Over the last year I’ve started intermittently collecting copies of my favorite books on meditation, magic, and mysticism. The general, if ill-planned and erratically implemented idea is that I want not only backups, but I want to distribute “full collections” to friends I trust. I could probably do this in a more orderly manner, but doing it I am.
When I look at the state of the world, from climate change to book bans, from greedy publishers to floods of bullshit books, I want to do something to preserve wisdom. When I look at past pogroms and attacks on knowledge, I can see how others saved knowledge. It was necessary before, it may be again, so my sporadic efforts are my poor attempt.
I’m sure I’ll have more organized in time. It is likely the daily news will inspire me further.
I look at my pile of “backup” books sitting at my mixture altar/bookshelf and feel sadness. My erratically-expanding and not-yet-complete “stuff to send friends” pile on my religion shelf is a constant reminder of my morose thoughts. It’s a low-level, constant reminder of where the world was, is, and may be.
I share this not as some grand plan or goal – rare for me – but just to share my thoughts with you, my readers. I’d like to know what you think about preserving and distributing knowledge, your hopes, and fears, and what you do – if anything. Maybe I am indeed too negative – or perhaps I’m not negative enough.
However, this is a discussion we should all be having. What do we need to do to preserve and disseminate wise words and advice in these times – and in times to come? How can we handle this and keep our mind and spirits in order?
If nothing else, it would be nice to discuss the sadness I feel when I look at my library.
I also have a recommended reading list. Perhaps it will help you – https://www.xenofact.com/things-to-read/
– Xenofact