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unfoldingmoments · 3 years ago

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5 hindrances to self-mastery

TEDxVitosha by Master Shi Heng Yi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-079YIasck

It has been quite a privilege being able to grow up in two quite different ways of life.

I was born in Germany, and at the same time had the chance to learn more about an ancient art coming from the Shaolin Temple.

When you grow up in an Asian family,

it is quite common that firstly, you don't argue with your father, and secondly, you either become medical doctor, engineer, or lawyer.

Elsewise your parents will be very unhappy.

So having that said, I finished my academic education with two university degrees, an MBA, and quite a collection of different certificates and diplomas - everything that my parents thought would be useful to have.

But throughout this education, I felt something was missing. Because I was learning about many different aspects - how the plant is working, what an atom is made out of, how a political system is functioning, but somehow, the subject was missing to learn something about myself.

So with the age of four, for the first time

I got introduced into the monastic practices, and I was very happy to find out that the main part of these practices were dealing with the exploration and the discovery of yourself.

There was mental training, development of behavior combined with the physical training, all aspects of what nowadays is known as Shaolin Kung-Fu.

Now, despite the wishes of my parents to somehow go out in the market and try to manage the world, I decided to continue this monastic life and start learning more about myself first.

Now, in the preparation for this talk, I was asked to share a few words on what is important in this lifetime, and see,

it's already challenging to put 3 decades into a single talk.

But the picture I would like to show you summarizes very much what I consider as being valuable in this lifetime.

There is something about sharing with others.

There is something about connection.

There is the training and development of yourself.

It is to enjoy your time, even doing nothing.

And one main aspect is to find a way and do the things you like to do.

Now, when I received the invitation to have a talk at today's event,

especially under the slogan "High, Higher, Highest,"

something very particular came up on my mind, and a master from the Shaolin Temple once told me a story that I would like to share with you.

A man was living close to a mountain, and every day he was thinking:

How would it be to climb that mountain and what would I see on the peak?

So finally, the day came, and the man went on the journey.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, he met the first traveler.

So he asked, "How did you get up the mountain, and what did you see from the top?"

And so the traveler shared his path, and also the view that he had.

But then the man was thinking,

"The way that this traveler described to me sounds very exhausting.

I need to find another way to climb."

So he continued to walk on the foot of the mountain until he met the next traveler.

So once again he asked, "How did you climb up that mountain, and what did you see from the top?"

And so again the traveler shared his story.

Still not being determined on which direction and which way to go, the man asked 30 more people, 30 more travelers.

When he finished talking to all of them, he finally made up his mind.

"Now that so many people already shared with me their paths and especially what they all saw from the top, I don't need to climb there anymore."

It is very unfortunate this man never went on the journey.

Now, to conclude this story, firstly, each individual needs to find the most suitable way to climb that mountain.

But secondly, there is information possible to be shared with words, but it is impossible to share the experience of clarity when you are standing on that peak by yourself.

To invest the right effort in climbing that peak,

it's very much what all the Buddhist practices, the Shaolin training, or any spiritual practice is about.

Clarity means you see more clear. When you see more clear, interrelations become more apparent.

When you see more clear, there is no need to believe anyone or believe anything. Seeing clear means you can distinguish for yourself which is the proper direction to take and which decisions do I have to make in order to make my goals or aspirations start to shape?

Now, at today's talk, you will have the chance to become inspired by quite a lot of different travelers.

But in this particular talk, I can't, and I won't tell you which way to go.

It's just that along your personal journey, you will encounter challenges.

Those challenges will either prevent you, or some of them even stop you, from moving on and climbing that mountain.

In the Shaolin Temple, we refer to them as "the five hindrances."

The 5 hindrances are describing different states of the mind.

In those states of the mind, it becomes very hard to see clearly and therefore engage in the right decisions.

1. The first hindrance is called "sensual desire." Sensual desire arises in the moment when you are paying attention to something that is giving you a positive emotion.

This positive emotion can originate from five gates of your body: Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling.

So in your mind, you climb up that mountain.

After one mile of walking, you discover a beautiful restaurant surrounded by beautiful people. You smell delicious food and the great variety of beverages.

When you follow that temptation, you have already lost your track. When this temptation becomes so strong that you don't want to leave that place anymore, then the sensual desire has turned into an obsession.

In both cases, remaining at that place means that you can't get clarity.

2. The second hindrance, "ill-will," describes the state of the mind that arises from negative emotions.

In that state of the mind, you have an aversion, a rejection, or simply a dislike against either an object, a situation, or can be even a person.

To simplify, it means: You are climbing the mountain, and it starts to rain, but you don't like rain.

You discover the roads are bumpy, but you don't like bumpy roads. In order to cross the river, you need to swim, but you don’t like swimming. Whatever it is that you dislike, it won’t make it a pleasant journey unless you learn to let go of this ill-will. It’s more likely even that you won't continue that journey.

3. The third hindrance originally translated as "sloth and torpor."

"Sloth" means it’s the heaviness of the body.

"Torpor" means it’s the dullness of the mind.

It is characterized by sleepiness, non-motivation, lack of energy, and oftentimes can manifest itself in a state of depression.

Now, a simile used in Buddhism describes it as "imprisonment."

You find yourself locked in a cell.

It becomes very hard to make any type of mental or physical effort.

So in order to continue your path, there is only one option left.

You need to find a way to get out from that hole, from that cell.

4. Now, the fourth hindrance is called "restlessness."

It is the state of an unsettled mind.

"Unsettle mind" means your mind cannot settle.

(Laughter) Settle where?

Settle in the present moment.

An unsettled mind either is worrying about the future or traveling into the past and rejecting, judging about an event that happened into your past.

A simile used here is the monkey mind, constantly jumping from one branch to another, unable to stay for too long time at the present moment. The problem is there is no time to see clearly anymore.

5. Now, the last of the five hindrances is called "skeptical doubt," and it's very closely related to a state of mind which is based on indecisiveness.

It is very easy in that state of mind getting lost in thoughts.

Can I do this?

Is this the right path?

What will the others say?

What if this? What if that?

The mind cannot synchronize with your own actions anymore.

And the result is that you are getting disconnected with the goals and aspirations that once you have set to yourself.

When the way is filled with too much doubts, more often you will stop instead of moving on.

That we know the 5 hindrances now, what are we going to do about them?

You need to align and structure your life in such a way to prevent those hindrances from arising.

If you are not successful, you need to use techniques in order to remove them. Each of these hindrances is placing the dark cloud on your mind, or on the way of your climb.

Simply remember one thing: Just let it rain.

This is a 4 step method to help you removing those hindrances.

1. The first step is recognize in what state of the mind you are finding yourself in.

[Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Non-Identity]

2. Afterwards, learn to accept, acknowledge, and allow the situation or a person to be the way how it is, to be the way how they are.

3. Investigate your emotional and mental state, and ask questions:

Why did it come up?

What is going to be the consequence if I remain in that state?

4. And ultimately, non-identification means:

It is the practice.

I am not the body.

I am not the mind.

I am not my emotion.

It's just that I can see all these three aspects about me.

All of our lifetimes, all of our lives are too unique to copy the path from someone else.

To bring meaning to your life, to bring value into your life, you need to learn and master yourself, and don't let the hindrances stop you.

If any of you chooses to climb that path to clarity, I would be very happy to meet you at the peak

#ShiHengYi #TedTalks #Life #SelfMastery #LoveYourself #KnowThySelf #Quotes #Buddhism #Zen #LifeLesson #Inspiration

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rest-in-being · 4 years ago

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Sufi Psychology Part 3 - Sufis and Human Energy centres. 2) Latifat-al-Qalbi: (the Heart); This Latifa is located in the left of Chest and is dark yellow in colour, In this Latifa, a person views his deeds both good as well as evil. By awakening it a person acquires the knowledge of the realm of Jinns. In a Nutshell - (Nafs Al Lawwama - The Blaming Self); Light or Colour of Aura: Dark Yellow. Located: left of Chest - Liver and related to the digestive system. Soul: Ruh Nabati linked to Vegetable Soul. (see below) Traits: conscience, capacity for self-observation. Habits: backbiting, trickery, conceitedness, hypocrisy, self-consciousness, guilt, fearfulness, wishful thinking, intense desire to please others. Quran Ref: "And I swear by the reproachful soul!” (75:1-2) Healing Dhikr: is to Repeat Ya Allah - O The God. *Note -The Vegetable Soul: It is located in the liver and related to the digestive system. At this level transmission of energy and transmutation begins. Nourishment and growth is one of its functions. To have a healthy vegetable soul, we need healthy nourishment (at physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual levels) Its Healing Remembrance or Dhikr is repeating the Name: Ya Allah (God). This is the self in its original state of birth into the world as Allah says, "By the One who brought the self to equilibrium inspiring it with its transgression and its consciousness." (91-7:8) This is the self that has been touched by Allah's Mercy so that when it commits a sin or falls into disobedience, it blames itself and turns to forgiveness and repents to its Sustainer. Then it holds on to obedience until it slips back into sin then it turns to forgiveness and repentance and so on. It has grasped what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "All humans are prone to sin and the best sinners are those who repent." It is a self that is in constant fluctuation between obedience and disobedience. One time it is heedless and falls and another it is aware and resists. This is the natural station which we start from at birth and from there we descend or ascend. Its sign is the fluctuation between the characteristics of the people of this world and the people of the next world. It is not in the same evil condition as the Commanding Self but the two desires of immortality and sovereignty are still active in it although in a much reduced or weakened condition. This is the first stage of salvation for the self and the first step toward its purification and success. The word Qalb, stands for heart. In Sufi terminology, this spiritual heart (not to be confused with corporeal organ) is again variously described. Some consider it to be the seat of pure vision. Others consider it the entrance of Ishq or Divine love. Some thinks that it is the battleground of two warring armies: Those of nafs (where nafs-i-natiqa/rational soul is equated with aql/intellect, the "better", rational part of the soul as opposed to animal/passionate ), and ruh/spirit, who will be the object of analysis in the next point. In short, cleansing of the Qalb or heart is a necessary spiritual discipline for salik (traveller) on the Sufi path. The term for this practice is Tazkiah-I-Qalb and the aim is the purging of everything that stands in the way of God’s love or Ishq-e-Khuda. Recitation of Kalima or the name of Allah/ Ya Allah is practised by the seekers To awaken this Latifa. When the name ‘Allah’ vibrates in the heart, an awareness of Right and Wrong, and wisdom follows. It is then called Qalb-e Salim. (the content Heart). Then the status of the meditation by Qalb changes its direction towards God; it is called Qalb-e Minib (the penitent Heart). This heart can prevent a person from mischief, but it cannot make a right judgement. When the theophanies (Tajalliyat) of God begin to fall on the Heart, it is called Qalb-e-shahid or the witnessing Heart. Qalb and Nafs form the "Rooh-e-haivani" (Animal Soul). This part of the soul has the record of every activity of life. 2. Nafsi Lawwama - ( Blaming Self or Self-accusing soul) This is the second step in the development of man, when man becomes aware of his actions, is able to differentiate right from wrong, and regrets his wrong doings. Yet he is not able to totally stop doing wrong because it is very difficult to break the habits of his previous state. He tries to follow the obligations of his religion and he prays, fasts, pays alms and tries to behave properly. But he wants to be known as a reformed person. He publicizes his piety, his good deeds, and expects appreciation from people. This makes his behavior hypocritical. Sometimes he realizes this, regrets it, and tries to change. Hypocrisy, a major sin, is the principal danger in this state. There are two other grave dangers as well: Arrogance and Anger. Every little attempt to be good, compared to the previous state, seems like a major achievement. So we think we are the best, and get angry with others who do not seem to respect us. Arrogance, lying to ourselves, hypocrisy, anger, and intolerance are the soldiers of the devil. At the level of Nafsi Lawwama we are (not safe from the devil), who injects his character of arrogance into our veins and whispers into our ear: “You are as good as your teachers now; not only do you know as much as they do, the way you behave is better. If they were able to apply what they teach in their own lives they wouldn’t be half what you are. You don’t need their preaching or their advice. Now let people see your wisdom and your deeds so that you will be an example to them.” Not only the whisperings of the devil, but all worldly life, is against the seeker at this stage. Certainly the world cannot lose its attractiveness for him; it calls to and tempts him. If the resolve of the seeker is weak, he will be afflicted with arrogance, not listen to good advice, and in fact, fight with the ones who wish for his well being, thinking they are belittling him and behaving in a superior manner. In anger, he may attempt to do much greater deeds than he is incapable of, and fail. Failure will further anger him. His mood will become dark, disappointed; he will think he took the wrong way, that he was better off before, and he may blame the ones who led him to this Path, falling back to his previous condition of being an animal in human shape. If he is warned at the beginning of the second step of Nafsi Lawwama of these dangers, and if he is intelligent enough not to release the hand which leads him, and if he follows the advice on how to fight the three enemies of hypocrisy, anger, and arrogance, he will pass this stage quickly. The longer one lingers in this transitory stage, the worse will be the trials. The cure for hypocrisy is to realize how the value of everything in the world, including the opinions of others, is temporal, inconstant and subjective, changing from minute to minute, from place to place, from person to person, and finally disappearing. Therefore, one should opt for that which is permanent, eternal, and powerful instead of something which may be here now and gone tomorrow. What fool lights a candle when the sun is out? Do not count on the respect and the praise of others, and do not fear them. For it is said, “Whoever praises you is your enemy because he is the ally of your enemy, and whoever points out what is wrong with you is the enemy of your enemy.” The cure for arrogance is to remember that your beginning came from a drop of semen from your father and an ovum in your mother’s belly, and that your end will be as a rotten corpse in the ground. Beauty, strength, intelligence, will soon dwindle and disappear. All your fortune, properties, reputation, and friends will be excluded when you are lowered alone into your tomb. Your prayers, piety and good deeds, if performed to impress others, will evaporate, and worse still, may turn against you. Realize that all you have, including your body and your very life, is not yours, but lent to you and entrusted to you by your Creator. Your actions are also His if they are good, and when they are bad, it is you who are tyrannizing yourself. Offer thanks for everything, and feel shame your wrongdoings; then you will be humble. The fall of the one who stands low is much less painful than the one who falls from high. The cure for anger is basically accomplished if you can cure your arrogance. It is the arrogant one who becomes angered by adversity, or even by lack of sufficient rewards which he thinks he is owed. The negative emotion of anger, when it flares up, is faster than the rational effort to suppress it. Once anger has caught fire it is difficult to extinguish. Like fire, it burns all that is human in us; compassion, love, gentleness, generosity, the ability to communicate, to think of consequences, and intelligence are all reduced to ashes. All that remains is a dangerous wounded wild animal. As a remedy to recall and remember our humanity, The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) suggests that when anger strikes, immediately you should change your posture. If you were standing, you should sit. If you were sitting you should fall to your knees. It is difficult to shout and curse in the most humble position of kneeling. Or you should lie on your back and pray: “Oh Lord, enrich me with knowledge, beautify me with kindness, give me the gift of piety and the fear and love of You and sanity and health, Amin” Or you should go and take ablution with cold water. If we could avoid these dangers, with Allah’s will and the guidance of our religion, and the help of our teacher, and our wish to advance, we might rise to the third level where we receives the Lord’s inspirations

#sufi psychology #3 #dear seeker #spiritual psychology

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surveensaniya1 · 4 years ago

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borisbubbles · 5 years ago

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Eurivision: 40 - 36

40. Maja Keuc - “No one” Slovenia 2011

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Psychedelic, secretly evil masterpieces <3

“No one” is often overlooked in many rankings, by people with utterly vanilla tastes, and while vanilla is an excellent flavour, sometimes vanilla needs to bloom into something better with more flavour and texture. ENTER, this sneakily fierce song, featuring Bettan’s hip-waving choreo <3

"No one” slowly but gradually lulls you into its dark, alluring storyline, tricking you into believing this is a break-up song in which the woman is crying over the loss of the relationship, ONLY PLOT TWIST the girl is a textbook psychopath and this message of empowerment is actually one of psychotic obsession and petty revenge. Is this Gone Girl?

That’s in a nutshell, why “No one” is such a fantastic entry. It gradually, slowly unfolds like a paper fortune teller, except every flap contains a message of unfiltered, devious, psychotic energy. 😍 It’s so unabashedly dark and I cannot wait for ~Amaya~ to epically return to ESC (within the next three years) and give Slovenia their first top 10 since Nuša Derenda.

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39. Elina Nechayeva “La forza” Estonia 2018

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[2018 Review here]

Elina is so beautiful.

Wow. I mean, WHAT IS LA FORZA though if not a magnificent wonderland of stunning visual effect. It’s the best example of Estonia’s technological prowess at Eurovision. I mean, look at these projections. They are breath-taking, in the literal sense of the word:

Naturally, I must address that “La Forza” has received the criticism of “ugh, it’s boring”. However most of those people like Tamtaratam, so their opinions can be safely discarded into the rubbish bin. 🤭 I personally think “La forza” is a perfect execution of opera, providing captivating vocals and a sincerely stunning act. Opera is supposed to be a mind-blowing spectacle and “La forza” is exactly that.

However, it might actually be... a bit too perfect for my tastes. Its greatest strengths also made “La forza” a bit aloof and distant, and while this is far from a dealbreaker, it does prevent me from ranking it further.

