Tuesday, December 22, 2009

False Truth and the Unholy Ghost

If there is no truth, then there is no falsehood. Likewise, if there is no beauty, then ugliness is an impossibility. But many people don't stoop to drink that if there is no crystal water of the Holy Spirit, then surely there is no ______. Rather, ______ is nothing more than a kind of attractive lie, or demonic energy, or parasite-infested bilge water.

What shall we call ______? Unless I can think of something better by the end of this post, let's just call it (-↓), which is a mirror image of (↓). A constant infusion of its death-affirming "graces" leads to the development of (-¶), which is hardly a minor or peripheral problem for mankind. Rather, this speaks to the whole problem of false teachers who presume to speak for or represent God. They are no doubt full of it, but of exactly what are they full? Well, (-↓) for starters. (Also, importantly, once in place, (-¶) will seek out and attract (-↓) in order to "feed" itself.)

Just a brief snidebar, but every week I am astounded all over again that anyone can regard Deepak Chopra as anything other than a sinister moron, a man too stupid to know how wicked he is. Look at the latest authoritative babbling of the Windy Hindi. Whatever else (-↓) does, it fills its recipient with a kind of bloated confidence to spew absurdities or banalities as if they are pearls of great wisdom instead of sacred cowpies carelessly dropped on the information highway. All of these gnocturnal creatures are cut from the same ghastly cloth -- Deepak, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, and all the rest of Brother Lib's Fellow-Traveling Charlatan Show (not forgetting our own hideous Gazbag).

The only way to guard against the false Holy Spirit is to first and foremost seek truth, virtue, and beauty, and then allow joy or beatitude to be a byproduct. If you seek first the joy, then you will become the sort of "intellectual drunkard" who staggers around the watering holes of academia and is so popular in the sophisticated saloons of Europe. There, babbling intellectual drunks and leftist whinos are elevated to great authority. (There are also "spiritual junkies" and "aesthetic addicts.")

Here in the US we mainly quarantine our lie-roasted wackadenia nuts in state-run looniversity bins, and otherwise don't take them too seriously. For the most part, Americans have always been blessed with the intuitive understanding that most of the serious problems of the world are a result of the imposition of some insanely self-regarding intellectual's idiotic idea. We're seeing it play out all over again with Nobamacare, with Cap'n Tax, with Porkulus, and no doubt with Illegal Democrat Reform next year.

The joy of the intellectual drunk is just the intoxicated self-satisfaction of the narcissistic child, who needs others to mirror his brilliance and to reassure him that he really is the center of a universe that can't actually have one in the absence of God. Now that I have a four year-old who is at the zenith of his narcissistic joy, I have even more insight into the psychodynamics of the tenured, whose narcissism appropriates their intelligence in the service of an intoxicated celebration of the ego. Hence the adage, let the dead bury the tenured.

As UF explains, the difference between dead and living truth is that the former is born in the false joy of intoxication, while the latter results in a kind of "sober joy." In turn, this joy "is the key which opens the door to understanding the Arcanum of the world as a work of art," because the joy is a result of a sort of inner harmony; or specifically, a "rhythmic harmony" between the inner and outer, above and below:

"Joy is therefore the state of inner rhythm with outer rhythm, of rhythm below with that of above, and, lastly, of the rhythm of created being with divine rhythm." Call it the Tao, if you like, for the essence of Taoism involves harmonizing oneself with these greater cosmic rhythms. Ignoring them will bring pain and disorder, one way or the other, because one is going against the grain of being.

Existence and life are a function of countless rhythms at every level of being, and this is what, say, the I Ching drives at -- at harmonizing human and divine rhythms, which results in intrinsic joy (but not intoxication).

For example, what is the joy of the Christmas season? It is partly a result of everyone being locked into the rhythm of the season, which not only resonates with "heaven," but with all past Christmases. Everything reminds us of this rhythm -- the smells, the lights, the music, the foods. Premodern man always lived in this kind of rhythm, since festivals were not restricted to once a year, but occurred throughout the year, and were his principle means of "marking time." Thus, he was constantly resonating with heaven, and being brought back to celestial essences. He was not a slave to the jagged rhythms of modernity, which tend to detach man from his source.

We know about natural selection, but there is also a kind of "supernatural selection" that operates in man, as he adapts to different vertical planes of being. Someone who fully adapts to "the world" is necessarily unadapted to higher planes he will never even know about, whereas someone adapted to the higher planes will try to shape the lower world so that it is in conformity with the higher, and thereby becomes a truly human environment fit for immortal souls.

Interestingly, as I have written of before, we come into the world in a state of "rhythmic chaos," so that the most important function of early parenting is to help the child internalize various rhythms, which will achieve physiological and psychological "set points," including with regard to sleep, hunger, emotion, etc.

As I noted in my book, a mentally ill person will always suffer from some sort of dysregulation, say, of self esteem, or shame, or anger, or impulse control. The dysregulation results in chronic disharmony between inner and outer (not to mention, above and below), so that they then have difficult relationships or problems with work or creativity.

In fact, I can see how my blogging is a result of an inner rhythm and resonance between various levels of being, that is now "locked in," so to speak. It is not something I would have ever thought possible before I started doing it. But again, as UF says, this type of "living rhythm" is basically joy. Which in turn is why the primordial state of man and nature is one of joy: "that the world, in so far as it is a divine creation, is a kingdom of joy. It was only after the Fall that suffering became added to joy."

Now, one of the good things about the Fall is that one may consider it as literally or as metaphorically as one wishes. My main concern is the mechanism through which the Fall repeats itself, and what we can do about it.

In the case of Future Leader, I will be watching very carefully to see that the Conspiracy doesn't get to him too early, before he has had the chance to stably internalize the celestial rhythms, which in turn become a spiritual touchstone for the remainder of one's life. Soon enough, the conspiracy will get its hooks into him and try to rob him of his slack. But with a good foundation, one can repel the pressures of the world, and retain one's ground of slack. To lose this ground is... to lose everything, at least for the Raccoon. It is to become alternatively hardened or dispersed, instead of fluid and supple around a dynamic and living center which grows through the infusion of (↓) -- and also the (↓→) that comes from relating to rightly oriented others.

Some children are robbed of their slack so early in life, that it is very likely that they have no conscious recollection of it, of "paradise." Nevertheless, there will definitely be an unconscious recollection of the deprivation of their birthright, except that they will then project it onto present circumstances. Given the appalling level of parenting in the Islamic world, one must conclude that this is central to their chronic whining, victimization, paranoia, externalization of blame, homicidal rage, and bizarre combination of superiority and psychic brittleness.

But the same dynamic no doubt motivates the leftist, who imagines that mother government can make up for the Great Lost Entitlement of Infancy. But unlike the leftist, the infant is legitimately entitled to his omnipotence, and if you fail to provide it, he may well spend the rest of his life either searching for it (the victim) or imagining that he is its source (the narcissist). The former needs the psychic bailout of the breast; the latter imagines that he is the breast. Obama is the breast; his cult members are the hungry mouths. Just in case you were wondering about that giant sucking sound you hear.

37 comments:

Gandalin said...

For the left, it's not just that if there is no truth, there is no falsehood, it's that (as William S. Burroughs used to claim to quote from Hassan i Sabbah, the leader of the medieval Assassins of Ismaili Islam) "If nothing is true, everything is permissible . . ." -- That is, I think, the real reason that the left seeks to denigrate and than eliminate the notion that the truth does exist, and is real.

Joan of Argghh! said...

Obama is the breast; his cult members are the hungry mouths.

So many, many thoughts. . . so little time! Can't even go there!

jp said...

Bob says:

"In fact, I can see how my blogging is a result of an inner rhythm and resonance between various levels of being, that is now "locked in," so to speak. It is not something I would have ever thought possible before I started doing it."

So, did if feel strange to take a break from blogging, Bob?

This is one of your more useful blog posts (to me), by the way. Thanks.

Bob also says:

"Someone who fully adapts to "the world" is necessarily unadapted to higher planes he will never even know about, whereas someone adapted to the higher planes will try to shape the lower world so that it is in conformity with the higher, and thereby becomes a truly human environment fit for immortal souls."

Isn't that a group goal (quest?) of humanity? To achive what I call the "Bright Destiny of Mankind" (for lack of a better phrase - I sure could use one) by shaping the lower world so that it is conformity with the higher.

Gagdad Bob said...

JP:

Absolutely. The Founders were quite conscious of breaking with the past in order to create that "shining city on a hill" for the rest of mankind of look up to and orient itself. See We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future for the exiting details!

walt said...

You referenced UFs description of "sober joy". This is an aside; just a remembrance:

The most joyous person I was ever around was a very old man, and his recommendation to everyone was the opposite of indulgence, but rather, that of "discipline and practice." Everyone who had contact with this old man loved him, and he, for his part, exuded joy and affection for everyone. I approached him several times in an angry state, and found it impossible to be negative in his presence.

But "sober joy" describes well how he seemed to be. Affected my entire adult life, it did. And strictly by his actions and presence, for he spoke no English.

Heh, having seen this, the joys born of indulgence have never seemed to measure up. Living examples of such things can leave deep impressions on young people.

Anonymous said...

Bob, I don't suppose you could provide some first-hand evidence backing your assertion that Obama is not fit for the presidency?

Thank You.

You could tell us what you would do differently as president?

Thanks.

You could put forth your theory as to why Wayne Dyer sells millions of books and you don't. Based on your conclusion his teachings are invalid, of course.

You could include some of those teachings and refute them using evidence you have gathered first-hand.

Thank you.

Or you can just continue to make sweeping, unsupported assertions as usual. That would be OK too but not as potent as the suggestions above.

Your choice. Potent or....

Walt: thank your for your observations about the man who radiates "sober joy." I think I may know someone like that too.

Magnus Itland said...

Interesting point about seeking joy. How about the joy of a good conscience? There was a time, many years ago, when I would feel joy by doing good things, even things that were really little more than common decency. At one particular occasion, when I had done some small service for someone, I felt the joy in my heart, and I rejected it. My rationale for this was that if I did something good because I was instantly being rewarded, I was simply seeking my own pleasure. The feeling of joy instantly disappeared and has stayed away for the most part ever since.

Looking back at it, I am not sure whether I did the right thing or not. I would likely have done more good in my life if I was immediately rewarded for it. On the other hand, having immediate reward as the main criterion for what to do seems also a risky path.

To take another example, our friendly tax-cutting Buddhist points out that people who love knowledge for its own sake, not as a tool for fame or riches, will experience a gradually increasing number of "moments of bliss" in their daily life. That certainly seems to be the case for me. But if I had known this in advance, would I not have sought knowledge in order to experience bliss, rather than out of love for the truth and insight? Once one starts looking for such a reward, the "are we there yet" syndrome is sure to manifest, distracting.

Gagdad Bob said...

Anonymous:

I don't suppose you could provide some first-hand evidence that there is any possibility of a man like me being of help to a man like you?

Cousin Dupree said...

Yes, and do tell us how you've benefitted from the sublime wisdom of Wayne Dyer!

Van Harvey said...

"The only way to guard against the false Holy Spirit is to first and foremost seek truth, virtue, and beauty, and then allow joy or beatitude to be a byproduct. If you seek first the joy, then you will become the sort of "intellectual drunkard" who staggers around the watering holes of academia and is so popular in the sophisticated saloons of Europe. "

The 'joy' felt from seeking after it alone, is only ever pleasure; some by-product of sensory stimulation, and as every hallow eyed drug addict knows, it will always require more stimulation to feel an ever receding sense of pleasure.

True joy is only ever a result of attaining some measure of truth, virtue, and beauty.

Magnus, I think you were probably fine, as long as that wasn't the primary goal, no reason why you shouldn't enjoy the resulting satisfaction and joy from having done what was Good... however making the result, the goal, that would have perverted it.

Philosophy of course, also must be the result of seeking truth, virtue, and beauty, otherwise, if devised for an ulterior motive, as did Kant with "I have therefore found it necessary to deny knowledge, in order to make room for faith.", from the Preface to his Critique of Pure Reason, he thought HE needed to save Faith from Reason, and provided the foundation for the near destruction of both in modernity.

He also, Magnus, was the one who came up with the notion, in his Categorical Imperatives, that you should feel no pleasure from doing what was right, you should only do your duty, and if any benefit for you resulted from it, that devalued or invalidated it... and Marx, Hitler and all the left are still building on that.

Van Harvey said...

Btw, I finished "We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future" last night, and want to add my hearty raccoonmendation for it as well. It really does an excellent job of laying out the intellectual roots of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence and the origins and importance of Natural Law, which animate both.

Mizz E said...

Welcome to the modern day Donner Party, led by Obama, the standard issue snake oil selling,
beguiling cannibal.
Gil has a few choice words for how hearts become hardened and softened.

No one stands outside HIS offer of grace.

walt said...

I notice that you mentioned "...(-¶) will seek out and attract (-↓) in order to "feed" itself."

This is an important point -- the need to "feed", I mean -- in understanding what is occurring around us. Just as we hunger for the Good, the Truth, and the Beautiful, those who think otherwise wish to eat something as well. They not only seek it out and attract it, but create and cultivate it, as well.

Any group wanting to grow concerns itself with "logistics," in one form or another. Thus the Left harvests crop after crop from the schools, and has now seeded the whole culture.

But thinking along the lines of "what eats what" is quite useful.

Magnus Itland said...

Yeah, I kinda thought I might have gone a bit too far back there. So when I much later started having those periods of inexplicable bliss, I just let them run their course.

(For clarity, we are not talking about the bliss that comes from mingling with female energies here. It is, I now believe, more likely the proximity of higher spirits in the invisible world, still not close enough to communicate but close enough that one may feel their uplifting and radiant proximity. I may be wrong about that of course. I still have a hard time believing anyone good would not recoil from my presence, but I have learned it is easy to underestimate grace as well.)

julie said...

Magnus, that makes me wish I could reach out and give you a great big hug.

If you had any idea how truly helpful and good your observations have always been here, you wouldn't wonder such a thing.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Magnus, I have come to understand that 'unclean' in the Old Testament may have meant, "I have become unclean" in the same sense that Isaiah considered his lips unclean having been in the presence of God. That is, blood, dead bodies, (bodily fluids in general) have a sacred quality which if a sinful man such as I touches them, I am 'made' unclean: In the same sense Christ is 'made' full of light in the Transfiguration. The motion of a veil!

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Thus, I would remark, that Peter's dream of the cloth descending is not somehow 'novel' but if all men are made holy in Christ, then uncleanness is done away with in the sense of the old covenant. Thus also why Christ says, "It is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out of him." It is the contact with sacred things which makes his uncleanness apparent...

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

RR: My thought about war is like asking if there are good or bad floods, famines or epidemics; it is more proper in my mind to say that something made them necessary, and it is for us to deal with them as justly as we can. I think this is why the four horsemen include war.

Anonymous said...

Hello Bob and your splinter personality Dupree:

I am the odious Wayne Dyer supporting anonymous entity.

I went peevish because I suffer the malady of making assertions without doing my homework. This is because asserting is fun and I am lazy.

Naturally when I saw Bob doing the same I attacked, because the primary reason people attack other people is because they see one of their own qualities manifesting in the other.

So, my feeble defense of Dyer consists of the following:
His doctrine is roughly summarized by "God is real, God is within, God is without, God is all, you can reach God by taking away the overlay of egoism that keeps you from Him, here are some techniques for changing your attitude so you can find God. And by the way I'm politically way to the left."

Bob's doctrine can be roughly summarized as "God is real, God is within, God is without, God is all, you can reach God by taking away the overlay of leftist cultural mind parasites that keep you from him, here is some literature that I've analyzed that shows you how others have done this. And by the way, I don't like leftists."

There is a rough correlation in the first parts of the two doctrines. This is why I don't think Bob has read much of Dyer and suspect he's prejudiced against him. Because to me the differences in the two men appear to be political and/or ego driven and not related to spiritual doctrine.

Therefore, Bob's dislike of Dyer is a thoroughly horizontal artifact and need booing.

I can't back it with observations because I am a pathetic wanker.

pathetic wanker said...

Yes you are!

Susannah said...

Bob, thank you for this post. I love when you bring in FL. Joan, thank you so much for that link! I have passed it on to others.

hoarhey said...

Pathetic Wanker,

Explain to me why people who read and follow individuals suck as Wayne Dyer, Deeprock Chacra, Oprah, et al. are so easily duped by unevolved and empty shills such as Obama?
That answer may go a long way in answering your questions to Bob.

walt said...

Defense Memorandum:

Dyer is to GB as Twinkies are to filet mignon.

Twinkies sell by the millions because people like to eat crap and call it food.

That both Dyer and Bob both use words bespeaks common containers, but a taste test of the contents reveals: Twinkies over there ... and fine dining over here. Discerning palettes gnow the difference!

(Also, as far as I know, Bob doesn't brag about how he sits around in the nude while he writes his stuff. Unlike ....)

mushroom said...

An excellent analogy, Walt, but I could have done without that last image. I flipped past Dyer on PBS just a couple of nights ago. Now it's seared, seared into my memory ...

underwear said...

He may not brag about it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do it!

Skully said...

The joy of the intellectual drunk is just the intoxicated self-satisfaction of the narcissistic child, who needs others to mirror his brilliance and to reassure him that he really is the center of a universe that can't actually have one in the absence of God."

Those intellectual drunks give us normal drunks a bad name.
Dupree and me sure don't need anyone to mirror our brilliance.

Hostess Twinkies said...

Oh sure, give us a bad rap if you must, but please don't compare us to the likes of Dyer.
Afterall, Twinkies don't rot your soul you know, and are better than brocolli if your blood sugar is really low.
Just remember to eat responsibly and we can be friends.

Ding Dongs said...

Trust Walt, I say!
The discerning pallette will always choose Ding Dongs over Twinkies.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Obama is the breast; his cult members are the hungry mouths. Just in case you were wondering about that giant sucking sound you hear."

They certainly do suck.

Twinkies Again said...

Right, trust the Ding Dongs.
If you only knew how absurd that sounds...

Jello said...

Guys, let's not get personal here.
There's room for all of us in a well-balanced life.

There's always room for jello anyways.

Edward said...

The WIndy Hindi was on Larry King tonight discussing life after death. The glasses have gone from ruby to diamonds - both precious stones which, by the way, refract nothing but blackness when exposed to laser light as opposed to other precious stones like emerald which refract the full spectrum of colors. Like attracts like?

Question: How did you come across MOTT in the first place? Great book!

Stephen Macdonald said...

From David Warren:

"I recommend we halt this season -- at the still, knowable, solsticial point -- to consider a world in which Christ had not been born."

Gagdad Bob said...

How did I find MOTT? It was mentioned in Inner Christianity, by Richard Smoley, to whom I will always be grateful. Looking back on it, that book was a real turning point, because it also pointed me to Robin Amis's A Different Christianity, which opened up a number of extremely fruitful avenues, including going back to the early fathers.

Edward said...

Thanks! Will have to check those two out, as well...

Anonymous said...

Unless you've read the Dyer you should refrain from commenting, unless of course your comment is entertaining.

Anonymous said...

Mizz E said:
"Gil has a few choice words for how hearts become hardened and softened."

Happy to see that some raccoons are over at Gil Bailie. I don't have a google account, so I don't comment there, but Ricky use to comment some times, I have seen. Always good to see!

/Johan

Theme Song

Theme Song