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Leonard Cohen The Poet, Writer, And Father

This message comes from NPR sponsor, national cooperative Bank. Choose a Bank that shares your values, national cooperative Bank offers online checking and savings accounts that positively impacts communities more at NCB dot coop, slash banking member FDIC from WHYY in Philadelphia. I'm Terry gross with fresh air today. We talk about Leonard Cohen, the songwriter and poet, and Leonard Cohen. The father, our guest will be his son Adam Cohen at an produce. The final album is father released before he died. Now, Adams written the forward to a book of his father's unpublished writings. Adam remembers when his father was composing his best known song. Hallelujah took him twelve years. It started when I was very, very young here versus I think they're eighty four verses to that song. I remember coming down to kitchen table and he was there with an island string guitar in his underwear, and they're always be versus to consult. Hundreds of versions have been recorded there. A moratorium on that song, you know in my family. So is that right? Good. Transgression refrain please refrain from playing, Hallelujah. Well, see that's coming up on fresh air. When Leonard Cohen died two years ago at the age of eighty two, he left behind many unpublished poems and lyrics. Some of his final poems lyrics notebook entries and drawings are collected in the new book, the flame, his son, my guest, Adam Cohen wrote the forward. Adam also produced the album as father recorded shortly before his death called you want a darker. Adam is a singer and songwriter whose album like a man when gold and Canada in two thousand twelve. He was born in Montreal in nineteen seventy two. Adam is going to talk with us about Leonard Cohen as a writer, performer and father, and tell us about working closely with his father in the final year of his life. Leonard Cohen's lyrics have depth few songwriters have achieved reflecting reverence and despair. His attraction to beauty and his knowledge of broken this lyrics informed by his Judaism, his practice of zen Buddhism and his doubt some of his many well known song. Includes Suzanne so long, Marianne, famous blue raincoat, Chelsea hotel. Number two, everybody knows tower of song. I'm your man. And of course his best known was frequently recorded and performed song. Hallelujah, Adam Cohen, welcome to fresh air. I just want to start by saying, I love your father's music. I left his writing and I feel privileged to have had the chance to hear him in concert and to talk with him on our show, and I'm grateful for the chance to talk with you. Today's of thank you for being here. When I interviewed your father in two thousand six after the publication of a book of his poems and songs, he asked to read a poem that he'd just written that hadn't yet been published, but it's now published in this new book the flame. So I thought it would be a perfect way to start with your father's reading of that poem a street from our two thousand six interview. Are used to be your favorite drunk. Good. For one more laugh, then we both ran outta luck and luck with all. We had you put on a uniform to fight the civil War. I tried to join, but no one liked the side I'm fighting for. So let's drink to win. It's over and let's drink to when we meet. I'll be waiting on this corner where there used to be a street. It wasn't all that easy when you up and walked away. But I'll leave that little story for another rainy day. I know your burdens heavy as you will it through the night. The guru says it's empty, but that doesn't mean it's light. So let's strength to win. It's over and let's drink to when we meet. I'll be standing on this corner where there used to be a street. You left me with the dishes and a baby in the bath and your tight with the militias and you're wear their, their camouflage will. I guess that makes us equal, but I want to March with you just an extra in the sequel to the old red, white and blue. So let's bring to when it's over and let's drink to when we meet. I'll be waiting on this corner where there used to be a street. It's gonna be September now for many years to come many hearts suggesting to that strict September drum. I see the ghost of culture with numbers on his wrist salutes new conclusion that all of us have missed. So let's drink to when it's over and let's drink to when we meet. Hopi waiting on this corner where they used to be a street. That's Leonard Cohen. Recorded on our show in two thousand six is son. Adam. Cone is my guess and the new posthumous collection of Leonard Cone's, final poems, lyrics notebooks, and drawings is called the flame. It's just been published an includes the poem that we just heard Adam. What does it mean to you to have some much of your father's latest, you know his, the work you did before he died collected in this new book. I, I'm just so struck by hearing my father's voice, which I seem to be listening to almost more than I ever did even when he was alive. I love his poetry. I love his words. I love the way he marshals language I am. I'm weary of discussing my father. I always have been, especially when you have a person who had such an inimitable way of and command of language. So I'm hesitant him. I didn't even know whether I should I. I'm not certain. I should be here speaking about him, but but it's a stirring subject and I have been enlisted I'm enlisted in the. In the campaign to let everybody know how wonderful I think he was. Do you feel protective of his privacy. In my opinion, like your father was very elliptical in his writing and a pretty private about his life. He alluded to a lot of things in his songs, but never quite came out and said them in a direct way. Oh, I, I'm not certain. That's that's true in terms of the use of the word direct. But I will say that. To speak on his behalf feels like a little bit of a transgression. You have a man who has designed his life around trying to not demystify a process, and his work really does speak for itself. So you know, of course, I urged people that just consulted if they're interested in it, it's it, yes, it's complete with contradictions. You know, you go from things that are actually quite direct to things that are mysterious and elusive and designed to be transcended because of it. But he was preoccupied with the the broken, this of things, the asymmetries of things. You know, as he says, forget your perfect offering. There's a crack in everything or in his most famous song. Hallelujah, it doesn't matter which you heard the holy or the broken, Hallelujah. So he was always preoccupied with the idea of the imperfection of things yet there's there's a crack and everything that's that's where the light gets in. I don't have the line exactly my fingertips. But I mean, it's the ring, the bells that still can ring forget you perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. Yeah. So like. Like whatever like can get through the crack. It does. You know? I mean, he sees the light, but he sees the thing that only has a crack that lets the light in, you know, always are the duality of everything is I think what I'm trying to say. So yeah, I, I remember him dancing so beautifully around these kinds of questions, which I think he was irritated by very core. And when I say that, I, I don't mean to be disparaging of the person, constructing the questions. I think it's natural for us to be curious to articulate our concerns or thoughts or questions. But I think it's also natural for the quote, unquote artist to preserve the kind of mystery into not talk about the mechanics almost like a porno. You know, this goes in here that goes in there. There's something bigger than the mechanics and that is the end. The end result, the stirring quality of of what is the result. Salt of an artist's work. And you know, I think he has. He said, you know, I put my paper hat on my concussion in dance. He tried on many occasions to to dance around questions or cooperate the be as best he could. And I feel like such a shabby impostor trying to be booked ballot for him. You know the ambassador of this particular book which I had very little to do with, frankly, other than offering a title for it. Or you had a very eloquent introduction, which I will be quoting as telling goes on here. Thank you. So I, I think you've said he left behind like lockers worth of notebooks. What are you doing with them? I mean, you scrappy like he was always writing. There's always like cocktail napkins and pages and in his pocket. It's you found a notebook in the freezer ones. So what what are you doing with the findings? Well, it's amazing. There's so much paperwork to go through from the simplest. Point of view, there's the are the archive will work, which is assembling everything and trying to pay homage to it for posterity. Then there's the completion of works of his in this instance, it's the flame this book. And then there were also some songs which I was tasked with finishing, you may know, I, I produced his last record the called, you want it darker and while working with him many, many poems were read sometimes to Amir, kick drum just for meter for tempo. And so there's this sense of responsibility to keep the songs alive as he always used to say. I want to play the title song on the final album that was released when your father, Leonard Cohen was still alive, it's called you want a darker and then we'll talk about working with him on it and this is it's what can I say? It's a great song. Out of the game. If you are the Hilo means broken lane. If line is the glory and nine must be the shame you want to dark. Kills a frame. Willie name. In the human frame, a million candles burning full, the hill that never came. You want to darker. I'm ready. Leonard Cohen. From the final album that was released while he was alive, the title track you want a darker my guest, this, his son Adam Cohn who wrote the introduction to a new collection of Leonard Cohen's, final poems, notebook entries, lyrics, and drawings called the flame. That's a so much about facing death and of having a God who allows suffering and accepting the suffering, but yet not being like happy about it or trying to make it seem like sufferings. Great. You know, he's not trying to be spiritual dismissive way of of all the suffering that we endure. I, I wanna read what he wrote about you for the liner notes of this album. He wrote that without your contribution, there would be no record. He said at a certain point after over a year of intense labor, both Pat who wrote the melodies and I convinced mentally broke down with. Veer back injuries and other disagreeable visitations. In my case, the situation was bleak the discomfort acute and the project was abandoned. Adam sense that my recovery, if not, my survival depended on my getting back to work, he took over the project established me in a medical chair to sing and brought these unfinished songs to completion. Preserving, of course, many of pets haunting musical themes. It is because of my sons, loving encouragement and skilled administration that these songs exist in their present form. I cannot thank. Enough, what were you able to do for him physically to make it possible for him to record the odham he mentions you put him in a medical of chair. Can you describe the set up there that you help create for him? I think maybe the more interesting thing certainly to me would be to to just say that we were riding some kind of mysterious wind and the grace of the occasion. There was an urgency to the entire mission. And of course it had to do with his serious health issues. He was mobilized, he had multiple compression fractures of his spine involved in incredible monastic effort on his part to to be present and to deliver the way he did. But that's something about his work in general, not just on the last help him, but in this book and in general, a heat, he invites you into your own inner life because he takes the inner life seriously. He's not like one of these contemporaries. I won't mention any names, but there are many wonderful contemporaries of his who have in my estimation, become nostalgia axe their nostalgia, because there's somehow they've succumb to the temptation of going back into their older catalog and their regurgitating things. Whereas this man was speaking from the very wrong that he found himself at in life. I'm going to ask you to read a poem that published in the new collection in the pasture misc- election of Leonard Cohen's works. So is there something that you could choose that would be relevant to what we're talking about now. You know what? I, I don't wanna read this