{"id":60,"date":"2022-04-30T02:19:59","date_gmt":"2022-04-30T02:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/?p=60"},"modified":"2023-02-26T22:25:32","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T22:25:32","slug":"upon-a-stone-altar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/30\/upon-a-stone-altar\/","title":{"rendered":"upon a stone altar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mr Roboto has a secret<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This year (it’s been a year since our last book club<\/a>, Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness<\/em>.–a year!) Meredith<\/a> and i are reading Ani.mystic<\/a> by Gordon White from Rune Soup (both of us got the nice hardback edition, because, book nerds). i have read none of Gordon\u2019s books, and i am excited to dive in. this week is a meditation on Chapter 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

much of chapter 1 winds in and around Pohnpei, an island which is “known for being the second wettest place on earth” according to Visit Pohnpei<\/a>. i admit i find the living history of the island awesome and terrifying. thousands of basalt columns, tombs, multitudes of spirits, dead soldiers, a sacred eel, bones, giant sharks–my mind cannot grasp it. cannot grasp it. must slip into comfort with unknowing. why am i both awed and afraid of not-knowing? is it my upbringing and education, ever reminding me that there is “a” Truth towards which we must strive? there are some things, or most things, if i am telling the truth (ha), that i can only attempt to appreciate, not know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Famously, there is a belief on the island that if you tell all your secrets then you will die.”<\/p>p 47<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

well, that<\/em> resonates! describing your imaginary friend to your mother falls flat. “talking about it” doesn’t always cure an emotional hurt. a secret is something kept hidden, concealed. but a secretion is something that leaks out, is expressed. both secret<\/em> and secretion<\/em> have a common root<\/a>: secernere<\/em> “to set apart, part, divide; exclude”. discernment has become an important word in my vocabulary these last few years of mid-life passage (i hesitate to write “crisis” because it’s been fascinating and enjoyable, on the whole). i have worked to discern what feels good to me, and what doesn’t. separation may not be a healthy path forward (cf Charles Eisenstein on the “story of separation”, which Meredith also reflects on), but discernment is a special, sacred tool. it requires tuning in, being with what is presenting itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i hope, as we continue this adventure, Meredith, that we can share a secret or two now and then, as we peel back the layers of our minds in pace with the turning of pages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year (it’s been a year since our last book club, Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.–a year!) Meredith and i are reading Ani.mystic by Gordon White from Rune Soup (both of us got the nice hardback edition, because, book nerds). i have read none of Gordon\u2019s books, and i am excited to… Continue reading upon a stone altar<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-club","tag-ani-mystic","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technekai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}