PODCAST · society
ZenGlop The Podcast
by Andrew Kaiser
Conversations with an aesthetic alien. A podcast about music, poetry and psychogeography. show notes and other material available at https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/podcast/
Episodes
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183 Eternity's Sunrise ( William Blake)
He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sunrise. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination...
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182 : changing the Habitual Body
The Habitual Body is like an exoskeleton of thoughts, preconceptions, karmic traces, emotions and aspirations. Some are obvious and familiar. Others are hidden and delicate but no less powerful. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination...
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172 why is karma
Perhaps Karma is embedded in the universe in the same way gravity, electromagnetism and Newton's laws of Thermodynamics. In which case why ask why? But still, I do. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy my book On Mortality and the Human…
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171 Vonnegut and Homer - Stories of a Good Dog
My dog (Reggie) died recently which makes me very sad and reminds of two other good dogs. Argos ( who waited for Odysseus's return and was the first being to recognise him) and Kazak, the Space Dog, who along with Winston Rutherford phases in and out of the galaxy in a Chrono-synclastic...
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170: time, a corporate job and meditation
The quality of time, the 'kinds' of time that occur during a day at my corporate job helps to think about the moments in meditation. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination...
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169: socratic aporia and quantum uncertainty
The state of Bafflement gives rise to realisation, wonders, concerns, confusion, theories, hypotheses and notions. I'd suggest that the intent of a dialogue with Socrates is to give rise to that phenomenon of Bafflement - rather than to actually answer any possible question. And that this...
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169: mountains, birds, and meditation
The thinking mind is like the wind on top of Everest; the birds flying around a mountain. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination...
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168: a story of thought and no-thought
I often clarify ideas for this podcast during my morning meditation. But during meditation I am trying to reach a state of equipoise. Surely, following thoughts and realisations is a Wobble away from that intent? Indeed it is. So how does the activity of 'ordinary Mind' fit with the objectives of...
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167: dreams, sine waves, and a testable hypothesis
A sine wave exists only because there is a periodic trough as well as the peak. Maintaining equanimity through those transitions ( inhale/exhale...wake/sleep....birth/death) feels like a testable hypothesis. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy…
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166: meditation notes: Alan Watts, Being/Dying and a Head-Tailed Cat
Alan Watts wrote _The Book_ to plant a seed of an idea about the ongoing cycles in our Being. What he calls the 'head-Tailed Cat' of 'GoWithing'. How does this fit into meditation practice? Let's see!! More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy my book...
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165: Aurelius vs Larkin
Marcus Aurelius mirrors Socrates in his analysis of death - - Larkin categorically ( and in quite wonderful poetry) disputes. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination...
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164: meditation notes - the outcome will come out
Confidence in the outcome of scrutiny, Authenticity and spontaneity will come out of the processes and practices of an examined life as surely as water on heat will boil. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ Buy my book On Mortality and the Human...
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163: the joy of fiction
Why would I turn my efforts towards a 'magically realistic science fiction trilogy"? What indeed! Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing.…
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162: Socratic Aporia
Talking to Socrates often left his talking partners bewildered, dazzled, unsure of what any language or thought might mean. We're given the word Aporia to describe this sensation. Socrates might say that a good life is one spent seeking out Aporia, and this podcast would agree. Buy my book On...
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161: meditation notes - a trend line?
Can I create a trend line based on the resonant patterns that arise, abide and dissolve? From the smallest thought to the longest pattern I can be aware of - - if I dumped that information into a spreadsheet and calculated a trend, what would my confidence be in those results? Buy my book On...
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journals, different types of...
Sometimes I journal simply for the pleasure of feeling pen on paper ( an excuse to collect cool notebooks and beautiful pens). Sometimes I journal to track habits - I'm a fierce proponent of the premise that priority processes will make progress with 20 minutes a day religiously practiced. I...
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159: Wordsworth The Prelude
I have the habit on a Saturday afternoon to pour myself a bourbon, strike a match to light a pipe of Latakia tobacco and to thus apply myself to the study of whatever enthusiasm has taken me for the moment. In the instant most recent, I happened to read a choice selection from Wordsworth, which I...
