Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
On the Ant-Path
Here we are, two ants Meeting on an ant-path. Antennas touch. Hey, I know you! You’re part of OUR nest!. (It’s amazing how sensitive antennas are.) You’re part of US! (There’s a definite mild kick-thrill in of us being together, even for a moment. Wow! US!) (In another dimension […]
Posted in Essays and Papers, Psychological Literacy, Social-Depth Psychology (Sociometry) | 1 Comment
Not So Hot
Sometimes I’m hot (good), but sometimes, not so much. So here are some further autobiographical notes that acknowledge the frailty of memory, the natural tendency to fill in the gaps, the unconscious forces that make us paint a picture of whatever we deeply emotionally want it to be. Autobiography is to some degree fiction, someone […]
Posted in Autobiographical | No Comments
All Over the Internet
What does it mean that my friend Russell Williams in Southern California has been writing about me and inviting me to write about my ideas? I’m present at more than one place on the internet! Wow! http://passkeys.org/author/russell-williams/page/6/ http://blogs.ocmetro.com/1979-adam-blatner/ http://blogs.ocmetro.com/a-lively-curiosity/ Perhaps you too will find yourself thus publicized as time goes on. Perhaps it is not […]
Posted in Current Events, Foolin Around, Whassup? | No Comments
A Personal Greeting
Good morning. This posting is aimed at you. Yes, you! Ah, what a weird world: I don’t even know your name. I don’t know to whom I’m writing, or who I’m writing to (to use more common but technically incorrect grammar). By the way, my mind tends to fly off into eddies like that, parenthetical […]
Posted in Current Events, Play and Spontaneity, Whassup? | 1 Comment
The Minions of Mild Villainy
I was reminded of this archetype also in this summer’s Computer-Graphic Cartoon movie, Minions. I liked the theme that simple minded folks (the cute lil’ Minions) happen to love the energy put out by someone who exhibits a strong sense of triumphant malevolence. A good villain is appealing in a weird way. In my childhood, […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Foolin Around, Psychology | No Comments
Helping Others Feel Better
In the aforementioned Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. book, “Cat’s Cradle,” there is another quote that asserts the priority of encounter, human help, over mere, dry, facts as we believe them to be. One of the characters, a Doctor von Koenigswald, in Chapter 98, page 148, says, “I am a very bad scientist. I will do anything […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Essays and Papers, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
God Made Mud
I must confess that this passage from Chapter 99, page 149, of Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s 1973 novel, “Cat’s Cradle” appeals to me. I’d like to have it read at my funeral. It’s from his imaginary religion of “Bokononism,” which says that all religions are based on lies. I am a flagrant myth-maker, who nevertheless aligns […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Spirituality and Philosophy, Wisdom-ing | 1 Comment
Prioritizing
My guardian angels are reminding me through many channels that I’m gonna die. My days are numbered. Maybe 4, maybe 4,000, maybe 40,000. So consequently—there’s a word I haven’t used for a good long while—I need to prioritize. In other words, what’s my bucket list? Not easy, but not that hard, either. First, keep on […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Mind-Spectrums, Wisdom-ing | 1 Comment
The Communi-cube as Oracle
My friend John Casson in England created an instrument to get people communi-cating: The communicube. They communicate more articulately to themselves. You can see it on his website. My wife has used it in her spirituality group to get the small number of people involved to reflect more on their lives. She’s used it several […]
Posted in Art (Mandalas, Doodles, Scripts), My Favorite Things, Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
Divesting
What a word: I need to begin to divest myself of too much stuff. (My book collections are strong examples of too much stuff.) George Carlin, the late comedian, has a wonderful bit he does about “stuff.” I’m beginning to look at all my books that way—not much, but it’s a beginning. So did I […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Follies, Play and Spontaneity, Psychology | No Comments