Friday, December 21, 2007

Down In the Basement With Bob's Unconscious

Bob's feeling a little under the weather today. Either that, or the weather is pressing down on him. One of those nasty baby colds, which always turn into a life-threatening case of Man Flu. So to save him time and effort, this is his unconscious speaking to you today. Well, not really "you," since in the unconscious mind, you don't really exist as a distinct entity -- more of a shadowy presence. Which is fine, since Bob said he was going to carry on a private coonversation with himself anyway.

Regarding Keys of Gnosis, in my opinion it takes Bolton several chapters to warm up to his subject, at least to the point that the book really started speaking to me.

For example, I see that Bob has relatively few highlights in the first 40-50 pages, while the last 100 are pretty much solid highlighting. When Bob highlights a passage, it usually means that something has caught my attention in a non-linear way that will need to be "unpacked" and explicated later. This is because "down" here (I hate that; it implies some kind of inferiority, a legacy of the positivistic 19th century over-emphasis on reason. I got your reason right here, buddy. I am so in control of your puny reason. I mean, I can make a guy like Hitchens worship spirits instead of Spirit, and then imagine he's rational! Ha!)

I do get sidetracked, however, which, after all, is part of the job description. I mean, trust me, you wouldn't want to live as if your mind were simply a predictable machine that runs in the same stupid groove for the rest of your life, like one of those substitious atheists or something. Obviously a lot of folks are like that, which is what makes them so freaking boring. Then you've got the other kind, who live only in the unconscious and call it some kind of "enlightenment" or "free-spiritedness."

Please. Much as I hate to admit it, I need Bob's conscious mind, just as it needs me. We don't always see I to I, but it's gotten better over the years. Hey, I've had my fun. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was pulling all the strings until he was in his late 20s! Ha! I should tell you about the day Miller Light came out in 1979, and he thought it meant he could drink 20 of them without getting too intoxicated.... Wait, maybe I have told that story.... Hard to remember sometimes, since, as you know, there's no time in the unconscious.... It's like it was yesterday....

Bob just got a surprise email yesterday from a guy he knew back then, Gary. C'mon Gary, if you're out there, testify to my awesome power over Bob! Are you as surprised as I am that he's still alive?

It's hard for me to stay on task, since I operate holographically, not linearly. In your world, A causes B, which causes C, yada yada, blah blah blah, in a sort of straight line. But in my world, A is more like a point at the center, which then radiates outward, causing A, B, C, D, etc., all extending out like rays from the sun. This is why some people think I'm "mercurial," or something like that. No, it's just that I contain multitudes, like that gay poet. Do I contradict myself? Only from your blinkered standpoint, Logic Slave!

Now, in the early chapters, Bolton spends a fair amount of time proving the existence of the soul with logic, which, as you might expect, is a little borr-rring to me, since I don't require "logic" to prove what is self-evident to me. Hey, I'm not anti-logic, anti-science, or anti-nerd. I'm not knockin' it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for the unconscious than for you maybe. I'm not saying that I'm better or greater, or comparing myself with Tony Robbins as a person or God as a thing or whatever he thinks he is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or right. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this.

So I don't know if I'm the right entity to do justice to Bolton's argument, but I'll try. He points out the genuine paradox that human beings are obviously a unity, and yet, they can only be comprehended dualistically, i.e., "body and soul." If you try to reduce the one to the other, you just end in absurdity or stupidity (my word). Furthermore, this unity cannot be understood, much less observed, in any exterior, scientific way. Rather, it can only be experienced on a first hand basis, or known "by acquaintance." No one else can have direct knowledge of your soul but you, right doofus?

Why the name calling? I don't know. Somehow that just slipped out. I'm innocent! That's just how the unconscious works. You might say that we all have Tourette's syndrome, but that some of us pretend we don't, i.e., we repress it. That's what cursing is all about, don't you know. Curse words are like magical linguistic amulets that partake of a kind of numinous potency because they have their roots down here.

