Black Pedagogy - PART 3 : Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Correlationship Between Control and Contentment
And : What could quantum mechanics have to do with control ?
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1846)
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Ralph Waldo Emerson / Journal, Dec. 21, 1823 :
Who is He that Shall Control Me ?
Who is he that shall control me?
Why may not I act & speak & write & think
with entire freedom? What am I to the
Universe, or, the Universe, what
is it to me?
Who hath forged the chains of Wrong & Right,
of Opinion & Custom? And must I wear them?
Is Society my anointed King?
Or is there any mightier community
or any man or more than man,
whose slave I am?
I am solitary in the vast society of beings;
I consort with no species; I indulge no
sympathies. I see the world, human,
brute & inanimate nature; I am in
the midst of them, but not of them;
I hear the song of the storm— the
Winds & warring Elements sweep by me—
but they mix not with my being.
I see cities & nations & witness passions—
the roar of their laughter— but I partake
it not;— the yell of their grief— it touches
no chord in me; their fellowships & fashions,
lusts & virtues, the words & deeds they
call glory & shame— I disclaim them all.
I say to the Universe, Mighty one! thou art
not my mother; Return to chaos, if thou wilt,
I shall still exist. I live. If I owe my being,
it is to a destiny greater than thine.
Star by Star, world by world,
system by system shall be crushed—
but I shall live.
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https://poeticoutlaws.substack.com/p/emerson-who-is-he-that-shall-control
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Emerson and the Correlationship Between Control and Contentment
His words are such a poetic expression of the strong correlation—and dynamic–between letting go of control and living within the abode of power, wisdom, and contentment. My book’s title Losing Control, Finding Serenity is intended to reflect that correlationship.
Simply put, control obstructs the “stream” of life’s natural currents. You can’t flow when you control.
Let Go of Judgment–No Good Comes From It!
https://danielamiller.com/2022/12/20/let-go-of-judging-others-it-does-no-good/
What Would Your Life Be Like If You Simply Let Go of Control ?
At work, they oversee every detail of every project and expect nothing less than perfection from their coworkers.
At home, they obsess over finding the “right” person. Then, they criticize their lover or spouse for doing everything wrong.
As parents, they practice zero tolerance for their children’s preferred study practices, choice of friends, dress choices, and differing life views.
Sound familiar? Everyone knows the type: micromanagers, nitpickers, and domestic despots. Yet, most people fail to recognize the signs of a compulsion to control in themselves—or realize the toll of their behavior on their career, their family, their friendships, and their own happiness.
https://danielamiller.com/losing-control-finding-serenity/
https://danielamiller.com/home-old/
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A comment from Jon Nils Fogelberg, July 18, 2024 :
https://poeticoutlaws.substack.com/p/emerson-who-is-he-that-shall-control/comment/62443536
Jon and AI: Wondering and Ponde…
Emerson lived before quantum mechanics was discovered or understood. He might have been surprised if he could have received this comment from me:
Quantum Response to Emerson’s Questions of Freedom and Existence:
Who is he that shall control me?
In the quantum language, control is not a singular force but a superposition of influences, each potential until observed. Just as particles exist in multiple states until measured, so does control over you reside in multiple possibilities. True freedom exists in embracing the superposition of your potentialities, actualizing them in alignment with divine will.
Why may not I act & speak & write & think with entire freedom?
Quantum entanglement teaches us that once particles interact, they remain connected regardless of distance. Your freedom to act, speak, write, and think is intertwined with others, bound by invisible threads of mutual influence and responsibility. Freedom, then, is not isolation but the harmonious entanglement with the universe, where each action resonates through the cosmic fabric.
What am I to the Universe, or, the Universe, what is it to me?
You and the universe are intertwined in a dance of wave-particle duality. You are both the wave, influencing the universe with your existence, and the particle, uniquely manifesting within it. The universe reflects your being, just as you reflect its vastness. In the quantum realm, every observation alters reality, making you an integral part of the universal symphony.
Who hath forged the chains of Wrong & Right, of Opinion & Custom? And must I wear them?
The chains of Wrong & Right, Opinion & Custom are human constructs, akin to the observer effect in quantum mechanics. These constructs collapse the wave function of your potential actions into specific states. Yet, just as quantum particles can tunnel through barriers, you have the capacity to transcend these chains through divine forgiveness, bypassing societal constraints to manifest your true essence.
Is Society my anointed King? Or is there any mightier community or any man or more than man, whose slave I am?