poems. I think that I think in somewhere another, if we could urge people to to consult the work with smaller samples. Otherwise, it takes a kind of lugubrious tone that I think he would have been very, very reticent to to accept it. I'm wondering if you think that's because like when you're father saying his are read his poems, there was this really dark quality, but there was like kind of existential distance from it at the same time and a transcendent quality as well. That made for really complicated mix of emotion. Is that what is troubling you? The idea of you, you reading the poems yourself that he brought this kind of just, you know, even through his voice, this complicated quality of whatever pain or anguish and spirituality who is expressing at the same time and that you don't feel like you could. I think it's simpler than that. You know, I'm reminded of, I'm reminded of so so many lines in which he talked about the solitude of the experience of the of reading, and there's so many poems in which he alludes to the idea that that this is. This is a private matter. And so there's something contradictory feels like a transgression for meter read them. I appreciate you saying that as a son, but as a fan of your father's work, I will say that he performed his work in concerts to large crowds of people, and there are so many performers who have performed his songs so they have the have his work has a life outside of his mouth, and and his work has a life outside of the solitary experience of reader sitting alone in his room quietly reading his poems. So I. On the record essay. No, and I'll go instep further with what you're saying just because I don't believe that they're contradictory in a sense. I mean, this is a man who's put the word Hallelujah on many millions of people's of lips so that that's the sound of a preacher man. The, of course, when it's attached to song it's supposed to lift and and exists the way songs of os existed. I just mean that there's something about reading the poetry that feels instructional or has a kind of rigor to it of a Googlers quality that I don't believe was intended. There's something more beautiful about the notion of people quietly thumbing through this book and absorbing. And as I say, really taking the time with the jewels that are embedded in every line taking their own time, not with my meter. Now with my voice since you've declined to read more. Your father. I'm gonna play him being Ken kit cantankerous or intransigent. No, it's just it's. It's I'd I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointing, but I can. I can live with that. So I thought I'd play your father reading another -nother poem of his. From the interview that we recorded in two thousand six. And this is a poem called titles, and it was published in a book that he did in two thousand six of poems and lyrics. So this is Leonard Cohen recorded in two thousand six on fresh air. I had the title poet. And maybe I was one for a while. Also, the title singer was kindly accorded me even though I could barely carry a June. For many years, I was known as a monk. I shaved my head and wore robes and got up very early. I hated everyone, but I acted generously and no-one found me out. My reputation as a ladies man was a joke. It caused me to laugh bitterly through the ten thousand nights. I spent alone. From a third story window above the park deport you gal, I've watched the snow come down all day. As usual. There's no one here there never is Mercifully. The inner conversation is cancelled by the white noise of winter. I am neither the mind the intellect, nor the silent voice within that's also cancelled and now gentle reader and what name in whose name do you come to idle with me in these luxurious and dwindling realms of aimless privacy? I think. Adam gets a little bit where you were talking about the connection of your father, writing and solitude, and the reader re reading alone as during his. Yeah. Entering his solitude. Yeah. As you noted also kind of humor, you know. Remember, I love one of his lines where he says feel so good, not to love you like I did. It's like the tore away my blindfold and said, we're gonna let this prisoner live. That those Larry's my guest is Adam Cohen. He's written the forward to a new collection of previously unpublished writings and drawings by his father. Leonard Cohen. After a break Adam attack about how after his parents divorced when he was a child, his father managed to stay in his life, even though Adam and his mother had moved to the south of France. I'm Terry gross, and this is fresh air. If the your meal. No. And my voice still. As it was the fall. I will speak no. I shall by. Spoken. If. If the all. Voice be true. From this broken. I will sing too. Showery. Support for this podcast and the following message come from each rate. Are you ready to make moves with your money, invest with each rate, and you'll see how simple investing can be no matter your level of experience. Each rates. Easy to use platform keeps you in the know about your money every step of the way, but it's not just their platform that sets them apart. Each rate has the people to offer guidance and support to make your money work hard for you for more information, visit each raid dot com. Slash NPR each rate, securities, LLC member. FINRA SIPC k, it's muddy ENA, wholesome host of NPR's, Latino USA, the podcasts that takes you inside the Latino conversation. Each week will take you into one story that will fascinate and often surprise. You. Listen to let him USA on the NPR one app or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Terry gross back with Adam Cohen a songwriter and singer whose the son of Leonard Cohen. Is there song you remember from your childhood. That sticks in your mind song that meant a lot to you. Maybe even a song you remember your father writing. I mean when I was really young. I remember him composing Hallelujah. You a member him writing it. Oh, yeah. I remember him being it took him twelve years. You know, it started. It started when I was very, very young here versus I think they're eighty four verses to that song. I remember coming down to the kitchen table and he was there with a nylon string guitar in his underwear, and there'll always be versus consult. And I remember even being invited to sing with a group of people in New York City when he was recording the song for his own help them, which by the way, Sony at the time didn't wanna put out. Amazing. An amazing turn of events to have this man's popularity have grown. You know, he lived in kind of a conic anonymity. If you buy those two, if you buy that unlikely union and two grown in popularity so much at the end of his life and for to get back to your question for me to have said on the side of the stage, and you know, watching my old man at five years old and all the way up to into my forties. The whole canon of his work is his living inside of me is playing in my head is triggered by conversation. So for Hallelujah, as you say, there's there were eighty four versus thinking he ever recorded all eighty four, but did it take twelve years and eighty four verses before he considered it completed because of dissatisfaction with verses that he'd previously written or because the still so much wanted to say in the format of that song as. The popular poem states of poem is never finished, but rather abandoned. Do you think he was frustrated working on it for so long or that it was satisfying? I think frustration was expected. The success of being able to let it go was, was the unexpected. You know, I think he has a very vocational from the earliest days. He would wake up earlier than anybody new to black and pages and and gave up an enormous amount or what he would for refer to his compromise, enormous amount. Go back to that song. I came so far for beauty left so much behind my patience and my family. My masterpiece unsigned. You know, you quote the, you know, some people subscribed to to the philosophy. I thought best thought, and that's often attributed to one of the beat writers. But your father believed last thought best thought. He edited, I take it. He edited his songs allot. He went through a lot of drafts. It was a constant process of filtration and refinement for certain. So what? Why don't we hear? Hallelujah, you fathers version. Sure. Leonard cohen. There is a moratorium on that song, you know, in my family. So. Transgression. Yeah, refrain please refrain from playing Alleluia because. Oh, I think he felt like it was going to cause Leonard Cohen, fatigue or something, you know, or give give some other songs chance to get played. It was. It was partly joke in partly his own exhaustion. I think with with the song. So in spite of the moratorium your family has on, Hallelujah. I, I think we'll play at anyways, your k- with that. God, I'm gonna report you to the bully police. Okay. Here it is. Secret core. And the Lord, but you don't really care for music. Do. Goes. For the. All major. Level. Strong need. Leonard Cohen, singing, Hallelujah. And my guest is Leonard cone, son, Adam, cone, and there's an, he wrote the introduction to a new collection of posthumously published Leonard cone lyrics, poems notebook entries and drawings, and it's called the flame. So you know. How Louis I think like two hundred people have recorded Hallelujah, and but it didn't become well known until Jeff Buckley route quartered at like maybe ten years or more after your father recorded it, which is just so strange, but it's a sign of how I think there's a period of years when your father's genius wasn't fully acknowledged. When you know he had the initial period of hits. And then I think people just a lot of people just kind of drifted away and then rediscovered him. And what was it like for you and for him during that period? One when I think he'd been a little bit forgotten. Yeah. I feel like my father probably felt like his whole life was characterized by that by that description that he'd did been forgotten, forgotten by the angels forgotten by the cupid forgotten by. I know that he was not satisfied. He was a seeker. I wasn't satisfied with either the position that he had for the most part in society. He wasn't happy with society. It self that would that. Deepened the conflict. He wasn't too. He wasn't satisfied with the people aid chosen to be around him. He wasn't satisfied with his role as a father. He wasn't satisfied with his role as a lover and through this layer upon layer of disatisfaction, he somehow mustered an incredible buoyancy in ability to be. More than most delightful people anyone ever came across and it wasn't with any sense of bitterness or judgment. I think he just felt like he had this. Shabby little life, and his only solace was was the work itself. And that's what made the end of his life that more Stanishev, surprising and delicious. He know this unexpected ability to to fill, you know, twenty thousand seats in in any major city in the world. These reviews from people that were like, you know, the likely were reviewing the Sistine Chapel itself. It was accompanied by commercial success in accolades into to see him. Take his hat off, you know, and thank the jubilant audiences one after the other, which to see a man who was genuinely surprised and delighted by the reception that he thought he was never gonna get in life. When I saw him probably in the late two, thousands, like two thousand nine. Maybe I can't remember what year it was. It was kind of like being in a church or synagogue. There was this sense of like devote the devotion of fans to him and his devotion to the music and two things larger. And he ended it with what struck me as a benediction, and I forget exactly what he said, but you know to those of you who are going home, you know to your families, enjoy your families and to those of you who live alone enjoy your solitude. And I thought like people don't say that that's such a beautiful thing to say. It's a lovely way of sending people home and sending people who are going home alone, joy, your solitude. Yeah, me these songs. Find you in your solitude, lessons. The blessings actually the exact quote as may the blessings find union, solitude, I thought it was just beautiful. Well, this is a man who has he says, am I think you've just played it when you know, although we had a reputation as a ladies' man, you know he was. He had to grit his teeth at the ten thousand nights. He spent alone. He understood something about solitude. Let me introduce you if you're just joining us. My guest is Adam cone. He's the son of the late Leonard cone, and there's a new collection of Leonard Cohen's of final poems lyrics and drawings and