Saturday, May 17, 2014

‘A Saturday Satie memory’

     
For some reason—I don’t know why, and I’m not necessarily proud of it—many of my earliest memories are of things seen on television. Bill Jorgensen with that day’s Vietnam body count on the Ten O’Clock News. Nixon’s resignation speech. Munich. A snippet of some cartoon showing anthropomorphized vegetables (e.g. an ill-tempered tomato) splashing down inside a stomach, or maybe a garbage can, and bickering among themselves about it.
One day at age three or four—definitely before kindergarten—I squeezed in a full morning of Sesame Street and other such programming before it was time for a nap. I abandoned the television in the master bedroom, but left it turned on, and walked a straight line of no more than twenty feet to my bed. Sacking out for a while and still able to hear the TV, I held still as haunting music reached my ears. A melody so laden with pathos that it made me afraid and sad. My eyes began tearing. I listened for maybe a minute more, feeling very uneasy, before venturing back to my parents’ room to see whatever trouble the program was. It showed wild animals, in slow motion, running through the grass and trees of some jungle-like setting. Which animals I do not remember; the music stayed with me for life.


Erik Satie
It was Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, as I would learn some 35 years later, in an arrangement—if I really can recall correctly—for guitar.

Erik-Alfred-Leslie Satie, says Encyclopædia Britannica, was a French composer “whose spare, unconventional, often witty style exerted a major influence on 20th-century music, particularly in France.” If you’re a fan of John Cage, you are acquainted with the sparse composition style and unconventional harmonies that are Satie’s legacy.


My proper introduction to M. Satie came courtesy of the Rose Circle Research Foundation, specifically Trevor Stewart’s lecture at our first conference, held in April 2006. Trevor spoke at length on the Salon de la Rose + Croix movement, led by Joseph Péladan in fin de siècle Paris. In short, it was an artistic movement wed to Péladan’s self-styled Rosicrucianism, a highly idiomatic esoteric Christianity indeed. (Now that is a subject any Rosicrucian ought to explore for personal edification.) The goal of the annual art salons was to restore the expression of spirituality to the Paris art scene, which at the time was devoted almost entirely to Realism. The art itself expressed themes from mythologies, mysticism, dreams, and other such intuitive inspirations. We can tell these paintings were generations ahead of their time because today they are merely awesome. A hundred and twenty years ago they were explosive.



Armand Point's poster promoting the 1895 Salon de la Rose Croix depicts Greek mythical hero Perseus, slayer of Medusa the Gorgon, holding up decapitated Emile Zola. 


In the liner notes of the CD Musique de la Rose-Croix (LTMCD 2469), James Nice summarizes Satie’s involvement with this arts movement:


A Templar Knight Rose Croix meets
Leonardo da Vinci in this Salon poster.
For a short period Erik Satie was appointed official composer for the esoteric Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique du Temple et du Graal, founded in Paris by the flamboyant mystic ‘Sar’ Joséphin Péladan. The first Salon de la Rose-Croix was held in March 1892, at which Satie’s solemn Trois Sonneries de la Rose + Croix were performed for the first time. Satie also composed music for Péladan’s play Le Fils des Étoiles (Son of the Stars), as well as two preludes for a chivalric play, Le Nazaréen. Satie subsequently broke from the Order in August 1892.

It would be too wonderful a coincidence for the sublime melody that upset me in a moment of early childhood to be among the composer’s Rosicrucian works I enjoy in middle age, and that is not the case, but I am delighted—très content—to connect the pieces and enjoy them. Erik Satie was born on this date in 1866, and when today settles down enough so I may sneak off with some tobacco and a glass of whiskey, I surely will toast his memory.
     

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

‘Rosicrucian Summer in the City’

     
Five wonderful events (and I suspect more will be announced) are scheduled for the Rosicrucian Cultural Center in New York City in the coming months. Remember, one need not be a member of either the Rosicrucian Order or the Traditional Martinist Order to enjoy these Rosicrucian and Martinist workshops and programs, although one of them is bound to get you thinking about partaking in these philosophies and practices.

The Rosicrucian Cultural Center is located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard in New York City.



