Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

The "other" ERE. Societal aspects of the ERE philosophy. Emergent change-making, scale-effects,...
daylen
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by daylen »

In my experience, I am simultaneously one and many, internally forced and externally forced. As emptiness I surround all and as fullness I concentrate all. I see objects, both as other than me and as reflections of me. No boundaries separate me and no spaces complete me. What am I?

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by mountainFrugal »

jacob wrote:
Wed Jan 25, 2023 9:12 am
Would it stand to reason/argument that this is not just fiction but actually how the mind gets constructed.
...
My personal chatGTP or Te is essentially just trying to translate this hyperobject into the rather limited format we call "speech" or conversation. If I don't need to talk or write, I do not have an inner voice. This is not how Ni is resolved. It mostly went away when I was in my early twenties. It only activates when I'm preparing to have a conversation, like a podcast. As I'm writing this, I'm just channeling the Ni.
...
As such the whole subpersonality thing is borderline useless to me...
Yes. We are constantly creating narratives that have been influenced by others. If you are not self-authoring by taking multiple influences into consideration while being able to consider and chart your own general direction, then you might have alot work to do to get to that place because some narrative(s) have been driving this whole time. I say general direction because that is all that most of us can realistically hope for because it is impossible to predict the future and how we will interact with people or the social, physical or cultural environment.

I also agree with the hyperobject view of things. To speak to the forum audience a bit. The problem is not for @jacob, the problem is when people identify with ONLY this way of thinking when they have not had the same step-by-step development like @jacob. It is highly unusual to have that level of pure development loaded on a single dimension. This directly and indirectly makes @jacob able to see things more clearly that others miss. In @jacob's specific case he does not need, or find useful many of the Plotkin constructs. @jacob is already "sharing his gifts with the world" (in Plotkin speak) by first connecting personal finance and systems thinking, writing a book and then having the patience, perseverance, and conviction in those ideas to cultivate, police, manage, engage and maintain an active community around those ideas. Even going against strong headwinds of criticism from multiple different angles of attack. Taking a step back but still using the Plotkin jargon, @jacob is already a "fully developed adult" that is able to keep multiple perspectives in his head simultaneously and "share his gifts with the world". Through his actions and hard ass work with this community @jacob is already there in Plotkin terms. I think that @jacobs greatest achievement is not putting these ideas together, it is actually sticking it out and seeing that these ideas reach a larger number of people.

However, if we look at the broader discussion on this forum, we see struggle for meaning, purpose, life after FI, escape from work, freedom-from etc. FI is the starting line. My concern is that other people that have not done the equivalent amount of personal development work (directly ala Plotkin or some other internal development framework) or indirectly (managing a forum of individualists for 10+ years), could be dismissive of these types of useful constructs because "INTJ". It would be easy (dare I say lazy?) to think well I am "INTJ" just like @jacob so these ideas are useless to me. This is missing the point. How many people on this forum have built up and managed an organization from scratch based around some ideas they had? The answer is likely close to zero. This is the meta reason why there is a large barrier to get to where @jacob is that is often completely ignored because we are swimming in it on the forum. @jacob does not (as far as I know) have a problem deciding what he is going to do when he wakes up every morning, but many people on this forum do. This is where Plotkin exercises and constructs can help, and has helped, people before on the forum and beyond. I am NOT advocating for only Plotkin. He has built a system that can and has worked for a large number of people.

If we imagine for a second what it would look like if we had a number of @jacobs working together on various projects. This is not to say clones of @jacob, but rather realized humans with different and complementary skills, interests, and conviction. Where they woke up every morning with a clear view of how they saw the world, what the (wicked) problems were by maintaining a multi-perspective viewpoint as much as possible and the drive to try doing something about it. This could be all of us and this is how I see Emergent Renaissance Ecology.

AnalyticalEngine
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

Thanks @mF, that was well put. I suppose one reason I find Plotkin/subpersonality approach so helpful is that it forces me to orient myself on things outside of myself. I'm prone to getting stuck inside of my own head, so focusing on connection/purposes or thinking about how I can fit into some natural order helps orient me outside of myself so that I can be more engaged.

