Who
Or, “Who is this Moonpie Jayhawk dude and why does it matter?”
“An obscure cosmopolite, whimsied polymath, cheapo-Epicurean and accidental Thaumaturgist.” ~Anonymous review
Jay Joslin is an author, performer, activist entrepreneur, web monkey, and mystically-enthralled wahoo in the mountains of western NC. He wears many hats, and doesn’t have enough hat-racks. Two of the most obvious are; the hat of a skilled and fast thinking clinician, and the other as a ringleader of a wide variety of memorable public experiences- from ritual to instructional. He considers himself an eternal student, and has undertaken studies of consciousness, comparative theology, systems theories and anything under the dome of our skulls… he loves brains! Professionally he is a Board registered Substance Abuse Counselor (boards passed, just final paperwork has to go through!), and eternally he is a warm hearted goofball with a passion for creation, collaboration and justice.
He is the author of three prose collections; One for the Nameless (Invoke Yourself Press 2011), Rainbow Over Crossroads (Solus Press 2005), and Digging the Immaterial (iUniverse/Barnes & Noble 2003). His forthcoming work “Strange Alms: Lessons For The Unexpecting Wayfarer” will be released in 2015-16, presenting a dynamic new approach to incorporation of a particular Systems Theory into daily life, revealed by way of magical journeys through Asia and the Americas. Jay acts locally on occasion, has done animation voiceover work, is an recognized nature/abstract photographer, and is widely considered to be a warm-hearted goofball. He also knows his way around audio/visual technology, which is groovy.
Born in Delaware (with some southern genes), Jay and his best friend Joshua migrated to Asheville in 1997, a move completely unimaginable in the years prior. Jay was still in the early stages of re-re-re-inventing himself after getting clean from drug abuse from the years prior. Prior to moving, Jay was taken under the wing of a UU minister and ordained by a small church Northeastern network based on ancient studies. After moving, happy accidents and Joshua’s “checking it out” led Jay to Jubilee! in 1999. Attending Pathways in 2000, he collaborated with Jubilee’s “saint” Patte Mitchell on the United Religions Initiative, joined the Jubilee! Players as a certified hambone, and volunteered with the Jubilee! Young Adults Program. He was hired in 2002 as the Caretaker of Special Events, the job that his given him the Zen-like peace of setting up 330 chairs in a circle for 13 years. Somewhere around that time Jay asked the then pony-tailed Howard if he could read a poem during a service- it wasn’t long after that that Howard offered him the opportunity to lead a service. Apparently, with that service, something clicked and stuck. Throughout this time, Jay has facilitated Jubilee! Sunday celebrations, weddings, remembrances, and baptisms. A few years ago the ball was tossed out that this path become a “thing,” leading up to his ordination on 28 June 2015. Jay will continue to provide ritual and spiritual/existential/”Who am I and what am I doing here?” support as a community servant.
Jay’s Quotes, Quips & Aphorisms
When one door closes, you’re outside. Go do something.
We mustn’t ever strive to be masters of the Universe. That’s impossible. Rather, we should strive to be aware that we are being mastered by the Universe. Look, it’s already happening!
There’s a reason why we call it a *road* to self discovery, not a cul-de-sac. Yet if one should find oneself at such a suburban dead end, get out of the car and cut across the lawns, into the nearest woods, quickly.
The key to the heart is freedom, and in freedom is gratitude for having love, having been loved, and having love to give again.
He who sees a desert in a heap of dust will not make a planting- he who sees soil shall grow a forest.
I actually prefer being a fool to being a character. If it weren’t for the fools who take the risks that stir wisdom, we wouldn’t have the character to learn.
Just read the fine print- Today does not have a 24 hour return policy. Exchanges only.
Presenting the question that answers itself: “I don’t know why I’ve been so stupid.” Efficient problem solving at work.
What doesn’t kill you was just having an off day.
When the arrow leaves the bow, it will always make bullseye if the string is drawn by virtue and it is released by an intention that has been questioned relentlessly with the answer always being ‘yes.’
Never trust someone wearing sunglasses who tells you their conscience is clear.
Rarely does one get drunk off a logic cocktail, but no one ever snaps out of it with an emotion smoothie.
You can’t stop time; you can only hop in, hotwire it, learn the controls, and joy ride through creation ’til you get caught.
I was young once, and like the others victimized by the present moment- then I realized that Time is a process of refinement of wisdom, and not the enemy but the gentle friend. I took tea with Time, and while Time’s meandering stories lost my attention in the moment, ultimately it was those narratives by which I set my watch and gladly surrendered myself to the world. What seemed to a young mind chastisement eventually evolved into a propulsion towards soulfulness that became a cascading joy in being with now in all its tribulations and ecstasies combined.
When things ain’t right, keep your eyes open because there’s always something left.
Whether you’re walking on thin ice, broken glass, wet cement or eggshells- at least you’re walking. The other option is plopping ass downward and saying that it’s plum dandy to be immobilized. The latter is easy- the former can suck. Do the things that suck. The payoff is there’s less ass obstructing your path and more people choosing to participate in The Universe Thing. Go for a walk already. As the old song goes, “Make the path by walking.”
It’s fine to have pie in the sky ideas, just grow long arms, get a sturdy ladder, and have a patient appetite.
When one change happens, everything else must change in kind. A wheel cannot move in part; any momentum inevitably causes the sum of the arc to turn. When people truly alter their course, this is what causes the greatest harrumph, the forsaken wish that only selective bits metamorphose. I’ve never seen a butterfly that was still part caterpillar- have you? Do you know how drastic transformation really is?
Hope springs eternal. Doubt springs a leak.
Even in absurdity, sacrament. Even in hardship, holiness. Even in doubt, faith. Even in chaos, realization. Even in paradox, blessedness.
I’m going out to hunt transitions today. You have to move quickly but silently, blend in but be audacious, know your target but be ready for something completely different, and come prepared but I can’t say what with. If you find a transition, don’t kill it. If you don’t find one, you’ll come back changed anyway.
You can steal my thunder but it’s the lightning that matters.
I’d rather have a little anxiety-laced courage to make hard decisions now, than mediocrity-soaked comfort to sustain good choices not made for longer.
We casually say that “stranger things have happened,” whilst hopefully insulating ourselves against the strangest of stranger things. The flaw in this is the insulation of ourselves against the stranger thing is the strangest thing of all.
Surprise is the condition of surrendering your expectations; mediocrity is the condition of surrendering to your expectations.
The passive thing to do is to let the wind blow you where it will… the active thing to do is to make your own way in the wind, like a sailboat in defiance of physics- or with a damn motor.
From the single point of light we call the sun, all around us is illuminated in color. We cherish the deep red of roses, the vibrant spring greens, and the violet of the evening sky. We cherish the color of our souls, lights we can only touch in the poetry of the heart. We cherish, too, the depth of night, that makes precious the faintest of illumination. It is by this light that we see, and in it’s radiance we kindle our deepest flame of spirit. We hold it’s clear brilliance for a moment then we pass it on. We cast the stars into the sky and lift our candle of hope to another morning- where the world is cradled again in the infinite potential to grow a little more, to love a little stronger, to care, to create and to do the work of awareness, wherever it takes us. Let us be warriors, artists, dancers- let us be in this light, let us dream. Come, be in the light, pass it, touch it. It brightens you. Then go, and be free in the night and in all your days- remember that the light is with you always- for it is not a flame or a sun; it is you.