Make Love, Not War
I was invited to submit something to Profound Word Magazine on the topic “Make Love, Not War” and as I am beginning to explore writing more, I figured I might give it a shot. So here it is:
In order for Consciousness to experience itself, it needed to restrict itself into lower and lower levels of probability, and finally into a consciousness that would be separate, so that a self-referrential, self-conditioning system could come to be that could then collapse probability into actuality.
As such, our human consciousness is separate from the whole. Although we are at all times part of the whole, we forget that and consequently suffer. The separation is upheld by fear of otherness, and by desire. Desire results from the misunderstanding that one is separate from other separate entities, and that one needs to conquer them to be whole again. Within the limitations of the ego the path to wholeness leads to the attempt to conquer all. That has given us war: War is the attempt to subjugate everything, consume and destroy if necessary. War is the attempt to blow up the ego to the size of the whole.
This cannot be done. The ego is by definition separate from the whole and can not become the whole. Thus, war is pointless and idiotic. Surrendering the ego, understanding that one belongs to a whole and that the separation is artificial, one can open up the path to connecting to everything again through love. Love is the act of consciously relating, connecting and uniting with the whole. Surrendering the ego, realizing that every living creature, every plant, and even every pebble is as important as oneself, one can begin to develop one’s love.
First through overcoming dualism, through realizing that there is not black and white, friend or foe, male and female, light and dark, but that everything is light, and that darkness is simply the failure to see it. Then, one can expand one’s love, can let it grow and flow to everything that is. If one succeeds in willfully relating to all that is, love all purely, one reunites with the whole in blissful harmony.
Make love, not war.
Demystify – Remystify
The last weeks have been a bit of a whirl wind. My friend stosh likes to say that “No plan survices initial encounter. But it’s good to have a plan”. Think he is right. I had a plan for 2005, and it already crumbled in the face of events. All good, though, and I am excited to watch the year unfold further.
Last Sunday I saw a most excellent lecture at the Philosophical Research Society, which featured an author my partner in the Center for Conscious Creativity had discovered. Quite phenomenal. Finally helped me to understand the symetry of triangles and squares, and how the universe appears to be folding nicely into a sevenfold structure. But that’s a long story and will be the topic of future exploitations 
I also met a most beautiful artist on Sunday. I had heard about his work several years ago from a friend, but never explored him further until recently. Alex Grey paints a new picture of humanity. He demystifies and remystifies with his art, showing the human body’s anatomy, and at the same time pointing at the numinous energies that surround it. 
It was such a harsh contrast to see the BodyWorld Exhibit at the California Scenter of Science. In itself, it was a brilliant display of anatomy, of real human bodies cut in slices and displayed. They among others showed the difference between a healthy lung and a smokers lung – the latter being black due to the equivalent of 5dl of liquid tar inhaled every year when smoking 20 cigarettes a day, which, of course, added yet another good reason for me to quite that habit. Nice to see was that nearly all the lungs in the exhibit were black, which shows that smokers are nice enough people to donate their bodies for science
The exhibit was none the less disappointing. Interesting as it was, it seemed to miss a large part of human existence. That mysterious part, the conscious part that makes those bodies be truly alive, and will not be found in a configuration or pattern of brain cells. That, you can see in Alex Grey‘s art. He shows both particle and wave, body and soul, and in that shows us a more complete picture of a human being than any plasticised corpse could ever do.
Back in the USSA
Happy New Year! Wishing you all you will for 2005!
January, when it’s cold outside, is always a good month to catch up on things. For my part, I had to interrupt my sabbatical in order to take care of some business. Just returned to LALAland to deal with INS, IRS, DDS a few days ago. Fun
Also have some even more fun events planned. A poetrysoup, a CCC event, some readings, art related meetings and more… and, of course, just plain catching up with people I haven’t seen in a while.
Of course, I was hoping for sunshine and warmth, but am experiencing record rains. It’s lovely, though; the plants seem to love it, and the air feels fresh and clear (always nice in LA). Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day after more than two weeks of pretty much continous downpour. At this point I am ready for it, although it was pretty romantic to sit in the studio with a fire going listening to the rain outside.
Since I got back, I have already gone through all the US food groups I have been missing: on top of the list Sushi, of course, then Indian, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Fatburger, Domino’s Pizza, and more… It is so amazing that there are all these cultures mingling in this country, and at the same time nobody seems to be getting along with the US. Strange, isn’t it?
Wishing you all a most peaceful 2005!
smiles
philip
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