Emptiness Eating Itself

Emptiness Eating Itself

In “Fight Club,” he tries to find meaning in life through filling his life with purchases.  But that doesn’t give him fullness–he feels dead.  So he goes to cancer support groups, and then group violence in fight clubs.   The zombie culture is a feverish emptiness eating itself.  It has no depth and builds nothing. Everything is seen as a commodity.   (From a discussion on “Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis,” Ch. 1)   Thank you for watching!  Please see below for the full conversation:   The full video episode: https://youtu.be/9Cab_C9YhNk?si=x5SDEOQlL0vAU1Iq [https://youtu.be/9Cab_C9YhNk?si=x5SDEOQlL0vAU1Iq]   Audio episode: https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/why-are-zombies-everywhere/ [https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/why-are-zombies-everywhere/]   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T]   The Episode Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqibKcegyTVC5o4oxLsO4Z7 [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqibKcegyTVC5o4oxLsO4Z7]   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad [https://www.facebook.com/benomtad]   About our guest: Ian Reclusado is currently off exploring the poetic wilds of psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality.  He also offers guidance services for those interested in delving into their own inner wilderness. You can find his weekly dispatches at www.thekindknife.com [http://www.thekindknife.com/] or follow him on Instagram: @ian_reclusado   Photo by Jose Rueda [https://unsplash.com/@notartistic?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] on Unsplash [https://unsplash.com/photos/a-man-in-a-garment-with-a-woman-in-a-garment-WNGyP4zumE4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText]   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Why are Zombies Everywhere?

Zombies are everywhere in our culture, in movies and shows, and even in real life, on zombie walks.  They’ve gone from being an object of horror to one of fascination, one that seems to reflect something back to us.  In “Zombies in Western Culture,” zombies are analyzed as a myth of Western culture and a symbol of the meaning crisis.  In this episode, we discuss chapter one, where Vervaeke and his coauthors discuss the zombie as part of the zeitgeist, of something hugely significant in and about our culture.  They think this reflects the crisis based in the loss of the “sacred canopy” of Christianity.     We briefly summarize the chapter and the riff off it.  We compare the zombie with other monsters and discuss its link to consumerism.  We discuss other attempts to awaken us from our slumber and the difficulty to doing so, and we talk about returning to the senses, the body, knowledge, and life.   “Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis,” by John Vervaeke, Christopher Mastropietro, and Filip Miscevic: http://dx.do [http://dx.doi/]i.org/10.11647/OBP.0113   Chapters:   00:00 Introduction  03:31 General Thoughts & the Aesthetic of the Zombie 05:35 “A Choice to Sleep Through Modernity” 16:00 The Hebrew Golem 17:22 Play Acting a Walking Dead 22:15 Zombie Walks and Serious Play 30:15 Muay Thai, Civilization, and “Fight Club” 34:54 No Meaning Out of Consumption 42:42 The Zombie Mirror, Marketing, & Anger in Society Now 48:45 “The White Zombie”  52:15 Everything is Seen from Your Own Need 56:55 The Zombie & Christian Resurrection 1:01:49 Healthy Seeing by Returning to the Body 1:08:01 The Nightmare of Descartes’ Idea 1:10:30 HP Lovecraft’s Monster and the Desacralization of Our World 1:15:10 The Artist as Shaman 1:22:03 The Usefulness of Form in Art & Twisted Messages 1:29:45 Articulate the Meaning of Your Monsters   (From a discussion on “Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis,” Ch. 1)   Thank you for watching!  If you’re interested in the full discussion, see below:   The full video episode: https://youtu.be/9Cab_C9YhNk?si=x5SDEOQlL0vAU1Iq [https://youtu.be/9Cab_C9YhNk?si=x5SDEOQlL0vAU1Iq]   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T]   The Episode Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqibKcegyTVC5o4oxLsO4Z7 [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqibKcegyTVC5o4oxLsO4Z7]   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad [https://www.facebook.com/benomtad]   About our guest: Ian Reclusado is currently off exploring the poetic wilds of psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality.  He also offers guidance services for those interested in delving into their own inner wilderness. You can find his weekly dispatches at www.thekindknife.com [http://www.thekindknife.com/] or follow him on Instagram: @ian_reclusado   Photo by Jose Rueda [https://unsplash.com/@notartistic?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] on Unsplash [https://unsplash.com/photos/a-man-in-a-garment-with-a-woman-in-a-garment-WNGyP4zumE4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText]   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

God is Turned Down (Clip)

