Category Archives: Pantheism

There are a number of artists whose intimate spiritual beliefs have been expressed through their art. One can mention Josef Kalleya, whose complex theosophy of an all-inclusive eternal salvation owes its multifaceted origins to the apokatastasis of the fourth-century heretic Origen, besides a number of literary sources. He kneaded this knowledge into his sculptures, paintings and drawings to produce an oeuvre that is deeply spiritual but one that requires explanation and enlightenment at most levels.

Other artists, like the American William Congdon (1912-1998) and the French Fauvist Georges Rouault (1871-1958), the former a convert to Catholicism, expressed themselves in their own signature way which, however, drew on established Roman Catholic iconography. Congdons stylised manner developed from his abstract expressionist beginnings. His depictions of the crucifix evoke an empty desiccated husk of a chrysalis, a lifeless body without a soul. Rouault reinterpreted established Christian iconography as stern reminders of the empirical value of tradition.

Anthony Mahoney (b. 1935) weaves deeply personal prayers into his paintings as narratives of spiritual redemption and hope. He often uses an impressionist technique to achieve this, the language of Turner, Whistler and Monet.

His landscapes, although thematically not restricted to religious subject matter, emit an otherworldly mysticism. They can be considered as meditations on the beauty of nature and architecture. The pantheism of the landscapes and seascapes and the features of cities like Venice and Mdina are clothed in a white diaphanous membrane that conceals and selectively reveals.

In some instances, Mahoney reduces the human presence to mere Corot-like representations that add to the narrative poignancy of particular paintings. The artist suggests that, although microscopically tiny in the general scheme of things, humanity still has the power to move mountains and redeem itself.

In his essay on Mahoney for the catalogue of the 2014 BOV retrospective, critic Norbert Ellul-Vincenti compartmentalised the artists oeuvre into four distinct phases. The impressionist play of light on landscape and architecture can be considered as the main ingredients of the paintings belonging to the first and second phase. A romantic sensitivity in the spirit of Caspar David Friedrich also permeates the works as bleak silhouetted elements in either dusk or dawn, barren trees contorting existentially. Mists endow the compositions with a preternatural milky glow.

The Maltese artists third phase, aptly known as The White Phase, is characterised by white shafts of light, as undisturbed pristine canvas space. In Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaards words, the function of prayer is not to influence God but, rather, to change the nature of the one who prays. The artist distils the stillness of a personal prayer into a pictorial murmur like a shudder passing through ones soul.

The surprising eclecticism of the artist is his fourth phase, which essentially can be defined in his abrupt shifts in style and theme.

Although the spiritual undercurrent persists throughout all of his work, the signature ephemeral quality of the three previous phases gives way to more pronounced compositional elements. The defining quality of these works as a group lies in the fact that they are thematically independent of each other and, ironically enough, cannot be grouped.

This fourth phase deviation from a general formulaic self-defining representation is intriguing and completes the artist as it frees him from any restrictive stylistic shackles.

The spiritual dimension always lurks in Mahoneys paintings, even in the most abstract of them all

Paintings like The House of Three, 1979, demonstrate a release from the mists of impressionism. An abstracted foreground overwhelms the perspective which leads towards some sort of prison camp. The de Chirico-esque clock tower fixes official time as three oclock in an afternoon as sunlight excludes the other alternative.

The spiritual relevance of this, as the time of Christs last breath, is probably intentional. The barbed wire fence traverses the composition, enclosing a house and the tower within its perimeter. The empirical shape of the number itself meanders, river-like, as a defining element of the composition. The surreal mood defies straightforward interpretation. The enigmatic title, intended numeral reference and all, behaves like a clue, The Hour of Three, one of many in some cryptic puzzle to be solved.

State of Mind, 1979, is another work that stands out. The vertical and horizontal architectural elements are reminiscent of Charles Sheelers industrial high-rises and New York cityscapes, such as Skyscrapers, 1922. The American artist remarked that our factories are our substitute for religious expression.

Mahoneys painting might be a collage of personal thoughts and eclectic artistic influences from the most diverse of sources (A New York State of Mind was a popular mid-1970s song). Quoting Sheeler again: In a period such as ours, when only a comparatively few individuals seem to be given to religion, some form other than the Gothic cathedral must be found. The spiritual dimension is never far removed from Mahoneys frame of mind.

Still lifes are not a staple of Mahoneys output. Requiem on a Rose, 1977, stands out as an outstanding exception to this rule. The cubist, sharp vertical volume suggests the vase in douard Manets Roses, Tulips et Lilas dans un Vase de Christal.

Mahoney reduced the composition to bare essentials the thorns, the red of the withered rose is an organic coagulated stain at the base of the plinth-like vase. The vases reflection, refracted and deconstructed, shatters the space, evoking the jagged swaths of Clyfford Still. The flower seeps blood, sullying the white slab of the epitaph. Symbolically, the red rose represents Jesus Christ and the divine blood spilt for universal salvation. The spiritual dimension always lurks in Mahoneys paintings, even in the most abstract of them all.

Paintings like The Birth of Ichthus, 2012, and Christs Milky Way, 1973, demonstrate the artists ability at transforming traditional Christian iconography in the first case, and, in the second case, at adding poignant narrative power to an annual outdoor manifestation of Christian belief in death and resurrection, that is the Good Friday procession.

The artist explores his knowledge of Paleo-Christian terminology. Ichthus, translated from Greek as fish, is also the acronym for Jesus, Son of God, Saviour. This outstanding painting is immersed in semiotics as Mahoney presents a Nativity scene that sings with symbols and hidden meanings.

A solemn procession weaves its way across the valley; the iconic crucifixion statue known as Il-vara il-kbira, carried shoulder-high as the most spiritually salient moment of a timeless Good Friday.

The title, Christs Milky Way, 1973, implies cosmological relevance. The flow of humanity mimics the stream of the tiny points of starlight, indeed part and parcel of the galaxy to which our planetary system belongs, that meanders through the night sky. Mahoney, thus, attaches universal significance via the unity of the heavenly with the terrestrial. The silhouetted church in the background completes the narrative.

George Rouault claimed that his only objective was to paint a Christ so moving that those who see him will be converted. Mahoneys paintings have this latent power that reaches out to the depths of our soul and invite us to take a step back from the mores of our daily life to, hopefully, rediscover that silky silence conducive to contemplation.

The artist monograph, Mystic Artist Anthony Mahoney A Study of his Works and Development 1968-2017, is published by Horizon Publications. It is available from leading bookshops.

Independent journalism costs money. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee.

