Word and Journey

How do you get inspirited to write a novel? Do you dream a dream? Work a challenging job? Live through major world events? How about all of the above?

In this episode, Moses returns to the podcasting rhythm, this time with new friend and fellow writer Eric Love. This marks the first series of episodes done with a fellow writer.

Per Eric’s recommendation, we started reading the 1991 novel “Boy’s Life,” by Robert McCammon. Fans of Dave Eggars and Don Miller may find something to appreciate in this memoir style, light fantasy, highly character driven, nostalgic adventure story. ‘Boy’s Life’ follows 12 year old Cory Mackenson, living in the idyllic small town of Zephyr, Alabama, in the age before the internet. It’s kids on their bikes, no phones and no screens, mystery, murder, and mythical creatures lurking in the river. One must read it with suspended belief. It is both fantastical and relentlessly ordinary.

When we first meet Cory, he and his father are witnessing a murder victim being plunged to the depths of a bottomless lake. From there he embarks on a quest to solve the mystery while also navigating the drama of school and parents and baseball and avoiding the attention of old ladies and hoping for a new red bicycle. Paralleling Cory’s rising sense of self and adventure, we not his father in the background, beginning to show signs of post-traumatic stress.

In a massive rain storm, the river floods the town, and Cory saves a boy from a Old Moses, the giant serpent fish in the river. And other cool and whimsical adventures.

We encounter themes of de-mystifying the Other, whoever that other is, whether it be another religion, race, age, gender, or SES. We also encounter death as Cory learns to encounter and process death for his own self.

As we read, we look for what the book teaches us. Eric notes,

"Look and see what we see instead of think and see what we seek."

"Our idea and perception defines how we interact with a person, concept, or other thing. Perceived reality isn't necessarily the truth."

"People are rarely who we think they are if we haven't given them a chance to show us who they are."

And I note, Unchallenged perception is probably not true, and, "There's always a hidden story."

Eric also pitches his first novel, “Scarecrow Hunters,” and muses on his process of writing(and now self-publishing) a novel from start to finish. His book is based on his dream of, "This is the way you become a man."

Word and Journey relies on the support and participation of followers, patrons, friends, listeners, and readers. If you like what happens here, please subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or offer support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe. You can also follow me on instagram at @mosesbernabe, and you can look up the Word and Journey on Youtube.

Eric Love can be found at https://www.ericshanelove.com/ and that is where you can subscribe to his most engaging newsletter as well as purchase his books!

#book #bookclub #novel #story #boyslife #robermccammon #boys #nostalgia #fantasy #smalltown #adventure #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #writer #scarecrowhunters

All the twists are revealed as we conclude this epic and chaotic tale.

Here at the end, we wonder - just what is Chuck Palahniuk teaching us?

We reflect on the camaraderie and community that has grown up around the Fight Clubs and Project Mayhem. There’s an instant and sometimes unspoken bond between people who have been through a shared struggle.

The two brothers reflect on the quickly understood shared experiences they have with other former home schoolers.

Moses reflects on the necessity of unfiltered relationship experiences in which all of the raw parts can come out.

Moses concludes that ultimately this is not a book about addiction, though there is conspicuous depiction of chaos, escalation, and unmanageable life patterns. More accurately, we could say this is a book about attachment failures, about deficits in community, and about how we navigate reality. There are extreme reactions in which the goodness of us, the humanity, and Image of God within, is completely pushed out. In a nearly de-humanized state, there is no end to what chaos we can create.

In one paragraph, Tyler Durden delivers a soliloquy about how the upper classes are entirely dependent on the working class for their way of life. From here, we talk about classism, the frustrations of the lower class, and the romanticized ideal of “The Uprising.” Could it work? Could a redistribution of wealth really have a curative effect on the world? We tend to think not, no matter how appealing the idea may seem.

What would a Christian response to classism be? Could it be that somehow this inequity could be working for the salvation of our souls? Maybe so, but we should still actively attend to the needs of the poor and the concerns of the world. Why? Moses says, “What happens in the body matters because that’s part of the salvation of the soul. What happens in the world matters because that’s part of the salvation of everything.”

Moses suggests that an Orthodox response should be, “There’s so many problems in the world! I need to repent!”

We talk about toxic masculinity, about intimacy, about revolution, healing, death, dying, illness, and the mysterious art of growing old without getting grumpy.

