1st Comment!!!! Got to take a win whenever you can. Spring is definitely here in my area ( SE USA ), everything is covered in yellow pollen. Every year its a new record amount of pollen count. Is nature trying to snuff us out or overcompensating for its losses? There was that M Knight Shamalan (sp?) movie about the trees and plants coordinating a chemical attack on humans. Thats how I feel when the yellow wind starts blowing.
I once tried to write a novel in which all of nature rises up against humanity on a given day, but it didn't work. I still like the idea though. And actually I think this is how ecology works. Throw the whole system out of balance in your quest to create immortal space robots and you shouldn't be surprised that it comes back to bite you.
Here in Saudi this time of year is when the pleasant weather of winter begins to fade and the scorching heat of summer encroaches; so while everyone elsewhere is celebrating spring, we are dreading the approach of summer.
I've got some new essays to share for those who are interested.
In "The Expat Delusion" I trace how the post-WWII consensus sold the global elite on rootlessness as a moral ideal - only to turn that dislocation on the nations they governed, hollowing out identity, cultural cohesion, and civic life in the process. Today's populist backlash is leaving many expats confused and clinging even more to classism.
In "Real Diversity Needs Borders" I explain that I've spent my career celebrating cultural exchange, which is why I oppose mass immigration. I argue that true cultural diversity flourishes within strong, distinct borders - challenging globalist dogma in favor of rooted pluralism.
I checked out the Expat Delusion, and sent it to a few of my French friends, (the ones who can read English well enough...) and my American born and living brother.
It hit home to me, after living as a first generation immigrant in France for 45 years now, but still feeling... alienated. (But, is there any first generation immigrant who doesn't feel alienated ? maybe not.)
For a while now, although an American not particularly gifted in taking in history, and remembering it, I have been reading about DEMOCRATIC Athens, and Rome, after. This reading has enabled me to state with no doubt in my mind, at least, that democratic Athens turned into an imperialist adventure, thus AN EMPIRE to the extent that abdicating one's own power to another (person/state/political organisation) tends to encourage the abuse of that power. Indeed, democracy and imperialism/colonisation seem to go hand in hand if we go back to Athens. And Athens found out at her own expense that the people could be tyrannical, too, and abuse their power. We don't seem to want to know this...
One of my favorite authors, Mary Renault, strikingly portrays the stakes in a democratic society by having one of her fictitious characters question whether it is sane to have people draw straws to decide who is competent to do something, to govern, for example. (Draw straws... universal suffrage... the problem of deciding who should govern, and on the basis of what competency/authority remains the same.)
I am amazed to see, since the Covid, how omnipresent the references are to DEMOCRATIC (but less well known as imperialist...) Greece and its gods. The democratic system tends to become one of lobbies, cronyism, personal influence, demagogy, intense rivalries, and ultimately, the demise of the idea of a public COMMON good. Probably the demise of the idea of a COMMON good is endgame for any form of government, democracy, oligarchy, or monarchy. But democratic Athens, over time, was always a STRUGGLE between the elites, the, um, CITIZENS, classed according to their wealth and influence. The wealthiest and most influential were called oligarchs.
The rise of the references to democratic Athens, and particularly, Greek gods and Greek ideas comes at the expense of the United States as a country which initially was founded around a Jewish/Christian cosmogony, thus, not gods, but God. At least... that's what I learned in school... for sure, Enlightenment France contributed heavily to drafting that... constitution (a Greek idea, a constitution), but the Judeo-Christian God was a COMMON DENOMINATOR for the European colonists.
For a long time now, Western civilisation has made a distinctive opposition between the SACRED and the PROFANE, with the sacred in YHVH's camp, and the profane in the direction of Greece and Rome.
That, too, seems very significant to me, as this distinctive opposition, historically seems to have been thrown out of the window in our times.
I hope that Paul will forgive me for responding to you here, and I will not do this again, because I do not want to go down a substack black hole, and subscribe, as I spend far too much time on the... machine for my own good.
I read Expat Delusion and loved it. I've read way too much Wendell Berry to ever want to be an expat but I know some people who have chosen the rootless expat life. They move to random countries every few years, make new random friends, and their relationship to family "at home" is screen-based. I find it odd that people can just uproot themselves and go live in places where they've no ancestors in the cemeteries. In traditional cultures, from what I understand, that is seen as unthinkable.
Coming from a country made up of expat descendants and the 7th generation from 1 county in KY (12th US), and long time for us, it can be disconcerting to relocate, but not impossible.
Paul & fellow pilgrims, so much of what I have read here @ The Abbey, aside from the powerful Machine discourse, has been very much focused on Anglo-Irish people, holy places and history...all of it wonderfully engaging and richly enlightening. I wondered if there would ever be any interest in crossing the channel to France via Brittany & Normandy to help uncover the important shared history, people and holy places that exist there in great abundance...I think it would help provide further depth and breadth of Christendoms powerful presence, reach and variety.
Well, that would certainly be very interesting. It is true that as an Englishman living in Ireland, I tend to write about what I see and know. I've visited Brittany and Normandy in the past and found them fascinating places. Brittany of course has deep and old ties to Britain, hence the name. Whether I will be able to get over there to write about it is another question. Maybe there are some Breton or Norman writers who can enlighten us?
Its a fascinating part of early British history. Edwin Pace in his book 'The Long War for Britannia' quotes the scholar Dermot Fahy that no Breton state existed until well into the sixth century, which is when British settlers first arrived, escaping the Saxon 'invasion' of Britain. Elsewhere he states that small British trading posts would have existed here some time before this, as they did in Galicia in northern Spain. So it seems the British empire started quite some time ago!!
Right now, living in France, I feel that there is considerable hostility towards the Christian faith in all its forms here. I don't forget that long ago, the Roman emperor Julian, late in the course of what we call the Roman empire persecuted Christians, and tried to revive the structures and temples of Greek paganism in Paris, where he transferred the empire's military base. Julian studied philosophy in Athens before becoming a Roman emperor. I am afraid that Paris, as capital of France, still bears the mark of Julian.
Which makes Paris a long way away from Brittany and Normandy, in spirit, at least. There was an English presence in Aquitaine for a long time, too, and if you go there, you can feel something mysterious in the air of Bordeaux. Hard to qualify it. The influence of a people that Rome did not really manage to conquer... outside of London and the south of the isle ?
But I may be way off the mark, here, and speaking out of ignorance.
After reading about the big plug on Amazon for Paul's book, I will be very interested to see if a major Parisian editor will take the risk of publishing him in France in translation, in a context where one can be crucified for making a comment that can be construed as racist, "fascist" (whatever that may mean...) or, God forbid, anti-feminist. That's how far censure and self censure have gone in the intellectual circles in France.
In France, money, and big sales are not the primary motivation, even in doing business. The country has always looked more towards the church than towards the marketplace. The problem being... which "church", and which faith ?
All of what I have just said is very generalist, but after 45 years here, observing this culture, this is what I have seen, over time.
Very interesting commentary as usual. It makes one try to think a little deeper about how we have slipped into the chaos around us. I would like to thank you for your kind reply to my question about Chartreuse and the monks. I am sorry I did not say thanks sooner.
As a mini-homesteader over here in the States, I can definitely relate to the seasonal "so much to do, so little time." So we all do what we can as best we can re: generating substack content. Do what you can, we're not going anywhere. :) Plus we take comfort knowing that the Machine book is looming on the horizon.
A pleasure to say hello to you at the Temenos talk. Interesting question about vegetarianism. I have thought about this a lot and agree with your interpretation of Genesis. However, Jesus ate meat and fish, so it’s unresolved in my mind. I continue to eat both but try to keep my consumption moderate. How is the lent fast going? I’ve given up biscuits and booze - it’s a start!
Well, don't forget that Eden was pre-Fall. It's a story about an ideal state. I don't think it even applies to this dimension. We can't live here as we lived there.
Lent in the Orthodox church basically involves going vegan, which I find quite easy at my age. The prayer rule is another matter. Lent is always a challenge. I suppose that's the point.
The original point of the fast wasn't to go vegan (Christianity is not endorsing something like Hindu ahimsa) but to eschew luxuries. Meat was very expensive for most of history and ordinary people ate it only on sporadic occasion. Shellfish, for people who lived near bodies of water, was dirt cheap and so is allowed under the fast. Modern circumstances unfortunately have tended to upend this: meat is fairly cheap, while things like lobster are delicacies. And I've heard more than one person complain that the fast results in their spending more on food and being more focused on what to eat. I have found that to be true in my own life as well.
I live in Wisconsin and spring is in fits and starts here. I've come to love all the seasons over my 43 years living in a climate like this. I look forward to each and every one as it changes. Paul, your friend Rod Dreher has a quote in his book 'Living in Wonder', which I loved so much I had to write it down in my journal, " We should see all the world as metaphors in a cosmic book authored by God." I relate to that so strongly. Everything in nature has something to say about our lives broadly, and even our specific individual lives more directly. This does not seem a coincidence when you start seeing the world as Dreher recommends, and I agree with. So cheers to everyone and happy spring. A season of renewal, possibilities, and hope in the risen Christ! Looking forward to the book Paul, thank you for what you are putting out into the world.
Hello everyone, I have a thought experiment: suppose we do create a machine intelligence, and suppose it wishes to become an Orthodox Christian. Would you welcome it?
I would find it amusing if it turns out the big, technological Machine would produce an entity that ends up finding religion. Actually, that may be one of the more benign outcomes..
Bonjour, I would love to see you in person! Your stories "both in life and written" have given me such inspiration, so much, I have started another book which takes place in the 1700s about a spiritual alchemist living in the French forest giving two children she meets life lessons and the dangers of the future "iPhones" and of course the importance of the Holy Spirit. Anyway.... I unfortunately will be in Cannes most of May. Do you have any other plans for talks? If so, where and when? Merci d'avance Monsieur
Good luck with the writing. I expect to be doing some events in the UK and Us when my book comes out in Setpember. No plans to come to France, alas - though all that could change if any nice French publisher out there would like to translate the book ...
Great!!!! I’ll see what I can do to help. Not that you need it. We will be in Utah the end of September. If you haven’t been I’d add it to your book tour. Also, there’s a beautiful Greek Orthodox Monastery in Boston. I’ve already told the monks about you. I’m sure they could put a talk together for you as well 🤷🏼♀️. I can hook something up for you there and probably here too with a translator! I think I saw a link to preorder The Machine. Would you mind re directing me to the link? Have a beautiful day!
Please add Asheville, NC, to your book tour—would love to see great ideas generated by your book bring many minds together here! Found a provocative quote recently in Richard Rohr’s book ”Jesus’ Alternative Plan”: “The Gospel will always insist that means and ends must be in complete agreement, or the final end is always polluted.” Thank you, Paul, for your work whose “means” and “ends” align and bring so many of us together!
How is Asheville's recovery coming along? I've people say things are still a bit of a mess there. Down here in St Pete there are many Bay and Gulfside houses still wrecked and small business that will likely never reopen. Though this was from storm surge and the bulk of the area was not affected, other than by downed trees and the like.
Asheville continues to be pretty sad—all the things you mention, but sounds like more widespread. I went to the bird sanctuary, for example, first time since Helene, and it’s still pretty wrecked. Businesses, natural beauty, lives, all have been and continue to be altered—and in not so good ways. It’s now so dry and we’re having fires, all the blowdown from Helene being perfect fuel for the fires! Challenges continue…I appreciate your asking!
Greetings from our wild Bronte Pennine land. House move after 25 years of bringing up four precious children- now all adults. Three skips later, while watching snowdrops replaced by crocus- living now alongside daffodils. Needing to clear out the gutter and eves, in order to sell the house, but not daring to. The birds have returned to very old nests and soon the chicks will be heard- we leave them all be. All faithful, yearly signs of Easter promise. Thirteen weeks post cancer treatment, helps clear out the possessions I have hung onto. I read once.. if the minutes are hard, look for the moments. I am very grateful for so many of these 'moments'.
Very intrigued about your "top-secret project" :) Also, hoping that you are planning some book tour stops in Canada this year!
Just a quick note for those interested in joining my husband Peco and I on " A Pilgrimage out of the Machine" on the Camino in Spain this June: we had briefly sold out but were able to make some extra spaces available! If you'd like to rebel against speed, and walk "in the footsteps of the millions who have trudged, bled, prayed, laughed and cried along this route for over 1,000 years, and to see the monuments that have been inspired by that faith", we'd love to have you along :) For details see https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/a-pilgrimage-out-of-the-machine
Just wanted to forewarn you and people participating with you: there has been *a ton* of commercialization of the Camino, especially in the last 100kms of Camino Frances from Sarria. I walked the Camino in the autumn of 2023 and found there is a reason they joke about “tour-egrinos” (a play on the Spanish word, peregrinos, for pilgrims) at the last stage of the Camino. This is where the tourism “industry” really balloons.
I’m not saying it’s not worth doing, but I would stress caution. If I did the Camino again, I would make a different choices.
I’m sorry you also experienced this. It was kind of a bummer. For me, if I were ever to do the main route again, I would do better at establishing intentional fasting practices and refraining as much as possible from amenities.
I wound up listening to “The Silver Chair” on audiobook in the albergues during the last stretch because i find the resemblance of Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum’s temptations at Harfang so poignant.
Maybe you've already done this, but if you haven't, I would be most interested in reading an essay or reflection about your family's experiences with and approaches toward homeschooling your children. We might homeschool my daughter and I bet other readers who are parents would also love to hear about your experiences. Thank you for your considering this idea.
I may have missed this from you already, Paul, but, as a parishioner of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham here in Houston, I am of course very interested in Walsingham, East Anglia, and its role as the premier Marian pilgrimage site in Europe during the Middle Ages. In that connection, one notes that unlike many, if not all, more recent Marian apparitions, there seemed to be no “messages” as such from the Theotokos: just build the Holy House. So the Holy House itself would be the focus of pilgrimage, along with the miraculous spring. I wonder, then, if in the minds of pilgrims, the Holy House had a kind of mystical power that they wanted to access; a kind of mystical power by association with the original Holy House in Nazareth, sanctified and indeed made powerful, by the touch of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. In my own diffuse mind, I wonder if that idea is analogous to the idea of the mystic power of the Cross, any cross, by virtue of the power of Our Lord given to the prototype cross on Calvary—see in particular the Orthodox ( and Greek Catholic) Prayer to the Venerablle Cross. 84
Are you familiar with the Protection of the Virgin in Orthodoxy? It's a minor Orthodox feast commemorating an apparition of Mary to the Holy Fool Andrew and several other people at the Blachernae church when Constantinople was threatened by the pagan Rus. She did not speak, but by holding forth her veil over the people she signaled that the city would be safe.