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38. Loreen - “Euphoria” Sweden 2012

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[this entry was inspired by a popular youtube cooking channel]

Yes, this is not a ranking with Loreen as their #1. This could have been a ranking with Loreen as their #1 if she had gone to Eurovision with either of her other two melfest entries, but look at the flag and look at Sweden’s general taste in melfest winner:

It’s even a wonder a selection which produced THOSE winners also produced "Euphoria” to begin with.

Anyway, now that we’re on to the subject of Sweden, it appears that over the years, the general of opinion of Sweden has dropped. This is because out of all the countries participating in Eurovision, Sweden is by far the most smug.

Which is why the first step in covering the song that is generally considered their best entry, is to humble Sweden:

Hey Sweden, See this country? It’s called Switzerland. Switzerland once won the Eurovision Song Contest with Céline Dion. Céline Dion is one of the best selling artists in the world. She made double the sales ABBA made and has non-stop performed, while ABBA broke up less than 10 years after they won. You’re not better at iconic winners than Switzerland, Sweden. Remember that.

See this country? It’s called Moldova. It is the poorest country in the Euroverse and has amazing staging everbody talks about. Nobody ever talks about your staging because it just conveniently pretty people in various degrees of treadmill. You don’t stage better than Moldova, Sweden. Remember that.

See this country? It is called Malta. Malta have sent a woman to Eurovision for five years straight. They are one of the most unapologetically pro-female countries in the world. Even all of their JESC entries except for two have been women. Meanwhile you aren’t sending women and you know why? Because melfest is a rigged and fangirl pandering sausagefest. You’re worse at inclusion than Malta, Sweden. Remember that.

See this country? It’s called Ukraine. Ukraine have reached the grand final every year they’ve participated. Have you got a better track record? No, because you cannot guarantee qualification without properly without eating crusty professional jury ass first. You’re not better at reaching a Eurovision Grand Final than Ukraine, Sweden. Remember that.

See this country? It’s called Portugal. Portugal are the one of the few countries to have never sent songs with English as the primary language to Eurovision. They have proudly stuck with their native language even though it sounds like drunk Spanish. You know why you aren’t signing in your native language, Sweden? because you have no guts and let’s face it, no glory, that’s fucking why. Also your language sounds like Norwegian with a mouthfull of surstr��mming. You’re not better at native languages than Portugal, Sweden. Remember that.

See this country? It’s called Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a microstate that everyone wants to see back in the contest. Does anyone get excited when you return to the contest? No because they know you’ll get an underserved top five hand-fed to you, no matter what generic gobshite you’re sending. You’re worse at generating buzz than Luxembourg, Sweden. Remember that.

See this country? It’s called Norway. Norway’s last three entries have scored more televote points than yours have. You know why? Because their entries speak to people and are entertainment. Your entries only speak to people with boring taste and no friends (Denmark). Which is why you will never find or be repped by a KEiiNO. You’re not better at fun than Norway, Sweden, remember that.

See this country? it’s called Ireland. They.... okay, they aren’t better than you. I’ll be honest, Ireland is just a worthless, flavourless slice of slock in Eurovision. They’re flavourless, bland, completely without taste or texture. They’re the iceberg lettuce of this world. It’s a shock they won so many times, but I guess that’s anglophone privilege for you. Still, they have won Eurovision 7 times. Have you won Eurovision seven times, Sweden? Nuh uh, not that, peace! Remember that ;)

Now that Sweden has been properly humbled, it is time move on to the Loreen write up:

“Euphoria” is an everlasting piece of art and everyone who thinks otherwise needs a therapist.

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37. Bojana Stamenov - “Beauty never lies” Serbia 2015

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FINALLY I CAN SAY, THIS SONG IS FANTASTIC AND IT’S... fucking more than “okay”. Bojana is a FORCE OF NATURE.

It is therefore UTTERLY baffling to me that so many jurors ranked this song LAST??? Like,

a of all, look at how the crowd POPS at the key change, that’s as much an objective parametre of quality if ever there was.

B of all, I legit do not understand watching 2015 (a rather mediocre year of Eurovision) and thinking that Serbia is the worst, over, say... Bogus?? Because Bojana is a Goddess while Boggie is boring cunt and Goddesses > Boring cunts.

The jural dislike is even more baffling considering that “Beauty never lies” is a touching and deep exploration of overcoming self-loathing, I rant about meaningitis a lot, but one of the BEST ideas Serbia had was to revamp “Ceo svet je moi” into a body-positivity anthem because that theme + Bojana is a match made in Euroheaven. “Beauty never lies” starts off captivating, a gripping narrative about self-loathing with hints of avant garde artistry. It also has some of the best lyrics found in any Eurovision song. “Finally I can say-” is forever, but “beneath this veil of skin my heart’s entangled in, beauty’s embodied” is pure poetry. Excellent, just excellent.

and then, after a full minute of build-up and completely without warning "Beauty never lies” transforms into... a SHAMELESS CAMPY SCHLAGER MASTERPIECE 😍

This has to be one of the best key changes in Eurovision, right? As “Beauty never lies” starts off sentimental and contemplentative, it suddenly blossoms into an unapolegetic bop that completely DIS-MAN-TLES body-shaming in one fell swoop. Songs like these make me feel ALIVE and proud of being Eurovision fanboy. Thank you for your wise lesson Bojana, you stunner you. Signed with sincerity, BorisBubbles.

This will come as no surprise but she was also the highest Serbian entry on this list, which means it’s also recap time:

Statistics never lie, Serbia was pretty good in this decade. I rarely care for their entries with the intensity that I did for Bojana, but they are also consistently inoffensive. It it what you can expect for a small country bursting with musical talent (and Zheljko Joksimovic).

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36. Giorgos Alkaios & Friends - “OPA!” Greece 2010

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OPA!

I cannot let anyone with that haircut reach my top 35 in good conscience ,but jesus what a FIRECRACKER! I think the general apathy towards 2010 comes from the general lack of ENERGETIC bangers, but between “OPA!” (caps and exclamation point are mandatory) and “Allez Ola Olé”, I don’t think anyone can complain. This song is an EXPLOSION.

Much like how “Dancing in the rain” was a showcase of Spain’s greatest talent, so is “OPA!” an excellent calling card for Greece’s Eurovision prowess: they excel at drunken party anthems. “OPA!” is a bangin’ bacchanal, punctuating every sentence with kickass virile energy, examples of which include ejaculating drums:

Electro-Fiddle solo’s <3

and hammy nokia noises <3 (attempted pandering to the hosts and getting the country wrong <3333333)

This song and “Alcohol is free” were the final times where Greece excelled at high voltage fun (there’s also “Rise up” I guess but lol @ that). GET IT TOGETHER GREECE, but I guess I’ll elaborate further once it’s Koza Mostra’s turn to be judged, juried and executed.

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#Eurovision #Eurovision Song Contest #Maja Keuc #No One #Slovenia #Elina Nechayeva #La Forza #Sweden #Loreen #Euphoria #Serbia #Estonia #Bojana Stamenov #Beauty never lies #Giorgos Alkaios #Giorgos Alkaois' friends #OPA

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mmead2113 · 5 years ago

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*** Tumblr 1: Rhetoric and Narratives***

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In this entry, I will examine these critical questions: What central narrative(s) does this artifact tell through its rhetorical elements? In doing so, what values does it promote or ignore (who does it include and exclude)? In which ways is this narrative (ethically) productive for society, in which ways is it limiting, and is it more productive or limiting?

To investigate these questions, I examined Taika Waititi’s 2019 movie Jojo Rabbit as my rhetorical artifact. Through strong character development and a unique view of the human condition, Jojo Rabbit creates a central narrative that nobody is innately evil, and that hate is taught through society (and thus can be untaught). Overall the narrative is productive because it ethically demonstrates how togetherness can overcome hate even in the worst of situations.

Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi) is a film adaptation of the book Caging Skies (Christine Leunens) that depicts the life of a young boy – named Jojo Betzler – in the Hitler Youth during the 1940’s. The movie covers Jojo’s life from the mid-war era to the liberation of his German town following the collapse of the Third Reich. In the beginning, Jojo is completely swept up in the Nazi fanaticism, and even has an imaginary Hitler friend (but it is how his 10-year-old mind envisions Hitler, not actual Hitler). After getting injured during a Hitler Youth camp excursion, Jojo is sent back to his hometown where he eventually discovers a young Jewish girl named Elsa living in secret in his home under the protection of his mother. Faced with a dilemma that challenges everything Jojo was raised to believe under the Nazi rule, his character undergoes great moral changes to eventually realize that Jews are just like him; and that they are not the horrifying monsters that his upbringing taught him to see them as. Thus, the film ends with Jojo and Elsa becoming great friends by the time their town is liberated by Allied forces.

One way the narrative that “hatred is taught” is prevalent in Jojo Rabbit is in the movie’s opening sequence, where Jojo is attending a week-long camp in the mountains for the Hitler Youth. At this camp, young boys undergo daily activities that are reminiscent of modern Boy Scout camps, such as basic survival skills and group activities in the outdoors. However, they also participate (in a satirically funny manner) in Nazi-centered fanaticism drills to mold their minds into a certain way of thinking. These drills include how to make a swastika stance with their bodies, a group-think session where they all contribute to a drawing of what a Jew is in their minds, and they cap off each night with a book burning rather than a typical campfire. The Jew drawing scene especially encapsulates the narrative that hatred is taught, as in this scene one Hitler youth child shouts out “Add fangs!” followed by another stating “And a serpent’s tongue!” The drawing is then completed when a young girl says “Scales!” to which the Nazi woman doing the drawing and leading the session replies, “Ya! Scales, because once upon a time a Jewish man mated with a fish. The Arians are 1000 times more civilized and advanced than any other race.” This statement is then met with great excitement among the children, as it emphasizes beliefs that they have already had beaten into their minds by the society that’s raised them. These ideas are all they know, and thus affirmation of their opinions only strengthens the hatred they have for these people in their minds. This scene is a shining example of the narrative that “hatred can be taught” since it features hatred, quite literally, being taught, and all the children clearly taking it in. It is through this unique view into the human condition – and what life may have been like growing up in Germany in the 1940’s (satirically) – that we are first introduced to the movie’s central narrative.

Another way the narrative is evident is when Jojo first encounters Elsa, a Jewish girl living in secret in his home under the protection of his mother. Up until this point, Jojo is a fanatic, 10-year old Nazi who believes in the power of the Third Reich not because he chooses to, but because he has never been exposed to another way of thinking in his life. When he meets Elsa, he is equally terrified and dumbfounded. He’s confronted by his worst fear: a Jew. However, she’s not this fishy, fanged monster that he always pictured. Instead, she is a completely normal girl, whom he actually has a crush on. His instincts kick in at first, and he reacts in the only way he’s been taught: by attempting to assert dominance since he has been raised to believe that he (of Arian race) is far better than Elsa. Jojo says, “You are weak, like an eyelash. I am born of Arian ancestry. My blood is the color of a pure red rose, and my eyes are blue…” This line is representative of the social truths that Jojo has been taught to accept. As explained by Palczewski, Ice and Fritch (2012), social truth is a set of “…beliefs and values that do not refer to some objective reality, but to social reality – those beliefs about what is right that people have arrived at together.” Jojo’s social truths from the Nazi society have taught him hatred, and he has accepted (and embraced) that up to this point, emphasizing the central narrative.

With this central narrative comes the idea that hatred can also be untaught. After what Jojo says to Elsa, she reacts by wrestling and pinning him, saying, “Break free great Arian. There are no weak Jews. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who cannot even grow a full mustache.” Here, Jojo is taught the lesson that he is indeed not the strongest person and that he clearly has no power of Elsa, despite what he was raised to believe. This is the beginning of his moral growth as a character, and through his character development, the central narrative is completely brought to bear. Jojo’s character is the foil through which we see how hatred is imbued in someone, but it is also through Jojo that we see how hatred can be removed and replaced with a sense of togetherness and love, as by the end of the film, Elsa is his greatest friend.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to this narrative, though there are mostly advantages. One advantage is that the message is incredibly positive and lacks in any negative meaning. It is one that states that hatefulness can be addressed and resolved, a much more positive outlook than simply believing that hate is innate and cannot be changed. Therefore, ethically this message is incredibly productive for society as it encourages proper moral developments, especially with the young. It is hard to find any disadvantages of this narrative. One disadvantage could be that by believing hatred is only taught, society is seen to be completely to blame for all wrongs committed by an individual: not the individual themselves. In other words, the narrative is almost giving excuses for those that act morally/ethically incorrectly. This disadvantage is certainly not very strong though and is hardly even a disadvantage, and as such it does not affect the overall positivity and importance of the central narrative.

Igartua and Barrios further explain how narratives can directly influence societal behavior by discussing how narratives in the film “Camino” (Fesser, 2008) caused an empirical change in the audience’s views on Opus Dei and religion. They tested this by – in simple terms – asking participants in the study to fill out questionnaires both before and after the testing. These questionnaires determined their overall connection to the main character of “Camino,” as well as their feelings towards Opus Dei and religion (and they attempted to determine how involved in the narratives each participant was likely to be). The results empirically demonstrated that narratives in film can directly affect the audience’s opinions on the subject matter, as the participants were found to have more hatred towards Opus Dei and religion after the film; a belief that aligned with the central narrative of the movie. This furthers the impact of films like Jojo Rabbit, which have messages intended to change the audience’s thoughts on certain topics. In fact, Jojo Rabbit closes with a quote clearly stating the message the director wanted to tell the audience: “Go to the limits of your longing. Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” Whether or not the film does successfully change the audience depends on each individual, but Jojo Rabbit’s unique view into the human condition with what life would be like as a child in such a tough environment truly does try to reach out to the audience and deliver its central narrative on a personal level: something that is possible as shown by Igartua and Barrios in their study.

In summary, Jojo Rabbit’s phenomenal character arc and moral development with Jojo – along with the unique view into a radically different society from a child’s perspective – allows the film’s central narrative that “hate” is something that is taught (and can therefore be “untaught”) to be delivered effectively to the audience; enabling them to potentially embrace the ideals the films puts forth and directly influence modern societal truths.

Igartua, Juan-José, and Isabel Barrios. “Changing Real-World Beliefs With Controversial Movies: Processes and Mechanisms of Narrative Persuasion.” Journal of Communication, vol. 62, no. 3, June 2012, pp. 514–531., doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01640.x.

Palczewski, C. H., Ice, R., Fritch, J. (2012). Narratives. In Rhetoric in Civic Life (pp. 117- 146). State College, PA: Strata Publishing, Inc.

Jojo Rabbit. Dir. Taika Waititi. Searchlight Pictures, November 2019. Film.

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redefinethegrind · 6 years ago

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Synchronicities and Reality

Throughout my life I have encountered events, people, and objects which all of which seem to be perfectly placed in my timeline. Carl Jung first labeled these meaningful coincidences as synchronicities. As a science minded person, I was at first reluctant to believe that anything in my life held significance. I had no real evidence and therefore no real reason to have belief. Until the end of 2017 I would have considered myself at most agnostic, but I was leaning more toward the beliefs of an atheist.

This all changed when I began taking care of myself and truly nurturing my body and mind. I had countless times recommended pseudo healthy diet and exercise regimens to my patients because that is what a text book told me to do. Of course, the text books I was reading seemed more concerned with prescribing medications than they did lifestyle changes. My time spent practicing was therefore mostly spent prescribing and refilling medications. As my personal experience with healthy lifestyle became more intimate I began to truly see the benefits that I had read about were a reality.

My mind wondered what are these synchronicities and what could they mean? In a universe that I once believed to be random and full pleasant accidents so to speak, I never gave coincidence much though. As my mind woke up from a depressed state of semi-slumber, I was able to more clearly identify patterns in my environment. The golden ratio became more meaningful to me and I began to research phi in nature. This lead me to emergence theory and researching reality as a culmination of energy in the form of Gosset Polytopes to construct the proposed E-8 lattice, an 8-dimensional space that theoretically represents our current state. Interestingly, when the Gosset Polytope is projected to 4-dimensional space it creates 2 identical shapes of different sizes. These two shapes differ in size by the golden ratio. That is dividing the larger shape by the smaller shape gives a solution of phi.

There is something about Phi which is deeply engrained into our reality. Our eyes, for instance, are quick to notice beauty when a face or a building is developed around phi. The further from the golden ratio a person’s facial symmetry strays the less attractive it inherently appears. Phi is our internal compass, always pointing to beauty. Nature constructs many biological components in the golden ratio. From snail shells to pinecones phi is ever present.

I began noticing the golden ratio around me and tuning into patterns in my environment after I became mentally clear. Remaining cognizant was reason enough to keep nurturing my body and mind. I had other reasons for eating vegan, but this was a huge benefit. I was able to not only pick up on the golden ratio in my environment, I could see other patterns clearly emerging. It was easy to pick up on things which were out of place. It was also easy to pick up on things that were too perfectly placed. I don’t have a great way to explain this, but I can give some examples.

