Tag Archives: Philosophy

Philosophy Student and Occasional Fruitloop

23 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by in Philosophy

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

A new project you say? Really???

Yes. I’m going to be posting some of my philosophy essays and writings online at a new blog. In order to keep things simple, I’m going to post the beginnings of those posts here also, and if you like the look of it you are welcome to follow the link to the rest of the essay.

For example… I have written an introductory post explaining why I called this blog ‘Academic Edgewalker’. If you would like to read more click here.

The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly the occasional person has requested a closer look at what I’ve written in these essays. Secondly, the idea terrifies me. I wrote most of whats going on here initially over the four years of my undergraduate degree, and some of them are very weird, some of them are rubbish, and some of them ended in conclusions which run contrary to my actual opinions (or they at least appear to). Its also a risk to put them out there, not only because people might actually read them (which is possible) and think they’re wrong, rubbish or offensive (thats their opinion) but also because part of me would quite like to be an academic, and linking my academic thoughts to my less academic ideas (like the Faery heart project, I mean, what logic lets you believe in faeries, really?) might get me in trouble there.

But, you know, life is short, and I’m either going to be myself, or I’m going to hide and be sad. So, sod that for a laugh. If it gets me laughed at, then I can laugh too, I have written some pretty silly things. If it means I’m seen as unfit for academia, then maybe I don’t actually want to be involved in academia anyway. And if my friends read these and think I’m crazy, well, they know that anyway and still love me. So whats to lose?

And you know what, I’ve actually got some logic that’ll let me argue that believing in Faeries is rational. Maybe one day I’ll share it!

5 Minute Post – Lucid Dreaming

03 Sunday Jan 2010

Posted by in Philosophy

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

(Topic suggested in a comment by philosophe007, here. Feel free to comment with suggestions for more topics!)

5 minutes, 1 topic… get set: go!

Lucid Dreaming

I’ve tried lucid dreaming before, but I’ve always gotten locked into dreaming that I’m dreaming lucidly and should try and do one fo the cool things that can eb done in dreams, like fly, or be invisible, or something. But I always end up dreaming that I’ve become lucid, and then just dreaming that I can try and fly, without actually becoming conscious of whats going on… and then the dream shifts and it all changes.

There’re lots of questions I could ask about dreams: what if they’re really being awake, and being awake is asleep? What if dreams are another life we step into when we sleep? What if…? But none of these seem interesting to me anymore,* I’m rather more interested in how we dream. How is it that we build up these worlds so vividly, and can have coherent stories that we are completely immersed in, and yet they somehow have a different quality to them to waking life?

Technically I assume dreams are built up by the brain playing, but then why aren’t the images just random flashes of things, rather than actual narratives (albeit often fragmented)? Maybe because the impulses follow particular patterns through the brain, ok… but then why do dreams have a different quality to waking life, if its all just what happens when impulses fire?

Could it be that life actually is more than just impulses, that the quality is actually embodiment, say?

We are more than just neurons, and life is more than just what happens when impulses fire, more than the experiences we have because neurons have fired… life is embodied experience. (Perhaps.)

*Post-5-minute comment: these questions are less interesting to me now because I’ve spent several years in academic philosophy classes in which ‘we might all be dreaming’ is an all-to-often recurring thought experiment, and they don’t make sense. We not awake because ‘awake’ is classified as the bit we call being awake, ‘reality’ is the classification of the bit while we’re awake (although certain versions of ‘awake’ and ‘reality’ can be argued for other than the everyday ones) and we are, it seems to me, creatures that live and move and do, and part of that is being embodied. As we don’t take our bodies, which lie sleeping, into dreams with us (or do we?) then its only a part of us that go into that dream-life…  so the interesting questions there, I suppose, are about what makes us us, whether that can be disembodied and if we are still the same people we are when embodied if disembodied, or instead are in part the same, but are different? I mean, don’t we experience the world as embodied beings? And if we’re experienceing the world differently, then how can we be the same kind of being, and thus the same person? Identity, identity… the question of dreams brings these issues up.

