Evolving Past the Personal Apocalypse

I know that some people never go through that period, you know- the one where you watch dystopian movies from the eighties, lock yourself indoors, consider buying gold, and think that the world is on the verge of collapse after reading too many conspiracy theory websites. The people who never go through that phase might consider themselves fortunate. Nothing is as alienating as questioning everything that your whole life has its foundation upon, and for that I commend those who do trespass that blocked off and foreign territory. They are expanding the scope of their thinking, and really for once, living in and becoming a part of today's mythos. And by mythos I mean the symbols that these people align themselves with: the rapture & apocalypse, the reptilian politicians, the chemical trails in the sky produced by a government that desires a lethargic populace, the Mayan calendar/2012/transformative thinkers, anarcho-primitivism, & neo-paganism. These people have taken the first steps in what may be considered a new direction. The paradigm that we were born and raised in is definitely changing, and these people on the outskirts are on the forefront of this change. But, the people who stop at the "end of the world" bracing themselves for disaster and criticizing the current affairs, but which remain immobilized, are in fact just as stagnate as those who never experience this dystopian romance.

These people, on the brink of "the end of the world" are in fact at a point which signifies the end of their old life- that of ignorance, and the beginning of a world where they have to take responsibility for their decisions. Some would say, what is more frightening than knowing that the world is going to end? and to those questioners, I would reply, Nothing is more frightening that realizing the world is not going to end- realizing that I have to live in this world while knowing the truth about this world, and being forced to act within this world. Isn't it easier to wait for a messiah and pretend to be righteous, than to realize that we still have a role to play, that we are still active members within this reality?

What saddens me is that the potentiality expressed by these people to seek the "truth" is then quelled by their willingness to choose one answer or another, and then become just as blind as they were before, in an attempt to mete some sort of justification for their lack of action. Nietzsche refers to this as "a return to piousness" which hinders the growth needed to make the philosopher into a superman. At this point they are no longer on the path- they have sidestepped into another nonthinking realm, instead of creating a dialectical progression, the "truther" simply enacts out another polarity in thought. Since they cannot take responsibility for reality, they leave it up to the "rapture" to cleanse the world. It is too much to alter their own behaviors, and much easier to come to a simplistic conclusion of reality, e.g.: "We have killed mother earth- so now mother earth will strike back," instead of "We have really hurt the environment, so we need to change our actions and behaviors, in order to hamper the damage that is being done." This synthesis is what is needed to allow for the growth that mankind so badly needs. I am saddened watching those on the forefront of philosophical thought slide back into dualistic thinking. We need to go beyond that as a society, instead of dragging our feet through old doctrines and symbolism-
for those of you who are religious, please do not take offense- this blog is directed at fundamentalist thinking and more extreme behavior- e.g.: buying guns, stocking up, waiting for the apocalypse, chewing your fingernails, and severe distrust and loathing towards human kind. For many people the world would be easier to contemplate if it was about to end. It is easier to prepare for a sudden tumultuous disaster where we can easily become "heroes" than to live day to day and enact that same "heroic vision".

In my opinion, the apocalypse is supposed to be a metaphor for our own psyche, in which we undergo an alchemical transformation that makes us into new beings. This can best be summarized by the Judgement Card in the tarot. Tarot is supposed to symbolize stages of development within our psyche- it is not meant to be interpreted as magical- the symbols that the tarot represent are universal and therefore powerful archetypes that can have "magical" effects upon our consciousness.

"With Fire as its ruling element, Judgement is about rebirth and resurrection. The idea of Judgement Day is that the dead rise, their sins are forgiven, and they move onto heaven. The Judgement card is similar in that it asks us to resurrect the past, forgive it, and let it go. There are wounds from the past that we never let heal, sins we've committed that we refuse to forgive, bad habits we haven't the courage to lose. Judgement advises us to finally face these, recognize that the past is past, and put them to rest, absolutely and irrevocably.
The reader can tell the querent that they need to forgive or be forgiven, do something they've been putting off, or have the courage to finally end something that isn't good for them. It is time to move on."

-excerpt taken from http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/judgement.shtml

Evolution past the personal apocalypse is what we need to create the world that we want to live in. Those in the midst of the personal apocalypse are on the verge of a new philosophy, if they would just open their eyes and realize that with knowledge lies the potentiality to achieve to greater things than they would have ever been able to dream of. The Personal Apocalypse is simply a time to "revalue all values" and leave behind those which do not work. Take the next step, and find yourself within a new world, with a new paradigm- one that is not created by fear or loathing.