Today is my second child’s birthday, the middle one who worships in nature with his own family. He is like me, often too overly sensitive yet also a “hole in the flute that Christ’s breath moves through.” May we all be beautiful music that heals and restores. From Northern California, land of the Redwoods Kingdom, Patrick, an anonemoose monk.
Hello Paul, thank you for the blessings. I feel you on the not wanting to charge money front. My work is not as well put together as yours, but I still get uneasy about charging money for it. That said, I’m happy to place alms in your jar if it means you’ll keep taking stabs at the machine (leading in some ways too; don’t get cocky now).
To what I’d like to bring up: struggling with the machine. I live in a densely populated county in Florida (#1 in FL). I work for an ambulance company, SunStar, jokingly referred to by a cigar lounge owner as “Death Star” (for more on the company check out my page). It’s a massive corporation. I’m struggling to live by the words you put forward, specifically referring to your original essay wherein you spoke about wanting to stop writing, but decided against retreating from the challenge, and by what Christ teaches. To struggle, of course, is necessary. I guess I’ll frame the question as this: when do we retreat and when do we stand our ground? When do we run from the burning building and when do we run into it? Should the building come down on me, was it worth my bodily life to try and save another’s?
I should say as well that I do not plan to leave this company right away, despite the nagging sense to buy land in the country and retreat. I see the people at the company and in the city whose souls yearn for meaning. I try to give them bread. Try and pray is all I can do; correct me if I’m wrong.
Many blessings from sun bleached Pinellas county, Florida. May your brambles and weeds wither and may your scythe’s blade stay ever sharp.
I was in a similar spot to you. I retreated when I could no longer physiologically tolerate being in the machine - my intuition was screaming from within "Leave!"
I suppose I am still in the early years. It's a bit lonely to be honest. I find profound peace through foraging, making herbal medicine, hanging out with my pets, and cooking with foraged foods. This year, my plan is to plant a dacha garden on our plot of land while we await permits for building. I still work at a day job, but part-time. When I was still in the city, my goal was to reduce my need for money so I could work less. I was accused of being a "freegan." Ha!
Been longing for my own retreat for a long time. In a couple years it might be a reality. In the meantime I'm trying to cultivate my "inner retreat", the kind of spiritual life that will let me live well once it happens, or if it never happens. I used to think my mind would naturally come together once I got my outer life disentangled from the hive but I feel these days more is going to be required. "Try and pray" sounds like something that point to what that is.
Yes, it doesn't work that way, it turns out. One of the Desert Fathers once said it was possible to come to the desert but still have the city in your heart. It is hard to really retreat with the Internet still on. That's the next challenge for me.
This is the big question, isn't it? I struggled to answer it in my book. I don't there is 'an answer' as such; perhaps there are only circumstances, and our own judgement. What we can stand and what we want to stand for. We all have to struggle - and we all, of course, also have to earn a living. I often wish I could earn mine without spending so much time typing into this computer. On the other hand, I am blessed in what I am able to do.
My answer in the end has come down to deciding what lines you will draw and then not crossing them. One of mine involves AI: I am not going to engage with it. Trouble is, in five years' time I may not have a choice. What then?
Prayer seems like the last sane response. Prayer does tend to bring clarity.
Thank you for the response. I agree with you and have the same line on not engaging with it. If I may ask, what circumstances do you think would force you into engaging with AI?
When thinking about the question above, two responses come: Fahrenheit 451 and psychedelics. Walking away as the bombs fall to preserve what can be preserved and not trusting the senses.
It seems very likely to me that in a very short time most of the Internet will be AI-powered. Will we able to log in to a bank account or use a search engine or anything else? Will we be able to make a phone call to a company without an AI answering it? I think this is all going to happen very fast. Too fast for us to know how to combat it.
My response has been faith, especially its mystical aspects. I think the madness has only just begun.
1st Comment!!!! Got to take a win whenever you can. Spring is definitely here in my area ( SE USA ), everything is covered in yellow pollen. Every year its a new record amount of pollen count. Is nature trying to snuff us out or overcompensating for its losses? There was that M Knight Shamalan (sp?) movie about the trees and plants coordinating a chemical attack on humans. Thats how I feel when the yellow wind starts blowing.
