POWER: Observed, Elected, Embodied

Dear readers,

As everyone knows, the medium is the message. A capitalistic, hyperspeed, algorithmically mediated infosphere where cultural memory is outsourced to machines, and where the celebrity status of “influencers” is the dominant currency, cannot be expected to produce the form of thoughtful and integrative leadership that many of us still (perhaps anachronistically, or futuristically) desire.

Beyond party, beyond ideology, there is field called survival. The Doomsday Clock keeps ticking for us all. We do what we can. Yet, beyond survival, there is another field. It is the field where Imagination meets the Will—and Action is born.

One thing I am sure of in all this: it’s a good time to be an artist. While others waste precious time and life energy in reactivity and distraction—blaming, bemoaning, gloating, goading, resenting, resisting—we become super-activated. We write. We dance. We film. We sing. We play. We create.

If ever there was a time to say what you have to say, to bring forth that which is within you, to become who you really are (or truly desire to be), or to bring renewed attention to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the world—this world, as it is and still has the potential to be—this is it.

So, let us take a few deep breaths, lick our wounds, and get on with it…

First: there is still time (but not much, and not many seats left) to RSVP for our co-op’s launch event, “Birth of the Cosmic,” which will take place live and in-person in Longmont, Colorado on Saturday, November 16 at 7 pm MDT. However, if you aren’t going to be in Colorado at the time, we will be livestreaming the event at this link—please feel welcome join us either way!

It is shaping up to be an incredible evening of live performances, community building, and sharing the vision of our creative cooperative and social movement. Performers will include Sheela Bringi, Elden Kelley, Chris Rippey, Ben Williams, Katherine Eid Wild, Miguel Halverson-Ramos, Caroline Savery, and yours truly, with a mix of music, poetry, storytelling, songs, prayer, and various ways to get involved.

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Just published: Brian George’s poem, “Sophia Versus the False Rulers: X Observes,” which includes an evocative audio performance by the author, explores the occult power dynamics of our time from a gnostic-inspired point of view. Here is a sample:

Each abyss came with a ruler,
And each ruler came with sub-rulers,
In their thousands upon thousands.
They could not see the watcher, X.
X nonetheless saw them.
What they did see
Was the virgin, her perfect form,
Her glow.
As clear as space, as frightening
As the light that shatters worlds,
She showed no more,
No less, than she wanted X to see.

Each short line of this long poem emits a radioactive glow. If you wish to get a very different perspective on what’s happening in the world today, George’s work is one sure (if not straightforward, but rather esoteric, mythological, and visionary) way in.

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Déjà vu: For another perspective, you may wish to return to Caroline Savery’s epic essay series (originally published in 2017), “Transmuting the Trumpocalypse,” which, despite the title, is much more than a thinkpiece on the once-again president-elect. Rather, it employs the Trump phenomenon as a philosophical prism to examine the ways we habitually relate to and can potentially embody power in this phase of human history. In her words:

“In no way is Transmuting the Trumpocalypse your standard political pontification: it does not construct an elaborate factual array, it seeks not to debate points into fatigue (and if there is an impassioned diatribe here, it centers on empathy and humanity). That’s because this is not an attempt to persuade you about reality, or to sway you to adopting a particular political viewpoint. My aim is to invite you into a dialogue: with yourself, with my ideas, with me, and with one another, really. I attempt to use evident phenomena to point to deep patterns about power (the essays are organized in terms of the pattern they express). About Trump, this ain’t.”

Read the full essay series here—and please feel free to leave a public comment. As C says, these essays are an invitation to dialogue. But, if you wish to discuss the series in a private forum, then become patron to gain access to our community hub at Infinite Conversations. In these times, having a dedicated venue for deep dialogues and authentic connections could be a vital perk.

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Polly want a cracker? On a lighter note, which thankfully eschews the politics of the moment, this past week we also published a new story by critically acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Ross Klavan, whose short story “I’ll Fly Away” continues our Creature Consciousness series in the most charming fashion. In this surreal tale, a blocked screenwriter finds unlikely creative salvation when his wedding gift—a cage-bound parakeet—becomes his mysterious muse and collaborator.

As we’ve explored throughout our Creature Consciousness series, sometimes we need to listen to other kinds of voices altogether, much more so than we tend to do. I hope you enjoy it!

And with that, I leave you until next week. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support. Keep on keeping on, dear friends…

Yours truly,

Marco V Morelli
Editor-in-Chief, Metapsychosis journal
@madrush on Mastodon