RANDOM
21.6.17
– The extraordinary everyday!
– Fluid arts
Video magazine
– Is it possible to integrate the erotic, the intellectual and the political in a spiritual formation group??!!
– Whenever you find something worthwhile, save & share it.
– The courage of hopelessness/tragedy
Vs.
The cowardice of despair/resignation
Comedy is nothing but tragedy without an end……!
– Solitude + idleness + imagination = enlightenment!
– daft
punk
spunk
hoodlum
gnoccatime
PMV
GIF slideshow
touchwood
– Fuck the System:
This present order/evil age
My daily rhythm/rule
Ministry plans
They’re ALL the SAME! 😡
What do you think lies behind/beneath these world structures/flesh drives??
O O O, Satan……….
– 22.6.17
– Asexual cuddling
Psychological nakedness
Spiritual friendship
Aesthetic intimacy
Intellectual partnership
Ethical conversation
Vocational support
– “I am available for anyone (student or faculty, male or female, young or old) who wants a trustworthy confidant, or is looking for a spiritual friend/conversation partner.
Let me know if you come across such a need…
PEACE ✌🏽”
– Nowness
Flogang
23.6.17
– My “ministry” is more about me looking for others out there who can give me the kind of company I want, rather than me providing something for a perceived need in the church/society!
– mirandum
Bourgeois-ized existence
self-incrimination
Bohemian garb
Doubt, wonder & mystery
– A person who is not reflective, intentional & public, in her experience & practice of life, CANNOT be called “spiritual”!
The emotional-relational dimension can be healthy only when sandwiched between the intense & dynamic engagement with the private & political realms…
– TV series:
“Luther” season 1
So, do they finally have sex or not??
This guy is a bundle of contradictions. She seems to be more consistent. But even her world is being rocked by the sudden invasion of love.
This is not just another story where the main characters never die! Realistic, & therefore powerful. Why does fiction need to be so, in order to be appealing?
The hunter & the beast fall in love. And the death of the beloved beauty makes way for the sexy creature!
Compare the torment of detective Reed with O. J. Simpson’s anguish after (being caught & charged for) the murder.
– Movies:
“The Prophet” (based on the book by Kahlil Gibran)
Hmmm…… I found it too cute & romantic.
Even his view of death is too rosy for me!
No wonder X loves this guy.
Will “The Alchemist” (Paulo Coelho) be better?
I found “Life of Pi” more arresting.
Are the common people really that innocent?
Maybe it’s just a bad film adaptation of a great book……
24.6.17
– Frivolity (Serious fun)
Vs.
Triviality (Rhetorical sophistry)
– Making peace with rules
&
Making rules for peace
– pasty
innocuous
Ramadan Eid
Moon sighting
– Implicit <–> explicit
Fearlessly and accurately articulating the repressed.
And unfolding the implications of the obvious.
– Future hits
– Sprinkle (generously) the spice of disciplines on the staple diet of spontaneous expression
– How many great historical persons had full-time jobs, were married and had children?
25.6.17
– Distinguish:
Personality (psychosocial)
&
Character (moral-spiritual)
26.6.17
– Maybe I should just become a home-maker (+/- father)……
I am feeling utterly worthless and lost! 😥
Adopt my ageing parents…?!
Mutual adoption??
FUCK 😵
27.6.17
– diremption
conspectus
– Spiritual suicide (is a process that) is far more damaging than (the event of) physical suicide.
– Becoming nothing ~ being everything!
Why should everyone be qualified or expert in one or two things?
Why can’t I just be me?
Why should I do something in order to be someone?
Why can’t I just live without any of these labels or roles?
My time has not yet come. I’m afraid it will be too late for me……!
So, should I just try to fit in or continue standing out? How long can I keep up this struggle, against all odds?? I’m weary. But I can’t give up, I don’t think I can ever do that……!
So, no more marketing myself, or trying to make something happen, that will give me validity & legitimacy in this world (in spite of all the pressure from without & torture from within), time to put my foot down and take my stand, forever.
– Psychological health
Vs.
Philosophical attitude
– Not a victim nor a warrior.
Just a solo adventurer.
Off the road. Into the wild. On my own.
Farewell, my dear folks!
The LORD have mercy, on you & me.
