Photo by Rodney Smith
My Renaissance Life is about renewal, rebirth, a new beginning. It’s about connecting back into myself, a story of love, enjoying sunshine for dinner and looking up feeling the sky upon your face, being open to all the universe sends my way. It’s about running the hills, about seeing my smile as more than a passive reflection in the mirror but a feeling sprouting from within. It’s about writing unabashedly uncensored the fancy words that flow from the tip of my tongue to the pads of my fingertips forever expressing here in this moment. It is about change; the snowflake patterned expression of my soul through self. This is about being aware of that deeper self, being perfectly imperfect, being present and mindful.
This is not about the 14th century revival of arts and literature; this about this moment NOW. It’s not about wigs or corsets, rather it is taking off the emotional cocoon we wrap ourselves in to survive. My main intention is not to get you to think more, but to step out of your head and into your heart. To feel, to connect to your truth, your being; to see, feel, taste, hear and sense intuitively all that whispers to you. The gentle nudging to dream, dream BIG and then reach for it. Spurring you along to not stop until you feel the roots in your heart and wings unfurling taking you on the greatest ride, a renaissance flight.
This is for my 8-year-old self perpetually looking to the world in a fancy tulle dress and mask, safely up the tree firmly planted on the ladder of choices created by me. This is for my 18-year-old self who couldn’t find home, and when she finally went back to the same street, same house, same room, she felt she didn’t belong. This is for my 25-year-old self that married for the all the “right” reasons that ended up feeling so wrong. This is for my 28-year-old self that realized the disconnected zombie-like state I was in but too scared to face that truth. This is for my 30-year-old self in becoming a mother. This is for my 31-year-old self who finally sat down and connected, picked up a pen and began Glow and hasn’t stopped writing since; the I am that listened to my silent, reflective knowing self and realized I was not living my inner dreams. I wanted to write, I wanted to live mindful and connected, I wanted to bathe my daughter in the love I felt from the moment she was laid upon my chest; the moment I believed in pink again, the pink feminine-intuitive-caring-knowing-creative-being that comprises part of me and when connected, I am whole. This is for the lion, for the lioness, for girls like me.
This is for crawling comforted in your contented discontent until you drop the cocoon becoming the beautiful butterfly transformed, emerging from the darkness glowing from the light that you are. Everything you take in delight, every sunny insight, every starry night, a renaissance flight.
Dresses that Fly
This is for dresses that fly, taking off the mask and loving who you are no matter how perfectly imperfect. This is for conquering fears, the greatest fear stepping from the shadows into sight, shining in who we are [who I am].
Our Deepest Fear ~by Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world, There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
We are all mirrors, we’re not here to see through others, like transparent films flapping in the wind, but reflections to help see us through this endless wake of today. Before you see the reflection you first have to see yourself, truthfully, the good, the bad, the ugly…then stare down anything but love that surfaces in what you see. In January 2006 I surprised myself with writing a poem late in the night at the dining room table. I was married and had just began my career. I was unable to sleep and found myself almost hypnotically letting the words flow, only when I stepped back and read I was a bit disconcerted, worried, and perplexed as what I had just let flow was not something I would want to share let alone acknowledge as a truth I was unwilling to face. So I saved the poem and went about my Zombie life.
Zombie
~by Me
The wax and wane
Of this muddled existence
Has left me feeling next to ZERO
Move along zombie
Why do you fight
This merciless deduction
Married, check
Degree, check
House, check
Dog, check
Blonde highlights and CHANEL, check
I’m running on empty
Only to find myself stalled
At the threshold of happily ever after
Forever on the outside looking in
Unwilling, unsure of how to begin…
While writing Glow was one aspect to beginning the happiness I sought, my daughter, Mars, was the beginning of me connecting back in. She was the first phase of self-realization that the above [Zombie] was how I truly felt. You have to be honest with yourself before you can be truly honest with anyone else. I opened up my heart to her, I realized I had been disconnected from my feelings for far too long. She was a catalyst that shook me to my core, letting me know that this life was not meant to be lived through zombie eyes, through a protected heart. She is a bright soul in my life and I’m eternally grateful for her little mirror reflecting back a part of myself I had forgotten existed. She is the embodiment of love, of life, of enjoying every moment whether it’s jumping into the deep end of the swimming pool, asking for sunshine for dinner, feeling the sky with her face to see if it was raining, to giggling uncontrollably, content, full of life, happy.
My renaissance life believes in Mars, believes in me, believes in pink, in crossing the thresholds that hold us back, finding my happy, and seeing the miracle in each new day. It is for smiling, smelling the flower, feeling the warmth, opening to love, opening to live, enjoying all around and what it has to give.
This is for going deep and finding that home isn’t a brick nor building but a feeling, like settling into a warm embrace, no longer wandering aimlessly but free. Once I committed to unearthing me, the universe became my guide. I but needed to find resonance in myself, using my abilities to intuitively find my way.
