Category: Journal

Jottings

31.7.14

The pasu becomes the pati!

Feminism, theocracy & liberation!

Bezel

Rosemary

Osculate

Derrick

Soirée

1.8.14

When I (seek/try to) follow what someone else believes is right/best (for all), without being convinced of its truth/validity, it becomes a curse for me!
The same applies also to a situation where I expect/require others to follow my convictions with which they are not (yet fully) in agreement…

The beauty of innocence
&
The innocence of beauty

Metacriticism – A criticism of criticism, the goal of which is to scrutinize systematically the terminology, logic, and structure that undergird critical and theoretical discourse in general or any particular mode of such discourse.

IFTTT

4.8.14

“Select a few who are well-attested, full of grace (faith) & power (wisdom), and put them in charge of the important tasks in the community…”

“Fear God & do what is right” – are you questioning & challenging this classical dictum now, Joe?!

31.7.14
– Dialectic:
Law vs. Grace » Gospel!
– Distinguish:
Histrionics
&
Hysterics
– 1 minute news
– “You mean the world to me.”
“I am nothing without you.”
Can you say these things to anyone?
– Love & sex don’t always go together. And they don’t have to!
There are people who understand & believe this truth, & there are those who don’t.
Maybe moralism is just another kind of naïve, romantic reductionism!
– “He desired to be our brother according to his humanity, in order to make us his brothers & sisters according to his divinity.”
“What an awesome privelege for mankind and how pathetic to reject such favour and iose eternity”
“Amen! We are in His image, so we ALWAYS ALREADY belong (in the divine family)……”
“Glory hallelujah”
Be (self) » make (others)
Human-particular & divine-universal
Becoming the best that one can be is also doing one’s best for others.
Desiring to be someone in order to do something.
– Schtick
So what is your preferred poison?

1.8.14
– Sunyata
Vs.
Akasa
– Law of liberty
Vs.
Law of love
– Church » monastery » seminary » university!
– Erotics is integral & indispensable to aesthetics!
– Religion (truth), society (goodness) & sexuality (beauty)
The inward transcendent that is peculiar to the individual, what we share as humans, & what we have in common with all developed species of animals.
Anything, that does not (deeply or directly) address (at least one of) these dimensions of existence, is absolutely worthless!
– “Rahul lacks the fire for politics”
Mmmm…… Sound familiar??
– Her system is touch-sensitive, mine is not! 😉

2.8.14
– Stop (outward) » Focus (inward & upward) » Relax (self) » Enjoy (others/world/life)!

3.8.14
– We are physical, emotional & sexual beings
Carnal-sensual spirituality!
– Casual sex
&
Serious sex
Is one of these not ‘real’?
– Either/or
Both-and
Neither~nor
– SFG – Sexual Formation Group
– Indianisation of education – vedic mathematics, value education & integral humanism
– A post-human future?!
– Movies:
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Transcendence”
“A Dangerous Method”

4.8.14
– “Opposites attract”
Vs.
“Birds of a feather flock together”

Whatsup

28.7.14

Exams must evaluate only whether students have understood what they have read, and are able to think critically (analytic & synthetic) about it, & whether they are able to make relevant applications from the knowledge. Their memory (especially of details) should not be tested, and all tests must be open-text!
The quality of their notes, references and assignments can be evaluated. If they are able to recall & present a very brief, simple & clear overview (basic outline) of what they have learnt from the extensive reading, that must be enough!
The final (& main) examination must be a viva-voce with the teacher.

Men are more independent, untamed & less possessive. But women are more attached/dependent/jealous.
Men want to give their wives more freedom, but that is not what they want, and women want more loyalty from their husbands which the men find most difficult to give……
So is conventional marriage a sadistic & silly institution of a stupid & rigid society?!

