tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218842822012-02-02T22:41:32.588-05:00experience | gnosis | personal, cultural, & comparative mythology | symbolism | active imagination | inner explorationdavidpotsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1148485173943227772006-05-24T10:35:00.000-05:002006-05-24T10:39:33.956-05:00

For a very long time, I held nothing but contempt for robots. I hated the idea of robots "pretending" to be alive or have feelings or emotions of any of that. I didn't buy it. "They're programmed that way, that isn't how they actually feel." That was enough to end the argument for me. Robots didn't have my respect and never would. I looked forward to the day when I could push a robot down the

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1147096065844498552006-05-08T08:28:00.000-05:002006-05-08T08:47:45.943-05:00

Much of my thoughts as of late have been drifting around the actual experience of recognizing or realizing something. Increasingly, it seems to me, it is one's own self recognizing that he recognizes something or realizing that he realizes something that seems to be at the heart of things. The experience of experience, really. Being in the process of something and being fully aware of

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1146840999634493282006-05-05T09:19:00.002-05:002006-05-05T09:59:46.100-05:00

Two quotes/lyrics that have been at the very top of my favorites since high school.This first one is from "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin. I'm not sure exactly what it is that does it for me... and part of me is 100% happy not looking into it too much. But, perhaps a bit of exploration may be appropriate.Mountains and the canyons start to tremble and shakeChildren of the Sun begin . . .

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1146749551089120142006-05-04T08:17:00.000-05:002006-05-04T08:32:31.103-05:00

A few years back I used to surf over to www.unamerican.com all the time. The dude running that site had a bunch of subvertive bumper stickers, t-shirts, coffee-mugs, and other such stuff for sale lampooning the fact that America's values were turning upside down. His site also had a bunch of his own personal philosophies spelled out -- something that really added a huge amount of bulk to the

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1146667588985670502006-05-03T09:09:00.000-05:002006-05-03T09:46:29.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard, there is a bit of hoopla in the news recently about "alternative" versions of the Star-Spangled Banner being created in recent days/weeks. While I cannot imagine such creations are anything new, they are undoubtedly getting paid much more attention to on account of all the "immigrant rights" stuff going on.Certain people are very worried... and they damn well better be

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1146577669546398772006-05-02T08:33:00.000-05:002006-05-02T08:47:49.560-05:00

In the last week or so, my lack of active posting on here has given me some time to reflect on where I've come and where I want to go. As eerily strange, wacky, and new this whole "blogging" thing still is, I'm trying to overlook all the strangeness and blaze on mightily into the unknown.I'm certainly not doing this "just to do it," but rather because I feel certain that I have something to

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1146496194170336662006-05-01T10:06:00.000-05:002006-05-01T10:09:54.193-05:00

An obvious lack of posts lately. Been working on some other things and doing some digestion. The light of a new day is not far off. In the near future I'm going to be moving this blog over to my new web domain, but I don't plan to make that launch official just yet. Sometime in the next week or two. Hang in there.

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1145460981557030612006-04-19T10:18:00.000-05:002006-04-19T10:36:47.700-05:00

Yesterday, on the way home from work, I had to hit my breaks a bit when a little groundhog/gopher/woodchuck ran out in front of me. Thankfully, I had plenty of time to react, and the little guy made it across the street with no problem. He did seem a bit chunky and out of shape... but perhaps that's just the god-given hardware.The important thing about this experience was the process of

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1145023277672817142006-04-14T08:36:00.001-05:002006-04-14T09:16:24.793-05:00

For the last year or so, my primary creative and intellectual endeavor has revolved around my recording of what I've come to call a "personal mythology." Essentially it is a story, which I sometimes refer to it as (along with "book" or "novel"). In the end though, I feel that my primary purpose in this effort is to create my own mythological world which is created from and sustained by my own

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1144441057465119682006-04-07T15:08:00.000-05:002006-04-07T15:17:37.483-05:00

Over the past 2-3 weeks or so I've been incredibly busy learning Adobe Illustrator. The little kid inside me who loves to draw and color has been resurrected, and it is quite glorious. There are so, so, so many things I imagine myself doing with this. Coupled with web design, these first serious steps into the realm of graphics have me greatly excited. I certainly have more to say about this

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1144332366984568462006-04-06T09:03:00.000-05:002006-04-06T09:06:07.016-05:00

Throughout the past two months or so I've found myself visiting the local coffeeshop several times a week. This has not been to hang out with friends, meet people, perform social experiments, or otherwise be cool. My aim has been a creative one, for the coffeeshop serves as the perfect local spot for me to go about my creative pursuits (usually writing) in relative peace.I've probably made it

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1144161688420348692006-04-04T08:51:00.000-05:002006-04-04T09:54:23.850-05:00

In my novice understanding of Gnostic mythology, the archons are the forces who act to keep us all trapped and shut away from the "transcendent source" we all inherently seek (whether or not we're consciously aware of it). The best pop-culture example of the archons would be the Agents in the Matrix -- their primary purpose is control -- keep us blind, occluded, unaware of what is really going

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1143727718541959382006-03-30T08:45:00.000-05:002006-03-30T09:08:38.560-05:00

I noticed today, upon running into the first co-worker of mine to arrive after I opened the office, that our 3 seconds of passing conversation consisted of two things: a mutual greeting and a comment on the weather. Then we went our seperate ways in the hallway and got to work. At least in this office world of quick and passing conversations, this seems to happen a lot (the weather part).

