Category: Journal

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Osho

We binge watched Wild Wild Country with great interest.

I have been intrigued by Bagwhan since the 1980s. I went quite a few workshops in Freemantle, Western Australia… but never drank the cool-aid. No orange or mala. I knew there was controversy in Oregon. Just how awful it was is news to me. What went wrong? Guns for one thing. I hated that turn of events. Sheila?

I watched a short Osho video on YouTube and saw it clearly… Bagwhan is not really the problem as a person either… it is his philosophy!

What a lovely response to the journalists question “what is the purpose of all this?” Anything that has a purpose is mundane. His answer is really an deep reflection on ends and means. The philosopher shines thorough.

But there is an ugly side. He becomes a little scathing of the questioner. He is not “one of my people”. He is an outsider. And there it is, disdain for outsiders. With all the ‘enlightenment’ they could not relate to 50 locals. They took over that town in an arrogant way akin to the way those people had taken it from the native Americans. If they are not “my people” then they are not people at all.

That is the lesson for me in the whole thing… I know I can have that sort of disdain.

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Human nature

Wikipedia:

However, in the sixth Theses on Feuerbach (1845), Marx criticizes the traditional conception of human nature as a species which incarnates itself in each individual, instead arguing that the conception of human nature is formed by the totality of social relations. Thus, the whole of human nature is not understood, as in classical idealist philosophy, as permanent and universal: the species-being is always determined in a specific social and historical formation, with some aspects being biological.

This shows how Marx is not part of the individualism – not surprising as individualism is something that arises most fully in the capitalist era. The roots are there in Christianity and Buddhism. It is with Marx we see a shift in consciousness.

This is part of a current wave of meditation I seem to be going through on human nature. I’ve been stuck by the two essentialisms: Humans are inherently greed or inherently good. Marx’s idea is very freeing… Humans are a product of their social conditions. And it makes sense of his thinking that different classes produce different ideas. Ideas grow out of practice in social conditions.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/communism-and-fascism-the-reason-they-are-so-similar

This is such a flawed way of seeing it – Pinker!

Related:

Moreno – roles create the personality. (Lynette Clayton)

Hendrix – the self is born in relationship.

It also relates to “truth” we find it in the ‘theatre of truth’ – theatre is social. Esp psychodrama.

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Austin Kleon & doing art.

I’m a fan. I get his newsletter and calendars.

Look at this beautifully crafted blog post. Inspiring in content and also in form. This would win a blog Oscar if there were one.

https://austinkleon.com/2017/07/13/want-to-be-an-artist-watch-groundhog-day/

Such a simple point. Do a little art everyday. Presented by a thousand art coaches, but here it is fresh and inspiring.

~

Now on a more personal more. I committed to work on my art book 15 minutes a day in January. Managed that for about 28 of the 31.

At day 28 I got tired. But more than that I got stuck. I wish I’d read his post then, but never mind, back on the wagon.

The interesting thing is that the book is about the hero’s journey. If you read Austin’s post you will see that he does not like the word journey for the art process. Making art is not linear.

But then again there is a pattern.

Once you are in that “special world” there is really no turning back and going forward there are just tests and ordeals. Until you get through, till you are on the road back.

No way am I through with my project.  I’m facing tests and ordeals. And here is a page I’ve got of just that.

This is reflexive moment on the journey.  I’m illustrating the trouble I’m in.  Back to groundhog day.

__________________________________________________

BTW there are plenty of blog awards.  One blogger of the year features the slogan Eat, Sleep, Blog, Repeat.

 

 

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Integrated the Art and Psyche Blogs!

In 2012 I wrote this post:

https://psyberspace.walterlogeman.com/2012/why-do-i-have-two-blogs/

Indeed why do I have these two blogs – the other one http://www.walterlogeman.com/art is about art and art online. My art.

I’m thinking of importing that one into this one – but found it quite hard to do it. It is an identity thing. I’m more a psychodrama person than a Psyberspace person these days. Dropped psychotherapy online. But is it an art blog? I’m wring a book called D R A M A http://www.walterlogeman.com/art/new-art-project/

It is not that I’m importing one blog into another – I’m integrating two identities I have. I think it will be good for me!

Its done!

Some categories to fix, and that is it. ONE

Now what to call the site?

Psyberspace (that can stay) Walter Logeman’s Journal

And the details & history can go in the new About

Later Monday 29 Jan 18

Also found this on the integration theme

https://psyberspace.walterlogeman.com/2014/evernote-killed-my-blog/

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Line & Wash Gallery

I’m learning to use Jetpack for this blog. I’m also working on my art journal This is one of the Gallery sets that was in is my art blog but is not there now! Jetpack is doing a nice job!

I used to a lot of these, but no more? I still like them. I’d even forgotten there was a name for the genre.

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Joined online creativity group with Jan Allsopp

I’ve joined a creativity group with Jan Allsopp who I’ve known online for a long time. My commitment is for a month (at least). Committed to 15 min a day for the month of January – I’m working on a book. I’ll post more about the book as time goes on.  Today is day six and I’ve produced a lot each day.  I find it helpful to have such a strong focus. A simple idea, choose a route – i.e. the tools. Mine are the Google files (Doc and Slides) I’m using to write the book. In addition we create ‘cruise control’ – a voluntary frame in which to work. Some voluntary restrictions I’m using are:

  • No new sketches.
  • Work on the book proposal only, not the whole book.

Also good to see other peoples art – so far so good. It will get harder as the month intensifies.

This is what the spreads in the book  look like:


 

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Life, Whole Earth & Ivan Illich

Our cat died a few days ago.

Little

I miss her. It was time for her to go.  It is a marker of some sort. I got the cat for my 60th birthday, and now the cat has died of old age! Her birth and death are like cairns along a track in the bush. Markers. Her grave in the backyard is literally a bit like a cairn. Human life can be measured in cat lives. Maybe I have one or max two to go.

With the strange absence of the cat, I’m looking back at other life cairns. They pop up all over the place.

Stumbled onto a link to the Whole Earth site. Now that was a marker. That first Catalog, late sixties, literally changed my life. A counterculture ethos emerged just when I was ready. Led on to creating an urban community in Christchurch, Chippenham, now Heartwood.

The first thing on the Whole Earth site that stood out was an item by Ivan Illich. He is one of the influencers in my life. I devoured his book Deschooling Society – that led to Four Avenues School.

http://www.wholeearth.com/issue/2061/article/248/20th.anniversary.rendezvous.-..ivan.illich

 

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