Author Archives: storehaufovic

Re-reading Aristotle’s “Poetics” all about art, and also life

04 Saturday Mar 2017

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I would boil down his basics to three orientations towards life: to see things as they are now, as we wish they were, and as they will one day be. Most art falls into one of these three basic life orientations.
We tend to look at things: as they are, as we wish they were, or as they will be. And we interpret from one of these three perspectives. The prophetic, as Heschel teaches us, tends to speak into the present from the future—so looks at what is, based on what it will be, and speaks from there. If we judge based just on what things are now, we tend to lack hope. If we judge based on what we wish things were, we can get a bit blinded, and deny current suffering (redemption is not possible if there is no suffering, as one great theologian taught). If we judge with a vision of what this will be, and speak into its present towards its future, we start to drawn things towards their destinies!
These categories are from Aristotle’s poetics. He felt art had these basic three orientations. But I would broaden it, to how we interpret life in general. I would put it:
So, we tend to interpret things from one of these focuses:
As they are, as they should be, and as they will be-prophets see backward from will be. Faith sees from the future into the present. It interprets based on vision of the destiny of the other. And speaks from that future space into its present to draw it towards that vision of wholeness.
 Yet, we each tend to see in one of these ways. These are different ways of interpreting life.
Faith gazes backwards from the future into the now.
We tend to interpret things by how they are, what we wish they were, or a vision of what they will be. This is true of art and life.
 Prophetic Optimism is not blind. It’s based on a vision of what we will one day be, and it speaks as if already true-which calls us forth to incarnate that vision.
Dialoguing with his book on art.

We tend to interpret things from one of these focuses:

As they are, as they should be, and as they will be-prophets see backward from will be. Yet, we each tend to see in one of these ways. These are different ways of interpreting life.

Faith gazes backwards from the future into the now.

We tend to interpret things by how they are, what we wish they were, or a vision of what they will be. This is true of art and life.

Prophetic Optimism is not blind. It’s based on a vision of what we will one day be, and it speaks as if already true-which calls us forth to incarnate that vision.

In dialogue with his book on art. The greeks had sort of a scientist’s look at art view, and it’s helpful in considering the components and overall orientations towards life and art. Worth a study at least! Enjoying re-reading this basic book on art and life. And considering its implications to how to live well.

some random potent quotes..

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

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“He can see your eagerness to serve. So don’t worry. He’ll help you find your fields!” anonymous monk.
“I see that some leave the path, because they are hurt by other’s weaknesses to the point they forget to forgive. Let me be quick to forgive so I can stay in Grace Sir!”
He is The Light, so be light also!
 Be Light also!
God said to me once, “He would leave the Light on for me, friend!” And I quote! That’s all I need to hear, now I will go again shining the light!
 “It has been written that the church is both the salt and the light. Let’s make sure we are the Light part as well friends! God said, let their be light, by which He could see things. Light brings sight and understanding, allows us to delineate. We need both light and salt. Let there be light! Of course, Christ also called Himself the light of the world. We, in Him, are to carry and shine that light outwards endlessly so others may see! For in the Light was also the Life! Let’s be in Light friends!”
“I’m tired of me, let’s see how God sees me instead! His Version of us is always more interesting and nuanced! Turns out, He’s not tired of the real me, so who am I to protest.”

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

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(“And nature also knew my name, when I showed up in love and saw her.” St Francis)
I wore the morning’s clothes all day today.
And the birds and plants seemed to call my name, as if
we already knew one another.
Soaring over and through all walls together
we spoke of the coming light
of Day with it’s warmth already settling
on all our wings…
 Listening to a priest last night talk about vision leading to hope, leading to Joy, leading to kindness to others..”for the vision set before Him, He endured…” was his passage. Nice! Reminded me that seeing well matters, art is not impractical, if we want to move in hope and kindness. So many metaphors of hope around us if we watch well!
 Anyway today, enjoying poetic walking and wonder-seeing with Heschel (reading “I asked for Wonder”; when God asked Heschel what he wanted in life; he responded. “I want wonder, not success.” God seemed to like his answer, so gave him both!)
 So beholding nature today down here on the earthy earth. Sometimes just beholding nature makes me present and thankful! It’s longer than us, and outlast and flies over and through all our walls. And brings me into Wonder, which re-calls my own name.
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From a journal i found today from many years ago, when i lived on the road between places, on a day when I was evidently living well:
I lived in potential, vision and possibility of life today, and loved it! That space, where faith and hope hang out; that place which vision requires, where we can be ourselves again. I lived the poem of my day! I was myself, and content with that. And I loved you more than I thought possible. I foresaw your best bloomings, and chose to water them into place with an overflow of love.

