I am often reminded of a movie I saw some time ago called Pleasantville. A brother and sister were transported into a black and white sit-com where everyone was just that: pleasant. This drab world worked fine for the brother, but it drove the sister nuts. She had a bit of an edge to her, and she had no problem exploring realms such as sexuality, rebellion and other feelings that just did not fit in with this drab, black and white world. In time, others began to see that they needed more out of life than pleasantness. As individuals explored the hidden aspects of themselves, they became colored. This scared the drab grays, and chaos ensued.
I think about that movie because I am convinced that the vast majority of people I run in to are really gray, with no color. Whether it is because they do not want to make waves, because they are afraid of appearing different or they are just as shallow as they appear, most people are not colorful. They have little emotional depth, emotional range, and, saddest of all, little life. I much prefer the colorful, interesting and often chaotic company of people who are full of it! I like people who are full of emotion, full of passion; and, most importantly, full of life. I really have no time for people who are afraid of living. I detest the repressed, those willing to allow parts of themselves to atrophy.
People will often ask if having a certain thought or feeling is normal, or okay or satanic. The truth is, any thought, or feeling or urge anyone feels is normal. Trying to deny our nature will not only make our lives colorless and lifeless, it will also turn people into compulsive drones, slaves. A full spectrum life will run the gamut from love, passion, hatred, murderous rage, prejudice, judgmental discrimination, compassion, callousness and everything in between. All of these are normal.
Our responsibility is how we act on these urges. Life is the great indulgence, the grand party, and the smorgasbord of experiences. But the only way the plane can stay airborne is if there is an equally long wing of responsibility. Being full of life is not a free for all. It is responsible indulgence. And part of being responsible is finding ways to act on all of these urges without getting ourselves into trouble. Anything less will bring it down with a big crash.
I want to repeat that. There is no thought; urge or feeling that you experience that is not normal or healthy. Be we are each responsible for how act on those thoughts. If you are looking for a place to hang out with fellow malcontents, you are not a Satanist, I am happy to say. If you want a ticket to act irresponsibly, Satanism is not for you. If you have nothing more to offer than your dark soul that bleeds because no one understands you, and you think we do, you are mistaken. Satanists are people who love life. Satanists are people who are full of life. Satanists are people who do not cut off feelings that others do not know how to handle properly. In short, Satanists are full of it! We are full of life, love, hate, lust, greed, anger, joy; the whole kit and caboodle.
Being full of it, full of life, is being able to love with great passion and to hate with equal vehemence. Being full of it is being true to your tribe while being discriminating. That is right. A Satanist does not waste time trying to be convinced that it is wrong to judge people. We freely discriminate against those who have nothing to offer us but lifeless company.
Satanism is the affirmation of life lived to the fullest. Satanists are full of it. So, what will it be? Is yours a life wasted in Pleasantville, or being full of it? A gray life, or a life filled with brilliant color. Do you live a pseudo-life of repression, or the responsible indulgence of each and every urge that makes us human? If you are a Satanist, you are full of it.
lørdag 20. februar 2010
tirsdag 2. februar 2010
No Man Is An Island.
Perhaps man’s greatest fear is absolute isolation.
From the moment of conception, another perpetually surrounded each of us. As infants, if we were lucky, we were engulfed in some form of nurture.
If a child’s development is observed, one will see that the young move from focusing on individual parts of the mother’s body…breast, eyes, mouth…to the face, finally taking in the whole of the mother’s physical presence. Perhaps this is the moment when we begin to grasp that there are others in the world beside ourselves.
Due to the magic of mental projection, many of us are able to lead lives of relative isolation, not just comfortably, but preferably. As long as we have our thoughts, we never experience a sense of loneliness. As the old saying goes, I prefer talking to myself because I enjoy the company.
However, there are those times when all of us, no matter how committed to the luxury of hermitage, need the physical presence of another being. There will be moments of such duress that the maxim will win out, no man is an island.
I am fortunate that I have, in my life, someone who is able to offer solace at such times. My hope is that the law of reciprocity is at work in that particular relationship. I know that it can often be challenging for both involved, as, quite often, the same storm is battering the edges of their respective sanities.
I wish to make one thing abundantly clear…there is no reason to assume that said object of fortification has to be a member of the same species. Let me repeat that…there is no sound reason to conclude that the one, or ones, who help you ride out the storm, must be human. In fact, on many occasions, humans make the worst companions.
There is a reason for that. Humans have the annoying habit of verbalizing their emotions. Of course, one by-product of that idiosyncrasy is the existence of the arts. Indeed, you would not be reading this very essay if that were not the case. But, research has borne that Homo sapiens does not corner the market on art appreciation. Bears can be observed enjoying nature’s great masterpiece, “The Sunset”. Indeed, birds sing, and even arrange objects in a kind of home makeover project, if you will.
But, the greatest asset of a non-human companion is their ability to express their concern, love and care in the deeper, more primitive form of communication that post-infants often forget…physical communication. Life comes full circle when face to face with kitten or pup, as it focuses on individual parts of its caregiver’s body…the hand, the eye, the mouth. This is followed up by the wonder of the sloppy lick, the drool-laden nuzzle and nature’s sweetest symphony…Purr, in D minor.
It is a wise person who is careful to surround his or herself with companions, holding at bay our greatest fear…absolute isolation. Hats off to these true friends, human, and non-human alike.
From the moment of conception, another perpetually surrounded each of us. As infants, if we were lucky, we were engulfed in some form of nurture.
If a child’s development is observed, one will see that the young move from focusing on individual parts of the mother’s body…breast, eyes, mouth…to the face, finally taking in the whole of the mother’s physical presence. Perhaps this is the moment when we begin to grasp that there are others in the world beside ourselves.
Due to the magic of mental projection, many of us are able to lead lives of relative isolation, not just comfortably, but preferably. As long as we have our thoughts, we never experience a sense of loneliness. As the old saying goes, I prefer talking to myself because I enjoy the company.
However, there are those times when all of us, no matter how committed to the luxury of hermitage, need the physical presence of another being. There will be moments of such duress that the maxim will win out, no man is an island.
I am fortunate that I have, in my life, someone who is able to offer solace at such times. My hope is that the law of reciprocity is at work in that particular relationship. I know that it can often be challenging for both involved, as, quite often, the same storm is battering the edges of their respective sanities.
I wish to make one thing abundantly clear…there is no reason to assume that said object of fortification has to be a member of the same species. Let me repeat that…there is no sound reason to conclude that the one, or ones, who help you ride out the storm, must be human. In fact, on many occasions, humans make the worst companions.
There is a reason for that. Humans have the annoying habit of verbalizing their emotions. Of course, one by-product of that idiosyncrasy is the existence of the arts. Indeed, you would not be reading this very essay if that were not the case. But, research has borne that Homo sapiens does not corner the market on art appreciation. Bears can be observed enjoying nature’s great masterpiece, “The Sunset”. Indeed, birds sing, and even arrange objects in a kind of home makeover project, if you will.
But, the greatest asset of a non-human companion is their ability to express their concern, love and care in the deeper, more primitive form of communication that post-infants often forget…physical communication. Life comes full circle when face to face with kitten or pup, as it focuses on individual parts of its caregiver’s body…the hand, the eye, the mouth. This is followed up by the wonder of the sloppy lick, the drool-laden nuzzle and nature’s sweetest symphony…Purr, in D minor.
It is a wise person who is careful to surround his or herself with companions, holding at bay our greatest fear…absolute isolation. Hats off to these true friends, human, and non-human alike.
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