You can tell when inner peace is really growing when you can stay practically engaged in the burdens of the world without being consumed by anger.

In the end, although we are tempted by the idea of societal revolution, we find the primary and most powerful struggle to be in inner life of one's own mind. 

Also in the end, community was available for the protagonist all the while...if he would only have been honest and vulnerable and able to receive love. In this we see that it is the weak and foolish, the sick and the dying, that hold the greatest treasure.

As a bonus, we share favorite memories of Lola Jesse.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jeremy Pasimio, look him up on Facebook!

#book #books #writing #novel #literature #fightclub #fightclubnovel #chuckpalahniuk #martialarts #fighting #violence #chaos #struggle #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #consumerism #materialism #spirituality #violence #freedom #community #fellowshipofsuffering #socialjustice #classism #aging #death #dying #classstruggle #orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity

Jeremy raises the really good question of, should we be concerned about a group that doesn’t allow itself to be questioned? And we conclude…YES!

This raises the question - what is the appeal of Project Mayhem? (Just as, what was the draw to the original fight clubs?) We raise the question, what mind of mental, emotional, spiritual state must a person be in for them to find an abusive relationship(whether with an individual of a movement) to be the best possible option? Moses compares Project Mayhem to an abusive relationship that meets just enough of a Space Monkey’s attachment needs to evoke unwavering loyalty.

“We have a need to bond to something. In the absence of something healthy, we will bond with whatever is available. Including abusive relationships.”

The Space Monkeys display blind trust and unquestioning obedience to Tyler Durden and the result is devastation and chaos. Moses reflects on how in Orthodox monasticism, we sometimes also see radical, seemingly unquestioning obedience, but this relationship also exists within a very specif context, a very specific tradition, sheathed in a very specific set of mindsets, for a very specific purpose, that being spiritual gain. And the result is holiness, peace, and growing in the Image of God.

We talk again, at length, about the need for purposeful work and meaningful tasks. We talk on the same lines of the need for struggle in order to achieve a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

This leads to a conversation about coming of age, struggle and initiation, and the transition from boy to man. Moses reflects on his journey through starting a private practice and how the unsupported struggle served to crystalize his sense of finally being a grown-up.

Jeremy recalls a sermon that referenced the Fight Club quote, “You have to consider that God might not like you,” which leads us into a conversation about theology and Calvinism.

Moses makes reference to sobriety as being full acceptance of one’s reality as it is - and then calls out the Fight Club characters as being very much not sober.

We talk about finding strength and agency through fighting and violence when difficult lives leave us no other option.

We talk about negative attention being better than no attention. Moses speculates that the struggle for many is that, “We want God’s attention, we want our Father’s attention, but we’re pretty sure he’s angry and bad, or just not there, so we’re gonna say, Fine, hate us, punish us, but at least we’ll have Your attention. It’s a way of trying to get control.”

As we consider these characters contemplating the meaning of their lives in extreme and violent ways, we question their methods, but still conclude, “We are better people when we grapple with our own death.”

“Having a meaningful life is ultimately an internal process.”

#book #books #writing #novel #literature #fightclub #fightclubnovel #chuckpalahniuk #martialarts #fighting #violence #chaos #struggle #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #consumerism #materialism #spirituality #violence #freedom #selfdestruction #redemption #fighing #humans #personhood #worthofaperson #orthodoxy #orthodoxchristian #attachment #fatherwound #projectmayhem #initiation #comingofage #struggle

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jeremy Pasimio, look him up on Facebook!

We also highly recommend the writing and music of our friend Ian Abdo, which you can find here - https://ianabdo.wordpress.com/

fight club part 3

Is Fight Club literature? Can we fairly call it a classic? Just how does a story transition from being a story that is written down to a story that is a classics?

Are classics just stories that endure? Are they popular? Do they address a particular kind of content at a particular kind of level?

Jeremy compares stories to whiskey and says the best whiskey is the whiskey you like to drink,the way you like to drink it. “Flavor and what it does to you are 100% subjective.”

Moses reflects on what they have said on Writing Excuses, that every genre “hijacks your brain in a different way,” and you read according to how you want to feel.

The Pasimio brothers discuss what is objectively good and bad in media, and what is subjectively good to the degree you enjoy it. We raise the question of whether enjoyment of a story is the highest measure of critiquing it.