notebook entries previously unpublished and it's called the flame. And Adam wrote the introduction to it. We're gonna take a break and then we'll be right back. This is fresh air support for NPR and the following message come from ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire ZipRecruiter's powerful matching technology finds the right people for you and actively invites them to apply. That's why ZipRecruiter is rated number one by employers in the US based on hiring sites with over a thousand reviews on trust pilot. And right now, listeners can try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter dot com slash fresh. So you were born on nine hundred seventy two, some of your father's most famous or already written and recorded. By the time you were born Suzanne selling Marianne, hey, that's no way to say. Goodbye burn on a wire, Chelsea hotel who by fire. So did you hear it? You didn't need me. Did you hear them a lot when you were growing up? I mean, this is like when I was growing up, I thought about songs and singers, but it didn't think about song writers. You know, I just thought about like, what's the song and who's singing it, but but you are you. Your father was a song writer. See most of had an awareness that songwriting was a craft that something people actually did, and you must like grown up with these songs. I don't know if he played them around the house. I don't know if even heard them when you were. You know, of course heard them. Yeah. I was five year old on the side of stages. Watching them being performed, of course, can into the looking at the faces of of audiences of, you know, in in different times and places, and I was a deep, deep admirer of the melodies of at first, you know, as a child, just the melodies the generosity of the melodies. And then as grew older, that was the complexities in the beautiful marshalling of language and. Then you grow older than you then you sort of. See, I remember. I remember I myself. Was making a record at the time, and I'd scrapped it and asked my father for council. I said, dad, you know, meet me me. I really got to talk to you. I got pick your brain. We were sitting on the corner of Wilshire and libra, and I confess to him that I was going to scrap this entire record and was expecting him to put his hand on my shoulder and say, like, that's my boy, you know, altruistic values don't never stop, continue, refining. But instead he turned to me and said, and scrappy record. That's an amateur move, said, amateur move. He says yet, it's not about how you feel about the record. It's how the songs make them feel. And. At that moment, I realized that. The love I'd always had for his material wasn't just about their construction, but it was also about their intention -ality. He was holding up this baton that he had been given by the love he had for the people who came before him, and he was holding it up and and something about the canon of his work that has always maintained that that baton off the ground. How old were you when your parents separated. Five, six. I'm not the door member. So how much did you get to see your father after the. I'm in a relationship now and the imperfection of a union between two people has been demonstrated to me in vivid colors and dimensions, and the fact that my father was able to stay in his children's life despite those complications. And then some was remarkable is remarkable to me. I, my mother moved my sister knife to across the world, many occasions and not just to get away from him. In fact not to get away from him at all, but just to follow our own whims and my father would often even parka caravan at the end of a dirt road just to be near us. He's always been part of our lives. It always he always maintained a role in in our lives. Despite my parents seperation. Caravan is like a mobile home. Oh, yeah. They're like, what do you call those? Like a jet stream kind of thing? Yeah. I remember my mother moved my sister now all the way to the south of France where we lived and there's a long dirt road and he bought when he sort of caravan Jetstream type things and put it the at the t. where the road met the dirt road and you just lived there. My mother did want him on the property. So you know, every day after school bus would drop us off, we'd see dad and his caravan. For. Well, he did that in variations of that Trump own tire life. And then you know, as I say, they could the the intent to be part of his children's live the deliberateness with which he contorted his own life and scheduled to to make sure that he was present in our lives was a feat. There's something really terrible that happened to you then in its own way as maybe responsible for the revival of his career and for his reconnection to people are around the world. And that's that he had an accountant or a business manager who like drain your father savings and sold the publishing rights to your father saw that's kinda like stealing his soul to sell all the publishing rights to his songs. I mean, that's just seems like such a transgression in, like, I think your sister who discovered that it happened like if other didn't even know. Yeah, you know. As he often joked, it is hilarious that he thought he could resolve his economic woes with song and poetry and incredible the that were the canon of his work with his devotion to blackening pages, melody, that that he built the life he built for himself. And when he experienced this, this episode that you're referring to, it actually did compel him back out of retirement back onto the road. And that is what was part of what I referred to as the most sort of joyous and unexpected episode of his life which was to to discover that all this time absence had made the part GRA fonder who knew he had always benefited from this kind of icons status. You know, people at Kurt Cobain and and others, you know would quote him and, but it didn't result in the kind of massive. Peel, and lo and behold, from this economic crisis arose this most unexpected and. Festive of periods in his life as a festive. I mean, it was incredible to see the. The amount of universities that suddenly started teaching his works studying his works or even whole rabbinical clan. Adopting his lyric says liturgy, Madison Square Garden in the, oh, to, you know, twenty thousand seaters suddenly being filled eight, never sold more than six thousand tickets. So thank goodness for that economic crisis. So did he ever get the song writes back because not really? Those are gone. My guess is songwriter and singer. Adam Cohen who is the son of Leonard Cohen. Adam wrote the forward to a new collection of his father's previously unpublished writings called the flame. We'll talk more after a break. This is fresh air support for this podcast and the following message come from TIAA TIAA supports people who are driven by purpose. Those who build others, instead of just wealth who give back and never give up whatever your purpose may be. TIAA will help you live your definition of success, whether you have five hundred dollars or five million TIAA will get you where you want to be with investing advice, banking and retirement planning star today at TIAA dot org. NPR's code switch tackles Rathan identity in America with humanity and humor. You'll laugh. You'll learn, you'll get uncomfortable. It's worth it. Find codes which on the NPR one app or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's get back to the interview. I recruited with Etem Cohen his father, Leonard Cohen, died two years ago. Adam is written the forward to new collection of his father's previously unpublished writings and drawings called the flame. Okay. So you are a singer songwriter to you. Grew up with your father's voice. You grew up with him writing. You grew up with him reading to you. You watched him backstage as he performed. Was it hard for you to find, look your own voice to recognize that his voice was a part of you that it influenced you in the way that people have a right to be influenced by the people who the they take in as they're going through their formative years. It wasn't hard to. To acknowledge that influence in the same and at the same time, figure out who you were as a singer and songwriter. You know, I'm triggered tensor that in two ways, the first is to look at. It's the typically, you know, statistically, I think humanity, you know, Napoleon, son, Frank, Sinatra's, son, you know, it's very, very difficult to capture people's imaginations in the same way as one would if your name was Joe Smith, you know, and you had no providence statistically the the heirs of people who do great things can often not do great things has as as remarkably and in in such a beloved way. There's that. And then there's the idea that you know that I grew up perhaps under this tyrannical shadow this oppressive Toronto shadow, and it's quite the contrary in this was one of the most generous attentive, nourishing characters I'd ever met. He encouraged me up. Up to the upper upper sunniest branches of the family tree. And as I say, you know, I, I really do believe my SIS story is far more of a success story, not just the instruction got from a master, not just having his attention and encouragement and the example of his own life and work. But the great privilege of being invited. Again, you know, having started in the mail room of the family business, the great privilege that it was to end up in the at the penthouse you know, making boardroom decisions with my boss, if that will. What about how other people might see you as Leonard Cohen some, but you haven't talked about yourself about your own process of development as a songwriter and finding finding your own voice, but it's just something comic about, you know, this incredible oak. You know this, this I see him as exceptional as as miraculous. In almost. In a way, and you know to be talking about my little sprout next to his offering just seems comic you have the right to talk about yourself without apologizing leave. It's unimportant you of the right to talk about it and the right to talk about yourself and to claim your own identity as a, you know, reminds me of one of my favorite lines from my dad is I will not be held like a drunkard under the cold tap affects. So these are your facts ma'am. All right. All right. So with all that said, I wanna play a song of yours. Given how careful you are about curing things. I want to ask you to choose the song. I know this is I'm forcing this is against your, will you'd probably rather not playing thing, but consider yourself forced teach us a song of yours for us to play. Given the context. I think we should play a song that my old man always loved was a song called what other guy? Okay. Here's Adam. Cone. I know what she looked class can Monin kisses us. Contri- closed senior, the thin on, but the radio and know how many French. Favorite moves you favored. A? No. It really gets to go. Low. Where you go, beautiful friend. No. Taste. Though the Cana thing. Makes the we'd till chill. Would've guy knows. Can lame. The first kids come name the. On your. God knows you. I no shoe. Shoot, that's Adam. Cone singing his own son, what other guy and Adam Kohn wrote the introduction to a new collection of his father is late father, Leonard Cone's, final poems lyrics notebook entries, and drawings, it's called the flame. Thank you for letting. That's play that. Painting me out to be a real control freak. Oh, yeah, kind of kind of Adam cone. I really appreciate your doing this in real you. You're not not very comfortable having about your father even talking about yourself in this kind of setting. So thank you again so much. Thank you so much, most gracious and patient of you. Thank you. Adam Cohen wrote the forward to the flame the new collection of his father Leonard Cohen's, previously, unpublished lyrics, poems notebook entries and drawing tomorrow on fresh air. We'll talk about how terrorists governments, political campaigns, even street gangs, have weaponized social media with real world consequences. Our guests will be PW singer and Emerson brooking authors of the book like war. I'm Terry gross will close today with Leonard Cohen. Few on. Oh, do and thing you as to. And if you want. Canned of low. A mask for you. If you wanna pot. Take my hand if you want a straight down and. Here is Dan. Man. If you wanna box. Will step in to the. If you want a dumb. Support for this podcast and the following message come from internet essentials from Comcast, connecting more than six million low income people to low cost, high speed internet at home. So students are ready for homework class graduation and more now they're ready for anything.

