Editorial notes: This post was found in ‘Draft’ mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is published here in its original state. It was last updated on 20/11/2015 This is a variation-on-a-theme. Where I previously wrote on reading Talmud with Levinas, here I revisit the issue, simplifying some aspects, and expanding on the concept and role of will. There is one idea I wish...
I meditate to transform my experiences. What does it mean to know transformation? I have become more familiar with the subtleties of the breath’s sensation – this is the most communicable transformation. It is easy to imagine an increase in awareness in nuances of sensation: the spectrum of a painting, the textures of a carpet, the timbre of a violin. The words point to the distinction: “green”...
Editorial notes: On this day Shai publishes his first post dedicated specifically to Judaism. This is significant as it is the beginning of the fourth phase in Shai’s intellectual journey. After having first devoted a substantial body of writing to scientific inquiry and to the study of ancient and classical Western philosophers, and having recently commenced his study of Eastern Wisdom, Shai...
I intend to attend to the sensation of breath at the nostrils’ rims. I begin with counts, and if the mind settles down so that the numbers are perceived as distractions then I abandon the counts. Every session is different. But some features are familiar. I am familiar with some variations in the breath. I am familiar with some variations in attendance to the breath. I may grasp and direct...
The title of this blog comes from Fernando Pessoa.
The subject of this blog is any of those items that crystallize in my mind and urge concentration into the written form.
The traveller is the journey, the outer is a refraction of the inner, and everything enlightens everything else.
Good journeys.
Categories Journal – relating and describing the experiences of my own day to day life Out-of-the-darkness – specifically my efforts and experiences in recovery Self-improvement – specifically my efforts and experiences in remaking and improving myself Searching – specifically my thoughts and responses to deciding and reconsidering direction Observations –...
Editorial notes: Over the years, Shai used various information storage options to catalogue and maintain his library of writings. It begins with his notebooks and having moved into digital media, he begins to use blogs and writers forums as the means to store and present his final writing products. The development of digital writing seems to have evolved in two main channels. Initially in...
The title is a quirk of etymology, having been born in the Greek courts, spread through the early Chrisitan’s spiritual and philosophical defences, and ended up meaning something like a “regretted guilt”. Not so here. I prefer the alternative title: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Socrates voices by Plato On one hand, this is a document. On one hand, this is a story. On...
Editorial notes: This post was found in ‘Draft’ mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is published here in its original state. It was last updated on 13/02/2015 The following paper was brought to the attention of the Royal Society of Exploratory Studies on a Tuesday. By Thursday all three committee members owning right of veto resigned, resulting in an emergency meeting...
Editorial notes: Shai starts his seventh blog, entitled “The Traveller is the Journey“. This blog represents the entry point into the third major phase in Shai’s journey. Having previously dedicated substantial research effort to reviewing and documenting the great philosophical minds of the West, he now commences his exploration of the wisdom of East, in particular the mystical aspects of the...
