After writing my strange piece about states of consciousness I was helpfully reminded by youtube why I don't actually like that kind of psychedelic stuff. I was thinking of not publishing it, but warts and all, somebody might be interested in it.
So the main reason that I don't like drugs is because they are part of the hippie aesthetic. Whereas I am a punk, or at least I claim to be. I got a message from youtube recommending me some videos and two of these snapped me out of my introspective indulgences. The first is What If Punk Never Happened by The King Blues.
Punk was always a reaction to the hippies who took the psychedelic drugs and retreated into meditation. It was a negation of the outside world. Maybe it was revolutionary in some aspects at the start, but ultimately it became a delirious and irrelevant pursuit of pleasure. Punk was what was needed to confront the depressing reality head-on. Things have changed but the need for external awareness and action is still present. It's so easy to withdraw into personal worlds and forget that we're all in this together.
This one is Anger Management by Random Hand, another English punk band. It has a similar theme. It says something important about Anger. I've always been quite puzzled by this particular emotion. There are so many things which give me cause for anger, some more justifiably than others. Because expression of anger seems so unacceptable these days, I've resorted to a stoic approach of maintaining my composure in the face of adversity. But this song makes a good point that when anger is justifiable it should be focused and directed for change. I think it gives a idea of the punk attitude toward hippie;like spiritualism. It is good to be in control of ones emotions, but the expression of extreme emotions is what leads to real change. Withdrawing to a personal world which is unaffected by reality in turn means that you relinquish your power to change that reality.
All this is just a train of thought. One which happens to contradict with my previous post. But I'm a big man, I contain many contradictions. This particular contradiction is one I continue to struggle with. I think it was summed up best by George Bernard Shaw -
“The reasonable man adapts himself to
the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
I've come across a few different articles and that have got me thinking about altered states of consciousness again. My interest in this particular topic has developed from many different sources. Although this part of philosophy/psychology can often seem inaccessible, my interest in it was sparked by some personal issues. I don't really think I know a whole lot about this subject yet, but I'd like to share how and why I've been thinking about it recently.
My thoughts are woven together in three ill-defined strands; these are sleep, drugs and religion. So how are these connected? Well, sleep is the most obvious for me. I have often struggled to get up in the morning and more recently I have sometimes had problems with getting to bed early regularly and getting enough sleep in general. I wouldn't say these problems were very serious but I think that sleep has such a big effect on our life and health I'd like to have it sorted out. So, maybe a year or six months ago, I got a book out of NUIM library on the psychology of sleep. This book simply caught my eye because I thought that I'd like to understand sleep better so that I might improve my habits. This was my first foray into this topic and it laid a useful groundwork. The biggest thing that I took from it though, was that such a basic and simple function as sleep still stumps modern psychologists. They at least shed some light on the 'how' of sleep but my inquisitive nature wanted to know more of the 'why'.
I haven't really thought about it much since, but now I've found a few intriguing bits of a puzzle that seem to fit together. First, there was a brief conversation about psychedelic drugs with a friend. This featured some Huxley (The Island, Brave New World, Doors of Perception/Heaven and Hell), and also some modern takes on the spiritual uses of drugs. This comes against a backdrop of my recently developed open mind towards God and spirituality. I have been meditating on and off for some time now and have been trying to practise it more regularly. And the drug aspect engages me simply because I am trying to square my curiosity and open-mindedness with a slightly dogmatic anti-drug sentiment. So those things all got me thinking in this general direction. From 'can drugs ever be good?' to 'is there a God?' to 'how can I sleep better?'. The threads start to come together... 'Could drugs bring understanding of God, or help with sleep?' 'Could different ways sleeping reveal spiritual understanding, or mimic the effects of certain drugs?'.
Okay, I've made a bit of a leap there. This is mostly due to an article in Philosophy Now magazine, Issue 91. (Not online for non-subscribers, but here's another related one that got me thinking.) It basically brought these threads together for me. In it, Shawn Harte argues that all human religions are based on hallucinatory experiences; either sleep paralysis or out-of-body experience. His argument is pretty convincing, citing many examples in many of the major religions. He cites many examples from religious literature of all creeds to back this up, but what is most interesting is his explanation of these hallucinatory experiences. All of these states are achieved by some form of, what has come to be known as, meditation. The mention of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), what he describes as 'the endogenous hallucinogens', sparked the link with the earlier conversation. The release of high amounts of DMT accompanies the occurrence of these altered states of consciousness. These hallucinations have been interpreted very differently throughout history and within different traditions. Although fascinating, I thought that this was just an elaborate form of religion bashing, but the conclusion is what has raised all these questions for me so vividly.
"The causal link between sleep paralysis, out-of-body experience and religion formation may remain deceptively concealed until one not only experiences the phenomena and knows their underlying psychology, but additionally, delves through copious volumes of diverse religious literature specifically searching for possible accounts of such experiences. Despite having both sampled the scriptural records of these phenomena and been briefed on the basic science in this article, the catalytic role of hallucinatory experience in religion formation will remain intriguing but distantly theoretical until you yourself experience sleep paralysis hallucinations, and particularly the unmitigated rapture of an out-of-body experience. And so I invite you to exalt active investigation over passive agnosticism, research the induction methods for these mystical phenomena, and try them for yourself. For when you taste of their unspeakable blissful convincingness, I promise that you will nevermore deride the prophets, but rather envy them."
So I've got a burning new question to ponder, even if I'm not ready for active investigation. And I also have a new philosophical perspective in my search for the best sleeping habits. Good Night!
While spending some quality time at home in Dublin, I browsed the bookshelf that was just behind me while I sat at the computer. When my computer gets slow or I get bored, I turn around and look to some poetry books there for a moment of respite. One day over the summer I came a cross a great little book of Prose, Poems and Parodies, by Percy French. I'm not sure if it is well-known, but all I know about it is that must have belonged to my uncle. On the title page, in neat hand-writing, it bears the monograph 'A.S.' and the date - 31/12/80, his birthday. This man, Percy French, was born in Ireland, but educated in England. He was fascinated by the people from the west of Ireland and he collected local poems and prose from them. So without saying anymore, I want to give you a bit of a taste. Here is one of my favourites which I found as I flicked through this book.
"If."
If I should die to-night, And you should come, And stand beside me, Lying cold and dumb, And, if while standing there, You whispered low, "Here's the ten pounds, You lent me years ago." I would rise, although they'd laid me flat, And say, "What's that?" If I should die to-night, But rose to count, With trembling fingers, That long lost amount. I might live on; But when You said, "Here's your umbrella And your fountain pen," For one short space I'd gaze into thy face And then Drop dead again.
A little silly, but it gave me a good chuckle! The style of the pieces are such that, you almost have to read them out with a thick Irish accent. I'm not from the West so I just stick to a Dublin accent, but I think the effect is the same. I might share some more in later posts.
When I was leaving for London I decided to bring that little book with me. I'm not very patriotic and I hate those romanticized images of Ireland, but these poems do capture something unique about Ireland. They make me feel very Irish even though I'm not from the west or even the countryside. It's also poignant that the book was given to my uncle who moved to the U.S.A. when he was about the age I am now. I don't know what the intention was, I should ask him about it sometime. But it makes me think of all the different attitudes that people have about leaving Ireland. I already feel like I'm become over-sentimental, I'm only gone a week! But I want to get the full experience of whatever I'm doing right now.
So here are some of my thoughts on leaving Ireland. I may be coming back after my year, but I don't know. So, I'm not very patriotic. There's a lot of things about Ireland that I don't like. Things are so badly organised there, and don't get me started on the politics! It is a very small place, and sometimes the people can even be small-minded. Those are some of the things which made me want to leave. Also there seems to be very little there for me. There are very few jobs and opportunities. It seems like Ireland doesn't want its young people because we all have to emigrate to find work that can support us. I think that most people that have left Ireland have at least some of these feelings in common.
The way it looks to me, most people who leave fall into two categories. Either they are very bitter towards Ireland, and they never want to return, or else they find a new kind of patriotism and they exaggerate their Irish-ness as much as they can. I know I'm making some generalizations. This is just how I perceive other peoples reactions. I'm sure the individual experience is much more complex. For me it definitely is. I have some anger and bitterness towards Ireland. I never really felt that I belonged there. But at the same time, when I leave I realise what an important part of me it is. To know who you are, you have to know where you are coming from. I was born in Ireland, I grew up there, so now, whether I like it or not, it's a part of me. I know I could've been born anywhere in the world but I was born in Ireland so I might as well embrace it. I don't think I'm going to go crazy patriotic, but when there's a little distance I prefer to appreciate the positives. So Percy French and Macklemore will keep my Irish eyes smiling until I end up back home.