America & the Downfalls of Ego Worship

America, a land known for it's "rugged individuality" is a place on the verge of collapse. Everyone has their own opinion about what we should do next, but we are so splintered that it almost seems laughable to imagine us joining together in unity. You might wonder why that is- as I often do. Then I find the answer, unmistakeable and unpleasantly obvious "rugged individualism" has become another phrase for "over-inflated ego worship". America is not a true capital of "rugged individualism" it is a consumer base where what we buy defines who we are, this includes ideas as well as consumer goods. 

We are so busy trying to label ourselves as "unique" that we fail to achieve any level of uniqueness. I think this is because our splintered populace does not realize how similar we are to each other. A conservative is the same as a liberal if both simply froth at the mouth and repeat the libel spread by their leaders. They might think that they alone have the answer, but they couldn't be farther from the truth, because they fail to acknowledge the other side. They might say, "Well if there was no opposition from the other side, we could put this idea into motion." They never think to ask, "Why is there opposition to this idea?" Their failure to ask shows that they are incapable of truly looking at the whole, and seeing the situation as it really is. And because they are not actively thinking as they espouse their "truths" it becomes blatantly obvious that their whole designation with whatever opinion they hold near and dear to their hearts is only a guise, it's an excuse to feel important, it's a way to worship their own egos. Ego worship is the number one killer in America. It kills thought, it kills conversation, it kills friendships and community, all in one biting blow. As soon as people don the mask of righteousness, they stop being a true Individual- which is what America is supposed to be all about. America is supposed to be a land dedicated to free-thinking people, instead America is a land dictated by gimmicky golems and false figureheads.

Now, I want to clarify, just because I have explained the downfalls of ego worship does not mean that I propose that Americans give up all ideas of individuality in following with some Eastern traditions. No, in fact, what I hope will happen is that people here in America can forgo these titles that give them titular status awards, and instead become Supermen, in the sense that Thought be their guiding light and individuality rewarded as a result of that Thought, and not vice-versa. Too many of these political parties have become status clubs, where membership is passed down from generation to generation, and not because the ideas of that party are worthy in any regard. Now let me introduce a source of divine inspiration.

Nietsche

Nietzsche was a complex man, often misunderstood by the masses. Part of the reason that I want to address him and his work is because I think that his ideas can colorfully illustrate the points I have made in the introduction to this article. It has been said that although Nietzsche was an atheist, he was much closer to God than many of his contemporaries. He was an idealistic pragmatist. He wanted to save only the ideas and concepts that worked- he did not want to tarry and save the ideas that were already tarnished and decomposing. He wanted to create a world where people were not chained to their lower selves- their ego worshipping selves, where instead people were truly  revolutionary- because their actions were purposeful and philosophical, instead of just merely paradoxical. In another article I hope to address this paradoxical nature that seems to currently encumber humanity.

 One of the concepts that Nietzsche intuitively understood was the idea of Sin for Salvation- doing the right thing regardless of what others say. I want to go one step further and say that the first step on the path to intellectualism is to Rebel, to Sin for Salvation, to think independently. By the act of independent thought one has proven that one can think. In America, our much touted idea of radical individualism has not helped us to develop new philosophies or ideas, instead it has lead to inflated ego and ridiculous levels of self-absorption. We are now at a crisis where as a country we must begin to try new ways of thought, we must begin to slough off our much praised way of "rugged individualism" in exchange for communities committed to change, to thought, to Progress. We are so divided, that it seems as a nation, that we have been conquered by forces like the Media, by overbearing Archetypes & slavery to our self-image. The truth is that we have become stagnant. We offer nothing new to the table, which is why we are a waning country on the verge of collapse. We must remember that we individuals capable of thought must never be reduced to one singular archetype, that all of the archetypes are within us. We need to move past all preconceived notions of self and into something Real and Tangible. 

Our Higher Self, our Superman must be what we conceptualize.

When Nietzsche says, "Let me show you the Superman, man is to be surpassed," what Nietzsche means is that we must surpass all of our temptations to act out of ego, to play a role, to subconsciously act out an archetype. The truth is, of course, that man must be understood before he can be surpassed and transformed into the radical Superman. Otherwise he will be repressed and that repression will lead to subconscious expression. Our higher self, our Superman must be what we conceptualize. This comes back to Independent Thought, or "our first act of rebellion" which is to create a vision of our higher self. If we do not work to create this vision, then we are still living in the vision that others created for us. So, by destroying our super-imposed identity, we rebel. 

