Lawrence R. Spencer's Blog, page 403
May 20, 2017
HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU READ?
In human experience, written symbols (letters, numbers, musical signs, etc. ) are physical representations of an idea or thought. Symbols organized into sentences, songs, compositions, formula, articles or books convey many complex ideas. These symbols enable communication between people in the physical universe. Although there a many forms of non-physical communication which we refer to as “emotion” or “telepathy” or “empathy” or “intuition” or “knowing”, the common denominators of human experience or culture is often expressed in books. When these have been read, understood and compared to other thoughts, we can assume points of view of the various universes we inhabit. When we agree on a our perception of these universes, we call this “reality”.
Which books have helped to shape your reality? How many books have your read in your life, so far? How many more books are on your “must read” list? According to Google, that is busily scanning every book they can get their digitizing hands on, there are about 130 million book titles in the world. There are more than 2 million NEW book titles published every year (in all languages) . There are approximately 8 billion people in the world. That is more than 65 book titles per every person in the world. So, theoretically every person needs to read a minimum of 65 books to reach an “average” level of literacy. Of course this does not include the avalanche of words available to read that have not been organized into an actual book title, like Twitter and Facebook posting, newspaper and magazine articles and other “non-literature” such as scientific papers, and school textbooks and other propaganda published by governments and corporations.
The largest bookseller on-line is Amazon.com, which has an inventory of only about 1,750,000 titles in English. That’s only 13 percent of all the book titles in the world! This a critically small number of books available to read. How can one possibly consider themselves to be a literate person? This does not even include the fact that the majority of books written in the ancient world (prior to 400 AD) were burned by the Christian church! If you read one book every week 50 for years you would have read only 2,600 books! According to Google, the average book is 300 pages. That’s about 75,000 words per book.
As a writer, I am also a reader. I have often read several books each week during the 50+ years of my reading life, as well as a lot of printed material, etc.. All together I estimate I’ve read about 4,000 books, so far. That’s a lot of words — not including the millions of words on the internet — that are not in the form of a book. Fortunately, there are more than 100,000 book titles available as spoken books — narrated for you by professional actors — on Audible.com, Librivox.com and sites on the internet. Now, I can “read” a book with my ears, instead of my eyes, a fact that I appreciate more and more as I grow older. I can “read” while I’m walking, driving, jogging, cooking, cleaning, waiting and doing a lot of things that would prevent me from reading with my eyes. It’s a wonderful age we live in!
So, how do we select the most cherished, life-giving, knowledge-quenching word droplets from the ocean of words? Having read more than my share of books I can say without any doubt that reading a lot of books does not make a person “smart”, or “wise”, or “literate”. However, for me, reading books is usually a more gratifying experience, mentally and spiritually, than watching television or movies or videos. Books are usually more thoroughly researched, planned, crafted, edited and perfected than other forms of communication.
In this electronic age, when more books are available to us — thanks to digital technology — than during all of the history of humankind combined, can we expect that humanity would be more well informed and intelligent that ever before? Books themselves are not wisdom. If books are not read by people, the knowledge contained in them remains hidden. They might has well not have been written.
My personal recommendation for your reading or listening book list are the books I’ve written, of course. My view of “reality” is different than most. My universe is unique, as is yours. I invite you to share my universe, through my books.
— This blatant self-endorsement is brought to you by Lawrence R. Spencer —
Originally posted 2012-11-24 13:14:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
May 19, 2017
May 18, 2017
RELIGIOUS HARMONY
One of the most amazing feats of monumental building are the Ellora Caves. The construction of this site is attributed to 3 religious factions, all of which originated with the teaching passed down for 10,000 years through the Veda. Could these massive rock carving and sculptures be duplicated with “modern” technology? Would current “civilization” allow this work to be done?
Ellora Caves is an archaeological site, 29 km (18 mi) North-West of the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta dynasty. It is also known as Elapura (in the Rashtrakuta literature-Kannada). Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 “caves” are actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills. Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut temples and viharas and mathas were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history. — (Wikipedia.org)\
VISIT THESE WEBSITES TO SEE A COMPLETE PHOTO ALBUM OF THE ELORA CAVES:
http://www.loupiote.com/sets/72157621310793836.shtml
http://www.loupiote.com/photos/3711011275.shtml?&s=72157621310793836
Originally posted 2014-11-24 16:32:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
May 16, 2017
SMOKE HAIKU
SMOKE HAIKU by Lawrence R. Spencer
Wisdom is like smoke
it can’t be controlled by man
Truth lives in the Soul
Originally posted 2012-05-11 13:51:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
FABRIC
“Every living creature is a sentient thread in the fabric of life.”
