Esoteric Histories and Ancient Wisdom

Butthole Surfers – Interview in bed (part 1)

Butthole Surfers – Interview in bed (part 2)

Alan Moore on writing and magick

Klint Finley
via http://mutateweb.com/archives/2005/02/16/alan-moore-on-writing-and-magick/
New Alan Moore interview:
AM: I’ll give a brief recap in case we feel we missed anything. Magic and language are practically the same thing, they would at least have been regarded as such in our distant past. I think it is wisest and safest to treat them as if they are the same [...]

Write Magick

Manipulating the field of perception . . . Shamanic trance postures, sending the unstruck note via written word into your blood stream . . .  Scrying the dark side of the brain . . . coaxing whispers from the spaces between the emptiness neurons . . . Buddhism
Brion Gysin, William Burroughs, Ray Bradbury. . .
“i [...]

Jack Kerouac’s Essentials of Spontaneous Prose

Via http://www.languageisavirus.com/
SET-UP
The object is set before the mind, either in reality. as in sketching (before a landscape or teacup or old face) or is set in the memory wherein it becomes the sketching from memory of a definite image-object.
PROCEDURE
Time being of the essence in the purity of speech, sketching language is undisturbed flow from the [...]

Writing A Great Script Fast In A Nutshell

Follow along with this fast and easy step-by-step process for thinking up a great script or story idea! Learn how to brainstorm for film ideas that fit your skills, interest and production platforms. Take that new film idea and learn how to add a visual theme, plot points, character traits, twists, metaphors/symbols, conflict/obstacles, setups/payoffs, suspense, [...]

The Writer’s Journey and Mythic Structure with Christopher Vogler

Christopher Vogler, author of the international best-selling book THE WRITER’S JOURNEY explores the powerful relationship between mythology and storytelling for screenwriters, scholars, and fans of pop culture.

a zen fool’s notebook

an extended glimpse into the art and philosophy of a zen fool, poems in the creative stage, drawings, insightful quotes from past thoughtful minds . . .
Visit site for some excerpts http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fStoreID=1904618

If you live below the “poverty” level

If you live below the “poverty” level you are excused from supporting war tax as well as other ugly practices that any thinking, feeling human wants to avoid and bring to an end.
-Hermit

Can I get a Witness?

As I began my left hand turn
a specter called out
I heard veiled warnings
beware of the blood
beware of the movement
life comes from flow
energy moving and growing
beware of the mistakes of the past
beseech the ancestors to guide your path

The specter calls out
causing a disturbance
creating self reflective spirals
warnings that match the silent voice

further and further

EXPLORING OUR CONFUSION
—–Leonard Jacobs
In our own lives, we feel a sense of confusion — it seems to be confusion — but that confusion brings out something that is worth exploring. The questions that we ask in the midst of our confusion are potent questions, questions that we really have. We ask: “Who am I? What [...]

My kind of reading group

My kind of reading group

http://www.realitysandwich.com/chapter_1_simplicissimus
Has anyone here read or heard about this book? Looks pretty good.

Decentralized networks, smart mobs, collective intelligence, open source software, biopolitics, the emergent social Web and the integration of love percolate the New Edge, yet how do we use all these sexy, geeky, quasi-spiritual concepts to deconstruct the global empire [...]

Writing Down the Dreams

Looking back on my dream diary, I begin to see a pretty clear message emerging. What is more, there are some real great materials emerging as well. Rich imagery, archetypes, strange story lines. . .
What I am getting at is that if you work with the material in your dream diary, you have a great [...]

Don’t count on receiving credit for your good deeds or good practice.

Last posting of Lojong “writing prompt” email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
It is kind of a relief to get to the end of these writing prompts that I decided to post here. My original intention was for them to intersperse my own writing entries, feeding my writing as needed. Having gotten very busy they became the [...]

