View allAll Photos Tagged Intellection
The first of three addendum shots for the Super Scum series. Depicted are perhaps the two most recognizable costume variations of Brainiac, one of Superman’s most dangerous enemies and a veritable comic book icon in his own right. It’s funny how I chose to include parka Brainiac in the main Super Scum series over these guys; Magneto Eradicator too. Foreshadowing for the next addendum...
Fig formulas:
Silver Age Brainiac: Brainiac head, Parasite torso and arms, S13 Snake Charmer legs
Modern Age Brainiac: Brainiac head and torso, S11 Evil mech arms, Alien Conquest hips, Lego Batman 3 game-accurate gun
Viceroy Kollorak. Ghorax's right hand. This colossal beast is not only powerful, but possesses Toa-level intellect. Mastermind of the horde, Kollorak enforces Ghorax's will with frightening efficiency. He has three different spinners: the Loyalty spinner, which allows him to assume direct control of any Visorak, the Deprivation spinner, which shuts down all of the target's senses, and the dreaded Darkness spinner, which can trap the unlucky target in the Field of Shadows.
Among the sources of Western esotericism, the Hermetica is the most prominent. It is a collection of writings on cosmology, astrology, alchemy, and magic, and it has its origins in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The Hermetica is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic, is a significant figure in the Hermetica. Greeks in Egypt came to identify Thoth with their god Hermes.
Hermetism, in its ancient context, is closely related to pagan Neoplatonism. Neo-Platonists practiced Theurgy, a form of pagan mystical practice and magical ritual. The concept of theurgy came from the Chaldean Oracles, which describe the physical world as a prison from which the higher human soul must escape.
Gnosticism is a heresy from the early Christian era. The word Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning “knowledge” or “insight,” and it pertains to hidden or secret spiritual knowledge. Gnostics believe that their souls are trapped in an imperfect world and that through esoteric knowledge they can be freed from the prison of this material world.
During the Italian Renaissance, a priest named Marsilio Ficino taught new spiritual concepts of Platonism and the Hermetica. This caused a revival of Neoplatonism and Hermetism. During this time, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola blended Kabbalah with Hermeticism. Then came figures such as Johannes Reuchlin, Johann Trithemius, and Henry Cornelius Agrippa, who mixed forms of Hermeticism with Neoplatonism, Neopythagoreanism, magic, astrology, alchemy, and Cabala. After came John Dee, who was an advisor to Elizabeth I. He immersed himself in astrology, alchemy, and Cabala. John Dee and Edward Kelley collaborated in angel magic for several years. And an influential figure in medicine named Paracelsus, combined alchemy with Hermetic and Neoplatonic ideas to form his medical theories. The Emerald Tablet, one of the oldest alchemical writings, played a major role in Renaissance esotericism. The saying, “as above, so below,” comes from the Emerald Tablet.
Christian theosophy emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in reaction to the strict orthodoxy of the Lutheran Reformation. Jacob Boehme was the figure behind the start of this movement. His ideas influenced intellectual movements such as Romanticism and Idealism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Platonism and Hermeticism are an essential part of theosophy. Rosicrucianism also arose in the seventeenth century. “From its obscure origins, the Rosicrucian myth would inspire literature, eighteenth-century Masonic adaptations, the rituals of the Golden Dawn, the leading magical order of the modern occult revival, and still exerts a powerful mystique today.”
Many secret societies formed in the eighteenth century, with their different esoteric beliefs. Many of these societies had relationships with the various Masonic lodges. Continental Freemasonry latched onto many of the esoteric ideas of these societies. The higher degrees of Freemasonry usually incorporated themes of theosophy, Rosicrucianism, and alchemy. Therefore, in the eighteenth century, Freemasonry was a major conduit for the spread of Western esotericism.
Emanuel Swedenborg had a great influence on eighteenth-century theosophy and was a major player in the development of modern esotericism. The Enlightenment influenced esoteric ideas, and they were accepted by many eighteenth-century illuminists. Then came Franz Anton Mesmer, who developed the theory of animal magnetism. His legacy can be traced to the early beginnings of modern Spiritualism. Animal magnetism was rooted in esoteric traditions. A key figure in animal magnetism was Justinus Kerner. His work became well-known throughout Europe. Another key figure was Baron Jules Dupotet de Sennevoy, who used animal magnetism to “unlock the secrets of magic.” His ideas influenced modern occultism. Helena Blavatsky, one of the founders of modern Theosophy, was a big fan of Dupotet. She also linked animal magnetism to magic. A man named James Braid coined the term “hypnotism” to describe animal magnetism. Hypnosis played a major role in the development of modern psychology. (Though they stripped the occult “ideas” from animal magnetism (hypnotism), I consider hypnotism to be an occult “practice.” Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung experimented with hypnosis.
In the mid-nineteenth century, occultism was introduced to America, predominantly through forms of animal magnetism, Swedenborgianism, and Freemasonry. Animal magnetism was introduced to America by Charles de Poyen. It quickly spread among occultists and spiritualists and was often combined with Swedenborgian ideas. Then came Andrew Jackson Davis, who communicated with a spirit he later identified as Swedenborg. He wrote a book called The Principles of Nature, which utilized Swedenborg’s ideas. His book sold many copies and became one of the founding texts of modern Spiritualism. Out of animal magnetism came the movements of New Thought and Christian Science, which integrated traditional Christian ideas with nineteenth-century metaphysical traditions. Next came modern Spiritualism, with its entertaining showmanship (self-moving furniture, self-playing musical instruments, and body levitation). Although the concepts of Swedenborg and animal magnetism were part of modern Spiritualism, the movement emerged independently of these influences.
The modern occult revival of the nineteenth century was complex. Romanticism sparked interest in the mysterious and unknown, thus creating an interest in animal magnetism, Spiritualism, and magic. A man named Eliphas Lévi became a pioneering figure in this Western occult revival. Lévi mixed ideas of animal magnetism with his philosophy of magic. Lévi used the Kabbalah and the Tarot as a source of magical symbolism. Much of modern occultism recognizes the Tarot as a root of mystical symbolism and imagery. Aleister Crowley believed himself to be a reincarnation of Lévi. Helena Blavatsky was also a fan of Lévi. In the second half of the nineteenth century, a Freemasonry order called the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia was founded. In turn, some of its members founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn produced various offshoots, impacting Western esoteric traditions during the twentieth century.
Arthur Edward Waite came out of the Golden Dawn. He was a poet, scholar, mystic, and occultist. He was a prolific writer on esoteric matters. He was also a co-creator of the Rider-Waite TAROT card deck, which is one of the most popular Tarot decks. Aleister Crowley also came out of the Golden Dawn. Crowley wrote “The Book of the Law,” which stated, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!” Crowley used sex magick as a major tool for his magical system. Crowley referred to himself as the Great Beast 666. “Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern witchcraft, introduced Crowleyan magick into the neopagan Wiccan movement.” Dion Fortune, who had a great impact on modern Western esotericism, also came out of the Golden Dawn. She was one of the most influential twentieth-century occultists and ceremonial magicians. She had a significant influence on both later ceremonial magic and Wicca. “She was perhaps one of the first occult writers to approach magic and hermetic concepts from the psychology of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.”
The Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott. Blavatsky combined elements of Neoplatonism, Renaissance magic, Kabbalah, Freemasonry, ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman mythology and religion, Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta into her religious system. Her new religious movement played a major role in the spread of esoteric traditions in the modern era, and it was likely the biggest Influence behind the modern occult revival. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Theosophy gained a large international following. Her work prepared the foundation for what is now known as the New Age movement.
Alice A. Bailey authored many books on Theosophy. She was one of the first writers to use the term New Age, and her works have significantly influenced the New Age movement. Alice and Foster Bailey founded the Lucifer Publishing Company, which was later named the Lucis Publishing Company. (The Theosophical Society had also used the name “Lucifer” for its early magazine.) World Goodwill, which is part of Alice Bailey’s Lucis Trust, is an accredited Nongovernmental Organization with the Department of Public Information at the United Nations. The Lucis Trust is also on the Roster of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Carl Jung, the famous psychiatrist, had a profound impact on the world of psychology and spirituality. Esoteric traditions profoundly shaped Jung’s understanding of the human psyche. Gnosticism deeply resonated with Jung’s theories. His ideas have had a significant influence on the New Age movement. Western esotericism gained renewed momentum from Jung’s implied spiritualization of the psyche.
“Ever since Plato’s separation of the body and the soul, Western esotericism has traced a path in which the soul has been granted some share in divinity.” Hermetism, Neoplatonism, and modern-day Western esotericism provide people with a vision of the cosmos in which their soul has divine purpose. With the popularity of New Age and neopagan philosophies in the West today, esoteric traditions will continue to evolve and lay claim to some sort of enlightened gnosis.
I think that modern esotericism will lead down the road to Alice Bailey’s vision of a world religion—the fusion of faiths. This concept has been around for a long time. Here is the concept: a one-world government is needed to unite mankind in order to create a world of peace and prosperity (political Gnosticism). To accomplish a one-world government, all religions must unite under one umbrella (spiritual Gnosticism). Many groups have been working towards this goal, such as the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the International Association for Religious Freedom, the World Congress of Faiths, Nostra Aetate, and Religions for Peace.
Nietzsche’s murder of God is an element of parousiastic Gnosticism, which seeks to destroy everything that is perceived as unjust (imperfect), and to replace it with a just (perfect) order through the power of human means and intellect. Therefore, the Christian God of the West has to go, and so does Western democracy. Just like the murder of God, Nietzsche’s transformation of man into the superman is an attempt to murder man. “Historically, the murder of God is not followed by the superman, but by the murder of man.” The Marxists must destroy capitalism and instate communism, thus killing off bourgeois society. They are trapped in this world of capitalism; thus, their world is a prison. The Marxists are trapped in a system of private property and must transcend private property, abolishing it forever. Marxists must transcend the evils of this capitalist world and evolve into the “socialist man”/“communist man.” They must destroy the current system to gain their utopia. Indeed, “socialism is man’s positive self-consciousness,” his gnosis.
“Communism is the riddle of history solved, and it knows itself to be this solution. The entire movement of history, just as its actual act of genesis—the birth act of its empirical existence—is, therefore, for its thinking consciousness the comprehended and known process of its becoming.” – Karl Marx
“The positive transcendence of private property as the appropriation of human life, is therefore the positive transcendence of all estrangement—that is to say, the return of man from religion, family, state, etc., to his human, i.e., social, existence.” – Karl Marx
Political Gnosticism is seen in communism and National Socialism. Political Gnosticism is alive and well today, with affluent people and organizations who want to transform our world into their utopian dream. The United Nations, with its Sustainable Development Goals, is the chief example. The World Economic Forum is another. Through their gnosis, they can bring peace and prosperity to the world.
“Queer theory brings knowing and being into the education of young children.” In queer theory, people are born (trapped) in the wrong body; their bodies are prisons. “Young people are absorbing the idea that the physical body is not part of the authentic self—that the authentic self is only the autonomous choosing self. This is ancient Gnosticism in new garb.”
Transhumanists want mankind to transcend into the superman. Man is trapped in this mortal body, but the goal is to someday attain immortality. They will use technology and super intelligence to solve man’s problems, to bring about a perfect world of peace and prosperity.
The Bible warns about the forming of a future one-world religion—the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. It warns of a one-world cashless currency system, which will be connected to the Mark of the Beast. Without this one-world digital ID Mark, which will be located on the right hand or forehead, a person will not be able to buy or sell. The man who implements this system will be the Antichrist. His Mark will plunge mankind into the first stages of transhumanism. Those who refuse this transformation into the superman will be put to death—the murder of man. The Western religion of Christianity will be replaced with the worship of Caesar (the Beast). Western democracy will be replaced with totalitarianism.
The gnosis: if you eat the fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.
from http://www.longexposure.ca
Speaking following a reading from his new novel, Divisadero.
In conversation with Atom Egoyan, Ondaatje was everything I was told he would be... an erudite self-critic, a talented interpreter and a charming intellect.
While he was FAR too soft-spoken for me to successfully pull off the audio recording I was shooting for (the MacMillan Theatre is not the right place for a mid-row bootleg on an echoey night), it was a very pleasant night - Divisadero promises to be a great read!
EOS-400D | Canon 70-200 EF f4L
Toronto, April 2007
I'm running out of patience with the news lately. I think my advancing age is colliding with my ever decreasing attention span. My mind is still very curious, it's just become very selective. I can no longer watch any sort of news programming where the content is decided for me. I prefer aggregated news websites where I can scan the headlines, and drill down only if there's interest. Point is there seldom is any interest. Increasingly, I'm finding that the headline itself provides enough information. Lately, most of what I learn about current events comes by way of single sentence blurbs. And even then, I skim past many after reading only the first couple of words. I'm just a step away from simply looking at the pictures and not reading anything at all. I wonder sometimes how my intellect became so degraded (or as I like to think of it, repurposed). It happened so gradually I didn't really notice until it was gone. I always thought of mindfulness as a linear progression. Turns out I was wrong.
Doll encounters have a way of forcing repressed thoughts to the forefront. These grimy faces, bad haircuts, and utterly forlorn baby clothing epitomize the hopelessness of castoff toys. The children that once cherished them grew up and left the dolls behind, battered and forgotten. Objects intended to bring joy and happiness now destitute, cast with a pall of solemnity. It concerns me at times that I find such joy in capturing these tiny faces of despair. All part of the art I tell myself; just take the photos and try not to overthink it. As long as the results are respectful, the means seem justified.
Featured Image from Sonata Series
Sonata concentrates on seeing rather than looking. In our waking-state, we look at things all the time but consciously unless chosen to do we make the effort to see. This on-going series concentrates on the elements of design ; color, line, shape texture form and pattern. Each image composes of a singular point of interest to achieve photographic satisfaction. Here the visible, mundane & overlooked has its moment.
