PENSEES

​19.11.16

– “Show me your friends, & I will tell who you are.”

Hmmm… Who are my friends?? What is a “friend”?

Why don’t I befriend others?  ;-(

Am I lonely?

Can others call me their friend?

Can I call anyone else my friend?

I DO have friends! I just don’t know/believe it yet. I’m emotionally retarded, that’s all…… 😉

“I think I should warn you, you’re getting in deep, with the company you keep!” – Sinner to Jesus

(The Waiting)

21.11.16

– asterisk

– Hey… What happened to the monsoon rains this year?!

– Thinking

Vs.

Breathing

22.11.16

– Filled – by GOD, with the Holy Spirit, through the Practices

Spiritual life ~ moral power

Spiritual disciplines, fruit & gifts

The feedback & overlap between the means & results of the Filling!

– Praise & worship

Do you even know what this is anymore??

Should I try to reconnect with this side of my faith?

Distinguish:

Mysticism

&

Pietism

– “Giving thanks to God for each other”

Speaking to one another in songs

Making music in your hearts

Submitting to each other out of reverence for Christ

Wise ~ understanding ~ alert ~ opportunistic

Foolish – thoughtless, careless, distracted, dazed, grumbling, ungrateful, dumb, isolated, dissipated, etc.

Busy-bodies & the contemplative ~ futile activity & productive stillness

Ageing & death – finitude/unpredictability –> urgency/alertness.

Without death, this life would be an unbearable drudgery!

Holy Scripture is a (indispensable) resource for us to know GOD’S will through interpretation, and it is not to be seen as a plain/simple revelation of the mind of GOD that can be directly applied in any context.

Only if you care about something, will you then be motivated to try to understand it, in order to put it into practice.

Filled with the Spirit ~ being aware of the precariousness & therefore seriousness of life ~ making the most of every opportunity

Exposing the sham of their routines by living a radically different life in their midst.

Singing from your heart

Vs.

Consuming recorded music

“So watch your step. Use your head. These are desperate times!”

Keep your eyes peeled. Don’t fall asleep in your chair!

– The confusion of prayer & preaching – in fact, they are closely related!

23.11.16

– Non-canonical Scripture!

Holy writ – sacred ~ inspired ~ authoritative

Open canon

Written songs, sermons and prayers

Slave-scribes

Open letter

Circular letter

Non-verbal traditions

“de omnibus dubitandum”

Receive & pass on

Classroom participation, discussion section and written assignments

Eyewitnesses of the Word

“…that you might know the truth about the things you have been instructed”

Pseudepigrapha within the canon?!

Copy, collect, edit

Biographies of Jesus ~ memoirs of the Apostles

Direct interviews with reliable sources

scarab

Diatesaron

Mark ~ Peter; Luke ~ Paul; Matthew ~ Hebraic; John ~ Hellenistic

Pseudonymous; anonymous

Apocryphal, deuterocanonical & heretical

Doctrines of perdition

Seemly ~ comely ~ lovely

Paschal – Passover/Easter

Scrolls and codices

frenemies

proof-texting

– The only use in knowing and understanding the past (global history, personal psychoanalysis, religious traditions, etc.) is to make the most of your present, so that you can design your future to be better than your past!

23.11.16

– One of the greatest lessons of life is learning to know and respect limits, and to stretch them wisely…

– How do we know if we are “obeying GOD”?
What does it mean to “obey GOD”?
Is it the same as being true to oneself, loving others & making a difference in the world?

What about practising Christianity?

 

24.11.16

– Distinguish:
Tiredness
&
Laziness

– Creating something out of nothing, by using what is already available.

– Reprogram

– Curriculum:
Philosophy/theology + self-help/psychology + contextual awareness & response = spirituality/life!
How can you change the world (third) or know GOD (first), if you don’t work on improving yourself (second)?
Mysticism is included in the first.

– “The usefulness of the cup is its emptiness.” – Bruce Lee
Hmmm… “blessed are the poor in spirit”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit = being poor in material/financial terms?
Is it possible to be both rich & pure?
Generosity & simplicity always go together. So, one cannot exist without the other.

– Reproduction, adoption & Carbon foot-print

– Lessons from “The Four Horsemen” documentary:
1. Convert half of my investment (long-term savings) to gold.
2. Move out of city/metro. Live & work in tier-2 city or town/village. Come closer to Nature, away from over-crowding & pollution.
3. Find a via media in between the present status quo & “Captain Fantastic”. Seriously reconsider community-living with family, friends & fellowship. Total spirituality includes ecological (as opposed to techno-financial) economy.
4. Overcome dependence on current systems & institutions – government, labor market, banking, police, media, etc.
5. Each & all of us need to confront & address the challenges we face, both as persons & as a race/species – URGENTLY. Otherwise, we are doomed!

– de-lightenment

– Distinguish:
Human nature
&
Demonic ideology

– motherlode
tack

– Rooting & grounding life on earth-body-personal relationships, as opposed to techno-financial systems.

– But shouldn’t we also try to actively & directly fight against the forces that are destroying this planet & our souls?
No! I don’t think everyone is Called to do that. Most of us must focus on understanding the root causes of our current predicament and then formulate/execute alternative ways of life that counter the dominant trajectory. And some should stay within the systems of the status quo & try to reform them.
Which of these three roles is for me is a matter for guidance & discernment.

– The Kingdom is the power & principles of the King & his people. Right? Is there anything missing here?

– Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein & Max Keiser

– Savings/investment:
Immediate – cash – half @ home, half in SB account
Medium-term – gold!
Long-term – community!!

– Every (occasional) episode of bingeing must be followed by (immediate) purging.

– Should I stop using music as background sound?
Noise reduction

– Go small, go local, go basic.

 

25.11.16

– ocellated

– The commons

– Earth ~ soil ~ roots

“Human” ~ humus!

– tetchy

skittish

– “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit”

Popular/high-sounding nonsense! 😉

– Social issues, personal struggles & abstract ideas

– When you make major life-choices, do you keep death (your and/or the world’s end) as a central factor in the decision-making process?

– “Return to forever”

26.11.16

– I must make it a point to write down my dreams as soon as I get up, before I do anything else!
I wish I could see & hear my dreams like a movie…

– I DON’T think I need to make radical changes to my life as a result of considering global threats like the ecological & financial crisis, culture wars, etc. Although I need to be aware of them so that I will be prepared to respond appropriately when necessary…

– Naomi Klein – beautiful, in every way (physical, intellectual & moral)!  🙂

– The power of rituals – set high standards & then mechanize yourself to reach them!
Will (spirit & heart) over mind (thoughts & feelings) over matter (body & stuff)

– Rowan told me that I should start an Ashram. I think that’s a valuable feedback I should take seriously!

– Top Spin Academy – the philosophy (metaphysics, ethics, politics & aesthetics) of ping pong!
How are the ‘vibrations’ like around this place?

– “Do you think the advertising you are doing, for ventures like CH, ethical??”
How can someone who has so much knowledge of the deep stuff still be so shallow in actual life?! How can someone so original & provocative in theory be so boring & conformist in practice?

– Do you know how to warm up and cool down your system?

– Prosaic poetry & poetic prose

27.11.16

– I am not your husband and I am not your brother!