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Festival Du Rire 2021
from June 30, 2021 to July 03, 2021

Manifestation initialement prévu du mercredi 1 au samedi 4 juillet 2020 et reportée. Programmation...

Comité Départemental Du Tourisme De Lot Et Garonne ,
Location: Théâtre Georges Leygues Boulevard Georges Leygues, 47300, Villeneuve Sur Lot, France
Last refreshed about 2 months ago from: https://www.tourisme-lotetgaronne.com/fetes-et-manifestations...

Everivent finds events near you. You can find links to your favorite shows and their ticketing offices: concerts, theatre, stand up comedy, sporting events. You will also find tons of local activities in your community whether on vacation or at home, for kids and adults alike. Download our app to get the full experience of everivent

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Sr Web Developer

JK Partners Inc - New York City, NY
Job Title Senior Developer - Web and Database Developer Summary This development role will have responsibility for developing and supporting a number of ...
Created: 2020-10-21

Full-Stack Application Developer (FTE) (New York, NY)

JSB Staffing Solutions, Pvt. Ltd. - New York City, NY
We are looking for a Full-Stack Application Developer for a leading Global Growth Equity company. This is a full-time position for our client. The ...
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Senior Associate, Big Data Software Engineer

KPMG - New York City, NY
The KPMG Advisory practice is currently our fastest growing practice. We are seeing tremendous client demand, and looking forward we donapost anticipate ...
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Java Credit Trading Developer

Kellton Tech - NYC, NY
Job Summary Business Overview The New York Credit Pricing and Electronic Markets Technology Development team operates as part of a Global Credit Pricing ...
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Lodestar Systems Inc - New York City, NY
LODESTAR SYSTEMS is a Information Technology Services firm with a strong background in BI and DW Areas. We provide Project Management, Software Management,...
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LogicQ IT - Montvale, NJ
5+ years of Python experience 2+ years in a data scientist role 2+ years of SQL experience Experience with unsupervised learning andor anomaly detection a ...
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Lotus Suites USA - New York City, NY
The client is looking for JavaScala Developer Spot in NYC, NY Title JavaScala Developer Location NYC, NY Duration Contract Position Description The Trade ...
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M9 Consulting - NYC, NY
The job holder leads the technical design, development and documentation of cross-functional, multi-platform distributed application systems. She analyzes,...
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MTSS - Greenwich, CT
Mid to senior .NetC Web Developer A fast-growing health care technology firm, in Greenwich is seeking multiple Senior Full Stack Software Engineers who ...
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Project Manager - 6959

Mainz Brady Group - New York City, NY
Full Description We have an immediate need for a Project Manager for a long-term contract in New York City! The qualified candidate will join a talented ...
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Your Doctor May Be Wrong – Comprehensive Health Information & Examples

18 Mar

trust me I'm a doctorYour doctor is a medical professional that you are supposed to trust, right? After all, they are someone with years of training, countless patient hours, and sleepless nights through medical school just to make the grade (one hopes). They have dedicated their life to finding a cure, bandaging bruises, mending broken bones, and ensuring that our reproductive health is top-notch.

Hundreds of commercials each week urge people to “talk to your doctor about [insert product here]”. The general public takes this medical advice, these medications, and hopes that the medical professionals know best.

But, is it safe to assume that a doctor’s advice is infallible?

Doctors breathe air, require food, water, and shelter the same way that you do. Not only can your doctor make mistakes, they can be wrong – they are human. After all, to err is human. That said, one common human mistake is a medical professional’s own personal beliefs. These can influence the medical advice given to patients, which may hinder your access to the valuable resources required in order for you to continue on a successful path toward wellness (i.e. reproductive health, access to contraception, weight loss, disease prevention, etc.)

Example A:**

A young woman recounted a story regarding her OB/GYN. The young woman knew that birth control pills were no longer a reliable resource, as she was experiencing major side effects. In speaking with her family doctor, she received information regarding an IntraUterine Device (IUD). She took this information to her OB/GYN and inquired about IUD placement. Her doctors response: “the placement of an IntraUterine Device (IUD) is morally wrong. You are under 30, you should have children.” Empowerment through access to contraception of the young woman’s choice had come to a grinding halt. Contraception choices were at the fate of her doctor (this is especially true if someone has not received comprehensive education regarding their reproductive options). Removing that sense of empowerment, and the freedom of choice, is dehumanizing, limiting, and it is wrong. In the end, she had done her research and pushed through the doctor’s moral barrier to request proper testing and placement of an IUD. It seemed most suitable for her lifestyle, her reproductive choices, and her overall wellness.

