It has been a long and interesting experience maintaining Starfire Talks here on Blogger. It has given me the privacy I needed to compose and put into words my own ideas about what is going on in the world and the meaning of it all. So I want to thank Google here and now for presenting me with this opportunity.
But times change and technology evolves. Despite the positive changes I have seen here at Blogger, after having moved my 'main' blog to Wordpress, I discovered that the services there suit me better. Publishing is easier and the templates seem to me to be more attractive. Not only that, but it attracts more hits.
I have to admit to a sense of disappointment from my experience of creating Starfire Talks. Not only at the lack of interest it inspired in people, but also as to my inability to really resolve or explain things in my own mind. Existing on the internet, this blog was bourn of internet rumours and seeming truths, about the Illuminati, the 9/11 conspiracies and so on. Yet I now wonder if they themselves are really as authentic as they once seemed. I really have no way of knowing, but can only say that what we have here is a record of my falling under their influence, perhaps finding solace in their ideas in the face of an unrelenting media assault on my senses, seemingly aimed at dulling them forever with the tales of woe they contained. The truth isn't as easy to find as I'd hoped, but then again, it has always been hidden behind illusions.
I hope in the new manifestation of Talks, there is a more informal tone, an ease of expression. Yet the semi-anonymous nature of it perhaps precludes it really going anywhere... we will see if that holds up. Personally, I need the anonymity as I would be too embarrassed to face a world that knew my every thought and, even if they were true, perhaps scorned me for them. So a pen-name will continue, eben if it is in a sense cowardly.
I still want to keep up this semi-anonymous way of communicating with the world. I know not many people read it all, but it's a big internet and people, much like myself, are busy with their own areas of interest. Why would they take an interest? Yet, there may well be future historians or even beings from other dimentions who somehow can read all this and might appreciate my take on things, a kind of online diary of my thoughts, if you will. So the blogging will continue, yet over at Wordpress. Please continue to tune into me there, at-
StarfireTalks
May the force be with you, always,
Starfire
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Writing Japanophilia
I've recently started making a blog called 'Japanophilia', The idea behind it is to make an accessible resource for people interested in Japan. Also, it has a view to perhaps ending up as something with commercial potential- not so much 'selling out' as making a wide audience possible. Of course, if that lead to other opportunities, that won't be turned down.
The problem is that so much of the subjective, the confused, the exaggerated, exists in my writing. It could be said, so much that is subjective perhaps to the point of esotericism. Is it just me? Who knows? Certainly, I have my own perspective of things, informed by my unique collection of experiences. I want to inform and share, yet I also want to be free to be myself. Here, below is my account of Sawara, which I have still yet to edit to appeal to a wider and commercialised world. I wonder how it will end up, following my best instincts. This is how it looks now, at any rate-
A town that used to be a city, Sawara is as sleepy a backwater as you could hope to see, complete with a canal flanked on either side by gorgeous weeping willow trees, practically drinking the water they hang over. Going there a couple of days ago, free from the weekend or even more extensive festival crowds, was a relaxing but inspiring experience. I've been there before, for the tremendous summer festival- now was a chance to see it's quiet side, along with my friend Elizabeth, author of Chibaraki Life, a blog about things in Chiba and Ibaraki. Each of us ready with camera in hand, we set off for the wild (well, really not so wild!) world of Sawara.
Central to Sawara and it's charm is the canal running through the center of the town and connecting it to the wider world by the Onogawa river. You can ride a boat down this, lined by weeping willows, seeing where merchants used to descend steps to trade produce, on what was once an important trading route on the way to Tokyo.It was a very pleasant and friendly ride; this being a week-day, there weren't so many tourists around, so we could get more attention and time.
As I often do, I enjoyed getting lost in the microsphere of the 'Tiny Universe'- taking photos of textures on the walls of old houses and finding flowers shooting up amidst ancient ruins. Having so many old structures (Sawara was spared wartime bombing, perhaps because it's unimportance, perhaps for it's heritage), they were everywhere to be found- like the rings on trees, they tell stories of the age and endurance of the town, that has been through so many time periods, but kept it's charm intact. People still come here in droves, not so much to trade, as to reconnect with it's history and deep feeling.
Away from the town center lie various shrines and temples, which all seem to be well kept up, one of the better effects of tourism. I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of their gardens and their reverence for nature. We made our way to Kanpukuji temple, a quiet and green area that gave us respite from what was proving to be a long walk. We enjoyed the gardens and simple, meditative atmosphere. Temples in Japan are both places of (occasional, most Japanese people don't consider themselves to be religious) worship and the home to whatever monks or priests may be there. This one had the feeling of a large country garden, as well as the ambiance of the various prayers that have been uttered here over the centuries.
We made our way to a Suwa Shrine, past a statue of the man (Tadataka Ino, who looked like a samuri with all his swords), credited with mapping the whole of Hokkaido, simply by pacing the distances by foot, the first person to ever do so. Whilst I think there must be more to the story than that, no doubt he achieved some great feats, especially considering the perilously unstable nature of Japan at the time. A man was waiting there to share the history with passing visitors.
Walking up the steep steps, we could see it as a storehouse of memories for the community, of deeds done long ago. with boat propellers and anchors lying amongst the grounds.
After a while it was time for lunch. Near the canal are a variety of shops and restaurants, surprisingly quite a few based around sushi. The one we went to had a very friendly man, keen to tell us about the town and to share the secrets of good food. He gave us some special Japanese green tea, which tasted fresh and invigorating,. Apparently the tea and rice all comes from nearby Narita, which is a famous agricultural area alongside having of course Japan's main airport. Farmers have strong movements to keep the character of the place intact, refusing to sell land in some cases when there are calls to expand the airport. In a way, this illustrate's a central feature of Japanese life- the urge to modernise and the call to maintain traditions. Generally they exist side-by-side, seemingly out of conflict in harmonious Japan, , but every so often people feel the need to draw lines in the grass. Certainly, I am glad to see Narita keep it's culture and the sushi was excellent, aesthetic and delicious at once.
Just outside the town, a short taxi-ride away, lies Katori Jingu, a shrine in the Shinto tradition, the designation Jingu referring to it's connections with the Imperial family and grandure. Unlike a lot of places in Japan, it is very much a living place of spirituality, with ritualised, rhythmic dances performed for the gods to see. We actually saw two- one by kindergarden students chanting in a hypnotic, rythmic fashion that seemed to make all of time slow down to it's rythmn. Then there was a second, silent one inside the shrine itself by the miko-san, or shrine maidens, (these days, usually university students doing a low-stress part-time job). Out of politeness we didn't watch it too closely, but I could sense the slow, swaying rythmns of that ancient culture, the subtle, understated actions that belie passionate emotions, astheticised to the point of scerentity. With all that was happening and the stillness of it, the shrine has a very quiet, regal atmosphere, softened and made more serene by the presence of so many tall trees. like you can find at that more-accessible of Jingu, Harajuku's Meiji-Jingu.
Naturally, any association with Japan's Emperors are controversial for many and the issue of this often comes up with the subject, for Japanese people as much as foreigners, many of whom refuse to even set foot in 'Jingu' for this very reason. From my point of view though, though, it should be remembered that with the post-war turnaround Japan made to being a pacifist society, shrines are much less linked to Japan's former empire these days (with the exception of the infamous 'museum' of WW2 in Yasukuni Jinja, that is). National pride as a member of the family of nations, as seems to be being cultivated in Japan these days, may even be a good thing. At any rate, we can safely make a distinction between the 'State Shinto' that revolved around nationalism and 'folk Shinto', that deifies and stands in awe of the forces of nature. Like many other Westerners who feel their own culture has been robbed of a sense of the magical, the mysterious, even the sacred in nature, such places now appear as an invaluable resource. The trees are quite literally revered as sacred, propped up with supports and treated with bandages to ensure they live for centuries- rocks are wrapped around with prayer flags. All of this is a recognition of the divine force flowing through all things, which is so visible in these great trees.
In a sense I'm neither for or against religion- what matters more is what it is used for; either trying to control people, or helping them to rediscover their true and better nature, the power that animates the universe itself. I was in awe of the massive tree standing there in Katori Jinja, draped in prayer flags, radiating energy all around it.
