Australian General Semantics Society
AGS
Monthly Seminar
Saturday 18/05/08 at
Gavan's
"Creative
Intelligence and Self-Liberation"
A consideration of the
work of Ted Falconar.
"The greatest philosophical idea that ever
came out of India is realization (how to see Reality).
Despite knowing 'nothing' about Eastern
thought, Korzybski produced in ten years a far more comprehensive exposition of
Realization, calling it Non-Aristotelian Thinking.
That was a work of supreme genius, yet he
remains largely unknown and neglected."
Agenda
1. Catching-up
2. Imagination - What Part
does it play in your life?
3. Some Non-verbal
Experiences and Reflections.
4. Ted Falconar
- the Man and his Book (Part 1 ).
5. Luncheon
6. "Creative
Imagination", Parts 2 and 3
7. AGS Business
8. ~ Close ~
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1.
Catching-up
We
“always” allow a little time for review of our lives and activities.
2.
Imagination - What Part does it play in your life?
We
had a little exercise in Imagination, listening to some non-intrusive music
(Gregorian chant), and considered, in a non-verbal fashion, four important
questions:
a. What do I value most in my life?
b. What would I most like to be doing
in one year, and in five years time?
c. What would I most like to have
in one year, and in five years time?
d. What are my main fears?
These
questions initiated some discussion, without anyone being placed under pressure
to necessarily reveal their answers to the questions. We will review our reflections on these
questions in following months.
One
participant, who considers him/herself to be lacking in imagination, came up
with a few little examples:
a. In talking with young people about
“consumption”, why not pose the question: “Instead of buying eg a new mobile phone, why not buy some share in the
company that makes mobile phones?” or .. “Instead of buying a glass of wine when travelling on
aeroplane, why not buy a share in the aeroplane / airline company?”
b. Robert’s report: When I
lived in the bush as a child, we used to have Sunday evening “concerts”,
utilising strange musical instruments and other performances. We also had poetry. One of my favourites was "The Touch of the
Master's Hand", by Myra B. Welch, thus:
‘Twas battered and scared, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his
while
To waste much time on the old
violin,
But he held it up with a
smile.
"What am I bidden, good
folks," he cried,
"Who'll start bidding
for me?
A dollar, a dollar - now who’ll make it two _
Two dollars, and who’ll make
it three?
Three dollars once, three
dollars twice,
Going for three". . .
but no!
From the room far back a
gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up
the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the
old violin,
And tightening up the
strings,
He played a melody, pure and
sweet,
as sweet as an angel sings.
The music ceased and the
auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet
and low,
Said: "What am I bidden
for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the
bow;
"A thousand dollars -
and who'll make it two?
Two thousand - and who'll
make it three?
Three thousand once, three
thousand twice
And going - and gone,"
said he.
The people cheered, but some
of them cried,
"We do not quite
understand -
What changed its worth?"
The man replied:
"The
touch of the master’s hand."
And many a man with life out
of tune,
And battered and torn with
sin,
Is
auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd.
much like the old violin.
A smoke or two, a glass of
wine,
A game and he travels on,
He's going once, and going
twice -
He's going - and almost gone!
But the MASTER comes, and the
foolish crowd,
Never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul, and the
change that's wrought
By
the touch of the MASTER'S hand.
I think that this is a nice
example, although rendered verbally, of the power of imagination. It’s not an intellectual process, but largely
an emotional one.
3.
Some Non-verbal Experiences and Reflections.
a. The group discussed some non-verbal curious matters that defy
rational analysis. One of these went as
follows:
Robert saw
the movie "The Painted Veil", based on the novel by Somerset Maughan, in which he was particularly struck by the
question that arose: "What woman ever loved a man for his nobility?". He had never
known much of SM or his work. On return
home, he received a call from Laurie, who, in reflecting on RJ’s late father, Fred,
mentioned that he considered Fred an arch cynic – rather like the character in
Somerset Maughan's book "The Razor's Edge". This character was played in the movie by
Clifton Webb - "Great hate and great love are
separated by just a razor's edge."
What a
coincidence – these two occurrences of SM in RJ’s life in one day!
We
reflected that in our group, and maybe in the discipline of General Semantics
as a whole, we do not give much emphasis to the non-verbal world as a
whole. Ted Falconar’s
book is largely about this.
b.
We had some discussion of Handel’s “The
Messiah”, and the story of its composition.
We listened to a recording of it, and marvelled at the beauty and
inspiration of it.
The most famous movement is the
"Hallelujah" chorus, which concludes the second of the three parts.
The text is drawn from three passages in the New Testament book of Revelation:
And I heard as it were the voice of a
great multitude, and as the voice
of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,
saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (Revelation 19:6)
And the seventh angel sounded; and
there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall
reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
And he hath on his vesture and on his
thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:16)
In many parts of the world, it is the
accepted practice for the audience to
stand for this section of the performance. Tradition has it that King
George II rose to his feet at this
point. As the first notes of the
triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose. Royal protocol has
always demanded that whenever the monarch stands, so does everyone in
the
monarch's presence. Thus, the entire audience stood too, initiating a
tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history
the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most
popular
explanations include:
a.
As was and is the custom, one stands in
the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly
places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepts that he
too is subject to Lord of Lords.
b.
He was so moved by the performance that
he arose to his feet.
c.
He arrived late to the performance, and
the crowd rose when he finally made an appearance.
d.
His gout acted up at that precise
moment and he rose to relieve the
discomfort.
e.
After an hour of musical performance,
he needed to stretch his legs.
4.
Ted Falconar - the Man and his Book (Part 1 ).
We considered a number of reviews of
Ted Falconar’s book.
Typical of these is the following:
Non-Aristotelian Thinking
as developed by Aldred Korzybski involves seeing
events as they really are, and not as they are presented to
us through
words and memory. It stresses how no one thing is like
anything else--that
even two pins are never the same. Now Creative Intelligence
extends
Korzybski's concept by weaving together the
Eastern philosophies of
Realisation and Liberation. It teaches us to 'unlearn' the
rigid patterns
of thought that we are indoctrinated with from birth, and to
escape the
confines of memory, association and, most importantly,
words.
A timely and very open minded book, offering practical tips on how to
tap
into your creative intelligence with advice
drawn from many of the
world's major religions and philosophies. Ted Falconar who was brought up
in India has made a lifelong study of the mind
and its potential and is
ideally suited to act as a bridge between East
and West.
(Jane
Sill, Yoga and Health Magazine)
The first five chapters deal with
non-Aristotelian thinking, categorised thus:
1. Non-Aristotelian Thinking (“Nous”)
2. The Two Ways of Thought,
3. Krishnamurti,
4. Zen Koans and Tibetan Meditation,
5. Meditation, the Seeing of Reality.
We had extensive discussions of the issue of “Identification”,
one of the principal foundations of General Semantics.
~ Then it was time for Lunch ! ~
6.
"Creative Imagination", Parts 2 and 3
The remainder of Falconar’s book covered the likes of:
6. Self-Fulfillment and Higher Human Needs,
7. Creativity,
8. The Open and the Shut Mind,
9. Seeing the Real and the Beautiful,
10.
Poetry and
Mysticism,
11. Letting Go and Just
being: A Way of Release,
12.
Philosophy of
Freedom,
13.
The ‘I’ or
Ego: Know Thyself,
14.
Visionary
Recitals, Theophanic Vision and Retirement.
7.
AGS Business
Covered Finances, membership, etc.
8.
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(Updated 20 May, 2008)