Category: Journal
Whatsup
13.9.14
Supine selfish helplessness
Mucous
Unraised
Matzah
Coltish/frisky
Impish
Grubstake
Finagle
Geep
Lorn
Rejectamenta
Surreptitious/subreptious
“Look, God is my deliverer! I will trust in him and not fear. For the LORD gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” (Isaiah 12:2 NET)
Converting your family into a monastic community!
15.9.14
Forever & a day
“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
16.9.14
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.” (Romans 8:26 NET)
Are targeted (e.g. Belly) fat-burning exercises scientific (‘really true’)?
– Nope!
Magazine culture
13.9.14
– Who you are is more than what you do, but not anything other.
– Is there a difference between cartel & mafia?
– Liberatory, not liberative
– Alternate day (weekdays – Mon. – Sat.) – 2 hours course study (M.A) & 2 hours self-learning. 1 movie allowed on the day of self-learning.
Focus on Theology.
Bible-study at least once a week.
– Extortion rackets
– Universalism in salvation » religious pluralism » sexual liberation » ……!
– Release man from GOD » release wife from husband » release children from mother » release earth from human domination » ……!
– Blind member in small group ~ voice-only online conference!
14.9.14
– What does sacrifice have to do with victory?
What does death have to do with salvation?
What does suffering have to do with love?
…What the seed has to do with the tree, & what the pupa has to do with the butterfly……!
– Movies:
“Nine 1/2 Weeks”
What exactly is going on (between us)??
Excitement & longevity don’t go so well together…
– How does a cockroach perceive a human?
15.9.14
– Ma’am, not mam
– Killswitch
– I love me
Or
I love this life
Or
I love GOD
Or
I love the world
Or
I love you
Or
I love this relationship
Or
All of the above?!
– Acumen
– Melancholic ~ sultry! 😉
– Responsibility ~ duty ~ obligation
– Exercise (15-30 min.) at least 5 days a week.
Alternate cardio & strength training (includes stretching)
– Include meditation, posture, balance & breathing in the 15 min. daily sil, sol n still time.
– No focus » no intensity » no progress » no significance!
– iTunes account:
iPad – India
PC – USA
– iPad backup – icloud & syncios
File transfer – Filemaster via ifunbox
16.9.14
– What does mindfulness have to do with compassion?
– BBC Documentaries (YouTube):
“Jesus was a Buddhist Monk”
“Life of the Buddha”
– New Age, post-modern, pro-sexual Christianity
– Indentured
Jottings
9.9.14
– The moral is the subtle link/bond between the spiritual, psychological & the social.
– Ah! I feel like my heart is full after hearing this (my own preaching)…… 🙂
– Rescue » relief » rehabilitation
– Data » information » meaning
10.9.14
– Movies:
“After Earth”
**
But isn’t fear essential for survival? Or is survival itself surpassed by something more important??
11.9.14
– Even indulgence/entertainment is a ‘work’. So learn to just be!
– When I break the weekly 1 day fast, I should eat only half the usual fruit meal.
– Beautiful stranger – “Call me!”
– “Oh my God!”
“Jesus Christ!”
“Holy shit!”
– Theology & pornography
Contemplation & conversation
Movies & ministry
Chores & sex
Exercise & sleep
Feasting & fasting
Traveling & meeting
– Ascending unto GOD by descending into the subconscious!
– Sinai – what really angered GOD was NOT the orgy of adult games, not even the golden calf, but the panic during Moses’ temporary absence & calling the idol as the liberator (for it was Yahweh alone who had brought them out of Egypt)…
– The superstition of scientism
– Distinguish:
Nudity
&
Nakedness
– Distinguish:
Freedom
&
Impudence
– Barf
– Martyrdom (in the context of persecution) is essential, but not primarily for one’s religion/tradition. The freedom of conscience/faith must be defended at all cost!
– How & when was the police force invented?
– “Pain – how can I write about anything else? Is there a more fundamental fact of human existence?”
– “How shall they come to Thee whom Thou hast nailed to their bed?”
– Fresh ~ raw!
– Can I be a humanist (not just a philanthropist) without becoming overly anthropocentric?
– Should the proper cultivation of one’s sexuality be as important as investing in one’s spiritual growth?
Isn’t the former an integral part of the latter?
– A harsh whisper… More like a hiss!
– If the Devil can appear as an angel of light, then does GOD also sometimes appear as an agent of darkness?
