Re: Off-topic: cultures and mysticism

[Christopher Palmer <reid@pconline.com>]

On Fri, 19 Feb 1999, Robin Turner wrote:

> {.a'u.ienaisai}  Cultural "hooks and levers" are {li'a} very useful, but
> not much help to people outside the culture
[...]
> {.i'a} you often need some kind of symbol/myth/archetype system to give
> emotive power to whatever practices you're experimenting with {ku'i}

Full agreement; that's my point. What kinds of hooks and levers do the
lojban language and culture provide the aspiring lojbanic mystic? Anything
besides what its speakers bring from outside?

> ("Like wow man, those Eastern cultures are sooo spiritually evolved, I
> gotta get me some beads and joss sticks right away").

tee hee Maybe we know some of the same people... :^)

> It's often better to work with your own, and Lojban can aid this process
> of internal world-creation, while avoiding the trap of uncritical
> cultural assumptions.  Apart from anything else, it forces you to think
> about what you really mean {mu'a} if I'm designing a Lojban
> prayer/meditation/affirmation, it makes a difference as to whether I
> start something with {.a'o} {.e'o} {ju'o} {se'o} etc. etc.

Agreed. That's why I'm creating pala-kalloejna, of course.

> {ta'o} I posted an example of this some time back.

Well, know everyone knows what I'm doing on a Friday night: scouring the
lojban list archives. :^)


---------(( Christopher Reid Palmer : www.pconline.com/~reid/ ))---------

              the characters i am, made into a word complete
                              -- Meshuggah