some of these are hilarious…

There seems to be a convergence of opinion from many sources that the ’self’ we cherish so much is actually an illusory construction.

What do I mean by ‘the self’? Well, whatever can be meant by that: in trying to justify the existence of a personal self, there have been many theories, ultimately each is as confused and confusing as the last.

To paraphrase Barry Long, there is no self other than the frustrating notion of one, just as the concept of ‘the feathers of an elephant’ does not exist in reality except as a frustrating notion. An elephant just does not have feathers and we just do not have ’selves’. This fundamental fact is missed by many people, whether doing consciousness research or ‘personal growth’ practices, or whatever it may be- the assumption that there must be a self underlies a lot of the confusion in modern society.

photo credit: Elton Melo
Read more »

“”The politics of our time are deeply embedded in this idea of individualism,” he continues, “which is far wider than Westminster, consumerism or anything like that. It’s how you feel. People think, ‘Oh, if it’s within me it must be true.’ But it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s not an absolute. It’s a way of feeling and thinking which is a product of a particular time and power. The notion that you only achieve your true self if your desires, your dreams, are satisfied … It’s a political idea. That’s the central dynamic of our life.”

Because you’re worth it? He nods. “Because you’re worth it.”" - http://ping.fm/HSFGz

Freedom is the context for your life, not part of the content.

I was just thinking about the concept of ‘the One’ in relationships and how it affects our expectations. People fall in love and in the midst of the euphoria of those initial weeks (or months if they’re lucky) of bliss, they often believe they have found ‘the One’ – whether they already believed they were waiting for such a person, or the intensity of the experience leads them to believe in such an ideal relationship.

So that’s nice for them for the time being. But what happens if ‘the One’ dies or leaves them? Or worse still the bathroom habits and general boringness of ‘the One’ start to pall and the relationship cools significantly? Is that person still ‘the One’ or have the got ‘the wrong One’?

photo credit: www.LizzieVPhotography.com
Read more »

“Bass guitarist Hugh Hopper has died at the age of 64, it was announced yesterday, June the 7th. The Kent-born musician is best known as the bass player in Soft Machine which he joined in 1968. He remained with them until 1972 but later became an important part of Soft Machine Legacy which has toured the world in recent years.

Before Soft Machine Hopper worked with Daevid Allen and Robert Wyatt in the Daevid Allen Trio before forming the Wilde Flowers joined by his brother Brian, Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Richard Sinclair. But it was with Wyatt, Allen, Ayers and also Mike Ratledge that he was to make his mark on the history of progressive rock and forward-looking jazz-influenced psychedelic groups of the period and since with his innovative fuzz-bass sound.” - http://ping.fm/D1LSO

WF SETE RETURNS!

Worldwide Festival embraces Sete (South of France) with open arms for a 4th consecutive year, returning to power with its faith and trust in Setes diversely cultural and Mediterranean outlook to life, love and music. Come the 2nd of July and Sete is home to an array of the worlds most outstanding and upfront cutting edge artists, musicians and DJs.” - http://ping.fm/FVmV8

“Two hours and four minutes of Herbie Hancock and his Mwandishi band, recorded live on August 4th, 1971 at NDR Studios in Hamburg, Germany as a continuous take.” - http://ping.fm/HReGc

Last night I had the realisation, but to be honest it felt like a revelation, (and like all good revelations I can’t now understand why it wasn’t already obvious to me), that a great deal of the conflict in the world is caused by clashes between different groups trying to promote their own version of ‘utopia’. I had vaguely intimated this on being sent an article on John Gray, a distinctly anti-utopian philosopher, by my friend Nils Borg.

Now it seems clear to me that every ‘ism’ is inherently the result of a delusion, except perhaps, as Gray sometimes points out, ‘realism’. The basic structure of any ‘ism’ is the assumption that a ‘perfect world’ or utopia is possible in an imagined future and we must make changes, sacrifices, and generally work toward this vision of perfection where everyone is happy, or equal, or whatever idea or collection of ideas is deemed to be the most important and the most lacking in the present moment.

photo credit: www.PCharlon.es 
Read more »