– What colour do you get if you mix red, orange & pink?? 😉
– Are adults allowed to frolic?
Are leaders permitted to freak-out?
– SFG meeting – do only one thing per meeting. Use another 1 or 2 meetings to complete what is left unfinished.
– Aided by the dead (“Gravity” & “After Earth”) – he/she wouldn’t have survived without it!
– Intellectual > academic
– Alpha & Omega – GOD is the source & basis, origin & destiny of all things – IN BETWEEN, it’s all us!! Sovereign in the here & now.
– Affection, attachment & dependence
Plot these 3 on an axis of intimacy & need.
12.9.14
– Movies:
“Imaginaerum by Nightwish”
The present/real/relationships/love caught between the past/memory/pain/sin & the future/imagination/music/heaven. The only way to live is IN BETWEEN!
Where is Scripture in all of this?
Is magic (GOD/Grace/Spirit) real? I guess that depends on (your) faith! It is amazing how some people CAN believe (in) anything……
Nothing is ‘just a dream’ – “This is as real as it gets kid!”
– Shattering, horrifying, traumatic enjoyment
– Jouissance
– “Austin Farrer – a most pragmatic personalist”
9.9.14
Distinguish:
Ethereal
&
Ephemeral
Fiscal – earn, spend, give, save/invest & owe
Flashpoint, tinderbox, powder-keg, time-bomb
Values, priorities & objectives
It’s okay that things are not okay.
Music
Distinguish:
Carnatic
&
Hindustani
‘Ventricular life’
I have no doubt that Jesus is divine. But I also question the existence of God!
Am I being irrational or stupid?
11.9.14
“Does not consist” – Luk. 12:15; 1Cor. 4:20; 1Cor. 12:14
4Maccabees – what does philosophy have to do with law? What does philosophy have to do with history? What does law have to do with history?
The philosopher as ‘experiencer’
Antiochus, the dogmatic/fanatical/tyrannical liberal!
Moral imperative as spiritual compulsion/psychological restriction/social control
Eloquent torture
Exhortation to apostasy
“…he resisted, by virtue of reason, for the sake of the law.”
The sovereignty of piety over emotion
Freedom-fighters or law-defenders?
The freedom of the conservative
Distinguish:
Freedom
&
Arbitrariness
Encomium
Courage is actually integrity in action,
And cowardice is nothing but hypocrisy exposed.
Humanity as a whole (safety, health & freedom for all) > human beings (you & me)
That’s why martyrdom (for certain causes) is necessary, wise & noble.
Self-control – self-discipline (training), self-denial (suffering), self-sacrifice (death)…… & self-indulgence (pamper)!
Might
Vs.
Light
Human sacrifice to GOD
Vs.
Divine self-sacrifice for the world
Death as the final graduation
Rack (torture)
Liberty – the power to choose freely whether to say No or Yes to internal emotions/desires and external demands/influences. The ability of the will to act according to individual principles/values, irrespective of other constraining forces & limiting factors.
Creed
Vs.
Conviction
The question is not whether GOD will be displeased, or whether he will punish me, but whether I can live with myself and continue to develop as a robust person, if I do this. Will it contribute to, or harm, society?
Can something natural & original be morbid or perverse?
Golden Calf ~ money, technology & military might
Satirical polemicist
Heresy, blasphemy, schismatic
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
State capitalism => socialism => communism
Freedom, change & progress
vs.
Authority, stability & order
12.9.14
1 child dies of hunger every 5 seconds (globally)!
Aborning
Inchoate
“God’s Problem” by Bart Ehrman
“Bonhoeffer & the New Monasticism”
Putative provenance
Thew
Quiddity
“To each his/her own”
Agential overplus
Causal insolvency
Personal agency as enactment of identity
Why should I not be sexually promiscuous?
Because I can’t – I am too busy with theology, spirituality & mission!
