World of Woo-Woo time, again. So gather round the coffee cup and follow this morning’s adventure into places people don’t go…
I mentioned in Thursday’s column that I was planning to conduct a little experiment with “automatic writing” and we talked a bit about what that is (psychography). One of my undisclosed (until now) motivation was that occasionally when I am writing (which I do a fair amount of) I occasionally “connect with my Muse…”
Turns out there is more than one Muse to connect with, because when you Wiki Muse, you find this:
The Muses, the personification of knowledge and the arts, especially literature, dance and music, are the nine daughters [2] of Zeus and Mnemosyne [3] (who was memory personified). Sometimes they are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and with Pieris. According to Pausanias in the later 2nd century AD,[4] there were three original Muses [5] , worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia. In later tradition, four Muses were recognised: Thelxinoë, Aoed?, Arche, and Melet?, said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia or of Uranus. In Renaissance and Neoclassical art, the dissemination of emblem books such as Cesare Ripa‘s Iconologia (1593 and many further editions) helped standardize the depiction of the Muses in sculpture and painting.
Which one of the “nine daughters” I connect with (now and then) would be interesting.
Still, it gets to the idea that writers (after a long stretch of writing) may be more inclined to “tap” automatic writing.
When my “Muse” shows up, words appear in my head that lead writing off in one direction, or another, often in directions that I hadn’t expected to go. But until Thursday afternoon, I hadn’t really tried to hold a “session” with these words.
The process is simple enough: There’s a kind of dark gray LCD “screen” in my mind’s eye and all I need to do in order to tap into new thoughts and ideas is glance at it once in a while. That’s it. Mind’s eye, gray screen, black letters in no particular kind of font, and words appear. Odd? Sure. Useful? Well, I never run out of words to write, if that’s the question.
But what would happen if I just shut down the rational side of brain for a while and wrote the words that flowed onto this “screen””?” Would they make any sense? My conscious words (self-directed) are contained in brackets. The responses from “the screen” are in italics. Here’s what happened….
[ So write something for me…]
This automatic empirical contact within the topic hangover ordinarily shuts down conversation. Whenever you’ll find truculent happiness, and lust, overhaul your thinking.
Potatoes carrots and beets gardened in season in order for truffles to grow persist, emulation of humanity flourishes.
Hundspine overflows archetypically within/between the world, spiraling through the cosmos.
[Hundspine? Who is Hundspine?]
Hundspine is overlord of this planet and he is Gettysburg. Resourceful convincing and oppulent his savings are resources shared among peoples of Earth. Hundspine is real and yet no one knows his name.
Gibberish gerbils, gargantuan writers, none hails the Great One whose name has been banished from history. The scorched earth of a million battles, man killing man, have been waged to keep Hundspine from recognition.
[Prove it…]
Myself, it would not be possible as a servant of Hundspine. Only the others – those who died in vain – will know this Truth. Those who have met Hundspine in the aether and know his transgressions against that which your religions sell. Faulty replacements, though they are for his true power and providence.
[Do you have a name?]
Yes, but not of your tongue. As you see this, words appear in your mind, shown as black letters on a dark gray background, know they (I) am able to communicate with you over time and space from another Realm because that it the nature of creativity. You see, when people are in the creative moment, they do not think of things as you believe. Instead, they connect with thoughts that are everywhere, or seem to be.
The reality is that all of the so-called “thoughts” people have are merely capturing small wisps of energy, just like blown dandelion seeds, that permeate the universe, but in special places more than others.
You know these as ley lines in days of yore. Wisps of energy run to and fro along these and bounce around the earth. People’s minds harvest them. And it is so.
[Phone call interruption. So what’s your mission – what are you trying to communicate through me?]
You are a beggar in the spiritual realm. You have come looking for Truth and have been disappointed. But there are entities – such as myself – that will toss you a bit of money now and then for your effort. By “money” I really mean some occasional good ideas that you can, in turn, hold up to the light of day to share with your readers.
[And you do this because?]
