Master Edge's Portal

We have lost the ability to become great in a mythological sense. Society has pushed the envelope of every frontier such that advancement requires specialists who spend a lifetime for one breakthrough in one specific arena. The day of the common man’s ability to blaze his own trail is over, and we are left longing for not greatness but simpler times when we could have been great.

There are a few problems with this:

1) What we were given as fundamentals were the results of previous trail blazing. This means had we lived during simpler times, we would not have the advantage of our present hind-sight. If we are starting where they left off, how could we expect results then if we can’t expect them now? It’s interesting how everything new always feels like the first time.

2) Contrary to popular belief – mythological heroes, by definition, were uncommon. For every hero passed down to us from the ancients there are millions of normal people that lived, toiled, and died without notice. There is little difference today; even Mother Theresa is waiting for sainthood. This inconvenient truth helps polarize the ideal from any specific hero as being ideal does not necessarily yield rich, famous, or powerful by today’s standards.

3) Given the specificity of each heroic achievement, no accomplished individual can escape the critical eye of a meta-tagged, global culture. Does being a professional football player, Olympic athlete, humanitarian, soldier, or technology developer alone insure authentic heroism? The nature of the specificity takes away from the well-roundedness of character. In a mythological sense, we are only capable of being a one-pony-hero that dies on contact with anything outside of that one extraordinary skill.

4) The model for greatness, by definition, must be modeled by society. While one can be great to a few people, on a mythological scale it counts for nothing. There have been many people that lived and died unappreciated by their culture only to be understood and celebrated much later. This could start many conversations in itself, but for now I present it as a paradox of attempting to define oneself in such a way that requires definition by others. In total there are 3 choices of negotiation. A) Strategic position within what is selling. B) Do your thing larger than life and hope others jump on board. C) The hybrid – fake or compromise with what is selling until fame allows enough leverage to return to or reveal your true nature. Of note, option A only works if one willing to align with the sellable. Option B is the long shot and is used exclusively by true contenders of illusory greatness. Option C is a most despicable trade of constitution for notoriety wherein public definition has dominated self-definition.

My conclusions:

The pedagogical function of heroism is found in how to live one’s life. It has never been truly achieved by anyone, but is still useful for inspiration. This means “the ideal” is, by definition, what we think it is. The shortage crisis of heroes is a proportionate result of a mythological shortage. When the crowds roar with each person trying to be heard, bake a loaf of bread and sell them sandwiches.

Who knows; ya might get famous.

*Knock Knock* Yes, who’s there? It’s your neighbor from 305. *chain rattles then door opens* Ah, why didn’t you say so. What brings you this way? Uh, yes.. I was wondering if you had some time I could borrow. Thyme? Like the seasoning? Oh no, time – as in minutes, hours, days? It doesn’t work that way child, can I help you with something? I don’t think you can do it for me, but how about experience. Do you have any of that lying around that you don’t need? *awkward grins exchanged* You’re asking me to Give you experience; I don’t think it works that way either. Why don’t you explain the situation and perhaps I can give you some pointers. Ah well, yes you see; I’m trying to cook supper and I’m hungry and I don’t know how to cook. I haven’t eaten in two days because I’m afaid I’ll mess things up if I start mixing ingredients and heating things. Well, that’s perfectly understandable – not being able to cook and all. But there is no reason to go hungry for fear of getting it wrong. Start with what you know child. Make something simple that you can follow the directions on, and that will let you live long enough to experiment on what works and what doesn’t. Here, take this banana bread to tide you over till you get something made. *munches while listening* If you think you can wait around until you’re confident enough to cook five star cuisine before you decide to light an eye on the stove, you’ll be dead before you’ve boiled your first egg. Now take what I say, and use it in all the things you do. If you wait around for the perfect wave, you’ll never be a surfer. If you wait for the heavens to part and give you a sign of that special someone, you’ll never know love. And if you wait until you’ve got enough experience to have kids, your house will always be silent. Nobody knows everything when they’re starting out – nobody. But we learn, and that’s the fun of it. And once you enjoy learning like that, there is very little life can throw at you that you can’t handle with a smile. *curtain closes, theatre darkens*

Spotlight on tenent of 306 *center stage – aside*

uncountable dead sailors, speak across the brine
Come into the vital slipstream, the water is fine
we warn you now, it will hurt and not end well
but it’s a life never lived that is existance in hell

What do Star Wars buffs mean when they say, “May the force be with you”? Why do they always talk about heroes, psychoanalytic theories, hot button topics, and meditation?

The answer is found in Force Realism itself. Force Realism is a conscious lifestyle decision to embrace life. Although the expressions it takes varies from practitioner to practitioner, some commonalities exist. Lets consider the following quote:

“Briefly formulated, the universal doctrine teaches that all the visible structures of the world – all things and all beings – are the effects of a ubiquitous power out of which they rise, which supports and fills them during the period of their manifestation, and back into which they must ultimately dissolve. This is the power known to science as energy, to the Melanesians as mana, to the Sioux Indians as wakonda, to the Hindus as shakti, and the Christians as the power of God. Its manifestation in the psyche is termed, by the psychoanalysts, libido. And its manifestation in the cosmos is the structure and flux of the universe itself.”

Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Part II – “The Cosmogonic Cycle”; Chapter 1 – “Emanations”; Section 1 – “From Psychology to Metaphysics”

It may seem like Joseph Campbell is saying FR is religion, but he is not. He is saying here that mythology and religion were formed from the desire to live; they are expressions of humanity searching for it’s own essence so that it may be built upon whereby producing a more fulfilling life. And thanks to the psychologists’ incomplete understanding of the term “libido”, we also see that unification (being at peace with one’s self and world) and a desire to experience more of life in terms of range and depth have been substituted by sexual orgasm in the minds of most people. Looking closer at the word “Libido”, we find the following:

libido (plurallibidos)

1. (common usage) Sexual urges or drives.

   Good God man, control your libido!

2. (psychology) Drives or mental energies related or based on sexual instincts but not necessarily sexual in and of themselves.

   For Freudians, libido means the desire to “unite and bind” with objects in the world.The ego as an organ which seeks to synthesize thoughts in the psyche is said to be driven by libido or eros.

• Antonyms
• (in common usage): boredom

Source: wiktionary.org/libido

Or, can a deeper meaning be found? If we know the antithesis of libido is boredom, surely a synonym is “invigorating”. While sex can indeed be just that, libido must be the cause of sexuality. Sexuality, like religion and mythology is the search for the experience of life. I propose that psychologists connect libido with sex because it is a profound drive understood by many. However, all that glitters is not gold, and this brings us to our next point.

If Force Realism is study of the beat we all dance to even when we can’t name the tune, why do we need think about it? The practical application of the study of Force Realism is to experience life with optimal clarity whereby people achieve their greatest potentialities by consciously cultivating a healthy mind, body, and spirit. From here the camps are divided, and they split all the way down to the individual. As universal as the mono-myth itself, everyone has an idea on what is the best way to go about it.

May you know that you are alive, and do it with skill.

These little sweeties arn’t much to look at now, but someday they will provide free fruit, jams, jellies, and pies for the family. On the right we have a 3-n-1 apple tree that has yellow delicious, gala, and and fuji apples. The tree on the left is a fruit coctail tree which will bear peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots. I will be updating this blog with pictures of them once they have matured and started producing fruit (2-10 years from the original post). Because apple trees tend to have a heavy/scarce fruit bearing cycle, an additional apple tree will be planted next year so that every year is a good one.

The librarian didn’t lock the after-hours book return bin. Local law enforcement came out to make sure no one would take the books that were already returned or add more to it. I suspect being documented is enough to make most people hesitant about reporting incidents.

Yet another exciting Friday afternoon in Small-town USA.

We don’t get much snow in Georgia. But when we do, my kids pay dearly.

Me and my two children played till our hands hurt. We all had a blast. Notice the mid-air snowball my son threw at me as one exploded on the side of his head. After an hour of warming up, we went back out for some sledding. In the below photo, they’re riding a clothes basket down the hill in our front yard.

Tuesday, I reported as per instructions. The case for the day was delayed. A last minute decision by the defendant resulted in the case being settled out of court. The jury panel was dismissed and told to call back after 6:00pm for instructions for Wednesday.

Wednesday, I reported as per instructions. At 9:30 we went into the courtroom. The case was production and distribution of methamphetamines. The district attorney asked the jury panel voir dire questions. I was honest and forthcoming with my past relationship with the brother of the defendant. I worked with him for several years, considered him a friend, never met him outside of work, and believed that it would not influence my decisions concerning the case for which his brother was accused. Needless to say, I was not selected for this jury panel.

It is very important to be honest during the voir dire examinations (Page 4). Even if I do not think I harbor prejudice or bias, the information should be made available for the plaintiff’s and defendant’s lawyers. This lets them challenge the juror to validate impartiality.

We were told to call in at 6:00pm today for instructions for Thursday. I did so, and the recording dismissed all jurors that were sequestered this week. As it turns out, I was unneeded as a juror for this cession of the judicial circuit.

Did I do my civic duty? I believe so. I showed up and was completely honest. There was nothing more I could do for our country at the time. Perhaps next year, I can serve my community again in the protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by discharging my duty as an impartial juror.

I have been called for jury duty this week. It is an important obligation for civilians who take justice seriously. I’m not excited about it, as this isn’t my first time. But, I recognize the the vital function a jury serves. Out of interest, I googled it. The first search result was a wikiHow article on “How to Get Out of Jury Duty“. This is disconcerting because people have paid with their lives to afford us the right to a trial by jury. Without that, nothing would stand in the way of tyranny.

A useful article, trialhandbook.pdf, can be found at a government site.

The summons directed me to call today for instructions. My Juror number positioned me into waiting status until tomorrow. I will not be able to discuss it, at all, until the process is over and the judge clears everyone to discuss it.

I can only hope, that if ever accused of committing a crime, there are people on the Jury that take their civic responsibilities as solemnly, honestly, and fairly as I will do for them.