Cultivating the intellectual-moral-civil self
Notes
5.9.14
“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” – Bruce Lee
My greatest asset is not knowledge, or even boldness, it is time! I am not busy, therefore I can be flexible & available…
5.9.14
– “The common trait in all revolutionaries is disobedience.” – x
“Absolutely true. To world systems, power and authorities. But absolute surrender and obedience to the Everliving God and His Word.” – y
“But what if this GOD becomes another ‘power/system/authority’ that enslaves us??” – x
– “The culture in which we live and our own personality, experiences & biology can affect our thoughts & feelings. So not all that we think/feel may be fully voluntary at that moment”
“Mmm… I guess people have their own different ways of trying to make sense of their experiences. One man’s wisdom is another man’s nonsense”
“All the sources of knowledge & wisdom (classic & contemporary, secular & religious) are resources to aid us in the task of meaning-making. None of them are to be unquestionably authoritative. The work of understanding is to be done by each person for him/herself – it cannot be delegated to anyone else or any other institution/book, etc.!” – y
“Does this mean that we don’t need others’ understanding?” – x
“We most definitely need it! But it can only be an aid to help make up our own minds. Ultimately the conclusion must be our own, & cannot be adopted ready-made from any other source. Got it?”
“Even that conclusion is subject to change because of evolution in one’s own learning!” – y
“Yup” – x
8.9.14
– Morality is a social invention, but humanity is a divine creation.
– Natural
Vs.
Cultural
– Movies:
“The Invisible Woman”
Your spirit (inward impact/influence) is more powerful & important than your own presence & work among people, because ultimately each of us is alone!
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
She is the hero! Is it possible to be both tough & loving?
Experience
2.9.14
– Spiritual ideals
Moral values
Theological truths
Mystical visions
Aesthetic tastes
Philosophical views
Cultural expressions
Social issues
4.9.14
– The death of GOD – the silence, absence, passivity, weakness, folly, defeat & end of GOD!
The Devil has been finished by the Cross too. So now it’s just man & the world……
– Religion – a man’s challenge is spiritual independence from (his) GOD,
Marriage – the woman’s challenge is sexual independence from (her) man.
– Sexuality – from purity/fidelity/abstinence to adventure/continence/moderation
– Variety, novelty & challenge in spirituality/sexuality,
And singularity/consistency/focus in psychology/sociality.
Or should it be the other way around?
– The opposite of every great truth is also equally true!
– Political correctness
Vs.
Moral rectitude
– Simplicity, integrity, wisdom, compassion & courage.
I am weakest in compassion. Right?
– Silence, solitude & stillness = intimacy with GOD.
Sounds like a negative definition. But how can anything positive be said of such a deep mystery??
– Joe, do you really want to open yourself up in public like this?
Why should I not?
– Which is worse:
Being deaf or dumb?
Being blind or lame?
– Theology: Extra-biblical » unbiblical » anti-biblical!
Hmmm…… I follow the road (‘the Way’?) wherever it leads. Wherever.
– The GOD of the philosophers.
The GOD of the moralists.
The GOD of the religionists.
Is HE there??
From philosophy to critical theory.
From moralism to libertarianism.
From religion to mysticism.
– Am I just a figment of somebody else’s imagination?
Do I have a choice?
– Chimera
3.9.14
Heckle
Spiritual ideals & moral values
Malthusian
Do popularity & mindlessness always go together?
Ayatollah
Neutralism
Non-alignment movement
Detente
Eastern bloc
Has telecommunication technology negatively impacted the quality & quantity of direct human relations? Why?
Is busyness (& boredom) a uniquely modern problem?
Hey Joe, how aware you doing?
Reflections
28.8.14
Alternate day – fixed working schedule
Alternate day – freestyle self-learning, contemplation & entertainment
Work – at least 50% of total time
Indulgence – not more than 25%
At least once a week – newspaper & Bible – 1 hour each
Barbell
Bivouac
Blather Smatter
Transfix
Pulchritudinous
Pica
“Hear me, O LORD, when I cry out! Have mercy on me and answer me!” (Psalms 27:7 NET)
2.9.14
Contiguous
Hatshepsut – female Pharaoh!
Hatchet Tomahawk
Machete
Environ Ring
Recumb
Besot
Repugn Impugn
Pugnacious Pungent
Alliteration
Consonance
Ursprachte
Osculate
Bletting
Sweven
Rapt
He says, “Stop your striving and recognise that I am God! I will be exalted over the nations! I will be exalted over the earth!” (Psalms 46:10 NET)
Credence
Distinguish:
Non-existence
&
Absence
Wist
Health => prosperity => freedom => joy
Personhood > individuality
Radical contingency!
28.8.14
– What does spirit (i.e GOD) have to do with materiality, sociality & ecology?
– Subtle evolution, gradual aging, rapid decline & sudden death
– But what about the Bible, Joe??