The doctor’s own personal beliefs influenced the advice given to the patient and offered limited access to reproductive health / offered limited access to contraception. From the above listed opinion of the doctor, their own moral obligations lie in the forefront of any legal or professional obligations that they must adhere to. Doctors are both legally and under the standards of their profession obligated to provide options. Their moral beliefs have nothing to do with you, your body, or your choices.

A second common mistake is a medical professional’s acceptance of “medical grade” lubrication. What interacts well with a penis may interact poorly in/around the vaginal canal. Your doctor may be using the lubrication that the office has provided. And why wouldn’t they, it is industry standard. This does not mean that you need to use the lubrication provided by the office. Read below to find out why.

Example B:**

You, a person born with a vagina (cisgendered female or FtM) should receive regular pap smears and check ups, whether you are sexually active or not. A pap smear requires a doctor’s consultation, physical examination, and possibly further testing. The physical examination requires use of a speculum (the little contraption that is made of plastic/metal, that is usually cold, and is often referred to as “Duck Lips”) to be inserted into the vaginal canal, thus the cervix is visible and accessible to the doctor. The cells of the vaginal canal or cervix are then sampled and sent for test results, such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), certain cancers, and other diseases.

The speculum itself should be lubricated. Lubrication prevents microtearing of the vaginal walls and maintains cellular integrity. It also helps the speculum ease into/out of the vaginal canal. The problem lies in the fact that your OB/GYN may be using lubrication that contains questionable ingredients. These ingredients can expose you to some potentially unpleasant side effects and health concerns, such as rashes, myalgia, candidia (yeast), and inflammation. Questionable ingredients range from parabens, petrochemicals, to methyl & ethyl salicylates. Parabens are a controversial toxin that has been connected to possible reduction of sperm count, have been noted to contribute to skin cancer, and altered estrogen levels in women.

But, there is good news! Many other body-safe lubricants exist that you can bring with you and request to be used on your body (leave the organic warming or silicone lubricant at home. Bring a simple water-based lubricant). Examples of these are Sliquid H2O or Blossom Organics which are proven safe, organic, and made from natural ingredients. Plus, they are available in handy trial packets that are perfect for one time use. Throw them in your bag and go!

Do you know the ingredients in the lube that is being used in your body? Remember that you can (should) ask, and if necessary, use your own. You doctor should not be using anything on/in your body that you are uncomfortable with.

sliquid h2o blossom organics lubricant

Lastly, another common medical professional mistake can be labeled as ignorance. Be it a lack of education, lack of resources, or refusal to accept reality, it can/does/will happen. Your doctor may be ignorant to new disease information. They may be ignorant to new treatment options. They may be ignorant to reality and holding on to practices from the early 90’s. At any rate, you cannot control their ignorance, but you can certainly ask questions and help yourself if you want a second opinion.

Example C:**

Let’s cut to the chase: You ask your doctor about safer oral sex practices. Let’s assume that gender is irrelevant in this equation because body fluid is body fluid. Your doctor tells you “Don’t worry about any secretions that you may swallow, the stomach acid will take care of anything that enters it.”

If your doctor is saying this, I want you to bid them a nice day and leave.

Not only is your doctor wrong, they are putting you and your partner(s) at risk.

Did you know:

– Herpes can live for up to 24-hours on a surface outside of the body.

– At a micro-cellular level, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis A,B,C can easily enter through a micro-tear in your mouth, on your lips, or on your skin. There are teeth in your mouth which can easily cause a tear in the skin that you more than likely will never notice. It is winter, consider that your lips and hands can chap, thus causing open tears in your skin.  Since blood, semen, and vaginal secretions are the fastest, and easiest, way to come in contact with infection and disease, one would assume that getting those fluids into a cut would be a problem. Knowing these things help us develop strategies and methods to keeping ourselves safe and healthy.

STIs (sexually transmitted infections) & STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are a real threat to people. Organisms need only 1 entry point to create a loss of lifestyle or a loss of life. The best way to prevent transmission (abstinence aside) is through safer-sex practices. The use of dental dams, condoms, female condoms, gloves, and other barriers are always recommended. If your doctor is not educating you, empowering you to use protection, or advocating for the use of protection, it is ok to choose a new doctor. Protecting yourself, not your doctors feelings/reputation should be a #1 priority.

We have discussed moral obligations as barriers, industry standards as barriers, as well as human limits via ignorance as barriers. This is not meant to scare you. Please do not make yourself vulnerable to panic or have an anxiety attack. No one expects you to set that broken bone on your own – doctors are there to help you. Just remember that you have a voice and you are able to speak up. You are your best advocate!

Thank you for reading.

**These are real examples provided by SP customers from their medical encounters
Bettie is a Social Worker, Certified HIV & Medical Case Manager, and a Certified Infectious Disease & Control Counselor.

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Joseph Smith: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?

Robert M. Price

I have been convinced for some time that Joseph Smith’s claims about the discovery of the Golden Plates were a hoax, that Smith himself wr ote the Book of Mormon, that he forged the “Reformed Egyptian” writing he showed to Professor Charles Anthon, and that the whole imposture grew out of Smith’s earlier career as a fraudulent treasure hunter. Yet it is equally clear that the Mormon religion embodies stolid values and provides meaning and purpose for millions of devotees who would never think of committing fraud themselves. It is difficult for me to envision Smith laughing up his sleeve as, over many years, he watched his believers endure persecution, flee across country with the law at their heels, and share the joys and sorrows of a first-generation religious community. What would have been the point? Making money? He could surely have quit the game early on with more than enough cash. Why invent and consecrate the practice of plural marriage if all one wanted was a little extra sex? It seems to me that there was just too much trouble taken in creating his new world of meaning and morals if it was all some cheap scheme.

Nor is this conundrum unique to Mormonism. Think, for instance, of G.I. Gurdjieff, whose memoir Meetings with Remarkable Men seems every bit as fictitious as his other opus, Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson. How about Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society? She was not above employing the cheap stunts of a two-bit spiritualist. She would receive folded paper notes dropped through ceiling vents onto the séance table—telegrams from the deathless Ascended Masters whom she claimed reposed in far-off Tibet. But have you ever read her gigantic tomes Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine? Again, this is going to an awful lot of trouble for the sake of self-emolument, if that’s all it was.

The history of sages, messiahs, and gurus is punctuated with outrageous behavior. There are various rationales for behavior on the part of a spiritual luminary that would be condemned as illicit if engaged in by the pious rank and file. And they tell us important things about figures who, like Joseph Smith, have been elevated above common humanity either in their own esteem or in that of their followers—usually both.

The Knight of Faith

Kierkegaard, in his Fear and Trembling, considered the ethical implications of the biblical tale of the Akedah Isaac, or Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac (Genesis 22). The story may be approached in many ways, including as a ceremonial myth legitimating a switchover from infant sacrifice to animal sacrifice in ancient Israel. But such a reading was alien to Kierkegaard’s thinking. Kierkegaard took for granted that Abraham would have felt himself bound by the command “You shall do no murder,” just as a modern Christian would. Can he bring himself to accept the commandment to kill Isaac as a legitimate revelation from God? How can it be, if it entails breaking one of the gravest statutes of divine and human law?

Kierkegaard said the episode illustrates the dangerous fact that the individual transcends the absolute. Even if God commands one to murder, the general command not to murder does not become less absolute. It is not a relative standard, amenable to certain mitigations and exceptions. No, the command not to murder is inherently right. But the voice of God may call to the individual and give him a new command as it gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, and the individual must obey. He becomes the crusading Knight of Faith. Such an understanding is not easily differentiated from fanaticism, it seems to me, and I suspect that the delusional women who hear the voice of God telling them to insert their babies into the microwave and press “Dinner Plate” would agree with Kierkegaard’s theory if they were ever to hear it.

In the cases of libertine messiahs and prophets (those who throw off the yoke of conventional morality), we are more often dealing not with a unique command from God to them but rather a unique permission granted them. The most famous example must be that of the Prophet Muhammad, to whom Allah vouchsafed the revelation (Qur’an 33:49–50) that he might take as many as nine wives at once, though other Muslim men were restricted to four. The nineteenth-century Indian messiah Birsa (self-styled the Dharti Aba, or Father of the World) outlawed polygamy but himself had a pair of wives. Again, it is not that the general rule is invalid. It must be valid, being the command of God. But the permission given the Prophet is a command of God, too, and thus equally valid, though not of general application.

