tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post7807480424305527234..comments2024-03-29T06:03:45.545-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Existential Shrinkage and the Imagination of Reality (11.19.10)Gagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31442206330656942252007-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:002007-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:00Thanks all who responded to my question. What I t...Thanks all who responded to my question. What I think I will do is establish with my girlfriend that we are either moving towards marriage or we should stop now.<BR/><BR/>Above all I want a relationship that is pleasing to God and will serve him well.<BR/><BR/>Monogamy and stable matrimony are the only acceptable relationship outcomes, I think.<BR/><BR/>And to answer Smoov--to go where the Lord calls you via your intuition is a right movement. Feel it in your gut and you can't go wrong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-74674001339932120122007-12-15T07:20:00.000-08:002007-12-15T07:20:00.000-08:00What Nomo and anonymous said.To paraphrase JPII in...What Nomo and anonymous said.<BR/><BR/>To paraphrase JPII in a nutshell:<BR/>Don't lie with your body. If you aren't married, don't behave as though you were. It's not living with integrity.<BR/><BR/>What sort of relationship would you have, without the sex? That's the question here, I think.<BR/><BR/>Walt-thanks for the good news on Ben and Patti.Salhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13201226644704622876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1253115425128464162007-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:002007-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00Meant to say:sex without a lifelong commitment is ...Meant to say:<BR/><BR/>sex without a lifelong commitment is bogus.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Or better sex is for commitments that are signed, sealed and delivered not for "relationships.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-18235271178800685842007-12-14T22:51:00.000-08:002007-12-14T22:51:00.000-08:00In other words - you are what you eat.In other words - you are what you eat.NoMohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100042056270224683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-88193305422028016082007-12-14T22:49:00.000-08:002007-12-14T22:49:00.000-08:00A relief about Ben. Just a wonderful column Bob. I...A relief about Ben. <BR/><BR/>Just a wonderful column Bob. I am in awe, really. Also working out my own relationship issues -- trying to escape my old patterns of skirt-chasing, young & pretty, etc. <BR/><BR/>Otherwise I have been deeply engaged in trying to decide what God wants for me/from me. I currently have before me the opportunity to take up a position as an officer and executive (C-level) at a public corporation. I haven't done that sort of gig before (recent corps I have partly owned, and were private). I have this feeling that this represents a door opening for me, but I cannot understand <I>why</I>. Why is this different than, say, just retiring young, or perhaps consulting?<BR/><BR/>I haven't figured it out yet. Has anyone else ever come to a career juncture and felt <I>drawn</I> into something they were not really considering before?Stephen Macdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13474300559219020772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-46700717712830681822007-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:002007-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:00Greybeard said,"The new girlfriend has some psycho...Greybeard said,<BR/><BR/>"The new girlfriend has some psychospiritual issues that I find interesting, but nevertheless the outward pull of such an affair knocks me out of equilibrium, particularly the sex."<BR/><BR/>Last one of those I was in, the psychospritual issues turned out to be way more psycho than spiritual and my interest in them morphed into disgust after a time. When I finally did break it off it was like a crack addict going cold turkey, due in large part to the sex. <BR/>On the plus side, I uncovered alot more of my core self in the aftermath and had some life altering epiphanies relating to my role in the relationship and to the magic of forgiveness.<BR/>What is the long term prognosis as it looks from this point? It really does take dedication by both parties to evolve in a good, forward direction which points to a deeper commitment at some point to keep things moving. And as always, actions speak louder than words. Sport f*^#kn' and just hangin' out will only take a couple so far. <BR/><BR/>"The outward push caused by sex and emotional lability can be overcome by detachment on a higher level."<BR/><BR/>Good luck on that one.