Reflections on The Children of Eris

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

The Chaotic Ones Were, The Chaotic Ones Are, The Chaotic Ones Shall Be Again

In the beginning the Chaos was, and the Chaos was with Discordians and the Chaos was Discordians. There appeared great non-prophets and these Children of Eris laid the first foundations for further forays. Here we do not speak of the great Mal-2, nor Omar K Ravenhurst, nor RAW (may they party in Limbo forever), nay for there were many before them that found enlightenment through action and salvation through nonsense. Camus, Jarry, Beckett, Shulz, Kafka, Kierkegaard all came to enlightenment by their own path, their own action, their own experience. Each laid a footpath through the territory of the absurd, each left behind notes and clues about how one could go about creating their own footpath through this little explored territory. Each of them were truly Children of Eris. Yet, this is not to detract from the Great Works of those who came later, Mark Twain, for example, left much for us to consider in his Letters From The Earth, Papers of the Adam Family and other writings, there were those who were inspired to write The Principia Discordia, from which a fountainhead of Chaos ensued. Each of these came about their enlightenment through personal action and their salvation through their own nonsense. They all left behind journals, notes, dissertations, FAQ's, How-To's and DIY infos about their own footpaths created in the unexplored territory. These ancient ones did not become enlightened by reading silly things. They did not find their path by slapping people with the same tired trout. Yet, in this time, we see little in the way of Action and sadly, little in the way of enlightenment. In Action and in Action alone, enlightenment can be found.

A few weeks ago, I determined to see how things were progressing in the Way of Eris since the death of the last PD era Discordian. In some places, Erisians weep for the loss of Bob and I too am sad to see such a silly mind move on... yet, it was not in RAW the man that enlightenment is found. In some places, Erisians seem to have confused freedom with liberalism and they claim Discordian thought, while endorsing one political party or the other, yet it is not in any specific political party that Enlightenment is found. In some places, they study the paths of those who have experienced, thinking that Enlightenment shall fall upon them while in meditation, and they will wait as the young man in Camden Benares Zen Story, for it is not in old houses where enlightenment is found. There is no action and long have I waited for Action. But here, here at PD.com I see something that RAW might have associated with the Cosmic Trigger. Here, there is no acceptance of any previous map as the territory. There appears to be a movement to actually explore the territory while making new maps. In this sacred rite, The Chaotic Ones shall be again, rising to replace those that were and to provide examples for those that are. Those that find the PD as The Answer, or those that believe The Conspiracy, the 23 Enigma, The Law of Fives as real... have missed one of the secret keys of the PD: "This book is a mirror. When a monkey looks in, no Apostle looks out". A mirror can only tell us about ourselves... in and of itself the mirror has no Information, no knowledge, no power, and nothing of Enlightenment. However, a mirror can be useful.

Many here appear to have a grasp on the need for action. They seem to understand that it is not in the relics of past Erisian Delight that Future Discordian Works lie, but in their actions based on current realities. Chaos is active and is based on the actions and reactions around it. The actions and reactions during the 1960's that led to the PD are not the same actions and reactions that exist here, today. In this, I applaud you and find great hope for Discordianism and reason to stick around for a bit... if you don't mind a chaotic rodent chattering on occasion.

Ratatosk, Squirrel of Discord
Muncher of the ChaoAcorn
Chatterer of the Words of Eris
POEE of the Great Googlie Mooglie Cabal

[LMNO]

Holy crap.


When I read the first few sentences, I was thinking, "oh, fuck.  Here we go again."

But you know?  I might have to save this & repost it when some of those Dogmatic Pinealists come around.


Good job, Rat.

[Doktor Loki]

Many here appear to have a grasp on the need for action. They seem to understand that it is not in the relics of past Erisian Delight that Future Discordian Works lie, but in their actions based on current realities. Chaos is active and is based on the actions and reactions around it. The actions and reactions during the 1960's that led to the PD are not the same actions and reactions that exist here, today. In this, I applaud you and find great hope for Discordianism and reason to stick around for a bit.