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A world of mysticism and spirituality - Times of Malta

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The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44)

Is there such a thing as a Spirituality of Place? Are certain places holier than others? Does one particular place have more spiritual value than another?

Millennia ago, pagans believed that certain places possessed mystical powers in which the spirits were felt more strongly. Such places were usually associated with nature, often near natural springs, in the hills, or on mountaintops. As such, they often built temples there.

After the Romans converted to Christianity, many such temples were converted into churches. Italy is full of them. Perhaps the most well-known is the Pantheon in Rome originally where all gods were venerated. In the seventh century, it was converted into a church dedicated to Mary and the martyrs.

Near Foligno in Umbria is a picturesque classical paleochristian shrine known as the Tempietto.

Overlooking the Clitumnus springs once dedicated to the river god, Clitumnus, ancient Roman soldiers used to bathe in these waters after battle for healing.

Also in Umbria is the forest of Monteluco near Spoleto. The Romans were so struck by the mystical aura of the woods that they made it illegal to damage the beech trees; a stone tablet with the decree carved on it remains in the forest today.

But what about Christians? Can Christians refer to a spirituality of place? Certainly, Christians no longer build churches where they feel the spirits in a more poignant way. But do Christians feel Gods presence more in certain places and less in others?

Christ simply said that For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18: 20). At Mass, Christ is fully present in the breaking open of the Word and in Eucharist. Many Catholics experience God in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Further, pilgrims to Assisi, Rome, the Holy Land or the Marian apparition sites often feel something powerful while walking in the footsteps of the saints or Christ himself. Many testify to experiencing mystical and supernatural phenomena in these places.

Yet many Christians have a particular affinity for nature where they experience the presence of God by simply walking across a mountain, along the beach, or in the forest. Certainly, this is a legitimate way to experience the Creator as he has fully informed all of his creation. We recite in the Creed, through Him all things were made.

In fact, our pagan predecessors were not far off in their veneration of nature. After all, the desire to worship the one true God is written within all of our hearts. However, there is a significant distinction between Christian and pagan belief: Christians do not worship creation in and of itself; instead, they worship and praise the one true God through creation.

St. Francis himself used a beautiful ancient Latin/Italian word in his famed Canticle of the Creatures to describe this nuance: per. This word means for, through, via or by. The closest we come to in English is something like, I delivered the package per your instructions.

Francis never praised the sun, moon, stars, wind, water, fire, earth, or even death in and of themselves; rather, he praised God for, through, via, and by these elements. (A close read of the Three Youths in the Book of Daniel, chapters 3:57-88; 56, reveals the same.) The elements of creation are not divinities in themselves; rather, they are reflective of the one Divinity who is reflected in them and who deserves our praise and worship.

So while Christians reject pantheism (the idea that all things are God or are consubstantial with God), we still acknowledge the immanent presence of God in the world. Even in the Old Testament, God never remained aloof from his people to whom he was constantly descending and moving closer. He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, he promised Abraham an heir and a particular homeland, he made a peace covenant with Noah, and under Moses, he revealed himself in the commandments. Yet God revealed himself most fully when he lowered himself by becoming man in the Incarnation. When the waters of baptism touched Christ, Jesus was not redeemed with that contact with the water, the world was.

So I believe it is appropriate to say that the presence of God can be felt in all places in the world. Then it is not a surprise when people discover certain places where they feel the presence of God more strongly. In this regard, ones experience of the spirituality of place is subjective.

And when one finds that place where they find God most fully, out of joy [he] goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:44).

Original post:
WHAT IS 'SPIRITUALITY OF PLACE'? | Bret Thoman - Patheos

When I was growing up, my world was neatly divided into monotheism and pantheism. On the monotheism side there was the god of Abraham and on the pantheism side there were the GreeksZeus, Hera, Athena, etc. Youre probably noticing some signs of a very limited world view. I had been told that the Romans had gods just like the Greeks only with new names like Jupiter and Juno. I knew there were other religions, and I was at least passingly familiar with the Norse gods. My fifth-grade social studies textbook made sure I knew a little about the Sumer and Ur and the Egyptians, but their gods? Their gods just didnt show up very often back then and there were so many other gods to whom Id never even been introduced.

When I wrote my first novel The Thief, I knew I wanted to set it in the landscape of Ancient Greece with a Byzantine level of technology and pantheistic religion, but I didnt want to co-opt the Olympian gods or the Titans for my story. In so many textbooks over the years, the Greek pantheon has been reduced to one dimensional versions of their former selves. I wanted three dimensional characters and I was afraid there would be too much dissonance between my gods and their schoolbook definitions.

By then, Id read and loved Diana Wynne Joness Dalemark books in which she created, particularly in Drowned Ammet, gods and goddesses so real that you thought they must be based on some religion you just hadnt yet learned about. I wanted to make up gods that felt that real. My gods are a mix of very human traits and the unknowable. They meddle in human affairs and the mortals must make the best of it. Im going to take it as a win that a disturbing number of reviewers refer to them as Greek gods and dont seem to realize that they arent.

And now, I think Im living in a golden age, with so many fabulous writers bringing us stories of gods and goddesses drawn from cultures all over the world or invented from whole cloth. Here are some of my favorites. Some of the gods are very down to earth while others are far from it. They are sometimes kind and sometimes cruel. Some seem like mortals writ large and some are ineffable. The one thing they all have in common? Just like the god Eugenides in Return of the Thiefyou want to stay on their good sideif you can.

Apollo took from them the day of their return.

The Iliad is an excellent example of just how much misery that gods can inflict on humanity, but that story begins with the wrath of Achilleswhen the events that led to the war on Troy are long over. With The Odyssey, we get a front row seat as Odysseus slays the Cyclops and makes a lifelong enemy of his father, Poseidon. We see his men eat the cattle of Apollo and then we get a ten year long lesson in why you shouldnt offend the gods.

I was in my twenties when I read this book. Id only ever read one book by Jones, Dogsbody. I had no idea she had written anything else. Her books werent on a shelf in any library Id visited and this was long before you could look up an author on the internet. The best we had was an out of date collection of Books in Print. I hope it seems bizarre to at least some of my readers, that this may have been the first time I read a story with gods and goddesses that werent either Greek or Celtic. It was Athena and Artemis and Zeus or it was Arawn and Cernunnosthose had been my only options. Sure, there was The Lord of the Rings, but Tolkien stripped much of the identifying features out of his source material. Jones was writing about Thor and Odin and Loki and I was delighted.