(And so I cheat and this becomes a 10 minute post!)

5 Minute Post – Writing as Creation

07 Monday Dec 2009

Posted by in Creative Process, Philosophy

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

I have 5 minutes, one topic, and a blog: GO!

Writing as Creation

Clearly writing can be creative, I mean, its pactically creating something from nothing! You have all the elements mentioned in my post on the Philosophy of Creativity: The Urge to Create something, the resistance to it, the influences from the world around… plus the all important thing to write with. But what are you creating? Are the words themselves the creation? Is it the actual physical thing you write on? The digital blog-page? Is that what is created?

Lets take a song: say you write a song with a narrative.

What have you made? A song, a story, a piece of paper/digital page with words on it, marks, a shape picked out by the lines of words…

But if you then sing it, is that singing the same thing? Did you make that sung song too, in the first act of writing? If you copy it and someone else sings it, what then? If you email it to all your friends, are all those copies part of that first creation?

And the story… the narrative, you made that too.

Creation is amazing. One act can result in soemthing so huge.

Or it can result in a rambling muse on a blog floating in cyberspace.

And thats 5 minutes gone. Time to go out. Thoughts anyone? Anyone like to see more of these?

If you guys suggest topics, I’ll pick them randomly according to mood and give it a go, see what comes out. 🙂

The Urge to Create

06 Sunday Dec 2009

Posted by in Art Craft and Beauty, Philosophy

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Recently I’ve been seriously thinking about the process of creation, the nature of creativity.

Where does it come from?

Whats it for?

How does it feel???

Not so much the act of creating itself, but everything that leads up to and underlies it. Leaving aside questions of fine art vs crafts vs galleries vs internet communities etc., so far my thoughts have run something like this:

All Creation starts with an Urge, the Urge to create. Even creations that are made for a commission are inherently grounded in this Urge, they start there. Many artists talk about the need to make art, as though it was as necessary as breathing, and almost as automatic in some cases, which is a good illustration of the existence of this Urge to Create. Other than artists, though, you’ve got creative people everywhere, who decorate their home, cook interesting things, write beautiful letters, say interesting things… all these acts are creative when they too are rooted in the Urge to create.

Every act of creation starts with this Urge, and this is true even in the case of commissioned work for several reasons, of which I shall mention two: firstly, an individual will be offered a commission because they express this Urge normally, and will accept because they can feel the Urge to create (except in cases where it is done purely for money, in which case its not truly creation, but even then the individual has chosen that method of making money, presumably, because they feel the Urge to create, otherwise they’d have chosen a different path). Secondly, the individual will only be able to start work on the piece when they have that Urge, when it rises in them and gives them something to work with.

This Urge is bodily, anyone who has felt it can tell you how it grips the muscles, makes your fingers itch to type, to mould, to paint, how your face responds to the feeling, how your stomach begins to feel tight… there are any number of ways you can feel it. A physical Urge to make physical manifestations. It unsettles you until you give in and find an outlet.

Sometimes, as when a creation feels like a response to an inspiration, it looks like the act of creation starts with an idea, but in fact that idea is part of what shapes the Urge as it becomes Expression through Creation. An inspiration may provide an outlet for the Urge, but in itself it does not initiate the act, otherwise we would have a great deal more creations floating around.

This Urge has to move through various Resistances before it can be acted upon. Internal Resistances include the skills of the individual, their beliefs and hang-ups and preferences around creativity, all things which, thankfully, get in the way of pure expression: thankfully because pure expression would simply be a formless mess. Our Resistances give shape to  the Urge as it wells up and tries to move outwards in Expression. External Resistances also play a part, from the availability of time, space and materials, to the cultural limits and expectations around the individual, our form of Expression is shaped.

And at the same time there are Influences. Influences in and and the individual: elements which shape the form the Expression will take, including visual input, inspirations, the brief of a commission, the individual’s favourite mediums and styles, memories and experiences and so on.

