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On Free Will
Claiming that free will is an illusion is a popular position these days. Adherents to this concept believe that their course is fixed and pre-ordained, and they are merely passengers on an already determined path. Sadly, it’s a position held by people who’ve given up on themselves. Those who claim there is no free will…
Who do you think you are? Seriously, I’m asking…
Every so often, it’s useful to stop and ask yourself “Who am I?” It’s an interesting exercise…an opportunity for a person to look at who they’ve been, who they think they are now, and who they wish they were. If you take some time and really do this, you’ll notice that “who you are” is…
Funny, I don’t remember signing up for this…
Culture is defined as the broadly accepted customs, beliefs, practices and social institutions of a nation, society or group of people. But what is culture REALLY? (Hint: The first syllable should give you a clue.) Hmmmmmm… The most basic description of a “cult” is a social group defined by its unusual customs, beliefs, practices and…
You are what you believe. Fortunately you can change that.
Believing is easy. So is disbelieving things that don’t fit your current paradigm or worldview. However, unbelieving something you currently believe in is much, much harder. Unbelieving goes far beyond disbelief — it’s letting go of a belief so completely that it no longer affects the way you think or see things. It requires a…
Mysterium
The entire thrust of the Scientific/Industrial/Technocratic Revolution has been an attempt to fully, definitively and permanently eliminate mystery from human existence. But the effort has not removed mystery; it has only been successful in removing humanity’s tolerance for it. Mystery, by its very nature, is ineffable and unquantifiable. Yet it does exist, and persists despite…
If a painting falls in the forest and no one is around to see it, does it still make a sound?
Why does the painter paint? By definition, the primary purpose of art is to inject beauty and new points of view into our everyday lives; to bring imagination into physical form for others to enjoy and take inspiration from. But what if you create art that doesn’t get acknowledged or even seen? Can you really…
I Refuse.
I REFUSE. I refuse to allow myself to be traumatized by the selective and biased media portrayal of current events. I will no longer allow myself to be rubbed raw by constant rancor in the press and the daily shredding of my psyche by the news cycle. I refuse to continually check social media to…
No Sleep ‘Til Tulsa
I looked up my symptoms on the internet, and I’m pretty sure I’m dying. But then, when you think about it, all of us are. Every single person on this planet is closer to death now than they were one nanosecond ago. That may seem like a harsh thought, something to be sad about. And…
On The Verge
Something’s up on the interior landscape. All manner of gears are turning; a thousand thousand iron anvils hang suspended by spiderwebs. From horizon to horizon buildings are being demolished as new foundations are being laid. It’s an exciting time. Absolutely no idea what the new city will look like or when it will be ready…
The Archetypal Ossification Of Ductless Vampires.
Ossification is a necessary biological process in vertebrates, a hardening down, the building and rebuilding of bone. The result of which is a stable framework of support. But in our lives…our culture…our mindset, ossification is not quite so beneficial. Granted, a certain amount of structure is necessary in order for society to work. However, civilization…
In Other News…
In other news, tragedy on planet earth today. All 7 billion residents became convinced in a disturbing act of mass hypnosis that they did not have free will, and in a completely unprecedented and shocking move, immediately committed suicide in a fit of futility…ironically proving that they did in fact have free will after all.…
Hammers and Candles
In the search for truth, some people are hammers. They pound away at the façade of “what is,” exposing the lies and allowing the light of “what could be” to shine through. The hammer has the power and the will and the imagination to build new realities. The world needs more hammers. But the world…
Why I Don’t Vote
I no longer vote. This is not out of mere disgust, although there are infinite reasons to be disgusted. It is not just because the candidates presented are never anyone I would actually want in a position of power. It is not just because no matter which party wins the election, the same basic agenda…
The Unheard Plea Of The Talented Child
[This is what every child wishes they could explain to the world before they are old enough to speak. Fortunately, it’s never too late to listen…] “Yes, I am brilliant. And I can do stunningly creative and remarkable things. But please don’t excessively praise me or constantly reassure me that I am great. It teaches…
