Meet Etheleona, Part 2.

My New Year's resolution was going to be a one-month "typing fast" -- "fast" as in "abstinence". That is, to refrain from typing for at least one full month, the amount of time that I estimated it would take to get my fingers back in shape. But, here I am with a fairly long post. Have I already lost my resolve?

Not exactly. A synchronistic event has fortuitously intervened. Recently, my computer developed a "glitch" in which windows began popping up on the screen. One of these unexpected windows turned out to be an "on-screen keyboard" -- a utility I didn't know that Windows had. I still can't type as much as I'd like due to back and wrist trouble, but it's a VAST improvement, going from a few words a day to several paragraphs.

The Zeitgeist likes me. The Zeitgeist likes me bunches.

(The Zeitgeist likes me, incidentally, is a phrase I use when I experience synchronistic events or interesting new ideas. It is equivalent to being "in flow", "in sync", "on the spot", etc.)

Now, I promised a mission statement. This blog, as the subtitle states, is for expressing my spiritual, metaphysical, philosophical, aesthetic and personal interests -- in a broad sense, my inner life; which, since I view reality nondualistically, overlaps to a large degree with what is called the outer world. Therefore, I shall discuss Nature, human and otherwise, and the process of Evolution through which it shapes itself; the celebration of Life in art, poetry, music and architecture; the creative force expressing itself in the practical aspects of daily life.

In particular, I will develop my theory of Spiritual Darwinism, a synthesis of Universal Darwinism and Vitalism encompassing the coevolution of matter, mind, and spirit at multiple levels of reality. There are several other current attempts at bridging science and spirit, notably Ken Wilber's Integral Paradigm, and Paul M. Helfrich's further synthesis of the Integral Paradigm with Conscious Reality Creation. My work can be be considered along the same avenue, differing from the former two in that it places more weight upon the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution. I view Life and Consciousness as composed of evolving patterns of information -- replicators -- which are expressions of the universal Life-Force. Thus, the Darwinian struggle for survival can be seen as the Life-Force's creative striving for self-expression, the cosmic game of Lila that it plays with itSelf. The result is a vision not only scientific, but also romantic and poetic.

My personal spirituality can be described as Suitheist and neo-Transcendentalist: seeking the divine within the individual, through the experience of nature, aesthetics, and personal life. I am currently studying Deism and the American Transcendentalists -- Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman -- as the roots of an authentic European-American tradition. In this lifetime, Euro-American is what I am, and I've recently "gotten culture", as I call it -- begun to appreciate the tradition of which I'm part, and its value as resource from the past and potential for the future. Other influences include New Thought, Romanticism, Objectivism, Chaos Magick, Postmodernism, Memetics, Taoism, Vedanta, European Paganism, the Continental philosophers Nietszche, Schopenhauer and Stirner, and channeled sources such as Seth, Elias, Abraham, Kris, and Rose.

Healing my physical disability, rheumatoid arthritis, is a major concern for me at present, so there will likely be many posts dealing with my personal healing process. In this and other areas, I will share my learning and growth as the year's adventure rolls along.

Happy New Year to all.