David, a perfectly ordinary British school boy is home from school for a miserable holiday with his miserable family, distant relatives who are his guardians and who make it clear his presence is deeply unwelcome. In the back garden, venting his misery, David shouts out nonsense syllables that just happen to be the words that will release Loki from an underground prison where hes been holding up a bowl to catch the poison dripping on him from a venomous snake. Loki appears a boy, just Davids age, charming and little odd and up for some fun, like, setting a whole department stores on fire, for example.

When the other gods show up looking for escaped Loki, David has to decide whose side hes on. Its a shame you cant help out one god without pissing off a bunch of others.

Mortals believe gods to be omnipotent and ever-knowing. The truth is more slippery

The Lord of Xibalba has had his head cut off by his twin brother and his bones have spent 50 years in a trunk before Casiopea discovers them. When a single bone shard pierces her skin, the Mayan god of death is reconstituted. He draws life from her, but with that nourishment comes Casiopeas humanity, changing the nature of the god even as they work together to reinstate him on the throne of Xibalba. While Casiopea is tied to Hun-Kam, her unpleasant cousin Martin, works for the new Lord of Xibalba, Hun-Kams brother. Mortal, gods, witches, demonsall have to take sides and hope their side wins.

Trail of Lightning is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Dinetah has become an independent nation with a wall around to keep the that have flooded the outside world. Maggie Hoskie is a monster slayer. She didnt offend Neizghani, her immortal teacher so much she disappointed him. She was his apprentice until he left her behind without warning or explanation. With no other choice, she carries on, on her own.

I love everything about Roanhorses work, but particularly the fact that it is set in the future. In this story, perhaps the gods should have been more careful they didnt offend Maggie Hoskie.

Jemisins Broken Earth trilogy won her well-deserved Hugos, but its The Inheritance Trilogy that I love. She fuses gods and science together, and in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, she makes creating gods look easy.

Yeine Darr is summoned to the capital city, Sky, by her grandfather to be a pawn in a terrifying competition to be heir to his throne. Her only possible allies are the gods bound to serve her family. On the one hand, they are very powerful, on the other, theres nothing to make a god dangerously angry like being trapped and enslaved in a mortal body.

What happens when the gods are not merely capricious they are all out monsters?

Lazlo Strange is an orphan who grows up dreaming of a city that so offended its gods that its name was wiped from everyones memory and replaced with the word Weep. When the hero of Weep, the man who slayed its gods, comes to the librarians of Zosma, seeking help for his city, Lazlo seizes the chance to see Weep for himself.

Lainis writing so vivid, so confident that there is no limit to the poetry she brings to her prose. Her gods are truly horrifying and just as truly captivating.

You have the four cardinal godsthe Dragon, the Tiger, the Tortoise, and the Phoenix. Then you have local household gods, village guardian gods, animal gods, gods of rivers, gods of mountains

Rin is an orphan, fortunate enough to have a marriage arranged with a local inspector who will accept her as a wife in exchange for looking other way while her adoptive parents run their opium business. Rejecting that future, Rin sits for the Keju, the Empire wide test that selects candidates for Sinegard, an elite military school.

In the scene quoted above she is arguing for the common viewpoint of the gods in her experiencethey are cultural references, metaphors, personifications of emotions or significant events. As in the world of The Thief, people give lip service to the gods. They never expect them to appear.

Who is Adam Black, also known as Ablahka? His librarians used to be children. What are they now? Caroline doesnt know. After being locked away in an infinite library, trained by an adoptive father who might be God, and dying a few times in the process, shes not really all there anymore. When her Father, Adam Black, Ablahka, disappears, perhaps murdered by any one of the other terrifyingly powerful gods the Duke, Barry OShea or the mysterious Q-33 North, no one on Earth knows what happens next.

New York Timesbestselling author Megan Whalen Turner is the award-winning author of six novels set in the world of the Queens Thief. These epic novels of intrigue and adventure can be read in any order, but were published as follows: The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings, Thick as Thieves, and Return of the Thief. Megan Whalen Turner has been awarded a Newbery Honor and a Horn BookBoston Globe Honor, and won the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adult Literature. She has won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Childrens Literature and was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award. She worked as a bookseller for seven years before she started writing. Her first book was a collection of short stories called Instead of Three Wishes.

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Do Not Offend the Gods: 8 SFF Books Featuring Deities - tor.com

Some tricky vocabulary in Tracys Fragments, Chapter OneReligion, a fragmentary phenomenon, resists being caught in a system.

A philosophical dictionary or some background in phenomenology is useful in reading David Tracys Fragments. Like when he says, It may well be, as several contemporary phenomenologists claim, that religion is the nonreductive saturated phenomenon par excellence. (p. 20)

Its no secret that modern academic thought in general has not been particularly kind to religion. Tracy includes even some theological theories in that modern anti-religious, or better, anti-God sentiment. Much of the gradually passing modern age, especially its Enlightenment variety, aimed at control of the world and the self through technology and theory. The phenomenon of religious experience turned out to be particularly hard to control. Heres a secret that hasnt spread too far outside the post-modern academic world: Some of these later thinkers, including non-believers, increasingly find religion to be fascinating.

One religion-controlling tactic was to interpret religious as something else. It was bad psychology, transferring our feelings of love and dread toward our human fathers onto a Father in the sky. Or it was bad science, explaining mysterious events by way of unseen but powerful beings. But practitioners of phenomenology, the branch of philosophy that starts from a careful analysis of experience, say that that only explains some of what religious people experience and only some of the time. You cant reduce religion that way without a remainder that you cant account for.

Religion isnt bad science or bad psychology as some atheists would have it, denying truth to any field except the sciences. But neither can theologians dream up a system that would be fitting for God. Every ism, including theism, deism, pantheism, and panentheism, at bottom is reduces God to manageable proportions. That last ism, panentheism, was a viewpoint Tracy earlier had tried to develop in process categories. He now sees it also as too controlling for a phenomenon that cant be controlled. (See David Tracy in Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Western Theology.) Religion is nonreductive.

I suspect, though I dont know for sure, that religion for Tracy is nonreductive in a more profound sense. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines phenomenological reduction as a practice whereby one, as a phenomenologist, is able to liberate oneself from the captivation in which one is held by all that one accepts as being the case. As a philosophy student, I learned to call this procedure a bracketing of the question of existence to look merely at how things show up in consciousness. Its like taking your self with its commitments and biases out of the process.

It could be, though, that some phenomena dont lend themselves to this abstract treatment or attitude. A profound experience of a work of art may be nonreductive in that sense as well as the more everyday experience of astonishment. Or it might be the experience of a conversation that just flows without any self-consciousness among the speakers. Or a game that seems to play itself, especially when an athlete is in the zone. How does one liberate oneself from an experience in which there is so little self to begin with?