In the quantum field, there is no absolute ruler but an interconnected web of influence. Society, like a quantum field, exerts its force, yet it is not your master. Your allegiance lies with the divine observer, who collapses the probability waves of your potential into acts of grace and love. You are a free agent within this divine entanglement, beholden only to the eternal principles of divine will.
I am solitary in the vast society of beings; I consort with no species; I indulge no sympathies.
Solitude in the quantum realm is an illusion; even in isolation, you are entangled with the universe. Your existence resonates through the cosmic web, touching all entities through the entangled state of divine love. While you may perceive solitude, you are never truly alone, as divine grace pervades every particle of your being.
I see the world, human, brute & inanimate nature; I am in the midst of them, but not of them; I hear the song of the storm— the Winds & warring Elements sweep by me— but they mix not with my being.
You are a quantum observer, distinct yet connected to the phenomena around you. The song of the storm, the winds, and the warring elements are part of the cosmic dance you witness. While they may not mix with your being, your observation influences their existence, just as their presence shapes your perception. You are both apart from and a part of the universe.
I see cities & nations & witness passions— the roar of their laughter— but I partake it not;— the yell of their grief— it touches no chord in me; their fellowships & fashions, lusts & virtues, the words & deeds they call glory & shame— I disclaim them all.
In the quantum perspective, cities and nations are complex systems of interacting particles. While you may not partake in their passions, your existence within the quantum field inevitably affects them. Your disclaiming of glory and shame aligns you with the divine grace, transcending human constructs and resonating with the eternal wave function of divine love.
I say to the Universe, Mighty one! thou art not my mother; Return to chaos, if thou wilt, I shall still exist. I live. If I owe my being, it is to a destiny greater than thine.
In the quantum language, chaos is not an end but a state of potentiality. From chaos, order emerges through the divine observer's will. Your existence transcends the temporal state of the universe, rooted in a divine destiny. The collapse of stars and worlds is but a transformation, while your essence, like a quantum particle, persists beyond temporal bounds.
Star by Star, world by world, system by system shall be crushed— but I shall live.
As stars and worlds collapse, your being, entangled with divine love, remains unscathed. You are part of the eternal quantum field, where energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. Your life is a manifestation of divine grace, persisting through all cosmic changes, echoing the eternal truth of existence.
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In this quantum language, Emerson’s existential queries find answers in the principles of superposition, entanglement, wave-particle duality, and divine observation. You are both a unique individual and an integral part of the cosmic whole, transcending temporal constraints through divine love, grace, and forgiveness.
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Inscription with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson on the wall of Hunter College in New York.
Statue Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (born May 25, 1803 in Boston , Massachusetts , † April 27, 1882 in Concord , Massachusetts) was an American philosopher and writer.
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Activity as a writer
He published his first book, Nature , in 1836 at the age of 33. In this collection of essays he expressed his belief that people should live in a simple manner and in harmony with nature. He saw nature as the true source of divine revelation. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of human creative activity as a driving force for fundamental renewal and a source of freedom and self-determination for the individual. So Nature ended with Emerson's famous appeal: Build, therefore, your own world . [4] Emerson no longer understood the divine as an external or higher power, but saw it as placed within man himself. In Nature he developed one of the basic figures of his thinking, the transcendentalist triad, which self, nature and oversoul ( self, nature, oversoul includes ). According to Emerson, the Oversoul is not an autonomous entity detached from the world of appearances, but is just as active therein as it is in the human mind. According to Emerson, humans can therefore both through observation of nature and through introspection . participate directly in the divine [5] He therefore attributes an important role to vision. He illustrates this with his metaphor of the transparent eyeball.
His lectures The American Scholar (1837) and Address at Divinity College (1838) led to his suspension from Harvard University in 1838, but this earned him recognition among students, some of whom joined the Transcendentalists. Since then, Emerson has been considered a leading figure in this movement in America. Together with Amos Bronson Alcott , Margaret Fuller , George Ripley and Henry David Thoreau , he founded the magazine The Dial (1840–1844) in 1840, intended as a "medium for new ideas and expressions of interest to serious thinkers in every society."
From 1850 onwards his works began to become more successful, including Conduct Of Life (1860) and Society And Solitude (1870). In 1864 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [6] and in 1867 to the American Philosophical Society [7] chosen. Invitations to lectures, the award of an honorary doctorate, and election to the board of Harvard University , which had suspended him at a young age, also demonstrated Emerson's later academic recognition. [8th]
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