Author Topic: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage  (Read 25090 times)

Wayne

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 24
    • View Profile
Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« on: April 22, 2011, 05:26:12 AM »
How great is the difference between a sage that is a good story teller and one that is a tactless bore? Is this a large divide or a fine line?

Thanks!

Betty

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 96
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2011, 04:24:47 PM »
I think it must be a fine line, since people often seem to cross over it and back again with ease   :D

John Roth

  • Forum Support
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 226
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2011, 12:41:25 AM »
How great is the difference between a sage that is a good story teller and one that is a tactless bore? Is this a large divide or a fine line?

Thanks!

Sages have three inputs, one of which is the Audience. A bore's best audience is always himself.

HTH

John Roth

Jondalf

  • Banned
  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • "deeds cannot dream what dreams can do" - ee cummi
    • View Profile
    • Letters To My Future Selves
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2011, 10:48:55 PM »
Bore I must be, and James Joyce, and Buckminster Fuller, and Willam James and William Blake, and Spalding Gray and Marshall McLuhan, and H.L.Mencken and ee cummings and Li Po and Frederick Hegel and Liebnitz and Einstien and Bohr and and and William Carlos Williams, one of the most revered 20th century poets, who said: "A good writer writes for an audience of one, himself." (as did every one of the above  .  .  .  interesting  .  .  . when art doesn't imitate life  .  .  .  hmmmm  .  .  . they must not be Sages.)

Jondalf

  • Banned
  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • "deeds cannot dream what dreams can do" - ee cummi
    • View Profile
    • Letters To My Future Selves
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2011, 11:37:20 PM »
So Wayne, let me ask you a question, since I dropped the ball and was inadvertantly rude to you in answering the first question which to me you posed.

(COMMENT NOT INTENDED FOR WAYNE: that IS the proper way to say that,look it up);{>

What is the difference between an Artisan that is an acclaimed success in their own lifetime, only to be later excoriated in critique down through History (like Milli Vanilli, or Rod McKuen) and an Artisan who labors to produce Art understood by no-one in their mileau, only to be revered by the retrospective acclaim of all critics (Van Goch and William Burroughs, to wit)?

This is a Zen koan, BTW, no 'right' answer.

Speaking from personal experience as both a "good" or "bad" Sage (I must have been a 'good' one in one lifetime, at least) I offer to you, and crew, the story I call:

"The Arjuna Argument"

It is said that one night, on the eve of a great battle, the Prince Siddhartha was unable to sleep, so he walked to his chariot to make sure it was ready for the morning's battle.  When he arrived he found his charioteer, Arjuna, asleep nearby.  Arjuna awoke, but, unbeknownst to the Prince, the Lord Vishnu had possessed the man's body and he arose and asked the Prince what troubled him, that he could not sleep.

Siddhartha sighed and said: "My friend, I have perceived a subtle but monumentally important "truth", that I believe has the power to free all mankind from suffering.  I wish to leave my current life, and try to explain it to as many as I can, but I do not know if I can communicate it well enough for anyone to understand it as I do, and even then, I may be wrong or no-one may wish to listen. Then I will have abandoned a life wherein surely I may be able to do some small good for a small number.  I cannot resolve this choice, what are your thoughts?"

Then Vishnu (as Arjuna) smiled the biggest smile the Prince had ever seen him smile, and he said: "I think people are like lotus flowers, growing in a pond. They all start out from the bottom and strive upward.  Your "truth", to me, seems like a few rays of sunlight shining on that pond as the flowers grow.  Some flowers, too far below the surface, will never be reached by your rays.  Some flowers, already having bloomed above the surface, will just wilt as you touch them. But, if, as you believe, this 'subtle truth' you speak of might, just might be what you think, and your rays reach ONLY one flower, struggling to break the surface, and give it the strength to bloom in the light, your decision to leave your current life to selflessly try to help a world that suffers is justified, for all time. This even Gods avow."

