Cartography of Being

         Phenomena is that which appears to our faculties. That is, the object which presents itself is nothing without our senses having grasped its presence and our minds having interpreted the there that is there within the object as it is perceived. Without the dynamic of just my seeing the computer sitting on my desk, this computer would mean absolutely nothing to me. In the same way, a face in the crowd is but a face in the crowd until the body donning such a face bumps into me or makes some form of interaction with me or some form of gesture that grabs my attention. Therefore, Phenomena is a no-thing and as a no-thing it is devoid of any idea of "Selfness".     Had I lived on some secluded island far off the grid, extracting nectar from some paradisiacal fruit for my sustenance and had never known even what "the grid" means, how might I approach the introduction of a computer? And, you know what? Let's just say, for argument's sake, that t...

      Chaos is a no-thing which presents itself as elusive to the individual(s) who would aim to harness it. We are caught up in this constant flux between Chaos and Order. A little bit of the one spills into the other; and vice versa. There's this constant mixing that transpires. Somehow, the Old and the New are at constant odds with each other. There are areas where the Old and the New shake hands whilst there are other areas where the Old is heavily resistant to the unfamiliar that presents itself in the bosom of the New. In the midst of these transactions, the mind vacillates between things it thinks it knows based on data gleaned from the Past and the actions it considers worth taking in regards to some uncertain future based upon the things that were assumed to be known.     We evolve at a pace which is right at the average between those who are behind the flow and those who are are ahead of it. The best position to be in the midst of all this would be som...

      What use is it to transcend the status quo - that perpetuated by puppet-masters? Is it better to participate in the ever-unfolding Societal Drama - the farce of which never really seems to be salient?  Is Wisdom merely the Philosopher's Stone? And, with or without such Wisdom, what ultimately matters when the rest of the players in the Theater are tossed around with the movement thereof? Is Enlightenment the ultimate goal? Is transcendence all merely child's play?      Look at all these meaningless wars. For want of power and resources, humans so often reveal the mindless beasts hidden within which they project onto whatever convenient scapegoat presents itself. For what? For fame? For Security? The peculiar thing about all this is consideration of the multitudes masquerading amidst the court of the Powerful, chomping at the bit to attain worthiness in the eyes of their idols - who, honestly, couldn't give two shits about them. What's even more m...

      Before I opened my eyes and filled my lungs up with oxygen, the Stage before me indeed was set. When I sat in drama class so long ago and saw the Shakespearean quote, "All the World's a Stage; we are mere actors," I felt that. But, feeling a thing isn't exactly seeing a thing - comprehending it. My identity was cast upon me before I could even grasp what "identity" really meant. I think all this debate over free will is quite misconstrued. In one corner of the ring you have the hardliners who say you are what you are - a biproduct of your genetics. That's not very helpful to an individual contemplating their course in life. In the other corner, you have those who equate Free Will to the transcendence of some ill-defined soul.      I was raised in the Midwest deeply indoctrinated in a fundamental version of Christianity. And I've racked my brain wondering if anybody else from my neck of the woods ever blinked for even a second and thought, ...