Thursday, August 31, 2006

The Circle Game

First of all, thank you for all the kind comments. I guess my audience isn’t very large, but very loyal. And obviously very hungry for a certain point of view that is not really available elsewhere. If it were, I wouldn’t need me. I could just be someone else.

It is true that when you submit yourself to a spiritual process, some strange and unpredictable things happen. In fact, I would say that that is one of the stamps of authenticity, because it makes you very aware of the fact that you are dealing with “the Other,” however you conceptualize that Other.

It is definitely a “spiraling” process as well. And what is a spiral? A deepening circle. You keep circling around the axis of yourself, but with each pass, hopefully you move a little deeper. You even keep encountering the same things--the same patterns, the same impasses, the same issues, both personal and existential--but you see them from a different perspective. What was above you is now below you. What contained you is now contained by you. But there are always new obstacles and vistas.

I was trying to convey this idea with the circularity of my book: “We make a detour around the universe to get back to the self.” But it is not the same self you started out with. While you have rearrived at the celestial resting place from which you started out, you may now know it for the first time.

Over the past year, I feel as if I’ve completed another go-round, developing and expanding some of the ideas in One Cosmos. But here I am, back where I started. It’s time for another cycle to begin, but there are cycles of input and output, cultivation and harvesting, reflection and expression.

I feel the need to cycle into the cultivation and reflection mode on pain of repeating the same cycle instead of taking it a notch deeper. I am presently working on a book proposal, and that requires some reflection and synthesis. If nothing else, I must pause and take a breath.

One of the reasons I removed the knowa's arkive, or bobblehead reliquary, is that I want to rummage through it in order to see what is useful for the next project, which will be to history and politics what One Cosmos was to science and theology. It will focus in on the microcosmos of our historical sprint down from the trees of Eastern Africa, into the historical flatlands below, and up the Upanishadic tree of life at the end of history, its roots aloft, its branches down below. I believe the outcome of our current crisis hinges on the mass of humanity making it safely to that other side of history.

In so doing, I will republish some of those things, only edited and reworked. Plus, I will post whenever the spirit moves me, instead of trying to post something every day. In short, I am stepping back into the unknown, hoping for some even stranger things to happen.

11 comments:

Tamara said...

Bob, there is indeed a "time for every purpose under Heaven." I'm so glad you'll be continuing to blog, because your writings are to my mind some of the most important and vital that I've encountered in the blogosphere.

Anonymous said...

I was hoping that I detected a book title in Tuesdays post. ;)
Good luck with your new endeavors and thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bob,

Although I much prefer the “It is written” approach to the whole Bible ordering of things, I find your superb blog to be most profitable as well as immensely entertaining. Are you, too, diseased? When I saw the Life of Brian excerpt the other day my usual slouch gave way to near collapse – I had once used the exact same segment to make a similar point. Great minds must indeed think alike. Many thanks and keep it up!

Van Harvey said...

Sigh.
I knew I should have downloaded the archives (Raider of the soon-to-be-lost-from-sight Archive) yesterday while I had the chance - you always ignore that tiny voice at your peril.
I know, I know, it'll serve as a lesson to teach me patience - I'll have to patiently wait for the second book.
Ok, I can do that... I can be patient.
I can.
...
Is it soup yet?

Anonymous said...

Hey Bob - and all my old cosmic friends!

I've been too swamped with stuff for a while and have fallen way behind in my Bob readings, but I've been stopping by on occasion.

But I want to, once again, thank Bob for his generosity in sharing his knowledge and experience, as well as his personal guidance.  Also, for bringing this amazing group of people together in one forum.  

My finding One Cosmos was the beginning of a new spiral for me, and Bob and the fellow Bobble-heads have been indispensable to my spiritual growth.

So, thank you all!

Bob, did I read that you removed all the archives???  While I've saved many posts along the way there are still ones that I've missed - especially from the last 6 weeks.  Is there any chance of keeping them online somewhere, or even putting them back for a short time?  

Obviously, if there are copyright issues in light of your next book I totally understand - but, as they say about obscure bootleg recordings of Dylan , the Dead or The Beatles - this stuff is only of interesting to us hardcore, rabid Bob-heads who will shell out for all your official releases anyway (I'm up to, what? 6 or 7 copies of One Cosmos so far???).

But, seriously, there are certain fantastic posts that I keep bookmarked for special occasions.  Your writings have deeply affected more people than you'd think just from my forwards.  

Oh, and certain One Cosmos posts on spirituality can be Pure GOLD for picking up chicks!! (just beware anything by Petey!)

P.S. If Bob is on Hiatus we should find somewhere to keep the discussion going (Think Cosmic Launch is safe again? JWM? Will? Lisa?)

All the best,

- Mike

snowonpine said...

Kwatz!

Anonymous said...

No new posts and disappeared archives in exchange for a new book...

Okay, you can quit under those terms. AND if you post the occasional picture of the Gagboy.

Seriously, I can completely understand your motives. And wish you all the best.

Kahn - I'd come back, absolutely.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Godwin:

Thank you for your blog. It's been one of the things I look forward to every day. While I'm sad to see you take a step back, I pray blessings on your deepening journey. Know that you go with the good intentions all Bobbleheads everywhere (well, at least mine).

Pax tecum. Or Pax vobiscum, for Petey, too.

Christopher L. Goetzke
christopher [dot] l [dot] goetzke [at] gmail [dot] com

Anonymous said...

A reshuffling of priorities is sometimes a good thing. As long as it doesn't mean and end of endings end forever and ever amen. For quite a while now, my every morning has begun with coffee, Lileks, then One Cosmos- stimulation and nourishment, both aesthetic, and spiritual. Vertical breakfast, so to speak. So now, the One Cosmos course will be an occasional treat rather than part of a regular diet. (I'm trying to work some corny cereal commercial cliche in here, but it's getting soggy in all this milk.)

Mike: Count me in!
Bob: Thank you.

JWM

Anonymous said...

Hi Bob!
A book offer! That is good news indeed!
I look forward to reading it.
I felt relieved to know that you will keep posting, as you are inspired to do so.
May the Source be
with you!
Thank you for helping me to see an
expanded horizon, indeed a Wheel within a Wheel.
My navigational aids are updated, and I have a better fix on where I'm at and who I Am, and the best course to take from here.
You have been promoted, from Captain to Commodore, and I would gladly sail on your ship, in your squadron, every chance I get.
There is so much yet to explore,
past, present and future,
and you are at the cutting edge, charting new territory, mapping new mountains, discovering new Life...boldly going, where no Bob has gone before!
Bob Trek!
Your faithful crew awaits!
It's been a privilige and an honor, Sir, and I look forward to serving under your command!
Best regards,
Ben

black hole said...

I am glad you are turning your attention to history and politics; you are probably more influential than you suspect and your book likely will have a great impact.
I suspect you will be a "hawk" in favor of US military hegemony in the Middle East. This is a radical position that will have little chance of coming to fruition unless it gets some major support from the public.

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