The Way of the Heart:
The Sophia Tradition

Monday, June 16 through Friday, June 20
Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

One of the central pillars of the Western Esoteric Tradition is the Sophia Tradition, or the Path of Divine Wisdom. Essential in Martinism, it is strongly present in mystical Judaism, Christianity. and Islam as well, and is connected to similar paths in many world spiritualities.


With its feminine imagery for the Divine, the Sophia Tradition leads us into the very core of our being, where the soul is united to its Divine Source in a Mystical Marriage. According to Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin:

“The only initiation I advocate and search for with all the ardor of my soul is the one through which we can enter into the heart of God and make God’s heart enter our own, there to make an indissoluble marriage which makes us friend, brother, and spouse of our Divine Repairer.”

This workshop will explore some of the major figures in this ancient manifestation of the Primordial Tradition, and its themes and spirituality. Included will be practical suggestions for learning more about Sophia, and entering into the practice of the Tradition.

The facilitator of this workshop, Steven A. Armstrong, M.A. Hum., M.A., M.Div., is a professional historian, philosopher, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay area. He currently serves at the Grand Lodge (San Jose) in Membership Services. He is an active member of both the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC and the Traditional Martinist Order, and has served as an officer in both Orders.

His current areas of interest include how the Primordial Tradition permeates all world traditions, and the way in which the Rosicrucian and Martinist paths provide a unique and unifying viewpoint on those traditions.



The Prayer of the Heart Practicum

Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27
Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

Deep, heart-centered prayer is at the core of the mystical practice of Martinism, as well as many world spiritual traditions. It is a practical and real way to actualize the Sophia Tradition and the Way of the Heart. This work allows practitioners to realize the union of their heart with the Divine Heart, beating with the rhythm of the Cosmos. As Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin puts it:

“There is no other mystery to arrive at this holy initiation than to go more and more down into the depths of our being, and not let go till we can bring forth the living vivifying root, because then all the fruit which we ought to bear, according to our kind, will be produced within and without us naturally, as we see occurs with our earthly trees, because they are attached to their particular root, and do not cease to draw up its sap.”



This five-day practicum will assist participants in meditation practices, leading up to and including the Prayer of the Heart. The exercises are non-sectarian, as the Prayer of the Heart is found virtually in all world spiritualities.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Steven A. Armstrong.



Learn Rosicrucian Healing Techniques

Tuesday, July 8 through Thursday, July 10
Nightly from 6:30 to 8


This experiential workshop will guide participants in learning how to use many Rosicrucian techniques to create radiant physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Julie Scott, Grand Master of the Rosicrucian Order.



Tarot: A Rosicrucian Approach

Monday, August 18 through Friday, August 22
Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

The Tarot is of perennial interest to students of esotericism. Its compact symbolism and connections to other Mystical Paths continue to intrigue us.


In this workshop, we will consider the Major and Minor Arcana of the Tarot from a Rosicrucian perspective, seeing how they connect with Kabbalah, Alchemy and meditation. After having taken a look at the history of Tarot, workshop participants will then have a chance to consider the symbolism of the Trumps and Suits, and to begin to develop a personal numerology, which comes from their own experience, as well as from the Primordial Tradition.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Steven A. Armstrong.



Mystics for Moderns

Monday, August 25 through Friday, August 29
Nightly from 6:30 to 7:30

Mysticism, according to the Rosicrucian approach, is not only for those on mountaintops and in monasteries. It is a real and vibrant practice available to all women and men in the modern world.



This participatory workshop will introduce / re-familiarize participants with some of the greatest mystics and their writings from our Rosicrucian lineage, across time and cultures. A brief historical introduction to each will then be complemented with meditative exercises utilizing their mystical writings and approaches.

Among the goals of the workshop is to assist us in growing in our ability to see the world and our lives as mystics—a holographic view which keeps the reality of “As Above, So Below” in our awareness.

The facilitator of this workshop will be Steven A. Armstrong.
     

Monday, May 12, 2014

‘Full Moon Meditation Wednesday’

   
The Phases of the Moon by Galileo
“You whose eyes were made to see what all other eyes would not see, due glory you rendered saying, ‘I render infinite thanks to God for being so kind as to make me the first observer of marvels kept hidden from all previous times.’

Galileo





One need not be a member of the Rosicrucian Order to take part in its cyclical Full Moon Meditations, but doing so may cause you to wonder if the Order just might offer an appealing method of organizing the mind. (If you’re into that kind of thing.)