Winnar.

[Cramulus]

yeah man! 

I used to really love the 23ae crowd. Seemed so silly and unique... just like all the other Discordians. I stopped posting there about the same time I discovered this place and the Black Iron Prison project. I still check back in from time to time, but it just seems so played out to me now.

This is not to say that they're doing it wrong, or that we have a monopoly on free thought or anything. Just that I prefer this approach to that approach.

Anyway, great post.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Holy crap.


When I read the first few sentences, I was thinking, "oh, fuck.  Here we go again."

But you know?  I might have to save this & repost it when some of those Dogmatic Pinealists come around.


Good job, Rat.

There is nothing wrong with the trappings as long as you don't get trapped in them...

[P3nT4gR4m]

Nicely written fucker!

*edit* Oh, yeah, and get an avatar

[East Coast Hustle]

this thread (and this n00b) are full of WIN.

[B_M_W]

This piece reminds me of some of Vincent's stuff, in the way it mixes the discordianism of the 60's with the discordianism of the new century.

Its remarkable, some of the stuff that these newbies put out.

[Darth Cupcake]

Those that find the PD as The Answer, or those that believe The Conspiracy, the 23 Enigma, The Law of Fives as real... have missed one of the secret keys of the PD: "This book is a mirror. When a monkey looks in, no Apostle looks out". A mirror can only tell us about ourselves... in and of itself the mirror has no Information, no knowledge, no power, and nothing of Enlightenment. However, a mirror can be useful.

SPLOSION OF WIN



Nicely fuckin' put, Rat.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

This piece reminds me of some of Vincent's stuff, in the way it mixes the discordianism of the 60's with the discordianism of the new century.

Its remarkable, some of the stuff that these newbies put out.

Yay, it's been awhile since I've been a newbie... glad they reset this board awhile back

[B_M_W]

This piece reminds me of some of Vincent's stuff, in the way it mixes the discordianism of the 60's with the discordianism of the new century.

Its remarkable, some of the stuff that these newbies put out.

Yay, it's been awhile since I've been a newbie... glad they reset this board awhile back

No offence, I hope.

Keep on trucking with your writing. I wait patiently.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

No offence, I hope.

To be offended by anything on the Internet seems a losing proposal.

If ye know neither me nor my works, than I am indeed a newbie (to your reality tunnel, at least) eh?

[B_M_W]

No offence, I hope.

To be offended by anything on the Internet seems a losing proposal.

If ye know neither me nor my works, than I am indeed a newbie (to your reality tunnel, at least) eh?

Ah, good. Then you will be unflustered when the drama llama comes acalling.

Works? As in plural?

Can we get an x-post?

[That One Guy]

Excellent stuff. This is such a great summation of what the hell we're trying to do here. Hopefully you're interested in contributing, since you seem to have a great handle on it.

And of course, the obligatory (since you said you HAVE more) POST MOAR! 

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

No offence, I hope.

To be offended by anything on the Internet seems a losing proposal.

If ye know neither me nor my works, than I am indeed a newbie (to your reality tunnel, at least) eh?

Ah, good. Then you will be unflustered when the drama llama comes acalling.

Works? As in plural?

Can we get an x-post?

An x-post of my works?

Well, I'm not sure what the usual accepted procedure is here. I've written lots of stuff, is it better to provide links or actual posts? You can do a google search, which will probably show up lots of stuff (any of my posts may be true in some sense, false in some sense and meaningless in some sense). Gooling on "Ratatosk, Squirrel of Discord" "tosk" or "Great Googlie Mooglie Cabal" should turn up a few things.

After nearly 15 years of wandering these eldrich and etheric halls of the Internet, drama llama's are simply curiosities. I once read a wise statement: "Arguing on the Internet is like the Special Olympics: Win or Lose, you're still retarded."