Roger B. Burt's Blog, page 45

The Truth of Speculative Fiction

 

What form of fiction do you prefer? Why?

The Truth of Speculative Fiction

Again I come from the position of asking what constitutes reality. Not only do we disagree among ourselves but an examination shows us that there are forms and layers.

Fiction, for example, is only unreal because the characters and the story do not exist in what we call the real world. But, of course, they do. People we know inspire characters, we, ourselves, inspire characters. And how many basic story patterns are there?

Our Choice Represents Us

The particular type of fiction we choose either to read or to write tells a story about each of us. As such there is no such thing as the best. It is merely what is best for the person who is pleased with their choice. That does not deny that some people are better at their craft than others.

Later in the blog I”ll be addressing the substance of human personality types which Carl Jung had the brilliance to organize for us. Each type makes their own choices of fiction. That again suggests there are no rights or wrongs, just a matter of who and how we are.

The Richness Of the Creations

Romance attracts one set of people, science fiction another. Tragedy has it’s own way of helping us adapt and explore. I prefer speculative fiction because of my personality type. I’m constantly looking behind things. When I see myth, I see human truth of many sorts. When fiction is speculative I can examine possibilities and turn them around in my mind. I find it such fun. I want to be intrigued. It isn’t the turn of phrase for me. It is the what if which engages me. And then we can plan for a future and how it might be.

And so we have a variety of forms of seeking how things might be, what choices we might make and the shapes and meanings to be found in the world. And again and again we open our minds when we explore various realities and each one may mean something very different to each one of us. Aren’t we fortunate?

What are your emerging choices?

#cuspofreality,#womenrising,#empowermentofwomen,#gaia,#gaia’smajesty,

#gaia’smajestydiscovery,#anunbearablechoice,#gaia’smajestychallenge,

#thechosenrise,#gaia’smajestytransformation,#lifeforcesrevealed

[image error]

The Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy

 

What in your life took hold even without a plan?

Ephemerality to Fact

It was my writing of the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy which inspired this blog. As a psychologist I have always been impressed by how ephemeral reality can be even for people who are demonstrably stable. When the inspiration for the Majesty stories struck it quickly became clear that a lot of it had already been created back in the reaches of my mind. Granted we now have the tools to scan our brains and can see unconscious processes. But it was still amazing to me how well formed it was.

Layer upon layer it came forward and with each layer came the characters. Maybe they did not quite come up and introduce themselves but they were there. Many days after writing I found myself quite weary as if I had really been dealing with a host of beings. I have to wonder how many other people experience that or something related when they write. Our imaginations are powerful things and I suspect many writers feel the same way.

A Sequence Existed

And so the writing proceeded. I thought I was writing a book but it quickly became clear that there was more than one. The first one, Gaia’s Majesty: Discovery introduced the concept, the settings for the characters, the characters and the fundamentals of what was happening to humankind. In the second, Gaia’s Majesty: Presence, Gaia becomes ever more involved and the world descends into crisis. But being who I am as a person who may be cynical but believes everything can be salvaged, we then move into the third book, Gaia’s Majesty: Transformation.

I’ll leave the books to unfold but at this point am fascinated by the process. And now I have the first book days away from publication and two more books well advanced. What disturbs me is that I feel a fourth book is stirring deep inside and I have no idea what it is about but I can feel it.

Reality as a Living Process

What we call reality requires considerable attention. It is clearly made up of depths and when we get to reality then we have the interface with our fellow humans. The fact that it is so complex and alive is what gives us our passions and excitement. How wonderful is the process of creation in all its facets and that we have so much behind our reality!

Can you perceive something stirring deep inside you?

#cuspofreality,#womenrising,#empowermentofwomen,#gaia,#gaia’smajesty,

#gaia’smajestydiscovery,#anunbearablechoice,#gaia’smajestychallenge,

#thechosenrise,#gaia’smajestytransformation,#lifeforcesrevealed

Majesty As Mission

 

What does reading mean to you? And, if you write, what does it mean to you?

Passtime or Core of Life

To me reading is not a pastime or entertainment. Certainly it can be but I want to be engaged and intrigued. That is why I find myself gravitating to speculative fiction, fantasy and science fiction. The What If is so central. I’ve already touched on fields which stirred me deeply, like philosophy, psychology and anthropology. They all are intertwined.

And then to my surprise I found there was a story I felt I needed to write. It turned out not to be a simple story but a complex one and it seems it had been forming in the back of my brain over decades. It also turned out to be layered. First came an overall concept and then layer upon layer in succession.

Layers of Themes

The themes are already enumerated in posts just published. Fundamental is the perception of our living on the cusp of reality. Quickly other themes presented themselves. Life itself is a concept to be explored and inherent at all levels is struggle. The story naturally had to be speculative and make use of mythology which is often more truth than fiction. It has a context of a real world we live in where collectively we are in crisis and our planet is in crisis. So the matter of stewardship is crucial and involves conflict with those who are not so inclined but dedicate themselves to their own power.

The Central Theme for Our Future

The other core of the story relates to the developing empowerment of women. I’m frank to say I’m a dedicated feminist and see this movement as something with extraordinary power which will lead to the greatest changes in human history. Because of that, women are central to this story. Their meaning and power are essential.

Naturally men are present and play a significant role. How cannot it be otherwise? It is not just a matter of women coming to power but they must also come to partnership. Our future is clearly built on that partnership and equality.