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158: meditation notes - three books
I recently rummaged through my bookshelf and came up with three books that turns out give a really nice sequence. Opening the Door to Bon by Nyima Dakota (an overview of the foundational practices for Bon Tibetan Buddhism) The Awakened One A life of the Buddha by Sherab Chodzin Kohn ( a…
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157: life is a story
I'm enjoying the process of writing fiction. That's a new kind of writing for me, I'm an essayist at heart. What if I approach the thorny problems of life, the undeniable constraints and condition - up to and including the way it ends - with the same pleasure, joy and commitment that I'm finding…
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156: creative block and creative space
What are your experiences with 'writers block'? When I find myself not writing, it is rarely when I'm looking at a blank piece of paper. What gets written may end up discarded, set aside into the archeological pile of draft notes, or re-used in a different context. No, when I am not writing it is...
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155: ZenGlop and the Miletian Archae
I've been criticized for using the term ZenGlop - -that this silly word trivializes the substance and structure of my work. Fair enough, perhaps it does. But .... Reading about pre-socratic philosophers and their focus on the question of why something exists. And if it exists, what did it come…
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154: notes on new composition
Thoughts on recently finished composition for piano and electronics. Also a consideration of what it feels like inside an MRI, and whether that's sufficient aesthetic inspiration (give away the answer: "it is"). Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android Hear 'Magnetic...
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153- meditation notes simplicity of available wisdom
We bring to each moment a set of insights, capabilities, strengths ( weaknesses) - - and even as this accumulated wisdom may be obscured by afflictive emotions, it is entirely sufficient to embrace a wise and compassionate reaction. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or...
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152: music is distillation and distiller
If music is a still, then I am a fermented mash ready to be evaporated and precipitated out as an alchemical spirit. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing....
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151: what would be my last meal?
Thinking more about Socrates and his final day described in Phaedo, I asked myself what my final meal would be. Turns out....Mahler and sparkling water. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing....
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150: socrates massaged his feet
On the morning of the day when he would be executed, Socrates woke from a good night's sleep; massaged his feet; slowly placed his feet on the ground; and the spoke for the day about a good life. And you know what, I get that. If I knew I was to die tomorrow at sunset, I'd want to wake up...
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149: meditation notes - moments of wonder
Kathryn (otherwise known as Mrs. ZenGlop) is taking a course online with Pema Chodron, We were talking at dinner last night and one of the things she said that resonated was the gift of wonder. That as we pay attention and practice, there's a real amazement that this moment is happening. At all!…
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148: Do you hear what I hear?
Probably not. We all have slightly different physiology, and that's particularly evident in our hearing especially as we age. Hearing tests will show quite different responses to frequency range. I'm deaf in one ear and with damaged hearing in the other, as the result of surgery about 15 years…
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147: art that facilitates as well as stimulates
Art - the aesthetic object, whether music, poetry, painting, landscape - stimulates a wide range of responses in us. What about art that needs to teach us what the response could be? Art that facilitates the response. More episodes on Ekpyrotic Art notes here:...
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meditation notes - the importance of a teacher
What I've been thinking about lately is the formulation "What Would do?". It's important to have a teacher in spiritual practice. The experience, direction, instruction, guidance, support are essential. But who - or what - is that teacher? We're accustomed in America to seeing spiritual…
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145: New Years Eve, Notre Dame and Jean Michel Jarre
Welcome back to a new season of the podcast. On New Years Eve, Jean-Michel Jarre broadcast a concert set in a Virtual Reality Notre-Dame cathedral. It was a wonderful show and resonated with the ancient, mystical architectonics of the space. More episodes on sonic psychogeography here:...
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144: meditation notes - the availability of authentic action , immediately
There are no requirements to meet or hurdles that need to be overcome before we can choose to interject compassion into the immediate moment. I'll be taking a break for the end of year and I hope you are all able to enjoy some time off. There may be an intermittent podcast, or a livestream from…
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143: reading Sylvia Plath
I finished reading " Red Comet: The short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath" , a recent biography written by Heather Clark. Reading Plath's poetry is like being alive: strange, beautiful, elegant, upsetting. Tragic. Ecstatic. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination Subscribe to a...
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142: leap of faith
A leap of faith? Or should it be a leap from faith? What about a leap from Realisation? A leap into what? Towards what? Is it a leap, or are we pushed? Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode directly: more episodes on meditation notes here:...
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141: meditation notes - thoughts on bodhicitta
The Bodhicitta vow is the aspiration to bring compassion and empathy in all action of body, speech and mind. I like the 'planetary gravity' metaphor. Some anomaly in the gravitational continuum causes the accretion of atomic material leading eventually to suns and planets. When we sit on a…
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140: quotidien sounds - daily life remix
We are surrounded by noise, just about all of which we filter out either mechanically or mentally. But when I made note of unexpected and beautiful noises that arose throughout a day, in short order I started to have a sonic journal of surprising delicacy and emotion. Just using the recorder...