We were lucky enough to see a dance by some elementary school girls. With a steady rhythm, they paced out a chant-like song that had a hypnotic melody, going on for quite a while. After that, some of the Miko-San (shrine maidens) did their own dance inside the shrine itself. You could just about see them from outside and it had a similar haunting beauty, more like a trance or a ritual than a dance in the usual sense. If it is a form of communication with 'the gods' and the gods reside in the subconscious, then I suppose this is appropriate. For me the melodies are very soothing and inspiring, with a delicacy that is hard to find in a rushed, modern world. To be around all this was fascinating and it certainly brought the place to life, a life that in one way or another has gone on for so many centuries; and if the birth-dates ascribed to many shrines are to believed, millennia even.
After visiting the shrine, along with it's small museum of relics and gifts from all over the world (my favourite of these being the cartoonesque Phoenix-head ship prow from an old ship, that reminded me of the character from Osamu Tesuka's classic manga), we had a hot cup of macha and snacks in a small cafe, amongst a row of small restaurants and souvenir shops lining the route to the great Tori, the gate marking entrance in into the shrine grounds. The sun was setting and another full day was coming to a close. (By the way, you can se some more photos from the day at this Flickr Gallery)
The problem is that so much of the subjective, the confused, the exaggerated, exists in my writing. It could be said, so much that is subjective perhaps to the point of esotericism. Is it just me? Who knows? Certainly, I have my own perspective of things, informed by my unique collection of experiences. I want to inform and share, yet I also want to be free to be myself. Here, below is my account of Sawara, which I have still yet to edit to appeal to a wider and commercialised world. I wonder how it will end up, following my best instincts. This is how it looks now, at any rate-
A town that used to be a city, Sawara is as sleepy a backwater as you could hope to see, complete with a canal flanked on either side by gorgeous weeping willow trees, practically drinking the water they hang over. Going there a couple of days ago, free from the weekend or even more extensive festival crowds, was a relaxing but inspiring experience. I've been there before, for the tremendous summer festival- now was a chance to see it's quiet side, along with my friend Elizabeth, author of Chibaraki Life, a blog about things in Chiba and Ibaraki. Each of us ready with camera in hand, we set off for the wild (well, really not so wild!) world of Sawara.
Central to Sawara and it's charm is the canal running through the center of the town and connecting it to the wider world by the Onogawa river. You can ride a boat down this, lined by weeping willows, seeing where merchants used to descend steps to trade produce, on what was once an important trading route on the way to Tokyo.It was a very pleasant and friendly ride; this being a week-day, there weren't so many tourists around, so we could get more attention and time.
As I often do, I enjoyed getting lost in the microsphere of the 'Tiny Universe'- taking photos of textures on the walls of old houses and finding flowers shooting up amidst ancient ruins. Having so many old structures (Sawara was spared wartime bombing, perhaps because it's unimportance, perhaps for it's heritage), they were everywhere to be found- like the rings on trees, they tell stories of the age and endurance of the town, that has been through so many time periods, but kept it's charm intact. People still come here in droves, not so much to trade, as to reconnect with it's history and deep feeling.
Away from the town center lie various shrines and temples, which all seem to be well kept up, one of the better effects of tourism. I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of their gardens and their reverence for nature. We made our way to Kanpukuji temple, a quiet and green area that gave us respite from what was proving to be a long walk. We enjoyed the gardens and simple, meditative atmosphere. Temples in Japan are both places of (occasional, most Japanese people don't consider themselves to be religious) worship and the home to whatever monks or priests may be there. This one had the feeling of a large country garden, as well as the ambiance of the various prayers that have been uttered here over the centuries.
We made our way to a Suwa Shrine, past a statue of the man (Tadataka Ino, who looked like a samuri with all his swords), credited with mapping the whole of Hokkaido, simply by pacing the distances by foot, the first person to ever do so. Whilst I think there must be more to the story than that, no doubt he achieved some great feats, especially considering the perilously unstable nature of Japan at the time. A man was waiting there to share the history with passing visitors.
Walking up the steep steps, we could see it as a storehouse of memories for the community, of deeds done long ago. with boat propellers and anchors lying amongst the grounds.
After a while it was time for lunch. Near the canal are a variety of shops and restaurants, surprisingly quite a few based around sushi. The one we went to had a very friendly man, keen to tell us about the town and to share the secrets of good food. He gave us some special Japanese green tea, which tasted fresh and invigorating,. Apparently the tea and rice all comes from nearby Narita, which is a famous agricultural area alongside having of course Japan's main airport. Farmers have strong movements to keep the character of the place intact, refusing to sell land in some cases when there are calls to expand the airport. In a way, this illustrate's a central feature of Japanese life- the urge to modernise and the call to maintain traditions. Generally they exist side-by-side, seemingly out of conflict in harmonious Japan, , but every so often people feel the need to draw lines in the grass. Certainly, I am glad to see Narita keep it's culture and the sushi was excellent, aesthetic and delicious at once.
Just outside the town, a short taxi-ride away, lies Katori Jingu, a shrine in the Shinto tradition, the designation Jingu referring to it's connections with the Imperial family and grandure. Unlike a lot of places in Japan, it is very much a living place of spirituality, with ritualised, rhythmic dances performed for the gods to see. We actually saw two- one by kindergarden students chanting in a hypnotic, rythmic fashion that seemed to make all of time slow down to it's rythmn. Then there was a second, silent one inside the shrine itself by the miko-san, or shrine maidens, (these days, usually university students doing a low-stress part-time job). Out of politeness we didn't watch it too closely, but I could sense the slow, swaying rythmns of that ancient culture, the subtle, understated actions that belie passionate emotions, astheticised to the point of scerentity. With all that was happening and the stillness of it, the shrine has a very quiet, regal atmosphere, softened and made more serene by the presence of so many tall trees. like you can find at that more-accessible of Jingu, Harajuku's Meiji-Jingu.
Naturally, any association with Japan's Emperors are controversial for many and the issue of this often comes up with the subject, for Japanese people as much as foreigners, many of whom refuse to even set foot in 'Jingu' for this very reason. From my point of view though, though, it should be remembered that with the post-war turnaround Japan made to being a pacifist society, shrines are much less linked to Japan's former empire these days (with the exception of the infamous 'museum' of WW2 in Yasukuni Jinja, that is). National pride as a member of the family of nations, as seems to be being cultivated in Japan these days, may even be a good thing. At any rate, we can safely make a distinction between the 'State Shinto' that revolved around nationalism and 'folk Shinto', that deifies and stands in awe of the forces of nature. Like many other Westerners who feel their own culture has been robbed of a sense of the magical, the mysterious, even the sacred in nature, such places now appear as an invaluable resource. The trees are quite literally revered as sacred, propped up with supports and treated with bandages to ensure they live for centuries- rocks are wrapped around with prayer flags. All of this is a recognition of the divine force flowing through all things, which is so visible in these great trees.In a sense I'm neither for or against religion- what matters more is what it is used for; either trying to control people, or helping them to rediscover their true and better nature, the power that animates the universe itself. I was in awe of the massive tree standing there in Katori Jinja, draped in prayer flags, radiating energy all around it.
We were lucky enough to see a dance by some elementary school girls. With a steady rhythm, they paced out a chant-like song that had a hypnotic melody, going on for quite a while. After that, some of the Miko-San (shrine maidens) did their own dance inside the shrine itself. You could just about see them from outside and it had a similar haunting beauty, more like a trance or a ritual than a dance in the usual sense. If it is a form of communication with 'the gods' and the gods reside in the subconscious, then I suppose this is appropriate. For me the melodies are very soothing and inspiring, with a delicacy that is hard to find in a rushed, modern world. To be around all this was fascinating and it certainly brought the place to life, a life that in one way or another has gone on for so many centuries; and if the birth-dates ascribed to many shrines are to believed, millennia even.
After visiting the shrine, along with it's small museum of relics and gifts from all over the world (my favourite of these being the cartoonesque Phoenix-head ship prow from an old ship, that reminded me of the character from Osamu Tesuka's classic manga), we had a hot cup of macha and snacks in a small cafe, amongst a row of small restaurants and souvenir shops lining the route to the great Tori, the gate marking entrance in into the shrine grounds. The sun was setting and another full day was coming to a close. (By the way, you can se some more photos from the day at this Flickr Gallery)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Where is Blogging Going?