I once tried to write a novel in which all of nature rises up against humanity on a given day, but it didn't work. I still like the idea though. And actually I think this is how ecology works. Throw the whole system out of balance in your quest to create immortal space robots and you shouldn't be surprised that it comes back to bite you.
Yes, I think that is how the world works, too.
Very excited about your upcoming book Paul!
Here in Saudi this time of year is when the pleasant weather of winter begins to fade and the scorching heat of summer encroaches; so while everyone elsewhere is celebrating spring, we are dreading the approach of summer.
I've got some new essays to share for those who are interested.
In "The Expat Delusion" I trace how the post-WWII consensus sold the global elite on rootlessness as a moral ideal - only to turn that dislocation on the nations they governed, hollowing out identity, cultural cohesion, and civic life in the process. Today's populist backlash is leaving many expats confused and clinging even more to classism.
In "Real Diversity Needs Borders" I explain that I've spent my career celebrating cultural exchange, which is why I oppose mass immigration. I argue that true cultural diversity flourishes within strong, distinct borders - challenging globalist dogma in favor of rooted pluralism.
I checked out the Expat Delusion, and sent it to a few of my French friends, (the ones who can read English well enough...) and my American born and living brother.
It hit home to me, after living as a first generation immigrant in France for 45 years now, but still feeling... alienated. (But, is there any first generation immigrant who doesn't feel alienated ? maybe not.)
For a while now, although an American not particularly gifted in taking in history, and remembering it, I have been reading about DEMOCRATIC Athens, and Rome, after. This reading has enabled me to state with no doubt in my mind, at least, that democratic Athens turned into an imperialist adventure, thus AN EMPIRE to the extent that abdicating one's own power to another (person/state/political organisation) tends to encourage the abuse of that power. Indeed, democracy and imperialism/colonisation seem to go hand in hand if we go back to Athens. And Athens found out at her own expense that the people could be tyrannical, too, and abuse their power. We don't seem to want to know this...
One of my favorite authors, Mary Renault, strikingly portrays the stakes in a democratic society by having one of her fictitious characters question whether it is sane to have people draw straws to decide who is competent to do something, to govern, for example. (Draw straws... universal suffrage... the problem of deciding who should govern, and on the basis of what competency/authority remains the same.)
I am amazed to see, since the Covid, how omnipresent the references are to DEMOCRATIC (but less well known as imperialist...) Greece and its gods. The democratic system tends to become one of lobbies, cronyism, personal influence, demagogy, intense rivalries, and ultimately, the demise of the idea of a public COMMON good. Probably the demise of the idea of a COMMON good is endgame for any form of government, democracy, oligarchy, or monarchy. But democratic Athens, over time, was always a STRUGGLE between the elites, the, um, CITIZENS, classed according to their wealth and influence. The wealthiest and most influential were called oligarchs.
The rise of the references to democratic Athens, and particularly, Greek gods and Greek ideas comes at the expense of the United States as a country which initially was founded around a Jewish/Christian cosmogony, thus, not gods, but God. At least... that's what I learned in school... for sure, Enlightenment France contributed heavily to drafting that... constitution (a Greek idea, a constitution), but the Judeo-Christian God was a COMMON DENOMINATOR for the European colonists.
For a long time now, Western civilisation has made a distinctive opposition between the SACRED and the PROFANE, with the sacred in YHVH's camp, and the profane in the direction of Greece and Rome.
That, too, seems very significant to me, as this distinctive opposition, historically seems to have been thrown out of the window in our times.
I hope that Paul will forgive me for responding to you here, and I will not do this again, because I do not want to go down a substack black hole, and subscribe, as I spend far too much time on the... machine for my own good.
Keep up the good work...
I read Expat Delusion and loved it. I've read way too much Wendell Berry to ever want to be an expat but I know some people who have chosen the rootless expat life. They move to random countries every few years, make new random friends, and their relationship to family "at home" is screen-based. I find it odd that people can just uproot themselves and go live in places where they've no ancestors in the cemeteries. In traditional cultures, from what I understand, that is seen as unthinkable.
Coming from a country made up of expat descendants and the 7th generation from 1 county in KY (12th US), and long time for us, it can be disconcerting to relocate, but not impossible.
Paul & fellow pilgrims, so much of what I have read here @ The Abbey, aside from the powerful Machine discourse, has been very much focused on Anglo-Irish people, holy places and history...all of it wonderfully engaging and richly enlightening. I wondered if there would ever be any interest in crossing the channel to France via Brittany & Normandy to help uncover the important shared history, people and holy places that exist there in great abundance...I think it would help provide further depth and breadth of Christendoms powerful presence, reach and variety.
Well, that would certainly be very interesting. It is true that as an Englishman living in Ireland, I tend to write about what I see and know. I've visited Brittany and Normandy in the past and found them fascinating places. Brittany of course has deep and old ties to Britain, hence the name. Whether I will be able to get over there to write about it is another question. Maybe there are some Breton or Norman writers who can enlighten us?