This is why I can assure you that the so-called "reality" based community is so out of touch with same. I'm sure you've seen those empirical studies -- as if we need them! -- documenting how much more cursing and degraded speech goes on in the left wing blogosphere than the right. It's because they're so unconscious. They are motivated by overwhelming feelings that they are unable to articulate logically, which is what causes all the left-wing Tourette's. Did you see that freak Larry O'Donnell wig out over Romney's Mormonism on TV the other day? That was one of my associates pulling the strings. Watch his countenance darken as he becomes demon possessed. We love that stuff down here! Score one for "the beast," as my friend calls himself. It's like that Who song, only

Can't explain
I think it's hate
Gotta curse at you
'Cause my state is blue


That could pretty much be the Democrats' campaign theme, couldn't it?

I have to tell you, this is really hard. I mean, staying on track. Frankly, I think it's why Bob did so poorly in school, at least until grad school. Oh, I had his mind zigging and zagging all over the place. I guess I feel a little guilty about that. Wait, no I don't. I feel the opposite, even a little proud. Look, the Conspiracy was trying to mold his mind to fit their narrow agenda, and I wasn't having any of it. It wasn't that he was stupid, or that he lacked the native capacity. It's just that I flat out refused to cooperate, and I'm glad I did.

Call it self-preservation if you like, because it was either them or me. If the Conspiracy had been successful in stealing Bob's mind, it would have meant that I would have zero influence, except maybe in terms of causing symptoms, which I can do any time I want. Oh yes, I can cause all sorts of mischief when ego and soul are not in alignment -- affairs, divorce, drinking, drugs, illness, addictions of all kinds, you name it. Call it infantile if you like, but I don't look at it that way. Psychic unity, that's what I'm all about, brother. I might have to go Muslim on your ass to achieve it every now and then, but there's really no other way. Plus, the stakes are too high. We're talking about your soul, dude!

In fact, Bolton does a good job of explaining how the soul cannot be "in" the world. Rather -- and he's right about this -- the world is obviously in the soul (as are many other intelligible planes of reality). Likewise, your ego should be "contained" by your soul, since the ego is just its instrument. You can try to turn around that relationship and make the soul subordinate to the ego. I mean, many, if not most, people do. But that's like putting Dennis Rodman in charge of the NBA, or Ron Paul in charge of anything.

When you throw the soul overboard, ipso facto (I think I know what that means), you're left with nothing but the material ego, which in turn is considered nothing more than a biochimerical side effect of purely material processes. Now, in a subtle way, this is where the spiritual disease of leftism gets a foothold. Because if you don't have a soul, you don't have an essence. Therefore, it doesn't matter who you think you are, since you're ultimately just a product of the environment and Hillary can do whatever she wants with you and your money and testicles, knave! This is why the environment has so much power over the left. Obviously, it is the whole basis of their ubiquitous victimology, as in It's not my fault! Wahhhh! The environment made me do it! So the left will ultimately manipulate the environment in order to perfect mankind and cure it of the Disease That Has No Name, but kill the patient in the process, AKA Man as Such.

What? Yes, that's right. I forgot. It does have a name, "the Fall." I guess that's an okay name for the problem, but the word is a bit "saturated," don't you think? Probably just gives people the Jesus-willies when you use it. There are better ways to understand that phenomenon, which perhaps we'll get to later.

So the soul is the container both of the world and of our world-representation. It is why we recognize and understand the world so deeply. We are able to form representations of the world, whereas other animals simply mirror their environments. To the extent that they have a soul, it is generally more of a collective one.

See, as Bolton writes, "the objective world is known to have a form which results as much from its adaptation to our own powers of cognition, as from its objective nature." I know that's probably difficult for some of you to wrap your minds around, but it is critical that you don't do that, because your soul needs to wrap around your mind. The world really is a form of the soul's sensibility, which is why it corresponds so nicely with it. The world is an emanation from above; the reverse could never be true, i.e., the soul somehow being an emanation of matter. I mean, c'mon.

Is that enough? I'm getting bored. This is Bob's unconscious, signing off.

42 comments:

walt said...

"...the weather is pressing down on him."

