Comments on: Catharsis as Healing Release

By: SilverMoon

SilverMoon — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 06:45:30 +0000

I remember reading her words when I was a teenager and thinking what I think Jessamyn said above. I felt then (and now) that passage was one that exemplifed “George”as the rebel: a woman writer who would not have been published in her time, without taking a man’s name. It seems she had deep faith in herself. (I have not refreshed my memory on her bio nor researched her, so I could be wrong.)

“amber light…aura… spiritual simplicity, catharsis…poetic moment ” Hmm. To be in that place. Thank you for sharing this in such a poetic manner.

By: Garnet

Garnet — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 15:46:34 +0000

Jessamyn, I am buoyed by your suportive words and subtle perceptions.

By: Jessamyn

Jessamyn — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 03:52:57 +0000

Lovely post, Garnet. I’m not surprised the Middlemarch quote–seemingly so much about the very personal–triggered the necessary release about both the personal AND the political… Once had a fascinating conversation about how the TOWN of Middlemarch functions as a Chorus (as in Classical Greek plays–at times prescient, omniscient, at times commenting on the action and voicing the reader’s judgments, forwarding the action, triggering the events even as behaving as though they are neutral, etc). Maybe on some intuitive and language level the relationship between the town/politic and the person/spiritual was fully evident even in such a short passage from the book. George rocks, she was so smart and good and beautiful. So is this post; thanks.

By: Garnet

Garnet — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:29:16 +0000

along the lines of my thinking above, regarding feeling “pure emptiness”, and about faith…I just bumped into a wonderful quote about freedom. check it out.
http://gracefulpresence.blogspot.com/2005/06/spiritual-freedom.html

By: Garnet

Garnet — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:16:44 +0000

Stormwind-What I think I’m missing is faith. With my secular way of seeing the world, it’s difficult to develop faith, which is not “scientific”. Faith is cultivated hope. It takes practice. I think it’s missing from much of our culture, especially from well educated, secular culture. I haven’t found the switch to turn it on.

Also, my lack of a regular spiritual practice throws me off. I have friends who are well versed in many spiritual practices, but practice none. Zen mind worked for me for awhile, but my life is too cluttered to feel that pure emptiness.

Hmm, what I just wrote is revealing. It’s amazing how stuffed our lives get, supposedly with “meaningful” things. I feel burdened by much of my daily life. How can I lighten up????

thanks for the comment, and for triggering that thought…