The Problem of Desire
If you ever attend an AA meeting you can get a full dose of the nature of addiction. Cigarette smoke everywhere, the potent smell of coffee in the air, folding chairs scraping incessantly, and the overall presence of the human squirm. The confessions of wrongdoing and prayers of promise, all accompanied by the almighty urge for another drink. The powerful dependence on outside elements and the difficulty in overcoming it had been one of man's greatest challenges.
Desire is the motivation for all life's actions. It ensures our survival, and the strength of it shows just how much life wants us to continue. The same force also leads us to destructive behavior and can even hasten our deaths. Maybe this power was designed to help teach us self mastery, control over our impulses, and spiritual attainment, as the objects of our longing often disappoint. Desire appears to be a multifaceted phenomenon, with will power being part of the objective along with survival.
I don't think there is anyone who has not experienced the agony of addiction. It is clothed in an infinite number of garments. It's painful to see our current government officials steal and murder to satisfy their lust for money and possession, but they are in the clutches of this force, can't control themselves, and there is nothing we can do. We can only live best with what we have, control our own desires, and pity their crippling.
The astrological sign of Scorpio indicates our deepest desires, compulsions, subconscious motivations, and our longing to transmogrify the appetite for the material into spiritual fulfillment. Jupiter magnifies all that it touches, and now it is finishing a year long visit in Scorpio. This is a great opportunity to look at our desire nature, find the essence of what we want in life, use our desire to grasp that exactly, and let go of what we don't want. As a collective, I would hope that the lust for terror would be one of those items willingly relinquished.
posted by jm at 1:44 AM
28 Comments:
jm, you are becoming an outstanding essayist in your own right, maybe all those people telling you to go "get a blog" were do you a favor (in a rather snarky way, I admit...)BTW, where do you get those great cartoons? I love 'em...Take care, Juno
Echh, "doing" not "do"..."Type much, Juno?" "All the time, and coffee makes me go faaaast..." Maybe I need a cigarette....(just kidding...)J
it's the cigarette in the ear . . . LOL!!
There's a bunch of stuff rattling around in the ole brain that will surface & I'll remember what I was going to mention . . . too much going on right now!!
That is the amazing truth, juno. Sometimes it takes a punch to get motivated but the relief of not having to drag through the endless posts of others and go directly into my own head and those of others I like, has been fantastic. So to all hy haters I say:
THANK YOU!!!
My genius Leo did the cartoons.
Yeah. That cigarette in the ear is hilarious and says more than a million words.
Love you all.
Ahahah Jm the cartoon is so fabu!!!
i couldn't really concentrate on your article, i'll come back when my mind is more receptive. Right now the little tears in the eye coners from laughing are just too good.
Juno is right we are glad that you are blogging, all of you fine people bring me a nice sense of community.
hmmm that was me tseka
Tseka, I think we've hit the jackpot here. It's a wonderful 'brew' of humor, pathos, joy, sorrow, insight, silliness, seriousness, kindness even, just about everything one could hope for in a community. This is the seed of cure.
And most of all, we truly like one another and have congregated in this corner by pure choice.
I raise my glass to all of us. We will do well.
I don't know where this essay from Mark Morford belongs. File under "P" for perplexing? Whatever the case, it surely seems like a signal from the future.
"God Is In the Magic Mushrooms."
http://tinyurl.com/kl4xg
*sigh* That was me.
joe. This looks fantastic. Right in my altered state. I've been having comp problems so I'll read this a bit later. can't wait!
Wow!! Great article, Joe ... more years ago than I care to think about, I took organic mescaline once. One particular perception left a lasting imprint: the concept of negative space . . . it was during the winter and I looked at bare trees against the snow & sky and really SAW the space in between the dark silhouettes of the trees! Great stuff for the art major I was at the time. Also left me w/the lasting impression of the perspective with which we view something makes a huge difference . . . think about it . . . :-)
joe.neith.
This is perhaps my favorite subject of all time. Things go in cycles and a return to psychedelic experience is probably on deck. I think also that this descent into brutality was a prelude and made the experience all that more important and desirable.
The thing is, we have the receptors for the substances already there in the brain for good reason. When we need these experience we will have them. I think we need them. It doesn't matter if they come from mushrooms, meditation, or just experience. It's all the same in the end. It's uncanny how universal the God experience is when we do this. This is why I never despair. Life is balanced.
I've taken them all. my first LSD trip was in a garden in Afghanistan and my life was changed forever. These things grow on the earth for a purpose. There is a plant in South Am. that cures addiction in one dose. Humans have taken these things all thru history and have battled the higher experiences vs the lower of alcohol and other drugs. It is written in stone, the altered state.
Cannabis is one of the best things of all. The usage stays constant and I think we are poised for a huge hemp industry as one of the major cures for our earth problems. For all of its uses.
I think with every go round we step up a fraction in evolution. With all the Uranus/Neptune now, I think many will be discovering new dimensions, some with magic mushrooms.