Some religious experiences may be like that. Not everyone has them, but some do. A fellow Patheos blogger and Fellow Dying Inmate has a lot to say about altered states of consciousness. Theyre very common in the Bible and across history and cultures. (Maybe not modern Western cultures so much.) Tracy denies having such experiences. Hes not a mystic, he says, but he still insists theologians need to take such experiences seriously. This may be another way religious phenomena are nonreductive. Its impossible to be abstract about them and understand them from the outside, so to speak.

Ill begin by going back again to what I learned in my long-ago student days. Think of your mind as stretching out to some object, but the object isnt there. Its what phenomenologys founder Edmund Husserl calls an empty intention. The object is only a concept or an image in your mind. Your intention begins to be filled when the object approaches or you approach the object. As you get a better and better view, that intention is more and more filled. It becomes saturated at the moment of maximum or clearest presence of the thing.

I think Tracy takes a related but different idea of saturated phenomena from his colleague at the Chicago Divinity School Jean-Luc Marion. According to Marion, some phenomena give more intuition [or presence of something] than is needed to fill a subjects intention. Such phenomena are saturated with intention, and exceed any concepts or limiting horizons that a [person] could impose upon them.

Such a presence explodes whatever inklings or anticipations we might have had, including the most general categories of space, time, quantity, quality, causality, and relation. A historical event like the Holocaust, when it strikes us in its full force, say, at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., might be such a mind-blowing experience. It seems climate change was something similar for Greta Thunberg. (See this post.) Im thinking also of more ordinary things like the experiences I described above of art, a conversation, or a game. Or the face of a loved one. Sometimes we just cant find the right words to describe an experience.

But there will be words, including truthful ones. (Science cant have all the truth.) Or the truth comes out in other forms like art, music, and dance. A famous dancer once answered a fan who asked her what her dance meant, If I could say it, I wouldnt have to dance it.

When words come, they wont necessarily fit in nicely with all that one accepts as being the case. They might even be closer to what one previously accepted as impossible. Jesus words were like that.

When words come, they will come from somewhere. Jesus interpreted his experience of God in words he found in his Scriptures. The first Christians drew from the same source to interpret their experience of Jesus and the Spirit. Words like Kingdom, Christ/Messiah (anointed), Son of God (a title kings claimed), Son of Man (human one but gradually morphing into divine-like), and, most daring, Lord.

Scholars have long recognized that the Old Testament doesnt present one coherent picture. It is fragments, sometimes jarring with other fragments, coming from many different experiences and forms of life. Selected fragments from the past come together in the memories and writings of the early Christians, but not into a coherent whole such as they never had before. They remain fragments. For example, its impossible to piece all the resurrection stories of the Gospels into a coherent picture.

In Fragments and even more in the next volume, Filaments, Tracy deals with fragments from Christian experiences through the centuries. Fragments are our spiritual situation, Tracy says. Three different groups approach fragments in three very different ways. Radical (or neo-) conservatives see fragments with regret and nostalgia, as all that is left of what was once a unified culture. Radical postmodernists love for fragments is part of their love for extremes, transgression, and excess and for offering a way out of the deadening hand of the reigning totality system. A third unnamed group, with which Tracy aligns, sees fragments as saturated and auratic [like an aura] bears of infinity and sacred hope. (p. 23-24)

Tracy learns from all three of these philosophical and theological types. He also subjects them to critical analysis. Fragments continues with a look at some of Tracys favorite fragmentary themes. Following is the Table of Contents for the rest of Part One (there are four parts) of this volume:

The rest is here:
Religion, Non-Reductive and Saturated, Gains Respect in Post-Modern Academic World - Patheos

Source: Reusableart.com

As a word maven, I am enjoying something during all the stories about the novel Coronavirus pandemic. I am enjoying the use of the specific, but previously rare, word "pandemic" itself.

On the other hand, I'm reluctant to write that we're "in the middle of" a pandemic -- not because I'm worried about the word pandemic, but I'm worried about "in the middle." It always reminds me of my mother, who did a lot of sewing. When she needed to cut two things from a piece of fabric, she wanted to find the middle. To do that, she would hold one end of the fabric. I would hold the other and bring it up to her hands. Then we knew where the middle was, the same distance from both ends. Without knowing the end, how can you say we're in the middle? (I get the same way about "middle age.")

But at least I'm hearing the word pandemic, not just epidemic. My old faithful dictionary, Webster's New Twentieth Century, second edition, calls pandemic "a type of epidemic that affects large numbers, whole communities, or the majority of a place at the same time." Epidemic is "a disease prevalent in a locality, an epidemic disease; also, the rapid spreading of such a disease."

The prefix pan- is defined on Dictionary.com as "a combining form meaning all, occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (panacea; panoply), but now used freely as a general formative (panleukopenia; panorama; pantelegraph; pantheism; pantonality), and especially in terms, formed at will, implying the union of all branches of a group (Pan-Christian; Panhellenic; Pan-Slavism)."

So a pandemic is an epidemic affecting us all, or the majority of a place.

The majority of a planet, perhaps?

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook. Stop by for a socially distanced visit.

Are you ready for something different to read? A Sustaining Book to Help and Comfort, or comments about word usage? Then subscribe today and have Margaret Serious delivered!Type your e-mail address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam-free, and you can opt out at any time.

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What's the difference between pandemic and epidemic? - ChicagoNow

Biography 21/03/20 Porfiry Ivanov: what Stalin said the main freak of the USSR

a Famous preacher of a healthy lifestyle Porfiry Ivanov the person ambiguous. Some thought him a prophet, and someone was called a quack. One is obvious: his work has always evoked interest among ordinary citizens and the authorities.

From the scammer to the enlightened

the Initial phase of the biography of the future teachers of the people, is unremarkable. Born in 1898 to a large family, graduated from the class 4 parochial school, 12 years worked, sometimes hunted theft. In 1917, Porphyria was called to war, but with the armistice it did not get to the front.

the Revolution Ivanov fully supported: actively participated in collectivization, the demolished Church, expressed itself in Civil, having derailed an enemy train and burnt down the British plane. And then raised the country: mining and logging, factories and Railways, while finding time to play cards for money, repeatedly losing large sums. In 1928 he became a candidate member of the CPSU(b), but was soon convicted of fraud after 11 months out on PAROLE.

