Ya gno I have a problem I need some HELP. I'm a dislocated didsomniac (so) I have suddenly realized that I don't need to dip but once or twice and still it can be the same as if I ripped a hundred times. I believe that it is a realization of understanding what you really believe. SIG
I’m planning to at least begin a letter this week (today is the 8th) - hopefully nothing will come up. I was in Alabama last week so didn’t write. Went to a funeral - no one I knew well, but sad, nonetheless.. I’m not scared of being dead - I know it’s inevitable - but thoughts of the method frighten me. I’m such a baby about pain I love you Steve - for my entire adult life. What fools we were - and how much we wasted.
You know - I’ve always liked your poetry better than your paintings and I think I’ve finally realized why - it’s because I love words - love to create paintings in my mind based on the words I read. It’s not (never has been) that I think you can’t draw or paint - some of your art I like a great deal - it’s just that I prefer the words. I love you
As a quick side note, I’ve been getting very interested lately by music theory. It’s fascinating to learn how music is made, and what makes it sound so good. It seems to me that composing music takes real talent and genius. I think our greatest musical intuitions come from letting the soul speak. It’s very relaxing and meditative, or so I’ve heard from musicians. I’ve been particularly interested in the story of Brian Wilson. As you may know, he was the lead composer behind The Beach Boys. He struggled for years with serious mental illness. He would (and still does) hear voices in his head. These voices make fun of him and put him down. I think he even spent two or three years straight cooped up in his house, never leaving it, back in the 70s. He’s doing well now, and touring across America. In fact, they recently made a movie about his struggling with mental health, as well as his making the musical masterpiece Pet Sounds. The movie is titled “Love and Mercy”. I’d love to see it one day. Anyway, that’s all for now. Keep up the good thoughts and aesthetic transmissions! Take care.
Peace, Calhoun25
P.S. Thanks for teaching me the word “hierophant”. It’s a very neat one.
Anyway, your self-description reminds me of Socrates and Jesus. It’s important to lovingly, though firmly, engage others with sincere questions and conversation. We’re all engaged in a spiritual journey, whether we recognize it or not. Constructive dialectic puts wings on our feet; it’s a way—not the only way—to help one another make progress on our spiritual journey. You are spot on that recognizing others is “the greatest confirmation that Homo Sapiens still has sapience within their grasp”. (Clever line, by the way.) In a weird way, asking tough questions of others, including those in authority, can be a way of recognizing them as equally human. It can be a way of lovingly encouraging them to seek the truth, and to turn away from their current injustices. It should be mentioned that tact is important here. When people are open to conversation, it is important to seize the opportunity. When people are not open to conversation, then it may or may not be the wisest option to nevertheless engage with questions. It all depends on the circumstances. Unfortunately, I don’t yet know which circumstances require which. Perhaps you have better insight.
I think you pose an interesting critique of Kierkegaard. If truth truly is subjectivity, then from what angle can one criticize another for their injustice or ill-thinking? For example, from what angle could one criticize mediocrity, as you are saying? It seems you want to say that truth is objectivity. There is an objective moral and spiritual truth out there. This objective truth is what we appeal to in criticizing, say, mediocrity in society. I think this objectivity is grounded in God, but I know people have different views about this.
I think the article you shared, titled “The Evolution Game”, offers a unique method for building optimism. I don’t think I’ve heard of it before. It reminds me of the following, which you might find interesting. Apparently, studies have shown that a certain method can help individuals with PTSD. The method consists in having them follow a light with their eyes, while asking them deep questions about their suffering and trauma. Perhaps there is something relaxing about following the light. It brings down the psychological barrier, allowing the deep questions to penetrate through and heal the spiritual injury. Your “Stages of Spiritual Growth” looks very interesting as well. I’ll have to ponder these articles more deeply.
Your description of inciting F.E.A.R. reminds me a lot of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. He was known at the time as a social gadfly. Let me post a definition of “social gadfly” from the Internet: “A social gadfly is a person who interferes with the status quo of a society or community by posing novel, potently upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities.” Socrates would ask these sorts of upsetting questions in a public venue. When his opponents couldn’t answer them, at least in any consistent or intelligent way, they were publically embarrassed and exposed on the spot as hypocritical. He would often ask his interlocutors about the meaning of core values. For example, he would ask high government officials what it means to be pious or loving or just. (At least, this is the way Socrates is portrayed in the famous Socratic dialogues.) You can imagine how that might go over with hypocritical individuals who are in truth out for individual gain, not the correct moral answer. Socrates was eventually executed for being so disruptive. Asking tough questions and reasoning thoroughly can be a very powerful tool indeed—one that often frightens those who are immorally self-interested.