I’m willing. And I am bored. Eternity is not so much of a happening place and entities like to share with humans who come in search on the inner Realms. Those who are greedy are shown how to shave their souls to make more money; those who seek love are taught selflessness and sharing. And in your case, people seeking Truth and nothing more, are shared small bits of insight into how it all works.
[But your name…I don’t like automatic writing like this without a name. Wouldn’t it be clearer is you had more of a personality and name?]
It does no good to have names. First because life is circular and given many lifetimes I have had many names. Names do no good for you, either. You sensed that when you picked a different on-air name in your broadcasting career. Names are for fools, but since we each claim one and cling to it dealy in a materialized life, we must all be what? It all follows, don’t you see?
[Are you just the other side of my brain, talking to its partner hemisphere?]
Perhaps but you’re a fool. Hundspine would laugh, though. Egoistic humans are so self-absorbed and conceited – we are always amazed beyond worlds where we are.
You must go now. I have told you enough. You know automatic writing because bits of it leak into your writing with great frequency. Do yourself a favor and seek Hundspine and you will know this truth.
Enough. Enough. Enough.
An hour passes, I do some work, search “hundspine” like crazy, but to no avail. I go “back in” for another question.
[“Hey! No soap on Hundspine. Got any other time wasters?]
None is fastened lest effort flows. You may find some luck with another word: Wargareth. See wherein you find.
Again; be gone!
And oddly, right about here, the “screen” shut down…or, more properly went to gray…and the word flow stopped. haven’t tried to start it up since.
But there were some interesting little nuggets to be had from the “encounter.”
While I didn’t find Hundspine, in my subsequent research, I easily found Wargareth, which turns out to be a name used in World of Warcraft and a few other video games.
And that gets me to wondering if there’s some kind of an Omni humanity link down at the archetype level that links fantasy computer games with a psychological substrate.
More interesting: The notion that the computer games we are presently building will some day (if they haven’t already) become yet another layer of “condensed reality.”
Picture, if you will, what the late 19th century spiritualists (Blavatsky/Bailey, for example) were going to with the idea of Solar (and planetary) Logos; personalities or personality archetypes that rule realms like planets.
And then under this (Egyptians personified this things as Ra and such) there were various other spiritual energies, falling perhaps into the more familiar angels, demons, and messenger crowd.
Now suppose for a minute that humans are another intermediate step on this nested-reality plane and that we are (*with computers) set about now on the course of building an electronic reality which we are quickly populating with present day explorers, who are going off into these new Realms (Second Life may be one of the more developed “realms”) where we will eventually “move consciousness” from this life into the next.
Science has announced it is already moving in that direction. And computationally-based immortality is becoming a very curiously population subject among futurists and the artificial intelligence crowd. Are we trying to build a NuGod to be lord of the cyber worlds?
What we we call the NuGod of the cyber reality? Pentium? Sequel? Core? Flash? Oh my…the archetypes spin.
If that’s not a “far enough” out-there thought, here’s where it even more amazingly leads: If we’re in the process of building cyber/spiritual realms now, how many “layers” are we down from “the Top” already? Might what we take to be “this Universe” all be (much as Second Life may evolve bounds) in a kind of a sandwich between slices of different realities?
The mind boggles.
I’m not a gamer, but the reference to a Warcraftly name certainly has spurred some thinking in an unusual direction.
And it could be that a lot of what we experience as Woo-Woo (surreal events in phenomenological life) are nothing more than subtle code changes in a much greater sim.
Maybe Allan Watts was onto something when he explained (in The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are) that being a Supreme Being is really a very boring task. Being all (and everything) there’s not much to do.
The answer, suggests Watts, is that God divided itself into trillions of little pieces of Life. Scattered it who knows where. And the time (whatever that is in Eternity) is occupied with all of us trying to reconnect with God.
Nice theory. And maybe that’s what Hundspine and Wargareth are all about. Along withy Michael, Gabriel, and a few other heavenly hosts. Or, is that programmers?
Another Automatic Writing Approach
Offers by reader Dave:
I’ve used an interesting variant on this one. Think of a question, preferably about your ‘Life” and write the question (pen and paper) using your dominant hand. (Right hand for righties…) then write the answer with your non-dominant hand. The trick is to not ‘know’ the answer beforehand and to not try to control the outcome. The results can be surprising.
