It's Elemental

Category: Philosophy

  • Transformation exercise part 2

    Now, another challenge was proposed, to proceed to a third transposition inspired by Varela’s star cybernetics.

    My response:

    simplistic/complex —> multi-ordered simplexity 
    how to fix/how to engage —> ascripted re-presencing 
    compulsive mappings/flexible relations —> constructive deconstruction 
    textbook categorizations/situational phenomenologies —> second-order homeodynamics 
    control the universe through mapping/participate in the universe through walking its territory –>  co-construction of universe and self 
    dominant masculinist purposefulness/creatively shifting between feminine/masculine —> post-dual dynamics 
    shift power from the described to the describer/described and describer abdicate power to each other —> described as describer, describer as described 
    psychic inflation and self-magnification/psychic robustness and continuous self-recontextualization —> the fractal self 
    a grand pyramid with the advocate on top/a complex web with the advocate teleporting between nodes —> a-nodal/plen(r)um-nodal phase space 
    lacking poetic insights/poetry as rhythmic healing —> language as regenerative/dissociative capacity 
    lacking a feeling for the concrete/able to connect without abstraction through action —> recursive manifestation/abstraction 
    lacking embodiment of an aesthetic/able to create and shift between evolving aesthetics —> the aesthetics of aesthetics

  • transformation exercise

    The following exercise was proposed:

    Take the following list, culled from a critique of Ken Wilber’s work by philosopher William Irwin Thompson, Coming Into Being and write the opposites.

    simplistic 
    how to fix 
    compulsive mappings 
    textbook categorizations 
    control the universe through mapping 
    dominant masculinist purposefulness 
    shift power from the described to the describer 
    psychic inflation and self-magnification 
    a grand pyramid with the advocate on top 
    lacking poetic insights 
    lacking a feeling for the concrete 
    lacking embodiment of an aesthetic  

     

    My response:

    simplistic —> complex 
    how to fix —> how to engage 
    compulsive mappings —> flexible relations 
    textbook categorizations —> situational phenomenologies 
    control the universe through mapping —> participate in the universe through walking its territory 
    dominant masculinist purposefulness —> creatively shifting between feminine/masculine 
    shift power from the described to the describer —> described and describer abdicate power to each other 
    psychic inflation and self-magnification —> psychic robustness and continuous self-recontextualization 
    a grand pyramid with the advocate on top  —> a complex web with the advocate teleporting between nodes 
    lacking poetic insights —> poetry as rhythmic healing 
    lacking a feeling for the concrete —> able to connect without abstraction through action 
    lacking embodiment of an aesthetic  —> able to create and shift between evolving aesthetics

  • How to form a relationship with your book

    A professor of mine, Bradford Keeney, offers the following advice:

    EVERY TIME YOU READ <insert your book here>, INTERACT WITH THE BOOK IN A WAY THAT YOU HAVE NEVER INTERACTED WITH A BOOK: 

    Some possibilities: 

    *drill a hole through it
    *drill other holes 
    *underline spaces rather than words 
    *talk to the book 
    *place book under pillow or bed or tv or stereo speaker 
    *place book on serving plate and place on dining table 
    *play catch with the book 
    *add wheels to the book 
    *create a more aesthetic cover for the book 
    *cover author’s name with your name… after all in a constructivist universe, the reader is an active participant in the interaction called “reading” 
    *add your name to the author’s book, making it a collaborative writing/reading 
    *glue a mirror to the front of the book (more…)

  • Thesis? … DONE!

    After working on this thesis for, well, let’s face it, WAY too long, I am finally DONE.   It’s actually kind of hard to believe, and I’m pretty sure that my wife was thinking that this day wouldn’t actually arrive.  I should have made a bet.

    Basically what this means is that in the next… um, period of time, I will be converting my thesis and posting it on the spiritalchemy.com site.  Then I guess the question is, will anyone want to read 240 pages online?  Probably not, which is why I have a PDF version ready to go as well.  Boy am I optimistic!

    I also get to categorize this entry as relevant to all my included categories except for poetry, as my thesis contains original work in all the other areas – let’s hear it for generalists!

    Oh, in case you were wondering, I decided to call it: The Elements as an Archetype of Transformation: an Exploration of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire.  You can get a basic idea of the table of contents (not quite updated to match the final version) at https://spiritalchemy.com/thesis.html.