In The Words of Billy Corgan
Matt, my guitarist sent this to me. AMAZING. LOVE IT.
Read it, even if the whole "gods" thing is weird to you.
This was taken from blog posting by Billy Corgan. I found it inspiring. Thought I'd share it:
I subscribe to the idea that the history of this planet has been selectively hidden from us. I believe information has been willfully withheld to control the way we see ourselves. This is done for reasons I do not fully understand, but, certainly, it must have its roots in control and power. If you control how the mind sees, you have power over the conclusions it draws. This keeps up the illusion of independent thought, and sustains the momentary peace of believing, “Lucky me, I am in control of my world.”
The false gods of this planet want you to be afraid, and they do not want you to be proud, alive, sentient, alert, and thoughtful. Sometimes, the false gods are nothing but a system that has no leader for it to run itself. A false god does not always have to have a head and an alleged heart to appear real. I mean ‘real’ in the sense that we have to deal with the dismantling of these falsities, face our shadow fears, and unify as a race to bring this planet forward in a holistic manner.
Do not be ashamed of who you are. Trust that God made you the way you are for a reason. Be humble in accepting His vision for you, but do not be humble with your gifts. You know what you are good at, so claim it. Do not be afraid of what others would have you believe about yourself in an attempt to get you to accept a vague weakness. Attack is ALWAYS rooted in fear. The goal of attack is to weaken you, and enslave you to the attacker. Be proud of who YOU are. False pride is a far lesser sin, by the way, than the sin of degrading another person for control.
I know what I’m good at and what I’m not good at, and I assume most reading this are just as aware of their own conclusions. For example, I’m an OK friend; I’m not as loyal as I should be, and I tend to assume that friendships will always be there, when I should just work harder at showing my love more consistently.
False humility would have me not mention my accomplishments for fear of being accused of being arrogant or a braggart. I have been called many names, arrogant being one of the labels I have heard often. Maybe there is truth to that, as I am only now ready to admit publicly, for the first time, that I am not as good a basketball player as I think I am. I have never claimed though that I was funny.
I have no problem telling you I am also a world class musician, and one of the best songwriters alive. If I said those things in an interview, I would be mocked, not because those things aren’t true, but because I shouldn’t be the one saying these things. Instead, the conventional thinking is that those types of opinions should come from another source, one that would be considered independent of me. But why? Show me independent thought, and I’ll show you a picture of the dark side of the moon. I am the best analyst of my ability, for it is I who must devote the resources necessary to further create. If I had listened to the opinions around me, I wouldn’t even be here. I would be dead. Or, at the least, dead inside.
Believing I am one of the best at one or two things is not a wholly unreasonable position to take, for why would I be doing these things if I didn’t believe there was a point to them? If the talent wasn’t there within me, all I would have done was lower my frame of reference. I would have said something like, “I’m the best songwriter who ever came out of Glendale Heights, Illinois.” Besides, if I didn’t have the talent, you probably wouldn’t be reading this.
We should celebrate our best and brightest in every way possible, but we don’t, because we share a collective insecurity that we all aren’t good enough. Where does that come from? (Answer: Not from within!) False humility is a game that makes us all pay for holding onto an illusion that is painful. Listen to me please: I am not better than you!! I may be a better guitarist than you (unless your name is Eddie, or Yngwie), but that does not make me better than you! As I once said, “Believe in me as I believe in you.”
We are the same, we just don’t believe it. We are all individual expressions of the Godhead, incredible, magnificent manifestations of His brilliant creativity. It all balances out if we let it, together! I would love it if you would make me a better friend while I make you a better lover of sound.
Don’t bow to false gods who will have you lick their boot of nothing. Praise God for this day. Be arrogant in your Love. Be a braggart in your Faith. Be selfish with your Grace. Be a thief with every heart. If you have any time left after that, write a song that will tear their guts out.
Read it, even if the whole "gods" thing is weird to you.
This was taken from blog posting by Billy Corgan. I found it inspiring. Thought I'd share it:
I subscribe to the idea that the history of this planet has been selectively hidden from us. I believe information has been willfully withheld to control the way we see ourselves. This is done for reasons I do not fully understand, but, certainly, it must have its roots in control and power. If you control how the mind sees, you have power over the conclusions it draws. This keeps up the illusion of independent thought, and sustains the momentary peace of believing, “Lucky me, I am in control of my world.”
The false gods of this planet want you to be afraid, and they do not want you to be proud, alive, sentient, alert, and thoughtful. Sometimes, the false gods are nothing but a system that has no leader for it to run itself. A false god does not always have to have a head and an alleged heart to appear real. I mean ‘real’ in the sense that we have to deal with the dismantling of these falsities, face our shadow fears, and unify as a race to bring this planet forward in a holistic manner.
Do not be ashamed of who you are. Trust that God made you the way you are for a reason. Be humble in accepting His vision for you, but do not be humble with your gifts. You know what you are good at, so claim it. Do not be afraid of what others would have you believe about yourself in an attempt to get you to accept a vague weakness. Attack is ALWAYS rooted in fear. The goal of attack is to weaken you, and enslave you to the attacker. Be proud of who YOU are. False pride is a far lesser sin, by the way, than the sin of degrading another person for control.
I know what I’m good at and what I’m not good at, and I assume most reading this are just as aware of their own conclusions. For example, I’m an OK friend; I’m not as loyal as I should be, and I tend to assume that friendships will always be there, when I should just work harder at showing my love more consistently.
False humility would have me not mention my accomplishments for fear of being accused of being arrogant or a braggart. I have been called many names, arrogant being one of the labels I have heard often. Maybe there is truth to that, as I am only now ready to admit publicly, for the first time, that I am not as good a basketball player as I think I am. I have never claimed though that I was funny.
I have no problem telling you I am also a world class musician, and one of the best songwriters alive. If I said those things in an interview, I would be mocked, not because those things aren’t true, but because I shouldn’t be the one saying these things. Instead, the conventional thinking is that those types of opinions should come from another source, one that would be considered independent of me. But why? Show me independent thought, and I’ll show you a picture of the dark side of the moon. I am the best analyst of my ability, for it is I who must devote the resources necessary to further create. If I had listened to the opinions around me, I wouldn’t even be here. I would be dead. Or, at the least, dead inside.
Believing I am one of the best at one or two things is not a wholly unreasonable position to take, for why would I be doing these things if I didn’t believe there was a point to them? If the talent wasn’t there within me, all I would have done was lower my frame of reference. I would have said something like, “I’m the best songwriter who ever came out of Glendale Heights, Illinois.” Besides, if I didn’t have the talent, you probably wouldn’t be reading this.
We should celebrate our best and brightest in every way possible, but we don’t, because we share a collective insecurity that we all aren’t good enough. Where does that come from? (Answer: Not from within!) False humility is a game that makes us all pay for holding onto an illusion that is painful. Listen to me please: I am not better than you!! I may be a better guitarist than you (unless your name is Eddie, or Yngwie), but that does not make me better than you! As I once said, “Believe in me as I believe in you.”
We are the same, we just don’t believe it. We are all individual expressions of the Godhead, incredible, magnificent manifestations of His brilliant creativity. It all balances out if we let it, together! I would love it if you would make me a better friend while I make you a better lover of sound.
Don’t bow to false gods who will have you lick their boot of nothing. Praise God for this day. Be arrogant in your Love. Be a braggart in your Faith. Be selfish with your Grace. Be a thief with every heart. If you have any time left after that, write a song that will tear their guts out.