Moses holds out the idea that good stories are formative, in that they form, shape, enrich, or challenge your worldview. In the best cases, the reader is presented with a choice - to be like or unlike the character as the character chooses to be the best or worst version of him or herself.

We conclude that the reader of Fight Club should be cautious what they emulate from the book…even while the book does well at making us think, and aggressively encourages us to not take ourselves so seriously.

In terms of the Fight Club story itself, we have entered the “Fun and Games” phase of the story. Tyler and Jack are up to a series of shenanigans.

One such shenanigan involves the use of human fat to make soap to then be sold back to the humans. We make references to the arguably forgettable “Cloud Atlas” and the more iconic classic “Soylent Green,” and the wonderful classic “The Lion King” as stories that collectively present the extreme of exploiting and recycling humans, as opposed to participating in a sacred circle of life. This raises for us the question of, What is a human? What is the value of a person? In particularly, what is the value of the physical body of a person? Are we just our parts, or is there something sacred to us?

Where Fight Club takes a reductionistic and exploitive view of the human person, and their bodies, we advocate for a more sacred and reverent approach to a person.

Further in, we talk about human relationships, as we watch the protagonist in the story go from faking terminal illnesses just to be part of a support group, to then getting repeatedly beat up…in order to be part of another group. If Fight Club shows us anything, it is the absolute need for community. Moses and Jeremy discuss the basic essential components of human conversation, and why we need to be vulnerable with each other. We discuss having a goal, not necessarily of having lots of friends, but of being friendly and engaging in the relationships you do have.

This episode marks the birth of the first Word and Journey baby! Jeremy becomes a father and Moses gets to be an uncle! Let the Dad-Jokes freely roll…

In reflecting on pop-culture references, Moses offers the quiz - name the source of the quote, “There is no spoon.”

We pick up with chapters 6-10 of Fight Club, in which we witness the actual birth of the Fight Club. Here we talk about violence, spirituality, asceticism, masculinity, fatherhood, sex, mental illness, coming of age, and internal autonomy.

These passages explore salvation through self-destruction, perhaps an extreme and imbalance form of renunciation. But unlike Orthodox Christian monasticism which seeks to purify the soul through rightly ordering the passions through ascetic labors, the Fight Club characters appear to embrace of asceticism as an expression of disillusionment with the world, consumerism, materialism, and the capitalist story of “the good life.”

Tyler and Jack begin to interact more with the Marla Singer character, which gets us into the realm of talking about men and women, and how we experience gender with each other. Palahniuk’s rendering of the genders is classically blunt and abrasive and pulls no punches in drawing out what we find offensive about each other. In all of this, Moses and Jeremy wonder how the characters might have been different if they had had fathers and mothers who were more present. As we talk about fatherhood and marriage, we also congratulate our parents for being married 40 years.

Marla’s character introduces interesting reflections on mental illness, psychological burdens, vicious inner critics, and chronic emotional isolation.

As we see the Fight Clubs develop, and men seeking catharsis through beating each other up, Jeremy reflects on the benefits of fighting, and martial arts training…and how these practices can be done well. We talk about how struggle and violence and even getting hurt can remind us both of our own mortality…but also that we’re not made of glass.

We introduce the question - what is the value of getting punched in the face? While at once we do not advocate for violence as a solution…we do explore how getting punched in the face can actually be a (fairly dramatic) way of discovering one’s own strength and resiliency. Jeremy further explores how getting punched, and learning that one can punch, can become a vehicle for learning one’s own power and the absolute need for self-control. Moses then explores how to talk about healthy aggression and strategic use of force without delving into toxic masculinity’s “using violence just for the sake of violence.”

Ultimately we reject Tyler Durden’s ideals of growth and redemption through self-destruction.

As he usually does, Moses defaults to reading the story through the lens of Internal Family Systems, and looking for the big and dramatic protector parts of each character. In reflecting on the blended and enmeshed relationship between Tyler and Jack the narrator, he talks about the dangers and limits of forfeiting one’s own internal autonomy, and becoming blended with one’s most extreme protector parts.

#book #books #writing #novel #fightclub #fightclubnovel #chuckpalahniuk #martialarts #fighting #violence #chaos #struggle #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #consumerism #materialism #spirituality #asceticism #masculinity #toxicmasculinity #fathers #fatherhood #relationships #sex #sexuality #autonomy #mentalillness #mentalhealth #internalfamilysystems

“Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyl;er’s pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die.”

