Don’t stop thinking Tim! I really relate to this idea of light & density... I actually wrote an article in the same vein about how the content we often consume in the Digital Age appears holographic and illusive at best but yet the experiences we perceive still carry a great weight or ‘density’ to them; either lifting the soul upwards or weighing it down into deep-darkness. We fool ourselves into thinking the content (through the ‘light’ on our phones) doesn’t deeply disembody or affect the soul. What are your thoughts on that?
Well, first of all, send me the link to this article. It sounds fascinating! Next, I think there is a resonance between what we're saying. I like how you frame content as being holographic. That's a very vivid picture for me. I think, for me, I am cutting a bit of a rougher edge, perhaps, only in that I see much of the content and the actual machine as diverting us from the reality of our existence. For too long, we've used language like "distraction" as a cover-up for an actual spiritual war happening in real life. Distraction is passive. There is an adversary, and we assist it. But for the most part, I am in line with these thoughts. I love them, actually.
Yes I agree, content can divert us from the reality of existence while simultaneously distorting the imagination. I agree with your point about distraction too, as it is often a passive state of mind. And thankyou Tim, I have DM’d you the article 🙏🏼 Let’s talk then shall we!
So good! Thank you for sharing, Tim. Looking forward to reading more of your writings this year. Also, the density piece brings to mind Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” and solid vs. shadow/ghost people. :)
Tim, if this is madness, we need more of it in our world. "If we have lost our minds, it is for the Lord..."
I wish I could sit in your study with you or outside looking over the woods and talk for hours on these things. Alas, that isn't an option at this "time," so I'll just say this: your words here make me think of the Orthodox understanding of reality as icon; everything we see and experience gets its being from something beyond our awareness, the true reality which is nearer still to God, who is the ultimate reality. All things originate in Him, and find their fulfillment in Him. C.S. Lewis gets at this idea with his "England within England" thought.
I'm looking forward to following along with you on this journey in 2025, Tim!
Joel, yes. Please come by sometime, and we'll have tea out back, look over the woods, and discuss all of this.
Man, I love this understanding of reality as icon. I have several Orthodox friends--who are always trying to convert me :)--I should ask about this. If you have a resource I can read, send it my way. And yes! England within England. I'd forgotten about that.
I spoke with a scholar who's written a few books on science and philosophy, and I posited this: "What if Light isn't only physical illumination and wave and particle? What if the metaphorical language we use is real and light is at once physical and metaphysical?" He said no. Ha. But I think he's wrong. You've probably read one of his books. :) That sent me on a quest to research the metaphysics of light and the work of Groseteste and Newton, Einstein, and Penrose. These thoughts are mainstream, but man, they get me going.
I would honestly love to make a trip to your neck of the woods soon, and share that tea with you!
I also have, blessedly, several Orthodox friends in my own life, and have been quite influenced by the work of Dr Nathan Jacobs (who is here on Substack). I have also been reading a book called The Ethics of Beauty (which may be right up your alley) which is giving me a deeper understanding of what the Orthodox Church believes about this idea of icon. I would definitely recommend that book.
It seems to me that all of the things that we tend to think we have a full, or scientific grasp of, we have actually only skimmed across the surface of. Surely, light is one of those things.
"My Weight is My Love" - going with that as my guess haha.
As for the rest of it, woah. Your ideas always fascinate me! Some of it went a little over my head I'm sorry to admit - a realization that I'm not grasping all that there is, and I'm bummed I'm not! But! Oh so interesting, love these thoughts on light. I've been fascinated by light in the Bible for probably a good ten years at least, and even still its imagery and implications are both so simple and so deep at the same time. Did you know it calls us "sons of light and sons of day" in 1 Thess 5:5? What are the implications? You already got my wheels turning a little! Looking forward to hearing more!
Good guess! It is a Part but not the title. You're the third (I think) to mention it, so maybe I should change my title! Ha. You guys are all getting close.