Ancillary
Subsidiary

Professional ethic – do NOT mix pleasure & work. For any activity, only one can be explicit/deliberate, & the others implicit/unconscious. E.g. Religious, ethical & aesthetic

26.7.14
– What does a person gain if he/she is so very smart, but lacks a singular passion?!
– Prayer is the experience of being naked before the One who clothes us with his own body, stripped & broken for us!
– “The brilliance of cleverness is never enough. One must quietly close one’s door and undergo in solitude the bitter purge of self-catharsis before the ultimate.”
– “To follow Christ as (my) conscience dictates.”
Is that an accurate & adequate definition of discipleship?
– The Sophianic metaphysic!
– Dialogical love, abundant being & soceital tensions
– Finding one’s own way of being in the world
– “Kingdom of GOD” – so, have you identified that one supreme value in your own life for which you would (gladly) sell everything else you have?!
– Life, love, light
– Readings:
“Beyond friendship & eros – Unrecognized relationships between men & women” – John Scudder & Anne Bishop
– Hermeneutic phenomenology
– Sexual authenticity
– Distinguish:
Sex
&
Gender
– Nature/instinct
Vs.
Culture/conscience
– Hey Joe, this alternative rhythm thing, doesn’t it dilute/dissipate any & all intensity & focus? Isn’t ‘variety’ the enemy of mastery?
Yes, but my goal is not to accomplish something great externally, I’d rather become a uniquely beautiful (& therefore powerful!) person.

28.7.14
– It is indeed sad that you don’t know even one person with whom you can be a 100% transparent!
– Freedom – from the external pressure to do, & the internal compulsion to have!

29.7.14
– Instead of 4 hours of M.A. study on alternate days (from Monday to Saturday), 2 hours everyday will be better.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday – work days. Do as many tasks as possible!
Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday – except the 2 hours study, basic daily chores & time-sensitive tasks, you’re free!
– Movies:
“The Spectacular Now”
WOW!
Why can’t I ‘just live’?

30.7.14
– A/C – 2 hours per night – 4 or 6 months a year?
– Saturdays – ministry-fellowship meetings. So no M.A. study
– Experience » journal » blog!

Mixed

24.7.14

– Joe, don’t you think that your obsession with self-expression & individual freedom is a little too childish? Aren’t adults supposed to be more focused on love & responsibility?

– Comportment

– The Real

Vs.

reality

– Ecstasy, horror & trauma

– Theurgy

Henosis

– Hermetic

Cabbalistic

25.7.14

– The criminalisation of privacy

– Along with the basic material, physical, spiritual, psychological & social needs – the need for solitude (personal/private space), the need for entertainment/recreation & sexual/physical intimacy…

– Movies:
The Last Seduction
Why was this movie given five stars on RogerEbert?!

24.7.14

What is an over-achiever?

Church – if the Bride is also the Body, then does that also have implications for monogamy in marriage?

Dream: I am writing the NET exam and I am extremely frustrated & angry! Vijay annan is also with me, trying to help me out……

Polyandry

Random

21.7.14

– The subject & the Big Other

The particular & the universal

The phenomenal & the noumenous

– The immanent Word is manifested AS – what it has always been – concrete flesh!

22.7.14

– Novelty, variety & challenge are good… except in the area of sexuality, right?

Hold me loosely ma……

23.7.14

– The suffocating & trampling of self-expression/individual freedoms, all in the name of:

GOD

Morality

Marriage

Decency

Order

Harmony

Sanity

Society

Family

Security

Stability

– If GOD himself has relinquished ownership of us as His creatures & children, & granted us full freedom to be ourselves, then what place does the conventional notion of “possessiveness” have in marriage?

– Marriage is NOT a static socio-legal institution, but a dynamic, mutual-reciprocal & voluntary inter-personal arrangement!

– Even the most liberal folks become conservative when it comes to the question of sexuality!

Why?? There is no doubt that there is something profound & ironic behind this……

– The fear of the unknown is the greatest enemy to the desire for the ideal!

– I hate/rebel/reject/ condemn the authorities/structures/ forces that intimidate & deceive us into resigning/surrendering to the status quo!

– Power as freedom

Vs.

Freedom as power

– A martyr for chaos!

21.7.14

Braggadocio Rodomontade

Lying-in Travail

Scullion

Facsimile

The gaming community

Gruelling
Defence of the Ancients – Warcraft III

Serious interest

Portfolio

Personable

22.7.14

Compossibility

Plotinism

Infinite order

Theology as master-discourse

Resist injustice
&
Love your neighbour

Virtuous advisers

Continence
Vs.
Repression

Personhood/soul > individuality/self!

The Christian ethic:
Worship (fear/obey) no one except GOD alone.
Love your neighbour (includes enemy!) as yourself.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Love one another as Christ has loved you.
Whatever you do to the least of these, you have done it to GOD.

Joe, Christianity is so beautiful & good, so why don’t you trust it as truth, and live by its light?
…Obey it as authoritative & glorify it as great?

Can a prostitute have a normal love-life?

