Wise words Victoria, I ponder them and have nothing to add. Except, I read recently from, Kuthumi, the ascended master I work with now, that humour is the highest expression of spiritual consciousness, too.

Word choices… Personally I found ‘Calamity’ charmingly candid. Perhaps that has to do with my theater background (Calamity Jane…). I think most of us have had experiences which, at the time of their occurrence, most certainly were dramatic and seemed calamitous. Hind sight with its infinite wisdom makes it seem so effortless to tone things down and discuss them dispassionately. I think though that is is important to recall just how raw those experiences felt – especially when we are hoping to reach out to younger audiences. My work as an EFL teacher really brought that home to me. For a pre-teen girl for instance, having the boy she is smitten with laugh at her publicly is an emotional calamity. If at that time you try to make light of it all you succeed in doing is alienating the girl. If, on the other hand, you show understanding without judgment she will find the courage herself to put things in perspective.

Human beings are by nature hyperbolic creatures – particularly those of us fortunate enough to have been born and raised in countries free from extreme social and religious restrictions. It takes decades of overreaction to realize that we are the catalysts of our own lives and thus able to achieve harmony if not balance.

Humor is the highest expression of intelligence, it is cultivated and developed gradually and usually as the result of considerable pain. Even ancient tragedies contained moments of “comic relief”, why? Because humor creates objective distance. You know you’ve made progress when your tears become peals of laughter.

There is no doubt that Steven King is a master storyteller, albeit in a genre that is not always represented as literature.

The process of breaking down the facade and facing one’s deepest desires in order to eventually be liberated from their allure is the road of the Shaman – human myth and legend are full of such tales. To our ego the teacher often appears as a “devil” forcing us out of our comfort zones! Everyone reproduces their reality – what differs is how conscious we are of that reality.

Once I have started a book I will always finish it (even if it is abysmal) in the hope that there will be a transcendent moment which will redeem the writer’s efforts. True, I have reached the end of many stories with out having encountered that moment but even those situations have things to teach us and are an opportunity for self evaluation.

What is calamity? Your devastating illness might well have been the end for another person, yet for you it brought liberation and expansion. You evolved from pursuit of a solitary art form, sculpture – to the interactive and social art of writing.

Any art form has an element of subjectivity in how it will be perceived by others, but writing offers greater acuity in getting your message across – combined with the opportunity to continually clarify and hone while reaching a much broader audience than a stationary art piece can hope to attract in a lifetime.

Speaking of ‘play of light’ – I remembered I’d quoted Picasso in my ‘Dreaming Worlds Awake’; ‘When I was 12 yrs old I painted like Raphael. It’s taken me the rest of my life to learn to paint like a child.’ Recently I’ve been painting just for the fun – spontaniously, painting dragons, and last night I had a little talk with Kuthumi. Here’s a bit of what he said: You are playing with colour – moving it around – and as you do you create more energy – a new and expansive, creative energy – and again a transformation takes place. The movement brings more darkness up to the surface. You open up the curtains on, well – like you’re in front of a child’s theatre – you can’t see what’s behind in the dark, but you open up the curtains on a Stage of Light and set a ‘Play’ in motion.

Maybe it’s when we learn to play – without expectation of applause or rejection – that art becomes, as Adamus said, Art will save the world.

A good book is a good book. Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂

Strange, but after mentioning Steve King yest. I couldn’t ‘put it to bed’ and woke up still thinking about it. A stranger arrives at a small conservative-minded U.S town and opens a shop – calles it Needful Things. People are drawn to its window and each of them see the one thing in their lives they’ve always coveted. If only they could have it their lives would be changed forever! But it has a high price ticket. Needless to say the stranger is the Devil in disguise. Dont want to spoil it if you haven read it, but Oh boy! does it change their lives. This Steve King really knows a thing or two about what’s lurking below the surface of most folk’s respectable and upright lives. Yet Love is the transformative factor for 2 of its citizens eventually. Brill!(Shouldnt be prasing someone else’s book, should I>)

“Good writers who set out to entertain succeed because they’re in touch with their humanity.”

Good point. Funny you should mention Stephen King. I too am completely uninterested in horror, but both the movies ‘It’ and ‘The Langoliers’ were great stories with strong characters. You’ve reminded me I should read some of his books. The ‘Horror’ label is off-putting for folks like me, and I get the feeling I’ve been missing some good stories as a result.