At the age of 35 years, the doctors found a Ivanov an inoperable tumor on his arm. Deciding to bring to life scores, he stripped out in the cold. However, long exposure to cold had no effect on the health of Ivanov. He continued the experiments on his own body, every day to be drenched in ice water. And a miracle happened: instead of a lethal outcome porphyry is completely healed from all ailments.

a Watershed episode in the life of Ivanov began on 25 April 1933. I sat night for the books and for a moment forgot tired, I saw in a dream a beautiful view of a man who boldly walked through the snow completely naked. From this picture I woke up all excited, and this image became an example for me and the goal, recalled the time hisgo insight the future healer.

Ivanov is heavily engaged in self-education: read Marx, Engels, Lenin, listened to lectures on health and longevity, while continuing hardening of the body. Gradually began to Mature their own concept of harmonious living, which will be the basis for Kids. Its essence is that power, politics, religion, money, comfort, pleasure does not make people happy, because the true value of life is the man himself, and his unity with Nature. But the Central idea of the doctrine of Ivanov was the achievement of physical immortality.

Russian miracle

In November-December 1936, in Moscow was held the VIII extraordinary Congress of Soviets, which accepted the new Constitution. Walking these days on red square, people could not help but notice a half-naked barefoot man, who was trying to break the Kremlin walls. Of course, they immediately became interested in police officers: it was none other than porphyry Ivanov, who set out to convince parliamentary colleagues to consider in the main document of the country the rights of those who have been found mentally ill.

the Troublemaker was immediately taken to the Lubyanka, where he personally spoke to Beria. Apparently not finding in the personality and actions of a visitor threatening anything, he was admitted to Stalins office. The chief himself volunteered to get acquainted with a strange Walker. In addition to Stalin in conversation was attended by Voroshilov and Kalinin, covered guest with questions about his strange approach to human health. Silent only Stalin. However, in parting, according to Ivanov, he said: Make man will not make you die, like everyone else.

the Great Patriotic war, Porfiry Ivanov met in the town of Krasny Sulin, Rostov region, still continuing to walk the streets in shorts. In the autumn of 1942 came to the city, German troops here for some time housed the headquarters of the commander of the 6th army of Friedrich Paulus. The soldiers of the Wehrmacht brought eccentric bearded man to the General. Ivanov entered with a future FelMarsala in the discussion, explaining to him the futility of this war. He asked me, Who wins? I said, Stalin, said Ivanov later. Goodbye Paulus gave this strange Russian stamp paper, which stated that the bearer is not touched as it is interest to science.

However, despite the protectorate of Paulus, the Gestapo still detained Ivanova, suspecting him as a partisan-saboteur. Three weeks felt it was doused in the cold cold water was locked up for the night in the barn, buried in the snow. And he though that itself sings obscene ditties and Church hymns.

In 1957 the Soviet Union held another campaign against religious cults and mysticism. Authorities have busted all: psychics, sorcerers, fortunetellers, magicians, folk healers. Got under the hot hand and Porfiry Ivanov.

And what is your treatment?, asked the detainee investigator. He explained to him about the human interaction with the land, the rules of temper and purity of thought, the harm of Smoking and the benefits of fasting days. Interrogation gradually turned into a debate, and the severe policeman was softened. In his eyes was not a drop of guile. And conceit at the time, did not notice. I was filled with the sincerity of Porfiry Korneyevich and dont regret it No guilt for it does not find he wrote later led the interrogation of Colonel Vladimir Vinogradov.

Not a prison, so the hospital

the Soviet authorities never found something to complain about in the folk healer Ivanov, but domestic psychiatrists found him as their client. In 1935, Ivanov was in a psychiatric hospital in Rostov-on-don, where he was brought by police after arrest in the city market, where hes in his underpants propagated his teachings. In a medical Ivanov has appeared the entry schizophrenia and the expert Commission awarded him the document invalid. It is for this reason he fought during the great Patriotic war.

In the 1960-ies porphyry Ivanoin gave a new reason for doctors to put themselves in a mental hospital. He publicly stated that he taken an active part in the flight of Gagarin into space, helping the Americans to return from the moon to the Earth, but most importantly preventing the outbreak of a Third world war. At the Institute of forensic psychiatry them. Serbian, he was found insane, only noting the previous diagnosis of chronic mental disorder in the form of schizophrenia. A total of porphyry Ivanov spent in psychiatric hospitals Moscow, Leningrad, Odessa, Kazan and Rostov 12 years, experienced the full power of the Soviet punitive medicine.

the Life of Porfiry Ivanov entered a relatively quiet channel only in 1971, when the faithful disciples on the farm Top Andruchi built a teachers house. Here he is next to the assistant Valentina Sukharevskaya spent the last 7 years of my life, taking people who need healing. In 1979, about Porfirii Ivanov made a documentary, in the same year, it published an article in the journal technology youth. He has become a recognizable and respected man in the country.

Alas, to achieve immortality teacher of the people failed. He died on 86-m to year of life, even after death he remained faithful to his ideas: his colleagues, following the will of the mentor within three days watered the lifeless body with cold water.

Between sectarianism and messianism

Doctrine created by Porfiry Ivanov, has both loyal supporters and staunch opponents. Some consider it hardly probable not the Messiah, proclaiming a new era of humanity, the other an ignoramus and a charlatan. However, it should be recognized that the method of healing, developed by Ivanov, despite its criticism, effective. Thousands of people she helped to heal the disease, to cope with whom the official medicine was not.

For example, one of the Ivanovo, Moscow engineer Anatoliy Trush writes that he did not get out of hospitals and clinics, and its covered diagnoses medical record weighed a pound. But after PRobsheniya to the system of Ivanova he got rid of colds and has fully recovered seemingly lost hearing.

However, the researchers attention is more directed not at the practical side of the teachings of Porfiry Ivanov, and ideological. It is often identified with the religious movement, which incorporates a rich mix of neo-paganism and nekrestyanova and find in common with the traditions of Taoism, Buddhism and yoga. Theologian and doctor of philosophical Sciences Sergey Ivanenko sees Ivanovs doctrine of the elements of sectarianism playing a destructive role in relation to the individual, society and the state.

a Historian of philosophy, spiritual and material culture of Ancient Russia Vladimir Milkov notes that for all his pantheism Porfiriy not contrasted their ideas of Christianity, but was free from its dogmas. Ivanov personal example called for openness, benevolence, covetousness, moderation of consumption. But no wonder they say good intentions paved the road to hell. The enemy of creation of the idols he the end of life has become the object of deification and worship.