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

Sharing an eloquent passage found in Bill Plotkin's Wild Mind, in the chapter on East subpersonalities (Addicts and Escapists).
Bill Plotkin in Wild Mind wrote:WE’RE ALL IN RECOVERY FROM WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Sooner or later, we each must address the paramount addiction in the Western and Westernized worlds: our psychological dependence on the world-view and lifestyle of Western civilization itself. The Western worldview says, in essence, that technological progress is the highest value, and that we were born to consume, to endlessly use and discard natural resources, other species, techno-gadgets, toys, and, often, other people, especially if they’re poor or from the global South. It’s a world of commodities, not entities; of consumers, not human beings; and economic expansion is the primary measure of progress. Profits are valued over people, money over meaning, our national entitlement over global peace and justice, “us” over “them.” This addiction to Western civilization especially now that the Chinese, too, are hooked — is by far the most dangerous one in the world because of how rapidly and extensively it’s undermining the natural systems of Earth.

Addiction to Western civilization protects us from seeing and feeling the staggering price all Earthly life pays for our consumer habit. And it protects us from having to make any radical changes in lifestyle, or from having to grow up, leave the “home” of our adolescent comforts, and embark upon the hazardous journey of initiation that leads to an existence that’s life enhancing, meaningful, and fulfilling.

The more we live in a materialistic flatland, the more we need it in order to keep from experiencing the agony of our alienation. Each of us has the opportunity to carefully examine our lives, uncover the ways in which our addiction to Western civilization operates, and make the biggest, most courageous changes we’re capable of.

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

To backup what I said in my previous page post, but more importantly, to simply share some great writing that clarifies and exemplifies what Bill Plotkin's work is about:
Bill Plotkin in The Journey of Soul Initiation wrote:My greatest challenge in writing this book — and perhaps your first obstacle in reading and understanding it — is that its subject matter lies outside the worldview of most contemporary cultures. What I mean by the Descent to Soul is most likely not what you, dear reader, would imagine or guess. It might be hard to accept that there could be a dimension of human development you have not experienced and for which you might not yet have a reference point.

You might reasonably suspect the Descent to Soul to be a version of any number of familiar therapeutic or spiritual practices, methods, or endeavors — but, despite similarities, it is none of them. It is not, for example, some kind of self-help regimen or a form of psychotherapy. It is not a way to recover from addiction, stress, or trauma (although doing so, for some people, is an essential element in preparing for the Descent). It is not a way to heal anyone of anything in the usual ways meant by healing. It is not a method for improving your relationships. It’s for sure not a way to better adapt your life to any culture or worldview currently destroying our biosphere; its actual result is the opposite. The Descent to Soul is not what most depth psychologists or Jungian analysts facilitate in their consulting rooms or explore in their books or articles. It is not a generic submersion into the personal or collective unconscious. It’s not a trip into Wonderland or some new or old way of chasing rabbits. The Descent is obviously not an ascending path to enlightenment or non-dual consciousness. It is not the hero’s journey or a vision quest. It is not shamanism or a psychedelic trip. It is absolutely not a way to find your social or vocational “purpose." It is not a men’s or women’s or teenagers’ initiation workshop or weekend. It is neither a “dark night of the soul” nor “hitting bottom” and then altering your routines so you can get back on your feet. It is not merely or primarily a psychospiritual encounter with death. It is not religion or mythology. Most emphatically, it is not a rite of passage (probably the single most common misperception). It is not even a rite of initiation.

Rather, the Descent to Soul is an extended process of initiation that takes place in a stage of human development most contemporary people never reach. It is a psychospiritual adventure that spans at least several months — and sometimes a few years or more.

As the central episode of the journey of soul initiation, the Descent results in visionary leaders, paradigm innovators, and evolutionary artisans. As such, its introduction into the contemporary world renders it a profound interrupter of culture as well as a necessary seed or catalyst for possible future Earth societies that will be not only life-sustaining but also life-enhancing.

The Descent to Soul — or something like it — is probably as old as humanity and has most likely been embodied in as many different forms as there have been thriving human cultures. The Descent as described in this book, however, is not a white person’s adaptation, appropriation, or co-optation of any indigenous culture’s practices or traditions. Rather, it’s a contemporary Western process and experience that my colleagues and I have been tracking and guiding for forty years. This long and extensive field study, carefully documented, has gradually yielded the model presented here: a modern revisioning and evolution of a timeless and archetypal path to true Adulthood and Elderhood.