Full Moon Meditation
Wednesday, May 14
8:45 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center
2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard
New York City


The group gathers in the downstairs meeting room of the RCC for a period of mindfulness exercise before heading over to a nearby park.
     

Thursday, May 8, 2014

‘Paths of Consciousness & Dark Forces of the Psyche’

     
The C.G. Jung Foundation of New York has announced its Summer Study Programs. Ten days in July are divided into two intensive programs that delve into Jungian psychology and philosophy.

From the publicity:


For half a century, the C.G. Jung Foundation of New York has been conducting educational programs for both professionals and the general public. It is the publisher of online Quadrant: The Journal of the C.G. Jung Foundation and runs a book service offering a wide selection of books by and about C.G. Jung and the field of analytical psychology.

The Foundation’s Summer Study Program is a unique opportunity to meet people from all over the United States and the world who share a common interest in Jung and his ideas. Past summer participants hailed from such diverse locations as Brazil, Switzerland, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Australia, Ireland, Venezuela, and the Pacific Northwest. Both of the Intensive programs have been carefully designed to be informative and stimulating for professionals in the field and the general public. We encourage participants from a wide range of backgrounds to attend either or both sessions of our summer program.

This Summer Study program is your chance to spend time studying at the C.G. Jung Center of New York, a lovely brownstone in midtown Manhattan, conveniently located near many of New York City’s most famous attractions. The Jung Center includes the Jung Foundation’s Book Store, the Kristine Mann Library and the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, an extensive image library. Additionally, our staff will help provide those of you from out of town with any information that you might need regarding individual exploration of New York City during your time here.
Register early! Enrollment will be limited. We look forward to meeting you in July.


Intensive Program 1
Paths of Consciousness
July 7 to 11





In our first program, we will pay particular attention to our interior lives, starting with a simple letting go and centering. In turn, we will explore the art of expanding consciousness through creativity and Jung’s idea of individual and psychological wholeness. We will go deeper, examining our death consciousness and Jung’s notion of the ‘returned dead’ that he explores in The Red Book. We will conclude the week by discussing dream as a mirror of the soul and a possible route to our own transfiguration.



Monday, July 7
9 to 10 a.m.
Registration, Welcome and Orientation

10 to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Con–center–ation

The act of concentration is a purposeful gathering together of oneself. We will look at the idea of centering as it is reflected in Jung’s work—through his theories of libido, compulsions, fear, and the religious attitude—while asking what it is that we find ourselves circling around, what de–centers us, and how come it does?

Instructor: Royce Froehlich, LCSW, MDiv



Tuesday, July 8
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Awakening to Presence:
Exploring Consciousness Through Creativity

How we are present in each moment, with ourselves, with others and with the world around us, holds endless possibilities for understanding and experience. There are many doors and pathways to awakening, to experiencing consciousness. Today we will explore opportunities for connecting with presence through art, poetry, writing and simple movement.

Instructor: Wendi R. Kaplan, MSW, CPT-M/S, LCSW



Wednesday, July 9
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Paths of Consciousness:
Jungian Analysis and the Individuation Process

C.G. Jung began his descent into the unconscious after his break with Freud and emerged with a new approach to psychological engagement based on the individual journey with the ego and the Self, expressed through active imagination and mandala imagery. Jung called it Jungian Analysis and the Individuation Process to differentiate it from Freud’s methodology. Both are connected with the discovery of meaning and encompass the fullness of the individual’s teleological destiny along with one’s relationship to oneself and to the world. Participants will revisit the origin and meaning of Jung’s analytic individuation process and will learn and experience active imagination and mandala drawing.

Instructor: Jane Selinske, Ed.D., LCSW, LP, MT-BC



Thursday, July 10
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Death as a Path into
and Through Consciousness

We will explore Jung’s view of death as a path into and through consciousness. We will also examine Jung’s own “descent” into death in The Red Book—Jung's Book of the Dead—and explore the questions that are posed by the “returned dead” who we encounter through ritual, imagination and art. Jung also frequently opens up the territory of life as only being “life” as it is “life and death.” We will circumambulate this motif from the awakening into a conscious journey that death is for Gilgamesh, to contemporary clinical and personal reflections.