PEACE ✌
– Mindful breathing, mild exercise, household chores.
These are what keep me sane/alive!
– Thanks for your advice, but I refuse to follow it.
I am playing a totally different ball game here. You don’t & can’t understand. And that’s okay with me. I am getting used to it.
– Spiritual hippy
TV series – “The people Vs. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” review (4/5 – very good, but not great)
The tension between protecting individual rights and the requirements for justice/conviction. The pitfalls of acquitting the guilty and indicting the innocent.
Americanism ~ Capitalism?
Distinguish:
Democracy
&
Populism
Trial by media
Distinguish:
Justice (cultural ideal & social process)
&
Law (abstract principles & fixed procedure)
Celebrity ~ narcissist
Truth/evidence/reason & narrative/context/emotion
Can morality/ethics survive in this world, without the support of spirituality/religion?
The personal/private/chadacter/essence & the professional/public/image/performance
If, historically, the Whites were the oppressed group, would they have given the same verdict as the Black jurors in this case?
What improvements could be made in the criminal justice system to increase the conviction rate for the guilty?
Where was the American church in all of this?? Why is the Church such a miserable failure when it comes to dealing with such cardinal issues?!
What can individuals do, when even institutions fall victim to the wider cultural forces??
“scapegrace”
The Invisibles
Compare with “Watchmen”, “Matrix”, “Fight Club”, “V for Vendetta”, etc.
Hmmm…… does such reading/watching really produce real change in attitude/behavior, or is this all just intellectual titillation/spiritual masturbation? All idealism necessarily involves a degree of self-deception, that’s okay!
One needs to believe in the power of spirit to incarnate the word, in order to sustain the viability of the will in a nihilistic world…..
Real hope sinks all counterfeit goals, and then uses the remains of the old order as jetsam/flotsam to survive in the open ocean, until a new shore can be found!
You either parasitize the system to survive, as you plot creative destruction, or you allow the system to parasitize you and become one of the “walking dead”.
“What kills you makes you stronger”
Minority rights a good idea
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/are-minority-rights-a-good-idea/article19141464.ece
– I agree.
– Distinguish:
Democracy
&
Meritocracy
Fairness
&
Equality
Equality
&
Equity
Justice
&
Mercy
– What would a Nietzschean say to all this talk about inequality & justice?
Can one be a Christian & still agree (or at least sympathize) with the maverick, firebrand philosopher?
– All those who are “weak” must fight for (& win) their (deserved/special) rights! They cannot expect the strong to just give it to them out of mercy/compassion… But isn’t that cruel?
Love Is Love Is Love Is . . . Cut the Mike
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/opinion/mormon-girl-gay-speech-utah.html?referer=
This could have happened in a Christian (Protestant or Catholic) church as well…! How about mainline/liberal churches like the Anglican/Episcopal?
Has GOD commanded me to find & follow “my truth”? What does it mean to be true to myself and also be a faithful Christian? Does one have to choose between the two sometimes?
What does the “law of love/liberty” mean when it comes to clear violations of a code of conduct?
Specially Pakistan
It is especially difficult for me as an Indian supporter to see the final as Pakistan’s brilliance rather than India’s lethargy.
I must learn to watch sports with less partisanship. I switched the channel once the top 4 Indian batsmen were dismissed cheaply! By doing so, I missed enjoying live the fireworks of Panda……
Is it possible to be an Indian fan and still be a good student of the game?
Is it possible to be a patriotic Indian and still be a good global citizen? Isn’t being both, the only way to be any one…!?
Neil Strauss – Emotional incest & sexual addiction
via Neil Strauss – Cheaters, Sex Addicts
Subtle abuse
Family dynamics
Attachment theory
I know and accept that I am psychologically unhealthy/damaged. And my current emotional problems and sexual behavior are linked to my early childhood in some way. But I also believe that there is much more to this (who I am today) than just psychology (personal philosophy, cultural context, etc.)!
How was I parented? –> how I relate to significant others in my life (especially the opposite sex – spouse, etc.) –> how I parent another (ministry, children, etc.)
Is my intellectual predisposition actually a symptom of my emotional retardation/relational avoidance?
Avoidance in addicts and addiction in avoidants
Become the kind of person you want to date
Childhood resilience!
Criminal negligence of self!
