One of the things that has haunted me for years — and which might haunt you, too — is that the abbreviation for references to commentary of Proclus on the Parmenides of Plato is "in Parm." It is everywhere in the scholarly literature. Parm is also the way English refers to Parmesan cheese in some contexts. … Continue reading Lighthearted Fun: Parmesan and the Parmenides 🍝
Now, Here.
We are, each of us, a bright flamecaptured within what is knit togetherand patterned after a moment of Gods’-breath.In that holy uniqueness, be filled —the quiet light rolling, the steady quickening,every token of your birth alivewith its God, you a libation of feeding oilto the knitwork of space and timedancing on celestial horizons —like a … Continue reading Now, Here.
Personality Differences and How We Mesh With Gods
In the early to mid 2010s, my mom visited me in my then-apartment every few months. She always visits me bearing fruit out of the conviction that my five-a-day can't only come from vegetables. One time some years ago, she was greeted by (the usual) meticulously-stacked glass Tupperware. I think that, that day, the fridge … Continue reading Personality Differences and How We Mesh With Gods
Following Up on “What Can We Learn from the Goddess Necklace Trend?”
Back in 2022, I wrote a post called "What Can We Learn from the Goddess Necklace Trend?" in which I looked at (with some screenshots) a few of the spirituality-adjacent jewelry places that have cropped up in recent years. You can read the entire post on your own, but I will paste two of the … Continue reading Following Up on “What Can We Learn from the Goddess Necklace Trend?”
Disruptions and mental hygiene
One of the most important things about cultivating a devotional practice is coming to know oneself, and specifically one's mental processes and how they help or harm the ability to come into a focused state when engaging in prayer, meditation, spiritual-practice-related reading, and so on. With the disruptions over the past few months, the thing … Continue reading Disruptions and mental hygiene
Dried Roses, Now Soot
On Friday, the English translation of poet Tuệ Sỹ's Dreaming the Mountain came in. As per usual, I opened up to a random page. In those moments, just after arriving home and greeting the cats, I read: I live in a sky of boundless spaceA Zen landscape of nothingnessNo things, no people, no busyness,Just flowers … Continue reading Dried Roses, Now Soot
Welcoming Cats
In my last update, I disclosed that I have adopted two cats. Their names are Ever and Koiya (although my mom will probably call Koiya "Chloe" — that's OK). The names are both shortened versions of their shelter names. It took me a while to think of what to call the amber-eyed one because she … Continue reading Welcoming Cats
Scaffolding Platonic Theurgic Practice: A Primer
When embarking on an undertaking of getting to know Platonism and its commentary tradition, and especially when one is determined to deeply engage in it as one’s primary spiritual path, it can seem like a lot. “Writing is a sea / its reeds are a shore,” as Thoth says in the Conversations in the House of Life scribal initiation text. It takes courage, conviction, and good sense to penetrate into those waters and learn how to swim in them.
Taking a Short Break from KALLISTI
I'm taking a short break from the blog until sometime in May due to the death of my cat Yoyo.
KALLISTI 