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

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From a journal i found today from many years ago, when i lived on the road between places, on a day when I was evidently living well:
I lived in potential, vision and possibility of life today, and loved it! That space, where faith and hope hang out; that place which vision requires, where we can be ourselves again. I lived the poem of my day! I was myself, and content with that. And I loved you more than I thought possible. I foresaw your best bloomings, and chose to water them into place with an overflow of love.

St Peter’s spiritual continuum…

09 Thursday Feb 2017

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Meditation on Peter’s thoughts on salvation today..and what it implies: St Peter’s spiritual continuum!
  Playing with my helmet of salvation today. The idea of salvation as the beginning of the process not the end. Came across something St Peter said about salvation, which felt true again. I liked his idea of salvation as a process of spiritual growth, not just a single instant. We get saved, then we work it out, and grow it up, sort of thing. He was really into the spiritual continuum of life into the next, and living accordingly- “for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:9)
  So, having already begun to receive the salvation of your souls, live accordingly; this was for him a motivation for godliness…. He put it like this later in the letter: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
   He also taught us to have sincere love for one another in the light of this.  “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.” Not bad advice.
 Nice meditation today. Most people don’t like to think of salvation much, but I still find it interesting, as the start of a long process.
 People get saved, then what. That’s just the first step. We get out of Egypt, then the wilderness training, downloading the law (His rules from His Ways) into our hearts, the crossing over the Jordan (the necessary deaths to self) into our lands; then, the occupation, possession and cultivation, the making whole—it’s a journey, spiritual growth!
 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
  Love is what we do in the meantime, while growing in His Nature! It’s our default setting until…
  Peter’s basic point throughout his letters is-in light of your salvation, live well.
 Live in the spiritual continuum, you have already entered through Christ. Increase in His Ways, as you go, now that you have tasted (the beginning of the salvation process). Good stuff. A call to ongoing sanctification, or growing up into Christ, growing up into our salvation.

Soil sight and skin again, and other teachings in a nutshell…

09 Thursday Feb 2017

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  I’m doing an “in a nutshell” series this year. Little teachings, written small, so others can run with them.
  Get ready, here we go! There are three large areas where Christ’s Lordship has not been fully applied or incarnated: soil, sight, skin. That is, a theology of the earth; a theology of the arts; and a theology of our stewardship over our physical bodies. All three areas have been claimed by other belief systems. The first, some sort of earth worship or vedic stream; the second, entertainment and celebrity-ism; the third, with yogic or new age thinking. I think Jesus is meant to dwell in all three areas, and has outlined how we are to partner with Him in each.
  In the area of the earth, we are finally hearing lots more on a Christian ecology; in the area of the arts, a few are starting to think about His Lordship over the imagination, which extends into culture making, and collective symbols; in the area of the human body, there is little literature on how we are to govern our bodies in a healthy way. Of course how we steward the earth, and our physical bodies, are related in terms of principles. The arts, is more about how we meet God in our creativity, which is part of our relationship with Him. God is symbolic and creative, and so are we, in His Image—this should be an area of our relationship and ongoing sanctification in Christ.
Spiritual development maps:
  The next nutshell for you is a model for spiritual development taken from the cities which were occupied in the book of Joshua. First Jericho, which was guarded by the ways of witchcraft, which is among other things rebellion against true authority. We begin our spiritual journey, by surrender, and realizing we need help from The True Authority. So we must topple the ways of witchcraft it ourselves. Those areas where we hold up our own authority above God’s. The second city is Ai, which is the area of community and friendship. We must allow others to minister God’s life to us. The third….the overall principle, is that we must go in with God, and occupy, possess and cultivate or make fruitful each area of our lives.
Going back briefly to His desire to enter into the arts….
 In the area of the arts we are talking about restoring a true image of both ourselves and God. As we get a clearer image of both, we are able to align with what is Real. So the imagination is part of getting a clear picture of God and His Creation. This allows us to live well. We need to see well, in order to live well. So the imagination is crucial to an accurate interpretation of what is Real.
  Under His Lordship over our bodies, is how to eat well, exercise etc. Our general governing with Him over our physical domains, starting with our own bodies. Of course, there is the interruption of the sin nature, but we are also moving partly in the new creation, and can learn to steward our bodies with Him. I’ll keep developing these three neglected areas of Christ’s Lordship: soil, sight, and skin.

