Blog Changes

Now that my life is so prearranged,
I know that it’s time for a cool change.
-    Cool Change by the Little River Band

I’ve written a lot, and I do mean a lot, about self-care. Self-care, of course, being a manifestation of self-love. I say this because someone may care for themselves out of a sense of obligation to someone else or what they deem a higher cause. However, I suspect such self-care would be less consistent and less effective than self-care resulting from self-love.

There’s a phrase that “actions speak louder than words.” It’s time for me to act upon what I’ve written.

 

Without going into details (I tend to be a private person, and I’m not into the current fad of oversharing), so as to care for myself, I need to change how often I post. This means that rather than posting weekly, I will start posting here bi-weekly. 

With these changes, I plan to post again on May 4th, 2024. Check back then.
Frater Tenebris

The Self as Contradiction

I’m a big fan of Tim Blake Nelson. I first saw him in one of my favorite movies, ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’ where he played Delmar, the not-very-bright prison escapee. Nelson has also appeared in other great productions, such as ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ and ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.’ So, I was really pleased when I came across the following quote by him,

“Really, life is full of contradictions. Life is messy.”

This quote reminded me of something. It's true that life is full of contradictions. The Self is also.

In my book, The Philosophy of Dark Paganism, I compare the Self to a hurricane. The characteristics of a hurricane are well known. It’s a massive rotating storm of rain and wind that wreaks havoc in its path. Anyone who’s lived through a hurricane will tell you it’s real. If you’re in the path of a hurricane, denial of its reality may kill you.

However, suppose one focuses on the contents of the hurricane. In that case, one will see that it consists of the same ‘stuff’ as the atmosphere surrounding it. This becomes apparent if you fly into its center, called the ‘eye.’ In the eye, not only is the stuff of a hurricane the same as the outside, but the hurricane’s characteristics also disappear. Instead of gale force winds and rain, you’ll find blue skies and calm winds. At its center, a hurricane is nothing compared to the rest of the atmosphere.

One could say that a hurricane is both real and nothing. It’s all a matter of perspective.

With this analogy in mind, let’s look at the Self. The effect of the Self on the world is very real. The news is full of the impact of individual and collective Selves on the world. However, the Self is not a thing. You can’t capture the Self in a bottle and study it under a microscope. The Self is an ever-changing, dynamic phenomenon that’s an emergent property of our physical and spiritual bodies.

The Self, like the hurricane, is both real yet nothing.

toldinstone YouTube

I’ve mentioned before that I watch a lot of YouTube videos. One of my favorite channels is “toldinstone.” 

 

The owner of the toldinstone YouTube channel gives a brief bio:

I'm Garrett Ryan. I earned a PhD in Greek and Roman history, and taught at a few universities before leaving academia. These days, I spend most of my time writing, traveling, and - of course - making videos about ancient history.

Every Friday (and sometimes also on Tuesday), I post a video about the Greeks or Romans. Some of my videos explore ancient buildings and cities. Others answer frequently-asked questions, tour famous museums, or delve into ancient mysteries. All my videos aim, in some small way, to bring the past to life.

Following is a recent video by Dr. Ryan that’s a good fit with this blog.