Taras Repin

Source: Russian Seven

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Do you feel a deep sense of peace, belonging, gratitude and wonder in Nature or under a clear night sky? Then you may be a scientific pantheist.Scientific pantheism focuses on saving the planet rather than saving souls. It respects the rights of humans, and also of all living beings. It encourages you to make the most and best of your one life here.It values reason and the scientific method over adherence to ancient scriptures. Take our popular quiz to find out if it suits you:-Are you Atheist, Agnostic, Pagan, Deist, Pantheist or What?

We relate closely to some of the central challenges of our era. At a time when the balance of our Earth is under unprecedented threat, scientific pantheism is one of the few forms of spirituality in which Nature plays a central part. For us, Nature is a source of peace and beauty, as well as the focus for our care and vigilance. Nature was not created for us to use or abuse. Nature created us, we are an inseparable part of her. We have a duty to live sustainably, to care for Nature and to halt and reverse the harm that humans have done to her.

Scientific pantheism is the only form of spirituality we know of which fully embraces science as part of the human exploration of Earth and Cosmos. We wonder at the picture of a vast, creative and often violent Universerevealed by the Hubble Space Telescope. We regard stargazing as a spiritual practice. We oppose climate change denial and evolution denial, especially in education.

Scientific pantheism has a joyous affirmative approach to life. It has a healthy and positive attitude to sex and life in the body. We wont tell you what you should be smoking or doing in the bedroom. We fully accept diverse gender choices, and we oppose all forms of discrimination.

Scientific pantheism moves beyond God and defines itself by positives.Atheism and Agnosticism both define themselves negatively, in relation to a God that they deny or doubt. These are useful starting points but they dont take us very far. Most people also need positive beliefs and feelings about their place in Nature and the wider Universe. We take Nature and the Universe as our start and finish point, not some preconceived idea of God. We do not believe in a supernatural creator god who watches or judges us. Most of us avoid god-language or religious words like church, worship, divinity and so on. We regard them as misleading. Some of us do like these words, but they use them metaphorically, in a similar way to how Einstein used the word.

Get the Scientific Pantheism handbook.

Our beliefs and values are summarized in our Pantheist Statement of Principles.The statement was drawn up by fallible humans. It is not required dogma it is simply a notice on our door, to show what we are about so people can decide if it suits them or if they want to learn more.These are the key elements:

Many people feel the need to belong to a religious community. Research shows that such groups provide mutual support and friends and are good for physical and mental health. Theres no good reason why groups of like-minded non-theistic folk should not enjoy similar benefits.

In the WPM we are spiritual but not religious. We dont have churches, priests, or prescribed dogma and rituals. But we do aim to provide a home base for people who love Nature and the Universe and do not believe in supernatural entities.

Two of the major benefits our members and friends say they value are gaining new like-minded friends and finding a place where they can share their enthusiasms without fear of being ostracized or feeling isolated. There have been many local meetings of members across the USA and in other parts of the world, where people have found a rare level of fellowship and stimulation.

The WPMs short term goals are to:

In the longer term, as resources permit, we hope to:

If you would like to help promote these goals, please consider becoming a WPM member. Volunteering is another great way of supporting the WPM.

All who agree with our principles are encouraged to join our Facebook page (with more than 160,000 fans), or join our Facebook discussion groupwith more than 10,000 members.

We use the name pantheism because the term encompasses a long and venerable history dating back to Heraclitus and Marcus Aurelius and extending to Einstein, D. H. Lawrence and beyond.

Our beliefs (see the Statement of Principles) are entirely compatible with atheism, humanism, agnosticism, universalism, and symbolic paganism (viewing magic, gods and spirits as symbols rather than objective realities). We offer a home to all forms of naturalistic spirituality however you may choose to label it. Other paths that approximate include philosophical Taoism, modern Stoicism, Western forms of Buddhism that celebrate Nature and daily life without supernatural beliefs, and Unitarian Universalists who do not believe in supernatural beings.

You are free to adopt the terms and practices you prefer and draw on other traditions for inspiration or celebration. Some call this a religion (a positive one), while others call it a philosophy, a way of life, or a form of general spirituality. Its up to you.

Please explore our pages. If you have any questions, please contact us.

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Freeman Dyson, the theoretical physicist who worked with such luminaries as Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe and Edward Teller among others, died last week at age 96. This brilliant scientist never earned a PhD, a fact he was very proud of, and he was never awarded a Nobel Prize. During World War II, he worked for the Royal Air Forces Bomber command to calculate the most effective bombing strategies. After the war he obtained a BA degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge.

He came to the U.S. at age 23 and began making an impact in physics by helping to unify quantum and electrodynamic theories into QED using Feynman diagrams. Some think this should have earned him a Nobel Prize in physics. J. Robert Oppenheimer gave Dyson a lifetime appointment at the Institute for Advanced Study starting in 1952. Unlike other physicists, he was not content to remain on one topic and plumb its depths. His interests ranged widely from mathematics to fundamental physics to space travel (Project Orion) to the origin of life to climate science. He discussed these topics in over a dozen books he authored.

Over the years, Dyson came to be known as a contrarian and even called himself subversive. He hated consensus thinking in science. I think it makes sense that a mathematical genius like Dyson should not be swayed by herd thinking. And, he was not afraid of expressing his views on non-scientific topics, including war, politics, rural poverty, and religion. He sometimes had quirky ways of approaching questions of science and policy. For example, his rejection of string theory, and his opposition to the superconducting supercollider and space telescope derive from his resistance to Big Science.

I share many of Dysons interests and even a few of the stances he took. Ill focus on two here: climate change and intelligent design.

Dyson conducted climate research starting in the 1970s. He was aware of both the power and the limitations of climate models. In 2005 he began to publicly criticize the modern consensus on climate change/global warming and its effects, calling it an obsession and a worldwide secular religion. He described Al Gore as its chief propagandist. He believed that, on balance, rising carbon dioxide levels would likely be beneficial, due to its fertilization effects. This is an idea well supported by the evidence (see here and here). Not surprisingly, he was criticized for his stance. Another leading American physicist with similar views is William Happer.