First, I was home after a long day at work and decided to take a nap. It was at a point in my life when I was feeling very positive and finally over my depression. I was eating well and working out. I had been getting tattoos on my right arm to remind me to stay positive and was seeking something to fit in to the back of my upper arm but couldn’t decide on anything in particular. I came home from work tired and flopped into bed. My dream state has always fascinated me, and I take my dream world seriously as it is a part of my mind. During this particular nap my dream focused on an all-black surrounding. Just as I prepared for sleep paralysis a beautiful and wispy red peacock feather emerged crystal clear. I stared at it, entranced by its beauty and clarity. I could see every detail and was stunned with natures beauty. Then I woke up. I rolled over and was about to return to sleep but decided to look into this experience and to document it in my dream journal.

I grabbed my iphone and google searched red feather meaning. The first entry that came up stated: “a red feather represents vitality, the life force, physical energy and strength, passion, power and courage. If you encounter a red feather it may be a sign that you are becoming stronger or getting your strength back after a health issue.” This spoke to me as I was finally getting my life together. I immediately booked an appointment and had a red feather tattooed on my arm. It fit perfectly into the void that I was wanting to fill. This red feather to me was a sign that I was on the right path. I had no reason to dream of it.

I dreamt of that red feather coming off of the end of a case that broke my heart. I had lost a family member who was a patient of mine. I had a premonition that she was going to pass and that there was nothing I could do about it. This turned out to be true. I was beating myself up over that case. I felt like there must have surly been something I could have done to intervein. The red feather told me otherwise. It was a symbol that I was on the right path. That I was gaining strength and understanding. That there are some things out of my control regardless of how much I put into them. I had to be willing to accept that, and the red feather helped me. This may be a simple symbol in my life and not a synchronicity, but it forever changed me.

Synchronicities began to barrage me during my period of ascension. I met a woman who had so many experiences in common with me that I couldn’t look away. I fell madly in love with her and combed through her consciousness to find meaning in this reality. We shared interests, we finished each other’s sentences, and we seemingly experienced the same childhood with different charlatans playing the roles of friends and family. It was overwhelming to me. I dove in head first.

Is it simply a coincidence when you are thinking about someone you haven’t seen in years and your phone rings and you hear that very person’s voice? Is it a coincidence that a series of mundane events culminated to get us right here right now? It all plays out as happenstance yet the deliberate nature of some of this life is too eerie to ignore. Red feathers fall into our laps. People emerge from the background at just the right time in just the right place.

It all seems so calculated. I cannot enter the public forum without running into familiar faces or being drawn to look at certain objects. This reality appears to be a very planned out construct devised to give subjects some sense of understanding or an education or sorts. I am experiencing this reality a piece at a time. I must now work toward phase two, that is experiencing this reality for what it is with another sentient being. I believe that is what this culmination has been for, to lead me to my other half. To complete the puzzle for this leg of the race.

#jung #synchronicity #reality #conciousness #dream #void #e-8 #emergence #cognition

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cupcakesandmisandry · 6 years ago

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My speech at FILIA 2018:

“#MeToo and the fall of idols: about the beginning of the end of impunity for criminal artists.”

©Lise Bouvet 2018

“So my name is Lise Bouvet, as you can hear I am French, I am a philosopher, a political scientist and a feminist author. I am also a voluntary translator for the abolitionist collective “Ressources Prostitution“. I am very honoured to speak at FILIA today and I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the wonderful team of women whose remarkable work allows us to be here together today. I have been a feminist activist for over 20 years now, and I know – almost painfully – to what extent the women’s movement depends on women’s time, on women’s labour, in joy as in sorrow. For so much love and dedication, I am endlessly grateful.

This year, my first book has been published, on the impunity enjoyed by powerful men, whether artists or politicians, notably pedo-criminal filmmaker Roman Polanski. It is called Untouchables: people, justice and impunity, and is co-written with lawyer Yael Mellul. Today I would like to share with you my thoughts about this impunity of criminal artists, especially filmmakers, which the #MeToo movement has begun to put an end to, especially because it started at the heart of the film industry, with the denouncing of a major Hollywood producer.

How and why pedo-criminals such as Woody Allen or Roman Polanski have been praised worldwide and almost washed of their crimes for nearly half a century? In the name of what? How does this way of thinking work? On what sociocultural mechanisms is this defence based? I will try to deconstruct the arguments put forward by the unconditional worshippers of these filmmakers.

Let’s start at the beginning by analyzing what Allen and Polanski’s defenders are telling us. They are basically telling us that these men are not litigants like the others, nor really men like the others, because they are accomplished authors. According to them, one cannot really judge these men because they are great artists, because they have created an extraordinary work. First, there is a suspicious logical connection between their talent (which is undeniable) and its relationship to the criminal justice system. Listening to Polanski’s defenders, especially in France where the film industry is very elitist and authorist, one would almost believe that he is a unique being, in short, that one cannot do without him and that it is out of the question that we could consider him losing a day of his precious life in prison.

But who gets to decide about this extraordinary social utility? Let’s take an example: in the middle of winter, when we are cold, and our heater breaks down, who can do without a good plumber? We would surely be very angry if our excellent plumber went to prison for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in the middle of winter, but the law is so made in a democracy that even exceptional and indispensable professionals are, like all other citizens, liable to the same penalties for the same crimes. Nevertheless, let us try to go further in this comparison. Polanski’s defenders would oppose us, that indeed it would be unfortunate that our highly competent heating engineer were imprisoned in the middle of winter at the time of our heater’s breakdown when it is very cold, but that, certainly even with difficulty, we would be able to find another competent professional, while nobody else in the world makes films like Roman Polanski or Woody Allen.

Thus, they make a point: indeed, one can say that the particularity of the artist, and of a gifted filmmaker, is that, unlike the shoemaker or the baker, he produces a unique work. In our capitalist and industrial society, the artist is considered exceptional because he creates something non-reproducible and out of fixed market value, an object in total contradiction with all the others, which would be likely to give him an almost sacred status. We must therefore examine the underlying link between the work of art’s status and that of the artist.

In a fascinating essay (1), “From the humanization of divine creation to the divinization of human creation.” (De l’humanisation de la création divine à la divinisation de la création humaine), art historian Lucile Roche brilliantly analyses this theme of the god-artist in modern aesthetic theory in the West. She writes: ‘’It is then in its distance from the divine model in favour of a refocusing on the artist, subjected only to the whim of his views and teleological requirements, and focused on his own creative abilities – originality, imagination – that the analogy Artist-God and God-Artist closes. An inexhaustible creativity source of which he is the sole source, the romantic artist is part of the divine (with whom he shares the ex-nihilo) without submitting to it. In his humanity, the artist is then, paradoxically, deified.’’ It’s all said and done: the die-hard defenders of authors such as Allen and Polanski are caught up in an outdated social representation that carries a deeply romantic vision of the artist, which will be illustrated by this sentence from Victor Hugo: “Art is to man what nature is to God”. If these men are at the gods’ level then they escape the justice of men, here is the fundamental unthought of the defenders of Polanski, Woody Allen and other criminal artists, not only guardians of their social castes and its corollaries impunities (impunity of men and the powerful), but especially, according to us, bogged down in outdated conceptions of art, which are put at the service of this impunity.

In a recent interview, the art theorist Carole Talon-Hugon (2) shed light on these unthoughts around the artist: “A rape committed by an anonymous person and a rape committed by an artist are both the same thing – because the crime is just as reprehensible – and not the same thing. Because he is an example, the artist enjoys a special status in society. At least since the 18th century. At that time, we were starting to consider art as a separate field, totally distinct, subject only to the rule of beauty and independent from the question of good. Thus, for Diderot “there is a moral proper to artists that can be in reverse of the usual moral”. This idea can be found in Oscar Wilde’s (19th century) or André Breton’s work (20th century). The artist then becomes a “wild and singular individuality, in rupture, in opposition and totally independent of ordinary morality”. This image, built over more than 200 years, prevents us from facing the reality of these assaults. It is here that the emperor appears naked: in profound contradiction with our democratic values, artists have become the new aristocracy above the laws. By consecrating some to the detriment of others, the community of citizens is abdicated, and it is said that there are values superior to human life. Our role as feminists is to perpetuate the effects of what was initiated by #MeToo, that set in motion a healthy social movement to get rid of these rotten idols, including by taking on the desecration of art and artists. Basically, it is time to stop giving into confusions that only serve sex offenders whom profession is to be artists. It is not because, for a few centuries in the West, art has been thought and affirmed as a distinct and independent domain, notably of society, that this autonomy grants a particular political status to artists. Moreover, this aestheticism has been challenged by many 20th century artists such as the communist play righter B. Brecht and especially women and feminist artists of the Second Wave. Thus, not only is it more than debatable that art can claim to exist outside any social or political sphere, but even so, what could apply to works of art does not logically concern artists at all, especially those who use their work or their talent to guarantee themselves criminal impunity. The art world may pretend to escape morality, good for it, but in no way can artists use it to escape the law and the justice system.

We now understand that the underlying thesis of “Polanski’s friends” is that this man’s exceptional talent should be able to transcribe itself into an exceptional derogatory political status. It will be noted with irony that these people often claim to be left-wing, while carrying a feudal vision of a society where the talent and status of some would grant them special rights over others and their bodies, let alone minors. This position is all the more fragile when one understands that the requests for exceptionality of treatment for the filmmaker Roman Polanski are based on conceptions discussed as debatable art theories. And after all, Polanski’s or Woody Allen’s friends have a right to hold on to a particular theory that we do not share. What is indisputable, however, is that we live in a political system in which artists, however gifted they may be, are citizens and citizens like the others. We hear that Polanski’s fans cannot do without the pleasures that his talent brings them. However, only the judiciary as an independent institution can say whether Roman Polanski should spend another day in prison. And from the moment he has fled the legitimate court about to try him and we are asked for our assent and our audience, it is our right, as the public, to grant it or refuse it. Roman Polanski has the strict right to do what he wants, since he is free in Europe, but from the moment he makes movies that the public is invited to see, it is necessary to accept that this public, or a part of it, refuses. The great unthought also present here is that the public is us. It is us who are asked to go see and applaud the Polanski or Woody Allen films. However, no one has to follow any injunction to remain silent or forget that a man praised to the skies is also a man who admitted to having drugged and then raped a young teenage girl, and who is accused of similar acts by other women. The impunity of these men rests largely on a conception not only of the demiurge artist, but of a passive and docile public in its reception of this sacred work, and as if, not by chance, these qualities cover the values traditionally associated with the masculine and the feminine… We see here that we are basically in a religious and reactionary way of thinking, paradoxically carried by “leftists”.

Another element of defence heard ad nauseam is the injunction to separate “the man” from “the artist”. But it is precisely because the “man” and the “artist” are one and the same person that we are constantly being ordered to separate them. But how is that possible? By what miracle? To “save” who or what? Creation is a complex and highly personal act: when Polanski starts directing, there is not another Polanski who arrives to make films and then leaves to make room for “the man”, it is completely absurd. This irrational injunction of separation is a blind spot of thought, a dead angle, that in my opinion rests on a social taboo induced by an archaic conception of artistic creation. The presupposition here is “Kalos Kagathos”, our pillar of Greek thought according to which Good and Beautiful are inseparably linked, which prevents us from imagining that one can be both a sex offender and a great artist. But art has long since become amoral in our contemporary societies and artistic creation is by no means antithetic to perverse activities (3). Further still, when the artist is a famous and powerful man, his very function as “director” places him even more in a position of power and predation over actresses who owe him everything (4). If we were to go to the end of this reasoning which consists in wanting to separate things, it would rather be the art that would detach itself from the artist, as Roland Barthes and structuralist thought suggest: “once his work is finished, the author is no longer bound to it. The art work exists by itself. (5)”. It is therefore urgent to leave creation, art and talent where they are, for what they are, that is to say, something other than a system for defending sex offenders. Just as the crimes committed by an artist do not detract from the quality of his work, so this work, in the name of his existence, does not confer any derogatory status to the artist, who, like any citizen, is subject to common law.

We can hear Polanski’s worshippers’ screams: ‘’but then, what is left of these wonderful films?’’

To add insult to injury, Chinatown, for example, is a film about incest and rape… We are here perhaps touching one of the greatest social injustice and the greatest male privilege: these men, not only rape with impunity, but then, of these rapes, make masterpieces, acclaimed, awarded and applauded. And, forever, it is the rapist’s masterpieces that will remain engraved in art history, while, dust, the devastated life of the victims will return to dust. This brings us to an important point about these directors’ movies, particularly pedo-criminals. Among the injunctions against us, there is the corollary prohibition not to judge the movies of the man whom we are urged not to condemn (particularly in France as denounced by the film critic Paul Rigouste (6). Yet, feminist critique has developed as an autonomous and academic theoretical field for a long time, including in France, thanks to Geneviève Sellier’s work. And of course, what grieves our devoted fans is that we can conduct a feminist film criticism of these men’s work. For example, an attentive viewing of Woody Allen’s films allows to notice his pedophile obsession for very young girls, just as it seems to me that Polanski faces very personal problems of crime and guilt in his work, and this, in an almost systematic way. By definition, the process of thinking and analysis cannot be limited, criticism must address art as a whole and it seems both implausible and counterproductive to limit the field of cinematographic studies by prohibitions under penalty of ‘’lèse genius’’. We must denounce this double injunction on which these criminals’ defense is based: not only would the judicial institution have no say under the pretext that they are artists, but their work would be immune from any reading in connection to their crimes, a reading which nevertheless seems to me very interesting from an art theory point of view. We have here the incredible opportunity to analyze the work of criminals who precisely do not hesitate to create from their own crime, so in the name of what would we deprive ourselves from this research? We must go frontally against the popular opinion: Not only can we not separate the man from the artist, as we have just seen, but it is specifically relevant here to link the artist to his crimes in order to study his work from his criminal activity, without of course reducing it.

Another very important point on this subject was raised in a stimulating article in the New York Times. Journalist Amanda Hess (7) suggests that to all the clichés’ users defending rapist artists and to the incantations to distinguish them from their works, one can object by referring to the existing relation between the artist and the industry which produces it, what seems particularly relevant for cinema which is indissociably an art and an industry. She rightly notes that the Hollywood machine’s artistic alibi has deprived itself of all the human resource infrastructure present in other major North American corporations, including sexual harassment laws enforcement, and thus allowed Weinstein to prosper with impunity. She adds that our habit to treat artists as creators transcending all materiality instead of ordinary economic agents protects them from the basic requirements of labour law, also making us forget that, as for any industrial product, movies are also consumption objects, made in specific conditions, the suffering and sexual assault of actresses being part of them. Finally, and as others did during the Weinstein scandal, instead of focusing on the now “soiled” art by their creators, we can also mourn all the talents that were destroyed by these attacking artists. The victims of Weinstein, Louis CK or others never saw their creativity blossom, never had the leisure to create their art (8). Perhaps we should ask ourselves about these shortcomings, too.

Another aspect that also seems important to me and needs to be considered in the analysis of these speeches defending criminal filmmakers, is the phenomenon of the wide public’s fascination for these abusers. Fascination rapists use to assert their defense, which of course can only benefit from confused feelings that must be deconstructed.

In La Photographie, art theorist André Rouillé makes a remarkable analysis of what a “star” is in our contemporary societies. Star in English means an object that shines, even in the night, and by extension the image of this aura that rests on the media exposure, which is also an optical exposure machine. The stars are apart beings, beings of light, glittering, illuminated in reality by the celebrity machine which, according to us, works on a fundamental ambivalence: these people are familiar to us, they look like us, but they are different, they live in a higher social sphere that arouses fear and respect. This situation of multiple levels of reflections allows movements of identification-evasion, a confusing but rewarding phenomenon, and above all, deeply dual. The public is caught in contradictory positions: men in a patriarchal context are tempted to identify with the famous and powerful accused, as the feminist philosopher Michela Marzano rightly notes, and women are trapped in several conflicts of allegiance. Who among us didn’t grow up laughing at Woody Allen movies or Bill Cosby shows? Who didn’t like Polanski’s movies or Morgan Freeman’s performances? They are familiar to us, they remind us of good memories, they are figures of attachment who have our a priori sympathy more than anonymous victims who, by their denunciations, are breaking these positive feelings. Let us be reminded here of what we now know about our social reflexes in the face of these denunciations. Researcher Judith Herman warns us that “it is very tempting to take the perpetrator’s side. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering.”

We can observe it in each of us in these specific cases: there is a conflict between the citizen and the spectator. The citizen condemns the artist’s crimes, but the viewer wants to continue enjoying the criminal artist’s work. Because we loved these creations, because they are now part of our life, of our culture. Because the work of art is considered unique and its author is worshipped, because creators are the new gods of our secularized society. This resistance around the artist is certainly due to a powerful impregnation of art conceptions from the last centuries and contemporary neoliberal myths; the artist in capitalist mythology embodies at once the exceptional individual, freedom, transgression, moral exception, and a form of archaic sacred.

The only counterweight to these confusions enabling this untouchability of criminal men, the only authentic democratic force, is feminism. Only the feminist analysis of male domination in its functioning makes it possible to dismantle these hypnosis effects in order to demand strict equality of treatment between citizens. The main feature of the rapist’s discourse is the inverted presentation of reality; the feminist argument opposes it with a materialistic analysis in terms of revealed power relations, associated with a return to the world in an egalitarian order.