Lawrence R. Spencer, 2013
Originally posted 2013-07-06 19:04:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
May 15, 2017
WITCHES RITE OF RENUNCIATION
(This article is reposted from “quedavathegrey” on Tumbler)
“The Witches’ Rites of Renunciation are meant to sever the religious ties of your own personal past. This is done (I have found) for two distinct reasons: to shed the preconceptions forced by organized religion, including both the doctrines and the antithetic notion of hierarchal power in regards to Enlightenment, and as a symbol of rebirth. Much like a baptism! Only in this instance, the sin you wash away is the sin of religious indoctrination, hypocrisy and the very human realities that accompany the notion of “church.” It is meant to be a freeing exercise – one that cleanses all the malformed ideologies imbued on you throughout your earlier life. Of course, that is easier said than done and no one ritual can truly clear the slate completely, but it serves as a formal boundary between the past and the future – a future in which you must relearn your understanding of the world at large. One in which the answers presented are not set in stone, but fluid – from which you must come to your own conclusions, test your own theories and tessellate the scattered mythos and ideas into a cohesive faith – you own faith, reliant wholly on none other than yourself.
That is The Witches’ Baptism, and this is one example of how it may be performed:
Ideally, the rite should be done at a Crossroad (of whichever type speaks to you the most) as it is a transformative ritual! Bring with you whatever you need to light a fire in your preferred method – such as wood for a classic bonfire, Sacred Fire to light in a bowl/cauldron/vessel, or alcohol – which can be poured in a circle (note: isopropyl alcohol isn’t fond of the cold or wind, so either plan according to weather or bring a backup solution).
On site, when you are emotionally prepared, build your fire. Depending on your chosen medium, your window of opportunity will differ greatly (the above are listed from greatest to least burn-time), so factor this in as well. For those of you who thoroughly enjoy taking your time, I recommend building a true fire.
The following part should be personalized to fit your taste, as how you wish to release the past is up to you. You can do it simply, by speaking out loud that you rebuke the religion of your youth/past (traditionally, this is done by rebuking the Holy Spirit of Christianity – the unforgivable blasphemy – so as to free oneself from its vice-grip, though the renunciation can extend to any religion [or even no religion]).
A few other options consist of writing these things out – in as long-winded or concise a manner as you wish (these can even be written days in advance) – or burning a symbol of the past. The flames are freeing – allow them to be.
Purge these broken things from the mind and heart, and cast them symbolically into the consuming fire of creation and destruction. It is these things that stand as obstacle – let them be cleansed from you. And when the time has come, when these things have been expressed and used as kindling (carefully) leap the fire (and try not to wear any hairspray!). Then you are free.
Upon the other side, you may douse the fire, allow it to burn out, or use this time to connect with another Spirit or Deity (I said you were free, not that you had to stay free!), Nature at large, or even with yourself – whichever is most befitting your chosen path. Theoretically, this could be done by an Abrahamic witch if only to cleanse the effects of church indoctrination – for those who wish to follow the gospels/tomes in a unique or personal way.”
IMAGE: “Baptism of fire: Girls leap over flames as part of ancient cleansing ceremony held on the birthday of John the Baptist,”
Originally posted 2016-03-10 18:11:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
May 14, 2017
EXISTENTIAL CHESS
A central proposition of existentialism is that existence precedes essence, which means that the actual life of the individual is what constitutes what could be called his or her “essence” instead of there being a predetermined essence that defines what it is to be a human. Thus, human beings – through their own consciousness – create their own values and determine a meaning to their life. Although it was Sartre who explicitly coined the phrase, similar notions can be found in the thought of many existentialist philosophers from Kierkegaard to Heidegger.
It is often claimed in this context that a person defines himself or herself, which is often perceived as stating that they can wish to be something — anything, a bird, for instance — and then be it. According to most existentialist philosophers, however, this would constitute an inauthentic existence. Instead, the phrase should be taken to say that the person is (1) defined only insofar as he or she acts and (2) that he or she is responsible for his or her actions. For example, someone who acts cruelly towards other people is, by that act, defined as a cruel person. Furthermore, by this action of cruelty, such persons are themselves responsible for their new identity (a cruel person). This is as opposed to their genes, or ‘human nature’, bearing the blame.
