first off, the title. wow. what a work of art you’ve created for yourself today ben.
secondly. i’d like to make a formal apology to my grandmother. yesterday i triggered a deep seated fear of hers in regards to the kidnapping prose. i had no idea. i do apologize for laughing after hearing that you were scared and on the edge of your seat reading the piece.
i think writing like any form of art is open to interpretation. especially when it’s not so black and white. i mean, i feel pretty abstract at times and maybe don’t come across so explicitly. i remember my twelfth gr. english teacher handing me back an essay by saying that she ‘loved it, but maybe get to your point a little sooner.’ i always found that funny because i could never see the point in the assignments. it was all just ART to me and the teacher was the critic.
but before i get too off topic as i always do i’m going to get back into today’s piece and it is on the matter of JESUS and ALIENS.
purple aliens silver spaceship cult raël by ‘AI’
last night I binge watched four episodes of a new netflix DOCUMENTARY called ‘raël: the alien prophet.’ if you’ve watched it, good on you, you can follow along. if you haven’t i highly recommend it. to give it a quick summary, 'raël’ is a self-proclaimed prophet but also just a french man who’s real name is ‘claude.’ he started out in the 70’s saying that he had been visited by aliens, wrote a book about his encounter, and started a pilgrimage and sect touting things as being ‘the brother of jesus,’ ‘advocating for cloning,’ and that life is about being happy but also getting a better relationship with your ‘anus.’
hearing french people say ‘anus’ has to be one of my new favourite things.
now, from a journalistic perspective, i don’t know if i left watching the doc with a real sense of closure. i mean, i was entirely enthralled with the story from hitting so many different weird things. but when i was watching it, i started to think about another ‘cult’ that has always been in opposition to ‘god’ and the catholic church. this being satanism. satanic’s got a bad rap in the 80’s and 90’s i believe for the idea that they were worshipping the devil. which can be understood. but the main message they were touting was actually quite a rational one. a desire for society to remain secular and not have church and state be so intertwined.
of course, ‘raël’ is literally a different beast. the word means messenger. and funny enough, the man ‘claude’ use to be a journalist. and a race-driver as well, and also a musician? but this idea of being a messenger is what i found most interesting. i do personally believe the whole thing was a sham and a big ploy for him to make as much money as possible and sleep with as many woman as one with his odd appearance could. sure, all of that is interesting and punchy but he said something specific that stuck with me. he said, that every thing he was doing was in opposition to whatever the pope said. and as soon as he mentioned the POPE, i started to think about what it would’ve been like 2000 years ago, in the time of JESUS, when the world had no NETFLIX, but a big conflict with a large city state (the roman empire) and a generally societal consensus of people who felt lost and wary about their purpose. who decided to turn to follow JESUS, to become his disciples, and go against the grain. i do believe ‘raël,’ as it’s mentioned in the DOC, was able to convince so many intelligent people of his cause because even those who are successful, professionally, even those who seem to have it all put together, at the end of the day don’t. they have no spiritual guidance. and it’s what made me think of how i feel in my own life. i grew up agnostic. i grew up with a black and white hat, but never knowing which one to wear.
and i find myself wondering, who is my prophet? who is my guru? where does my attention go? which master do i serve?
and most importantly, as a writer, what are the messages i want to convey?
i don’t want to start a cult. i don’t want to build a gigantic white concrete embassy for the aliens by 2035. i don’t want to be the brother of the messiah. all i want is to write about things that i like and find purpose in the things i don’t. i want to make art that is open to interpretation and open to dialogue and discourse because that is my purpose and that is what i love to do.
and it has given me so much purpose. the way JESUS has for so many. the way i’m sure ‘raël’ has for all of those around the world who might still follow him. i think that to me is the most important and powerful message that i tried to take away from this documentary. it’s finding what you believe in. and people will always disagree with you. but if you’re happy. if you’re truly not hurting others by doing it. if it is your art and you choose to make it not because anyone asked you to but you were compelled to, then that is the purpose. that is where i can find my spirituality.
i worship art because it’s imperfect and it’s real and that is what i want from my prophet.
Thanks for listening to that voice in your head read this.
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I’ll see you tomorrow
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