I've been blogging for about two years now and still have yet to really find my voice. My lack of hard-hitting articles and world-changing productions is evidence of this. If I really hit the spot, I will have thousands of hits a day to show for it, at least. One problem is my ovbsession of checking for such hits- yet a watched kettle never boils. I need some discipline here! Maybe check my hits once a week and the rest of the time legitimately earn them by trying to make kick-ass stuff that people want to see.
Actually, to be honest, even this is not my objective. I want to find my true, inner voice in all of this. The nearest I have yet to find is through online Tarot- a kind of 'Golden Compass' to find the truth behind appearances.
Even more so, more than popularity or even art, I wish to serve God, my creator. I try to stay in tune with 'The Force', his will for me. Through meditation, tarot, creative imagination, I can reconfigure myself and realign myself to do this. This means more to me than popularity for sure.
So where to go from here? The same old things remain- there is an essential difference between Maya-based superficiality and deeper efforts to understand the meanings behind appearances and to live more fully according to them. I need to get over my prejudice against conscious understanding of what is going on, my somnambulist addiction to dreamy living. People can see clearly what they are doing and still make progress. There are always more mysteries behind what we see, to uncover yet.
I wish to network with similar people, who want to know God better and to be more like Him, more like the Creators, like advanced space-beings or angels. Who want to evolve.
I want to help people to know God by making them more loving, by making them interested in fine art and creation, by helping them see the beauty of evolution towards ever-higher and more worshiping forms. God is the real reality behind everything, the pure personality and intelligence. When we remember that of course reality is what we deep-down hope it to be, we can realign ourselves and find it afresh. Kids know this, adults forget it and tempt one another into forgetfulness of it. Which is why kids and nature are a good way to recall the truth.
I want to make people more loving and thereby find God through me. Maybe they can feel a little sorry for me and thereby be more loving. God is truth and truth is love- all are conceptualisations for a hyper-dimensional, hyper-directional reality that cannot simply be simplified into conceptual forms.
I want to be more relevant, hard-hitting in the sense of touching all the relevant buttons and getting people to respond from their deepest hearts. To help people to be human.
I was thinking- 'All we have is now'- we just have the society, the issues, the environment we currently have. What we may have in the future may be a pleasant dream (or a paranoid nightmare for some), but it is not as real as the now. So relevance, even in fantasy, is derived from illustrating the present in a novel and informed way, to expose hypocrisy afresh and draw people to truth. The peaceful pursuit of truth needs to be accompanied by the conflict of exposing people and institutions that claim to represent truth, but in fact merely advance their own interests. The danger of allowing them to continue unchecked is that they can deceive others into the belief in partial truths, making them helpless to improve their position in a real way.
The Golden Compass speaks of this in it's portrayal of a false and self-seeking church. The Secret is accused of hiding testimony on the Stream, from the multi-being messages of Abraham, so as to resolve copy-write issues conveniently, thus creating a further Secret still! My next post will touch on this and speak of the stream, of the way, the Tao, the Ki of this universe, which is of course the living spirit of God's true plan for us all.
Actually, to be honest, even this is not my objective. I want to find my true, inner voice in all of this. The nearest I have yet to find is through online Tarot- a kind of 'Golden Compass' to find the truth behind appearances.
Even more so, more than popularity or even art, I wish to serve God, my creator. I try to stay in tune with 'The Force', his will for me. Through meditation, tarot, creative imagination, I can reconfigure myself and realign myself to do this. This means more to me than popularity for sure.
So where to go from here? The same old things remain- there is an essential difference between Maya-based superficiality and deeper efforts to understand the meanings behind appearances and to live more fully according to them. I need to get over my prejudice against conscious understanding of what is going on, my somnambulist addiction to dreamy living. People can see clearly what they are doing and still make progress. There are always more mysteries behind what we see, to uncover yet.
I wish to network with similar people, who want to know God better and to be more like Him, more like the Creators, like advanced space-beings or angels. Who want to evolve.
I want to help people to know God by making them more loving, by making them interested in fine art and creation, by helping them see the beauty of evolution towards ever-higher and more worshiping forms. God is the real reality behind everything, the pure personality and intelligence. When we remember that of course reality is what we deep-down hope it to be, we can realign ourselves and find it afresh. Kids know this, adults forget it and tempt one another into forgetfulness of it. Which is why kids and nature are a good way to recall the truth.
I want to make people more loving and thereby find God through me. Maybe they can feel a little sorry for me and thereby be more loving. God is truth and truth is love- all are conceptualisations for a hyper-dimensional, hyper-directional reality that cannot simply be simplified into conceptual forms.
I want to be more relevant, hard-hitting in the sense of touching all the relevant buttons and getting people to respond from their deepest hearts. To help people to be human.
I was thinking- 'All we have is now'- we just have the society, the issues, the environment we currently have. What we may have in the future may be a pleasant dream (or a paranoid nightmare for some), but it is not as real as the now. So relevance, even in fantasy, is derived from illustrating the present in a novel and informed way, to expose hypocrisy afresh and draw people to truth. The peaceful pursuit of truth needs to be accompanied by the conflict of exposing people and institutions that claim to represent truth, but in fact merely advance their own interests. The danger of allowing them to continue unchecked is that they can deceive others into the belief in partial truths, making them helpless to improve their position in a real way.
The Golden Compass speaks of this in it's portrayal of a false and self-seeking church. The Secret is accused of hiding testimony on the Stream, from the multi-being messages of Abraham, so as to resolve copy-write issues conveniently, thus creating a further Secret still! My next post will touch on this and speak of the stream, of the way, the Tao, the Ki of this universe, which is of course the living spirit of God's true plan for us all.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Photos With Poetry to Come
A new way of presenting photos for me is to come soon- photos with poetry. I used to love poetry and then i started to prefer more literal expressions of truth. I thought poetry child-like and a misty, vague way of saying the truth. Now I have changed my mind a little and think itn goes well. Deeper truth can't really just be said literally, as the language and abstractness involved makes it escape.
So poetry and photos is the result. This may well start on Moments of Eternity.
So poetry and photos is the result. This may well start on Moments of Eternity.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Starfire Talks Getting too Personal ?
This blog is at times getting so personal and I am having so much fun discovering myself through it, that I really have no desire to stop on this journey. However, I recognise that people who may some day come to read the words of wisdom here may find it disappointing. So a new solution has emerged, much as has ever happened on this blog. A new offshoot is once again born- a green shoot has spread out into the net and is ready for a life of it's own!
We now have Starfire Teaches (Cosmic Understanding)
Starfire Dreams (Dreams and Reflections)
We have umpteen online galleries for the photos and some photo-blogs too, not to mention the You-Tube video-blogging. So now it is time for the first truly hidden blog that will remain unadvertised, but will have a safe place for my innermost thoughts. Future researchers can try and find it to discover what life really was like for me and others in our time. What a find for them!
It will be... let's try and be original here...
Starfire Ponders?. Hey, now that has a ring to it! It will be my thoughts and feelings that I don't usually tell others and very hard to find, as it will be a diary. Not for the public. Not even for the initiated- just for the lucky and, of course, my maker as a kind of intimate communication with Him. Which is why, even here, I'm not giving the real name.
Look out for it and say goodbye to some of the more 'personal' posts here:) It may or may not surprise you that some of them were in fact so personal that they never even got published.
We now have Starfire Teaches (Cosmic Understanding)
Starfire Dreams (Dreams and Reflections)
We have umpteen online galleries for the photos and some photo-blogs too, not to mention the You-Tube video-blogging. So now it is time for the first truly hidden blog that will remain unadvertised, but will have a safe place for my innermost thoughts. Future researchers can try and find it to discover what life really was like for me and others in our time. What a find for them!
It will be... let's try and be original here...
Starfire Ponders?. Hey, now that has a ring to it! It will be my thoughts and feelings that I don't usually tell others and very hard to find, as it will be a diary. Not for the public. Not even for the initiated- just for the lucky and, of course, my maker as a kind of intimate communication with Him. Which is why, even here, I'm not giving the real name.