Our super-imposed identity is created by our family, by the media, by education, by class. The first thing that we must do is make a list of every title that has been created for us and fully question it: democrat vs. republican, student vs. teacher, mother vs. destroyer, all of these titles represent one half of a duality- they are polar in nature.  There is a great quote from P.D. Ouspensky, a famous occultist and author, who explains this concept very lucidly, 

"For as long as the individual soul does not free itself from Nescience, or a belief in duality, it takes something else for itself. True knowledge of the Self or true self-knowledge, expresses itself in the words, "Thou art That" or "I am Brahman," the nature of Brahman being unchangeable eternal cognition. Until that stage has been reached, the individual soul has been fettered by the body, by the organs of sense, nay even by the mind and its various functions."

If we refuse to question these roles, then we will become a cold and lusterless shell, like the main character in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" who could only be the working son, able to be nothing more, he was turned into a giant bug. When we only do what others tell us to do, or infer that we should do, then we are not worthy of a life where we are in control. If a man in charge of a nuclear missile did only what others told him to, would he fire that missile for an unworthy cause? The answer is yes. That is why authority must be questioned, because in a sense we are all dangerous weapons, and unfortunately, more often than not, because of the mechanisms of society and the labels that are created, we are our own worst enemy, and often work against ourselves.

The definition of the Superman is, someone who has attained Supreme Awareness, and understands the nature of reality. When we choose to commit that first act of Rebellion, or Independent Thought, we make a promise to ourselves to seek Truth, to see Reality as it really is, instead of how we would prefer to see it. When one attains self awareness, one is no longer innocent. We are compelled to Act, and even willfully choose to make mistakes or act against the grain, or outside of a political party. We need to be able to challenge our leaders, or to call them out when they make mistakes. Our passivity only leads to our own ruin. We must claim our own fortune and become enactors of our own Destiny.

If we live our lives in the shadow of someone else's greatness, then we never achieve our own greatness.  We must claim our own fortune, and be enactors of our own destiny. Once we can see ourselves as we truly are communities will flourish, and ideas will again be bountiful. Many people seem hesitant to take this step, Nietzsche refers to those people as lowlanders, people who refuse to accept change, because they do not want to Learn and take up Responsibility. It is always frightening to question what you were brought up believing, but by changing our beliefs we can transform the World. 

I challenge you to become a Superman.

Reclaiming Hyperreality, our life in art.

I want to reclaim the hyperreal. 

Hyperreality is an inability to distinguish between what is real and what is not. Hyperreality can be described as enhanced reality. Some people become more engaged with the hyperreal world than with the real world.
Hyperreality is thought to be a consequence of the age that we live in.

Hyperrealism is a postmodern philosophy that deals in part with semiotics, or the study of the signs that surround us in everyday life and what they actually mean. For example, a king may wear a crown that symbolizes his title and power. The crown itself is meaningless, but it has come to take on the meaning that society has given it. The reality of the crown and the hyperreality of what it stands for are interwoven. *

These definitions of hyperreality are inadequate, because the philosophers who came up with these ideas are refusing to recognize the role of imagination within "hyperreality". Artists live in hyperreality, because they are creating as well as actively choosing which symbols they will live by. Hyperreality is always given negative connotations- but the negative connotations exist as long as the population at large live under symbols of other people's choosing.

One could argue that it is imagination that separates humans from animals, that is how intrinsic imagination is to humanity as a whole. Our ability to create a vision in our minds is what enables us to control and change reality as it is, instead of merely living at nature's mercy. Imagination is what fuels architects, artists, mathematicians, scientists, religious leaders, and politicians, because they envision a world that they can possibly create, or control. Of course this can occasionally have negative connotations, people might say that Hitler was an artist who had a vision. But the truth is that people are allowed to be idealists, people are allowed to dream. It only gets dangerous when so many people share the same dream, because then they are only creating and recognizing one reality, one Truth- instead of living out multiple dreams, multiple realities and ultimately, multiple truths. I argue that the universe is created to show potentiality, and that there should be as many dreams as possibility will permit, otherwise one Truth becomes Dogma, and dogmas become constricting laws which stop us from living out our full potential as individuals and as a society at large, making us no different from mere animals.