– What have I become?
Neither a mystic nor a scholar, neither a missionary nor a prophet, neither a pastor nor a revolutionary. What am I – a sage-minister??
– Stretch the hamstring & strengthen the quadriceps. Not the other way around.
– “What have you gained from all this isolation, Joe?”
Neither a monk nor a socialite 😦
Fuck these weddings! I’d rather miss out on some valuable socializing than risk a few hours of pure bullshit……
Maybe I should go just as an observer. But this ain’t anything new. Mmm… Yes, that’s how it seems, but there is always something new!
– Maybe it’s time for me to shut up, forever.
– How do these free apps make money?
29.8.14
– Even in this balance-by-extreme-alternation lifestyle, it is balance, moderation & structure that rule! What would it be like if spontaneity/whim/ impulse was allowed to be the organizing principle??
– If you cannot live with (some degree of) unfreedom, then you’re not (fully) free.
– Movies:
“Joe”
Hmmm… Is the name just incidental? 😉
Why are the movies that I choose without the elaborate research usually better than the others more thoroughly planned?!
– Live, suffer, try, blog-your-heart-out & die……
Wow! That sounds nice.
Right?
– So how did you feel thinking about it?
How did you feel when you knew you were gonna do it?
How did you feel just before you did it?
How did it feel when doin’ it?
How did it feel just after doin’ it?
How does it feel now when you look back at it?
– I don’t deserve her!
She doesn’t deserve me either.
That’s one of the most useless words around!
– It was so good meeting Danny after such a long time!
31.8.14
– Preaching as performance
– What is possible with man is impossible with GOD!
– “Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.”
– “…when the peoples gather together, & kingdoms, to praise the LORD.”
– “they (the heavens & the earth) will perish… they will all wear out like a garment. Thou changest them like a garment!”
– Our lives seem to be so long & constant, but your presence & power O LORD, seems to be so unreal & fleeting……
– “You are my world”
Vs.
“Be thou my vision”
– The O.T is divine revelation for mankind in its childhood. And the N.T is for the stage of youth. So what is GOD’s WORD for adulthood??
– “Full members”
– “Continue to speak to us even through the act of offering.”
– The king of love
– If I am (to be) His slave, then He is (already) my slave too!
– “Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.”
– Family Sunday in church
– Does GOD really want us to fear & serve him?
– What does ‘Christian worker’ mean?
– Your presence, prayer, gifts & service
– There is no such thing as a ‘Christian family’, there is only a family made up of individual Christians.
– Marriage & family seminar
– Lay Activities Committee
– Fellowship group
Ministry team
– Parents as sponsors
– “Unite our hearts in love to Thee,
And love to all will reign.”
1.9.14
Movies:
“American Hustle”
Wanderings
21.8.14
– Post-exile: Zerubbabel » Esther » Ezra » Nehemiah
Rebuilding: Temple (national religion/culture) » Walls (city) » Houses (individual)
– Glamour/fashion/ad/ gaming industry, etc. – ok as hobbies, but professional??
22.8.14
– What you actually want
Vs.
What you should want
– Time for me to jail-break (myself from) the iPad!
– The evil denial of our physicality, affectivity & therefore also our sexuality. Time to put an end to this bullshit once & for all!
– Alternate:
Get things done
&
Stop & smell the roses
– Would you call your own father, a fool or a clown, straight to his face?!
– Repentance, unrepentance & rerepentance
– “What have you gained from all this isolation, Joe??”
– Pride – they don’t deserve my company!
– “Please pray that my daughter will get a good job & husband – preferably in Bangalore or Singapore, not Chennai…”
What is the great difference between their worldliness & my own selfishness??
– Time for Theology to pluck its head out of the ground, & take biology, psychology & culture seriously!
– The dead are the most consistent, secure & content of all people!
– From TV to music,
From internet to reading,
From mind to body,
From self-absorption to socializing……
– Saints:
Prophet-martyr
Missionary-revolutionary
Mystic-contemplative
Friend-minister
Holy-celibate
Sage-scholar
Which one are you?
– Humanism > philanthropy
Can (love of) man survive without (faith in) GOD?
23.8.14
– MPTF:
“Boiled Beans on Toast”
Never really took off…
– Movies:
“Payanam” (Tamil)
Mmm… Maybe being in the military is not all that bad (unchristian)!
