II am thinking about Deleuze, the movement of becoming. To extinguish the sound of the brook, I must become the sound; to enter the brook, I become part of it. When I linger in the forest, I take part in the silence and the chirping, the rustling of the leaves. I become one with nature. [...]
Koan
Ein koan, that is. I had often heard about these mysterious Zen riddles, which are supposed to lead the mind out of the purely rational and open up new forms of insight. I decided not to read much about it and not to ask others about it. I wanted to get one from a Zen master. During Doksan he asked me a [...]
Structure and process
Dhe traditional music of India, the raga, is melodic in relation to a keynote. Occidental music is harmonic, i.e. simultaneous and complex. In the Occident, much is thought in terms of structures; for a while there was much talk of structuralist and post-structuralist thinking. Complex systems can be found everywhere: in philosophy, in canonical texts and pictorial systems, in technology [...]
Harmony
MA morning meditation becomes a bit of a routine, although you can hardly say that after just a handful. It is more of a route, a path or an exploration. Like hiking in the mountains: the summit in view is hiking through the trails, on the ridge, through the valleys and rivers, past the rock faces, [...]
In the beginning was the word
GYesterday I had a long conversation about the origin of thought. Which comes first, the words or the thoughts. There are of course very different forms of thinking. Visual, musical, analytical, synthetic, performative thinking etc... There is thinking on the level of intuition, there is thinking in memory, there is vision [...]
A world of will?
Vany of my friends have a strong will, they are creative, they design, make, act, do... They confront the world with their own will and add themselves to it or refuse to accept it as it is. This generates creativity, change. It is the power of Shakti, the creative energy of the universe. I am different, I observe, [...]
Healing
Curry! Every morning there are mildly spiced, wonderful Indian dishes. They are light and complex, there seem to be 1001 spices in them. At lunchtime, Solarkitchen, the community canteen, is simple, vegetarian and good. The principle is healthy food for everyone, everyone can afford it. In the evening, these wonderful dishes again. What they don't serve: Alcohol, meat or fish, [...]
Packing
What should I take with me to India? I want to live a different life, in a different society, with different ideas and goals. It's warm there, life will be easy. Apart from the basics like a few items of clothing, I'll need my technical devices such as my laptop, cell phone and camera. And what else? A good flashlight, because the field paths there [...]