Doris Lessing and Nexialism

[Ewan]

http://www.dorislessing.org/biography.html


Doris Lessing was born Doris May Tayler in Persia (now Iran) on October 22, 1919. Both of her parents were British: her father, who had been crippled in World War I, was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia; her mother had been a nurse. In 1925, lured by the promise of getting rich through maize farming, the family moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Doris's mother adapted to the rough life in the settlement, energetically trying to reproduce what was, in her view, a civilized, Edwardian life among savages; but her father did not, and the thousand-odd acres of bush he had bought failed to yield the promised wealth.

Probably best known for her Canopus in Argos series of novels.

http://www.dorislessing.org/canopusin.html

If you have not already read these I cannot recommend them enough. Although, I believe from memory, she later admitted that the second book, (The Marriages..), did not belong in that series and therefore would further recommend that you put that to one side and concentrate on the other four.

If Doris was not wide-awake and aware she had to have been receiving input from elsewhere. I'm not sure if she ever discussed this aspect anywhere. In the Canopus Archives she discusses a wide ranging history of Earth going back in history to the year dot.

In a way this series of books ties in with E. E. Doc. Smiths classic Lensman series, in that there are two galactic empires, diametrically opposed, influencing world affairs.

Although Earth is never mentioned it is quite obvious that the stories are concerning our own home. Shikasta, translated, means 'The Broken One'.
Canopus, a benevolent galactic empire centred at Canopus in the constellation Argo Navis, colonises a young and promising planet they name Rohanda (the fruitful). They nurture its bourgeoning humanoids and accelerate their evolution. When the Natives are ready, Canopus imposes a "Lock" on Rohanda that links it via "astral currents"[2] to the harmony and strength of the Canopean Empire. In addition to Canopus, two other empires also establish a presence on the planet: their ally, Sirius from the star of the same name, and their mutual enemy, Puttiora. The Sirians confine their activities largely to genetic experiments on the southern continents during Rohanda's prehistory (described in Lessing's third book in the Canopus series, The Sirian Experiments), while the Shammat of Puttiora remain dormant, waiting for opportunities to strike. Rohanda suffered a disasterous misalignment. (dis-aster literally means out of alignment with the stars; and you will see this throughout her writings - a very careful use of words to mean exactly what she is telling us. So many words today are used without any cognizance of their original meaning).

Now I could fill post after post with the parallels that I am sure will be obvious to all when reading is undertaken, but that is not the main point here.

D. Lessing also wrote a considerable amount of non-fiction. One of which was called "Prisons that we choose to live inside". I used to have a copy but it was lent to someone who I felt may benefit and was never seen again. 'Prisons' was pointing very much to the fact that the ego was not the driving force of the life, but a decision of the soul to experience a certain set of conditions. I recall when reading it that it was a major memory jog that I should not judge. Her broad ranging vision led me to believe that she knew the real story, or at least a good proportion of it.

What about Nexialism, what is that? It was a term first coined by A.E. Van Vogt in his science fiction novel, "The Voyage of the Space Beagle." It was about integrating the various fields of science for a broader perspective of a problem/solution scenario.


The term "nexialism" was coined in 1950 by A.E. Van Vogt in his science fiction novel, "The Voyage of the Space Beagle." In that book, Van Vogt created a protagonist, Dr. Elliott Grosvenor, who was the first graduate of "the Nexial Foundation." Trained in integrated science and thought, Grosvenor was able to see the connection between many aspects of a problem that other specialists could not see because of their narrow training. In this Star Trek like adventure, Grosvenor provides indispensible skills to save the ship and the future of humanity. Perhaps truer to life, the book also explores the interpersonal dimensions of scientific rivalry, fear, and skepticism that results.

http://nexial.org/tmp/nexialism.htm

It is probably obvious by now that Doris had nothing to do with Nexialism any more than Kurt co-wrote Doris Lessings books. It is me that is making the connection.

We are near drowned in information, much of it completely contradictory, and there may be something to be said for attempting to merge the main ideas presented in the novels of the above two writers. Your lifetime here was chosen for a purpose and all you can do is live it. (The world's a stage etc.)

