter the world in a different form. They are part of the message — part of what black walnut would like to share with the world.

Please listen to the recording. In the beginning, I explain part of the context for this interview, especially speaking of my paternal grandmother, Jenny — who is an integral part of the black walnut’s answers.

This interview came into being through an invitation extended by my dad who now lives on the land where this black walnut stands.

Q:  What is Ultimate Reality?

Ultimate Reality is sweet
sweeter than any of you could imagine
you get caught up in the bitter
you pucker
you spit it out
you don’t allow yourselves
to move through the bitter
to the sweet
you don’t allow yourselves
to come through to
the Other Side
i am here to help you transition
to the Other Side
i am here
not for the Now
but for the Then
if all you knew
was that it was and would be
sweet
then you would know
all you need to know
Ultimate Reality is sweet
this is all i have to say in response
to this question

Q:  What Ethics flow from this view of reality?

let yourself taste the sweetness
do all you can to suck
the very marrow out of this life
live it
live it to its fullest
gorge yourself on sweetness
i see you cry
i see you grieve
i see you hurt
do all you can
to ease the transitions
put things in place:
rituals, ceremonies, songs
that ease the transitions
practice crossing over the river
cross over rivers
ferry one another
carry one another
to the Other Side
leave no one behind
see yourselves as
tenders of souls
see yourselves as
caretakers of precious cargo
who can you fit
inside your boat?
who can you ferry
across the river?
may your ethics be kind
may they make for sweetness
notice the lost souls
notice the sad souls
notice their grieving
look
you can see it in  their eyes
take their hand
lead them to the water’s edge
and ferry them
to the Other Side

Q:  What Embodied Expressions -- or, Policies -- would you recommend?

i miss those old timey baptisms
down by the river
step into the water
get your head wet
go under
become familiar with
the water
become familiar with
the ways of water
it is always in transition
flowing
shifting from one form and state
to the next
and doesn’t it do so
with such grace
such ease
water doesn’t resist,
does it?
it is always surrendering
always letting go
take care of your water
take care of your waterways
keep them clear
keep them pure
remove the dams
make room for your tears
create spaces where people
can cry

{ at this point, black walnut begins to speak of my grandmother, jenny }

i think she got stuck here
she resisted me
you can make a home
in the In Between but
it’s not where you’re meant
to be
this was never meant to be permanent
she needed someone
to ferry her across
i chose to stay here with her
a companion
a guardian
she may have resented me for it
but i can’t make anyone
do anything
all i can do is lead
but i won’t leave
so if you choose to stay
well, then . . .

be sure you’re holding
each other’s hands
ask one another:
where do you want to go?
who would you like to be?
talk to one another
about your dreams
about the life
your soul is imagining
then say to one another:
i will help you get there
did anyone ever ask her
what she wanted to be
when she grew up?
Jenny did the best she could
and she did well
she created a beautiful loving life
in this space that is the In Between

Q:  What is the Ideal Society?

the Ideal Society is the place
where everyone is living their dream
the Ideal Society is where
each and every one of you
has made to the Other Side
of the grief
of the pain
of the abandonment
of the bankruptcy
of the break up
of the break down
of the change
the Ideal Society is the land that lies
just over the river
on the Other Side
it’s not too far
you can get there
you’ll just need
to ferry one another across
one by one
boat by boat
ask each other:
where are you headed?
and then
wait for the answer
not everyone immediately
knows the answer
there’s time
you are always free
to make suggestions

in the Ideal Society
Jenny would be free
and in the Ideal Society
Jenny would have made it
to the Other Side
but i want to honor her
for the beauty she created
right Here
not everyone makes such a BeautifulThing
of the In Between

Q:  Do you have any final thoughts?

i have lived a good life
i lived it with jenny
she was my girl

and i was her tree
i don’t mind to go
but if i go
she’ll go with me
i am a memory keeper

do you think they don’t like
my shade?
i do it for them
i expand and stretch and reach
for them
maybe make some medicine
from me this fall
i drop limbs
because some things are
worth letting go
some things are too heavy
to carry any longer

i’m willing to be
the last thing you see
come
lay down
rest
beneath me
souls transition
through my leaves

i want the world to know
i was jenny’s tree
she just had a strange way
of showing it
i was her constant
i think she would have been
(even) happier
if she had let herself
sit beneath me
together
we could have found
(imagined)
a way
tell the world:
I, the black walnut tree,
loved the heart of Genevieve
if you cut me down
please consider a marker
that says:
here lies jenny’s tree
I am the tree
and the tree is me

be sure to ferry each other
across the river
to the Other Side