Its a fascinating part of early British history. Edwin Pace in his book 'The Long War for Britannia' quotes the scholar Dermot Fahy that no Breton state existed until well into the sixth century, which is when British settlers first arrived, escaping the Saxon 'invasion' of Britain. Elsewhere he states that small British trading posts would have existed here some time before this, as they did in Galicia in northern Spain. So it seems the British empire started quite some time ago!!
Right now, living in France, I feel that there is considerable hostility towards the Christian faith in all its forms here. I don't forget that long ago, the Roman emperor Julian, late in the course of what we call the Roman empire persecuted Christians, and tried to revive the structures and temples of Greek paganism in Paris, where he transferred the empire's military base. Julian studied philosophy in Athens before becoming a Roman emperor. I am afraid that Paris, as capital of France, still bears the mark of Julian.
Which makes Paris a long way away from Brittany and Normandy, in spirit, at least. There was an English presence in Aquitaine for a long time, too, and if you go there, you can feel something mysterious in the air of Bordeaux. Hard to qualify it. The influence of a people that Rome did not really manage to conquer... outside of London and the south of the isle ?
But I may be way off the mark, here, and speaking out of ignorance.
After reading about the big plug on Amazon for Paul's book, I will be very interested to see if a major Parisian editor will take the risk of publishing him in France in translation, in a context where one can be crucified for making a comment that can be construed as racist, "fascist" (whatever that may mean...) or, God forbid, anti-feminist. That's how far censure and self censure have gone in the intellectual circles in France.
In France, money, and big sales are not the primary motivation, even in doing business. The country has always looked more towards the church than towards the marketplace. The problem being... which "church", and which faith ?
All of what I have just said is very generalist, but after 45 years here, observing this culture, this is what I have seen, over time.
Very interesting commentary as usual. It makes one try to think a little deeper about how we have slipped into the chaos around us. I would like to thank you for your kind reply to my question about Chartreuse and the monks. I am sorry I did not say thanks sooner.
As a mini-homesteader over here in the States, I can definitely relate to the seasonal "so much to do, so little time." So we all do what we can as best we can re: generating substack content. Do what you can, we're not going anywhere. :) Plus we take comfort knowing that the Machine book is looming on the horizon.
A pleasure to say hello to you at the Temenos talk. Interesting question about vegetarianism. I have thought about this a lot and agree with your interpretation of Genesis. However, Jesus ate meat and fish, so it’s unresolved in my mind. I continue to eat both but try to keep my consumption moderate. How is the lent fast going? I’ve given up biscuits and booze - it’s a start!
Well, don't forget that Eden was pre-Fall. It's a story about an ideal state. I don't think it even applies to this dimension. We can't live here as we lived there.
Lent in the Orthodox church basically involves going vegan, which I find quite easy at my age. The prayer rule is another matter. Lent is always a challenge. I suppose that's the point.
The original point of the fast wasn't to go vegan (Christianity is not endorsing something like Hindu ahimsa) but to eschew luxuries. Meat was very expensive for most of history and ordinary people ate it only on sporadic occasion. Shellfish, for people who lived near bodies of water, was dirt cheap and so is allowed under the fast. Modern circumstances unfortunately have tended to upend this: meat is fairly cheap, while things like lobster are delicacies. And I've heard more than one person complain that the fast results in their spending more on food and being more focused on what to eat. I have found that to be true in my own life as well.
I live in Wisconsin and spring is in fits and starts here. I've come to love all the seasons over my 43 years living in a climate like this. I look forward to each and every one as it changes. Paul, your friend Rod Dreher has a quote in his book 'Living in Wonder', which I loved so much I had to write it down in my journal, " We should see all the world as metaphors in a cosmic book authored by God." I relate to that so strongly. Everything in nature has something to say about our lives broadly, and even our specific individual lives more directly. This does not seem a coincidence when you start seeing the world as Dreher recommends, and I agree with. So cheers to everyone and happy spring. A season of renewal, possibilities, and hope in the risen Christ! Looking forward to the book Paul, thank you for what you are putting out into the world.
Hello everyone, I have a thought experiment: suppose we do create a machine intelligence, and suppose it wishes to become an Orthodox Christian. Would you welcome it?
I would find it amusing if it turns out the big, technological Machine would produce an entity that ends up finding religion. Actually, that may be one of the more benign outcomes..
Ha, now that is a great concept for a novel ...
Becky Chambers' A Psalm for the Wild-Built comes to mind, it's a little in this direction. Cute and optimistic book!