I’ve entitled the series Gaia’s Majesty. Majesty is ourselves and our planet. We are a majestic whole. How can we possibly separate ourselves or detach ourselves from our glorious home? It is speculative fiction because it is an exploration of ourselves and our potential as we truly come of age. And, of course, the question must be raised what might be our potential and can there be transformation of some kind?

At Last the Story Opens

The publication of the first book of the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy is now a matter of days. At publication chapter 1 becomes available on this blog cuspofreality.com along with the offer of a FREE novella from the book when you email me and request it. You can, of course, email me right now at rogerbburt@gmail.com and I will put you at the head of the list.

I’ll keep you informed of progress and continue my exploration of these topics on this blog. And, again, I hope we can be interactive. This process and our potential is something we all need to explore together. Being actively involved in understanding our development and our future is a mission in itself.

What are the central themes in your life?

#cuspofreality,#womenrising,#empowermentofwomen,#gaia,#gaia’smajesty,

#gaia’smajestydiscovery,#anunbearablechoice,#gaia’smajestychallenge,

#thechosenrise,#gaia’smajestytransformation,#lifeforcesrevealed

[image error]

Nicolai’s Truth

 

Revelations

Have you had sudden truth revelations? Or should I ask how many have you had?

Being in graduate school at Duke University working on my Ph.D. was fascinating in so many ways. The South was having a civil rights war, I found myself deep in Duke University Medical Center and I was meeting all manner of fascinating people. Not the least of whom was Nicolai.

One day a new student arrived. He was older than most of us and had a heavy Russian accent. How curious? In time I learned he had been the head of KGB operations for Eastern Europe. One night we fed him ample vodka and he told us about how his life had been as a high level intelligence operative. Like so many people, he considered himself to have been a patriot. But being a patriot of the kind he had been required to be turned out to be a proposition he could not, in the end, suffer. He decided to defect.

Betrayed!

Of course American intelligence was interested and he agreed on condition that when he went on Radio Free America to announce his defection that his wife and children would be picked up by our people and taken out of Russia. We didn’t do it and he lost his family.

Nonetheless he was true to his word partly because he could not accept the moral problems associated with the kind of murderous activities in which he had to be involved. He survived a poisoning with a radioactive substance and came to the United States to study clinical psychology. Interesting choice.

Honor and Truth

He was a touching individual and I never would have guessed his past. He was such a gentle and respectful person with a deep sense of honor. The stories he told us that night were immensely troubling. But his concluding statement about his past in intelligence was one I will never forget. “You think intelligence work is like James Bond. It is in fact like Get Smart.”

It was clear he meant the statement and the details of his life bore out his conclusion. What he conveyed was that we often have a view of things which we hold as truth. But truth is illusory and Nicolai’s story was yet another confirmation that we do, indeed, live on the cusp of reality.

What do you think of Nicolai’s conclusion?

#cuspofreality,#womenrising,#empowermentofwomen,#gaia,#gaia’smajesty,

#gaia’smajestydiscovery,#anunbearablechoice,#gaia’smajestychallenge,

#thechosenrise,#gaia’smajestytransformation,#lifeforcesrevealed

Seeking Guides

 

What body of knowledge has been most revealing to you?

Anthropology as Guide

In college someone told me I might find it interesting to take a course from an anthropology professor by the name of Leslie White. Why not? I thought it might be interesting to find out about people across the world and how they were researched. Since it might relate to primitive cultures I thought I might get into mythology, spirit worlds, the paranormal and things primitive and spiritual in many ways. It proved to be a life changing experience.

He was the father of cultural anthropology. Before us stood an elderly man who was dedicated to teaching in addition to organizing his field. Few august professors of his age and distinction took the trouble to try to engage students so young. But his passion was comprehensive and his thinking cutting edge. His tests were a revelation. They were all true or false questions. At first they seemed trivial. And then the storm struck. You could only answer them if you clearly understood what had been covered. When they were passed back to us we went over them. Lightning struck. His logic and relationship to the subject was flawless.

Finding Something Fundamental

From then on considerations of the impact of culture was central to my thinking. He referred to it as the extrasomatic stream because it had a life of its own outside of the individual. The more we examined the concept, the more powerful it became.

Carl Jung had grasped at something similar when he posed the existence of the collective unconscious. It was never accepted, but when Leslie White posed it as extrasomatic, it took on inescapable meaning.

It becomes a little clearer if we think of it in terms of what we are seeing in information technology. We are experiencing the movement of massive easily available data which is shaping our thinking individually and collectively. In the huts of Africa people are charging their cell phones which they use to communicate and do their banking.

This flow of information and communication is affecting regimes and overall we are seeing a decline in authoritarianism. We each carry within us our culture of origin and how it is being shaped. There is nothing which is not affected by culture. Jung observed that he saw alchemy as indicting that changes were occurring which led to the Enlightenment. The argument is complex but fundamentally it speaks to the extrasomatic cultural stream.

Then There is the Implication of the Rise of Women

And today we have a new enlightenment in the rise of women. A number of forces are gathering together to create one of the most important shifts in human history. Leslie White shaped my thinking and opened the view to make sense of the swirl of forces in our cultures and it gives us an eye into our personal future and the future of humankind.

If you haven’t delved into anthropology there is an illuminating and in depth article available on Wikipedia. It covers its many facets. American anthropology – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who are your guides and where do you find them?

#cuspofreality,#womenrising,#empowermentofwomen,#gaia,#gaia’smajesty,

#gaia’smajestydiscovery,#anunbearablechoice,#gaia’smajestychallenge,

#thechosenrise,#gaia’smajestytransformation,#lifeforcesrevealed