Moving Dudeism Forwards

[Rev. Ed C]

I know I'm not given much to the simple ideals of brevity, but in the interests of enhancing my dudely brand of stoicism...

"I agree with Cakey"

... is pretty much all I have to say on that.  I think we're on the same wavelength for about 90% of what you just said, and 10% either way is no here-nor-there in my books.

I wanted to get this big issue out there, and for us to 'shoot the shit' as they say Stateside, and I love the stuff we're all coming out with.  Really gets the whole thing flowing

Ah, hells, I've just gone and babbled again.  So much for brevity!

[cakebelly]

It's just as well I edited out a good 40% of my post then - who knows where your 10% might have ended up 

[cckeiser]

So where are we dudes? Can someone summarize what the fuck just happened?

I got a few threads running around in my head for a new simpler DudeTao if that's the way you dudes think we should be headed. Rewrite the Tao for more Abiding and less Lebowski. Make it a whole lot easier to understand...and in English too.
Should be a dude-consensus thing here though. You know...throw something out and get feedback from all the dudes.

I don't know...right now i feel like a child who walks into the middle of a movie....

[Busmum]

it's good that the right rev. cakebelly and i discussed this, and that he posted more eloquently than i would've... i tend to get cranky and impatient (not to mention sarcastic) when someone walks into the party and wants to start organizing it and shit, right when i found a comfortable place on the couch to relax and put my feet up.

post-work pique aside, we should be discussing "what now?", particularly when it comes to practical matters, such as being able to perform marriages. although there are aspects of this brand of spiritualism that are tongue in cheek, i think there are a core group of us that wouldn't mind the evolution...

but here's where i'm coming from: i walked this walk, and talked this talk, incorporating a multitude of spiritual learnings from around the world into my finely honed ethos before "the dude" character was conceived, and will continue to do so whether or not what we have here ever gets defined, or evolved, or recognized, or whatever else it is we're doing here.

i come here and play because it's fun. and i want it to stay that way, and not get bogged down or subverted by bureaucratic or heirarchal bullshit.

and this is a good point too:

...The problem with 'canons' is that people want to shoot at other people with them. After awhile doctrine restrains and stifles the growth that first gave the original idea nourishment...

even here, where it's pretty free-wheeling, and most people are accepting of other's points of view, i find myself having to ignore the obnoxious or inane or immature-- and do so happily, knowing that's just a part of life. but i am of like mind with meekon5, who mentioned on another thread that he doesn't like being dictated to about what it means to abide; so i would like to move cautiously as we "organize", because i would sure as shit hate for this whole thing to be... well, no fun anymore-- and i don't like the thought of having to find another couch so soon.

and remember, it's just, like, my opinion man. 

[cckeiser]

Life is in great need of some comic relief!

[Busmum]

Life is in great need of some comic relief!

truism, dude-- humor is pretty important the way i see it. cakes makes a good point about moving away from some of the imagery and lebowskism, but some of it is pretty descriptive and funny... is that baby, or bathwater? 

[Busmum]

btw, excellent bot-reference there, rev. c-belly...

... and am happy to be hello and welcoming to my response 

[cakebelly]

Sound concerns, CC and Busmum but I would have to head-out and cut my own trail if things stopped being fun. Also, seriously, Dudes - can you see any of us abiding with a hierarchical system being adopted? What Dude is going to stand for that? I don't even put up with this first/arch/grand Dude shite. No, I think what we need to mull over here are our roots plain and simple. I think we just need to kick around ideas a lot more. It's way past my bed-time, now.
Incidentally, CC - it's not about what 'we' want you to do; it's about what you want to do, Dude. Your thought and opinions.  This isn't a friendly/hostile take over - just a review, of a kind. Anyway, I'm off to bed, dream well my darling Dudes. 

[Rev. Ed C]

Incidentally, I'm not sure why people seem to think anyone's pushing for "organisation" and "rules" and "hierarchy".  I'm a staunch opponent of such things and have put a lot of that into my articles.

This is merely a discussion on what sort of ways we might take things further on down the road.  There's no fixing anything in stone around here, we all move forwards and flow down the stream (hopefully lounging on lilos as we go).

I find the assumption that someone (myself in particular) is trying to bring some sort of bureaucracy into this somewhat confusing.  I don't know what people are threatened by talking about ourselves and what we do... isn't that what we've always done?