Well, Sierra, my wife, read the post and texted me: Great post, I only understood the end. LOL. I know it was a bit of a firehose, but I had to get it out there. What's funny is I had already written a post and was writing the introduction about what I'd been doing since the holidays, and I was having so much with the list that I went with it, and the intro became the post. The original post was "Time is an Illusion." :)
I think fascination is the perfect catalyst for deep study. I love what you shared about "sons of light and sons of day." We should all collectively think about that. So, if Paul uses light here as a metaphor, what's the metaphor? And what of John saying, If we walk in the light as he is in the light ... and later saying, he IS light.
I think it's fun to think about Christ as our illumination from spiritual darkness to light, but what about the physical world tells us that light is at once a metaphor and something physical that touches the infinite? That's where I get tangled. Well, not tangled, but maybe freed in my thinking. More is coming!
Well that makes me feel better lol! :D At any rate, it was pretty interesting, and I'm glad you went for it!
And yes! Exactly! When you were mentioning the speed of light and time, it suddenly clicked that because Christ is light, that's why He's outside of time, and because we become sons of light, we become part of the kingdom outside this world, outside of time... like, literally!
Referring to "how we do church:" Yes. I have so many thoughts and prayers here.
A desire to cancel the internet: Yes! I remember the days BWWW (Before the World Wide Web)... and yet, I also remember Mr. Rogers and his commitment to making TV a tool for good. So, do I run away from the WWW, or try to make it good (better)? Do I make it good (better)?
I learn something from you every time I read a post. Thank you.
And I, too, run into the dilemma of becoming a digital hermit or making it "good." As a writer in the 21st century, it is almost a requirement to be online because that's where people read and spend their time. At the same time, we now know with great certainty how bad internet use and phone use is. We now spend more time on phones than eating, sleeping, being in community with people, etc. This reality makes me think that a hard reset is required. This means it is time to radically change how we engage with the machines of our world.
I am using "machines" now because I find that using that term is repulsive to my human sensibilities. We spend more time with machines and vacant messaging than with one another. Not only is our time on machines ill-proportioned to the needs of human thriving, but the despair we experience collectively as a world culture is astronomical compared to what it used to be.
I believe God wires us to feast on the things of light. Born into a dichotomous world of darkness and light, we hunger for the light--the light of the day, the light of wisdom, the light of the World. This is what I want my writing and research and teaching to be about. But I do not only want to talk about it; I want to live it. And this, as you suggest, is difficult. :)
Wow! Kinda blown my mind, Tim, but there are so many great things in this post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in detail. It takes courage to do that.
Yes, yes, to 'divert' I like that. Especially the use of it with imagination, 'divert the imagination'.
Yes, yes, to a novel about David. I think Mark Buchanan has written one a while back.
Thanks, brother! Yes, my wife and I discussed the difference between diverting and distraction. It's very real. And I think there's more to the world of digital media and machines that we're not discussing.
If the density of our souls affect gravity, does that explain why apparitions occur? A memory stuck in time? Elizabeth Goudge talks about it in her autobiography because this is what she believes. Not that souls are trapped on earth, but that if they are ‘dense beings’ or in her words, ‘a saint’, that particular holy moments are etched into the places that they occurred. Either way, it does make her books interesting with these little encounters of the past appearing! Food for thought!
I like thinking about dense beings. What she seems to be doing is similar to what I'm getting at in all of this, showing the metaphorical and physical parallels of existence. The density of a being affecting spacetime is a wonderful idea to ponder. How are you, by the way?! ;)
So interesting to think about! I love Tony Anderson’s single titled ‘Apparition’. When it was released I listened to it over and over and had to look up what the word actually meant. 😜 I’ve been thinking about it ever since…
No one can skim this, AT ALL, and that’s what I love. Saving this for after I finish framing a painting and have made supper. I will take my ~decidedly~ dense self to a comfy chair with some hot tea and this Substack…
Don’t stop thinking Tim! I really relate to this idea of light & density... I actually wrote an article in the same vein about how the content we often consume in the Digital Age appears holographic and illusive at best but yet the experiences we perceive still carry a great weight or ‘density’ to them; either lifting the soul upwards or weighing it down into deep-darkness. We fool ourselves into thinking the content (through the ‘light’ on our phones) doesn’t deeply disembody or affect the soul. What are your thoughts on that?