<BR/>In my opinion, you've squandered the detachment angle because of the sex. <BR/>For the most part, without a deeper commitment and a higher shared ideal, people will retain those cherished mind parasites throughout their lives, conforming to each others disfunctions along the path of least resistance. After a time, it all seems normal. <BR/>Without that measure of cause and effect understanding and detachment, a "North Star" to aim for and the ability of at least one whole person to do what is needed, things just seem to drift.<BR/><BR/>These days I try and keep it zipped up and listen to alot more Dr. Laura than I used to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-14113318833583448842007-12-14T20:10:00.000-08:002007-12-14T20:10:00.000-08:00I mean, I agree about the rationalizing mind.I mean, I agree about the rationalizing mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-92180454299935800952007-12-14T20:09:00.000-08:002007-12-14T20:09:00.000-08:00"Sex without a long term (lifelong or better if yo..."Sex without a long term (lifelong or better if you can get it) is bogus. Any rationalization of this is a self-deception."<BR/><BR/>Wait a minute anon. You can get better than lifelong sex? This is unheard of. Please grace us with your crazy wisdom. I'm probably just misunderstanding. Nevermind me.<BR/><BR/>I agreed about the rationalizing mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31924733371655141612007-12-14T20:03:00.000-08:002007-12-14T20:03:00.000-08:00"I hide my advanced wisdom better than I hide my a..."I hide my advanced wisdom better than I hide my advanced years."<BR/><BR/>You shouldn't hide your wisdom Nomo. Because...this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. La la la. La. Laaaaaaaaaa. <BR/><BR/>Yea, I might look stupid sometimes, but oh well.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>"I suppose we could say that fantasy is imagination in service of destruction and dissolution."<BR/><BR/><BR/>"Adieu! the fancy (fantasy) cannot cheat so well <BR/> As she is famed to do, deceiving elf." --John Keats, ode to the nightingale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-10675458701247560452007-12-14T18:12:00.000-08:002007-12-14T18:12:00.000-08:00Not for nothing did God condemn sex outside of mar...Not for nothing did God condemn sex outside of marriage. Sex without a long term (lifelong or better if you can get it) is bogus. Any rationalization of this is a self-deception.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-50323825966380975622007-12-14T16:50:00.000-08:002007-12-14T16:50:00.000-08:00"You might say that there is a vertical His- and H..."You might say that there is a vertical His- and Heresy, the former involving an "upward flight" from the world into the Abbasolute, the latter being a "downward escape" into the considerable charms and snares of Mamamaya."<BR/><BR/>Sometimes you go off on these <I>riffs</I> that just crack me up -- mostly because they are so precise!walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388218390016612051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-59698792273277357372007-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:002007-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00>>A one-sided, unimaginative, dryasdust outwardnes...>>A one-sided, unimaginative, dryasdust outwardness is an affliction that particularly affects the left<<<BR/><BR/>It could be that, at worst, the leftist and those who want to reverse the flow of human evolution don't so much lack an imagination as they corrupt imagination. In other words, they succumb to *fantasy*, which is imagination unmoored from its divine roots. <BR/><BR/>Let's face it, evil often does manifest itself in insidious, trickster-ish ways. Political correctness, though prima facie insane, can cannily tie itself up in knots of theory that, to many, prove very seductive. Still, the whole enterprise is a fantasy. One simply must take a little care to detach one's self from the spell and then the whole thing appears as the monstrosity that it is. <BR/><BR/>I suppose we could say that fantasy is imagination in service of destruction and dissolution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-24969643309849560082007-12-14T15:16:00.000-08:002007-12-14T15:16:00.000-08:00Walt: !!!!! Thanks for the Ben update. Good thing...Walt: !!!!! <BR/>Thanks for the Ben update. Good thing Raccoons are persistent little buggers, otherwise by now I'd be reduced to babbling with worry about Ben & Patti.<BR/><BR/>Yeomen's award to thee & the other under-the-pelters who made this possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-80646334964861417592007-12-14T14:29:00.000-08:002007-12-14T14:29:00.000-08:00coonified - I hide my advanced wisdom better than ...coonified - I hide my advanced wisdom better than I hide my advanced years.