Syl Sabastian

Dune is a powerful work, but I often see emphasis only on the political/intrigue side of things. on the rivalry between the great houses and the game o thrones aspect. But for me, this was a minor part of the book and series' appeal. Dune is a spiritual work to me, the underlying theme, the one that makes it such a powerful work and series, is the evolution of consciousness. It is the ultimate story of self-improvement, and the challenges and problems which can attend “success.”

The focus on ethics, integrity, loyalty, honesty etc, these give the book and series it's depth, but it's done in a non-preachy way. Frank Herbert was deliberate in this aspect of his writing. he talked to his son about it, telling him that the story was important, and any value beyond that had to be added supplementally, not as the focus. And in this he succeeded admirably. There is much wisdom and value in Dune and the series, if we look past the excellent story. A book that adds to us while entertaining. Highly recommended. Few books achieve this lofty ideal.

At this point in time a review of William's collected works seems redundant. However, the experience of reading all his works as a single book is worth noting. I have read The Collected Works twice. Both times I did so in one go. Read slept read slept read etc. until finished. (I would read while eating and other activities, so really only stopped for sleeping.)

This practice with this particular work is extremely beneficial. William is not an easy read, at first. That difficulty in the beginning easily fools us into believing it will remain so, but it doesn't. For a few reasons. First, the way the plays are written and to whom they were written, comes into, er... play. (Forgive me.) William wrote to an audience comprised of every level of literacy and sophistication. In every play he caters to them all.

Typically, he will have a complex literary part, filled with references particular to the time, or complex convoluted language, his equivalence of “purple prose.” These passages, now, without knowing the specifics referred to or the out of date vocabulary can be hard to decipher. But, fortunately William also had an uneducated “common” audience. He would inevitably follow those difficult sections with straightforward, simple and obvious written which clarifies everything and lets us know what we need to know o follow the story. All we have to do is wait. Suspend our understanding for a while and let the comprehension come to us, instead of the usual other way around. A most handy skill with William.

Another benefit from reading the works as a single book with minimal breaks is the Attunement of the brain. I was not writing either time I read the Complete Works, I wish I had been. A consequence of that intense immersion is that one's brain realigns and adjust and, well, actually regrows neurons to accommodate the immersion and emphasis, all resulting in an increased capacity to assimilate, understand and comprehend. This mechanism is a most incredible one, and applies to anything we do, if we give it a chance to do so. We have to “get into' whatever it is we immerse ourselves into. We have to allow a bit of time for that Immersion to take hold.

With William the effect is dramatic. The more one reads the more one “clicks' and gets the language. Not only the language, but his brilliance. his metaphors, his wisdom, his insights into psychology and motivation. His cleverness and artistry, all become magnified. The more we Attune, the more magic there is to behold. When it comes to Appreciation, Shakespeare is one author that dramatically amplifies our joy the more we tune into his language and style. he is layered beyond layering.

For me, that immersion, since I did nothing else and likely barely spoke to anyone else during the read, the immersion resulted in my speech and thinking being affected. I could talk, “in Shakespeare.” A most marvellous phenomenon. If I had been writing I would have loved to write something in that style. I came easy after the total involvement and my brain had the opportunity to retrain itself.

All in all, reading William's complete works as a book is highly highly recommended, as doing so opens us up to being able to connect with the fullness of his unparalleled genius.

An entertaining read providing a glimpse into a world within a world, street life in Moscow's Three Stations. One does get the feel also from the main character of a difference, subtle, but it's there in mindset due to environment. The results of a different culture, and resulting different psychology. Not just in the MC, but the other characters as well. It's refreshing to connect to Russian characters. The story is entertaining across the full range of spectra from the street to an oligarch.

I was a prolific reader before I came to science fiction. For some reason, sci-fi, then had a poor reputation, being seen as silly, frivolous and even childish. This was during my school years, and reading mostly in isolation, I had no reason to doubt this perspective, but, luckily, a really good friend set me straight, recommending as proof to the contrary, the Foundation series. i reluctantly agreed to give them a go, out of honesty, and am I ever glad I did.

Foundation is perhaps the perfect starter book for immersing in the wonders and glories of science fiction. It's sophisticated, complex, mature, exiting and just about everything one could want from a book. After Foundation, and the rest of the series, my reading switched to predominantly sci-fi/fantasy.

Reading Foundation is a spectacular highlight in my reading “career.” Now, after many decades, I am looking forward to rereading it, the entire series, and the additional books which have been added. A huge want-to-read.

I did a Reading, yes, a Capital R Reading, of JLS with my magic friend Beena. For us, a Reading is a discernment, dissection, appreciation, extrapolation and unpacking of all the Moreness of a Read.
Here's Beena's TakeAway:
My Take-Away on Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.
One of the early influential books in New Age conceptionality.

“To the real Jonathan Seagull, who lives within us all” - JLS Dedication
The power of cueing, in one line.

Another interesting read, another layered emphasis on learning and growing. Comparatively, it's a simple book. Ideas have been presented in a simple and direct manner. This simplicity becomes the first appealing motive for continuing to read JLS. What makes it interesting? It's a story of a seagull by a seagull, not narrated by any human character. Reading JLS, I was all excited and Receptive towards this story as I had no expectations but fun, what else could we expect from a bird autobiography. Having no expectations of any value other than fun became the very reason for my openness, became a leverage for not having any pre-existing calculative perceptions and pre-disposed perspectives.

Key Points:

Importance of time.
Richard emphasized the importance of how and where we spend our time. When JLS was alone and trying to figure out how he could improve flight, having no clue, still he invested every bit of energy in practice. This earnestness and dedication became his key to Moreness.

Hungry, happy learning.
For me, this, especially “happy,” is a representation of no indulgence - be deliberate in your living, in your learning, in your growth.

Wrong idea of being content.
Different people have different understandings of being content. JLS's tribe, they all were content and happy - access to food, feeling somewhat safe, no purpose other than survival. For JLS, it was not enough. He was looking for more in life, wanting to feel and experience what lies beyond boundaries and limitations, was determined to know what other high-flying birds feel and what perspectives they are able to acquire. This idea of going out of our comfort zone has been presented in a very simple and interesting way. JLS was keen to fly really high, with excellence, so he could see the world from an elevated perspective different from his flock on the shore.

The importance of Appropriate Ego. (Self)
Quest for Excellence, could mean being alone in your journey with no clear idea of your desired terminus. Appropriate ego or precise and accurate self-conception is what we need in this alone-journey, to protect us, to leverage our abilities to reach our desired stage..

Assumption of external conditioning as Inner voice.
In any situation where we have to make some choices, we mostly become caught up in lack of self-trust and our conscious/rational, and subconscious mind starts bringing up all the negative suggestions. Mostly those suggestions are either other people's perspective of us, or their own self-perceptions they might be projecting. It's crucial to understand who is playing the role of our inner-self? The question to ask ourselves: “Is it me, or external influence?”

How?
It doesn't make any difference at all whether we know how to get our objective or not. If we keep trying, keeping our focus intact and having trust that our determination, earnestness, and clarity of intent will push us forward in our journey then, sooner or later, we will figure it out. Or, we'll meet someone who can assist us in our journey.

Overall - I really liked the book.

27th of November 2021,