conversation on spirituality (because this is what i do at work)
him: I disagree. Words should be applied applied as the author of the article intends it. Changing a words meaning to fit a personal agenda defeats the reason of the author to present the idea in the first place. I don't get your point about "waiting for everyone else to agree on a definition for you wont get you anywhere". The purpose of words is to convey meaning. If people can agree on a definition, then the use of the word is pointless.
me: if you are writing an instruction manual on building a model airplane, yes, you use words to convey directions to complete the project correctly. but, in spirituality, you are dealing with the vast complexities of human nature and human nature isn't something we have completely mapped out and modeled like a simple airplane. you cant thoroughly explain something if you haven't got the full picture. without the full picture, human nature is experienced more as a feeling rather than a concrete scientific principle. like a scientist has a feeling about a theory before be begins his tests to prove it to the rest of the world.
so then, spirituality compensates for the lack of definition by abstracting the directions metaphorically. like the artist paints an abstract painting of a feeling he has that he cannot describe.without any clear guidelines, he hopes the viewer will look at the mess on his canvas and say "i know exactly how you feel"
three friends and i played scrabble yesterday and the first four words were "teen, anus, sore, ooze" and then we stopped for a moment and questioned our thought processes
travispendlebury.com is online as of last night. still working out some things. most of the work currently on there is already laying around my myspace page.
i went up to lake istokpoga with my family this past weekend to spread my grandmothers ashes at her house on the lake. she is joining my grandfather there. we spent a great deal of time handing down her photo collection to other family members. being just a grandson, i got the scraps. but a wonderful collection of scraps! since the photos will otherwise just collect dust like they have been for who knows how long, i figured i'd share them.
except for the first one, these photos are all from the late 1920's.
my grandfather jd and grandmother florence and some fellow i dont know in the back
alan watts is that type of man who echos those deep revelations i've had though my life but could never quite find the words for expressing them. i've been subscribed to his podcast for some time now(which i highly recommend!) and his language has had a significant impact on my thoughts to the point where i am almost daily relating my experiences to some random quoted verse of his. not only are his lectures intellectually stimulating, but the quirkiness of his manner and proper british accent make for quality entertainment on its own.
and on a side note: western people really cant pull of dressing like a buddhist monk without looking absolutely ridiculous.
