To See Your Soul

Stanislavas Sugintas

“Not to know one’s true identity is to be a mad, disensouled thing — a golem. And, indeed, this image, sickeningly Orwellian, applies to the mass of human beings now living in the high-tech industrial democracies. Their authenticity lies in their ability to obey and follow mass style changes that are conveyed through the media. Immersed in junk food, trash media, and cryp-tofascist politics, they are condemned to toxic lives of low awareness. Sedated by the prescripted daily television fix, they are a living dead, lost to all but the act of consuming.”

― Terence McKenna

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“There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can steer clear of the organized bullshit if he really wants to. It’s a goddamned luxury, and if I were you, I’d take advantage of it while you can.”

— Hunter S Thompson

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Those doing soul work, who want the searing truth more than solace or applause, know each other right away. Those who want something else turn and take a seat in another room. Soul-makers find each other’s company.

— Rumi

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“You use a glass mirror to see your face: you use works of art to see your soul.”

~ George Bernard Shaw, “Back to Methuselah”

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Writing is not like dancing or modeling; it’s not something where — if you missed it by age 19 — you’re finished. It’s never too late. Your writing will only get better as you get older and wiser. If you write something beautiful and important, and the right person somehow discovers it, they will clear room for you on the bookshelves of the world — at any age. At least try. ~

— Elizabeth Gilbert

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I remember being perplexed by something Henry Miller said when I was in my twenties. He said you still have a right in America to starve. I still didn’t understand what artists face in our culture. I thought you would naturally be appreciated and could make a good life based on your ability to offer beauty to the world. I had a lot to learn.

Arts that depend on the stamina and health of your youthful body, like dance, have an implied…