Look out for it and say goodbye to some of the more 'personal' posts here:) It may or may not surprise you that some of them were in fact so personal that they never even got published.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Changes Afoot
This blog has always been a means of near-anonymous self-expression and, at the same time, an experiment in the field of what is quite a new genre in the writing arts. Yet, it has to be said that a commercially viable blog can at the same time be a positively artistic one. That is, that without needing too much compromise with my core values as an artist, a blog that is crafted so as to receive a much, much wider audience is distinctive possibility.
What I would most like is a route to earning my living not through a salary from a job, but from royalties from my creative endeavors. Thus far, efforts in stock photography have floundered, meaning that this eluded me. The next phase is to craft such a good blog that it will attract a wide readership and it's advertising will generate substantial revenue of it's own. This advertising is a kind of revenue. Also, creative uses of my photos as forms of merchandise and posters can generate revenue.
This means that sections of this blog that are strictly personal will be marked so. Whether or not it remains accessible will be up in the air. I can aways make my commercial blog with a different account so as to avoid 'brand confusion'. I really need this creative and expressive outlet, a place online to just be myself. But I am also thinking of ways in which I can earn at least part of my living from blogging and photography, etc. It is just a question of finding the right route.
So I am now in the business of thinking what kind of blog I could make that would appeal to the greatest amount of people and, at the same time, whilst being entertaining, provide the greatest amount of good. I am coming around to the realisation that authentic wealth is a reward for authentic contributions of goodness. The various economic theories or cynical attempts to manipulate the world pale into insignificance compared to this understanding. It is the gateway to great wealth and happiness and a way by which they are not at all exclusive.
Yet, even beyond this, such wealth as we may have is but the shadow of heavenly treasure. Even if I do become rich, it is still better to focus on the riches of heaven than those of the Earth. You are where your heart is and no true satisfaction lies in the merely Earthly. In this sense, the 'monastically' (happily) poor are blessed, as they have less distractions from the heavenly. Anyone who has spent some time in India can see that there is more than a little truth in this, whatever the injustices that accompany poverty be. Happiness is all and happiness set in the things of heaven the best.
But, people are not directly interested in such things, except that they be lead to experience them. I think that digital photography is quite a democratic route to this, as it can help anyone to appreciate beauty and true reality better just be reflecting on what is around them- especially through macro photography. I am in a sense helping God lead people towards heaven, towards the promise of eternal life and salvation. What could be better than that?
What I would most like is a route to earning my living not through a salary from a job, but from royalties from my creative endeavors. Thus far, efforts in stock photography have floundered, meaning that this eluded me. The next phase is to craft such a good blog that it will attract a wide readership and it's advertising will generate substantial revenue of it's own. This advertising is a kind of revenue. Also, creative uses of my photos as forms of merchandise and posters can generate revenue.
This means that sections of this blog that are strictly personal will be marked so. Whether or not it remains accessible will be up in the air. I can aways make my commercial blog with a different account so as to avoid 'brand confusion'. I really need this creative and expressive outlet, a place online to just be myself. But I am also thinking of ways in which I can earn at least part of my living from blogging and photography, etc. It is just a question of finding the right route.
So I am now in the business of thinking what kind of blog I could make that would appeal to the greatest amount of people and, at the same time, whilst being entertaining, provide the greatest amount of good. I am coming around to the realisation that authentic wealth is a reward for authentic contributions of goodness. The various economic theories or cynical attempts to manipulate the world pale into insignificance compared to this understanding. It is the gateway to great wealth and happiness and a way by which they are not at all exclusive.
Yet, even beyond this, such wealth as we may have is but the shadow of heavenly treasure. Even if I do become rich, it is still better to focus on the riches of heaven than those of the Earth. You are where your heart is and no true satisfaction lies in the merely Earthly. In this sense, the 'monastically' (happily) poor are blessed, as they have less distractions from the heavenly. Anyone who has spent some time in India can see that there is more than a little truth in this, whatever the injustices that accompany poverty be. Happiness is all and happiness set in the things of heaven the best.
But, people are not directly interested in such things, except that they be lead to experience them. I think that digital photography is quite a democratic route to this, as it can help anyone to appreciate beauty and true reality better just be reflecting on what is around them- especially through macro photography. I am in a sense helping God lead people towards heaven, towards the promise of eternal life and salvation. What could be better than that?
Monday, November 19, 2007
Moments of Infinity... Now Moments of Eternity
A short note here- Moments of Infinity has been given the more reasonable name, Moments of Eternity. It will also quite soon be updated with some new writings on the subjects of perfection and of love.
Monday, August 20, 2007
A Focus of Direction for this Blog
Due to the unfolding disaster of the Middle East, this blog will be focusing as much as possible on the true way to combat hatred with the force of love and hence bring peace to that region- a peace that the world's politicians can't give. It is the writer's earnest hope that this goes some way to finding a stable, fair and as far as is possible permanent solution to the region, one that respects both it's multi-cultural heritage and the need for human rights. Deeply good intentions, prayers and meditation will inevitably bring such results- the keyboard is mightier than the gun- inasmuch as we are pure of heart, the results we long for will be borne as fruit on life's tree.
Note- 4th January 2008
Such a particular focus to this blog was not to be, at least so far. Yet peace in the Middle-East is a touchstone to peace everywhere and visa versa. The evolution and progress to peace is the main thing in our lives- and it is an evolution, as it is an attaining of a particular level of understanding and mutual justice at which real, sustainable and sincere peace is at last possible. We need to grow together a lot to realise this. We need to learn to grow together, like vines winding around the same tree of life.
Note- 4th January 2008
Such a particular focus to this blog was not to be, at least so far. Yet peace in the Middle-East is a touchstone to peace everywhere and visa versa. The evolution and progress to peace is the main thing in our lives- and it is an evolution, as it is an attaining of a particular level of understanding and mutual justice at which real, sustainable and sincere peace is at last possible. We need to grow together a lot to realise this. We need to learn to grow together, like vines winding around the same tree of life.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Comment- A Reply to Ratbert's Comment
Thank you for getting back to my comment on your blog. I partly wrote on yours because the monologues we construct can easily become esoteric if we are not careful. I do however realise the context in which you are writing and the intended audience.
As Derrida says, the ancient Greeks referred to writing as a gift with mixed implications, a ‘Pharmakon’- something somewhere between a medicine and a poison- something like a ‘drug’. We seem to need it to communicate over the distances we have built between one another, over time and space, yet I fear it induces as much misunderstanding as understanding in the way we tend to use it, whether it be on the side of writing or reading. Like Socrates advised, it always needs to be balanced with the living appreciation of truth, with philosophy, with ultimate values.
Fortunately, your writing has enough a mix of creativity and articulation for the meaning to be clear to any fair-minded reader, even those who may not agree with the conclusions reached there. It brings clarity, not confusion. But we need to be careful, lest we mistakenly communicate something less than our highest intentions and become no more than just another opinion writer. I think we need to always remember our ultimate values, to balance our views with reference to them.
Right now, through the Internet, we have an incredible opportunity for people to share their views like never before; but like any technology, it all depends upon how we use it. Seeing our recent surge in technology being utilised as much for war as for medicine makes me realise that this world will be defined by what is written in our hearts, where the essential progress lies. Our cleverness must be ruled by our compassion.
As Derrida says, the ancient Greeks referred to writing as a gift with mixed implications, a ‘Pharmakon’- something somewhere between a medicine and a poison- something like a ‘drug’. We seem to need it to communicate over the distances we have built between one another, over time and space, yet I fear it induces as much misunderstanding as understanding in the way we tend to use it, whether it be on the side of writing or reading. Like Socrates advised, it always needs to be balanced with the living appreciation of truth, with philosophy, with ultimate values.
Fortunately, your writing has enough a mix of creativity and articulation for the meaning to be clear to any fair-minded reader, even those who may not agree with the conclusions reached there. It brings clarity, not confusion. But we need to be careful, lest we mistakenly communicate something less than our highest intentions and become no more than just another opinion writer. I think we need to always remember our ultimate values, to balance our views with reference to them.
Right now, through the Internet, we have an incredible opportunity for people to share their views like never before; but like any technology, it all depends upon how we use it. Seeing our recent surge in technology being utilised as much for war as for medicine makes me realise that this world will be defined by what is written in our hearts, where the essential progress lies. Our cleverness must be ruled by our compassion.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Starfire's Babies to Come Home (some of them, anyway)
So it has been decided- this blog will be the primary repository of materials also to be found in other blogs. Parts of Dreams and Reflections (formerly Starfire Dreams) and also some of Cosmic Understanding (or as it used to be called, Starfire Teaches), will make it's way here. Starfire Talks is my digital notebook and here you and I can both see how my thoughts evolve. Dreams, prophecies and personal experiences all contribute to this movement, so perhaps we can see the progress more clearly this way.