Nkosi.artiste@gmail.com
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chance Nkosi Gomez known initiated by H.H Swami Jyotirmayanda as Sri Govinda walks an integral yogic path in which photography is the primary creative field of expression. The medium was introduced during sophomore year of high school by educator Dr. Devin Marsh of Robert Morgan Educational Center. Coming into alignment with light, its nature and articulating the camera was the focus during that time. Thereafter while completing a Photographic Technology Degree, the realization of what made an image “striking” came to the foreground of the inner dialogue. These college years brought forth major absorption and reflection as an apprentice to photographer and educator Tony A. Chirinos of Miami Dade College. The process of working towards a singular idea of interest and thus building a series became the heading from here on while the camera aided in cultivating an adherence to the present moment. The viewfinder resembles a doorway to the unified field of consciousness in which line, shape, form, color, value, texture all dissolve. It is here that the yogi is reminded of sat-chit-ananda (the supreme reality as all-pervading; pure consciousness). As of May 2024 Govinda has completed his 300hr yoga teacher training program at Sattva Yoga Academy studying from Master Yogi Anand Mehrotra in Rishikesh, India, Himalayas. This has strengthened his personal Sadhana and allows one to carry and share ancient Vedic Technology leading others in ultimately directing their intellect to bloom into intuition. As awareness and self-realization grows so does the imagery that is all at once divine in the mastery of capturing and controlling light. Over the last seven years he has self-published six photographic books, Follow me i’ll be right behind you (2017), Sonata - Minimal Study (2018), Birds Singing Lies (2018), Rwanda (2019), Where does the body begin? (2019) & Swayam Jyotis (2023). Currently, Govinda is employed at the Leica Store Miami as a camera specialist and starting his journey as a practitioner of yoga ॐ
“Bear in mind three essential qualities in all games of intellect: Never to show selfishness or to wound the feelings of your adversary. To be modest with a good game. To lose without ill-temper and to win without bragging. --W. Patterson
Playful Raindrops, Float Away Dream, Snowflake Sonata, and Tokyo Bright are using the “World’s Smallest Board Games” version of Monopoly. It is really incredibly detailed for its small size.
This picture is for the theme “Favorite game” in the Blythe a Day group on Flickr, and for “Fun and Games” in the Facebook group Blythe Pure and Simple.
Love, love mmm...
I told y'all
We would be the band to play it.
My ghetto butterfly flew away from me.
I wait patiently, by windows and doorsteps.
Play, make believe, as my tears, poor chest,
won't succeed to breathe, if not to hear of you.
Surely there has never been a shade so blue.
A stank attitude, so not mad at you.
Not a magnitude to encompass the latitude
of my love for you.
No space and time compatible.
What do I have to do? What do I have to do?
Uh..my friends say I got it bad for you.
I do. But there's nothing in this world I'd rather do,
but you.
I want to make love to your existence,
drenched in colors of your energy,
then masturbate to the memories.
I wanna lose myself inside yourself...
Until you find me. Confine me,
to the freedom of your prison.
Exist in the same space, same time.
Combine until your thoughts slow grind with mine.[3x]
My, I wanna drink the sweat of your intellect,
reflect, and watch your light passion walk my neck.
Caress the sights of your presence with no question,
undress to the nakedness of love, pure love.
I want to make love to my soulmate... my soulmate...
make love to my soulmate...my soulmate...
make love to my soulmate, uh shit...
I wonder, how does it feel to make love to your soulmate.
Kind of like writing poetry till climax,
till the point and place where space and time match.
Can we cross the line, perhaps tell me would you like that.
Now would you like that, tell me would you like that,
would you like that, tell me would you like that,
would you like that, tell me?
I'm gonna ask you again now, tell me..
Would you like that, tell me would you like that,
now would you like that, tell me would you like that,
would you like that, tell me..
I wanna love you more than madly.
Wrap these legs around your words,
until your speech is straddled deep, gladly.
Swim the currents of your vibrations,
be separate in one
with the same meditation..
Uh the same meditation..
Uh you know what..
This, right here is poetry..
Enjoy.. Ualy, play that saxophone right now!
If love..
If love had a sound
this would be that sound.
And we,
well we,
We would be the band to play it.
"Poetry, How Does It Feel" by Akua Naru
BFTGM Entry
This ex-toa is a master of lightning! He and his lightning gauntlet, intellect, and magnified strength are deadly to any Toa, villager, or islander! He claims his power has been magnified by an encounter with the mask of Ultimate Power! Exzalion must be defeated at all costs!
Yes, all the stickers are made by TLG. :)
He is a bit centrist for me, but I like his practicality and his depth. Such an intellect. And so different from our current President.
It is associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Marcia Moses
Thanks to Lenabem Anna for texture
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Use without permission is illegal.
Have a wonderful Sunday !
Recommended by Seraphina Juliesse
Titan: A person or thing of very great strength, intellect, or importance.
Female dominance (femdom) refers to a BDSM scene or relationship in which a female is the dominant partner, or top partner. A dominant female may have a number of different names, including dominatrix, mistress or madame
Taken @ KINkY EVENT / MAN CAVE EVENT / Noir / Senses
from the water lands.
he was taught blue magic from a very young age, with his skill of magic he was then granted the use of a staff of O, he then set out on a journey to stop evil.
>sorcerer
>good
>attack- 90/100
>strength- 60/100
>intellect- 95/100
>abilities- can use master spells, fly, invisibility, control water, control weather. (and a ton of magic)
OC by me
the Gandalf of LBFW
In the twilight, the sky poured itself into a palette of whispered hues — violet and crimson, tangerine and pearl — as if the universe had exhaled all its colors in a sigh of resignation. The ocean mirrored this celestial canvas, a restless pupil absorbing the wisdom of an infinite teacher. Each ripple seemed to question the boundaries of being, curious and hesitant, like a child's hand reaching out to touch the face of a dream.
Here, the world was no longer a place of answers. The horizon bled uncertainty, a line drawn by an unseen hand that forgot the concept of edges. The clouds sprawled in streaks of mauve and gold, tendrils of thought from an intellect far too ancient to be hurried, yet too young to understand itself. The waves murmured secrets to the wind — secrets too elusive to grasp, yet too profound to ignore. They curled over rocks and sand, breaking into a gentle chaos, as though nature itself had briefly forgotten how to complete its sentences.
In the silent stillness, this scene held no promise of permanence, only an invitation to witness the fleeting. The sky’s aching expanse was a brushstroke of the eternal, and the water below was nothing but a vessel for reflections — a keeper of ephemeral flames. The moment teetered between oblivion and discovery, balanced delicately, impossibly, on the brink of time's vast and ever-receding shore.
For a breath, all of existence seemed caught in contemplation, as if even the universe were musing over its own creation, wondering how such beauty could rise from the convergence of chance and infinity. And then, just as softly, the sun dipped beyond sight, leaving only the lingering glow of wonder, and the endless mystery of night yet to unfold.