I've got one more poem that reminds me of Ireland. I saw it first, in Avondale forest park in Wicklow. A very special place for my family. I originally presumed it was one of the Irish poets who wrote it, but I've just found out that it was an American poet named Joyce Kilmer. Even so, it's a poem about trees, which I think is the most beautiful thing about Ireland. Just like Percy French, it's very simple poetry, but that is what I like about it. Maybe I don't know enough about poetry - I'm willing to learn! - but I think this is just my style. And this poem gives a perfect explanation of the style it embodies. Why be complex when natural beauty is so simple?
Trees I think that
I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.
...because music is great and I quite like
it. It makes everything better. Especially if it's good music. But
you know this. I have two musics in particular that I would like to
share with you. The first is a show I went to last Saturday night. It
was my first night in London, and I thought I'd better start the way
I plan to go on. So I got this sweet recommendation from last.fm.
Random Hand were playing at a place called Nambucca. Checked the map,
near a tube station, no problem. Got nobody to go with but I'm here
to make friends, so why not? Now, I've never listened to Random Hand but I
was familiar with them because of their links with Sonic Boom Six.
I've been on a bit of a SB6 buzz lately, and they're an all-round
excellent band, so any friend of theirs is a friend of mine.
So, after a slight detour on the tube,
I arrived just on time to catch the first band. On the way in an old
fat guy handing me a wristband was not a great sign. This is a small
bar not a festival right? Whatever happened to a stamp on the hand?
Anyway, first band were not bad. I'd never expect much from the first
band on a 5-band bill, but if this was the worst, the rest must be
great.
I was not disappointed. The bill was
beautifully eclectic; metal-tinged punk, chilled out reggae and a
good mix of ska-core, punk and hip-hop. There was even an MC rhyming
on a little stage by the bar. My highlight of it all was
Tyrannosaurus Alan. A band I'd never heard of but a few of the lads
assured me they were awesome. The show was a whirlwind of skanking,
moshing, crowd-surfing and hardcore dancing. Not just a cardio
workout out either, keeping a guy crowd-surfing for a whole song is
hard on the arms! But this crowd were up for the challenge. And I
haven't even said anything about the music yet! So if one is familiar
with Sonic Boom Six, you've already got an idea of this sort of
eclectic ska-punk. If not, check them out as well! I used to think
that SB6 were pretty unique but if only I knew about this great
scene! Tyrannosaurus Alan blend the style perfectly. The ska is
accompanied by a rapid-fire rap and the mash-up of styles really
keeps you on your toes. There's hardly 10 seconds without some change
in feel, up-tempo, down-tempo, break-down, mosh-out, skank-out.
Despite the variety the styles flow perfectly together. The songs are
so well constructed that there's never an abrupt change that feels
out of place. They strike the balance between novelty and
predictability, something that many bands never achieve. They play
with the audiences expectations but are fun and so danceable.
Random Hand were along the same lines.
A little bit less extreme in their eclecticism. They were a little
more typical of the ska-core style. Again, they were amazing to dance
to. Like I always say, ska is the best dance music ever, and they
provided that super smooth rhythm in spades. The other band that I'd
like to mention is Jackal. I'm sorry to say that I missed them play
but I chatted with a few of the members and they are bang-on sound.
I'll definitely make sure to catch their next show. So I couldn't
have asked for a better first night in London. I even bought a CD
from Tyrannosaurus Alan, and I sat on the tube home trying to work
out how I was going to find a CD player to listen to it on!