On one acid trip I learned the lesson so profoundly of the origins of my experience being entirely within myself, that I was transformed completely and have gradually stopped blaming others in the deepest place, although I still do it for some needs of the psyche and emotional release. Those moments of enlightenment are what I live for. The challenge is putting them into daily practice.
The political insanity always goes on and we have to combat it by growing spiritually despite it, in whatever way we choose.
Thank you, Joe. This is wonderful nourishment.
I've never done any of these. In fact, until about 10 years ago, I was pretty uptight about any mind-altering substance including ETOH (alcohol). I've come around since those days. :o) But the pleasant sense of unreality from a good homebrew or a nice glass of wine is about all I want these days.
You may get a real kick out of this book: "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan. He explores the origins and use of 4 plants: the apple, the tulip, the potato, and marijuana. They have been cultivated by humans for centuries, if not millenia. Or did these four cultivate humans for their own evolutionary agendas? You decide!
I haven't regarded plants the same way since reading this book.
I'll just add that I think with Pluto in Sagittarius the human degradation and cruelty has created the elastc jump to a serious search for morality, ethics, and spiritual increase and renewal. We will see the results a little later. I already see the results in the way we are tasting kindness here as honey in the rock, and feeling an urge to hold on to it. I think we are all seeking redemption at the moment.
The Botany of Desire
How I love that title, joe!
Or did these four cultivate humans for their own evolutionary agendas? You decide!
Couldn't have said it better myself.
I am adamant in the belief that we shouldn't criticize those who DO take hallucinogenics and those who DON'T. Everyone will find the path to the altered state. It is so personal. Cracking the shell that separates us is the challenge in each case. It's a birthing and it can be tough getting out.
I think these substances are seeking us out as much as we desire them, as you suggest, joe, and that's why the brain receptors are there.
BTW, I think alcohol is a strange in between mixture of the high and the low.
Isn't that an apt title? :o) Complements the title of this particular blogentry, too.
One of the most fundamental shifts in my perception of something like cannabis came, oddly enough, through a staunch Republican I thoroughly despised (and still dislike) at a former workplace. Like most know-it-alls, she was the epitome of the old magickal adage, "Those who know the most, talk the least; those who know the least, talk the most."
Anyway, she floored me by being pro-cannabis and explained that alcohol was far more destructive to individuals and society because of drunk driving, assault, and health issues from overuse. MJ was criminalized by the establishment in the 60's due to the counterculture's widespread use of it, whereas alcohol was enormously lucrative and the ones who produced it lobbied against its criminalization.
I think there's a possibility it will be legalized as the economic realities of the next years unfold. The tax base is phenomenal. Denver has already legalized it. The criminalization might have to do with the competition with alcohol, but that is a false perception. I'm not clear about the politics of it. The black market is so profitable they might not want to give that up, but the street value, and the tax base might win in the end. I'm very interested in this. Our tax structure is due for an overhaul, so all bets are off.
BTW, I think it's not uncommon for Repubs to be in favor of legalization. The traditional Repubs are concerned with street crime and the cost to the cities, so this factors into their stance.
Great catch Joe! I've seen some of the studies floating around that this guy refers to, but the article itself is priceless...My first LSD trip was at 18, up until that point I had had a hard time of it...a smart kid who was depressed most of time because...
I don't know, I guess I was already troubled by many of the problems that we as humans still face in this world, and my rather cynical, extistential viewpoint at the time sort of emphasised the futility of it all...The trip itself was fun, my friends 'babysat' and made me laugh, but the most profound moment was walking home that night, seeing the fractal patterns (some of us apparently saw them before scientists could generate them on computers, hee hee) of the leaves and trees and at that moment had such a satori of beauty and belonging and hope...I have never been the same person, and that probably is just as well...
I still occasionally seek out certain experiences, in a ritual context these days... about a year ago I accompanied a friend to a service of the Brazilian Santo Daime (ayahuasca) church in the CA mountains. A beautiful, positive occasion...a peak spiritual experience for sure.
These plant helpers have their purposes and I hope there is a resurgence with the emphasis on spirituality and proper use. I've always thought the 'acid casualty' phenomenon of the '60's had a lot to do with a)inappropriate use (dosing anywhere, everyone, etc) and b) the mental mindframe of many in the '60's who basically had very little, if any, idea of what would potenially be dredged up. I came along a little later and benefitted from the experiences of others...
BTW, on the 'curing addiction' side there is also an african plant, ibogaine which has been shown to be able to cure alcohol and herion addictions with one dose..of course not legal here, but is availible and being used on a small scale in Canada (at least as of a few years ago)...
And Joe, it's really funny but scorpios don't always seem to need external stimulants to get to those places, a scorp rising artist friend once told me about his one experience and summed it up..."It was fun,"he said, "But I go farther in my head whenever I want..."
Well, happy trails, all, Juno
Joe They have been cultivated by humans for centuries, if not millenia. Or did these four cultivate humans for their own evolutionary agendas? You decide!
This is the question i have long asked, and what led me into homeopathy.