* * *
Beneath the lingering hues and the whispered secrets of light, there exists a bridge between the fleeting and the eternal. To step across it, to witness more moments where color and time converge in a delicate dance, wander further into the world of the artist who captured this Symphony of Passing Light.
Let your eyes explore the unseen, let your mind drift into reverie — discover www.coronaviking.com and follow the traces of twilight, the stories etched in waves, and the silent poetry of horizons yet to be touched.
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Blog Post #81
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Triptych “Mind”
Most important in 2020 reboot
Intelligence test
Intellect AI ore Nature
Thinking
Communications
Energy
Faith
The older I get, the more I am becoming a stranger.
Fryodor Dostoevsky wrote “What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.” He was right on many levels. And as I get older, I give thanks that I have become unexpected, because of it! I found that the first part of enabling yourself to love, is to love and be kind, not just to others, but also towards yourself. And that this could be applied to the principle of the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to share how personally significant it is. How on reflection of its application, I now appreciate why it is so important.
The consideration of love, come about after a face book conversation with a young man I help raise. He was a kind, and happy young man, but he wrote something on social media that made me genuinely concerned for him. He wrote of post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD and I tried to convey to him that despite what may have happened to him, or what he may have seen to cause it, that he should be kind to himself. I wrote to him saying he should be easy on himself. I told him we all loved him. We loved him because he was a kind, and respectful person. Talking to him, helped teach me, that we all make mistakes, and that sometimes despite making no mistakes at all, and despite being utterly blameless, we witness things that no person should witness. I conveyed to him that we must remember that we are not to blame, even despite at times our direct involvement. I indirectly shared a little part of myself with him, not just because I am proud of how he turned out, as he now helps me, and others. I shared it, because he assisted me, one way or another, and as a result he helped me to write this, a self-reflection that helps me with my own PTSD.
Thanks Ben.
Despite only being a little older than fifty, my mind and body, no longer match nor recognise the person I once was, and my recollections of my character become more frequently and every so often vailed. Despite the change of loss, it still cuts a little. It was not that I showed pride, it was not that my ego was hurt or reduced, it was from the personal experience of PTSD that I spoke to Ben with an adult honesty, an honesty that I always showed him even when he was a child. And it made me realize that despite the ever present or looming Spector of PTSD, that the thing that grates me, was the idea that some thought it was a weakness. Although never considering myself as weak, the considerations were foreign and made me reconsider who I was as a person.
So, who is this new person, this stranger?
I do not know, and to be honest; it is just that the more I write about myself, to myself, the more I appreciate the efforts I made. The more I write, the less, and curiously the more of a stranger I become. I reiterate, over and over to myself, about just how many failures it took to achieve anything. And it should be noted that failure is not necessarily an end; it is in general I have found, “…the start of doing something meaningful…, to paraphrase someone from somewhere in the cloud...
The more I look back, one of the things that I appreciate, was giving the benefit of the doubt. And although I fell on my face applying it on multiple occasions, I dearly valued how it helped, not just those that I gave it to, but in the end, it helped me! It helped me value the person I had become, and very fortunately it helped me value the person I was, despite all that had happened. Because of my application of it to others, I learnt to give myself the benefit of the doubt. And writing about it in my diary, makes me appreciate the principle, for what it is. It showed me just how clever it remains, and of how much worth it has as an intrinsic value or idiom. It in retrospect seemed like just a thing you do, and it should be noted that to give it, (the benefit of the doubt), and expect something back, other than to be granted the courage that it might be possibly or hopefully reciprocated, lacks integrity and self-sacrifice. It was something I was taught by my parents to do as a child, and I did it, and do it, because I was instructed that it was the right thing to do. I keep it up, because now I know, it is the just thing to do, not just a thing you do.
The application of this fundamental axion, pushed for me, to try to treat people with respect, even if I did not know them. It is not that I respect them, whoever they are, as my respect is earned, it is that I respect their right to be treated humanely and with humility. And until recently, I never fully treated myself with this respect. As a result, I now have become a stranger to myself. The more I learn, the more I find out, and the more I understand that I was not what other people thought I was. That they never really knew me. That their opinion of me was in general in error, and or self-serving of themselves.
I never forget the mistakes I made, which is part of my PTSD. But I try and be kind to myself and not dwell on them, as learning is and always will be an objective, and I now know we, as in humanity, universally make mistakes, while learning. I know that this is part of the learning process. These mistakes are written about in humanities survival manuals, printed, and etched in text to help us. Reading of others, not just personally observing them, and having firsthand experience, reinforced that this scenario played out repeatedly in its truism. It helped not just with forgiving myself for my mistakes or failings, but it aided in forgiving others for theirs. Due to this maxim, and its novel application to myself, I now look at this foreign person that I have never seen before. That person was me, and ironically, always was. I look at myself in a new light. It is not that I had an epiphany about who I was, I just never gave myself any credit, as not many others did. It was a trait written in one of my high school reports.
Despite them saying things like you are not bright enough; or you do not have the capacity, I just kept on going, like Vinsent from the movie Gattica. My mother gently pushed me not to listen to the people that said things like you cannot do that, or you will not succeed if you go down that rout. I tried never to listen to the nay sayers, because that is what my mother taught me. Although at times, I did. She was so calm and repetitive in saying it, that I should just keep on going. And as my capacity to take hits lessons, and my body runs out of time, I am losing some of the innocence I once had. The naive ignorance, and faith, in my capacity to weather personal injury slowly diminishes. I am not becoming a grumpy old man, sinical or anything like that. But, as my ability to disregard the opinion of those that thought, or think, of my applications of intellect, where acts of stupidity, I now become a little inelastic. My perseverance for those that thought it, and felt no shame in publicly pronouncing it, gets less, and because of their ridicule, I have become more.
In Australia, right or wrong we cut down tall poppies, and I have been cut down many times. This process seems highly ironic, as I never stood tall for all but a second in my youth. And boy did I get cut down by those that disagreed with me. Recently it seemed to me that they were just flogging a dead horse, trying to bleed the very last drop of effort out, all the while offering no just reward. But unlike Boxer from George Orwell’s novel Animal farm, I am not at the knackery yet, nor have I been sold for more whiskey for the pigs. It has not gone quite that far, although it has been tried by those that sort to capitalise on my work. And although my study and work put me in many perilous positions, some of which had left me socially prostrate and biochemically brutalised, it was the innocence and naivety, with which I went about my work, just like Boxer, that I am happy about. An innocence or loyalty that was, and is, of a worth that I personally think is immeasurable. It was not just a loyalty to people, but to values and things I had been taught.
Standing on principles that where and are sometimes profoundly challenged by my peers is and was in fact a strength. Most do not know the value or strength of virtue. And the revaluation, of its consideration helped me establish who I am, and what I went through. It helped reduce the PTSD, and now I am someone foreign to me. Like a thought of the third person, I have become a welcome stranger to myself. It has caused a process of revaluation, and in that process, I have become someone new, someone alien, someone of value. And just like the welcome swallows that turned up every year at my old house, they as a metaphor for an idea where in contrast, and unlike PTSD. They, like a conscious dream, fly in from nowhere, light up my day, and move on. And just like the birds, who took with them the mosquitos that filled the night air, my considerations take with them, the mosquitoes of my mind. They were such a beautiful little thing to see, and always welcome. For a quite mind is a gift.