Are my thoughts getting better? Well, in evolution we notice adaptive change, so not necessarily, but I like to think that progress is being made. One sign of this is an increased willingness to visit other blogs and comment on them. Also, the talents and abilities that the author has found within himself have been seen more and more in relative terms. That is, all the writing can do with re-editing, all the revelations can be refined so as to carry their messages more directly.
So here is the plan for dissemination of Starfire Network material-
1st) Material is composed on the PC or on a paper notebook, or even directly in Blogger. This may all produce the same basic effect- the written word, but for some reason, the 'atmosphere' of each style of composition makes a subtle difference. Strange, but true.
2nd) Material is edited for typos and so on. This can of course be repeated at any time in the future- nothing stays completely still on the internet.
3rd) The material is published, either here, or on another network site.
4th) Some of the material making it's way to other network sites will also be posted here and visa-versa.
The interesting thing is that once posted here, it may well be changed through editing, with other commentary and such, or even completely rewritten, all without those same changes necessarily coming to the original article. Likewise, the original may be changed on it's page, leading to two differently-evolving pieces, subtly different, perhaps, but increasingly different all the same. This should at least free me from charges that I'm plagiarising myself !
Exceptions to this pattern of reciprocity are A Day in the Life and Perfect Futures, which have their own material, presented in a more 'public manner'. They are not really trying to be art- more accounts of what I am up to in 3rd dimensional existence (with occasional hints as to supra-third dimensional issues, but nothing that would make them too inaccessible for most people) Many planetary beings have dedicated themselves totally to a temporary sojourn only in dimensions 1-3), so I have to respect this subconscious choice. Moments of Infinity, basically being short poetic-spiritual phrases with photos, themselves often sourced from material on Cosmic Understanding, will also probably not be reproduced here. Because since it's so short and linked to the photo, what would be the point!
I've also noticed that Perfect Futures is seeming more and more like a blog about home entertainment, technology and the internet, as well as having my travel stories. since all these blogs have been started without any real plan as to what they will be about, it is interesting to see patterns emerge in them. If a blog is often known as a 'public diary', then Perfect Futures is my primary example of this.
Anyway, here ends the update notification, hope it didn't bore you (too) much. Please enjoy reading the blogs,
Starfire
Are my thoughts getting better? Well, in evolution we notice adaptive change, so not necessarily, but I like to think that progress is being made. One sign of this is an increased willingness to visit other blogs and comment on them. Also, the talents and abilities that the author has found within himself have been seen more and more in relative terms. That is, all the writing can do with re-editing, all the revelations can be refined so as to carry their messages more directly.
So here is the plan for dissemination of Starfire Network material-
1st) Material is composed on the PC or on a paper notebook, or even directly in Blogger. This may all produce the same basic effect- the written word, but for some reason, the 'atmosphere' of each style of composition makes a subtle difference. Strange, but true.
2nd) Material is edited for typos and so on. This can of course be repeated at any time in the future- nothing stays completely still on the internet.
3rd) The material is published, either here, or on another network site.
4th) Some of the material making it's way to other network sites will also be posted here and visa-versa.
The interesting thing is that once posted here, it may well be changed through editing, with other commentary and such, or even completely rewritten, all without those same changes necessarily coming to the original article. Likewise, the original may be changed on it's page, leading to two differently-evolving pieces, subtly different, perhaps, but increasingly different all the same. This should at least free me from charges that I'm plagiarising myself !
Exceptions to this pattern of reciprocity are A Day in the Life and Perfect Futures, which have their own material, presented in a more 'public manner'. They are not really trying to be art- more accounts of what I am up to in 3rd dimensional existence (with occasional hints as to supra-third dimensional issues, but nothing that would make them too inaccessible for most people) Many planetary beings have dedicated themselves totally to a temporary sojourn only in dimensions 1-3), so I have to respect this subconscious choice. Moments of Infinity, basically being short poetic-spiritual phrases with photos, themselves often sourced from material on Cosmic Understanding, will also probably not be reproduced here. Because since it's so short and linked to the photo, what would be the point!
I've also noticed that Perfect Futures is seeming more and more like a blog about home entertainment, technology and the internet, as well as having my travel stories. since all these blogs have been started without any real plan as to what they will be about, it is interesting to see patterns emerge in them. If a blog is often known as a 'public diary', then Perfect Futures is my primary example of this.
Anyway, here ends the update notification, hope it didn't bore you (too) much. Please enjoy reading the blogs,
Starfire
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
My Legacy
Perhaps all this will come to nothing. Perhaps it will be read by future school-children. Perhaps it will lie buried like a seashell in the ocean beds. One wonders what happens to the countless musings of humanity, not only blogs such as this one, but the thousands of diaries, scribbled notes of paper, or even the thoughts flitting across minds throughout the world, throughout history, all through time.
This may all be seen as one man's attempt to find profundity in a world that ultimately confused him. Perhaps, sadly, his attempts to find an authentic voice were too often overlaid with a pretentious assumption of knowledge, when really he was just beginning to learn.
The very fact that some part of me wants to be noticed, cries out for attention in a vain manner is suspect as to my ultimate profundity. Would a truly profound man, a truly deep artist really care whether or not other praised him. Emotionally, perhaps- we all have needs- but ultimately? Would he value his works according to others opinions? Perhaps no man is an island and indeed he would. Yet here is my quest.
I want to rise above the tide, to a higher level, like a pyramid bursting into azure skies. I wish to overtake conventional evolution and reach beyond- I wish to shine in the skies of eternity. I pledge my allegiance to God, yet as an individual I must take responsibility for my own growth- the divine spark within me hopefully thereby expressing itself. I aim for the stars, for the lights that stretch to eternity. I want to live forever, not as an organic body, but as a dream, as a profound expression of this great life-tide that swells all around us all.
Yet, I fear that I am just an ambitious, longing creature, so small as compared to the angels I admire, whose hearts are so devoted to others. So simplistic compared to the great ancestors and space-dwellers that visit us from time to time just to see how we are doing. A mere triangle, an amusing little expression of life, bumping up against my fishbowl glass, wondering what lies in the blurry world beyond it. Like little Nemo's friends in the dentist's office, wanting to break free to a world I can perhaps hardly breath in.
What right have I, a mere creature, to wish to live beyond the limits given to me, wishing to learn things I am clearly not ready for. I search for mysteries, yet the more imminent mysteries escape me. Where is the daily happiness, the contentment in the here and now?
A saint's devotion to serving God is the true profundity- even if he never writes a word and everything he says is lost forever, just a memory of hid kind acts remaining. Yet an artist also reflects God's glory, for as a creator, he aids God in the very creation of the universe, unveiling the divine mysteries to others.
Thus lies my faith- that my audience will find me even if I can't find it. That my messages of inspiration will find ears, if not around me, if not near me, then in distant climbs, in other times, past or present, in other places, on other dimensions, in other worlds, flying through space of missions of mercy, traveling the endless streams of time... a multi-dimensional existence, expressing itself endlessly.
So my faith is that all has a meaning and no good intention is ever lost without trace... that the Akashic record will indeed show all those who love, all those who care and reward the worthy, whether it be with heavens or glories, or just with a good result to bring a smile to whatever lips they may possess. Please God, let me glorify you and your name in my every action, my every breath, let me not be confused or led astray by the deceits of the heart, by the confused voices of the lost. Please let me not be misunderstood, labeled insane for discussing subjects that others find too strange and otherworldly, please set me free from any trap in this dimension, with all it's seeming limitations. Please let me always have understanding friends and a secure environment. Help me to realise my desire to love you in every moment and every situation, to follow my highest values all the time... in every moment to fully love you, you in those around me. To live by your eternal law of love,
Amen.
This may all be seen as one man's attempt to find profundity in a world that ultimately confused him. Perhaps, sadly, his attempts to find an authentic voice were too often overlaid with a pretentious assumption of knowledge, when really he was just beginning to learn.