– Distinguish:
Military
&
Army
– MPTF:
“Colour Blind”
Fuck this linguistic bullshit!
24.8.14
– Movies:
“Red Riding Hood”
– Movies:
“Ip Man”
“The Grandmaster”
– Comparing theology/revelation to the progressive evolution of the parenting dynamic:
1. Childhood – “Do as I say because I say so.”
2. Youth – “I will help you understand why you should follow my advice.”
3. Adult – “Go, with all that I have taught you, & take it forward in your own unique way! I am always with you in spirit……”
4. Parent – pass on your legacy to the next generation so that they in turn will take your accomplishments to the next future step of development.
26.8.14
– Remediate
– What should be special about my life is not what I did or said, but how I lived and who I was – qualitatively different!
27.8.14
– 3 kinds of days:
1. Working/course
2. Relaxation/ entertainment
3. Exploration/creativity
– The best (& only) way to save mankind and transform the world is by being still! If we want new life, all we have to do is just (stop trying to not) die……
– I am gradually but surely becoming a Buddhist! So can I still be a Christian?
– Thomas Merton’s post-monkhood love-affair!
– Instead of solitude & contemplation being small islands scattered here & there in my lifescape, filled with the ceaseless waves of planning & activity, they should be the calm ocean upon which all other islands of work are submerged & suspended…
Whatever happened to my dream/goal of the still, deep & full life??
– Creativity, compassion & courage
– My ultra-ordinary life!
– Boredom is not that bad. Why are people so scared of it?!
– Naked, nailed & alone
The Crucifix of Christ and human freedom/dignity
– Are the Quakers ‘liberals’?
– How do I live humanely (meaningfully & pusposefully) in a world where little children die in accidents, & are raped/killed?? Can my life make any difference (for better or for worse) at all?
In spite of the great persons, events & movements in history, look at what the world has come to today……!
Is this unrealistically pessimistic?
22.8.14
Jn. 10:30 – is this also an “I AM” saying?
Men are cruel/greedy & women are manipulative/jealous.
Which is worse?
Uproarious
Bias (fabric)
Caravansary Khan
Buccaneer
Subroutine
Hullabaloo
Cherry-pick
Only the one who is no longer afraid of death is free to live fully!
Today – 32C, but feels like 38C!
Totem Xat
Davy Jones’ Locker
Suspicion
Vs.
Hospitality
26.8.14
Influenced by, and influenced……
Original art – 2
Original art!
“Imagination is more important than knowledge”
Ramblings
15.8.14
– Metro Plus Theater Fest:
Macbeth (Manipuri!)
Where is Modi in all of this?
16.8.14
– Man vs. Time
Man vs. Space
Man vs. Matter
When will you learn to “stop kicking against the goads”, Joe??
Dance with, instead of fighting against!
– When you prioritize your values, remember to distinguish between means & ends.
– The rare handful of persons who are too far ahead of their time are great blessings to the world, but they themselves are cursed!
17.8.14
– Are we supposed to expect a tide of saffron terror to be let loose in the near future, in this great country??
18.8.14
– Movies:
The Wolverine
If you “had to” kill your own beloved, would you?
– Movies:
The Exterminating Angel (Spanish)
Why this title??
Surrealist documentary – one of the best movies I have ever seen?!
So does history hold the key to unlocking the future?
I know where they are gonna get stuck next – traffic? or office?
19.8.14
– I think it’s enough if I finish the dual M.A in 4 years, instead of the previously planned 2…
– Adobe
– Galleon
– Salamander
20.8.14
– 916 gold = 91.6% = BIS = 22K
– Exercise – cardio, stretching, strengthening, posture & breathing
– Myuzik
– HOW you make money is more important than how MUCH money you make.
– “Hey… One small advice: Don’t immediately get into anything else after you leave this job. Just spend a few months doing nothing. It would be essential to get back in touch with your self!”
– The teacher is the student who is (primarily) self-taught. All other students are just students, not teachers.
– Do you want to travel to all the (attractive) countries of the world before you die?
– So what is the real cause/reason/motivation/purpose behind this major change/decision?
– Ugly/bland » pleasant/agreeable » attractive/beautiful » gorgeous/stunning!
– What is the opposite of reify?
Digitize?
– Yes, but sometimes (& in some ways), money is more precious than even time!
– I kill insects only inside my house.
Immanuel Joseph's Blog 