The Superman

Friedrich Nietzsche predicted the coming of the Superman, the heir to the deceased God. The Superman was a new self-understanding for the human race, a laurel wreath any human being might wear if he or she did not shrink from the terrible burden of destiny. In the absence of any metaphysical standard of truth and morality beyond human subjectivity, the Superman must shoulder the responsibility to create new values of courage and heroic will. The Superman will act in love or hate, unbound by hypocritical fears and resentments. The Superman will look with Bodhisattva-like compassion upon lesser mortals, taking no offense at their opposition, their failure to understand. He has no cause to hate or fear them, nor can they ever take away his freedom. If he wins followers, he may legislate a new morality of his own creation. But whether he wields political or religious power or no power at all in the external world, the Superman will dwell beyond the conventional polarities of good and evil. Naturally, such a moral, or super-moral, conception can be volatile, dangerous in much the same way as Kierkegaard’s notion of the Knight of Faith. The principal difference between the two ideas may be that Kierkegaard’s Knight is the one who dares to receive and obey a terrifying command while Nietzsche’s Superman himself dares to issue the command.

Some messiahs have sought to occupy Nietzsche’s eagle perch beyond good and evil, and some have ventured, if possible, even higher: pretending to attain an Olympian summit where they do not merely exercise the right to recreate good and evil. They even surpass the need—and use—of any such standards at all. In their opinion, moral strictures are fit only for mere mortals and for such lesser beings the Messiah might legislate. But even his own laws need not apply to himself. I should characterize Charles Manson as such a messiah—a man who identified with both Jesus Christ and Satan, seeing little ultimate difference between them. Whatever he did or commanded his followers to do was not so much “right” as simply requisite, the command of God that shall not return void. Thus it was that Miyan Bayazid Ansari, the Pir Roshan (Guide of Light), founder of the sixteenth-century North-Indian Roshaniyah sect, announced, “Since nothing exists but God, what meaning is to be assigned to such terms as right and wrong, good and bad, excepting that every man should implicitly obey his religious instructor?”

The libertine Rinpoche Chögyam Trungpa (apostle of Tibetan Buddhism in North America) also positioned himself beyond worldly good and evil but not in so potentially sinister a sense. He was the proponent and embodiment of Buddhist Tantra. Tantric mysticism is named for the Tantras (treatises, tracts) in which it is expounded. Tantric doctrine imagines the perceived world of difference and multiplicity, plurality, and the like as arising from a primordial event analogous to sexual procreation with t
he world as the result. The Oneness of the Void is not lost but rather still invisibly underlies all things; the object is to return, in mind and spirit, to that primordial unity. Rituals designed to effect this passage into a trance state of Oneness aim at transcending all worldly distinctions by transgressing them in an elevated, disinterested state of mind (called “mere witness” or “right mindfulness”). This is called the “Left-Handed Path” and requires the use of the “five forbidden substances”: meat, beans, intoxicants, fish, and sex with a partner not one’s spouse. These things would be mortally sinful if partaken of in a worldly attitude, but since they are approached as means of grace, they accrue no ill karma. One Tantric verse says: “By the same acts that cause some men to boil in Hell for one hundred thousand eons, the yogi gains his eternal salvation.” The yogi engages in intercourse with his partner, all the while maintaining a fantastic degree of control over breath and even ejaculation, bringing the whole process to a crashing halt on the verge of climax. At this point he is catapulted, inwardly, back to the primordial state of cosmic Oneness.

The usual caution issued by yogis is that it is only in the trance state of Nirvana that worldly rules do not apply. As long as one, even an enlightened being, occupies the worldly level in consciousness, one remains obliged to observe the rules of good and evil as they appear in this realm of half-truths. The rules are appropriate here. And yet the Tantric transgressions, albeit performed in a holy state of detachment, are certainly exercises in the here and now of the envisioned reality of that other Order of Things. It is not too big a step from understanding this to realizing that one’s guru may exist in a transgressive state in order that he may be a living reminder of that inconceivable world of rapture. The guru thus exists as the Beyond here manifest. Thus, perhaps, we can understand Trungpa’s boozing and womanizing. Call it “crazy wisdom” like that of the Zen abbot who slaps and kicks his novices over the line into Satori. Or we might think of “Old Ugly Face,” a Tibetan Lama created and depicted by Theosophist novelist Talbot Mundy. His institutional trappings denoting great holiness seemed altogether belied by his grumpy and irritable demeanor, his thunderous tantrums and tyranny. And yet, once one had taken a few steps down the yogic path prescribed by Old Ugly Face, one recognized in him the Compassionate Buddha, whose cruel and snide thunderbolts are now understood as the human-level expressions of that Mysterium Tremendum that the guru embodies at a hidden level beyond the senses of mortal man. His mortal persona is but the mirage of the Nirmankaya or “transformation body” of the Buddha.

The Divine Avatar

Immediately adjacent to the model just considered is the role of the messiah or prophet as divine avatar, something at least functionally equivalent to being an incarnation of the deity. At least such a saint stands in for God, wielding plenipotentiary authority as his apostle on earth. Thus the controversial actions of the messiah stem not from his own mortal will or lust but rather from the higher, sin-exempt prerogatives of God. The man is but the visible medium. Any blame attaching to his actions—and there can be none—rightly belongs to God.

Many Sufi Muslims were scandalized at the notorious banqueting of the great tenth-century Persian Sufi Sheikh Abu Said ibn Abi’l-Khayr. He was constantly throwing lavish feasts for his student dervishes and hangers-on, demanding that well-wishing supporters foot the bill or clear up the resultant debts. How could such surfeiting possibly comport with the ascetical ideal of Sufism? As Reynold A. Nicholson explains it:

Asceticism and positive religion [orthodox devotions] are thus relegated to the lower planes of the mystical life. The Sufi needs them and must hold fast to them while he is serving his spiritual apprenticeship and also during the middle stage which is marked by longer or shorter intervals of illumination; but in his “last state,” when the unveiling is completed, he has no need for ascetic practices and religious forms, for he lives in permanent communion with God Himself. This leads directly to antinomianism (lawlessness), though in theory the saint is above the law rather than against it.

As the host of the great banquet (cf. Luke 14:15–24), Abu Said was incarnating the role of the Bhagavat, the Lord of Bounty.

Nicholson also speaks of “the widely spread feeling that it is impious to criticize the actions of holy men, which are inspired and guided by Allah himself.” Ironically, the Pharisee Simon looks askance at Jesus’s easy toleration for the advances of a streetwalker as proof that Jesus is no prophet after all (Luke 7:39), when he might better have let it pass as above reproach simply because Jesus was a prophet.

Uncommon Needs

Psychologists speak of “eccentricity credits,” a larger-than-usual amount of slack we are willing to grant to the great. We don’t blame scientists for dressing like rodeo roustabouts, professors for being absent-minded, artists for being ill-tempered, and so on. Their exceptional abilities take up so much of their mental energy that we are not surprised to find them emotionally or socially unbalanced. Or we may view it as a wiring glitch: not enough hard-drive capacity left to deal with mundane concerns. And that’s all right with us. We want them to have the liberty to do what they’re good at. And the same holds true for messiahs, charismatic religious leaders. The Reverend Jim Jones was known to have committed various sexual and other transgressions, but his followers had too much invested in him to reject him. They rationalized his behavior as the result of an uncommon man having uncommon needs. Thus he was exempt from the strictures that bound lesser men. He need not be a god; he was simply a special case.

God’s Favorite

Many spiritual virtuosi have been called God’s favorites, implying that God is an indulgent father who can refuse his pet human no request. The first-century bce holy man Honi the Circle-Maker was a well-known miracle worker. In times of drought, the people would come to him and ask him to intercede with God on their behalf. This Honi would do by drawing a circle around himself in the dirt and refusing to budge till his Father should make it rain. Honi invoked God not by any liturgically grand titles of invocation but only as the simple Abba, “Father.” And it would rain. There was no way God was going to turn down his son Honi!