I tried not to feel too insulted near the beginning when I was accused of being a "christian" and trying to impose a more "christian" way into Dudeism, and I'm trying not to feel the same for being painted as some would-be fascist

Sure, I'm a little verbose in my breakdown of thoughts and points for discussion, but what I was afraid of is saying simply: "Dudeism, discuss:" and getting nothing of any value back.  This is a more complicated case that a deluge of movie quotes being thrown back at me

Although I hate to agree with those A-holes at BT.... "it's good to keep talking".  Sometimes we just need a jumping-off point to get all these thoughts and feelings out.  Just, y'know, don't stick my head down the toilet for bringing up what a lot seem to consider valid points.  The messenger will not be shot, man

[Rev. Ed C]

That being said, I've always thought that we should perhaps spend less time modelling ourselves on things that already exist.  I now we have closer links to Taoism, and also Buddhism, and we're essentially humanist-transcendentalists...

But I think there's a danger in getting hung up on too much direct theft and use.  I think being a new philosophy that incorporates a bit of a hodgepodge of other philosophies to enrich it is cool.  I myself have tried to find even more compeers out there, helping us spread our links to wider philosophies, finding admirable compeers.

I think Dudeism needs to, in the long run (once again, no no no, I'm not advocating some overnight turnaround), stand on its own two feet some more.  Use less parody and take that influence deeper.

Personally, I'd possibly vote to keep the term Dudeism rather than move to Abidism (although I have nothing against the term).  Once we have established so completely that Dude our word of a thousand uses and not a gender-term we can really call it our own, like any other religious term.  The thing that addled me for a while was why that supposedly Dudeism sounded more like Buddhism that Abidism (which I seem to find really hard to type ), and then it struck me:

This is a pronunciation gap.
In the US you pronounce it - Boo-dism.
In the UK we pronounce it - Bood-ism (bood as in wood, not booed).

As such, I now see that booed and dude sound alike, but to us Brits, they don't.  Tricky ol' thing, languages

Either way, I'm not a fan of the Church o the Latter-Day Dude parody.  I understand how fitting it is, but I still think it's something that might hold us back in the realms of parody.  Also, Churches are a Christian thing, and if there's one thing that smell of a flaming torches and the long shadows of pitchforks they're casting is... Christianity is not welcome here (outside of Christ himself, hallowed by his Dudely ways).

I don't truck with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster because although I'm down with the principal message they have, I think furthering it to mock and parody other religions is wrong.  Each to his own, man!

As long as we don't stray any parodies we do into that kind of senseless, hurtful mocking (well, we never would, but as long as we're not perceived to do so) then that's AOK

[Busmum]

Incidentally, I'm not sure why people seem to think anyone's pushing for "organisation" and "rules" and "hierarchy".  I'm a staunch opponent of such things and have put a lot of that into my articles.

This is merely a discussion on what sort of ways we might take things further on down the road.  There's no fixing anything in stone around here, we all move forwards and flow down the stream (hopefully lounging on lilos as we go).

I find the assumption that someone (myself in particular) is trying to bring some sort of bureaucracy into this somewhat confusing.  I don't know what people are threatened by talking about ourselves and what we do... isn't that what we've always done?

I tried not to feel too insulted near the beginning when I was accused of being a "christian" and trying to impose a more "christian" way into Dudeism, and I'm trying not to feel the same for being painted as some would-be fascist

Sure, I'm a little verbose in my breakdown of thoughts and points for discussion, but what I was afraid of is saying simply: "Dudeism, discuss:" and getting nothing of any value back.  This is a more complicated case that a deluge of movie quotes being thrown back at me

Although I hate to agree with those A-holes at BT.... "it's good to keep talking".  Sometimes we just need a jumping-off point to get all these thoughts and feelings out.  Just, y'know, don't stick my head down the toilet for bringing up what a lot seem to consider valid points.  The messenger will not be shot, man

Rev. Ed C man, i don't want you to think i'm accusing you of trying to bring evil into it, and muck it all up  i'm just pointing out in general that these are things that are spoilers for me, and potential dangers for any growing entity. of course you're not a fascist man; i dig your enthusiasm and balls for getting the discussion off to a rollicking start.

roll on dude! 

[Rev. Ed C]

Just checkin'

The inner-net is a confusin' one for trying to get words into feelin's 

[BikerDude]

I like the fact that people find it a joke. Doesn't mean that it doesn't have merit.
Look at "The Fuck it Way" and their retreat at "the hill that breaths".
They make us look like puritans.
They have positively embraced the frivolity.

[Busmum]

I like the fact that people find it a joke. Doesn't mean that it doesn't have merit.
Look at "The Fuck it Way" and their retreat at "the hill that breaths".
They make us look like puritans.
They have positively embraced the frivolity.

i hear ya BikerDude... but i also acknowledge that i'd rather be laughed with, rather than laughed at... that being said, it's still laughter-- one of the best restoratives of the soul that i know of 

[pirate]

i think it could be safely said that dudeism means something different for everyone and that everyone uses it in their lives in different ways so dont get upset if someone has a different idea what it is to abide than your idea........as brian said: you're all individuals.