As far as I know, Dyson never explicitly endorsed intelligent design, using precisely this phrase. However, I think it is clear from his writings that he did believe that nature is imbued with purpose. He wrote in Disturbing the Universe (1979), quotingJacquesMonod:

The ancient covenant is in pieces; man knows at last that he is alone in universes unfeeling immensity, out of which he emerged only by chance. I answer no. I believe in the covenant. It is true that we emerged in the universe by chance, but the idea of chance is itself only a cover for our ignorance. I do not feel like an alien in this universe. The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known that we were coming. (p. 250)

He then goes on to describe several examples of fine-tuning in physics and cosmology known at the time. (For an updated treatment, see A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos.) He continues:

I conclude from these accidents of physics and astronomy that the universe is an unexpectedly hospitable place for living creatures to make their home in. Being a scientist, trained in the habits of thought and language of the twentieth century rather than the eighteenth, I do not claim that the architecture of the universe proves the existence of God. I claim only that the architecture of the universe is consistent with the hypothesis that mind plays an essential role in its functioning. (p. 251)

In his acceptance speech for the Templeton Prize in 2000, he said:

My personal theology is described in the Gifford lectures that I gave at Aberdeen in Scotland in 1985, published under the title, Infinite In All Directions. Here is a brief summary of my thinking. The universe shows evidence of the operations of mind on three levels. The first level is elementary physical processes, as we see them when we study atoms in the laboratory. The second level is our direct human experience of our own consciousness. The third level is the universe as a whole. Atoms in the laboratory are weird stuff, behaving like active agents rather than inert substances. They make unpredictable choices between alternative possibilities according to the laws of quantum mechanics. It appears that mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent inherent in every atom. The universe as a whole is also weird, with laws of nature that make it hospitable to the growth of mind. I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is what mind becomes when it has passed beyond the scale of our comprehension. God may be either a world-soul or a collection of world-souls. So I am thinking that atoms and humans and God may have minds that differ in degree but not in kind. We stand, in a manner of speaking, midway between the unpredictability of atoms and the unpredictability of God. Atoms are small pieces of our mental apparatus, and we are small pieces of Gods mental apparatus. Our minds may receive inputs equally from atoms and from God. This view of our place in the cosmos may not be true, but it is compatible with the active nature of atoms as revealed in the experiments of modern physics. I dont say that this personal theology is supported or proved by scientific evidence. I only say that it is consistent with scientific evidence. [Emphasis added.]

In these quotes and in others writings, Dyson was careful to take an open-minded approach: not fully endorsing design, yet not rejecting it either. Follow the evidence; prepare to be surprised.

Dysons personal theology is certainly unusual, a species of scientific theology similar to Frank Tiplers with elements of pantheism (if you want to put labels on it). He called himself a practicing Christian but not a believing Christian. His heterodox religious views fit well with his iconoclastic scientific thinking. Of course, none of this matters much when it comes to the concept of intelligent design, since the locus of the designing intelligence is not so important as the fact that there is one.

Photo: Freeman Dyson in 2007, by Monroem / CC BY-SA.

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Freeman Dyson: The Passing of an Iconoclastic Physicist - Discovery Institute

Pantheism, the doctrine that the universe conceived of as a whole is God and, conversely, that there is no God but the combined substance, forces, and laws that are manifested in the existing universe. The cognate doctrine of panentheism asserts that God includes the universe as a part though not the whole of his being.

Both pantheism and panentheism are terms of recent origin, coined to describe certain views of the relationship between God and the world that are different from that of traditional theism. As reflected in the prefix pan- (Greek pas, all), both of the terms stress the all-embracing inclusiveness of God, as compared with his separateness as emphasized in many versions of theism. On the other hand, pantheism and panentheism, since they stress the theme of immanencei.e., of the indwelling presence of Godare themselves versions of theism conceived in its broadest meaning. Pantheism stresses the identity between God and the world, panentheism (Greek en, in) that the world is included in God but that God is more than the world.

The adjective pantheist was introduced by the Irish Deist John Toland in the book Socinianism Truly Stated (1705). The noun pantheism was first used in 1709 by one of Tolands opponents. The term panentheism appeared much later, in 1828. Although the terms are recent, they have been applied retrospectively to alternative views of the divine being as found in the entire philosophical traditions of both East and West.

Pantheism and panentheism can be explored by means of a three-way comparison with traditional or classical theism viewed from eight different standpointsi.e., from those of immanence or transcendence; of monism, dualism, or pluralism; of time or eternity; of the world as sentient or insentient; of God as absolute or relative; of the world as real or illusory; of freedom or determinism; and of sacramentalism or secularism.

The poetic sense of the divine within and around human beings, which is widely expressed in religious life, is frequently treated in literature. It is present in the Platonic Romanticism of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as well as in Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Expressions of the divine as intimate rather than as alien, as indwelling and near dwelling rather than remote, characterize pantheism and panentheism as contrasted with classical theism. Such immanence encourages the human sense of individual participation in the divine life without the necessity of mediation by any institution. On the other hand, it may also encourage a formless enthusiasm, without the moderating influence of institutional forms. In addition, some theorists have seen an unseemliness about a point of view that allows the divine to be easily confronted and appropriated. Classical theism has, in consequence, held to the transcendence of God, his existence over and beyond the universe. Recognizing, however, that if the separation between God and the world becomes too extreme, humanity risks the loss of communication with the divine, panentheismunlike pantheism, which holds to the divine immanencemaintains that the divine can be both transcendent and immanent at the same time.

Philosophies are monistic if they show a strong sense of the unity of the world, dualistic if they stress its twoness, and pluralistic if they stress its manyness. Pantheism is typically monistic, finding in the worlds unity a sense of the divine, sometimes related to the mystical intuition of personal union with God; classical theism is dualistic in conceiving God as separated from the world and mind from body; and panentheism is typically monistic in holding to the unity of God and the world, dualistic in urging the separateness of Gods essence from the world, and pluralistic in taking seriously the multiplicity of the kinds of beings and events making up the world. One form of pantheism, present in the early stages of Greek philosophy, held that the divine is one of the elements in the world whose function is to animate the other elements that constitute the world. This point of view, called Hylozoistic (Greek hyl, matter, and z, life) pantheism, is not monistic, as are most other forms of pantheism, but pluralistic.

Most, but not all, forms of pantheism understand the eternal God to be in intimate juxtaposition with the world, thus minimizing time or making it illusory. Classical theism holds that eternity is in God and time is in the world but believes that, since Gods eternity includes all of time, the temporal process now going on in the world has already been completed in God. Panentheism, on the other hand, espouses a temporaleternal God who stands in juxtaposition with a temporal world; thus, in panentheism, the temporality of the world is not cancelled out, and time retains its reality.

Every philosophy must take a stand somewhere on a spectrum running from a concept of things as unfeeling matter to one of things as psychic or sentient. Materialism holds to the former extreme, and Panpsychism to the latter. Panpsychism offers a vision of reality in which to exist is to be in some measure sentient and to sustain social relations with other entities. Dualism, holding that reality consists of two fundamentally different kinds of entity, stands again between two extremes. A few of the simpler forms of pantheism support materialism. Panentheism and most forms of pantheism, on the other hand, tend toward Panpsychism. But there are differences of degree, and though classical theism tends toward dualism, even there the insentient often has a tinge of panpsychism.