However — and this is a vital point — the Descent to Soul as described in this book is not primarily a revisioning of something old. As I’ll explore with you later in this overview, this model of the Descent is innovative and emergent in ways that suggest an evolutionary shift in our species — one that has been unfolding for some time now, a movement into realms of human development that were not widely attainable in previous eras. The models and methods we’ve been developing at Animas Valley Institute might help our species embrace and realize an evolutionary opportunity on the threshold of which we now stand.

In some ways, then, the journey of soul initiation has been lost and is now simply being rediscovered, yet in other ways, the journey of soul initiation is itself in the process of evolving and a new developmental possibility for humanity is emerging. Either way, our species is clearly in the midst of an initiatory interlude — and consequently, our planet is as well.

The most innovative and original element in this book is not the set of practices for navigating the Descent to Soul but the model of what that journey actually is, a map sketched, drafted, and redrafted over the course of four decades of guiding thousands of people. At Animas, our goal has always been to honor the integrity and sheer mysteriousness of the journey — to track the patterns that reveal themselves — and to avoid placing our observations into earlier interpretive boxes. Although we’ve improvised many practices of our own and modified many long-established techniques, our methods are not radically new in the way the model is. A practice, however, can have very different results and can, in essence, become a different activity depending on the model or intention with which it is used.

To our knowledge, very few if any other guides are doing this kind of work with Western people. This includes vision-fast guides, rites-of-passage leaders, practitioners of neo-shamanism, facilitators of psychedelic journeys, and depth psychologists. I write this with humility but also with regret that we haven’t yet discovered more guides developing kindred models and methods.

The ease of misconstruing the nature of the contemporary journey of soul initiation might be one reason its precursors have been lost for so long. Once lost, it’s hard to find again. Here’s why: Most people have felt an immeasurably deep longing for their life to be a passionate adventure and a meaningful and valuable contribution to the world. But few know how to make that real. For those of us who reach our midteens with this longing still alive in our hearts — not buried beneath the dross of the overculture — there arises an irrepressible desire to embark on a quest for our true life. And many of us do. But our longing is so strong we might believe we’ve found a path to that life when we haven’t. Our yearning is so fierce we end up embracing a practice or method that seems to be the Holy Grail — but isn’t. It’s not that we consciously settle for less. It’s just that it can take a while before we can admit to ourselves that the path we’re on is not getting us closer to the passionate and meaningful life we yearn for.

As valuable as they are in their own right and for their own purposes, the familiar practices, methods, and endeavors noted above — from psychotherapy to psychedelics, from "purpose” workshops to shamanism — are examples of paths that Western people have explored in recent decades, but none are the Descent to Soul (although some can be components of it). You can, for example, undergo multiple healings of various kinds, even invaluable healings, but although you may emerge more whole, your longing for meaning — deep, life-fulfilling meaning — will remain untouched. You can go through a rite of passage and you may be healed, revitalized, and gain a new, more rewarding social status or role, but your longing for soul-stirring purpose will not be realized. You might experience satori or nirvana, but after the ecstasy, there will still be an emptiness at your core — the wrong kind of emptiness. You could for most of your life practice yoga, meditation, or contemplative prayer, but as invaluably enriched, centered, and resilient as you might become, you will not be satisfied if your original hunger was to know and inhabit the one unique life you can truly call your own.

I'll say it again and more emphatically: I am not hawking a new self-help fad, and the Descent to Soul is not therapy or a rite of passage. Rather, this book is something like a psychospiritual bomb placed as carefully as I’m able at the very heart of the technoindustrial civilization currently ruining our world. More importantly, the Descent is a generative seed-germinating wildfire indispensable for any human or planetary future worth inhabiting.

This is my first written presentation of the five phases of the Descent to Soul, a model that differs in significant ways from my own earlier attempts to map the journey and, to my knowledge, from any other model for initiatory odysseys. In these pages you’ll find a thorough description of the most essential things I’ve learned over the past forty years about the trail to true Adulthood, including much of what I’ve discovered since writing Soulcraft.

