Hello Chris: I agree that DQ is not a "thing" and in the past I used something like the "ice flakes in a river" analogy too. But in recent years, especially since returning to school, I've come to think of sq and DQ as types of experience or ways of being. This puts the emphasis on Pirsig's radical empiricism, wherein DQ is the front edge of experience or the primary empirical reality. Living on that edge as much as possible could be thought of as "maximizing DQ" in some sense. This would be like going through life with the skills of a sailor or motorcycle rider, the kind of skills that can't be codified in a set a rules but rather depend on the ability to respond immediately and spontaneously to the ever-changing conditions through which one moves. In that sense DQ can be thought of as a flux and change. But I agree that words like "randomness" or chaos are bad ways to characterize DQ. I think those words defy the idea that there is an unwritten rightness to DQ. It is connected to creati vity, openness and growth. This spontaneous way of being is unpredictable but that doesn't mean it is sloppy or capricious. Cultivating this type of experience is not about seeing God or whatever. It is just about NOT living in a cage, NOT living in a dirty old sock.
Thanks for asking. dmb Chris said: > I don't think we are thinking about DQ the proper way. In my view DQ cannot > be "maximised" because it is not some "thing" to be maximised. It is not > some force that can be contained or understood and it is not - NOT - > randomness or flux. DQ is Quality. Pure and simple. Quality. It is constant, > it is everywhere and everything at any time. We are, and see static > manifestations of Quality that move around in this infinite lake of Quality. > The patterns are like ice flakes in a river. Or something like that - my > analogies isn't very good I'm afraid - but what I'm getting at is that I see > the patterns as manifestations of Quality, manifestations that in various > degree can perceive and react to the stimulus of the Eternal Quality (?) > that is DQ - and move towards it. > > Sure, flux and change can be "Dynamic" but what is really meant by that is > that when change occurs, that is when a new glimpse of the Eternal Quality > can be gained - a glimpse that will be infinitely flawed of course, until we > can develop into Archangel observers - or Buddhas perhaps? > > This way it works out better I think. > > Regards _________________________________________________________________ Introducing Live Search cashback . It's search that pays you back! http://search.live.com/cashback/?&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=introsrchcashback Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
