Skip to main content

Aldous Huxley :: The Twentieth Century !

The twentieth century is, among other things, the Age of Noise. Physical noise, mental noise and noise of desire -- we hold history's record for all of them. And no wonder; for all the resources of our almost miraculous technology have been thrown into the current assault against silence. That most popular and influential of all recent inventions, the radio is nothing but a conduit through which pre-fabricated din can flow into our homes. And this din goes far deeper, of course, than the eardrums. It penetrates the mind, filling it with a babel of distractions, blasts of corybantic or sentimental music, continually repeated doses of drama that bring no catharsis, but usually create a craving for daily or even hourly emotional enemas. And where, as in most countries, the broadcasting stations support themselves by selling time to advertisers, the noise is carried from the ear, through the realms of phantasy, knowledge and feeling to the ego's core of wish and desire. Spoken or printed, broadcast over the ether or on wood-pulp, all advertising copy has but one purpose -- to prevent the will from ever achieving silence. Desirelessness is the condition of deliverance and illumination. The condition of an expanding and technologically progressive system of mass production is universal craving. Advertising is the organized effort to extend and intensify the workings of that force, which (as all the saints and teachers of all the higher religions have always taught) is the principal cause of suffering and wrong-doing and the greatest obstacle between the human soul and its Divine Ground.
~Aldous Huxley, On silence [1946]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

METAPHOR :: Mrs. Moon !

ENGLISH METAPHOR :: A metaphor is another kind of comparison. It is actually a condensed simile, for it omits "as" or "like." A metaphor establishes a relationship at once; it leaves more to the imagination than a simile. EXAMPLE POETRY :: Mrs. Moon sitting up in the sky Little Old Lady rock-a-bye with a ball of fading light and silvery needles knitting the night. ~Roger McGough [Mrs. Moon]
Post a Comment
Read more

The Neurotics In Us !

No good neurotic finds it difficult to be both opinionated and indecisive. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 The neurotic has perfect vision in one eye, but he cannot remember which. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 The real is very real to him, the unreal even more so. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 As we are human, we can't do what we can't do; as we're neurotic, we can't do what we can. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 The neurotic doesn't know how to cope with his emotional bills; some he keeps paying over and over, others he never pays at all. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 I'm afraid to win, and afraid to lose; I hate a draw and can't stop competing; otherwise I'm fine. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 Others settle for small rewards; the neurotic must always go for broke. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook,
Post a Comment
Read more

The Wolf Battle !

This is a story about an old man who explained to his young grandson, about a battle that was going on inside himself. The grandfather said, "My child, the battle inside me is between two wolves, one of whom is so evil, full of anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, hypocrisy, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is so good, full of remembrance of faith, joy, peace, love, compassion, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, and truthfulness." The grandson pondered for a minute and then asked: "Grandfather, which wolf will win the battle?" The grandfather replied simply, "The one I feed" EPILOGUE :: What the grandfather said is certainly FOOD for thought.
Post a Comment
Read more
Copyright © 2006-2018 Social World Wide