~~
>A story common to the NW coast native peoples says: Long ago, in the time before time, we were all in one harmony, speaking the same language, man fell out of this (Raven's death) but retains the divine ember; our tamanawas -our spirit totem link.
(an example of the shift that happened then)
>The tree women, trees who bear fruit, change with the seasons, were connected to Raven (creative transformation). When Raven died they pinched themselves until they bled. This is how trees got their distinctive bark. Alder, who was youngest, was so hysterical that she pinched herself until she bled.
If you walk along a riverbank, you will see Alder entwined with her sisters, her bark is puckered in concentric wheals, a small drop of red sap oozes from the center....she reminds of her suffering Love's loss.
In homeopathy Alder treats hysterical, young women with menstrual problems. A doctrine of signatures.
?? If i treat the young woman, am i healing an ancient wound of the kindred - the tree woman?
I think we are remmebering the language.
...and further our own DNA is mostly the DNA of bacteria, we may be used on multiple levels....and we thought we were so superior!
Tseka, yes! And to this I would add that there's a resurgence of interest in fermenting foods because those bacteria who share our DNA help keep our guts healthy by crowding out pathogens. When we eat fake food, or take medications that kill intestinal bacteria indiscriminately, the pathogens proliferate and make us sick.
yes indeedy, probiotics, you and me Joe, we speak the same language!
'bout time we got past the idea that micro-organisms CAUSE disease. (yet i can tell you that we haven't advanced much in med school!) When we really look at the discrete functions of commensals etc, we see that they are essential to our survivial.
We've got a lot of changing to do.
OOPS - its fear again, we've been so programmed, it's hard to give ourselves over to "alternative therapies". Yesterday my 20 year old Zamma had a nasty abscess, i had to pull her tooth, i treated with arnica and a few other things today she is eating dry kibble and is her old spunkniod self! Pretty hard to claim a placebo effect...
tseka, that gave me goose bumps, the discussion of the Alder tree.
?? If i treat the young woman, am i healing an ancient wound of the kindred - the tree woman?
I think we are remembering the language.
The whole concept of memory and language is fascinating. As is the subject of bacteria, maybe the most prolific organism on earth. I am entranced with you and joe on the subject of DNA and bacteria. Could these tiny organisms be guiding us? We need them for survival and we fight them desperately. They are hidden from sight but dominate so much of our lives. Are they our enemies or our allies? Very very interesting.
The whole idea behind homeopathy is something. Taking in the pathogen and using it to develop the antidote. It brings to mind the idea of taking the evil in and transforming it. Not running from it, not killing it, but accepting and embracing it. Managing it, and overcoming it, and most of all, recognizing its inevitable existence side by side with the good.
I am infinitely interested in what to do with pathogenic elements, as are bacteria, phagocytes, and all other defensive organisms. The political drama is only a magnification of this battle that exists wherever there is life.
A very strange thing happened, talking about memory and ancient knowledge.
The first acid trip I took in Afghanistan was from a small bottle that was supposed to have been all used up. The crazy Italin movie makers I was traveling with kept adding water and Boom! Another psychedelic experience was off the ground. I was instructed to drink not knowing the result, but there I soon was. In another dimension.
I knew I was enlightened gazing at the flowers, and along came a beautiful woman with a dish of blueberries and cream, the only food we had. I will never forget it. The color.
last week when blueberries were on sale, I brought them home and in an odd action for me, I put them in yoghurt. I suddenly revisited my early awakening and I can't help but think I am going through a major one again in my life. All natural. I can't stop eating the blueberries and cream.
You know, jm, I interpret the blueberries and cream as something that goes hand in hand with your acid trip. Blueberries can be incredibly difficult to cultivate because of their soil requirements and the fact that you need several different varieties for pollination in order to get fruit. Cream, of course, is what rises to the top of fresh milk. So you have two things that are just a bit more precious because of their rarity.
As well, we have been conditioned by convention that the rich fat in cream, milk, eggs, butter etc are "bad" for us. Not only is that not true, but societies that subsist on low-fat diets tend to be more aggressive. I think I read somewhere that without the soothing effects of fats, the brain starves and turns almost feral. Remind you of any society in particular...?
And, of course, we've been misled into thinking we don't deserve these good things and must endure this vale of tears called Earth, until we reach some hereafter land of milk and honey.
OMG!! OMG!! joe! This is so enlightening. I never thought of this...the rarity of the blueberries and cream. And it adds to my belief that wealth is based on rarity. That's why there are so few really genuine inspired artists, and the great great things in life seem to be not plentiful enough for our desire. So people think. But I think there are just enough.
I think I read somewhere that without the soothing effects of fats, the brain starves and turns almost feral.
Amazing. I battle with milk products myself, and oddly enough, I've been eating more of them. I've always eaten butter, and I think there is something primordally satisfying about it. I wonder what the fat problem in this society is all about? If you have any ideas, maybe you could add them to the new healing thread.
And, of course, we've been misled into thinking we don't deserve these good things and must endure this vale of tears called Earth, until we reach some hereafter land of milk and honey.
Oh My God.
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