Welcome to the iconic story of Fight Club!

Moses welcomes very special guest, his very first family member to guest on the show, and master martial artist, Jeremy Pasimio into the studio to read the novel by Chuck Palahniuk written in 1996, later made into the hit movie bu David Finchner, with Brad Pitt and Edward Nortan in 1999.

Lots of us have heard of this story - even though the first rule of Fight Club is not to talk about it - but what is the story actually about?

Fighting being central to the book, we talk about Martial Arts. What is the value of martial arts, and training the body for combat? In mainstream activities-for-kids-culture, it’sfor self-defense and self-improvement, but in history, it was about, “Somebody’s attacking you, here’s how to kill them first.” Jeremy brings his wealth of experience after a lifetime of training in the martial arts to reflect on the benefits of struggle, a healthy context for violence, and the necessity of self-discipline.

As the story progresses, we follow our protagonist, The Insomniac, and reflect on the struggles brought about by a meaningless life and the essential component in a healthy life of meaningful struggle.

Moses and Jeremy reflect on self-discipline, spirituality, purpose and meaning in life, chaos and violence, vulnerability and community, and assorted nostalgic memories of summer camps, family, and how this particular story gets into our subconscious.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

#book #books #writing #novel #fightclub #fightclubnovel #chuckpalahniuk #martialarts #fighting #violence #chaos #struggle #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #consumerism #materialism #spirituality

I could say "I finished a book of poems."

But does one ever finish such things?

Does one not rather linger long

on word and page

taking in favored moments again and again

until the words find themselves embedded in memory

where they may shape the soul?

Welcome to Bower Lodge, the first book of poems by poet, writer, editor, and connoisseur of ordinary miracles, Paul Pastor.

Paul is a genuine Native Oregonian, having lived about an hour's drive from the hill he was born on for most of his life.

He has worked in publishing for almost a decade, and specifically as an editor, helping writers construct perfect manuscripts. Books are important to him.  and stories have always been important to him

He identifies as a writer and deeper than that, a a poet.

We talk about the difference between poetry and prose, along with what a poem can say that a story cannot. Paul calls poetry the "Whiskey of literature," referring to its aged and distilled, very focused experience. He also calls poetry, "The closest thing to music that literature has."

Poetry is also embodied, and we get the privilege in this episode of having the poems read aloud by the Poet that wrote them.

Paul shares the story of Bower Lodge, a collection spanning about ten years. It's a collection of reflections on turmoil and renewal, during a time when he reflects on being taken apart and put back together in a gentle and all encompassing way. These poems and the images within, invite you on a journey with a "beloved wanderer," being led by an "Embalmer," to the "Bower Lodge," which is a tomb beneath the river. "The Bower Lodge is where you go to die."

But death is never the final end. Through the pains of death come the beauties of new life.

This is the journey. The Poet is the guide. The first step is yours to take, with the turning of a page...

Word and Journey is a listener supported production of Moses Bernabe.

To learn how to support this podcast, please visit patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Paul, you can reach him at @pauljpastor on twitter or www.pauljpastor.com

Bower Lodge is available wherever books are sold.

#writing #poetry #poems #poet #bowerlodge #paulpastor #lifeanddeath #resurrection #redemption #nature #wanderer #coffin #nest #transformation #journey #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #spirituality #christianity

It’s here! After much delay and interruptions, that one terribly dystopic and scrutinized year is coming to an end - we are finally finishing 1984!

So what happened to Winston and Julia? Did they hold fast to their convictions? Did they betray each other as they predicted they would? In the end, what won out? Principles, or pleasures?

We compare and contrast Fear of Pain versus Fear of Loss of Liberty

We discuss what makes some people able to tolerate high amounts of pain, and others not? Our perspective is that it has to do with the purpose and overarching narrative. If this present life and material body are all that exist, then pain is absolutely unacceptable. As soon as we embrace the reality of more than the body and more than current life, then pain(and really any sort of struggle) become temporary, and a vehicle to something greater.

This invokes the question of whether or not we should more fear that which kills the body, or that which kills the soul.

As is his wont, Moses references IFS and how the Orwellian practice of Crimestop is a fast track to creating exile parts!

Jake reflects on the impact of the breaking off of all connections.