It is far more dangerous for us to live without a vision, because whether we like it or not, we will inadvertently fall prey to other people's visions. Here is a quote from an article on hyperreality that summarizes this point, "Every time we enter a large shopping area with a certain theme, we are entering a hyperreal world. Theme parks such as Disney World, or the casinos in Las Vegas are hyperrealities in which the public can get lost for as long as their money holds out. Hyperreality no longer exists just in our heads; it is being force-fed to us nearly every time we leave our homes." Yes, other people's imagination is force-fed to us, until we fully develop our own imagination, just like children who need their parents to tell them what certain things mean. After a certain age we won't need other people to guide us. If we cultivate our own imagination then we won't be interested in what other people's imagination has to offer us.

Hyperreality is not some thing that we just happen to live in, it's a lifestyle choice. We can choose to go to Disney World, we can choose to go to the mall, or we can choose to create fucking fantastic art and do whatever the hell we want [within reason], [although reason might also be some sort of dogma]. All that this requires is imagination coupled with action- that is the only difference between "Artists" and "Other People".

"Artists" create the reality that they live in, while "Other People" live in a reality created for them by someone else. More people need to actively engage in making their own myths and theories and art. Since we live within a world of symbols, we can change the symbols to our own liking. It all depends on how great a person's imagination and passion are to drive them towards their vision or great work. If a person has little ability to cultivate imagination, then it is likely that they will play a minor role in someone else's simulated reality.  That's okay, sometimes we can be part of a dream that's bigger than ourselves, but that's besides the point. The point is that hyperreality is not negative, it is a power that when harnessed gives us the ability to transform mundane reality.

One example is the artist Roger Dean who created the album artwork for many bands during the 1970s. Here is a piece of his art.

Here is the home he created.

What would the world be like if everyone became truly visionary? And what is stopping us from creating a reality that we want to live in?

Jean Baudrillard suggests "that the world we live in has been replaced by a copy world, where we seek simulated stimuli and nothing more." That might be a reality for some people, but I think that it should be a wake up call. Let's create a synthesis where we work together as artists to create the reality that we want.

*http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hyperreality.htm

Love, Alchemy and Transformation

We've all seen it in the movies, Love enabling a wounded warrior to fight for his beloved. Sometimes the protagonist fights against fantastic creatures, sometimes he fights against wicked witches, and yet other times he fights against typical bad guys, bullies who want to take everything away from him. The reality of love is that it allows for us to deal with the bad, it enables us to look past flaws that could easily transform a beautiful woman into a hag, and to remain steadfast in our dedication. Love enables us to grow and change. When someone truly loves another person they want to actively change themselves- to ultimately become a better person. Love is hope, and love is endurance. Love is dealing with the hag, melting away her cold artifice and wicked guile, until the woman within has been completely liberated from the illusory world of emotions and again made real. It is the caress and the kind ear that liberate the man who cannot express his emotions. Patience is another attribute of Love.

It is necessary to understand what Love truly is before understanding what it is not. Love is one of the ultimate keys to transformation and enlightenment. By creating a bond with another person, we should, ideally be creating a bond to constant growth. The sad fact is that love is commonly misunderstood, and instead of creating a life together based on these higher ideals, people pervert and destroy all the love and hope that they could create. It is hard, because not many people want to constantly look within all the time, be reminded of and realize their own faults, or grow- change can be difficult and frightening- we get used to thinking of ourselves a certain way. As part of the vision of Monad Photography, I am a proponent of always striving to see oneself in a new light, a manifesto that helps one to break cyclical thoughts or behavior, and to strive towards new experience.

Recently I have seen the demise of relationships that had lasted more than twenty years. At first it was a shock, but then I thought about all of the things that I had noticed over the years, and that was what initially spurned my urge to write about the subject of Love. Do I feel hokey writing about it? A little. Do I realize the necessity to address this subject? Absolutely. Especially because people tend to repeat the same patterns over and over again, until they learn their lessons, a concept commonly referred to as "eternal return" or "eternal recurrence". How would you like to repeat the same scenes over and over again for all eternity? The truth is, whether we like it or not, we do. Sometimes we have such a strong unconscious tug to live out a certain question, that we end up focusing on one small element in our past, these actions could be in relation to choosing a partner to work out problems we haven't solved since childhood. Sometimes this means being in an abusive relationship, or a codependent relationship. I have often seen this occur with drastic, and unhealthy results. If people have committed to each other but don't pay attention to the inner alchemy going on, or the reasons why they are together, then they are simply just reliving the trauma they experienced in the first place. Part of the reason that I am writing this article is because I want to see other people transcend their trauma instead of being mired in it. The first step in avoiding trauma and experiencing Love is to become your own witness and to actively pay attention to the decisions you make.

