Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
Table of Contents:
Autobiographical
Identity
An old fried, a Lutheran, addressed me assuming I’m Jewish—which I am, a little. But I’m affiliated now with the Unitarian Church nearby—inter-denominational sermons about being thoughtful and good. His good wishes for me reflects the perception that because I was born Jewish I still identify, but I don’t, well, not that much. Identity is […]
If Not Resurrection or Reincarnation, What?
A friend of mine wrote about “past lives” and this stimulated my thinking about other possibilities: One possibility—this is of course rank speculation—is that “we” dissolve into the Great Becoming-ness, having contributed our lives to that process, adding a little creativity here, posing a bit of a problem there, perhaps giving to the becoming-ness of […]
Imagination (a Personal Reflection)
I’m blogging various thought complexes in between my home-making tasks of laundry, drying, folding, preparing foods, hanging up clothes, keeping track of my various papers, reading library books, waking up, going to sleep—and those are peripheral to my core identity, which is manufacturing ideas for God. (Well, these other mundane tasks are less peripheral than […]
Immigration
Very early in the last century my parents immigrated from the old country. The traveled from Eastern Europe and came to the USA, to New York City. There was a huge immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe to England and the USA, the “golden country.” Emma Lazarus’ poem on the Statue of Liberty always touches […]
Implications of Science on Theology
I contemplated God today and took a turn for the apophatic in contrast to the cataphatic way to appreciate divinity. While cataphatic speaks of the positive qualities of God, the apophatic speaks of what God is not, how God must transcend all notions that can be conceptualized by humanity. In supporting my thinking, I considered […]
Improvisational Theology
I disrupt the tradition of theology in several ways: I am not a member of any school of theology, much less even a member of the clergy. I am not building on anyone else’s theology, and indeed, I am somewhere between apophatic—which means I acknowledge that we cannot know much if anything about God—and improvisa-tional. […]
In-Between Dream Songs
We finished our spring concert of the Sun City Singers, and the songs keep running through my mind. This happens: By about three weeks before a concert to about three weeks after, the songs become invasive, filling the time between dreams. I’ve been in this singers’ chorus for over 18 years and three times a […]
Inanition
This word is defined as a loss of vitality. It can be from malnutrition, perhaps mixed with physical exhaustion, but the term also speaks to a state of vitality—or the loss of momentum thereof—of an individual, group, organization, or even political dynasty. The word seems fit as I notice trends in culture, certain fashions dying […]
Increasing Sensitivity
I’m happy to realize that even at the age of going-on-74, I am still learning. Times change and so does sensitivity to things that I had taken for granted. Around 1976 my daughter, then not-yet-eight, called to my attention in a rather stark fashion, in all innocence and love, smelling my tobacco-infused beard, “You stink, […]
Interesting Times
215/ posted These are interesting times. I’ve taken a break from writing on my blog for no other reason that I have no idea how to do that. Meanwhile, I’ve moved out to San Luis Obispo, near the coast of California on Highway 101 half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, north of Santa Barbara, […]
Jnana Yoga as Spiritual Practice
Jnana Yoga is the activity of using study, contemplation, thinking, and dialoguing about the spiritual foundations of our life. As I understand it, it should be recognized as a type of spiritual practice. I think this works for me, at least. My wife and I read together at bedtime—we take turns: one of us flosses […]
Junior Assistant
In some realms I’m big and important but in other realms I’m not, and on one of the cosmic levels I am very proud to report that I have been informed that I have been promoted to the rank of Junior Assistant! Yay! That means I get to help. My duties as yet are unclear. […]
Junior Prophet?
Well, what should I call this status role? It’s significantly less than a full-blown prophet, but it points out or explains what a real prophet might have been alluding to. Prophet-ette? Maybe. There is the phenomenon of people tending to say they’re true followers while in fact deviating in certain ways from the prophet’s intended […]
Krazy Kat Redux
This summer Patrick McDonnell’s comic strip did a take-off on George Herriman’s comic strip, Krazy Kat, for those who might not have gotten the classical allusion. There are so many of these. I pride myself on recognizing many that may have been relevant to the educated class in my era, but then I realize that […]
Kvelling
To “kvell” is to swell with pride, such as reading about my alma mater, The University of California Medical School, which won recognition as one of the top centers in the nation according to the US News and World Report. I also kvell for my kids and grandkids, a list of achievements that are considerable, […]
Lapsing into Poetry
I’ve encountered several newspaper comic strips that illustrate various points. For example, here’s a Doonsbury strip from back in the later 70s ? that has old folks in love. I liked it because I too lapse into semi-poetry. Having a spouse that appreciates these lapses is a great gift that I attribute to the supervisors […]
Last Day of Life
I’ll go with dignity, I expect. But I giggle when I think of my Shadow complex, as illustrated by the Charles Schutz’ character of Lucy in the 1973 Peanuts cartoon: Another variation of Dylan Thomas: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night ?
Laziness versus Death Wish
Freud posited a death wish, Thanatos (in Latin)—what word did he use? These other instincts beyond sexuality were needed as the theory grew: It wasn’t possible to explain everything in terms of the sex drive. But I think these terms are misleading, even were we to accept that there’s more than a germ of truth […]
Let it Go (On Not Over-Packing One’s Life)
I’ve been contemplating a bit of obsolete mental programming I picked up in my youth: The cultural injunction to be well-read, well-informed, scholarly, well-traveled, active, etc. (At least this was so for the sub-culture in which I grew up in the mid-20th century.) I should keep up on the news, know what’s up so that […]
Letter-Forms as Art
By no means am I the only one who plays with the root forms of alphabets and the like as potential forms of art. I’ve been seriously interested in what I call “scriptology,” and also playfully interested, insofar as the making of writing is an art form in several cultures. It has become more so […]
Life Enlargement
Indeed, I’ve changed my vocational direction to the title of this piece! Back when I was into psychiatry, Freudian—really, post-Freudian— psychoanalysis still was dominant, and though I differed with many of the ideas, some I agreed with. Last year I taught what has become more standard and evidence-based, and after thinking about it, though I […]
Life Enrichment
For a score of years I taught at a lifelong learning program for senior adults in my community in mid-Texas. It was one of the activities we enjoyed. Reflecting on this, it occurs to me that much if not most of education should be elective like this. It may not be practical for all sorts […]
Life’s Spiritual Journey
People are sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously on a sort of journey when it comes to their spiritual orientation to their life. It is unique and very multi-faceted. When I was a kid folks didn’t much think about these things, most folks. You sort of inherited your religion and stayed pretty much with your own kind. […]
Living Subjectively
Once again I have been reminded of the fact that we all live subjectively, and we select out and resonate to songs, nature, whatever in idiosyncratic ways. This is great fodder for the existentialists: No one can truly rise to absolutely complete empathy with another, even if we try. While we may become truly close, […]
Lolling About
What a great activity: Lolling about, sort of going La la la la, like a silly. This is a perfectly plausible form of leisure, but there’s an art to it, maybe. I mean, what’s good lolling and what’s better, or even great lolling? These are frontiers to be investigated, but I fear they might not […]