There can be no (commitment to the) common good without (subscribing to) normative truth (metaphysical & ethical)!

Stuff

17.7.14

Readings:
“The Sexually Promiscuous Male” by Benjamin Morse (up to Chapter 2)
“Creative Confidence” by Tom & David Kelly (YouTube)

19.7.14

Anonymous friend

NSA

NSFW

Basic matrix – egolessness (bliss)
Foreground – teleological effort (discipline)
Background – basic instinct (indulgence)
1 > 2 > 3 – importance & chronological
1=> 2 => 3 – ontological & logical

18.7.14
– Sex-positive culture
– Run away
Wander
Roam
Relax

19.7.14
– If you follow the alternate day rhythm, then what happens to the weekly Sabbath (Sunday)?
If Saturday was a freak day, then Monday will be work day, & if Saturday was a work day, then Monday will be freak day.
The freak day is not a complete Sabbath. Only the 4 hour fixed study period is supended for extra-curricular stuff – maybe a movie & 2 hours of self-learning.
– I want to run away, I want to stay.
I want to be free, I want to be safe.
I want stability, I want excitement.
I want variety, I want consistency.
I want novelty, I want familiarity.
I want challenge, I want malaise.
I want chaos, I want order.
I want to feel good, I want to be right.
I want to go crazy, I want to become sane.
I want to indulge, I want to serve.
I want, I want, I want,
I don’t want, I don’t want, I don’t want……
I like, I like, I like,
I don’t like, I don’t like, I don’t like……
I love, I love, I love,
I hate, I hate, I hate……
Yes, yes, yes,
I, I, I,
No, No, No!
– 1. Abide in the Always Already (being/apocalyptic/religious/mystical/know/live)
2. Seek the Kingdom (becoming/eschatological/ethical/social/ought/love)
3. Just express it! (doing/instinctive/aesthetic/private/want/fuck)

20.7.14
– I am the Dark Knight by day & Bruce Wayne by night!
– Movies:
Intimacy
Bound

Happenings

10.7.14

The free availability of information in this day & age in no way threatens the role of the teacher/professor/guide! People still need someone to help them process, structure & clarify the enormous data in any particular field, & monitor/evaluate their progress in learning…

Only the witness of an alternative community has the demonstrative power to break the spell that binds the masses!

14.7.14

When something is left undone in the previous day, should I try to make it up in the next one, or should I just forget it and live fully in the present?

10.7.14
– Upend
– Plan annual seminar
– I think “Spiritual Theology”, “Fundamental Theology”, “Personal Theology” & “Public Theology” would be essential subjects in a Christian Studies course…
– Limit one-to-one meetings to 1 per week.
– Theological education for all!
– “Dear joe, please forgive me for leaving you alone and breaking fellowship with you in christ and coming here… Sorry…”
“Hey……! Hmmm… it’s ok. Why are you saying this now??”

11.7.14
– Is it ok to love sleep?
If so, what about laziness?

12.7.14
– Movies: Ip Man
Was he real??
– Is it appropriate for a charitable organization to have their meetings in luxury hotels?

13.7.14
– Manga
Anime
– xoxo
– GIF
– Cosplay
– Cowgirl

14.7.14
– Extreme extremes as well as extreme moderation must be avoided. Just as work during the weekdays is limited, so should indulgence during the weekends!
– Movies:
Kill Bill 1&2

15.7.14
– Going cold turkey
– Web 2.0

16.7.14
– Alternation is the way to go!
50-50 is the ultimate, final & perfect mantra.
Indulgence & asceticism.
Freestyle study & course syllabus.
Slow & fast.
Spontaneous & systematic.
Rest & work.
Entertainment & religion.
Self & others.
Pleasure & duty.
Inward & outward.
Private & public.
Personal & social.
Spiritual & professional.
Desire & will.
– Alternate week – fellowship/ministry meeting, church worship service.
Alternate day – family prayer.
– Perforce
– Distinguish:
Incontinence
&
Promiscuity
– Satyriasis
– Partial frigidity
– Virility anxiety
– Don Juanism
– Idea flow
– Creativity
Vs.
Analysis
– Guided mastery
– D-school
– The beginner/childlike-mindset
– Permission to misbehave
Benign neglect
– From creative potential to creative confidence
– Transformative behaviours
– The problem of scaling
– From literacy to creativity
– K-12 education
– Behavioral economists
– Project-based learning
– Standardised tests
– Filling vessels
Vs.
Lighting fires
Recollection
Vs.
Repetition
– Ability + courage + determination = success
– Social innovation
– User research
– Juggler’s anxiety
– Micro-cultures
– Tom & David Kelly
– Variety + novelty + challenge = life!

