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I was sinning in the shower this morning, thinking about the six Tony nominations this past season for Arthur Miller's revival of The Crucible on Broadway. What is there about America that craves witch-hunts? Damned if I know. And I was wishing I was in Las Vegas, "the city that has re-discovered Sin," according to …
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day." --Henry V, iv, iii He considered going over to kill Hitler or Hirohito or somebody, but Uncle Sam had no boots or uniforms anywhere near his size. So they put him in Military Intelligence and sent …
While walking through the park last Sunday afternoon on a casual date with a young woman I recently met, I finally found my match in the weirdness department. Being Sunday, I opted for the ball cap in lieu of a shower and exercised my one-day-option of freedom from shaving my mug. I thought nothing of …
Let us, first of all, ask ourselves, looking at the world around us, what it is that the history of the world signifies. When we read history, what does the history tell us? It seems to be a moving panorama of people and events, but it is really only a dance of shadows; the people …
“The Meaning of the Universe,” by Annie Besant, from An Introduction to Yoga Read More »
Since this is the time of year for such grandiose events as cleaning out attics, basements and gutters, I'd like to do a little cleaning of the attic in my head.
Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism, says that we realize not peace but only anguish.
Unlike many writers who oozed existential philosophy from every drop of ink that bled on their manuscripts, Jean-Paul Sartre does not shy from submitting a definition of existentialism.
Chapter 2: Verse 1. All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skillful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. Chapter 8: Verse 1. The highest …
I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment they instill is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your own thought, to believe …
Inner happiness and serviceability do not always agree. What immediately feels most "good" is not always most "true," when measured by the verdict of the rest of experience. The difference between Philip drunk and Philip sober is the classic instance in corroboration. If merely "feeling good" could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human …
The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James (Excerpt) Read More »