[kirolak]

Trying again - first post made my pc change programmes!

Anyway, I'm so delighted to encounter another Doris Lessing admirer! :star: She has been my favourite (English) author for many years, & whenever I write anything, I consider how she would have done it. . .she had the ability to enter into the spirit of any "thing! I loved her "Report: to Canopus in Argos", since my teenage years. She was a Sufi mystic in her later years, apparently discarding her strong pro-communism views to a large extent. Her space fiction is a cut above all others, not only for the "plot" (hated word!) but for the insightful brush strokes that she used to paint worlds just out of reach. The only other author I have truly admired in this "genre" is Ray Bradbury with his Martian Chronicles series.

I can never understand how anyone can admire the writing of Asimov; his ideas, yes, but he is not a Writer ( in my opinion!)

Sorry, I don't mean to derail your thread. . . thank you for bringing up the subject of Doris Lessing in the first place! :highfive:

PS Bill's mother was also an Author, who was apparently favourably compared to Doris L herself! :)

[Wide-Eyed]

http://www.dorislessing.org/biography.html


Doris Lessing was born Doris May Tayler in Persia (now Iran) on October 22, 1919. Both of her parents were British: her father, who had been crippled in World War I, was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia; her mother had been a nurse. In 1925, lured by the promise of getting rich through maize farming, the family moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Doris's mother adapted to the rough life in the settlement, energetically trying to reproduce what was, in her view, a civilized, Edwardian life among savages; but her father did not, and the thousand-odd acres of bush he had bought failed to yield the promised wealth.

Probably best known for her Canopus in Argos series of novels.

http://www.dorislessing.org/canopusin.html

If you have not already read these I cannot recommend them enough. Although, I believe from memory, she later admitted that the second book, (The Marriages..), did not belong in that series and therefore would further recommend that you put that to one side and concentrate on the other four.

If Doris was not wide-awake and aware she had to have been receiving input from elsewhere. I'm not sure if she ever discussed this aspect anywhere. In the Canopus Archives she discusses a wide ranging history of Earth going back in history to the year dot.

In a way this series of books ties in with E. E. Doc. Smiths classic Lensman series, in that there are two galactic empires, diametrically opposed, influencing world affairs.

Although Earth is never mentioned it is quite obvious that the stories are concerning our own home. Shikasta, translated, means 'The Broken One'.
Canopus, a benevolent galactic empire centred at Canopus in the constellation Argo Navis, colonises a young and promising planet they name Rohanda (the fruitful). They nurture its bourgeoning humanoids and accelerate their evolution. When the Natives are ready, Canopus imposes a "Lock" on Rohanda that links it via "astral currents"[2] to the harmony and strength of the Canopean Empire. In addition to Canopus, two other empires also establish a presence on the planet: their ally, Sirius from the star of the same name, and their mutual enemy, Puttiora. The Sirians confine their activities largely to genetic experiments on the southern continents during Rohanda's prehistory (described in Lessing's third book in the Canopus series, The Sirian Experiments), while the Shammat of Puttiora remain dormant, waiting for opportunities to strike. Rohanda suffered a disasterous misalignment. (dis-aster literally means out of alignment with the stars; and you will see this throughout her writings - a very careful use of words to mean exactly what she is telling us. So many words today are used without any cognizance of their original meaning).

Now I could fill post after post with the parallels that I am sure will be obvious to all when reading is undertaken, but that is not the main point here.

D. Lessing also wrote a considerable amount of non-fiction. One of which was called "Prisons that we choose to live inside". I used to have a copy but it was lent to someone who I felt may benefit and was never seen again. 'Prisons' was pointing very much to the fact that the ego was not the driving force of the life, but a decision of the soul to experience a certain set of conditions. I recall when reading it that it was a major memory jog that I should not judge. Her broad ranging vision led me to believe that she knew the real story, or at least a good proportion of it.

What about Nexialism, what is that? It was a term first coined by A.E. Van Vogt in his science fiction novel, "The Voyage of the Space Beagle." It was about integrating the various fields of science for a broader perspective of a problem/solution scenario.