I confess I’ve written this book for future human generations as much as for those living now. Today, in the early twenty-first century, we face unprecedented existential crises — environmentally and culturally. Our human and natural systems are collapsing due to our "success” at creating human systems (cultures) incompatible with the health of the greater natural systems within which we exist (Earth’s ecosystems). If we are to survive and thrive as a species — and as an Earth community of innumerable life-forms — future human generations will need to know how to navigate the journey of soul initiation. This book is an exploration of what I understand to be the most important patterns, motifs, and symbols of the journey as well as a description of a contemporary, Western, nature-based version of it. It’s also a treasury of stories of contemporary people who have experienced it. This book is an embodiment of my faith that there might be future human generations and that they might be vastly more capable than we have been of undertaking the journey to full maturity.

Although the Descent to Soul — the expedition across a vast plain, then down into the depths of what I call Soul Canyon, and eventually, with good fortune, up and out the other side — can be hazardous and harrowing, it is also joyful and engaging. If only the hypnotized masses of the mainstream contemporary world had some idea of the extraordinary riches, mysteries, and intricacies of the human psyche and of the daily dazzling miracles of the self-organizing, more-than-human world! If they did, whatever glimmer and glamour glimpsed in the flatland of conformist-consumer culture would swiftly fade and be seen for the sham it is. What waits on the other side of that vast plain is so much more interesting and inspiring. And those mysteries and treasures are no further than your nightly dreams, your wild love for this world, or for that matter, your deepest emotional wounds; no more remote than the rustling leaves outside your door, the every-moment miracles of your own body, the mycelium-webbed soil beneath your feet, or the waxing and waning of the Moon above; no harder to find than the myths that arise everywhere from the depths of the human psyche. These mysteries are not just of nature and of psyche, but of the inherent communion and dance of mutual enrichment between them.

Peter Pan, as it turns out, was wrong — dead wrong. Being a true Adult is a profoundly exhilarating and fulfilling experience!

berrytwo
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by berrytwo »

AnalyticalEngine wrote:
Sun Jan 22, 2023 6:30 pm
My apologies because I am sure this has been posted before, but what order do you guys recommend reading Plotkin's books in?

I think it really depends on where you are at in your development. Soul Craft feels really relevant to me currently as I am in this stage, to be honest, it is probably been the most influential book of my life. It is interesting though to see and begin to conceptualize stages ahead and from the past in Nature and the Human Soul. I can imagine other people if they are far from the path to descent or way past it scrapping soul craft as it may not feel too relevant. Excited people are talking about Plotkin as it is my preferred lens to look at ERE: I am extremely F lol 95%!

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by mountainFrugal »

berrytwo wrote:
Thu Feb 02, 2023 12:22 am
I think it really depends on where you are at in your development. Soul Craft feels really relevant to me currently as I am in this stage, to be honest, it is probably been the most influential book of my life.
I think you are right that certain books might appeal at different times. There is so much overlap between them that you can just start with one and see what threads interest you. Care to share more about how your Soulcraft is going @berrytwo?

berrytwo
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by berrytwo »

Wow @out of the blue I hadn't read through your Plotkin quotes until just now. Pretty darn powerful, felt a little shiver down my spine. It makes me think about how the core message of both ere and Plotkin saying "you know there is another option right?" One with a lot less consumption and a lot more joy. Both are helpful frameworks for life design. @mF Thanks for the question! I finished Soulcraft a few days ago, after reading it for the second time. I had many moments of shivers, similar to the ones I had from reading quotes above, even more so the second time around. It seemed to be nearly every line though haha. It was like one eloquently written universe/ mind shatterer to the next. Not to hype it up too much :) It was fun to revisit it a year later, and to have seen my own development. My lense of looking at it is so different than it was a year ago. I had so many more ideas and frameworks to bounce it off of: spiral dynamics, ere, GTD, permaculture etcetera. I feel like coming back to it a year later from now, I will hopefully come from a whole new way as well. Are there any other books people felt were Earth-shattering for them? What part of Plotkin (if any) felt that way?