As Sartre writes it in his work Existentialism is a Humanism: “man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards.” Of course, the more positive, therapeutic aspect of this is also implied: A person can choose to act in a different way, and to be a good person instead of a cruel person. Here it is also clear that since humans can choose to be either cruel or good, they are, in fact, neither of these things essentially.
The notion of the Absurd contains the idea that there is no meaning to be found in the world beyond what meaning we give to it. This meaninglessness also encompasses the amorality or “unfairness” of the world. This contrasts with “karmic” ways of thinking in which “bad things don’t happen to good people”; to the world, metaphorically speaking, there is no such thing as a good person or a bad thing; what happens happens, and it may just as well happen to a “good” person as to a “bad” person.
Because of the world’s absurdity, at any point in time, anything can happen to anyone, and a tragic event could plummet someone into direct confrontation with the Absurd. The notion of the absurd has been prominent in literature throughout history. Many of the literary works of Søren Kierkegaard, Franz Kafka, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus contain descriptions of people who encounter the absurdity of the world.
It is in relation to the concept of the devastating awareness of meaninglessness that Albert Camus claimed that “there is only one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide” in his The Myth of Sisyphus. Although “prescriptions” against the possibly deleterious consequences of these kinds of encounters vary, from Kierkegaard’s religious “stage” to Camus’ insistence on persevering in spite of absurdity, the concern with helping people avoid living their lives in ways that put them in the perpetual danger of having everything meaningful break down is common to most existentialist philosophers. The possibility of having everything meaningful break down poses a threat of quietism, which is inherently against the existentialist philosophy.
Read more about EXISTENTIALISM at Wikipedia.org
Originally posted 2012-07-17 11:53:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
THE POWER
“You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas” —
Glinda, The Good Witch of the West
“Oh Dear! That’s too wonderful to be true!” — Dorothy
“Now those magic slippers will take you home in two seconds. Just close your eyes and think to yourself, ‘There’s no place like home’.” — Glinda
“Then why didn’t you tell her before”? — The Scarecrow
“Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.” — Glinda
“Like Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ we are creatures of our own design. We live in universes created by our own agreements and imagination. We are inside the Physical Universe looking out to find the origin of our being. We long for a place we feel certain must exist; a place where there is no trouble. We wait for wizards and witches to show us the way home. Yet we fear to close our eyes and click our heels to see the Universe Within.
Our journey home begins at the source of the rainbow; shining light upon our own eternal, ethereal selves.
The history of mankind seems blanketed in a simultaneous state of amnesia and deja vu. The ruins of ancient civilizations whisper a reminder that we have forgotten everything we knew.
A multitude of gods have shown themselves like shadows in the halls of history. We know not yet, except by our own observation and decision, which of them is real. We are betrayed by those who teach us that we must trust the Wizards of the West. While pretentious politicians defend the castles of the Witch, the media monkeys swarm to spin perverted lies to cover up their covert tricks.
The voiceless bones of wonderful wizards have dissolved to mortal dust once more. Their words have vanished in the smoke of sacred libraries, searing our souls with the stupefying stench of wisdom lost forever in their flames. From day to day the timeworn treadmill of survival forces us to worship at the soulless bankers’ shrine. Gold is still the god of the great and powerful Oz.
We have crash-landed in a twisted alien landscape of pain and mortality, far away from our home Universe. As a race we have amnesia. We are repeatedly bumped on the head by the recurring cataclysmic upheavals of a planet whirling in space like a farmhouse in a tornado.
The future is an extension of the present. We must live our lives in the present in a manner which will create the greatest good for the greatest number of beings in the future. If we are aware of our own past lives, we must also be aware that we are creating our own future by our present actions. We will inherit our own legacy.”
— Excerpt from the book THE OZ FACTORS by Lawrence R. Spencer
Originally posted 2011-10-17 00:55:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
LOUD ZOO – THE TAO TE TERRA Audio Book
Listen to Chapter 8 from my new book, “Loud Zoo – The Tao Terra”
http://lawrencerspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/8-Planet-Earth.mp3
You can get this audio book FREE when you become a member of Audible.com. Or download a your copy for only $6.95
https://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Devel...