This new person was created with two forces, out of something old. Like water and wind, to use a cliché, they helped produce me, with a heavy dose of self-fortitude. They had both worn me out, and worn me down, and I become a considerate tolerant man. Both were my parents. My mother, said and encouraged me to try anything, but she always reminded me, of the demanding work required to achieve said task. In contrast, my father cut down every endeavour I had thought of trying. Where my mother had taught me how to give myself the benefit of the doubt, my father gave me the capacity and discipline to do the work required. Initially he did not believe that I had the capacity to do the miles, to use a cycling term. To do the miles is to suffer for extended periods of time, to work, to churn, or grind away on the pedals as you train. Doing the miles makes your response to the task automatic, disciplined, and acutely effective. The longer you grind, or the more miles you do, the more Zen like you become at a task. Ironically as they both aged, my mother’s enthusiasm for me waned, and my father’s enthusiasm increased.
I do not know, if my father saw in the end, the miles being done, but, and it should be noted that both my mother and my father may have been a bit out, in their accuracy department of their analysis of me early on. Despite this, they both taught me resilience. The resilience, to have the not so common capacity to give the benefit of the doubt. One initially vocally optimistic, and ever encouraging, the other absent in lack of optimism, with an ever-present silence. His silence came from seeing me fall, seeing people laugh at his son, and finding the visual or metaphor more horrid to watch, than it ever was. I do not think he ever worked out, that where I might have lacked the ability to do the miles, it was my persistence in getting back up after a fall, which was my talent or discipline. Due to this, both my mother and father’s appraisals were wrong.
What caused it, this factual error? And to introduce Einstein in my parent’s defence, the situation was relative; it was not just their lack of faith in that I would just keep going after a fall, they just never could clearly see, where I was moving to, or where I was in time. I was on one train, and they were on the other. Like ships in the night passing each other, we never really stopped to talk, I never really discussed my work with them, I never told them about what I did. For when I had, they never believed me, for they could not comprehend my achievements. This social isolation is part of the new person I am, and as I discuss me, and what, or who I am, I come to the realisation of my exploitation by others. With an absence of family to discuss the details of my effort, and the sacrifices I had made, as they would never understand it, I started to write a journal, or a diary, about my work, and put into perspective or context, that journey.
Part of that journey due to my lowly status at work, was I never had a boss who could intimidate me. I never had a boss that could threaten me with a lower position, because I was in general already or always in it, the lowest of jobs. And thus, I become a type of wondering ronin. I am not sure, if my use of the word ronin is the old, or the updated version, but it most certainly is an Australian or western fusion of the two. This wondering, this lack of direction, and the experience of suffering and struggle, become an instructor of joy. It was an indicator, or a sign that I had earned my happiness, and not expected others to pay for it. This work or suffering had educated me, that I had earned the right to smile. I had served not just myself, in my endeavours of my pursuit of personal happiness, but that I had also served others on their quest or personal journey or pursuit of it… It was through my personal suffering, for that is what my work was, that I had lowered my collateral damage to those that surrounded me. I had reduced my infliction on their personal pursuits of happiness. As a result, I gave the benefit of the doubt to my pain, not knowing if it would ever bear fruit. I learnt of the discomfort of others, through my experience. I discovered that I should be considerate, because one way or another, we all suffer, and to intentionally cause another to suffer more is inhumane. I learned what that tribulation may entail, how personal it is, and how much of a double-edged sword it can be, as it is both, friend, and foe. And through the sympathy of other individuals suffering, and because of it, I learnt to give myself the benefit of the doubt, and I concluded that I had earned a decent living.
Studying others and their sacrifice, not just my own, and being respectful to both, helps alleviate the constant reminder of my broken body. The aches, and the pains, that I presume, if I make it to eighty, will all be quite weathering. But for now, they help keep me honest. I can only hope as I become more crippled, that I take more from Yoda than quasi modo. It will help put into context, the sacrifice of others, and just how lucky I have been, in comparison to some. It puts into perspective, that to give the benefit of the doubt, is to sacrifice little, and to give the benefit of the doubt, is to give up nothing. It is staunch, hard, and stoic, with one purpose, to give, and the first person you need to give it to is yourself. It has been both philosophically and religiously said, that suffering, and trial are a gift, a gift reserved for those that can manage it, but sometimes I wonder. At times, I look on at people, and question about their journey, and how much they, which is most of us, endure. And after reading a little of the Philosophers, I concur, luck, and hard work, are no strangers to each other, and when combined, are like magic. A magic so powerful, I no longer recognise myself, or care about my crippled body, nor the PTSD from the events that crippled it.
I was not cursed by my suffering, I was blessed to help not just myself, but others.
I've been waiting for the part to these for a while, so it's nice to finally post them :P
Left to right:
Polar
Name: Evie Winters
Allegiance: Villain
Power(s): Cryokinesis, Gadgetry
Skills: Pro athlete-level ice skating, Above-average intellect.
Origin: Evie Winters discovered her powers on her 12th birthday party, when she accidentally froze her family's backyard pool solid, trapping herself and a few of her friends in a sub-zero prison. When she finally thawed out, she combined her love of tinkering with her almost genius-level intelligence to create a device to help her better control her powers. Without her chestplate and dampening gloves, Evie's powers are unpredictable at best and a frigid nightmare at worst. She's more villainous than she is heroic, and has a mild criminal record, but she's more of a prankster than anything else.
Lynx
Name: Zoe Wilder
Allegiance: Hero
Power(s): Zoe possesses a form of supernaturally good fortune- Guns fired at her will suddenly misfire, and punches will miss her ever-so-slightly. Her luck isn't foolproof, however- It's does nothing against truly impossible odds.
Skills: Gymnastics
Origin: Zoe Wilder had many close scrapes as a child, ranging from something as innocent as happening to fall on a soft patch of moss when she tripped on a hike, to skiing under an overhang right as an avalanche struck. Eventually, as she grew older, she realized that she was not simply lucky, as she originally thought, but possessed a supernatural good fortune. Upon realizing this, Zoe started fighting crime in New Blok City, using her "gift" to help those not as lucky as herself.
(Sorry for the glare btw)
In the opulent heart of the city, where cobblestone streets echoed with the whispers of history, there existed a gentleman's club draped in a reputation as enigmatic as the twilight. Its members, a tapestry of the city's elite, indulged in debates under chandeliers that swung gently like pendulums, keeping time with the conversations beneath.
Among the revered ranks were two remarkable women, Lady Abigail and Lady Beatrice—collectively known as the Clockwork Sibyls. Their presence was a rare phenomenon in the male-dominated refuge, where they were not merely guests but celebrated oracles of innovation and intellect.
