My essay on Manichaeism is near completion in that a few references, notes and a map image have to added yet. Sub-final draft, you might say is the status of my composition. I am thinking of asking Herman for some comments at this stage, as we have lunch today anyway.

Last night I copied the last fifteen minutes of Sunday’s talk to Hermans original tape’s B-side, since I filled up the A-side while speaking. My Sony pocket recorder has the required mic plug receptacle for this operation of playing the sound track back from my computer file.

I bought that pocket recorder on a whim some years ago in the now defunct Sony store.

I bought that pocket recorder on a whim some years ago in the now defunct Sony store. The whole transfer and testing operation took me close to two hours, because I have frequently double check my steps in this for me unacquainted procedure.

During the news cast I managed to get my daily entry posted and printed, as well as a copy of my essay draft, which I still have to complete and read for corrections. The spellchecker helps, but it cannot catch all required corrections. For example, the misuse of waist for waste correctly spelled the checker does not catch … yet, I should probably say!

To write or not to write, that is one more of that type of question! Shakespeare had a live one in that catchy clincher and it has acquired many an offspring. My answer is that I don’t have to post all that I write and with this in mind I will proceed. I feel it is important to express the notions and ideas that are slowly emerging, all as a kind of after effect of my study of Manichaeism and its relating presentation last Sunday.

I wrote earlier this week that I had a vague feeling of connectedness with the teachings of Mani and made reference to my idea of ‘continuous consciousness’. It is my personal experience since retiring in 1999, that we humans may learn to become aware of this kind of consciousness. This includes becoming aware of experiences relating to previously lived lifetimes.

I have written on this before and view the concept of ’continuous consciousness’ as more plausible and efficient then the idea of ‘reincarnation’, which has no functional explanation or means of affecting it.

The sense of ‘deja-vu’ that I mentioned yesterday remains and I am now linking it with the very first memory I have had since childhood. The memory this: “I am going down - like diving - into ’a dark state’, but going down deeper than I felt had been agreed on.” And I remember asking: “Why do I have to go so deep into such a dark place? And with that question the recalled experienced ends.

The geographical place I have always associated with this remembered happening is the region of Rumania In Europe. I was borne on the Zeist in the Netherlands from Dutch borne parents. Hence my sense of entering the world in the region of Rumania never made sense, but it would not be denied!

The experience of weaving the web of continuous consciousness is subtle in its initial stages. It is a bit like seeing into a mist that is slowly dissipating.

Last night a new explanation came up. I had completed my essay notes and was scanning the printed last pages with their references. The last Manichaean were the ’Paulicians’ who were assimilated into the Bulgarian Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century.

The ‘Bogomils’ also lived in Bulgaria and are considered to have had Manichaean like teachings. So, I look up Kurt Rudolph’s references, scanning and reading a bit of what he reports. I wonder ‘… Bulgaria, close to Rumania, a time from before the forming of the national states, shifting boundaries.’

These thoughts formed into an association: “Is there a connection to my first memory of going down deep into a dark place with which I associate ‘Rumania’ and my present vague feelings of familiarity and involvement with the teachings of Mani?” I put it into many words now, bus last night it was just the flash of an insight, an awareness of such a possible connection.

An association can easily be dismissed , but it did come up while it did not have to. The answer about such intuited insights is to simply hold them in mind, to not dismiss or elaborate them, leave them alone in other words, for several days even.

That has been my experience over the years about such an association. It will remain and firm up if it has significance, otherwise it will disappear and you are left with a dead memory, if at all.

So, that is what I am doing now. To not write about this would have been to dismiss it, which I did not want to do. The experience of weaving the web of continuous consciousness is subtle in its initial stages. It is a bit like seeing into a mist that is slowly dissipating.
<9:46am; after coffee and edit 10:32am~