The Prince, at peace now with a confidence he barely understood went back to his tent, slept, won the battle in the morning, proceeded to the city of the King, his father, renounced his worldly life and went forth, never doubting his decision again.

This is the power of "The Arjuna Argument":  To me, it means if I help just one person, one time, in any one lifetime of mine, help them to free themselves or someone else from suffering, for that life at least, I've been a 'good' Sage! To me, nothing else truly matters.    - Jondalf
« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 06:47:19 AM by Jondalf »

Jondalf

  • Banned
  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • "deeds cannot dream what dreams can do" - ee cummi
    • View Profile
    • Letters To My Future Selves
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2011, 07:33:53 AM »
To paraphrase:

Sages are pathologically driven, by their very nature, to collect and store data, knowledge and occasionally even wisdom. "Raison d'etre" being: to make sure said stored memes are distributed as widely as possible. Positive pole: Expression; Negative: Verbosity/Oration
Gifted to write and speak well, they often construct new forms of language, syllogisms and enthymemes.
Edified when center of attention, they seek the spotlight habitually.  Less than 6% of totality of Roles extant, only Kings are more rare (2%)

Combinations of Sage/King Task Companions/Work Groups can, by themselves, totally change the course of ANY shared Lifetime's ongoing Calculated Probable Timeline Vector-Sum, within that shared lifetime's alloted chronology. Think Arthur & Merlin.  No such dedicated combo has been known to fail the implementation of their preconceived agenda upon History, so potent is this dipole. There is no other two-part 'working group' as effective. The two group roles/positions being: Will (Physics), and Control (Mathmatics). Either can be embodied by either.

AnnH

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2011, 02:44:06 PM »
A Sage who is acting out of the positive poles is actively using his/her audience input and paying attention to the energy coming from the audience.  In other words, the Sage is listening to the audience and attempting to speak a truth in a way the audience can hear/understand or feel and resonate with.  When I'm in the positive pole, I think I just want the audience to feel a little less alone in the world.  It's not about me but about them--the audience.  When I'm in oration, it's allll about me.

AnnH


Dave

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 303
    • View Profile
    • Michael Teachings
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2011, 04:07:49 AM »
My Sage father frequently slides to oration whenever he's in the car with me. I don't know if it's his ecstatic realization that AT LAST he finally has a captive, but his ensuing monologue of incessant verbiage often leaves me fantasying about driving the car into on-coming traffic.  ;)

Best,
Dave

jk

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 171
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2011, 10:27:46 PM »
My Sage father frequently slides to oration whenever he's in the car with me. I don't know if it's his ecstatic realization that AT LAST he finally has a captive, but his ensuing monologue of incessant verbiage often leaves me fantasying about driving the car into on-coming traffic.  ;)
Oh gosh that reminds me of someone I know. I don't know their Role, but I know the feeling! And when she runs out of things to say, she will just start repeating the ones she has mentioned already. Sometimes I realise in the middle of the conversation she has asked me a question and I have no idea what she has been saying for the past few minutes.

Dave

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 303
    • View Profile
    • Michael Teachings
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #9 on: May 15, 2011, 05:47:13 AM »
My Sage father frequently slides to oration whenever he's in the car with me. I don't know if it's his ecstatic realization that AT LAST he finally has a captive, but his ensuing monologue of incessant verbiage often leaves me fantasying about driving the car into on-coming traffic.  ;)
Oh gosh that reminds me of someone I know. I don't know their Role, but I know the feeling! And when she runs out of things to say, she will just start repeating the ones she has mentioned already. Sometimes I realise in the middle of the conversation she has asked me a question and I have no idea what she has been saying for the past few minutes.

Don't let that person get in the car with you. It could be dangerous.  :D

Best,
Dave

Velleity

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 77
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #10 on: May 31, 2011, 08:01:38 AM »
My sage sister is studying jazz singing, and recently has gotten a lot of praise and attention from her instructors, which of course she's excited by, and the praise is definitely warranted... but we had started to notice that it was pushing her into oration, or some sort of arrogance. "I just have to tell someone how amazing I feel I am!" (more or less exact words), and other little phrases of giving her importance "I'll get you that when I'm famous, you can do my cd's cover art...".

