David A. Beardsley's Blog

  If anyone is still out there reading, let me just quickly say that I had a brain tumor operated on last month and am still in recovery. I’m back home now, as of Saturday (this is Dec. 11), and … Continue reading →

  No, that’s not a typo.  I just finished a book by Bob Richardson called First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process, which among other things talks about his (Emerson’s) love of the language of the … Continue reading →

  Perhaps the most prevalent practice in the Odyssey as well as other works of ancient Greece, is that of ritual transformation.  It is not of course just limited to Classical studies–there is the transformation of base metals into gold … Continue reading →

  Recently I read a book called The Hero’s Journey, a collection of talks, writings, interviews etc. by Joseph Campbell over the course of his long and productive life.  It follows his outline of the steps the hero must go … Continue reading →

  In his introduction to Simone Weil’s Gravity and Grace, which he also edited, Gustave Thibon makes the following statement: “The hero wears armour; the saint is naked.”  As someone who has written much about the “hero’s quest,” this statement … Continue reading →

  As many of you know, I am a strong believer in the metaphorical interpretation of many classic works, (and Homer in particular).  I recently read the book Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor, a collection of works by Joseph … Continue reading →

  I had a mini-, or maybe not so mini-, revelation this morning of the distinction between the Observer and the commentator.  The Observer just sees, notices unities, but keeps its attention on the One.  The commentator has to start … Continue reading →

  Talk about hierarchies.  The ancient Greeks pretty much invented the idea of agon, a contest in which people (men, really) competed with each other to see who was the best at a given sport, e.g. discus throwing or chariot … Continue reading →

  All we have is a gift from the One.  All our talents, our skills, our consciousness itself is on loan to make up the character we play in this world.  Not all are good gifts, but they are necessary … Continue reading →

I heard an observation recently (can’t recall where) that came up during the president’s visit to the Middle East and Europe regarding the fight (you notice how automatically one falls into martial language) against terrorism, to wit that “the pope has connection to the Source Code, whereas Trump has connection only to the display.” Or words to that effect. The implication being that the pope is in a better position to deal with terrorists since he understands what can make them commit horrible actions while claiming to be part of a religious tradition. He can be proactive, whereas Trump can be only reactive. Continue reading →