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Pantheism | Britannica

Regarding todays dominant Facebook/iPhone digital connective culture, conservative New York Times editorialist Bret Stephens critiques the impact of our eras instant communication and endless websites. Far from increasing important knowledge to enhance personal prosperity and individual happiness, we swim like homeless hominids in this digital connective culture (DCC) that causes "a kind of shallowing of our inner life," according to Stephens (see 4.1.1. Books).

Im a backcountry hiker and outdoor columnist, and lately have followed John Ruskins sublime footsteps into wild nature seeking repeated deep time episodes. In repetitive forest bathing hikes, one finds urban detox, mental rejuvenation and those crucial oceanic feelings that rewild the spirit. Rewilding, juvenescence, forest immersion, hill-country music and awe-stricken moments surrounded by Earths green beauty absolutely will compel a mental reawakening. We need new terms or new word combinations to describe the postmodern ennui and depressions sprouting all around us in the Anthropocenes harrowing DCC.

Shallowing is not actually a word, but Stephens neologism fits a new concept demanded by the infowars and "fake news" of this early Anthropocene. Like juvenescence, adjacentcy and forest bathing, the shallowing description helps me figure out whats going awry in so many westerners spirit-lives (see 4.1.1. for adjacentcy). Depression and deteriorating mental health among millennials certainly terrify everyone in America today.

The vast and ever-expanding Internet "meridians" apparently cover everything there is, but this proto neural membrane is also incredibly thin so while we know more and more and also more quickly, its usually about less and less. As a world culture, weve fallen into left-brain overspecialization again. (I covered left-brain vs. right-brain neurologies in my recent column.)

Inner resilience emerges out of the outdoor interludes that humans truly require. We can follow the animistic example of our Stone Age ancestors, and especially as urbanization/digitalization/optimization race ever onward. When your life is one of constant optimization, youre never free and you can never fully relax, as eloquent millennial Jia Tolentino points out describing todays ideal woman of the DCC

good looks, the impression of indefinitely extended youth, advanced skillsof self-presentation and self-surveillance. The ideal woman, in otherwords, is always optimizing. She takes advantage of technology. Herhair looks expensive. She spends lots of money taking care of her skin The same is true of her body. it has been pre-shaped by exercise thatensures there is little to conceal or rearrange. Everything about thiswoman has been preemptively controlled to the point that she canafford the impression of spontaneity .

Similarly, most adult humans, especially the mournful millennials, must relearn Stone Age ways I strongly recommend a process of rewilding the mind and spirit. Neo-animism (my neologism) simply means re-enchanting the world and holding off the de-animating digital destruction. The process commences with simple outings in or near green nature; its what I pushed in "Eternal Backcountry Return" (constant walking). Millennials, Gen-Xers, boomers, weve all got to re-valuate the manifest advantages in paleo thinking.

This curative process embodies the call for a renewed animism for the Anthropocene Ive dubbed this way of thinking neo-animism. The inanimate is indubitably as alive in those holy boulders shown in another column as in the dancing bees buzzing about my face. The ancient Mesopotamians even worshipped the life-force in Salt (their famous Hymn to Salt prayer), although left-brainers see only the NaCl formula. The left brains revenge on the right brain is to suffocate the wide-angle communal viewpoint.

In our collective shallowing, weve lost the appreciation for the life and life-giving force in natures inanimate stone artifacts, including mountains and exotic canyons. Perhaps it is less a shallowing than an extraordinary widening that some minds cannot comprehend or stretch to. If everything is indeed alive, then the individuals cosmos feels very different to her than in our hyper-kinetic speedy DCC.

If a reader struggles with the interpretation offered in the idea of living boulders in the field near Hurricane Deck, or seeking wisdom in places, then she should realize she might profit from extended forest bathing jaunts as she begins the neo-animism process.

After postmodernism comes post-humanism, and with the latter my neo-animism emerges as a necessary corollary.

In neo-animism, we conjure the image of the natural world working on us humans, not the other way round. Guardian columnist George Monbiot argues for a radical political rewilding that can mirror natures own rewilding processes. Rewilding allowing dynamic, spontaneous organization to reassert itself leads to organic complexity, and need not be exclusively top-down the way our politics are today (Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, President Trump, Kim Jong-un, Mark Zuckerberg).

Bruno Latour argues that were all actually climate skeptics: Whatever our intentions, we all act as if climate change is not real. In the same vein, most of us live our lives in some child-like state where we all act as if human life isnt time-limited. However, human lives are indeed time-limited as Buddha constantly said, and refusing to honor this crucial condition makes us weak, and also sometimes violent.

My neo-animism resembles an eco-theism where the actual planet Gaia is our church/temple/mosque (a kind of pantheism). The demands in "Facing Gaia" form a moral imperative and enhance a novel mode of experience. In a new politics for this human-created Anthropocene Era, neo-animism joins with radical post-humanism to ask fundamental questions of us, like:

Shouldnt there be fewer people?

Should 90 percent of the humongous herds of cows and pigs be culled (killed off)?

Why not rewild locally by returning grizzly bears to the San Rafael Wilderness?

How can humans accord natural rights to the evolved animals on this Gaia?

The 19th century Romantic right-brain view of physical nature was replaced by the left-brain dominant scientific view that justified any activity to wrest more value (resources) from Gaias rich body. This Industrial Age left-brain dominance allies seamlessly with the DCC today, and thus fosters that shallowing of so many human minds and imaginations.

The first step in resisting the corrosive DCC is to buy sturdy shoes or boots, and begin a regular hiking program in or near our backcountry. The Eternal Backcountry Return beckons, and certainly bring your children along!

Books and articles: For my term adjacentcy, it defines the way densely populated California urban zones lay next to wild and wilderness zones, see my Autobiography in the Anthropocene, p. 60 and passim). Stephens quote: New York Times, Dec. 21, 2019. For Tolentino quote: Jia Tolentino, "Trick Mirror," p. 64; Bruno Latour, "Facing Gaia" (Polity 2017); J. Purdy, "After Nature A Politics for the Anthropocene" (2015), discusses the "new animism," 272-275; George Monbiot: click here.

Dan McCaslin is the author of Stone Anchors in Antiquity and has written extensively about the local backcountry. His latest book, Autobiography in the Anthropocene, is available at Lulu.com. He serves as an archaeological site steward for the U.S. Forest Service in the Los Padres National Forest. He welcomes reader ideas for future Noozhawk columns, and can be reached at [emailprotected]. Click here to read additional columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

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