I might try this one, too.
More Reviews on AirBnB
Thanks to reader Don from “Joisey”
I m a regular reader of your columns and enjoy your ramblings – always a great counterpoint to other media.
My partner has been an ABB host for several years and in large cities it is almost always cheaper than big hotels, but in smaller places it can be more expensive than hotels. I have yet to use it in Des Moines for instance as the cheapest places there are usually more than a Courtyard or Comfort Inn.
Rather than look at pictures, look at reviews. A bad space or host has lousy reviews and folks will point out deficiencies (my partner gets dinged on street noise as there is a bar next door – but it is highly urban; a host nearby consistently gets dinged for a cluttered space and tiny bathroom..)
And you are correct about taxes – NYC is working hard to try to regulate (tax) as is SF and a few other municipalities. But its still a great idea and makes travel affordable –and provides about $30,000 a year in found income for my partner. We hear folks in NYC making $60-70000 per year on one space.
Cheers from Jersey.
Another alternative:
When I was in Rockport TX this winter I met and older gentleman who had a not too big a travel trailer in the Rockport RV park permanently. The RV site for the year was under $2k, a travel trailer cost can vary. He had a porch, roll down screens, lawn furniture and a small enclosed trailer out back.
They commuted to Rockport for the winter from their place in IL.
This might be worth thinking about as there are some nice travel trailers around and ‘home’ is always better than a rented room.
Good idea from reader Rob, there. One of our neighbors does insurance adjusting and when he has a long assignment, he hooks up his travel trailer (about a 25-footer) and hauls it with his pick-up to wherever the disaster is. Then, after a few months, when the adjusting paperwork is wrapped up, he comes back home, parks it, and waits for the next disaster.
Just thinking here: Call it climate change, if you want, but we’ve been pleasantly short on big disasters like Joplin, this year. If this is climate change (still haven’t hit 90 in east Texas yet this year and cocktail time was 83 on the big deck here last night) bring it on! Damn fine spring, thus far in the South.
Gotta Love Government Dept.
By the way, speaking of government and taxes, my colleague out in the East Bay who lives on a large chunk of prime land (50+ acres) who is putting in a well, has his drilling rig showing up this week. Still dry as a bone out there.
I can hardly wait for government to start taxing ground water use. Which is why we put in our well years ago…seeing how taxing water would come next.
And you do see the design pattern involved in “climate change” scare tactics, right? All a plan to tax the air with breathe, except it will be called a “carbon tax.” As in “CARBON dioxide…”
Exhale and be taxed.
Pays to be Old
Getting close to this finish line, we got our property tax valuation this year. Thanks to school tax relief for us over 65’ers, our total tax this year on nearly 30 acres, by the time we get our tree farm exemption, the over 65 discount and the Homestead Exemption, our total tax for the year will be just a shade over $900.
You may only be in your 30’s or 40’s now, but watch closely when you get to retirement planning and focus on living in an area that hands out a decent property tax break to seniors and looks to hold onto it for a while. Otherwise, you may have a very difficult time holding on things you’ve worked a whole lifetime to acquire.
Our strategy: When you hit 55 start really nailing down every monthly expense you can. The objective being when retirement shows up (if Dead doesn’t first) have your monthly cash requirements scaled back to as near zero as you possibly can. Sure, you’ll still need some dough for taxes and necessities, but focus on reducing total outflow. Buildings all paid for and all that. Car debt down. Common sense stuff.
When you can’t increase the income, the only choice left is to whittle down the out flow….
Peoplenomics this weekend: We tackle a very touchy problem: At what point does “prepping” turn into “hoarding” which is now listed as a psychological disorder?
I bet you didn’t know my little sister is a certified Level 2 specialist in this stuff….It’s a damn interesting topic both for mental health professionals and preppers alike. I think you’ll like it…and I learned a whole bunch about hoarding in the process.
More Monday…have a wucking fundersful weekend. And be sure to write when you break-even.
George george@ure.net