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139: Magic Space Rockets, and an update on my opera
Picking back up on my opera ("Love,Love,Bing,Bing" an opera about the Soviet Space Dog program). Focusing for now on the text and trying to figure out some more details about the characters, specifically the character of The Program Director. There's a history of bizarre occult influences on…
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138: meditation notes - stopwatch not a timer?
It's time for my meditation practice to shift gears. The last several months have been a focus on a certain set of prayers and chants...I'm feeling like a shift to more open-ended insight practice. It occurred to me that my entire practicing life, I've started a meditation session with a timer…
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137: Is Sisyphus happy?
How much did Sisyphus know about the nature of his punishment? Did he know that the rock was fated to roll back down? Or did he think he had a shot each time, but was just really bad at pushing rocks up a hill? Was he Happy? Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination Subscribe to my...
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136: Vera Lotar Shevchenko ( The Lost Pianos of Siberia)
Vera Lotar Shevchenko was a French pianist who studied with Alfred Cortot, married a Russian - both arrested and sent to Siberia. She survived ( her husband did not) and later in the 60's was able to record again. There's recordings available to listen on Youtube. I learned about this remarkable...
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135: Messiaen whimsical FM synthesis
Messiaen considered birdsong a divine source of inspiration, one that happily coincided with his interests as a composer (tritone harmony, extended melodic reach, ametrical rhythmic patterns). Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination Subscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on...
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134: meditation notes - hack the "undermutter"
The mind produces an ongoing chatter - what my teacher calls the "undermutter". Neither good nor bad, meditation practice puts this noise into perspective but also lets us question the content. That's the hack. Have a listen, let me know if you have any questions. more episodes on meditation…
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133: thoughts on electromagnetic art
Some thoughts on a project I'm starting....to create a map of the Very Low Frequency (VLF) electromagnetic forms on Penn ave ( Pittsburgh). My initial curiosity; the interesting challenges of archiving and organizing information; and some speculation on the final output. Buy my book On Mortality...
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132: The Aesthetic Object
One of the phrases I like to use is to call a 'Thing' an 'Aesthetic Object'. The 'Aesthetic Object' compels a confrontation with the vectors of scale through the human imagination. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination:...
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131: Larkin Required Writing
"Required Writing" is a collection of journalism written by the poet Philip Larkin. I picked up a copy because included in the book is a transcript of an interview he gave with The Observer newspaper...I'd seen the interview referenced elsewhere and wanted to read the whole thing. some more...
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130: After an unintended hiatus
Welcome back. I didn't intend to stop podcasting for the last month and I return with renewed inspiration. The music, poetry and meditation that I talk about in this podcast helps me to examine my life. I think it's really important to have things like that as companions in the imagination - to...
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129: meditation notes - what is the good of renunciation?
Renunciation is not denial. It is the embrace of creativity. the first step towards experiencing the nature of Mind. Send me a note at [email protected]. more notes on meditation here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/ I'm making a push to build up my youtube channel. Here's an easy…
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128: modular synthesis, control voltage and a bit of Marshal McLuhan
One way of describing modular synthesis is to look at the studio as oscillators, filters and envelopes modulated by control voltage. To paraphrase Marshal McLuhan we flip to the simultaneous and extend the ganglia of our nervous systems when we compose in the electronic studio. Send me a note at...
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127: what is 'pataphysics?
I learned a new word over the weekend..'pataphysics. The apostrophe is intentional and I presume silent when spoken. Do you know anything about 'pataphysics? If you do, please let me know what your study involves. Send me a note at [email protected]. more notes on the related study of...
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126: meditation notes - positive thinking ( why not choose strength, understanding and compassion)
We all live in a landscape ( inner and outer) where negative emotions like anxiety, despair, anger reside right next to deep compassion, strength and understanding. Positive thinking begins with simple affirmations and extends to transformational visions ( with a passing reference to Albert…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does ZenGlop The Podcast have?
ZenGlop The Podcast currently has 177 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is ZenGlop The Podcast about?
Conversations with an aesthetic alien. A podcast about music, poetry and psychogeography. show notes and other material available at https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/podcast/
How often does ZenGlop The Podcast release new episodes?
ZenGlop The Podcast publishes regularly with 177 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to ZenGlop The Podcast?
You can listen to ZenGlop The Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts ZenGlop The Podcast?
ZenGlop The Podcast is created and hosted by Andrew Kaiser.
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