(I only listened to the talk, not the discussion)
BROWSING
10.6.17
– Alternate seminar & retreat on an annual basis.
E.g. If this year, you have seminar, then 2018 will be for retreat, & 2019 for seminar, etc.
– non-adventures
goofy
puerile
– I think Jordan Peterson & Camille Paglia are mistaken about “postmodernism”!
– Mk. 12:35-37
The temple was not only a place of ritual sacrifice (liturgical worship), but also of teaching (intellectual inquiry)! WOW… the combination of the two would be explosive 💣
Reading Scripture with an inquisitive mind along with others who are both reverent & curious!
Wonder ~ delight 😇
“How can the scribes say…?
So how can it be…?”
The sage/prophet as the one who stands between the crowd and the high priests, and destabilizes the harmonious hierarchy!
Hmmm…… Let me see if I can insinuate myself into the Christ University system, like a serpent/virus/spy 😈😎
Jesus ~ Socrates ~ Buddha ~ IJ
Who/what is the Messiah? This is a perennial question out of which flow rivers of living answers……….
“What did I just read?”
Who am I? Who do you say I am?
Who are you? Who do I say you are?
Who is Jesus – for you, for me, for him/her, for us, for them, for the world, for GOD, for Jesus?
Find something worth considering for an entire lifetime.
– Where has my depression gone??
Why? What? How? When?
Vipassana:
Meditation
Vs.
Living
– “Please pray for me.
Thank you!” 🙏
– Sexualizing spirituality & spiritualizing sexuality
– How can liturgy save the city?
– Perfection is where extremes meet!
E.g. Chaos & order, freedom & bondage, life & death
11.6.17
– Intoxicated by solitude! 😇
– Is this fantastic climate the greatest gift that I have received in/from Bengaluru?
– What did Nietzsche mean by “Beyond Good & Evil”?
Did he intend it as an indicator of the amorality of human decisions, like the choice between colors…?
So then, how do I choose between alternate ways of life??
Can there be no absolute evaluation?
– Know thyself ~ know the limitations of thy knowledge (& start pushing!?)
– The 3 Delphic maxims
– Somatic consciousness
Purgational self-criticism
Habitual comportments
Animal functions
Auto-torture
Pre-psychological forces
Spiritual hypochondriasis
Looking well
Unnatural/perverse/morbid
The law of parsimony
Serviceable
calaboose
gaol
Americanism
– Why is self-examination so boring & bitter?
– Jesus – Son of GOD, King of Israel, perfect human & Saviour of the world
Grace: gratitude –> forgiveness
The Kingdom to come – the inverted world order
12.6.17
– Anti-aesthetic art
Distinguish:
Unbelief
&
Disbelief
– Fuck the (fixed) daily rhythm.
The Earth 🌎 is 3/4th water 💦 (chaos) and only 1/4th land (order).
So, suspend the plan within the matrix of spontaneity, instead of the other way around!
– Dialectic:
Hegel/thesis/spirit
+
Marx/antithesis/matter
=
Bergson/synthesis/process!
– Development/growth/evolution
Vs.
Transformation/radicalization/revolution
– Life is an intoxicating drudgery! 😷
– Do you have any understanding of Latin American & African philosophies?
World > West + East!
– Mindfulness – harmonizing, & ultimately integrating, emotion & will!
WOW 😇😲😷
– Sleep + chores + study/reflection + entertainment + socializing = life.
What is missing here?
– Distinguish:
Self
&
Body
I want
&
I feel
– Norway – how could people in such a gloomy & cold climate be so happy??
– The multicultural self
Intercultural/world/comparative philosophy & spirituality
– Transcendental ego
Empirical ego
Intentional consciousness
14.6.17
– pariah
insolvency
NPA (non-performing assets)
SJW (social justice warrior)
Radical imagination
Politics of possibility
Henry Giroux
World Social Forums
Stanley Aronowitz
Antonio Gramsci
Cultural politics
Public spirituality
Moral authority & political power
15.6.17
– It IS critical to BE critical.
IS it?
– Can an idealist also be conservative?
Can a pragmatist also be progressive?
Distinguish:
Progressive
&
Radical
Distinguish:
Neoliberal
&
Classical liberal
– Complacency, hypocrisy, cowardice, resignation, boredom, numbness, indifference, compromise, superficiality, mediocrity, (jealousy & bitterness too?), etc.