All these things combine in Expression driven by the Urge.

The Urge rises, is forged by the Resistances, Influenced by the feelings, ideas, memories and inspirations of the individual, and it flows out of the person as an Expression which carries all these things.

At this point you have work, concentration, skill and so on, all going into creating whatever is being created. But where does the Urge to Create come from in the first place???

It seems to me that the Urge to Create is rooted in the Urge to Life. Every living thing has something we call a survival instinct, every healthy human drives towards life, longs to live, and will fight to stay alive. But living is more than just surviving, to live is to affirm your existence, to express that you are alive, and who and what you are. This Urge to live, to express, comes out in some people in the Urge to Create. Creation is a form of Expression, and, as evidenced by the joy we gain from creating, sharing creations, and admiring other’s creations, it is a remarkably social expression for something that is so personal.

Creation, then, is a form of expression which involves making something manifest, although the kind of thing it must manifest to be creation is a question for another time. It is social, and personal, shaped by personal make-up and circumstances and desires and yet speaking to others of something shared.

What do you think? How does creation feel to you?

Faery Mythology – A Story – With Cards

05 Saturday Sep 2009

Posted by in Faery, Storytelling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

This is a story I have written myself. A story of an imaginary history, a mythology of the separation of human and fey, both as beings and as natures within ourselves. This is a story which I translated into 8 images, 8 cards, cards which can be shuffled and laid out again as the events of this story can happen, really, in any order. It began here, travelled through here, and is now brought together right here…

Are you sitting comfortably?

Continue reading →

Faery light

06 Wednesday May 2009

Posted by in Faery, Storytelling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Standing on the land as the sun rises, beneath your feet you feel a ripple, a gentle pulsing of warmth, growing stronger.

You listen, feeling the vibrations, watching the world become lighter.

You find yourself reminded of a giant heartbeat…

A distant heart in the heart of the world…

Can you feel it?

***********************************************************************

A few days ago I was with a beautiful group of people and, on the last day we were together, we walked across the land before breakfast for one last ritual. Our intention was to connect with the light of Faeryland, and to learn a way in which we could carry this light into the world. Inspired by R. J. Stewart‘s Exercise, The Rising Light Below, I led us all in a trance together as the light of the land rose within us.

Before I share the vision, first, a little theory:

I’ve come across theories on Faeryland, I’ve heard it called the place where nothing changes, the place where every rose is the essence of a rose, rather than a rose itself. R. J. Stewart describes it as though it were a blueprint for our world, and one which we have ignored in the execution of our lives. Instead of working in harmony with the world, we have separated ourselves off and isolated our selves.

I, then, propose that Faeryland and our human world were once the same, whole, together, connected. Over time, we humans learnt ways of manipulating the world around us, ways which got us great power very quickly, and before we realised the damage this would do, we had taken our toys and run off with them, leading to a separation between the land of the Fey, the magical, primal energies of the land, and the world we inhabit wherein we see each thing as an individual, as separate, to be used.

Our world became soulless, because we stopped seeing its heart.

The Faery world drifted away, because we could no longer see life as an interconnected web of beauty in the way we once did. This ‘once upon a time’ may, possibly, have been merely mythological, but given that I know from experience that we are capable of seeing the world as ensouled, and that life is so much better, for me at least, when I do, I figure it matters little whether this was a mythological once upon a time, or a literal one.

Faeryland, then, is the archetype of the world, its heart.

We are disconnected from the heart of the world, and so we see the world as merely something to be used up.

Using up the world, as we are becoming increasingly more aware, leads to pain, suffering, illness, death. Certainly we have had many short term gains, but our livestyles are unsustainable.

Perhaps, I feel, if we are able to remember the heart of the world, to heal the separation between the human world and the Faery world, to reunite body and soul, we may see how to live our lives in a way which does not destroy our beautiful planet, or our spirits.

And yes, I am aware that I have Western privilages, including internet access, and the like. This is one reason I know I need to learn this too.