The very fact that some part of me wants to be noticed, cries out for attention in a vain manner is suspect as to my ultimate profundity. Would a truly profound man, a truly deep artist really care whether or not other praised him. Emotionally, perhaps- we all have needs- but ultimately? Would he value his works according to others opinions? Perhaps no man is an island and indeed he would. Yet here is my quest.
I want to rise above the tide, to a higher level, like a pyramid bursting into azure skies. I wish to overtake conventional evolution and reach beyond- I wish to shine in the skies of eternity. I pledge my allegiance to God, yet as an individual I must take responsibility for my own growth- the divine spark within me hopefully thereby expressing itself. I aim for the stars, for the lights that stretch to eternity. I want to live forever, not as an organic body, but as a dream, as a profound expression of this great life-tide that swells all around us all.
Yet, I fear that I am just an ambitious, longing creature, so small as compared to the angels I admire, whose hearts are so devoted to others. So simplistic compared to the great ancestors and space-dwellers that visit us from time to time just to see how we are doing. A mere triangle, an amusing little expression of life, bumping up against my fishbowl glass, wondering what lies in the blurry world beyond it. Like little Nemo's friends in the dentist's office, wanting to break free to a world I can perhaps hardly breath in.
What right have I, a mere creature, to wish to live beyond the limits given to me, wishing to learn things I am clearly not ready for. I search for mysteries, yet the more imminent mysteries escape me. Where is the daily happiness, the contentment in the here and now?
A saint's devotion to serving God is the true profundity- even if he never writes a word and everything he says is lost forever, just a memory of hid kind acts remaining. Yet an artist also reflects God's glory, for as a creator, he aids God in the very creation of the universe, unveiling the divine mysteries to others.
Thus lies my faith- that my audience will find me even if I can't find it. That my messages of inspiration will find ears, if not around me, if not near me, then in distant climbs, in other times, past or present, in other places, on other dimensions, in other worlds, flying through space of missions of mercy, traveling the endless streams of time... a multi-dimensional existence, expressing itself endlessly.
So my faith is that all has a meaning and no good intention is ever lost without trace... that the Akashic record will indeed show all those who love, all those who care and reward the worthy, whether it be with heavens or glories, or just with a good result to bring a smile to whatever lips they may possess. Please God, let me glorify you and your name in my every action, my every breath, let me not be confused or led astray by the deceits of the heart, by the confused voices of the lost. Please let me not be misunderstood, labeled insane for discussing subjects that others find too strange and otherworldly, please set me free from any trap in this dimension, with all it's seeming limitations. Please let me always have understanding friends and a secure environment. Help me to realise my desire to love you in every moment and every situation, to follow my highest values all the time... in every moment to fully love you, you in those around me. To live by your eternal law of love,
Amen.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Blog Updates
Just to say that there have been a lot of updates on Cosmic Understanding, one of the children of this blog. There, we deal with religious scriptures and new revelations, whereas here we are a bit more sociological and philosophical. I have also had some amazingly psychedelic dreams recently, with science-fiction themes- and they will be posted along with the others at Dreams I've Dreampt. Meanwhile, stories of my local walks and adventures in finding better headphones can be found over at Perfect Futures. A Day in the Life gets some new pictures of my travels every now and then and Moments of Infinity has some too, yet here they are being illustrated with material from Cosmic Understanding. All of these are listed in the sidebar... sorry to not be linking here but it's a bit of a pain to do that.
In some ways it's ridiculous having so many blogs, not to mention photo galleries, but the issue of dealing with so many different themes, not to mention that having a different 'voice' makes it neccessary, I feel. One of my main fears is also that some time I might write something which could affect my job- since this blog is insulated from the others, there is less chance of being considered crazy or something. Having said that, having been there for over a year, it is likely that people there know me better and are less likely to be shocked by an unusual view or something. In fact, I am starting to open up there more with the other teachers, something I am always cautious of in the context of the often dog-eat-dog nature of the workplace (any workplace, not sure why, but that's how it can be). But it may feel good to open up a bit more, especially with my friends there.
I also want to insulate daily stuff from religious/philosophical stuff, which isn't to say they aren't related, but there you go. Especially in the case of Cosmic Understanding, which is seen as the birthing-grounds of a new set of religious scriptures. Do I have delusions of grandure? Maybe so, but at least they keep me busy! Perhaps more stuff will make it here, certainly the dreams, which aren't much of a blog on their own... let us see. I could even integrate the entire Starfire Network here, just have it all together with appropriate labels. Then, I could just tell the people I want to about this place's existance, for the total Starfire fix!
Until then, thank you loyal readers for flipping between my blogs. Todays thought for the day is... Laughter is the Best Medicine... and it is something I intend to bring to my bloggettes.
Peace be with you
Starfire
In some ways it's ridiculous having so many blogs, not to mention photo galleries, but the issue of dealing with so many different themes, not to mention that having a different 'voice' makes it neccessary, I feel. One of my main fears is also that some time I might write something which could affect my job- since this blog is insulated from the others, there is less chance of being considered crazy or something. Having said that, having been there for over a year, it is likely that people there know me better and are less likely to be shocked by an unusual view or something. In fact, I am starting to open up there more with the other teachers, something I am always cautious of in the context of the often dog-eat-dog nature of the workplace (any workplace, not sure why, but that's how it can be). But it may feel good to open up a bit more, especially with my friends there.
I also want to insulate daily stuff from religious/philosophical stuff, which isn't to say they aren't related, but there you go. Especially in the case of Cosmic Understanding, which is seen as the birthing-grounds of a new set of religious scriptures. Do I have delusions of grandure? Maybe so, but at least they keep me busy! Perhaps more stuff will make it here, certainly the dreams, which aren't much of a blog on their own... let us see. I could even integrate the entire Starfire Network here, just have it all together with appropriate labels. Then, I could just tell the people I want to about this place's existance, for the total Starfire fix!
Until then, thank you loyal readers for flipping between my blogs. Todays thought for the day is... Laughter is the Best Medicine... and it is something I intend to bring to my bloggettes.
Peace be with you
Starfire
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Expressions
This is a place where I can speak my mind and say those things that only the rare few will understand. And well is it that this is so, for the main reason for our world existing in it's present form- if such reason is real and authentic- is son that the lower levels of consciousness that we refer to as everyday life can continue.
That pulse, that rhythm, like a heart-beat of mundaneness. The cars making their way from one traffic light to another, the trains passing between stations. the repetitive splurge of stories on the media, of one celebrity or another, one sports game or another, one act of terrorism or another... and yes, I do include the state terrorism in this assessment.
'Are you scared yet', they ask. 'Will you comply, will you submit to this life of drudgery, a life surrounded by beauteous dawns and sunsets that you will be too busy in one office or another, or simply too exhausted, to ever notice?' Oh yes, this world will keep turning and those who support it's seemingly endless material needs will keep appearing, if only because they need the salary thus-earned to keep their families alive in this... this is the system, which perpetuates itself in space-time and will continue to do so, whatever you or I say, or do.
I suggests that, as it exists, it is good. That it is somehow good for so many to be in blissful near-ignorance, so that they can better concentrate on that which is before them. yet, this is the very reason why what I say here will be understood by so few, ignored by so many. this is the loneliness of the prophet-artist, for his thoughts to be so different from those around him. Yet, I argue, this does not mean the same can be said of his actions, or public pronouncements.
Just as the sun shines from deep within His endless depths, so does the prophet bestow on the 'masses' that which makes them feel like eternal individuals once more. Beauty, poetry, art... words of truth that burn deep within their souls. You see, we are all eternal... we just don't all know it now. Take away the 'k' from know and you can have it now. In transcendent moments, the common man ascends to those airy heights where the intellectually superior tends to inhabit. For there are actually no superiors, no inferiors, except in the area of how much is made conscious to each individual. For in that sphere we can never be equal... hence the traditions of honour, fame, celebrity, respect. And in fact, though it be largely false, those celebrities and idorus you see so much of are held by the public to be the embodiments of ascended masters... though they know not the terminology for now... they know not what is going on really.
