Sir Darius the Clairvoyent

I hope I dont come of as arrogant here, that is really not my intention, but there are two things from another forum I am active in, that I thought might be worth implementing. Dont get me wrong, this is obviously 100% up to the staff, just wanted to share it.

1. an overview over trending threads. Would look something like this.

Trending:

1. how do you meditate? 247 posts

2. X

3. Y

… you get the point.

2. a thread where we can nominate the best threads or posts of the month, and then present them.

I find boredom soul crushing tbh, think it is related to my adhd

On 30.11.2023 at 5:09 AM, thelerner said:

The facebook group is pretty lame.  I just tried to brighten it up with some philosophical pornography.  

Please share, philosophical porn is the creme de la creme of porn

6 minutes ago, Keith108 said:

Boredom is highly underrated.

How so?

I am looking for some inspiration. I often turn to enterainment or video games, but I dont find it very fufilling, so what do you like to do?

I am an determinist. Since the cosmos and all that have happened, is happening and will happen are depended on each other and the law of cause and effect, I think it is safe to assume that we have exactly zero agency.

Both in norse, greek and roman mythology, we find the fates: three women who decide your life, your destiny, before you were born.

«There are exactly three of them, and their names suggest their ability to construct the content of time: one is Urd (Old Norse Urðr, “The Past,” and a common word for fate in and of itself), the second Verdandi (Old Norse Verðandi, “What Is Presently Coming into Being”) and the third Skuld (Old Norse Skuld, “What Shall Be”). They live in a hall by a well (Urðarbrunnr, “Well of Fate”) beneath Yggdrasil, the mighty tree at the center of the Norse otherworld, which holds the Nine Worlds in its branches and roots.[2]»

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/others/the-norns/

This standa in contrast to the abrahamic faiths, where heaven and hell is based on what you choose, and theologians agree that «the problem of evil» is answered by God giving humans free will.

Instead of seing determinisim as something depressive, I find it immensly liberating and interresting. For one thing, there is no room for guilt, since… it was going to happen regardless. Secondly, as I heard in an interview by Yuval Noah Harari, it can open the door for self discovery, because you become an observer of yourself, and not an active agent.

Thoughts? Does your tradition take a stance on free will vs. determinism?

@Nungali Thank you, a lot of great points and stuff for further «research.» This theme since to be close to your heart/philosophy?

In regards to how we view… stuff? Extremly general I know, but I have atleast felt way when Ive encountered some spiritual term/concept in the beginning, all though i feel things have gotten a little clearer.

Edit: on the other hand, we do see a lot similarties in early eurasian thought, in lack of a better word?

These imortal words, inscrived at the temple of Apollo, Delphi has ressonated and inspired countless wise men aswell as the Intellectually challenged, as my self.

It is seen by many as the only and most important «commandnent.» What does it mean to you?

46 minutes ago, Geof Nanto said:

oracle at Delphi

«Know thyself»

for those that are interrested, Socrates defense with modern language. It hooked me, at least:

«(since ‘wind’ and ‘Spirit’ mean the same in hebrew, I prefer to only use the term ‘Spirit’ for better understanding).» 

@Apoostrophe last post ^

Kind of cool. Greek and norse word for spirit is the same as the one for breath aswell, pneuma and ånd. Pneuma is apperantly the word used to translate ruach in the bible, witch has a lot different meanings, 7 according to wiki.

funfact is that human and adam(a) means the exact same thing as well: earthly being. Apologies for the tangent.

43 minutes ago, SirPalomides said:

 

My first thought is, I would definitely expect to find lines like this in a book of Norse poetry that had been edited by Christian clergy. I'm not saying it's definitely an interpolation, I'm just raising an eyebrow here. Christian apologists tend to take two different approaches to "pagan" lore- one is the obvious solution of demonizing it; the other is to read foreshadowings of the Gospel into it, just as they do with the Old Testament. For all I know, it could also be perfectly authentic. 

My take is that it probally is. Allthough written in 1300s, it is belived to be significantly older. And also the tone doesnt strike me as very «Christian.» Runes means «magic» more than an acctual alphabet at that time. Also, when he came back, he used his ability in a very pagan manar, so to speak. And lastly, it is written in rhyme and makes use of kennings (poetic tool, like calling a boat for a sea horse forexample), witch makes them less prone to change.

Not denying there could be Christian (and other) influences, that seems very plausible. Christ got accepted long before christianity (the only Christ and no one else) was the hard part. 
 

But all in all I think that is secondary, cultures impact each other, both for better and for worse.

edit: furthermore, this kind of sacrifice for wisdom is very much true to the character of Odin

edit 2: the only sinimiarity is.. well, not much. Odin sacrificing himself, and Jesus getting «sacrificed,» so to speak.

17 minutes ago, SirPalomides said:

 

Christianity was consciously a mystery religion. Baptism and the eucharist are still officially called "mysteries" in Greek and for a long time unbaptized people were not even allowed to witness the eucharistic rite. There is still a vestige of this in the liturgy of John Chrysostom and other eastern liturgies where the deacon proclaims "Catechumens depart!" (catechumens= Christian disciples not yet baptized) before the eucharistic consecration. Baptism is regarded explicitly as a mystery initiation. 