17.7.14
– Behold what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us ALL be called children of GOD. Yet that is what EACH & EVERY ONE of us is!
– Explore, experiment, adventure!
Direct the self,
Stretch the self,
And pamper the self…

Miscellaneous

7.7.14
Tacit – implicit (wordless/silent)

8.7.14

The Good is nothing but the beautiful truth or true beauty!

Entresol = mezzanine

Foofuraw

Noosphere

Cantonal referendum

7.7.14
– Would Zizek be happy with an orthodox Christian (theological) reading of Hegel’s philosophy?
– Unfreedoms

8.7.14
– My place is the interface:
Between religion & philosophy,
Between spirituality & theology,
Between faith & culture.

9.7.14
– Brazil vs. Germany
What a ripe occasion for the philosophy-theology of sport!
– Sleep naked
– Friends in low places

Things

4.7.14

When reading, speak aloud new names, technical terms & foreign language words

Philosophy vs. Ideology vs. Critical theory
Where does Theology figure here?

4.7.14
– I am sick & tired, totally fed up & utterly frustrated by all this bullshit – this life, this world, this GOD, but mostly with myself!
Overcoming the Fall dramatically » repairing things gradually » enduring & weathering the Fall!
– There is a different kind of joy that comes from being able to say No to one’s own desires. From pleasure to confidence – from merely experiencing pleasantness to feeling good about what one has become!
– From frustration to astonishment!
From humiliation to praise!
From despair to wonder!
– Doing nothing » doing everything, but with a detached attitude.
Knowing that you don’t HAVE to do anything (external compulsion to prove oneself) » doing something, because you NEED to (internal drive to express oneself)!
– When & how did I turn 34 years old?!
Is it possible to become wise/mature with age and still maintain the freshness of youth?

5.7.14
– Divine madness!
– Ebullience
– Steps to freshen up my sagging spirit:
1. Try new & complex challenges – stretch yourself! iPad games, PC problem-solving games (lumosity.com), attend events, etc.
2. 15-30 min. of contemplation everyday.
3. Meet new people.
– Elfin Fey
– “Hey… Do you know what ‘xenophobia’ is? Check it out – it’s relevant to the comment you made on ‘chinkis’…”
– Movies: The Burmese Harp (Japanese)
The dead, the divine & the existential
Power of art – music & spirituality
Nation vs. Humanity vs. GOD
Mystical mission vs. Utilitarian activism
The Burmese ruby buried in the ashes-dust of human sin-death ~ the crucified Christ sown into the hearts & minds of all people

6.7.14
– The angelic chorus
– Maybe the Resurrection is more about the conquest of the fear (power/sting) of death than the destruction of (the reality of) death itself!
– Ps.46:9 – Christian mission, the weapons race & world peace
– Jews-circumcised & Gentiles-uncircumcised ~ the religious & the secular.
Petrine & Pauline evangelism in our context.
Circumcision (Judaism) ~ baptism (early Christianity) ~ religious conversion (comtemporary church)
– The appeal to divine revelation as the claim to universal validity.
– Inspiration » conviction » consecration
– Never forget the massacre of the Church following (the powerful demonstrations of) Resurrection, Ascension & Pentecost!
– The ‘authority’ of a free person!
Originality as authenticity
– What would Paul have done if the Jerusalem Apostolic group had rejected & opposed his message & ministry??
It’s not hard to answer!
– Divine calling & institutional approval
Inward imperatives & external authorities
– Sincere reverence & serious attention equated with literal interpretation & dogmatic zeal!
– How can a static/rigid gospel ‘transform’ evolving people in a labile context?
– Apocalypse – maybe the ‘veil’ is akin to the emperor’s new clothes!
This is it.
This is all.
This is good!!!
– The urgent & crucial need for the radical reconstruction of religious language in keeping with the Spirit’s move in this age…
– The blood, sweat & tears of a few » bread & wine for everyone!
– Deliverance ~ rest
– Movies:
“Ninja 2 – Shadow of a Tear” – grief » rage » depression/violence!
“Spirited Away” – we have to do with demons & angels!