At the beginning of the story, the man has had his 13th child, and in a panic he runs out into the street looking for a godfather, and God shows up.  He turns him down, pontificating to the Almighty, and showing the creator his puny reasoning and narrow focus.   (From a discussion on the Brothers’ Grimm’s “Godfather Death”)   Thank you for watching!  If you’re interested in the full discussion, see below:   The full video episode: https://youtu.be/QMR3sj33mRo [https://youtu.be/QMR3sj33mRo]   Audio episode: https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/the-brothers-grimms-godfather-death/ [https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/the-brothers-grimms-godfather-death/]   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T]   The Episode Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vpY9MModKJtD9o999pFQ34L [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vpY9MModKJtD9o999pFQ34L]   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad [https://www.facebook.com/benomtad]   About our guest: Ian Reclusado is currently off exploring the poetic wilds of psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality.  He also offers guidance services for those interested in delving into their own inner wilderness. You can find his weekly dispatches at www.thekindknife.com [http://www.thekindknife.com/] or follow him on Instagram: @ian_reclusado   Illustration by Heinrich Lefler (1863-1919) Illustrations by Otto Ubbelohde, 1909   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

The Power of Foresight in Grimm's "Godfather Death"

A man works very hard but there is no one left to ask to be the godfather as his 13th child is on the way.  He rushes out into the street and is approached by three prospects.  The first is God, whom he rejects because of the unfair assortment of lots, the second, the Devil, he rejects because of his trickery.  The third, however, he accepts because he treats everyone equally: Death.   The boy starts to grow up, and his godfather gives him a gift that will make him rich and famous: he will be a physician who will be able to tell who will die and who won’t.  His fame spreads, and when the king is ill, he sees that the king will die.  However, thinking the godfather will be indulgent with him, the physician uses trickery to save him.  He does get a pass, but then when he sees that the beautiful daughter of the king is sick and he can marry  her if he saves her, he counts on his relationship with Death to spare him once again.   This time, Death grips him with his icy hand and takes him down into a cavern filled with candles.  These, he explains, are the lives of each human on earth, and the more one is burned down, the less that person has to live.  The physician asks to see his own, and it’s a mere nub.  He asks to be saved, and he is told another would have to die in his place.  When Death goes to light the big candle with the little one’s flame, he drops it and kills his wayward godson.   Chapters:  00:00 Reading of “Godfather Death” 07:27 The Original Tale Without Death’s Trick 09:00 Death is Friendly 11:36 God Shows Up at the Beginning 20:00 First Thought, Best Thought 25:50 The Devil as Godfather? 30:49 Why He Says No to God’s Offer 35:36 Death’s Gift of Life 47:25 “Be on Time, Death” 48:18 Why Does the Physician want to Save the King? 57:58 Death’s Revenge 1:06:31 The Doctor and his Godfather, Death 1:16:24 Living in the Present and Learning how to Die 1:25:10 Religious Need for a Figure of Death 1:26:43 Does Closeness to Death Help the Physician Heal? 1:28:46 There’s No Changing Your Nature 1:34:42 Trying to Control Others is Like Necromancy’s Dark Side   Thank you for watching!  Please check out:   The full video episode: https://youtu.be/QMR3sj33mRo [https://youtu.be/QMR3sj33mRo]   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T]   The Episode Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vpY9MModKJtD9o999pFQ34L [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vpY9MModKJtD9o999pFQ34L]   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad [https://www.facebook.com/benomtad]   About our guest: Ian Reclusado is currently off exploring the poetic wilds of psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality.  He also offers guidance services for those interested in delving into their own inner wilderness. You can find his weekly dispatches at www.thekindknife.com [http://www.thekindknife.com/] or follow him on Instagram: @ian_reclusado   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Corruption in the Garden (Clip)

The queen bathes in the stream in the garden with her angelic babe, a scene of pure life and innocence.  Into this scene slinks the power-hungry cook, who manipulates the scene to look like that of a beastly killing, leading to the imprisonment of the mother and his absconding with the young princeling.     The story goes from one of God's grace to one of greed and justice.   (From a discussion on the Brothers’ Grimm’s “The Pink (Carnation)”)   Thank you for watching!  If you’re interested in the full discussion, see below:   The full video episode: https://youtu.be/1a8GjTiQYNM [https://youtu.be/1a8GjTiQYNM]   Audio episode: https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/the-pink-carnation-by-the-brothers-grimm/ [https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/the-pink-carnation-by-the-brothers-grimm/]   The Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqfEOVgfclRgZNXO4boyP3T]   The Episode Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqg2DhM7puvzo3VNwUsShLf [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIlJwXEK2vqg2DhM7puvzo3VNwUsShLf]   For more in this podcast, please go to: Podbean: https://benomtad.podbean.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863 YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ X: https://x.com/Benomtad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benomtad [https://www.facebook.com/benomtad]   I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.   Pink Carnation Girl Photo by Alka Rautela [https://unsplash.com/@alka_rautela?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText] on Unsplash [https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-with-pink-flower-on-her-ear-7a6JeeTCw6o?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText]