I’ve read some nice rants on the subject of Unverified Personal Gnosis lately so I thought I would have a bit of a gnash and a foam myself.
UPG is intended to be a move away from what is seen to be woo-woo. The idea is to shear what would at one time have been called prophecy and revelation away from personal status. What actually happens is that the corpus of heathenry, for example, becomes nothing more than a scrapbook of factoids rather than any coherent and directional doctrine. There aren’t any prophets in heathenry, no small cohort of people who are picked on by gods, just bloggers. Heathens have become god-twitchers, and they get together for a jar and jaw about their latest piece of god-spotting. UPG is portrayed as a technical, evidence-based process but it’s really only a distillation of the Gnower’s knowledge and imagination. What fits is what matters. Methods are more important than message, and methods boil down to a bic and an A4 tablet.
It’s the infection of animism, in which everything is regarded as people and all people are regarded as equal. If everyone is equal then nobody’s message is special or has any legitimate imperative. Which brings me nicely to those who do not regard themselves as equal, and the identification of those who aren’t. If I were asked whose example and guidance it is best to avoid then I would say anyone with a title such as seidkona or druid, or anyone who uses adjectives in self-reference. Such people are hopelessly romantic. It’s all about them and any message they utter serves their ego and their agenda. Who aren’t equal? Who has a valuable message? Those with questions. No claim of magical skill or a seer’s eye from these but a real stuff to give about the life they lead which they love.
There are some people who have always regarded UPG as the aspirational religionist's equivalent of “My cat told me it prefers Whiskas”, that is, when it’s not “Look at me everybody! I‘m a seidkona and a PhD! Wheee!”. They’re really cynical types, though, as a rule, and don’t get invited to Christenings. Anyway, next time some one tells you that they’re spotted the Greater-Bearded Trickster, or the Bad-Tempered Ginger Hammer, step back for a moment and consider the possibility that you may be listening to the song of a Big-Headed Tit.
15 comments:
Completely agree with this.
It’s the way I tell them.
I was reflecting along the same lines myself, in fact: UPG is almost always excruciatingly banal.
I look forward to your own gnash but urge you to place it somewhere that I might read it.
Oh, go on then, you can come in. (Have you been watching True Blood?!)
I've sent an invite to the Holmesian email address I have for you!
We are all equal, but some are more equal than others.
You know it makes sense. Where’s the gnash?
I haven’t been watching True Blood. I am enjoying Being Human. Prior to that the last good traditional horror I enjoyed would be Ginger Snaps. I mean, Beckinsale's very nice in rubber but a lot of this stuff is flatter than your average comic.
The 'reflecting' I referred to is still in my head.
Being Human is just brilliant!! I was very impressed.
I’ve just recalled that gnash is in places a euphemism for a lewd act. Not an unpleasant act, but it’s appropriate that it’s still in your head.
I missed the original BH cast when this last series began but I have to say that the acting and writing have largely blown away (there I go again) my previous preferences. New series beginning soon, I understand.
That's 'nosh' not 'gnash', surely?!
Possibly I've been doing it wrong.
It’s not my place to say.
I've repented of my earlier invitation, FP, and returned you to the status quo ante vis a vis my blog, I'm afraid. My apologies.
Who was it this time?
No who: just changed my mind.
Really? And you come across as so reasonable. I even like you.
Post a Comment