Josh Plovanic's Writings and Thoughts

Mental Thalassophilia The Love of Deep Minds, Oceanic Consciousness, and the Beauty of Infinite Interior Worlds I. Definition and Orientation Mental Thalassophilia is the love of the depths of the mind. It is not mere curiosity. It is not intellectual indulgence. It is not escapism. It is the positive attraction to interior vastness —the felt sense that consciousness, meaning, and identity grow more beautiful, more alive, and more valuable the deeper one descends. Where Mental Thalassophobia recoils from depth, Mental Thalassophilia leans toward it. Where fear sees abyss, love sees home . II. Why the Ocean Metaphor Endures Across cultures, epochs, and disciplines, depth is consistently described as: sacred mysterious life-giving dangerous yet fertile inexhaustible Oceans are not valued because they are safe. They are valued because they are vast . Mental Thalassophilia recognizes that minds work the same way . A deep mind is not tidy. It is not efficient. I...

  Apeirophilia The Love of Infinity, Depth, and Endless Becoming Abstract Apeirophilia names a fundamental orientation of the human mind and soul: the love of infinity. It describes an attraction to boundlessness, endless depth, inexhaustible meaning, and realities that cannot be closed, finalized, or exhausted. Where many experience anxiety, vertigo, or dread when confronted with the infinite, the apeirophilic mind experiences fascination, reverence, joy, and liberation. This paper develops apeirophilia as a psychological disposition, philosophical posture, spiritual orientation, and civilizational force. It further introduces thalassophilia —the love of depth, especially as symbolized by oceans—as a concrete expression of apeirophilia directed toward the deep structure of reality itself. I. Introduction: The Question of Infinity Infinity has always stood at the edge of human thought like a horizon that recedes as one approaches it. Every culture, philosophy, and religion ...

Mental Thalassophobia The Fear of Deep Minds, Infinite Interior Space, and the Descent into Consciousness I. Definition and Orientation Mental Thalassophobia is the fear of the depths of one’s own mind. It is not merely fear of introspection. It is not simple anxiety or discomfort. It is the existential dread that arises when a person approaches: deep self-awareness unbounded interior complexity infinite meaning loss of fixed identity the collapse of shallow narratives Just as oceanic thalassophobia is not fear of water but fear of vast, dark, unknowable depth , Mental Thalassophobia is fear of the bottomless interior —the realization that consciousness has no obvious floor. This fear is ancient, universal, and largely unspoken. II. The Ocean Metaphor Is Not Accidental Human language converges again and again on water imagery to describe consciousness: “Depths of the soul” “Drowning in thought” “Overwhelmed” “Lost in oneself” “Submerged emotions” “Surface...

  Drown Not by violence, not by terror, not by the panic of lungs clawing for air— but by surrender, by the sweet undoing of every small, clenched thing. I drown in the Countless Bottomless Oceans of God’s Heart and Mind. No shore contains them. No horizon binds them. No depth chart dares to number their descent into mercy. They are not waters of erasure, but waters of excess— too much truth, too much love, too much meaning for a finite vessel to remain intact. I step forward with the last dry name I was given, the last mask I learned to answer to, and the waters recognize me before I recognize myself. They part— not to let me pass untouched, but to invite me to be unmade. Wave upon wave of living thought breaks over my crown: ideas older than stars, words that were spoken before sound learned how to vibrate. Here, logic becomes tide. Here, love becomes pressure. Here, mercy is so dense it feels like weight. I sink. Not downward— inward. Eve...

Words-as-Chemistry The Elemental, Combinatorial, and Reactive Nature of Language, Meaning, and Thought I. Orientation: Why Chemistry Is the Correct Metaphor Most people treat words as: labels symbols sounds tools All of that is true—but incomplete. A more precise model is this: Words behave like chemical elements. Meanings behave like molecular bonds. Ideas behave like compounds. Theories behave like complex chemical systems. Just as chemistry explains how matter forms, transforms, and reacts , Words-as-Chemistry explains how meaning forms, evolves, reacts, and generates new realities in the mind. Language is not static. It is reactive . II. The Core Claim (Stated Precisely) Words function as elemental units of meaning that can bond, react, catalyze, decompose, and recombine to form higher-order conceptual compounds—ideas, models, systems, and worlds. This means: No idea is “simple” No theory is indivisible No worldview is irreducible Every mental str...

  Words-as-Living Fire Logos, Purification, and the Mercy That Burns I. Orientation: Why Fire Must Be Taken Seriously Fire is the most misunderstood divine metaphor. It is often reduced to: anger punishment destruction threat But across philosophy, mysticism, and Scripture, fire is never merely destructive . Fire is transformative . Water heals by dissolving and restoring. Fire heals by exposing, refining, and purifying . If Living Water explains how God restores , Living Fire explains how God confronts . And without confrontation, restoration collapses into sentimentality. II. Fire at the Root of Logos Philosophy 1. Heraclitus: Fire as the Principle of Reality Heraclitus of Ephesus stands at the foundation of Western Logos thought. For Heraclitus: Fire is not a thing Fire is process Fire is change governed by order “This world-order (Logos), the same for all, no god nor man made, but it always was and is and shall be: an ever-living fire.” Fire, for...

Words-as-Grace The Restorative Power of Language, Meaning, and Logos I. Orientation: Why Grace Must Be Spoken Grace does not exist without words. This does not mean grace is reducible to language—but it means grace cannot be received, recognized, or transmitted without it . Force can compel. Law can restrain. Truth can expose. But grace restores —and restoration requires meaning. Grace is the act of re-addressing a being after failure without negating its worth. That act is linguistic at its core. Before grace is felt , it is named . II. What Grace Is (Stated Precisely) Grace is not indulgence. Grace is not excuse. Grace is not the suspension of truth. Grace is: The voluntary application of mercy, patience, and restorative intent toward a being who has failed, fallen, or fractured—without denying reality. Grace does not erase consequences. Grace reorients the future . And it does so through words. III. Words-as-Grace vs Words-as-Law Law says: “You violate...

Words-as-Law The Linguistic Architecture of Authority, Order, and Logos I. Orientation: Why Law Is a Linguistic Phenomenon No law exists without words. This is not metaphorical. It is literal. A law is not a force like gravity. A law is not a substance. A law is not self-executing. A law is a linguistic construct that binds minds, actions, and systems through shared meaning . Remove language, and what remains is power, habit, or violence—but not law. Law begins where words stabilize expectation. Before words, there is instinct. Before words, there is dominance. Before words, there is survival. Law only emerges when meaning is fixed, transmitted, remembered, interpreted, and enforced —all of which require language. II. The Minimal Definition of Law At its core, a law is: A formally articulated command that defines permitted and forbidden actions within a domain, backed by authority and consequence. Each element is linguistic: Articulated → spoken or written ...

  Words-as-Command The Operative Authority of Language, Meaning, and Logos I. Orientation: Why “Command” Is the Correct Category Words are often described as: symbols tools expressions representations All of these are true but incomplete . They describe how words appear . Words-as-Command describes how words operate . A command is not merely information. A command initiates alignment . When a true command is spoken, reality does not ask whether it agrees. It either obeys —or breaks itself resisting. A command is meaning coupled to authority. This paper asserts: Every word carries an implicit command proportional to the authority of its source and the clarity of its truth. II. The Structure of Command A command has four irreducible components: Source – Who speaks Authority – Why it must be obeyed Content – What is being ordered Domain – What is affected Without all four, words degrade into suggestion, noise, or manipulation. Truth-words natu...