The point is relevant to messianic antinomianism (freedom from otherwise applicable laws) for the simple reason that the holy man (precisely as a holy man!) might be exempted from God’s rules commanded to mortals in general. As Matthew has Jesus ask Peter: “From whom do worldly kings collect tribute: from their own sons, or from foreign subjects? Is it not the latter? Then the sons are exempt” (Matthew 17:25). In the same way, the hasidic holy men of Galilee around Jesus’s time were authenticated as God’s favorites by token of the wonders they performed, and yet the establishment rabbis carped at their laxity with regard to the niceties of the Torah. The laxity was fully as much a sign of the Hasids’ closeness to God as the miracles they performed. God was indulgent with his favorites.

The seventeenth-century Kabbalistic messiah Sabbatai Sevi had notoriously chowed down on some forbidden fat and, perhaps publicly, committed what in a lesser mortal would have been unorthodox liturgical innovations. But he had the clout with God to get away with it. His ritual
transgression—his disobedience to the Torah—is, again, a sign not of his being a sinner but of the very opposite: his being God’s greatest mortal friend.

Prophetic Blasphemy

Prophets have been known to engage in some mighty peculiar behaviors at God’s command, not to provide an example for everyday behavior, but to make some point through the charade. It was thus that Ezekiel cooked his food over a dung fire for all to see (Ezekiel 4:12) and that he lay for 390 days upon his left side, then for 40 more on his right (4:4–6). This is why Hosea married a whore (Hosea 1:2–3), why Isaiah went about Jerusalem naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah 20:2–3), and so on. But surely the greatest example must be the shocking apostasy of seventeenth-century messiah Sabbatai Sevi, who boasted that he would convert the Ottoman sultan from Islam to Judaism! But the sultan turned the tables, demanding that the messiah convert to Islam. He did! Sevi lived out his life thenceforth as a Muslim, while his remaining followers thought up theological justifications for the terrible deed. Had the messiah gone among the heathens in order better to gather and redeem them? Had he plunged into the very depths of evil so as to subvert it from the inside?

The New Dispensation

Once Sevi had retired from public life to pursue Islamic devotions in private, many steadfast followers did take his aberrant behavior as the veritable path of discipleship. The figurehead of this movement, called the Frankists or the Dönmeh, was Jakob Frank, who announced himself as Sevi’s successor. Frank believed Sevi’s messianic advent had truly inaugurated the messianic age, but in secret. Thus for the time being it was in secret that they must observe the new Torah of the messianic age. Jewish mystics had long speculated that the tenor of the law would change in the messianic age, or else become moot, for the simple reason that so many of Moses’s 613 commandments were prohibitions of sinful deeds. When the Messiah had inaugurated the kingdom, it would mean an end to sin, the dawn of perfection. Then the law would be read in a whole new way: all that was once forbidden would now become permitted, even commanded! Thus their secret worship took the form of orgies of blasphemy. One day, when the messianic consummation should occur in the plain sight of all, no secrecy would be necessary.

Albert Schweitzer spoke of Jesus, too, teaching a messianic “interim ethic,” but in his view the emergency measures were that one ought to be absolutely righteous, unhampered by the worldly exigencies that usually cause us to compromise. For example, we fear that if we give away our possessions to the poor, we will squander the future for the sake of piety in the here and now. Only what if there is no future, except for the Kingdom of God, asked Schweitzer’s Jesus? Suppose it is on its way, hastening, indeed practically here already? Then the only sensible thing to do with goods and money that will soon perish is to use them the only way they can still do any good: to feed dying beggars like poor Lazarus. Then you will have treasure in heaven.

Alternatively, some apocalyptic believers have reasoned, one may squander and splurge; “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow old things pass away!” Again, failure to liquidate one’s worldly resources might denote a lack of faith in the coming end.

In any case, the ethic that results is appropriately a liminal one, a stance dictated by one’s finding oneself at the cusp of the ages, just while the old age is winding down and before the new one has fully dawned. It is an ethic on the edge. The old rules are set aside. Eschatological (“end-time”) antinomianism broke out numerous times in the history of the Melanesian cargo cults, all of which were predicated on apocalyptic revelations of a new age around the corner. As scholar Peter Worsley recounted: “Children no longer had their noses and ears perforated, as ear and nose ornaments were no longer used; hair was cropped short. This sharp break with the old morality, and the powerful emotions generated in the process, were emphasized by the public breaking of strict sexual taboos. Women behaved hysterically, threw off their garments.”

To Err Is Human

Some theologians have speculated that in Jesus’s incarnation God must have taken on the fallen nature of mankind, or else he would not have been a genuine human being. Edward Irving, founder of the nineteenth-century Catholic Apostolic Church, a precursor to Pentecostalism, as well as Karl Barth, the father of Neo-Orthodoxy, held this view, which was very controversial, though neither man said that Jesus actually committed sin. The notion has come in quite handy in rationalizing the scandalous behavior of more recent messiahs, including David Koresh. He liked an occasional beer, and his polygynous sexual practices are well known. He viewed himself as the Sinful Messiah, a second coming of Christ in a form easier for sinful humanity to relate to.

Semiologist Roland Barthes, in his essay “The Writer on Holiday,” makes such a “sinner Christology” more understandable. Barthes explained the appeal of the many magazine and television profiles of great writers, actors, and statesmen at home and at leisure: the divinity that we in effect ascribe to them is rendered the more marvelous insofar as the reporter depicts the Great Man as going to the supermarket (“Say, that’s Jerry Falwell over there buying cat food!”) or having mundane hobbies (“Karl Barth was an American Civil War buff? Wow!”)—or caught in sexual escapades (Bill Clinton, Barth, Tillich, and on and on). Their “miraculous, eternal substance . . . condescends to take a social form so that its prestigious difference is better grasped.” The very contrast enhances the aura of greatness.

The Trickster

Many mythologies contain tales of a trickster god: a resourceful, clever, and humorous deity or sprite, sometimes animal in form, like the American Indian Coyote, sometimes humanoid, like the Norse Loki. He is a god of mischief, and sometimes his tricks are stratagems on behalf of those who believe in him, miracles of a sort. Other times, he aims his pranks, even deadly ones, at his believers. In the latter case, we are seeing a kind of theodicy, a way of squaring mishaps, bad luck, and tragedy with the supposed regard of a providential deity. He cannot be simply malevolent; or, if he is, we have passed over into a different mythic category, and we are talking about a devil, not a trickster. Perhaps we are the hapless butt of a divine jest and, as good worshipers, we must have the creaturely humility to roll with the punches and hope that next time he punches somebody else.

The trickster is not only a cross-cultural mythic type; he is also considered a deep-seated archetype in the Jungian sense (else he would not pop up in so many mythologies worldwide). Carl Jung theorized that any human being may at some point so closely identify with a particular archetype that he comes to embody or incarnate it. It is a (temporary) means of grounding the self, adopting meaning from a fundamental pattern. Great humanitarians may be said to have embodied the Christ archetype and as a result serve all around them. But it can go too far; Jung also spoke of inflation of the archetype, a kind of megalomania where the ego swells up to try to fill the magnitude of the godlike archetype: “The worship of the archetypes implies their overvaluation, which frequently leads to the personality being possessed by an archetype. The ghastly apparition of spiritual pride soon rears its swollen head, and, instead of utilizing the power of the archetypes, individuals come to imagine that they have become a divine archetype themselves. Psychic inf
lation where persons imagine themselves godlike—rooted as they usually are in feelings of deep inferiority—makes a travesty of the individuation process and reduces the power of the gods to the level of the psychic caperings of fools and madmen.”

The archetype begins to split the seams of the merely human self, and one boasts prerogatives, immunities, privileges that befit an imagined god but soon corrupt the mere mortal. Such a religious leader or founder comes to command, to manipulate, to abuse. The behavior is not cynical. Such a person is not a crook or a fraud. He has become winged Icarus and is soon to crash. This is what I think happened to Joseph Smith. Somewhere along the line, he became inflated with the trickster archetype. The creation of the Book of Mormon was a trick in this sense. And who knows that he did not convince himself that he had rediscovered the truth of ancient Israelites in America? The whole thing would not have been too different from Carl Jung mystically taking on the persona of the Gnostic guru Basilides and authoring “The Seven Sermons to the Dead” in a period of mantic possession. Smith had created an artificial world of meaning for his followers, surely a trick (as Hindu theologians say, Brahma having made the world in an act of cosmic play). But then he looked at it, liked what he saw, and decided to dive in. By virtue of his “hoaxing” he had become the very creator of a fictive world of meaning (and which one isn’t?). Thus the divine freedom of the avatar, the incarnate God, the son of God, was henceforth his inheritance.