I will close this presentation, in which I have tried to face up to the arguments of the criminal filmmakers’ defenders, who, in my opinion, divert certain aesthetic concepts and take art both as an alibi and as a hostage. My conclusion here is that art and artistic creation have more to offer to the world than a system of defending pedo-criminal rapists.

I will leave you on a personal note: Like all of us I was not always a feminist. As a teenager, I passionately loved Woody Allen’s or Roman Polanski’s films and today the question of their re-viewing arises. I am at the front line to experience this conflict between the citizen and the viewer that I have analyzed, and in my case, it is a conflict between being an assiduous cinephile and an equally demanding feminist activist. A sister once told me that she had decided to no longer impose the works of rapists on herself, particularly because, as a survivor, she analyses them as elaborate perverse devices, which double the effects of hypnosis and confusion that I have mentioned. Adverse effects according to her, because women are once again ordered to remain passive, to dissociate themselves, to anaesthetize themselves as female spectators in order to escape yet another annihilation, thus reproducing the most fundamental patriarchal violence. I recognize that this is a very fair view and a consistent as coherent feminist position. I must admit that, for many years now t, I haven’t been able to watch any of these movies again, whose DVDs take dust on my living room shelves…

Thank you so much for listening to me!”

Lucile Roche, « De l’humanisation de la création divine à la divinisation de la création humaine », Academia, http://www.academia.edu/6710025/Dieu_crea_l_artiste_a_son_image_Le_theme_du_Dieu-artiste_dans_la_theorie_artistique_moderne_XVe-XVIIIe_siecle_

Marie-Adélaïde Scigacz, « Pourquoi les scandales sexuels à Hollywood bouleversent-ils notre relation aux artistes et à leurs œuvres? », France Info, le 14/11/2017 http://mobile.francetvinfo.fr/societe/harcelement-sexuel/pourquoi-les-scandales-sexuels-a hollywood-bouleversent-notre-relation-auxartistes- et-a-leurs-oeuvres_2461788.amp

On this topic see the excellent work, under Joyce McDougall’s direction: ‘’The artist and the psychoanalyst’’. Presses Universitaires de France, 2008.

In an interview given to Le Monde on 10/23/2017, Juliette Binoche analysed clearly these power relations: “Women are easily mocked, ridiculed, we need to reduce them”. http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2017/10/23/juliette-binoche-deuxou-trois-choses-que-je-sais-d-harvey-weinstein_

Roland Barthes (1967), La mort de l’auteur. Aspen Magazine.

Paul Rigouste, ‘’The Ghost Writer (2010: Polanski and the French critic’’. Le Cinéma est Politique, January 10, 2013. http://www.lecinemaestpolitique.fr/the-ghost-writer-2010-polanski-et-la-critique-francaise/

Amanda Hess, ‘’How the Myth of the Artistic Genius Excuses the Abuse of Women’’. The New York Times, November 10, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/sexual-harassment-art-hollywood.html_r=0&utm_content=buffer9fd04&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Caroline Framke, ‘’Instead of mourning great art tainted by awful men, mourn the work we lost from their victims. Some sexual abusers made great art. Countless more of their victims never got the chance’’. Vox, November 13, 2017. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/13/16637250/sexual-harassmentabuse-art-legacy

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– Speech at FILIA 2018: “#MeToo, #Polanski and the fall of rotten idols.” My speech at FILIA 2018: "#MeToo and the fall of idols: about the beginning of the end of impunity for criminal artists."

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viesolivagant · 6 years ago

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THE DETACHMENT OF THE CONSCIOUSNESS FROM THE OBJECT

By understanding the unconscious we free ourselves from its domination. That is the basis and also the aim of the instructions in our text. The pupil is taught how he must concentrate on the Light of the inmost region, and, at the same time, free himself from all outer and inner bondage. His life-will is guided toward a consciousness without content which none the less permits all contents to exist. The Hui Ming Ching says about this detachment : —

" A halo of Light surrounds the world of the law. We forget each other, quiet and pure, altogether powerful and empty. The emptiness is irradiated by the light of the heart of heaven. The water of the sea is smooth and mirrors the moon in its surface. The clouds dissapear in blue space; the mountains shine clear. Consciousness reverts to contemplation; the moon disk rests alone.'

This description of the state of fulfillment pictures a psychic condition which could perhaps best be characterized as a detachment of consciousness from the world, and a withdrawal of it to an extra-mundane point so to speak. In this way, consciousness is both empty and not empty. It is no longer preoccupied with the. images of things but merely contains them. The fullness of the world which heretofore pressed upon consciousness has lost none of its richness and beauty, but no longer dominates consciousness.

The magical claim of things has ceased because the original interweaving of consciousness with the world has come to an end. The unconscious is not projected any more, and so the primal participation mystique with things is abolished. Therefore, consciousness is no longer preoccupied with compulsive intentions, but turns into contemplative vision, as the Chinese text very aptly says.

How did this effect come about ? (We grant assume of course, that the Chinese author was first of all not a liar ; secondly, that he was of sound mind ; and, thirdly, that he was an extraordinarily intelligent man.) To understand or explain the detachment described in the text our mentality requires a somewhat roundabout approach. There is no use in our mimicking Eastern sensibility; for nothing would be more childish than to wish to aestheticize a psychic condition such as this. This detachment is something I am familiar with in my practice; it is the therapeutic effect par excellence, for which I labour with my students and patients, that is, the dissolution of participation mystique.

With a stroke of genius, Levy-Briihl has laid down the condition he calls participation mystique as the hall-mark of primitive mentality. As described by him it is simply the indefinitely large remnant of non-differentiation between subject and object, still so great among primitives that it cannot fail to strike the European conscious standpoint. In so far as the difference between subject and object does not become conscious, unconscious identity prevails.

The unconscious is then projected into the object, and the object is introjected into the subject, that is to say, psychologized. Plants and animals then behave like men ; men are at the same time themselves and animals also, and everything is alive with ghosts and gods. Naturally, civilized man regards himself as immeasurably above these things. Instead, often he is identified with his affects and prejudices, and shamelessly accuses others of the things he will not see in himself. In a word, even he is afflicted with a remnant of primal unconsciousness, or non-differentiation between subject and object. His mind, nearly as much as much as the primitive's, is full of disturbing contents and he uses just as many apotropaeic charms. He no longer works the magic with medicine bags, amulets, and animal sacrifices, but with nerve remedies, neuroses, 'progress', the cult of the will, and so forth."

But if the unconscious can be recognized as a co-determining quantity along with the conscious, and if we can live in such a way that conscious and unconscious, or instinctive demands, are given recognition as far as possible, the centre of gravity of the total personality shifts its position. It ceases to be in the ego, which is merely the centre of consciousness, and instead is located in a hypothetical point between the conscious and the unconscious, which might be called the self. If such a transposition succeeds, it results in doing away with participation mystique, and a personality develops that suffers only in the lower stories, so to speak, but in the upper stories is singularly detached from painful as well as pleasing events.

The creation and birth of this superior personality is the achievement meant by our text when it speaks of the " holy fruit ", the " diamond body ", or in other ways to an indestructible body. These expressions are psychologically symbolical of an attitude which is out of reach of intense emotional involvement and therefore safe from absolute shock; they symbolize a consciousness detached from the world. I have reasons for believing that this sets in after the middle of life and is actually a natural preparation for death. To the psyche death is just as important as birth and, like it, is an integral part of life. What happens finally to the detached consciousness in the end is a question the psychologist cannot be expected to answer. Whatever theoretical position he assumed, he would hopelessly overstep the boundaries set him by science. He can only point out that the views of our text with respect to the timelessness of the detached consciousness, are in harmony with the religious majority of mankind. A person thinking differently would stand outside the human order in some way, and therefore, would be suffering from a disturbed psychic equilibrium. Thus, as a physician then, I make a great effort to fortify the belief in immortality as far as I can, especially in my older patients to whom such questions are crucial. If viewed correctly in the psychological sense, death is not an end but a goal, and therefore life towards death begins as soon as the meridian is passed.

Chinese yoga philosophy bases itself upon the fact of this instinctive preparation for death as a goal, and, following the analogy with the goal of the first half of life, namely, begetting and reproduction, or the means towards perpetuation of physical life, it takes as the aim of spiritual existence, the begetting and perpetuation of a psychic spirit-body (" subtle body "), which ensures the continuity of the detached consciousness. It is the birth of the pneumatic man, known to the European from antiquity, but which he seeks to produce by quite other symbols and magical practices, by faith and Christian way of life. Here again we stand on a basis quite different from that of the East. Again the text sounds as though it were not very far from Christian ascetic morality, but nothing would be further from the truth than to assume that it is actually dealing with the same thing. Behind our text is a culture thousands of years old, one which has been developed out of, and beyond, primitive instincts, and which, therefore, knows nothing about the brutal morality suited to us as recently civilized, barbaric Teutonic peoples. For this reason, there is lacking to the Chinese that impulse toward violent repression of the instincts which makes our spirituality hysterically exaggerated and poisonous. Whoever lives his instincts can also separate from them, and in just as natural a way as he lived them. Any idea of heroic self-conquest would be entirely foreign to the sense of our text, but it would inevitably amount to that if we followed the Chinese instructions literally.

We must never forget our historical premises. Only a little more than a thousand years ago, we stumbled from the crudest beginnings of polytheism into the midst of a highly developed, oriental religion which lifted the imaginative minds of half-savages to a height which did not correspond to their degree of mental development.

In order to keep to this height in some fashion or other, it was unavoidable that the sphere of the instincts should be thoroughly repressed. Therefore, religious practice and morality took on an outspokenly brutal, almost malicious, character. The repressed elements are naturally not developed, but vegetate further in the unconscious and in their original barbarism. We would like to climb the heights of a philosophical religion, but are, in fact, incapable of it. The best we can do is to grow up to it.

The Amfortas wound and the Faustian conflict in the Germanic man are not yet healed ; his unconscious is still loaded with contents which must first be made conscious before he can be free of them. Recently I received a letter from a former patient which pictures the necessary transformation in simple but expressive words. She writes : " Out of evil, much good has come to me. By keeping quiet, repressing nothing, remaining attentive, and hand in hand with that, by accepting reality — taking things as they are, and not as I wanted them to be — by doing all this, rare knowledge has come to me, and rare powers as well, such as I could never have imagined before. I always thought that, when we accept things, they overpower us in one way or another. Now this is not true at all, and it is only by accepting them that one can define an attitude toward them. So now I intend on playing the game of life, being receptive to whatever comes to me, good and bad, sun and shadow that are for ever shifting, and, in this way, also accepting my own nature with its positive and negative sides. Thus everything becomes more alive to me. What a fool I was ! How I tried to force everything to go according to my idea ! "

Only on the basis of such an attitude, which renounces none of the values won in the course of Christian development, but which, on the contrary, tries with Christian charity and forbearance to accept the humblest things in oneself, will a higher level of consciousness and culture be possible. This attitude is religious in the truest sense, and therefore therapeutic, for all religions are therapies for the sorrows and disorders of the soul.

The development of Western intellect and will has lent us the almost devilish capacity for imitating such an attitude, apparently with success too, despite the protests of the unconscious. But it is only a matter of time when the counter position always forces recognition of itself with an even harsher contrast. A more and more unsafe situation comes about by reason of this crass imitation, and, at any time, can be overthrown by the unconscious. A safe foundation is only found when the instinctive premises of the unconscious win the same recognition as the view-points of the conscious. No one will deceive himself as to the fact that this necessary recognition of the unconscious stands in violent opposition to the Western Christian, and especially to the Protestant, cult of consciousness. Despite the fact that the new is always hostile to the old, a deep desire to understand cannot fail to discover that, without the more serious application of our acquired Christian values, the new can never gain ground.

- Commentary by C. G. Jung on The Secret of the Golden Flower.

#CGjung #The Secret of the Golden Flower #detachment #unconscious #conscious #acceptance

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troismediac-blog · 6 years ago

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Dear Books, Are You Female or Male?

Apparently couple days ago, I was scrolling one of my most social media (re: Twitter) and found something very interesting in Rain Chudori’s account.

For those of you who don’t know, Rain Chudori is an Indonesian writer and she has wrote couple amazing books such as Monsoon Tiger and Other Stories and Imaginary City. She also contributes in movie productions like Rocket Rain and Galih dan Ratna. I have met her couple times in different literature workshops, she is a very kind person, very humble and such an inspirations.

Okay, so here’s what I found:

source: https://twitter.com/rainchu/status/999515595652583424

Interesting, isn’t it? Coming from a woman in our literature world, she must find this very relevant. As a heavy book reader and literature lover myself, I can relate to couple things that are mentioned in the ‘bingo’. Many books that are written by men contained several points that are so bingo I could shout ‘bingo!’ as I am writing this.

Men writers (not all, but most of them) love women so much, at least in their writings. They love women so much they like to picture woman if not as this beautiful, almost perfect creature, physically and sexually tempting -- a very decent woman who is so soft and good-hearted with motherly nature she can take all the blame in the world for her and she usually crying at heart.

All in all, most of them write women as an object (consciously or unconsciously). This why around 1998, after the birth of Ayu Utami’s novel, Saman, Sastra Wangi comes as a new form in literary works, far from the shackles of male authors. Literary works that have been produced by male authors position women as objects and compartmentalize the existence of women in his work. Sastra Wangi positioned women as subjects in literary works that became the first step to end patriarchal values. Thus, Sastra Wangi is formulated as a breakthrough feminism ideology.

It doesn’t mean if a man or woman wants to write about a woman consciously and meaningfully, he has to write his work in Sastra Wangi. I personally think we all have choices. When it comes to art, it’s a very subjective and personal matters. Writers’ artwork are their words, their meanings and their imaginations. Sometimes we write about something unconsciously simply because that is our habitus.

However, the domination of male critics and male writers in the literary world makes it hard for the gender bias, prejudice and social construction to fade out. As an emerging writer myself (contextually; writing in my own laptop and never publish it to anyone), I find this issue very important, especially in the era of media convergence.

We cannot ignore the fact that perhaps the misogyny, gender-based trolling and racism that is happening in our social media can be caused by a bad literature experiences or simply a wrong path of book-choosing that leads some people to their way of thinking. (I mean, if I want to get to know someone better, I would go into their house and see the books in their bookcase. Jk.)

Quoting from Rain Chudori’s tweets about this notion:

“There should be no space for misogyny, however subtle and normalized it is, in our lives. I have seen and experienced first-hand the misogyny, sexism, and gender inequality in the local literary industry across generations. Through methods such as demeaning and patronizing behaviour, harassment in various forms, a pure disdain for our body of work, and preserving our position under the glass ceiling. There is still a large disparity between the amount of men and women who are published, whose works are recognized, who can become a canon figure in the literary landscape. Even with an extensive and impressive body of work, women writers are always dismissed as secondary, and prone to be labeled by male critics eg. Sastra Wangi. I talk about this a lot, and i'm sad and angry, and i do not want misogyny within this industry to grow, and hopefully, i can use the resources and privileges i have to create better conditions for women writers.”

Books are windows of the world, doors to another world. This I agree. Therefore, it is important to choose the right windows for us to see. We are just like Alice, confronted by many doors in The Room of Doors. At the end of the day, it is for us to choose.

#yohanaparida #yohana parida #spik600087

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mrsspidermanmaryjanewatsonparker · 7 years ago

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Can we also please kill the lie that OMD and Sins Past means J. Michael Straczynski run is worse Slott’s?

Can we also please kill the lie that J. Michael Straczynski run is worse Slott’s because of Sins Past and OMD?

Because it’s objectively not true.

I’ve already addressed how it’s really not fair to blame OMD on JMS because it was more Quesada’s story than his.

Sins Past on the flipside is a story that yes JMS SHOULD be blamed for and has major problems but probably not in the ways you think. And as bad as it is there are Slott stories that match or exceed how bad it is and deal as much if not more damage to the Spider-Verse than it.

Let’s first contextualize some things. Sins Past was a story that like OMD had editorial interference. As intended by JMS he wanted the Stacy twins to be the children of PETER and Gwen not NORMAN and Gwen. Much like his original resolution to OMD editorial stepped in and wound up playing damage control, one of the few times I will thank Quesada.

At the same time (unless I am mistaken) editorial also SUGGESTED that Norman be used as a substitute for Peter as opposed to just telling JMS he couldn’t do a story about Gwen’s secret pregnancy.

Then again JMS and editorial figured it wouldn’t matter because even way back in 2004 when Sins Past was being published they knew they were going to do SOMETHING to cosmically retcon Spider-Man’s history and thereby erase the marriage. JMS wrote Sins Past with the presumption that he was going to be able to erase it from existence when all was said and done. This was part of his anger when OMD happened the way it did.

But hey, this doesn’t exactly redeem the story JMS actually wrote right?

It’s still got a lot of problems and is still the worst story under his run that he is genuinely to blame for.

And what are the ways in which the story is bad?

Well:

It turns Peter and Gwen’s relationship into a big fat lie because Peter never knew the ‘real Gwen’. She was lying to him and realistically not going to be acting the way she normally would because she was both pregnant, lying about it and naturally worried. And after the pregnancy she was now a parent which naturally changes your outlook on life…oh and she was still lying about their existence. Peter’s relationship with Gwen was formed during two big extenuating circumstances during which Gwen was unlikely to think, feel or act in ways she ever had before or probably ever would again.

