Mellow Gold, Steel Trap · 13 June 2008

Mellow gold: summer music. The other morning with memories of beery oak grove sunsets circa 1996, I played the old record on the way to practice. Loser is the first song. It’s hard not to sing the chorus, but I have no memory for the absurd beat-nick hip-hop verses except for when he finally slows it down…and my time is a piece of wax fallin on a termite… that’s choking on the splinters.

Except for at 5:40 when the mind is all quiet and sharp and the song goes on fresh. What the heck? I belted out both verses traveling up and around San Vicente to practice (there just one road that describes a giant arch from house to shala—I just have to turn right out of my building, and eight minutes later left at a light). At the end of the song I hit the deck and played it again. In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey butane in my veins and I’m out to cut the junkie with the plastic eyeballs spraypaint the vegetables...

What? I was happy to find that of all things intact in my head, but couldn’t reproduce the trick brain-tired after a day’s work. The Editor said: Yeah of course you know the lyrics word for word. Because your mind is a steel trap. Unless you are telling a story to friends. Then you are unreliable and make shit up.

Steel trap? Thanks man. As for unreliable, I guess that is the trick with subjectivity. It skews everything and makes me a shadier character.

Which reminds me. It’s not really accurate to say I’m the child of Karl Popper (you listening, Natalie?), only sort of his child. Popper , like Gregor's Carl Sagan but more abstractly, thought the truth was "out there" and believed trying to dis-prove bold propositions was the logically strongest way to find it out. Except, er..., unless we're talking physics, the truth is not out there. The truth is what works. I’m with Wittgenstein and the Buddha and Karen on that. Or a better way to say it is that what’s true is specific to every social- economic- religious- political- cultural era, which is what Marx and the Integralists bear out in their different ways. The truth is ephochal.

So if it isn’t out there—if the truth is just what works—why bother to frame bold conjectures? I guess if you don’t want to deceive yourself. The truth is what works to hide from your problems. But on the other hand the truth is what works to develop your character. The truth is what works to let go of your pain and be a nicer person. I dunno. I really don't know what the truth is in this sense.

I guess you only would want to frame bold conjectures if you are curious about existence. Otherwise, sure: don’t. You’ll be relatively shallow and easily duped, but maybe that’s your truth. Go om shanti go.

The only reason I bring it up is that I’m working over a paradox here in the SoCal yoga subculture. People go thorough daily life as tough customers, smart operators, asking the world to be honest with them and yield its best stuff for their efforts. They get amazing things done, take care of themselves and their families, learn and grow as a result. Except for around their yoga, these same reasonable people might employ bizarrely low standards for truth. Instead of truth being what works for happy relationships and productive work and a beautiful life, truth becomes: whatever the authorities tell me, or whatever seems fun to believe. The truth is what feels good on a surface level. Kind of escapist, that.

It’s almost like we don’t take spiritual life seriously here in this little breeding ground of modern lifestyle norms. 

It's almost like we don't expect anything real from spiritual life.

Wouldn’t this be the area where we would employ the highest standards for truth and meaning? Isn’t this the part of our life where truth is most important and worthwhile? Wouldn’t we want to make ourselves most open to finding out new shit in this particular area of our lives? Why are people who are not flakey or fake about work and relationships happy to settle for other-worldly, airy-fairy yoga?

Don’t believe everything that you breathe you got a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve

Posted by (0v0)        
Categories: self-deception , sound , spirituality

Comment

1. Beliefs are closed boxes. Open the box and explore its contexts (no typo). Ask Who? Ka? Inquire at the frontal lobe and beyond your desks.

   Metaphysical conundrum: beliefs are closed boxes is a belief. OK, beliefs are open boxes. Hmmm. Beliefs are neither open nor closed boxes. Beliefs are both open and closed boxes. I believe this note is over.

   Posted by: e&sj · Jun 13, 04:30 PM · #

2. Now keep in mind I’m bitter about this, but:

   “It’s almost like we don’t expect anything REAL from spiritual life.”

   Welcome, with both arms, to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I could write a lengthy personal history and cite Guy Debord and the gang, but currently I’m too tired, although I ALWAYS have this particular rant on tap, so you can request it whenever you’d like it.

   Posted by: patrick · Jun 13, 06:24 PM · #

3. Why airy-fairy yoga?

   Because transformational yoga might gasp change them.

