Philosophies
Not all of these Philosophies are my own, but are also thoughts that I feel have been said in a wise, and beautiful way that needn't be tampered with. You don't have to agree with what is said, and I even encourage the questioning of it. I feel that one must tread their own path, and simply wish to hand others my map thus far. I am in hopes that none will be offended by these words, or any other presentation I have made on this site. However, I cannot control the way others feel.
With that said, welcome to my mindscape.
"...An' in it harm none, do what thou wilt." --Excerpt from the Wiccan Rede
"Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness for the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked."
--The ancient Hindu sage Patanjali
"There are two ways of showing strength. One is by pushing down, the other, by pulling up."
--Booker T. Washington
"You do not stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing."
--Unknown Author
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
--Unknown Author
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more."
--William Cowper
"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes to do, but in liking what one has to do."
--Sir James M. Barrie
"Neither man nor woman can be worth anything until they have discovered that they are fools."
--William Lamb
"That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent." --Chinese Proverb
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom."
--Theodore Isaac Rubin
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless." --Mother Teresa
"Do not fear going forward slowly, fear only to stand still." --Chinese Wisdom
"He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger." --Japanese Wisdom
"In this world there is nothing softer of thinner than water. But to compel the hard and unyielding, it has no equal. That the weak overcomes the strong, that the hard gives way to the gentle - This everyone knows, yet no one acts accordingly." --Lao Tzu
"Be the change you want to see in the world." --Mahatma Ganhi
" 'God' is all that I am, but I am not all that 'God' is."
-- a chat personality in Talk City's Spirituality-ReflectingPool
There is a difference between bowing down, and being humble. Similarly, there is a difference between arrogance and self-confidence. The former traits of each comparison being negative ones, the latter, positive. Wisdom comes from knowing the difference, and acting on the positive. Humility is the realization that you are no better than any other.
Self-confidence is gained by realizing that you are also no less.
There are many spiritual equations in nature from my view. For instance, Divine Retribution, and the raindrop in a puddle. The raindrop first comes in contact with the puddle, and from there, exerts some level of energy because it has joined the water in the puddle. In reaction to that energy, the molecules of water where the drop fell move outward, thus causing the molecules surrounding those to move outward. The whole is effected. That effect, in turn, comes back when it touches something else. Be it something in the water, or the container of the liquid. This returns it to the source(s). Whether positive or negative, there is a reaction to the presence and activity of that raindrop. From my perspective, such is the case with the cycle of things on a universal spiritual level. In Wicca, there is a belief of what you send out, you get back times three. This concept is the three-fold law. It is, of sorts, a metaphysical law of cause an effect. If one were to shove another, by this law, they would then be sending out the cosmic (for want of a better term) ripples of that action. Therefore, they would ultimately be subject to three times the amount of forced domintation or manipulation to that they sent out by the shove.
This analogy, as with many things within nature, has a superficial resonance as well as many layers of deeper tone to it. This idea could be as simple as a raindrop in a puddle, a shove... or it could bring to mind something as vast and intricate as the butterfly theory aptly relayed by Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park.
Another example of spirituality revealing itself in nature is, by my view, an explanation for the design of life. Not just as individuals, but also as a whole. The life of a singular being or the life of "God/dess", "Akasha", whatever you wish to call the divine omnipresence (if you subscribe to the theory at all). The Ocean... quite deep, and outreaching.
This mimics the idea of a divine omniprescence. The individual waves... they are each interconnected on a deeper level, but are their own entities to a point.
Symbolically, all things, including ourselves, can be referred to as waves within the Ocean. We each move about our own lives, and are not so much aware of what the other forms are dealing with in their existence as we are of that which we are dealing with. This does not mean that there is not that deeper level of interconnectedness... simply that we are not acknowledging it. We each rise, curl up, and move back into the Ocean at our own rate, and for whatever reason.
A beautiful explanation to one of the most frequently asked questions of life... answered by opening our minds and our awareness to that which has been there since before our births in this life.
There is much yet to be added. I hope you have enjoyed these words, and welcome you to return as often as you like. I will be posting more in the future.
May the path of elation and enlightenment console your feet. May your dreams be of bounty, beauty, and come to pass in waking life. Brightest Blessings.
Alarik
