I want to say its an honor to be posting here. I lurked a bit years ago and recently have returned and I have to say I've never seen an online community quite like this one. So much kindness, community, sharp minds, and courageous exploration. Such a vast mountain of information and expereince. It really is a great nexus point of some truly cutting edge works and teknologies. One day I hope history sees this place as a early digital library of Alexandria for the reigniting of the study of the Otherworld(whatever metaphysical/ontological way you see that).
I come to you a traveler from distant, near lands and times,
All things are what they seem to be but still eternally fractalized.
Still are we not here!?
My face you've never known but my eyes you may recognize,
Have we ever left here?!
Barking mad, laughing fits, the sun and moon come in to kiss
And from tears from my eyes new worlds fall drip drip drip
Beats and bass rumbling "here has never been born and never died."
The union of appearance and fractaline interconnectiviness(emptiness to the Buddhists, the reality that everything is made up of smaller pieces and those are made up of smaller....to infinity apparently) is intensely interesting to me. As is the non-duality of non-duality and duality. Basically any kind of union of opposites. So many levels to everything.
I try to be kind and compassionate(doesn't always mean nice) to all beings and I find that "inner" work has been the most effective at getting better at do ing so. I try to make my actions and decisions on a foundation of understanding the vast net of interconnection we seem to be. Doesn't always happen but its getting there.
Sometimes it seems to me that an animist model of the cosmos most accurately maps over my direct experience.
I don't take entheogens often. Part of my path has been to make my life entheogenic, using Tibetan Buddhist generation and completion yogas, shamanic technologies of trance, and using relationships with others and day to day "mundane" as a way of engaging in the dance of mystery, the dance of life.
More and more I move away from expecting or wanting any answers and find myself opening more and more into the Mystery of it All. And strangely, I find more contentment and joy and useful ideas in that void than on any fragile ideology.
Of course my process is two steps forward one step back(sometimes the reverse so I realize and walk backwards). I hope your process is coming along.
Process theology is interesting though I can't say I understand Whitehead in the details. Jung is interesting. The Western Magical/Occult Tradition is as well. Indian religions obviously. My patron saint on this forum is the great constellation of consciousness known as Shva, Avalokite, Tara, Kwanyin... Are gods/entities just in our minds or are they as outside as a star? Is anything outside of mind? My suspicion is that the assumptions that lead up to those questions even being formed are faulty. Doesn't really matter to me. As crowley said, you certain practices and certain results follow. Thats all i can say.
I don't read often except I'm reading all the time, everything appears to be a language though it is wordless so we don't recognize it. Some of my experiences have made me think that we are literally in a fundamental sense creating reality though not in a The Secret™ kind of sense. The different magics of the world seem to acknowledge this. Paranormal, Supernormal, Supernatural. The Buddha called it supermundane which I quite like. Some how through entangling our minds with certain events, people, desired outcomes synchronicity seems to conspire to make changes in the world. Cognitive biases? Perhaps.
Robert Anton Wilson is a helpful protector saint for the intellect thinking of such things. Model agnosticism. So helpful. The menu isn't the meal. But where is the meal?
I like gardening and hope to have a farm one day(with many hidden-in-plain-sight acacias and cacti and what not. Permaculture and biodynamics are my jam. I barely want to eat anything that i didnt see growing in the ground. Herbal medicines. Defintiy on the woo-woo side of the healing debate, most of the time. Though not in an ungrounded way from my perspective.
I have a bit of an information addiction. I crave knowledge and sometimes wolf it down so much that its indigestible. It also slows down my inner process when I consume so much. Dr Huachuma put me on a low info diet. Its difficult.
I'm not so good at chemistry so I hope y'all don't mind ignorant questions. What I can offer the community is more along the lines of history of religion, magic, mysticism, and modeling our experience into different frameworks. Religion to my mind has to be reborn for our times, with out the power pyramid design though not necessarily to fit our modern worldview as I see the dominant worldview as somewhat naive at best. By religion I mean a set of practices, ritual, and events done alone or with community with the intention of connecting with a power beyond the ego(singular or collective). Or otherwise drawing that power down into ordinary life. Different things can be used, Thelemic Cthulu cults are a thing as are random spirit cults, so theres many many possibilites for this beyond our narrow protestant view. I just haven't seen that the vague spirituality of the younger generations has much transformative effect. Ritual is IMMENSELY powerful if dine with skill and knowledge. Can there be religion with out dogma and the other ills we associate with it today? I believe so. I would like to see a resurgence of localized pluralism and syncretism. So called "paganisms" but not in the sanitized wicca-lite kind of way. Unless that really speaks to you and your people of course. That being said I have no agenda to push or proselytize. Just open ended, open minded discussion. I know religion makes people uneasy and jumpy.
Oh and I see and refer to almost everything as people. (In my head if I'm around people who don't know me well). Definitely not from psychedelics, I thought like that as a kid and was scared away from it by dissenting opinions but I find its the healthiest way of relating. Song of the sensuous is a decent book looking at animism from a reasonably rigorous philosophical angle.
I think a small group of truly healed people can make a major difference in the world.
Have you ever been around a great Tibetan lama or just a really "awake" person? Yeesh
I like working with my hands.
I want to learn how to sculpt stone. Any sculptors here? How does one learn?
Sometimes I write poetry. Sometimes I play music. Everything is an imorovisation as I find that to be the way I feel most in tune with the flow of dao. Nature seems to me to be an improvisation.
Sometimes I begrudgingly go back and tweak and draw out and develop on the spontaneous outpouring. That's something I'm worming on getting better at and enjoying more.
Sometimes I sit in charnel grounds and gnaw on bones pondering death ,our great teacher. Have you reflected on death today? Its funny his once you do it deeply everything unnecessary falls away. The great perspective giver.
I love you. Thank you for being a part of this great community. I hope you find true happiness and true peace. I hope you retrieve your deepest power and attain the wisdom to wield it. I'm coming clean with y'all, i'm usually not so forward about my inner life. In consensus reality i am a well groomed well spoken level headed well adjusted respected community member and I'm working towards becoming a minister. I could be your neighbor. Or maybe stand next to you in line at the bank.
I look forward to all of our interactions and exchanges,
Have a wonderous day
SHVRA