Stephanie muses on the power of holding onto even the tiniest bit of hope…and the utter devastation when after losing every other comfort, support, and security, even hope is also killed.

The fate worse than death is not actually to die in pain but to be all alone, living a long and comfortably use-less half life.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz on Instagram.

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

#1984book #georgeorwell #dystopia #dystopian #community #books #bookclub #reading #technology #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #ifs #exiles

Happy June!

Here’s a list of what I’m reading this month. Check out the full episode to hear brief commentary on each, as well as a few choice excerpts!

Artemis, by Andy Weir. A fun, fluffy heist novel set on the moon.

Altogether You, by Jenna Riemersma. A Protestant rendering of the Internal Family Systems model of counseling

Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. Dorian is young, rich, beautiful, and a hedonist. Thankfully, he has a gorgeous portrait of himself to absorb the weight of his sins, and do his aging for him.

The Passage, by Justin Cronin. The world falls prey to vampires, but one girl from nowhere may be the key to humanity’s survival.

Letters from the Desert, by Saints Barsanuphius and John. Practical wisdom on Christian living from an ancient monastic perspective.

The Boy, The Books, and The Sword, by Moses Bernabe. Hey, wait - that’s me! Yes, I shared a brief snippet of a long short story(or short novella) that is nearing completion.

Watch for more in-depth discussions on Dorian Gray and The Passage  on the Word and Journey podcast. Thanks for listening!

#books #booklist #reading #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney #artemisbook #altogetheryou #ifs #internalfamilysystems #thepassage #doriangray #oscarwilde #lettersfromthedesert #desertfathers #orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity #monks #monastics #stbarsanuphius #stjohn

Here it is, friends, that time when we talk about slavery, racism, and how we as fellow humans have responsibility to each other!

In today's special episode, I interview Cree Gordan about a book we both love - Kindred, by Octavia Butler. Here's a brief synopsis for those who haven't read it:

Dana, a black woman living in Los Angeles in 1976, is repeatedly pulled back in time to the early 1800's to save the life of one of her ancestors - a white plantation and slave owner named Rufus. Throughout the story, Rufus the white man, must be saved by Dana the black woman. On the other hand, she must save him to save herself.

Cree describes the story as both a "Grim fantasy, but also as, "A light at the end of the tunnel." It's much more than mere science-fiction, it's a story about "living in the in-between," and discovering kinship amidst the whole human race.

We discover that a story about slavery is not just a story about and for Blacks, nor is it just a story about "those evil white people." It's a story about all people, and for all people, because all sorts of people were involved.

Embedded in the story is the idea that what I do, even in secret, affects my whole system, be it family, neighborhood, parish, or society...and ultimately legacy.

This book was written, among other things, to invite an examination of slavery. It is, "A journey to self-discovery." This is a difficult thing to do, because it was an ugly chapter in American history. In this, Moses points out that, "There is no neutral response to evil." But in facing up to the evils of our time, and our legacy, we have a responsibility to take action, at the very least being a fully present witness to the pain of it carried by our neighbors.

As a side-note, we get to talk about gender, particularly the rigid molds of masculinity that have afflicted far too many men. This is the mold of needing to be powerful and in control and invulnerable, and most devastating, unable to be wrong. When a man is stuck here, is is highly likely to harm others, to perpetuate evil, and not be safe to be wrong, which means he cannot repent, learn, change, heal, or heal others.

As readers, we muse on how do we know a story is great? We conclude that we know a story is great when we can go back to it every few years, in multiple life stages, and each time coming away having learned something.

The Lessons from Kindred are not race specific, but for all peoples.

Cree says, "[Kindred] teaches us to look inward."Also, "We all play our role...a part in the world. What part are we playing? What part do we want to play?" It is vital to ask of one's self, in one's place in the world, "Who am I in all of this?" And, "How am I approaching the work to best serve everyone?"

Moses says, "We need to do the work to get to know each other. Only in this way can we fulfill the commandment to Love your neighbor as yourself."

Cree keeps their contact info simple - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all the internet, look up @creesmiles (butCree Gordon on Tik Tok) and [email protected]

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

#kindred #octaviabutler #kindrednovel #kindredbook #books #novels #sciencefiction #grimfantasy #slavery #whiteprivilege #africanamerican #genderroles #toxicmasculinity #historicalfiction