posted February 02, 2015 10:38 AM            

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It just occurred to me that the ambiguity seems to becoming more part of both anime and Disney, that is good and evil aren't as clearly defined, and it's becoming more common for villains to have sympathetic and redeeming traits as well as heroes to have flaws and temptations that may corrupt them (something I've always tried to put into my own fiction, in part because I see it as more realistic).

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^^ A very positive development, considering what you observed before~

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As this was so long ago (approaching 15 years) my memory is very vague on the specifics, but one problem I had with it is how strictly it tried to divide and separate everything (particularly when it came to contradictions)...which has its uses and was no doubt brilliant and innovative of its time but it would morph into the problem I'm going to bring up.

I think what poisoned the well of Aristotelian thought is Christianity that adopted Aristotelian thought and adapted it to a dualistic monotheist paradigm, so that things defined as opposites where only one side could be true and the other false (or one good and the other evil).

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Though I wonder how Christianity got so far off the rails when astrology was evolving simultaneously...and sometimes within churches. Why did dualistic thinking prevail when astrology, polytheistic worship, and complex systems of organizing the world were still going strong?

posted February 02, 2015 11:45 AM            

"I like you, so you are like me, we are on the same side."
"I don't like you, you are so different from me, we are on opposite sides."

Of course there is some truth to the dualities manifest in this world, male and female, yin and yang, etc., but then, the objective of Buddhism (in my very novice opinion) is to unify at all levels, and become One with everything.

posted February 02, 2015 06:01 PM            

The eastern Europe has its roots in the Byzantine culture and Orthodoxy. This could explain the Byzantine roots: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/87186/Byzantine-Empir e/9235/Christian-culture-of-the-Byzantine-Empire - and also, the roots of hate against homosexuals and how the Second Commandment lost its power:

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Men of the 4th century were encouraged to take such a step, influenced as they were by the analogous veneration that the Romans had long accorded the image of the emperor. Although the first Christians rejected this practice of their pagan contemporaries and refused to adore the image of a pagan emperor, their successors of the 4th century were less hesitant to render such honour to the images of the Christian emperors following Constantine. Since the emperor was God’s vicegerent on Earth and his empire reflected the heavenly realm, the Christian must venerate, to an equal or greater degree, Christ and his saints. Thus the Second Commandment finally lost much of its force. Icons appeared in both private and public use during the last half of the 6th century: as a channel of divinity for the individual and as a talisman to guarantee success in battle. During the dark years following the end of Justinian I’s reign, no other element of popular Christian belief better stimulated that high morale without which the Byzantine Empire would not have survived.

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There's also an article that explains: Eastern Orthodox – Roman Catholic theological differences

And yes - i agree, the catholic churches - do have a different vibe.

To this day - religion is still used a tool with different purposes, but fortunately - it's less influential compared to past times - when the power of the church couldn't be contested. Especially in those times when the priests were the only accepted scholars - and their teachings went hand in hand with the political influence of that time. For example, as instructed by Rome - my ancestors were indoctrinated with lies when it comes their ancestry- the Dacians. And all that, because Rome - was ashamed by that past: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan%27s_Dacian_Wars so through lies, which went on for centuries - they severed this roots - from the mind of my ancestors. While latter, as the power of Rome got weaker - the new generations of scholars started digging for the missing links (both locals and foreigners - each with their own interest) - and what they found - was overwhelming (to much evidence that was in contradiction - with the history books from that time). Well, the Christian religion (and not the only ones) is about blind belief anyway - so it's not that surprising.

posted February 02, 2015 07:06 PM            

'Hope it's enough that my heart is in the right place with my children...it takes so much more than that, but a good heart is a nice safety net, at least. And you are so right about astrology ~ I love your insights and agree with you ~ to me, it's a stepping stone, not a destination. But a wobbly stepping stone, as in, it can trip you up.

Not sure which content you wish to remove so I will wait until after you modify, before I reply...this is just to say I've seen it, if you're in a hurry to take it down.

But I've got some reading to do here later, if you'll kindly leave up those links. Never heard of the Dacian Wars....

posted February 03, 2015 12:26 AM            

I once read an essay by Osho (and considering his life, I honestly don't know if what he was saying was bullsh*t or not)...but he said that true mastery comes from first mastering an art, then entirely forgetting everything you've learned, then picking it up again as if for the first time.

So, he said something like this: a musician learned all that he possibly could about music, could play every instrument as well as it could be played, and then, at the insistence of his teacher/guru, he quit everything. Twenty years later, he was encouraged to try music again....and what he found was, he could make music out of anything now. He embodied music and could make rocks sing with how he handled them, could influence groups people to talk in such a way that it formed a rhythm ...his whole energy was musical. All that learning had steeped into his subconscious and now informed what he did, instinctively.

Well...

That's a bit like my "travel plan" with astrology. I believe it's more like a science than a religion, if you stick with it honestly and don't get caught up in hype. And I'd like to be able to tell someone's placements without looking at their chart...and know which transits are happening by how the energy feels...and then forget it all. Get to the point where I'm not even thinking of "charts" or "placements," just noticing energies clearly. This may be an impossible thing to achieve but I've guessed enough correctly that I can't rule it out. And then maybe I won't even care about differences the way I once did; my theory is, I ought to have a totally new vantage point by then. So the experiment continues...building towards that mastery or not...but it's fun to wonder where it's all headed.

posted February 03, 2015 05:42 PM            

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That's actually quite true for - who knows how many people. It's definitely not BS. There's probbaly many such examples in all kind of contexts. Steve Jobs for example:

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“I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to [learn calligraphy]. I learned about serif and sans-serif typefaces, about varying the space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful. Historical. Artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture. And I found it fascinating. None of this had any hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would never have multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them.”

