Stream of Consciousness
16/09/12 05:29
The phrase “stream of consciousness” is attributed to the psychologist Williams James, who published the term toward the end of the 19th century. Most people know the term, not from psychology, however, but from novels. The concept became quite popular in American fiction in the 1960’s and 1970’s. But the idea is much older than the novels, and even much older than William James. Although they didn’t use the term, philosophers have pondered the concept from ancient times.
The ancient philosopher Heraclitus’ famous line that you can’t step into the same river twice has spawned many a night of contemplation and lots of discussion among philosophers for centuries. There is an obvious truth to his observation. Because the water is moving, the actual fluid that surrounds the wader is different than that which was there before. A river is constantly in motion and constantly changing.
We knew that because we grew up alongside a river. In the spring, when the waters ran high, we could hear the boulders rolling and bouncing off one another. The river widened and each year it took out a few trees that had been growing along the banks. Sometimes we were amazed to see giant cottonwoods that had withstood 50 or 60 years of flooding finally giving way and falling into the river. As the years went by, we noticed islands forming and being reshaped. Our place was on the inside of a curve in the river and the river kept moving away from the buildings. At first what was left behind was a field of boulders, but with time silt filled in the space between the rocks, trees took root and the land began to be transformed while the river roared by and kept inching away.
It isn’t just a river that is constantly in motion. Life is constantly in motion. The constantly changing nature of life makes it difficult for those who wish to discover universal truths. Religions and philosophies seek to identify absolutes upon which to base systems of belief and understanding. The famous declaration of the Book of Hebrews that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” is one such statement of a constant and absolute truth. For some this absolute results in a system of other absolutes – laws and rules that are not to be challenged or changed. For others, and I find myself in that group, Jesus’ “sameness” involves constant relationship with an ever changing world. The disciples as portrayed by all of the gospels, and especially in Mark, are constantly surprised by Jesus. They think they know him, but what he does and what he says is not predictable to the disciples. I share their sense of wonder and amazement.
From my point of view, it is the nature of God to be continually creating. Creation isn’t just some ancient event that set the universe in motion, it is a reality that is as powerful and as present in our moments of history as in any other time. The Creator that moved over the face of the waters and called forth light continues to create new people, new situations, new ways of understanding.
Still, in that world of constant change there are themes that show up again and again. The quote, “the only constant is change,” is sometimes attributed to Isaac Asimov. The full Asimov quote, printed in many different places is: “The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”
The problem with the Asimov quote is that the idea didn’t originate with Asimov. Heraclitus wrote a very similar concept in 500 BC. Heraclitus, of course didn’t write in English, so the quotes from him that have survived have gone through generations of translators and interpreters. It might be fair to say that even the quote “the only constant is change” has itself changed.
All of this is probably an arena of idle speculation, reserved for philosophers, who have the luxury of time to contemplate such nuances of life. Most people are so swept up in the demands of day to day living that they don’t have much time to ponder the technical nuances of philosophy.
I am, in many ways, a “stream of consciousness” writer. Each morning I chose a topic and ramble on for a thousand words or so and then the next day I write about whatever topic strikes me as I begin that day. I rarely write “series” in my blog. I rarely go back and refine an idea. I throw out an idea and then go on to the next one. I think that this writing is quite different from the preaching that I do. When I preach, I try to point out not what has changed, but the similarities we experience. While Heraclitus is technically right that stepping into the stream means coming into contact with new water, he fails to point out that water is always the same combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Water is a basic requirement of life. The water that makes up the majority of our bodies is interchangeable with the water in the river. When I preach, I look for the truth in the gospel that we share with other generations. Love of neighbor and care for one another were not only essential to humans in long ago times, they are essential in our time.
Disciples experiencing the presence of the resurrected Christ is not just the story of Emmaus Road in the gospel of Luke, it is an experience we share each time we come to the table. Jesus’ parables don’t just reveal a way of life for those who heard them thousands of years ago – they also reveal a way of life for us and will continue to reveal a way of life for generations who come after us.
Perhaps wading isn’t the best way to experience the stream. Sometimes you have to dive in and travel with the flow of the river. Sometimes you allow the water to wash over you and other times you allow yourself to be moved. Sometimes repeating the ancient words over and over again doesn’t bring understanding.
