gnome Posted March 25, 2018 Hi everyone, I'm a 43 yo martial artist thriving to consolidate spirituality into and with... Well, with everything, not just MA's, since the themes of 'struggle', 'preparation', seem to pervade more aspects of life than just the physical - thus the 'struggle against oneself or lower self'. Casually or not, I came to know of this site by stumbling into the 'exorcism' thread in this forum, which may seem unrelated with my goals and self, or maybe not, since the time I spent studying Kabbalah and Neoplatonism helped me understand some symbols better. It seems that in ritual magic, and ritual exorcism, there is not a clear understanding of the nature and purpose of symbols, and a materialistic, depth-absent approach on them. Salt, e.g.: You can throw salt on a ritual and the only thing that it'll kill or block is bacteria. So if the ritual is not meant to banish bacteria, then why salt? Because it's just a symbol. Nothing physical can thrive on salt, and the spiritual intent on a ritual is to analogously block spiritual negativity, but obviously it's your mind and intent that creates that effect, not the salt. Incense: Incense means the 'smoke' resultant from the spiritual efforts made on our quest to better ourselves, from our internal will or fire. Thus no spiritual entity will enjoy the scent and perfume of the physical incense, but of the immaterial one, of which the physical is just a symbol. I'll pause here for now due to the length, but anyone can jump into. Blessings! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted March 25, 2018 Hello, gnome and welcome. Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go. Please take the time to read the post pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum Terms and Rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Marblehead and the TDB team Hi gnome, Yeah, myths are exactly that - myths. But most have roots in reality. Salt to preserve food and incense to disguise body odor. You are welcome to jump right in ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forms to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started. May you enjoy your time here. Marblehead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gnome Posted March 26, 2018 Yes, thank you, I didn't write much or expanded on my self because typing on a cell phone takes a lot of time for me and I feel like I had writen a lot when in fact I didn't. About me I was drawn more seriously to Buddhism and Daoism thanks to Qi Gong, and drawn to Qi Gong thanks to Gong Fu, but I don't have a physical support near me so I hope I can learn more here, which I know I will. Myths though I don't see why you mentioned it, is because of jewish mythology? Chinese culture is not devoid of mythology either, nor any culture for that matter. Salt to preserve food and incense to disguise bad odors are their practical use. Their symbology in spirituality is therefore quite different than their practical use. In fact, in talking about the symbology of salt, I think that sand could have the same use in ritual, since it recals of desert, where is hard to live or even lifeless. The idea is the same. Ice too. Fire as well. The 'matter' doesn't matter if they recall the same idea. Incense can therefore also symbolize the intention of the ritual and of the person, whether it's the performer's or another's. Prayer, that's it, incense is like a prayer. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted March 26, 2018 Well, your post recalled myths into my mind so that's what I mentioned. No other reason. And you are correct about the Chinese and their myths. I think the Chinese have more living myths than nearly any other culture. Personally, I try to stay away from them unless there is some practical use and the I wouldn't even need the myth if I found practical use in a belief. Anyhow, I hope you find a comfort zone here so that you can talk about your interests and find others with common interests. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fa Xin Posted March 29, 2018 Cool post! Yes, seems it's all about intention we set. The props sometimes aid in our ability to tap into our intention. Take a "house blessing" for instance. Walking around the house, burning sage or throwing holy water... takes about 30 minutes. Does it feel clean? And take another type of house blessing. Closing your eyes and imagining the whole house is purified...takes about 5-10 seconds. Which one is more effective? No real answer, of course... unless it's "depends on who is doing it". Welcome to the Bums! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