Like the sun, we shine, giving light, giving spirit... to those who need their own candles lie, however briefly by another's inspiration... but I digress. My point is just to show that this is all not necessarily a narcissistic, selfish endeavour, to find ones own truth. It brings benefits to the other, to the whole world, just as the riches of a billionaire 'trickle down' to society through taxes and other methods. Consider my arts my taxes, yet please also try to ascend to the Olympian heights of tranquility, so that such experiences of pure beauty and a peaceful life can be yours as well! for an artist is a spiritual Billionaire- something much greater than the material form, and thus of incomparably greater interest.
So, like I said, here is a forum where my mind may be free to express itself, however strange it may seem to others. Here is where Starfire talks, whether or not anyone bothers to listen. And do you understand, oh habitual world... can you?
That pulse, that rhythm, like a heart-beat of mundaneness. The cars making their way from one traffic light to another, the trains passing between stations. the repetitive splurge of stories on the media, of one celebrity or another, one sports game or another, one act of terrorism or another... and yes, I do include the state terrorism in this assessment.
'Are you scared yet', they ask. 'Will you comply, will you submit to this life of drudgery, a life surrounded by beauteous dawns and sunsets that you will be too busy in one office or another, or simply too exhausted, to ever notice?' Oh yes, this world will keep turning and those who support it's seemingly endless material needs will keep appearing, if only because they need the salary thus-earned to keep their families alive in this... this is the system, which perpetuates itself in space-time and will continue to do so, whatever you or I say, or do.
I suggests that, as it exists, it is good. That it is somehow good for so many to be in blissful near-ignorance, so that they can better concentrate on that which is before them. yet, this is the very reason why what I say here will be understood by so few, ignored by so many. this is the loneliness of the prophet-artist, for his thoughts to be so different from those around him. Yet, I argue, this does not mean the same can be said of his actions, or public pronouncements.
Just as the sun shines from deep within His endless depths, so does the prophet bestow on the 'masses' that which makes them feel like eternal individuals once more. Beauty, poetry, art... words of truth that burn deep within their souls. You see, we are all eternal... we just don't all know it now. Take away the 'k' from know and you can have it now. In transcendent moments, the common man ascends to those airy heights where the intellectually superior tends to inhabit. For there are actually no superiors, no inferiors, except in the area of how much is made conscious to each individual. For in that sphere we can never be equal... hence the traditions of honour, fame, celebrity, respect. And in fact, though it be largely false, those celebrities and idorus you see so much of are held by the public to be the embodiments of ascended masters... though they know not the terminology for now... they know not what is going on really.
Like the sun, we shine, giving light, giving spirit... to those who need their own candles lie, however briefly by another's inspiration... but I digress. My point is just to show that this is all not necessarily a narcissistic, selfish endeavour, to find ones own truth. It brings benefits to the other, to the whole world, just as the riches of a billionaire 'trickle down' to society through taxes and other methods. Consider my arts my taxes, yet please also try to ascend to the Olympian heights of tranquility, so that such experiences of pure beauty and a peaceful life can be yours as well! for an artist is a spiritual Billionaire- something much greater than the material form, and thus of incomparably greater interest.
So, like I said, here is a forum where my mind may be free to express itself, however strange it may seem to others. Here is where Starfire talks, whether or not anyone bothers to listen. And do you understand, oh habitual world... can you?
Finding My Voice
I've decided that it's time for a new voice on this blog. Something closer to one saying what I really wish to. You see, part of the very purpose of this writing is to actually find my voice. I am evolving, finding myself as I do so. It is always, of course possible that I won't like what I find, just as Charlie Sheen on his riverboat in Apocalypse Now was horrified by what he found in himself. I may turn out to be a much more selfish person than I'd like to think. On the other hand, I may reach deeper still and find some kind of glorious, divine energy that realises my values and the promise of my online nickname.
Either way, what I find will be authentic. Here are some dimly apprehended impressions on this subject-
Something from the ancient Egyptian religion, something like a solar god existing within me, perhaps even within us all
A force of compassion which calls me to live exactly by the dictates of my conscience, yet somehow managing to harmonise this with the demands of everyday life.
Something buried deep within me, a kind of almost superhero-like potential, that the consumerism of the modern world can't hope to set alight.
Thus, I bring you Starfire, light of the ancients, inspiration of today and tommorow's generations.
Part of a collective personality, a cell in a body that can never truly be killed.
A light of hope in an ocean of darkness- yet a spark of those eternal suns that bathe the multiverse around us in cosmic light and will do so for eternity.
A leader for a world yet to emerge and the promise of still greater leaders yet to come.
A leader for those self-thinking, individuated ones who actually need no leader, just one who can articulate the subtlest desires adequately enough.
For what I find deep within is no mere mortal- it is the breath of light of a Starfire itself...
Whatever that may in fact be...
Either way, what I find will be authentic. Here are some dimly apprehended impressions on this subject-
Something from the ancient Egyptian religion, something like a solar god existing within me, perhaps even within us all
A force of compassion which calls me to live exactly by the dictates of my conscience, yet somehow managing to harmonise this with the demands of everyday life.
Something buried deep within me, a kind of almost superhero-like potential, that the consumerism of the modern world can't hope to set alight.
Thus, I bring you Starfire, light of the ancients, inspiration of today and tommorow's generations.
Part of a collective personality, a cell in a body that can never truly be killed.
A light of hope in an ocean of darkness- yet a spark of those eternal suns that bathe the multiverse around us in cosmic light and will do so for eternity.
A leader for a world yet to emerge and the promise of still greater leaders yet to come.
A leader for those self-thinking, individuated ones who actually need no leader, just one who can articulate the subtlest desires adequately enough.
For what I find deep within is no mere mortal- it is the breath of light of a Starfire itself...
Whatever that may in fact be...
Saturday, October 14, 2006
New Directions
A lot of this blog seems to be about some kind of inner conflict- hence the change in name. To be honest, I spend so long editing pieces, just to have them grammatically 'pure' and readable, yet with so little authentic feedback (I don't include a 'bot ' that I discovered prowling around here) that it seems to be a time for another change of direction. The fact is, that despite the growth of Moments of Infinity and A Day in the Life, there seems to be little call for them, what with my main blog being Perfect Futures and my main photos site being Flickr, what really is the point in further sites to merely duplicate the knowledge and emotional expression there? They are the living dead, zombies alive merely because the nature of the Internet wills it so.
I really do have things to express, though. So Starfire Teaches has become Cosmic Understanding, a repository of the wisdom revealled to me. Yet try as I might, I simply lack the will to codify it into substantial writings. I am at heart an orator. Spiritual wisdom is something unquantifiable, yet very much qualifiable. It is something to be spoken and spoken of again, even the sacred texts gain their life through oral transmission. Writing is great but a second-best. Such, at least is my faith.
So I have hit upon another solution for illuminating those in the great darkness, to bring them home. Another way to accomplish the mission of salvation, or a return to Essentialism in preference to the con fusion of this world's unbalanced, often fanatical fundamentalisms, whether they be the capitalists love of profit, the socialist's search for social justice or the religionist's hope of a return to essential scriptural values as they are literally and mindlessly interpreted. I shall promote the doctrine of Cosmic Essentialism through video pod-asts. I shall speak, I shall share. The intonations, the facial expressions will all be part of my unique teaching. There will be no barriers. Those who seek shall find, as you Tube is very much open to the masses and frequented much more commonly than blogs. In half a year my blogs each have had around 1,000 hits each. Yet Youtube reports 1,500 views in around 3 weeks. It is simply a more popular destination. It is where the Starfire Prophecies shall take place.
I really do have things to express, though. So Starfire Teaches has become Cosmic Understanding, a repository of the wisdom revealled to me. Yet try as I might, I simply lack the will to codify it into substantial writings. I am at heart an orator. Spiritual wisdom is something unquantifiable, yet very much qualifiable. It is something to be spoken and spoken of again, even the sacred texts gain their life through oral transmission. Writing is great but a second-best. Such, at least is my faith.
