One of the most subversive things one can do in this post modern machine age is pray. I still believe that this and the eternal search for God in the True, the Good and the Beautiful is a way to reclaim our lost humanity. Throughout the Old Testament God speaks from the wind the, earthquake and fire but “ after the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood in the entrance of his cave “ 1 Kings 19:12-13. Godspeed Graham!!
RE Godel Theorem as a metaphor for religious boundaries: Yes, of course, if religions are systems. I think that's what Jesus shows us anyway: that the system (religion) doesn't encompass Transcendent Being. It points to it and leads/guides our approach/alignment to God/Love/Source of Being, like an asymptote. "I came not to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill them". Religion is the mountain. It will never be the cloud of unknowing/the heavenly unconscious/uninterrupted communion with the Divine, but one must start by climbing it.
Godel helped me understand that even mathematical systems, that I used to regard as sort of absolute truth, are theories that must be built on a series of axioms. And as soon as those systems declare themselves to be all-encompassing, you can write a true "this statement is false" statement using the system's own language. This is the Lucifer/Narcissus phenomenon in which intelligence falls in love with itself, worships its own being, and cuts itself off from the rest for the universe, thereby precipitating its own demise. This stands in opposition to true healthy being which naturally continues to open itself to the world, to take in new things and use them to grow. Pride goes before a fall. (if any mathematicians read this, I hope I represented Godel and the math world at least somewhat accurately).
You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here these is too much sadness and not enough sky. Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.
Darius, who doesn't like school, who is sometimes stupid and mostly a fool, said something wise today, though most days he says nothing. Darius, who chases girls with firecrackers or a stick that touched a rat and thinks he's tough, today pointed up because the world was full of clouds, the kind like pillows.
You all see that cloud, that fat one there? Darius said, See that? Where? That one next to the one that look like popcorn. That one there. See that. That's God, Darius said. God? somebody little asked. God, he said, and made it simple.
I like that description of a shroud of exhausted depression you quoted. I just picked up Byung-Chul Han's "The Burnout Society" and he opened it along very similar lines.
Man, I feel you. Online job hunting is like navigating the nine circles of hell. I think we're at or very close to Babel.
Are you familiar with Godel's theorem of incompleteness? Every system is either incomplete or false. A constant reminder to me that, even in the digital and mathematical realm, systems eat themselves when they try to solidify their border/definition completely. Even a castle needs gates.
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in" - Leonard Cohen
It's very surreal to listen to your writing, in your voice, as I sit at my desk plodding through fatigue homework (ironic, huh?). I'm glad life is moving along, and glad you're back to writing! Keep it up, Graham.
I reposted this from the Charles Eisenstein Substack in response to your “towards a Western reindigeneity, where the Messianic feast and permaculture are one unified and harmonious thing”Funny thing about the future - it can be hard to know what it is because it hasn’t happened yet! I am caught between two opinions about it. Either Jesus is coming back in the next 50 years or so or we will be sliding into the future predicted by John Michael Greer in his books, The Retro Future, The Ecotechnic Future, and The Long Descent. Unfortunately it looks like to me we have passed the point to have a soft landing into what Greer is describing.
Appreciated your confession of not being an OrthoBro. I am not a EvangelBob either. I think the various Christian tribal groupings are jostling overlapping Venn diagrams continuously permutating and hybridizing within the Father, Son, Holy Spirit space. Crisp boundaries to please our Pharisee and Sadducee tendencies are not available.
May the tender witness of the Spirit be with us both.
Think I’m a fellow scavenger ! Lovely words and look forward to reading more. Yes the search for Order and Beauty has brought me to look at Orthodoxy but I feel already it’s not resonating deeply enough and I am reluctantly brought back to the Anglican tradition in which I was grounded as a child . Rowan Williams and others like CSLewis remind me of the essential goodness and I see I’m too much of a Protestant to fully embrace orthodoxy or Catholicism
Graham! Yes! Good to see you here brother. I too am swamped in pixel dust. Let’s swamp together… and resurrect together too.
Some fun, me dressed up as Saint Patrick in 2015 in our town’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade. Scroll down to see the photo. Over the years I have dressed up as the Saint and told his story first person. My current outfit is toned down, more “natural”, not full on Roman Catholic bishop. I was told I looked like a pope, not a message I want to present. https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/picture-gallery/news/2015/03/14/green-wearing-revelers-take-over-downtown-visalia-in-st-pats-parade/24764497/
Not really a live lead, but these guys are doing some elegant data viz. Despite the name of their publication. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/careers/
One of the most subversive things one can do in this post modern machine age is pray. I still believe that this and the eternal search for God in the True, the Good and the Beautiful is a way to reclaim our lost humanity. Throughout the Old Testament God speaks from the wind the, earthquake and fire but “ after the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood in the entrance of his cave “ 1 Kings 19:12-13. Godspeed Graham!!
