DAILY PHOTO: Fire Temple of Baku
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BOOKS: “Teachings of the Christian Mystics” ed. by Andrew Harvey
Teachings of the Christian Mystics by Andrew HarveyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Acquired at Blossom Bookhouse
This book gathers a collection of short writings (mostly paragraph to a few page excerpts as well as a few poems) on mystic Christianity from the time of the Gospels through the twentieth century. While the bulk of the pieces are (if not from scriptures) the work of clergymen and / or theologians, there are some by individuals known elsewise (e.g. poets William Blake and Gerard Manley Hopkins.) The book is arranged somewhat, but not perfectly, chronologically — enough that all the Biblical excerpts are lumped together at the beginning to form about the first quarter of the selections. While there are a number of one-off contributors, there are several pieces from each of: Gregory of Nyssa, the Desert Fathers, Saint Symeon the New Theologian, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Eckhart von Hochheim.
One nice feature of this book is that it does include selections from a wide range of sources (Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, and Protestant) over a range of time periods, and from scriptures both canonical and “apocryphal.” So, there are many varied ideas of the mystical experience and the path thereto. The flipside of this fact is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of cohesiveness to the collection. It isn’t always clear why Harvey (the editor) thought a given excerpt was representative of mystic teachings versus of mainstream Christianity. There is a substantial introduction, but otherwise the selections are left to speak for themselves.
Still, it was a quick read, dense with insights, and I found — particularly some of the scriptural selections — to be among the most profound statements of Christian philosophy that I’ve seen.
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“Wild Nights – Wild Nights!” (269) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
Wild nights -- Wild nights!
Were I with thee
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile -- the winds --
To a Heart in port --
Done with the Compass --
Done with the Chart!
Rowing in Eden --
Ah -- the Sea!
Might I but moor - tonight -
In thee!
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Ducks Adrift [Haiku]
a pond in summer:
ducks look like wooden toys,
drifting leisurely.
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Winter Malaise [Lyric Poem]
One bitter winter afternoon --
Locked under skies so low and gray --
The city slowed in cold cocoon
As what verve remained slid away.
And then the clouds, they broke apart,
And frozen souls began to thaw.
But some needed not the sun's kickstart
To free themselves of winter's maw.
What was their secret? I wish I knew.
To be happy sans the skies of blue.
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DAILY PHOTO: Metekhi Virgin Mary Assumption Church on the Kura River
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Psychopomp Shanties [Lyric Poem]
Here comes some sing-song psychopomp,
Shepherding all those stone-cold souls.
He sings stirring songs all day long,
Dragging the Dead over dark shoals.
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Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare [w/ Audio]
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes there is more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
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Poppies [Haiku]
BOOKS: “Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction” by David Canter
Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction by David CanterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher site
This book discusses the many roles that psychologists play in the criminal justice system: e.g. as expert witnesses, as consultants to police and prosecutors, and as therapists to prisoners. The big takeaway is that forensic psychology is much messier than we have been led to believe. In the 1980’s, a wave of pop psych books suggested that a clever psychologist could build a detailed profile that would tell the authorities all they needed to know to winnow a suspect pool down to one. Fascination with this Neo-Sherlock Holmesian notion resulted in it spilling over into popular culture, most famously in the excellent movie, “The Silence of the Lambs.” The only problem is that it’s largely BS. Humans are too complex and varied for such easy policing to be achieved.
The book begins with an examination of how criminals are made, and this – too – is largely a disputation of the overly simplified single-source arguments: nature, nurture, etc. Instead, the suggestion is that it is a range of factors and their interactions that lead one down the road to crime, and that said factors can be very circumstantial. The rest of the book explores the specific roles that psychologists play in criminal justice and their limitations, therein.
I found this book to be interesting and an eye-opener.
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Tiger Riding for Beginners 