Now the second slice of music I would
like you to taste is some astounding north-west hip-hop. If you
haven't heard of this guy yet, make a note, Macklemore is going to be
big. I hate to be one of those indie kids who knows them before they
were big (I'm more into the ones who are never going to be big) but
this guy falls under the 'just too good' category. I first heard
about him when I happened to be in The Twisted Pepper enjoying a
quiet pint with Kilian. Or, not-so-quiet as was the case. Because in
the background Macklemore was rounding off his set with Irish
Celebration. I only found out the telling title of this rabble
raising song; a celebration of his Irish roots. I was far away from
the action, but I could still feel the unmistakeable energy and I'm
not surprised that the man himself highlighted it as one of his best
shows. This was the general consensus of the streams of dedicated,
sweat-drenched fans (AKA the shark-faced gang) as they were leaving
too. The phrase 'best show ever' seemed to be on everybody's lips. So
I took the hint and looked him up.
As I wandered around Hammersmith and
Acton today I stuck on Macklemore to give myself some head space. His
music is so inspirational, I can't even begin to describe... I've
been listening to his stuff for a while and still, every time I
listen he gives me those tingles, where the hair on the back of your
neck stands up. I've never known music that has had such a powerful
effect on me. The reason Macklemore is so good is because he 100%
genuine, straight from the heart, real hip-hop. I must mention that
Macklemore is white (and has Irish roots), but like me, he is prone to introspection and
reflection. His very first track on his debut, instead of the almost
traditional big-up song about how great he is, is a mature account of
what it means to be a white person in the foreign culture of hip-hop.
He tackles so many issues in this way, balanced yet compelling,
making you think while getting his point across. All with killer
funky beats and a characteristically breathy flow. So basically I
can't get enough of him. He's got a new album coming out with his
long-time producer Ryan Lewis and they played a sold-out show here on Monday night.
Hello World! Or at least hello to the Internet world - a world with only some similarities with reality. This is my blog. It is the location for many future rants and raves, a general dump for those thoughts which overflow from my own brain and soul and mind. I decided to try my hand at this blogging thing to be a little more respectable. At least, to write in a slightly more respectable way. I feel I must move on from adolescent journalling and jotting. Writing has always been very important to me. It was a refuge for me during my teenage years where I whiled away my hours in classrooms trying to create and excuse for the waste of time. I have more recently started to keep diaries and journals for purely personal use. They serve a therapeutic function. I find that I often think too much so this exercise helps to empty out my head. So essentially this will be an extension of that!
Well, I hope to become a little more coherent in this medium. At the same time, I think, I will continue with my loose stream-of-consciousness style. Is that even the right thing to call it? I've struggled to work out what a stream-of-consciousness style really is. I think, that I think too fast and write too slow for it to be possible. But I've come to use the phrase to describe the way I write. I'm happy to be corrected! Despite enjoying reading and deriving a certain pleasure from writing, I have never really found it easy to write for any specified purpose. Academic writing and functional writing have always added to my anxieties. Even a recent foray into writing music reviews was not particularly enjoyable. I still feel that my writing has some potential. So, instead of confining my writing to personal use, I will share it with those who care for it.
This brings me to the second reason that I'm going to write a blog (did I mention how many there would be??). It is a creative outlet. Writing has only been a small part of my ambitions in my struggle to be understood. My first love is music. I have never fully found a way to use music to communicate. Basically, I've got big musical ambitions, but I am very slow to put any plans into action to realise them. For now, this writing will have to do. I will, of course, be writing about music a lot. I'll be sharing some great stuff with you and I might even do some reviews too. And someday I will have my own stuff to put on display! Here's hoping!
There's also a few other reasons why I think keeping a blog is a good idea. I have a lot of political opinions which I rarely find the right forum to air. I also call myself a philosopher sometimes, and I might come up with some good ideas! I'll hopefully be able to articulate these ideas here, and communicate some of them to you.
In two days time I will be on a plane headed for London. So it might be nice for people that I leave behind to check up on me. Although this is not gonna be a silly travel blog.
Those are all the reasons I can think of now. There are many, many more I'm sure. But I've started already so I need no more justification! Now just a little more about what I will write about. It will be a good mix of political and philosophical on the one hand, with plenty of creative and artsy stuff too. I might post some poems, songs, etc. mostly by other people but hopefully some of my own too. With my writing style as it is, there will be a lot of general thoughts and ideas which float around my head.
With all my grand ambitions, I feel like the vast majority of this site will just be a conversation with myself. So welcome to my world!
