The Meaning Code

Karen and Matt discuss reality, transhumanism, attention and habit formation. The Mary Harrington video clip starts at around 25:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufy9t-VLrzU&t=1503s The video w Jonathan Pageau, beginning at about 18:00, but the whole thing is great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbZk_YDex2E&t=2s The video on bacteria I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXWurAmtf78 The prayer book Matt mentioned, Orthodox Christian Prayers: https://stmpress.com/ Maximos the Confessor, The Ambigua, Volume 1: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674726666

Matt and I explore the concepts of rootedness versus stuckness, and discuss how these might work out in the idea of marriage, not just the covenant of marriage, but the way that the idea of marriage is near the very beginning of everything. The summary from AI.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:21 Discussing the Concepts of Being Rooted and Stuck00:06 Karen Wong and Matthew Dean Allison discuss two concepts that have come up in the last month since they last talked: being rooted and being stuck. They bring up a video that Matthew sent to Karen to illustrate the concept of being stuck and discuss how it relates to a parable from the Bible. They then decide to focus on the concept of being stuck and how it applies to their lives. 11:19 Exploring the Benefits of Marriage Over Cohabitation Karen - the advantages of marriage over cohabitation, with Karen sharing her own experience of a difficult first ten years of marriage and the helpful teachings of Bill and Annabelle Gilham on the sandpaper principle. They also explore the idea of making a vow to a partner as if it were a vow to God, and how relationships can be functional and essential like a tree in a thunderstorm. The Advantage of Being Stuck The purpose of marriage and how it helps each partner grow into who they are created to be. 20:24. Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Marriage & relationship Matt and Karen discuss the implications of social media on marriage, using the analogy of the WWE and chair shots. They explore how social media often only shows the "froth" of a marriage, and how this can lead to unrealistic expectations. They also discuss how in the past, private matters were kept private, but in the 21st century, this is no longer the case. 23:40. The importance of pursuing one's highest good in marriage and life. Discussing the importance of pursuing one's highest good in marriage and life. Mattemphasizes the importance of patience and practice in preparation for marriage, and the need to be aware of the dangers of social media in creating unrealistic expectations. 36:40 Exploring the Hierarchy of Values and the Marriage of Heaven and EarthThe hierarchy of values and the marriage of heaven and earth. They explore the idea of a meta space, where evolution can search for what it needs, and the concept of teleology. They also discuss the idea of marriage as a crucible, where two disparate things can come together to form something new. Finally, they consider the idea of the feminine archetype providing the question, and the masculine archetype providing the answer, and how this puts the horse in front of the cart. Hierarchy of Values 56:54. Exploring the Benefits of Discipline and Precision Matt discusses the importance of discipline and precision in achieving one's goals, comparing the process of lighting a candle to the rigors of a boot camp. He suggests that both approaches can be beneficial, and that everyone should strive to find their own path to realizing their own dignity. 1:00:12. Qualifying Human Interaction with the Veil of the Tabernacle Testimony Matt discusses the significance of the lighting of the lamps in front of the testimony or in front of the tent of testimony in Leviticus. He explains that the law exists to help us become aware of our human dignity and to approach the limit between us and God with qualification, drawing a comparison between this and the story of the wise and foolish virgins in the New Testament, noting that the foolish virgins were missing something important. 01:05:32. They discuss the importance of maintaining quality in life and how it is connected to creating energy. Chaos theory and the value of a root in its place. They explain that if you give up on quality, you start to degenerate and that it is important to build habits into your life that keep you on a quality track

Sevilla and Karen consider some of the main points from the recent conversation with D C Schindler and how his work may relate to the work of Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance). Here's the AI summary:-) Karen and Sevilla King discussed the idea that love is the source of all being, and that beauty is the interface with reality that allows us to recognize and love God. They discussed how beauty changes us inwardly and how it is received and transforms the appetite. How the left and right hemispheres of the brain work together to select from the menu of the universe. They also consider the difference between the visceral experience of love and the act of love, with Karen citing Scott Peck's book The Road Less Traveled to explain the biochemical and neurological response of cathexis. The idea of love is different for each person, and it is important to develop trust in order to stay in a relationship. Karen and Sevilla delve into the difference between being and becoming, and how God's love is an example of pure love that does not ask anything in return. They also discuss the idea of perfection and how it is an asymptotic relationship, and how the sophists believed in excellence above everything. They also touched on the challenges with striving for excellence, the personal God versus postmodernism, and the concept of projective geometry. The idea of the yoke, which is a symbol of a voluntary relationship between two people, and how it relates to striving for excellence. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 20:59 What is the sense that Schindler means by beauty? 55:23 How do we differentiate the love of God from the human experience of love? 01:19:28 What Was It About the Sophists That Makes Us Use the Word as a Pejorative? 01:35:03 What is the best way to go in a particular situation?

