Category Archives: mind

PROMPT: Negative Feelings

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Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?
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A practice of feeling gratitude is extremely beneficial in that regard. Simple meditative practices help one become aware of thoughts and feelings more quickly, before they are fed through rumination, making the down-spiral cycle easier to disrupt.

And, sometimes, I rant. This usually veers quickly into comedic territory and I’m reminded of the ridiculousness of taking human life too seriously, given the absurdity of being primates in pants who love shiny things. (It would be unimaginable if human life weren’t absurd.)

Snake Hijinx [Kyōka]

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3 
i see snakes jutting
 from the water; usually 
  i’d discover
 it’s not snakes but sticks,
 but today isn’t the usual.

Mind Storm [Free Verse]

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A loose shard of thought
   Flips and twists about in
     My brain,
 Poking sensitive tissue,
    And sending firestorms
     Riffling through my circuitry.
 I can't really say I feel each 
    Prickle or pierce, but they 
     Do make me wince, sometimes.

BOOKS: “Imagination: A Very Short Introduction” by Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei

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Imagination: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)Imagination: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This is a concise guide to the subject of imagination, the capacity to conceptualize that which does not exist in reality. Philosophy is the primary dimension through which the subject is investigated, though the insights of poets (particularly Romantics,) authors, and artists are frequently presented — in several cases, in detail. Also, the author does discuss ideas from other disciplines as relevant (e.g. psychology, anthropology, science.) This is notable, for example, in Chapter 2, which looks at early signs of imagination in the human record and the evolution of this capacity.

Philosophical views on imagination have varied to the greatest possible extent, from Plato’s belief that imagination represents untruths and is therefore dangerous to various views suggesting that imagination is a good thing, is fundamental to what it means to be human (e.g. to empathy,) and is inescapable for humans. This Plato against the world dispute is revisited in several places throughout the book. Besides those of Plato, the views of Kant, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, and Sartre are particularly extensively examined.

Creative types will find the final chapter (Ch.6 “Creativity from invention to wonder”) the most engaging part of the book as it deals with what makes for creativity. The chapter discusses topics such as whether constraints help or hinder creativity? Take, for example, poetry: does free verse poetry produce more imaginative material, or — on the contrary — is rhymed and metered verse more innovative and novel. If you think you know the answer, you might be surprised by the arguments that have been put forth.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it thought-provoking and worthy of the time.

View all my reviews

Killing Bliss [Free Verse]

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2 
I found bliss.

And cooked it on the
   simmer setting 
     of my soul --

That vacant hole that
   I let swell with color 
      and light.

My only worry was that
   it would flash fry all 
      that I am.

But one worry is enough
   to kill the joy, 
     to kill everything vibrant 
     & reckless within.

The bliss was quenched,
    and it steamed & sizzled,
      and all I could hear was its
      deafening sound.

A Brief Catastrophe [Lyric Poem]

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Drifting down the river --
   No command nor control.
 See the water glimmer,
   Circling 'round a hole.

Then one's world drops out,
   And one's peace is gone.
 Everything is in doubt...
   'til you're spun out on the lawn.

PROMPT: Boredom

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What bores you?

I believe boredom is the product of a weak mind.

There’s always something noteworthy happening. It just sometimes takes more mental energy and broadened interests to experience it.

Five Wise Lines (February 2024)

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“If one conforms to the world,
He’s bound to suffer.
If he doesn’t,
He’s considered mad.

Kamo no Chōmei, Hōjōki; [Stavros Trans.]

But nothing ever bores me. So much the worse for those who are moulded of boredom.

Salvador Dalí, Hidden Faces

All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

Blaise pascal

I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea.

Lú Tóng (Poet of the Tang Era)

The man who wears the shoe knows best that it pinches and where it pinches, even if the expert shoemaker is the best judge of how the trouble is remedied.

John Dewey

Bonus Quote:

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

Marcus tullius cicero

Infinite Golden Buddhas [Free Verse]

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Infinite golden Buddhas
 stretch along the path.

Each step occurs
 in the presence of one
 and the presence of all
 and the presence of none --
  simultaneously.