Wanderer
~by Me
I am the restless wanderer
Ever searching for a home
But until I find that place
There are worlds for me to roam
I know not where I’m going
Or where I plan to be
But as sure as the sun shall rise
I’ll follow the path in front of me
I live for my Self
For the moons my closest friend
The stars are there to guide me
Until my time will end
Yet I hope to find great love
That will fill my lonely heart
And a place that warms my soul
So much, that I’d die to part
Please don’t shed a tear for me
For like the words of this poem
One day my search will end
At a place I’ll call home …
… I’ve found my home
Where ever I go it’s with me
For my soul is the feeling
And my heart the key
The last four lines of the above poem have only been recently added as I originally wrote “Wanderer” in High School. Many of the questions, musings and wonderings of my younger selves have been answered as I find myself living into them. I had always been interested in spirituality, in writing, in being fearless but then I think sometimes when we feel so much we do not understand, when certain events begin and we are not prepared, we turn the other way. I know I did. I have many poems and journal entries describing the void I felt as a result of not acknowledging a part of me. When my life opened up, when I started to write then live into meeting the symbolic characters I wrote of in Glow I realized there is so much more to this reality. My experiences that unfolded, “extra” ordinary as some will call them [psychic knowing, feeling another across perceived distances of time and space, seeing an angel in the sky], did not leave me feeling comforted like “Woohoo! Look at you, you won the lottery in getting to have some of those answers you were looking for in your teens!” I was 31 and not asking them anymore. But as a seeker one faces the uncertainty of the unknown and often events in life happen out of chronological order, only when you go back do you understand the significance, the meaning. Little did I know someone was taking notes and then all of a sudden the simple act of listening in and sitting down to write as my dream had caught me, set me on a collision course with my perfect little package of self and the reality it contained. We know what we need to know when we know it. Home and my connected former self were something needing to be lost to be found again, and when found…whole.
This is for my 34-year-old self, looking at you viewing the world through a lens of love, knowing the love I am, becoming the woman I am and have always been destined to be. I’m here in the present connecting my soul, writing and sharing for all to feel my Glow and the life story that has unfolded within me.
Curly Q
Tagged: Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Connecting, Glow, home, lens of love, perfectly imperfect, Renaissance, Spirit, Truth
Hi Kristy,
I made you laugh. (Yes – it’s coffee munching stripy hat, “Turbo” button guy.)
You made me think!
I am usually a deep serious thinker, but on occasion, I have to release some giggle-berry juice. So I “troll” some funny blogs, looking for a place to drop some funny. When I saw you liked my comment I figured you may have a site worth reading.
Beautiful, beautiful site, your articles impress upon me that you are just oozing with creativity and original thought. The elegant simplicity of your conclusions, and the interwoven-connectivity of your personal views, all presented in such a pristine, beautifully formatted, high quality piece, is nothing short of inspiring.
I look forward to reading some more of your previous articles.
If I may, I believe there is more -for me- to the appeal of your site, and I would very much like to try and explain it. I think that it is clear to me that you have (and probably still) are, successfully completing a personal journey. A Journey, where, you achieved all that you believed you needed to, but later realised that those beliefs were based on an external value system.
Write an awesome blog – Check! :-)
Now that you are exploring the world, as if for the the first time, in an attempt to define or rather discover your actual internal value system, you are expressing an overwhelming, sense of person of knowing oneself and true connectedness with others.
This is now the exact opposite of my experience. I’m sure I was born, somehow immune to all societies forces that tend to demand of people, those things that form an external value system.
Free of the burden to find myself, I have spent my life, trying, succeeding and failing, and trying still to explain to countless others, what it means to truly know oneself, and that it is the only way to experience true freedom. I must have spent, if not millions, then several hundred thousand man hours, trying to accelerate in women in my life, the things that you seem naturally to have discovered, things such as: a spouse is very different from a companion, love is worthless without trust, interests and hobbies (other than self beauty) form a whole-rounded person, that women should have the strength to be worth more to society than merely expressing their biological ability to reproduce, that babies become people. That jealousy is toxic, that love requires a degree of both selfishness and a degree of culpability. To guys, I tried to help them learn that purpose, success and wealth are not the same thing, that ego is something not worth celebrating but something to overcome, that love is not lust, and the purpose of power is to achieve peace, that conforming takes one further from oneself and that obedience is not respect. This and countless other things have been the labours of my life.
Imagine how you would have to toil with your 21 year old self, and how alien your current wisdoms would be for her to observe.
After reading some of your posts, I now think, I may have spent my life thinking about the troubles of others, of society and mankind, that I no longer, am connected to my self. Not to the extent that you seem to be to yourself, as I once was, and for this insight I am eternally thankful.
I would however offer some “free” advice. Once you have found yourself and are free of group-think and know how to create, as opposed to conform, you may, as I have, find much in the guidance of others. But never do so at the expense of your own relationship with yourself.
I have written some articles focused on the issues faced by our generation and our society as a whole. Perhaps, as it was for me, you may find value in reading about a contrasting point of exploration, and if there is any interest for you in anything I have written, I would love to read comments from your perspective.
Visit StephenIs.com and probably start with my article “you don’t have anything to hide right?”
Stephen is.
Thank you Stephen, your assessment is quite correct in my personal journey and I appreciate your comments about my blog, it’s a work-in-progress :) I’ve looked at your articles and will need more time to truly delve into them to give you a proper response from my perspective. Those are not light reads, but I do find it fascinating to expose oneself to others of different perspectives as it leads to the most growth, in my experience.
With your “nothing to hide” article I’d be curious to know your perspective in the realms of someone being knowing, as in it’s nonphysical obtaining of information. Not that social security
numbers are just known (at least not in my experience) but perhaps other knowing that is just as private.
As for being more connected, this has been an influential read of mine: “The General Theory of Love” by Thomas Lewis M.D., Fari Amini M.D., Richard Lannon M.D., in short, in being a mother, I have been able to connect, not only with myself but my daughter and, as a result, others; it sheds light on the mechanism of empathic resonance. It’s something all mammals share, but our developed neocortex brings in the ability to then overlay what we think over what we feel (or rather, what is received through the limbic system)
Another helpful read, since I work in medical informatics by day and have had to balance my equally creative writer side, is: “Think Logically, Live Intuitively” by J.R. Madaus. This book was very helpful in that my journey has been a set of checks and balances in being grounded but allowing my experiences to unfold with little shaping or molding of what I “thought should be happening” and allowing what truly was happening. I had friends/mentors to help me along my way. Here’s a quote that I opened to and will share: “In one sense, we are revealing a lack of balance in our human nature by such a one-sided focus on physical reality, and our long term development as a species will suffer for it. If we continue to deny the nonphysical elements that also play a significant role in who we are, we may eventually erode our capacity to dream or be visionary in any way.”