Karen and Ryan continue their discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic, The Mind of the Maker, using Chapters 7 and 8 as a starting point. Here's the AI summary of the talk. Timestamps0:00 IntroReflections on a message about the hunger for righteousness and how it relates to impostor syndrome. How the law intensifies sin and how Eve chose to fill her hunger for righteousness with the knowledge of good and evil instead of companionship with God. How impostor syndrome can have both a good and bad side, and how it can be used to build the future. 12:46 An example journey of Resolving Resentment and Reconciliation In The Adam Project (a movie), Adam travels back in time to rescue his wife, but instead finds his twelve-year-old self. Through his journey, Adam learns to reconcile his resentment towards his father and to love his younger self. 19:35 God's Love in a Time of Need. Karen recounts a time four years ago when she experienced God's love in a time of need. She carried the scar as a wound of honor for a long time. This story serves as a reminder of God's love and protection in times of need. Exploring the idea of good and evil in the process of human creation

Bruce Ecker, MA, LMFT, Licensed Psychotherapist, joins the Meaning Code to discuss intersections of Coherence Therapy, Memory Reconsolidation and Listening with This Little Corner of the Internet. This episode is also on YouTube.He speaks of the indelibility of sub-cortical emotional conditioning but also the hope that there is a key to unlock, expose and ultimately nullify the emotional learning that lead to problems in later life.Timestamps may follow later, depending on how much time I have. But one great quote from poet, Robert Bly:"Maturity is an increase in the range of conditions that you experience as workable."Link to Bruce's new book, Listening: https://a.co/d/5W1oIoCBruce's organization: https://coherencetherapy.org/contact.htm

Stephen and Karen read and discuss Psalm 22 in preparation for Easter

D. C. Schindler joins Karen and Michael to discuss his book, Love and the Postmodern Predicament. We talk about the centrality of love and beauty, and of the nature of Being and Becoming. D. C. Schindler is professor of metaphysics and anthropology at the John Paul II Institute, Washington, DC. He is the author of eleven books, including Plato's Critique of Impure Reason, Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty, and many others.

Brad, a mechanical designer with an interest in measurement, and Ira, a physicist working in fluid mechanics with an interest in Austrian economics, join Karen to discuss Roy Sebag's new book, The Natural Order of Money. This episode is also on Youtube at The Meaning code channel.Along the way, we discuss time, measurement, inflation, economic stability and instability and digital currency v. gold as a standard. Previous videos with these guests: Brad on Measurement, Part 1: https://youtu.be/iT43zHL2Xp8 Part 2: https://youtu.be/qkDWTKNMI2c Ira on Economics: https://youtu.be/B-fviFKFsw4 Ira on Jordan Peterson, Whittaker Chambers and Ludwig von Moses: https://youtu.be/xaGqYV8Ohw0 Readings mentioned: The Natural Order of Money by Roy Sebag Human Action by Ludwig von Moses Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek Reinventing Collapse by Victor Orloff Financial Nihilism, substack by Luke Burgis

Kale Zelden, English teacher and practicing Catholic, joins Karen to discuss Social Justice, its various meanings and the difficulties with clarity of communciation around these ideas. References discussed: Spe Salvi (In Hope We are Saved, Cardinal Ratzinger) Readings on the 1st Vatican Council - Timothy O'Malley George Orwell's essay on Politics and the English Language: https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/

Karen and Sevilla discuss the concept that God is personal rather than a force, and look at Jonathan Pageau's definition, including the idea of identity always being one level up. The multiplicity and unity nested all the way up. This leads to looking at Plotinus at one end of the spectrum and current moves in science, bioengineering and morphogenesis at the other. Numbers and numerals Bell curve Logic gates Where are they all stored? God as a communion of love, creating out of the overflow of love, love knitting everything together. Scriptures that mention the storehouse: Isaiah 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure. Proverbs 2:7-9 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, And He watches over the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness, justice, And integrity, and every good path.