By extension of Gwen’s pregnancy and parenthood now retroactively dominating most of her canonical history WE the audience never really got as good of a picture of who Gwen was a person before she was thrown into this exceptional situation. Which is on the one hand okay because you can say that of countless characters, the problem being that with Gwen the original intention was for that to NOT be the case. Instead of now knowing who Gwen is and how she’d act under certain situations we now only know those things within the context of when she was pregnant/had recently had children and was lying and stressed out over it

Gwen’s pregnancy makes no sense. You have to get ridiculously loose with the actual amount of time that events are supposed to unfold across including when exactly Gwen gave birth. Moreover we were privy to Gwen’s inner thoughts multiple times across her history and got exactly zero indicators that she was dealing with a stressful pregnancy.

This goes well beyond MJ retroactively knowing about Peter’s identity. We didn’t get as good of a look into MJ’s head during the Silver (or even bronze) age and MJ had at least plausible grounds to deny and suppress the truth to herself. If Gwen was fucking PREGNANT that isn’t something that you could as easily say ‘oh she was just suppressing that it was happening behind the scenes’. Not with the degree of access we had to her private life.

More egregiously though Gwen was clearly NOT pregnant. Look at any given image of her from the period she was allegedly pregnant and she is very obviously not showing. Sure, some women do not show when pregnant as a quirk of their or their child’s metabolisms. But they do when it’s fucking TWINS.

The retcon in one way makes Gwen stronger and more admirable as a character for dealing with this huge burden on her own but it also makes her as a person look really, really bad. I’m not talking about sleeping with Norman, or lying about that. I’m talking about expecting Peter to be a father to her children. Okay, maybe that one is forgivable. She’s a young kid in a big stressful situation she is not prepared for at all. But even if you run with that idea…why does she abandon her kids by returning to the United States without them and even risk her own life by going to the fucking SAVAGE LAND when she has two babies in another country relying upon her to return for them?

It gets worse when you consider she had multiple clones all with her memories who also never mentioned or seemed to give a single shit about their CHILDREN. Some of those clones matured further into adulthood than Gwen so there is really no excuse. Even if they argue that those children are not theirs because they’re just clones of their mother, fucking TRY to help them and check up on them. They’re goddam babies!

The story makes no sense for Mary Jane, undermines her relationship with Peter and makes her look really, really bad as well.

Whilst forgivable it is somewhat undermining to Peter and MJ’s relationship that MJ would spend years lying to Peter about Gwen and Norman’s affair and her pregnancy. Although it does speak volumes that Peter forgives her for it relatively quickly.

What’s more irksome about the story is the implication that MJ wonders if Peter loves Gwen more than her when he doesn’t and she does know that. But okay, you can No Prize that one.

What’s NOT forgivable though is how MJ apparently never told ANYONE about this situation. Not Peter, Ben Reilly, Gwen’s clones, Gwen’s extended family whom she was friends with, the police, child services, NOBODY.

Basically MJ in spite of knowing that there were two children out there in another country who were now orphans didn’t even try to look in on them or put someone else onto doing that.

She just ignored them. In doing so she condemned them to be raised by their abusive father Norman Osborn. MJ didn’t even tell her best friend Jill Stacy about Gwen’s children when Norman revealed he was still alive in the 90s. Wouldn’t she have PRESUMED Norman would have found those kids?

MJ let two innocent children out to dry because of this retcon.

The story straight up rewrites history because it takes panels from ASM #121 and depicts them with different dialogue and body language that never happened but needs to exist to facilitate the retcons

The story does not adequately justify Gwen’s attraction towards Norman or even explain when exactly it happened

And yet in spite of all this you know Sins Past up until the big reveal was actually a really, really good story. The mystery was gripping and the subject matter highly appropriate to Spider-Man. Mostly good dialogue as always by JMS and beautiful artwork by Deodato Junior.

Those are the big problems with Sins Past. Notice something? I didn’t mention Gwen and Norman sleeping together or Gwen cheating on Peter.

Wanna know why?

Because they’re not what’s wrong with the story.

Gwen was established as being attracted to older men way back in the 1990s and it is far from unrealistic for her and Norman to make a mutual mistake and sleep together.

It’s pure soap opera and that’s very much in line with Spider-Man. It isn’t spinning the relationship positively and encouraging other 19 year olds to sleep with men old enough to be their fathers who are also actual friends of their father and also the parent of one of their friends whom they had dated recently. The opposite is true if anything considering how Norman is clearly framed as utterly evil and despicable and Gwen as someone who made a big, stupid but common and human mistake.

As for Gwen cheating on Peter I guess that depends upon your definition of cheating but by my standing that would require her and Peter to actually BE in a relationship of some kind.

At the time Gwen canonically is supposed to have slept with Norman they were not. They’d been on one or two dates and that was it. They were not a couple and were not going steady or serious about one another at all. Peter was in love with her but he wasn’t in a serious relationship with her.

So Gwen wasn’t cheating on anyone.

Also across the years I’ve not really liked how Gwen is the one who’s demonized for the ‘affair’ with Norman.

Like…she was literally 18 or 19 years old at the time the story happens, 20 at a push.

Why the fuck is SHE the one who gets blasted for sleeping with Norman when he’s the grown ass man in the situation. Shouldn’t it be HIS responsibility to NOT sleep with the girl young enough to be his daughter, is the literal daughter of one of the people from his social circles and close friend of his son’s?

I know, I know…he’s evil.

But just because one person is evil in this situation doesn’t therefore make the blame attributable to the other non-evil person there.

Sins Past is bad because it’s retcon doesn’t make sense and equally importantly is damaging to the characters and narrative. NOT because it features a young girl sleeping with an older man after being on 2 dates with another man.

Here is the thing though, it was ignored pretty much immediately and so aggressively makes no sense and just does not fit into the canon at all that it’s actually not that hard to simply ignore.

It does NEED to be retconned out don’t get me wrong, but you can sort of cordon off the story and then continue reading with little difficulty.

The same cannot be said for Slott’s run.

Here is a BRIEF list of the crap Slott has pulled:

· Portraying Doctor Octopus as a rapist

· Presenting Peter as a manchild who is mentally 15

· Having Peter interfere illegal in the affairs of foreign countries

· Removing Norman Osborn’s powers

· Killing off Doc Ock, making multiple Doc Ock clones and then making one of those an alt-right allegory in league with effective Nazis, HYDRA

· Having Mary Jane victim blame Spider-Man by breaking up with him (when they were not together) after he was abused by Doc Ock in Superior

· Portraying Otto as BETTER than Peter during Superior

· Implying Peter was willing to endanger a child’s life for his own sake when he made Doc Ock’s hand shake during surgery in Superior #8

· Killing off MC2 Peter Parker and thereby invalidating the entire point of Mayday Parker as a character. She is driven by being the daughter of Spider-Man and her relationship with her father. See also removing her iconic costume

· Making Ben Reilly into a straight up asshole villain

· Retconning the death of Gwen Stacy so that Gwen died hating Peter Parker and was conscious when her death came

· Killing off Ashley Kafka AFTER portraying her as believing a villain was irredeemable. For context Kafka believed CARNAGE was redeemable!

· Wasting the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man on a worthless character like Alpha solely to launch a spin-off mini-series

· Destroying Peter Parker’s everyman status by making him an internationally famous rich guy in charge of the world’s biggest tech conglomerate

· Shipping him with Mockingbird in direct opposition to both characters’ established characterizations

· Introducing Silk who despite zero combat experience was better at superheroing than Spider-Man himself oh and also had the power to compel Spider-Man to sleep with her against his will...which would be yet more rape

· Ignoring Black Cat’s history by pretending she had a secret identity (she didn’t) and then making her into a murderous psycho crime lord for irrational reasons even though she’s supposed to be morally grey

· Frequently portraying Spider-Man as secondary in his own title and requiring help from guest stars and team up characters

· Portraying MJ as weak willed, stupid, shallow, and passive even though she’s absolutely none of those fucking things

· Presenting Silver Sable as an school girl with the hots for Spider-Man, again against her characterization and ruining the unique professional relationship they shared

· Ruining the unique character of Phil Urich by just turning him into ANOTHER cackling Goblin villain

· Doing a story about Betty Brant being assaulted wherein Spider-Man decides to let the criminal go because Aunt May guilt tripped him. How did she guilt trip him? By claiming he was irresponsible when at age 15 he wasn’t there to comfort her, a 50-60 year old woman the night uncle Ben died

· Portraying EVERY character as unrealistically idiotic in Superior Spider-Man in order to ensure that the Doc Ock could remain Spider-Man

Now...tell me again how JMS is worse?

#j. michael straczynski #Dan Slott #Spider-Man #Peter Parker #Gwen Stacy #Norman Osborn #Green Goblin #The Green Goblin #Doc Ock #Doctor Octopus #superior spider-man #The Superior Spider-Man #otto octavius #Black Cat #felicia hardy #mjwatsonedit #MJ Watson #mary jane watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years ago

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First Sunday in Lent.

Lent (the word “Lent” comes from the Old English “lencten,” meaning “springtime) lasts from Ash Wednesday to the Vespers of Holy Saturday — forty days + six Sundays which don't count as “Lent” liturgically. The Latin name for Lent, Quadragesima, means forty and refers to the forty days Christ spent in the desert which is the origin of the Season.The last two weeks of Lent are known as “Passiontide,” made up of Passion Week and Holy Week. The last three days of Holy Week — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday — are known as the “Sacred Triduum.”

The focus of this Season is the Cross and penance, penance, penance as we imitate Christ's forty days of fasting, like Moses and Elias before Him, and await the triumph of Easter. We fast (see below), abstain, mortify the flesh, give alms, and think more of charitable works. Awakening each morning with the thought, “How might I make amends for my sins? How can I serve God in a reparative way? How can I serve others today?” is the attitude to have.

We meditate on “The Four Last Things”: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell, and we also practice mortifications by “giving up something” that would be a sacrifice to do without. The sacrifice could be anything from desserts to television to the marital embrace, and it can entail, too, taking on something unpleasant that we'd normally avoid, for example, going out of one's way to do another's chores, performing “random acts of kindness,” etc. A practice that might help some, especially small children, to think sacrificially is to make use of “Sacrifice Beads” in the same way that St. Thérèse of Lisieux did as a child.

Because of the focus on penance and reparation, it is traditional to make sure we go to Confession at least once during this Season to fulfill the precept of the Church that we go to Confession at least once a year, and receive the Eucharist at least once a year during Eastertide. A beautiful old custom associated with Lenten Confession is to, before going to see the priest, bow before each member of your household and to any you've sinned against, and say, “In the Name of Christ, forgive me if I've offended you.” One responds with “God will forgive you.” Done with an extensive examination of conscience and a sincere heart, this practice can be quite healing (also note that confessing sins to a priest is a Sacrament which remits mortal and venial sins; confessing sins to those you've offended is a sacramental which, like all sacramentals one piously takes advantage of, remits venial sins. Both are quite good for the soul!)

by Abbot Gueranger

This Sunday, the first of the six which come during Lent, is one of the most solemn throughout the year. In common with the other Sundays of Lent, it has the privilege of taking precedence over all feasts, even that of the patron, titular saint, or dedication of the Church. In the ancient calendars, it is called Invocabit, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass. In the middle ages (more especially in France), it was called Brand Sunday, because the young people, who had misbehaved during the carnival, were obliged to show themselves today at the church with a torch in their hands, as a kind of public satisfaction for their causing disturbance and excess.

Lent solemnly opens today. We have already noticed that the four preceding days were added since the time of St. Gregory the Great, in order to make up the forty days of fasting. But we cannot look upon Ash Wednesday as the solemn opening of the season, for the faithful are not strictly bound to hear Mass on that day. Holy Mother Church, seeing Her children now assembled together, speaks to them, in Her Office of Matins, these eloquent and noble words of St. Leo the Great: “Having to announce to you, dearly beloved, the most sacred and chief fast, how can I more appropriately begin, than with the words of the Apostle, in whom Christ Himself spoke, and by saying to you what has just been read: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. For although there be no time which is not replete with divine gifts, and we may always, by God's grace, have access to His mercy, yet ought we all to redouble our efforts to make spiritual progress and be animated with extraordinary confidence, now that the anniversary of the day of our redemption is approaching, inviting us to devote ourselves to every good work, that so we may celebrate, with purity of body and mind, the incomparable mystery of Our Lord's Passion.

“It is true that our devotion and reverence towards so great a mystery should be kept up during the whole year, and we ourselves should be at all times, in the eyes of God, the same as we are bound to be at the Easter solemnity. But this is an effort which only few among us have the courage to sustain. The weakness of the flesh induces us to relax our austerities; the various occupations of every-day life take up our thoughts; and thus even the virtuous find their hearts clogged by this world's dust. Hence it is that Our Lord has most providentially given us these forty days, whose holy exercises should be to us a remedy, whereby to regain our purity of soul. The good works and the holy fastings of this season were instituted as an atonement for, and an obliteration of, the sins we commit during the rest of the year.

“Now, therefore, that we are about to enter upon these days, which are so full of mystery, and which were instituted for the holy purpose of purifying both soul and body, let us, dearly beloved, be careful to do as the Apostle bids us, and cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit: that thus the combat between the two substances being made less fierce, the soul, which, when she herself is subject to God, ought to be the ruler of the body, will recover her own dignity and position. Let us also avoid giving offense to any man, so that there be none to blame or speak evil things of us. For we deserve the harsh remarks of infidels, and we provoke the tongues of the wicked to blaspheme religion, when we who fast lead unholy lives. For our fast does not consist in the mere abstinence from food; nor is it of much use to deny food to our body, unless we restrain the soul from sin” (Fourth Sermon for Lent).

Each Sunday of Lent offers to our consideration a passage from the Gospel, which is in keeping with the sentiments wherewith the Church would have us be filled. Today She brings before us the temptation of Our Lord in the desert. What light and encouragement there is for us in the this instruction!

We acknowledge ourselves to be sinners; we are engaged, at this very time, in doing penance for the sins we have committed—but how was it that we fell into sin? The devil tempted us; we did not reject the temptation; then we yielded to the suggestion, and the sin was committed. This is the history of our past; and such it would, also, be for the future, were we not to profit by the lesson given us today by our Redeemer.

When the Apostle speaks of the wonderful mercy shown us by our Divine Savior, Who vouchsafed to make Himself like to us in all things save sin, he justly lays stress on His temptations (Heb. 4: 15). He, Who is very God, humbled Himself even so low as this, to prove how tenderly He compassionated us. Here then, we have the Saint of saints allowing the wicked spirit to approach Him, in order that we might learn, from His example, how we are to gain victory under temptation.

Satan has had his eye upon Jesus; he is troubled at beholding such matchless virtue. The wonderful circumstances of His birth; the shepherds called by angels to His crib, and the Magi guided by the star; the Infant's escape from Herod's plot; the testimony rendered to this new Prophet by John the Baptist: all these things, which seem so out of keeping with the thirty years spent in obscurity at Nazareth, are a mystery to the infernal serpent, and fill him with apprehension. The ineffable mystery of the Incarnation has been accomplished unknown to him; he never once suspects that the humble Virgin, Mary, is She who was foretold by the prophet Isaias, as having to bring forth the Emmanuel (Is. 7: 14); but he is aware that the time has come, that the last week spoken of to Daniel has begun its course, and that the very pagans are looking towards Judea for a deliverer. He is afraid of this Jesus; he resolves to speak with Him, and elicit from Him some expression which will show him whether He be or not the Son of God; he will tempt Him to some imperfection, or sin, which, should He commit it, will prove that the object of so much fear is, after all, but a mortal man.

The enemy of God and men is, of course, disappointed. He approaches Jesus; but all his efforts turn only to his own confusion. Our Redeemer, with all the self-possession and easy majesty of a God-Man, repels the attacks of Satan; but He reveals not His heavenly origin. The wicked spirit retires without having made any discovery beyond this—that Jesus is a prophet, faithful to God. Later on, when he sees the Son of God treated with contempt, calumniated and persecuted; when he finds that his own attempts to have Him put to death are so successful; his pride and his blindness will be at their height; and not till Jesus expires on the Cross, will he learn that his victim was not merely Man, but Man and God. Then will he discover how all his plots against Jesus have but served to manifest, in all their beauty, the mercy and justice of God: His mercy, because He saved mankind; and His justice, because He broke the power of Hell forever.

These were the designs of Divine Providence in permitting the wicked spirit to defile, by his presence, the retreat of Jesus, to speak to Him, and to lay his hands upon Him. But let us attentively consider the triple temptation in all its circumstances; for our Redeemer suffered it only in order that He might instruct and encourage us.

We have three enemies to fight against; our soul has three dangers; for, as the beloved disciple says, all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life! (1 John 2: 16) By the concupiscence of the flesh, is meant the love of sensual things, which covets whatever is agreeable to the flesh, and, when not curbed, draws the soul into unlawful pleasures. Concupiscence of the eyes expresses the love of the goods of this world, such as riches and possessions; these dazzle the eye, and then seduce the heart. Pride of life is that confidence in ourselves, which leads us to be vain and presumptuous, and makes us forget that all we have, our life and every good gift, we have from God.

