WRITING - OBSCURING THE LIGHT
NOTE TO THE READER:
This essay was written by Jack Stanza’s publisher, Paul O Hasard, who after refusing to register his publishing company with the State authorities, set out on a new endeavour, to publish the work of political dissidents through a new, clandestine label of the ‘Shadow Editions’ under the Imprint they called Montag & Faber, to celebrate the great dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451.
Obscuring the LIGHT
Belief systems are a way of obscuring the Light; they are spectacles for the blind.
Belief systems are spectacles for the blind; the ‘god’ they see does not exist. The ‘god’ they do not see, does not exist. But each are convinced that they ‘see’ correctly.
Any system will show you proof that they are right in their beliefs, whether negative or positive beliefs and assertions as to whether a ‘thing’ exists or not.
But the Divine is beyond proof, because it is not an object; they spend their time looking for an object, they shape idols as proof – but ‘elil’, the Hebrew word for idol, means ‘nothing, a thing of nought’. It may even be the truest form of nihilism because it is the validation of nothing; the ‘hevel’ itself, a vapour. We spend our time running towards the vapour.
To paraphrase Lao Tzu, ‘If you can see the Way, you are not on it’.
Or to speak of The Prophet from Nazareth, “If they say, ‘here it is’, or ‘it’s over there’, do not believe them. For ‘it’ is already within you.”
Back to Lao Tzu. ‘You cannot know it, but you can be it.’
Builders of Kingdoms, Dominions or Domains create objects of adoration, forming the concrete institution around the Divine, but never realising that the space within it is a Void and not the Divine. This is such a shock to them, so they deny it. Or, they are so blind in thinking they see. They cannot see they are blind.
We Children of Earth, are Sophia’s children, who dwell in her Universe, we are a soul within a soul; entangled life-forms dancing in infinity.
Those who do not know this, build temples to the Universe, but end up reflecting only the Void within themselves. The Universal shrinks to a local deity form of the formless. This is all a strong delusion.
But Sophia says, “Those who find me, find life and Divine favour.” Infinity’s dance cannot be confined to a mausoleum for dead gods.
Diarmuid O’Murchu has strong words to say about this. To many they may not be palatable, but here goes:
“In the name of religion we have invented a litany of gods, many made in our own image and likeness, and not a few serving as projections of our own distorted will-to-power. Religion is the greatest idolatry of all time and, in many ways, the most dangerous also.”
And what place does the artist, the writer have in all of this idol behaviour?
The French Artist, Maurice Denis wrote that,
“Art is no longer a visual sensation that we gather, like a photograph, as it were, of nature. No, it is a creation of our spirit, for which nature is only the occasion.”
(Public Domain) Paul Serusier, The Sacred Wood. 1888.
What if this was translated to literature or poetry?
“Literature is no longer a textual sensation that we gather, like a library, as it were, of human nature. No, it is a creation of our spirit, for which human nature is only the occasion.”
Back to Denis. The Nabis was to revitalise painting (as prophets of modern art). Their visual style was influenced by Japanese art, much the same my thoughts and writings are influenced by Eastern Poets and Shinto Spirituality.
The Torii Gate stands in the landscape as marking an entry-point to a sacred space or place. This to me has always been suggestive of a library or bookshop – a sacred meeting place.
Like leaven, literature permeates the whole mixture of society, every level comes under the influence of this additive to the dough. What is it to a writer of books? Freedom, Truth, Compassion. Kneaded into their work like yeast; the leaven of resistance, the cessation of corruption and all by an unseen hand. In the end, we will be victorious.
Sensation received from nature as said Denis. For the artist, for literature and poetry perhaps we could extend this metaphor and speak of sensation received from human and political nature? Of our corruption via the Nation-State, with all its persuasive power, rooted in the Military Industrial Complex. Feed this Beast and chaos will reign. Put your taxes to supporting the State terrorists and what you thought you had as freedom, will be revealed as slavery.
It was always thus; the State terrorises its own and any nation near its borders, or its ‘sphere of influence’. It spreads like a plague, a political pandemic that subverts all human values of family, community and compassion. It erodes human connections and forms ones which are bestial, predatorial.
You are not entering the gates of paradise but the gates of hell.
The Church preaches the god of love and then damns people to everlasting hell.
All of these ‘sensations’, derived from human nature, provide us with a cause in which we utilise an extravagant manner, a hyperbolic language – apocalyptic, supernatural – to express the truth of the matter, namely that by politics and religion we are cursed as insurrectionists or heretics.
(I do not have a problem with being classified, labelled in that way and nor does Jack, Shula and the rest of our small circle of friends).
Political or religious condemnation have the same effect on the lives of the dissenters to Power – they bring a diabolical element to our lives.
We, the Children of Earth, are corrupted, abused, terrorised and tortured by the State, which is anti-nature, anti-Christ, anti-human.
I work like Maurice Denis’ from ‘the emotions or spiritual states’ brought by any spectacle to my imagination. Which doesn’t mean I ‘copy’ society in a grey realist or socialist realist manner, but that my imagination is reached through my heart and not the rationalising mind. For ‘Realism is but a pale imitation of reality’, to quote Robert Bresson. I am not a copyist but a creator of worlds previously unseen.
We evoke, we do not provoke with the raised fist of the Marxist ideologue.
In a study of prophetic literature, Walter Brueggemann wrote that,
“[Prophetic] Literature then, is not regarded as descriptive of what is, but as evocative and constructive of another life world. In this [prophetic] method, one takes the ‘world’ offered in the text as a possible alternative world without excessive reference to external historical factors and without excessive interest in questions of authorship. This approach permits literature to be enormously daring and bold, and often abrasive and subversive in the face of the presumed world of the listener[/reader]. It places the listener in crisis, but also presents the listener[/reader] with a new zone for fresh hope, changed conduct, and fresh historical possibility...”
