Category Archives: ART

Paintings, photography, aesthetic objects, beautiful communication, and anything I consider to be art, artful, artistic, artsy or whatever.
Art is subjective. It is a quality of communication can be contributed to by the viewer through empathy or agreement with its creator.

...and other stuff, ART, FREE ADVICE, INSIDE THE BOOK, LIVES, MORTALITY MECHANIC'S MANUAL, POETIC NONSENSE, READING MATTER, UNIVERSES

AS ABOVE SO BELOW

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AS ABOVE SO BELOW

Mortality Mechanics' Manual“The Secret of The Thrice-Greatest Hermes (the three parts of the wisdom — alchemy, astrology, and theurgy — is a text purporting to reveal the secret of the primordial No-Thing and its diverse transmutations, passed down to humankind through an entity described as a combination of the Greek messenger of the gods, Hermes, and the Egyptian god Thoth, who guided souls to the afterlife.)

It was revealed in a letter written by the Greek philosopher and teacher, Aristotle to his student, Alexander the Great, who perceived himself as god-like, and yet remained mortal.  Aristotle, hoping to pass his own investigation into the Mystery of Mysteries to his student, related this story of his adventures:

“Here is that which the priest Sagijus of Nabulus has dictated concerning the entrance
 of Balinas into the hidden chamber…  After my entrance into the chamber I came up to an old man sitting on a golden throne.  He was holding an emerald tablet in one hand.

And behold the following, engraved in Cyriac, the primordial language of Cyrus The Great, was written thereon:  It contains an accurate commentary that cannot be doubted.  It states:

“What is the above is from the below and the below is from the above. The work of Wonders is from The One.”

— from the book MORTALITY MECHANICS MANUAL, by Lawrence R. Spencer

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...and other stuff, ART, FREE ADVICE, LIVES, POETIC NONSENSE, UNIVERSES

PARTS OF A RELATIONSHIP

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PARTS OF A RELATIONSHIP

Recently, I’ve thought a lot about the subject of “relationships”, in an attempt to live my own life on Earth.  One of the most joyful and agonizing experiences in existence is the successful creation and maintenance of a “relationship”.   It is easy enough to withdraw from relationships and simply give up on them because they can be painful, confusing, frustrating and a lot of hard work!   In human society it is very commonly the source of turmoil, destruction and unhappiness.  If anyone has any more ideas about how to have a successful relationship, I’d like to know….

Here are a few definitions that I think are the most important parts of a “relationship”, in relative order of importance:

RELATIONSHIP

noun:   a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection)

COMMUNICATION

  • noun:   a connection allowing access between persons or places

UNDERSTANDING

  • noun:   an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion

  • noun:   the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promise

  • adjective:   characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy

RESPONSIBILITY

  • noun:   a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one’s conduct

  • noun:   the social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force

FREEDOM

  • noun:   the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints

  • noun:   immunity from an obligation or duty

WISDOM

  • noun:   accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment

REALITY

  • noun:   the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be

LOVE

  • noun:   any object of warm affection or devotion

SEX

  • noun:   all of the feelings resulting from the urge to gratify sexual impulses

ART, FREE ADVICE, INSIDE THE BOOK, LIVES, READING MATTER

ONTOLOGICAL CHAUTAUQUAS

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Zen_motorcycleI was interested to read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” as I spent many years of my life riding motorcycles, and most of my life searching for answers to ontological and spiritual questions.

The author, Robert M. Pirsig, in first person, tells his real-life adventure of  a 17-day journey on his motorcycle from Minnesota to Northern California with two friends and his 8 year old son Chris.  The trip is punctuated by numerous philosophical musings and educational diatribes he refers to as “Chautauquas“, a popular method of adult teaching used in rural America during the 1800s.

Robert Pirsig was tested as having an IQ of 170 at the age of 9 years.  His prodigious intellect led him to an epiphany that Western academia and science is based on unsubstantiated bullshit.  Thereafter his personal philosophical investigations eventually drove him to ask questions and find answers that can only be discovered by exploring ones spiritual self.

The “dialogues” the author has with himself while riding his motorcycle across America are tied together by the story of the narrator’s own past self, who is referred to in the third person as Phaedrus (after Plato’s dialogue). Phaedrus, a teacher of creative and technical writing at a small college, became engrossed in the question of what defines good writing, and what in general defines good, or “Quality”.

The book reviews the subject of Western philosophy, touches on Eastern philosophy, including Zen.  The discipline and technical skill of maintaining the motorcycle he is riding is used as an excellent analogue for his explanation of his psychic travels through the barren landscape of soulless Western world, both physically and metaphysically.  Eventually, he resolves the question of “what is quality” through a subjective understanding of spiritual essence.

Fortunately, Mr. Pirsig is still living and has resolved his personal quest sufficiently to continue living in human society long enough to write this excellent book.