I can understand wanting to share, explain and help others in being self-aware as you describe. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s not you “they” would be listening to, it would be within them self, a silent yes or affirmation to what is said. In not being successful, to use your words, it’s rather that they are not ready to hear or help them self. However, I will state that sometimes this awareness spontaneously starts to surface and then the insights you tried to pass on may take new meaning when revisited by those you originally shared with.
I’ll keep your advice in mind, I have some help in ensuring I do not get led astray, or at the very least, shorter steps off the intended resonant path :)
Be well,
Kristy
Hi Kristy,
Thank you for this response (and on my blog too :-) ).
It is part of the magic of the internet and blogging, that people who think in such different modes can find a way not only to communicate but add value to each other’s perspectives.
I would argue, somewhat, against the lack of balance in society, and make a case for a lack of courage. It takes courage to truly be open-minded enough to see that there is value in a different point of view. It takes courage to see that money is merely a man made idea. It takes courage to accept and embrace the weaknesses that we all take for granted. It takes courage for a Shaman to belief in the value of science and reason. It takes courage for a Scientist to value the beliefs of the Shaman. It takes courage to face the world as an individual, it takes courage to be an individual. It takes courage to seek, acknowledge and react to one’s mistakes, and shortcomings. It takes courage to stop trying to assimilate others to one’s point of view and rather ask for viewpoints from others.
But the thing that takes the most courage is to think for one’self and to stand up for what is right, for what you believe and against what you despise.
Until people have the courage to face the challenges in the physical world, they will be forever handicapped to explore the meta-physical.
Please be re-assured that I too have strong meta-physical beliefs, but any efforts in this, to me, seems pointless in a world living a lie. A world without courage, a world desperately lacking in honesty and truth. Even if we all were to embrace a higher respect and understanding for the “non-physical” as you put it, what value or progress would that really be in a world afraid to deviate from conformity, what value would it be in a world where most people rely on someone else to tell them what to think, and therefore are afraid to think.
We blind ourselves with lies, lies that we all know are lies. Binding our fears to our actions, loosing that special trait that only we humans can employ: rational thought.
Let me give you some examples,
1) Prison – How, in a modern society, can anyone still believe there is a social benefit from prison. How can we all laugh that prison rape and gangsterism, is not only the deserved fate of the convicted, but that somehow it benefits society, or rehabilitates a criminal.
2) Politics – How, in an informed society, can we be so blind, accepting even of the criminal relations between powerful companies and people and the power over the people. How can we allow fear to paralyse us into lowering our assumption of each other to that of terrorists or criminals unless told otherwise.
3) Education – We have all forgotten most of what we had to memorise for an exam. How can we all then, still consider examinations and testing as a viable means not only to educate but also to assess the level of understanding that learners have. Almost none have a love of learning, or a curiosity after leaving school, how then can we continue to teach with the side effect of destroying curiosity and the love of learning.
4) Media – No one appreciates in their daily lives, someone who loves themselves, has no loving interactions with others, bullies, brags, dominates and arrogantly self promotes themselves. Then how can it be possible that these are mainly the characters we idolise in public, these are the famous and worshipped hero’s in business, politics, arts and media and even in the news or opinion givers. The Trump’s, The Rappers, The Sluts, The Bush’es or the Jay-Z’s are the hero’s of our media. They are elevated to a godlike status, but possess none of the attributes our rational minds admire.
We are so quick to judge each other and ridicule one another, while segregating into evermore diverse subgroups, and cliques. We breed thoughtlessly, to the point where women feel it their entitlement to bear offspring, without much respect for the responsibility and duty of rearing a human. This is biologically driven by fear and social strategy, rather than by the capacity and desire to accommodate the development and upbringing of another human.
We engage in all manner of distractions and leisure, without empathy or care for the plights of others. How easily we relax, while countless others suffer.
To now consider the upliftment of the non-physical aspects of humanity, seems to me to be pointless and futile at this stage of human development. I believe that any progress made would simply be a pyrrhic victory.
I respect your connection to that side of our existence, and I respect your courage in embracing it too. But whenever I am poised to explore it, I am reminded of the work still to be done, done before any of that can become valuable to the world.
As any individual will readily tell you, each one of us is important valuable and worth the concern of all society. When we focus inward, or filter our thoughts, or conform to external ways of thinking, we do so at the expense of all. To be told whether a group of people is either a group of freedom fighters, or rebels is not only to give up our abilities to think independently, but is to miss that both groups are people and important and valuable, and instead of labelling people we may not realise that the solution is found in, together, adapting the situation that no such group need exist.
Independent and free thinkers (as you are), have an affirmative duty to the human race, to guide others to realise the places where they can and should work to improve.
Without this force, there would still be slavery, still be a powerless female, still be intolerance, still be injustice, still be entitlement, still be ignorance, still be prejudice, still be poverty and despair, still be evil and amorality, still be exploitation or destruction of our environment. If you read this list, and think to yourself, well hang-on, many of these things are rampant in the modern world, then I have made my point.
Perhaps, some decades from now, if these things are fully overcome, then humanity will be mature and adult enough to prepare it’self for a spiritual awakening, but it is not likely, not so long as the world is in it’s current state of affairs.
I never have tried to directly influence someone, this will usually cause undue resistance, but rather perhaps as Socrates, pose a question that causes someone to re-frame their point of view, which may in turn require more re-framing, and if I do so carefully enough, I may (and have many times) cause a chain reaction that leads to some level of irreversible enlightenment.
The path to enlightenment is the one less travelled. Find the courage to do what is right and not simply what is easy.
Stephen is.