So I have hit upon another solution for illuminating those in the great darkness, to bring them home. Another way to accomplish the mission of salvation, or a return to Essentialism in preference to the con fusion of this world's unbalanced, often fanatical fundamentalisms, whether they be the capitalists love of profit, the socialist's search for social justice or the religionist's hope of a return to essential scriptural values as they are literally and mindlessly interpreted. I shall promote the doctrine of Cosmic Essentialism through video pod-asts. I shall speak, I shall share. The intonations, the facial expressions will all be part of my unique teaching. There will be no barriers. Those who seek shall find, as you Tube is very much open to the masses and frequented much more commonly than blogs. In half a year my blogs each have had around 1,000 hits each. Yet Youtube reports 1,500 views in around 3 weeks. It is simply a more popular destination. It is where the Starfire Prophecies shall take place.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
New Illustrations
You may have already noticed, but this blog has just received another update. There are now selections from my photos to illustrate the entries and articles, some of which have been slightly revised. The photos are really coming home you could say, as they are living increasingly isolated existences on other sites. Here you can see them in the context of my original thoughts and contemplations.
This site is very much being written for readers in the future who I suppose will better understand my ideas. Yet it receives just as much love and attention as any of my other blogs- which can be reached either through the links in the sidebar to The Starfire Network and it's writings, or by clicking on my profile to enter The Moments Network, the path to my photo-blogs.
Only the specially chosen few will discover Starfire Talks for now, though the door is actually open for all to enter. Some were given the address by me; others found their way here by seemingly random chance, as it came to them whilst surfing The Net. Their questions may be answered, or lead towards other questions, whose existence they hadn't even suspected. Yet since there is no such thing as chance in an orderly universe, they were somehow lead here, too, by the same Divine Power that inspires us all...
Monday, May 08, 2006
Blog Spring-Cleaning
Phew! Just did a spell-check on all the old entries here. Thank goodness for the Google-bar spell-checker, which is so much easier to use than the built in one... but will someone tell me something?... Why in the world does a spell-checker for blogs keep querying the word blogging?
Sunday, April 23, 2006
King of the Blog Castle
An Englishman's home is his castle. Well, and a netzien's (internet citizen) castle is their blog! Make yourself at home here, but don't expect me to change the course of everything, though of course I am open to any good ideas that people might have. Like parents like to say to children - 'This is my house that you're living in, so you have to follow my rules; when you get your own one then you can do what you want!' .
So, this is my space. I'll try to make you feel at home, but ultimately my values rule here. Even so, I'll try to be a modest and humble king in my domain. I'm not perfect, I don't always make sense, but the universe we live in has both these qualities if we just see it correctly. There'll be none of the disrespect for the arts and culture here that we see in society at large.
There is also an unspoken belief that angels, extra-terrestrials, God, karma, infinite realities all do exist and they are taken to exist on the basis of faith alone. They have no more need to prove their existence here, than has the glass on my table, which I can see with my physical, mortal eyes. Feeling is believing, seeing is verifying... for those that seek to live from the heart. If you don't like it- then get your own blog!
So, this is my space. I'll try to make you feel at home, but ultimately my values rule here. Even so, I'll try to be a modest and humble king in my domain. I'm not perfect, I don't always make sense, but the universe we live in has both these qualities if we just see it correctly. There'll be none of the disrespect for the arts and culture here that we see in society at large.
There is also an unspoken belief that angels, extra-terrestrials, God, karma, infinite realities all do exist and they are taken to exist on the basis of faith alone. They have no more need to prove their existence here, than has the glass on my table, which I can see with my physical, mortal eyes. Feeling is believing, seeing is verifying... for those that seek to live from the heart. If you don't like it- then get your own blog!
Being a Good Blogger
I suppose I haven't been such a good blogger here on this blog, what with most of it merely being me thinking aloud. Not to mention all the talking about myself- it wouldn't surprise me if I come across as some kind of a narcissist! Well, if I do, please forgive me. This is a record of what is going on in my mind- as I am affected by the various 'stimuli' around me. I am doing my best to be honest- this is 'my' space in which there is no need for me to hide anything. Yet even in my own space the basic laws of the universe still apply.
I am someone who is obsessed with being fair and obtaining harmony. Yes, you guessed it, my zodiacal sign is Libra. Librans always want to feel that they are being just and fair, they simply cannot live with anything else. Also, they love the arts- ugly surroundings can make me physically ill (which is why I go to Tokyo fairly selectively- a lot of that city is a hideous monstrosity where people may well be capable of feeling pleasure, but hide their happiness carefully). I love nature, art, culture, fine forms of life. I also love the high school kids I teach- yes, especially the girls, who all think I am very 'kawaii' or cute. I like things to be perfect. Even if someone else could objectively see that things are very much imperfect, I prefer to think that they are.
Here is my theory. God makes the world an puts us in it. So however strange or difficult or easy it may at times seem, really it is absolutely perfect for that time and place, for us to learn and grow. I am someone who always needs to feel that way so really I'm probably not very objective, at least while I'm in a situation. But who is anyway?!
Another thing I believe in is that if we are good to others, all the things we wish for for ourselves will come true. This is something like a belief in karma, but for me it is on a more personal level- not just a rule of the universe but also something that is being consciously implemented by numerous beings. I suppose what
I want most, aside fro material comforts and a safe and friendly environment, is self-knowledge. If I know myself then I know the universe which I am both part of and make for myself through my perceptions each moment.
Those of you who have seen my photography will see an obsession with moments. This is my crude attempt to get away from a linear view of the world and see time an events as unique flashes of God's love. As physicists study time and matter they find that ever smaller quantities exist, stretching into infinity it would seem. when I was younger I experimented with LSD and I could see paisley-like patterns covering everything- fractals. Probably there are many more fractals than we can see with our regular eyes. Like William Blake said- 'When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything will appear as it is, infinite'. This is something like the kind of perception I am aiming at
Perhaps all this sounds pretentious? Probably, it is- but I'm a Libran, so cut me some slack! This is what I enjoy thinking and talking about, even if I rarely have company that shares my enthusiasm- fortunately my girlfriend shares many of my interests, which is why we are perfect for each other. This space has a respect for God, the arts, culture, synchronicity, serendipity, angels, advanced extra-terrestrials, love, kindness, gentleness, sensitivity, innocence, magnificence, which you won't find in the society at large. But it's my blog and I'm the King here by special appointment. You're in my blog now, so you'll live by my rules. If you don't like it, lump it!
I am someone who is obsessed with being fair and obtaining harmony. Yes, you guessed it, my zodiacal sign is Libra. Librans always want to feel that they are being just and fair, they simply cannot live with anything else. Also, they love the arts- ugly surroundings can make me physically ill (which is why I go to Tokyo fairly selectively- a lot of that city is a hideous monstrosity where people may well be capable of feeling pleasure, but hide their happiness carefully). I love nature, art, culture, fine forms of life. I also love the high school kids I teach- yes, especially the girls, who all think I am very 'kawaii' or cute. I like things to be perfect. Even if someone else could objectively see that things are very much imperfect, I prefer to think that they are.
Here is my theory. God makes the world an puts us in it. So however strange or difficult or easy it may at times seem, really it is absolutely perfect for that time and place, for us to learn and grow. I am someone who always needs to feel that way so really I'm probably not very objective, at least while I'm in a situation. But who is anyway?!
Another thing I believe in is that if we are good to others, all the things we wish for for ourselves will come true. This is something like a belief in karma, but for me it is on a more personal level- not just a rule of the universe but also something that is being consciously implemented by numerous beings. I suppose what
I want most, aside fro material comforts and a safe and friendly environment, is self-knowledge. If I know myself then I know the universe which I am both part of and make for myself through my perceptions each moment.
Those of you who have seen my photography will see an obsession with moments. This is my crude attempt to get away from a linear view of the world and see time an events as unique flashes of God's love. As physicists study time and matter they find that ever smaller quantities exist, stretching into infinity it would seem. when I was younger I experimented with LSD and I could see paisley-like patterns covering everything- fractals. Probably there are many more fractals than we can see with our regular eyes. Like William Blake said- 'When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything will appear as it is, infinite'. This is something like the kind of perception I am aiming at
Perhaps all this sounds pretentious? Probably, it is- but I'm a Libran, so cut me some slack! This is what I enjoy thinking and talking about, even if I rarely have company that shares my enthusiasm- fortunately my girlfriend shares many of my interests, which is why we are perfect for each other. This space has a respect for God, the arts, culture, synchronicity, serendipity, angels, advanced extra-terrestrials, love, kindness, gentleness, sensitivity, innocence, magnificence, which you won't find in the society at large. But it's my blog and I'm the King here by special appointment. You're in my blog now, so you'll live by my rules. If you don't like it, lump it!
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