Katie Gets Philosophical

I’ve been on a spiritual journey these last few weeks. I think, at some point, many of us experience a period where we start to question our beliefs, who we are, and why we’re here. And lately that just happens to be where I’m at.

It started with yoga. I know I joke about a broadening of perspective that many people claim when they begin practicing, but in my case it’s true. I started to feel different. And I began to desire a closer relationship with something. Something big and important and imperative to human life and happiness.  (I am Catholic and I’ve always believed in God, but I wanted something beyond religion)

I began by reading The Secret. I’ve read it before, and while I believe in the Law of Attraction and thoughts creating our world, I still felt there was more to it than that. Something deeper.

Then came Positive Magic by Marion Weinstein, which has been on my kindle for a long time and I’ve read before, but never really ‘got’ it. Now, however, the messages were breaking through and this has become pretty much my go-to manual. Everything she has to say rings true for me,-- but while I felt and agreed with all of this on an intellectual level, the desire to feel it on a skin deep level remained.

Then our yoga book club started reading The Four Agreements. Even though this book didn’t have the same effect on me as Positive Magic, there was one thought, one idea that stuck with me and for which I’m so grateful. And it happened. I finally began to ‘feel’ what I’d been looking for.

This is going to sound trippy. Don’t be frightened. I’m still wearing shoes and haven’t purchased any white robes yet. No plane tickets for any deserts.

But the basic idea is--there is something inside me. A force, an energy. The universe is made up of it- like one, huge, perfect diamond. And each of us are shards of this diamond, smaller but equally perfect and equally priceless. And this piece of me, at my core- it is also in each of you. We are made of the same thing. When you can look at others and see that part of yourself staring and reflecting back, recognize the sameness in every living thing, and acknowledge it, well, you can’t help but love it as you love yourself. Because that is the force, the energy, or at least what we call it down here. It’s love.

Many people have said it in different words and different ways but only now have I really ‘felt’ it.

I think this force is positive and that is why we are constantly striving to be happy and joyful and grateful and see this life as a pursuit of happiness--, because those emotions are more closely aligned with where we came from.

But between positive and negative polarities, everything hangs in the balance. All life.

Without one or the other, there would be nothing. Therefore, we need the negative. The key is learning to appreciate it and be thankful it is there, helping hold everything in place, without letting it take hold of us, our thoughts or our lives. It is possible.

Whew! *sigh*

I think it’s time for some coffee.

Any of you ever had a spiritual awakening that threw you on your ass?

The Price of Entertainment...

As self-publishing in ebook format becomes more and more popular, publishing professionals are beginning to wonder about their status in the ever changing market place.

Before the ebook craze, there was a rather tight filter in place that distinguished what got published and what didn’t:

 Author writes book.  Agent likes book.  Editor likes book.  Publisher publishes book.

But with the ebook craze, this filter has been replaced with another: 

Author publishes book.  Author promotes book.  People read book and decide if they like it and want to promote it.  Author makes a profit.

Now, instead of a privileged few deciding if a book is worth reproducing in mass, an entire population of readers are the ones who make the call and decide who rises and who sinks. Like in the older publishing system- few authors actually make it past a few hundred books sold.  But the filter and the financial investment required to make a best seller has completely changed.

When I woke up this morning I was led to two different posts talking about the current revolution.  One is An Open Letter to Agents by Courtney Milan.  The other is Rachel Gardner’s ‘How Do You Become A Literary Agent’.  Both explore the current changes and how they are affecting an agent’s roll. 

And after reading and thinking it all over, I must admit I’m feeling…tired.

I’m glad that the world is changing- that authors who might have never had a chance in the old system are perhaps thriving in the new.  But I’m also sad for everyone in the publishing industry whom this might negatively effect. 

I’m also a little conflicted.  Stories are a form of entertainment used since the beginning of time.  Like music and theater-  they are all just ways of taking a break from our mundane lives and experiencing something off the grid.  And in a society where work has been simplified and regulated and free time is much more abundant than it was a hundred years ago- keeping ourselves entertained has gone up in worth and esteem. Why else would we pay so much to see a movie? Buy a video game? Go to a concert? Or a sporting match?

Are we perhaps paying too much and giving too much importance to things which are, in general, created to pass the time?  Couldn’t this money be going towards a more worthy cause like saving lives or creating a better world?

Yeah probably. 

However, even if imagination and talent might be free, I think the work put into creating should be compensated.  A fair compensation isn’t an easy thing to agree on.  What it really depends on is what people are willing to pay.  But this whole revolution brought on by the internet and the ease with which it is now possible obtain free music/movies/books has made everyone take a step back and rethink the price of modern day entertainment.

What do you think is fair compensation for someone who creates or helps create entertainment for the masses, whether it be an athlete- an author- an actor and all the little guys in between?