Such is the work of the authors of the Shadow Editions and our Imprint service, Montag & Faber; playing with the two main characters from Fahrenheit 451.
Our aim is to present our readers with a world in crisis, but not offering political solutions and manifestos, which would fall into the trap of another document of ideological word domination. The world is jaundiced with these Statist ideological systems. We simply have to show that the latest manifestation, Corpocracy, is a tired remnant of despotic power and will reveal its own lack of power for a fight.
After all, they have held the reins of power now for centuries and have expended all their energies in maintaining their sacred, status quo. They will be unable to respond to our words of resistance. The seeds are being sown in fertile soil.
The people have had enough of ideologues imposing their dogmas on society and their attempts at creating an art which doesn’t offend anyone. And yet here we are, abrasive and subversive as ever. Not only wishing to subvert the ever-persuasive purveyors of the status quo, but to replace them.
Brueggemann again,
“This requires...shifts in voices, deliberate verbal strategies that cause breaks, surprises, contrasts, comparisons, ambiguities and open-ended wonderment in the text...”
In publishing Jack’s poetry, we employed the form of what we called ‘broken lines’ or more fully, ‘broken lines for a broken poet’ - as we labelled Jack. He encapsulates Brueggemann’s perceptions about text; its abrasive qualities and when Shula came along, we could see and experience the open-ended wonderment of the Spirit within us.
Jack could employ shifts in voices, of anger, despair, joy.
More from Brueggemann,
“First one notices the powerful and provocative use of metaphor and image...One becomes aware...that the text can never be summarised but only “followed” in its portrayal of a fresh reality that takes its life from the powerful, passionate speech of the concrete text.”
What is this fresh reality that Jack and Shula offer?
The light undimmed shines in the darkness and the reason it shines is because of their transparency. There is no filter, nothing obscuring the light within, from shining without. Ideologies obscure the light, obstruct the Spirit; they don’t enhance or give relevance to our message of freedom from the politics of control and their classifications of gender, status and race.
Do you not understand that they label people for matters of control? Why do you continue to use those terms to describe yourself?
“Second...It invites the [reader] to participate in the proposed world so that one can imagine a terminated [political reality] while that world still exists, and one can receive in imaginative prospect a new community...where none has yet emerged.”
The body politic has a mouth but it cannot speak, eyes but it cannot see, ears but it cannot hear, a nose but it cannot smell, hands but it cannot feel, feet but it cannot walk.
But you say, the Body Politic can speak through us, can we not hear and feel. If that was the case, then how can you not see the injustices you create. If your affirmation was the case, how can you not feel compassion for the victims? And dismiss it as simply collateral damage?
But these are surrogates and those that worship the Nation-State will be changed into its likeness. These surrogates are ideologues who, in the words of the Book of Revelation, make a lifeless image come alive.
This is a strong delusion.
And it persists through propaganda, the bluster, arrogance and seduction of the three ‘great’ superpowers; the USA, Russia and China. They are the three most deathly nation-states on Earth, despite the shining aura of superiority they project.
They terrorise us with their threats of nuclear annihilation, censoring those who speak against them; the voice of the people – the demo-cracy – is a lie on their lips. They arrest, confine, torture and murder those who resist their power.
‘Madness - Berlin’ (C) Geoff Hall, 2008.
We are isolated like a disease and are refused the most basic of human rights; freedom of expression. Why? Because they are frightened of the free spirit of the artist, who can offer a new reality that doesn’t have them as a central point of reference.
Their wars, not ours, destroy our homes, our families, our communities in the name of Freedom, or justice, or national security. And yet if they wanted peace, they should pursue justice. The Military Industrial Complex expands, claiming more of our taxes to feed its bestial desires. It becomes the destroyer of worlds, at the whim of a despot.
All the ideologues become patriots and patriots become licensed murderers. Those who worship the Nation-State become like them; ravenous, murderous, showing every contempt possible for humanity.
Be careful what you sign. Make sure your only allegiance is to the Divine.
The reason the superpowers hate each other is not because of integrity, or a higher moral purpose, it is because of ideology. They all however, share one common value. Arrogance.
It is to this cause that we are bound - to uproot, tear down, destroy and overthrow our oppressors.
How is this achieved? Through consciousness. Not weapons.
Words sown in the field of the oppressed will yield 30, 60 or 100 fold. You cannot be conscious and an ideologue. You cannot proclaim freedom and be an oppressor. You cannot claim one common humanity, when you force your subjects to play identity politics with your various labels and designations of gender, status and race.
A new world is aborning. It cannot be stopped. It cannot be nullified. For each generation takes a step closer to freedom and thus ends their abuse of power and authority.
Each generation learns from the last; each community gathers the evidence of the Powers ‘persuasive’ means. The evidence is stacked up against them and our abusers will be convicted of crimes against humanity.
Their mouths only speak lies, their arms only harm us, their ears are only used to listen to their own lies echoing in the Void, their breath is a vapour trail and their feet have trodden down every vestige of humanity.
The Nation-States have not pursued freedom, but death. They have traded justice for war and corrupted this good Earth to the point of destruction.
But we, each heart within us, is beats stronger as it listens to the voices of the poets and sees the new visions of the artists.
A new world is aborning. A new world is actually here already, in the hearts and imaginations of those who are conscious, who are awake, who are transparent, whose light shines, like consciousness, a candle that will not be snuffed out.
We are the apocalypse. We are the resistance, and we are irresistible.
Paul O Hasard, Shadow Editions, Chelsea and Bristol
The Walter Brueggemann quotes are from his book, ‘To Pluck Up, To Tear Down’.