Well, first of all, send me the link to this article. It sounds fascinating! Next, I think there is a resonance between what we're saying. I like how you frame content as being holographic. That's a very vivid picture for me. I think, for me, I am cutting a bit of a rougher edge, perhaps, only in that I see much of the content and the actual machine as diverting us from the reality of our existence. For too long, we've used language like "distraction" as a cover-up for an actual spiritual war happening in real life. Distraction is passive. There is an adversary, and we assist it. But for the most part, I am in line with these thoughts. I love them, actually.
Yes I agree, content can divert us from the reality of existence while simultaneously distorting the imagination. I agree with your point about distraction too, as it is often a passive state of mind. And thankyou Tim, I have DM’d you the article 🙏🏼 Let’s talk then shall we!
So good! Thank you for sharing, Tim. Looking forward to reading more of your writings this year. Also, the density piece brings to mind Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” and solid vs. shadow/ghost people. :)
Yes!! One hundred percent! I was talking to Chris about that this evening!
If we think you’re crazy, it’s because you caused us to think deeply 🤔 , a very rare thing these days. Title: “My weight is my love “
Thank you, Sharon! That is very kind of you to say.
Good guess on the title. But that's a Section title. :) You're on the right track, though. :)
Tim, if this is madness, we need more of it in our world. "If we have lost our minds, it is for the Lord..."
I wish I could sit in your study with you or outside looking over the woods and talk for hours on these things. Alas, that isn't an option at this "time," so I'll just say this: your words here make me think of the Orthodox understanding of reality as icon; everything we see and experience gets its being from something beyond our awareness, the true reality which is nearer still to God, who is the ultimate reality. All things originate in Him, and find their fulfillment in Him. C.S. Lewis gets at this idea with his "England within England" thought.
I'm looking forward to following along with you on this journey in 2025, Tim!
Joel, yes. Please come by sometime, and we'll have tea out back, look over the woods, and discuss all of this.
Man, I love this understanding of reality as icon. I have several Orthodox friends--who are always trying to convert me :)--I should ask about this. If you have a resource I can read, send it my way. And yes! England within England. I'd forgotten about that.
I spoke with a scholar who's written a few books on science and philosophy, and I posited this: "What if Light isn't only physical illumination and wave and particle? What if the metaphorical language we use is real and light is at once physical and metaphysical?" He said no. Ha. But I think he's wrong. You've probably read one of his books. :) That sent me on a quest to research the metaphysics of light and the work of Groseteste and Newton, Einstein, and Penrose. These thoughts are mainstream, but man, they get me going.
I would honestly love to make a trip to your neck of the woods soon, and share that tea with you!
I also have, blessedly, several Orthodox friends in my own life, and have been quite influenced by the work of Dr Nathan Jacobs (who is here on Substack). I have also been reading a book called The Ethics of Beauty (which may be right up your alley) which is giving me a deeper understanding of what the Orthodox Church believes about this idea of icon. I would definitely recommend that book.
It seems to me that all of the things that we tend to think we have a full, or scientific grasp of, we have actually only skimmed across the surface of. Surely, light is one of those things.
"My Weight is My Love" - going with that as my guess haha.
As for the rest of it, woah. Your ideas always fascinate me! Some of it went a little over my head I'm sorry to admit - a realization that I'm not grasping all that there is, and I'm bummed I'm not! But! Oh so interesting, love these thoughts on light. I've been fascinated by light in the Bible for probably a good ten years at least, and even still its imagery and implications are both so simple and so deep at the same time. Did you know it calls us "sons of light and sons of day" in 1 Thess 5:5? What are the implications? You already got my wheels turning a little! Looking forward to hearing more!
Good guess! It is a Part but not the title. You're the third (I think) to mention it, so maybe I should change my title! Ha. You guys are all getting close.