The term "nexialism" was coined in 1950 by A.E. Van Vogt in his science fiction novel, "The Voyage of the Space Beagle." In that book, Van Vogt created a protagonist, Dr. Elliott Grosvenor, who was the first graduate of "the Nexial Foundation." Trained in integrated science and thought, Grosvenor was able to see the connection between many aspects of a problem that other specialists could not see because of their narrow training. In this Star Trek like adventure, Grosvenor provides indispensible skills to save the ship and the future of humanity. Perhaps truer to life, the book also explores the interpersonal dimensions of scientific rivalry, fear, and skepticism that results.

http://nexial.org/tmp/nexialism.htm

It is probably obvious by now that Doris had nothing to do with Nexialism any more than Kurt co-wrote Doris Lessings books. It is me that is making the connection.

We are near drowned in information, much of it completely contradictory, and there may be something to be said for attempting to merge the main ideas presented in the novels of the above two writers. Your lifetime here was chosen for a purpose and all you can do is live it. (The world's a stage etc.)

Viktor E. Frankel's book "Man's search for meaning"- describes origins of Frankel's psychotherapy- Logostherapy which he came to develop after surviving 4 concentration camps, similar to D.Lessings "Prisons we choose to live inside" discussion of anti-Freudian views of soul and self. Interesting post I will have to check out some of Lessings writings. THX

[Ellisa]

One of my favourite authors. Not only are her ideas very original and the plots intriguing but her books are beautifully written as well. Although I knew she had a connection with Zimbabwe I did not know the details of her family so thank you Ewan for that information. I'm not so sure about nexialism and the place it plays in her writing- but then- I'd take her books over 'Space Beagle' any day!

[Franny]

I was staying with a friend in Amsterdam in 1981 when I first read her Canopus series. I could not put it down and have read it 6-7 times since then along with most of the rest of her books. The images her words bring to the mind and her ideas and stories are unforgettable and still haunt me regularly.

I'm so pleased to find others who appreciate her work. I've purchased and loaned her books to others with no one ever reading them so have never had a discussion. Maybe I'm due to read them again - if I can find another copy of the Canopus series.

As for Nexialism...I'll have to look into it!

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

I just took a look and the first in the series can be found here as a PDF:
Get Shikasta here (https://www.uploady.com/#!/download/YIX0ijZ6sTF/~Er322J~M68bsA1O)

[enfoldedblue]

I loved the book the Marriages Between Zones... I remember I wanted to read the whole series...but I'm not sure that I did as the only one I remember was the Marriage.
Thanks for reminding me...I might have to explore again :)

[Ellisa]

I loved Marriages Between Zones too! It is so incredibly alien-- but understandably human! I have just found my copy of Shikasta and I'm going to read it again (not the first re-read).

[amor]

The plot of the book described sounds as though it could be based upon the Anunnaki genetic experiments in South Africa and the two opposing races could have been the Reptilians vs. the Anunnaki.

[Ellisa]

I really enjoyed Mara and Dann which I read first many years ago. A novel about Climate Change it is set thousands of years in the future. It took some effort to read but I have re-read twice and end up finding something new each time--- that's why I like her books. And now I come to think of it maybe there is a trace of my interpretation of nexialism in this novel. Science is certainly hovering throughout the book, possibly not in a good way.

[Ewan]

Yes Ellisa, that was one of the main things I found with Lessing's books that reading them again a year or so later invariably revealed stuff you'd missed the last time around. I held it as a kind of barometer to my own increasing awareness of the world as it is, whether connected historically or regarding the psychology of the human mind.

Perhaps, like Lessing admitting the Marriages did not really belong with the rest of the Shikasta series, I should have made a separate on Nexialism. My point regarding Nex was that just about all so-called 'experts' are looking at things through a very narrow lens. As a result when we, as searchers of knowledge, go looking for information it is often quite useless without cross-referencing to other fields. Is this the nature of human investigation to narrow down a point of focus. Very Newtonian isn't it. It seems to me that the solution to many problems lies in multiple fields of knowledge.