Graham, I'm glad you're back! You sound really well, and your writing is inspiring. Good luck with the job hunt. Please don't let it drain your joy.
Yeah, hell without a guide to lead you out.
RE Godel Theorem as a metaphor for religious boundaries: Yes, of course, if religions are systems. I think that's what Jesus shows us anyway: that the system (religion) doesn't encompass Transcendent Being. It points to it and leads/guides our approach/alignment to God/Love/Source of Being, like an asymptote. "I came not to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill them". Religion is the mountain. It will never be the cloud of unknowing/the heavenly unconscious/uninterrupted communion with the Divine, but one must start by climbing it.
Godel helped me understand that even mathematical systems, that I used to regard as sort of absolute truth, are theories that must be built on a series of axioms. And as soon as those systems declare themselves to be all-encompassing, you can write a true "this statement is false" statement using the system's own language. This is the Lucifer/Narcissus phenomenon in which intelligence falls in love with itself, worships its own being, and cuts itself off from the rest for the universe, thereby precipitating its own demise. This stands in opposition to true healthy being which naturally continues to open itself to the world, to take in new things and use them to grow. Pride goes before a fall. (if any mathematicians read this, I hope I represented Godel and the math world at least somewhat accurately).
Darius & the Clouds by Sandra Cisneros:
You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here these is too much sadness and not enough sky. Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.
Darius, who doesn't like school, who is sometimes stupid and mostly a fool, said something wise today, though most days he says nothing. Darius, who chases girls with firecrackers or a stick that touched a rat and thinks he's tough, today pointed up because the world was full of clouds, the kind like pillows.
You all see that cloud, that fat one there? Darius said, See that? Where? That one next to the one that look like popcorn. That one there. See that. That's God, Darius said. God? somebody little asked. God, he said, and made it simple.
Bubbles & blue skies are the very best! Miss you, Graham. <3
Welcome back GP!! Your voice was missed.
He’s back! This essay was exactly the ray of sunshine I needed today.
So glad you’re back! Just one essay and I can feel all my ducks aligning again. Thank you, beautiful human❣️
I like that description of a shroud of exhausted depression you quoted. I just picked up Byung-Chul Han's "The Burnout Society" and he opened it along very similar lines.
Man, I feel you. Online job hunting is like navigating the nine circles of hell. I think we're at or very close to Babel.
Are you familiar with Godel's theorem of incompleteness? Every system is either incomplete or false. A constant reminder to me that, even in the digital and mathematical realm, systems eat themselves when they try to solidify their border/definition completely. Even a castle needs gates.
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in" - Leonard Cohen
It's very surreal to listen to your writing, in your voice, as I sit at my desk plodding through fatigue homework (ironic, huh?). I'm glad life is moving along, and glad you're back to writing! Keep it up, Graham.
I reposted this from the Charles Eisenstein Substack in response to your “towards a Western reindigeneity, where the Messianic feast and permaculture are one unified and harmonious thing”Funny thing about the future - it can be hard to know what it is because it hasn’t happened yet! I am caught between two opinions about it. Either Jesus is coming back in the next 50 years or so or we will be sliding into the future predicted by John Michael Greer in his books, The Retro Future, The Ecotechnic Future, and The Long Descent. Unfortunately it looks like to me we have passed the point to have a soft landing into what Greer is describing.
Appreciated your confession of not being an OrthoBro. I am not a EvangelBob either. I think the various Christian tribal groupings are jostling overlapping Venn diagrams continuously permutating and hybridizing within the Father, Son, Holy Spirit space. Crisp boundaries to please our Pharisee and Sadducee tendencies are not available.
May the tender witness of the Spirit be with us both.
Think I’m a fellow scavenger ! Lovely words and look forward to reading more. Yes the search for Order and Beauty has brought me to look at Orthodoxy but I feel already it’s not resonating deeply enough and I am reluctantly brought back to the Anglican tradition in which I was grounded as a child . Rowan Williams and others like CSLewis remind me of the essential goodness and I see I’m too much of a Protestant to fully embrace orthodoxy or Catholicism