Progress
It has been brought to my attention that had I been concentrating on one style of painting over the past two years instead of “being all over the place,” I would be getting pretty good by now. People would be able to look at what I did at the beginning compared to what I’m doing…
Open Letter To Those Who Think They Control Everything
To Whom It May Concern, You can control the money supply, the natural resources of the planet, the governments, the laws, the markets, the debate. You can control the message and the messenger. But when it comes down to the meat of things, the fact is that you can’t control a single individual on this…
Down With The Struggle
Sometimes when I talk to people, all I see is the struggle. The basic human struggle to be heard and seen for who we truly are. To be accepted on a genuine level. To be allowed to express what we want to express and create what we want to create and be who we want…
What I Want For X-Mas
I want to convey thoughts and feelings and ideas and impressions that are so new and bright and bold that the words to describe them haven’t been invented yet. I want to paint paintings that have never been imagined by any other human being before, including myself. I want to never settle for the current…
Flags Across America
Dateline December 15, 2043 — Flags across America fly at 1/3 mast today after the terrorist bombing of a raptor center specializing in rehabilitating and rewilding aboriginal birds, which, prior to the international referendum on Animal Slavery of 2019, had been referred to as “pets.” This vicious and senseless act of violence resulted in the…
What are you practicing?
Generally speaking, people get better at what they practice. Right now, every single person on planet Earth is practicing living. If you practice being open and adventurous, you will get better at it. If you practice staying the same, then you will get better at that. The more you practice doing what you’re currently doing,…
Fear Is A Liar
Yes, sometimes it offers useful information like “Hey dummy, get away from the edge of that cliff” or “It’s a bad idea to pet that black mamba.” But beyond that, fear spends most of its time talking smack. It says things like “You can’t do it.” “You will fail.” “Everyone will laugh at you.” “You…
One Step Closer To Oneness
Dateline October 20, 2043 — Announced this morning in a statement from the CDC, ITS (Independent Thinking Syndrome), the most pressing threat to public health since the Swine Flu panic of ’09, is on the verge of being conquered. Experts say that ITS costs the economy billions annually in lost revenue and productivity as more…
Meltdown
Lately I’ve had the feeling that everybody out there is about a millimeter away from a complete meltdown. The kind that toddlers have when they’ve had too much cake and present opening at their 3rd birthday party and it’s way past their bedtime. The kind that comes when a person, of any age, HAS JUST…
The World Is A Safer Place Today
When I fly, I always opt out of the scanner. I realize that the opt out process is intentionally designed to be egregious and invasive and humiliating in order to herd everyone through the scanner. Which is why I go with the pat down. But this isn’t a piece about the dangers of millimeter waves;…
The True Test
If you ever want to see if you can go without support or recognition, try creating something that most people think is pointless, odd or just plain stupid. Keep doing it and see how you feel. Say you want to bake pies. You could choose to bake apple or cherry or pumpkin. More than likely,…
Things I Like To Think About
…What it would sound like to hear every piece of music ever composed since the beginning of time all played simultaneously. Picturing far, far distances in my mind…really trying to get the space of it. Feeling the vast emptiness between stars, between solar systems. That kind of thing. Creating mental images as big as planets…
The 3-D Printer Of The Mind.
I just attended an art show where all of the work was produced using 3-D printing. Picture indescribably intricate sculptures made from delicate layers of interlocking filigree, strands as narrow as a hair. Huge white polyamide shapes reaching into each other with hundreds of slender appendages, woven and entwined in ways that defied logic. Tiny…
Beyond Compare
There is no “better than” in art. It’s true that you can compare one piece to another along specific criteria; e.g., a Rembrandt is a more accurate reproduction of reality than, say, a Jean-Michel Basquiat. But to say one is better than the other is misguided. It’s like trying to compare an oak leaf to…
What If
I was talking to someone about the very early work of Picasso, who was as highly skilled as a Renaissance master by the age of 20. My friend remarked, “Most artists spend their life trying to master realism. Picasso had already done it. So where do you go from there?” Where DO you go once…