Friday, July 11
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
The Soul’s Mirror:
Awakening Under the Dreammaker’s Gaze

By exposing us to infinite varieties of experience, our night dreams can enlarge our range of awareness and help us transfigure our sense of self and world. In this workshop, we will treat the dream as the soul’s mirror and entertain ways to enter into a dialectical relationship with the dreammaker—that mysterious, omniscient architect of the dream.

Instructor: Melanie Starr Costello, Ph.D.



Intensive Program 2
Dark Forces of the Psyche
July 14 to 18






Monday, July 14
9 to 10 a.m.
Registration, Welcome and Orientation

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
From Betrayal to Transformation

“God and the Creation were not enough
for Adam; Eve was required, which means
that betrayal was required.”

James Hillman

In the hero myths, a betrayer is often the catalyst for transformation. Think of Judas and Jesus; Siegfried and Hagen; Caesar and Brutus. We will explore how one deals with betrayal, whether that betrayal is an infidelity, one born of envy or, most significantly, betrayal of oneself.

Instructor: Julie Bondanza, Ph.D.



Tuesday, July 15
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
When Darkness Falls:
The Anatomy of Psychosis

The psyche is sturdy, resilient and creative, except when it is fragile, splintered and profoundly barren of light and hope. Psychosis attacks the integrity of the personality like a splitting tool driven into a piece of wood tears the fibers apart and leaves a deep division where there had been a seeming unity. Psychosis is dark and destructive of soul, except when it comes as a perverse invitation by the gods to a new mode of being. We will explore both wings of this archetypal polarity.

Instructor: Alden Josey, Ph.D.



Wednesday, July 16
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Encounters with Monsters:
Images of Trauma in the Psyche

The secret story is often unresolved trauma, which may appear in dreams as images of strange or monstrous creatures alive with meaning and feeling. Mutants, aliens and insects are some of the secret creatures that live inside and rampage around in the psyche wreaking havoc as “symptoms” until they are met and suffered into consciousness. Some of these monsters live primarily in the personal unconscious, and others are powerfully fueled by energy from the collective unconscious. How can they be engaged and humanized? Both a healing relationship with another and an archetypal perspective are required to integrate monstrous affects and facilitate greater freedom to live into wholeness.

Through theory, fairy tales, film, and case material we will discover how psyche’s darkest creatures can open a road to healing and transformation. This didactic and experiential workshop is intended for anyone who wishes to develop a deeper and symbolic understanding of trauma.

Instructors: Lisa Marchiano, LCSW, NCPsyA and Deborah Stewart, LCSW-R, PsyA



Thursday, July 17
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Wounded Narcissism, Evil, and Self-knowledge

Narcissistic personality disorder is an extreme condition caused by severe early injury to healthy self-love or self-esteem. Less severe narcissistic injury is ubiquitous. It may hurt our relationships, our creativity or our career success, and may steal our pleasure at our achievements and our good fortune.

If we are not responsible for our own injured narcissism, the result is evil. Hence Jahweh inflicts evil when his pride is offended. We will explore injured narcissism in Virginia Wolf’s fiction and in a Polynesian story of cannibalism. By what force can we withstand narcissistic attacks? Can we face our own narcissistic injury?

Instructor: Maxson McDowell, Ph.D.


Friday, July 18
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Obsession, Addiction,
and Job’s Answer to Jung


We will examine the history of obsessive-compulsive behaviors together with its developmental and archetypal underpinnings. We will use the biblical Book of Job as a symbolic path into how to approach these difficult patients in a Jungian analysis.
Instructor: Richard Kradin, M.D.



Summer Study 2014 Faculty

Julie Bondanza, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst and licensed psychologist in private practice in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. She is a member of the faculty and board of the C.G. Jung Foundation and is on the faculty of the C.G. Jung Institute of New York and the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts.

Melanie Starr Costello, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, historian, and Zurich-trained Jungian analyst in private practice in Washington, D.C. She earned her doctorate in the History and Literature of Religions from Northwestern University. A former Assistant Professor of History at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Dr. Costello has taught and published on the topics of psychology and religion, medieval spirituality, aging, and clinical practice. Her study of the link between illness and insight, titled Imagination, Illness and Injury: Jungian Psychology and the Somatic Dimensions of Perception, is published by Routledge press.