<BR/><BR/>:')NoMohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100042056270224683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-7707059380966896152007-12-14T14:03:00.000-08:002007-12-14T14:03:00.000-08:00Ben Update:I received a call from Sheriff's office...Ben Update:<BR/><BR/>I received a call from Sheriff's office in Washington stating that one of their officers had in fact contacted Ben and Patti, that they are at a neighbor's house, and that they are okay. He did say that Ben was informed I was trying to reach him. <BR/><BR/>I was hopeful I might be able to contact them today, but nothing so far, and I wanted to let folks know what was going on.walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388218390016612051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-25965259173214704372007-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:00Read this book for more information.About lusting,...Read <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Four-Loves-C-S-Lewis/dp/0156329301/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197669455&sr=8-2" REL="nofollow">this book</A> for more information.<BR/><BR/>About lusting, which is what may happen if sex is central, or even about a relationship based purely on meeting needs, C.S says:<BR/><BR/>"Does a man keep the carton after he's done smoking the cigarettes?"Ephrem Antony Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00032465992619034619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-81151668154687187622007-12-14T13:55:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:55:00.000-08:00I mean, older than I thought. You should take it ...I mean, older than I thought. You should take it as a complement. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-71852104698821637152007-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:53:00.000-08:00"What would you expect from NoMo? My own similar e..."What would you expect from NoMo? <BR/><BR/>My own similar experience resulted in a beautiful 31 years of faithful marriage."<BR/><BR/>Gosh, your old Nomo. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-71127986297729983012007-12-14T13:41:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:41:00.000-08:00There's nothing wrong with sex, but everything wro...There's nothing wrong with sex, but everything wrong with compulsion, for compulsion is a meaningless nonsense movement that revels in the shadow of death instead of light. The Christian tradition distinguishes between two types of love: agape and eros, or Godly (vertical) love and passionate (horizontal) creature love. Obviously, to deny either is to unavoidably submit to the anti-life, since it takes two to make a dream come true...use your imagination.<BR/> Thomas Jay Oord defined agape as "an intentional response to promote well-being when responding to that which has generated ill-being." In this world--the cosmic metaxy as we're calling it--the two cannot balance themselves (as the world is an undead testement), but, rather, there must be an intensional response, not of this world, to bring about consonance between opposites that are in the habit of colliding. So compulsion is eros misdirected and divorced from agape, wherein self-contraction and the bracing for impact are the typical responses.<BR/><BR/>The greatest commandment is: <BR/><BR/>'Love (agapao) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love (agapao) your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." <BR/><BR/>Without this Love, 'love' is drained, and basically meaningless, which is not love at all, but a secret violence and sickness--the anti-life. See it. Most of the world is that.<BR/><BR/>Consult Aurobindo's <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Integral-Yoga-Aurobindos-Teaching-Practice/dp/0941524760/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197668220&sr=8-13" REL="nofollow"> letters </A> for his opinion if anyone wants.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-76780146339128877342007-12-14T13:20:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:20:00.000-08:00"...can relationships be classified as Godly works..."...can relationships be classified as Godly works, or am I decieving myself in the pursuit of wrong and worldly movements? Opinions, please."<BR/><BR/>Since you asked. If you are a believer, I recommend backing away from the questionable part of the relationship. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=marriage%20bed%20undefiled&version1=49&searchtype=all" REL="nofollow">Just sayin'.</A> If you're not a believer, I guess you should go for the gusto - since there won't really be any consequences, right?<BR/><BR/>What would you expect from NoMo? <BR/><BR/>My own similar experience resulted in a beautiful 31 years of faithful marriage. Thank God.NoMohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100042056270224683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-37906043913203202672007-12-14T12:59:00.000-08:002007-12-14T12:59:00.000-08:00This is so sick. I got nauseous reading it.It is u...This is so sick. I got nauseous reading it.<BR/><BR/>It is unthinkable to me that someone would sell out their nation like this for additional magazine sales.<BR/><BR/>Kinda makes a guy think that the world just might be degenerative after all...<BR/><BR/>http://www.newsweek.com/id/77945Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-8755903900590071972007-12-14T12:30:00.000-08:002007-12-14T12:30:00.000-08:00"Can relationships be classified as Godly works, o..."Can relationships be classified as Godly works, or am I deceiving myself in the pursuit of wrong and worldly movements?"<BR/><BR/>Erotic love between man and woman is symbolic of God's nature... It represents the highest Divine Unity that is behind all dualities.<BR/><BR/>The womb and the seed. The Void and The Spark. Christ and Sophia. The paint brush and the canvas. The Penetrator and the Penetrated. <BR/><BR/>The World of Form and the Formless Beyond. <BR/><BR/>Like all worldly pursuits, erotic relationships are neither good nor evil in of themselves. They can be used as disctactions or escapes from Truth. Or they can be used as signposts pointing to the Truth that it represents.<BR/><BR/>Do not renounce the gifts of existence. But receive them with gratitude and respect. <BR/><BR/>And for God's sake, enjoy the ride while you're here. You may not be of this world, but you are here for a reason. <BR/><BR/>A very Merry Christmas to all my Raccoon friends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-27671816563041875052007-12-14T12:15:00.000-08:002007-12-14T12:15:00.000-08:00Greybeard-I have just ended a similar situation in...Greybeard-<BR/><BR/>I have just ended a similar situation in a tempestuous relationship. The sexual aspect was often disorienting in many ways. It was certainly intense.<BR/><BR/>I also would be interested in the opinions of the various racoonists of this venerable blog.<BR/><BR/>I found that once I began demanding full self-responsibility for myself for what happened in the relationship insights into my own mind virus/dysfunction started flowing abundantly.<BR/><BR/>Sadly (or not) it did not necessarily improve the relationship. Which seemed to get stuck in semi-destructive behavior.<BR/><BR/>Again, I'd love to hear what others have to say. I'm still trying to make sense of it all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-4848010867201934822007-12-14T11:53:00.000-08:002007-12-14T11:53:00.000-08:00Good post, Bob, and very pertinent for me.I recent...Good post, Bob, and very pertinent for me.<BR/><BR/>I recently arrived at a place in my life where I had complete control of how much "outwardness" to take on; I could have had a very quiet, inwardly oriented life. I am a philosopher and a writer and here was the option to just focus on these elements and on the contemplation of God and on the doing of quiet works to advance mankind, volunteering and so forth.<BR/><BR/>Instead I put a personals ad on Craigslist and became embroiled in a tempestuous relationship. The new girlfriend has some psychospiritual issues that I find interesting, but nevertheless the outward pull of such an affair knocks me out of equilibrium, particularly the sex. <BR/><BR/>I directed an inquiry towards God-"What happened to me? Am I off the correct path? Advise and lead, please. Show me what to do. I want to serve You."<BR/><BR/>The danger in combining spiritual motives with outward movements is that you might not be sincere and could be using spiritual motives to cover for wrong worldly actions. I have audited myself for these and don't find it to be so, but perhaps a person can become so bent that they can't honestly evaluate themselves.<BR/><BR/>My clearest intuition that I have recieved is the the girlfriend and I are to influence each other, teach each other lessons that need to be learned. We are hammer and anvil, and will strike and polish two souls simultaneously. The outward push caused by sex and emotional lability can be overcome by detachment on a higher level.<BR/><BR/>The question that goes to Bob and the raccoons is: can relationships be classified as Godly works, or am I decieving myself in the pursuit of wrong and worldly movements? Opinions, please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-15856867452745792222007-12-14T10:46:00.000-08:002007-12-14T10:46:00.000-08:00Bipolarsalesman contemplatesthe first step into ma...<A HREF="http://robinstarfish.blogspot.com/2007/12/bipolar.html" REL="nofollow">Bipolar</A><BR/>salesman contemplates<BR/>the first step into mammon<BR/>walk or take the trainrobinstarfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15665546554663005609noreply@blogger.com