Often in relationships people will unthinkingly do things that hurt the other person in an arbitrary fashion. This is one of the first obstacles to actual Love, especially if they are just repeating the habits shown to them by their parents. It is unfortunate that many people never think to try new concepts, and inadvertently limit themselves, but that is also a result of our society, because our society tells people that if "somebody doesn't love them just the way they are" then that somebody should be kicked to the curb. We are not supposed to stay "just the way we are" for all eternity! We are supposed to grow, we are supposed to change. Love is certainly about a degree of acceptance, but most of that applies to self-acceptance and self-love. If we don't love ourselves, how can we expect someone else to love us? Self-love also allows us to be self-critical of our own actions and ideas. If we cannot see the truth behind what others say, whether in the relationship or elsewhere, then we cannot grow. By accepting criticism, we start our path towards Truth, as well as Love. 

Sometimes when experiencing difficulty in my own relationship, I would have dreams that my partner would be with an alternate version of myself- a more actualized, healthier, and more talented me, or in other words, my higher self. This was during a long period of unemployment, which is always stressful and depressing. The dream was my way of understanding that although my partner loved me for who I was, that I would still have to go through quite a few more transformations and take more steps towards my goals in order to continue on this path. This was hard for me to realize because even though I was stressed, I had also begun to adopt self-limiting behavior as a defense mechanism, and I was beginning to get too comfortable with being miserable. By eventually becoming critical of my own situation, and spurred to action by my dream, I was able to transcend that lower aspect of myself- even though it was very hard to do. Love is not two people who stay together even though they are miserable. Love is all about alchemy as well as inward and outward transformation. Love is about being with someone who will challenge you to grow with them, otherwise someone might get lost along the way. Love is also the patience our partner bestows on us when we are going through our inner alchemy, as we do need to occasionally rest along the path and allow these changes to occur.

In the beginning paragraph, I said that "Love [is] enabling a wounded warrior to fight for his beloved. Sometimes the protagonist fights against fantastic creatures, sometimes he fights against wicked witches, and yet other times he fights against typical bad guys, bullies who want to take everything away from him." In essence we are the hero, and we are the beloved, and we are the monsters that we have to fight. Love is simply having a companion on that journey. We don't need to be in relationships where we have to be the "hero" or the "princess" or even the "monster", because all of those things are really just inside of us. One dimensional roles are passe.  There are many layers in love, but one of the most profound layers exists where there are no masks, and roles are not designated willy-nilly. I'm tired of the blame game, I'm tired of false epithets that accompany false prophets of "love". Love occasionally is a battlefield, but usually when we need to fight against ourselves, and our own preconceived notions. 

Dissecting the Hag

How would one describe the Hag? The Hag is an archetype we are all familiar with, the overbearing mother, the frightful wench, the over-emotional PMS-ridden woman who is incapable of rationality, and a Succubus who castrates a man of any and all desire. Personified, the Hag is Judith who chopped off Holofernes head, Medusa the woman whom no man could look at without turning to stone, and the stepmother from Snow White who persecutes her own stepdaughter because she is so consumed with her own need to be loved. Below I have posted a picture of Judith beheading Holofernes.

One might ask why the Hag archetype is something most commonly attributed to women. Some might say that it is a malicious accusation, or a sexist mental preconditioning based on Medieval literature. I argue that men are also capable of this archetype. Men are just as capable of emotion as women, because they are ultimately human. They would be recognized as the overbearing father, the abusive husband, people who refuse to be criticized, thrive off of self-righteousness, and are fundamentally feeling-types*, that are not capable of logic. This might be due to the fact that these people have in fact suffered an injustice, or perhaps multiple injustices, which would make sense since their emotional function is in auxiliary mode.  In this essay I would like to address the women's role within the sphere of the Hag, since I am a woman, and I am familiar with this role in relation to myself.