There are truths that need to be lived in order to be known. It is the search for those truths that brings us together again and again.
May we discover depth upon depth as we explore together.
The ancient philosopher Heraclitus’ famous line that you can’t step into the same river twice has spawned many a night of contemplation and lots of discussion among philosophers for centuries. There is an obvious truth to his observation. Because the water is moving, the actual fluid that surrounds the wader is different than that which was there before. A river is constantly in motion and constantly changing.
We knew that because we grew up alongside a river. In the spring, when the waters ran high, we could hear the boulders rolling and bouncing off one another. The river widened and each year it took out a few trees that had been growing along the banks. Sometimes we were amazed to see giant cottonwoods that had withstood 50 or 60 years of flooding finally giving way and falling into the river. As the years went by, we noticed islands forming and being reshaped. Our place was on the inside of a curve in the river and the river kept moving away from the buildings. At first what was left behind was a field of boulders, but with time silt filled in the space between the rocks, trees took root and the land began to be transformed while the river roared by and kept inching away.
It isn’t just a river that is constantly in motion. Life is constantly in motion. The constantly changing nature of life makes it difficult for those who wish to discover universal truths. Religions and philosophies seek to identify absolutes upon which to base systems of belief and understanding. The famous declaration of the Book of Hebrews that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” is one such statement of a constant and absolute truth. For some this absolute results in a system of other absolutes – laws and rules that are not to be challenged or changed. For others, and I find myself in that group, Jesus’ “sameness” involves constant relationship with an ever changing world. The disciples as portrayed by all of the gospels, and especially in Mark, are constantly surprised by Jesus. They think they know him, but what he does and what he says is not predictable to the disciples. I share their sense of wonder and amazement.
From my point of view, it is the nature of God to be continually creating. Creation isn’t just some ancient event that set the universe in motion, it is a reality that is as powerful and as present in our moments of history as in any other time. The Creator that moved over the face of the waters and called forth light continues to create new people, new situations, new ways of understanding.
Still, in that world of constant change there are themes that show up again and again. The quote, “the only constant is change,” is sometimes attributed to Isaac Asimov. The full Asimov quote, printed in many different places is: “The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”
The problem with the Asimov quote is that the idea didn’t originate with Asimov. Heraclitus wrote a very similar concept in 500 BC. Heraclitus, of course didn’t write in English, so the quotes from him that have survived have gone through generations of translators and interpreters. It might be fair to say that even the quote “the only constant is change” has itself changed.
All of this is probably an arena of idle speculation, reserved for philosophers, who have the luxury of time to contemplate such nuances of life. Most people are so swept up in the demands of day to day living that they don’t have much time to ponder the technical nuances of philosophy.
I am, in many ways, a “stream of consciousness” writer. Each morning I chose a topic and ramble on for a thousand words or so and then the next day I write about whatever topic strikes me as I begin that day. I rarely write “series” in my blog. I rarely go back and refine an idea. I throw out an idea and then go on to the next one. I think that this writing is quite different from the preaching that I do. When I preach, I try to point out not what has changed, but the similarities we experience. While Heraclitus is technically right that stepping into the stream means coming into contact with new water, he fails to point out that water is always the same combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Water is a basic requirement of life. The water that makes up the majority of our bodies is interchangeable with the water in the river. When I preach, I look for the truth in the gospel that we share with other generations. Love of neighbor and care for one another were not only essential to humans in long ago times, they are essential in our time.
Disciples experiencing the presence of the resurrected Christ is not just the story of Emmaus Road in the gospel of Luke, it is an experience we share each time we come to the table. Jesus’ parables don’t just reveal a way of life for those who heard them thousands of years ago – they also reveal a way of life for us and will continue to reveal a way of life for generations who come after us.
Perhaps wading isn’t the best way to experience the stream. Sometimes you have to dive in and travel with the flow of the river. Sometimes you allow the water to wash over you and other times you allow yourself to be moved. Sometimes repeating the ancient words over and over again doesn’t bring understanding.
There are truths that need to be lived in order to be known. It is the search for those truths that brings us together again and again.
May we discover depth upon depth as we explore together.