Harry W. Fogarty, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in Psychiatry and Religion at Union Theological Seminary and a Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City.

Wendi R. Kaplan, MSW, CPT-M/S, LCSW, a psychotherapist with more than twenty-five years experience, specializes in relational and biblio/poetry therapies with a holistic perspective. She has a private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, and provides consultation to mental health providers, physicians and other healing professionals. Ms. Kaplan is a mentor/supervisor for, and the director of, the Institute of Poetry Therapy, where she teaches the theory and process of biblio/poetry therapy, journaling and other word arts. She is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences for the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. As a mediator since 1974, she incorporates meditative and mindfulness practices into all of her work.

Royce Froehlich, LCSW, MDiv, is a Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City. He is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, The New School for Social Research, and the C.G. Jung Institute of New York.

Alden Josey, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst trained in Zurich who practices in Wilmington, Delaware. He is past-President, Director of Training and of Admissions in the Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts, where he now holds emeritus status.

Richard Kradin, M.D., is a Jungian psychoanalyst and professor at Harvard Medical School, who practices at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is the author pg Pathologies of the Mind/Body Interface, The Placebo Response, and The Herald Dream. He is the recipient of the Gravida Prize for his paper, “The Psychosomatic Symptom: a Siren’s Song,” published in the Journal of Analytical Psychology.

Lisa Marchiano, LCSW, NCPsyA, is a clinical social worker and a Jungian analyst in private practice in Philadelphia. She is currently working on a book that uses fairy tales to explore how motherhood can be an opportunity for psychological growth.

Jane Selinske, Ed.D., LCSW, LP, MT-BC, is a Jungian analyst, a practitioner of Mandala Assessment and a Board Certified Music Therapist. She is Vice-President and faculty member of The C.G. Jung Foundation and training analyst for both the C.G. Jung Institute of New York and the Institute for Expressive Analysis of New York and has a private practice in Montclair, New Jersey and New York City.

Maxson J. McDowell, Ph.D., LMSW, LP, is a Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City. A former president of the C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, he is also a faculty member.

Deborah Stewart, LCSW-R, PsyA, is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in Brooklyn. She is a graduate of both the Westchester Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy and the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. She is on the faculty of the C. G. Jung Institute of Philadelphia and the Gestalt International Study Center on Cape Cod.


For registration information, click here.
     

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

‘May Mystical Weekend’

     
I bet you didn’t know this weekend is May Mystical Weekend in New York City, did you? Well, that’s why you read The Magpie Mind. Two big days at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center. From the publicity:



May Mystical Weekend
Rosicrucian Cultural Center
2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard
New York City

Saturday, May 10
1 to 5 p.m.
public welcome

Discuss Spiritual Laws with Dr. Lonnie Edwards, author of Spiritual Laws that Govern Humanity and the Universe.


Sunday, May 11
1 to 5 p.m.
AMORC members only


First Temple Degree Review Forum with Julian Johnson, from 1 to 3 p.m. (open to members in the First Temple Degree or beyond).

Silent Meditation, from 3:30 to 4 o’clock.

Convocation, from 4 to 5 p.m.


And, in other news, the New York City Pronaos that meets down in the Flatiron District is starting its summer break early. It has been announced that the Pronaos is closed through the summer, and regular activities will resume in September.
     

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

‘Journey to the Source of Ancient Wisdom’

     
More news from the aptly dubbed Golden State. Again, far outside my flight plan but must be shared here. From the Rosicrucian Order’s publicity:



Join practicing alchemist Dennis William Hauck

All proceeds go to benefit the Alchemy Museum
being built at Rosicrucian Park.

May 24-26
Rosicrucian Park
San Jose, California


Alchemy is based on ancient Hermetic teachings that were meant to be experienced directly in an initiatory environment. True alchemy is neither an intellectual pursuit nor a measure of knowledge, but is a secret fire that ignites passion and inspiration in all those who possess it. That fire can be passed only in living concepts grasped by both heart and mind to create a new state of consciousness Egyptians called “Intelligence of the Heart.” This process is part of the Underground Stream of perennial wisdom that still flows into our modern era.

