[MD] Merry effin' Xmas, dmb

[John Carl]

I know it's early, but hey, I guess I'm just in the friggin' christmas
spirit dave.  I was actually perusing the archives, looking for something
else,  but came across this and I  I gotta ask you, do you find any quality
in our dialogue of 1999?

At 4:58 PM -0700 12/19/99, David Buchanan wrote:

*>But just *
*>imagine for a while that Pirsig is saying that reality is composed of *
*>nothing but love, created by love and for love. *

jc:

Well I don't have to imagine too hard. The Statement "Make no mistake,
Quality is caring" pretty much sums up that very position. Any yeah, it
certainly changed my life.

I sure enjoyed your testimony David. We oughta have a thread, "How I came
to Quality Stories" -- so much more fun than argumentation.

Personally, I grew up in a static truth trap the likes of which I don't
think I can even begin to describe. I abandoned religion in favor of
philosophy, which was viewed socially as degeneracy on my part, but the MoQ
describes as "moral behavior".

I'd decided that Deep Ecology held all the answers - that the value
patterns of nature itself contain all we need for religious experience.
Native American thinking was sought. But when I got ZAMMED, everything
changed.

        "Normally we add new facts to existing knowledge. But once in a
while a book like this comes along and does just the opposite -- it adds a
new pattern of knowledge to existing facts. The result is striking. Old
dull things you've known for years suddenly stand up in a whole new
dimension."

Old stale problems suddenly became explicable. The MoQ solved everything.
I am extremely grateful. To me it was exactly like a mystical experience,
but at the same time fully rational. The higher level of understanding
enfolded all else and waves and waves of crystalization of thought
continually occur on a day by day basis.

But I'm not sure if that kind of experience translates very well. Once I
left the religion I was raised in, I never jumped on board anybody's
bandwagon again.

Something inside us wants to join up though. There's a troubling tendency
of the human soul to create a CoQ - Church of Quality. I find that urge in
myself and I have to constantly block it because there's no more dangerous
static truth trap than the "right" metaphysics. But yet, I can't go
anywhere else because nowhere else can I even discuss this
life-transforming truth.

My loneliness is manifold amongst the people with whom I can talk to face
to face. Social intercourse that's ultimately meaningless because nobody
really wants to interact on an intellectual level in society. Well at
least the society I run around in... maybe y'all go to university and
whatnot, I wouldn't know. I dwell amongst the po white trash of the world,
beat but happy because I have found interesting discourse right here and
now. But without this discussion, I would be lonely indeed.

I have friends I beg them to read ZAMM or Lila. They say it sounds like a
great idea, but they don't have time. Nobody I know has time to even think
anymore. It doesn't seem right somehow.

New patterns of thinking are isolating in society. You get lonely. You
wanna talk to people about new ways of thinking. It's almost like an
evangelical zeal. Why? Where does that come from? Isn't such a thing
inevitably kowtowing to the social forces?

Personally, I'm grateful for this place and every person who has
contributed. I wish I was able to make a more personal connection with
each and every one.

Whenever anybody expresses dissatisfaction with this dialogue, I take it
personally. Not personally as in "jc shut up you stupid ass" but
personally as in something I care about very deeply is being attacked.
Also personally in that I wonder if I don't share responsibility. After
all, even if my words aren't being despised and ignored because they are of
such inferior quality as to be worthless - they still do not measure up to
the kind of quality that is attractive and draws people to want to add
their own steps in the dance. Even if I'm doing little wrong,
dissatisfaction with the debate means we all aren't doing enough right.

I disagree. I don't even see how anybody can read DMB's latest post on
Deeper Needs and even talk about going anywhere else. There's good stuff
in here my friends, if you can just tune it in. I'll try and keep the
static down on my part.

Celestial Solstices One and All !!
jc