The Law and the prophets

09 Thursday Feb 2017

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 When the students of Jesus saw Him revealed on the mount, they saw the law and the prophets both nearby Him. Both revealing Him in unique ways. He was speaking with Moses and Elijah. So, both teaching and prophesy are intimate with Christ.
  Moses and Elijah are always close by Christ. Teaching and the prophetic are both nearby Him, and both reveal who He is. They are two unique modes of expressing Christ. They are unique modalities, but both lead into His Life. For the law and the prophets both speak of The Christ. Teaching orders, prophecy cuts-but both reveal aspects of His Nature.
   Both our teaching and our prophesying should lead us into His Life, for both are meant to be in close proximity with Christ! All true teaching should be leading us deeper into Him; and all real prophecy, should be in the spirit of the story about Him. For, Moses and Elijah are still talking with and about Christ. Moses is teaching law, and Elijah is prophesying; you can listen from either side, and you can join in either stream. Bringing these two streams into the present is helpful. It’s not just that the law and the prophets pointed towards or spoke of Him back then; they still are!!!
 Practice switching back and forth from Moses’ way and Elijah’s. They both lead into Christ, but in unique ways. One is teaching, the other prophesying. Both are revealing who Jesus Christ is! I like teaching and prophesying, both are useful in different situations. Teaching is more about ordering. Prophecy imparts the word. We need both streams to know Him more fully.

Why Praise?

09 Thursday Feb 2017

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Praise from the rooftops
 Why praise? The Jews ask: does God really need our praise? I would say, we need it. Praise is our orientation for transformation. Praise is not a denial of lament, it is a declaration from suffering of our trust in the One who has befriended us. It is therefore an action of faith. Praise puts us in a position of thanks which allows deeper contact with Our Source.
 The reason worship is the beginning of Wisdom, is that it admits we need, and have fallen short..so it begins the healing process of making us and the world more whole.
The Psalms start and end in this action of praise. It is our proactive response to God. We need praise more than God does. In heaven, praise may be redundant, or obvious. Here, it is a choice to say Yes to God in the midst of the partialities of life. The interruptions of being, down here, are overcome by praise.
 This is why David teaches that praise overthrows depression! “A garment of praise for the spirit of depression.” As he put it. So we put on that garment in response to the many depressions of life down here. It is not a denial of suffering, but an active response to it. Praise puts us in a position to receive the blessings.
So, praise is neither naive or gullible, it is rather alignment with what is Real. Praise positions us for Grace.

Love!

07 Tuesday Feb 2017

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The Central theme of Life is Love.
  I love studying the sacred books. Looking for a single theme in the “good” book, the Bible today….fun trying to find the core message….the crystalized essence of the message. The one that is always true and applicable, practical-the transformative word.
  Looking at the whole story of the Bible as the gospel story, or good news for humanity and the earth today…about God’s relational Love for us, and constant sacrificial intervention that we might know intimate relationship with Him and one another, ourselves and nature. First section of St John’s gospel reveals that God was relational even before creation (The Word was with God…etc)
 Through all the covenants, agreements and interventions into history, He is always trying to make His Love available. Looking at the same relational loving God through all the generations of His purposes (not just age, but purposes) of revealing His Love and making it accessible to His creation. The whole book is good news.
  Good news you can dive into from any part of the grand narrative, and meet God in His Love. The central theme is relational sacrificial love. Sometimes it’s good to re-visit the main point.
 Think of the whole story as the gospel, about God’s love and desire for intimate relationship with His Creation-to catch us up, and draw us into His Love, which is our home, where we belong.
 The book tells one long narrative, with one theme, but multiple types of interventions to express it—Adam, Noah, Abram, Moses, David, Jesus (and all the women, children and seekers, disciples and thinkers, poets and dreamers and those not willing to close off to the possibility of Love in each era!)…and throughout-one story summed up in Jesus’ prayer for Oneness in John 17.
 That we would be one as He and His Father are—that we would be caught up in that Love within the relational God. That’s the theme of the whole story. Nice to think of the big story sometimes, and look for the main theme. And to contextualize your own times in that loving.
  Also, to quote from my dream last night, something fresh was being offered now: “A quickened depth of communion in and with His Love is being offered now for practical reasons; a deeper love for one another would be the overflow of that higher union. Go further vertically to bless more deeply laterally!”
 I liked the idea of a “quickening love”. The word for quickening means to “be brought into living communion suddenly.” Nice hopeful word from my dreams last night. Looked up the word for quickening, it means fast deep union with….maybe necessary in our times! Anyway, todays deep thoughts by me. Sometimes, the central theme is still the main thing—receiving and overflowing Love, and being willing to sacrifice to bring that fragrance of Life to one another. Or, as Van Gogh said: “To know God, is to love things deeply.”