“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
Recent reading and contemplation have brought up a number of serious reconsiderations of my views on a number of subjects, not the least of which are the many thought-provoking posts by my fellow bloggers here at WordPress.com, and the pursuit of knowledge and insights regarding my own writing work are occupying my days in profound ways that make this work so important to me.
I know that life can be unpredictable, but it seems that the season for investigating and articulating my ideas is upon me, and I am compelled to do some serious soul-searching these days. It’s not as easy as it used to be.
Time is my enemy now. Not only does it often seem to be in short supply when the work of writing begins for me, but over the years, it has been so heavy-laden with intrusions which divert me from the task, that many times, I have found myself near despair. Recently, I have only been able to manage short bursts of productive effort, and with all the chaos of late, I have been so frequently interrupted by a host of other considerations, it seems amazing to me that I’ve accomplished anything at all.
Modern technology has made great strides since the time I began this work, and I have been fortunate to have access to materials and resources that have helped me to make even the meager progress I have managed so far. With only a very limited budget over the years, and many competing priorities for the funds that were available, it has only recently become possible to acquire the tools needed to truly begin to construct a comprehensive summary of what has occupied me for more than thirty years now. At first, much of the work was recorded on hand-written loose-leaf papers, and whatever else I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, many of my original papers have been lost after moving and all the various changes which occurred in those years. However, I was able to preserve the core elements of the writings in the subsequent revisions and copies which I recorded in a series of paper-bound journals that I kept relentlessly during that time.
In recent years, as I was able to acquire a computer and access to the digital world, I was able to preserve and store the accumulating documents on compact discs, along with the many photos which were taken during the early days of my struggle to come to terms with the extraordinary events which led to my ongoing investigations. This blog represents my best efforts to gather the materials from my research and writing, and to make some kind of sense of it all.
Secret Double by Magritte
“If a man sits down to think, he is immediately asked if he has a headache.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson from a journal entry in 1833
In the autumn of 1973, I experienced what C.G. Jung described as “an eruption of unconscious contents,” which led me to create a document entitled, “The Beginning, The Foundation, The Entrance.” Although I did not recognize it as such at the time, I have gradually come to view the experience as a pivotal event in my life, and I have spent much of the time since it occurred attempting to decipher the meaning contained in the document. The bulk of the document’s contents remained poorly understood by me for many years afterwards, and only in recent years have I finally begun to comprehend it more fully, and to begin to place it in a broader perspective. Magritte’s image above seemed an appropriate illustration of what felt like an agonizing struggle to reveal the inner workings of the process, which I subsequently engaged in attempting to discover what it was that erupted from within me.
Reviewing the cryptic writing in this document has always been problematical for me, as doing so not only reminded me of how it came into existence, but also of how much I struggled to make some kind of sense out of what initially seemed like a “stream of unconsciousness.” Over the years, even though the opportunities to spend time on the writing have been far fewer than my own inclinations would have provided, I have devoted every available temporal and mental resource in the service of enhancing my understanding of both the experience itself, and of the content in the original document. My temporal life during this time, all too often, “pushed” active pursuit of my goals to “another day.” Forced to find ways of getting to the research, I resorted to recording my incremental progress and my relevant observations in those journals, which at least provided a consistent location where I could continue to work as time permitted.
According to the famous Swiss psychiatrist and scholar, C.G. Jung:
In addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature, there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually, but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes, which can only become conscious secondarily and which give definite form to certain psychic contents. It is man’s task to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious.”
After several exposures to what Jung described as “unconscious contents,” in my early twenties, it became apparent to me that a greater comprehension of my own cognitive processes was necessary if I was ever going to come to terms with the inexplicable nature of these extraordinary personal experiences. The learning process has engaged my own consciousness in ways that have been both rewarding and challenging. In the coming months, it is my goal to organize and communicate this process, as a means of formalizing a theory which will summarize and bring together all of the many pathways which I have been traveling these many years.
To all of the many wonderful readers and visitors here, I extend my best wishes for much success to you all in the coming year……
John's Consciousness 
John, thanks for this capturing of the stillness in deep thoughts, I’m entertaining an impulsivity not unlike your own. In a different evolution of thoughts the same processes grow differently, successively however that appears individually to us all.