   Posted by: V · Jun 14, 04:05 AM · #

4. I think V hit the nail on the head – the real yoga can bring everything tumbling down, which has been so painstakingly constructed.

   Posted by: susananda · Jun 14, 08:34 AM · #

5. “tough customers, smart operators”

   If you really begin to face the deeper spiritual music, this kind of personal behavior becomes incompatible with a real yoga practice. You would have to start reigning in certain behaviors and pursuits. A real spiritual path causes too many questions to be answered, too many hard answers at times. It’s liberation, and liberation from all our American “stuff” in not a comfortable place for many people to be. Even most people practicing yoga.
   Even some who consider themselves “evolved” yogis, maybe mostly them:)

   “Somebody burned down the picnic tables
   Someone kissed their own ass by mistake
   The cliches are turning into people
   With the greeting cards glued to their faces..that’s why, I pay no mind”

   Posted by: Susan · Jun 14, 08:46 AM · #

6. perhaps you have seen this, but I’ve corresponded online with the people who made this:

   http://youtube.com/watch?v=HU-hzy5o9Uk&feature=related

   for what it’s worth, it cracks me the hell up :)

   Posted by: patrick · Jun 14, 07:04 PM · #

7. The short answer could be that people want different things from various areas of their lives. Framing bold conjectures, curiosity, seriousness- whether the context is science or one’s own heart and mind, I’d say it’s about opening up a critical process, actively valuing and engaging that. Learning! Aspiring to live a self-examined life, really grow, etc. Whatever words, but there’s an edge.

   Contrasting with what? In science, I’d say the good flip side is acknowledging and supporting the process of discovery, developing new knowledge and conjectures- later to be interrogated more critically. The shadow side- basically viewing science as authority. Missing the dynamism, shortchanging both the more creative side and critical thinking.

   What does any of this have to do with yoga or spirituality? A lot of people want nurturing and support, like church as a social club and comfort. Or maybe labeled and packaged as yogic transformation rather than church. Does this necessitate gritting teeth? Part of me just feel accepting, like my parents have their ways and routines and ya know others can do whatever the hell they want, too. On an individual level, it’s easy to sympathize with human struggles and stories and choices and needs. And L.A. sounds fascinating.

   What could get lost in this picture? The shadow is kinda like some who like the idea of science, but only because then I can be right, right?? Valid, legit- hey let’s forget Popper’s frames and just consider my views proven. People feel threatened by a critical edge. Maybe that’s because the picture is distorted- what seems threatening is actually a great opportunity. But shrinking away means less access to both the stream of creativity/trust/love and edges/change/fire.

   Aye, well thank you for making me sit down and write a little essay re Popper. And for your bold conjectures. As a semi-returning ashtangi, your 11 June post is a keeper for all those times when hmm it might be a good day for ashtanga. Ok now I wanna go do ashtanga!

   Posted by: natalie · Jun 15, 07:16 AM · #

8. Burning through your shit is not suffering! It is intriguing, feels as good as it does challenging, and makes life seem big.

   Fakey-fake spirituality is effing boring by comparison. Nothing is worse than boring: I’d rather be evil than boring.

   Susan, I like your comment about tough customers. It gets way harder to be all instrumental and ruthless in certain areas of your life… the boundaries start to dissolve. This is what is less obviously “fun”: realizing I am only as loving as I can be to dirty little hipsters, economists, rich entitled narcissists, asana fundamentalists, and my MiL. At first it felt like I could use practice to pretend those people weren’t real. Heh.

   Posted by: (0v0) · Jun 15, 10:56 AM · #

9. Patrick, this is funny because it’s the way most of America heard it in the first place (soy openin tha door…). But I try to pretend that the words are gibberish because any amount of imagery brings about the fact that all the lines in the song are grotesque! This video is so ugly! I’ve always figured the song was NOT ironic—was about someone who is actually a loser, even though in the original Beck is insanely brilliant and sweetly beautiful. Wow wow wow.

   See, sometimes a dirty little hipster is a good thing.

   (Where is CP to point out he’s a creepy little Scientologist? Eh, price of genius in this case I suppose. Somebody has to keep us safe from the forces of Xenu in L Ron’s bozo nightmare.)

