By Apuleius Charlton
Special guest blogger
Over the course of this reading group, I have used Prometheus Rising as a series of lenses with which to examine the world, Wilson and myself. I have drawn upon the immediacy of the world as it has changed over the course of the past year and a half, as well as my experiences and thoughts when I have read Prometheus Rising in the past. The world does change rapidly, seemingly more rapidly as the future arrives anew every day; no one can fault Wilson for inaccuracy as far as that prediction is concerned. I have spent many of my posts concerning Prometheus Rising detailing my qualms with other predictions. I don’t feel the need to continue journaling my anxieties and quibbles.
I am in full agreement with Wilson that stupidity is the main danger in the world and that intelligence increase is our best (only?) hope for a truly new dawn. I still maintain that stupidity continues having quite the moment amongst members of the human race but I’d like to consider RAWillumination. Here is something that could be considered social media that I think works to make the readers a little better and smarter over the years. Through his persistence, friendliness and discerning taste, Tom has built a place for people to gather and judging from the people I see commenting regularly, his work has attracted others who are earnest in their desire to share and learn with each other. I am not alone in having noted that this website is one part of our day that we know will be a bright spot. When Tom had to take a hiatus last month, sincere condolences were offered, showing that there is a true sense of community amongst the regulars. I’m sure many of you missed checking the blog for the week it was offline.
This ramble is to say that I believe Tom is doing his part to increase intelligence, step by step- and look how others have built upon his work: Tom, in this reading group alone, has provided Eric a platform to display his years of knowledge of Wilson, Beethoven, Joyce and more. (I have hopefully occasionally added something of value.) Through their work and the responses of our dedicated commentariat, we are able to continue a dialogue with the dead as we continue to explore and debate their words. The good news is that Robert Anton Wilson is alive and well and living within all of us.
As long as there are minds to meet and places to gather, we’ll continue to nurse the lives and ideas of the authors, musicians, artists and madmen that have inspired us all across space and time. We will continue to ascend, sometimes slowly and with great confusion, to something better than yesterday’s world. The bright and shining future might not arrive as soon as we wish, and I know that I still have much to learn about patience and acceptance, but as long as we are working on it, there isn’t an excuse to fall into the slough of despond. We continue to bend our shoulders to the wheel.
Step by step, Prometheus rises.
4 comments:
Bravo and thank you for the kind words. I totally agree that Tom has created a wonderful space here at this blog, and it has meant a great deal to me.
Hard to believe that this study group started 23 months ago today on Crowleymas 2020. What a long strange trip indeed!
I appreciate the kind comments from Apuleius, and yes, I have tried to provide a platform to others as well as writing for the blog myself. I hope everyone has been enjoying the reading group.
I fully agree with everything in this post. Prometheus Rising as a series of lenses with which to view to world gives an interesting perspective. The Raw Illumination blog provides a rare beacon of light in social media and has meant a great deal to me as well. I do find it a highly valuable platform.
Related to that, RAW brings up a notion that has always intrigued me, Gurdjieff's "Conscious Circle of humanity" (p. 274)"They are Free Masons, in the original meaning of that debased term; co-creators of future realities." I connect that with Crowley's Secret Chiefs.
I find it significant that RAW's part of the book ends with a question mark.
For those who follow my Deleuze video series, the 17th Series of the Static Logical Genesis did post a few days ago, there's even a slight RAW connection with the mention of Leary's 8 Circuits model.
https://oz-mix.blogspot.com/2022/09/17th-series-of-static-logical-genesis.html
I feel very much grateful as well for the platform provided here by this blog. Having a space to exchange RAWlated ideas appears invaluable to me, and greatly enhanced my experience and understanding of those ideas. The community might be small, but it sure is dedicated and friendly.
I do not know if my Intelligence increased during these past 23 months, but my overall curiosity certainly did.
For all its complexity and, at first, mix of strange new ideas, surprising net of connections, and outrageous claims, I now tend to see Prometheus Rising and the 8 Circuits model as presented therein as only being a starting point begging for further devellopment. 23 months might seem a long time, but this is the Great Work for a lifetime. The book is like a manual that I want to keep on coming back to and use as a basis or reference point in my future studies. And while definitely being a product of its time, the message of PR still seems more actual, valid and necessary than ever.
Then again, what do I know, I probably amount to little more than a Cosmic Schmuck.
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