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1143654628466411162006-03-29T12:06:00.000-05:002006-03-29T13:03:39.076-05:00

Over the last two weeks I've been listening to Green Day's American Idiot album relentlessly. It is quite awesome. I haven't gotten this into an album in probably over a year.If you're not aware, American Idiot is a so-called "concept album" or "rock opera" or consistent story in which each song is related to the whole. The overall setting is American suburbia. And who better to tell this

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1143642912536490202006-03-29T09:32:00.000-05:002006-03-29T09:35:12.550-05:00

i am still alive. big changes coming soon. new this, new that, whole lotta new stuff. got no time to say more! stay tuned."We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1143037939722829482006-03-22T09:15:00.000-05:002006-03-22T09:32:19.753-05:00

Tonight at 10:00pm -- new South Park episode. Should be a good one.The creators of the show are set to "fire back" at their opponents in the whole Scientology showdown that is going on. I'm not much at all one for keeping up with all the gossip in the TV, entertainment and media world, but all this drama has caught my attention. And I think it is awesome.When it comes down to it, I realize

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1142953238617447462006-03-21T09:13:00.001-05:002006-03-21T10:06:32.773-05:00

One of the most interesting and thought-provoking aspects of V for Vendetta was the picture painted of the near future. If I'm not mistaken, the film takes place sometime between 2020 and 2040. Unlike most other futuristic "dystopias" (which is apparently the opposite of a "utopia"), V takes place in a future that is by no means far away and removed. Watching other the-future-has-gone-to-shit

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1142867288418595512006-03-20T08:56:00.000-05:002006-03-20T16:16:50.070-05:00

Here we go. Besides my belated musings on the gnostic themes in Garden State, these words begin the first movie "review" written on this site.The film in question is V for Vendetta. After considerable thought, my review might summed up as follows: if there is any part of you that plans to see this movie or thinks that you might enjoy it -- definately make sure you go and watch it. I feel

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1142721138291564692006-03-18T17:27:00.000-05:002006-03-18T17:32:18.303-05:00

Amidst the earthly turbulence of change and loss we must find peace in this very moment. We can work hard throughout all of our days to bring the light out of us, but there is no guarantee our goals and dreams and wishes will ever be fulfilled.“Like all Axial teachers, Laozi was not simply concerned with the practicalities of survival, but with finding a source of transcendent peace in the midst

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1142517779045928952006-03-16T08:53:00.000-05:002006-03-16T09:05:21.703-05:00

Here we go again. Once more, I thought I'd break the silence.An interesting insight about my blog's progress -- I'm noticing that, genernally, I seem to expect my posts to be of a certain length. So far the standard seems 2-4 pages. On one hand, this is well and fine and good -- it allows me to say what I want to say, keeping my ramblings as developed as I expect them to be. Yet, at the same

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1141940085820759102006-03-09T16:08:00.000-05:002006-03-10T09:18:27.210-05:00

Part I :: Part II :: Part III :: Part IVWhen I came up with the idea of this "Bringing the World to Life" series, this was the post I've had my eyes on the entire time. It took me a few entries to get around to it, but I'm finally here, and I hope that the general picture I'm painting will come into focus after the next few thousand words.It has to do with cleaning my room. Now, along with most

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1141828123693935872006-03-08T08:54:00.000-05:002006-03-08T09:39:52.926-05:00

(Bringing the World to Life -- Part I :: Part II :: Part III :: Part IV)"Catching up with yourself" is a little phrase or concept that I've been tossing around in my head for a few years now. It has nothing to do with "alone time," sitting down to enjoy a nice martini, and having conversations with the mirror or a powerless cell phone. That might be how you "catch up" with old friends. In this

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1141751472383250932006-03-07T11:44:00.000-05:002006-03-07T12:11:12.400-05:00

I have recently been busy in the best of ways. Meaningful work has been filling most all of my time. Putting something in the basket means you have to take something out... and for the last week or so, it has been this blog which has been neglected. And I wouldn't have it any other way.I've had a great time writing these posts so far, and hope to have a similarly great time as the road

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1141152138159181622006-02-28T13:06:00.000-05:002006-02-28T13:48:50.050-05:00

Imagine a typical weekday. We wake up in the morning. We get ready for work. We drive to the "office," arrive there and do our thing, and return home. We cook dinner, handle our business, and hopefully get some quality time in before the night is over.From place to place we go, our attention shifting from task to task, concern to concern. No matter where we go, there we are... right? Isn't

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1141139022787318142006-02-28T09:02:00.000-05:002006-02-28T10:08:58.270-05:00

