| Telesterion | THE TELESTERION LETTER #3 6/2000 |
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Last issue: This month's link.
Last month's link. This Month's Book is Eric Davis is a friend of a friend, and smarter than average, in my opinion. I've been following his "career"' for many years.
The new science fiction novel by Neal
Stephenson Read my review
Last month's book.
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Bill Eichman offers his answer to last letter's question, "Why is it all such crap?".1. Most esoteric/spiritual/religious/psychological activities are not esoteric at all-- they are a type of social game activity that firstly enhances breeding opportunities, secondly provides a set of rules for group status seeking, and thirdly relieves some anxieties. (There are other functions, I suggest these are the most important.) 1B. That is, most esoteric/spiritual/religious/psychological [Called hereafter E/S/R/P] activities are a form of ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS. Where they are not a form of entertainment they function mostly as a type of local herd government. To a very limited extent, never greater than one in a hundred and usually far less, they are what they purport to be, an exploration of human potential and a search for the meaning of life and freedom from illusion and fear. 2. Because E/S/R/P activities are primarily a
form of entertainment business, the most important goal of most esotericists,
spiritualists, religionists, and psychologists is "TO MAKE THE SALE". 3. Among salesmen it is commonly known that the salesman who simply and straightforwardly and honestly describes his product WILL NEVER MAKE THE SALE. The salesman who exaggerates his product, who attaches it to emotionally charged stories and images, and who promises his buyer that his product will give the buyer improbably fantastic benefits, will OFTEN MAKE THE SALE. 3B. This is known as "selling the sizzle not the steak". 4. The whole of our esoteric/spiritual/religious/psychological economy is based on selling promises and stories and images which have been repeatedly exaggerated, prettified, glorified, and in other ways fictiousously generated by people who are desperate to MAKE THE SALE. At the same time, the whole of our material and service economies are also grossly distorted and largely fraudulent because of the same pressing need to MAKE THE SALE. We are all of us so used to this defrauding fictionalization of reality created by millions of salesmen all desperate to sell us their product, wether we want it or not, that we think of it as normal. 5. Crap is so common because on some unconscious level every person involved in E/S/R/P activities and the E/S/R/P economy knows that if they don't exaggerate and fictionalize their product they will LOSE THE SALE to the other guy who does exaggerate and fictionalize and promise the fantastic. There is a POWERFUL ECONOMIC INCENTIVE to talk crap. 6. Those involved in talking and selling this crap may know that it is crap. They may not like having to promote crap rather than honestly discussing their product. However, the incentive to sell crap is essentially irresistible. "If I don't do it that other fellow down the street will.", they reason, perhaps not entirely incorrectly. "Better me than him.", they think, "I at least have the best interests of my customer at heart.". 7. "Bad money pushes out good". A conclusion: It is probably impossible to reduce the amount of crap endemic to esoteric/spiritual/religious/psychological activities, because the social benefits of the current system of SALES-ORIENTED esoteric/spiritual/religious/psychological activities are considerable. The breeding possibilities alone engendered by all these meetings and seminars and conventions and ritual observances and thousands upon thousands of small group events, teas, circles, etc. is huge. This is, in fact, probably the only way in which tens of millions of successful human breedings could occur, as a 'side effect' of all this frantic E/S/R/P activity. (The 'church social' is the classic example.). The personal cost to participants of disturbing the current E/S/R/P culture is great. Therefore, if we want to seriously address the issues of esoteric study of the human mind and life, WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO ABANDON EXISTING ESOTERIC CULTURE. We will probably have to experiment with building new spaces, separate from existing E/S/R/P activities, in which to exchange reports and information about the un-glamorous actual exploration of the wilderness of the subjective human mind. When that new separate space is made an arena of sales activity, which will happen fairly quickly, it must be deleted, and another new space created. This is one possible strategy, with admitted weaknesses, however it may work until something better comes along. (There are of course other reasons why there is so much inane garbage being offered as content in the E/S/R/P community, although I'm willing to argue that 'making the sale' is by far the largest and most important reason. I invite comments, critiques, suggestions, and counter-arguments.) If you have any interest in participating in such projects, please feel welcome to write me and share your own efforts and methods. telester@telesterion.com In the next letter I will try to outline the areas where I think the greatest potential for really interesting new discoveries lie. Speaking of making the sale, help me pay for this site by buying a book at the Telesterion Bookstore. ROTFLMAO! Peace for all we beings, Bill Eichman
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An interesting group of sites: http://www.goddesses.com/ All done by the same fellow, Dean Adams Curtis. Goddesses, nanotechnology, the search for life on Europa, archaeomythology and the ancient wisdom traditions. This is my kind of stuff! Worth checking out. The Original Telesterion http://www.calvin.edu/academic/clas/eleutou4.htm
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