Well, Sierra, my wife, read the post and texted me: Great post, I only understood the end. LOL. I know it was a bit of a firehose, but I had to get it out there. What's funny is I had already written a post and was writing the introduction about what I'd been doing since the holidays, and I was having so much with the list that I went with it, and the intro became the post. The original post was "Time is an Illusion." :)
I think fascination is the perfect catalyst for deep study. I love what you shared about "sons of light and sons of day." We should all collectively think about that. So, if Paul uses light here as a metaphor, what's the metaphor? And what of John saying, If we walk in the light as he is in the light ... and later saying, he IS light.
I think it's fun to think about Christ as our illumination from spiritual darkness to light, but what about the physical world tells us that light is at once a metaphor and something physical that touches the infinite? That's where I get tangled. Well, not tangled, but maybe freed in my thinking. More is coming!
Haha aw shucks!
Well that makes me feel better lol! :D At any rate, it was pretty interesting, and I'm glad you went for it!
And yes! Exactly! When you were mentioning the speed of light and time, it suddenly clicked that because Christ is light, that's why He's outside of time, and because we become sons of light, we become part of the kingdom outside this world, outside of time... like, literally!
Yes, but ... what is time? :) {mic drop} LOL
Oooh, to be discovered....
Referring to "how we do church:" Yes. I have so many thoughts and prayers here.
A desire to cancel the internet: Yes! I remember the days BWWW (Before the World Wide Web)... and yet, I also remember Mr. Rogers and his commitment to making TV a tool for good. So, do I run away from the WWW, or try to make it good (better)? Do I make it good (better)?
I learn something from you every time I read a post. Thank you.
Leslie, thank you for your kind words.
And I, too, run into the dilemma of becoming a digital hermit or making it "good." As a writer in the 21st century, it is almost a requirement to be online because that's where people read and spend their time. At the same time, we now know with great certainty how bad internet use and phone use is. We now spend more time on phones than eating, sleeping, being in community with people, etc. This reality makes me think that a hard reset is required. This means it is time to radically change how we engage with the machines of our world.
I am using "machines" now because I find that using that term is repulsive to my human sensibilities. We spend more time with machines and vacant messaging than with one another. Not only is our time on machines ill-proportioned to the needs of human thriving, but the despair we experience collectively as a world culture is astronomical compared to what it used to be.
I believe God wires us to feast on the things of light. Born into a dichotomous world of darkness and light, we hunger for the light--the light of the day, the light of wisdom, the light of the World. This is what I want my writing and research and teaching to be about. But I do not only want to talk about it; I want to live it. And this, as you suggest, is difficult. :)
Wow! Kinda blown my mind, Tim, but there are so many great things in this post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in detail. It takes courage to do that.
Yes, yes, to 'divert' I like that. Especially the use of it with imagination, 'divert the imagination'.
Yes, yes, to a novel about David. I think Mark Buchanan has written one a while back.
Go well.
Thanks, brother! Yes, my wife and I discussed the difference between diverting and distraction. It's very real. And I think there's more to the world of digital media and machines that we're not discussing.
Perhaps... the title of the upcoming book is about weight and love. Also, I live in D.C. and would love to come to the event!
Marie, I also need your email address. You can DM it to me. 👍
Fantastic, Marie! I just need your full name, I believe. And you're in. You are close on the title. :)
If the density of our souls affect gravity, does that explain why apparitions occur? A memory stuck in time? Elizabeth Goudge talks about it in her autobiography because this is what she believes. Not that souls are trapped on earth, but that if they are ‘dense beings’ or in her words, ‘a saint’, that particular holy moments are etched into the places that they occurred. Either way, it does make her books interesting with these little encounters of the past appearing! Food for thought!
I like thinking about dense beings. What she seems to be doing is similar to what I'm getting at in all of this, showing the metaphorical and physical parallels of existence. The density of a being affecting spacetime is a wonderful idea to ponder. How are you, by the way?! ;)
So interesting to think about! I love Tony Anderson’s single titled ‘Apparition’. When it was released I listened to it over and over and had to look up what the word actually meant. 😜 I’ve been thinking about it ever since…
No one can skim this, AT ALL, and that’s what I love. Saving this for after I finish framing a painting and have made supper. I will take my ~decidedly~ dense self to a comfy chair with some hot tea and this Substack…
Painting, yes! Adding to the density of existence! :)