Asylum Joy

The name Asylum Joy comes from a mishearing of the name of a Thai restaurant in Chiang Mai. The homophone somehow stuck in my mind for over a year and this is the outcome.

An introduction is supposed to set out some kind of theme, to adumbrate the general look and feel of the landscape before a closer examination of the fauna and flora. But building a frame before the canvas is completed seems to set undue limits as to future directions and scope. Perhaps, rather than setting limits, it is best to explore the palette instead.

The word 'wisdom' has a rather arcane, somehow quaint flavour to it; something we secretly desire but which being out of fashion is also difficult to find. It is an improbable commodity, it cannot be sold in bulk and repackaged as a consumer desirable, and yet, with a nod to the alchemists, it is a kind of mining that we shall be engaged in. Looking for those rare and precious seams within both the exoteric and esoteric sciences that are the fulfilment of the largely base strata.

But wisdom without freedom is ultimately unsustainable, so we shall also look at the powers of control, so intoxicating to certain elements within both the sciences and the religions. It is often in the early hours of a major news story, when a thousand voices clamour to be heard, that one can piece together an accurate picture from a few mosaic tiles. Only later, when the editorial hand of a propagandist has rearranged the pieces do the self same tiles paint an altogether different official picture.

I am sure that other colours will emerge, but for the moment, I must go practise my brush strokes.

10 Dec 2008

Without deleting or subtracting from the above, a clearer focus has emerged and a differentiation between the sibling blogs of Asylum Joy and Aakom. For some reason, my mind has swapped the aims of the two sites. Perhaps it is a function of their very names, as the word 'asylum' conjures up two slightly different images. Before it became used as a synonym for sanatorium - or insanatorium - an asylum was a place of refuge and safety. We still hear of political or economic asylum seekers fleeing from one perceived tyranny to find some sanctuary, if not always with open arms. So to combine both meanings, this seeks to be an asylum from asylum Earth.

The lunatics will be in full parade so that one can be discerning about what they say and what they do. I make no apologies for covering websites and news items that I both agree and disagree with. Know thine enemy is a very useful motto and to be cocooned within one's chosen clique can be as damaging as believing the masses. Ultimately, the real contrast is between those forces of control and those of freedom. I will therefore cover the areas of science and religion, technology, politics and any propaganda that seems to come in my field of view. The focus will largely be on news and resources. Longer philosophical discussions will largely be on Aakom, as well as research specifically on the intersection between science and religion. As both blogs are fairly new I don't expect too much confusion.

RM