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

@berrytwo, glad these quotes spoke to you as well and to find another kindred spirit! I agree about the synergy between ERE and Plotkin for those with whom both (frame)works resonate.

I am not sure whether you have read all four books, or only the first three, but If the latter is true, given you self-identify as being in the Cocoon (I'm not there yet), I highly recommend that you also read The Journey of Soul Initiation. This book provides a detailed map of the terrain and guides you through the five stages of the descent to soul (a model which was missing in Soulcraft).

---

As a more general comment, whatever the point of entry, if one finds Plotkin's writing engaging, I suggest that they resolve to read all his books. There is overlap, but they all complement each other in crucial ways.

Having gained a more complete understanding of his vision and of how his models/frameworks work together is what has compelled/convinced me to go down this path.

To be sure, this initial understanding must be further deepened and experienced, and ultimately lead to transformation through the various practices that are described in his pages.

Adopting the practices (especially from Wild Mind) is what @mountainFrugal has been encouraging, and the importance of integrating these cannot be overstated.

I am just insisting on the full reading as well, because, as per the long quote above, "a practice can have very different results and can, in essence, become a different activity depending on the model or intention with which it is used."

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

mountainFrugal wrote:
Wed Jul 06, 2022 11:11 am
Plotkin Update. Having read all of his books now, I might recommend Wildmind to start with if you are looking for practical exercises. All the books overlap a lot and go into detail of different aspects. Through all of this personal work that gradually translates to community work throughout a human lifetime, we hope to move more humans through this (or analogous developmental schemes; see refs below).

[…]

A small group of us are exploring Plotkin and actually doing the exercises out in nature. It is one thing to read these books, but an entirely different thing to actually do the exercises. It is recommended that you go out and do these exercises at different times of day, seasons, etc. The point is to develop relationships with aspects of yourself that influence or direct your behavior in the physical world or in the mental world.
Having started exploring practices and entering the realm of deep conversations with the world, I can only concur with the above. Things are getting real.

Some of these practices include:
- Deep imagery (animal imagery) work
- Soulful use of hallucinogens (magic mushrooms), "We can enter the mysteries of wild nature by taking wild nature inside"
- The Way of Council

I am also expanding my horizons by apprenticing with book allies from Plotkin's constellation of resources.

For instance, A language older than words by Derrick Jensen and the two David Abram's books (The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World and Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology) have been mind blowing.

All in all, I've been lifting the three other corners, so to speak. If the group is taking in more members, I would be happy to join in or report here in more detail.

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by mountainFrugal »

OutOfTheBlue wrote:
Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:56 pm
All in all, I've been lifting the three other corners, so to speak. If the group is taking in more members, I would be happy to join in or report here in more detail.
We still occasionally chat via Signal, but we have not had a formal meeting since last year and have tried to move things onto the forum as much as possible. Would you be interested in leading a discussion/book club? I am at my limit with leading groups (with my IRL activities taking priority). Also, just sharing your experiences is usually going to be helpful to many people even if they do not comment. There are a lot of lurkers on here. It sounds like you have done a lot of reading, growth and experimentation. Share what you feel comfortable sharing.

For me personally, I am balancing applying what I learned in the readings and activities towards what I think are interesting activities and see how they shake out IRL instead of just in my mind. In other words, not all thoughts, not all exercises, but how does it fit with lived reality? TBD as this is a lifelong journey.

AnalyticalEngine
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

I've thought about potentially starting or restarting the Plotkin MMG over Zoom again since I did find the Zoom format helpful for Plotkin. I've found Plotkin harder to describe over text because of the nature of the experience. If there's interest in that, I can help lead it.

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by mountainFrugal »

The other group was ecology/adventure based first and then basically became a Plotkin group. A majority of the Ecology observations and other parts have moved back to the forum. I agree that discussing Plotkin related ideas is helpful in more than asynchronous text based threads as everyone can share and everyone else can ask immediate follow-up questions. If there are summaries each time and a scribe role for each session to bring info and items discussed back to the forum it would be a good format IMO.

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

I agree, this is a lifelong journey.

I'm currently giving it a lot of focus and making space for pursuing this intensely.

It involves a lot of personal work, but I think there is also room for and value in sharing some aspects in a dedicated group and here, where it may spark interest and inspire others.