I'm going to take a break from the so-called "series" of post that I've been spending time with. I plan to come back to them, but I need to keep things fresh at the moment.Over the last week or so I've been quite mesmerized by a certain idea/concept that I read about in an essay titled "The Charlatan and the Magus" (which I discovered while browsing over this post from Tim Boucher's Pop

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1141068828254991272006-02-27T13:18:00.000-05:002006-02-27T15:30:12.376-05:00

(Bringing the World to Life -- Part I :: Part II :: Part III)When you look at a few of the biggest questions in all of life, at some point or another you're almost certainly going to brush up against the mysteries of where we came from and where we're going. On the cosmic level and beyond, these ultimately are unanswerable questions. When viewed a bit closer to home, however, we can start to

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140801502670996262006-02-24T11:01:00.000-05:002006-02-24T13:37:04.773-05:00

"If a tree falls and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"As far as the approach of this blog is concerned, the answer is a resounding no. We could quibble around with terms and concepts and say that sound may exist in an objective, emperical sense whether or not people are around to "hear" it -- but I want nothing to do with this approach. It is our experience, I declare, that is

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140705456631861342006-02-23T08:49:00.000-05:002006-02-23T09:37:36.650-05:00

Since I started this blog, I've wanted to write a post about "bringing the world to life." This refers to mainly my own personal explorations over the last year or so... and consequently I feel I have a lot of interesting things to put out there. The problem, though, was sheer organization -- I had a handful of vaguely related topics that all fit under the guise of "bringing the world to life."

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140640932225027162006-02-22T15:17:00.000-05:002006-02-22T15:42:12.240-05:00

Alright. Here we go... another post. I was on a roll last week and the weekend put an end to it -- but its okay, because its the weekend, and that is good.In the meantime, I've certainly been thinking a lot about what I'd like to write about next. And the thing is, there are tons of ideas stewing... the trick (or so I thought) is to wait for one of the ideas to shout-out to me. This is how it

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140283295107177022006-02-18T11:26:00.000-05:002006-02-18T15:14:03.990-05:00

Yesterday, while browsing through the "Gnostic Movie Guide" over at the Gnostic Friends Network, I was surprised to see the film Hedwig and the Angry Itch listed. While I have never seen more than a few minutes of the film (and admittedly wrote it off as some quirky gender-bender comedy), my fiance is indeed a huge fan. Intrigued, I proceeded to read more about the movie, thinking that I might

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com103tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140191914454722772006-02-17T10:48:00.000-05:002006-02-17T12:20:23.256-05:00

Recently I was visiting a friend's new apartment and saw that his (new) roommate had several Christianity-themed sculptures adorning the place. One of these was the uber-familiar "Creation" from Michelangelo. I'm sure most of us have seen so, so many pictures of this painting that it has become stale and sterile, devoid of any meaning or significance it might otherwise evoke from us. This, at

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140101264984274612006-02-16T09:47:00.000-05:002006-02-16T17:50:58.343-05:00

Here is yet another post in the spirit of starting this blog.I had mentioned in my very first post that there existed within me a strange desire to duplicate and copy the blogs/journals/websites that were the chief inspirations for this one. After all, how could I not? When I look at many of these sites, I cannot help but marvel at how cool and awesome they are. Reading their many posts, I find

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1140023195051204392006-02-15T12:04:00.000-05:002006-02-16T17:53:02.733-05:00

The title of this post comes from a Joseph Campbell quote. I would like to elaborate on it. I’ve had some life experiences in the last year that make this quote come to life for me, and I want to share.I’ll make my point with a common life example that I’m sure we can all relate to. Say you’re in your room and you’re getting ready to go to work. You get dressed, you comb your hair, and you begin

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1139948840723464052006-02-14T14:33:00.000-05:002006-02-16T17:55:49.260-05:00

So to the left I've posted a small graph that plots the "Golden Ratio," aka phi, aka the Fibonacci Sequence of numbers. These numbers are usually written in the sequence that follows:0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, and so on. The idea is, to get the next number in the sequence you add the previous two numbers. Repeat until the cows come home.If you divided each set of numbers as

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1139502187032379842006-02-09T11:09:00.000-05:002006-02-09T11:23:07.040-05:00

I had the most interesting dream the other night. It began with me walking down a flight of stairs (from the upstairs down to the main level of the house). Upon reaching the bottom, I find (next to the front door) an old flute. Curiously, I pick it up and see if I can make it work. To my surprise, I'm quite able to "operate it" correctly, and over the next minute find myself playing an

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884282.post-1138914930490619882006-02-02T16:14:00.000-05:002006-02-16T17:57:08.440-05:00

And here we have it… my first post.This whole past week, I've been thinking hard about starting this blog. I thought about what I wanted to say. I thought about what blogs I wanted to imitate. I thought about the audience I was trying to reach. I thought about putting together a dozen posts before launch so that I might hit the ground running. The more I prepared, it seemed, the more things I was

davidpotsnoreply@blogger.com0