Sprinkling Holy Water on the Internet & Stapler Song - Segment #3
Live from the Earth Dome
Hey friends! Here is the 3rd segment of the Rigel Show, aka Rigel’s Mystical Driftwood Fort on the Sandy Beach of the Cosmic Navel, where song runs through all of reality.
I stream live every Friday at 11:30 am (Central Time, ATX), and I invite you to join in the live chat or on camera with me: https://www.youtube.com/@rigelwindsongthurston/streams
Highlights:
Improvisational Jazz Opening: I kicked things off with some free jazz, embracing the glorious madness of playing piano with my eyes closed.
Shari’s Guitar Rediscovery: Shari joined in and shared how she picked up her guitar after years. At first, she struggled to remember how to tune it, but when she stopped overthinking, her hands just knew what to do.
Discussion on Anxiety & Performance: That led us into a conversation about anxiety—how overthinking can lock us up, and how surrendering to the process can unlock something deeper.
Mass Formation & Free-Floating Anxiety: We got into The Psychology of Totalitarianism by Mattias Desmet, talking about mass formation, free-floating anxiety, and how societies latch onto simple narratives when people feel disconnected.
Totalitarianism vs. Dictatorship: We explored how dictatorships often stabilize after their initial brutality, but totalitarian systems always need a new enemy to survive.
Sprinkling holy water on the internet: I had to bring up my “Internet Rock”—a broken part of a brick that I found in my yard and got blessed as a way to ground the chaos of the online world—an experiment in digital sanctification.
The Importance of Community Connection: We contrasted urban isolation with rural interdependence—how people in cities live so close yet barely know each other, while in the middle of nowhere, your survival depends on your neighbors.
CS Lewis & Suburban Isolation: We touched on The Great Divorce and how C.S. Lewis painted hell as a place where people keep moving farther apart to avoid dealing with each other. Felt eerily relevant.
Stapler Love Song: And then—because why not?—I sang my love song to a stapler. A tragic ode to an office-essential cast aside in the paperless age. “Click-stick, you know how to do it.”
I hope to see you at the next one!