Jesus was also a social gadfly. He would commune with those society marginalized, such as the lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors. In Jewish society at the time, sharing a meal with such individuals would be considered unbecoming, if not outright immoral. That’s why it was a big deal when Jesus would talk and eat with these individuals. Jesus would also offer novel instruction. He would teach with authority, in a way that challenged the traditional teachers. You can imagine how upsetting this might be for the traditional teachers, especially since Jesus was from Nazareth, which at the time was considered a backwater nothing. Like Socrates, Jesus was also executed young. As you said, “a martyr does not usually ever get to grow a gray-beard”. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
It’s good to hear back from you! I am humbled by your praise. I do try to understand others, though not always (or even often) with accurate results. I stand to learn much more about understanding others. As long as I’m imperfect in this respect, there’s something to work on. I remember coming across a book titled “How to Read a Book”. It was written by Mortimer Adler. I briefly flipped through the book. It seemed very interesting, at least at first glance, showing me there is much more I can learn about digesting written works. Since humans are (usually) much more complex than the words they write, there is much more for me to learn about understanding others.
Yes, keep projecting those aesthetic blessings! It means so much to know someone is calling out to you, or perhaps transmitting you signals through the “noosphere”. Some individuals feel like musical or artistic ideas strike them out of the blue. Perhaps they’re getting some of your aesthetic blessings? I know I certainly am profiting from your aesthetic transmissions. You might even say they’re inspiring me, in a way, as I write this letter!
I like your Latin phrase. I took Latin for several years in middle and high school. I have fond memories of the classes, because my teachers were so intelligent and inspiring. They taught me the value of loving a particular thing, in this case Latin, even when many others think it is stupid or uncool or unprofitable or a waste of time and resources. Some of the Latin poetry we read is truly beautiful. Because it is very easy to rhyme in Latin, poetry in that language had to rely on subtle literary techniques other than rhyming at the end of a line. The best Latin poets could improvise a poem about their current circumstances. It reminds me a lot of off-the-dome freestyle in modern day rapping!
RSS
SIG
I’m not scared of being dead - I know it’s inevitable - but thoughts of the method frighten me. I’m such a baby about pain
I love you Steve - for my entire adult life. What fools we were - and how much we wasted.
It’s not (never has been) that I think you can’t draw or paint - some of your art I like a great deal - it’s just that I prefer the words.
I love you
Take care,
-Becca
Anyway, that’s all for now. Keep up the good thoughts and aesthetic transmissions! Take care.
Peace,
Calhoun25
P.S. Thanks for teaching me the word “hierophant”. It’s a very neat one.
I think you pose an interesting critique of Kierkegaard. If truth truly is subjectivity, then from what angle can one criticize another for their injustice or ill-thinking? For example, from what angle could one criticize mediocrity, as you are saying? It seems you want to say that truth is objectivity. There is an objective moral and spiritual truth out there. This objective truth is what we appeal to in criticizing, say, mediocrity in society. I think this objectivity is grounded in God, but I know people have different views about this.
I think the article you shared, titled “The Evolution Game”, offers a unique method for building optimism. I don’t think I’ve heard of it before. It reminds me of the following, which you might find interesting. Apparently, studies have shown that a certain method can help individuals with PTSD. The method consists in having them follow a light with their eyes, while asking them deep questions about their suffering and trauma. Perhaps there is something relaxing about following the light. It brings down the psychological barrier, allowing the deep questions to penetrate through and heal the spiritual injury. Your “Stages of Spiritual Growth” looks very interesting as well. I’ll have to ponder these articles more deeply.
Jesus was also a social gadfly. He would commune with those society marginalized, such as the lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors. In Jewish society at the time, sharing a meal with such individuals would be considered unbecoming, if not outright immoral. That’s why it was a big deal when Jesus would talk and eat with these individuals. Jesus would also offer novel instruction. He would teach with authority, in a way that challenged the traditional teachers. You can imagine how upsetting this might be for the traditional teachers, especially since Jesus was from Nazareth, which at the time was considered a backwater nothing. Like Socrates, Jesus was also executed young. As you said, “a martyr does not usually ever get to grow a gray-beard”. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
It’s good to hear back from you! I am humbled by your praise. I do try to understand others, though not always (or even often) with accurate results. I stand to learn much more about understanding others. As long as I’m imperfect in this respect, there’s something to work on. I remember coming across a book titled “How to Read a Book”. It was written by Mortimer Adler. I briefly flipped through the book. It seemed very interesting, at least at first glance, showing me there is much more I can learn about digesting written works. Since humans are (usually) much more complex than the words they write, there is much more for me to learn about understanding others.
Yes, keep projecting those aesthetic blessings! It means so much to know someone is calling out to you, or perhaps transmitting you signals through the “noosphere”. Some individuals feel like musical or artistic ideas strike them out of the blue. Perhaps they’re getting some of your aesthetic blessings? I know I certainly am profiting from your aesthetic transmissions. You might even say they’re inspiring me, in a way, as I write this letter!
I like your Latin phrase. I took Latin for several years in middle and high school. I have fond memories of the classes, because my teachers were so intelligent and inspiring. They taught me the value of loving a particular thing, in this case Latin, even when many others think it is stupid or uncool or unprofitable or a waste of time and resources. Some of the Latin poetry we read is truly beautiful. Because it is very easy to rhyme in Latin, poetry in that language had to rely on subtle literary techniques other than rhyming at the end of a line. The best Latin poets could improvise a poem about their current circumstances. It reminds me a lot of off-the-dome freestyle in modern day rapping!