Self Portraits As Other People - Leishmaniasis (Solo Pod)

Leishmaniasis (Solo Pod)

Explicit content warning

05/22/23 • 37 min

Self Portraits As Other People

Jungle life is not without its perils, or as Werner Herzog put it, the jungle is “an unfinished country. It's still prehistorical. The only thing that is lacking is the dinosaurs here. It's like a curse weighing on an entire landscape. And whoever goes too deep into this has his share of this curse.”

Some of this curse has fallen upon me, it seems, and I am working hard to lift it.

In the Mexican jungle, deforestation unleashed Leishmania, a parasite vectored by a sandfly, and I am infected by its flesh-eating affliction Leishmaniasis. Marked by volcanic lesions on my left cheek and right hand I'm undergoing an impatient transformation (TM) while sapping insight from these unsightly sores for eye-sight. As I wait for medicine to arrive, I examine my experience (as well as this Herzogian notion of the “unfinished country”) through shamanic, ecological, and pragmatic lenses.

The horror! The Horror! The... WONDER HORROR...

Seated at the lotus feet of my dis-ease, I embrace it as my teacher. In classic SPAOP-fashion, I explore themes of inter-species diplomacy and delve into the delicate balance between a parasite and a symbiot. I also examine the intersections of psychedelic ecology and ecodelic psychology, as well as the thin line between parasitology and parapsychology, while contemplating the merits of redemption for both the parasite and myself.

The Ungoogleable Michaelangelo www.theungoogleable.com

IG: void_denizen

YT, Twitter, TikTok, etc: https://Linktr.ee/void_denizen

WAYS TO SUPPORT SPAOP:

-get your copy of Impatient Transformations here: www.theungoogleable.com/books

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Ft. music by Soularflair (https://soularflair.bandcamp.com/) & me (incl. Void Denizen instrumental)

Some of this curse has fallen upon me, it seems, and I am working hard to lift it.

The horror! The Horror! The... WONDER HORROR...

The Ungoogleable Michaelangelo www.theungoogleable.com

IG: void_denizen

YT, Twitter, TikTok, etc: https://Linktr.ee/void_denizen

WAYS TO SUPPORT SPAOP:

-get your copy of Impatient Transformations here: www.theungoogleable.com/books

-Subscribe

-Share

-Rate (*****)

-Review

-patreonize us (http://www.patreon.com/voiddenizen)

-donate: Venmo (@voiddenizen) / paypal ([email protected])

Ft. music by Soularflair (https://soularflair.bandcamp.com/) & me (incl. Void Denizen instrumental)

Previous Episode

Marcel Kuijsten - Julian Jaynes and the Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

( 🎧 &"introspectacles" recommended 4 optimal immersion & enjoyment )

There are few words in circulation with as many disparate & ill-defined interpretations as “consciousness” & no one, as far as I’m concerned, has narrowed down a more concise definition thanJulian Jaynes in his 📖 The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.

Marcel Kuijsten founded the Julian Jaynes Society & has, along w a range of experts in various disciplines, continued to distribute, distill, explain, & expand upon Jaynes’ work through a number of publications that clarify the theory, dispel misconceptions, & present a growing body of evidence to support it. His latest 📖 is titled Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind.

All of this complex material is meticulously researched & articulated, & in this episode Marcel & I do our best to navigate & outline the theory’s various facets & examine its implications.

During the intro I relay the story of my time “playing dead for a living” on the set of Westworld, a show about a themepark of AI-cowboys-gone-wild, which heavily leans on Jaynes’ theory to fulfill its narrative arc.

Find/follow the JJS: Twitter: @julianjaynessoc https://www.julianjaynes.org/

✍🏻 "From Mind's Eye to Ai"

Extended Shownotes (🎶 credits, art,links,resources)

The Ungoogleable Michaelangelo www.theungoogleable.com

IG: void_denizen

YT, Twitter, TikTok, etc: https://Linktr.ee/void_denizen

WAYS TO SUPPORT SPAOP:

-Subscribe

-Share

-Rate (*****)

-Review

-patreonize us (http://www.patreon.com/voiddenizen)

-donate: Venmo (@voiddenizen) / paypal ([email protected])

Ft. music by Soularflair, Jeff Cravath & me

Next Episode

Nathanology - Dark Ecology and the Lyrical Intellect

( 🎧 recommended )

Nathan Dufour Oglesby, PhD, aka Nathanology is a rap-educating professor of classics, performance philosopher, activist, & video artist.

Nathan & I talk about the relationship between Language and nature, while discussing the nature of inter-generational relationships w one's eco/home. We touch upon the Mayan fable of the Toh bird (aka the Nathaniel bird) & the unforeseen consequences of “knaming” things—how our efforts to familiarize ourselves w the world can in effect estrange us from its true nature.

We broach the topic of exploring intimacy w Inanimate objects & u’ll hear us refer to what A.N. Whitehead called “Intensities of experience” as well as what Tim Morton termed “dark ecology”.

We ask questions like “Should we save the world of just savor what’s left of it?” & ponder the notion of Initiating oneself beyond statistic dissociation, into the pulsing reference of life's vital essence.

We don’t offer any answers, but I think the questions do in a sense part the veil & allow for more of life’s mystery to reveal itself.

Find/follow Nathanology: www.nathanology.net Twitter/Tiktok/IG: @nathanology_ Youtube:@nathanology

Links: Nathan on This Podcast Is A Ritual The Language of Loss, poem She Unnames Them Big Window (Jeff Cravath)

The Ungoogleable Michaelangelo www.theungoogleable.com IG: void_denizen YT, Twitter, TikTok, etc: https://Linktr.ee/void_denizen

SUPPORT SPAOP:

-Subscribe

-Share

-Rate (*****)

-Review

-patreonize us (http://www.patreon.com/voiddenizen)

-donate: Venmo (@voiddenizen) / paypal ([email protected])