JWL.Freakwitch.net

Mind

I've written before that I conceive of health in terms of Mind, Body, and Spirit. All of these are necessary for total health. When I went back to school in 1998, obviously I spent a lot of time focusing on Mind. Since I graduated in 2002, I've reasserted Spirit, a practice that continues to this day. And of course this year I've been highly focused on Body.

Perhaps my first realization through this purification is that my mind is not as well-trained as it has been in the past. Not that I'm suddenly stupid or anything (or at least stupider than my standard stupidity level), but spending a few dozen hours per week working through a philosophy text and writing about it, focusing one's thoughts, is like mental calisthenics. That's a practice I've largely stopped. I do occasionally read philosophy, but not with the rigor or discipline of a formal, dedicated student. So I've missed that in a way. I'm also finding that while I remain aware of the political situation, I'm just not as invested in it as I have been; my outrage levels have faded into something like detached amusement. I still care, but I just don't want to invest energy into being outraged anymore.

I also think my "strategy" in terms of social change has shifted somewhat. Rather than rage against the machine, I think living my life in a way that makes sense to me and promotes goodness and health is the best thing I can do to combat the fascist reality that exists today in America and the world. I sometimes wonder if this is just putting my head in the sand. But I truly believe that the best thing I can do to Change The World(tm) is to continue to focus on my music. It's been a long, slow birthing process, but once our music is widely available I have no doubt that the message of optimism, entrainment, and reality-creation implicit in our music will effect wave after wave of positive change.

Damn, what a hippie I have become.... heh heh heh.

posted by JWL at 3:21 PM |