My intimate nemeses…!
– Being human – is it possible to be both a unique individual & a good citizen?
– Baroque conceit
Consensus reality & social responsibility
Persona-lity
Freak ~ failure ~ original
Being truly myself ~ being fully human
Discipline/formation
Vs.
Realization/expression
Normalize ~ objectify ~ enslave
The sovereign subject
Self-trust >> risk-taking
The alienating logic of the defense-system
Consciousness as gullible energy
The inextricability of biology & society, & the task of spiritual liberation
Unconscious manipulation/deception
– From something,
To everything,
To nothing,
To (something NEW)……?!
– Depression (painful) >> boredom (emptiness) >> ??
– What is the main difference between Aana paana and Vipassana meditation?
16.6.17
– mercurial
jaywalking
accessorize
Desiring desire
Earning time
The glorious ordinary
– Dark comedy/serious frivolity (“Ha ha ha ha!”)
Vs.
Light tragedy/empty substance (“O, so sad!”)
– Subvert ~ infect ~ corrupt
Only total chaos can overthrow this monstrous order!
– How can something unreal die?
– The O is nothing but the I wholly curved in upon itself!
– What would happen to you in a year, if you simply made the small changes in your everyday life that you know you should?
– Jordan Peterson’s rules for life
(modified by me)
Speak the truth (& act as if you cannot lie).
Don’t do anything that you hate.
Pay attention.
Dream bold (imagine the brightest possible future for yourself) & then make a plan.
Stay connected with people. But be careful who you get close with.
Try to make one room in your house as beautiful as possible.
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.
Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing, and see what happens. Nothing well done is insignificant.
Write down your earliest & most painful memories, expressing yourself as completely & clearly as you can. Learn to think critically & precisely through reflective writing.
Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions.
Treat yourself as if you are someone else that you were made responsible for, or someone dependent you had to take care of.
Ask for help when you need it. But beware of trying to save others. And whenever you feel like criticizing the world, check if your own house is in perfect order.
Dress like the person you want to be. Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
Don’t avoid something frightening if it stands in your way, & don’t unnecessarily do anything dangerous.
If you dislike your spouse/children, do something about it, sooner rather than later.
Love people & use things, don’t love things & use people.
Do not hide or run away from the negatives in you.
Note that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated.
Read something written by someone great. Get to know the works of art that have stood the test of time.
Pet a dog/cat when you encounter one, and don’t bother children at play.
Don’t let bullies get away with it.
Write a letter to the government, if you see something that needs fixing, and propose a solution.
Remember that what you do not yet know might be what you need the most.
Look out for reasons to be grateful in every situation.
18.6.17
– Putumayo
Rough Guides
– Is it possible that sometimes, reality is even better than fantasy??
19.6.17
– In cahoots
Brutal ineptitude
The marriage of illusion & futility
Smart packaging
gambol
Trigger warning
– I think Alan Watts & UGK are actually friends!
– Rationality is experiential/conditioned, and therefore also fallible/restrictive…
– Distinguish:
Real essence
&
Habitual nature
The tangle & rumble of spirit & emotion……
In order for the new to be, there is no need to resist the old, just desist from it!
Mat. 5:39
Distinguish:
Resisting evil
&
Fighting the evildoer/evil one
19.6.17
– Life course
Vs.
Curriculum plan
– ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final – match analysis:
What was the reason behind India’s dismal performance yesterday?
Just another (rare, but inevitable) “bad day at the office”? I don’t think so.
Why were the Indians less hungry/passionate than the Pakistanis?
I think it’s a matter of the heart/mind and not just strategy/skills.
But the result is good for cricket overall! Pak is back with a bang 👍
20.6.17
– Noam Chomsky
Vs.
Slavoj Zizek
– “I would prefer not to”
– Super-Id
– Serious comic
Profound graphic novel
– Art Spiegelman
– Those people who (claim they) are not narcissists are the most dangerous monsters around!
– Anarchism
Vs.
Socialism
– Which is better – a contemplatively (s)paced lifestyle or regular spiritual disciplines?
– What are the greatest/best graphic novels of all time?
– Female intellectuals
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