   Posted by: (0v0) · Jun 15, 11:05 AM · #

10. Natalie, I just had to read that a few times.

    Both sides have a shadow. And now I understand why my name-checking Karl P might have sounded like nothing more than a way of being right right right on the heels of trash talking westside “spirituality.” Like you, I gather, I’ve spent a lot of time groping around in the equally not-bold, wanting-to-be-comfortable shadows of the scientific method. I’m not saying they have a monopoly on anything, but at least scientists want to believe they’re riding the critical edge.

    I like post-rationality so much… but only after rationality has been honored to the best of my ability.

    Thanks for this… you seem a skeptic who is secretly motivated by compassion. I live with someone like that and he’s on many days (especially where dirty little hipsters are involved) a kinder person than me.

    And oh yeah, LA is entirely fascinating.

    Posted by: (0v0) · Jun 15, 11:17 AM · #

11. Drive by body pierce!!!

    Posted by: boodiba · Jun 15, 01:42 PM · #

12. My Carl? You know he was a bright american, I think you follow that tradition.

    Over some drinks my friend Andrea and I figured out that its basically change of behaviours in areas we feel less adept at, that cause most (if not all) of these problems.

    If the main three are body, mind and spirit, then we seem do this in preferential order, probably aligned to our psychological type, our birth order, and the nurture we received.

    I am thinking, spirit. mind, body for me. I have way more understanding of the first two than my own body. But then I focused on these first two because there was pain involved, and my livelyhood involved. Maybe its more a Maslow thing too!

    But we are talking about mastery, or at least a stab at commitment and thoroughness yes?

    Or to use cause and effect (the only buddhist theory). Find a smart teacher in any of these fields, and learn. Oh and learn of cause and effect with your own ‘internal’ council.

    I hate to oversimplify, but brevity cuts corners for all sweeping statements! Oh and I hate sweeping statements too! I would like to say that storytelling is not supposed to be accurate, its a story not a documentary, we have to keep the yawning audience to a minimum.

    Joy is the fourth thing incidentally…

    Posted by: Gregor · Jun 15, 07:53 PM · #

13. Hi (0v0)
    The video Patrick linked to is satiric although maybe a little too raw for The Onion.
    Cheers,
    Arturo

    Posted by: arturo · Jun 16, 07:15 AM · #

14. Thanks for the name-check!

    Yes, Beck is a scientologist, but he gets a pass for being a second-generation scientologist.

    He does not get a pass for putting out subpar albums, though. I fell off after midnite vultures.

    mellow gold and odelay are both quite good. one foot in the grave and sea changes are snoozers. midnite vultures is fun.

    that is all for today’s beck report!

    Posted by: cody · Jun 17, 10:28 AM · #

15. Burning through your shit is not suffering! It is intriguing, feels as good as it does challenging, and makes life seem big.

    Fakey-fake spirituality is effing boring by comparison. Nothing is worse than boring: I’d rather be evil than boring. *****(I don’t know how to quote)*****

    Exactly. I’m just sayin’, it’s not always 100% obvious. Whether it depends on timing or melting resistance or personalties and a taste for intensity, I don’t know.

    Agree that both sides have a shadow, and that it’s valuable the scientists are at least interested in the critical edge, because then hopefully discussion is possible. I’m really curious how post-rationality can inform rationality. Not to turn it into a word game, but it seems like there’s interesting work to be done.

    Posted by: natalie · Jun 17, 10:58 AM · #

16. The whole idea of scientology as a family religion is INTENSE. My GOD.

    How post-rationality can inform rationality. Natalie, maybe that is the main question I am asking. Hmmm….

    Posted by: (0v0) · Jun 17, 12:35 PM · #

17. Woah, somehow I missed Gregor’s “drive-by body pierce” comment above.

    Body, mind, spirit— finding mastery in the different domains. Seeing the tendency toward devaluing one or two because we feel less competent therein. Drawing power for growth from personal history… explained by nurturing or birthorder or Maslow’s hierarchy or whatever.

    Ok, I got you.

    What if there were a practice that were equally easy to engages as physical, spiritual or mental? Wouldn’t the practitioner’s choice about where and how to engage (physically, mentally, spiritually) that practice say a hell of a lot about the practitioner’s personal history and possibilities?

    What if that practice contained some secret power for equilibriation, for subverting the original intention (be that physical, mental or spiritual) and bringing all three streams into more equal bearing, refinement, mastery?

    I give you: ashtanga yoga.

    Posted by: (0v0) · Jun 17, 12:49 PM · #

18. what a sweet pusher you are!

    Posted by: Gregor · Jun 18, 04:43 AM · #

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