Every one of our sins comes from one of these three sources; every one of our temptations aims at making us accept the concupiscence of the flesh, or the concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life. Our Savior, then, Who willed to be our Model in all things, deigned to subject Himself to these three temptations.

First of all Satan tempts Him in what regards the flesh: he suggests to Him to satisfy the cravings of hunger by working a miracle, and changing the stones into bread. If Jesus were to consent, and show an eagerness in giving this indulgence to His Body, the tempter will conclude that He is a frail mortal, subject to concupiscence like other men. When he tempts us, who have inherited evil concupiscence from Adam, his suggestions go further that this: he endeavors to defile the soul by the body. But the sovereign holiness of the Incarnate Word could never permit Satan to use upon Him the power which he has received of tempting man in his outward senses. The lesson, therefore, which the Son of God here gives us, is one of temperance; but we know that, for us, temperance is the mother of purity, and that intemperance excites our senses to rebel.

The second temptation is to pride: “Cast Thyself down; the angels shall bear Thee up in their hands.” The enemy is anxious to see if the favors of Heaven have produced in Jesus' soul that haughtiness, that ungrateful self-confidence, which makes the creature arrogate God’s gifts to itself, and forget its Benefactor. Here, also, he is foiled; our Redeemer’s humility confounds the pride of the rebel angel.

He then makes a last effort: he hopes to gain over by ambition Him Who has given such proofs of temperance and humility. He shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and says to Him: “All these will I give Thee, if falling down, Thou wilt adore me.” Jesus rejects the wretched offer, and drives from Him the seducer, the prince of this world (John 14: 30); hereby teaching us that we must despise the riches of this world, as often as our keeping or getting them is to be on the condition of our violating the law of God and thereby paying homage to Satan.

But let us observe how it is that our Divine Model, our Redeemer, overcomes the tempter. Does He hearken to his words? Does He allow the temptation time, and give it strength by delay? We did so, when we were tempted; and we fell. But Our Lord immediately meets each temptation with the shield of God's Word. He says: “It is written: Not on bread alone doth man live. It is written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. It is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.” This, then, must be our practice for the time to come. Eve brought perdition on herself, and on the whole human race, because she listened to the serpent. He that dallies with temptation is sure to fall. We are now in a season of extraordinary grace; our hearts are on the watch, dangerous occasions are removed, everything that savors of worldliness is laid aside; our souls, purified by prayer, fasting, and almsdeeds, are to rise with Christ to a new life; but shall we persevere? All depends upon how we behave under temptation. Here, at the very opening of Lent, the Church gives us this passage of the holy Gospel, that we may have not only precept but example. If we be attentive and faithful, the lesson She gives us will produce its fruit; and when we come to the Easter solemnity, we shall have those sure pledges of perseverance: vigilance, self-diffidence, prayer, and the never-failing help of divine grace.

The Greek Church, in spite of her principle of never admitting a feast during Lent, celebrates today one of her greatest solemnities. It is called Orthodoxia, and was instituted in memory of the restoration of sacred images in Constantinople and the eastern empire, in the year 842, when the Empress Theodora (image at left), aided by the holy patriarch Methodius, put a stop to the Iconoclast persecution, and restored to the churches the holy images which the fury of the heretics had taken away.

The Station for the Mass at Rome is the patriarchal basilica of St. John Lateran. It was but right that a Sunday of such solemnity as this should be celebrated in the church which is the mother and mistress of all churches, not only of the holy city itself, but of the whole world. It is here that the public penitents would be reconciled on Maundy Thursday; it is here also, in the Baptistry of Constantine, that the catechumens would receive Baptism on the night of the Easter Vigil. No other basilica could have had such a claim for the Station of a day like this; for it is there that the Lenten Fast had been so often proclaimed by Saints Leo and Gregory.

The Introit, Gradual, Tract, Offertory and Communion are all taken from Psalm 90. We have elsewhere spoken of the appropriateness of this beautiful psalm to the spirit of the Church during the season of Lent. It bids the Christian soul to confide in the divine aid. She is now devoting her whole energies to prayer; she is engaged in battle with her own and God’s enemies. She has need of support. Let her not be afraid, God tells her; she is under His protection as well as that of the holy angels. It was this passage that Satan attempted to abuse in his second temptation:

He shall cry to Me and I will hear him: I will deliver him, and I will glorify him: I will fill him with length of days. He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Heaven… God hath given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone…

In the Collect, the Church prays for Her children, that their fast may not only purify them, but also obtain for them that divine assistance, which will secure their salvation by enabling them to abound in good works:

O God, Who dost purify Thy Church by the yearly observance of Lent: grant to Thy family that what we try to obtain of Thee by abstinence, we may secure by good works. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ…

There follows a Lesson from the sixth chapter of the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians:

Brethren: We entreat you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says, “In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee.” Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation! We give no offense to anyone, that our ministry may not be blamed. On the contrary, let us conduct ourselves in all circumstances as God's ministers, in much patience; in tribulations, in hardships, in distresses; in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults; in labors, in sleepless night, in fastings; in innocence, in knowledge, in long-sufferings; in kindness, in the Holy Ghost, in unaffected love; in the word of truth, in the power of God; with the armor of justice on the right had and on the left; in honor and dishonor, in evil report and good report; as deceivers and yet truthful, as unknown and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastised but not killed; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing yet possessing all things.

These words of the Apostle give us a very different idea of the Christian life from that which our own tepidity suggests. We dare not say that he is wrong and we are right; but we put a strange interpretation upon his words, and we tell both ourselves and those around us that the advice he here gives is not to be taken literally nowadays, and that it was written for those special difficulties of the first age of the Church, when the faithful stood in need of unusual detachment and almost heroism, because they were always in danger of persecution and death. This interpretation is full of that discretion which meets with the applause of our cowardice, and it easily persuades us to be at rest, just as though we had no dangers to fear, and no battle to fight; whereas we have both; for there is the devil, the world, flesh and blood. The Church never forgets it; and hence, at the opening of this great season, She sends us into the desert, that there we may learn from our Jesus how we are to fight. Let us go; let us learn from the temptations of our Divine Master that the life of man upon earth is a warfare (Job 7: 1), and that, unless our fighting be truceless and brave, our life, which we would fain pass in peace, will witness our defeat. That such a misfortune may not befall us, the Church cries out to us, in the words of St. Paul: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation! Let us, in all things, comport ourselves as the servants of God, and keep our ground unflinchingly to the end of our holy campaign. God is watching over us, as He did over His beloved Son in the desert.

The Holy Gospel is taken from the fourth chapter of St. Matthew:

At that time, Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If Thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Not by bread alone does man live, but by every words that comes forth from the mouth of God'.” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If Thou art the Son of God, throw Thyself down; for it is written, ‘He has given His angels charge concerning Thee; and upon their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone'.” Jesus said to him, “It is written further, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God'.” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And he said to Him, “All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan, for it is written, ‘The Lord thy God shalt thou worship and Him only shalt thou serve'.” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Let us admire the exceeding goodness of the Son of God, Who, not satisfied with atoning for all our sins by dying on the Cross, deigns to suffer a fast of forty days and forty nights, in order to encourage us to do penance. He would not that the justice of His heavenly Father should exact any punishment from us, unless He Himself first suffered it, and that too, a thousand times more severely than we could. What are all our penances, even were they done thoroughly, when we compare them with the severity of this fast of Jesus in the desert? Can we dare to be ever asking for dispensations from the little which Our Lord asks of us in atonement for our sins, which deserve such rigorous penance? Instead of complaining at our feeling a slight inconvenience of a few days' duration, let us compassionate our innocent Jesus, Who subjects Himself to forty days of most rigorous privation of food and drink.

What was it that supported Him? Prayer, devotedness to us, and the knowledge of the exigencies of His Father's justice. And when the forty days were over, and His human Nature was faint from exhaustion, He is assailed by temptation; but here again He thinks of us, and sets us an example: He triumphs over the temptation, calmly and resolutely, and thereby teaches us how to conquer. How blasphemous the boldness of Satan, who dares to tempt the Just One! But how divine is the patience of Jesus, Who permits the hellish monster to lay his hand upon Him, and carry Him from place to place!

The Christian soul is oftentimes exposed to the vilest insults from this same enemy; nay, at times, she is on the point of complaining to her God, for permitting her to have such humiliations. Let her, on these occasions, think upon Jesus, the Saint of saints, Who was given over, so to speak, to the wicked spirit; and yet, He is not the less the Son of God, the Conqueror of Hell; and all that Satan gains by his attack is utter defeat. In the same way, if the soul, when under the violence of temptation, resists with all her energy, she is not one jot less dear to God, and Satan retires with one more eternal shame and chastisement upon him.

Let us take part with the holy angels, who, as soon as the tempter is gone, come to our Redeemer, and respectfully administer food to Him. How affectionately do they compassionate His hunger and thirst! How zealously they make amends, by their adorations, for the frightful outrage the charity of their God, Who, out of His love for man, seems to have been forgetting His own dignity, in order to provide for the wants of the children of Adam.

by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876

Then Jesus said to him: Be gone, Satan!”–Matt. 4 : 10.

There is but one evil, and that is sin. This evil has many different paths by which it approaches us. These paths are called temptations. It is true that of themselves temptations can not injure us. On the contrary, Holy Writ says: “Blessed is the man that endureth, for when he hath been proved he shall receive the crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love Him.” All depends upon our withstanding them, and to be able to do this we must heed the admonition of Christ, we must watch and especially guard ourselves against those temptations through which Satan most frequently approaches man.

There are in particular three temptations to which today's Gospel refers, and to which a large portion of mankind fall victims; the three temptations, namely, with which Satan dared to tempt Christ, our Lord, Himself.

Let us see, today, what sort of temptations these are. Mary, thou mighty stronghold against the hosts of the tempter, give us thy assistance, that we may come forth victorious from the fight! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

And the tempter approaching Him, said: “Command that these stones be made bread!” To what temptation do these words refer? I say to that temptation with which Satan assaults man when he enters upon life–the immoderate care for the goods of this world. It is the temptation of excessive labor, and anxiety after a business profession in order to gain a position in society. Yes, for a great number, even for many who otherwise seem to live piously, this is the net which entangles them in numberless temptations.

This regard for the world frequently causes men to forget their last aim and end. Instead of thinking only of what is requisite; for salvation, and pursuing it with their whole heart and the entire strength of their will, they live altogether for earthly things, and think seriously of nothing else. This worldly care extinguishes all their longing after perfection, and causes them to neglect those means of divine grace which are placed within their reach.

The man who is a prey to this inordinate care begins the day without prayer, and without a right intention; he neglects Mass, pious reading, and the holy Sacraments. His excuse is that his business leaves him no time for devotion, while in his intercourse with the world temptations approach him by countless roads. He hopes to satisfy the cravings of his heart with temporal wealth and pleasures; he expects to change the hard and tasteless stones of worldly enjoyment into bread which will nourish his soul but he is mistaken.

These perverse sentiments of the heart open wide the gate to all kinds of temptations; egotism, envy, anger, enmity, intemperance, deceit and injustice enter, and the wretched man endeavors to serve two masters, God and the world. But the world, at last, completely ensnares him, and, instead of conquering temptation, he is vanquished by it.

Satan said to Jesus after he had carried Him to the pinnacle of the temple: “Cast thyself down !” To what temptation do these words refer? To that dangerous state of the heart which causes man through presumption to fall a victim of his own foolhardiness.

And how? He neither fears God, nor the possibility of committing sin; he trusts in himself too much, and thinks that there is no danger of his swerving from the right path, and, while thus feeling secure, instead of avoiding temptation, he runs into it.

To this class of tempted persons belong those who are satisfied with being nominal children of the true Church, and who think that, because they are members of that Church out of whose pale there is no salvation, they will, without doubt, gain heaven. In a word, they are strangers to that fear of which St. Paul speaks when he says: “Work your salvation with fear and trembling.” To such people Satan need not go, they themselves seek him!

To this class belong also those who, in the selection of their place of business or their home, pay no attention to facilities for hearing Mass and receiving the Sacraments.

Finally, to this class belong those who are addicted to drinking, visiting bar-rooms, gambling; those who think only of pleasure, frequent dangerous company, read immoral books, and imagine that all this, in reality, has no evil consequences, and will not lead them into sin. Woe to these! They love the danger and will perish in it.

Lastly, Satan showed to Christ from the summit of a mountain all the kingdoms of the world, and said to Him: “All these will I give Thee if, falling down, thou wilt adore me.” What temptation is this? It is the temptation of self-love, of vanity, of pride in all its forms, a sin which deprives even virtuous actions of their merit. It is that self-adoration which causes man, even in a life devoted to piety, to seek more his own honor than the honor of God.

And yet how small, how trivial, is the honor which the world can give to man. Even were it to bestow all its glory and applause; how infinitely small would this be, when compared to God and the kingdom which He has promised and will give us! Those who are convinced of this truth will doubtless meet the tempter with an energetic: “Be gone!”

But it is in this determination, in this energy, that man is most deficient. Were this not the case, did he not waver, Satan would not hope, by again and again renewing his temptations, to succeed in the end; he would not even dare to tempt us. He knows well that he can do us no harm by tempting us, provided we remain firm, but that, on the contrary, he would only give us occasions to merit and adorn our crown of victory with jewels of virtue. St. Ignatius says: “Courage on our part discourages Satan.” If, however, he sees that we are in the least inclined to yield, then he is most persevering, and, tempting us again and again, attacks us on all sides and in all possible ways. Perceiving that he does not succeed in one attempt and through the instrumentality of one person, he makes a second attempt and seeks more efficient auxiliaries. He knows from experience how to undermine the foundation of great virtues and destroy them.

The one thing which frightens him and causes him to retreat is a decided: “Be gone!” In order, however, to feel strong and resolute, we must think daily and continually on the certainty of death, and on judgment, which one day will decide whether we are to dwell for evermore in heaven or in hell. If in temptation we turn to our crucified Saviour, and, making the sign of the cross, call on Jesus with the lips and the heart, Satan will flee, victory will be ours, and angels approaching us will console us with sweet thoughts of heaven! Amen!

“And the tempter coming, said to Him.”–Matt. 4 : 3.

God wills that all men should be saved, as St. Paul assures us, and Lent reminds us emphatically of the truth of these words. Many of the mysteries of the life of Christ, to which the Church refers during Lent in the Gospels at Mass, are evidences that Christ came into the world to teach men how to live in order to gain salvation, especially the mysteries of His apostolic life, which ended with His suffering and death upon the cross.

God, it is true, allows Satan to tempt us, but only in order to prove our fidelity, and to recompense us the more in the world to come. If men fail in this trial of liberty, then they have not employed the means God offers them to issue victorious from the strife. What means are these? A glance at the manner in which the: Church observes Lent will answer this question.

Mary, Mother of the elect, pray for us that we may be of the number of those who stand victoriously the test of temptation! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

At the commencement of Lent the Church puts ashes upon the heads of her children, saying: “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and that into dust thou shalt return.” The Church desires to keep the thought of the certainty and proximity of death alive in the hearts of her children. One of the chief reasons why so many souls, though ransomed by the blood of Christ, are lost, is their incomprehensible forgetfulness of death. If all men possessed that consciousness of death of which the Apostle speaks, and remembered its certainty, its nearness, they would never be lost for eternity. What is it that generally leads men into temptation and takes from them all strength and courage to withstand it?

His sinful inclinations, his desire for the goods, honors, and pleasures of this world, together with the forgetfulness of the certainty and nearness of death. Oh, that all men would each morning put ashes on their heads in spirit, and repeat the words of the Church on Ash Wednesday: Remember that thou art dust, and that to dust thou shalt return. Think that this day is perhaps your last! How many of those who in the morning go bright and happy to their labor, are brought home at night corpses! If this should be the case with you, what then? As ashes placed upon burning coals deaden and even extinguish their glow, so this recollection will reduce and stifle the fire of passion.

If men would occasionally take a solitary ramble in some cemetery, and thus awaken within themselves the recollection of the certainty and nearness of death, they would gain strength for the fight against temptations of selfishness, ambition, and worldliness. How wealth, honors, and pleasures lose their attraction in the silent cities of the dead! Smoke they are and vapor, viewed from the brink of the grave.

Is it not astonishing to see how anxious men are to render their condition in life as favorable to ease and comfort as possible, how careful they are to evade anything that might endanger their welfare in this world? They never give a thought to the shortness and uncertainty of this life, to the dangers that always hang over their heads; they do not consider that daily and hourly men die, and that soon they, too, must say to themselves: My turn has come.

They hear and know that nothing is so sure, nothing as inevitable as death, and yet as a saint of latter times, the blessed Hofbauer, whose canonization is now in progress, said: “Men know that they must die, and yet they do not believe it, but live as if this life were the only one they would ever possess, the only one for which they need care. Hence their negligence in all that pertains to their salvation, and hence also their eternal destruction.”

The Church requires her children during Lent to mortify themselves by observing the laws prescribed for this season. She not only demands of them to abstain from meat and partake of only one meal a day, but she desires above all to awaken and strengthen in their hearts the spirit of self-abnegation. Holy Writ says: “The life of man upon earth is a warfare.” To conduct it properly and victoriously we must follow the admonition of Christ and mortify our selves.