I'm so grateful that Bill Plotkin was also at least in part discussed publicly in the ERE forums, so I had a chance to discover his work and the mycelium network of authors and resources.

---

The Council in the Commons

For anyone looking for a supportive community/environment in this journey, the Animas Valey Institute has created the Council in the Commons, which is running since 2020: https://www.animas.org/council-in-the-commons/

It is a free-to-participate initiative with ideas of activities/practices/wanderings, online sharing and weekly Zoom meetings/councils. However, please note that what happens there stays there, and can't be shared openly elsewhere. Indeed, one of the guidelines is: "Confidentiality. This is an absolute requirement. Please do not speak about what you witness here to anyone - including others in the network (ie. no side conversations about another's experience)."

I sure am glad I joined and am able to discover and share in this beautiful space.

---

Given such a network/resource already exists, it would be interesting to discuss what would work best for everyone involved if we decided to start or restart such a dedicated group.

AnalyticalEngine, glad to know you've thought about that too.
mountainFrugal, if there's no expectation of you leading/organizing this, I understand you would still be up for participating in some capacity?

dustBowl
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by dustBowl »

AnalyticalEngine wrote:
Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:23 pm
I've thought about potentially starting or restarting the Plotkin MMG over Zoom again since I did find the Zoom format helpful for Plotkin. I've found Plotkin harder to describe over text because of the nature of the experience. If there's interest in that, I can help lead it.
I'd be interested in this. I've been spending a lot of time recently in realms that I'm pretty sure are either Plotkin-adjacent or Plotkin-overlapping, but I haven't read any of his actual works yet. I'd enjoy diving into them in the context of an ERE MMG.

AnalyticalEngine
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

Glad to see there is interest in a potential Plotkin group. Based on how the MMG went before, I was thinking a format like this would work:

1. Capped at 3-6 people
2. Meets once a month over zoom
3. Discuss current personal Plotkin progress
4. Also discuss other philosophy/etc that can tie into Plotkin (I was going to tie Heidegger into Plotkin at one point but got side-tracked)

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

AnalyticalEngine wrote:
Mon Apr 03, 2023 4:07 pm
Glad to see there is interest in a potential Plotkin group. Based on how the MMG went before, I was thinking a format like this would work:

1. Capped at 3-6 people
2. Meets once a month over zoom
3. Discuss current personal Plotkin progress
4. Also discuss other philosophy/etc that can tie into Plotkin (I was going to tie Heidegger into Plotkin at one point but got side-tracked)
That sounds great, plus keeping the public forum in the loop as per mountainFrugal reminder.

Personally, I would suggest that we commit to reading all four books (although not necessarily as a group) if not already done,.for a more complete perspective. I find that the first pages of The Journey of Soul Initiation provide a great overview in that regard, tiying it all together.

Re the last point, I too want to revisit Heidegger!

I definitely recommend David Abram's books for a philosophical dimension, especially the first:

The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World
A Goodreads review wrote:A densely written book that takes the phenomenological intersubjectivity and concept of the life-world of Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's conception of the participatory nature of perception as its jumping-off point, builds on Heidegger's horizonal and grounded understanding of time, critiques the rise of written language [and especially phonetic alphabet] as that which gradually loosened our hold on the sensual and sensuous world, and ultimately puts forward a sense-based, animistic, and story-based understanding of the human relationship with the more-than-human world.
And
Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology, with the title being a tip of the hat to Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.

RoamingFrancis
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by RoamingFrancis »

I am interested! And would love to be included in this

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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by Bicycle7 »

I'm interested in an MMG as well if there's room!
mountainFrugal wrote:
Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:23 am
For me personally, I am balancing applying what I learned in the readings and activities towards what I think are interesting activities and see how they shake out IRL instead of just in my mind. In other words, not all thoughts, not all exercises, but how does it fit with lived reality? TBD as this is a lifelong journey.
This puts it well MF, I would be interested in the MMG of exploring both sides of this, the thoughts and the exercises and how they stitch together into lived experience.

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Bill Plotkin - Discussion Thread

Post by mountainFrugal »

I will scribe at first and then start more in depth personal work during the summer when I will have more time.

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