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I see, so - you delete the interesting stuff. ^^ I don't have a problem with weird (at least - not when it comes to psychic abilities or stuff like that) - quite the opposite. Though, that's not that weird. This is weird:

I knew it! He's back! O.O!

posted February 03, 2015 08:22 PM            

Video was great too

posted February 03, 2015 09:34 PM            

Actually, as I said, my mind is a little burned out, and wikipedia's bombardment of facts and names is a little too much to digest right now...a comic book format designed for toddlers, with small words, would be better. But some key words in these stories seemed to stand out three-dimensionally and evoked a kind of visceral sense in my gut...well, similar to the embroidery I talked about, where one specific detail seems to tug open a portal, though it takes me to an emotional and only faintly visual "place" without much intellectual context, except "Oh I remember this gold...yes, that symbol...that name, right...uh huh" and most of all a kind of smell and blood-sensation...

There I go being weird again...

And I can't think of any reason for that feeling, like faint flashes of "memory" ..except I was there in a past life? Or my imagination is much stranger, goes much further on autopilot, than I've ever given it credit for.

Now I know I'm allowed to quote this:

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For example, as instructed by Rome - my ancestors were indoctrinated with lies when it comes their ancestry- the Dacians. And all that, because Rome - was ashamed by that past: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan%27s_Dacian_Wars so through lies, which went on for centuries - they severed this roots - from the mind of my ancestors.

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What lies?

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the roots of hate against homosexuals

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That article on the Byzantine Empire gave me the impression there were a lot of homosexuals in the area, enough to get Justinian's attention and persecution...and that surprises me. "Traditional Greco-Roman culture was, to be sure, surprisingly tenacious and even productive during the 6th century and was always to remain the treasured possession of an intellectual elite in Byzantium; but the same century witnessed the growth of a Christian culture to rival it." Everyone knows the ancient Greeks were fine with homosexuality, but I don't know how things were in Greco-Roman culture...I guess it was a process of change.

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and how the Second Commandment lost its power:

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posted February 04, 2015 06:00 PM            

I knew about your sons - cause you mentioned them quite often, but - i sure wasn't aware you have a daughter. So typical - the mother with the boys and the father with the girl! Jk! ^^

My PC's is broken right now and i'm not sure when i'll have it fixed. I was just passing by, as - i'm at a net-club and already have to go - so can't give a proper answer right now. But maybe this could help instead: History of Romania And since your Ancestors are from Europe - it's quite possible - you were here before (in a past life).
^^

Latter!

posted February 05, 2015 05:40 PM            

"Contrary to what some translations of the Bible say, it won't be the meek who shall inherit the earth. On the other hand, the arrogant power mongers won't collect the legacy either. Neither the indecisive wimps nor the acquisitive bullies will contribute much to creating the New World.

posted February 05, 2015 06:41 PM            

How cool that you posted this while the sun is on my sun-moon (male/female) midpoint.

posted February 05, 2015 06:48 PM            

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Originally posted by 7thGuardian:
I knew about your sons - cause you mentioned them quite often, but - i sure wasn't aware you have a daughter. So typical - the mother with the boys and the father with the girl! Jk! ^^

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My big Leo ASC ego is so sad that you haven't been reading my posts!

I actually mention her a lot (twice on this thread, though I deleted the second reference.)

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Originally posted by 7thGuardian:
My PC's is broken right now and i'm not sure when i'll have it fixed.

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Aw, here's wishing it a speedy recovery.

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Originally posted by 7thGuardian:
But maybe this could help instead: History of Romania

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Thank you. Easy learning

posted February 06, 2015 11:59 AM            

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Anyway... that real life example - could also apply to a mental study you're passionate about - like astrology, where again - you have to find a balance in your understanding of astrology - as a way of getting to the core of this doctrine.

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Deceptively simple observation here...almost like a koan. Because how do you get to the core without balance? And what's at the core, except balance?

And what is astrology's core? That concept in itself is bewildering. So I tried to deconstruct it...

edit

Which got me thinking that core is about establishing a kind of personal feedback loop with the universe. If there is a core...I can only suspect there is nothing but vibration and frequency, and rhythm. Literally, the planets hum, and ancient philosophers somehow caught enough of that that they consistently acknowledged the music of the spheres. What astrology seeks to do is put that music into notation ...to communicate with it, as a language, between those who can read the signals.

At its best, I think astrology works like a magnifying glass, so you can see subtle energy more clearly.

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Or another way to put it (more technical) - you have strengthen your center of gravity - which is also known as - the solar plexus (or the 3'rd chakra ^^).

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posted February 06, 2015 09:45 PM            

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Excitement over the highly-anticipated film Fifty Shades of Grey is heating up in places few could have guessed. According to online box office Fandango, ticket pre-sales in Mississippi, where until recently it was actually illegal to sell sex toys, are four-times higher than the site expected.

And the Magnolia State isn’t the only Southern locale where pre-sale tickets are selling rapidly. In Arkansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Alabama — where the sale of sex toys is still banned — pre-sales are double what sellers expected.

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posted February 06, 2015 11:08 PM            

Btw, here's about a real life dildo runner:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/2004-04-08/news/sex-toy-story/full/

Despite Operation G-String and other ops like it (and the violent prostitution and sex crimes that goes on meanwhile) the city (*) often claims they need more cops! (*This place is by Dallas and Dallas has similar ops, or did a few years ago.)

I believe the laws were at least somewhat overturned which irked Rick Perry. But one of the women who was the biggest crusader against sex toys was picked by Perry for some cabinet position. (I forget and feel too sick to look it up.)

posted February 08, 2015 03:38 PM            

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Originally posted by Faith:
That is really bizarre and disturbing. What a stupid thing to outlaw. I mean...that is so messed up, I don't even want to think about it.

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