The second cause of so many being lost is the want of the true spirit of repentance, and self-humiliation. Christ sent His Apostles as missionaries into the world with this message: Tell the people that if they do not repent they shall all perish. And St. Paul says: “And they who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences.” Man craves happiness; while here below he wishes to enjoy the pleasures of an earthly paradise, and hopes one day to share, besides, the joys of heaven.

How many there are to whom the reproach of the Apostle may be justly addressed: “Whose god is their belly!” The desire of pleasure and excitement leads man into temptation, and causes him to indulge sinful inclinations, to commit mortal sin, and so lose eternal life.

The Church exhorts her children to live in retirement and meditation during Lent, and to devote more time to prayer and religious exercises. Why are so many souls lost even among the children of the Church? I answer, because they have not the spirit of prayer and contemplation, because they have not recourse to pious books for holy thoughts. Men live thoughtlessly, and do not take time to say a daily prayer or think with recollected minds of God and the eternal truth of His Word. They do not reflect or meditate upon what they believe. They do not reduce to practice the teachings of their faith, but live, although members of the Church, like Pagans. It is for this reason that Christians as well as heathens are lost. Jeremias has said: “With desolation is the land made desolate; because there is none that considereth in the heart.” Would to God that this reproach could not be referred to Christians!

St. Teresa says: “I fear not for a soul who prays.” But how few really pray while they are going through their devotions! Only too many deserve the reproach of the Lord: “This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” We either pray not at all, or fail in the manner, frequency, and perseverance of our aspirations to God, especially in time of temptation. Hence so many are powerless to resist the attacks of passion, and miserably fall.

The Church desires that her children, during Lent, should frequently and attentively hear the word of God and endeavor to profit by it. All, however, do not listen to her. But too many read their reproach and their condemnation in the words of Christ to the Jews. Christ Himself reproaches them, saying: “You hear not the words of God, because you are not of God.”

There are many Christians who, throughout the year, never hear a sermon, or who, if they hear one, listen to it not as to the word of God, and as if God Himself were addressing them, but regard it merely in its human element; hence their indifference to profit by it for the life to come, and hence also their eternal destruction.

The Church wishes her children to meditate, especially during Lent, upon the passion and death of Christ, in order that the love of the cross may fill their hearts. Christ says: “He who will follow me must take up his cross daily;” and the Holy Ghost: “In your patience you shall possess your souls.”

How many Christians neither love nor esteem the cross! yet they must endure the trials and afflictions of life. Their aversion to suffering only makes their burden heavier and more irksome. Murmuring against the decrees of Providence, they carry their cross as did the thief who was crucified at the left of our Lord. They forget that they can only enter the abode of the blessed by following Christ who walked before us the road of the cross to open for us the gates of heaven. Hence their weakness and faithlessness under trials and tribulations; hence, too, their eternal destruction.

The Church further desires her children during Lent to confess their sins and receive the Most Blessed Sacrament devoutly and worthily. That all do not comply with this wish, is evident from the fact, that the Church, to our great shame, has been obliged to give the following precept: “Confess your sins at least once a year to a priest duly authorized, and receive holy Communion at Easter or thereabout.”

They are in the greatest danger of making it the occasion of still greater evil. People who can only be prevailed upon by the most positive order to have recourse to the Sacraments, run a great risk of receiving them unworthily. Human respect may drive them to the confessional and the holy table:, but the chances are that they return from them more wicked, more laden with guilt than before.

Were the children of the Church to receive the Sacraments frequently and worthily, the consoling words of Christ would be fulfilled in them: “He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath everlasting life;” he “abideth in Me and I in him.” Yet how many men neglect to receive the blessed Sacrament, or else receive it without preparation or unworthily. This is the cause of the loss of many souls among Christians. Therefore, let us live, not only during Lent, but all our days, in the spirit in which the Church observes Lent, and let us practise those pious exercises which she recommends in order that after the Good-Friday of our life here below, we may celebrate Easter in the joys of life everlasting! Amen!

#first sunday of lent

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cryptidandwren · 4 years ago

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OUR FETISHES ARE NO BASIS FOR A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

In this essay we will discuss the media and social environment under which a dangerously unhinged President personally responsible for a quarter million of his people dying can come within ten million votes of winning the popular vote. You are seeing this because you follow my wife’s porn blog, so I'll skip over the part about minority rule’s role in American politics. There is nothing cute to be made of a Senate majority that represents 20 million fewer people systematically eroding reproductive rights, discriminatory protections, and twisting the federal judiciary into a visage of an extreme few. No, you are seeing this because of porn, so let's use porn to understand what is happening in The United States. Personally, I am very interested in dangerously unstable people with complete disregard for their actions’ effects on themselves and others. While it's personally undisputed that crazy is hot, this sexual preference was never going to factor into my dating decisions, because unfortunately I am within the subset of “others”. In this discussion we are also going to be talking about those on the right side of the political aisle, because what we are talking about is not symmetrical fresh-never-frozen-bug-fucking-insanity. The Republican Party started experimenting with putting its dick in crazy beginning with the Southern Strategy, and now its been balls deep in crazy for three decades. Part of the “go balls deep and nut in the worst angels of our being” strategy pioneered by Nixon and allies like the Koch brothers was to create a verdant media environment where you could choose your own adventure on talk radio or Fox News. Choice is where this all goes from “go balls deep and nut in the worst angels of our being” to “tied to a chair in a shady warehouse by the docks wearing nothing but a latex horse mask and being sucked off by one lady, one man, and an oddly enthusiastic aquarium fish.” In broad strokes people are selecting news that makes them feel good in the same way that they are selecting porn that makes them feel good, and people will become better able at determining what exactly they want over time.

Let’s start off by defining what makes something pornographic. For this there can only be one source of authority to begin our inquiry: The United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court defined obscenity as: “1) A thing must be prurient in nature; 2) a thing must be completely devoid of scientific, political, educational, or social value; and 3) a thing must violate the local community standards.” Miller v. California 413 U.S. 15 (1973). The Miller test is the threshold standard for obscenity. Obscenity is a classification under First Amendment law, and not all porn will pass through the Miller test threshold. At the same time Miller is the culmination of a large body of litigation over the question of how pornography, its almost always pornography, should be classified for First Amendment protections purposes. It is important to understand that this is a local standard. Which is to say that the Government’s ability to regulate pornographic or otherwise obscene speech is conditional upon local community standards. While two people fucking on the subway may be a charming part of the morning commute in NYC, or nutting to Lucky, the mascot for the Celtics, may be essential to Boston culture, both acts may be obscene in Des Moines Iowa. When discussing the internet, which we must do in this inquiry, local standards are thrown out. Additionally, Miller is a threshold standard for a certain kind of porn. For these reasons, Miller cannot be said to be controlling on what makes something pornographic.

Fortunately The Supreme Court’s long history of litigation on the legal question of what makes pornography allows us to draw on persuasive evidence. Justice Stewart in his concurring opinion stated that he knows it [obscenity/porn] when he sees it. Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 187 (1964). This rule cures the defect created by a local standard as found in Miller. Additionally, it provides a more sex positive framework with which to approach the issue, as it better acknowledges the full breadth of human sexual expression. Still, it is too subjective to provide a tenable framework, as when everything can be porn then nothing may also be porn. A synthesis of the two rules is therefore appropriate.

The definition of porn requires a global standard, room to embrace the full breadth of human sexual expression, and some objective elements. Drawing on both Jacovellis and Miller porn is: 1) a thing known when seen; 2) a thing completely devoid of scientific, political, educational, or social value; and 3) a thing which violates community standards. Let us now apply this new test to two fact patterns. First, HOT MILF OCTAGON DILDO WARRIOR 3 THE RESUBMITINING is a hypothetical film about mothers, although proof of their identity as such is lacking, fighting with dildos to submit or resubmit other mothers in a octagon with elaborate combat etiquette around naked dildo fights. Starting at the top, let us stipulate that this would be known to be porn when seen. Second, only the most strained and lonely freshman year Lit students could glean some scientific, political, educational, or social value out of what has been presented. Perhaps something to the effect of: “it represents the way in which an overly sexualized capitalist society pits actors against each other in abstracted combat which inevitably comes at the expense of the family unit, and the brunt of this abstract combat falls on women and or female caregivers”. Finally, this would violate community standards. Transgressiveness is hot, and you are not supposed to fight, much less with ten (10) pound dildo flails. Alternatively, there is the Venus de Milo. They would show this on PBS. It's not porn. That's not to say you can't nut to it, but any such nutting would be brought to you by viewers like you. This synthesized rule provides a practical framework to view porn broadly.

Now that we have a definition to apply to the pornographic, let us turn our gaze towards the fetish driven hellscape that is American politics. Our politics have become run by civic pornographic tropes. These tropes exigent before the advent of social media found a newly fertile ground on Twitter and Facebook. In the same way that interest in DADDY BIGFOOT FUCKS ME IN THE ASS AND THEN TAKES ME TO CHILI’S existed before the internet, interest in a secretive government leaker trying to save children and provide life extending technology conspiracies existed before the internet. The internet simply reduces the transactional cost of finding what you are really into.

Sex sells, but faces problems of scalability. Facebook, twitter, and all the rest sell ads. The more you are on them the more ads they can sell. Porn sells like, well, porn, but Pornhub hasn’t managed to destabilize entire governments and escalate ethnic tensions into a genocide. The problem that Pornhub has is scalability. We are closer to chimps than bonobos, so sex can only sell so far. This presented Facebook with a problem. How do you scale up a platform designed to rank your co-workers on fuckability into something that can Grima Wormtounge everyone’s grandmother? Use algorithms to push people towards more and more specifically targeted salacious content and rely on a healthy community of amateur content creators so that there is always something available to engage anyone’s most niche interests. That the business model of Pornhub and Facebook are nearly indistinguishable are no mistake.

To scale up one not only has to understand what porn is, but what the draw of porn is. Porn’s fundamental draw is not the sex, but the fantasy. It is fantasy without the distant mirror, or at least without an intentional one. Porn, unlike sex, creates a reality of your own choosing unconstrained by real worldly limitations and curated to facilitate the chosen fantasy. PRISON LESBIANS 4 NO ESCAPE; BUTTSTUFF FOR BAD GIRLS doesn’t have to be a dingy place standing as a monolith to a horrifying system housing those broken under the crushing wheels of a morally indefensible society of indifference, like a real prison. Instead it can be a well-lit, adequately shot, sanitized play place for beautiful people to fuck like they are in a smutty disneyworld after Disney ripped the still beating heart out of the play Chicago. Through its alchemy porn is able to transmute the real world into smutty gold. Any impurities which may have stood in the way of the fantasy drawn out and rendered golden.

It is this same alchemy that we find at work in the so-called “new media”. GOD KING TRUMP TO KILL CHINESE DRAGON AND FREE AMERICAN WORKERS FROM THOUSAND YEARS OF DARKNESS is no more concerned with the realities of the election than PRISON LESBIANS 4 NO ESCAPE; BUTTSTUFF FOR BAD GIRLS is concerned with The United States criminal justice system. Applying our standard to GOD KING TRUMP TO KILL CHINESE DRAGON AND FREE AMERICAN WORKERS FROM THOUSAND YEARS OF DARKNESS its pornographic nature must be:1) a thing known when seen; 2) a thing completely devoid of scientific, political, educational, or social value; and 3) a thing which violates community standards. Starting with the first element, this exists because someone is into it. It is, like most porn, ridiculous with the benefit of post nut clarity. Secondly, no real value can be drawn from it. Perhaps a vague sense that the American working class has not been served by the last forty years of neoliberalism’s relentless pace which makes scabs out of entire nations, but surely nothing can be gleaned worth thinking about. Finally, Trump by his nature and actions is transgressive and violates nearly every social norm he's ever met. He even paid off several social norms to ensure their silence. This is porn under the Miller-Jacovellis synthesis rule.

“Well that is only one example,” a scarecrow I just created to take down might say. Well scarecrow I've inserted in a petulant power fantasy, we will discuss yet another political pornographic genre.

Let's look at one of the most persistent fetishes in American politics. The fetish that The United States is a meritocracy. First prong is satisfied, because this is a fantasy that exists because it feels good. In a meritocracy one would see social mobility both upwards and downwards. As a person of great quality is born to a low class they would naturally rise. Conversely as a person of low quality is born to a high class they would naturally fall. This is simply not the case. You will die in the same class or a little below as your parents. Men make more on average than women for the same work. Finally, reports of racism's demise after Obama’s election were greatly exaggerated. Much as the realities of American prisons have to be thrown out to allow for the fantasy within PRISON LESBIANS 4 NO ESCAPE; BUTTSTUFF FOR BAD GIRLS or the class and gender implications must be kept at arm's length for HOT MILF OCTAGON DILDO WARRIOR 3 THE RESUBMITINING, the realities of America’s class, gender, and race relations must be transmuted away for the alchemy of porn to take place on the American meritocracy. Element two is met, because this fantasy has no more value than those contained within DADDY BIGFOOT FUCKS ME IN THE ASS AND THEN TAKES ME TO CHILI’S. Any attempt to stratify and rank fantasies based on intellectual merit is more likely to tell us about the author of the list than to accurately rank the intellectual merits with any validity, so all fantasies must then stand on equal footing sexually or not. Finally, we must analyze the transgressiveness of a meritocracy to satisfy the third element. On one hand, this is a omnibus fetish like tits or ass in sexual pornography. However, a kind of transgressive nature does appear to materialize when POC or women succeed. Were Captain America to be cast as a black man it would surely be met with cries of, “that's not right, Cap is White, Libs ruin comic books”. When female characters fail to be thinly veiled fetish items or possess body fat necessary to make it through a day without getting dizzy are cast, one can expect cries of, “WOMEN CAN’T BE.” In this way it is transgressive for those who are not supposed to win based on their immutable characteristics rather than their talents to win under this meritocracy. It is therefore plausible to find meritocracy in The United States as a genre of civic pornography.

It is at this point that we must view those on the right side of the political aisle not as misguided by misinformation with infantilizing gaze and endless forgiveness, but as fetish enthusiasts who open conversations with what grocery store’s ginger makes the best buttplugs. People gravitate towards the news that makes them feel good, in the same way that they gravitate towards porn that makes them feel good. These are active choices to view and active choices to talk about their fetishes. It's fine if people want to read TRUMP ELECTED GOD KING OF AMERICA; TO LIFT US TO MOON BASE WITH MASSIVE COCK or PRESIDENT TRUMP LOCKS BABIES IN CAGES TO HARVEST LIB TEARS; TOO WINNING TOO HARD in the privacy of their own bedroom. Much like sexually explicit pornography, the line is drawn when you start acting on or discussing the weird stuff in the real world without consent.

Fundamentally, when Nixon first suggested to the Republican electorate that they had the freedom to go balls deep in the worst angels of our being, we saw a sort of sexual liberation take place. It started with veiled dogwhistles. Just the “tasteful” little “welfare queen” brand racism used to be enough, but it wasn't really what they wanted. I mean sure, BALL GAG BALLET SWAN TAINT LAKE has some things you like, but maybe GIMP SUIT’S A NUUTCRACKER; CHRISTMAS CUMS ONCE A YEAR is gonna really scratch that itch.

We need to stop asking Republicans to change for us. This is their authentic selves, and it's awful. Accepting someone for who they are doesn't always mean forgiving them for the things they jerk off to in the supermarket in a bizarre attempt to undermine your nation's democratic institutions.

#tw: racism #tw: sexism #these are topics of discussion and hopefully not present in the essay #tw: covid #tw: politics #tw: trump

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garywonghc · 7 years ago

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Compassion: The Way to Peace and Happiness

by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

“I believe that no one is born free from the need for love. And this demonstrates that, although some modern schools of thought seek to do so, human beings cannot be defined as solely physical. No material object, however beautiful or valuable, can make us feel loved, because our deeper identity and true character lie in the subjective nature of the mind.

DEVELOPING COMPASSION

Some of my friends have told me that, while love and compassion are marvellous and good, they are not really very relevant. Our world, they say, is not a place where such beliefs have much influence or power. They claim that anger and hatred are so much a part of human nature that humanity will always be dominated by them. I do not agree.

We humans have existed in our present form for about a hundred thousand years. I believe that if during this time the human mind had been primarily controlled by anger and hatred, our overall population would have decreased. But today, despite all our wars, we find that the human population is greater than ever. This clearly indicates to me that love and compassion predominate in the world. And this is why unpleasant events are news. Compassionate activities are so much part of daily life that they are taken for granted and, therefore, largely ignored.

So far I have been discussing mainly the mental benefits of compassion, but it contributes to good physical health as well, According to my personal experience, mental stability and physical wellbeing are directly related. Without question, anger and agitation make us more susceptible to illness. On the other hand, if the mind is tranquil and occupied with positive thoughts, the body will not easily fall prey to disease.

But of course it is also true that we all have an innate self-centredness that inhibits our love for others. So, since we desire the true happiness that is brought about by only a calm mind, and since such peace of mind is brought about by only a compassionate attitude, how can we develop this? Obviously, it is not enough for us simply to think about how nice compassion is! We need to make a concerted effort to develop it; we must use all the events of our daily life to transform our thoughts and behaviour.

First of all, we must be clear about what we mean by compassion. Many forms of compassionate feeling are mixed with desire and attachment. For instance, the love parents feel for their child is often strongly associated with their own emotional needs, so it is not fully compassionate.

