Learning to communicate

Friday February 10, 2006

Michael Ventura said that regardless what Joseph Smallwood really is, his discussion of the Georgia campaign reveals him as a first-class strategist, and I have to agree. It feels funny, now, to speak of you in the third person!

Just as well for you to start remembering we’re all around you. But work now. We can talk any time.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Well, Mr. Smallwood, it feels funny now when you and I go a while without talking. Funnier yet in that I rarely if ever know what I want to talk about, but your subject matter hasn’t bored me yet.

No, well, you see one more advantage of either being on this side or opening your being to communication with this side. How else would you communicate with Abraham Lincoln?

How indeed, a great honor. One – oddly – I don’t even particularly doubt the reality of, despite the fact that I know this gives you and the guys in general a great opportunity for jokes. Yet asking sarcastically “how do you know that Lincoln exists” doesn’t really touch anything, for the question could easily be – how do I know that he is what he purports to be? That is, how do I know that I am not imagining, not Mr. Lincoln, but contact with Mr. Lincoln? And it would remain an open question, because I doubt it could be proved. I have always had extreme skepticism of people purporting to channel famous people.

So – given that I am willing to take on faith the reality of the contact – can you tell me either what his is building toward (beyond expanded access itself as a learned skill) or what I should speak to next?

As we said earlier, the end in view will emerge in time. Meanwhile, continue traveling hopefully.

And so?

You are pretty tired. Are you sure you are up for this?

Depends, doesn’t it, on how interesting the material.

Better to wait, probably. Pace yourself.

Sunday February 12, 2006

Dad’s 91st.

Mr. Lincoln’s 197th.

Happy birthday, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. DeMarco

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

(7 a.m.) All right, gentlemen, it is early morning, I have no distracting obligations, and no plan, so you’re on, whichever of you would like center stage.

You notice the slight nervousness, like a bird about to flit from one limb to another, or one tree to another? There is often that in your mind still, though not nearly as much as when it was unsuspected because an unending background noise.

You look at the snow, see the patterns, think of right-brain recognition instead of left-brain logic; think of Thoreau’s New England, everyday life, describing everyday life – your preferred mode of cognition is associative rather than logical and this can be a powerful tool when well used. As Colin Wilson’s work should reveal. This is what he taught you, or modeled for you.

3 thoughts on “Learning to communicate

  1. I really like Smallwood. There’s a dignity and even elegance about him that says integrity.
    I also like “your preferred mode of cognition is associative rather than logical and this can be a powerful tool when well used.” That resonated for me.
    Thanks for these posts. They’ve been very helpful to me.

  2. Frank,
    The line “associative rather than logical … can be a powerful tool when well used” caught my attention, in relation to the line (in the previous post) “thinking [assume they mean linear/logical] … is sometimes a good thing and sometimes not so good.” “Sometimes not so good” indeed! 🙂

    I’m finding these (seemingly minor) post very valuable/useful. My personality comes from the logical/rational side; having a chance to compare my progress/development with one less based on ‘thinking’ shows me a lot.
    Jim

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