I’ve been giving lots of time to the process philosophy of A.N.Whitehead, it’s all process. I’m almost at the stage of throwing away my notes as I write them, made in imaginationistheambition. I’ve got this collectors quirk, an inability to tidy up that keeps me curious about what I’ve got. A thing to drop for fluidity to be realisable
I’ve dropped off the edge of every media, respecting the energetic lethargy that feels part of my atmosphere right now. It’s all those sort of things that can’t be located, or lined up in a way to see through clearly. In keeping with the energetic currents I’ve reduced media connections to a transmission. Primarily I’m not looking for something, participating in an exchange.
A trade masquerading as a battle of wils and wits, an attention economy based on highway robbery. That’s the healthy way I get through a day more connected to nature. Any transmission defines coherence and the lack of it, that’s the immediate blockage, distraction and resistance. Process. As if there is no awareness just steps toward it, true impulses.
A resonance is really what any transmission is in the most basic sense. My work involved Jung’s archetypes and realised at some point in time that every one was a metaphor for conversations we weren’t ready to have with ourselves and our world. Roll easy brother, keep rolling deep and riding high.
The evolution of our thoughts is clearly as unique as the individual who engages them, and our “impulsiveness” is sometimes the very thing needed to spur thoughtful, productive reflection. In the stillness, one can discover a threshold that is unavailable otherwise, and it has been beneficial for me to dwell there whenever possible.
I am familiar with Alfred North Whitehead’s “Process and Reality,” and his idea of the four grades of the “occasions of experience,” speak directly to the nature of reality and suggest a path to a coherent process of discernment that is useful to anyone interested in the subject. I also seem to possess a kind of “collector’s quirk,” and have recently been reviewing some of my various collections, precisely for the enhancement of “fluidity” that you mentioned. They have been very useful up to now in stirring the memories which they represent, and sorting through them may finally empower me to send them to a storage location out of sight and mind. We’ll see.
I long ago commented on your about page and was disappointed that you chose to “drop off the edge of every media,” although I fully understand your inclination for “transmission,” as opposed to “exchange,” but for me, the engagement of the blog process has been quite helpful, so long as there is no “battle of wills and wits.” Whatever suits the writer best is a good choice in my estimation.
I appreciate your review and your comments very much. The conversations we should be having with ourselves are vitally important to be sure, but occasionally, the exchange can be helpful as well.
Kind regards…John H.
Looking forward to reading!
Thanks so much for your visit and comment! I am looking forward to the writing you will read!
I have especially enjoyed reading your blog entries in the section called, “Glimpses of Me and Life.” You have a rare talent for bringing the reader into your thought process and for encouraging them to feel what you feel. Your poetry is lively and feels inclusive. Your reader comments rightly commend your efforts there as well.
Hopefully, you will find your visits here of some benefit in the coming months.
Kind regards…John H.
Thank you for your kind words! I’ve started writing more seriously, so your encouraging words mean a lot. 🙂
Sounds rather like Julian of Norwich who took 20 years in her cell thinking about the visions she had received.
I very much look forward to reading your theory.
In my own case, I am not at all sure what I have experienced these past few years. I am grateful however that it has led me to a better place and a greater understanding of the world.
Best wishes
A
I had to look up your reference to Julian of Norwich, but was pleased to have done so once I understood your reference. While her experience of mystical visions and unusual experiences seem a bit more intense and surprising than my own, especially considering that hers took place in the Middle Ages, with none of the advantages of 21st century modern life, there are parallels to be sure and the nature of our humanity continues to include the extraordinary and mysterious in similar fashion. Our scientific and technological progress has explained and clarified the actual components of many of the superstitious beliefs of the Middle Ages, but our experience of existence these days still contains much that is unexplained and likely misunderstood.
Even though I have been quite distracted these days with my own circumstances, I still have been reviewing your recent blog entries and continue to appreciate your contributions on a variety of topics, in particular, your recent posting about your meditative practice and sharing your insights about how others might also enjoy the benefits of meditation. The process you are enjoying indicates a “greater understanding,” as you describe it, and while you may not be sure about what it is that you are experiencing, the difference it has made in leading you to “a better place” seems like a sufficient cause to continue.
Count me among those who look forward to your continued contributions at “zenothestoic.com.”
Kindest regards…John H.