Last week one of the other singers sort of put her in her place, "H, you don't have to brag about how well you do... " etc. etc. which she of course got quite (hysterically crying) upset over. But as she does, she has recovered quickly and with a new family-consensus-ed plan of "not telling anyone how proud I feel except for my family members or my boyfriend". It's her new pledge.

So the other day my mother said H came home and said "Mom, I'm so proud, two amazing things happened to me today with singing and I didn't tell ANYONE!", literally in all naive sincerity! ;)
« Last Edit: May 31, 2011, 08:03:15 AM by Elisabeth »

jk

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 171
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #11 on: May 31, 2011, 10:16:01 AM »
That is funny, Elisabeth. This also reminded me of that person I have mentioned above. She is a decent amateur singer and is currently getting private singing lessons. She is soooo hooked on being good at it. You cannot give her any critical feedback without spinning her into a litany of self-justification. We are in a choir together, usually singing the same part. When someone gives us a feedback, she does not seem to be able to just take it on board and shut up. She will analyse and analyse and self-justify and dissect every stupid detail.
Her oration is not limited just to the in-depth analysis of her singing, another favourite topics are her boyfriend and her obsessive cleaning. It's like she's saying for several hours in a row "me me me me me me me me me me me"
I just started avoiding her, because I have a life.
At least your sister is seeing this issue to some degree in herself, this person just does not.

Chiara DB

  • Forum Support
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 238
  • Love all, trust a few. Harm none.
    • View Profile
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #12 on: June 01, 2011, 08:52:07 AM »
Elisabeth, your sister sounds adorable! And what is up with all the NZ people on this forum?? I lived in Dunedin in 2009-2010 :)

Dave

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 303
    • View Profile
    • Michael Teachings
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #13 on: June 02, 2011, 08:02:02 AM »
My sage sister is studying jazz singing, and recently has gotten a lot of praise and attention from her instructors, which of course she's excited by, and the praise is definitely warranted... but we had started to notice that it was pushing her into oration, or some sort of arrogance. "I just have to tell someone how amazing I feel I am!" (more or less exact words), and other little phrases of giving her importance "I'll get you that when I'm famous, you can do my cd's cover art...".

Last week one of the other singers sort of put her in her place, "H, you don't have to brag about how well you do... " etc. etc. which she of course got quite (hysterically crying) upset over. But as she does, she has recovered quickly and with a new family-consensus-ed plan of "not telling anyone how proud I feel except for my family members or my boyfriend". It's her new pledge.

So the other day my mother said H came home and said "Mom, I'm so proud, two amazing things happened to me today with singing and I didn't tell ANYONE!", literally in all naive sincerity! ;)

Haha…Very cute!   :D

Right now your sister is doing fairly well in a relatively small pond, but as she ventures out into the world she'll discover that there are multitudes of girls her age who are unbelievably more gifted. It'll be a real game changer for her if she's not emotionally prepared.

I also think her tendency to showboat will disappear when she awakens to just how daunting musical artistry can be, and how much work is still ahead of her regarding her own shortcomings as a musician. And trust me, when she begins to chase that elusive specter of artistic perfection you'll see her former swagger get replaced real quick by a genuine humbleness.

Best,
Dave

P.S. - Is she listening to jazz instrumentalists, too?

 

Nancy

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 24
  • Where ever you go, there you are.
    • View Profile
    • Imagine, Ordain, Manifest
Re: Positive & Negative Traits of Sage
« Reply #14 on: June 02, 2011, 08:00:23 PM »
Dave, I was hesitant to tell you this, but now I must.
Going to see Sonny Rollins in Wellington later this month  :-)
<running to hide now>

Blessings
Nancy