In modern day culture, the Hag is seen as monthly by-product, something that women are incapable of controlling. The truth is that anyone is capable of exuding the Hag characteristics. The Hag creeps up on people who are tired of looking inward, and are tired of self improvement. Self improvement requires a constant awareness and desire to grow, which can be exhausting and results in many ego deaths. Everyone dons the Hag persona a few times during their lifetime. They want to relax, they want to be told that they don't have to grow any more, they want stasis. The reality of the situation is that nothing reaches stasis, everything is always growing and changing, and the world is just one big alchemical oven that takes substances and changes them from one form to another. As we are changing form throughout the continuous cycles of life, it makes sense that we would cling to the archetype of the Hag. Who doesn't occasionally want to feel self-righteous or self-important? The Hag in it's most base form wants to be worshipped, desired and needed. The Hag claims to have reached enlightenment or to be perfect as is. The Hag can hide under the guise of the Succubus, but not for long, because eventually the beautiful mask will be taken off to reveal the monster within.

The truth is that the Hag is just a person who is afraid. Afraid of what they will discover if they look inside or in the mirror, they pretend that the only thing that matters is their relationship with the Other, [the Other being their boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, or child]. The truth is that despite the facade that they create, each person is fundamentally Alone. That means that all relationships are illusory, ultimately they Change. People die, people break up, etc. By pretending that the Other will be with them forever, the Hag attempts to escape reality for what it really is. The Succubus does this by being consumed sexually, the emotional wreck does this by blaming their current exterior situation instead of looking inward to see where the problems truly lie, and the Medusa-esque Hag does this by avoiding the situation altogether and never looking inward- the one time when she does peer into her reflection she dies instantly. The overbearing mother gives so much attention to her children so that she doesn't have to look inside, or deal with her exterior circumstances.

The Hag might not even seem that bad, maybe she wants to bestow so much love that she smothers, instead of scaring all small children in the vicinity, but ultimately she is still a Hag. And the Hag is a powerful archetype to be reckoned with. The Hag can turn a man to stone, she can ruin relationships, destroy friendships, and alienate everyone in her general vicinity. She can also teach people valuable lessons about themselves, or stand up for her rights or the rights of other individuals that have been trampled. Judith seduced and then murdered Holofernes to save her people*, but could there have been other, more valorous ways to achieve a better end?

Judith appears in many relationships, many times when women perceive a threat they go out of their way to seduce someone else, or purposefully cut their boyfriend off at the knees. I often see women strike out against men in relationships because of some perceived wrong that the men might or might not be aware of. Sometimes the women do this through sexuality, sometimes they do this with emotionality. Many women often see men as the perpetrators, and abusers. And many men are, but the truth is that it takes two, and often many women allow for abusive relationships to continue. But the women need to realize why they sought out those relationships in the first place, or perhaps why they've seen a cycle of abusive relationships. By looking within, a woman might be able to transcend the Hag archetype altogether.

If a woman is too transfixed on her children, to the point where she smothers them and they begin to avoid her or harbor bad feelings, shouldn't she stop and consider what might be the source of their vexation. If a woman feels threatened because she is not the most beautiful of them all, should she stop herself before wreaking vengeance on a fellow woman? Should a woman who alienates everyone around her, perhaps stop and think, why are people afraid to make eye contact with me? Fierceness and bravery are definitely positive traits, but sometimes bravery is simple brashness, and fierceness is a defense mechanism that stops other people from getting too close.

The reason why I am writing about this is because I don't think that Medusa, or Snow White's wicked stepmother were really happy people. I think that they were people who wanted to be loved, but didn't know how to. They were so overcome with emotion, that their beauty was distorted, and deformed they were turned into the Hag that people so vehemently hate and fear. For men who are overbearing or abusive, they are just like those women- so afraid that they resort to violence and petty wretchedness. Men who are abusive were usually abused- they are weak and sensitive creatures that through fear destroy what they love. It is a very unfortunate condition, and it is toxic for the Hag and the Other involved in the situation. That is why I think writing about the Hag is so important. We all need to deal with our inner Archetypes. By dealing with, and recognizing our own inner Hag, we give ourselves the power to transcend the Hag altogether. By tempering emotionality with rationality, love for the Other with love for the Self, we enable ourselves to avoid painful and unnecessary situations. The truth is that nobody wants to be the Hag, but in order not to become the Hag we must know ourselves and avoid the temptation to act in a way which truly shows our weakness. We must be strong, even when we are afraid. In the act of pretending to be strong we forget our fear.

As Frank Herbert said so eloquently in his novel Dune,

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."







*"Feeling types" are a category of the Meier-Briggs personality types. Go here http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm for more information.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Beheading_Holofernes

Self-knowledge and a New Manifesto.

"So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

~Master Sun, The Art of War

MORE TO COME!!

Inspiration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVu4Me_n91Y&feature=player_embedded

A three year old reciting a poem by Billy Collins.