We’re living in the age of Trickster—and The Emerald podcast has re-issued an episode on that subject that is worth your time. As discussed in the episode, when Trickster is not ritually recognized as a necessary renewing force, he shows up in more destructive ways. The repressed returns as symptom.
The meditation app Headspace has added an AI therapist to help you process your emotions. And, again, we see promoters of these services saying they should be used “with care”–as it rolls right along. My employer provides a subscription to Headspace and it’s a cheap way not to cover therapy.
Dismay at irrational human behavior is a mistake rooted in two false beliefs:
- That rational abstraction is or ought to be a normal mode of human thought, and
- That any of us ever engage in such a mode more than occasionally, for ends other than self-justification.
Thank you, lilacs, for a beautiful few weeks. See you next year.
My Political Action Plan
I came across this in my notes from two years ago. I don’t recall if I planned to do more with this or not, but it seems okay to me in its current form. My political action plan: Our political and economic system is a world eating monster with an unalterable hostility to life. Until the powers that be get serious about killing that monster, I’ll continue assuming they are emissaries of the monster and accord them all the respect that position is due.
The line from Lord Summerisle, which I’ve used of myself before, applies again today: “A heathen, conceivably, but not, I hope, an unenlightened one.”
French chicory as a decaf coffee substitute
I love coffee. I could easily be one of those people drinking pot after pot, but I limit myself to one or two (large) mugs per day. On the two-mug days, I can tell that it makes me a little buzzy; probably not good for me. I started buying decaf but heard that there may be health concerns with the chemical used in decaffeination. Recently I bought a bag of French chicory, which is often touted as a naturally caffeine free coffee alternative.
Happy Wicker Man Day!
A new Port William novel by Wendell Berry is coming this year! If you do order it, consider ordering it through the Berry Center and support the good work they’re doing there. Also, I’ve just realized I didn’t write about my visit there last week. I’ll fix that soon. 📚
A footnote in the book I’m reading led me to The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences, an academic work currently on sale in Kindle format for $3.99. I hate reading on Kindle but if the subject matter interests you, it’s hard to pass up that deal.