Again, in marriage, the love between husband and wife — particularly at the beginning, when each partner still may not know the other’s deeper character very well — depends more on attachment than genuine love. Our desire can be so strong that the person to whom we are attached appears to be good, when in fact he or she is very negative. In addition, we have a tendency to exaggerate small positive qualities. Thus when one partner’s attitude changes, the other partner is often disappointed and his or her attitude changes too. This is an indication that love has been motivated more by personal need than by genuine care for the other individual.

True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Therefore, a truly compassionate attitude towards others does not change even if they behave negatively.

Of course, developing this kind of compassion is not at all easy! As a start, let us consider the following facts:

Whether people are beautiful and friendly or unattractive and disruptive, ultimately they are human beings, just like oneself. Like oneself, they want happiness and do not want suffering. Furthermore, their right to overcome suffering and be happy is equal to one’s own. Now, when you recognise that all beings are equal in both their desire for happiness and their right to obtain it, you automatically feel empathy and closeness for them. Through accustoming your mind to this sense of universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others, the wish to help them actively overcome their problems. Nor is this wish selective; it applies equally to all. As long as they are human beings experiencing pleasure and pain just as you do, there is no logical basis to discriminate between them or to alter your concern for them if they behave negatively.

Let me emphasise that it is within your power, given patience and time, to develop this kind of compassion. Of course, our self-centredness, our distinctive attachment to the feeling of an independent, selfexistent [“I”], works fundamentally to inhibit our compassion. Indeed, true compassion can be experienced only when this type of self-grasping is eliminated. But this does not mean that we cannot start and make progress now.

HOW CAN WE START?

We should begin by removing the greatest hindrances to compassion: anger and hatred. As we all know, these are extremely powerful emotions and they can overwhelm our entire mind. Nevertheless, they can be controlled. If, however, they are not, these negative emotions will plague us (with no extra effort on their part!) and impede our quest for the happiness of a loving mind.

So as a start, it is useful to investigate whether or not anger is of value. Sometimes, when we are discouraged by a difficult situation, anger does seem helpful, appearing to bring with it more energy, confidence and determination.

Here, though, we must examine our mental state carefully. While it is true that anger brings extra energy, if we explore the nature of this energy, we discover that it is blind: we cannot be sure whether its result will be positive or negative. This is because anger eclipses the best part of our brain: its rationality. So the energy of anger is almost always unreliable. It can cause an immense amount of destructive, unfortunate behaviour. Moreover, if anger increases to the extreme, one becomes like a mad person, acting in ways that are as damaging to oneself as they are to others.

It is possible, however, to develop an equally forceful but far more controlled energy with which to handle difficult situations.

This controlled energy comes not only from a compassionate attitude, but also from reason and patience. These are the most powerful antidotes to anger. Unfortunately, many people misjudge these qualities as signs of weakness. I believe the opposite to be true: that they are the true signs of inner strength. Compassion is by nature gentle, peaceful and soft, but it is very powerful. It is those who easily lose their patience who are insecure and unstable. Thus, to me, the arousal of anger is a direct sign of weakness.

So, when a problem first arises, try to remain humble and maintain a sincere attitude and be concerned that the outcome is fair. Of course, others may try to take advantage of you, and if your remaining detached only encourages unjust aggression, adopt a strong stand, This, however, should be done with compassion, and if it is necessary to express your views and take strong counter measures, do so without anger or ill intent.

You should realise that even though your opponents appear to be harming you, in the end, their destructive activity will damage only themselves. In order to check your own selfish impulse to retaliate, you should recall your desire to practise compassion and assume responsibility for helping prevent the other person from suffering the consequences of his or her acts.

Thus, because the measures you employ have been calmly chosen, they will be more effective, more accurate and more forceful. Retaliation based on the blind energy of anger seldom hits the target.

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

I must emphasise again that merely thinking that compassion and reason and patience are good will not be enough to develop them. We must wait for difficulties to arise and then attempt to practise them.

And who creates such opportunities? Not our friends, of course, but our enemies. They are the ones who give us the most trouble, so if we truly wish to learn, we should consider enemies to be our best teacher!

For a person who cherishes compassion and love, the practice of tolerance is essential, and for that, an enemy is indispensable. So we should feel grateful to our enemies, for it is they who can best help us develop a tranquil mind! Also, it is often the case in both personal and public life, that with a change in circumstances, enemies become friends.

So anger and hatred are always harmful, and unless we train our minds and work to reduce their negative force, they will continue to disturb us and disrupt our attempts to develop a calm mind. Anger and hatred are our real enemies. These are the forces we most need to confront and defeat, not the temporary enemies who appear intermittently throughout life.

Of course, it is natural and right that we all want friends. I often joke that if you really want to be selfish, you should be very altruistic! You should take good care of others, be concerned for their welfare, help them, serve them, make more friends, make more smiles. The result? When you yourself need help, you find plenty of helpers! If, on the other hand, you neglect the happiness of others, in the long term you will be the loser. And is friendship produced through quarrels and anger, jealousy and intense competitiveness? I do not think so. Only affection brings us genuine close friends.

In today’s materialistic society, if you have money and power, you seem to have many friends. But they are not friends of yours; they are the friends of your money and power. When you lose your wealth and influence, you will find it very difficult to track these people down.

The trouble is that when things in the world go well for us, we become confident that we can manage by ourselves and feel we do not need friends, but as our status and health decline, we quickly realise how wrong we were. That is the moment when we learn who is really helpful and who is completely useless. So to prepare for that moment, to make genuine friends who will help us when the need arises, we ourselves must cultivate altruism! Though sometimes people laugh when I say it, I myself always want more friends. I love smiles. Because of this I have the problem of knowing how to make more friends and how to get more smiles, in particular, genuine smiles, for there are many kinds of smile, such as sarcastic, artificial or diplomatic smiles. Many smiles produce no feeling of satisfaction, and sometimes they can even create suspicion or fear, can’t they? But a genuine smile really gives us a feeling of freshness and is, I believe, unique to human beings. If these are the smiles we want, then we ourselves must create the reasons for them to appear.

COMPASSION AND THE WORLD

In conclusion, I would like briefly to expand my thoughts beyond the topic of this short piece and make a wider point: individual happiness can contribute in a profound and effective way to the overall improvement of our entire human community.

Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister. No matter how new the face or how different the dress and behaviour, there is no significant division between us and other people. It is foolish to dwell on external differences, because our basic natures are the same.

Ultimately, humanity is one and this small planet is our only home. If we are to protect this home of ours, each of us needs to experience a vivid sense of universal altruism. It is only this feeling that can remove the selfcentred motives that cause people to deceive and misuse one another.

If you have a sincere and open heart, you naturally feel self-worth and confidence, and there is no need to be fearful of others.

I believe that at every level of society — familial, tribal, national and international — the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities.

I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the practice of compassion.”

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pip-personalispolitical · 7 years ago

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GROUPIE LOVE.

I am a self-proclaimed witch, part-time poet and groupie. I say that with a meta affectation; the pretension lies in my self-awareness as opposed to my actions. For those of you that know me, you probably know I enjoy sleeping with musicians. Musicians to me are - without fail - the most interesting people I sleep with and nine times out of ten are really good in bed. They tend to think outside of the monogamous, penetrative box of heterosexual sex. And while interesting isn't always a good thing, sleeping with musicians gives me an experience I otherwise would never have access to. It’s an insight into a world just out of reach.

In this essay I explore the concept of a groupie and what is given to both parties in an exchange that is ultimately one based on sexuality and erotic capitol. I will examine what I think groupies really do, sociologically, personally and sexually. I also address that this particular definition of being a groupie is one of sleeping with musicians, rather than being a dedicated fan of one. This follows the definition outlined by Pamela Des Barres (the worlds most famous groupie) who states that a groupie is someone who is simply “with the group” or “with the band.”

What we do.

From the perspective of a female groupie to that of a male band, I believe that groupies have historically provided performers with validation. This validation comes in the reaffirmation of their heterosexuality, masculinity and success. If they're not playing for the women, who are they playing for? The men in a homosocial context, or a homosexual one? They deflect the objectified performers’ anxieties of being under another male gaze - groupies deflect emasculation (Crawford: 2014: 50). Thereby, they validate the performers sexuality and masculinity by existing within a context where they are desired and viewed as a sign of success. Why else would we turn up to your shows if we didn’t think you were talented and beautiful?

That being said, this validation lies within the grounds of heteronormativity and the heterosexual matrix (Butler: 2007: 4, 8). It is therefore assumptive and reductive to those outside of this sphere. The majority of the music industry is a tiresome ground of patriarchy and misogyny, so those who aim to strike bargains with it must do so within those means provided; while I believe this isn’t a bargain with patriarchy due to the context, it is a bargain nonetheless. This exchange is a confirmation of masculinity and femininity within the heterosexual matrix - a bargain well struck.

The Erotic Capital.

This exchange employs the erotic capital, as defined by Catherine Hakim wherein attractive women use their looks and sex appeal to their advantage for financial, political or personal gain; it is a “fourth asset very different from economic, social, and cultural capitol” that is rising in social importance and gives women an advantage where they otherwise may not have had it (2010: 512). While this is not exclusive to the phenomenon of groupies, it is an important concept I believe is employed in modern ideology of the groupie. As Hakim explains it may have more significance with regards to the entertainment industry and requires a set of social skills based on initial talent and ability (2010: 512). That is to say, groupies already possess or acquire a level of charisma or appeal that makes them desirable to musicians.

Breaking monogamy, sexual assertion and self-awareness.

While groupies provide confirmation within rock ’n’ roll and heterosexuality, they also break the institution of monogamy: groupies exist as a sexually assertive and liberated woman that follows strands of the second wave of feminism (Crawford: 2014: 50). Being a groupie, then, aligns with the movement of sex positivity. Again, with reference to Hakim, the moral ideologies of society tend to discourage women from “exploiting their erotic capital” (2010: 499). The groupie does not shy away from this, the groupie disregards such stigmas in favour of attaining the poet/god/rockstar.

On this note, Crawford argues that groupies take the phallus worship that lies within the heart of rock ’n’ roll (which could be extended to most genres of music, I think) to it’s logical conclusion by sleeping with the artists (2014: 49-50). As Courtney Love (I know, she’s problematic but she has a point here) once said “we invented rock n’ roll to sexualise men.” What is the height of this sexualisation other than sleeping with them?

“Such savviness provokes hostility,” Crawford notes, “women aren’t supposed to plan for and pursue sexual activity” - more to the point they’re not supposed to know how to do it either (2014: 49-50). As a groupie you play to or adhere to the mood of the music, you dress to be a part of the scene to add to your desirability. It is unsettling for musicians to think that a woman can be so cunning - yet so desired and necessary to their personal masculinity, and, by extension, the reputation of the band.

This brings me to my next point, that some groupies possess a level of self-awareness in regards to their actions, both personally and socially; to be labelled as such is to know your power as well as to be aware of the potential downsides. There is power in the namer; when reclaiming the term - akin to the word slut - acknowledges the connotations of the trope. It demonstrates passion, ambition and desire to occupy a pragmatic standpoint within a situation that is ultimately boiled down to one of a sexual exchange. If both parties enjoy the exchange where both have something to offer, it can be beneficial in terms of personal gain and satisfaction. This, it could be argued, is where the concept of the erotic capitol is epitomised.

I am very aware of this exchange, I have what you want and I know that even if you don’t choose to have sex with me, I am a form of validation that is crucial. I add credibility to their band simply by turning up. Perhaps, this sentiment is epitomised in Lana Del Rey’s song Groupie Love. She coo’s “every time that you look up, I know what you’re thinking of, you want my groupie love,” and she’s right. Groupies want to be desired and they are. The question is, does being a groupie in a modern context require a self-awareness and political connotations of these actions to make them effective in their result, or can the liberal morals of the 60’s still be applicable in a modern context?

Misogyny, power dynamics and exploitation.

One of the main issues is that groupies, to directly quote Crawford, give the musician a means to “connect with a male audience through the objectification and denigration of women,” (2014: 50). The position of a groupie is one amidst a field of misogyny: the groupie sits on a thin fence of second wave, choice feminism. You can play up to these images or utilise them, bargain with patriarchal tropes and power structures, but ultimately do these choices not just further patriarchal and misogynistic tropes within institutions?

Moreover, from my positionality (that of a white, cis-gender, able-bodied female) it serves my purpose and my purpose only; I am running in a playground that stinks of choice feminism and out-dated liberal morals reminiscent of the 60s sexual revolution.

Additionally, I believe that due to the fact that groupies are also caught up in a web of sexual liberation, repression and the long standing virgin/whore dichotomy we are easy targets to be labelled as “too obsessive” or “insane”, we are easily dismissed as objects, tropes, not as human beings. Further manipulation or attempt to disband this adds to such a label and your power is all at once lost to the trope.

Perhaps in a modern context, personal gain requires more rigid and well-analysed political intention - however, that is not to say it cannot be a mutually satisfying interaction. Using my education and personal feelings towards sexuality, I feel as though its more of an exchange - I have no doubt that is due to my positionality. Being a groupie lies in a strange river of dynamics on an interpersonal level and a larger, structural level.

The power dynamics of a musician to that of a groupie are, to say the least, troubling: exploitation is likely, particularly with younger or more naive fans. Lori Maddix is a prime example of this, being one of the most desired within the “baby groupies”; she was only thirteen when she became involved with musicians. This is nothing less than statutory rape despite the fact that Maddix gave consent (Tolentino: 2016). The problematic history of groupies and their rockstar lovers can’t be ignored. I can't defend these actions, nor should I. I’m trying to argue for choice feminism and sexual liberation; the fault lies with the men in rock ’n’ roll who abuse their power. Moreover, sexuality in girlhood isn’t anything to be ashamed of and should be explored - they just happened to explore it with rockstars.

Returning to my main point, in regards to second wave feminism and sexual liberation: to what extent is the exchange about liberation or empowerment? Is this not simply an exchange or a play on the erotic capitol? Can this not simply be a consensual, mutual hook up based on sexuality and satisfaction? Furthermore, empowerment and liberation are two highly subjective concepts (as I've previously stated in other essays) what is empowering or liberating to one woman may not be to another.

Conclusion.

It is clear that female sexuality is still widely policed and politicised, widely held accountable and impaled on a fence of second wave feminism - it seems we can never win. That being said the groupie validates masculinities and femininities, they offer a break from monogamy and disregard any morals implemented on sexuality; the groupie is a savvy, sex positive, self-aware agent.

Additionally, in analysing the phenomenon historically it’s problematic elements weigh heavy on its positive potential. I feel that we are, however, utilising feminist discourses and sexual liberation to some gain, be it personal, political or economical. And even if groupies aren’t, isn't it still an expression of sexuality that shouldn't be policed? In the earlier concept the positionality of a groupie allowed for the sexuality of girlhood to experience liberation and exploration.

Being a groupie also holds greater potential to gain a foothold into a notoriously misogynistic industry. Given the interaction stays within the laws and age of legal consent, the erotic capital - if acknowledged by the groupie or not - is still at play and in that sense it is effective.

Not to sound like Penny Lane but I’m here for the music, man. I’m here to gain insight into a creative world just outside of my reach, I want to see how you do it, what inspires you. The fact that you have access to members’ only clubs and D-minor celebrities is a bonus.

I revel in the debauchery and hedonism of rock ’n’ roll; I enjoy seeing and being seen, I enjoy the connection to another creative individual - particularly in a way I’ve never been or haven't had the means to be. Mostly, I enjoy knowing that I have something they want, I enjoy knowing that I am desired - particularly by rockstars.

References.

Butler, Judith (2007): “Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire“. In: Gender Trouble. Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge. pp. 4, 8. Crawford, Anwen (2014). Hole's Live Through This . London: Bloomsbury . 49, 50. Hakim, Catherine . (2010). Erotic Capitol . European Sociological Review. 26 (5), pp. 512. Kandiyoti, D. (1988). Bargaining with Patriarchy. Gender and Society. 2 (3).   Nina De Koning. (2017). VHS1'S LETS SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER. [Online Video]. 20 May 2013. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnViqstGsYs&t=311s. [Accessed: 4 October 2017]. Tolentino, Jia. (2016). What Should We Say About David Bowie and Lori Maddox?. Available: https://jezebel.com/what-should-we-say-about-david-bowie-and-lori-maddox-1754533894. Last accessed 2/10/2017.

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pamphletstoinspire · 6 years ago

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FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT

Today is the First Sunday in Lent.

By Abbot Gueranger:

O God, Who dost purify Thy Church by the yearly observance of Lent: grant to Thy family that what we try to obtain of Thee by abstinence, we may secure by good works. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ…

There follows a Lesson from the sixth chapter of the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians:

The Holy Gospel is taken from the fourth chapter of St. Matthew:

by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876

Then Jesus said to him: Be gone, Satan!”–Matt. 4 : 10.

To this class belong also those who, in the selection of their place of business or their home, pay no attention to facilities for hearing Mass and receiving the Sacraments.

“And the tempter coming, said to Him.”–Matt. 4 : 3.

Mary, Mother of the elect, pray for us that we may be of the number of those who stand victoriously the test of temptation! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

From: www.pamphletstoinspire.com

#first sunday of lent

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