GrantHenderson wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:25 pmAshvinP wrote: ↑Sat Oct 15, 2022 1:47 pmGrant,GrantHenderson wrote: ↑Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:11 am Thanks. I should be more careful with my descriptions so as to not refer to the conscious activity of the earth as belonging to the physical earth, but the “earth entity(ies)”. I suspect the physical features of a conscious entity are constructed by its own spiritual forces, rather than being a “reflection” of these spiritual forces. Spiritual forces cannot be “reflected” in the same way the physical properties can be, because spiritual forces have no physical properties to reflect. Rather, our spiritual forces attempt to replicate themselves through the physical body in relation to certain environmental and evolutionary demands. The context upon which it does this is largely a mystery for me, at the moment.
Thanks for another Steiner quote. He is fascinating.
True, reflection is simply one of many concepts we can use to speak of the relation between spiritual and physical-perceptual. Sometimes we speak of the physical as a shadow of those forces (like in Plato's allegory), or as negative images, or as a Maya dream state. I like the way you characterize it as well, which is more scientifically accurate - the physical is indeed constructed through the spiritual forces and therefore an outward image of those forces. Clearly a human being's outer physiognomy - facial expressions, gestures, gait, speech, mannerisms, and such - are expressions of the inner life, the individuated ego. The animal physiognomy is much more representative of its entire species, which then points us towards a group-ego responsible for that species. Once we get to the plants and minerals, though, the outer physiognomy tells us much less about the inner life responsible for it.
So that is where it can be more helpful to speak of shadows, reflections, etc. When we are speaking of the physical plane as we experience it with normal waking consciousness, reflection is a useful concept because what we perceive outwardly is an inversion of how our inner forces unfold. We are not speaking of spatial properties here so much as temporal dynamics. We referenced one before with the hypnagogic state and communing with the dead - on the physical plane we feel that we are producing thoughts, while in the spiritual we experience it as beings thinking into us, i.e. we are being thought. Many more similar inversions can be discerned. We normally experience our life flowing from the present into the future (towards ideals), but in higher worlds living ideals incarnate from the future into the past (towards perceptual states).
Normally we feel our thoughts to be insubstantial, at the opposite pole of concrete perceptions and actions. From the spiritual pole, thoughts and words are deeds. In fact, physical processes and events can be understood as the inspired speech of higher beings impressing into the perceptual world. So there is a real insight laying beneath the Hermetic maxim, "as above, so below, and as below, so above." For modern man with the capacity to analogize from the physical to spiritual, reflective substances and surfaces, shadows, etc. exist on the physical plane as symbols pointing us back to the higher worlds and their higher-order laws. It's very useful to deepen our thinking if we can look at a reflective pool of water and contemplate the primordial past in which what we now know as "water" incarnated through a higher-order spiritual Wisdom. "And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters. So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above."
You may also be interested in my essay on the 'liminal spaces of perception', which goes more into the nature of physical perceptions as negative images of inner spiritual forces (at a very basic level).
Hi Ashvin and Frederica, I apologize for abandoning our previous conversation. I have been busy with work and pursuing other interests. I must admit that I do not believe it is currently my purpose to persistently seek the philosophical understandings that are taught and discussed here. I believe that I am in a position in my life where my purpose in life is more clear than it has been previously, so intensive thinking on clarifying my purpose in life is not as desirable or fruitful to me. Right now I feel the impulse to apply my spiritual knowledge in other practices, even though that spiritual knowledge is still incomplete. While I don't foresee myself being active here in the near future, there will surely be a time in my life where I need this forum again. When I experience a mental/spiritual/emotional crises, my self correcting thought impulses lead me to these types of discussions.
Keeping this at least somewhat relevant to our previous discussion, I have been pursuing the arts lately. I recently learned how to compose and record music. I am still learning, so the productions are a bit amateurish, my voice is a bit rough and the songs are incomplete. But if you want to listen, I am interested in hearing your thoughts.
These lyrics are incomplete. I just contracted Covid 19, so I couldn’t quite finish this one yet:
https://soundcloud.com/ghg12/between-waves-of-fear
This one is an instrumental. It is difficult to mix due to the abundance of horns and a crappy plugins. But it sounds good enough for now:
https://soundcloud.com/ghg12/remain
I have a propensity towards melancholy with my music (a bit like Radiohead), but interestingly, it is this type of music that also makes me happy. When we strongly express an emotion we also express its polar opposing emotion. For example, when we express loss, we also express hope, because the feeling of loss for something can only be experienced with respect to our hope to gain it, and vice versa. This is part of why I think art possesses a remarkable healing power. It bridges a perceived negative emotion with the outcome of its remediation.
Anyways, I hope you guys are doing well,
Grant
Hi Grant,
Thanks for posting this update and the songs, I'm glad you are finding new ways to express yourself. The songs were a great surprise (I admit I was expecting something à la Kanye West )
Beyond a few technical details, I think both are excellent, they show various artistic qualities in my opinion, and I particularly liked how you wrapped up both. In the first one, I do recognize some affinity with Radiohead, but I feel it’s more of a superficial similarity. Yes there is this effect as if the music was ‘coming from a distance’ that you have in common with them in the first song, and a few more things. I know it may seem far-fetched, tempos and harmonies and styles are not the same, still for some reason the two songs that came to mind listening to your first one are: from the first chords, Wicked game, and for the melancholic vibe, Smalltwon boy.
Best of luck and inspiration with your creative productions and to the next time when you will feel like joining the forum again!