[lit-ideas] Re: William Blake, and lengthening ones telomeres
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 17:49:14 -0700
Mike,
Yes, thanks. You've been an inspiration to me.
And J.L. seeing that it took just a few words to pay proper respect to Mike
in an anal-retentive format that allows just three expulsions per day, it
may perhaps not be out of place to add the following: A passage from Leavis'
"Justifying One's Valuation of Blake. Leavis has been disagreeing with T.
S. Eliot about Blake. Blake, Leavis argues, was ahead of his time in
rejecting Newton and Locke. He then references Marjorie Grene's The Knower
and the Known, and writes,
I should add of course (and underline) to Marjorie Grene's list of
disciplines the discipline of thought that belongs to intelligent literary
study - philosophers are always weak in dealing with language. My own
preoccupation is not focused for any intellectual realm or specialist
discipline such as the word 'philosophy' suggests - though Marjorie Grene
herself intimates that the revolution she has in mind must involve very much
more than philosophy.
Leavis jumped back into Blake before I could figure out what his reference
to Grene entailed, but I do wonder what you, J.L., might say in response to
Leavis's denigration of philosophers as being "weak in dealing with
language."
The title of the book in which "Justifying One's Valuation of Blake" appears
is The Critic as Anti-Philosopher.
Lawrence
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Mike Geary
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 1:44 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: William Blake, and lengthening ones telomeres
Yay Lawrence!!! He's passed the first hurdle on the road to Satori --
becoming patently un-useful. Satori is in Ohio, I think.
On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 12:53 PM, Lawrence Helm
<lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09-16/veggie-heavy-stress-reduction-re
gimen-shown-to-modify-cell-aging
Dean Ornish looked at Blackburn's research showing that the shortening of
telomeres, and therefore aging, is accelerated by emotional stress. He
decided to perform a test to see if the reduction of stress could lengthen
ones telomeres. Sure enough the test subject's telomeres were lengthened.
Shortened telomeres reduces life span ergo lengthened telomeres is sure to
increase life span.
What must one do to get longer telomeres? Exercise, eat mostly vegetables,
and meditate. There was a disclaimer at the end of the article to the
effect that this test wasn't performed to the highest scientific standards,
but the results don't really disagree with advice our doctors have been
giving us for years: get plenty of exercise and don't eat so much red meat.
The only new thing, at least to me, is the meditation.
Years ago I was interested in Zen Buddhism and tried to meditate but never
managed - it was way too boring. However I've noticed that when I pick up a
book and get caught up in the subject it is very relaxing -- although I
feel some stress, because of my Puritan ethic \ Superego which chides me for
not doing things that have a practical and valuable objective.. Why don't
I do something useful before it is too late?
Earlier I read an article by F. R Leavis on Blake, remembered I had Harold
Bloom's The Visionary Company which I set aside after page 35, reread his
Preface, noticed he credits Northrup Frye for being his primary "source" or
"influence" on the subject of Blake, and since I am very fond of Frye I
ordered his Fearful Symmetry. Normally I would expect loads of guilt for
planning to read materials so patently un-useful. But now, thanks to Ornish
I need no longer feel guilty. I can treat it all as meditation.
Lawrence
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3408 / Virus Database: 3222/6674 - Release Date: 09/17/13
_____
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3408 / Virus Database: 3222/6674 - Release Date: 09/17/13
Other related posts:
