Hello AGEID. I am liking the “Magister Ludi” forum name. Quite fitting for an infinite game designer! We have a couple of Hesse fans around this neck of the woods (I just finished rereading his translated collected works a couple weeks ago as I followed along with Gunnar Dekkar’s Hesse biography). You may have noticed we play around with a few glass beads. Interested in what arises from your engagement here. Welcome!
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Wow, it took me a long second to figure out how to “reply” to the whole group, as opposed to reply to particular posts, or threads, or whatever they are called!
Phew! Well, now that that is figured out, I wanted to say hello and introduce myself. My name, as you can see, is Andrew Field. I’m 38 years old, and work as an adult services librarian at a public library on the west side of Cleveland. I live actually on the east side of CLE, with my wife and two sons, who are twins and seven years old and great kids.
I was very excited to discover Metapsychosis and Infinite Conversations. I am a poet - I had a chapbook published in 2016 by a publisher called Red Flag Poetry - but have recently been writing in a somewhat different form, voice and style, less narrative-based, more akin to a certain extent to the free-wheeling, associational poetry of many poets associated with the New York School (hopefully that term is meaningful - sorry if it is not familiar, and let me know if you have any questions about it). One of my biggest obsessions in this life has been the work of poet John Ashbery (has anyone out there read him? I saw some posts on quantum physics and self-referentiality; JA is a great example of said self-referentiality, as well as probably other things, too), and his voice has been seeping into my latest stuff.
I am also something of a scholar; I earned a master’s in English from the University of Toledo, and even started a PhD program in English at Case Western, but dropped out after a year. It just wasn’t for me, and I was miserable. One of the things I’m hoping to do here is learn from y’all more about integral theory and literary theory, because I really would like to write something on integral literary theory. For example, has anyone written about the overlap between the rhetorical triangle (ethos, pathos, logos) and the four quadrants?
In the early 2000s I was heavily into Wilber’s writing, as well as my own meditation practice, which was called “Sahaj Marg” (it is now called Heartfulness). I took a break from most things spiritual to build my character, start a family, find a reliable job, etc. But now that my life is pretty grounded, I started practicing Heartfulness again, and also do the daily workbook exercises in A Course in Miracles. Both practices have truly changed my life/perspective/consciousness. And of course, I’ve started really getting into integral theory again.
Well, I am on my lunch break, and see it’s about time to wrap up (not to mention this post is getting probably too long!) I appreciate everything I have seen and read here, and I wanted to say how grateful I am for what everyone on this site is contributing. It is truly heartening, exciting, and inspiring.
all the best from Cleveland,
Andrew Field
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Hello Andrew . . . lengthy posts (especially introductions) are most welcome. I didn’t know that y’all made it that far north! I appreciate the insight in your Medium writing (I am concerned about my state Kentucky following the lead on recent “Heartbeat” legislation . . . ).
On a more positive note, I think you will find a few friends familiar with poetry, rhetoric, Wilber’s integral, a love/hate relationship with higher education. Glad to have you aboard! If you ever need any assistance with posts/navigating this beautiful mess of a forum you can reach out anytime. Welcome!
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Hey Douglas!
Lol about y’all - to be honest I’m not sure it has collectively made it this far, but I hear it occasionally, and I think I like it better than “you all” (sort of formal) or “you folks” (still kind of…not my speed) or some such formulation.
I understand your concern about Kentucky following suit. Personally hope it doesn’t.
Much thanks for reading the Medium post!
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