(Part 2 flic.kr/p/2pFCXJY)
Image created in DALL-E
Story co-created by Grace and ChatGPT
Last night my wife says, "Let's get up really early and go on a hike tomorrow" OK, we don't do much hiking between June and October, but maybe it'd be OK if we got going before sunrise. Happy wife, happy life after all. 4:30AM alarm and on the trail by 5:30AM. But it was already 91°F (33°C) when we started. A mile and a quarter into this hike it starts going up hill. At which point Jasper slows way down. Sun's coming up. Getting even warmer. "How about some ice water and then we'll just go a little ways", we tell him. A drink and a few paces further he just stopped, refusing to budge. "OK Jasper. You want to go back to the car?" Bingo! About face and a brisk pace back to the car and air conditioned comfort. Jasper once again demonstrating his superior intellect over his humans. I did manage to snap one as the sun rose over Phoenix.
If you need to ask the price -- don't even go in.
When their advertising refers to you as "one" you know your in the wrong place.
See what I mean:
"Assouline, the fashion crowd’s favorite book publisher."
Beyond “beautiful books” Assouline is invested in the promotion of culture. It has created the “first brand of luxury culture” by opening boutiques where one can discover a world of good taste, excitement and intellect, a place where “culture can be acquired” within a luxurious environment. One can purchase complete book collections as well as objects that belong in contemporary libraries such as perfumed candles and “cabinets of curiosities.”
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Candid street shot, London, England.
It is always the whole human person that interacts with the world, but when the interaction aims at knowing, we speak of the intellect. When desire stands in the foreground, we speak of the will. The intellect sifts out what is true; the will reaches out for what is good. But there is a third dimension to reality: beauty. Our whole being resonates with what is beautiful, like a crystal lampshade that reverberates every time you hit a C-sharp on the piano. Where this feeling of resonance (or, in other situations, dissonance) marks our interaction with the world, we speak of the emotions. How joyfully the emotions reverberate with the beauty of our mystical experience! The more they respond, the more we will celebrate that experience. We may remember the day and the hour and celebrate it year after year. We may go back to the garden bench where the singing of that thrush swept us off our feet. We may never hear the bird again, but a ritual has been established, a kind of pilgrimage has been undertaken to a personal holy place. Ritual, too, is an element of every religion. And every ritual in the world celebrates in one form or another belonging—pointing toward that ultimate belonging we experience in moments of mystical awareness.
-The way of silence : engaging the sacred in daily life / Brother David Steindl-Rast
Welcome to my ideal Zen Garden, which is a meditation gardens where the visitor can follow a path around the garden to see carefully composed landscapes; and a selection of small courtyard gardens, where nature peace and well being prevail everywhere.
From the courtyard outside of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (1684 – 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy.
Holberg is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature. Holberg's works about natural and common law were widely read by many Danish law students over two hundred years, from 1736 to 1936.
Holberg believed in people's inner divine light of reason, and to him it was important that the first goal of education was to teach students to use their senses and intellect, instead of uselessly memorising school books. This shows he was a man of the Age of Enlightenment.
Wikipedia
and thumps about things which the intellect scorns :-)
Mark Twain
tulips, wral gardens Raleigh, north carolina
Logic can either operate as part of an intellection, or else, on the contrary, put itself at the service of an error; moreover unintelligence can diminish or even nullify logic, so that philosophy can in fact become the vehicle of almost anything: it can be an Aristotelianism carrying ontological insights, just as it can degenerate into an "existentialism" in which logic has become a mere shadow of itself, a blind and unreal operation.
Indeed, what can be said of a "metaphysic" which idiotically posits man at the centre of the Real, like a sack of coal, and which operates with such blatantly subjective and conjectural concepts as "worry" and "anguish"? When unintelligence (and the variety we mean here is in no wise incompatible with what passes for intelligence in "worldly" circles) and passion prostitute logic, it is impossible to escape from that mental satanism which is so frequently to be found in contemporary thought.
The validity of a logical demonstration thus depends on the knowledge which we, as demonstrators, have of the subject in view, and it is evidently wrong to take as our starting-point not this direct knowledge but pure and simple logic.
When man has no "visionary" knowledge of Being, and merely "thinks" with his "brain" instead of "seeing" with his "heart", all his logic is useless to him, because it starts out from an initial fallacy. Moreover, the validity of a demonstration must be distinguished from its dialectical efficacy; the latter evidently depends on the intuitive disposition available for the recognition of truth when demonstrated, and therefore on an intellectual capacity.
Logic is nothing but the science of mental co-ordination and of arriving at rational conclusions; it cannot, therefore, attain the transcendent through its own resources; a supralogical -not an illogical- dialectic, based on symbolism and analogy, and therefore descriptive rather than ratiocinative, may be harder for some people to assimilate, but it conforms more closely to transcendent Reality.
Contemporary philosophy, on the other hand, really amounts to a decapitated logic: what is intellectually evident it calls "prejudice"; wishing to free itself from servitude to the mental, it sinks into infralogic; shutting itself off from the intellectual light above, it exposes itself to the obscurity of the lowest "subconscious" beneath.
Philosophic scepticism takes itself for a healthy attitude and for an absence of "prejudices", whereas it is in fact something completely artificial; it proceeds, not from real knowledge, but from sheer ignorance, and for this reason it is as alien to intelligence as it is to reality.
---
Frithjof Schuon
---
Quoted in: The Essential Frithjof Schuon (edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
___________________________________________________________________________
[...] The sensory world of manifolds is the area of analysis by the intellect; we can also say that the mind has invented the world of sense. If we think we understand the world, it just means to understand that we, as far as it relates to our intellectual thinking. But the intellect is not up to that life as we live it internally, we always feel something in us that which the mind is unable to pay the full peace and the other looks for its fulfillment.
This is why our lives so rich in contradictions and conflicts. But most of us take no notice of them and only when this fact is somehow aware, they start with this situation examination seriously.
If we start in this way, to search for the truth, we finally get to the spiritual world, or rather, the spiritual world breaks into the world of sense and reason.
Once that happens, it changes the whole order of things, the logical is not logical, rationality loses its meaning, because now is the real not-real and the truth, the non-truth. More specifically, the water no longer flows in the river, the flowers are no longer red and the pastures are not green.
It is the most surprising event that can take place in human consciousness. This invasion of the spiritual world into the world of the senses and the mind leads to the overthrow of every form of experience that has prevailed there.[...]
Die Sinnenwelt der Mannigfaltigkeiten ist der Bereich der Analysen durch den Verstand; wir können auch sagen, der Verstand hat die Sinnenwelt erdacht. Wenn wir glauben, die Welt zu verstehen, heißt es nur, dass wir verstehen, soweit es unser verstandesmäßiges Denken betrifft. Aber der Verstand reicht nicht bis zu jenem Leben, wie wir es innerlich leben, wir fühlen immer etwas in uns, dem der Verstand nicht den vollen Frieden zu schenken vermag und das anderweitig seine Erfüllung sucht.
Deshalb ist unser Leben so reich an Widersprüchen und Konflikten. Doch die meisten von uns nehmen das nicht zur Kenntnis und nur wenn ihnen diese Tatsache irgendwie bewusst wird, beginnen sie sich mit dieser Situation ernsthaft auseinanderzusetzten.