When I first ended up in hospital with kidney failure I asked to see an endocrinologist as I was intuitively sure that my endocrine system has suffered a breakdown through toxic overload of the body. I was ignored and the 'kidney' specialists went through their usual set procedures and I lost my kidneys 18 months later, (due to what they have no idea). Previously I'd had a series of dreams featuring bathrooms just covered in faeces, and the impulse I needed to use the bathroom. They were very disturbing dreams but I could not get any meaning from them then. It is only with the benfit of hindsight I saw a connection to body toxicity and a need to flush the system. A little too late.

When Lessing discusses the Syrians she frequently shows their arrogance of belief, that the way they do things are the only way as they're tried and tested methods developed over millenia. They can never undestand the Canopean way of looking at things, and it takes Ambien hundreds of years to begin to 'wake-up'. So is it a design of our 'education' system that people are funneled into specialist roles, or its just always been that way.

[gnostic9]

Yes Ellisa, that was one of the main things I found with Lessing's books that reading them again a year or so later invariably revealed stuff you'd missed the first previous occasion. I held it as a kind of barometer to my own increasing awareness of the world as it is, whether connected historically or regarding the psychology of the human mind.

Perhaps, like Lessing admitting the Marriages did not really belong with the rest of the Shikasta series, I should have made a separate on Nexialism. My point regarding Nex was that just about all so-called 'experts' are looking at things through a very narrow lens. As a result when we, as searchers of knowledge, go looking for information it is often quite useless without cross-referencing to other fields. Is this the nature of human investigation to narrow down a point of focus. Very Newtonian isn't it. It seems to me that the solution to many problems lies in multiple fields of knowledge.

When I first ended up in hospital with kidney failure I asked to see an endocrinologist as I was intuitively sure that my endocrine system has suffered a breakdown through toxic overload of the body. I was ignored and the 'kidney' specialists went through their usual set procedures and I lost my kidneys 18 months later, (due to what they have no idea). Previously I'd had a series of dreams featuring bathrooms just covered in faeces, and the impulse I needed to use the bathroom. They were very disturbing dreams but I could not get any meaning from them then. It is only with the benfit of hindsight I saw a connection to body toxicity and a need to flush the system. A little too late.

When Lessing discusses the Syrians she frequently shows their arrogance of belief, that the way they do things are the only way as they're tried and tested methods developed over millenia. They can never undestand the Canopean way of looking at things, and it takes Ambien hundreds of years to begin to 'wake-up'. So is it a design of our 'education' system that people are funneled into specialist roles, or its just always been that way.

wow Ewan. i am so sorry that you had to go through such an exprience, losing your kidneys, so terribily wrong, i wish you all the healing energy i can give you. nameste!

Ever-lasting bliss to you brother!

[leavesoftrees]

I have read Doris Lessing's Canopus series, and found them amazing. Particularly the first book. You forgot to mention the giants that helped the evolution of the new human race. Thanks for the reminder I should reread again. I did not know that she was born in Persia.

[Ewan]

I have read Doris Lessing's Canopus series, and found them amazing. Particularly the first book. You forgot to mention the giants that helped the evolution of the new human race. Thanks for the reminder I should reread again. I did not know that she was born in Persia.

Indeed, the giants. As I said earlier there were numerous parallels to a potentially accurate history of the human race. The stone grids that resonated with helpful frequencies until the lock was lost and then had an adverse effect. The whole concept of Puttoria and Shammat representing all the negative entities. Higher level beings using bodies as a vehicle and then casting them off when no longer needed. Stone structures in the southern continent and the sacrificial corrupt culture that lived there. How easy it is to 'fall' in Shikasta and forget your purpose, succumbing to various temptations. Along with the giants there were also tales of dwarves and the subterranean races. How transplanted workers from other planets would look at the stars and remember another world, waiting for the ships to come back. As Amor mentioned, the experiments hint at genetic manipulation, (The Syrian Experiments).

And all that from a quick scan of memory, were one to read the book again I am sure you could at least triple that in not time at all. :)