Hi Stephen,
Sometimes it doesn’t feel courageous, but I can only continue in my resonant path. I don’t feel it’s lack of courage per se but, perhaps, lack of confidence. The result of a fear based society as you highlighted.
People are afraid and those having these experiences either are living on the fringe, share anonymously, are part of communities more accepting, or push away/push down and ignore.
I believe that the waring factions of the world we live in are a reflection of the waring factions within oneself, the lack of awareness and knowing of those metaphysical aspects of oneself.
I sat down to write words flowing from somewhere, the beginning of a story {YA urban fantasy at that ;) } with the nudging from within for months until the signs from the external world could not be ignored {with help from my sister} which ended up being a butterfly effect in my life; a ripple that is still picking up momentum. One that took me back in time as much as grand jetes forward.
I believe there are wax and wane of conditions resulting in quantum leaps in evolution, understanding and awareness of where we fit in the grand design/ in creation. I do believe that we’re entering more of an enlightened period but before such it’s usually quite difficult as the inability to let go and allow change, one fights it, wrestles with what “used to be”, with the familiar regardless of where that path has brought oneself. Contented discontent.
I’ve read many belief systems and others’ beliefs, but I’ve based this on my own experience and the resonance felt as confirmation. For resonance is a feeling not a word. But most don’t know what that means let alone feels like.
There are so many clues, every-day occurrences, that are missed as one is either too busy to notice, doesn’t care, or passes off as “anomaly” as it doesn’t “fit” the accepted belief system. We experience the familiar because that’s what we’ve experienced before, our brains catalogue and file according to pathways pioneered before, however, there is the ability to change…it’s just difficult to actually put that work in.
But that work is what’s needed. To believe, as I do, that we do project our world from our inner being, to me, working on the inner being results into living into the external changes needed.
Belief systems are our creation, and when filtered through the human condition results in part truth. This results in a fractured state of Truth, which is then further shaped and molded to fit the economic, political, religious etc climate or used to pioneer change.
I’ve chatted with many atheists who know more about theism than those who believe. Ones belief is ones belief, but to understand that we’re all fallible, all susceptible to similar flaws of mankind, it takes acknowledging the part of us that is more, as there is more to man than mankind {what exactly nudged me to write?}. The key to navigating through, finding ones truth.
One’s own truth comes from within, one’s interpretation of the Universal Truth will stem from one’s own truth (perspective), but the universal truth is the Universal Truth. There are many perspectives; like glass half full, glass half empty, both are correct but convey different meanings/interpretations. Then others may be more concerned with the type of glass, what’s in the glass or …where did the other half go??? All good points, but still a different perspective.
Which is why I can accept and actually seek others’ perspectives to help me further my own awareness and growth…
I’d be curious to know more about your metaphysical beliefs as well as that of physical, if you’re up to it :)
Be well, Stephen.
Kristy-love the Coco quote, as I raise butterflies in my garden here in Virginia. Stop in an see my blog/world. D.
Thank you, I adore butterflies! I took a peek at your site and the photos of your garden are amazing as well as the descriptions you give…very inspiring. I shop my farmer’s market when it’s open and look for local (organic if possible) in the stores around here. I live in Oregon and we have quite the variety. Be well, Kristy
Kristy-I moved to Portland for my first job after college and still yearn for the Pacific NW…especially the Japanese garden. Too bad it is so far away from Virginia!
Dearest Kristy,
(I’m starting a new thread since we have reached the limit set of reply nesting. :-) )
I’t warms my heart that you are interested in my meta-physical and spiritual beliefs. I will be most glad to answer any and all questions that you have on this topic, but I must warn you before you take this journey with me, that my belief system is the culmination of decades of study, exploration and pondering on all the greater questions of philosophy. I have studied philosophy and reason extensively, and may pose concepts that are new to you, if so, please feel free to question, deny, outright attack any statement or claim I may make. I would also like to say that one of the primary objectives for my years of philosophical inquiry, was to see if any other philosopher (classic or contemporary) has had similar insights to those that I have had, or found any conclusions similar to mine. None have.
It is one of the many gifts I am denying humanity, that which is my philosophical understandings. I have battled internally for years, as to whether I should publish any of my thoughts, but have always come to the sense that I have no affirmative duty, and therefore need do nothing. I have enjoyed however several years of anonymous banter with some of the leading philosophers in the world. I often send them anonymous thoughts, to show them where they have (in my not so humble opinion) gone wrong, and tried to guide them down various paths of enlightenment. I think you may enjoy my latest letter to Stephen Wolfram, who as a fellow scientist, believes he can compute the Grand Unified theory of this universe, but bases his work on not only flawed premise, but also flawed reason.
I would also like to boldly state at the start, that I believe that I truly have found the “meaning of life, the universe, and everything.”, but just as a child cannot be explained the nuances of genetic medicine, without first learning basic organic chemistry, there may need to be some basic foundational understandings that someone first needs before they can approach the conclusions I have made.
I have no desire to convert anyone to my spiritual beliefs, and since you asked, I would be more than happy to explain any aspect of by belief system, anonymously. I lay no claim to any of my understandings or conclusions and seek no recognition thereof. It, has however, been my experience in the past, that Atheists are indeed less “open minded” than the religious are; since my belief system is, I believe, as far ahead of Atheism, as Atheism is to Theism, I find it particularly hard to make any progress with a mind that already believes it has found all the answers it needs. So if you are truly interested to hear a unique spiritual perspective, if not only for entertainment purposes, then I will be willing to comply. But if you are interested in impressing upon me what you beliefs you have found, then, although I am open minded, I will respectfully say that, this is a debate that I have had all too many times.
Ok, well enough rambling here is a (Very very very very) brief summary, of my spiritual beliefs. Since I have several volumes of written explanations on most of these claims, I will be willing to send them to you for your enjoyment, just ask where you would like me to clarify and give me an email address, and I will send you my writings. :-)
1) I do believe in God! *I will clarify briefly below, and in more detail on request.