Wenn wir auf diese Weise anfangen, nach der Wahrheit zu suchen, gelangen wir schließlich zur geistigen Welt oder richtiger: die geistige Welt bricht in die Welt der Sinne und des Verstandes ein.
Sobald dies geschieht, ändert sich die ganze Ordnung der Dinge; das Logische ist nicht mehr logisch, die Rationalität verliert ihre Bedeutung, denn nun ist das Reale das Nicht-Reale und das Wahre das Nicht-Wahre. Genauer gesagt, das Wasser fließt nicht mehr im Fluss, die Blumen sind nicht mehr rot und die Weiden sind nicht mehr grün.
Es ist das überraschendste Ereignis, das im menschlichen Bewusstsein stattfinden kann. Dieser Einbruch der geistigen Welt in die Welt der Sinne und des Verstandes führt zum Umsturz jeder Erfahrungsform, die dort vorgeherrscht hat.
|| Source: D.T.Suzuki "Wesen und Sinn des Buddhismus" Hua-Yen-Philosophie || Wikipedia: D. T. Suzuki || Tranlated by Mr. Google ||
I have liked this little temple of Ganesha since I first came to sl, and I am happy it still stands!
It is located at the Zaara main store sim.
_________
Ganesha is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.
Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions.
(from Wikipedia)
Tight Strung Rules.
Subtraindo almas limitando capacidades oportunidades de individuação diferenças categorias coisas ocultas significados exemplos formas imateriais,
manières constituées principes composés quiddités simples doctrines universelles du philosophe inductions au-delà des questions accomplies intellects découvrant des raisons sciences suffisantes arguments principes métaphoriques révélations adversaires,
ystyried ysbrydoliaeth darogan damweiniau cynigiadau dysgeidiaeth gweithredu hanfod egwyddorion llifo naturiol,
kommentatorer skelner åndelige konklusioner effektive liv belysninger betingelser nødvendige tid arrogationer revolutioner irrationelle sind forklarer resultater,
Mortibus ægrotationum redirecting legibus servatis auctoritates pro tutore scholarium scripta senatus consultis pretium responsa aureum themata textus sacri maturuerunt,,
熟考進歩性知識ファンタズムは理解しやすい印象を引き出す抽象化された不自然さ決定的な形優秀な光進行力を引く.
Steve.D.Hammond.
Apparently:
The color yellow is the colour of the mind and the intellect
This color relates to acquired knowledge. It is the color which resonates with the left or logic side of the brain stimulating our mental faculties and creating mental agility and perception.
Being the lightest hue of the spectrum, the color psychology of yellow is uplifting and illuminating, offering hope, happiness, cheerfulness and fun.
In the meaning of colors, yellow inspires original thought and inquisitiveness.
Yellow is creative from a mental aspect, the color of new ideas, helping us to find new ways of doing things. It is the practical thinker, not the dreamer. (source: color psychology).
Nothing expected, free of anticipation some things just fit together. Pictures of the view from the window turned into exposures of the light available from inside and out and then my old worn and loved Tarot box went to centre stage and took a bow. Some how some thing happened all at once and together in unison.
The Tarot cards within the box are two versions of, “The Smith–Waite,” or, “Rider–Waite–Smith,” or, “Waite–Smith Deck.” Originally and for decades Artist Pamela Colman Smith was not mentioned in the name of the deck, but the publishing company Rider was often mentioned when it was sold as the, “Rider Waite Deck,” and Rider continued to be a part of the name for the book and cards long after Rider were not publishing them. This box is for, “The, Original Rider Waite,” is no longer in production. The other deck, along with, “The Original Smith–Waite,” still in the box, is, “The Universal Waite,” that should be titled, “The Universal Smith-Waite,” and is recoloured by Mary Hanson-Roberts.
Underneath the top coat of green paint the original lettering and the image of the Major Arcana card numbered XIV that of Temperance, particularly the folds in the Angel’s robes can be seen. The 30 years age of this box is nothing in long historic roots of Tarot. It carries memories for me holds two decks with two artists showing the figures of European Tarot in a form modernised and expanded with a newly devised pictorial Minor Arcana. In 1909 the publisher Rider released, “The Key to the Tarot,” and in 1910 a revised version was retitled as, “The Pictorial Key to the Tarot,” by A.E. Waite. The name, “Rider Waite,” was used to describe the 78 cards and the books and various booklets both to accompany the cards and also sold separately. To acknowledge the artist who recast several of the Major Arcana and made 56 original versions of the Minor Arcana the publishing phenomenon with over 100 million copies is often now referred to as, “The Smith-Waite Deck.”
© PHH Sykes 2023
phhsykes@gmail.com
“Today, more than 100 million copies of the Rider-Waite-Smith Deck are in circulation in over 20 countries, making it the most popular Tarot deck ever made. As we set forth to recover lost histories and systematic erasures of women’s intellect and labor, this exhibition provides an essential piece of the puzzle.”
Ray, Sharmistha, Hyperallergic, 23 March 2019, “Reviving a Forgotten Artist of the Occult.”.
hyperallergic.com/490918/pamela-colman-smith-pratt-instit...
Hyperallergic is a forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking about art in the world today.
A still-life of the vintage Local Positioning System. The art of navigation in pre-space era. It works good and reliably and is powered by Natural Intellect only. Stylized photo.
Ganesh
Dans l’hindouisme, Gaṇesh, Gaṇesha, Vinâyaka, Gaṇapati ou Pillayar dans le sud de l’Inde est le dieu qui supprime les obstacles1. Il est aussi le dieu de la sagesse, de l’intelligence, de l’éducation et de la prudence, le patron des écoles et des travailleurs du savoir. Reconnaissable à sa tête d'éléphant, il est sans doute le dieu le plus vénéré en Inde et son aura touche même tout le sous-continent indien et l'Asie en général. Il est le fils de Shiva et Pârvatî, l’époux de Siddhi (le Succès), Buddhi (l'Intellect) et Riddhî (la Richesse).
Yet across the gulf of space, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded our planet with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. Many thanks Wikipedia
A candid street photo of a boy and a girl who play chess in the street. The black knight may capture the white queen, and the boy may win but the time will come he as a knight will kneel before her as a beautiful queen. May the happiness be with them. Black and white version.
سرقت النوم من داخل عيوني
و خليت السهر فيها مؤبد
أقاسي الشوق ما تغمض جفوني
و نار الصبر في قلبي توقد
و من لي من صدودك ينصفوني
اذا باشكي لهم او باتودد
و انا ما ارضى بحبك يعذلوني
اقضي العمر بين البين و الصد
نجوم الليل عنك خبروني
حبيبك بالهوى مثلك و أزيد
و أنا حبيت حبك يا جنوني
على حبي جميع الناس تشهد
غرامك حل في كني و كوني
و قيدني و أنا اللي ما اتقيد
خلاص ارحم و خفف لي شجوني
فموتي صار في حكم المؤكد
Title by: G. K. Chesterton
Model: A friend Mashalla would be NICE
Explore #214 Feb 18, 2009
The Mystic Order - Immortality by Daniel Arrhakis (2019)
With the music : Crypt of Insomnia - Lunaris | Beautiful Dramatic Orchestral Vocal Music
Immortality is eternal life, being exempt from death, unending existence.