The most powerful rendering of the ancient wisdom is in the intuitive writings, coded ciphers, and symbolic imagery of the alchemists. Their practical approach to esoteric energies created a powerful spiritual technology that combined introspection, meditation, and prayer with laboratory demonstrations. Their tireless efforts to unite soul and spirit – the inner and outer worlds – exposed the deep connection between mind and matter that science is just beginning to explore.

This three-day intensive, multimedia workshop focuses on the advanced teachings of alchemy. Using the operations of alchemy, secret Hermetic techniques, activated symbology, and guided meditations; participants will journey through the stages of purification and empowerment that lead to the transpersonal source that is the Philosopher’s Stone.

Tools include a full-color bound textbook of meditative drawings, process handouts and charts, and audio recordings. Selected eBooks will be sent to participants to help them prepare for the workshop. Everyone will also receive personalized graphs showing the relative power of the metals (planetary archetypes) in their astrological signatures. This information will guide their work to transmute the inner metals into a more resilient golden temperament.


Dennis William Hauck is known for his ability to present these teachings in a way that comes alive in people. While studying for his doctorate in mathematics at the University of Vienna, he completed a three-year apprenticeship in alchemy and was later initiated into a variety of Hermetic traditions in Europe, Egypt, and the United States. He has since translated several old manuscripts and authored a number of bestselling books on alchemy, including The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation, The Secret of the Emerald Tablet, Sorcerer’s Stone: A Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Alchemy.

The sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a break from noon to 2 for Council of Solace and lunch each day.

The cost is $300 per person for AMORC members, and $350 per person for non-member guests. Click here to register.

All proceeds will go toward the Alchemy Museum being built at Rosicrucian Park.

Logistics: Many visitors to Rosicrucian Park enjoy staying at the Arena Hotel on The Alameda, which is within walking distance of the Park and right across the street from the train station where both Amtrak and Caltrain make stops. The best airport to fly into is San Jose International Airport, about 10 to 15 minutes from Rosicrucian Park and the recommended hotel.
     

Thursday, May 1, 2014

‘Remembering a philosophical giant’

     
I would be remiss if I didn’t share the sad news of the death Tuesday of Mr. Albert B. “Al” Feldstein, 88, editor of the invaluable and dauntless journal of opinion I read devoutly throughout my childhood: Mad magazine.

In its obituary today, The New York Times remembers:



“In his second issue, Mr. Feldstein seized on a character who had appeared only marginally in the magazine — a freckled, gap-toothed, big-eared, glazed-looking young man — and put his image on the cover, identifying him as a write-in candidate for president campaigning under the slogan ‘What — me worry?’

“At first he went by Mel Haney, Melvin Cowznofski and other names. But when the December 1956 issue, No. 30, identified him as Alfred E. Neuman, the name stuck. He became the magazine’s perennial cover boy, appearing in dozens of guises…. [Neuman] signaled the magazine’s editorial attitude, which fell somewhere between juvenile nose-thumbing at contemporary culture and sophisticated spoofing.

Mad made fun of itself as well. The staff was referred to on the masthead as ‘the usual gang of idiots,’ and the magazine warned readers not to take it seriously even as it winkingly promoted its importance.”



That last graf captures what makes the work of Mr. Feldstein and his writers and artists essential to a thinking, sentient person’s sense of self, which I believe to be a reminder—sometimes nagging at the most inopportune moment—of the absurdity of life and, consequently, of each of our own earthly existences.



Cartoonist Dave Berg, best known for his longstanding “The Lighter Side” series for Mad, published his book My Friend God in 1972. Amid its closing pages is this:



“One reason for Mad Magazine’s
phenomenal success,
kein ein houra
(it even outsells Colliers)
is
that at a time
when we are becoming
so overpopulated in the inner city
that the huddled masses
are TRULY yearning
to be free,
that at a time
when we are polluting
our pollution,
that at a time
when we are being computerized to death
by making us all
nothing but numbers,
that at a time
when a single nut can
light a 50-megaton firecracker
and end all Fourth of July’s for all time,
at a time of all this idiocy—
one idiotic kid
named Alfred E. Neuman,
says ‘I’m not concerned’
in his ‘WHAT, ME WORRY?’
attitude.
It’s a calming influence in a world that’s uptight.”


Well done, good and faithful servant.

Courtesy The New York Times