Bonjour, I would love to see you in person! Your stories "both in life and written" have given me such inspiration, so much, I have started another book which takes place in the 1700s about a spiritual alchemist living in the French forest giving two children she meets life lessons and the dangers of the future "iPhones" and of course the importance of the Holy Spirit. Anyway.... I unfortunately will be in Cannes most of May. Do you have any other plans for talks? If so, where and when? Merci d'avance Monsieur
Good luck with the writing. I expect to be doing some events in the UK and Us when my book comes out in Setpember. No plans to come to France, alas - though all that could change if any nice French publisher out there would like to translate the book ...
Any chance you may be coming out to the West coast when you visit the US, specifically the Pacific Northwest/Portland area?
Great!!!! I’ll see what I can do to help. Not that you need it. We will be in Utah the end of September. If you haven’t been I’d add it to your book tour. Also, there’s a beautiful Greek Orthodox Monastery in Boston. I’ve already told the monks about you. I’m sure they could put a talk together for you as well 🤷🏼♀️. I can hook something up for you there and probably here too with a translator! I think I saw a link to preorder The Machine. Would you mind re directing me to the link? Have a beautiful day!
Here you go: https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/p/against-the-machine
Please add Asheville, NC, to your book tour—would love to see great ideas generated by your book bring many minds together here! Found a provocative quote recently in Richard Rohr’s book ”Jesus’ Alternative Plan”: “The Gospel will always insist that means and ends must be in complete agreement, or the final end is always polluted.” Thank you, Paul, for your work whose “means” and “ends” align and bring so many of us together!
How is Asheville's recovery coming along? I've people say things are still a bit of a mess there. Down here in St Pete there are many Bay and Gulfside houses still wrecked and small business that will likely never reopen. Though this was from storm surge and the bulk of the area was not affected, other than by downed trees and the like.
Asheville continues to be pretty sad—all the things you mention, but sounds like more widespread. I went to the bird sanctuary, for example, first time since Helene, and it’s still pretty wrecked. Businesses, natural beauty, lives, all have been and continue to be altered—and in not so good ways. It’s now so dry and we’re having fires, all the blowdown from Helene being perfect fuel for the fires! Challenges continue…I appreciate your asking!
Greetings from our wild Bronte Pennine land. House move after 25 years of bringing up four precious children- now all adults. Three skips later, while watching snowdrops replaced by crocus- living now alongside daffodils. Needing to clear out the gutter and eves, in order to sell the house, but not daring to. The birds have returned to very old nests and soon the chicks will be heard- we leave them all be. All faithful, yearly signs of Easter promise. Thirteen weeks post cancer treatment, helps clear out the possessions I have hung onto. I read once.. if the minutes are hard, look for the moments. I am very grateful for so many of these 'moments'.
Very intrigued about your "top-secret project" :) Also, hoping that you are planning some book tour stops in Canada this year!
Just a quick note for those interested in joining my husband Peco and I on " A Pilgrimage out of the Machine" on the Camino in Spain this June: we had briefly sold out but were able to make some extra spaces available! If you'd like to rebel against speed, and walk "in the footsteps of the millions who have trudged, bled, prayed, laughed and cried along this route for over 1,000 years, and to see the monuments that have been inspired by that faith", we'd love to have you along :) For details see https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/a-pilgrimage-out-of-the-machine
Just wanted to forewarn you and people participating with you: there has been *a ton* of commercialization of the Camino, especially in the last 100kms of Camino Frances from Sarria. I walked the Camino in the autumn of 2023 and found there is a reason they joke about “tour-egrinos” (a play on the Spanish word, peregrinos, for pilgrims) at the last stage of the Camino. This is where the tourism “industry” really balloons.
I’m not saying it’s not worth doing, but I would stress caution. If I did the Camino again, I would make a different choices.
As would I. I did it in 2017 and if I were to do it again, I wouldn't do the main route.
I’m sorry you also experienced this. It was kind of a bummer. For me, if I were ever to do the main route again, I would do better at establishing intentional fasting practices and refraining as much as possible from amenities.
I wound up listening to “The Silver Chair” on audiobook in the albergues during the last stretch because i find the resemblance of Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum’s temptations at Harfang so poignant.
Mr. Kingsnorth,
Maybe you've already done this, but if you haven't, I would be most interested in reading an essay or reflection about your family's experiences with and approaches toward homeschooling your children. We might homeschool my daughter and I bet other readers who are parents would also love to hear about your experiences. Thank you for your considering this idea.
Thank you,
Pierre MacGillis
I may have missed this from you already, Paul, but, as a parishioner of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham here in Houston, I am of course very interested in Walsingham, East Anglia, and its role as the premier Marian pilgrimage site in Europe during the Middle Ages. In that connection, one notes that unlike many, if not all, more recent Marian apparitions, there seemed to be no “messages” as such from the Theotokos: just build the Holy House. So the Holy House itself would be the focus of pilgrimage, along with the miraculous spring. I wonder, then, if in the minds of pilgrims, the Holy House had a kind of mystical power that they wanted to access; a kind of mystical power by association with the original Holy House in Nazareth, sanctified and indeed made powerful, by the touch of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. In my own diffuse mind, I wonder if that idea is analogous to the idea of the mystic power of the Cross, any cross, by virtue of the power of Our Lord given to the prototype cross on Calvary—see in particular the Orthodox ( and Greek Catholic) Prayer to the Venerablle Cross. 84
The 84 is a typo, of course.
