an introduction

rather than introducing myself, with all my own preconceived ideas about the kind of person i am, or the kind of person i want you to think i am, let me instead introduce this blog:

escape from babylon...

now, from that outset i should note, that this "babylon" is not the literal city, with its way of kings, its blue-glazed ishtar gate, the ziggurat of marduk, and the hanging gardens... who, on hearing of such things would not wish to see these wonders! no, the reference is not to the literal city, but to the literary babylon - what it represents in the rich and ancient judeo-christian mythos...

as the pslamist writes (and boney m quotes), "...for they carried us away in captivity..." there sat the children of israel on the banks of the river euphrates, looking up at the most beautiful city on the face of the earth, but in their hearts they only longed to gaze upon the white stones of jerusalem, the city of peace. babylon offered them every delicacy, and in this way (metaphorically speaking) sought to "captivate" their souls, just as their bodies were held captive... and it succeeded! so much so that when a new generation of israelites returned to rebuild jerusalem, and discovered the writings in the temple ruins, it was as though discovering a world that had been lost to them - they had to relearn all their old ways, ripped from them by the insidious nature of babylon.

"how much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously... for she saith in her heart, i sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow..." babylon, whose fall - in the visions of st john on the island of patmos - was bewailed by all the kings of the earth, and the merchants wept and mourned over her, "for no man buyeth their merchandise any more... they who traded in gold and silver and precious stones... in horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men..."

such is the imagery that i refer to when i say "escape from babylon"... not a city, but a system - a system that has become so insidious, so all-pervasive, so far reaching as to encompass every aspect of the modern western life... a system that is upheld by the "kings" and "merchants" of the earth, because through this system they have wealth and power...

this blog represents my journey of escape from the seductive charms of babylon... herein i present my efforts to take the responsibility for my life, wellbeing, and happiness away from those who have held it captive, and to return to that forgotten city in ruins - that city of peace...

this is a philosophical journey, as well as a practical one... the posts that follow will be a mixture of philosophical and historical meanderings on concepts such as peace, faith, freedom, self-esteem, truth, justice, anarchy, hope, security, community, and of course, love: concepts that are important to me, as they are, i am sure, to so many other people on this journey... these posts will also contain practical resources - "scientific" principles, and their application, that i have picked up along the way: skills that have enabled me to take back responsibility for my life, responsibility that i had handed over to that capitalist global market system...

i hope that passers by will find this blog useful, or though-provoking, or dialogue-promoting...

let the journey begin...