“Yes, it’s nice, but it has a stain on it.”

cluster posting of Lojong “writing prompt” email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Don’t Be Frivolous
Don’t demonstrate frivolous jealousy at your friends’ success. If an acquaintance is wearing a new tie or a new blouse that you yourself would like, don’t capriciously point out its shortcomings to him or her. “Yes, it’s nice, but it has a stain [...]

Always meditate on that which is most difficult

Another cluster posting of Lojong “writing prompt” email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Always Meditate on Whatever Provokes Resentment
Always meditate on that which is most difficult. If you do not start right away, the moment a difficulty arises, it is very hard to overcome it.
Train Without Bias in All Areas. it is Crucial to do This Pervasively [...]

always take the attitude of being of benefit to all sentient beings

 Clump posting of Lojong “writing prompt” email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Two Activities: One at the Beginning, One at the End
The point of this slogan is to begin and end each day with twofold Bodhicitta. In the morning you should remember Bodhicitta and take the attitude of not separating yourself from it, and at the end of [...]

Am I like an iceberg?

Grandpa Freud . . . so many strange ideas. Captured the imagination of our out of control, western world.
The conscious, preconscious and the unconscious. Where do these all go as I write? Where do these all go when I sleep or when I can’t sleep, because my tooth feels like someone is smashing it with [...]

blame Gods and Demons for slogans

Clump posting of Lojong “writing prompt” email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Don’t Make Gods Into Demons
This slogan refers to our general tendency to dwell on pain and go through life with constant complaints. We should not make painful that which is inherently joyful.
At his point, you may have achieved a certain level of taming yourself. You may [...]

Meditations on the Tarot

Meditations on the Tarot
Brother Void

What comes to your mind when you think of Tarot?
How do the cards themselves make you feel?
Have you ever held a deck? Do you own one?
What do you know about the history of Tarot?
What do the images mean?
Who created this deck and its symbols?
When you look at the symbols on each [...]

Drawings and images feed the writing process

ut of the flesh of our mothers come dreams and memories of the Gods. Of other kind than the normal inducement of interest and increasing skill, there exists a continual pressure upon the artist of which he is sometimes partially [...]

passing the buck

Lojong “writing prompt” email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Don’t Transfer the Ox’s Load to the Cow
The ox is capable of carrying burdens; the cow is less capable of carrying burdens. So the point of this slogan is that you do not transfer your heavy load to someone who is weaker than you. Transferring the ox’s load [...]

This slogan also means not to humiliate people. .

Lojong writing prompt email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Don’t Bring Things to a Painful Point
Don’t blame your sense of dissatisfaction, pain, and misery on somebody else, and do not try to lay your power trips on others. Whatever power you have – domestic power, literary power, or political power – don’t impose it on somebody else.
This slogan [...]

Don’t Be so Predictable

Clump posting of Lojong writing prompt email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Don’t Wait in Ambush
The Tibetan version of this slogan literally says “Don’t ambush”, that is, wait for somebody to fall down so you can attack. You are waiting for that person to fall into the trap or problem you want or expect. You want them [...]

practice of egolessness just another way of building up your ego

Todays Lojong writing prompt email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Abandon Poisonous Food
If the practice of egolessness begins to become just another way of building up your ego – building your ego by giving up your ego – it is like eating poisonous food; it will not take effect. In fact, rather than providing an eternally awakened state [...]

you want to subjugate the world in your own particular style, however subtle of sneaky it may be

 Lojong writing prompts email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Abandon any Hope of Fruition
This slogan means that you should give up any possibilities of becoming the greatest person in the world by means of your training. In particular, you may quite impatiently expect that because of lojong practice you will become a better person. You may be hoping [...]

You do not just want to work with chicken shit

 Lojong writing prompts email reminders from http://lojongmindtraining.com/
Work With the Greatest Defilements First
You should work with whatever is your greatest obstacle first – whether it is aggression, passion, pride, arrogance, jealousy, or what have you. You should not just say “I will sit more first, and I will deal with that later.” Working with the greatest [...]