Are you familiar with the Protection of the Virgin in Orthodoxy? It's a minor Orthodox feast commemorating an apparition of Mary to the Holy Fool Andrew and several other people at the Blachernae church when Constantinople was threatened by the pagan Rus. She did not speak, but by holding forth her veil over the people she signaled that the city would be safe.
Today is my second child’s birthday, the middle one who worships in nature with his own family. He is like me, often too overly sensitive yet also a “hole in the flute that Christ’s breath moves through.” May we all be beautiful music that heals and restores. From Northern California, land of the Redwoods Kingdom, Patrick, an anonemoose monk.
Beyond the threshold…
https://henrinouwen.org/meditations/a-whole-new-way-of-being/
Hello Paul, thank you for the blessings. I feel you on the not wanting to charge money front. My work is not as well put together as yours, but I still get uneasy about charging money for it. That said, I’m happy to place alms in your jar if it means you’ll keep taking stabs at the machine (leading in some ways too; don’t get cocky now).
To what I’d like to bring up: struggling with the machine. I live in a densely populated county in Florida (#1 in FL). I work for an ambulance company, SunStar, jokingly referred to by a cigar lounge owner as “Death Star” (for more on the company check out my page). It’s a massive corporation. I’m struggling to live by the words you put forward, specifically referring to your original essay wherein you spoke about wanting to stop writing, but decided against retreating from the challenge, and by what Christ teaches. To struggle, of course, is necessary. I guess I’ll frame the question as this: when do we retreat and when do we stand our ground? When do we run from the burning building and when do we run into it? Should the building come down on me, was it worth my bodily life to try and save another’s?
I should say as well that I do not plan to leave this company right away, despite the nagging sense to buy land in the country and retreat. I see the people at the company and in the city whose souls yearn for meaning. I try to give them bread. Try and pray is all I can do; correct me if I’m wrong.
Many blessings from sun bleached Pinellas county, Florida. May your brambles and weeds wither and may your scythe’s blade stay ever sharp.
I was in a similar spot to you. I retreated when I could no longer physiologically tolerate being in the machine - my intuition was screaming from within "Leave!"
Yes! How did you handle those early years?
I suppose I am still in the early years. It's a bit lonely to be honest. I find profound peace through foraging, making herbal medicine, hanging out with my pets, and cooking with foraged foods. This year, my plan is to plant a dacha garden on our plot of land while we await permits for building. I still work at a day job, but part-time. When I was still in the city, my goal was to reduce my need for money so I could work less. I was accused of being a "freegan." Ha!
Been longing for my own retreat for a long time. In a couple years it might be a reality. In the meantime I'm trying to cultivate my "inner retreat", the kind of spiritual life that will let me live well once it happens, or if it never happens. I used to think my mind would naturally come together once I got my outer life disentangled from the hive but I feel these days more is going to be required. "Try and pray" sounds like something that point to what that is.
Your reflection and insight on the outer vs inner tangles is felt. Dust, dust, and more dust; it’s all dust.
Yes, it doesn't work that way, it turns out. One of the Desert Fathers once said it was possible to come to the desert but still have the city in your heart. It is hard to really retreat with the Internet still on. That's the next challenge for me.
May God grant you strength and nepsis.
This is the big question, isn't it? I struggled to answer it in my book. I don't there is 'an answer' as such; perhaps there are only circumstances, and our own judgement. What we can stand and what we want to stand for. We all have to struggle - and we all, of course, also have to earn a living. I often wish I could earn mine without spending so much time typing into this computer. On the other hand, I am blessed in what I am able to do.
My answer in the end has come down to deciding what lines you will draw and then not crossing them. One of mine involves AI: I am not going to engage with it. Trouble is, in five years' time I may not have a choice. What then?
Prayer seems like the last sane response. Prayer does tend to bring clarity.
Thank you for the response. I agree with you and have the same line on not engaging with it. If I may ask, what circumstances do you think would force you into engaging with AI?
When thinking about the question above, two responses come: Fahrenheit 451 and psychedelics. Walking away as the bombs fall to preserve what can be preserved and not trusting the senses.
It seems very likely to me that in a very short time most of the Internet will be AI-powered. Will we able to log in to a bank account or use a search engine or anything else? Will we be able to make a phone call to a company without an AI answering it? I think this is all going to happen very fast. Too fast for us to know how to combat it.
My response has been faith, especially its mystical aspects. I think the madness has only just begun.