Hi Robert, Please tell me if I have this right. The question you are asking us to think about is: If we were to go back and live our lives all over again just the way it has played out so far would we choose to do it or, would we choose to go forward to age and die without having this recapitulating experience?
After 5 or 6 years of meditating deeply on Nietzsche's writings in the late 1980s and early 1990s (in dialogue with other prominent figures from the history of philosophy, both ancient and modern), I arrived at 4 precepts by which I determined to live and which I still find compelling, though my understanding of them has changed over the years. They are:
1. Remember Your Divine Essence [think, "sublime essence", Robert]
(Remember your essential Self—”Christ-in-you, the hope of glory…”)
2. Say Yes to Life Unconditionally
(Harbor no regrets, no “if onlys”… Rather, “take up your cross…”)
3. Overcome the Spirit of Resentment and Revenge
( “Love your neighbor as yourself…” “Love your enemies…”
Don’t blame “them”… “We are members, one of another…”)
4. Follow Your Bliss
( “Love and do what you will…” Discover the real present & your real will…)
The first precept alludes to the Platonic doctrine of recollection; the second and third are, in part, my acknowledgment of the Nietzschean critique of religion and morality; and the 4th is borrowed from Joseph Campbell. And, of course, they are also heavily influenced by my Christian background and education.
For more on the origin of "The Four Precepts", see:
“The Now is no mere nodal point between the past and the future. It is the seat and region of the Divine Presence itself…. The Now contains all that is needed for the absolute satisfaction of our deepest cravings…. In the Now we are at home at last” (Thomas Kelly, “A Testament of Devotion”).
"If I penetrate to the depths of my own existence and my own present reality, the indefinable 'am' that is myself in its deepest roots, then through this deep center I pass into the infinite 'I am' which is the very Name of the Almighty" (Thomas Merton, "Thoughts on Solitude").
I love this one, Robert. Beautiful!
Hi Robert, Please tell me if I have this right. The question you are asking us to think about is: If we were to go back and live our lives all over again just the way it has played out so far would we choose to do it or, would we choose to go forward to age and die without having this recapitulating experience?
Dear Robert & all,
After 5 or 6 years of meditating deeply on Nietzsche's writings in the late 1980s and early 1990s (in dialogue with other prominent figures from the history of philosophy, both ancient and modern), I arrived at 4 precepts by which I determined to live and which I still find compelling, though my understanding of them has changed over the years. They are:
1. Remember Your Divine Essence [think, "sublime essence", Robert]
(Remember your essential Self—”Christ-in-you, the hope of glory…”)
2. Say Yes to Life Unconditionally
(Harbor no regrets, no “if onlys”… Rather, “take up your cross…”)
3. Overcome the Spirit of Resentment and Revenge
( “Love your neighbor as yourself…” “Love your enemies…”
Don’t blame “them”… “We are members, one of another…”)
4. Follow Your Bliss
( “Love and do what you will…” Discover the real present & your real will…)
The first precept alludes to the Platonic doctrine of recollection; the second and third are, in part, my acknowledgment of the Nietzschean critique of religion and morality; and the 4th is borrowed from Joseph Campbell. And, of course, they are also heavily influenced by my Christian background and education.
For more on the origin of "The Four Precepts", see:
https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/period-pieces/the-four-precepts/the-origin-of-the-four-precepts/
“The Now is no mere nodal point between the past and the future. It is the seat and region of the Divine Presence itself…. The Now contains all that is needed for the absolute satisfaction of our deepest cravings…. In the Now we are at home at last” (Thomas Kelly, “A Testament of Devotion”).
"If I penetrate to the depths of my own existence and my own present reality, the indefinable 'am' that is myself in its deepest roots, then through this deep center I pass into the infinite 'I am' which is the very Name of the Almighty" (Thomas Merton, "Thoughts on Solitude").