Perhaps more than we are generally aware! It's good to remember what day this is. The article offers you a visual and historical reference for what you are feeling -- and how appropriate it is that today's post came via The Unconscious.

You wrote:
"When you throw the soul overboard you're left with nothing but the material ego, which in turn is considered nothing more than a biochimerical side effect of purely material processes."

I am always startled at how upside down and backwardly we "take" the world!

Thank you, Bob's Unconscious!

Anonymous said...

"But that's like putting... Ron Paul in charge of anything."

Really?

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWIzYWI4NTBjYTc3NGE1OGEwYWMyZjE1NDZjOWVmMDQ=

robinstarfish said...

Happy Soulstice to Bob's Unconscious from the supporting cast!

Rock of Ages
comes the rhythm and
bluesman in the evening
soul of the zuni

Anonymous said...

"Did you see that freak Larry O'Donnell wig out over Romney's Mormonism on TV the other day? That was one of my associates pulling the strings. Watch his countenance darken as he becomes demon possessed"

I just watched it, though it did not strike me as being much different than the oft demon possessed Bill O'Reilly, whom I also find very irritating.

His points were of import, however. Romney, whether realizing or not, is engaged in a whitewash of what he really believes. For me, it has nothing whatever to do with what Mormons once believed, but what they may believe. For Romney, unlike say JFK, claims to be a deeply devoted Mormon. A deeply devoted Mormon is above all else, loyal to the leaders of his church.
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley recently declared:
"Now may I say a word concerning loyalty to the Church. We see much indifference. There are those who say, 'The Church won't dictate to me how to think about this, that, or the other, or how to live my life.'"
"No, I reply, the Church will not dictate to any man how he should think or what he should do. The Church will point out the way and invite every member to live the gospel and enjoy the blessings that come of such living. The Church will not dictate to any man, but it will counsel, it will persuade, it will urge, and it will expect loyalty from those who profess membership therein."
"In 1933, there was a movement in the United States to overturn the law which prohibited commerce in alcoholic beverages. When it came to a vote, Utah was the deciding state. President Heber J. Grant, then President of this Church, had pleaded with our people against voting to nullify Prohibition. It broke his heart when so many members of the Church in this state disregarded his counsel. On this occasion I am not going to talk about the good or bad of Prohibition but rather of uncompromising loyalty to the Church."
"How grateful, my brethren, I feel, how profoundly grateful for the tremendous faith of so many Latter-day Saints who, when facing a major decision on which the Church has taken a stand, align themselves with that position. And I am especially grateful to be able to say that among those who are loyal are men and women of achievement, of accomplishment, of education, of influence, of strength-highly intelligent and capable individuals."
"Each of us has to face the matter-either the Church is true, or it is a fraud. There is no middle ground. It is the Church and kingdom of God, or it is nothing."

Now, here is the thing. Mormons believe in on-going revelations. Even God is progressing (toward what, it's hard to know). The Mormon prophet might get a revelation that the US should invade Canada, or that the federal government should establish the New Jerusalem in Missouri--the ancient home of Adam and Eve. It could be anything really, as its history has shown. Romney, as a devoted Mormon, is duty bound to work to achieve it--his religion requires it.
Further, there exist Mormon prophecies from Joseph Smith and Brigham Young of a future time when "the constitution shall hang by a thread" and the Mormon leaders will rush to save it. Afterwards, they will establish the kingdom of God under a theocracy, led by a Council of Fifty, etc.
Based on these things, the prospect of a Mormon president, however circumspect he may be (I have no reason to believe Romney is anything but a fine man--indeed, as I have tried to point out, that is part of the problem), is indeed frightening. Not as frightening as Hilary, however.

Gagdad Bob said...

I have no objection to certain libertarian principles. I just think Ron Paul is a kook, that's all -- in particular with his naivete about global jihad. And most of his followers are nuts -- after all, there's a reason why they find common cause with Kucinich, not to mention neo-nazis, 9-11 truthers, and other cranks.

Gagdad Bob said...

More generally, I just prefer manly men -- calm, centered, self-possessed -- while Paul strikes me as the opposite -- like a shrill and yappy little pomeranian.

Van Harvey said...

"I'm not saying that I'm better or greater, or comparing myself with Tony Robbins as a person or God as a thing or whatever he thinks he is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or right. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."

Hmm... I Imagine I've heard that somewhere before... reminds me of... sitting alone on a hill in a Norwejian Wood or something... Hey, Jude, you recall? Eh... maybe just Mind Games....

Anonymous said...

Bob's Unconscious,

Just so I have something to meditate on; would you say that the "mind" is the synthesizing/intuitive space between a persons soul and their ego brain just as the "soul" is the synthesizing/individuating space between the Cosmos/God/Unity et al? How do you see the relationships?

Anonymous said...

Van--

Sometimes we wonder how many readers get our obscure references....

Anonymous said...

Hoarhey:

Of the bottom of my head, I would say the ego mediates between self and world, while the soul mediates between the self and God. But the soul is ultimately bi-directional, oriented both toward God and world, i.e., vertically up and down. I guess you could say that the soul is contained within God, while the world is contained within the soul. The ego is mostly an externally-related adaptation to the inner and outer worlds. You want to have as much of your self in your ego as you can, and as much of the soul in the self as possible. That's what growth and individuation are all about.

Not sure if that was clear or correct. We'll have to wait to see how this series of posts unfolds, as we're not plugged into the Source at the moment.

Van Harvey said...

Bob's Unconscious said... "Is that enough? I'm getting bored. This is Bob's unconscious, signing off."

Thanks for giving us a peak behind the big Raccoona's mask - although there is something deeply disturbing in imagining a bald Raccoon, still, a pleasure (oh, and if you could whisper to your compatriots, if you could refrain from having us on-conscious types point out in public that sometimes a cigar isn't just a cigar... that'd be mucho appreciatoedated... or something like that).

"Sometimes we wonder how many readers get our obscure references...."

;-)

May the bobscurities persist and multiply!

Van Harvey said...

Years ago (80's? 90's?) I'd read a couple things, legislation proposals or comments on such by Ron Paul regarding, I think, the income tax, and 1st & 2nd ammendment rights, and was struck with the thought (knowing nothing more about him) 'Wow, wish someone like that would run for President!'.

Well. Ahem. Be careful what you wish for. Also, since "-- the world is obviously in the soul (as are many other intelligible planes of reality)", you'd best be careful not to mistake what you see as the way the world is, for how it really is, you never really gno what you'll get.

Yappy little pomeranian, indeed. Definitely.

Oh, and "...about the day Miller Light came out in 1979, and he thought it meant he could drink 20 of them without getting too intoxicated.... " Ha! Marked one of my first ventures into the One Cosmos, baffled, amazed and hooked me!

Anonymous said...

Bob's unconscious makes a crucial point, in that the constituent parts of a person have to be in substantial alignment or grievances will occur. The parts are actually twelve:

Pure intellect
Common Sense
The unconscious
Intuition
Emotions
Appetites
Body
Brain
Inhibitions
Will
Surface personality (Ego)
The Psychic Being (Soul)

These parts clash for leadership of the total being. The properly ordered person will put the Psychic Being in command, followed by brain, body, intuition, common sense,intellect, will,inhibitions, emotions, appetites, and ego in that order. This forms the ordered Council of Twelve and as such is a being in optimum trim.

The unconscious is not amenable to control and runs its own program which can influence or even dominate everything except the Psychic Being. The last is indomitable but can fail to lead if the other parts don't cooperate.

Van Harvey said...

Maybe it's just me, but I think that given his position as 7th Degree Bi-Cosmic Hermeticist and First Deputy in Charge of Doctrinal Enforcement, smushing Will in between 'intellect' and 'inhibitions' is well... just a tad disrespectful.

Just sayin'

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Urban Dicktionary:
4.
2)A Man's Flu (flu = Long chimney structure for fireplaces) is used to describe a mans penis.

Just like Bob's Unconcious to Bobaggerate. What kinda phallucy is this anyway?
Wait! That was a rhetorical question.

Got any pictures? No, it's not for me. It's for "Ripley's believe it or not!"
Hey, were talkin' real money here.

"Skully! Quit messin' with Bob's Unconcious!"

Damn! Cap'n Ben is a grouch before he's had his java. Mebbe if I spike his java with my own private reserve of 201 proof rum...

"What was that, Skully?"

Er...nothin' Cap'n. Just makin' mental notes...out loud.

Van Harvey said...

Skully murmered "Mebbe if I spike his java with my own private reserve of 201 proof rum..."

(Psst! Skully! Over Here! My cup could use some help runnething over... and such... eh...speaking in a completely cigar-is-just-a-cigar manner of speaking... gotta be careful what you say around these subconscious types)

Anonymous said...

Ben:

You may have uncovered the hidden meaning of the Sinatra obscurity There's a Flaw in My Flue. I just wish it had stayed hidden.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

It's a gift...and a curse.
Whatever you do, don't tell Skully. Now hw thinks he's a thought sniper, thanks to Walt.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Dang! Now I gotta hear that song!
Arrggh!

Anonymous said...

Beaky wants Scully to put his mandible to proper use & BITE Ben really hard!

The noive of posting on OC while leaving us mudhanging over at OCAS. Really, it's just too much!

Get to work there bubba

PS: tell that Ben, who did the Right Thing vis-a-vis Oscar (oh yeah, & that she-dog), that Beaky wants all the details, doggie-wise.

After all, Ben made her worry for day&days&days about the fate of her special doggieone.

sheesh

walt said...

Radio Skully K-POW
"The Thought Sniper"

Anonymous said...

You are indeeed correct Council of Twelve. As THE psychic being, I am in command.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of that rebellious seven-year-old the unconscious, I've been learning about the ego, which turns out to be inflatable. And given the depressing laws of entropy, what goes up must come down!

Anonymous said...

miss cleo, boychik's inflatable girldoll?



sorry

could not help it

vanderleun said...

Bobby's in the basement
Mixing up the consciousness
I'm in the casement
Posting on the Clintoness
The man in my left brain
Mind off, drugged out
Says he's got an old soul
That started as a mongol
Look out Bob
It's gettin' macabre
Godhead knows why
They're horizontal in the lie
You better duck down the manhole
Light one little candle
The golem in the coon-skin cap
In anti-heaven
Wants eleven more commandments
You only got ten!

Anonymous said...

Huge.

Anonymous said...

From The American Chronicle:

Now, if one listens to most of the political pundits in the major media, Ron Paul is some kind of "kook," and his supporters are also a bunch of "kooks." So, the question must be asked, Just who are these kooks that are supporting him, and why are they giving Ron Paul all this money?

First, let's take a look at this "kook" who is receiving all this money. Ron Paul was born the third son of Howard and Margaret Paul, and was brought up with a work ethic in which one worked six days a week and went to church on Sunday. His first job was at age 5 helping his uncle wash bottles. He worked all the way through his youth mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, working in a drug store, delivering furniture and laundry, etc.

In high school, Ron was a track star, winning state as a junior in the 220-yard dash and running 2nd in the 440. His time in the 100-yard dash was 9.8. That's pretty good. I was never able to break 10-flat in the 100. Although, I bet I could have beaten him in the 50-yard dash.

He also wrestled in high school. Coincidentally, so did I. But here Ron leaves me: he was president of the student council and an honor student. I never accomplished that. I was just glad to get promoted to the next grade. Even as a senior statesman, Ron Paul keeps himself in terrific shape. Have you seen him lately? He still maintains a rigorous exercise regimen.

Ron's two brothers are both ministers, and he became a medical doctor.

He graduated from Duke University School of Medicine. When the Cuban Missile Crisis arose, Ron became a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. He also served in the Air National Guard.

As an OB/GYN physician, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies, and he and his wife, Carol, have been married for more than 50 years.