2) I do believe that the entire universe was created for us and that we are special and significant in the universe (well at least partially for us), and I believe that I not only believe that the universe (and us within it) has a purpose, but I am certain (here I am able to corroborate this with much scientific evidence and with many reasoning’s) that I know what that purpose is. :-)
3) I do believe that we not only interact (bi-way communication) physically with the universe, but that the human mind has a distinct and unique trait, in that the universe shapes it’s self around our thoughts.
4) I do believe that God* (again I need to explain in more detail) lives within us, but not necessarily all of us and to varying degree’s.
5) I do not, believe in any of man’s meta-physical explanations, whether it be the religions of western society or the “understandings” of eastern teachers. So I do not believe in any of the islamic-judeo-christian religions, I don’t believe in any of the teachings of Kant, Hume, Nietzsche, Dawkins, Marx, Richard Feynman, Bertrand Russell, Sam Harris or in scepticism, pyrrhonism, agnosticism, gnosticism; nor do I conscribe to beliefs in Buddhism, anything in the ridonculous Bhagavad Gita, I do not believe in Karma, re-incarnation, or any view of a heaven, an afterlife or hell. It may seem that this is impossible. That one has to believe in something metaphysical, and that if one does not belief in one of the above beliefs, or teachings, then one is simply undecided and has no belief. This is not true, it is simply that I have a belief system that is wholly my own, and has no place whatsoever in any of the other belief systems. It is also so vastly different from anything else that I cannot even say that it is based on components of what others believe.
6) As a rational man, I realise that I am trapped within an irrational (Primate) mind, and therefore have spent most of my efforts over the years, trying to unravel those things that are inherent to my primate mind and once broken free of those burdens I have attempted to seek the pure natural truths found in the universe, and use only those as ingredients of my belief system:
Truths such as:
– Duality
– Inequality
– Uncertainty
– Entropy
– Homogeneity
– Temporal Non-permanence or Flux
– Causality
– A-priory Perception (that is if there is no one to hear the tree, it still makes a sound)
– Elegance
– A yet un-named concept, that I would describe as the ability of phenomena to exist, but only on various levels of abstraction**.
** here is a quick attempt to explain my last point. I admit that this concept, while critically required to understand my meta-physical views, is the one that I most struggle to explain. And if you need clarity, I will take extra efforts to explain this as best I can. Basically what I am trying to say, is that certain idea’s (or phenomena) can exist, even though they exist on different supporting constructs. An example would be that of a straight line. It can exist as an idea, whether it is formed by different underlying physical things: it could be a straight line of pencil lead on paper, it could be a straight line of sand on your desk, it could be a straight line of stars in the sky, it could be a musical beat that occurs in a straight line across time, it could be, as an idea or phenomena, created on many physical or other levels of abstraction, but the idea, remains the same, even though it is represented across all these physical forms. So what I am saying is that this idea or phenomena, can remain pure, even though it can be instantiated across all these physical or other levels of abstractions, is a natural truth. This ability is easy to see once understood. This post can exist, as an idea, both on your computer monitor, and mine, on servers, on cell-phones etc, but the idea (or blog post in this case) is a separate entity existing on a higher level of abstraction that the monitor, cellphone screen or server hard drive that is on a lower level of abstraction.
– Abundance
and Fallacies such as:
– Good and Evil, right and wrong (non-subjectively at least)
– Fate, determinism or destiny (as contrasted with uncertainty)
– Individualism (which is the foundation for societies, and politics, and morality)
– Humanified personality of God***
– Affirmative duty
– Ego-centred perspective
– The store of value (money or worship or praise or value in effort)
– Coincidence (Yes it is my finding that coincidences are rather unlikely and there is purpose behind all but an irrelevantly small number of coincidences)
– Materialism or a purely physical perspective
– Scarcity (that is I believe that abundance, on many levels, is the natural truth in the universe)
– Equality (that is I believe that inequality, on many levels, is the natural truth in the universe)
These natural truths (and many others) along with the natural fallacies (also there are many others) are the ingredients I use as a basic logical rule-system from which I build a rather, formal almost, belief construct.
All in all, after much debate, I have a rather elegant understanding of life, spiritualism, humanity and our place in all this, what happen to us after life and why all this is.
I believe that anyone who is brave enough to take this journey of understanding with me, even if (better if) sceptical will gain a new, novel view on things. I am sure that after going through all my explanations of the various elements of my beliefs and how these elements interconnect to each other, they will, come, as I have, to a surprisingly simple and elegant understanding of everything. And since I have an almost arrogant, confidence, that I know all that I need to, I have found an indescribable sense of peace. If you were willing to hear my full metaphyical views, I would only hope the same for you. It is amazing to feel a sense of confidant peace in a world full of people confused and seeking answers.
Be well.
Stephen is.
*I say I believe in God, but in now way that anyone else can possibly understand. I explain this in a document that questions an original belief, (are we born naturally theist or religious) and what this means for our view of God. I feel that it is this realisation, (that our view of God’s personality is tainted) that leads many rational people to falsely become Atheists at heart.
Hi Stephen,
Wow, food for thought. When you described my conclusions as elegantly simple, I feel you’ll find I’m just that with my beliefs. I likely will ask many questions as I’m not familiar with much of what you bring up, which make this all the more intriguing.
While I haven’t consciously been preparing over decades in my search for answers (to life, the universe and everything) I’ve found in my poetry and journal entries of mine that a part of me has or has always known of this. I’ve only be actively immersing myself in belief systems of faith, philosophy, sciences (physics predominantly) etc for a few years. I’d also say that a fair amount of my beliefs are from what I’ve lived and in living such could not find the answers I was seeking so looked anywhere and everywhere to find them. Some I latched onto quickly (too quickly) then let go and others serindipitously found and carry with me still.
I’d be very much interested in your metaphysical and spiritual beliefs. I do not operate with the intention of getting others to believe as I do, one, because I too have been subject to such a one way interaction and two, I’m not sure I can be catagorized as my beliefs are not found compiled anywhere either, other than the embodiment of mySelf. There is no “side” to bring you across the threshold to “my beliefs” .
The advent of “my renaissance life” actually springs from an article I wrote about “my renaissance beliefs” as I was tired of being called New Age, or lukewarm Christian, or illogical theist (although I too don’t have the same belief in God in the way others use the term), airy fairy, love and lighter etc. Some beliefs I hold are from ancient beliefs (hence renaissance) but applied in a different manner rather than literal application but feeling of meaning.
I would forewarn you that some of my influential spiritual mentors run the spectrum, one is a 79 yo man that I wrote symbolically in Glow as “Mr. Hogan” describing him as someone who just knows physics…fast forward 6 months or so and I met Lou. He too likes to pose questions to get one thinking, he asked me “how can a soul be a vortex”. He spent years working in the dept of energy working on resonance, alongside many with multiple PhD’s while he is there because “he just knew the answers” or how to find them. His near death experience led him down the path of trying to explain realizing, as you have, he only wishes he could. He has written a book, Soul Search(ing) that is his sharing with humanity. But he’s shared much with me and others as he embodies his beliefs. Often what is given isn’t tangible, but something else…
Another mentor is an angel therapy practitioner who sees angels and faeries, she paints them too (but in the painting translates what is seen to what most believe them to be). Her insights and knowing have been 100% accurate, I call her Ann, and she’s the symbolic Celeste character in Glow.
Lol, okay, that’s enought about that I think you get the idea :)
{In sharing with me I feel you’re not denying humanity anything and who knows what I’ll take on and embody and as such share with others just as you took starting points from others and then built upon}.
It’s interesting you bought up “my gift” as I’m reading this book “The Gift; Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World” by Lewis Hyde. I’ve struggled with if I should share my experiences with others in the written form and not cloaked in fiction, which is very much what Glow is….symbolic as well as frank truth I’ll weave into a fictional account.
Sometimes minds are more open with such and even then seeds are planted that can be nourished with the time/conditions are right.
I will be privately sending you my email and I look forward beginning our discussions. Be well! ~Kristy
Dear Kristy,
The brave, bold philosopher. That is your new title. Let never again, anyone (or yourself) tell you that you are not brave, courageous and bold!
There is no act more brave than staring up toward the heavens and beyond, and daring to face the dark night, and daring to hear her silent taunts: That we do exist, that we do not know why, and that we may be insignificant. To reject the epistemology of others, and demand rational satisfaction. To process the teachings of others and make them your own and to face the scary dark unknowns of human and personal existence.
We brave few; we are the philosophers.
To us, are the fruits of enlightenment alone are granted. The turmoil of the great unknowns are our scars of battle. To us alone, can wisdom be entrusted, for us to wield as our fiery weapon against the darkness. For not all can withstand it’s fiery grip.
We brave few; we are the philosophers.
Welcome.
Before I respond, may be so brash as to guess a little about you,
— You were content, but not satisfied, with the standard, popular modes of belief, without any need to question. You then found yourself subject to a jarring paradigm shift, one in which your understanding of yourself was challenged to the core. Unlike most, you were able to effectively mould a new belief structure. But the process of changing your beliefs left you with philosophical scars. But while you can undoubtedly claim immense personal growth, you find yourself in a state of uneasy uncertainty.
— The things that were able to grant you distraction from these thoughts no longer work effectively. You now seek new ways of clarifying your beliefs. You now value the wisdoms of others and seek new and old writings, and always test your own, albeit changing, beliefs against what you read. This has granted you your own new unique perspectives, that you make real and explore deeply in your writings.
— You doubt others will value your new perspectives because of their highly personal genesis. But you write anyway, to teach yourself, and to share this inexplicable sensation, the sensation of original thought and original beliefs.
— You dream anew. Your dreams have become vivid, inexplicable, unpredictable, epic and colourful. You dream of ever more distant scenarios, going further back and further forward, further abstract, yet evermore present. Your dreams teach you new modes of understanding, and bring you into the company of new modes of people. Your dreams are intense and expand beyond your circle of daily life and society. Your dreams push you and test you.
— You are at peace with your own inadequacy and shortcomings, and worship the unknown aspects of yourself as the most valuable, while denying yourself no experience or state of being.
— Your disconnection from society, is worrying you, no matter how much you deny it, and your attempts to conform seem evermore futile or insincere. You engage all others (not just your children) from a new, more maternal, point of view. You are, surprisingly to yourself, more honest more real more true than you once were.
— You now seem to understand others better than they do themselves, and more and more people turn to you for your wisdoms than before. Your intuitions have gone through the roof, and even if you were aware of them for a long time, they now seem to be more activated or “Switched on”.
Tell me if I am close, and always (in fact I expect it) be brutally honest, if I am wrong – I am wrong.
But you know I am not. :-)
You have risen against the Marquee de Kristy – revolted and formed an internal council of democratic renaissance. This is your cry to re-define yourself to yourself.
You have been searching, latching on, seeking new, stumbling across greater higher understandings. Not for the understandings, but for the peace granted at the end of a tribulation. To arrive, to stop, resonating. But more and more you are starting to realise that it is in the searching that peace will be found, and that to stop resonating, is to renounce your new found powers of understanding.
So lets start our Journey….