In religious contexts, immortality is often stated to be one of the promises of God (or other deities) to human beings who show goodness or else follow divine law.
After the Bible God promises a resurrection to eternal life to everyone who repents, worships God and accepts Jesus as the Messiah and His sacrifice.
The belief in an afterlife is a fundamental tenet of most religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Judaism and others however, the concept of an immortal soul is not.
The "soul" itself has different meanings and is not used in the same way in different religions and different denominations of a religion. For example, various branches of Christianity have disagreeing views on the soul's immortality and its relation to the body.
Depending on the philosophical system, a soul can either be mortal or immortal. In Judeo-Christianity, only human beings have immortal souls (although immortality is disputed within Judaism and may have been influenced by Plato).
The Ancient Alchemists strive to solve the mystery of immortality with the Philosopher's Stone and elixir of life. They believe through the application of alchemical processes, the physical body can be maintained through Infinity, not dying by any natural diseases.
Everyone needs to know that life has purpose, that death isn’t the permanent end of our existence. Christians belief regarding the afterlife is that people possess souls and at death their consciousness in the form of that soul departs from the body and heads for heaven or hell.
Most religions teach some form of life after death. The ancient Egyptians, for example, practiced elaborate ceremonies to prepare the pharaohs for their next life.
Belief in the immortality of the soul was an important aspect of ancient thought espoused by the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
Origen (ca. 185-254) was the first person to attempt to organize Christian doctrine into a systematic theology. He was an admirer of Plato and believed in the immortality of the soul and that it would depart to an everlasting reward or everlasting punishment at death.
Later Augustine (354-430) tackled the problem of the immortality of the soul and death. For Augustine death meant the destruction of the body, but the conscious soul would continue to live in either a blissful state with God or an agonizing state of separation from God.
Centuries later Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225-1274) crystallized the doctrine of the immortal soul in The Summa Theologica. He taught that the soul is a conscious intellect and will and cannot be destroyed.
The Hebrew word translated “soul” in the Old Testament is nephesh, which simply means “a breathing creature.”
The Hebrew Scriptures state plainly that, rather than possess immortality, the soul can and does die. “The soul [ nephesh ] who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20).
The Laws of Ion's Transcendence
The First Law - The Immortality Of The Soul
In the Ion Mystical World, Immortality is the first law of the Laws of Ion's Transcendence.
And in this theorizing the soul is immortal and timeless.
In a first stage which we call Aetherium, hence his relation to the physical body ends with his death, the soul remain in an ethereal stage of semi consciousness for some time; hence often reports of Near-death experiences (NDEs).
A near-death experience (NDE) is the event of maintaining a conscious recognition of sensations, visions, or events after having been declared clinically dead and ultimately being resuscitated to reflect on what was experienced.
Such events often include the vision of a white light, sometimes interpreted to be God; encounters with angels, ancestors, or other members of the deceased; out-of-body experiences; and a review of one's life, among other reported phenomena. NDEs can be either heavenly or hellish experiences.
Skeptical scientists believing there to be a biological explanation for the phenomena, while more paranormally inclined scientists claim these experiences to be evidence of a spiritual world. No matter what people may believe, the truth is that there are more and more reports and in many cases there are similarities between them.
In a second stage the soul no longer has relation to the body and beyond its temporal spacing there is a dimensional time apart. In this conception the soul has no expression in the physical world that we know outside the body but it is part of a space-time dimension that transcends us and that induces us to forget our previous life.
This second stage is the Stadium of Physical Inconscience or
Oblivion. However, we will not be in this stage for a long time until we reincarnate again in another body and in another life.
This third phase of Reincarnation can be done in different temporal space lines so that we can reincarnate both in a long past or in a future that we can not imagine.
As the temporal space dimensions are different in the Physical and Spiritual World it will not be possible to have memory of each other except for rare exceptions in which are involved phenomena of bridges between the two Worlds.
However there is something we can not predict ... what will be our next life ... or who we will be again ... or what experiences will be reserved ... but this is another conversation for another time ! : )
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Thank you dear friends for your kind visit, comments and invitations these last days, much grateful and trying catching up during the next days, so sorry i am delay with all of you !
Seeing, in the finest and broadest sense, means using your senses, you intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter with your whole being. It means looking beyond the labels of things and discovering the remarkable world around you.
~ Freeman Patterson, Photography and the Art of Seeing by Freeman Patterson , ISBN: 1550130994 , Page: 7
P.S. Non-HDR-processed / Non-GND-filtered ● Black Card Technique 黑卡作品
Don't, just don't quote me on this. Frankly, I find it all very confusing.
His name was Sabhran. It is Irish Gaelic and translates to English as "sovereign". Nevertheless his breeding was impeccably Scottish. Yes, he was a prince among dogs. All you needed to do was ask him; or judges in a show ring. The show ring wasn't his favourite place. That was on the hill among the low heath, nose into the gale and swept by sleet. He was hunting great stags; at least in his mind's eye. Sabhran was from that great lineage of the Scottish Deerhound; that rough coated greyhound of larger size and bone; that most perfect creature under Heaven.
There's a curious circularity, a symmetry in his odd name. Perhaps his ancestry was Irish. Certainly, according to some, the Scoti for whom Scotland is named were invaders from Ireland. Some say they displaced the Picts. Some say they brought their dogs. I have no idea, I wasn't there and the various texts are both ancient and ambiguous. Modern sources? I don't trust them at all.
You will hear it said that herding dogs like the border collie are the smartest. Some argue not to leave your homework about or your poodle will outshine your abilities in its completion. I reason that these hunting hounds, dogs needing independence from their ghillie and canny thought to bring down a red stag are of greater power and intellect. Throw an object once for a deerhound and it might retrieve it. Throw it again and it will reason that if you treasure it so much, fetch it yourself. Greyhounds, sighthounds in general, will chase that which moves. Put Sabhran on the track and he would run, then divining that the stupid hare was describing an arc, he would leap the barrier and doing the requisite calculus would run a chord across that arc to intercept the stupid beast. That's just how he was. I wouldn't have it any other way.
This is anything but a great photo. I suspect I printed it on an imperfect enlarger. I know where and in what year it was taken. I cannot reason it is here for its perfection. It is here to honour a singularly magnificent hound and his most perfect breed.
The Italian Bridge is the bridge across the Griboedov Canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is a single span, steel, pedestrian bridge next to Italian street (hence the name). The bridge's length is 19.66 meters, the width is 3 meters.
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthetic attitude dependent on principles based in the culture, art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome, with the emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, clarity of structure, perfection, restrained emotion, as well as explicit appeal to the intellect. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint and compression we are simply objecting to the classicism of classic art.