And so, to the vision…

*********************************************

Go outside.

Feel your feet upon the land.

Feel the heart of the earth, beating.

Feel your heart, beating in time with the earth’s heart.

Feel the heart beat glow, warm and bright, deep within the land.

Feel the light begin to rise, come closer, grow bright.

Feel it flow up and up, the light of Faery within the land, coming close to our world.

Closer and closer.

Until they kiss.

And in the kiss the light flows up into your body and around you, up through your feet, legs, torso, and into your head.

Hold it here, feel it fill you, feel yourself becoming more attuned to the light of Faery.

And then, let it flow gently back down into the earth, leaving a shard of light in your heart.

Just a piece of light, however much or little you can hold easily.

Now let this light grow and feel it throughout your body.

This light in your heart is connected with the light in the land.

Listen, sense, feel.

What do the Fey have to tell you?

What small job do they have for you to do to help heal the separation between the worlds?

Wait until you know, something concrete, simple, doable, practical, precise.

Wait, holding the feeling of the light within you until there is something you can agree to, commit to.

And send an answer to the Fey, the Faery Queen, tell them that you agree to the task they have set you.

Accept, and bid them farewell.

Now let the light dim down to a level you are able to hold comfortably today.

Each morning you can check this light and see if it is at the right level for you, in that day.

If it is too bright, let it dim, and if too dim, let a little light flow from the earth up into your heart to strengthen it.

If ever it feels like you should not be carrying the light at all, or if it is too much to keep it, then let it all flow back into the earth.

Remember your commitment.

Move out into the world carrying the light with you.

Bring the world of Faery and the human world back together.

And remember, you are not alone, all around the world, others are working to heal the separation between the worlds also.

Why walk this Path to Faeryland?

17 Tuesday Mar 2009

Posted by in Faery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

What are Faeries?

What is ‘Fey’?

If we look at the stories of faeries, all the myths and legends, we see a common theme; they are all very strongly connected to, or embodying, nature. They are not, however, merely the plants or trees or forces which they embody, they are beings which are inherently magical, beyond limits.

Humans are lured into Faery by beauty. Beautiful music, beautiful visions, beautiful food. And this beauty, once we return to earth, we pine for. So Faeryland is that place within the world, and ourselves, in which the sense of magic, wonder and beauty lies, the natural core of our being. Our Heart.

If our hearts, at their untamed core, are places of beauty and magic, then surely following the call to faery will open our hearts again to the beauty of the world? If we learn to touch the Fey parts of ourselves then we can move through our lives open to the beauty that surrounds us.

And, of course, we recall the other parts of the stories… the wilder parts… the dangerous parts…

In our heart we are natural beings, we have learnt really wonderful human skills like Compassion and language, but in our search for order we have tried to tame our Selves, and instead we have locked them away. And these parts of ourselves hurt, so we, inside, die a little each day.

Here we choose to walk down a path that will lead us back to the parts within us which we truly are. We seek all our parts, those that are good at communication, at compassion, and those that are good at standing up for ourselves and being Free.

Fey means free. Free of the locks we’ve used to keep ourselves acceptable, and free to choose to move in Compassion and beauty. Fey means to be free to be our Selves, to live our lives without unhealthy compromises, to dance to faery music so we are filled with love and joy and deep feelings even in a business meeting or a busy, grimy underground train.

Fey means so full of shiny, happy, beauty, that you cannot help but share it.

We look for our hearts, and when we live with them open, in the world, we are not only happier in ourselves, but we share some of that light with everyone around us. We need to be true to ourselves, and we need to live with others. I believe, with all my heart, that being true to ourselves will help us to be with others.

The world is getting greyer by the day, look at the people around you. I hope they are happy, but I fear they are not. Our world needs a resurgence of open hearts, shared beauty and joy. So let us join those that already search for their hearts. Let us walk this path into Faery so that we can return with our hearts and fill the world with colour again!


The Next Step: Starting Preparations