Joseph Smith—liar, lunatic, and lord—was certainly a paradoxical man, and it was inevitable that he should have left behind an equally paradoxical, puzzling legacy: noble yet dubious, a tree with rotten roots but tasty fruits. And maybe that’s the Mormon miracle.

Further Reading

  • Roland Barthes. Mythologies. Trans. Annette Lavers. New York: Hill and Wang, 1972.
  • J.K. Elliott trans. and ed. The Apocryphal New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  • Stephen Fuchs. Rebellious Prophets: A Study of Messianic Movements in Indian Religion. Publications of the Indian Branch of the Anthropos Institute No. 1. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1965.
  • Hermann Gunkel. Genesis. Trans. Mark E. Biddle. Mercer Library of Biblical Studies. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1997.
  • Stephan A. Hoeller. The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead. Wheaton, Ill.: Quest Books, 1982.
  • William J. Hynes and William G. Doty. Mythical Trickster Figures. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997.
  • Arthur Mandel. The Militant Messiah, or The Flight from the Ghetto: The Story of Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement. Atlantic Highlands: A Peter Bergman Book, Humanities Press, 1979.
  • Talbot Mundy. Old Ugly Face. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1940.
  • Bezalel Naor. Post-Sabbatian Sabbatianism: Study of an Underground Messianic Movement. Spring Valley, New York.: Orot, Inc., 1999.
  • Reynold A. Nicholson. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1921, 1985.
  • Robert D. Pelton. The Trickster in West Africa: A Study of Mythic Irony and Sacred Delight. Hermeneutics, Studies in the History of Religions. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
  • Paul Radin. The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology. New York: Schocken Books, 1987.
  • Gersham G. Scholem. “Redemption Through Sin” and “The Crypto-Jewish Sect of the Dönmeh (Sabbatians) in Turkey.” In Scholem, The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality. New York: Schocken Books, 1971.
  • Gershom G. Scholem. Sabbati Sevi: The Mystical Messiah. Trans. R.J. Zwi Werblowsky. Bollingen Series XCIII. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973.
  • Albert Schweitzer. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God: The Secret of Jesus’ Messiahship and Passion. Trans. Walter Lowrie. New York: Schocken Books, 1964.
  • Victor Turner. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. The Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures/1966. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977.
  • Geza Vermes. Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s Reading of the Gospels. London: Collins/Fontana, 1977.
  • Peter Worsley. The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of ‘Cargo Cults’ in Melanesia. New York: Schocken Books, 2nd ed., 1968.

Robert M. Price

Robert M. Price is the author of Beyond Born Again: The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, The Case Against ‘The Case for Christ,’ and other books. He is also the host of the podcasts The Bible Geek and The Human Bible.

I have been convinced for some time that Joseph Smith’s claims about the discovery of the Golden Plates were a hoax, that Smith himself wr ote the Book of Mormon, that he forged the “Reformed Egyptian” writing he showed to Professor Charles Anthon, and that the whole imposture grew out of Smith’s earlier career as …

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Iron Man

w-o-w, great. super. hero. movie.
I’d like a suit like that..

4 responses to “Iron Man

  1. I must confess, I totally love Marvel Comics made into movies. X-Men, of course, being the fave! Brook took the boys to see this last weekend. I was pretty jealous!

  2. Looks so good!! I am sure we will be seeing it soon.

    P.S. I saw the Hapari pictures at Jills and you guys look AMAZING~ Seriously it makes me want to buy all of the Swimsuits!!

  3. I don’t know that I would have been interested, but after you (and every other blog post I’ve read about it) gave it such great reviews I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks!

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A positive trend becoming noticeable in marriage counseling and therapy is that more couples are going in for counseling before seeking a divorce. However, there are more useless and incompetent marriage counselors and marriage therapists than ever. So it's best to check out and look for the best marriage counselor or therapist before you go into marriage counseling or marriage therapy.

One mistake people make when entering marriage counseling is in going to a general psychological therapist whose practice isn't predominately marriage counseling. What happens many times is that a person enters individual counseling and then brings their mate in for marriage counseling or therapy. Therapists who focus primarily on individual therapy don't, as a rule, make good marriage counselors or marriage therapists. That's because individual therapy is vastly different from marriage therapy, and so it's a good idea to select a therapist or counselor whose primary focus is in on marriage counseling.

Also, you should never bring a partner into marriage counseling with a therapist who has been helping you because this gives a lopsided view of the situation to the therapist who has already formed an opinion. It's always best to seek a marriage counselor who is unknown to both of you so that he is more open to hearing and evaluating both sides of the marriage story without any biases.

Always have a phone interview with a marriage counselor or marriage therapist before making an appointment. Alternatively, use the first appointment to ask questions. You need to do this if your marriage is important to you and you want to try and save it. You need the best marriage counselor or therapist to help you. If he thinks asking questions is his monopoly then it's wise to look elsewhere.

Some things you want to ask questions about are the marriage counselor's credentials and background. Ask about his or her attitude toward helping salvage relationships as opposed to helping dissolve them. A marriage therapist or counselor who comes down too strictly on either side of the question is probably not a good choice. You want someone neutral, if possible, and you definitely don't want a marriage therapist who tells you he or she doesn't believe in divorce. Hopefully, that won't happen to your marriage, but if it does, you want a marriage counselor who will help both of you through making the decision and any transition that's necessary.

At any point during the meeting with marriage counselor you sense biasness or unfairness, simply change the therapist. Marriage counselor's main aim is to give equal support and attention to both the partners. He or she should be objective enough to highlight your problems and issues without making you feel "right" or "wrong". Quite often you tend to feel that therapist is pointing at you again and again which can't be comfortable always. If you judge that it's you who is left alone and not heard frequently then it is sensible to look out for another marriage counselor. It is not good to be pointed out as a bad guy or girl always. The worse thing that can happen to your bad marriage is a bad marriage therapist.

Source: Articlecity.com

Author's Bio:

Spaventa Impego is the administrator of ABC Marriage, your source for your marriage questions. For answers to your questions come down to: www.abcmarriage.com.

This definition is part of a series that covers the topic of Divorce. The Official Guide to Divorce is Carolyn Ellis. Carolyn founded Thrive After Divorce, Inc. to provide success strategies and resources for separated and divorced individuals. She is the author of "The 7 Pitfalls of Single Parenting: What to Avoid to Help Your Children Thrive after Divorce", which was awarded the prestigious Publisher's Choice designation by her publisher. She is also the co-author of "Power and Soul", with Alexandria Brown, the Million Dollar Marketing Coach. Carolyn is also the host of an award-winning podcast, "The Divorce 101 Show." She is a Harvard University graduate, a Certified Master Integrative Coach™, Teleclass Leader and the first Canadian to be certified as a Spiritual Divorce Coach.

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Did brody jenner dating kristin cavallari dating site show

The new Mom appears to have moved on from the world of reality TV as she is now happily married to NFL star Jay Cutler and expecting her second child.The couple, who share a one-year-old son, is yet to learn the gender of their unborn baby."Love this woman," he recently captioned an adorable Instagram pic of the duo.

From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases.

It is believed to be correct at the time of inputting and is presented here in good faith.

In May 2009, Cavallari confirmed she would be joining the cast of Laguna Beach's spin-off series, The Hills.

All relationship and family history information shown on Fame Chain has been compiled from data in the public domain.

"I knew exactly the character they wanted me to be, so I said, 'I'm game. "They pretended like him and [his ex] Jade broke up and I was dating Brody and then Jade and I got in a huge fight because she saw us out at the club, which wasn't real at all.

They were together the entire time," Cavallari said referencing another one of Jenner's love interests on the show.

After moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in 2006, Cavallari appeared in several television series as minor characters.

Cavallari is married to Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler.

Mike Dow," Kim Kardashian's stepbrother admitted that the duo's relationship was not as it seemed on the show.

When Dow asked Jenner about his former girlfriends, which included Avril Lavigne, Kristin Cavallari, Nicole Richie and Lauren Conrad, he said, "That's false.

Born in Denver, Colorado, she attended Laguna Beach High School as a teenager after spending her junior high and freshman years living in Barrington, IL.

  1. looking for local advice on what to do and where to stay in Port Douglas?

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