They have 5 children, 18 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Ron Paul is currently in his 10th term as a congressman from Texas.

As a congressman, Ron Paul has never taken a government-paid junket.

He is not accepting a government pension. He returns a portion of his office budget every year to the taxpayers. As a member of Congress, he has never voted a raise for himself. Do you know any other member of Congress that can make such a claim? Of course you don't, because Ron Paul is truly one-of-a-kind.

Former President Ronald Reagan said this about Ron Paul, "Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country."

Perhaps this helps explain why many of the "kooks" supporting Ron Paul are active-duty military personnel. In fact, Ron Paul has received more campaign contributions from active-duty military personnel than any other Presidential candidate from either party.

But who are the other "kooks" supporting Ron Paul? What kind of people give more than $18 million in a quarter-year to a Presidential candidate that is almost universally ignored by the mainstream press? What kind of people give record contributions to a Presidential candidate that is lampooned by his fellow Republican Presidential contenders?

For example, Mike Huckabee recently said he could support any of the other Republican Presidential contenders (including Rudy Giuliani), except Ron Paul. That means, Mike Huckabee would rather support a pro-abortion, pro-gun control liberal such as Giuliani than support the pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-Second Amendment candidacy of Ron Paul. Why is that?

Furthermore, why are the entire major media and establishment Republican machine either ignoring or lampooning a distinguished Air Force veteran, medical doctor, and ten-term Congressman? What is it about Ron Paul that the elite are so afraid of?

Anonymous said...

Gnarly dude, got any more fun facts?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous:

Your comment was way too trite to be so lengthy. No one's afraid of Ron Paul. Rather, we think he's an annoying crank who should get out of the way. We get the message -- you desperately want to waste your vote. Now go away.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a Vaaaast right wing conspiracy!

Anonymous said...

I'm thinkin' Obama, fergit that cracker Ron Paul.

Anonymous said...

Who you callin' a cracker?

Anonymous said...

Anon, did you send that check?

Anonymous said...

Send the damn check already, the floating deposit box is running out of gas over New Hampshire! The Zionists in the media sure ain't gonna give me any cheddah!

Anonymous said...

Refried Beans Speaking Japanese by Jason's unconscious

Dreary warp touchstone
A Ringling Brothers rodeo side-show
Testimony to go
Holy Ghost smoking dope
Recess confession
Abscess abstraction
Beaver mills and cocaine thrills
Juxtapose

Before we go let me know
The secrets of existence
Resistance to the show
German jubilee
And the might of a flea
Look at me!

Bet you can't see between the lines
Of parallel skies
And macaroni bowties
Leisure suits are the best
Especially with a corsican vest

35 cents to invest
In capital gains
Stains on the brain
Drain on the economy of a lobotomy
Oh my goodness, a talking calico
And a Burmese Billy goat!
Can we go, can we go?
Pretty please with maple syrup on top?

Anonymous said...

I don't understand how Ron Paul got his ad on my Blogger Video Bar. You don't specify clips -- you just enter search terms. Well, not Mr. Paul and not St. Paul and not Rue Paul are not noways in the search terms I entered. So either Ron has hacker friends who are screwing with Google, or his flaks have bought "bumper" ads for inside these "free" video feeds.

I'm not a Libertarian myself, but I believe enough in free speech and the merit of my other clips that I don't want to nuke the video bar just to cleanse boychiklit of his oddball political views.

NoMo said...

No one wants a president with two first names...let alone three - Ron Ernest Paul. Its just not... presidential. And he looks like a weenie. There, I said it. Get real - this is America.

Sheesh.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know if Ron and Rue are related?
Anon?

Anonymous said...

GO RON!

RON PAUL 08!

Stephen Macdonald said...

Ron Paulians are like bedbugs.

Infestations are making a dramatic return after being nearly eradicated, and the beastly little bloodsuckers are hellishly difficult to get rid of once they've arrived.

vanderleun said...

I think Ron Paul should be required to perform self-intercourse with a low yield thermonuclear weapon.

Anonymous said...

There are easier ways to beat prostate cancer.

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