 

Cyril of Jerusalem's catechetical lectures are a classic exposition of this thinking, eg https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310103.htm. It's fortunate that so many Patristic writings in English are available for free online, so if you want to see an ancient commentary on a passage of scripture it's fairly easy to find one or several by various writers.

 

I find debates about what Jesus really meant about x, y, z to be pretty irresolvable and arbitrary. The history of the composition and editing of the New Testament texts is obscure and sorting out authorial intent is basically impossible. More relevant, and more demonstrable, are how these texts were received and interpreted by various schools through the ages. 

Fascinating stuff, will look deeper into it!

I know you are not a lexucion, but there is something about this excerpt from havamal (Words of the high one), that very much seems like an initiation ritual in my opinion. Mithraic maybe, they where present from Irland to Iran, so does seen plausible to me. I wanted to Ask you, do you have any thoughts on this:

20 hours ago, NaturaNaturans said:

Think water/baptism has similar symbolism

somewhat related to this, according to «the immortality key» blood refers to the wine of dionysys, drinken in various greek and near eastern mystery traditions.

A little off topic, I know, but If i got the right sense of you, you wouldnt mind some trivia.
 

kykeon

1 hour ago, Apotheose said:

 

Mirror mirror, what should be my next step?

I want to be a wise man!

 

“Listen, do not overstep…
A wise man you can become,
But first you need to be a Bum”

23 hours ago, Apotheose said:

What is your interpretation of John 3:3?

 

John 3:3 - “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again”

 

Is “birth” here metaphorical or literal?

I feel 100% certain that birth is metaphorical. You are born again when you find christ. Think water/baptism has similar symbolism. How can you literally be born again?

Dispute between man and his soul 

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So now that you have clarified that you mean mind-matter this is less relevant, but this passage about one of the absolute earliest western thinkers on record might be worth a read:

Quote

Another of Heraclitus' famous sayings highlights the idea that the unity of opposites is also a conflict of opposites: "War is father of all and king of all; and some he manifested as gods, some as men; some he made slaves, some free"; war is a creative tension that brings things into existence.

When it comes to mind matter, I would conclude that one has to come from the other in order to interract.

We even have a fancy latin term for that, primera materia. But best I stop there before i butcher yet another tradition, but alchemy has to touch on this mind-matter issue, no?

@Zhongyongdaoist you made a statement about the exact topic I was thinking about: can we say that dualism is wrong or less valid? I do not think so

On 29.1.2024 at 12:16 PM, S:C said:

Does anyone have an idea, where the first traces of dualistic thought originated in western thinking? 
 

I remember Manichäism (Augustinus of Hippo) but it must have been way earlier. Kind of ‘fall of men’ like… serpent, Adam and Eve, own moral judgements etc?

I think we can go way, way back. At least 6000 years:

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Trito is a significant figure in Proto-Indo-European mythology, representing the first warrior and acting as a culture hero.^[1] He is connected to other prominent characters, such as Manu and Yemo,^[1] and is recognized as the protagonist of the myth of the warrior function,^[1]establishing the model for all later men of arms.^[1] In the legend, Trito is offered cattle as a divine gift by celestial gods,^[2] which is later stolen by a three-headed serpent named *H₂n̥gʷʰis('serpent').^[2][3][4] Despite initial defeat, Trito, fortified by an intoxicating drink and aided by the Sky-Father,^[2][4][5] or alternatively the Storm-God or *H₂nḗr, 'Man',^[4][6] together they go to a cave or a mountain, and the hero overcomes the monster and returns the recovered cattle to a priest for it to be properly sacrificed.^[2][4][5] He is now the first warrior, maintaining through his heroic deeds the cycle of mutual giving between gods and mortals.^[1][4] Scholars have interpreted the story of Trito either as a cosmic conflict between the heavenly hero and the earthly serpent or as an Indo-European victory over non-Indo-European people, with the monster symbolizing the aboriginal thief or usurper.^[7]Trito's character served as a model for later cattle raiding epic myths and was seen as providing moral justification for cattle raiding.^[1]The legend of Trito is generally accepted among scholars and is recognized as an essential part of Proto-Indo-European mythology, although not to the level of Manu and Yemo.^[8]

Nothing ground breaking, just a piece of history: archaeology.org/issues/540-2401/letter-from/11968-rome-jewish-catacombs

Giving this a follow, as I do love reading but hate reading (If that makes sense, witch is does not). I did like this one quite a bit, it feels like a walk in the park with a wise man, reminding you of your excistence being part of a long line and not just a feather in the wind. Ancestors by Neil Oliver, who you might recognize from tv.

It is mostly flow of conciousness «philosophyfing» with some fun facts sprinkled in. Like how the german word for the stone gneis the is the ancestor of english nice, witch gives a rich history to an everyday word, imagining stone age people beating rocks together for that Life saving spark. And the word human meaning earthly being. Also some less fun events, like an aboriginal tribe that went downhil quick with the introduction of new drugs.

Lets bring out the scape goat and the peace pipe for Europes last indigenous reindeer population instead.

Just now, snowymountains said:

 

That's lucid dreaming 

Thought it was the same, but i guess not

I have done it twice. Apologies If its allready mentioned, but what I did, was making a habit of knocking on doors, walls etc. When the door didnt feel like a door, i knew I was dreaming, and could take controll.