The father of philosophy, and the person who contributed the least, is a Greek who lived about five thousand years ago, called Socrates. This was a fad dude that lived almost nomadic, moving from home to home. He literally walked the earth. He did this, by asking questions about mundane parts of life. When someone stole something for instance and now had to be punished by society, he would perpetually ask “why?”, as a young child does. This would engage his audience in questions such as “why is stealing wrong?”, “why should we punish the wrong doers?”, “why is this particular punishment correct for the crime?”, “is the punishing of his crime a crime in itself?” etc. This form of questioning, while he offered no real answers himself, was the spark of all philosophy. Known as the Socratic method, it passed the philosophical flame on to one of his students, Plato, and to his Aristotle, and to his: Alexander the Great and so on.
In that tradition, I will attempt the Socratic Method as my primary mode of teaching. I will ask (and sometimes answer where needed) many questions. That you can find the same flame when answering.
So let’s begin.
Where better to start than with God. Is it not the belief of a God or not that is at the heart of all spiritualism? Is it not the views on the divine that define the religion or meta-physical understanding of the believer? Would certainty about God, not free one from many false beliefs? If we knew for sure, whether there was a god, wouldn’t we be able to then be easily able to know what beliefs are therefore absolutely wrong or right? If, for example, we knew for sure, that god did not exist, we would then be able to confidently rule out religion such as Christianity, Islam etc..
Is this “ruling out” not what Atheism does? But does Atheism (by definition A – Theism or no deity) actually claim that there is no God. To be clear there is a slight difference between Atheism and Agnosticism, in that Atheism claims that there is no God, where Agnosticism claims that we can never know whether there is one therefore we cannot believe in one. But in general they both seem to steer towards the “no-God” mode of belief.
So then I ask, and will return again to this question later, is it indeed true that we can never know whether there is a god? Or perhaps, we just haven’t found a way to find him, or show that there is one? And even if we cannot ever show that there is a God, is it logical, to therefore say, that there is no God? If we cannot find those who built the pyramids, can we then say that no-one did? If we don’t know the names of the two people in Italy who are having a coffee in their kitchen right now, can we say that they have no names? If we don’t know something, and we argue that we will never be able to know it, that it is therefore nothing or never was? Let’s pause here while we quickly embrace another thought.
If Atheists or Agnostics or whatever (from now on I will say Atheism to mean all forms of non-god belief) deny that God exists, could his brother still exist?
This brings me to the question, who is this God bloke anyway? What is his personality? Is it the vengeful, violent, insecure dude from the old testament? Is it the cool smooth voice of James Earl Jones as the lion king talking from the clouds down to Simba? Is it the chilled out dude from the new testament? is it the demanding God of Mohamed and Ismael from the Koran? or is it the double entry keeping universe-balance enforcing entity behind Karma? is it the all understanding hippie abstract force of “The Universe” that many quasi-atheists refer to when they try calm themselves by telling themselves that “everything happens for a reason”?
Who is this God that the Atheists are denouncing anyway? But on a deeper note, if you were raised Christian, I’ll bet that if you ask yourself to truly explain what YOUR personal idea of God is (or has been for most of your life), I’ll bet that it is probably very much like that in the bible that you were taught growing up. Does he speak English? Does he hear your prayers? Does he forgive sins? I am not asking whether you believe in this idea of God, but rather to define what your idea was of God all along. Does, Thor, the god of lightning, that lives in a pantheon in the sky, to you who grew up Christian, seem not like a real god, but rather like a super-hero or cartoon or the idea of someone else’s God? While you recognise that technically Thor, was believed to be a God by many, do you feel that it is not your true idea built into you of what God is? Is is possible that others, may consider your idea of God to be as foreign as your idea of Thor is?
So then, if you had an idea of God built into you, where did it come from? Is it actually your idea of God or not?
Well, to answer those questions I would like to pose the concept of Original Belief. This is a thought experiment, where I ask you to consider if all humans are born with an inbuilt belief in religion or in atheism. Now we know from psychology that a child only develops the idea of individual ego around age 4 -6. Before that age, it has never occurred to a baby or a child that there are other individuals, and they only see the world or their situation as a whole. This has been studied extensively by minds much more smarter than mine, and all this research is easily available for further research if you are still uncertain. But the conclusion therein is clear, children only recognise another personality, or identity several years after they are born. Which in turn means that it is impossible for a child to be born with the concept of God. Which means that every person who ever had an idea of God, had an idea that someone taught to them.
So then if no one has had an idea of God, that was not tainted by human perspective, if there is a God, it is very likely that every various idea of God has been wrong. It is also possible that no one has every had an idea of God that is correct.
Doesn’t it seem then, perhaps, that atheists, are so quick to say we will never be able to know whether he exists therefore we cannot assume that he does exist, but they say this without proper consideration for who or what, we don’t know exists. I fear that too many rational people struggle with the idea of the God that THEY have, and then choose to believe that there is no God, rather than choose that there is no THEIR God.
So what then could the personality of a non-humanised god be like? What ideals would he have, and would it be possible to determine if this actual God existed or not. And if it were, for argument sake, possible to find evidence of this God, what would that evidence be like and how would we find it.
In my unpublished essay “The Atheist’s God”, I explore these ideas further. But for this introduction to my beliefs, I will leave that aspect for later.
I return to the question: “If we don’t know something, and can never know it, is it logical to conclude that we never can know it or that it doesn’t exist?”
Now try and answer that question, but substitute for “something” the unknown idea of a non-humanised god. How can we say that we don’t know something, when we are not even clear on what it is that we don’t know. How can you say, I don’t know what it is that you are thinking, but I know that I you are incorrect. Or I don’t know what your password is, but I know that I can never know it, there fore it doesn’t exist. Or I don’t know what religion you are, but I know that you are wrong.
It seems to me, to make sense to any rational person, that in order to deny a thing, it can only be a known thing, that can be denied. A double negative cannot be rationally denied. Because you could be denying something that cannot be denied, but since you don’t know what you are denying, how can you know that!!!
Ok let me know if you are lost. I’ll try think of better metaphors.
If you are stopped by the police, and the police ask “Did you…?” and before you even know what they are asking, you simply say “No”, you would be a fool. Because you are already denying something, but you don’t yet even know what that thing is. It could be “Did you see a red car?”, it could be anything.
It can be said that there are situations where everything is denied, but if you investigate those things, they will be easily defined as a group. Someone may say “All crimes are can be denied” but, we then know that the “thing” is crime that is denied. This is not applicable to God, since we have absolutely no idea of his form or characteristics, and if the idea of God actually has any form or characteristics, and may be entirely foreign to everything we know as humans.
Ok, whew, so what I am getting at, is that by denying God, Atheists are actually, even if in a minor way, claiming to know something about the God they deny.
And probably are doing so prematurely.
But once many Christians are now happy atheists, they start to feel a crack in the world. Their harts start to tell them that God is living still, within them. They start to see the beauty in the world, have near death experiences and start to believe that they are important and significant, and that all this may just have a purpose. But when they try and reunite with their old view of God, it doesn’t make sense to them that any religion can make sense, but somehow want to believe in god, or no matter how hard they try they can not fully deny a God like force in the world.
I will end this post off with a Quote from Gandhi :
“There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything, I feel it though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses. But it is possible to reason out the existence of God to a limited extent. Even in ordinary affairs we know that people do not know who rules or why and how He rules and yet they know that there is a power that certainly rules.”
Stephen is.
Hi Stephen,
First to address your guess of me :)
I was content in discontent and after a certain point in pushing parts of myself way down, I did not seek nor did I question. Definitely a jarring paradigm shift that brought me back to my current course and it’s something I’m wanting to share. I feel many are trying such endeavors as well. I don’t know that I have a new belief structure crystallized, I’m still forming it. I don’t have unease with uncertainty, in fact I believe there’s “the art of uncertainty” I have a blog topic about it.
http://myrenaissancelife.net/2012/02/24/the-art-of-uncertainty/
I would say I sometimes have difficulty accepting the art of uncertainty.
I love exposing myself to others beliefs, perspectives and often those the most different from me result in the most growth, not necessarily as it pertains to beliefs solely, but holistically the person I’m engaging with.
I don’t doubt that others will value my perspective, I just realize that what has happened to me on my path was for me, however, there are certain aspects that I feel many would benefit in knowing about. I write to help me process and yes to share, through sharing we find we are not alone as many have similar experiences daily. I also like meeting new people and being turned on to new things, like animal safaris, books to read, galleries to visit, how to make rhubarb simple syrup for home-made spritzers etc.
I wish my dreams were more vivid, I wish I could astral travel, alas that is not something I can boast about. However, when I do self Reiki I do dreams I’m more likely to remember. I struggle with being too literal, understanding the symbolic nature of dreams (and many other associated nudgings from that part of oneself) have been a difficult lesson for me.
I don’t feel disconnected from society, quite the opposite. I feel very connected to others, it’s the belief systems and what is valued that I often feel disconnected with. I can appreciate why we have what we have today, but also see the need for change. And the ability to expose oneself to new ideas, beliefs, accept others and turn the questions inward…is necessary.
Yes to intuitions and people seeming to benefit from interaction with me.
I wanted to add one thing, I wanted to warn you that I know you have a written piece of what you believe, but another scientist who I know, while writing his book (currently the cover art is being discussed for his book) he had to make many revisions after chatting with me… so, I’m giving you fair warning…I have a feeling you’ll have a renewed interest in your works and your subsequent sharing of it.
Be well!
Kristy
For the beliefs in God, I agree with many points and would love to discuss the subtle nuances between what you write and what I believe, however, I would like to take that to the forum.
I would say this, if “finding God” has not occurred and there are many “ideas” just exactly what/who/where God is perhaps the not finding is not truly knowing what to look for, if anything is to be found in the manner one seeks.
Many atheists I have chatted with speak of not being born theist, however, I would say that we’re not born with the innate belief systems we pass…ditto for many other belief systems, however, they only seem to target belief systems of faith or spirituality.
In my “Anachel” link I cite from the Lost Gospels, as in non-canonical gospels that were not assimilated into the assembly of the Bible in the first council of Nicea, most don’t even know what that means…most don’t understand the implications of having “man” assemble and decide what is to be and what is not to be, we’re human, fallible, have flaws and virtues, life is a ping pong between until we find the resonant path…but to me, it’s all part of the cycle, or design. Lost pieces being found and it’s not just for judeo-christian…but many belief systems. (Mayan cosmogenesis being one that is over-hyped and
misunderstood). I also write “that when God spoke, creation spoke back.. in other words the God (or gods) we have today are a result of what we created as as part of creation…
I could go on and on, but hope to pick this up on EP.
Be well, Stephen!
~Kristy
First of all I want to say terrific blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you do not mind.
I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to writing.
I have had difficulty clearing my thoughts in getting
my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted simply just trying to
figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints? Appreciate it!
Hello there. For me, the act of writing itself clears my mind prior to writing. What I mean is, I don’t have a consistent practice in centering myself before I write, as a writer, it’s when I write that I fulfill that aspect -I get a few pages down in my journal or notebook and then the little pieces of writing start to flow. There is no how to begin, other than beginning. Your mind tells you that something must be done to begin and to begin it must be great. But all writings begin with an idea; what is the idea? Why are you telling this story? Rather than think of filling a page, jot some thoughts down. Then go back and expand, keep doing this and trust that there will be a lot of writing before the writing shines through. Sit down and begin, write often, write daily, write while waiting for your morning coffee, write in the final minutes before you must go to bed. Just begin. Just write.